Toilets, Pachinko, and Food

In our short time here we have noticed three things to be pervasive: toilets with fancy features, pachinko, and a variety of good, albeit not necessarily Japanese, food.

Toilets:

The toilets here are very fancy; they have many bells and whistles that we do not encounter in the US. Most have buttons that make noise and spray water, and some are heated. It is humorous to encounter these many features. I have yet to see one standard (aka feature-less) toilet. Last night at the restaurant I was surprised to discover that the toilet seemed quite standard, without any extra buttons. However, upon sitting down I realized the seat was heated! I find it very intriguing how these toilets are so widespread in this country. I am curious how much energy these toilets use; the Japanese use less energy per capita then most developed countries but I wonder what fraction of their energy use is attributed to singing, chirping, water spurting, heated toilets.

Pachinko:

Yesterday, while roaming through an arcade in Sendai, we stopped into a pachinko parlor. Pachinko is a game that appears to be some combination of slot machine and pinball, although it is played with multiple small balls at one time, and it is unclear whether there is any skill involved or if it is all luck. The pachinko parlor is like a casino, only much smaller. There are machines crammed into a small store, lots and lots of loud noises and many colors and flashing lights, and a lot of smoke. We did not yet try our hand at pachinko, but maybe someday soon we will be so lucky.

Food:

As my teammates will tell you, I am not very adventurous when trying new foods. I prefer food that I can identify and that does not resemble any animal. I also am a little squeamish of foods of certain textures. My teammates, however, are all quite brave. Michelle, Lauren and Doyle have no hesitation about diving into a plate of uncooked, thinly sliced fish, and Spencer enjoys stopping in to any convenience store that is handy to pick up a local snack. I am trying to be more adventurous, but it was apparent last night that I wasn’t quite as daring when I opted not to try the though, round, purple and white slice of uncooked octopus.

I do enjoy perusing the local markets and stores, which present a delightful image of Japanese foods and culture. Although I am rarely certain of what the food is, I am intrigued by its packaging and many colors and characters. However, in general we have been surprised by the wide variety of foods available from other countries, and the majority of our meals have been non-Japanese foods. I’m also surprised by the prevalence of bread and the amount of coffee that the Japanese drink. I had thought bread was a largely European food item, but it is offered here at both breakfast and lunch. And coffee seems to be more common than tea, especially as after-meal drinks or a mid-day beverage. We’re excited to discover what types of food we will be served in our homestays. Homestays start tomorrow night!

Faster than a speeding bullet train…

We began to get a glimpse today of the juxtaposition of the ancient with the high tech in Japan.  We traveled via shinkansen (bullet train) from Sendai to Morioka.  It felt like a hovercraft, nearly noiseless and amazingly smooth at 180 mph…definitely something straight out of The Jetsons.  Upon arriving in Morioka, we walked around the city and visited the site of a former castle where the formidable rock walls are still standing.  We marveled at the fact that one probably could not convince anyone to build such a thing today for any sum of money, but somehow they managed to do so without any high tech or mechanized assistance.  I’m sure that as we learn about renewable energy here in Japan along with visiting 1,000 year old shrines and temples, we will continue to be struck by a culture that seems to hold both a rich and far-reaching cultural heritage and an incredibly high tech and fast-paced modern society together in the same space. 

Written by Lauren Coyne

A BIG welcome!

Wow!  We were very surprised and happily greeted by the Japanese Rotarians at Sendai airport.  We noticed the Welcome banner immediately when we arrived in baggage claim.  We spent time introducing each other, taking photos, and chatting it up during the bus ride to our hotel.  It was a wonderful feeling!

The flight from Tokyo to Sendai was under 1 hour, but it was enough time to get a sense of the land:  the water’s edge, scale of buildings, density of building to open space, location of mountains and rivers and other natural land features, grids  of agriculture, lack of grids (roads follow natural topography rather than orthogonal grid or N-S-E-W grid.  The built environment is dense with clearly defined green edges.  Within the green zone, there is little to no development (no streets, no driveway, no houses on hilltops).  It reminds me of the approach that Boulder took when creating the imaginary ring around the city, in efforts to preserve the open space, and limit urban sprawl.  I would like to understand how they approach growth and development.

