tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39798233930587224532024-03-16T14:09:27.881+13:00The Only Blonde in OsakaThe Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-56573649162511187862014-11-09T06:56:00.003+13:002014-11-09T06:56:39.787+13:00Halloween in Hong KongIt all began with a Sailor Moon costume. I spotted it at stall at the<a href="http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/highlight-attractions/top-10/ladies-market.jsp" target="_blank"> Ladies' Market</a> in Mong Kok, amid a sea of g-strings and fishnet tights.<br />
<br />
I knew I had to have it. And so did the saleswoman.<br />
<br />
"Two hundred eighty dollar.* Include glove and headband. Good price."<br />
<br />
I remembered everything I had read about markets in Hong Kong and how they always overcharge tourists so you must firmly haggle them down to around half the price.<br />
<br />
"Erm... that's a bit much, how about $180?"<br />
<br />
The saleswoman began taking the costume out of the bag, modelling the gloves so I could appreciate the full effect.<br />
<br />
"No no, too cheap, very beautiful costume, so nice. Ok, two hundred forty dollar. That is final."<br />
<br />
I hesitated. The saleswoman, still donning the gloves, attempted something akin to a Sailor Moon pose. Or could possibly have been giving me the fingers.<br />
<br />
You can't really say no to that.<br />
<br />
Anyway, soon enough it was Halloween and I found myself with an excuse to get some wear out of my new purchase. The place to spend Halloween in Hong Kong is Lan Kwai Fong, a notorious expat party area, and apparently a bit of a novel attraction for mainland Chinese tourists, who seem to enjoy taking photos of all the red-faced, drunken foreigners. Handily, the area is located just a few blocks from my apartment.<br />
<br />
Despite containing more than a hundred bars, eateries and shops, Lan Kwai Fong is actually tiny - it's basically a lane, surrounded by a maze of narrow, steep, cobbled streets. When you combine that with thousands of intoxicated revellers, it could well be a recipe for disaster. Twenty years ago, it was - on New Year's Eve in Lan Kwai Fong in 1993, 21 people were crushed to death in a stampede.<br />
<br />
Ever since, police have been extra-cautious with crowd control during all major events in the area. Halloween is considered one of the biggest party nights of the year, so police erect barricades all the way from the MTR station to Lan Kwai Fong, controlling how many people go in and out. <br />
<br />
My street was enclosed in the "barricade zone" (honestly, between this and Occupy Central I have never seen so many barricades), so what would usually be a three minute walk from my apartment to Lan Kwai Fong ended up taking half an hour, as I was diverted all the way down to the station and then back up and around, rather than being able to cut through the side streets and alleyways.<br />
<br />
Even with all the blockades, I don't think I have ever seen or will ever see again in my life as many people in one place. You talk about a "sea" of people but to me that implies something calm; how I would describe it is like, a kid colouring a picture with a fat crayon in their fist, trying very hard to stay inside the lines but always scribbling outside them. It was an absolute scribble of people.<br />
<br />
It was chaotic. But it was also incredibly fun. There were street vendors selling silly hats and glow-in-the-dark devil horns, and photographers snapping pictures of some of the more impressive costumes. There were even families having a look around, the children dressed up and carrying trick-or-treat buckets. It was a very safe, festive atmosphere.<br />
<br />
I spent most of the night in a pub with a group of cool people I had just met through New Zealand networking drinks. Then, to my delight, about 20 Sailor Moon characters walked through the door - half girls, half boys dressed in fabulous drag. They adopted me into their Sailor Moon posse and we quickly bonded over our costume-buying experiences (they had hit up the Ladies' Market too).<br />
<br />
But the night was over almost as soon as it began. The very next day, as if by magic, all the Halloween decorations had disappeared... and been replaced with Christmas ones. <br /><br />
*$280 is Hong Kong dollars, don't worry. That equals about NZ$46. I ended up paying $40 (so my "haggling" saved me a grand total of $6).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-555nMy4W3P0/VF5V7eJKN1I/AAAAAAAACek/u3j5_e_yFkg/s1600/IMG_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-555nMy4W3P0/VF5V7eJKN1I/AAAAAAAACek/u3j5_e_yFkg/s1600/IMG_0468.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lan Kwai Fong, Halloween 2014</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9CPWOU-PC4/VF5V0wU182I/AAAAAAAACdw/Ep84QbyN73U/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9CPWOU-PC4/VF5V0wU182I/AAAAAAAACdw/Ep84QbyN73U/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Pottinger Street, with barricades</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DW254SE5BcM/VF5XAxfBRXI/AAAAAAAACf4/0dm3dvErxFs/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DW254SE5BcM/VF5XAxfBRXI/AAAAAAAACf4/0dm3dvErxFs/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People heading into Lan Kwai Fong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t-4IKHLfOIg/VF5Vzk0V2GI/AAAAAAAACdk/9MKZeDZKovI/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t-4IKHLfOIg/VF5Vzk0V2GI/AAAAAAAACdk/9MKZeDZKovI/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People buying last-minute costumes at Pottinger Street, a stone step street with lots of costume shops</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dH6IzFEPxxY/VF5V5Pq_WhI/AAAAAAAACeM/BDtNdzd1Rrg/s1600/IMG_0465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dH6IzFEPxxY/VF5V5Pq_WhI/AAAAAAAACeM/BDtNdzd1Rrg/s1600/IMG_0465.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my new friends, Sailor Moon (I want her wig) and Sailor Venus</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-38937767049898894582014-10-29T22:34:00.000+13:002014-10-30T02:16:23.382+13:00Solo Dining Hong KongLast night I found myself marching up my street, brandishing a bag of McDonald's like armour against the neon lights, the pushy restaurant touts, and the naked corpses of barbecued ducks and chickens swinging in windows.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until I was home unwrapping my hamburger and nuggets that I realised how sad it was to be eating McDonald's in my room when I am in one of the world's great foodie paradises.<br />
<br />
But the thing is, it's actually quite stressful finding places to eat all the time. I love reading Hong Kong food blogs - but then there's the problem of too many choices. On the other hand, if you decide to wing it, you can never be sure exactly what you're getting yourself into. Like, the restaurant next door, it turns out, is famous for snake soup.<br />
<br />
Another problem is I feel like a bit of an idiot eating alone all the time, even though at most budget eateries in Hong Kong you usually end up sharing tables with randoms anyway. I have grown to enjoy this table sharing culture, as I am nosy and like seeing what other people order. But there have also been occasions when wait staff have seemingly gone out of their way to ensure I had a table to myself, perhaps fearing some sort of disastrous gweilo (foreigner) chopstick incident. Just the other night I was ushered towards a single table disconcertingly close to the male toilets, very much regretting having ordered curry.<br />
<br />
Despite the indecision, the self consciousness and the occasional (ok, frequent) McDonald's lapses, I have also had some very good dining experiences and been able to try lots of Hong Kong classics - wonton noodle soup, barbecue pork, milk tea (so much milk tea). <br />
<br />
I have fallen in love with one particular Hong Kong style café, or cha chaan teng, called Lan Fong Yuen, which is steps away from my apartment and apparently quite famous, having been around since the 1950s. I had read about its legendary "socks" milk tea (named because it is poured through a strainer like a pair of stockings to make it extra silky), no-nonsense food and authentic atmosphere, and set out to find it. At first, I walked right past - it is quite literally a hole in the wall. But that adds to the magic of it. You slip behind a little stall and suddenly find yourself in this bustling old-fashioned café, surrounded by boxes of instant noodles and jars of Ovaltine. It's rather how I imagine Harry Potter felt when he discovered the Leaky Cauldron for the first time.<br />
<br />
I can confirm the milk tea is indeed delicious - all cool and smooth and caramelly. I have also tried condensed milk toast, pork chop bun, and chicken chop instant noodles. It makes for a cheap breakfast; around NZ $5 for a tea and something yummy off the menu.<br />
<br />
I was also very lucky to meet up with some lovely Kiwis from the Asia New Zealand Young Leaders Network who took me to Tim Ho Wan, which serves dim sum and is infamous for being one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. Once I realized where we were going I became so excited that I entered a kind of pre-emptive food coma, eyes glazed over, tongue hanging out, etc. We ordered almost everything on the menu and it was all so good - but the highlight was definitely the char siu bao (pork buns), which were baked and crispy on top and the perfect mix of savoury-sweet inside. I am actually considering going back by myself and just ordering endless plates of buns. <br />
<br />
But first, I must tackle the snake soup.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HvHQ1nXwEAc/VE5PcesWCeI/AAAAAAAACas/TQPBuLybwE0/s1600/IMG_0791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HvHQ1nXwEAc/VE5PcesWCeI/AAAAAAAACas/TQPBuLybwE0/s1600/IMG_0791.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lan Fong Yuen - the entrance is that little opening on the left</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lo3BQuUJ1yw/VE5PhgkP_MI/AAAAAAAACb4/_hgaF1kPZNU/s1600/IMG_0898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lo3BQuUJ1yw/VE5PhgkP_MI/AAAAAAAACb4/_hgaF1kPZNU/s1600/IMG_0898.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the tasty treats</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o0nNOLNeN6Y/VE5PbRN1jZI/AAAAAAAACaY/7fpAoFzSndY/s1600/IMG_0787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o0nNOLNeN6Y/VE5PbRN1jZI/AAAAAAAACaY/7fpAoFzSndY/s1600/IMG_0787.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Condensed milk toast and milk tea </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vq-dPO4GTl4/VE5PdEd5rQI/AAAAAAAACa4/MiXrLPa8Lks/s1600/IMG_0860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vq-dPO4GTl4/VE5PdEd5rQI/AAAAAAAACa4/MiXrLPa8Lks/s1600/IMG_0860.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pork chop bun </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9TmuyX_cE7g/VE5PiLd2P7I/AAAAAAAACb8/vq4Mwo7Ui9E/s1600/IMG_0899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9TmuyX_cE7g/VE5PiLd2P7I/AAAAAAAACb8/vq4Mwo7Ui9E/s1600/IMG_0899.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken chop instant noodles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UjfoOemZrfU/VE5QZaUa1NI/AAAAAAAACcM/uRXcjGoxcmo/s1600/IMG_0883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UjfoOemZrfU/VE5QZaUa1NI/AAAAAAAACcM/uRXcjGoxcmo/s1600/IMG_0883.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angela and I at Tim Ho Wan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IvZQs8ocZQg/VE5PeyocyzI/AAAAAAAACbY/lZ400WbbM34/s1600/IMG_0879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IvZQs8ocZQg/VE5PeyocyzI/AAAAAAAACbY/lZ400WbbM34/s1600/IMG_0879.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Char siu bao - best pork buns in the world</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vPCCZYjvBzY/VE5Pgctc0lI/AAAAAAAACbo/qg5db0PR0WY/s1600/IMG_0885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vPCCZYjvBzY/VE5Pgctc0lI/AAAAAAAACbo/qg5db0PR0WY/s1600/IMG_0885.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ordered almost everything on the menu</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6LAUSBEVof0/VE5PZRJHQDI/AAAAAAAACZ0/sMqxmVuiASo/s1600/IMG_0667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6LAUSBEVof0/VE5PZRJHQDI/AAAAAAAACZ0/sMqxmVuiASo/s1600/IMG_0667.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonton noodle soup - from a place called Mak's Noodles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YhE8wVluqm8/VE5PZsdEsLI/AAAAAAAACaE/Wu1VjFKi2d8/s1600/IMG_0669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YhE8wVluqm8/VE5PZsdEsLI/AAAAAAAACaE/Wu1VjFKi2d8/s1600/IMG_0669.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosebud-like wonton... so good.</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-31188995572747756142014-10-20T05:18:00.001+13:002014-10-30T02:15:59.005+13:00The Peak is the pitsOne of the must-see attractions in Hong Kong is The Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong Island. Basically you scoot up the mountain in a tram and admire the view of the city below - which travel writers have waxed absolutely lyrical about (this, for example, from <a href="http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1850110_1850124_1850126,00.html" target="_blank">Time</a>: "you'll see one of the finest harbors on Earth and a skyline so
