花火大会｜Fireworks Festival

Fireworks festivals are more of a tradition in Japanese culture than you'd expect. In contrast, Americans would never look at fireworks as part of the culture. More important is the day you shoot them off rather than the fireworks festival itself. In Japan, once summer starts, there is a fireworks festival *literally* almost every other day until the end of August. And by comparison with the ones I've seen in the US, they destroy 99% of them. Even Disney's (which I think says a lot); especially when you consider that a small town/suburb of tokyo can outbeat a huge multi-billion corporation like Disney when it comes to putting on a fireworks show. Point and case: Japan's fireworks are amazing.


Usually they start around 7ish and last until 8:30 if not later. However, don't be fooled by the start and end times. The trains are brutally crowded and when you get to the station stop, there's usually still a good 30min walk to the fireworks location through crowds of people. Even then, if you get there "on time" you still will have trouble finding a place to sit down. These festivals are more popular in Japan than you can imagine. The crowd of people is sometimes overwhelming but once you find a place to squeeze in, its well worth the wait the walk and the effort. That being said, I recommend sticking to groups of 2 or 3 maybe 4 tops if you decide to go. A large group is almost impossible to sit unless you leave at like 4:00 for the festival in an attempt to get there around 5:30. Otherwise don't even imagine going in a group of 5 and finding a place for you all to sit with each other.


Another plus of these festivals is that when you get there the streets are lined with food vendors, beer/sake/wine sellers, etc etc. Its a great chance to try a variety of Japanese foods if you haven't had the chance. Yakiniku, takoyaki, man, as well as real Japanese sake are all on sale on the road to the fireworks area. If you're pressed for time, you can catch your dinner on the way : )


I've only been to two festivals, but one of the most amusing things is the limitation of Japanese vocabulary to describe the fireworks. In English we have such an immense selection of words we can use, to the extent opening the dictionary or a thesaurus would offer at least one word you've never seen before. So if we are watching fireworks we could say dazzling! pretty! beautiful! wow! amazing! awesome! cool! magnificent! etc.

The Japanese tend to stick to "Sugoi" (sometimes pronunced suge by men) and "kirei." Feel free to get creative but expect weird looks because you'll end up sounding like a gaijin lol.

So if you go to a hanabi taikai (fireworks festival) expect to here repetitively those two words without any exceptions. Either way enjoy it!

明治神社｜Meiji Shrine

The Meiji era was a huuuge turning point for Japan. In my opinion, which is almost worthless since I no almost nothing about Japanese history, its the era that is most thoroughly reflected in modern Japan. During the Meiji era the young emperor started wearing western clothes, cut his traditional Japanese hair into a western style, ate western food, and enjoyed wine with most of his meals (as a result there's a huge collection of wine vats on your walk to the shrine).

I think that emperor set precedence for the now modern young westernized Japanese who pretty much do the same things he did except with respect to modern culture.

Anyways, the shrine is just as magnificent as the era of the emperor whose name it carries. If you have a chance to see it, don't miss it. To get there you go to the Omatesando train stop (Harujuku area); its also a big bustling shopping area and if you ask around for the "bazaar" you should be able to find a street lined with shops and crowded as hell that has lot of fun little stores to shop at or get gifts for friends back in the states. Its pretty much the equivalent of our flea markets, minus the tacky name.


The walk to the shrine is probably the best and the worse part. Its just soooooo loooooong. And it isn't clear why, but you've got to treck what feels and probably is about a mile before you actually reach the temple, so make sure you've got an ipod or an interesting friend with you. The scenery is gorgeous though which makes up for it. You are also shaded by a thick forest of trees and you can hear the birds chirping and everyone is generally really quiet which creates a very serene and relaxing walk (minus the distance).

When I got to the temple, I was lucky enough that they also had a flower arrangement display out (about 10 or so collections). But I'm pretty sure that's not a normal thing. But who knows, you may get lucky. If you are into flower arrangement though, summer and spring time, you can find them even in department stores, but if you pay attention while walking through the subways or just ask around a bit, you shouldn't have any problems locating one.

I can't remember the prayer ritual that well off the top of my head but I believe its throw a coin, clap twice, bow twice, clap once, and pray... Something to that end.

