Toilet Technology

Before I begin describing our days here in the Land of the Rising Sun (which by the way came out of hiding yesterday) I must share with you our unique and positively pleasant experiences with the porcelain God. To start, traditional-style Japanese baths work like our toilets except there is no lid and the rim of the toilet where you 'go' is actually on the ground. You must hover over this piece of efficient plumbing and then to 'flush' you watch the water rush like a roaring river over any material you left behind. Now this sounds crude but in reality it is quick, neat, and saves water. Here comes the fun part! Most hotels and restaurants provide Western-style toilets along with some tourist sights (although these places have both Japanese and Western models and place pictures on the front door to denote which one you will be using). All toilets have a special panel on the side that gives you various options - bidet, light spray, strong force, light force, length of the deluge in your derriere, warming of the seat (some do this automatically so when you sit you are just a bit more comfortable), and the personal favorite - sound effects. We are not sure if they are there for your enjoyment to pass the time OR (more likely) to be discreet and gracious to others with regards to their sounds or yours during this sensitive and private moment. These melodies include (but are not limited to) actual toilets flushing, birds happily chirping, electronic music, flutes, etc. I somehow get the feeling this will not be the end of our savvy lavatory discoveries.

Now we turn to our travels. Monday brought us much laughter as we ventured tot eh Anime Dubbing Program in the Shibuya neighborhood. Then night before Miko (our guide for the entirety of our stay on this island) handed each student a script. It consisted of fiver roles: the main character as a teenaged girl who shares her dreams with her mother over breakfast, then meets her friends at the movies, and fate brings a young man to the seat next to her. The whole video ran approximately 4 minutes. Five students at a time stood in front of microphones with a TV in front screen running the the cartoon to watch the character's mouths as they read their lines. Everyone spun their own twist on interpretation of their character's voice, intonation, tone, pitch, and accent (at one point there was a Brit in the room). We all agreed the best voice actors in our delegation were MOrgan from Utah, Stefano De La Cuesta (mind you as a young girl) and Tyler Manisco (portraying a mother with a deep, husky voice). Afterwards we sojourned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, nicknamed the Tocho. This is like the House of Representatives, Senate, and most government employee offices all in one. The main building, a looming skyscraper, reaches 246 meters and the third floor building out into a circle. On the other side of the circle is the assembly hall where all the 'representatives' and president meet 4 times a year. Afterwards we went to the main building's observation deck on the 45th floor to see an all-around view or expansive Tokyo city. This reminded me of visiting the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. A short bus ride later we stopped at the Asakusa Kannon Buddhist Temple. This is the most visited sight for foreigners in all of Tokyo. The entrance gate is what many people see in textbooks, travel books, and brochures to Japan. We then had an hour of free time in the Nakamise Shopping Street with many local vendors in their less than capacious stores :) Our dinner left us in high spirits. We headed over to the famous Shinjuku neighborhood, a haven for young people to meet: movies, restaurants, and bowling alleys line the streets to keep them entertained. We made our dinner Shabu Shabu style - skimming extremely thin slices of beef and cut vegetables in a pot of boiling broth. Due to the cloudy and rainy weather this day we all agreed to sing 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow' before bed to entice the sun to come out.

Our wish came true! On Tuesday with the sun on our faces we trekked Mount Fugi. It is the highest mountain in all fo Japan, towering 3,700 meters over Tokyo. As we said goodbye to city life we turned our gaze to this snow-capped mountain and drove all morning to greet its path. Let me just say this a steep hike, one of the more inclined ones I have pursued. But with our engaging guide Tomo (who spoke impeccable English) he paced us well and brought us safely to 2100 meters (we started at 1700). Most of the time we waded through clouds but when we reached the 'top' of our hike the haze dissipated for 5 gracious minutes, leaving us with a serene and awe-inspiring view. After a typical and tasty Japanese lunch of ramen noodle soup, vegetables and rice we took cable cars up Mount Komagasake in Hakone National Park. There were many hot water springs to view and waft (oh yes, the sweet smell of sulfur). The main attraction at the top was a shack selling black-shelled boiled eggs. The sulfur water makes the egg shell turn deep black. It was a great refueling protein snack after a two hour workout! We then resided in our very traditional Japanese guest house.

Our bus leaves in 5 minutes for our tea leaf plantation. I promise to return (at an unknown) with more descriptions of the guest house because it was truly a unique experience.

---

---