To end 2008...

Yes, I know I have some backlog to write about. But I'm not sure I'll be able to write anything before the new year, so I'd rather make a last post for the year and then resume activities in 2009.

It's said one shouldn't leave pendencies of one year to the next, but whatever...

Checking which character was chosen as kanji of the year, the one chosen was "change" for reasons like the election of Barack Obama in the US and the global economy crisis; also for examples like Japanese athletes in the Beijing Olympics and scientists who won the Nobel prize.

I think it was a good choice. And it fits my personal experiences during this year too.

From moving to a different apartment, making new friends, watching old ones leave, starting my Master course, going for a round-the-world trip... Guess lots of things changed in 2008 for me. I also changed throughout the year... Going back to Brazil made me realize that better. Still not all changes are of my liking, so I'll do my best to change it again.

... Thinking about it, that kanji could fit almost anyone's point of view of any year. Talk about a general thing. And even though things changed from 2007 to 2008, guess from 2006 to 2007 changes were greater. Ah, well...

But there's a last change just as the year changes (someone noticed that I'm using the word "change" too much in this post?): the new Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement that Brazil will start to implement from 2009. I already mentioned that agreement before, and how some words in Portuguese language will change as an attempt to unify its orthography.

So, from 2009, I won't even be able to say I am fluent in Portuguese anymore... will I?

紅葉

Autumn arrives, and it's time for "momiji-hunting" again. By the way, the kanjis in the title may mean either "momiji" or "kouyou". They're both words related to autumn, but just slightly different. Kazu mentioned that point (that just had fallen into the "common knowledge" area for me, so I ignored it completely until then) as something worth explaining for a autumn post.

So, a little look at the dictionary says:

もみじ（紅葉）
秋に、木の葉が赤や黄色に色づくこと。また、その葉。

こうよう（紅葉）
秋に葉が紅色に変わること。また、その葉。

There's a little more at the dictionary, but it's either botanical stuff or something else. In essence, both words define themselves as the change of the colors of the leaves to red (although the words used are different in each definition) or yellow (only mentioned for momiji). The leaves themselves also qualify for the definition in both cases.

A look at the Japanese-English dictionary reveals some difference: momiji is translated as maple tree; and kouyou as colored leaves.

Checking some references in English and Japanese around the web, they say that while "momiji" refers exclusively to the maple tree, "kouyou" is the phenomenon of the leaves changing their colors in autumn.

Anyway, time to introduce the places where I went this autumn.

The first one was somewhere I unfortunately forgot the name, close to Takebe International Villa in Okayama Prefecture. I actually mentioned this place in another post.


Then, a famous spot in Kyoto I was missing was Toufukuji. It's a zen temple where it is traditional to view the leaves from the Tsuuten-kyou bridge. I went there with two friends, Y and N, and by chance also met Tati and Artem there, who were showing some places in Kyoto to her mother who came to visit.

Later, I decided to do something crazy for a change and went all the way to Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, more than 600km away for a one-day trip. The reason: Kairakuen （偕楽園）, considered one of the three great gardens of Japan. I have to admit it was off-season since the place is famous for its plum blossoms (about March), but it was beautiful nevertheless and there were some autumn leaves to take pictures of. Many kids around because of the 七五三 and of a three-day weekend also made the surroundings a lot cuter.

Together with Kourakuen in Okayama, that's two out of three gardens. One more to go.


Also, as I was checking for places with night illumination for kouyou, Eikando came as one of the most famous results. It's a temple famous for its autumn leaves and for its proeminence in the past as of a center of learning.

As some people may know, last year I went to Shugakuin Imperial Villa and it was VERY impressive. There's another of those villas in Kyoto: Katsura Imperial Villa. So I scheduled a visit there with friends who also like to take pictures. If Shugakuin is impressive for its (pseudo-)natural scenarios, Katsura put more emphasis in architecture (of the structures and gardens). The former is still my favorite, though.

Then I went on a trip to Ise. Since that trip wasn't focused on autumn leaves and there are some places there worth discussing a little more I'll leave that post to another day.

Searching for more places to take pictures, I remembered one I've been to many times, but never at night: Kiyomizudera. It's a Buddhist temple and one of Kyoto's main touristic spots (perhaps side by side with Kinkakuji)... and they have special night illumination in autumn.


Last but not least, another friend from Osaka also wanted to walk around Kyoto to take pictures, S. Since she wanted a good place, I thought of Shugakuin Imperial Villa, but unfortunately it didn't work out. In a last-second decision, we went to Arashiyama. It's also one of the famous spots in Kyoto, and I've been there last year during a night illumination event (although I have the feeling I didn't mention that in this blog).

So, I have checked a couple more of spots in Kyoto and beyond and have some good pictures of autumn leaves. But all the time I spent doing that left me behind schedule for my reports and presentations this semester. Gotta catch up with that from now...

For those wanting more pics, check my Picasa album for more.

Katakana-go

Japan has its own character set for words in Japanese: hiragana. It has also brought Chinese characters, kanji, and those two formed the vocabulary most Japanese had to handle for some time. (As a sidenote, in the meantime Chinese characters were also modified to the point many characters have a different drawing in Japan and China.)

When Japan started to open itself to other countries, especially Western countries, they had an interesting way to deal with foreign words. Using the Chinese as an example, they created new words. In some cases, as with countries, it was based on the sound of the word rather than the meaning of the characters themselves. Japanese had "katakana".

So, for foreign words, they adapted the sound of them to the Japanese language phonetic set and wrote them in katakana. For example, "computer" becomes "konpyuuta"（コンピュータ）; "banana" becomes, well, "banana" （バナナ）; and "United States" is... "amerika" （アメリカ）. I wonder how many actually know that name was created initially to define the whole continent.

Some people have the bad tendency to think katakana words are all derived from English. Although many of them are, my guess is that it depends a little on which country introduced the word in Japan first. So "Germany" is "doitsu" （ドイツ）, resembling a lot more the German word "Deutschland"; "bread" is "pan" （パン） derived from Portuguese (it deviates a little in the pronunciation, though); and "Oolong tea" is "uuron-cha" （ウーロン茶）, where the word from Oolong is, as its English equivalent, derived from Chinese.

Also, as it happens in many countries, in some cases the imported word becomes more popular than the original word. It's way more common to find "miruku" （ミルク） than "gyuunyuu" （牛乳） for "milk"; or "seeru" （セール） instead of "tokubai" （特売） in clearance sales.

Most foreigners who come to Japan with little knowledge of Japanese find shelter in katakana, since with some imagination and knowledge of English and other languages it's possible to guess what's going on. Chinese are exceptions, though. They deal marvelously well with kanji, but many have problems with katakana words. When studying though mock tests for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test I used to wonder why there were some simple questions related to words in katakana like "クレジットカード" ("kurejitto kaado") that were, for me, easily guessable. That was until I met a Chinese studying for the test and realised he actually had some problems in that part.

Anyway, although katakana words help foreigners to make some sense of Japanese language, they're not so friendly as they look.

