It's been a while, and a busy while. The weekend after returning from travels, a few of us journeyed to an abandoned amusement park for some "urban exploration." We also wound up visiting an onsen and making some pottery. The next week was yet another trip, this time about twenty employees banded together to go skiing in Nagano. I didn't take any pictures at either of these places - it was too much fun to see and looking at it from behind a camera isn't quite the same. You know how people can sometimes get - they take loads of pictures but don't bother to soak up the scenery with their naked eye. On the other hand, counting on others to take pictures for you has an empty feeling to it. Looking through them, I often feel like there's something missing... like you're reviewing frames from a documentary instead of a home video.

The abandoned amusement park trip was.. amusing. We took the train to Takasaki and a bus ride to the base of a shrine with a thousand steps leading uphill to it. The walk became progressively beautiful as the entire region was slowly revealed behind us. At the top of the climb, one could see out to all the mountain ranges holding back the sprawl. There also happened to be a gargantuan Kannon statue unexpectedly poking out from the trees on the hillside. To our surprise, there was a bus stop, restrooms, and plenty of restaurants in the area before it. We had expected the park to be without a trace of people nearby, but the busy road leading to this parking area proved us wrong.

Ducking under some rope and into the courtyard, the sight was beautiful. The tall grass fighting through the concrete, some funny graffiti, various out-of-place pieces of garbage.. we headed for the dilapidated buildings before us. They consisted of a mess hall, kitchen, traditional-style restaurant, and what seemed to be a gift shop. What made walking through these dusty ruins both interesting and creepy at the same time was the state they'd been left in. The people closing down the place never thought it important to remove the furniture or tableware. Some others had trashed the place a little, so there were obstacles like broken glass around, but in general it felt like a very safe place to wander around. I had expected a hobo commune to be squatting it, so it being vacant was a relief.

The rest of the park was sadly barren. My assumption is that the rides could be dismantled and sold as scrap metal, but it wasn't worth paying to demolish the wooden structures we had rummaged through. There were concrete supports with metal in them still, but everything else had been hauled away it seemed. On one end was a suspension bridge crossing a few lanes of concrete in what seemed to be a go-kart track. It was built well, but still covered with rust and eager plantlife. An odd sculpture of a hand remained with flaking gold paint, and there was another stone carving of two children and woodland creatures with the taint of moss. Also left to rest in peace were the various toilets, though curiously all the sinks had been smashed. I'm not sure if that's standard plumber procedure or the work of vandals, but if it was the latter, they never broke a single mirror - superstition, maybe?

At the far end was a water park complete with lazy river and wave pool. The most elaborate graffiti was done in this area, since there were tall walls still intact; not much litter from it all, either. We did get a little muddy from trekking around, but it was easy enough to pick out with the help of the silverware back at the restaurant. I also grabbed a few beer mugs as omiyage. For our first foray into urban exploration, I think it turned out well. The trick is to have some company so that if things don't turn out as you planned, it's not a complete disappointment. Also, if you break a leg, you won't die alone, hungry and cold.

That will be all for now, I'm hungry.

What do you put in your mouth?

Firstly, you'll have to forgive me for not posting any of the 800+ pictures I've taken from my travels ever since returning home, nor publishing any reflections. Lately I have been investing a lot of my free time in a "self-actualization" phase. This involves doing a lot of reading, thinking, and trying to decide how to spend my time while in Japan and what I want to do afterward. While I am a dreamer, it's rare for me to fully embrace this process - so I'm trying to milk it for all that I can.

I won't use this as an excuse to ignore updating the blog at all, I just wanted to fill you in. I won't detail my personal musings further, since it is beyond the scope of it anyhow. Have a mini-update as consolation:

The best part about the New Year in Japan is not only the time off, but when you get back to work, every employee offers omiyage (generally any type of souvenir, but in this case, snacks) from their respective hometowns. I've sampled many delicate flavors, from shrimp-cakes to rich chocolate - and not only from Japan, but Europe and the United States as well.

