Japan: Ganbate!: Weeks one and two: Learning Curves

This blog will definitely be a challenge to keep up if the rest of my semester is anything like my first two crazy weeks in Japan.

Week one: after the initial weekend (and my first blog post), we had almost nonstop school-related events and things to accomplish. This included residency cards for immigration, opening bank accounts (such a tedious, anal process), trying to figure out a phone situation (accomplished two weeks later), registering for classes, and tons of orientation talks, covering everything from health and safety to adjusting to life in Japan. I've made some good friends in the first week, and I'm excited for the semester ahead of us.

Kyu-gushu (garlic beef skewers) and yaki-onigiri (fried rice ball)

My first week was filled with exploring Hirakata and trying to get a solid grounding of the place I'll call home for the next four months. Osaka is known for having a massive gathering of food cultures, from Italian and Indian to classic Osaka staples such as takoyaki (fried pancake squid balls), okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes with whatever meat you chose) and yakiniku (grilled meat skewers). The first thing I'll say is that the Japanese truly love their mayonnaise. Seriously. You can get mayo on your chicken, pork, fish, or even just on your rice. Surprisingly, it isn't as disgusting as it may sound, because their mayo is a little different from America's, a little less tangy and thick, more creamy and...plain, perhaps? Whatever. Everything tastes different here--the milk is sweeter (maybe less pasteurization, smaller containers, quicker expiration dates?), the eggs kind of have a more cheesy taste, and the juice...well, tastes like the fruit it has a picture of. McDonald's (yes, I've eaten it here...frequently...don't judge me) burgers and nuggets taste like meat, and the fries have less salt. Everything has less salt, actually (and that's coming from someone who doesn't have a very salt-heavy diet).

Kanpai!

As you walk down the streets of Japan, they are dotted with red lanterns, like guiding lights on the horizon. These are the infamous lights of Japan's izakaya's (bars). Most of them are intimate spaces, to say the least, seating six to ten people max. Most of Japan's bars are open until 3am, and have fairly reasonably (if not watered down) priced drinks. We've managed to find a few places, and I've bought several legal drinks now (woohoo 20!), although no one, and I mean no one has been ID'd anywhere we've gone. They are much more lax on their alcohol laws than they are on their cigarette laws apparently--there are designated smoking areas, but drinking alcohol in public is legal (it is weird walking down the street past people standing around drinking). Also, on the topic of beverages, free refills aren't a thing here in Japan. Of course, like America, alcoholic beverages and some fancy drinks aren't refillable, but soda? Nope, soda has to be repurchased, even at fast food places like McDonald's. Can you believe that? SODA! I've added to my rather short list of things that irritate me here.

Conveyer belt sushi! ...I ordered fries.

We've tried (well, I have tried some, or let others try for me and let me know how bad/good it is) a lot of food since we've been here. We've gone to the conveyer belt sushi, skewer restaurants, takoyaki stands, buffets, and festivals. Food is crazy expensive though...actually, nix that, everything is expensive here. If it were American sized and cost what it did, it'd be normal, but it isn't--they are tiny, costly portions. A carton of milk (NOT a gallon) is $1.80, an 8-slice pack of cheese (any kind) is, at the cheapest I've been able to find, $1.75. The list goes on and on. Packs of sandwich ham, 4-slices, $2.50. Box of cereal (store brand, not "value size"), $3.80. I know, I know, you have to "live like a local" to be able to live cheaply in a foreign country because the local diet is the cheapest, but even the frozen rice items are still expensive. Just so you guys know I'm not exaggerating, this is the Cost of Living comparison between Osaka and Orlando: Consumer prices in Orlando are 27.54% lower than Osaka overall, groceries prices in Orlando are 13.2% lower than Osaka, and local purchasing power in Orlando is 4.21% higher than in Osaka.

Looks like chemicals, tastes like heaven.
Melon soda!

Truly, this is what kills you about Japan. Just the sheer cost of everything. Taking the bus from my dorm (or from my school for that matter) to the main train station costs $2.80, per way, which quickly adds up...
...hence why we've been walking everywhere we possibly can to avoid the little fees that add up. It is a mile and a half walk from my off-campus housing (which, on a side note, is really nice--clean, comfortable, modern--SO much nicer than any Florida college dorms, I'll say that) to my school, Kansai Gaidai. From there, it's another mile and a half to Hirakata Station, the main station you have to leave from if you want to go places. As an out-of-shape Floridian who never has to deal with walking places, or even going up hills, much less mountains, this walk can be rough in this muggy/rainy/hot/chilly weather. Typhoon season has been screwing with the usual temperatures apparently, because after its been pouring in the afternoon, it often gets chilly in the late afternoons and evenings, dropping down to the low 70s. I might die on these walks when it gets cold, we'll have to see how I manage to hold up...

