A Pain in the ...Mouth

I seem to have terribly bad luck or at least bad timing when it comes to getting sick. Well, I'm not sick actually. But, the Friday evening that was the beginning of my summer holiday I noticed a small pain in my mouth, near the cheek. By Saturday morning it had developed into a very painful abscess. As I was busy in Tokyo and on my way to the airport, I just figured that I could ignore it.

Unfortunately, though I can mostly ignore the pain, eating has not been very enjoyable since chewing is nearly impossible. So I decided to have it seen to, but of course today was Sunday, when dentists just aren't open. In Japan, even hospitals are not open at all hours, and you have to go to different hospitals depending on what is wrong with you. Hospitals do rotate "emergency hours", so as long as you know which hospital is open on which day you'll be fine. After much online research and several phone calls, I found a clinic near here that was open at 8:00 on Sunday. I just turned up, and was told that I had to see a dentist, to which I pleaded that there were no dentists open on Sundays. I could have technically waited until tomorrow, but, selfishly, I'd much rather be relaxing on the beach tomorrow. So, the doctor saw me and prescribed tons of medication. I am now taking four pills and two topical medications three times daily for three days. I hope it works.

The Eagle Has Landed...

So, my 15 (not 14) year old nephew landed yesterday at about 3:05 pm. I was there in the Arrivals lounge waiting for him, of course. Here he is finally done with customs etc...




And here we are riding the escalator in Tokyo station as we transferred from the Narita express to the Shinkansen (bullet train):


As we rode the two trains home, Shane commented about how many fields there were and how big the houses were. This changed of course as we got closer to Tokyo. Then as we pulled away from Tokyo and edged ever further into the 'burbs, Shane commented that, "gee, you really do live far!". Indeed it is a long trek from Narita to here, but when we finally got home (two express trains and one taxi later), we both still had energy enough to check out the Susono Awa-Odori, a local annual festival.

Festivals are great for the food, which last night included yaki-soba (fried soba noodles), tako-yaki (octopus in fried batter), and kara-age (deep-fried chicken). As we watched some guys making kara-age our mouths watered and we had to buy some.







A big congratulations goes to all the folks who participated in the festivities - they seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, and gave Shane a pretty good introduction to our usually small and sleepy town:

Obon Holiday Plans: A Nephew Visits

The last few weeks for Brian and I have been something of a whirlwind. Time moves too quickly for us these days, and it is the one thing we just don't seem to have enough of. Suddenly, and happily, our one week summer vacation is upon us. Obon is a vacation period traditionally used for visiting your family home and cemetary. For us, of course, it's a vacation and this year I've taken an extra week off, as we'll be hosting my 14 year old nephew here for that time.

I've been looking forward to his visit for a couple of months, and have planned a fairly busy itinerary. However, I fear it may be an "adult" itinerary as it involves fugu restaurants and temple visits and doesn't involve the "Kill Bill" restaurant or Tokyo Disney Land. Still I'm hoping that Shane will get a kick out of all the local things we like to do - eating at a local yakitori shop, chilling out on the beach, and of course, we plan to climb Mt. Fuji.

I'm meeting him at Narita airport this afternoon, so I'm afraid the next bunch of posts will really be about his visit and how he perceives Japan.

Restaurants in Gotanda (blogging from Tokyo)

Tokyo is truly a megalopolis. When you "go to Tokyo", you generally choose an area of Tokyo where you plan to spend the bulk of your time. For visitors to the big multi-city city, this generally means Shinjuku, Shibuya, or perhaps Akihabara. Occasionally I get called away from little Susono on business that puts me in the "unfashionable" area of Shinagawa and Gotanda. These last two days were just such an event, and so now I sit blogging from my hotel lobby.

Personally, I like Gotanda; it is a cute little district with plenty of good restaurants and places to stay. What it doesn't have is too many people and no young people. This suits me very well as both nights after work I was able to walk into a restaurant and get a seat. I actually did not have to wait in line, and I did not have to keep moving from place to place only to be told that there was "no room at the inn". I did not have to settle for a 7-Eleven burrito!