improbable, audacious and lofty that Manhattan's looks provincial by
comparison"). <br />
<br />
On Friday after work I decided I would congratulate myself on surviving a second week in Hong Kong by spending a lovely evening up at The Peak. I pictured myself sitting in a sophisticated bar on the mountain top, cutting a lone silhouette against the skyline. I would sip red wine (I don't actually like red wine) and write meaningful vignettes into my journal, pausing every so often to gaze broodingly out the window. <br />
<br />
The first moment this fantasy was destroyed was arriving at the tram terminus and realising that about 300 mainland tourists had the exact same idea as me (well, maybe not the tortured writer part). It took about half an hour waiting in line to get tickets for the tram. Then another 30 minutes as the tram went back and forth, ferrying tourists crammed like tinned sardines up and down the mountain.<br />
<br />
When my turn came, unfortunately I was one of the sardines who didn't get a seat, and had to stand in the aisle. So I gripped on for dear life as the rickety old tram charged up the mountain, at one point, apparently, at a gradient of 27 degrees. The man in front of me was for reasons unknown doing a leisurely set of squats as we travelled. I caught a glimpse of this in the window reflection and, to my horror, with the angle we were at, I realised it looked as though I was the unwitting participant in a standing sexual act. Two girls sitting next to me clearly noticed this, too, and burst into giggles. I glared at them.<br />
<br />
After making it up the mountain (having left dignity at the bottom), we emerged at what is known as the Peak Tower, a godawful conglomerate of overpriced souvenir shops (I love Hong Kong tshirts), international fashion brands (Crocs), restaurants (Bubba Gump Shrimp) and, worst of all, Madame Tussauds wax museum. There was also a counter selling tickets for the Sky Terrace 428, a viewing platform purporting to offer a 360 degree view (the 428 refers to the fact it is 428 metres above sea level).<br />
<br />
Everyone else seemed to be coughing up the HK $40 (about NZ $7) for this Sky Terrace, so even though I thought it seemed a bit shit to have to pay for the view, I did too. I joined the throng snaking its way up the escalators to the top of the tower.<br />
<br />
It was hell on earth up there. Every possible inch of balcony space was taken up by a crowd about four-deep. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/selfie-stick-2014-7" target="_blank">Selfie sticks</a> were criss-crossed against the skyline, camera flashes went off at random, bouncing off the smog. I felt like I was at war. Blinded, dazed and disoriented, I backed away, promptly tripping up on someone's tripod. I turned in the other direction, and narrowly avoided a selfie stick to the face. I watched as tourists descended into selfie-taking monsters, pulling victory signs and duck faces and bunny ears. Amid the Cantonese and Mandarin, I suddenly heard a more familiar language - Japanese. "Jidori shiyo ka?" Let's do a... jidori... what does jidori mean... self... take... oh. There is now a Japanese word for selfie.<br />
<br />
Finally a glittering opening appeared through the masses. I jumped in, pulled out my camera and aimed it at the scene below. Snap. I lowered my camera and considered the view. Yep. Quite nice.<br />
<br />
Job done, I hoofed it out of there. I needed to find a bar - I no longer cared about writing meaningful vignettes into my journal, but I did care very much about a drink. Once I managed to escape from the Tower, I found myself at a ritzy shopping mall, the Peak Galleria. I looked wildly for the dining directory. There was just one very expensive looking bar and restaurant. I decided to go to a juice bar instead and settle for the cheap but unsatisfying option of lychee flavoured bubble tea.<br />
<br />
Then it was time to get off the damn mountain, but that was also easier said than done. In the time it had taken for me to unsuccessfully search for a bar and slurp my bubble tea, all the other tourists had taken their billion selfies, dined at Bubba Gump Shrimp and marked the occasion with a brand new pair of Crocs. A massive line had formed for the return tram. I waited another 30 minutes. I crammed in like a sardine. And when I finally got out, I marched away from that mountain without looking back.<br />
<br />
Postscript - I did actually look back, figuratively speaking. When I got home I googled variations of "The Peak sucks" to see if I was the only tourist in the history of the world to have not enjoyed the experience. But it turns out, I actually did the whole thing wrong and could have saved myself a lot of trauma. First, I went at peak (hah) time, 8pm on a Friday night. That's a no-no. Second, there is actually a less known and completely free viewing platform on top of the Peak Galleria. Third, there is also a 7-11 convenience store in the Peak Galleria and I could have bought booze from there and had my own wee sneaky BYO outside. And finally, instead of the tram, I should have gotten a bus back down the mountain.<br />
<br />
I guess I peaked too soon.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HGsp8gBEEJg/VEPieJuAZlI/AAAAAAAACT0/LIFX6v1k3JU/s1600/IMG_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HGsp8gBEEJg/VEPieJuAZlI/AAAAAAAACT0/LIFX6v1k3JU/s1600/IMG_0190.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line for the tram.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz2egntp3ok/VEPi4Seo1bI/AAAAAAAACYY/DQhLAWhcIyo/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz2egntp3ok/VEPi4Seo1bI/AAAAAAAACYY/DQhLAWhcIyo/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line for Bubba Gump Shrimp.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hseQtn91Dew/VEPiz2_7XdI/AAAAAAAACXs/4JwLGvYjyOQ/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hseQtn91Dew/VEPiz2_7XdI/AAAAAAAACXs/4JwLGvYjyOQ/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line to take selfies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiEjzDnPppQ/VEPieN0NrXI/AAAAAAAACT4/tYLn_c_Itjo/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiEjzDnPppQ/VEPieN0NrXI/AAAAAAAACT4/tYLn_c_Itjo/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" height="358" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view (I mean, yeah, it is quite good)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ok2rs0RT09Y/VEPiurv5aJI/AAAAAAAACWw/NYk8tBwFZ_M/s1600/IMG_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ok2rs0RT09Y/VEPiurv5aJI/AAAAAAAACWw/NYk8tBwFZ_M/s1600/IMG_0214.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another, very slightly different view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rF0cnfRFggQ/VEPi6Xx9tBI/AAAAAAAACYw/9cAvHzx1uYI/s1600/IMG_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rF0cnfRFggQ/VEPi6Xx9tBI/AAAAAAAACYw/9cAvHzx1uYI/s1600/IMG_0230.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Peak Galleria</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line for the tram back down</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-42978095259905809252014-10-17T07:05:00.000+13:002014-12-29T10:10:22.703+13:00Reporting the Hong Kong protests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my last post, I mentioned that the protests seemed to be dying down, as the government had agreed to hold talks with the movement's leaders. Well, shortly after that the government cancelled the talks, and thousands of protesters marched straight back onto the streets.<br />
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This week I got the chance to head out into the field and help with some of the protest coverage. Now, when I say "help", my contribution has been absolutely miniscule - it has more been an observational exercise than anything else. At the New York Times, where I'm doing my internship, the reporters are working through the day and night to cover this event, which is constantly evolving and has no end in sight. Not only do the reporters have to be in three places at once (there are three major protest sites), but they are also working to deadlines across different time zones for various editions of the paper. Then of course there's the hungry beast that is the web, which has to be fed constantly. As do personal Twitter accounts. Then, after all of that, they've somehow got to find time to sit down and interview experts to get serious analysis on the whole thing. <br />
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It's exhausting just to think about. These guys are bloody troopers, and I'm learning a lot from watching their reporting and seeing how the final stories come together each day.<br />
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For me, it's been a surreal experience. As a national news reporter, I do most of my work from the office. Probably the last "event" I was involved in was the royal tour of New Zealand. I went to the airport when <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/royal-tour/9911621/Prince-William-Kate-and-George-charm-Kiwis" target="_blank">Prince William, Catherine and baby Prince George landed in Wellington</a>, and interviewed royalists who provided quotes such as: "I do wish [George] had been wearing a hat in this cold".<br />
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Over the past couple of days I have found myself interviewing people about universal suffrage, the relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China, and police brutality.<br />
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People have been incredibly approachable. Of course, it helps that for the most part the people I've spoken to have been protesters who have a bee in their bonnet and want the world to know about it. But there are also a lot of bystanders - and they are the really interesting ones to talk to, because you can never predict what they're going to say. How do they feel about the protests?<br />
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"At first, I supported them," said one retired man in Mong Kok. "But it's lasted so many days. I want to go to Tsim Sha Tsui for shopping and to see my friends. If I take the bus, it's $2. But the bus is cancelled so I have to take a taxi. It takes up my time and money."<br />
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I have seen insane <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/asia/building-a-bamboo-bulwark-against-the-hong-kong-police.html?_r=0" target="_blank">bamboo barricades</a> being constructed, attended a rally and rushed to the scene when there were rumours of police using tear gas again (it turned out it was pepper spray, and I was sent home when it looked like it was getting dangerous).<br />
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Half the time I have no idea what's actually going on, as most of the speeches and skirmishes are in Cantonese. Sometimes I ask people around me to summarise what's being said, and they're generally happy to oblige. Other times people have actually come up to me, offering to help (I have the "lost lamb" look down pat now) or just curious about what I'm doing here.<br />
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On one such occasion, I met a bizarre character. He was a Chinese businessman who lived in Milan and spoke with - I kid you not - a Tony Soprano accent.<br />
