Jonas's travels: Sapporo, October
Atrocious spelling ahead!
Since I use a laptop (weird keyboard layout and really small keys) with Japanese keyboard layout (even weirder than normal), many typing mistakes are made. If you feel the need to impress me with your proof reading skills, feel free to send e-mails to the address printed further down.
Only chocolate
Japan, the country where they have more bureaucracy than in Sweden. I moved to Sapporo to do some research and hopefully learn some Japanese. Unfortunately, the deadline for applications to the Japanese course had passed (almost one whole week late) when I arrived, so there was absolutely no possibility at all to take Japanese courses at the university...
Arrival (20051007)
Off to an excellent start, the luggage did not travel to the
same destination as I did. After filling out some "my luggage is
missing"-forms, I was the only traveler left at the
airport. This meant that there were plenty of customs agents to
check what little luggage I had left, so all my chocolate boxes
where x-rayed and so on. The second picture shows all the things
I had with me, the clothes I was wearing and some
chocolate. Excellent. This shows the kind of forward thinking
person I am. One did not become a Ph.D. student for nothing.
Living (20051007)
My apartment. Not very large. It is however easy to get up in the
mornings despite the jet lag, since people are building houses just
next door... At least the subway is very close (the small white
building).
Strangeness (200510xx)
There are some strange things here, such as cars from Lappland, the
"bread", the dress code and the signs ("do not accept gropers, it is
indeed a crime").
Computer (20051010)
This is the computer I bought
here. It has all the weird Japanese buttons that you could want.
Bike (20051011?)
I got a bike (though
of course in Japanese "bike" means motor bike) for free from one of my
colleagues. Excellent. It is however not in mint condition, but it
takes me from home to the university with no problems. The bell is
missing (and I probably will not be putting important items in the
front basket since it has a large hole in the bottom), but no-one
seems to use the bell in Japan (maybe it is impolite), instead you use
screaming breaks to signal that you are about to run someone
over. This bike is too low for me, with the saddle in the highest
possible position. Everyone else uses their bikes with the lowest
possible position. Maybe there is something here too that I do not
understand.
Golf? (20051013)
This seems to be popular (there are places here and there). It
looks like a cross between miniature golf, golf and crocket. If you
think golf requires to much exercise.
Foreigners (20051014)
There was a party for newly arrived foreign students at
Hokudai. This guy challenged me to arm wrestling, because I "looked
very strong" (probably because clothes here are so tiny it looks like
you are about to explode out of them...), which he lost. There was
another guy from Sweden there, so I got to practice my Swedish a
little. There was also a strange version of bingo and some singing of
the Hokudai song...
First time in Susukino (20051015)
Since I live quite close to the Susukino district (one of Japan's
largest entertainment and red light districts) I went there to get
something to eat when I finally had a night with nothing important to
do. I ran in to pretty much the only two people (of 2 million) in
Sapporo I know and went with them to a French hip hop club. The
pictures show Japan as I always think of it, strange clothes worn by
natives, a green thing that you are supposed to drink with a straw but
which has the fluidity of ice cream, and a guy showing of his muscles
at the club to much amusement. This was probably the first time anyone
commented on how much like Michael J Fox I look. Since no trains or
other means of transportation runs between midnight and 6 in Sapporo,
everyone starts partying at about midnight and keeps going until the
trains start, which is a bit tiring when you have construction workers
building a house next to your window...
More fascinating bread (20051022?)
The somewhat peculiar bacon filled Danish pastry (wienerbröd).
Working? (20051019?)
People have written and asked if I ever actually do any work,
since all the pictures seem to be from when I am not doing serious
stuff... So here are some pictures from my lab. The place I sit, some
other parts of the room, and the view from the window. Evidently the
agricultural department have their experiment fields next to our
building. As evidenced by the two people in the front row sleeping
during class (last picture), not everyone works like crazy all the time in Japanese
universities. So I fit right in.
More bread (20051019?)
I bought some bread in "Vie de France". There you can get the
really French green bread with melon taste, as well as a pain riche
with a sausage and pickles in. Very French.