First, some words get so distorted it's hard to guess where they came from. That happens especially with names, like "ホイヘンス". It's reading is "hoihensu", but it refers to "Huygens". I also had some problems figuring out that "オーライ" ("oorai") came from "all right"; and mistaking "サンキュー" ("sankyuu", meaning "thank you") for "39" (read "sanjyuukyuu", but becomes "san kyuu" if each number is read separatedly) is also classic.

Second, some imported words have their meanings altered when incorporated to Japanese. The German word "Arbeit" means "work", and it was incorporated to Japanese as "アルバイト" ("arubaito") and later shortened as "バイト" ("baito"). But in Japanese those words actually mean "part-time job".

Another phenomena is that some katakana words are being modified. In some cases, to include Japanese words as well (and I'm not just mentioning writing some Japanese words in katakana as it happens often with some words like ゴミ, trash).

One stage is the abbreviation. Foreign words that are too long get shortened. "Remote controller" becomes "rimokon" （リモコン）; "sexual harassment" becomes "sekuhara" （セクハラ）; "patrol car" becomes "patokaa" （パトカー）... and so forth.

Some foreign words also become "Japanized": サボる ("saboru") is a Japanese verb (for those who know some Japanese, note the "る" at the end of the word) meaning "to skip" like in "skipping classes". The サボ is derived from the French word "sabotage". Note also that the Japanese word also has a different meaning than the word it comes from.

Well, foreigners in Japan also use it in reverse, creating verbs like "to ganbatte" (from the Japanese word meaning "keep up!" or "try your best"). I have to say the Portuguese version "ganbatear" sounds better, though.

Also, combinations of original Japanese words and borrowed words also exist. In some cases the Japanese word is written in its original way, in others it's written in katakana. 電子レンジ ("denshirenji") unite 電子 ("electron") and レンジ ("range, stove") to become "microwave". カラオケ ("karaoke") became a new word of its own even abroad, but its origins are from "空" ("kara", meaning "empty") and オーケストラ ("ookesutora", or "orchestra").

A new variation are the words defined by the intials in roman characters, but linked usually with Japanese words. KY (read "keiwai") comes from 空気読めない ("kuuki yomenai"), meaning someone who can't read between the lines or intuitively understand a given situation and behave accordingly. JK ("jeikei") means 女子高生 ("jyoshikousei"), or "female high school student". Influence of the Internet on the way people communicate, perhaps?

Even though most of the things here may be categorized as gairaigo, many examples I mentioned may fool foreigners who try to make sense of Japanese through katakana.

Some foreigners (especially English teachers) don't like all those "katakanization" (refered as "katakana-go" as "go" here means "language") since it interfers with Japanese people's ability to speak English (most just stick to the katakana words, messing with the pronunciation). Still I think that's how Japanese language is evolving. Who knows, maybe someday there may be a Japanese version of Singlish around.

In that case, if Japanese become able to deal with standard English pronuncation, "katakana-go" may, instead of becoming a burden, actually become an asset, just as it was mentioned for hybrid languages like Singlish in this blog before.

The only thing I hope is that don't stick only to katakana. That would make it hard to read, in a different way. Believe it or not, kanji helps sometimes... especially when it comes to get meanings at a glimpse.

Below are some other articles that deal with the topics I mentioned above. Check if you're interested.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20080422a1.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20080715a1.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20080722a1.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20081125a1.html

Okayama Villa Trip

After refusing so many times (well, they always set those trips on days I simply couldn't go...), on November 15th and 16th I finally went to a Okayama villa trip with the Himeji Gang (although the group changed a lot since we used that name... I wonder if we can still use it).

Well, I just didn't know that there were a group of those villas... Check here for more information. This time we went to Takebe International Villa.

I said we went, but things weren't that smooth. Excluding the fact I had to go from Kyoto to Himeji before (there was another guy who came from Nagoya, though he used the bullet train), consider that we were in three cars going there for the first time and only one had the electronic navigation system (which in some ways made us more lost than without...) and I may not have to say that we got lost quite often.

That being part of the fun, we had bento lunch at a remote controlled cars race track while wondering if we could use our cars there (haha!), had to backtrack a couple of times, look for missing cars some times more and went through narrow streets occasionally. When I say "narrow" perhaps I should give an example


Note: this is a TWO-WAY road.

In the end, we arrived safe and sound to the villa. And gladly found out we had a part of the building only for us, kitchen and common room included. I wonder if it's not the part for foreigners... the other guests I saw were all Japanese (at least they looked like). Anyway, this way we could have fun without disturbing anyone.


It was cold, so that asks for onsen and nabe! Rested and with our tummies filled, fun went on throughout good part of the night with drinking, chatting and playing games. Someone brought a card game I liked a lot. The name is 二ムト (a.k.a. Category 5) and if I find it around I'm taking it!

Another weird event was when, before we decided to go to sleep, suddenly the clock on the wall just went crazy and accellerated until two hours beyond current time. Then it just stopped. We analysed the clock and couldn't find anything wrong. We ignored what happened and continued our preparations to go to sleep when it started to move rapidly again, this time until it reached the current time, after which it slowed down and started move in its the normal pace again... Weird...

Next morning, the girls wanted to go to the onsen again. Boys didn't care much, so we slept a little more. After packing, we went to see some autumn leaves at some place close to the villa. I actually forgot the name of the place so I can't dig up information about it, but it was nice.


Last, the group decided to spend the afternoon in Kurashiki strolling around the Bikan Historical District with its kura houses and weeping willows around the canal.

After that, we all returned to Himeji; and from there some of us had still some kilometers to go. In my case, around 120km to Kyoto.

Ah, and on the way to Himeji, we were playing a game where we took turns saying names of countries, cities or states starting with some letter. The last one to give up wins the round. I have to improve my geography, but I never imagined that being Brazilian would give me some advantage (names of Brazilian of Latin-American cities that no one else there knew... I might even had made up some... Didn't do that, though). Poor Japanese were the ones with foreigners saying the names of places in their country before them... We're in Japan, after all.

Life imitates art

Looking at some news from Brazil, I was wondering if it wasn't a Hollywood script...

A Brazilian teenager is held hostage with a friend in an apartment by her ex-boyfriend who wants to resume their relationship. Negociations with the police starts.

That last over 100 hours. In between, the friend is released... but returns to the apartment more a less one day later. It seems that the ex-boyfriend requested her return; it's also said that the friend didn't want to leave the girl alone... it looked like he would kill her. That move is criticised by some saying that the police shouldn't let that happen.

More a less one day later, it ends. The police invades the building after hearing a shot. The existence of the shot is something with good discussions in itself, with one TV channel showing a video demostrating there was a shot and another showing the footage with no signals of a shot being made.

Ex-boyfriend arrested, friend and girlfriend shot. The latter died.

There's a better script in Portuguese here for those interested (and who can read).

Not exactly a happy ending, but it's over. At least until the trial begins, right?

Could be... except that more stuff came after it.

The best ones: the ex-boyfriend's father, who's lost contact with him 20 years ago (the boy is 22) found him after the incident. That's what he claims... Also, it was found that the dead girl's father is wanted in another State for desertion from the police and homicide. He denies and says it's a plot to "erase" him since "he knew too much".

Life imitates art all right...

Another example on that is another petition for allowing a certain kind of marriage.

