After much thought I have decided to have a Halloween party.  The early will to cater to the 12 and under crowd (apple bobbing, musical chairs, and such) and the later to the adults.  I'm kinda pissed off that my kids don't get to wear their costumes to school anymore.  Trying to sit still as fairy wings smash in a small orange slited chair or  worrying about  cheap white clown make-up sweating off too soon are problems kids have to endure no longer!

I had an outstanding time at Karoke Land this past Saturday. 

A kung fu master brought by 2 extra large Sapporos just when we thought it was time to go home.  And I was filled with glee.  I have been strugging

with trying to juggle school, work, and laundry.  I give myself points for doing all 3 fundraisers for all kids.

Everyone at my work is still on the "group diet."  I want to loose weight but this group effort is propelling my thirtysomething angst.

My dad and brother have raved about this place for years. It's been written up in the New York Times as a "critics pick." And tonight, I finally experienced it for myself!

It truly is a slice of the Ginza transplanted to West 49th Street in NYC. The food is Japanese "bar food" at its finest. We certainly made a feast of it, and had several rounds of drinks, for under $100. That's a deal by NY standards.

Over cold, draft Sapporo beer and dry, cold sake, we started with two rounds of sashimi, a plate of oshinko (Japanese pickles), and some Japanese cucumber slices with mayo and bean curd.

Then we moved to a selection of grilled skewers -- chicken meatballs, chicken thighs, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and ginko nuts -- all topped with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt. We also gave the chicken wings a try.

We finished by sharing this stir-fry/saute of pork, cabbage, and bean sprouts in a light miso sauce. Delicious!

Nothing fancy at Sake Bar Hage, but it definitely lived up to all the hype. Off Times Square and West 49th, it's down in the basement on the south side of the street before 6th Ave.

I have returned to the intert00bs and come bearing photos. Having had several people misinterpret my intentions when dealing with philosophy, I will reassure you that my intentions are to support sound scientific, rational, evidence based reasoning and will only tackle scientific questions when philosophy attempts to contradict rationality. If you disagree with those intentions, then you are likely continuing your misinterpretation as it should conflict with no one's belief system (except maybe Christian Scientists and other anti-rationalist philosophies [note: I have seen signs at various places of worship exclaiming, "A rational mind is the hand of Satan," which is where I base this claim.]). This is not to mention the Methodist preacher who assaulted my profession when I was nice enough to visit his church to spend some time with my family before I left for Japan ... luckily, I don't hold grudges :-D .

Now on to the real stuff. A few weeks ago, I attended the International Conference of Photo Excited Processes and Applications (ICPEPA-6) in Sappporo Japan. It was a lot of fun, but being as it was my first conference, I made it my duty to attend all of the talks and discussions. I didn't get to tour the city very much, unfortunately, but I did get to take some really interesting photos of the Ainu Museum outside of Chitose. Enjoy!

==========================================================

*Edit*

I have a bunch of new pictures since moving to Tokyo on Thursday, but I will need a bit of time to organize them and post them. Sorry for being such a delinquent ;) .

Friday involved a visit to the Beer museum in Ebisu. Ebisu Garden place used to be the site of a Sapporo brewing factory, and a fitting location for this museum. Ancient brewing equipment, historical explanations of the history of beer making in Japan (introduced from Germany and England in the late 1860s), and plenty of examples of historical labels and bottles. The tour ends in the tasting room, as any good liquor tour should, where you can sample flights of Sapporo beer. My favorite had to be the Sapporo Black - a stout beer that was extremely smooth and tasty. I'm not a particular fan of Guinness beer, but this stout, I would stock up on for parties!

Today (Saturday) was our first experience at the Tokyo Dome to watch a Japanese baseball game! Probably the most popular Japanese sport, we were not disappointed in the loyalty nor fervor of the Japanese fans. Tokyo Dome is home to the Yomiuri Giants, and todays game was against the Chunichi Dragons. We witnessed two homeruns, but "our" team, the Giants, lost 3-4. In addition to the packed stadium, and voiciferous yet organized support of the fans, the food choices were awesome! Bento boxes, ramen, yakitori, edamame, burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and of course beer! Something for every taste bud. My favorite sight was the stadium girls carrying kegs on their backs, trekking up and down the stadium stairs, smiling and waving, and filling glasses with various types of beer. I want that job. 

