Dead Frank

Interesting Buddhist Fact Number 31: You are allowed to take pictures in most shrines, so long as you do not take pictures of the statue of buddha.

The distinction can be difficult to communicate, so the more popular temples ban photography entirely once you are inside the shrine.

This rule does not apply to the giant buddhist statue, known in Japanese as a daibutsu (大仏), located in Kamakura.  This is one of the three daibutsu in Japan and might be the only one you can get inside.  On a personal note, climing inside a buddha statue is every bit as awe inspiring as you might imagine.  Pictures do not quite capture the majesty of such a thing.

After talking this over with a friend, we decided that the previous post regarding racism is a misnomer. It’s simply health paranoia combined with mild xenophobia/discrimination. Racism implies a kind of antagonism and hatred that doesn’t exist. Neither of us personally know of any hate crimes committed here.

Forever 21 in Harajuku

Yesterday I wandered through Harajuku yesterday and stumbled upon a sight that seemed very foreign to me.  The shock wasn’t people in costume hanging out at the entrance to the park.  It wasn’t the sea of people going down tight side streets to browse through boutique shops.  It was the people lined up to get into a store.  Not just any store, Forever 21.

Yes, that’s right.  Hordes of young japanese girls were lined up to shop at one of America’s most famous stores catering to bright bargain clothing that will guarantee to last you at least two washings before falling apart at the seems.

The level of excitement was astounding.  It’s interesting to see people queue up for something besides something from Apple.

Update - My friend, Chiaki, is fascinated by this post.  She says that queues like this really aren’t a big deal from a Japanese perspective.  A mob like this doesn’t necessarily indicate that the entirity of Japan will now be swathed in bargin fashion.  The novelty is what draws the crowd, and in Tokyo there always seems to be something new to grab people’s attention.

I got properly lost in Shibuya yesterday. Dinner with the couchsurfing group was nothing short of fantastic. Taxis are a terrible way to travel around Tokyo.

And now I need to go eat some Shabu Shabu with an old friend.

… so that’s what it feels like to be on the receiving end of racism.

Here’s the story.   I’m sitting on a railing in front of a music shop, taking a quick rest after walking all around the imperial gardens.  The sidewalks are bustling with the lunchtime crowd.  As this one girl approaches me, she puts her hand over her nose and mouth.  She walks past.  Her hand falls back to her side once she’s a few paces away.  Why did she do that?  Because, you know, I’m white.  I might have the swine flu.

Oink, oink.

One thing I’ve already learned about Japan is a confirmation that their transportation system is the very definition of world-class.  Trains are frequent, quiet, and punctual.  Although many people from around the country applaud the BART system, they could stand to learn a lot of lessons from Japan.

The airport train station has a high number of police officers on patrol.  That didn’t surprise me.  What did seem unusual was that the police officer saluted the train engineer when the express line pulled into Narita station.  That little bit of formality put an odd smile on my face.

Coming out of the first tunnel also brought an unexpected surprise.  The first patch of green that I saw was a rice paddy.  It appears that even close to Tokyo, any good flat piece of land not dedicated to housing is used to grow rice.

I managed to pare down my belongings into the requisite “two hand bags” limit that I imposed on myself for my trip to Japan.  I have enough clothes for a week, so the trick is to find somewhere in Hokkaido to do some laundry.  Maybe I can find some helpful monkeys around the hot springs to help out with the chore.

I’m currently writing from the lovely Vancouver International Airport.  I’m listening to announcements in all kinds of languages.  Japanese, English, and Chinese are the most common.  I’ve heard a couple in Thai and Spanish as well.  This modern terminal is equiped with crazy native statues, creative lighting installations, theater seating around the TV podiums, and a big cartoon play area for the kids.

The coolest thing about the Vancouver airport is all the amenities they offer.  Free wifi (good for launching new blogs).  Free luggage carts (good for people who would rather push their luggage).  And security guard patrols with guys who seem to be both trained and alert (good for keeping the travelers safe).

Well, time to grab another flight and cross an ocean.   See you next time, friends.