Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Soshoku Danshi

A trendy term that I keep seeing in the papers and on TV these days is sosoku danshi (?????, which basically translates as "Grass-Eating [Herbivorous] Men". Coined by a few years ago by a newspaper columnist, and now in the title of a new book,  this term is used to define a new generation of men in their 20's and early 30's - men who are gentle, effeminate, uncompetitive and not interested in marriage.

However, I recently read in a fashion magazine that the new style for women has been dubbed "'Karakuchi na Onna" (?????which means dry or spicy woman. It is a style which, as far as clothing goes, is more assertive overall. Perhaps the karakuchi onna will balance the grass-eating males!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Studying Japanese

Although we've both been here for so many years, we have tended to plateau in the area of Japanese study. We work mostly in English, and speak English to each other (of course!), and so, once we'd achieved the ability to accomplish basic tasks, our nihongo skills seemed to simply stop developing.

In order to rectify the situation, we are both writing the Nihongo Shiken this year, even though we may be aspiring too high for our own ability at the outset, it will be worth it for the motivation to study a bit more.

One of my favorite ways to study, or at least to practice what I know, is to go out to local izakaya alone. Go out by yourself, get a beer, and someone will strike up a conversation with you.

Of course, for the test, we've been trying to study in a bit more of a structured fashion, and I've found a lot of useful tools to help get the job done. Outside of all the textbooks we own, some of my favorite study tools include:

Grammar and Dictionaries

Reading

  • I try to practice reading with the Hiragana Times, to which I have a digital subscription http://www.hiraganatimes.com/ - it is a good way to keep up with trends in Japan and to get graded reading practice.


Listening

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Playing Catch Up

Have you ever noticed that when you come back from vacation, you feel like you need a vacation?

Seriously, while my jet lag going to North America was, as always, worse than on my return to Japan, I was still desperately pleased that I built in three extra days off after my return, since Monday through Wednesday were all national holidays, and I had taken a personal day for Thursday as well.

When landed on Monday afternoon and got home on Monday night after a very long flight, and lots of waiting at the train stations, I was even more thankful that I could sleep in a little on  before going for a training run with Brian. We then got on our motorcycles for a short ride to a nearby onsen.

Brian had changed my saddle while I was away; it looks way cooler (pics to come in a later post), and puts me lower so that now I can almost get both feet flat on the ground. However, it changes the ergonomics of the handle bars, so the short ride was a good way to get reacquainted with the bike and get used to the new set up. And of course, that our destination was an onsen didn't hurt, either - I had been looking forward to just such a deep, hot bath.

Then on Wednesday, we and a motor-biking friend went out for the day on the bikes, up to Yamanashi around Motosuko, a beautiful lake. We also rode past (and stopped to hike a little) in the Aokigahara Jukai, a.k.a. the Suicide Forest. This is a dense forest of trees which is well known for the number of suicides committed there. Every year in the spring, law officials and volunteers organize a search of the forest, and invariably find bodies of recent (and not so recent) suicides.

That morbidity aside, the forest is actually in a very beautiful location, and does have lovely (and well-marked) hiking trails leading to the Ice Caves and to the lakes in the area. Brian and I even consider it one of our favourite places for Single-Speeding on our mountain bikes (bicycles).

Finally, yesterday, Brian had to return to the office, but I selfishly hid away for one more day, and I think it was a productive day at that. I took all the recycling to the recycle station since I'd missed the bi-monthly pickup; washed my car; did some groceries; did some banking; replaced the ink in the printer; and read nearly half of my new Inspector Frost novel. Not a bad day's work, all in all!

Today I was back to work, with plenty of work stuff to catch up on.

Thank God it's Friday - haha :-)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A short ride through Komakado...

This ride is short and occurred before the longer one below... Here I am headed toward Mt. Fuji, and it is visible in several of the turns... Again, this video is very tame as engine speed really messes up the video quality above 1/4 throttle or 5000rpm. In actuality, though, my eyeballs resonate wildly above that range, too, so the video might be accurate!



