October 2000:

Reunited

Week 6: Oct 1 - 7

I spent the week packing after finally receiving my visa.

I went to Fuji Q Highland, an amusement park near Mount Fuji. Fuji Q is home to the roller coaster with the largest drop in the world-- 230 feet. I had to hang on to his glasses with both hands the entire time, due to the excessive G forces. I would preferred to have clung to the crossbar. The people I went with were mostly from his Epson badminton team, and they taught me a new word: kowai, which means "scary".

There was also a haunted house at Fuji Q, however it looks suspiciously like the Epson dormitory. Unlike the crummy haunted houses I have seen in North America, this Japanese one is quite impressive. It's a maze of hallways that you have to navigate while trying to avoid the monsters. The monsters-- real people dressed up as (what else?) doctors-- actually chase you, which can be pretty kowai since there are a lot of dark rooms and dead ends. My friend Miranda somehow tripped while she was making a mad dash for the exit; in contrast, I left the building in a calm and rational manner.

Week 7: Oct 8 - 14

I took a day trip to Kamikochi with some of the other co-op students. This area is only 50 Km away, but it took several hours to get there since there are many single-lane tunnels where traffic jams tend to happen.

The mountains in Kamikochi are incredible, but there are so many tourists that the hiking trails are as crowded as most city streets.

Meanwhile, I finally arrived in Japan after a long, boring and long flight. The connecting flight from Chicago to Tokyo was delayed (big surprise). I met a company employee at Narita-Tokyo airport and was taken to Matsumoto. I checked into the Buena Vista hotel, and met Ryan. It was midnight, Japan time, so after a quick reunion, Ryan went home to the company dormitory and I fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning (Thurs Oct 12), I examined the hotel toilet, trying to figure out how to use such a high-tech piece of technology. There were buttons, and illustrations on how to use it, as well as some badly-translated instructions. After a Japanese-style breakfast of bacon, eggs, fish, rice and soup, I was brought to AISoft, and spent the rest of the day trying to install Japanese Windows 98. That night, I was treated to a meal at an "Italian" restaurant and afterwards to karaoke. Ryan and I sang duets of Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love", and The Police's "Roxanne".

Friday was my first day at work, and I didn't do much besides install more software. That night was my first experience with the dorm food. While not unpleasant, it was typical dorm food. Still being jetlagged, I fell asleep at 8:00pm while Ryan went out to get his butt kicked at badminton.

Saturday night, Ryan and I were thrown a dinner party called a nomikai. We ate traditional Japanese foods, including sashimi, sweet (raw) shrimp, and chicken knuckles (deep fried chicken cartilage). Yum. After the nomikai, more karaoke.

Week 8: Oct 15 - 21

Sunday, Ryan and I played basketball with some of the employees from Epson. To refresh myself, I enjoyed a cool bottle of Pocari Sweat, Japan's favorite sport drink. After taking a nap, we "enjoyed" beef stew in the dorm cafeteria, then watched a badly dubbed movie on TV.

Monday, Ryan and I had the day off and decided to spend it by applying for my Alien Registration card. That evening, we were invited to AISoft's semi-annual kickoff party where we ate buffet-style Japanese and Western food, and had to make a speech. Since almost no one could understand English, the speeches went over quite well. After the speech was a large game of Bingo, and I won a mysterious software CD featuring a children's TV character.

Friday night Ryan, John (a Waterloo student), Guillaume and Moui (French students) and I went to a French restaurant for dinner and ate duck. It was good.

Saturday Ryan and I got our butts kicked at basketball again, then went to the hardware store for home supplies. That night was spent in a tiny bar (max capasity about 15 people) called the Elbow Room, and a foreigner's bar called The Italian Tomato. It was at the Tomato we were harassed by a large drunk Canadian who refused to believe we were also Canadian. When we insisted, he got angry, so Guillaume and I left, while Ryan and some friends stayed. I guess Ryan likes abuse.

Week 9: Oct 22 - 28

Sunday, our day of rest, was spent in Matsumoto looking for a Hallowe'en costume, but since the Japanese don't celebrate Hallowe'en, we were unsuccessful and retired for the night in front of a rented movie. The box was labeled Cube I.Q. and looked almost entertaining. It turned out to be an Australian film called The Game Room and involved evil Physics majors picking on a new student in University who gets his revenge in The Game Room. It was terrible.

Wednesday we went out to an Italian restaurant and karaoke as a farewell to some Filipino students. They were being shipped off to other Epson locations. Some went to Sapporo (at the icy, Northern end of Japan), some to Beppu (at the Southern, tropical end of Japan). Needless to say, some were happier to leave than others. After hearing us at Karaoke, I'm sure they were all happy to leave.

On Saturday, Oct 29 Japan celebrated Hallowe'en. Ryan, myself and a number of friends dressed up and headed out to a celebration in nearby Shiojiri City. What we found there instead was a parade of small children getting candies from shopkeepers with songs like The Monster Mash blaring out from loudspeakers. And it was raining. After getting our pictures taken by local photographers, we decided to go back to the dorm for dinner and to change into some dry clothes. Ryan then left to go to the Italian Tomato, while I opted to stay dry and instead watched an English movie on TV. It was Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroyd and the guy from the Ultra-Matic bed commercials.

Week 10: Oct 29 - 31

Sunday afternoon, Ryan, Guillaume and Moui (the two French students) and I decided to try our luck making brownies. After searching for 15 minutes in the grocery store for flour, we finally bought all the ingredients and made two batches, eating one of them immediately. That night was another good-bye dinner at a Chinese restaurant for the Fillipinos who were being transferred to other Epson locations in Japan.