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"New Zealand, huh," he said with a sneer. "You're a fucking long way from home."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8SzfBf3wQIY/VEAEUbELmNI/AAAAAAAACRE/aBYj22yEWzo/s1600/IMG_0112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8SzfBf3wQIY/VEAEUbELmNI/AAAAAAAACRE/aBYj22yEWzo/s1600/IMG_0112.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occupy Central: Back in action</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tent city in Admiralty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barricades</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fkUx4Gap0rg/VEAEZKgMJdI/AAAAAAAACRo/SVk2iRFBHE8/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fkUx4Gap0rg/VEAEZKgMJdI/AAAAAAAACRo/SVk2iRFBHE8/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the creative "middle finger" gloves at the end of the poles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Central Government and TRIAD offices"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZLwYZNVjfo/VEAEbOoCU_I/AAAAAAAACSA/fGFn_JxZnuQ/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZLwYZNVjfo/VEAEbOoCU_I/AAAAAAAACSA/fGFn_JxZnuQ/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bored policemen guarding the Central Government offices</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqbiHess944/VEAEcwl1JwI/AAAAAAAACSU/Uu1RvIJ6wSA/s1600/IMG_0817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqbiHess944/VEAEcwl1JwI/AAAAAAAACSU/Uu1RvIJ6wSA/s1600/IMG_0817.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Construction of bamboo barricades on Monday night</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3E9r6j-o18k/VEAGzvt0FlI/AAAAAAAACTk/qBuJuTwmMOo/s1600/IMG_0828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3E9r6j-o18k/VEAGzvt0FlI/AAAAAAAACTk/qBuJuTwmMOo/s1600/IMG_0828.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were pulled down the very next morning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AW8TK0MxvAA/VEAEeGTzBTI/AAAAAAAACSo/QCycH1IlHpc/s1600/IMG_0841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AW8TK0MxvAA/VEAEeGTzBTI/AAAAAAAACSo/QCycH1IlHpc/s1600/IMG_0841.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a rally in Admiralty, my view of student leader, 18-year-old Joshua Wong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTlPRY3BhKo/VEAEfuuibKI/AAAAAAAACS8/37KNtaHEzqI/s1600/IMG_0851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTlPRY3BhKo/VEAEfuuibKI/AAAAAAAACS8/37KNtaHEzqI/s1600/IMG_0851.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the rally condemning police brutality hundreds of people held up these signs, saying "black cops" (I think)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GoqMWY8h6qg/VEAEqXuNKoI/AAAAAAAACTM/h07TmiPld7I/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GoqMWY8h6qg/VEAEqXuNKoI/AAAAAAAACTM/h07TmiPld7I/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me interviewing someone in Mong Kok. I gave him my business card and he later sent me this photo, which must have been taken sneakily by his friend. Only in Hong Kong.</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-39900070465612054452014-10-10T06:18:00.002+13:002014-10-10T06:27:56.092+13:00Do you hear the people sing?As luck would have it, I landed in Hong Kong right amid one of the biggest news stories in the world. Over the past two weeks, thousands of young Hong Kongers have taken to the streets, protesting for full democracy. China is offering a watered-down version, with its plans to pre-screen political candidates so it can essentially control elections <br />
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It is said to be China's biggest democracy movement since the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing. This is something one of my colleagues back home took pleasure in bringing up before I left, helpfully advising me to stay away from tanks.<br />
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It seems like the protests are starting to die down now, so on Tuesday night I decided to head to the main site in Admiralty district, near the government headquarters.<br />
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Emerging from the station, the first thing you notice is the sea of posters, messages and artworks, haphazardly stuck to walls and posts. Some are simple, scrawled in pen, while others could have been created by graphic designers. "Keep calm and open your umbrella", says one. "Listen to our thought," says another. Yellow ribbons, which have become one of the main symbols of the movement, are everywhere, tied to fences and gates, pinned to the shirts of supporters. I even saw a baby on the subway playing with one, curling it around his little fingers.<br />
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It is eerily quiet and empty on the outskirts of the protest zone. First aid sites are abandoned, but remain stocked with supplies, in case the police come back with tear gas.<br />
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Round the corner onto the main road, and even now, with protester numbers dwindling, the scene catches your breath.<br />
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Against a backdrop of towering skyscrapers are hundreds and hundreds of people, dotted like little dark ants along the highway. Some are sitting barefoot on rugs, shoes neatly placed at the edge, while others are perched atop of the highway barriers. Along the way are ladders and crates so people can safely climb over. A man reached out to help pull me across to the other side.<br />
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There was suddenly a mild commotion - something set the protesters off, causing them to burst into song. They started singing happy birthday in both Cantonese and English, apparently to drown out their opponents.<br />
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Music is a recurring theme. A giant banner stretches across an overbridge bearing the words of the Les Miserables anthem, "Do you hear the people sing?"<br />
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On the opposite bridge is John Lennon's Imagine: "You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one".<br />
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Perhaps most eye-catching of all is the "Lennon Wall", covered in a rainbow of Post-It notes featuring messages of support for democracy. Markers and notes are provided so visitors can add to the wall, make their mark on history - however impermanent it may be. As one of the notes says, "everyone deserves freedom of expression!"<br />
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At the base of the wall is the striking "Umbrella Man" statue. He is made out of wooden blocks and carries a golden umbrella, bathed in the light of a street lamp.<br />
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As I spent the hour wandering around, I thought about what it all meant for Hong Kong, what it meant for China, and what it could mean for history. Then I thought about New Zealand's most recent election, and the "missing million" who decided not to vote.<br />
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I don't think they know what it feels like to hear the people sing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posters at Admiralty Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A first aid station, stockpiled with supplies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesters singing happy birthday in the middle of the highway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occupy Hong Kong artwork</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You'll never walk alone"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOxrvvWXt4A/VDa_CkTQBKI/AAAAAAAACPE/ciVyZVsIgY8/s1600/IMG_0736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOxrvvWXt4A/VDa_CkTQBKI/AAAAAAAACPE/ciVyZVsIgY8/s1600/IMG_0736.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lennon Wall of democracy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlooking Occupy Hong Kong, protester numbers dwindling</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Umbrella Man statue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Note: Sorry these photos are so crappy quality, aside from my general lack of photography skills I don't have a proper camera yet so these were iPhone jobs.The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-84103867175642845272014-10-06T13:06:00.000+13:002014-10-06T13:10:19.955+13:00Hong Kong: First ImpressionsI remember reading somewhere that Hong Kong is like Asia for beginners. All the guidebooks harp on about the "East meets West" culture - most people speak some English, it's easy to get around, the food's great, the shopping's great... and so on.<br />
<br />
So I came here with a smug sense of preparedness. I "practised" going to yum cha. I flicked through my Lonely Planet guidebook. I watched a few Cantonese tutorials on YouTube for good measure.<br />
<br />
Three days in Hong Kong, and I am eating some very humble dim sum. <br />
<br />
I'm not sure exactly when the culture shock set in. It could have been on the train from the airport, looking at apartment blocks so ridiculously tall that you wonder how they could have possibly been made by humans and not jenga-playing giants. It could have been reading the sign on the door of my hostel which said it was operating illegally and the owners of the building accepted no liability for anything that happened to me. Or it could have been during my first Hong Kong breakfast, when I found myself sharing a table with a stranger, eating a rather bizarre soup containing macaroni noodles, lettuce and ham.<br />
<br />
As a result, I have at times descended to the ranks of my least favourite type of traveller - the creature-comforts traveller. I am ashamed to admit I visited McDonald's and Starbucks within the space of 72 hours.<br />
<br />
But even those places had their own unique experiences. At McDonald's, I watched a waitress get into a heated argument in Cantonese with a woman, seemingly over the fact she was loitering at her table after she had finished her food (as I was doing the exact same thing trying to make the most of the free wi-fi, I paid close attention to the series of events).<br />
<br />
Then as I was sipping my Starbucks on Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, a small Chinese boy was thrust upon me, followed by each of his parents, and I suddenly found myself the centre-piece of a family photo shoot.<br />
<br />
I haven't taken many pictures so far because it's too overwhelming. I've just been wandering around, mouth agape at the sheer masses of everything. Skyscrapers, shops, people.<br />
<br />
I do love the MTR, the subway which is so clearly sign-posted and easy to use I haven't gotten lost once. I don't love the sticky humidity, the random downpours, and the tiny wet bathrooms. Thanks to a combination of the three, I have already gone through about half the clothes I brought with me.<br />
<br />
Then, of course, there are the democracy protests. I spent the first two nights staying in the centre of Causeway Bay, one of the hotbeds of the Occupy movement. On Friday evening, I heard yelling, screaming and sirens outside my ninth-floor hostel window. Too nervous to leave the building, I watched the situation unfold on Twitter. <br />
<br />
A group of masked Beijing supporters had pushed through the barricades and started attacking the young protesters, trying to force them to leave. It was unbelievable hearing it all happening right below me.<br />
<br />
Apart from that night, the protest area in Causeway Bay has a strangely
festive atmosphere. The barricades have turned what I assume is normally
one of the area's busiest roads into a complete pedestrian zone. While
the number of actual protesters has thinned out, crowds of locals and
tourists wander around taking photos of all the pro-democracy signs and
messages of support.<br />
<br />
I have now relocated to a charming apartment
in Central, where I will be living for the next six weeks. More on that
later, but so far challenges include how-to-wash
hair-using-hand-held-shower-while-sitting-on-toilet, and