Monday, September 21, 2009

Sunday Ride

Things have been really busy around here, so I was happy to have a quiet day to just ride. My original plan was to get out very early, but the Takkyubin delivery guy had missed me already once, so I called and let him know I would be home Sunday morning. While I waited for the package, I refined an earlier project of building a mount to attach a digicam to my handlebars. I went with a 'zero-budget' concept, as I have a lot of material to work with in my junk closet, and I couldn't leave the house to go shopping anyway.

My previous attempt produced video that was was unwatchable (mount too flimsy / camera too heavy) and audio that was all wind noise. This time I had to improve the mounting, as I had to use my heavier camera with its stronger metal tripod mount. Although I had damped the wind noise by taping a cotton puff over the camera's mic, gusts were just to loud and awful to listen to. This time I switched around some hardware, and used a Sanyo digital audio recorder for the sound component (in my rear pocket, out of the wind).

My package arrived after 9am, and I was ready to ride and get some footage! I quickly realized that spirited riding (near or above 5000 rpm) still resulted in violent camera shake, and smooth roads are much better, too. I chose the longest smoothest clip to work with , and added the sound and the music when I got home. I'm not really satisfied, and the processing eroded the video quality a lot, maybe because there were too many programs involved. At least I know what is possible now, and might try again, weather permitting.

This ride was on the way home from the spirited ride, unfortunately with Mt. Fuji behind me. It goes through the susuki fields on our side of the mountain, and through some of the jieitai training ground. In the distance you can see the Ashitaka mountain range.  Because of the long weekend, and afternoon hour, there are a lot of cars on the road, limiting speed but preserving video smoothness!

Best watched full screen but away from your monitor a little bit:

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Marguerite Bourgeoys

I still haven't really gotten out specifically to take photos, but my mother and I have certainly been taking walks around our neighborhood, where I grew up. Yesterday we stopping at the old Marguerite Bourgeoys house and park to take a few photos.

Marguerite Bourgeoys was a Catholic nun back in the 17th century, and she ran the farm and set up a school house for girls in Montreal. She was canonized in 1982, and the house is still a convent while a small part of the farm remains as the Marguerite Bourgeoys park.











Note: I do not have photo editing tools here - so please pardon clutter and crooked photos for now:-)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Montreal

I've been in Montreal for four nights and four days now, and the time is just flying by in a flurry of eating, drinking, shopping and sleeping. Or not sleeping, as the case may be, since the jet lag leaves me awake at the strangeset times.

Though I'm technically on vacation, I've been busy trying to catch up with old friends and a multitude of family as well, and I'm still trying to run at least a little.

This morning I got out for a short 7km run from here to the Old Port (Vieux Port) and Old Montreal (Vieux Montreal). It's a different experience running on mostly flat surfaces and in a different environment altogether. At 6:20 this morning, I was certainly not the only runner on the road, and I've been noticing a lot of cyclists and cycle-commuters, too. It's easy to forget that Montreal is a very active, fairly-healthy city because I tend to visit in December, when everyone pretty much hibernates for the season.

For this run I carried my small, point-and-shoot Canon camera and got a couple of snapshots of where I ran this morning.





I may have overpacked for this trip, and even brought all my big camera gear, so I'm going to make sure I get out for a decent shoot some time before I leave on Sunday. Although I didn't rent a car for this trip, I'm rediscovering the joys of public transportation, and will be happy to get my D90 to various, photo-worthy places.

As for the jet lag, I'm sure it will be well out of my system in time for my Sunday morning return flight!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Surprise visitor...

During the summer and autumn I expect to encounter a few of Japan's biting / stinging / annoying creatures in the woods, especially when biking or hiking. The most insidious so far for me has been the buyou, or black fly, whose itchy aftermath is comparable to poison ivy. As bad might be the mukade, or red-headed centipede, followed by mosquitoes and spiders which are mild in comparison. Most fatalities from wildlife in Japan, however, is from the sting of the susumebachi, or sparrow hornet. (There is a larger, even more frightening, version, the daisusumebachi, but it is kind of rare.)