On the densha (train) on the way to Kyoto

Before I forget to mention it, the train stations, buses, and even the subways are clean, not smelly, and you aren't afraid of getting mugged the second you step on to them. It's so completely different, and it makes public transportation actually not that intimidating of a concept. A lot of the train and subway stations have English on the boards, which makes traveling (with a map) not that difficult. They're all so quiet, even when my Japanese friend says a group of people are being loud (loud "Osaka people"), they have nothing on how loud a typical American subway is on a Friday night. I had to whisper on the first train we took to Osaka because you could have heard a pin drop. If these are the loud Osaka people, I can't imagine how silent the Tokyoites are.

Kyoto's famous Yasaka shrine

Statue outside of a restaurant in Kyoto

Walking around Osaka!

There's so much shopping to do everywhere you go. On the first official weekend (August 31st), a few friends and I went to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. We saw one shrine before it started raining and we headed off to one of Kyoto's famous shopping areas for shelter. They have these massive covered shopping strips, just one line of shops that goes beyond where the eye can see, from baby clothes to restaurants and cafes to 100 yen stores and more. Randomly as you walk along, you'll stumble by shrines, some generating lines of people waiting for them (depending on what it's meant for). This weekend I'm going back to Kyoto to see more of the shrines and temples and do the more scenic route, so I'll have more on that later.

So much porn stuff...

On an odd note, man there's a lot of porn here. It's hard not being able to read the majority of their signs as you walk around stores, because before you know it, you've stumbled into yet another porn section. These really are everywhere. Manga/book stores, movie stores, conbini's, you name it, it seems like everywhere has one sex-related area. Men stand around at these spots shamelessly looking at the vibrators/dildos/pornographic material, and it is weird having to walk past them, nonchalant.

Pachinko in downtown Osaka

Pachinko's are casinos that aren't really casinos here in Japan, rumored to be typically run by the yakuza, Japan's largest and most notorious gang. Gambling is illegal here, but this is a loophole in that rule (something various companies have been trying to work around in the US). Users trade money in for tokens, play with them, and then when they win they receive coins back. From what I've been able to make out, you take this to a side area (outside the pachinko) for money directly or for a prize, which you then take to a pawn shop to sell. Anyway, Osaka is littered with pachinko's, and when they're open they're bumping with people. Just an odd little side quandary.

Also, for one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, free WiFi in Japan is all but impossible to come across. This sucks (another on my list of things that have annoyed me), because coming from somewhere where you can have whatever amount of devices on the WiFi around places to a complete inability to use any of your devices at all? Rough. I recommend figuring out a phone or WiFi situation ahead of time if possible unless you plan on living like a caveman for the duration of your stay in Japan. Just this week I signed a contract for a mobile hotspot device called WiMaxx through AU. For unlimited data and unlimited devices, it includes a $100 contract break fee (one year contracts ONLY in Japan for anything more than an expensive "daily" plan for short-term visitors), a $30 down payment for the 1st month+the device, and it's roughly $38 a month, but there was a special deal going on where they threw in a free tablet worth about what the contract break fee is (an Android tablet which looks a lot like my Nexus 7).

Friends in Osaka :)

Fruit on a stick! Local festival.

(September 7th) A big group of friends and I went into the heart of Osaka. It was a whirlwind of delicious food (okonomiyaki), shopping, and crazy sights. The signage is crazy, there's so much food, so many lights, so many people, and so much to do. We went to the Pokemon Center in Osaka Station, which is like a city in and of itself--it's ENORMOUS, truly. Then we headed out for the outdoor shopping areas of Namba, Shinsaibashi, and Dotonbori (three massive shopping strips which back up to each other). I'm excited to go back and see more of what Osaka has to offer.

Now for the school related stuff (gez, this will be brief)...after the opening ceremony Monday, September 2nd, we officially began classes. I'm registered for four classes at 14 credit hours--the Dynamics of Modern Japan, Pacific Rivalry, Japan and Globalization, and Japanese 2G. My professors seem nice, and my classes seem to have a lot of really cool field trips, which I'm pumped for. There are 378 students studying at Kansai Gaidai this semester representing 34 countries and regions, from the US to Latvia to Kenya, and I'm excited to be able to meet not just other Japanese students but also the students from around the world, and even the other students from across the nation.

I'll leave it at that for now, and leave y'all with a bunch of pictures instead of my blabbing. Until next time!

Okonomiyaki: batter grilled on a hot plate with diced cabbage, whatever meat/seafood you choose (we got one with pork, one with shrimp, and one with both), eggs, and whatever else. The one in the middle was a cheese/pasta one, and I think two of them had other pasta in it. Then it's topped with a special sauce and mayonnaise. Pretty tasty.