This reminds me of another oddity of observation: the holy trinity of flavor in Japan. I about wept with joy at seeing (in my local deli, no less!) some of the most surprising additions to otherwise "normal" foods combined into one edible treat. In case you never heard, Japan has an affinity for certain extras on food - unscrupulously added to just about anything. Some examples that stand out to me the most are corn (flavored snacks, or as a pizza topping) and mayonnaise (topping for salads, fried foods, in rice balls). Advertised in the deli was a tuna-flavored bread roll with corn and mayo toppings. .......wow.

No, I didn't try it.

電車アホ子

Today I write from Himeji, quite far away from where I awoke this morning. I was able to finally visit Ganryujima and complete the last of my pre-planned sightseeing. The serenity the island deserves was unsurprisingly compromised by the modern Japan surroundings - many tall cranes and warehouses lined the cement coasts of Kyushu and Honshu. There was enough greenery on the island itself, and I found it good to take pictures from low angles to capture the life-size statues of Musashi and Kojiro with only the blue sky as their backdrop. There was a wooden boat left on the rocky shore with a length of timber like the one that Musashi fashioned into a weapon prior to the duel.

The remainder of the day was spent traveling via local train along the southern coast and reading. The normal fare would have been at least 7,000 yen but using my "Youthful 18" ticket, it comes to about 2,000 per day. Of course, it takes much longer to get around, but you can do fun things like stop at Himeji and visit the castle in the morning before continuing onward. The other thing I enjoy more and more is people-watching on the train. You never really talk to them due to social convention, but it makes the environment all the safer for my hobby.

Speaking of safe, today was the first time I saw anything dramatic occur on a train. I have on occasion witnessed some "non-Japanese" (being violent, loud, cying, etc. in public) but of course completely human behavior - which can usually be attributed to Japan's relationship with alcohol. The first time I was surprised by an outburst was walking in front of the station late one weekend, when a guy who was drunk and upset about something kicked a plastic safety blockade and it shattered, loudly scattering pieces into the street. If he'd kicked anything else, I doubt it would have drawn the attention it did from everyone nearby.

Today's event was something much more frightening. On the train headed from Hiroshima, there were two young guys sitting together across the aisle from me. Another guy was squatting over the floor in front of the door to my left (in spite of available seating) and quiet for most of the trip. They all looked around 20 years old, but if you aren't covered in wrinkles, everyone in Japan does too. I was reading a book (about body language, funny enough) when the squatter gets up and walks straight over to the nearest of the two seated guys in front of me. He's leaning way into the other's personal space, looking down at him and starts speaking. You don't have to know a language intimately to tell that someone's pissed off, I only wish I could have understood it well enough to say what was on his nerve.

Suddenly, the standing guy reaches his arm back and punches hard into the wall just above the guy's head. To give him credit, the seated guy didn't flinch too much, nor did he strike back in response. The rest of the train car drops to dead silence, and a surge of adrenaline makes me lower the book from my eyes. A few very long seconds pass. The guy yells again, pulls his foot back and kicks into the bottom of the seat just between the guy's legs, making another horrible crashing sound. After receiving no response, he turns and goes back to the squat, mumbling on about them. The pair got off at the next station and the agressor at the next.

The various passengers were still in a state of shock even after everyone involved had stepped off. Nobody addressed the incident while it was happening, but I was surprised that it was so hushed afterward. It makes me wonder had a fight broken out, if they would have done anything beyond staring like deer in headlights. Most Japanese come equipped with cell-phones right out of the womb, but could they really call for the police? Maybe getting a hold of the sole conductor would have been a better bet, but he was at the other end of the train (and busy operating it)! Due to this, my guess is things could have turned ugly - especially since the victim's friend was there and he probably would have jumped in. After thinking over the various ways it could have played out, I'm thankful the guy kept his cool and was humble enough not to escalate anything. I might have tried to break them up if they began to fight, but of course I didn't want to receive a blow like that wall did; I'm also sure the cops wouldn't be too keen on seeing a foreigner involved in any kind of violence with natives...

Most interestingly, nobody seemed under the influence of alcohol. (I wonder where that guy will be in a few years?) The whole event left me unable to return to my reading, so I instead tried to think of how I could have helped to defuse the situation peacefully. Reminds me of Densha Otoko - you should read a bit about if you've never heard of it before. Perhaps anyone who knows the story will be more willing to intervene should such a situation arise before them.