Tokyo Bay, Ralphing, and Fireworks

During the summer Japan has a lot of festivals (matsuri). They are in celebration of the summer, or the harvest, or the dead, or ancient star-crossed lovers...the list goes on and on and so does the celebrating. These matsuri are a lot like the 4th of July in America, except, of course, Japan-style. There's picnicking, parades, street food (octopus balls and chicken cartilage are some of the crowd favorites), and most importantly FIREWORKS. Japan is the master of the fireworks show. You have not seen fireworks until you have watched an hour and a half long fireworks presentation above the Tokyo skyline.

Last time we were in Japan, we watched the most famous fireworks show in Tokyo at the Sumidagawa River. Although it was simply awe-inspiring, we could not force ourselves to brave the heat and the crowds (upwards of 1million people) to make it again this time. So, we settled for watching local firework shows from our apartment's balcony—that is, until the Odaiba Fireworks Festival over Tokyo Bay.

A few days before the festival, Jonathan received an email from a lawyer we kept hearing about, but never had a chance to meet. He went to the same undergrad and law school and is well known among Tokyo attorneys as both an outstanding lawyer and an avid sailor. Yes, that's right, sailor, as in sailboating. Jonathan had been slipping in words here and there about this guy to his friends, hoping that somehow we might meet him and by some stroke of luck be invited to sail with him on his boat. As often happens, lady luck did visit us, and in this email we were invited to enjoy front row seats to watch the Odaiba fireworks from the middle of Tokyo Bay in a sailboat.

Now, I don't know if you have ever been on a sailboat in the ocean, but I can tell you it's not exactly the romantic experience you might imagine it to be, at least not when the waters are rough. First of all, sailing is a lot of work. There are hundreds of ropes to pull and adjust, and you can't do it from just one place on the boat, you have to run around front to back, side to side, trying to stay balanced while the boat rocks and the sail billows. I, of course, did not perform any of this work, but I watched as others did, and it looked downright stressful. Then there is the rocking. I've been on boats before, but I have never experienced the total body jolting, back and forth rocking that I experienced in this sailboat. I was told that this rocking was magnified by the wake of thousands of other boats that were also making their way into the bay. The email suggested that we take seasickness pills before we got on the boat, but I laughed it off as a thing for sissies. Seasickness, I thought, was for the weak of heart. I, however, (I imagined) am an adventurous, hearty, sea-faring lass. There was no need for such things as seasickness pills.

About 30 minutes into it I was ralphing over the side of the boat. I did not stop spewing for the next 2 hours. When the first eruption came, I was applauded by another male guest who exclaimed, "Someone popped the cork on the champagne!" He then laughed and told his girlfriend to get a camera. They like to record these sorts of things apparently. Then there was the sweet, drunk Japanese girl who rubbed my back and kept offering me gum. I finally took a piece to be nice/to get her to stop, but as soon as I put it in my mouth...well, you know what happened. Jonathan didn't notice my "situation" until Judd from Georgia, the sweet, drunk girl's boyfriend pointed at me and said, "I think your wife is barfing over there..." Jonathan only came over momentarily; barfing is kind of a one-man show.

I was later informed that there are three stages of seasickness: 1. You think you are going to die. 2. You want to die. 3. You die. Ehhh.....

Once we arrived at our destination, I could feel my body reset and begin to recover. We enjoyed the fireworks and ate junk food. Well, I didn't eat junk food, but I watched and enjoyed as others did. The fireworks were spectacular. And although I dreaded the two and a half hour trip back to the harbor, I was able to avoid the humiliation of hanging over the back of the boat. In fact, it was a rather nice return trip under the stars of the Tokyo night sky.

Jonathan is a natural born sailor.

In between dry-heaves.

Rainbow Bridge

Watch this Video of my favorite fireworks:

Japan-The land of Earthquakes

Jonathan and I have been in several earthquakes during the last week and I have been on edge ever since. Here is a list of the strongest:

• August 9 in the evening--7.1
• August 10 early morning--6.4
• August 12 early morning--6.6

Screenshot for a recent anime film
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

These are strong earthquakes, although when you are in an earthquake safe building even these large earthquakes feel gentle but other worldly. All of a sudden you feel yourself begin to sway, like the building is hula-hooping in slow motion beneath your feet. Flat screen TVs, precariously balanced on their plastic bases, begin to rock back and forth and if you you look closely you can see the glass in the windows ripple as if it were liquid. Earthquakes don't last very long, just a minute or so, but there is certainly something terrifying in those minutes that has to do with being out of control and waiting for life to happen to you.