None of these particularly worries me in the woods, but an encounter in the home might be different. Yesterday I was cleaning up and heard a very obvious 'scratching on paper' noise in the bedroom... not many bedroom visitors van make much noise, so I guessed it was a roach (nasty but harmless). I let my ear guide me to the window, and then looked up to see a huge, and angry, suzemebachi just over my head. I've never been stung by more than a yellow jacket, but people don't need an allergy to die from this sting, so I backed up quick. Without time to switch lenses, I caught this snap and then left post haste:




This one was big, as long as my little finger, but he let himself out after opening a few windows for him. Whew!

I didn't have a camera ready earlier this summer, when I found the bigger cousin (daisuzumebachi) in the woods... it was as big as a cigar, and sounded like a helicopter. It was the first one of those I'd seen, but it wasn't so frightening, as it was outside.

More soon!

Monday, September 14, 2009

VRX Tuning

When first considering a motorcycle, I knew that I had to stay under 400cc, and I hoped to choose something that would require / induce a minimum of tweaking... After just three months, I have changed almost every non-drivetrain part of this bike, sometimes even twice!

Last week, I installed a 2 into 1 head pipe, and a 'Captain' type muffler... the pipe is chrome while the muffler is black, and I bought it on the auction months ago. I swapped it to reach my dream of satisfactory saddlebag capacity for light touring, and was delighted at the incredible weight savings, too. Last weekend's trip to Izu was certainly quieter than the previous 2 into 2 configuration, and there was a noticeable increase in low-end torque. Between 5 and 8 thousand rpm, though, it hit a brick wall, making noise but not power.

Yesterday I went out on a limb and bought a 'brand new' captain-type muffler, but this one is not JMCA approved, and it has removable silencers inside. It is shiny chrome, and one can see through it from end to end. After installing, I also replaced the grips and mounted a (final!) rear turn signal mounting bracket. It grew dark before I could test anything, so a shake down had to wait until this morning...

Last night's thunder storms and downpours left my seat soaked, but otherwise the bike was ready to ride (after my own dawn 8 km training run!). Immediate conclusion: WOW! The sound is great, with the idle being lowered from 1200 to 1000. The individual firings are really apparent (it sings 'potato-potato-potato' at idle), but it fired up with only a little choke.  On the road, the low-end was still great or better, and, after warming up, the 5000rpm+ range pulled hard, too! The sound pressure volume is bearable, but definitely above legal. It can be ridden quietly, but the sound is very distinctive even when crawling...

I will definitely keep this configuration... The pipe is low allowing large and symmetrical saddlebags; the sound is very noticeable and therefore safer; torque is improved immensely adding to the fun but tractable power experience, and it is at least 40 pound lighter than previously. I might adjust the carbs to be a little richer, but there was very little afterfire as it is now.

After my (4 hour!) test ride, I re-mounted my rear blinkers to the license plate stay, and removed the fender rail covers. I will start looking for matching saddlebags soon, hopefully with a zip-off feature like Tracy's Degners.

Here is how it looked before noon today:

[gallery]

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Briefly...

I know we haven't been blogging much, and we'll try to blog more often!

For now, here's what we've been up to:
  • Lots of motorcycle riding every weekend

  • Training for a 27km race which will happen on November 29th

  • and, for me,
  • Getting ready for a short visit to Montreal.

  • Unfortunately, Brian and I couldn't find a time when we could both be away from work, so I'm going to be going alone, which is too bad, as I'm sure he'd love Montreal when it is not 20 below zero.

    Anyway, I'm flying out of Narita today, and will spend a week just hanging out friends and family! I'll blog from there, and Brian will blog from here!

    Thursday, September 10, 2009

    Another Weekend at Shirahama

    Last weekend was so good (well, actually, last last weekend!), that we decided to take the bikes back to Shirahama in Shimoda (Izu) again this past weekend.