Well, with some parts of the world discussing same-sex marriage, it's not a big deal, right?

But this Japanese guy wants to marry a comic character.

You know, the first thought that came to me after reading this was "Chobits". It's a Japanese manga/anime that has as one of its topics relationships between humans and... "human-like things", maybe?

I'll have to explain a little, in the story there's something called パソコン (pasokon), an android used as a personal computer (and considering the japanese word is the same used for PCs, the substitution in some parts of the story is pleasant). And there's a certain discussion on how they can be better companions than "imperfect humans" and how relationships between humans and pasocon would be. There's a woman in the story whose husband start to spend more and more time with his pasocon to the point he forgot completely about her (and if you substitute the meaning of the word as I said before it becomes interesting...). There's also a guy in the story who married one of those androids... reason for what the news reminded me of the manga/anime.

What's my name again?

Well, I have a first name (henceforth called "I" for simplification), a middle name ("T") and a family name ("S"). Simple, right?

Well, sometimes other people, and even myself, get confused with that in Japan...

Why, one would ask. Well, for starters, in Brazil people usually called me only as "I". Only people from my Japanese school used "T" (since it's my Japanese name) and very few people ever used my family name when calling me. In part because I wasn't in many formal situations; and other part because Brazilians usually call each other by their first names as standard. Even in companies and in some business situation one may see people calling each other by their first names. Guess it gives some feeling of familiarity, smoothing relationships...

In Japan, I usually introduce myself as "I". Most international students and other foreigners know me by that name. When it comes to Japanese people, things get a little more complicated. The first reason is that here many call each other by their family names, even though they are close friends. So, for some, including most people from my lab, I'm "S" (or "S-san", "S-kun" according to the person but I'm not discussing Japanese today).

Also, there are many cases where my first name gets a weird pronunciation (this doesn't happen only when Japanese pronunciate it... I've noticed that some other Asians have some problems with it, too) or spelling. In those cases, I give my Japanese name (or even the family name) to make things simpler. It's also a good strategy when I want to "blend with the environment".

That leads to situations where you're called by different names by different people. And there was at least one occasion when two of those people met and had problems figuring out that, for example, "I" and "T" were the same person.

Well, nothing new until here, right? Guess anyone who ever had a nickname went through this. Even in Brazil I had some nicknames (especially "Madness") that led to that kind of situation.

But it gets better. In Brazil people write their names in the first-middle-family order, thus mine becomes "ITS". In Japan, family name comes first, turning mine into "SIT". There's an extra point here: Japanese people don't have middle names. So, although the usual (and the one I use) seems to be family-first-middle, I wonder if some people don't do family-middle-first ("STI"?). It makes sense in some way... Add to that my Japanese name is the middle one and you have some people thinking "I" is my middle name (some sort of nick, perhaps?) and "T", the Japanese name, is the first.

So what with all those orders?

When you have to register for something, you're supposed to write your full name, right? Well, while I try to stick with "ITS" whenever I can, Japanese forms that separate family and first names always force me to stick to "SIT"... or even "ST" or "SI" when I think it's best to omit one of the names (not in any official or very important document, though). Another option that foreigners sometimes have in Japan is writing their name in Roman Characters, katakana or kanji. Very few, if any, use hiragana as far as I know. Kanji is also mostly used by Chinese and some Korean. But, being Japanese descendent, "S" and "T" may be written in kanji... and I know the ideograms for them.

Since I came to Kyoto I don't use the kanji version of my name much, but some people, especially my Japanese friends in Himeji, know my name in that way. Lately I've been using Roman characters whenever possible, with katakana as the second option.

Guess you might have imagined where I'm getting at. I have my name written in different places in different ways. And among the weird situations that got me into are:

• Someone from the gas/phone/etc. company calls. They ask my name, but I forget which order and type of character I used when subscribing.



• I have to retrieve something on my name. They ask for an ID, but the name in the ID has a different sequence and/or character type than the name written in the package.



• I write my name in the first-middle-last order, but the person understands as the last-middle-first order (or worse, last-first where middle and first names become a single name. After seeing some names around, like Thai, I can understand why). That actually doesn't happen often since many parts of my name have Japanese origin (and I learned to pause between names).

In most cases, the situations are no more than a little embarassing. Some explanations and the problem is solved. But the more official it gets, the harder it is to get away when something is different. Maybe one of the bast examples was when I opened a bank account. I was trying to open it as "ITS", but when they asked for an ID, and, in this case, only the Alien Registration Card would suffice, the ID was written as "SIT". They didn't accept and told that the name must be exactly like the ID.

You know what's ironic? My passport, which in theory the Alien Card is based on, has my name as "ITS". That also got me into some (not serious) trouble once, when they asked me to write my name as in my passport, but it was different than the Alien Card.

So, during my life in Japan I find myself at times wondering what's my name...

Politics: real and fictional

Yeah, I know that politics is something that usually is not arguable. I have one opinion, you have yours, and it's astonishingly difficult for either to persuade the other.

Instead, I'll just make comments about something that must be my karma...

I finished my posts about my round the world trip. And for some reason, almost all the countries I went to were during election campaign... I cannot say much about Canada, England or Germany. Although I've been there, my daily routine was mostly touristic. I wasn't really paying attention except for one news at the airport or some outdoors.

In Brazil, there was the campaign for mayor and aldermen (vereador in Portuguese). Returning to Japan, there is some election... have no idea what it is for. Nevertheless, I notice one annoying thing in common:

I don't know if there's an specific word in English, but I'm talking about those cars who have a reasonably powerful sound system aimed at making announcements. In this case, political propaganda... or in other words, "vote for me". You're there watching a movie or chatting online with someone and there comes one of those things next to where you are...

It makes some sense in Japan, where propaganda restrictions prohibit any kind of propaganda that could aim at more than some percentage of the public. That includes TV or internet. It forces the candidate to walk around. I've seen some around. In Brazil I met only one, running for alderman, at a road crossing.

Plus in Brazil there are not so many of those around when it's not election time. In Japan there are others. Some recycling trucks, neighbourhood patrol are examples of useful ones. Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars also have a sound system, very useful to give warnings or just to warn other cars about a turn. Of course, some also use it for religious and other sorts of propaganda.

Another point where I'm more confortable with the Japanese side: when they do political propaganda, they usually say something. Most time it's some stuff like "for our children" or other sentences not really giving any idea of any project or giving any "real" reason why someone should vote for that person. Still, in Brazil, or at least in my hometown, the situation is worse... Most use it only for jingles. And those stupid things are hard to forget!! The worst situation was close to a shopping mall. There was one of those cars who just parked in front of the place playing the jingles almost all day long. I felt very sorry for people who work around that area and have to listen to it all day.

Going on to fictional politics, comedy about politics often have nice skits. One that was famous in Brazil was when Seu Creysson ran for president... and he could have at least surpassed some real candidates if elections were not already electronic at the time. Another Brazilian one that I liked was Branco Nulo, but that requires some understanding of Portuguese to really understand the jokes. (Well... coming back to the reality for a second, in some cases reality is funnier than fiction...)

