A Little Tidbit

Friday I did a bit of grocery shopping and was very elated to find a loaf of bread with eight slices.

You see, in Japan, all loaves are the same size and it's all white bread. Brand matters not. The difference is the thickness of the slices. They range from four to ten slices per loaf. I have only heard tell of the ten-slice loaves. This Friday was the first time I had seen eight-slice loaves. Usually I must settle for six slices.

I'll have to document more Adventures in Food in Japan sometime as well as Christmas in Japan.

Answers

Show me pictures of your car! and if my bike can fit in it.

It's a little Daihatsu Mira K-car. About 10 years old, I think? The back seats fold down. Perhaps if you take a wheel off I could fit it in there. I'd have to check it out with my bike.

My bike is a hand-me-down from my predecessor and probably her predecessor, too. It's a mama chari. It has two speeds: slow and stop. It doesn't like hills. I mostly use it for shopping.

public transportation.
chopsticks: do they have forks anywhere?
maybe what you know about the government?
is it weird to pay 10000 yen for like a banana?

Forks are plentiful. All I could tell you about the government is what I heard a few months ago. Basically, the last prime minister Yasuo Fukuda resigned and Taro "one culture, one civilization, one language, and one ethnic group" Aso took his place. The Liberal Democratic Party has been in power in Japan for nearly all of the post-war period. Both Fukuda and Aso are LDP members.

That banana had better be made of gold if it's going for 10,000 yen. In the summer bananas were about 300-400 yen for 4-5 bananas, I think...?

As for public transportation, there isn't too much and it's pretty expensive. Trains are pretty fairly priced, but buses charge you according to how far you travel. For example, it costs me about 1,800 yen to go from Osaka to Kaibara ( 2.5 hours of travel). It costs me 800 yen to go from Aogaki to Kaibara by bus (45 minutes). It's much better if you're in a more populated area. Taxis are killer: 4,500 yen from Kaibara to Aogaki (30 minutes).

Nara

I was in Nara City from Nov 21st to the 23rd. I hoped on the train right after work, got a bit lost trying to find the Kintetsu Line in Tsuruhashi, and made it to a fellow ALT's apartment by late evening.



Nara is a former capital city from the 700s and is known for Nara Park, which is crawling in deer, young families, and tourists. You can purchase a stack of shika sembei or deer crackers for 150 yen and be accosted by little deer. I've heard stories and seen pictures of deer bowing politely in order to receive a cracker, but these guys were pretty adamant. They're all pretty tame, if pushy, and you can pet them. In October there are a few antler cutting ceremonies, where many of the male deer are rounded up and have their antlers removed to keep the deer from going on bloody rampages.





This is the approach to Todai-ji. You can buy all the souvenirs you could ever want here. I picked up some delicious deer droppings (chocolate peanuts) for some neighbors and some deer-shaped cookies for everyone at my base school. I never ever ever buy omiyage when I visit other towns and figured I probably should this time.



This is Todai-ji, the largest wooden structure in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside you'll find a Buddha (the Daibutsu or Large Buddha) and some guardian statues. To Buddha's left there is a pillar with a hole in the bottom. If you crawl through it, then (according to various sources) you'll become enlightened/have a long life/have happiness/have a wish granted. The hole is the size of the Buddha's nostril. I was the only person above the age of nine waiting in line to crawl through (hint: go in diagonally with one arm in front).



Crummy picture. One just has to wonder, though: did I climb out of or into Buddha's head? What if I was already enlightened and this undid all my work? What then?



After Todai-ji we headed over to Nigatsu-do, which offered a great sight of the city and some tea. I also picked up what I've seen called a goshuin, a noukyouchou, or a shuinchou. Whatever you want to call it, it's a book of stamps and calligraphy signed by a priest at a temple. For me it's just a souvenir, but it acts as proof of your visit to a temple. I'll post some pictures later.

Then it was back to the apartment for some delicious lemon soup, cheese and crackers (boursin!), and fruity tea. Oh yeah, and SLEEP!

On Sunday we saw the Kofuku-ji complex.



While waiting in line to see some Buddhist statues in a stupa we chitchatted a little with some Japanese ladies who wanted to know if I got my little red pepper charm from Korea. The conversation was prefaced by a listing of languages that we might have possibly been speaking (French? English?).



Also part of Kohfukuji was this octogonal temple with a Kannon statue inside. More info here.



Afterwards we walked around the newer part of town. We got some fresh mochi. Mmm mmm! Too bad I was already bursting at the seams from all the food I had eaten throughout the day.

I'm looking forward to returning to Nara one day and seeing more of it.