Blogs from Chiba, Japan, Asia - page 14

For my Japanese Society class we went to Yasukuni Shrine, Meiji Shrine and Harajuku yesterday. The reason we went is because we've been studying Japanese religion and how it plays a role in the lives of Japanese people. Yasukuni and Meiji are two really different shrines. As some people know, Yasukuni is a point of contention here in Japan due to the politics surrounding it. It was founded in 1868, roughly, as a shrine to honor the soldiers who fell during the Meiji Restoration. It now serves as a place of internment for the souls of other soldiers as well, from World Wars I and II. Among the approximately 2.5 million souls there are 14 Class A war criminals, including General Tojo. The shrine also has a museum that is operated by the shrine and not ... read more

In ancient Rome, the emperor used to open the gladiator matches or the Christian martyrdoms by saying, “Let the Games Begin”. Easy for him to say—Rome conquered the world without having to deal with the Council for Labor Affairs. Honestly, the bureaucracy has to be experienced to be believed. Caesar quit when he was ahead, and didn’t even try to knock over China. The red tape has to be experienced to be believed! The historical enemies of Rome presented little difficulty by comparison, even though I seem to remember from high school Latin class that the barbarians had a lot of Gaul. So. “Let the Games Begin”. It’s a good thing to stop in Japan on the way here. It keeps the longest leg of the flight to only ten hours or so, and a leg-stretch ... read more

I had my first class at Meikai yesterday, and that class is TINY. Over half the people in it dropped because they don't want to go out to Shin-urayasu. But we get reimbursed so I would rather take the classes I like. So, my real, graded Japanese class is fun. The teacher, Yahagi-sensei, is really cheerful. I think that woman must down about a pot of expresso before school every day. But she's patient and is allowing us to ask her questions in English if we don't understand. The structure of the class is a little odd, so I'll explain. It's "Jissen Nihongo" which means practical Japanese. Instead of learning in a linear fashion, we study 5 topics while I'm here, each about two weeks. Our first topic is "making friends." In that topic, we learn ... read more

As promised, the pictures I have taken are now on my computer and so are posted here. Essentially it's a tour from the train station to the house I am at, and if you look at it backwards, you have my route to the station from the house. So please enjoy it. Or not, whatever floats your boat. On the downside of today, my host mother asked me to not use my towel more than once. I think this is slightly odd. I am not allowed to use my bath towel more than once at a time, even if I hang it up to dry. This bothers me for 2 reasons - number one, I don't feel comfortable using her things. But since she doesn't feel comfortable with my using the same towel, and it's her ... read more

Today I go to get my Alien Registration card. Other than that I've only had classes. I'm planning to post pictures from the ceremony tomorrow. But the real reason for this short post is that the Princess had her baby by C-section today! This is a big deal because the Crown Prince only has daughters and the other Prince has a daughter too. The law in Japan is that the throne must go to the next male heir, so currently, there has been a lot of concern over the line of succession. But if the Princess's baby is male, there will be much partying in Japan.... read more