Around the globe, Chaser's War Against Everything, Jeff Dunham and many others have already made jokes about politics. I don't see much of that in Japan. But after a Japan Times article, I was interested in a show that uses politics just as a background. It actually is about relationships. "Renai Shinto" (恋愛新党) is the name of the show, and quoting part of the article:

"The president of Renai Shinto, Masato Sakai, is played with flair by the actor Masato Sakai — with the use of his real name adding to the slapdash skit feel of the program. He believes only love can save Japan; declining birth rates are thrown up as one of many forms of evidence. The only problem, he says, is that in contemporary Japan love must contend with many obstacles.

'We, Renai Shinto, vow to abolish things that would impede love!' he proclaims.

It turns out there are a lot of them, especially in the form of women's trends. And therein lies the program's exquisite irony: 'Renai Shinto' launches assaults on the very trends that Japanese television generally thrives on."

So the humor is a little different than usual for Japanese TV. And that's a good thing especially now that Japanese TV is becoming famous abroad for its weird shows that are reproduced in YouTube. As a sidenote, some people asked me in Brazil if most Japanese shows are like that... The answer is no, but the average is not much better anyway. (As a counterpoint, Brazilian TV average is not that good either...)

About his arguments, the show usually focus on how women are imepding love (especially on the first shows), although there are some punchlines criticizing men too. The arguments are exaggerated (on purpose), but sometimes they hit the mark. I haven't seen them all, still my favorite is the one about make-up (part 1 and part 2... Japanese without subtitles only). His point? Most men like women to use make-up and look pretty, and many women use make-up (I'd say that in Japan it's very hard to find a girl wearing no make-up). Still, many women become unable to meet people without make-up. Worse, that make-up fever is also affecting children.

Vancouver, Canada

After resting and enjoying Brazil, it was time to go back to Japan... Still, it's at the other side of the planet, so why not stopping somewhere else on the way?

With that thought, I had also put Vancouver on my list. The only thing I miscalculated was the need of a visa. Since I was going to stay more than 48 hours, a transit visa wouldn't suffice. And a tourist visa is a little annoying to take when you don't have any specific business, are not part of any travel agengy trip and don't have friends at the place who can vouch for you.

Add to the fact I didn't know there was a document certifying I was receiving a scholarship from the Japanese government, so I submitted documents without any clear indication of income. My first reply after I applied through the Canadian embassy in Japan was negative.

The second time was in Brazil, and I couldn't afford any more mistakes, so I submitted many extra documents that might have been unnecessary. At least I got the visa.

This was the bad situation before arriving. On the good side was that my mother mentioned we have a relative there when I was looking for a hotel... A distant cousin, nevertheless a relative. Too bad I only found this out after I submitted things for the visa. Anyway, I'd have some help there!

Then, after leaving Brazil on September 16th and a transit in Toronto, I arrived in Vancouver on the 17th (morning). And after riding a taxi to "I" (my cousin)'s apartment I realised that years in Japan made me forget an important unwritten rule in countries like Canada and Brazil: tipping.

Japanese usually don't give tips. And when working also don't like to receive them. That's one thing I like. If you like the service or the place you can just go back often or buy always with the same clerk. Nevertheless, it's not true in other countries... and I only noticed something was wrong after I paid the taxi and got no change back, giving the driver less than a dollar tip... Whoops! (Just for the note, the "standard" in Canada seems to be 15% tip)

It was not part of the plans staying at "I"'s place, so after some settling down, we went to look for a hotel, since he knows some cheap ones around Downtown...

... We just forgot it was still high season. Therefore, hotels were full, and even the ones who were not increased its prices to something two to three times more than my cousin thought. Solution: I ended up staying at his place.

Since it was "I"'s day off, he decided to guide me to some places on the first day. He has some experience in recommending place to Brazilians in Vancouver (although it's not his job). Sightseeing begins!


The first spot was Grouse Mountain, one of the mountains at the north part of Vancouver. It has a good view of the city (but the weather was not perfect for that kind of shots) and changes a lot from summer to winter (when it becomes a skiing spot).


Then we went to Canada Place, home of, among others, the Vancouver's World Trade Centre. It's also the a cruise ship terminal for the region, where most of Vancouver's cruises to Alaska originate.


End of one day, beginning of another. The last one I had for walking around. And the first point chosen was Stanley Park. And it's huge! About one third of the whole Downtown area. A nice place to exercise or just relax. Visit the Vancouver Aquarium inside the park is also an option. After seeing Okinawa's Churaumi and Osaka's Kaiyukan it's not so impressive, but it's nice and has some presentations at scheduled times.

After that, I went to UBC looking for its museum of anthropology some people recommended. I walked around the campus, but couldn't find it! Damn! But thinking about it I was very stupid... I could just have asked someone...


Back to Downtown, I decided to spend some time strolling around and going to Chinatown to see the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first of its kind outside China. And one curious observation about that Chinatown, it doesn't have that many Chinese. Although it sounds weird, I've heard that's because price of properties in that area became too expensive, so Chinese immigrants and their descendents moved to the suburbs. Stores with Chinese and Japanese ideograms are noticeable on the path from the airport to Downtown.

After that, meeting "I" and J ("I"'s roommate) after the former left work and go dinner some ribs and watch "The Last Samurai" in Blu-Ray... And the quality is VERY impressive.

September 19th. Time just for packing and saying goodbye before going back to the airport and returning to Japan on the 20th afternoon.

Impressions about Vancouver: it's a nice city I would live in. The atmosphere and people are nice, with a nice mixture of ethnicities and there are good spaces to exercise and enjoy the day or night. "I" mentioned that although the usual diet is not necessarily healthy, people exercise often preventing the "Super Size Me" effect.

Another thing is there are many Asians around. While Chinese and Filipino are usually residents, there are many others, especially Japanese, who go to learn English. It was clear when I was at UBC and could see many Asians, some of them speaking Japanese (and not looking like they were raised in Canada).

Too bad I couldn't stay too long in Vancouver. There are a lot more of things to see and do. Naming just the main touristic ones: Victoria Island and Canadian Rockies. But each of those would demand at least one whole day to visit.

Special thanks for "I" and J. Sorry for stopping by so suddenly and hope we see each other again!

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

Londrina, Brazil

To close my posts about Brazil, I still have to talk a little about my hometown.

Londrina is the second largest city in Paraná State; and its name comes after "little London", name given by some British entrepeneurs due to the presence of fog similar to London's (although it's rarely seen nowadays). Its fertile soil (terra roxa) contributed to the city's development beyond expectations (some say Maringá was planned to be the largest city of northern Paraná, but was outgrown because of the coffee economy) during the period Brazil was the main coffee exporter to the rest of the world.


Lago Igapó (Igapo Lake) is an artificial lake that became one of the main postcards of the city, especially after a revitalization project took place. Its name comes after Tupi language meaning "flooded forest" (transvazamento de água).


Catedral Metropolitana de Londrina (Metropolitan Cathedral of Londrina) is an archdiocese and suffered one reconstruction and one expansion since its first version built in wood. Is a common reference point for having a characteristic structure and being located downtown.