how-to-not-disturb-resident-kitchen-cockroaches.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Support Hong Kong: Causeway Bay protest site</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjSpkCyDXtM/VDHZPm_NkPI/AAAAAAAACME/WQdGExFvaTI/s1600/IMG_0581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjSpkCyDXtM/VDHZPm_NkPI/AAAAAAAACME/WQdGExFvaTI/s1600/IMG_0581.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"If not us who?! If not now when?!" Signs and messages of support.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-og2ayf2BZzQ/VDHZQcYClAI/AAAAAAAACMQ/gyt5MkgfzU4/s1600/IMG_0603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-og2ayf2BZzQ/VDHZQcYClAI/AAAAAAAACMQ/gyt5MkgfzU4/s1600/IMG_0603.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Umbrella Revolution.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N8Yx6RScYcc/VDHZ-TgTmCI/AAAAAAAACM0/S_P9hW7fYUs/s1600/IMG_0634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N8Yx6RScYcc/VDHZ-TgTmCI/AAAAAAAACM0/S_P9hW7fYUs/s1600/IMG_0634.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Causeway Bay outside Sogo department store - turned into pedestrian zone by protests.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1xuM7t7Tpv8/VDHbxVR60OI/AAAAAAAACNA/cbFu-qNzugU/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1xuM7t7Tpv8/VDHbxVR60OI/AAAAAAAACNA/cbFu-qNzugU/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The world is watching Hong Kong.</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-90001182018063940122013-02-28T22:54:00.000+13:002014-10-06T01:22:12.268+13:00The Only Blonde in Osaka: Where I've Been<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V4ZllDcHEqk/US8isWljmNI/AAAAAAAAB7M/2DjoIXq1xRQ/s1600/onlyblondemap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V4ZllDcHEqk/US8isWljmNI/AAAAAAAAB7M/2DjoIXq1xRQ/s1600/onlyblondemap.jpg" height="380" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where I've been: 2012 Japan Trips</td></tr>
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Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog! It began as a way of documenting my semester-long exchange at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan. I never thought anyone would actually read it. But along the way I started to really enjoy travel blogging. I started putting effort into my posts, hoping they might come in useful for anyone with an interest in Japan. I began reading other people's travel blogs, and was inspired by their style, tone, and all the fascinating places they were blogging about.<br />
<br />
In the past year I have had more than 100,000 views on this blog, which is pretty cool. A lot of these are because I mention Sailor Moon so much that unwitting searchers probably think this is some sort of Sailor Moon fan site. Many views also come from the Japanese news website <a href="http://news.searchina.ne.jp/" target="_blank">Searchina</a>, which has a section reporting what foreign blogs are saying about Japan. Three of my posts have been translated and featured here. The views that make me happiest are from people who search 'Osaka blog' or 'things to do in Osaka'. I hope that they came to love Osaka as much as I did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-muDOzakR8Xw/US8iSHnJZdI/AAAAAAAAB7E/efRq7oAgK0s/s1600/484516_4377624004569_1037700894_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-muDOzakR8Xw/US8iSHnJZdI/AAAAAAAAB7E/efRq7oAgK0s/s1600/484516_4377624004569_1037700894_n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glico Man: A symbol of Osaka</td></tr>
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I think the best part about writing this blog has been that it encouraged me to do things I might not usually have done. I visited <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/shinsekai-osaka-new-world.html" target="_blank">dodgy areas of Osaka</a>. I ate and drank <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/kit-kats-in-japan-journey.html" target="_blank">weird things</a>. I used bizarre <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/japan-toilet-tales.html" target="_blank">toilets</a>. There was a <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/three-days-in-seoul-south-korea.html" target="_blank">brief sojourn to South Korea</a>. I even went to a bloody <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/hanshin-tigers-baseball-game.html" target="_blank">baseball game</a>. I would do pretty much anything for the sake of a story to put on my blog.<br />
<br />
In December I was lucky enough to have another opportunity to go back to Japan, as part of the Kizuna Project. I spent 10 days in Japan examining the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. Visiting the Fukushima region gave me a whole new perspective of Japan. It was one of the best things I've ever done.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ov8xGu1uYis/US8lnj8JegI/AAAAAAAAB8s/DIKH5M2Z9Co/s1600/582490_10151455139942474_1438683609_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ov8xGu1uYis/US8lnj8JegI/AAAAAAAAB8s/DIKH5M2Z9Co/s1600/582490_10151455139942474_1438683609_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kizuna Project: Asakusa on our last night in Tokyo</td></tr>
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Where to now? I don't have any plans to go back to Japan in the immediate future. If I can save up enough money by the end of the year, I would love to go back - this time as a proper tourist, JR Rail pass and everything. I want to do the whole country, Okinawa to Hokkaido. Until then, I'm not entirely sure what to do with this blog. I may post every once in a while. For now, thank you to everyone for reading. Thank you to all my friends and fellow exchange students in Japan who made the experiences so special. Osaka - thank you for having me. お世話になりました.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRBxtV4ZtUE/US8lF1u3SgI/AAAAAAAAB7w/1IuXtvmQMsU/s1600/75964_308436855903484_683464841_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRBxtV4ZtUE/US8lF1u3SgI/AAAAAAAAB7w/1IuXtvmQMsU/s1600/75964_308436855903484_683464841_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends: A trip to Nara Park</td></tr>
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I'll leave you with a motto that Ryan and I came up with after getting lost in Tokyo so many times during our first week in Japan. It stuck with us for the whole trip: "Even if it's the wrong way, it's an adventure.'<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan and Siobhan: Lost in Tokyo</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-86952077799117860312013-02-16T23:28:00.002+13:002014-09-03T22:01:06.251+12:00Japan Toilet Tales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've spent a while internally debating whether this post was appropriate for
publication, and have decided it must be done. One of the most common
questions Japanese people would ask me was 'what was your biggest
culture shock when you first came to Japan?' The answer was always
'toilets'. It's not a particularly sophisticated response,
but I think most foreigners in Japan would agree. Everyone has a 'Japan
toilet story'. And for the uninitiated, using a Japanese toilet may well
end up being one of the most memorable/traumatizing experiences of your
time in Japan. I will tell you why.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tOoJwDv8TE/UR9YqGxKXQI/AAAAAAAAB58/ljJUV0XIgTY/s1600/043zm4_b.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tOoJwDv8TE/UR9YqGxKXQI/AAAAAAAAB58/ljJUV0XIgTY/s1600/043zm4_b.jpeg" height="528" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Asakusa Asahi Flame statue in Tokyo. I'll let you decide why this image is relevant. <a href="http://news.3yen.com/2010-12-30/lucky-japanese-shite/" target="_blank">(Image source)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>1. The Seat Heating</b><br />
<br />
Let's
assume your first time is on a conventional Japanese 'throne' as
opposed to the notorious squat toilets (more on them to come). You
approach the shiny white beast, trou-down, and sit. You let out an
incredulous yelp, as your cheeks experience a sudden - but not
unpleasant - glow of warmth radiating from the seat. In your own
country, the temperature of a toilet seat is usually proportional to the amount of time the previous user has spent sitting
on it, the knowledge of which is highly undesirable. In Japan, this
same sensation is recreated artificially - but it may become a guilty
pleasure. Forget walking on sunshine, you are sitting on it! And don't
it feel good?<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. The Slippery Situation</b><br />
<br />
In
Japanese households, the commonly known etiquette is to remove your
shoes before entering the house, and put on a pair of slippers. But did
you know that there are also a pair of slippers especially for use in
the toilet? This is so you don't contaminate the rest of the house with
your nasty toilet-foot germs. Unfortunately, after experiencing the joy
that is the heated toilet seat, you are likely to be in a state of
euphoria that causes you to forget your footwear. Many foreigners have
had to perform the shuffle of shame back to the bog after being caught
out wearing the toilet slippers somewhere other than the toilet. Don't
let that be you.<br />
<br />
<b>3. The Spray Buttons</b><br />
<br />
When
using a Japanese
toilet, one will likely come across an intimidating array of
buttons, each of which has a different purpose depending on the gender
and sanitary needs of the user. The most common buttons are marked
'oshiri' and 'bidet', for a bum and ladypart shower respectively. More
advanced models allow you to adjust the heat, angle, and strength of the
spray. These buttons can be problematic for the curious foreigner
who dares to test them. Many don't seem to realize that you do actually
need to be seated for it to work properly. For some reason it comes as a
shock when, upon pressing the button, a jet of toilet water shoots out
and blasts the hapless victim in the face.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tfJxucUEMas/UR8mKGJO-yI/AAAAAAAAB38/IbbEzEEMYYM/s1600/DSCF0570.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tfJxucUEMas/UR8mKGJO-yI/AAAAAAAAB38/IbbEzEEMYYM/s1600/DSCF0570.JPG" height="409" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Useful English instructions next to the toilet in a hotel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>4. The <i>Sound Princess</i></b><br />
<br />
On the wall beside some Japanese toilets are ominous, Big Brother type speakers. These are the aptly named <i>otohime</i>
or 'Sound Princess', a machine designed to drown out the embarrassing
tinkling tones of female urination. I remember when this was introduced
to me. I was a guest at an English Speaking Club meeting, held at the
teacher's house. I mentioned my bewilderment at Japanese toilets, and
she decided I should be bestowed with the honour of a demonstration of
her brand new 'Sound Princess'. The whole class followed us into the
bathroom. The teacher pressed a button, and a loud 'GURRRRRRRRRR'
reverberated around the room. I laughed. My hostess looked at
me with cool disapproval, and said, 'maybe in your country you do not
care, but we Japanese women like to go to the toilet in secret.'
Because a roaring Sound Princess is so discreet.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Squat</b><br />
<br />
Nothing
incites fear in a
foreigner's heart more than entering a train station or old building and
finding that the only toileting facilities available are
traditional squat toilets. First of all, it seems you need the thighs
of a rugby player and the balance of a gymnast to even think about
attempting this. Then there is the issue of what to do with your
clothes: for the novice squatter, there is nothing more precarious than a
pair of tights tangled around your ankles while in this position. I
heard a story about a girl who was so baffled by the squat toilet that
she thought it would be best to just take <i>all </i>her clothes off for
safekeeping while she did her business. By all accounts it was going
well, until she dropped one of her socks in. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Documentation of the squat toilets at my high school in Hiroshima - there were no western-style toilets.</td></tr>
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<b>6. The Flush</b><br />
<br />
You've
navigated your way through the wonderful world of seat heaters,
slippers, Sound Princesses, spray buttons and squats. Just when you
thought it was all over, the Japanese toilet deals you another low blow -
by hiding the flush in the least conspicuous place possible. If there
is one valuable piece of advice I can offer, it it is that you should ensure you can
locate the toilet's flush <i>before </i>you proceed to do anything else.
This small act could save you from potentially mortifying situations.
To share another story from a source who prefers to remain anonymous,
one time this person had to use a disabled toilet, as it was the only
one available. Unfortunately, after finishing up he realized he
couldn't distinguish the 'call assistance' button from the flush. This
user decided it wasn't worth risking it, and all he could do was put
down the lid and
run out of there, leaving his 'problem' for the next person to solve.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Future</b><br />
<br />
Recently, reports of new <a href="http://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/smartphone-controlled-toilet-includes-built-in-speakers" target="_blank">smartphone-controlled toilets</a>
have been circulating the internet.