Pelles familj vinkar av oss på Arlanda.

Party på Heathrow.

Coca-Cola var vänliga nog att välkomna oss till Japan. De var de första att göra det.

Pelle sträcker ut sig på vårt rum.

Middag. Eldad makrill.

Sapporo! Nu i Japan.

Com arribar-hi:

• En avió, aterrant en algun dels seus aeroports, com per exemple el de Chitose prop de Sapporo.
• En tren, travessant pel túnel submarí que uneix Honshu 本州 amb Hokkaido. El túnel és un xic més llarg que l'Eurotunnel del canal de la Mànega que uneix les Illes Britàniques amb el continent europeu. El seu punt més baix està a 240m per sota del nivell del mar. Per travessar només cal agafar l'expres Hakucho o el super Hakucho i llestos.

Com moure's:

• En tren, com sempre. Alguns dels trens locals són realment encantadors, per exemple el que uneix Abashiri amb Kushiro. No es pot arribar a tot arreu on voldríem en tren.
• En autocar. Quan el tren no hi arriba, sempre trobarem un servei d'autocar regular que ens hi portarà.
• En cotxe. És un dels llocs on es troba a faltar la llibertat de moviments que dóna el cotxe. Amb tren o autocar es pot arribar a qualsevol racó de l'illa, però la seva freqüència ja no és tant elevada com en altres zones del Japó i fa que estiguem molt lligats als horaris.

Llocs interessants (per a mi):

• Parc natural de Daisetsuzan 大雪山国立公園. Hi ha el cim més alt de l'illa, el volcà Asahidake 旭岳 (2991m). Es poden fer travesses força interessants.

• Wakkanai 稚内. La ciutat més septentrional del Japó, està a 45º 24' 44'' de latitud (més o menys com Lió, que tampoc és tant). És com el Nordkapp japonès. Es pot anar a les illes que formen el parc nacional de Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu 利尻礼文サロベツ国立公園.
• Parc Nacional d'Akan 阿寒国立公園,. Una altra zona volcànica i amb bones caminades.
• Parc nacional de Kushiro Shitsugen 釧路湿原国立公園,. Una interessant zona d'aiguamolls al nord de Kushiro. Interessant per la seva fauna i flora. És on hivernen les famoses grues de cresta vermella.

• La ciutat de Kushiro 釧路,. Interessant per ser una base per visitar el sud-est d'Hokkaido. Us recomano el mercat de peix de Washo, la graellada de la carpa a l'exterior de l'edifici Moo (per intentar xerrar amb algun turista japonès tot sopant)  i el pont de Nusamai.

• Practicar esquí a l'hivern. Pel que vàrem poder veure sembla que a l'hivern hi neva força, fins i tot a baixes alçades, només calia fixar-se en la quantitat de màquines llevaneus aparcades a l'estació d'Asahikawa 旭川. Hi ha un munt de petites pistes d'esquí alpí, però també s'hi practica bastant esquí de fons. Això ens va quedar pendent per un proper hivern.

Certamente nell'esito finale la magia intrinseca della Holga fa il suo dovere - colori morbidi, immagine pastosa e ricca - ma l'occhio è di quelli buoni. Le immagini che vi propongo raccontano quasi tutte il Giappone, con una potenza evocativa sorprendente, mentre sulla pagina Flickr dell'autrice ne troverete di ogni genere.  

#1 - it's winter in sapporo #5 

Fa venire in mente la Little Odessa di James Gray e le main road della provincia americana allo zenit del loro fascino. 

#2 - wishbox

La copertina di un gran bel disco di un Nick Drake al femminile.   

#3 - suskino night

Così bella che è quasi meglio che esserci. La Holga offre grandi prestazioni anche in esterni notte. Una ricchezza di dettagli e latitudine di posa impressionante (la pellicola non tradisce mai).

 #4 - lights

Un altro esterno notte da lasciare senza fiato. 

#5 - waiting fishes

Tony Soprano se la darebbe a gambe in un istante. 

If you're reading this for the first time and have no idea what it is all about, the wiki contains a lot more information. The whole idea basically started from a few of us (mostly CC-affiliated academics) thinking that we need a forum to exchange our ideas and findings on research pertaining to aspects of the digital commons. Then one thing led to another, and in what I think would make an exemplary case study of online collective action, we managed to set up Free Culture 2008 and generated enough interest to get everyone talking about a follow-up conference in 2009 (which, like the 2008 event, will not be limited to just CC-related topics). I will post more on these plans as soon as they start to take shape.