Zerão is a park with a running track, sport courts and an amphitheatre. Its nickname (the real name is "Área de Lazer Luigi Borghesi", but almost no one knows the place by that name) comes after its oval running track that delimits the park.

The city has also some other points of interest, like the Terminal Rodoviário de Londrina (inter-city bus terminal), projected by Oscar Niemeyer and considered one of the most beautiful in the country (at least project-wise); Museu Histórico de Londrina (History museum, focused on the city's History), formely the city's train station; or UEL (State University of Londrina). I didn't take pictures of those places, though.

Also, other places like Praça Tomi Nakagawa were previously mentioned.

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

Japan in Brazil

2008 is the 100th anniversary of the Japanese emigration to Brazil. It's also marked as the year of cultural exchange between Brazil and Japan. Therefore, my trip from Japan to Brazil wasn't totally unnoticed.

I'm not saying anything about media. Just about peers, friends and relatives asking lots about Japan. Maybe even more than when I came back from Himeji. That was part of the reasons I thought of writing a faq... idea discarded afterwards. There are lots of other sources for observations about Japan. For Portuguese speakers, Muito Japão II is one I particularly enjoy reading. The writer has a very good eye to notice interesting points about Japan.

Nevertheless, one question that I thought was really relevant was: how were the 100th anniversary celebrations in Japan?

To put it short, way less celebrated than it was in Brazil. I won't say that there weren't celebrations. There were. Official and not. Big or small. The ones I've heard about or went to were nice (the previous link has more information). Still, I have the feeling that it was more celebrated in Brazil.

One interesting thing is that most Japanese celebrations were concentrated on the day Kasato Maru left Japan, while in Brazil it was when the ship arrived. Both points of view make sense, and it created funny situations like friends from Brazil asking how are preparations for the celebration after they happened in Japan, but before the ones in Brazil.

Changing the topic, I should write someday about the view some Brazilians have about Japan... especially considering I already did the opposite. Maybe some other day. Anyway, Japanese culture has been popular in Brazil during the last years. In good part because of modern Japanese culture, especially manga and anime. The interesting thing is it often leads people to look for other parts of Japanese culture, like language or traditional Japanese culture (tea ceremony, martial arts, bonsai). And in some cases they become interested in that as well.

But imported culture usually is filtered, adapted and/or slightly modified. From that mixture may come lots of good things. Brazil benefitted from the different origin of its inhabitants.

Still, I really wasn't expecting otaku to meet emo...

Yes, it's happening. Or at least it was my impression when I went to the places I used to buy Japanese manga. And that fusion, although makes some sense considering the stereotypes of these two groups, is a little weird... or is it just me?

Last, some Japanese-related stuff in my hometown...


Praça Nishinomiya is a Japanese-themed square in front of the airport that have been the stage of some activities related to Brazil-Japan exchange. Nevertheless, in 2008 another square was built, in part as part of the centenary celebrations: Praça Tomi Nakagawa. Prince Naruhito was present during the inauguration ceremony, although only briefly.


Then, from September 5th to 7th there was a Japanese festival called Londrina Matsuri. Although it used to be held at Praça Nishinomiya, this year it happened in Parque Ney Braga. That's the same place where some months before there was a huge event celebrating the centenary of Japanese immigration (IMIN 100). I wasn't there, but all comments about the IMIN 100 were very positive.

The matsuri was obviously smaller than the IMIN, and for those who had been to both, comparing both events was unavoidable. Perhaps the greater loss was it not being an open event anymore. Now it required an entrance fee and was in a more distant place. One of the reasons for the change was perhaps security, since an open event in Brazil may attract the wrong kind of people... At least the there was more space and the stands for shops were better than at the square.

I went only on the 7th to, among other things, watch a performance of my former ballroom dance academy. There were also other performances, like Okinawan dances (one of the leaders is a girl who went to Okinawa the same year I was in Himeji), taiko and music.

But the most expected attraction was obviously the Matsuri Dance. It's a little hard to explain... Pick bon odori, put some band (or playback) playing J-pop and substitute the choreographies for something that may vary from funk carioca and axé to awa odori... Popular among some young people, especially Japanese descendents and/or anime lovers.

Anyway, guess a video is the best way to show what it looks like.

It has changed since I used to be in the middle of the crowd as well... It looks more and more like a band show since most people don't bother keeping the circular movement (characteristic of bon odori) anymore. Plus, the choreographies are becoming more and more "Brazilian like" using more popular J-pop songs. Guess that's evolution... can't stop it.

Sorocaba

The only "trip" I did while I was in Brazil and also the only thing I had scheduled while I was in Japan: go with Willian to visit Juliano and Simone. I haven't met for latter two since Florianópolis. Since then, they've married (I was asked to be a groomsman, but I was in Japan and couldn't go to the ceremony) and moved to Sorocaba.

So, shortly after returning to Brazil, from August 22nd to 25th I joined Willian and his family for a car trip.

The first stop was in Bauru, where a friend of Willian's family owns a Japanese restaurant in a hotel. We also went to a local shopping mall and a gym (someone's addicted... not me) before dinner... sushi better than those of kaitenzushi. Hehe!

Anyway, on the next day we went to Sorocaba to meet Juliano and Simone. And it seems he promised my mother that I'd put on some weight there... or so he said. I admit I lost weight compared to when I left Brazil last year, but I probably never ate so much like those two days...

Since Willian's father had been driving for two days (not all the time, but it's demanding nevertheless), we decided to give him a rest in a hotel recommended by our locals while we did some major catching up. Among chatting, joking and mocking we had planned to go to a LAN gaming center, like the old times. Unfortunately we couldn't find a suitable one open, so we turned to video-games instead. Warcraft would still have to wait...


August 24th. The only whole day we would have there. Someone had suggested going to Hopi Hari, but really... it's been years we haven't met and we would go to an amusement park!? Instead, our hosts suggested the Sorocaba Zoo to see some animals like the dancing elephant (!?).


Another special thing was the place where we went for lunch. All-you-can-eat restaurant, as expected from Juliano. Still, the food there was VERY good and had good variety. If the expression "eating until you explode" was ever accurate it was during that lunch.

We spent the rest of the day going to shopping malls, visiting the hotel where Willian's parents were staying, watching Juliano and Simone's wedding ceremony DVD (LMAO of a certain "compromising situation" someone was filmed at... hahaha! The eyes really look at things one think are interesting...), playing video-games and... eating.

On the last day, I was sleeping while Willian and his father went to a gym Simone knows and scaried the hell out of some people there as far as I've heard. Well, they're quite muscular... and it's not something common for Asian descendents. And when one starts lifting an absurd amount of weight and the other asks to punch him on the abdomen... I can imagine the scene. Hehe!

Why didn't I go together? First that beside those two I'd be less than nothing. And something weird happened to my right eye. Later I found out it was nothing serious, but when I got up on that day it looked like I was punched in the eye... We even told jokes that Willian wanted to go to the gym so badly that he was dreaming he was training and hit me in the eye while sleeping. I wouldn't doubt that... haha!

After they returned it was already time to go. We'll probably won't be able to meet again anytime soon, but this meeting, although short was well worth it. I'd say only those four days were worth already the whole trip to Brazil.

See you space cowboy!