The toilets, which are supposedly available in Japan this month, can be
connected to Android phones via bluetooth. The user downloads an
app that allows all the functions of the toilet to be operated with a
touch of the phone. The toilets also have inbuilt speakers, so you can
ditch the 'Sound Princess' and play your own sweet beats. The app even
contains a 'toilet diary' to record all of your bowel movements!<br />
<br />
When it comes to your Japanese toilet experience, as the saying goes, you can't polish a turd - but in Japan you probably <i>can</i> roll it in glitter. If you know which button to push. <br />
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-75409690652204527252013-01-29T14:39:00.000+13:002014-09-03T22:02:41.471+12:00(More) Kit Kats in JapanI came, I saw, I bought Kit Kats.<br />
<br />
As I have mentioned before, I <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/kit-kats-in-japan-journey.html" target="_blank">like to collect Kit Kats</a> from different regions in Japan. It started out innocently, but has sort of developed into an obsessive and nerdy hobby. I'm not even living in Japan at the moment, but I still occasionally check the Nestle Japan <a href="http://nestle.jp/brand/kit/product/" target="_blank">website</a> for Kit Kat updates. FYI, there's a new thing where you can order custom-made Kit Kat packaging, complete with your own photo and message. How bloody cool is that? I'll have my face on a Kit Kat wrapper, thanks. <br />
<br />
On my recent visit, I was able to tick off several items on my Kit Kat bucket list. First, I came across the special edition Tohoku region Kit Kat in a souvenir shop at Aizu Tajima station in Fukushima. This was a Zunda-fumi, or Edamame Soybean flavoured Kit Kat. It was created by Nestle to support Tohoku after the earthquake, and 10 yen of each chocolate bar sold went to the relief fund.<br />
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A few days later we were riding the Tokaido Shinkansen line to get to Nagoya. At Nagoya Station, I picked up a cool box of Kit Kats designed to represent the four major stations on the Tokaido line: Shin-Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya. Each individual chocolate bar even has a little picture of the different types of bullet trains! Although the flavour of this variety is a simple milk chocolate, I like to imagine people buying these so they can eat a Kit Kat at each stop on the line. At least, that's what I would do.<br />
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To my immense excitement, in a souvenir store at a shopping mall in Odaiba, Tokyo, was a whole stand of Kit Kats. Although I had found many notorious flavours on my last trip to Japan, there was one that I had missed out on - the crowning glory of Japanese Kit Kats: Wasabi. And it was here. The Shizuoka-Kanto regional edition, Tamaruya-Honten Wasabi. I laughed like a maniac and purchased it immediately, knowing it was destined for some poor, unsuspecting victim's Christmas stocking.<br />
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All too soon, the trip came to an end, and I found myself at Narita Airport, with 800 yen to my name. In what is becoming a slightly embarrassing tradition on each of my Japan trips, I ended up spending my very last yen on a box of Tokyo Rum and Raisin flavoured Kit Kats. Because I'm classy like that.<br />
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-88721970608907550442013-01-25T15:57:00.000+13:002014-09-03T22:04:16.366+12:00Aizu-wakamatsu: Tsuruga Castle and Aizu Sake MuseumAs simple as it sounds, one of the most important parts of our stay in Fukushima was to spend time enjoying the region from a tourist's perspective. Since the nuclear disaster, tourism has been slow to recover - both domestic and foreign tourists have been hesitant to spend time in the region. The uncertainty has snowballed into harmful rumours and hearsay. Even on the flight over to Japan, when we told the flight attendants that we were going to Fukushima, they warned us not to eat the rice or drink the water.<br />
<br />
We spent a day checking out the sights in Aizu-wakamatsu, a city with a rich samurai history. To learn about the wars and warriors of the past, we visited Tsuruga Castle, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Tohoku. The castle that stands today is actually a reconstruction - the original castle was damaged by an earthquake in 1611, then destroyed by the Meiji government after incessant warfare in 1868. It was completely rebuilt in 1965, and now contains a museum detailing the history of the Aizu region.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tsuruga Castle: a treasure of the Aizu region</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of the castle grounds, covered in snow</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Aizu-wakamatsu city, tucked beneath the hills</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 'samurai' at the castle. He let me try on his hat.</td></tr>
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Another important part of Aizu's history is its long tradition of rice wine or <i>sake</i> brewing - the cold climate, pure spring water and rice are ideal for <i>sake</i> production. In Aizu-wakamatsu there are numerous local <i>sake</i> breweries, and we were able to visit the Miyaizumi brewery, which also contains a museum - the Aizu Sake Museum. Our tour guide was a jolly man who taught us drinking games and sang the praises of the <i>sake</i>, advising us to sample everything but to try not to get drunk! He also told us about the Miyaizumi brewery's struggles after the disaster - people had been warned not to eat or drink anything within a 100km zone of the condemned nuclear plant; unfortunately the brewery is located 97.8km away. Almost all of the brewery's orders were cancelled in the year following the disaster, however, they remain hopeful for this season's brew.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students entering the Aizu Sake Museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my Australian friend Emilee: sampling the sake!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The brewery's spring water tap</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sake production is done in the Winter, as cold temperatures are necessary for best results</td></tr>
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If you're thinking about going to Japan, put Fukushima on your itinerary. Places like Aizu-wakamatsu are unique hotspots of Japan's natural beauty, history and culture. If you've already been to Japan's larger, more well-known cities, Fukushima's cities and towns can offer a completely different experience, and one that I found enriching. By spending money on accommodation, tourist attractions, and souvenirs in Fukushima, you can make a small but significant contribution to the local economy, which so desperately needs boosting. More than anything, visiting Fukushima as a tourist helps to give the people hope, that someday the region might be able to return back to the way it was before the disaster.The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-13882133850852844922013-01-10T23:59:00.001+13:002014-09-03T22:06:31.862+12:00Story of a Fukushima Evacuee<i>In Aizuwakamatsu city a speaker from Tomioka town described her experience following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster. Yoshiko Aoki was the principal of Tomioka High School. As the town is located within a 20km radius of the nuclear plant, all residents were evacuated. They will most likely never return. This is an excerpt from her talk, taken from my notes.</i><br />
<br />
Tomioka town in the Futaba district of Fukushima had a population of 15,839. It was a small town, but famous for having some of the most beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan. Every year Spring was celebrated with the Yonomori Sakura festival. The cherry blossoms trees were lit up on the nights of the festival, and there was a free market, yosakoi dancing and karaoke contests. Volunteers worked hard to plant new cherry blossom trees each year, ensuring that the festival could be enjoyed for generations to come.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry blossom picture from Tomioka Town website (<a href="http://www.tomioka-town.org/html/outline_e.html" target="_blank">here</a>)</td></tr>
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On March 11, 2011 Tomioka town was hit by a shindo 7 earthquake and 22 metre high tsunami. It took the lives of 109 residents.<br />
<br />
The next day, all remaining residents were ordered to evacuate. We didn't understand why - not all houses were badly damaged. We had survived the earthquake and tsunami, why did we have to leave now?<br />
<br />
The reason was that less than 20km away, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had exploded - but no one was told this at the time.<br />
<br />
People didn't know what to bring, or how long they would be gone, so many didn't bring anything with them. There was only one route to evacuate from, as a main highway was damaged. The only place to go was a nearby village, Kawauchi. Usually it would take 20 minutes to get there; following the disaster it took 8 hours. The Tomioka evacuees were supported by the village for a little while, but soon Kawauchi was also told that its residents must evacuate.<br />
<br />
After that 3000 people went to the Big Palette convention centre in Koriyama, Fukushima, which had been turned into an evacuation centre. Upon arrival, residents underwent a screening inspection for radiation.<br />
<br />
Initially evacuees had nothing but cardboard boxes to protect their privacy. Messages were written on bulletin boards, for families who had been separated in the confusion of the evacuation. Emergency plans were put in place, in case there were more aftershocks.<br />
<br />
When it became clear that we would be staying there for a while, we did things to improve life in the evacuation centre. A 'women only' space was planned for privacy. People set up an FM radio station, to communicate the latest information. Residents could watch the broadcasts taking place in front of them, and this became a sort of social gathering.<br />
<br />
The most difficult part was that there were no prospects, no jobs - everyday was just eating and sleeping. It was often stressful and irritating sharing the same space with 3,000 people. Of course, flu and infections spread easily - but these could be treated by a doctor. It was the mental diseases that were not so easily treated.<br />
<br />
Residents created a 'help each other' centre. Students volunteered to give foot baths and massages, and lent an ear to those who wanted to talk. As people began to talk more, faces began to brighten.<br />
<br />
By August 2011, the evacuation centre had closed. Evacuees were now scattered all over Fukushima, and even Japan. The community that was once so strong had been destroyed, giving rise to a new challenge - how to reconnect the Tomioka town residents?<br />
<br />
The solution was relatively simple. We created a phonebook, tracking down and listing the present addresses and numbers of Tomioka residents throughout Japan.<br />
<br />
With the future so uncertain, it has been important to create something for the people to live for - something to encourage them to live for tomorrow.<br />
<br />
What happened in Fukushima during the disaster was different to other areas in Tohoku who only experienced the earthquake and tsunami. In Fukushima, we had been told the nuclear plants were safe. We felt shocked and betrayed. A natural disaster you can forget, but the nuclear disaster was a human error.<br />
<br />
Despite this, it is necessary to remember we may be the victims of a disaster, but we are also the heroes and heroines of the reconstruction. I want people to love Fukushima.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9B9wkX3NODI/UO6eHDc5dkI/AAAAAAAABpU/k44fo0dfgHU/s1600/cherryblossomsmedianogozoneapr19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9B9wkX3NODI/UO6eHDc5dkI/AAAAAAAABpU/k44fo0dfgHU/s1600/cherryblossomsmedianogozoneapr19.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A year after the diaster, visitors in radiation proof suits admire the cherry blossoms in Tomioka (<a href="http://www.houseofjapan.com/local/cherry-blossoms-in-no-go-zone-shown-to-media" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-79589705685859771872013-01-02T21:56:00.003+13:002014-09-03T22:08:01.990+12:00Temporary Housing for Disaster Victims in Aizu-wakamatsuAfter the nuclear disaster, the city of Aizu-wakamatsu in Fukushima became home to thousands of evacuees from Okuma town, the location of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. All 11,515 residents had to be hastily evacuated, eventually placed in temporary housing complexes. These temporary housing complexes are an example of lessons learned from the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake: after this disaster many elderly people were left isolated and alone, and died as a result. To avoid this situation happening again, this time whole communities of temporary housing have been set up around Japan, in an effort to keep both the people and the spirit of their former towns alive.<br />
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As Okuma was a farming town, a sense of community is particularly important for its residents. A representative of the town spoke to us about what happened on that day in March 2011. Most of the town were in the process of preparing the rice paddies for spring. When the earthquake hit, it caused the paddies to move 'like a wave'. The residents gathered at the local shrine, and were told by firefighters that a nuclear plant explosion had occurred, and they would need to evacuate immediately. They were taken by buses to evacuation centres such as schools and hotels, where they would stay for the next few months. By July 2011, the temporary housing complex at Aizu-wakamatsu was ready - a block of 80 houses, to hold about 170 people.<br />
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The accommodation is far from ideal. Standing in austere rows, each unit is identical. People's whole lives have been reduced to a number in a housing block - A3, C1. Small attempts to personalize each unit are visible; some pot plants outside doors, a hanging flower basket. Particularly poignant is the mural of hearts that has been painted on the wall surrounding the complex, in an attempt to brighten the place up.<br />
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It is a new environment for the people. The Aizu climate is harsh, and Okuma residents, who used to live on the coast, have to contend with the heavy snow. Work is difficult to find. The majority of those of a working age commute long distances, spending the weeknights in their town of employment, returning to the temporary housing complex for the weekends. It is a disruptive lifestyle, transient and uncertain. While 'safe zones' in Okuma are being uncovered, it will be at least a decade before the majority of residents can return; maybe longer until the soil is decontaminated and able to be farmed again. For many residents, they will never return home in their lifetime.<br />
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On the day we visited the Aizu-wakamatsu temporary housing complex, residents were involved in a meeting with TEPCO, undergoing negotiations about their current situation and compensation. Currently, they receive ¥100,000 a month (NZD1372) from the government for psychological damage. Considering all these residents have lost, it is a small price for the government to pay. The fight for their future will surely continue for years to come.The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-62975119654702996582012-12-31T11:41:00.002+13:002014-09-03T22:08:53.886+12:00Minami-aizu, FukushimaLocated in the mountains of Fukushima is a small town called Minami-aizu, with a population of just over 20,000. It is a place like no other I have ever been to in Japan. Blanketed with a metre of fresh snow that had fallen overnight, the streets looked as though they had gingerbread houses lining them, and you could almost be tricked into thinking you were somewhere in Europe... if it weren't for the incongruous presence of torii gates and pachinko parlours.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A torii gate in the middle of Minami-aizu town</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The snowfall is so heavy residents need special pop-up garages for their cars</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pachinko parlour lights up the snowy darkness</td></tr>