Excursion (20051017)
The new exchange students were taken on a trip to a ski jumping
facility near Sapporo (you can see it from my lab). Nice view. The
green thing on the left of one of the city pictures is part of the
Hokudai campus, which is huuuuuge. I also have more excursion pictures. Don't forget to push
dust in...
Salsa party (20051022)
When I was leaving one of the volunteer Japanese courses that I go
to in the vain hope that I will some day understand what people here
are saying, I found a note about a salsa party. It was quite nice,
though I still pretty much suck at salsa as well as most other
dances. The guy in the middle is the very nice salsa teacher,
surrounded by my Japanese volunteer teachers (the guy in the middle of
the other photo, wearing a shirt with Swedish flags is of course not
the teacher, it's me).
Bazaar (20051022)
I went to a bazaar where exchange students can by cheap stuff. They
were not kidding about the cheap part. I bought two suits for 2 Euro
each, a leather jacket for 3 Euro and these colorful underwear for 10
Euro cent each.
More apartment pictures (20051019?)
It turns out that the floor is not wood, it is plastic that looks a
bit like wood. It is however much softer, so if you sit down on the
chair, there will be marks in the floor. Though they disappear after a
while.
Ramen street (20051019?)
Ramen street, where
there are only (but lot's of) restaurants that only sell ramen.
Sightseeing (20051021?)
A breath of Scandinavia (actually a bakery that sells the weird
thing people over here call bread). Japanese people like the changing
colors of the leaves in the autumn (so many people come to Hokkaido
to see this, since the rest of the country is too hot to have
seasons). Since everyone else on the Hokudai campus were tourists
taking pictures of the trees, I took some too, though in Sweden I
usually just think "oh no, rain and snow are coming" when the leaves
change color in the same way.
Update on the bike (20051020)
I broke my bike. It turns out to be beyond repair even. It is
cheaper to buy another bike. The rear tire pretty much exploded, so if
you ride the bike you immediately get a flat tire.
Bread! (20051023)
I found a bakery that actually sells something that looks like it
could be bread. For instance the one called Russian bread. Of course,
I bought the slightly more exotic bread, with pickles, sausage and
coconut flakes.
Sapporo Art Park (20051023)
Today I visited the Sapporo art park, which was very nice. There
are many sculptures, all placed in a nice setting in the
forest. Everyone takes a picture of themselves sitting on the "rest
here please" sculpture. There were also some kids that laughed at me
when entering the forest, saying I looked like Americans look (which I
guess is true). I took a picture of one of them, who immediately took
this cool pose.
Cool toys (20051023)
In Japan they have so cool things! Everyone has a GPS map with
built in CD player etc. in their car.
Healthy (20051023)
Since I do not drink alcohol and do not smoke (both of which is
quite common in Japan, and still they live longer than all other
people, go figure...) everyone seems to think I am some kind of health
freak (or at least a freak). Since the restaurants in Japan are super
cheap compared to Sweden I always eat out (also means I don't have to
go look for kitchen related stuff in stores). Maybe not so healthy,
though. On the left is what I ate, on the right what my Japanese guide
had... I usually try to order something I have never had before,
unless that looks really disgusting. So sometimes I end up with
weird things.
More leaves (20051024)
The weather was great so I was sitting outside with my computer
doing some work. I also snapped a few pictures of the trees the
tourists invade the Hokudai campus to see. My relatives tell me they
have snow at home now. Here I was sitting in my t-shirt (though of
course, some of my friends think I do this when it is snowing too).
Banking (20051024)
Today I had to open a new bank account, since the one I already have
here in Japan does not want to accept money from Sweden (a bank that
does not take money when offered, go figure). They have the excellent
Barbapapa in some sort of commercial. The cash card I will receive
later is also quite cool.
Shopping (20051026)
I went shopping for a pen and some post cards today. I found this
in the same store. Who knows what kind of animal this once was, and
more to the point, what are you supposed to do with it?
Toyohira river (20051026)
The river I live next to. Used to be much larger (at least
according to a drunk old man I was talking to), but then someone built
a dam.
