A Japanese wedding is an expensive affair… for the guest that is. As a guest, you are expected to give 30,000 yen (about $366 US dollars). If going as a couple, you are expected to give 50,000 yen (about $610 dollars). Additionally, it has to go into a special money envelope called a “shuugibukuro”. However, if you get married, they are expected to give you back the same amount you paid. So, they keep track and they definitely remember if you gave too little. But the intent is that you are helping them pay for the 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 yen reception. Usually, couples almost break even for the costs. There are other rules for giving money such as, always use new 10,000 yen bills, bills should be face up with the head near the opening of the envelope (inner envelope), and the lower flap of the outer decorative envelope should be on top of the upper flap so that happiness will be caught. Unfortunately, I can’t fit all the etiquette rules in this short story, but if you prepare even a little, it goes a long way. However, here’s one last tip, never wear a white or black tie to the wedding. White is generally for close relatives and black is only for funerals.

Driving in Japan can be pretty crazy.  Because I live in a town/rural area, you need a car.  Sure, there’s the gas-operated trains and buses, but to really live here you need a car.  People cut in front of you without warning, run red lights constantly, and there’s a million mopeds moving in and out of traffic.  It’s like bumper cars, but scary.  As one adviser said at our orientation, “In America, you should drive defensively.  In Japan, you have to drive paranoid.”  You never know when or where someone’s coming from.

In Hawaii, we can play fireworks twice a year, 4th of July and New Years’.   In Japan, however, you can buy fireworks year round.  Though they’re more like sparklers and such.  This year, my fiancee and I came back to Hawaii for New Years’ and got to play fireworks like kids again.  It’s something I hope is around for my future kids to enjoy.

Christmas in Sasebo at Shimanose Park.　　Every year, until December 25th, lights are placed throughout the park.  In the picture below, you can see lights strung on the wall of Shimanose art gallery.  Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, but many businesses and families celebrate it.  What do you eat on Christmas day?  Turkey?  Ham?  The Japanese eat fried chicken and cake.  Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is number one in Japan for Christmas chicken.  Oh, don’t forget to reserve your Christmas cake.  You can even reserve one at your local convenience store.  Invite your newbie Japanese friends to Christmas and watch as they’ll be surprised that there’s no KFC or cake at your American Christmas dinner.  If only my favorite actress Haruka Ayasa would deliver it like in this CM:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMxngf7-zyw.

As an American in Japan, I’m also a representative of our country.  This means I must put my best self forward and be responsible.  Back at home, there was a lot of drinking and driving.  But in Japan, there are many options so that you don’t need to.  There’s a plethora of taxis, trains and buses to take you home.  There’s even a service where they will drive you home in your own car.  It’s something I wish were available more back in the States.  How many lives could that save.

今日、インターネットで私の結婚指輪を注文しました。　タングステンカーバイド製です。　タングステンカーバイドはダイアモンドしか切れません。　でも、鏡のように光るくらい磨けます。　愛のようにいつも強くて美しいです。

フィアンセも結婚指輪のデザインが好きです。　彼女が私の指輪を払うから良かったです。　指輪の厚みは６ｍｍです。　しかし、日本人の男はほとんど２ｍｍぐらいの厚み指輪をしています。私にはその厚みがとても女らしいです。　文化の違いかな。


（ひらがな）
きょう、いんたねっとでわたしのけっこんゆびわをちゅうもんしました。　たんぐすてんかーばいどせいです。　たんぐすてんかーばいどはだいあもんどしかきれません。　でも、かがみのようにひかるくらいみがけます。　あいのようにいつもつよくてうつくしいです。

ふぃあんせもけっこんゆびわのでざいんがすきです。　かのじょがわたしのゆびわをはらうからよかったです。　ゆびわのあつみは６ｍｍです。　しかし、にほんじんのおとこはほとんど２ｍｍぐらいのあつみゆびわをしています。　わたしにはそのあつみはとてもおんならしいです。　ぶんかのちがいかな。


Today, I ordered my wedding ring on the internet.  It’s made from tungsten-carbide.  Only diamond can cut it.　But it can be polished to a mirror-like finish.  Like love, it will always be strong and beautiful.

My fiancee likes the wedding ring design, too.  Thank goodness, because she’s paying for it.  The thickness of the ring is 6mm.  However, Japanese men mostly wear 2mm thick rings.  To me, that thickness is very feminine.  I guess it’s a difference in cultures.