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Minami-aizu is surrounded by ski slopes, and we spent three nights staying at a ski resort called Resort Inn Daikura. It has essentially been out of action since March 2011. Although the town is located more than 100km from the condemned Fukushima Daiichi plant, after the nuclear accident, visitors stopped coming. Harmful rumours created by media sensationalism and hearsay painted the entire area as unsafe. The owner of the resort told us that there have been 22,000 cancellations since the disaster. As the ski season approaches this year, they hope that the fears have diminished, and there will be more visitors.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ski slopes at Resort Inn Daikura</td></tr>
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The Aizu region is known for its produce, in particular, rice, persimmons and tomatoes. Since the disaster, it has taken numerous campaigns and efforts to convince the Japanese public that these products are still safe to consume. This year, the Japanese government made radiation inspection of all rice in the region compulsory, using expensive machines that check the contamination levels of each bag of rice. Minami-aizu town has seven of these machines, which we got to witness in action. Each bag of rice gets fed through the machine, and if levels of contamination are over 50 becquerel, it must be inspected closely - 100 becquerel is the standard for contamination. So far no bags of Minami-aizu rice have exceeded the contamination limit, and sales figures are returning to pre-March 11 levels.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching radiation inspection machine in action</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bag of Fukushima rice: customers can scan the barcode with cellphones for more information on radiation levels</td></tr>
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Minami-aizu is a beautiful, but difficult place to live. It endures hardship every year: the winters are long and harsh. The people must work themselves to the bone, tending to the land. And now, in the face of the nuclear disaster, they have had to completely rebuild the town's economy, following the effects of harmful rumours on tourism and agriculture. It is fitting that a symbol of the region is a traditional toy called okiagari-koboshi, a little doll that is so resilient that no matter how many times you push it over, it will always return to an upright position.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okiagari-koboshi doll, a symbol of the Aizu region</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-73691321566227031702012-12-27T18:36:00.000+13:002014-08-31T11:33:34.075+12:0010 Facts and Figures From the 3.11 DisasterAs part of the Kizuna Project we attended a lecture held by the Research Center for Crisis and Contingency Management at Meiji University. We learned about the 3.11 Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster, and the recovery progress. There is so much information out there that I found it quite overwhelming trying to piece it all together to attempt to understand what happened. This lecture gave a really useful overview.<br />
<br /><b>1.</b> The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2.46pm on Friday 11 March 2011. The epicentre was off the Sanriku coast, northeastern Japan. While the majority of earthquakes last for only a few seconds, this earthquake was unusual in that it lasted for minutes.<br />
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<b>2.</b> The earthquake was a magnitude 9.0, making it the 4th largest in modern history. Using the Japanese <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Meteorological_Agency_seismic_intensity_scale" target="_blank">Shindo</a> (<span class="kanji" style="z-index: 149997;">震度) or seismic intensity scale, it reached a 7 - the highest level - in Kurihara City; 6 in the rest of the Tohoku region; and upper 5 in Tokyo.</span><br />
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<b>3. </b>15,871 dead, 2778 missing, and 6114 injured. 65% of victims were aged over 60.<br />
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<b>4.</b> 92.4% died from drowning, compared to relatively low 4.4% from crushing. This shows that Japanese building standards were effective against earthquake, but tsunami caused greatest loss of life.<br />
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<b>5.</b> 64% of victims were rescued by their own neighbours, while only 28% were rescued by firefighters and the Self Defense Force. Shows the importance of self-sufficiency during a disaster.<br />
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<b>6.</b> Damage from earthquake and tsunami amounted to an estimated ¥16.9 trillion. This does not include nuclear disaster.<br />
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<b>7.</b> By May 2012, 53,916 temporary houses were needed to accommodate those made homeless.<br />
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<b>8.</b> 22 million tons of tsunami debris left in affected areas - this is half the amount of annual waste in Japan.<br />
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<b>9.</b> 930,400 people have volunteered in affected region, and Japan has received more than ¥350 Billion in donations.<br />
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<b>10.</b> After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant explosion, all of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors were shut down. Two have since been reactivated, a decision which led to widespread protest among Japanese people. Before the disaster 30% of Japan's power was derived from nuclear reactors.<br />
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<i>(Source: Tatsuya Nogami, "The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster" lecture notes, Meiji University Research Center for Crisis and Contingency Management.)</i>The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-88615641778027961882012-12-26T23:10:00.001+13:002014-09-03T22:09:50.397+12:00Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Centre (Ikebukuro Bosaikan)On our first day in Tokyo we went to the Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Centre (池袋防災館) to learn about earthquakes and prepare ourselves in case a disaster should occur while we were in Japan. It sounds dramatic, but an earthquake measuring 5 on the seismic intensity scale had struck Tohoku a few nights before, and we were warned that before the Great East Japan Earthquake there had been an earthquake of a similar size. There were concerns that this earthquake would also trigger something larger (luckily, it didn't).<br />
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Run by the Tokyo Fire Department, the Life Safety Learning Centre offers a range of disaster preparation activities, including first aid, fire fighting, rescue and escape, and earthquake simulation. <br />
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Despite being a place that deals with disasters, there is no shortage of Japanese cuteness and commercialism. Upon entering the Centre you are greeted with a friendly-looking statue of an elephant. A souvenir stall in the reception area contains an impressive array of products featuring firefighter Hello Kitty (who knew she was so multi-talented)?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ever-optimistic disaster elephant at the Life Safety Learning Centre</td></tr>
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We started out in the earthquake simulation room, which was set up with a table and chairs to represent an apartment, complete with a backdrop of the Tokyo skyline. We were given five different earthquakes in Japan's history (including 3.11), so that we could experience what different types and magnitudes feel like, and had to take cover when an earthquake siren sounded. While it started out as a laugh, once the shaking began there were a few white knuckles gripping the table legs.<br />
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There was also a smoke maze, which was designed to resemble a hotel to prepare you should a fire occur when you are in an unfamiliar environment. We were put in a dark corridor with numerous doors, and had to crawl our way to the correct exit, as 'smoke' poured in. It was a claustrophobic experience, and if you didn't crouch low enough, a buzzer would go off, signalling death by smoke inhalation. <br />
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The Life Safety Learning Centre is a strange, perhaps even slightly morbid attraction you would probably never think of going to. It's definitely a unique experience though, and probably a useful one if you live in Japan, where earthquakes are common. Unfortunately, the one thing that seems to be missing is information on how to escape a tsunami (we were simply advised to 'follow the Japanese people around you to higher ground')... considering the majority of casualties on 3.11 were caused by the tsunami, it seems more education is needed in this area.<br />
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In New Zealand, we have a similar exhibit at Te Papa Museum, where you can experience the 1931 Napier Earthquake, and there is talk of creating a simulation of the September 2011 and February 2012 Christchurch quakes.<br />
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Visit the website <a href="http://www.tfd.metro.tokyo.jp/hp-ikbskan/index.html" target="_blank">here</a> (Japanese).<br />
Address: 2-37-8, Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, 171-0021 Tokyo. The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-20682937519279163652012-12-23T23:07:00.000+13:002014-09-03T22:10:16.043+12:00Kizuna Project: An Overview<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kizuna Project group at Tsuruga Castle, Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima prefecture</td></tr>
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Despite an unexpected tornado (Auckland), earthquake and tsunami (Japan), I made it safely to Japan and back, and had ten of the most action-packed days of my life, along with 105 students from Australia and New Zealand.<br />
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First we spent two nights in Tokyo for orientation. We visited the Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Centre and used their earthquake simulator room to experience what different types of earthquakes actually feel like. Next up was a lecture at Meiji University, detailing the March 11 disaster and reconstruction efforts.<br />
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We then rode the Tohoku shinkansen to Shin-Shirakawa station in Fukushima prefecture, watching the landscape slowly change from urban high rises to a snowy countryside. From the station, we got on a bus and headed to Minamiaizu, a town nestled in the mountains, buried under a metre of fresh snow. We spent the next 3 nights at a ski resort there, called Resort Inn Daikura. <br />
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At Minamiaizu we visited the mayor's office and learned about the effects of the disaster on the town. We were taken to a rice production hut, and witnessed the inspection of local rice for radiation levels. Following this was a lecture on the safety management of agricultural products in Fukushima prefecture. The mood was lightened with a trip to Tajima Junior High School, where we spent an afternoon doing origami and calligraphy with the students. <br />
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The next day we took a scenic train to nearby Aizuwakamatsu city. At Aizuwakamatsu, we visited temporary housing for residents of Okuma town, which is uninhabitable because of the nuclear disaster. An evacuee shared her story of the accident, and her experience in evacuation shelters and temporary accommodation. That afternoon we visited two of the city's tourist attractions, Tsuruga Castle and the Aizu Sake Brewery Museum.<br />
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We got back on the shinkansen in the morning and headed to Nagoya, to participate in a homestay programme for 2 nights. My homestay family were located in Gifu prefecture, and they took me to a place to make soba noodles, the Agigawa Dam, a museum and art gallery.<br />
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At the conclusion of the homestay programme we went to Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, and spent a morning doing disaster preparation activities with students there. Then it was back to Tokyo, where we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give a final presentation about our findings from the project. Finally it was time to head to Narita airport and fly home.<br />
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During the Kizuna Project I learned so much about the earthquake and nuclear disaster. In Aizu, while the physical damage caused by the disaster was minimal, economic damage has crippled the region. While reconstructing buildings and cities is relatively straightforward, rebuilding a reputation is not so easy: it's difficult to shake the link between 'Fukushima' and 'radiation'.<br />
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I'm going to write some more detailed posts about my experiences in Fukushima, but hopefully this gives some idea of what I've been up to over the past couple of weeks. The Aizu region is truly beautiful, and I hope I get the chance to go back and explore Fukushima.The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-20466936715131315982012-12-07T22:48:00.000+13:002014-05-11T20:21:40.024+12:00Night Before Trip, 7.3 Earthquake Strikes Northeastern JapanTomorrow I leave for Japan, and I was excited to do this post saying how I'm all packed and ready to go... and suddenly breaking news tweets start appearing in my newsfeed, saying there has been another major earthquake near Sendai, Japan, and tsunami warnings have been issued for Miyagi prefecture.<br />
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I have been going through as many news sites as I can, English and Japanese, as well as Twitter and Facebook, and am slowly getting little bits of information. It was a 7.3, seems to have been felt quite strongly in Tokyo, and a metre-high tsunami has been recorded in Ishinomaki city in Miyagi. There have not yet been any reports of damage or injuries.<br />
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I'm not sure yet how this will affect my trip to Japan, especially the planned activities for the disaster area. I guess we will be briefed on how this latest earthquake has impacted our schedule at our meeting in Auckland tomorrow. We will be in Tokyo until Tuesday, then are scheduled to move to Minamiaizu in Fukushima prefecture and stay there for 3 nights. <br />
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I need to go to sleep as I have to be up at 5am to catch my flight to Christchurch, but I have to say that this news makes things feel very frighteningly real. I hope everyone in Japan is ok.<br />
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All going well, you'll be able to read about my experiences when I return on December 21st. For now, a somewhat cautious 行ってきます!The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-81467122655878519172012-12-06T19:12:00.002+13:002014-09-03T22:11:00.447+12:00KFC for Christmas: A Japanese TraditionDecember is here, which means that most of Japan will be enthusiastically unfurling the fairy lights, erecting lavishly decorated trees, and advertising all the expensive, flashy gifts you are expected to purchase for your significant others. Then December 25th will arrive, and everyone will go to work and school like any other day. Christmas in Japan. It has all the build up of a national holiday, but hasn't quite been put into practice.<br />
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As less than 1% of Japanese are Christian, there's really no spiritual basis for celebrating Christmas, so the emphasis is more on the commercial aspects of the holiday. This has resulted in some quirky traditions... such as eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You have to reserve this party barrel for Christmas (<a href="http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/?p=2781" target="_blank">Image source</a>)</td></tr>
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I first encountered the tradition during my home stay in Hiroshima in 2007, when I got to experience Christmas in Japan courtesy of my well-meaning host mother. This is what I wrote in my blog back then:<br />
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Christmas just isn't a big deal here. They do have some Christmas customs though - apparently eating KFC is one of these. On Christmas Eve, we drove past a KFC takeout place, and there was a
line so long that it went out of the shop and all the way onto the
street. So I wasn't completely surprised when, for tea tonight, there
was a familiar looking red and white box containing pieces of 'original
recipe' chicken on the table. After tea we had a very beautifully decorated German Christmas cake,
which, before eating, we all said 'itadakimasu!' Talk about a
multi-cultural Christmas - American takeout, German cake, and Japanese
set phrases. Weird...
