Hokkaido + funny slogans

Recent slogan from a coffee mug I drank out of:

"Bistro bear is the best gentleman of a British tradition. He is cleverly refined, is very stylish and kind. Ladies enjoy conversation with him"

The hilarity of poor English translation is apparent everywhere and taking pictures of funny slogans consumes at least 30 minutes out of our days. Other funny examples include: Men's Bar Club Speed, Club rounge (likely meant to be lounge), and 'Refreshing consumption will equate to flavor extravagance.'

Also, it appears nearly every type of company or service has an absolutely unnecessary mascot associated with it. For example, Chandheeb's subway pass is mascoted by a robot whereas mine is mascoted by a respectable working class penguin. Also, the robot and penguin are often sidekicks and respect each other greatly - or so we are led to believe from witnessing their interactions in various pictures. Finally, mascots most often have nothing to do with the service in question, aka refined British bear drinking coffee.

Now, onwards to travel-related info.
So we just got back from a week in Hokkaido, which was very very scenic and refreshing to get to after sitting in the humid swamp-land (misnomer, as it is quite clean) of Tokyo. We spent 3 days on an island of the most Northern tip of Japan called Rebun-to, and did alot of hiking there. We were up everyday @6am (not bad considering the hostel's mandatory lights out policy @10:15. Much to our confusion, the main clientele at our Youth Hostel (and subsequent other hostels) were older than 60. Some over 80 even. It is absolutely shocking how many elderly people are in good shape. A 75 year old couple did a 10-hour 35km hike on the island with us (and this was a rather difficult hike) and had little to no problems finishing.

Back to our lodging. This particular hostel had staff whom the Lonely Planet book described as "an ecclectic young group of men who will do anything to entertain their guests." Though they were entertaining for the first 10 minutes of their 100 dB high pitched Japanese screeches, the effect wore off shortly after. Chandheeb and I thus spent most of our time in the hostel hiding from them to avoid "chores" (people were furiously scrubbing walls and bed posts, both where dust cannot possibly collect) and 2.5 hr Japanese sing-alongs headed by god-awful musicians. At least there were nice sunsets out front, and the hostel itself was in an absolutely pristine location on the waterfront with 3 small mountains surrounding it. Thus another way to avoid them was to climb these small mountains at 10:30am with a large bottle of sake. This allowed calming of the nerves, which otherwise would have signalled for me to strangle them one by one.
Overall: Everything other than hostel staff = amazing.

part 2: Daisetsuzan national park (Japan's largest National Park)
We stayed here for three days as well, though we only got one solid day of hiking in as our other planned day rained us out. However, we turned our initial 2-day hike into a one-day by starting at 6:45am and pretty much going until 5:30. It was wild. My favorite day of the trip thus far. There were not that many hikers that day, and sometimes you could look in all directions without glimpsing another soul or any kind of human intervention. Quite blissful. Complete with PB&J sandwiches plus a delicious rice/bean dessert called Mochi which I've since began to consume about 1/day.

Lost about 8 or 9 pounds so far. Luckily this summer no parasites or rampant diarrhea are involved. Likely just due to the fact that we walk/move around a LOT and often are served nothin more than a combination of rice/miso/ramen/soba noodles (unless we're at Lawrence's for one of his/Satoko's delicious and health meals).

There is some more info I'd like to include about our unscheduled stay in Asahikawa (2nd biggest city in Hokkaido after Sapporo, which we also went to for an afternoon of beer museum-ing) but that will have to wait. I have to run for now, and will likely not post until next week. Going to Okinawa tomorrow for various island experiences, including a 24 hour trial of getting a local fisherman to drop us off on an isolated 2km square island for a Crusoe-like experience.

Anyways, will say somethin again next Saturday or Sunday.
BYE

Cal!

...Disaster magnet.

Waikiki, Hawaii - last night.

It's been an amazing week. I went snorkeling with dolphins and sea turtles (Cal - you would have liked them). Snorkeling with the dolphins was a little strange. First off, I'm not much of a swimmer. We had to float in the ocean while the boat slowly drifted away leaving us stranded for a bit to make sure they didn't scare off the dolphins. We couldn't swim or kick our legs because that too would have scared them off. Needless to say, it took a lot of effort on my part to stay calm. But I saw some dolphins - well worth the temporary panick.