Drills (20051026)
Today there was a fire drill where I live. Last week there was one
at Hokudai, but nobody seemed to care when the fire alarm went
off. Here everyone had to evacuate and listen to what sounded like a
lot of important information (though only in Japanese of
course...). Then you could play with fire extinguishers, which I have
done before, but never in Japan so I tried one. It is basically just
as exciting as the ones we have in Sweden, only with less water.
Welcome party (20051026)
After the fire drill there was some information, like how do you
sort your garbage (if you do it wrong, it will not be collected...).
After this, there was a party where all the new people like me had to
introduce themselves. There was also free drinks, free food
etc. Though why are there always dried fishes lying in the snacks?
Japanese people like cute things, and babies are considered very cute,
so people show me pictures of babies all the time. I snapped a photo
of one of them. Here another person mentioned that I look a lot like
Michael J Fox, though some did not agree (they thought I was the
spitting image of Tom Cruise). My friends and relatives back in Sweden
seem to have forgotten to mention this to me, so I have lived most of
my life not knowing that I look like famous movie stars.
"New" bike (20051024)
Since I managed to break my first bike in under one week, I acquired a
"new" (used) bike. This seems to be in good condition and I actually
paid money for it (though not very much, maybe 25 Euro). Though the
day after I bought it, I broke the bell.. hmmm...
Language studies (20051027)
I go to a language course (volunteer driven and basically free of
charge) for wives of students (since I missed the deadline for the
course for students). This makes me something of an odd card in this deck.
Gala dinner (20051027)
Today there was another party (life is hard sometimes...). It was an
international charity festival. About 600 people, most of them in
kimono or suits were attending (so I had to use one of my chic 200
yen suit jackets). There was a lot of good food. The thing that looks
like Swedish sausage with whipped cream (which seems like a pretty
disgusting combination, i.e. quite possibly popular in Japan) turned
out to be some sort of sweet dessert, not at all disgusting.
Dinner company (20051027)
These are the people who had to
sit next to me at the dinner. They only spoke to me in Japanese, so I
mangled the Japanese language in my usual manner but nobody seemed to
mind. At the end of the party everyone was supposed to dance some bon
odori. As it happens, I have done this no less than two times before,
so I sometimes get an arm or such going in the correct
direction... Everyone of course told me that I was very good at this,
though they are so polite that you more or less have to knock someone
unconscious to be considered not good... The picture of me in a jacket
is also something of a rarity, normally I only dress up for
funerals. Of course, my Swedish "friends" being such nice and
sensitive people commented that "goddamit, this is neither the 80-ies, nor Miami; buy a
shirt". Maybe I actually want to look like an extra in Miami Vice?
Entertainment (20051027)
During the dinner there were many displays of various Asian
traditional dances and similar things. Unfortunately it was quite
dark (and it didn't really help that people dancing are usually moving
quite a bit...), so most of my pictures are really bad, though I have some pretty
cool videos (that I don't have space enough for here).
Colleagues (20051027)
The first picture shows my Polish colleague (on the right), who I met
in Mexico. He
was seated pretty much as far away from me as possible in this huge
room. The other picture shows another colleague (and his family) from
my lab. He was the one who got me the ticket for this party, many many
thanks.
Nature (20051028)
I live near the river. So does a lot of snow flies, evidently, so
when I ride my bike along the river, the stick to me. I looked like
this all over, the face, the hair, the shirt, the
arms... everywhere. Not so nice, but I've experienced similar things
in Sweden, where the insects also tend to bite you (which these did
not).
Since it is my birthday tomorrow (and tomorrow is Saturday, so I
won't be at work then), Swedish custom says I should bring birthday
cakes and offer these to my colleagues. It was a bit wobbly trying to
balance cakes for 25 or so people while riding my bicycle. It turns
out that cakes are small and super expensive in Japan, even compared
to the otherwise quite expensive Sweden. This meant that I only bought
two, and they disappeared quite quickly. So I guess people appreciated
the gesture at least. While waiting for my birthday cakes to be made,
I found something that looked very much like a famous Swedish cake,
though this was quite different upon closer inspection. I also found
dried anchovies and shrimps hiding among the cakes. Why?