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Where did the Kentucky Fried Christmas come from? Legend has it that foreigners in Japan took to having KFC for Christmas, as it was difficult to get turkey. The company bigwigs soon caught wind of this, and were inspired to launch a massive marketing campaign in the 1970s - クリスマスにはケンタッキー (Kentucky for Christmas)! It has remained a popular tradition ever since, with people ordering their buckets of chicken months in advance.<br />
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It's also <a href="http://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/201211/002326.html" target="_blank">just been announced</a> that Japan Airlines has collaborated with KFC to serve the chicken as an onboard meal this Christmas, so passengers can have a finger-lickingly festive flight.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JAL/KFC collaborate for Christmas (<a href="http://now.msn.com/japan-airlines-will-serve-kfc-on-some-flights" target="_blank">Image source</a>)</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-81831794053908159102012-11-14T19:28:00.001+13:002014-09-03T22:11:17.565+12:00Eat Until You Drop, Swim Until You Drown at Dotonbori?I'm behind the times, but I was catching up on news at <a href="http://www.kansaiscene.com/" target="_blank">Kansai Scene</a> and just read there are plans to turn Dotonbori canal into a swimming pool. Whaaaaat?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'glittering' waters of Dotonbori...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Transformed into 'Pool Dotonbori' <a href="http://openwaterpedia.com/index.php?title=Pool_Dotonbori" target="_blank">(Image source)</a></td></tr>
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Apparently Osaka's plan is to transform the canal into the world's longest swimming pool, to be called Pool Dotonbori. They hope to have it completed in time for the area's 400th anniversary in 2015.<br />
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The idea, while pretty epic, perplexes me. For one thing, Dotonbori canal is filthy. It has traditionally been somewhat of a headache for the Osaka City Council thanks to the legendary activity known as the 'Dotonbori Dive', in which drunk Osakans challenge each other to leap into the murky waters, especially after baseball games. Participants have been repeatedly warned of the toxic nature of the canal - according to the Council, there are 28 sewer outlets dotted along the river. Breathe it in, kids. <br />
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And why are they trying to transform Dotonbori - historically an area of shenanigans, vice, and self-indulgence - into a wonderland for watersports? It goes against everything Dotonbori represents. The catchphrase for Dotonbori is <i>kuidaore</i>, or eat until you drop. It is Japan's foodie destination. It is home to takoyaki and okonomiyaki. You're not supposed to swim after you eat at the best of times, so why would you put a swimming pool in the middle of a place where you are supposed to EAT until you DROP?<br />
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Glico Man, you athletic bastard. I bet this was all your idea.<br />
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-82886036622714286222012-11-14T14:51:00.003+13:002014-09-03T22:12:01.045+12:00Anime and Studio Ghibli Museum in TokyoLast weekend, Rialto Cinemas held the Reel Anime Film Festival, screening four recently released Japanese animation films. I went with <a href="http://rymanonfilm.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Ryman on Film</a> to watch two of the anime, <i>Wolf Children Ame and Yuki </i>(<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Ō</i></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>kami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki</i>), and Studio Ghibli's latest masterpiece, <i>From Up on Poppy Hill</i> (</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Kokuriko-zaka Kara</i>). Both were beautiful and relaxing to watch, but <i>Wolf Children</i> was my favourite, because the story was just so adorable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Admittedly, it took me a while to appreciate anime. I was brought up on a steady diet of Disney and didn't understand the point of an animated film that didn't have blonde princesses or song and dance routines. Like many in the west, my introduction to the style came with Hayao Miyazaki's <i>Spirited Away</i>, which I found strangely enchanting. Then I discovered <i>My Neighbor Totoro</i>, <i>Kiki's Delivery Service</i>, and <i>Grave of the Fireflies</i>. To this day, <i>Grave of the Fireflies</i> remains one of the most powerful films - animated or not - I have ever seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Studio Ghibli is the leader of Japanese animation, and when we were in Tokyo, we visited the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. We got off at Mitaka station, and walked along the tree-lined streets, admiring the traditional houses and enjoying the crisp air away from inner-city Tokyo. Every few metres was a post topped off with a little smiling Totoro, pointing out landmarks along the bus route to the museum. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totoro Bus Stop</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">After a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the museum, a fairytale-like yellow building surrounded by greenery, complete with a spiral staircase and tower. Totoro presides over the window of the entrance, watching you approach the museum. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totoro at the entrance to Ghibli Museum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Inside the museum are a series of rooms displaying the artwork and animation process of Ghibli films, with many recognizable characters decorating the walls. There is a Cat Bus for children to play on, and a movie theatre where you get to watch a special short film exclusive to the museum. On the rooftop is the giant robot from <i>Laputa: Castle in the Sky</i>. There is also a gift shop, and Ghibli-themed cafe.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The robot from Laputa (his head got chopped in the picture, sorry)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Ghibli Museum was a magical place to spend an afternoon in, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I even preferred it to Tokyo Disneyland. It's the only one of its kind, and you learn a lot about the studio and how their films are made. Tickets are 1000 yen, and must be purchased in advance. You can do this from an affiliated travel agency in your home country, or if you're resident in Japan, they can be purchased from Lawson. For more information see the <a href="http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/welcome/" target="_blank">Official Ghibli Museum Wesbite</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studio Ghibli Shop in Kyoto</td></tr>
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-16192952364492802702012-10-31T23:15:00.001+13:002014-09-03T22:13:13.605+12:00Halloween Post: Kyary Pamyu PamyuHalloween is always a non-event here, but if I ever had the opportunity to dress up, there is no doubt in my mind that I would choose to be a Harajuku girl. I have been obsessed with the idea ever since I was a high school student in Japan, buying glossy fashion magazines each week with bubblegum titles like 'POPTEEN' and 'Cawaii'. I couldn't understand the articles very well, but I loved looking at the street style pictures, all of which revolved around this mythical place - Harajuku.<br />
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Like many visitors to Tokyo, this year <a href="http://theonlyblondeinosaka.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/shopping-at-harajuku-things-you.html" target="_blank">I was overwhelmed</a> by the culture, colours and citizens of the real life Harajuku neighborhood. We went on a Sunday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the infamous fashion scene on display at Jingu Bridge - but were disappointed, as it was raining, and none of the Harajuku kids came out to play. The Harajuku girl remains as elusive as ever in my mind; a pastel, lolita dream.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takeshita-dori, Harajuku's famous shopping street</td></tr>
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The quintessential Harajuku girl can be embodied in one young Tokyoite, a 19-year-old who goes by the stage name of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. She started out as a fashion blogger, and became a model after being scouted outside a convenience store in Harajuku. She went on to have her own range of fake eyelashes, and eventually started a singing career, with a string of infectiously catchy hits - including a song describing the benefits of wearing fake eyelashes - contained within her debut album titled 'Moshi moshi Harajuku' (Hello Harajuku).<br />
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Her music videos are, to put it bluntly, batshit wacky. One minute she is dancing cutely, brandishing a lollipop, the next she is vomiting eyeballs. In another scene, she runs gracefully down a street in pink platform boots, with a piece of toast stuffed in her mouth. It's all a visual tribute to the Harajuku she hails from, in the most extreme, expressive way possible. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Image credit: <a href="http://kpopchaz.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://kpopchaz.tumblr.com/</a></td></tr>
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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is the perfect Halloween style icon. It's fitting that she has released a new music video in time for the holiday, aptly titled 'Fashion Monster.' I love her. I hope you do, too.<br />
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The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-62816596828228729752012-10-29T19:14:00.002+13:002014-09-03T22:14:07.842+12:00Japan's War and Peace Museums and Monuments<div style="text-align: left;">
As a history student, I'm fascinated by Japan's role in World War II. The atrocities committed by the Japanese army, as well as the suffering of Japanese themselves, have not easily faded from public memory. Even today, broaching the subject of Japan's wartime history has the power to create diplomatic incidents throughout Asia. </div>
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During my time in Japan so far, I've visited quite a few monuments, memorials, and museums to do with the war. While most aim to promote peace, some controversially celebrate and commemorate Japan's participants in the war, including notorious war leaders and criminals. In this post, I share my impressions of some of these places.<b style="color: #351c75;"> </b><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park</b></span></div>
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One of the most important museums in the world, the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial Museum is often the main point of interest on tourists' Hiroshima itineraries. It's located near the exact spot where the atomic bomb exploded on August 6, 1945, and with the stark Genbaku Dome visible in the background, you are immediately confronted by the city's tragic history. Within the museum is a chronological background of the events leading up to the atomic bombing, with carefully included - albeit brief - mentions of Japan's own atrocities in Asia. This is followed by the aftermath of the bombing, right up until the present, focusing on the global effort to promote peace and anti-nuclear values. The final exhibit displays the human cost of the atomic bomb. It is here that you come across photographs and objects that are hard to forget - the shadow of a dead man, the charred remains of a child's tricycle and school lunch. Human hair, skin and nails, and the tiny paper cranes that a young victim, Sadako, folded before dying of cancer. It's an intense, hard-hitting place. It takes a couple of hours to go through the museum, but you'll want the rest of the day free for some quiet reflection in the park.<span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Kure Yamato Museum</span></b></div>