Both nights I stayed in Gotanda and dined not far from my hotel (The Route Inn Gotanda). I love this hotel - the twin rooms are spacious, there is a huge public bath on the roof, and it's very cheap for Tokyo. And it has two free-access pcs in the lobby).

Night one I went with a friend for a burger at Kua Aina, a burger and sandwich shop. They have several locations, but I personally love the Gotanda one. Because, of course, it is close to the hotel I stay at when on business here, but it also just has really good burgers. Kua Aina is located between Gotanda station and Yamanote Dori, on the right, just across from the AM-PM. Click here for a map (http://www.kua-aina.com/map/gotanda.html)

And tonight, I went by myself to Rak Thai, a small Thai restaurant not too far from the burger place. I'd noticed this restaurant a few years ago but hadn't eaten there. So tonight I gave it a try, and it was good. The Tom Yam soup was a bit more lemony than lemongrassy, but still, the service was good and so was the atmosphere. Run by Thai expats, you can't really go wrong as this is the unfashionable Gotanda, isn't it? Here is their map (Japanese) (http://www.rakthai.jp/7/index.html).

Susono Deer

Though things are keeping us busy, we are still trying to get our 29ers into the mountains before work at least a few times a week. Yesterday we got out pretty early, maybe just before six, and did a short morning ride, just about 7km up into the mountains around here. The mountains are quiet and desolate, and as we were about to begin our decent, we started two big deer who immediately began springing down the road and into the woods. It was a beautiful sight - just the cicadas chirping and the whir of our knobbies on the trail.

Though I occasionally (and only briefly) miss life in a big city, mostly I enjoy the smaller-town atmosphere and I especially enjoy spotting the wild life. Around Susono we've seen wild boar (inoshishi), monkeys (saru), fox (kitsune) and deer (shika). Oh, we also get to see plenty of snakes usually, including a couple of the poisonous variety.

Now of course, I want to get back into the hills even earlier, in the hopes of scaring up a few more creatures.

Early Morning Ride

While we are both early risers by nature, for the last few weeks we’ve been going to bed early(ish) but sleeping in later than usual. I’d wake up at 5, think that I ought to get up, and then promptly fall back to sleep for another hour or so. Even when I did get up, I found that I was so tired all I could think about was going back to bed. This was very unusual, but I figured it was just a sign that I was, well, tired. However, I now realize that it was un-naturally induced fatigue and I think I’ve found the culprit.

We have an air conditioning unit that we only use a few days each year. Though the days are hot and the nights are somewhat stifling, we had embraced the heat. We were sleeping in a front-facing room with the windows open, and that had seemed great. Until, one night, we slept in the back room with the air conditioning on. I woke up early the next morning, feeling energetic and ready for a bike ride. Ditto for day two. And day three.

Not only is the air comfortably cool, but because the windows are closed, it’s also much more quiet. Though we may not have realized it at the time, I think our sleep was being regularly disturbed before.

Whatever the case, this morning I was up at 4:30, and biking into the hills by 5:30. The ground was wet and there was a light mist in the air. The only person I saw was a jogger who I frequently see on my morning rides. We pleasantly exchanged an "ohayougozaimasu" and pursued our separate paths. Life is good.

Harmless Suzumebachi

The suzumebachi is Japanese for the Asian giant hornet, and we see a fair number of them around here at this time of year.

The name in Japanese translates as "Sparrow Bee", because of the size of these things. Now, I'm not a real fraidy cat or anything, but these are some bees that I'd rather not have an encounter with. At least, not a live encounter!

While strolling on our own private, pristine beach (see last post), we came across one unfortunate suzumebachi who had expired. Check out the size of his stinger (click on the photo for a larger image):




For more information about this particularly dangerous hornet, check out the Wikipedia article here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet.

