Tokyo Marathon 2012, WhyNot!? Japan's Nagano Ski Trip and Hinamatsuri!

Tokyo Marathon 2012: Completed!



Victory photo!



Last weekend I went skiing in Nagano, the week before that I was showing Dad around Japan, and the weekend before THAT we were in Tokyo for the 46km run.

It hurt afterwards and for the last 10km, where I really couldn't see the point in running, why not just walk? But I managed to at least jog-limp the last bit. Here's the weekend in photos:

We stayed at the Khaosan Asakusa Tokyo Guesthouse - a very good, cheap, friendly, easy to find hostel

I highly recommend staying at the above hostel if you're in Tokyo, Asakusa the place itself has the shrine dedicated to the god of thunder as a tourist attraction, good eats and a little market road for tourists too.



Dad brought these finger trainers at the marthon expo after registration

Dad took most of the photos of the whole trip, so here are some just of the race:

Luffy! Wait for me!





out of 36,000 people at the tokyo marathon, another Sherlock fan. Yes!

The oldest person to finish a marathon was 84 years old, and I did see people who looked that age looping ahead of me, so I should really have trained more. Next time!

Victory meal

It all went surprisingly well. Navigating the Tokyo subway was the biggest hurdle but we had no real problems, so this entry on the marathon, despite it being a looooong weekend, is pretty short.

Skiing in Nagano with WhyNot!? Japan.

WhyNot?! Japan (http://www.whynotjapan.com/hey) hold meet-ups and field trips throughout the year for anyone interested. The events are a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world and different parts of Japan, and visit new places you might not have had the opportunity to go yet. The whole trip below cost me less than 30,000yen (around £230) and best of all, was all organised for us.

This trip was definitely a great way to relax and see another different side of Japan, and go skiing for the first time!

Nagano is a beautiful, snow-covered area of Japan.

meeting place

the resort room had two floors, six beds and a sofa for caroline

the gang, still dry and full of energy after the 6 hour bus ride

one should note that I HATE the cold, not a fan of snow, but the excersise you get is intense enough that you never really feel the cold. Gloves are a must, though.

It was mine and matts first time skiing, so we spent a lot of time just lying in the snow -_-

my mini heart attack - at one point Alister claimed there was a beginners route at the top of a ski lift, I didn't realise how high it went until I actually got on it though.

We stayed at a type of hotel/lodge resort. This is us chillin' after skiing all day

A party was held at night, and was kicked off by the mayor of Nagano himself. A rock-paper-scissors contest was held for snow gear and two snowboards (I lost), people could pound mochi if they wanted, and there was plenty of dancing/talking into the night (including in other people's rooms/a massive tatami room somewhere on the ground floor of the resort).

mochi pounding and party with limitless free drinks!

Jigokudani Monkey Onsen

The next day, a group of us split off from the main group and went to Jigokudani, where we walked to an area where monkeys live (and relax in the hot springs). After that, we visited a hot springs town where some of us ate and others visited a hot spring for themselves.

the amount of snow in places...

the boss monkey welcoming us to his abode

Other happenings this week:

Laura made these! Sanji's leg broke :'(

An orange fell from the mikan tree as I walked passed! A dream come true!
It smelt great but tasted gross.

All you can eat for 1500yen in nishinomiya gardens and sannomiya xD good food and tea, too ~

another tacoyaki party at ryousukes' ^^

Caroline's kanji for me - not sure what she meant by it.



hahaha



Hinamatsuri!

I guess the english equivalent would be like fathers or mothers day, but this is for daughters. I don't know much about it except that the dolls are traditionally put out in a hope that ones daughter will be happy and healthy. If the dolls aren't put back in time the daughter will marry late!

We got to celebrate this with Carolines awesome host family:

And the food! So much food! I definately recommend shirozake btw (soy milk sugar and sake), it was all so beautiful...



Hinamatsuri dolls had incredable detail...




Also I've booked Golden Week in Japan to Hokkaido for some hiking with Air Peach (http://www.flypeach.com/home.aspx) , which has new, very cheap flights and the date for the Leeds Kanji exam is May 7th. So I won't be doing much until then (saving money and studying).

Sorry this entry is so brief - I have a lot to be getting on with.

Only a few months left in Japan :-(

Still, looking foward to seeing home again!



thanks for the gif of me with my medal, Amy ;)



Survival Guide for a Tourist in Japan

In honour of Dad coming to Japan, heres some stuff that might help someone who knows nothing about Japan that may not be in the average guidebook.

Just little points and tips that might help a bit.

Taking the Bus from Kansai AirportFrom Kansai Airport to JR Amagasaki Eki step by step:

- Follow the signs to the bus stop on the ground level.
- Go and find bus stop number 4
- You will see the ticket machine that looks like this:

 

Choose the one with 1500円 on the screen,

insert the money and collect little ticket and change
(There is an English option)

Go and stand in the queue behind that yellow stand thing in the bottom right of the photo,

the screen you see is telling you when your bus is due

When the guy asks you which stop, you want to get off at JR AMAGASAKI. Which is the SECOND STOP. Do not go to Hankyuu. JR is the one you want. JR. Say it aloud. JR (Japan Railways).