After checking into our hotel, we regrouped for lunch and continued with a more formal introduction of the team members and hosts.  I was very excited to meet Masa, an architect, and Cozi, a commercial real estate agent, who I imagine sharing common interests with.  Cozi speaks excellent English we end up talking about general things related to Colorado and Japan that we can think of – sports, hobbies, food, seasons, etc.  Hiro, who leads the GSE committee, has been writing down places for us to visit, things to do, that are very Japanese – onsin, shabu-shabu, and sumo wrestling.  Since our schedule shows several open days between our renewable energy tours/visits, there’s a good chance we will get to experience these things.  I hope they do not overextend themselves as hosts and maybe I can politely offer to go on our own or pay for ourselves.

We headed down to the outdoor shopping district for dinner.  The governor of Iwate and Miyagi Prefecture met us there, with several other Rotary members.  There are 66 clubs in his area and he travels to all of them throughout the year.  I sat across from Michi, who leads the leads the Wings over Rotary Exchange Program.  I could have talked with her all night because she spoke very good english and was so uplifting!  From what I understood, she takes students from Japan to the US for 2 weeks and also hosts American students for 2 weeks.  They have been to Philadelphia, Kansas, Georgia, and Oklahoma.   She is also a business owner, a ballroom dance instructor, owns her own building, and most of all, a really great host.

It seems like I forgot all the Japanese I learned from Rosetta Stone when we landed in Tokyo, but I’m hoping it will surface.  In the meantime, I’m trying to memorize phrases of etiquette like “Nice to meet you” and “Thank You” by saying them over and over   I’m having a  great time meeting everyone!

Photo of Doyle and Spencer checking out the curbside vending machines during our break between meals.  We have been compiling a list of “green” observations.  I am thinking about starting another category where we can post these.

written by “Miki”  Michelle Wheatley, Architect

4+1 = complete team

Day 1 :  My team members were worried.  I was worried.  I missed our flight after my bus arrived late to the airport.  It was a snowball effect thereafter -  waiting in lines to get through checked bags, rebooking my flight, and getting through security.  I was able to get a message to the team that I would be on the next plane, arriving in Narita about ½ an hour behind them.  They spotted me in customs at Narita airport and a sense of relief overcame me.  The team was finally together and Doyle seemed light-hearted and calming, even joking with me about the start of our trip.

Day 2:  Since our arrival yesterday, the experience has been very easy, very Western in accommodations, food, and language.  After we landed in Narita, we took a short ride to the hotel, cleaned up, and regrouped for a fantastic buffet-style dinner.  There was such a large variety of food that nobody had a problem finding something familiar or new, healthy or indulgent, vegetarian, from the sea, or dairy-free.  In the morning, we gathered and decided to get snacks for breakfast at the AM/PM in the hotel.  We fly to Sendai this morning.

I am anxious to leave the western ways and get immersed in something new and unfamiliar – (as long as there’s wifi!)  The Japanese have been very welcome and I think anybody, regardless of nationality, would feel welcome here.

written by Michelle Wheatley, Architect

GSE Send-off Party!

The team gathered with their spouses at Connie Holden’s House (GSE Committee Chair District 5450).  We practiced our presentation and received some helpful feedback.  District Governor Mike Oldham pumped us up with a great send off speech.  Thank you, Connie, for  hosting a great evening!

Japanese Inspired Meal

For this meeting, we thought it would be fun to cook a Japanese inspired meal together, instead of slamming down some fast food in the car on the way to the meeting.  Each team member brought a food and beverage to share.  The meal:  Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot, Edamame, Sushi Rolls, Mochi, and homebrew Mead.   There’s Lauren cooking away, while Spencer reads through pages of Japanese history.

Presentations on Japan

Tonight was our 3rd team meeting and we came prepared to present different aspects of Japan: history, culture, politics, and renewable energy programs.  I am so impressed with our group!  The Japanese language has stumped us all, (well… except for Spencer, who has lived/taught in Japan) but we are pressing each other to learn basic words, especially as we develop our presentations.  For next meeting, does anyone want to meet early and cook a Japanese meal together?  Start loosening up those hips for sitting cross-legged!