So the extra bonus is that for some reason outside this shrine, the goths gather outside daily. Its the hang out place and I guess where they display their new outfits/make up ideas. They will happily pose for a photo or take one with you. You'll also see the girls that love to dress up as maids or dolls as well as people giving out free hugs or playing music. Either way, its worth seeing. P.S. that's a guy in the far left of the above picture.

盆踊り｜Bonodori festival

So we were coerced into attending the Bonodori festival. I was a bit skeptical but I wanted a chance to experience a Japanese festival. This one was right next to tokyo tower and we got the "vip" treatment at the temple. The temple workers (perhaps monks?) brought us beer, food, and company of course. They sat chatted, ate, and drank with us until the sun fell and then it was odori time.
Bonodori literally means lantern dance. There is a central stage and lanterns everywhere. The dances are all old traditional paterns and there are a few dancers on the stage both male/femal e young and old that perform the dance in order for those of us who don't know to learn. The Japanese seem to be able to recognize the dance immediately by both name, dance, and music. Its nothing comparable to a club, but its still a ton of fun if you just let yourself get into it. I honestly didn't expect it to be fun bc dancing in a large circle and repeating memorized moves kind of reminds me a bit of line-dancing, the macarena, and the electric slide... none of which I enjoy. HOWEVER, it was one of the best nights I've had during my stay.
Everyone around you seems really eager to show you the dance and help you perform it in sync. There are even a few (very very very very few) Japanese that also are picking up a few songs as the festival progresses along. You may even be able to convince the professor to join if you're lucky...
The traditional wear at these festivals is Yukata (the summer version of a kimono). However, guys can also wear an alternate, festival outfit whose name and description I'm completely unsure about... If you are interested though, prepare in advance by buying the set-up from Uni-Qlo (cheap chain of clothing stores); I believe girls/guys can grab their outfit for like 3000-4000 yen (about $25 - 30). Even if you don't get a chance to wear one, its still a ton of fun.

六本木｜Roppongi Night Out

Roppongi is home to the famous "Roppongi Hills" area. Its got a huge active club/bar scene and is crowded with young foreigners though of course the majority of visitors are Japanese. I'd say in the 3 visits I've made to Japan, most of my night outings were in this area which surprisingly is bustling on any night of the week. Option 2 I'd say is Shibuya which has much fewer foreigners and a larger hip-hop scene though whatever you fancy I'm sure you can find it in Shibuya. Shibuya seems to me to be where are the young fashionable Japanese flock to. If you walk around for an afternoon you'll see enough "eye-candy" to make you wonder why you live in the US. The night scene is just as fun.

Roppongi's main night club/bar road is the road that leads straight to Tokyo tower. If you like techno or just want to stop by a bar on your way to the main street, there is a bar on the way called "Heartland." Its a popular standing bar that serves a pretty wide selection of drinks including Absinthe (@145 proof) as well as a self-brewed beer that's actually purdy good. They play exclusively techno though so you've been warned/informed.In the main area, my favorite clubs is 911. Use to be vanilla but it ended up getting shut down for various reasons. Before I forget to mention it, near Hiroo station (15min walk on the same street) towards Aoyama area/Roppongi there's a bar called Muse on the left side of the road that is my favorite bar/club is all of Japan. Its got 3 floors, darts, billiards, black jack tables, techno, hip-hop plenty of room to sit, a huge drink menu, romantic seating areas etc. Whatever you fancy they probably have (including Karaoke).

Well this night we went out to 911. 911 is a "Cigar and Champagne bar" by name. On "Ladies Night" (I think that's Thursday or Wednesday) they serve free champagne to the ladies. I personally find some fun in sitting back listening to music ordering a martini and trying one of their cigars [note I'm not advocating you to smoke a cigar or drink alcohol esp if you are underage. Furthermore, if you have never smoked a cigar, unless someone explains it to you or shows you how, you shouldn't be trying. Its not something you inhale and you can seriously damage your body and lungs with the carcinogenic smoke. That being said, you are still in risk of mouth cancer. Stepping of my box...].