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Less than an hour's drive from Hiroshima city is the Kure Yamato Museum, a museum about Japan's maritime history. The main attraction here is a one-tenth scale model of the famous battleship Yamato, which was actually built in the city of Kure. There is also a large objects room, with examples of fighter planes and human torpedoes. It all looks very gung-ho militaristic - but the museum maintains that, rather than promoting militarism, it is more of a tribute to the scientific and technological community, and engineering excellence of the Yamato. To reflect this, on one floor is an interactive room, where you can play with ship-handling simulators and take part in science demonstrations. All exhibits are in Japanese, but you can rent English headsets that provide a simple explanation of each display.<span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Osaka International Peace Center (Peace Osaka)</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: black;">Peace Osaka is one of the more expressly anti-war of Japan's war-themed museums.<span style="color: #351c75;"> <span style="color: black;">It provides insight into the air raids on Japan: while most people know about the atomic bombings, many don't realise that more people died as a result of the firebombing attacks that devastated Japan's major cities. The museum has a diorama of Osaka, showing what it looked like in the aftermath of the air raids - it's scary to see the burnt ruins of familiar landmarks.</span></span></span> <span style="color: black;">It also has a special exhibition of atrocities committed by the Japanese in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. While this may be seen as an attempt to move away from the 'victim' narrative that has typically dominated Japan's wartime history, for some reason this exhibit, unlike the others, has not been completely translated into English - which is interesting in itself. For a museum that claims to be 'international', you have to wonder if there are some historical narratives they are trying to hide. There is also an Auschwitz exhibit, which seems strangely out of place in a museum that otherwise focuses exclusively on Japan's role in the war. Located near Osaka Castle, the museum has seen better days - it's no Hiroshima Peace Park, but still worth a visit because the subject matter is really quite unique.</span></span><span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: black;">Yasukuni Shrine is an infamous shrine in Tokyo that is dedicated to all those who died serving Japan in war. As the shrine is said to hold the spirits of several war criminals, Yasukuni has attracted considerable controversy. The shrine makes international news whenever Japanese politicians visit, as the visits are seen as the government's support for Japan's wartime atrocities. As a shrine, it's beautiful, and you might not even pick up on its wartime connections on first sight. But walk around the main shrine building, and you'll find some interesting statues - including a kamikaze pilot, and a monument dedicated to Justice Radha Binod Pal, the only member of the Tokyo Trials to judge Japan's leaders as not guilty of war crimes. Yasukuni Shrine also houses the Yushukan museum, a military museum that tries to show the glory of Japan's wartime actions. There is even a gift shop that sells all sort of nationalistic souvenirs, such as rice crackers with the Rising Sun ensign imprinted on them.</span> </span><span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Yokoamicho Park and Air Raid Monument</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNRfoPMtxlY/UI4dpQvtQVI/AAAAAAAABU8/U9op_FickhE/s1600/DSCF0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNRfoPMtxlY/UI4dpQvtQVI/AAAAAAAABU8/U9op_FickhE/s1600/DSCF0234.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wi6qTZ0AC8c/T88s5jxRC_I/AAAAAAAAAhE/8MNPLKCW5Xo/s1600/DSCF1071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Located in a quiet suburb, Yokoamicho Park is easily overlooked, but I think it's one of the most poignant and peaceful places in Tokyo. This park was originally intended as a memorial to those who died in the Great Kanto Earthquake, but after World War II it also became a memorial to the victims of the Tokyo firebombings. The main feature of the park is the Dwelling of Remembrance, a striking floral monument dedicated to the air raid victims. There is also a small bronze statue depicting school children victims of the bombings, and a little outdoor museum, which shows everyday items warped into metal lumps as a result of the fires that destroyed much of Tokyo. Here, the monuments, statues and objects are simply left to speak for themselves. </div>
The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-54664047386735226772012-10-19T22:24:00.002+13:002014-09-03T22:14:49.833+12:00"Tokyo Cheapo" and Japan on the CheapIt's getting closer to graduation, and everyone I know seems to be planning elaborate travel adventures to celebrate their post-university lives. The details are all over Facebook like a rash. Music festivals in Europe. Road trips across America. Backpacking around Asia. As I will most likely be spending the majority of my summer in pyjamas watching my box set of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, I hate you all. What I don't understand is, how are you meant to afford all of this jet setting? It took me a whole year of working as a minimum wage slave to save up enough for 5 months studying in Japan, combined with scholarships and student living costs. How are you supposed to fund travel that is purely self-indulgent?<br />
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As a result of my travel-envy, I recently came across an excellent website, <a href="http://tokyocheapo.com/" target="_blank">Tokyo Cheapo</a>, which claims to be 'dedicated to giving the best advice for making your yen go further when visiting or living in Tokyo.' The guides cover an almost endless range of topics for enjoying Japan's notoriously expensive capital on the cheap, from <a href="http://tokyocheapo.com/food-and-drink/you-can-never-have-enough-ramen/" target="_blank">where to eat the best ramen</a> to <a href="http://tokyocheapo.com/lifestyle/cheap-sex-beating-the-cost-of-loving-in-tokyo/" target="_blank">where to have the cheapest sex</a>, if that's what you're, uh, into.<br />
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One article that blew my mind was <a href="http://tokyocheapo.com/travel/3-nights-in-tokyo-on-125-dollars/" target="_blank">How to Spend 3 Nights in Tokyo All Included on 10,000 yen</a>, or just over 150 NZ dollars. The author gives a complete itinerary of where to stay, eat, go and even what souvenirs you can buy on a budget of just 3000 yen per day. Obviously, a traveler following this itinerary needs to be prepared to 'rough it' a bit for 3 nights - the author's accommodation of choice is a 24 hour manga cafe - but what a cool experience, right?! And sometimes you can pick up <a href="http://grabaseat.co.nz/" target="_blank">grabaseat</a> flights from Auckland to Tokyo for around $800... so following the Tokyo Cheapo guide would mean experiencing a few nights in Japan for LESS than $1000. This is now on my travel must-do list.<br />
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Thinking back to my time in Osaka, almost everything we did was with a budget in mind. To save money on food, we spent a lot of time at the Lawson 100 yen store, buying things like onigiri (rice balls), cup noodles, and breads for lunches. When we ate out for dinner, we often went to meal-ticket restaurants like Matsuya and Sukiya, where you can get a decent-sized bowl of gyudon or curry rice for under 500 yen. Instead of going to bars, a lot of the time we'd all go to convenience stores to buy alcohol and drink it on campus, with someone's iPod standing in for karaoke (naughty, but undeniably cheap). As for activities, sometimes the most interesting days were spent just walking around random neighborhoods, for a grand total of the 300 yen it cost for the train trip. Also, window shopping in crazy shops and fancy department stores (recommended for those with a certain degree of self control).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying on lobster hats will cost you nothing but your dignity!</td></tr>
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I think it's great how Tokyo Cheapo are showing that it's possible to fully experience Japan no matter what your budget is. And, as the saying goes, travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-21115748350478030962012-09-28T23:00:00.001+12:002014-10-06T01:22:59.608+13:00Some exciting news... Kizuna ProjectI miss Japan so much. The other day it was cold, and I was wearing a jacket I haven't worn in months. I put my hands in the pockets, and what should I find? A map of the Tokyo subway. I remember exactly how it got there, too. First week in Japan, first time using the subway. We were stuck in some random station, trying to make sense of the Japanese map. A kind man came up to us and, with a wink, gave us this English-language version. It was our bible for the rest of the week, but would soon be replaced by maps of the Osaka subway. The Tokyo one has apparently lived in my pocket ever since.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the Tokyo Subway... I'm keeping this forever.</td></tr>
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I apologise for the lack of updates recently, I have been frantically working on my final papers so I can obtain my degree in Japanese at the end of the year. I'm also attempting to sort out my post-university life. I haven't really talked about what I do - except for visiting Sailor Moon cafes and eating far too much - but I want to be a journalist, and I'm currently in the process of applying for journalism school. I have an interview coming up next week, so cross your fingers for me, おねがいします。<br />
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Over the next few months I will have a lot more to write about, because... I'm going back to Japan! I've been selected along with 9 other students from my university (and about 100 other students from New Zealand and Australia), to travel to Japan to learn about the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the reconstruction efforts. From December 9-18, our group will spend time in the disaster areas in the Tohoku region, visiting local schools, taking part in volunteer activities, and staying with local families.<br />
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The programme is called the <a href="http://sv2.jice.org/kizuna/e/what/about/" target="_blank">Kizuna (Bond) Project</a>, and has been implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Centre. Over the next few years they expect more than 10,000 students from 41 countries to be involved in this programme - so if you're a high school or university student, check it out. Its goal is to promote global understanding about Japan's recovery efforts. Participants are to act as messengers to inform people about the state of post-quake Japan - which, as we know, has had a bit of a rough time in the global press. <br />
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It looks like I'm about to embark on a whole new adventure as The Only Blonde in Tohoku... stay posted!The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979823393058722453.post-55038855467447593102012-09-20T14:38:00.000+12:002014-09-03T22:16:06.488+12:00Hanami - Flower ViewingOne of the strangest (and luckiest) things about being back in New Zealand is that when I arrived in Japan at the start of the year it was spring there, and now that I'm home it's spring again here! After what was apparently a warm winter, the cherry blossoms around Dunedin are in early bloom, bringing back memories of those first few weeks in Japan, drinking chu-hi at Osaka Castle and going on trips to Kyoto, making new friends and enjoying the hanami season. Last week, thanks to the Japanese Department, we had our very own hanami party at Otago University.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clocktower and Cherry Blossoms</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Otago University</td></tr>
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We had rain, hail and snow earlier in the week, but luckily it was a beautiful day, and the sakura had survived the harsh weather. There were probably over a hundred people who gathered under the university's cherry blossom trees. We listened to the Koto and Taiko groups perform traditional Japanese music live, and enjoyed sushi... as well as chips, coke and muffins (proper Japanese food is slightly hard to find here). The party attracted quite a lot of attention from students walking to class, who seemed slightly bemused by all the people wearing yukata, dancing around, and worshipping the cherry blossoms. I was excited because I finally got an opportunity to wear a yukata my friends in Hiroshima had given me five years ago, which I forgot to take with me to Japan this time. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yukata ladies... that's me on the left (ignore my shoes)!</td></tr>
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It might not quite have had the glory or drunkenness of a hanami party in Japan, but the sakura were there, and that was all that mattered. It was awesome to be able to experience a little slice of Japanese culture right here in Dunedin.<br />
<br />The Only Blonde in Osakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202471784604083906noreply@blogger.com2