Before we delve into my Sapporo business trip, let's sample a cup o' joe at a tastefully named spot I found.

When we last spoke I had spent almost three weeks in the inaka and while being a d-list celebrity, getting interviewed by the local paper and partying every day was far more than I expected or deserve; I was looking forward to a brief stop in Hokkaido's biggest city.

My travel expenses were covered by work, as I was attending my “Hokkaido JET Orientation.  It was held at the Akarenga, Hokkaido's old government building.  The first two days were a series of meetings mostly focused on teaching.  I got tips on lesson plans, dealing with wild Japanese children who have, in the past, grabbed ALT's bottoms and a self-introduction activity I later used in class.

The JET program has a reputation for hand-holding, and as such other topics covered included insurance, office etiquette, homesickness - workshop named “Cheer up Charlie,” which I did not appreciate - and earthquakes.  My favorite parts were one, winning candy for being one of a select few teachers whose attire was up to Japanese code, and a crash course in origami.

The final day we drove to the Historical Museum of Hokkaido, which had a fascinating exhibit on the Ainus a people of Hokkaidian descent whom I hope to study more while I am here.  One of the curators even gave us a private lecture on Hokkaido's history.  We also stopped at the Historical Village of Hokkaido for a bit, to take a short trip back in time and see old Japan.

Aside from the scheduled events, what would a business trip be without a little networking?

To that end, all Japanese Keitai are equipped with a nifty feature named “infared,” which is the 21st century version of a business card.  Simply point your phone at a new friend's and in a slightly phallic move “send” them your info whilst they “receive.”  Within seconds, they have your name, phone number(s), email addresse(s) and even blood type.

The definite highlight of Sapporo was sitting at a table with four gaijin dudes as we all giggled like Japanese schoolgirls infaredding each other.

My second favorite aspect of the trip was observing what I will call, for lack of a more accurate description, “the Scene.”

The roofed outdoor arcade/wonderland pictured above featured shops crammed in next to, on top of and below each other as far as the eye could see.  Far more engaging, however, were the performers.

There were hopeless romantics wailing away on guitar strings, break dance teams time and again rehearsing their moves, a painter exposing his mind's eyes on a canvas and although I did not see him perform, I met a white dude, who'd been in Japan eighteen years as a juggler.

In general, these artists did not come out until after dark.  Which begs the natural question, “Charlie what were you doing outside your room after dark on a business trip?”

To start, Monday night there was an enkai at the Kirin Beer Gardens.  Fitting with Japanese culture, you cannot have a work function without some sort of party.  Sadly though, that stop was a bit of a disappointment.  The food, while fine, was the same lamb, bean sprouts and onions over and over again to cook at your table.  The beer flowed, but not quite like wine, as I was consistently annoyed with the tardiness our servers had getting us drinks within our two hour “all you can drink” stay.

The most embarrassing part, though, especially as an American trying to counteract certain sterotypes were the numerous drunk, “Ugly Americans” on display.

I am not trying to be cool when I mention I have had a drink or two in my day.  As such, it takes a bit to get me going crazy and yelling, it is a state of being I am careful to avoid, especially here in Japan.  Unfortunately, there were quite a few, shall I say, immature drinkers in the group and within literally the first hour, were screaming at the top of their lungs and being rambunctious.

I am not trying to put myself above them, but when some Japanese people see a group of over a hundred forgeiners together, and all the hear is “YEAAAH!” from across the restaurant, it kind of overshadows the quiet, respectful Americans and reinforces whatever negative opinions they happened to have about our people.

ANYWAY, thankfully most of the amateurs were ready for bed by ten PM.  A smaller group of us went off to a Ni-Ju-Kai, or second party, at a local club which had opened its main dance area specially for us.  It too was decent, but after a bit, one of my friends and I decided this was not the scene we came to Japan for, and went off in search of something with more Japanese flavor.

Oddly enough, after meeting a local who took it upon himself to be our official Sapporo nightlife guide, that meant going right back to the same club.  Around the time the foreigners party was ending, a smaller, private party was just getting started.  We were the only gaijin there, and it was exactly what we wanted.

