A Story
It’s been a while, I know. I don’t want to catch up on the last eight months though so much as tell a brief story.
Twelve years ago, while I was in high school and still hanging around in AOL chat rooms, I was part of this group called “Althena’s Court Online” (ACO)–a fun community of folks who all liked the Lunar series. We talked, had our own message board, and invited other people like us to join in. One person was a girl named Jenner. Years passed and I went on to college. All of us at ACO migrated from the little AOL boards and collected around the LunarNET website and forums, and still continued associating with one another. Though during all that time, Jenner and I didn’t really talk all that much; to be honest I didn’t really give her any more thought than anyone else on the boards.
Some time after graduating college and starting my new job, Jenner starts to IM me again. Then we start talking over the phone. Then we start talking every day… for hours at a time… In 2007, she plans to come to Richmond to visit her friend. I’m on the way, so I suggest, ‘Why don’t you stop by to visit me?’ Jokingly, she says that even though I’m a creepy guy on the internet, it sounds fun. And I… started putting moves on her. Then I backed off, then on again, and off again. I was ambivalent–she was cute, I thought, but I didn’t know how I felt yet and was rather internally conflicted. The next two years were like that. There were some good and bad times, caused by both of us, and we sort of remained in a ‘just friends’ zone for a while. But let’s skip ahead a few years.
In 2009, I invite her to spend MAGFest 2010 with me. If you don’t know, MAGFest is my favorite convention of the year, and always the most fun I’ve ever had interacting with other folks who I’ve known online. And I wanted to share that with Jenner. We’re at the New Year’s Eve party, right before MAGFest is about to begin and celebrating the new year with everyone else there. I ask one guy if he’ll take our picture for us, and right before he snaps the shot, Jenner grabs and kisses me, then runs out of the room to play it off as a joke.
I realized two things then. One, I still had feelings for her. And two, she unambiguously still had feelings for me. I’ve always been a bit dense when it comes to these things, so someone really has to hit me in the face to realize it.
In the first few months of 2010, we’re still not sure (or rather, I’m still not sure) what to do about it. She’s eventually tires of my indecision, and casually suggests that maybe she should just give up and marry someone else who’s interested in her.
Me: ‘Don’t.’
Her: ‘What?’
Me: ‘…I wouldn’t be happy, and neither would you.’
Her: ‘…you realize that this means you lo–’
Me: ‘Oh hey my bus is arriving! I’ll call you back.’
Later in 2010, I need someone with me to help me recover from surgery, and she’s the only one I wanted with me during it. By then, she’s already said that she loves me, but for me it wasn’t until then that I finally told her the same.
We spent almost the entire summer together. She visited my family in the area during that time. We went to Otakon together. Thanksgiving weekend, she came with me and my sister to Nashville to visit the rest of my immediate family. Christmas break, I go with her to Cleveland to visit her family.
And here we are now, at the one-year mark and a day before MAGFest 2011. Looking back on 2010, it was a great year, to be sure. But I have a feeling that 2011 will be even better. ‘Til then. KF
Last-minute Sakura
 |
Every year I try to attend the DC Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival itself is a lot of fun, the trees are gorgeous, and it’s all-in-all a great thing to see. Coincidentally, a few of my friends put together a picnic (I brought some khichuri), my sister was visiting that weekend, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Really, what more could you ask for? The only down-side was that the peak-bloom was the previous week, and there was just one small area that still had enough cherry blossoms in bloom. But hey, it was still worth it to enjoy everything else that day. |
Took a few other photos, also:
And some of me and my sister posing with the flowers. …no, I’m not gonna post those ones.
Anyway, this was just a brief little update. Next week, I continue my Better Late than Never series with an update on Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PSP. KF
Continuing my series of Better Late Than Never updates…
L>N Part 3: A Good Year for Sci-Fi
Usually I’ve tried to do movie reviews, especially during the summer season, as they come out. Unfortunately I just didn’t get around to a lot in 2009, and even neglected to ‘review’ some of my absolute favorites. So let me make up for it now…
To keep this manageable, I’m going to focus my favorite genre, science fiction. My favorite aspect of sci-fi has always been its ability to examine aspects of humanity in new and interesting ways by changing the background and context, and developing a story from there. (Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors for his ability to do this.) In a genre where, admittedly, there’s a lot of crap, 2009 had a pretty good success rate: there were some good movies, some great movies , and one incredibly amazing movie.