The bar has probably the biggest selection of drinks I've ever seen. They have like 10 different types of Martinis, and for any base probably just as many types. Whatever you fancy they have. The music is an excellent mix of old and new music, hip-hop, latin, techno, whatever you can name. They do a good job of mixing it up and keeping the environment happening. Its get paaaacked on weekends though. There's no cover so you should plan on paying 1000Yen for a seat if you go with friends and don't want to stand the whole time. The "VIP" room can sit about 8 comfortably and cost 10,000 yen so its an easy split if you don't mind paying a few extra yen.
Those seats are the VIP room seats... fair warning that VIP is just a comfortable side room. The entire club is actually not as big as you may think regarding the fact that its in Tokyo and so popular. I'd say its the size of Toad's if you ripped out the bar area.

A French Martini, gin-tonic, Champagne, and China Blue (grape-fruit flavored mixed drink that's very popular in Japan). If you like Martini's I recommend the James Bond Martini (of course).

One last note... there's a famous chain of clubs called "Gas Panic." They play great music but its so crowded with foreigners you can't move, you can't talk, and you get stepped on a lot. But if you've never done it, its easy to find. There are two in Roppongi. Ask anyone and they can direct you on your way. That being said, I don't recommend it.

ティナー｜Dinner w/ Dean Farley

We got an e-mail from the light fellowship informing us that Dean Farley of JE would be visiting us in Tokyo. They asked us to recommend a place for dinner so I gave it some thought hoping someone else would come up with a good idea before me... about 5 days or so before his arrival I realized I should probably come up with something bc no one else was responding to the emails (I blame homework). So I recommend Gonpachi.

Gonpachi is the restaurant that part of Kill Bill was filmed in. They of course used a separate destructible set for some of the cuts. The food is amazing and I had already been there twice (a yr and a half ago). I also love Kill Bill so I can't help but love this restaurant.

I sent out the email and waited. The ensuing responses from the light fellowship eventually had me making the reservation and arranging meeting times and places. To be completely honest, it ended up being a bit of pain in this regard and of course there were emails constantly going back and forth and having to keep track of about 20 guests. However, the frequent restaurant calls to alter the reservation were probably one of the most practical and beneficial language practice for me. Not to mention, I learned a few good words. The most useful set was probably 数人の変更|すうにんのへんこう which means "a change in the # of people."

The professors, students, guests etc. who hadn't met the dean were all shocked when he walked in. He looks young and "dashing" to quote one of the sensei. Another could not resist but make constant joke's about how attractive she thought he was (though she, as well as the Dean, is already married)... : )
It was nice to have a day to speak English comfortably without any scolding or threat of reprimand. We all also got a chance to sit down with Seto and Stever sensei whom we all had missed more than we realized. It also reminded me that the Yale professors are special in their own way that I don't think other professor's can emulate. They teach in a way that if you devote yourself to the work will ensure that you enjoy the experience of learning Japanese. Its hard enough as is... That being said I still love the SANC professors; they are great at making you feel almost as if you are learning from friends rather than professors.


The dinner ended up being 19 guests including Light Alumni, Dean Farely & his wife, Stever & Seto sensei, and all the SANC students. We were seated on the 3rd floor where George W. Bush, Clinton, and the previous Japanese prime minister all dined. [As a side note; if you plan on sitting on this floor, you have to request it as if it were a separate restaurant. Even if the 1st and 2nd floor our booked they will not mention the 3rd floor unless you as]. The best part of this floor is that it is placed on the roof, has an open terrace, and a sushi bar, so its the only part of the restaurant where you can order sushi. Constantly ordering appetizer size dishes, passing around at least 20 different types of cuisine, and keeping the sake flowing, the 19 of us kept the restaurant busy. That being said, I'm sure we "killed" the bill [couldn't resist a kill bill pun].
Stever sensei kept me well informed on what I was eating/drinking. Now I can sound like a Nihonshu / sake connoisseur when I speak of "八海山”|hakkaisan, or 沖縄のあわもり|awamori. On that note, if you get the chance to try Awamori go for it! Gonpachi served a 25% (50 proof = twice that of a strong wine) and a 40% (80 proof = liquor). Me and Stever sensei both hesitantly tried the 40% and it was shockingly good. What you expect to go down hard and taste like gasoline, tasted more like a well prepared cocktail.

Yeah that's real gold foil... and its edible... and its delicious.

The dinner, the food, the experience, the company, and the conversations were all amazing. To top the night off we all headed out to Roppongi, but I'll leave that for another blog.