Talked to a let of people, and in the strangest of small world moments, even met someone from my adopted hometown of Hamatonbetsu.

That may not sound remarkable, but it'd be like meeting someone from a 4,000 person town in rural Iowa on one of three nights out you had while visiting Chicago.

Making sure I had enough rest to be on my game for the meetings, I did also explore some other parts of the Sapporo nightlife.  Favorites were:

• “Rad Brothers” They brew their own “Rad Ale.”  Had a conversation with a local headed to L.A. for a business trip about why “Guns n' Roses” were only cool in an ironic sense these days, that got badly lost in translation, and I think I ended up offending him.

• “Bagus”  Small bar on the second floor of a building who seats about ten people.  Owner treated us like kings, giving us the finest Sake I've ever tasted for free, while regaling us with stories about boxing around the world.

• “Otakosan” Another small bar, seats 9, which was empty save the bartender and a couple.  They were quite friendly though, and bought me some melt-in-your-mouth-heaven Takoyaki [*] balls.

Closing out the trip, my last morning, I discovered my true calling - as a skate filmmaker,

(Please click here and then select the lower right corner button if you cannot read the video text.)

Riding the train back to my clean home (thanks to a two-beer four hour cleaning marathon I had the day before I left while listening to the Raidohead show I saw in Virginia) I fell asleep about halfway through my can of Sapporo, with Omiyage for my coworkers in tow, resting up for my first official day as a teacher, happy to have found a new city to love.

Écrit près Charlie Danoff | Homepage

Post Number Two Links

Post Number Two Photos

EDITOR'S NOTES:

• I made a few corrections to the first post.  All changes have been marked with strike-through text, like this.  The last date of the entry was changed from 8/16/08 to 8/15/08.  Also, Bonodori was misspelled, and has been corrected from Balmodori.

• My Flickr Photostream for Post One has been changed to correctly give credit to who took the photos, as since they are of me, I obviously did not take them.

• Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank everyone who read my last post, especially those people nice enough to comment on it.

Landed in Narita where I met Alex Fung. Alex is a Sydneysider and has been in Japan for over a year (based in Sapporo with fmZero), but had taken some time out to take a look at the churches run in Tokyo. Made our way to Ichikawa (south-east city of Tokyo city, approx 20 mins from the city centre) by train, to the OMF Guest Home where I stayed the night.

only in Hong Kong: the people of Hong Kong love to eat, shop, keep up to date with the latest and greatest. And love to travel internationally.

Tuesday 16 September:
Met Steve Weemes (Serve Japan Coordinator) in the OMF Office. Went through some basic orientation, and also met Richard and Emma Killer (who were also staying at the Ichikawa guest home but are from Sapporo too). Afterwards I met Kenton Samuels (he's the guy who knows who's who and where's what at all times) where myself, Alex and Kenton took the train to Haneda Airport. Took the flight to New Chitose Airport (Sapporo), and met Alaric Dunsmore-Rouse (fmZero leader) who's apartment I stayed the night.

Went though a bit more orientation, then went supermarket shopping. You can pretty much get anything and everything here, but in some ways limited by the sizes of their trolleys!

only in Japan: will you be in awe and spend hours in Japanese supermarkets.

Wednesday 17 September:
Went into OMF Hokkaido HQ in the morning, then explored Hokkaido University and the city of Sapporo with Alex as these will be places that I'll be in and around when meeting students. Sapporo is no small city. Its amazing structure and roads are based around a grid map, with coordinates which in a way make it easy to find where you need to be. So, all of this travelling was by bike.

In the afternoon travelled to Fukuzumi by train with Alaric to a church which I'll be teaching English on Friday's (starting this week). The people at this church are such amazing people, and its a reminder of how often we take people for granted, or even in most cases how difficult it is to run ministries without having people to do so.

only in Japan: the Japanese are such spoken, polite people. The Japanese Christians have such a passion for the gospel that even their pastor will learn another language in order to run classes in this language, invite people to come, and hopefully use this as some way to share the gospel in their community.

...Actually, screw that. Let me just tell you why I love this beer.