Back to Brazil

After London and Munich, I finally arrived at the place that is the real reason of the whole trip: Brazil. After all, it all started as a trip back home to see family and friends I haven't seen for one year and a half or more.


So I stayed in Brazil from August 19th to September 16th. Basically one month... that went very fast. Most of the time I stayed in Londrina, my hometown and the place where I have more friends around... although many have left the city looking for a job or studying.

Talking about friends, one month wasn't enough to see all of them. Due to problems with schedule or simple lack of luck I couldn't meet some...


I'll write some more posts about events that I think are worth a separate post. For now, I'll write some general comments.

• I said I enjoyed Brazil a lot... and I'm not kidding! Ate a lot and at almost all the restaurants I like, slept well, played a lot with the Wii (family's new video game)... More than enough to satisfy my homesickness. Still, I realise it was a vacation. When I lived there the routine was different.
  
  
• When in Japan, I miss things in Brazil, but the opposite is also true. Sometimes I was wondering how friends in Japan were doing, reading about what they did and wishing I could be there too, missing being able to walk carelessly at night (or even during the day)... My conclusion is after you live aborad you'll never be complete again. There'll always be a part missing wherever you go, wherever you are.
  
  
• One of the things I've decided to do while I was in Brazil was to visit some of the places I used to go. That included my former high school and university. Especially at the high school I had some surprises and good reminiscences. Although it was reformed and looks completely different, many of the teachers I admired are still there. And it was interesting talking to them now, years after you were their student. More impressing is how many still remembered me, considering they have more than a hundred students per year and some eight years have passed since then...
  
  
• Also, going to those places was a nice thing to know how old friends were doing. And listening to some stories made me a little jealous. A former high school friend is now a nurse at that same high school; some classmates at university are employed by a multinational and did a course in Germany; another high school friend is now working or studying in the US (and her major is Physics!); other opened his own business... Guess I should keep moving too. At least I have good examples around for inspiration.
  
  
• Besides schools, I went to other places like my former judo dojo, dance academy and met the guys who played futsal together (those who are still around). Doing all that again made me sure of something I was feeling already: my physical condition reached an all-time low! Gotta do something from now on!!
  
  
• Talking of physical conditions, other skills are very rusty. I was never very good at snooker, but after losing 5 matches in a row to a friend and -worse- 3-0 to my younger sister(!), I guess I reached the point that I suck.
  
  
• Another of the places I had to go was my grandmothers' grave. They died last year, leaving me with no grandparents alive. One of them I particularly loved very much, and not even being able to go to her funeral was a strong blow. It was probably the only time I ever considered abandoning everything in Japan and going back to Brazil...
  
  
• There was a big costume party while I was in Londrina, Metamorfose. It says it's the largest of the world... I'm still not sure. I didn't go for some reasons (most of all I had people to meet; and that takes precedence considering I had limited days in Brazil), but it's worth checking pictures of it (click "Fotos").
  
  
• The thing I missed most in Brazil by far were family and friends. And meeting them again, by previous scheduling or by pure luck, was the very highlight of the trip. Some I haven't met for almost a decade, and it was really enjoyable catching up with each of them...
  
  
• I mention strange things in Japan, but some things in Brazil are also weird. For example, campaigns to reduce use of plastic bags are also happening in Brazil. Some supermarkets encourage customers to bring their own bags. But in Brazil you can't carry bags, backpacks, etc. in places like some libraries (we had to put it in lockers before entering the university's library), stores and supermarkets. So when you bring a bag to avoid using a plastic bag in a supermarket, you have to keep it sealed until you reach the cash register... sealed in a plastic bag!! Go figure...
  
  
• I thought of writing a faq with things almost everyone I met in Brazil asked me... but gave up. I wouldn't like to write some of the answers anyway. Some things are better said than written.

Munich, Germany - Part 2

Continuing the trip in Munich...

August 16th. Sightseeing continues. This time around downtown, to check Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz areas. Plus some other places around, including Frauenkirche. There's a law that no building in Munich may be taller than that church's towers. It prevented the construction of lots of skyscrapers, something that also happens in Kyoto, although in this case the towers are 109m high, making it possible to build tall buildings anyway. In fact, the second tallest structure in the city is an O2 Tower close to Olympiapark (mentioned in part 1)... just a little smaller than the towers.

Still, there was the problem of getting there. A simple bus plus train combination would take me there without problems... But I speak almost no German. I got instructions from J that I was to ask for a day ticket when entering the bus. That ticket would also be used for the train. The problem is that I got one bus driver that can't speak or understand any English (according to J, many can, but some can't. The problem is that bus line is not touristic), so I was trying to explain what I wanted. When I finally managed to make him understand something (I'm not even sure if the message went through right), he said something in German that I couldn't understand; and by that time we were at the final stop. In the end he just decided to let me go without paying. I paid eventually at the train station... because I had memorized the word for "day ticket" in German and found it on the vending machine.


After walking downtown, I went with K and S to Palaces Schleißheim, one of the major baroque complexes in Germany. Although the reason we went there was because K heard that the gardens there were more beautiful on that day than Schloss Nymphenburg (a more famous touristic spot). And it was beautiful indeed... There was even a wedding ceremony going on inside the palace when we arrived. Guess there are a lot of beautiful places to marry in Europe...

Next day. Sunday. The plans for that day went through many changes. Since it was a day when J could join the tour, we were planning to go somewhere a little further. The initial plan was Salzburg, in Austria. Two factors made us give up on that. First that I'm not so keen on music; and the main features of the city are that it was Mozart's birthplace and the setting for parts of the film "The Sound of Music" (I like the movie... but wouldn't remember the scenarios in detail to really enjoy the experience)... Second, we had to wake up really early to enjoy the day and had a child to consider.

Then we turned to castles. The most famous in the area is Schloss Neuschwanstein, that served as inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle and is the most photographed building in Germany. Still, although smaller, Schloss Linderhof (based on the Palace of Versailles) has other things around to take pictures of and it's the only one that was completed during King Ludwig II's lifetime (out of three he ordered... Meaning it's the only one he actually lived in). So Linderhof was our choice.


One can only enter with a guided tour, but it's offered in many languages (German, English and Japanese are the ones I remember), plus other languages (Chinese, Italian, ...) available on a paper guide. I was wondering how a Japanese tour would look like, but chances were better with English, so I took the English tour. The Hall of Mirrors is splendid! The area around the palace is beautiful as well. Too bad some parts were under reform... AND it started raining after some time. Oh, boy...

On the last day, another technical museum. This time the Siemens Forum. Being a company's museum, it's very focused on the accomplishments of the company. It has some interesting things anyway since Siemens has been involved with interesting projects.


After that, one last walk downtown. But this time through a different path recommended by J, including the Königsplatz, the Justizpalast and one of the old city gates. Lunch at a outdoor restaurant close to the new city hall and packing... This time to Brazil.

At the airport, "bad" news. When I went for the check in, the lady at the counter said there were no seats available in Economy class, so I'd have to fly Business... and it IS confortable!!! Will I ever get used to Economy again? Hah!