Working (20051028)
I had my first presentation at a seminar today. This is a
picture taken later at the same seminar. Not everyone is working as
hard as you might expect, nodding of etc. (and some foreigner was
taking pictures with his camera...).
More partying (20051028)
I managed to be included in the professor dinner today, where I
ate a flower, saw some boiled crab and fish head thing (eating fish
heads does not really appeal to me though), ate the Hokkaido specialty
Gingis Kahn (lamb, very good). Like many restaurants, it was
"nomihoudai", i.e. drink as much as you like for no extra
cost. Unfortunately, I don't drink alcohol, otherwise this is really a
bargain for Swedes... though I did down a fair amount of juice and
tea.
Scrabble (20051028)
Last week I won a game of Scrabble, so this week a rematch was
required. As can be seen, this was again a quite comfortable win for
Sweden. I think the "not drinking alcohol" part helps quite a bit. As
does the fact that we play in English (it is believed that there is no
such thing as a Japanese Scrabble, though there is a Swedish one, but
nobody wants to play that one over here...). The left picture is taken
just before I played the triple word bonus "porky" for a nice 42 points.
Mr. Pigeon (20051029)
My name (Jonas) means pigeon in Hebrew, so I sometimes sign papers as
Mr. Pigeon here. Mr Lakemountain Pigeon. The main reason being that
the kanji for this are simple, and that it amuses the locals when
foreigners do crazy things like this.
Photo (20051029)
In Japan people have
really cool (and by cool I mean expensive) cameras and photograph
really weird things. Who knows what this guy is photographing.
Birthday food (20051029)
Today was my
birthday, and Saturday to boot, so I first went on language exchange during the early hours
and then on Japanese lessons in the afternoon. They served some small
cakes, with cute figures on. Afterwards I dragged a few people from
the place I live along for dinner, which was good. Everyone but me got
dessert. Afterwards I bought a cake.
Language exchange (20051030)
Today I went and had some language exchange again. I also ate a fish,
now that I had a real live Japanese person on hand to teach me how you
do this using chop sticks. Not that this made my eating seem cultured
(through no fault of my instructor though), but at least I have had
the theory explained to me. Then I saw a dog of a type I saw in a funny
TV series. This was a puppy though, so it was moving too fast for me and
my camera...
Cool wallet (20051030)
Since everyone always has enormous amounts of coins in Japan, my wallet broke. Naturally, I fixed it with some tape. This seems to impress people here. Several have, upon seeing it, said "cool, is that some cool design?". When I answer that "no, I broke it and fixed it with tape" they usually laugh at me. I figure people laughing at me is almost as good as people laughing with me (at least some of the present parties are happy, haha).
Vikings (20051030)
This could quite possibly be a Viking. This is some sort of beer
cellar (drinking place), but it was closed when I was passing by.
Cuteness? (20051030)
I have now been told (repeatedly) that my hands are cute. Mostly
because they are so small and I am so big (probably a nice way of
saying "fat", since I am not taller than Japanese people)... hmmm.
Seriousness? (20051030)
I have now received my two cash cards (and also have a discount
card at the electronics store I bought my network cable at). The look
of them is indeed very different from Swedish cash cards... and they
also lack any visible magnetic strips or other non-plastic parts. The
name is in katakana, which is cool.
Manliness (20051031)
My Swedish pen finally broke down after years of trusty
service. Having bought an excellent Hello Kitty pen (the manly purple
one, not the girly pink one) in the Tokyu Hands
in Shinjuku earlier this year, I went to Tokyu Hands here in Sapporo
to look for a new pen. I did not find anything really weird that I
liked, so I settled for this very manly but still cheap pen.
Flowers (20051031)
There was a flower arrangement in the Information Science building
where I "work". This reminded me that I keep getting snail mail spam
with suggestions to try some Japanese flower arranging. Maybe it's
because of my manly pen (see above).
Complaints should likely be sent to Jonas. If you would like to have a high resolution copy of one of these images (or some other you suspect I have), please feel free to let me know.