The #1 reason why Sapporo Reserve is so great is because of its malty, delicious flavor. It tingles the palate and makes for a formidable refreshment, any time of day with any meal. Watching football with some greasy food? Sapporo Reserve. Drinking on an empty stomach after a long day of school/work? Sapporo Reserve. Starting off a night of inebriation? Sapporo Reserve. (Note that you do not want to finish a night of inebriation with Sapporo Reserve -- it is somewhat of a heavy beer, and you don't want to waste good beer when you can't taste it anyway).

It's become a tradition for me to get a tall can of Sapporo Reserve every time I go to Safeway now ... and I'm generally the cheap, Pabst Blue Ribbon-type drinker (more on PBR another time).

This is not to be confused with traditional, original Sapporo. It's a fine beer in its own right, but it doesn't compare to it's malty cohort. Sapporo Reserve is the hot cousin of the girl (or guy ... BBB isn't biased) you're dating ... sure, you're current fling is alright, and gets the job done, but at the end of the day, you're kind of wishing you had a crack at the cousin first.

Actually, that's a terrible analogy. But you guys don't pay me to think. Or do anything else.

...

Since this is my first Beer Review, I'll talk a bit about the categories I use to analyze each beer:

Beer Review

Taste: That's kinda obvious. Ranked 1-10 on how good I think the beer tastes. Sapporo Reserve is a nice, malty, heavy -- even complex -- beer that can hit exactly the spot you're looking for, or just fill the void. I rank this beer an 8 of 10.

Versatility: When can you drink it? Is it an all-occasion beer? Ranked 1-10 ... 1 being only good for a certain time, 10 being it's great for everything. This beer is a 7 of 10.

Longevity: Is this a beer you go through as a fad, then it fades back into obscurity? Or does it have staying power ... will it be a mainstay in your fridge? The more staying power, the higher the grade. This beer gets a 6 in longevity.

Cost: Durrrr... I wonder what this one means? More or less, how much bang do you get for your buck? Sapporo Reserve is on the expensive side, when you consider how much cheaper other beers are per can. Dropping $2.79 on 22 fluid ounces is expensive compared to when you think you can get a sixer of Keystone or Pabst for around the same price. Then again ... you get a lot better beer with Sapporo Reserve. Still, since I'm a cheapskate (and if I had a target audience, that's who they'd be, too), I have to give this beer a 6 in cost.

Refreshing Power: I'm honestly not clever enough to think of a better name than "refreshing power". But anyway, this category describes how much this beer puts you "at ease" after a hard day. I'm not talking about how drunk you get ... all beer gets you drunk (dur). I'm talking about the ever-so-slight buzz that courses through your veins at the end of a long day and gives you a feeling of contentment. Sapporo Reserve does that very well, so it gets a 9 in that department.

Total: 8

Sapporo Reserve does a lot of things well ... it tastes great, it's a perfect "chill-axing" beer, and it's great to start off a night of brain cell torture. It's not adviseable to use in beer pong, in a beer bong or in mass quantities, as its heavy and a bit on the pricey side (as determined by money per fluid ounce). But if you hadn't had everyone's favorite malty beer from the Far East, give it a shot.

[Taylor]

On Monday the nation of Japan celebrated Respect for the Aged Day, thus providing a nice three-day weekend for Julie and I to do some traveling.  If you are an Aomori ALT reading this now, we highly recommend Hokkaido for three-day excursions.

We decided to embark on a trip to Hokkaido, Japan's northern most island, to visit some ALTs from Portland.  Many photos were taken.  Click here to view 81 of our favorite snapshots.

Getting There

Following the advice of another Aomori ALT, we decided to take a ferry from Hachinohe to Tomakomai.  We did this for two main reasons.  First, it was the cheapest route; a one-way ticket cost about $45.  Also, one can ride the ferry overnight which is incredibly convenient.  Not only does this take care of lodging for two evenings (arriving and departing), you also get to kill time on the 9 hour ride with sleep.

Here is what it looks like riding economy class on the ferry to Tomakomai:

Notice the brilliant absence of chairs.  Sleeping on the floor wasn't the most comfortable night of sleep we've ever had, but it certainly wasn't the worst.  We were both thankful to have room to stretch.

Day 1:  Otaru

We left Hachinohe at 10:00 PM, arrived in Tomakonai at 7:00, took a taxi to the train station, and arrived in Sapporo at around 9:00 AM.  Our friends met us at the station and invited us into their lovely and spacious apartment.  As fellow residents of Portland they had stocked up on Stumptown Coffee before leaving for Japan and poured a few cups for us.  For a few minutes it felt as though we were back in Oregon.

