Sapporo
(Above: showing the locals the American Gun Show) Last Sunday I got back from a 2 week stint studying Japanese up in Sapporo, Portland’s sister city. It was nice to get away for awhile and have a different routine. Also, Sapporo is a bit cooler than my town in Miyagi, and boy has it been hot! As a matter of fact, this summer has been the hottest on record in Japan since the 40’s or so. Somewhere, Al Gore is smiling. (Above: Just one of the many beer garden areas) The trip started out with a 15 hour overnight ferry trip from Sendai. On the ferry, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter two Miyagi JET’s that I’ve always thought were super cool, Kristin and Karen. We had a great time on the ferry and had a blast together over the course of the whole two weeks. It was great meeting some new people in the class as well, and especially spending some time with some other Miyagi JET’s that I haven’t really had the opportunity to hang out with in the past. The Sapporo Beer Garden event was happening the first week that I was there. (Meetin' some of the local folk) This is similar to the beer fest in Portland, but with way less mullets, sleeveless tee-shirts, or Lucky Lab Birkenstock-wearing beer connoisseurs. This was all about sitting down on the grass or at the table with your co-workers or friends and just drinking to your heart’s delight. The only beers there were Japanese beers: Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi, Suntory, and maybe some others. (A well deserved break after class) There were plenty of fried foods to eat, as well as many a Kampai! to be bellowed (Meaning: Cheers!) I went on Tuesday and Thursday, taking Weds and Friday to recover. One night, my buddy, Dan, and I were skipping around, chatting up the locals, when suddenly we were struck with a brilliant idea!: two man karaoke! Yes! “Let’s Get Involved.” As Dan always says. Yet when 3 AM rolled around and we were stumbling out of the bar into sobering light of early morning, well it didn’t seem like such a good idea then. Haha! But it was a blast, and although class was brutally difficult the next day, we managed. We can look back on that evening with a smile and say, “Remember that night in Sapporo…ahh what fools we were… hahaha!” (exactly, Dan... ouch!)

(Above: Karaoke in full form, notice the effort veins in the neck... this is serious business) To be fair, the trip wasn’t all peaches and sunbeams. The class wasn’t all I had hoped it would be, and maybe that’s my fault for getting my expectations up. It’s just that us Miyagi people had heard so much about this class and how wonderful it was, and really, it wasn’t. Maybe there were new teachers or something, I dunno. The others felt the same way as well. But, DJB. The other downside is that the class was rather expensive, with room and board and all. I think I could have had just as good if not better instruction, at a closer location with certainly a cheaper price. Dan told me about a conversation group of university students that meet every week that he’s been doing and said is wonderful. He said it’s also a great way to meet some people, so I’m looking forward to starting that in a week or two. (Above: at the temple, people bring in their new car to be blessed by a priest/monk. "May provide outstanding gas mileage!") My one other regret about Sapporo was not taking more advantage of the middle weekend to take a trip somewhere in Hokkaido. I had the time, but to be fair, I was dirt poor this month and just didn’t have the funds. And really, I was there to study, and I really did study hard on that weekend so I’m proud of myself. The thing about studying Japanese, and I guess this is the case for all studies, is that the more you learn, the more you realize there’s so much you don’t know. Usually this is an exciting side effect of studying something new! (Above: The Sapporo Dom-u!) Yet, since my Japanese studies are most likely limited up to my time spent here in Japan (11 more months), then I kind of get a bit frustrated with that whole, “Why should I study if I’ll never learn it all and most likely will forget what I’ve learned?” But that is depressing thinking, and I respond to myself saying, “Idle hands are the devil’s work! It’s always great to set out challenging yourself to learn something new! And I feel like Lewis and Clark, or some other great frontiersman setting out boldly and bravely, chin to the wind, ready to take on anything. “Give me liberty, or give me sushi!” is my new catch phrase.

One day, my new Kyushu JET buddies, Josh, Maya invited me to a Sapporo soccer game, and that was a blast. The Japanese are so full of spirit and their cheering section is very gung-ho and also very organized. We had beers and hotdogs and joined in the fun. Sapporo’s team won with a score of 3-0.

Not too much else to say about Sapporo… I did a couple hikes around the city area that had some great views, ate famous miso ramen, and crab, and saw some movies in the theater. (Above: intensely hot day, but the view of the city was worth it.) Although it was a fun experience, it was also nice to come back to my own cute house in Miyagi. I had an interesting thought when taking the (brutally tiring) overnight train home: that my little town of Ichihasama actually felt like my home… and that felt great to be feeling that. Of course Oregon is my true home, but to be thinking, “Hey, I’ll see my cute supermarket ladies, and that old guy who walks so slowly down the street every afternoon… stuff like that. This is my Japan home, now. Interesting…