    The weather, though windy due to another approaching typhoon, was hot and sunny - perfect for riding and hanging out at the beach.





    [

    Everything was soo good that we extended our trip by a day, giving us more time in the sun and the sand.

    During our return, instead of coming straight back to Susono, we took a bit of a tour of the tip of Izu, exploring some out-of-the-way beaches, caves and hiking trails.







    Though we loved the Izumi (mentioned in our last post), we opted to try a different place but in the same densely-minshuku-populated area. This time we stayed at Choushi-so (http://www.izu-shirahama.jp/yado/choushisou.htm, tel: ????????????) and were again impressed by kind service, excellent meals, and having an entire small house to ourselves. And the bath was great, too! Add to all this that our bikes performed flawlessly (though mine still doesn't like higher altitudes!), and a perfect weekend was had by all.

    Saturday, September 05, 2009

    Buggy

    Earlier this week, typhoon number 11 whooshed through Shizuoka, leaving clear skies, humid weather - and an influx of insects for the first time this summer.

    We are accustomed to having lots of interesting insects from June until September (at least), so this rash was overdue, and brought a handsome visitor to our back balcony on Tuesday morning as I was hanging up the laundry...





    Wednesday, September 02, 2009

    A Weekend at Shirahama

    We covered two widely different aspects of Japan this weekend. On Friday evening, we jetted off to Tokyo to catch a specially-sponsored Jazz concert performed by Anat Cohen. We (I) thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and picked up the recent CD which I had autographed before leaving to catch the last bullet train home. We got in at about midnight on Friday night, and got to bed sometime after 1 a.m. (Yes, these days, that's quite late for me!).

    Though we typically opt to spend the night when we go to Tokyo, we had already made other plans to head to Shimoda and the white sandy beach of Shirahama on Saturday, hence the late trip home.

    On Saturday morning we woke up early(-ish), packed up our saddlebags and got on the road for a scenic ride to Shimoda in Izu. My bike, which had been in the shop and which I got back on Friday afternoon, was in much better shape. My mechanic had done a lot work on it, and it seems that the main problem was that the ignition coil had burnt out. So the bike ran great for the trip to Izu, though it did stall when idling at higher altitudes...a problem for a different day! In any event, the ride to Izu was delightful, with sunny skies and warm weather.







    The goal was not the destination as much as the journey, so we wended our way comfortably on skyline roads and the coastline. Nevertheless, we were happy to arrive at the beach at about 12:30 p.m., in time to soak up a couple of hours of sun and surf before checking into our minshuku.

    This time, Brian found a cute little minshuku about a 10 minute walk from Shirahama. The Izumi, a cute, traditional home, uphill from the beach, is run by a very friendly family. Sitting in a very quiet neighborhood and rather a ways uphill from the beach, the Izumi also has a great view of the ocean in daylight and the stars on a clear night. We were lucky to enjoy both views, as well as an excellent dinner and breakfast served at the minshuku.





    View from our Minshuku


    The website for the Izumi is here

    http://www.izu.co.jp/~izumi/

    We were exhausted from the 'late night-early morning', and fell asleep fairly soon after dinner. We woke up to enjoy some middle-of-the-night stars in a perfectly clear sky, before dozing again before breakfast.

    We then packed up, said our farewells to the minshuku family, and headed for the beach once again.

    And that was when we realized that a typhoon was coming our way! The waves at the beach were too big and strong to allow swimming, and the sand was blowing a bit too hard for comfortable beach-drinking, but we still enjoyed a couple of hours in the sun before getting back on the road home.

    And that was when we realized we were going to be riding in typhoon winds and rain just about all the way home!

    Because we started out on the peninsula where the typhoon was headed, and because we then took the multiple sky-line roads up along the mountain ridges, we stayed wet and freezing cold for most of the ride (note to self: buy raingear!). We finally got warmed up when we descended out of the fog on route 1, about twenty kilometres from home! And we did really get warmed up until a long, hot bath was had!

    Still, it was a great weekend and some great riding.