We then met up with a few other ALTs and caught a train to Otaru, a quaint city (compared to Sapporo, Japan's 5th largest) famous for glass blowing, Western European architecture, make-your-own music boxes, and sushi.

What an afternoon!  After we had our fill of glass, music boxes, chocolate, black sugar ice cream (maple flavored, other flavors included lavender, sunflower seeds, and cheesecake), owl statues, canals, and ivy-covered buildings, we hopped a train back to Sapporo and enjoyed some warm, spicy soup curry for dinner.

Day 2:  Sapporo

After getting a little extra sleep on Saturday night, we all decided it would be a good idea to head to an onsen at the foothills of the mountains on the outskirts of the city.  If at any time you find yourself running on fumes while traveling in Japan, go to an onsen.  You will be revitalized.  For those of you who don't know, an onsen is basically a place where you get to sit around in various styles of hot tubs.  You can find onsens at naturally occurring hot springs as well.  The onsen we attended had 6 variations of hot tubs, a steam/mist room, a sauna, and a pool of cold water.  We were there for about 2 and a half hours and paid roughly $8 total for the services.

Feeling refreshed and energized, our gracious hosts took us to a bookstore (as they put it, the Powell's of Sapporo), where we found a bountiful selection of books in English.  After some debating we narrowed our choices down to a novel, a collection of short stories, and an informational book on Japan and grabbed some dinner at the station before taking another train back to Tomakomai.

As we settled in for another 9 hour ferry ride, we reflected on our trip.  We concluded it was a refreshing excursion both because of the excitement of life in the city and the conversations with our fellow Portland JETs (the abundance of Portland ALTs is no coincidence, Sapporo and Portland are sister cities).  It was wonderful to reconnect with folks from home.

On Monday morning, as we arrived back to Aomori-ken, we carried our momentum further and traveled to Towada and Shimoda in search of a Go board and some stones.  We were successful!

Highlights: the world's tallest buildings, best night views, and largest Ferris wheels, plus the 2008 G-8 Summit location and a former Winter Olympics site... in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Over the next four weeks, I'll be taking you on my journey through these thrilling places. Come back each week to visit a new place.

Japan

My first trip to Japan was six years ago, when I was still single. My mom and I toured cities including Tokyo, Nara, Osaka, and Kobe. Our return to Japan this summer, with my husband, took us to several cities on the northern island of Hokkaido -- a slower pace and more relaxing environment than the bustling, high-tech city of Tokyo and the feverish shopping arcades of Osaka.

Perfection

In two words, Hokkaido is clean and green. The grass is green and lined with lovely gardens full of lavender. And you can go miles before seeing even one piece of litter. The impressive part is that there aren't trashcans everywhere, so people truly exercise self-discipline as they look for a place to dispose of their garbage properly. The Japanese strive for perfection. As an American, you can see it in their electronics and cars sold in the U.S. And if you ever have a chance to travel to the "Land of the Rising Sun," you will see it in almost everything they do. The customer service is the best you'll find anywhere... and I've been around the globe. When you walk into a restaurant, the host/hostess and waitstaff all chime in like a choir, one after another, to greet you with polite words and smiles and bow repeatedly. Store employees welcome you with free green tea in tiny teacups. And when you leave, they send you off with just as many thank-you's and good-bye's. Every morning, as our tour bus left each hotel we stayed at, several staff members waited outside for us to board the bus; then they waved to us until we could no longer see them. Persistence and hard work.

We spent two days in Sapporo, home to the 1972 Winter Olympics... and Food Garden in the underground Pole Plaza shopping mall. If you're like me and enjoy delicately-wrapped sweets and beautiful pastries designed with the utmost attention to detail, then Food Garden is your "heaven." I felt like I had died and gone to paradise... and I didn't want to get out. I once again fell in love with the food in Japan -- as well as the fake, but very real-looking, versions almost always on display in a glass window near the entrance to every restaurant: the food is perfect not only in appearance, but in taste and quality too. The food and lifestyle are so healthy, they counter the Japanese's excessive smoking, to give them the world's longest lifespan. They understand the concept that it's not only what's on the inside that matters... the outside matters too. That's certainly evident in the pretty, petite women dressed

like Stepford Wives -- made up like dolls and decked from head to toe in tailored dress-suits and cute hats. Japanese women are the epitome of femininity. You'd almost want to pinch our Asahi Beer factory tour guide.