Quiet Beaches in Shizuoka

You've probably heard about how overpopulated Japan is, and, as an oxymoron in a way, you've hear how Japanese are not having enough babies to support the ageing.

Ok, they're both true. The same as everywhere, the big cities are truly overcrowded. Even smaller cities, like Susono, feel overcrowded to me, a native city-dweller. So the casual visitor to Japan just assumes that privacy cannot be had, and, oh, woe, to the introvert (i.e. me). Yet, with patience, and the desire to simply look beyond the surface, one can gain so much more out of Japan.

This weekend we went to Shizunamai beach, a fairly populous beach in Shizuoka prefecture, situated somewhere between Hamamatsu and Shizuoka interchange on the Tomei Expressway. Shizunami is a very populated beach, full of families, as well as young 'merchandise' who are there to see and be seen (men and women both of course!). Though not as posh as the Izu beaches, it's still a pretty cool beach to be at. Oh yeah, and there are a few Love Hotels around the area (look for hotels that have bright neon signs and advertise prices for 'rest' or 'stay'). Love Hotels are a great option, especially if you don't have a reservation, and you're checking in pretty late (after 10 pm). They have big rooms, cheap prices...anyway, more about that in a later post...

Now, we enjoyed Shizunami's "cultivated" beach, but then we moved on. Early in the morning on day 2, we decided to 'rough it' - sit on the beach without the benefit of a changing room, toilet, or vending machines. We also ended up enjoying a beach without the (dubious) benefit of beach houses and a million people surrounding us. Ok, not a million really, but pretty close.

Anyway - we went to a whole new beach today. One that isn't on the map. So I'm putting it on the map for you. From Tokyo, toward Nagoya, drive past Shizunami. maybe 4 or 5 kilometers. There is not an obvious turnoff to the beach at all. All the roads that lead to the beach look like tiny little drive-ways. There're not. But your best best, after passing Shizunami, is to turn into the parking lot of the Daily Yamazaki convenience store, and go through the other side. Turn right, and park in the weeds near the cement thing that leads to the beach. Or, if you have a 4WD, drive up and over the cement ramp right onto the beach.

Oh, an Yes, you need a car. If you are in Japan any longer than one year and not living in Tokyo, please, invest the time and money and get a car. You will be a much happier person.

Here is a map to the beach - you can click on the map and drag it around, as well as zoom in and out:


詳しい地図で見る

The Sound of Summer

Rainy season is over and it finally feels like summer here now. The days are hot and muggy, while the nights are, well, hot and muggy. The rice is growing high in the fields and the sound of semi (cicadas) fills the air. I love that sound since the wild chirping brings to mind all the best things about summer: hot, sweaty bike rides and cold beer.

Health and Diet

Well, my desire to lose a few kilos prior to the arrival of my new frame isn't going very well. If you recall, my plan was to quit drinking. Period. This lasted for more than two weeks, which was great, but effected zero change in my weight. It was also impossible to maintain this abstemiousness because, frankly, I live in the Land of Drink. Drinking here is an important - even vital - social lubricant. So, giving it up completely isn't an option, I've decided to avoid beer altogether, as well as the canned super-sweet cocktails called Chu-Hi, and stick to plain old wine. At least that has polyphenols and only 506 calories to a 750ml bottle of white wine and 638 to a bottle of red (according to a reliable source!).

Of course, Brian and I are fairly (though not overly) active. We ride our single speeds several times a week (always uphill, with very little down involved or so it seems), and are fortunate enough to be able to ride either before or after work when we so choose. But we have become less adventurous recently and rarely (never?) night ride anymore. I think the new frame will invigorate me at least and I'll insist that we charge up our super-awesome night lights (Cateye Double-Shots) and head up to the Fireroad one of these fine summer evenings. Of course, we'll have to bring a victory beer (or small bottle of wine, in my case), to enjoy at the top of the mountain!