歌舞伎｜kabui theater

Curtains up, it was time for Kabuki theater. Kabuki is basically a very very very old traditional Japanese drama style. It has a lot of parallels with Moliere's theater style or Shakespeare's. There's a ton of language that even the Japanese cannot understand unless they've read a manuscript of the play. The end result is that half the audience falls asleep during the play haha. Its fun to watch though, and a great experience.

All the roles are played by (male) actors. They do quite a good job of looking and sounding feminine. The Japanese is also in a sing song rhythmic tone accompanied by a live soundtrack (aka musicians sitting in hidden rooms built into the scenery).


A key aspect of Kabuki theater is the extravagant make up, poses, and voice tones. The poses are often held for dramatic effect.


Are entire class went along with one of the Japanese sensei's who though probably around 60 years old had never seen a Kabuki play. Needless to say, she too was asleep half way through .


These are the traditional kabuki colors. Every kabuki curtain for 100s of years has had this exact design and these colors. The best part about these plays is that every opening has a 30min, very amusing, introduction that explains every part of the stage, the make up, the plot of the play, the history, etc. So even if its your first time, you can't miss out on anything. They also provide english audio walk-mans to help you follow but the translations are given as summaries. As if the person sitting next to you was the one explaining the scenes to you. It kind of gets annoying, but its much better than sitting and not having any clue what the hell is going on.

I managed not to fall asleep by at this point taking out my homework (just in case). The Japanese is almost impossible to follow so its not so much that its boring just difficult for the listener since the plays themselves are older than the sum of any two individuals ages who are watching it.

Afterwards we got a sneak peek backstage. Amusingly, they spend hours working on these wigs to get to look perfect. There are mirrors placed all over the backstage area so actors can check themselves out and "freshen up" in a hurry at any point on their stage-rush.

The most interesting part of the stage is the plentiful 16 trap doors accompained by a huuuuge revolving stage. During a play you only end up seeing about 1/6 of the stage area at a time--which is plenty enough. The scenery is amazingly elaborate and below the theater building they have a huge two story basement that houses tons of equipment, stage props, set designs etc.

It was definitely an experience that I would never want to miss out on. That being said, 1 hr probably would have been plenty : )

小学校｜Elementary School

小学校｜しょうがっこう｜Shougakkou = little school
Primary Objective: Practice Speaking Japanese with Elementary students
Secondary Objective: Teach a bit of English to Elementary students

The teacher's had us start preparing about a week in advance. Everyone got divided up into various groups based on a combo of 取り引き|listening comprehension skills, compatibility, and speaking skills. Surprisingly the younger the kids, the more skill it takes to teach and comprehend whats going on in the classroom, however the younger the students the more necessary it became to use simpler Japanese.

We got a huuuge welcome from the entire school. The band even played the Star Wars theme (can you believe that thing is still being spread throughout the world 20 years later...).

I ended up with a class of mixed ages with various handicaps. The kids were fun, had great senses of humor, and were icons of innocence. They ranged from quiet/silent to outgoing and loud. There was a very cute girl who would do her best to sit next to me; she spoke very little but was eager to hear me speak and instead repeatedly "遊ぼう！" = Asobou = let's play!

I had created flashcards intending to teach them how to play charades but the teacher had prepped some pretty impressive picture herself so we ended up using those instead and reading "The hungry caterpillar" except in Japanese : ). This being no exception, most of the classwork was synced with pictures & music. I'm not sure if thats a common practice in the US, but I was impressed. I hadn't seen a piano in a classroom at any point in my life other than in the "music room" in all 3 of the elementary school's I attended in Florida. The kids seemed to pick things up very quickly that way and surprised me over and over again especially since they knew a few words in English that I had no clue how to say in Japanese. It was nice to learn from the same kids I came to teach.


During lunch time, I spent most of the time talking with an extremely energetic kids that I still feel doubtful as to whether he truly has a handicap. I'm not doctor, but he was a fluent speaker, energetic, had no physical abnormalities, and his kanji was way better than mine... Needless to say he and I sustained a conversation throughout the 30mins or so allotted for lunch.


Leaving was probably the hardest part of that experience. I felt bad after establishing relations with the kids only to quickly run off and leave them feeling a bit abandoned--or at least, I felt like I was abandoning them. The teacher had to help, literally detach a few from me as I departed. In the end, I felt more like a father than a teacher/student.