 He will give you a little ticket and attach a tag to your suitcase.

 The ticket looks like this:

Give man ticket when boarding.
Journey is about 1 hour to JR AMAGASAKI. 2nd stop.
I'll be waiting at around 6.30pm at the bus stop there for you.

After that we take the 10 minute train to where I live.

There is your step by step journey. Don't tell me I don't look out for family ;-).

Money Exchange rate: 100円(yen) = £1.00

Not exactly, but the pound is pretty weak right now and getting worse, so just think of it that way for simplicity.
Warning: Japan is EXPENSIVE.

Transport:Everything is in English, as well as Japanese.

Trains are really easy once you know how to use them, like the London subway. I love the trains:
1.Look at the map above the ticket gate,
2. Locate where you want to go and note the price,
3. Ignore all the buttons and the screen and just put the stated amount into machine and press the button that lights up with your amount
4. Collect your change and your ticket.
5. Go through gates, ride to stop, get off.

Children do it frequently on the trains. I highlighted 3. because I frequently see non-japanese speakers spending time over the ticket buying because they can't read the screen, but actually it's really easy, you just put the amount straight in.

FoodHere a kanji you'll see a lot on the main street related to food:
[焼き] means ‘fried’, pronounced ‘yaki’.
The word for bread is 'pan'.
I don't want to spoil the fun of experimenting the food there, but just to give you an idea of the popular ones on the main streets and at vendors:

Taiyaki, a sweet snack.
My fav. is called 'Anco', which is red bean paste.

Yakiniku, lit. means 'fried meat'

Okonomiyaki, fried omellete-pancake type thing, savouray, delicious

Takoyaki, most famous in Osaka, octopus inside. Also delicious!

Udon, thick noodles, or Ramen, thin noodles

Mochi, it's bascially mushed rice. Sometimes sweet.

Karaage, kinda like chicken nuggets? But fattier and more delicious.

Onigiri

Tempura, battered veg or fish

Japan has a brilliant food culture so I’m doing them an insult only mentioning these, but these are the ones I see the most around town that I can think of right now.

Buying Stuff: No talking needed.

They display the price on the screen and assume you don’t speak Japanese because you’re not Japanese, so even if they talk fast at you it’s just them being polite and asking routine stuff, like 'got a point card?' or 'do you want a bag?'

When you enter they shout ‘Welcome’ at you.
They also don’t exchange money by hand , so just put it on the counter. Or most of the time they have a tray – put it on that (this is such a subtle difference but i didn't understand their hesitation to take my money for ages until I realized that...so now I'm telling you.)

The People:If you don’t look Asian you’re going to stand out, so just ignore people who stare at you and just nod at them if you feel uncomfortable.

(I learnt that smiling doesn’t really work, but nodding always gets a nod back. It’s like a tiny bow, I guess. Translates across all languages, the 'bro nod', as Kester puts it.)

Language
You can get an app free for this called Kotoba!
Japanese people all have a basic education in English, so they should understand the simple stuff.
Or if not, they may understand written okay.

But if you can’t speak it, at least master these little phrases and try hard to pronounce it right, Dad, so they understand:

sumimasen, (sue-me-ma-sen)
excuse meNihongo ga dekimasen (knee-hon-go     ga     de-key-mah-sen)I can’t speak japanese

E-go ga hanasemaska?  (Eh-go     ga    de-key-mas-ka?)can you speak English?

wakarimasen    (wah-ka-ree-mah-sen)I don’t understand:

where?
Doco des ka?

how much?
Ikura des ka?

what time?
Nan ji des ka?

Train
Densha
Toilet
Toy-ra-to

kono densha wa [PLACE NAME] mah-de i-kee-mas ka?does this train go to …. ?

Any thing I've missed out that you need to/want to know?

This is VERY BASIC, I know, but it's just as a little something. I might add to it sometime later.


In terms of news of goings on in my life for this blog entry: I've been babysitting the half Japanese, half American kids of a teacher at Konan Womens' University and it did wonders for my emotional welbeing because I love kids, they're so refreshing...
I booked a skiing trip to Nagano to also see the monkeys in the hotsprings. And skii.
This weekend is Tokyo Marathon, which I'm excited for but also panicing a bit because my knee hurts and I haven't forced it through more than 2 and a half hours running because I'm an idiot,
aaaand the rest of the time I've just been trying to catch up with Kanji study. It is hellish. Spent an ENTIRE WEEKEND doing it and STILL haven't caught up.
I am troubled, but life is still good.
Also, I want grandad's mashed potatoes and gravy -_-