Attached is a picture from when I went to Kagoshima last year.  We didn’t take any trips this year yet so no recent picture.  In the picture, I’m showing a salad in an upside down champagne glass.  It was a really good salad.  And the ryokan was excellent.  Very nice onsen, including private onsen for the room.  The public rotenburo was also wonderful.  Too bad it’s so far away.  I tried sunaburo also.  That was also quite an experience.  It was much hotter than I thought it would be.

Mata ne,
Cary

I travel between Hawaii and Japan about twice a year. While most people bring clothes and toiletries in their bag, I bring omiyage. Japanese-Americans have adopted the tradition of omiyage from their Japanese-Japanese brethren. My island has macadamia nuts and Kona coffee as its most famous gift-giving items. But there is much more like furikake potato chips, coffee-flavored chocolate, and lavosh crackers. On the Japan-side, the home of omiyage, there is no shortage of things to bring home. Depending what prefecture you go to, they have different specialties. There’s karukan from Kagoshima, a steamed spongy rice cake that you can it as-is, or other varieties with cream inside. Kyoto has triangle shaped mochi with different flavorings both in the mochi itself and in its filling. My mom loves surume from Nagasaki, dried squid, which she lightly grills and tears into strips to eat. If you forgot to get omiyage before you leave, don’t worry, the airport is full of omiyage from all over the country. In fact, before you even go on your trip, you can order omiyage from the place you are going from a catalog. Tour companies actually do this so you don’t have to lug omiyage around with you. But where’s the meaning and love in omiyage if you don’t suffer hauling it around like a pack-mule and breaking all the airline carry-on rules.

It’s getting cooler now here.  I’m looking forward the change in the colors of the leaves, but not the cold.  I’m enjoying Sasebo.  We are very busy with work right now.  In fact, I was at work until 2am today.

Some of the good things I’ve been able to do this past summer is climb Mt. Aso in Kumamoto, Taradake in Isahaya, and Mt. Fuji.  Mt. Aso was very beautiful and the view was great.  Hiking on Taradake in Isahaya was through the trees and kind of a strenuous climb at parts.  It took us 7-1/2 hours to climb.  Mt. Aso was only abour 4 or 5 hours.  Mt. Fuji is beautiful from far away, but on the mountain, it is very rocky.  The climb is only really hard because of the altitude.  There’s no air.  It took about 6 hours to climb up, and 2 hours to climb down.  I got to see the sunrise on Mt. Fuji.  Now that was something to see.  The sun rose between two layers of clouds.  It’s a unusual thing to have clouds below you and above you.  But it was the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen.

I’ve included a couple collages of pictures.  Please take a look.  Well, that’s it for now.  Got a busy couple days ahead.   Take care.

佐世保市から、
Cary

Hanami And Other Things (花見とか）

I’m a foreigner like everyone else, but I’ve got two very bad traits.  One is that I don’t speak Japanese very well.  The other is that I look 100% Japanese.  This gets me into awkward situtations.  I spent 10 minutes listening to a store clerk trying to sell me beer in the supermarket.  I only understood about a quarter of what she said, but I thought it would be rude to interrupt her after such a long time of just nodding my head.  When I finally gave in and said I was American, she spoke perfect English.  I bought two six packs of beer.

Beer and alcohol in general play a big part in Japanese culture.  What I thought was a sake (日本酒） culture seems to be more of a shouchuu (焼酎） culture due to the fact it’s much cheaper.  There’s various types of shouchuu, but the most popular ones being imo (potato), kome (rice), and mugi (wheat).  My favorite is mugi, but they are all just as dangerous.

One good time to drink with friends and coworkers is when the sakura trees are blooming, and you can celebrate hanami (花見）　together.  I learned the proverb (kotowaza), “hana yori dango” (花より団子）.  It basically means you appreciate the eating more than the flower viewing.  I must say I fall into this category.  Especially since it rained this year during our party.

Other things you can’t avoid in Japan is karaoke.  If you can sing at least one song in Japanese, trust me they’ll be astonished.  Also, if you’re going to sing in English, please represent us well.  Karaoke is serious business here.  Not to be taken as just a simple drunk pastime.  It is part of the culture here.  So practice, practice, practice.

Baseball.  Don’t believe that it’s only an American pastime.  In Japan, even the high school baseball gets a lot of media coverage.  This dedication has also led Japan to be the two-time defending World Baseball Classic (WBC) champions.  All with less steroids for sure than the United States.  I will be going to my first baseball game at the end of this month.

Kind of sad considering I’ve been here over a year.  But unfortunately work comes first.  If there’s one thing I must say about my time in Japan, is that it’s proven to be a wonderful place.

There are many things I don’t understand, and things that for sure need fixing.  But it’s a place that has had peace for over 60 years, forced though it may be.  How many countries can say that?