Impressions: Munich has a good atmosphere. Although I thought it's a bit small for the third largest city in Germany, it may actually be a good thing. Beautiful scenarios and nice technical museums (was it part of Germany's plan to rise as a technological country?) I just regret not being able to check some classic spots (Neuschwanstein and Dachau Concentration Camp to mention the most important).

One interesting curiosity is that some places have signs in Japanese! The Japanese tour in Linderhof is perhaps the best example. Almost all places related to tourism. Still, the number of Japanese tourists must be large. Well, I noticed some here and there. And according to J, many of them try to do "Europe in 7 days" going from one spot to another in a frenetic pace... not that my tour was so different. Influence of my Japanese descendence?

Thanks to K, J and S for all the help. Sorry for the trouble and hope to see you again!

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

Munich, Germany - Part 1

After London, my next stop using the RTW ticket was Munich, in Germany, from August 13th to 18th.

Like in London, I asked for help to some relatives. In Germany help was even more needed, since I know little to no German. Even when I went to Japan, I already had relatively good notions of Japanese. This time, I was going to a country barely knowing how to say a sentence in that country's language.

From the airport I went to my relative's house with K (my cousin), J (her husband) and S (their 2-year-old daughter). This was actually the first time I've met J and S. As J said, the only touristic spot we would be able to see that day was Allianz Arena, home stadium of FC Munchen (although not only that team). And that was because it's on the way from the airport to their house, so we'd gave glances of it.

Again, the rest of the day was dedicated to do some catching up, planning... and also play a little with the child. For some reason, S, who were quiet from the airport to their house, got something like an instant liking for me after we arrived and wanted to show me things, play together and play with my luggage...

And it was funny to be at a loss with a child who says "dá dá" ("gimme, gimme" in Portuguese) when she wants something, "nein" ("no" in German) when she doesn't want something and "hai" ("yes" in Japanese) when she agrees with something... So cute!


Next day. Sightseeing begins again (after London). The weather was nice, so K, S and me went to Olympiapark, the Olympic Park built for the 1972 Olympic games. It's impressive, especially considering how long ago it was built. Now it's a very nice green area and place for events. On the day we were there, there was an event for children part of the city's 850th anniversary celebrations and a rehearsal for some sort of live. If I got it right, that'd be for Paul Potts (don't know him? Check this video) first live in Germany. Not sure, though.


From the park to the BMW Welt, some sort of BMW exibition facility. Or the "factory of wishes"... You see the models in display and think "I wish I had this one"; "I wish I had that one"... Anyway, weather was getting a little weird, so it was time to finish sightseeing for the day.

August 15th. Since I mentioned to K I like technical stuff, she recommended the Deutsches Museum, the world's largest museum of technology and science. And since the weather was rainy (not too strong, but strong enouh to be annoying), it was perfect to stay indoors.

Have I mentioned it didn't occur to me to bring an umbrella? I thought it would be unnecessary since I'd be indoors, but I forgot about the queue to enter... And since it was a holiday, the museum was, obviously, crowded and with a huge queue to enter... Of course, those waiting were doing so under the rain. Gaijin Smash was something that came to my mind. Still, in the end I didn't. And it sort of paid off. There was a (German) family behind me, and the father was kind enough to let me get under his umbrella while we were waiting. Safe...

Note: later, I got some theories about that. My hosts believe that people who are Japanese looking are well-treated there. In part because Japanese tourists usually don't create much trouble, have good manners and spend a lot of money. A Japanese friend says that people from south Germany are usually kind. My personal theory was that I just happened to be close to a kind individual...

The museum is very interesting. And large. Ok that I simply stopped at the Informatics, Electronics and Electricity sections... It has nice explanations (without getting too much into technical details, but enough for people to know what's going on) and some stuff to try "hands on". Good for children, but many are interesting even for adults.

After that, I joined my "host family" and went to a pool... And since it's not a place whewre tourists usually go, it was a place where my Asian looks (although I'm Latin-American) drew some attention. In Japan, I'm sort of a camouflaged foreigner, but I think I got a free sample on how non-Asian-looking people feel in Japan. When some guys were trying to say something (remember, I know almost no German) my cousin (also Japanese descendent) came to the rescue and exchanged some words with them. Later I got a quick translation. It was something like:

"Hey, your country is getting a lot of medals in the Olympics!" (sort of mocking tone)
"We're not Chinese."
"Huh? Where are you from? Japan?"
"We're Brazilians."
"......" (speechless)

Nice answer. And even in Europe some people can't imagine Asian-looking Brazilians... Guess I have to blame soccer and carnival for that...

The Munich saga continues...

London, England - Part 3

Third and last part of my trip to London (part of the Round the World trip).

August 12th, the last day of heavy sightseeing.


The first stop was the Sherlock Holmes Museum. A place that, as a Holmes fan, I simply had to go. As a friend who recommended the museum mentioned, one may like the place if one is a Holmes fan, but it might not be so worth it otherwise. The efforts they made to make it look like Holmes actually existed (showing tools related to some cases, for example) are interesting; extra credits for the actor who plays Watson. The letters to Sherlock Holmes, both from characters of the books and from real people, are also nice.


Next, the British Museum. And I was amazed on how a museum with such a collection (among which the Rosetta Stone and parts of the Parthenon) allowed pictures inside... An extra curiosity was seeing one of the Crystal Skulls, artifact that became popular after the movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

The Japanese section was also interesting... and interesting to note where people's interests are. There were lots of marks of people pressing their hands of foreheads against the glass close to a katana sword...

After the museum, a walk to Covent Garden. A place with lots of street performers, shopping and cafes. Good point to have a break.

My last stop in central London was Picadilly Circus. No relation with entertainers, animals and alike. It rather comes from the Latin word meaning circle, since it's a road junction. That's also a popular and crowded place, more a less like Dōtonbori in Osaka I think.

Although I said the 12th was the last day of heavy sightseeing, I didn't say I did nothing on the 13th. It was time to walk around the neighborhood where I stayed. A London suburb with some points of interest, like a church with a graveyard where some artists rest in peace. There was even some sort of touristic spot nearby: Chiswick House. But many parts of it were under repairs...

For lunch, S said I must have fish-and-chips at a English pub before leaving Great Britain. So we pick a friend of his and went to his favorite pub... And it tasted good, although he said it wasn't so good on that day.

After the meal, packing and going to Heathrow airport after almost one week in London... Next stop: Munich, Germany.

Impressions about London: it's a real cosmopolitan city. English may be the "unifying language", but if I add the times I've listened to other languages (usually European, like Spanish, Italian or German; but there were lots of Chinese and Japanese around) they surpass the amount of English I've heard. People from various places speaking different languages... Tourists and residents alike. Living proof that "English only is not enough... nor even desired".

Things are VERY expensive. Makes Japan (even Tokyo) look like a joke, especially when in comes down to restaurants (eating out). Still, access to culture is easy and in many cases free. Places like museums were always crowded. That incentive to culture is something very nice to see.

Special thanks to M and S. They helped me a lot with lodgings, planning, guiding, hints about life in London (maybe one worth mentioning here is the Oyster Card)... And it was also great to see them again after so many years. Hopefully we'll meet again soon... in GB, Japan or Brazil.