This feeling of being out of control is something that I dread. It's a literal panic inducing terror, not just a discomfort. It's the same feeling I get when I walk on to an airplane. It's a lot of waiting and letting life happen. Granted, this is, in reality, the state of our lives every minute. I might believe I have some control, and because I flutter around too busy to think about what may or may not be happening around me, the capriciousness of life is easy to forget. But when you are standing in a door frame on the 13th floor praying for a building to stay erect although the ground is shifting beneath it, you come to realize what little control you have over the world.

For some people, this kind of life-is-out-of-my-hands revelation makes them feel free. With relief and trust, they leave their lives in the care of some higher power to do with it what he/she/it will. I would like to be more like those kinds of people.

But the earthquakes were also exciting. During an earthquake, Jonathan and I rush to the nearest door frame and hold on to each other tight until it's over. When we realize that all is well we are happy and excited. That is, unless, I have woken Jonathan up to live through an earthquake that he would have otherwise slept through...poor Jonny.

Gwyn and John: Visitors of the Year Award

We were lucky enough to have Jonathan's recently married sister and brother-in-law, Gwyn and John, come for a week long Tokyo visit. We were especially looking forward to spending a week with them because we haven't had a chance to spend much time with John, who, it turns out, is an exceptional guy.

I hope they had a fun time. We really tried to fill up their week vacation with exciting Japanese things. I was the official tour guide since Jonathan was at work all week long. I was really surprised with how well I can navigate around Tokyo. It doesn't feel like home, but it does feel like...maybe a home away from home.

Gwyn and John, we loved having you share our little studio apartment with us for a week. It was so great getting to know you two better. You two are a very cute couple. And John, thanks for the Panda Ballerina.

Here are some highlights from their trip:

Young lovers walking through a Japanese Garden

Begging me to take them home so they can sleep off their jet lag. But I was unrelenting.

Ramen, the real kind.

Just in case you wonder what John brought back from Japan as a souvenir.

Best street performer ever: Japanese guy wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes.

Gwynnie's favorite orange coy.

Cool temple.

Is that the Imperial Prince and Princess?

John liked this fish dragon.

Gwynnie made me take them on one of the tallest ferris wheels in the world: The Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.

John was concerned about the message that this Hello Kitty is sending the public.

Giant Buddha in Kamakura

Giant Buddha's shoes.

Gwyn and John love conveyor belt sushi.

They also love Okonomiyaki.

The don't love waking up at 4:30 am to see the fish market, but they put on their happy faces for the event.

Gwynnie loves to eat this raw.

Yum...tuna.

It take three guys to butcher this baby.

It's 8 am and we have already been up for 4 hours. We were waiting in line for an hour to get a sushi breakfast. By the time we finally got inside we felt ill from breathing the exhaust from passing trucks, but once we started to dig in, the fresh sushi brought us back to life. Delish!

Tokyo's Yukult Swallows

Baseball is a national past time here in Japan. People love the sport and they love their baseball players. Tokyo's team is called the Yukult Swallows and we have adopted them as our hometown heroes for the summer. There is the only one American on the team who also just so happens to be a crowd favorite, Jamie D'antona. They chant his name through thick accents while pumping their fists in the most civilized and reserved manner.

As you would expect, Japanese baseball culture is bit different from what you might experience at...let's say, Fenway Park. There is no cursing the ump, no ranting, no raving. There is, however, contained excitement and a variety of group cheers that seem cute and celebratory instead of carnivorous. This is the Japanese way.


We've been to two baseball games so far and it's always been clean family fun.

Pre-game show. Notice the dragon/dog thing.

This man is showing his approval of the Swallows in-fielding by giving a gentle tap on his banging sticks.

Every one sings this song Karaoke style to pump up the Swallows.

What's up with the umbrellas?...

Was it raining?...

NO! The Swallows just hit a HOMERUN!! Get your umbrella's ready to celebrate:


Watch this video for the Swallow Umbrella Wave.

Jonathan liked to bombastically show his support.

This is about as crazy as it gets at a Japanese Baseball game. WOW! He's standing on a chair.

Friends.

What do you eat at a Japanese baseball game?? Lots of little wieners.

We made it on the big screen! Crazy Gaijins.