Hiking through the rainforest was super fun. Manoa falls were a bit disappointing, but still worth the hike. I got some pictures of avocado trees and mango trees. I also took gorgeous pictures of different species of trees eccentrically competing for sunlight.

The Luau was okay. Nothing too special. I remember it being a LOT more fun when I went with family. (Dad, remember we danced together???) I did go up on stage to learn how to Hula though. Failed attempt.

SOOO, yes. Wonderful week. So, why the aforementioned "...disaster magnet" you ask?
(1) Our tour got cancelled today. We got up at 6:00am to make it on time to the bus. Luckily we made in on another similar tour but had to pay a hefty sum more for the same shit.
(2) We went to an expensive restaurant for our last night - they assured us that my room-mates meal did not have ANY soy in it. (She has a severe allergy that has prompted us to visit ERs on a regular basis). It had soy. Lots of it. Gave her the epi-pen because she couldn't breath. I called the ambulance from the hotel lobby.
(3) While waiting for the ambulance in the lobby, the lobby ceiling fell on us. Yup. Cement ceiling fell on us. Luckily we didn't get hit on the head. My legs got the brunt of it.
(4) Got home to check my facebook to see if my wonderful boyfriend wrote me, and got a message from my mom saying there was a pipe that burst in my apartment, and the ceiling was... (ummm, what's that word in english?) défoncé. Tons of stuff ruined.

Haha, well it could be worse. :)

P.S Mom and dad, please check if I have insurance.
Cal - I can't wait to skype. I'm having a great time too, but I miss you. Even today was an experience I wouldn't want to take back. (Well... maybe the ruined clothes part)
xoxoxo

Tokyo

Friends, foes,

We have just finished our first 4-night stint in Tokyo staying @ Chandheeb's girlfriend's mom's good friend's place (Lawrence - hilarious) with his Japanese girlfriend Satoko. Essentially they make us delicious delicious breakfasts and then Lawrence takes us around town to wherever we so desire. they also bicker in half english/half japanese so I have learned some good phrases through that. Satoko was quite cold @ first but since I've been attempting to speak Japanese to her she is quite warm now and calls me "Cow-kun" ie. Cal-friend

Tokyo is way way busier than it was during New Year's so we were able to do significantly more than @ Christmas. Also since Lawrence/Satoko wake up @ 7am everyday and we're all sleeping in the same room, we are up then and out of the house by 9ish, usually not home til past 930 or 10pm. So compared to classic Shapiro vacations of a)leave @ 1030, b) have 1.5 hr lunch, c) nap @ 4-7, d) dinner, e) 10pm bedtime, this is much more packed but I'm exhausted by the end of the day.

Things we've done:
a) Shinjuku sky scrapers + views (were closed @ Christmas)
b) best sushi of my life in Tokyo Harbor
c) full day in Akihabara (aka comics+electronics land) - also went to hilarious Japanese "adult entertainment shop" with some truly outrageous sexual costumes/gadgets etc, many of which have been duly photographed.
d) half day in Kappabashi aka land of amazing cookware aka Dan Shapiro central. I bought a sake jug for some reason
e) half day in Harajuku (but in superior spots to where we were @ Christmas)
f) lots of time in Ueno/Yoyogi parks respectively.. though I'm sure no one really knows what they are. They do have lots of hobos in them though...
g) Full day of biking for 2$. Much much better to see Tokyo than subway

Weather is hot and extremely humid. I mostly wear my African pants w/ tassles on them - Japanese people look @ me with disgust and are probably spitting on me in their heads. I can only assume they are going home to commit Seppuku afterwards.

Things I've noticed about Japanese:
a) 75% of their jobs are actually superfluous. Eg. construction workers stand in the same spot for hours waving a flashing light when a robot could do the same job
b) Police #1 priority is giving lost people directions. I don't think they do anything else because there is simply no violent crime
c) People's work status is related to the number of degrees they have, but one's job may not have anything to do with their university degree
d) They are scared of me and move out of my way on the sidewalk ( i am a Gaijin Daro (foreign devil))
e) they are essentially aimless sheep

well. that's enough for now. I'm going to bed as I have a flight to Hokkaido early tomorrow morning, will post again in a week!

Lots of love!

ps. Sylvie I miss you lots and therefore will eat a pastry in your honour

TRIPS HAVE BEGUN!

Alright, I'm getting ready to go to a Luau so I don't have much time to write. I just wanted to officially open the blog. :) Wish me luck!