G-8 Summit
We took a pleasure boat ride on Lake Toya, just a couple days before the world's most powerful country leaders descended on its shores for the 2008 G-8 Summit. We stayed at the official hotel for American staffers and military personnel: Noboribetsu Grand. Speaking of languages colliding, I played translator for my husband throughout East Asia -- going between English and Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese... but I could help with only several words in Japanese.

MUST-SEE

1. Hakodate. Atop Mt. Hakodate, you'll see the world's third-best night view, as ranked by multiple sources. If you've been to Hong Kong, this night view pales in comparison, but is still worth taking the cable car (Ropeway) up to see the uniquely shaped land mass all lit up at night.
2. Shinsaibashi. We didn't go this time, but in 2002 my mom and I spent hours shopping in this outdoor arcade in Osaka, which is home to an ultra-cool Sony store. It was where I discovered Starbucks' green tea frappuccino before they came to the U.S.
3. Hot springs. Most of the hotels where we stayed had public baths with hot-spring water -- where nudity was required. Don't waste your time: You won't find any naked pictures of me. In the rooms, yukatas (Japanese pajamas) and tatamis (low-to-the-floor Japanese beds) awaited us. At one of our hotels, we even enjoyed our own private hot-spring tub on the balcony.

4. Green tea ice cream. If you want to travel Japan like I did, you must eat green tea ice cream every time you see it -- at ice cream shops and vending machines. I ate the creamy goodness several times a day, although green tea ice cream is more prevalent in the central part of the country, where more tea is grown. In Hokkaido, you'll find more melon-flavored ice creams.
5. Two canteloupes for $65. Yes, that's two canteloupes for US$65 -- the average selling price. So make sure you get a free sample piece from an outdoor market. It's not worth paying that much for it, but the melon is mighty juicy.
6. Giant Ferris wheels. Tokyo, home to Tokyo Disneyland, boasts the world's second- and third-largest Ferris wheels.

Next week, come back to travel with me to the next leg of my East Asia trip... we'll visit the tallest building in the world in Taiwan. And in the following weeks, we still have Hong Kong and Macau left to visit. Find out why Macau has surpassed Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world and why Hong Kong continues to capture my heart year after year. Thanks for reading!

Ha ocurrido un terremoto al norte de Japón el día de hoy 11 de septiembre del 2008 a las 9:20 am hora del epicentro.

La magnitud fue de 6.9° en la escala richter, ubicandose en la regíón de Hokkaido, o a 125 km al SSO de Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, 225 km al SSE de Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, 225 km al ESE of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan y a 775 km al NNE of TOKYO, Japan.

Hasta el momento se registraron 4 réplicas, no se reportan daños materiales, solo nerviosismo entra la población y la alerta ante un tsunami de muy baja intensidad que se presentó en el área del sismo.

Mantendremos informando.

MetMEX
Sismológico
Jorge A. Garza Cossío.

VIDEO DEL SISMO

Sun 14 Sept 14:00 Nikko IceBucks at Seibu Prince Rabbits @ Higashifushimi, Tokyo

And a series of games up in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

80th Hokkaido Ice Hockey Championships (A class) @ Tsukisamu Arena, Sapporo

Sat 13 Sept 12:00 Nippon Paper Cranes v Toyota Jidosha Hokkaido Centuries

Sat 13 Sept 15:00 Kushiro Koseisha IHC v Oji Eagles

Sun 14 Sept 12:00 Bronze medal game

Sun 14 Sept 15:00 Gold medal game

Tickets: 1300 in advance, 1500 at door

33rd Annual Mainichi Cup Oji Eagles v Nippon Paper Cranes @ Tsukisamu Arena, Sapporo

Mon 15 Sept (holiday) 14:00 Oji Eagles v Nippon Paper Cranes

Tickets: 1300 in advance, 1500 at door

We've been busy busy packing up and moving. Before we left Sapporo, however, I had one final task. C had asked me in July to take pictures of the streetcars. Typically, I did it on the day before we left. I kept waiting to get a time of day with good sun with no shadows; not perfect, but, I did stand on a corner for 15 minutes to get a few different colored cars. So, here you go, C!