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

London, England - Part 2

Previously, in London... check this link.

August 10th. The sightseeing around London continues. This time, the target is Westminster area.


Close to the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster also houses one of the most classic touristic points in England: the Clock Tower most known as Big Ben, the world's biggest four-faced, chiming clock. One thing I didn't know is how the chimes used in Japanese schools are similar to Big Ben's. Maybe they're both derived from the same source?

Around the same area, there's also Westminster Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and later British monarchs. Too bad it was Sunday, so it was closed for tours.

After a quick glance at Horse Guards, the next stop was Canary Wharf, sometimes called London's new financial center. Unlike the center of London, this area went through urban planning before constructions started on that site. The contrast is noticeable.


Anyway, the stop at Canary Wharf was part of the itinerary to Greenwich. The name sounds familiar? Because there's the Greenwich Royal Observatory and the point where the Prime Meridian of the World was set. Other attractions at the same area, like the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House closed the day.


Next day I went with M and S to Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Royal Family. And they do know how to make someone feel small. The parts open to the public are majestic... There was also an special exibition about the Prince of Wales, celebrating his 60th birthday.

So much to see, so little time... I couldn't see all there is inside the castle's walls... Pity.

One weird situation happened at the entrance, after buying tickets, when we have to go through a metal detector (!!)... Well, it is an inhabited castle. Back to the subject, at the metal detector, the guard said some greetings in Chinese to me. Not willing to say I wasn't even from Asia, I just mentioned I came from Japan (which is technically not a lie); to what he started saying greetings and some other instructions in Japanese! Glad my Japanese was up to the challenge.

My trip around London still continues...

London, England - Part 1

As I said before, my first stop using the RTW ticket was London, from August 7th to 13th.

Arriving at the airport, I went to M - my cousin - and S - her husband - 's house, where I'd stay during these days in London. The rest of the day was spending in catching up (it's been years since I last saw them, especially S) and planning what to do for the next days.

August 8th. The sightseeing race begins. The first area chosen is East London.

The Tower of London is a fortress that, according to a London guide website, despite its grim reputation as a place of torture and death, has also been enjoyed as a royal palace, served as an armoury and for a number of years even housed a zoo. Expensive to enter and no time, so I just checked the outside. One interesting point is the Traitor's Gate. I imagine how the prisioners entering from that gate felt... Looks a lot like some movies.



Tower Bridge is a suspension bridge in London close to Tower of London and one of the symbols of the city. Some excellent pictures of it, especially at dawn, but hope mine will suffice.

Changing the area just a little bit, the next stop was St. Paul's Cathedral. An Anglican Cathedral that is also one of the most visited places in London... and very beautiful from the inside as well (note: there's an entrance fee too). One curiosity is that there are some sightlines from the cathedral's tower must not be obstructed. That's one of the laws in city planning there. Because of that and the irregular space to build, some skyscrapers are built with unusual shapes. One will have a triangular shape to avoid spoiling one of those sightlines... too bad I forgot the name of the building.


Crossing the Millenium Bridge, also named Wobbly Bridge after crowds of pedestrians felt an unexpected swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened (the problem was solved afterwards), the next stop of the day was Tate Modern, a national museum of international modern art which some interesting galleries and stories (like when an artist made a crack on a ramp as part of her exibition. Go figure. They fixed it later, but the place where the crack was made is still noticeable).

The last stop was the National Gallery. In front of the gallery there's the Trafalgar Square, that was crowded because of the Olympics opening ceremony. It was just at the time the chinese delegation entered the stadium. Some sort of sign, maybe?

Anyway, the National Gallery was the first of a series of museums in London that impressed me. Lots of paintings from different ages, some very famous, and the entrance is free! They accept donations, like "pay what you think it's worth". My cousing says it's because the public museums are supported by taxes, so some thought it'd be fair to make entrance to public buildings free of charge.


Next day. Checking the internet, M noticed it was a day when there would happen the Change of the Guard in front of the Buckingham Palace. Since it's one of the "Londonish" things to see, off we went. Too bad we got a little too late. Not to watch the event, but getting a god place requires getting there long before it starts. So, my viewpoint wasn't good, but I was impressed on how some police officers took care so "opportunists" wouldn't just sit in front of people who stood waiting for hours.

After the event, the weather wasn't too promising, so we decided to check some museums for the rest of the day. At the Science Museum I felt myself more at home. Guess I'm really a science guy rather than arts person. Some exibitions are interesting, and there are activities based on science for children. But I was disappointed when there was not even a mention on Santos Dumont in the History of aviation, but plenty of things about the Wright brothers... Well, guess that History really depends on who tells it...


The second museum was the Natural History Museum, where the most popular exibition is the dinosaurs by far. The only one with a huge queue to enter. Not that the rest of the museum was empty either. Or uninteresting. The Earth Galleries are very nice.

The saga continues...

Poll

Does anyone still read this blog?

Well, I've been thinking... So many years have passed that I don't know what should I keep posting anymore. I mean, this blog started as a way for my Brazilian friends read what I was doing in Himeji. Now the public is more diverse, but then I'm lost on what they'd like to read about.

A quick glance here made me notice that posts fall usually in four basic categories. I'd like to ask you to leave a mail or comment saying what are your preferences. Or if it's something completely different. There will be examples based on previous posts for reference.

1 - Personal stories. Things that happen in my life. Like when I was having problems with my plane to go to Kyoto or trying to find activities (sports, arts) there.

2 - Interesting news I find around. For example, about some points of view related to English becoming the main international language or how people may change their behavior when shifting between languages.

3 - Trips, festivals and alike (usually with some pictures). Sakura blooming in Kyoto or my trip to Okinawa are some previous posts in this category.

4 - Curiosities and oddities I either find around or hear about, like some strange things I've heard from people who say they can speak some Portuguese or the weird vending machines in Japan (post in Portuguese).

As you may have noticed, the categories get intertwined pretty often. Still, I just want to know what should I keep as main objectives of this blog.

Round the World Ticket

Ok, ok... I've been absent for quite a while again. And this time I won't write much either. I'll just justify the delay.

I got some vacations during summer break, so I decided to go back to Brazil and see family and friends. August isn't the best time to travel from Japan, though. It's summer vacation season, so tickets are expensive.

Checking the prices, especially because I wanted to go through Europe to visit some relatives (and use the chance to look around Europe), I found out that buying a Round the World (RTW) ticket wasn't lots more than the regular tickets I found.

So I decided to do something a little crazy...

I purchased a RTW ticket with Star Alliance and returned to Brazil by the following route:

ITM - NRT (ANA)
NRT - LHR (ANA)
LHR - MUC (Lufthansa)
MUC - GRU (Lufthansa)
GRU - LDB (TAM - not RTW)

That much is what I did until now. For those who don't know the airport codes, I went to London and Munich and then returned to Brazil. I'll go to Canada on my way back if everything goes right, but that's a story for another day.

I'll try to separate the pictures from that trip and post them ASAP.

So, I've been busy. And in Brazil I still have lots of places to go, people to see and foods to eat!

Although my route may seem shallow for a trip around the world, as the Mc Donald's slogan says, "I'm lovin' it"!!!