I’m going to go in order of my favorite-to-least of 2009. First to summarize:
District 9 – best movie of the year
Zombieland – great
Inglorious Basterds – great
Avatar – great
Star Trek – great
Terminator: Salvation – good
9 – disappointing
District 9
Overall: sci-fi at its best, and brilliant on all counts
|
Every now and then, a film comes along that really reinvents a genre. District 9 is one. Without exaggeration, it’s my favorite science fiction film I’ve ever seen. Objectively speaking, it’s on-par with Alien(s), the Terminator series, and the original Star Wars trilogy. I honestly believe that Neill Blomkamp is the next James Cameron or Ridley Scott. Specifically, District 9 encompasses all the best aspects of sci-fi. It explores how humanity reacts to an incredible event, both positively and negatively, drawing in part on how we’ve reacted to similar circumstances before. And the awesome effects and fight sequences on a small budget of only $30m was a nice bonus, too. |
 |
 |
The setup: A broken-down alien ship arrives in Johannesburg (not New York, not Tokyo, but Jo’burg). After months of the ship hovering over the city, the government breaks in only to find over one million malnourished, listless nonhumans. Over the next two decades, the aliens are confined to a pseudo-permanent refugee camp, their movements and actions restricted. And like any large group of refugees, their presence has attracted growing resentment from the local population, organized crime, and violent protest. Now, MNU, the security corporation charged with nonhuman administration, has the task of moving the now two million refugees from the camp to another, permanent settlement, segregated from the city. |
|
The effect: The story of the nonhumans closely and intentionally follows apartheid. Blomkamp first wrote the story in the early 90s, before the end of apartheid, and thus drew a rather different conclusion of how humans would be likely to treat a mass influx of alien visitors. While the usual take on ‘first contact’ stories (cf. Star Trek, V) envisions us welcoming alien life with open arms, Blomkamp takes it to a logical extension by pointing out that all too often we’re not very warm towards a mass influx of people–human or otherwise (it takes some of the best aspects of Alien Nation in this respect). In fact, I found the way that we as humans were portrayed in District 9 a lot more believable than any other first contact story. |
 |
 |
On that note, the characterization was fantastic. The main character, Wikus Van Der Merwe, strikes me as the archetypal “suit-and-tie” racist, the David Duke sort who can smile and act polite while joking about ‘aborting alien eggs’ and ‘stupid prawns’. Yes, he does develop much differently through the course of the film, but you should see it yourself to find out more. The nonhumans, particularly Christopher, were cast in such a way as to make them “alien” enough to be unfamiliar, but “human-like” enough to even sympathize with. |
Anyway, I’ve gone on long enough. Suffice it to say, District 9 is absolutely incredible, and one of the best science fiction movies to have come along in ages. I really look forward to Neill Blomkamp’s future movies, as I’m certain they’ll be similarly awesome. Not to mention I like the idea of South Africa becoming another movie powerhouse, and the venturing of African cinema into the realm of sci-fi.
I encourage you to take a look at some of Blomkamp’s short films, just so you understand where I’m coming from when I say I’m already a huge fan:
Alive in Jo’burg (the inspiration behind District 9)
Yellow (similar concept to Blade Runner)
Tetra Vaal (third-world Robocop)
Citeron C4 commercial (old, and an advert, but… it’s awesome!)
Zombieland
Overall: most fun and enjoyable zombie movie since Shawn of the Dead
|
Admittedly, I initially dismissed Zombieland as just mimicking the other great zombie comedy, Shawn of the Dead. But really, it’s a very different style of zombie horror, and a very different style of comedy, and I’m really glad I got over my initial judgment and went ahead and watched it. While Shawn is more about silliness during an outbreak, Zombieland is more about trying to find some measure of happiness in a post-apocalyptic scenario. There’s more focus on the central two characters, ‘Columbus’ and ‘Tallahassee’, their interaction with one another, and their interaction with the rest of the zombie-infested world. It’s a more quotable movie, with ‘Columbus’s list for survival (“Rule #31, Check the Back Seat”, “Rule #32, Enjoy the Little Things”) and Tallahassee’s lines (“Here’s the deal… I’m not easy to get along with and I’m sensing you’re a bit of a bitch.”), and… Well, just to sum it up, it’s something like the American counterpart to Shawn of the Dead, equally funny, and surprisingly refreshing. |
 |
Inglorious Basterds
Overall: top-notch Tarantino, with tons of tension
I won’t say too much about Basterds, since historical revenge fantasy is a bit out of step with the rest of the post. But, suffice it to say, it’s more of Tarantino doing some of what he does best: building up a ton of tension, way past the boiling point, and then letting it go. While the story is less of a focus than the individual scenes, and some might find the individuals scenes rather slow, they’re nonetheless superbly acted and presented, and they left me on the edge through most of the movie. The mad orgy of violence at the end in the theater was, admittedly, over the top… but hey, it is a revenge fantasy.
Avatar
Overall: very fun and visually stunning, worth seeing
|
James Cameron’s Avatar got a lot of attention, which is quite obviously a massive understatement. But, it’s still a great movie–not the best of the year, but a great movie nonetheless. The highlight was, of course, the visuals. Even if it’s just in 2D, the way the alien world was constructed is just incredibly gorgeous–and the contrast between the human outpost, with its bland metallic shades, and the world outside, just underscored this. The design of the characters, animals, and plantlife really showed a lot of forethought. |
 |
On the note of 2D versus 3D… I personally don’t like 3D; I don’t care for wearing the additional headgear, and 2D does just fine for me. But, if ever a movie did 3D right, this was it. The 3D effects added to the story without overpowering it. They brought to life the visuals, but still let them be background to the story.
The story, though, was its main weak point. It’s a “colonial” story, where human corporations are there to take resources from the natives, who then fight back. I mean you can tell what’s coming, so the plotline doesn’t offer a lot of surprises. But, I’ve always felt really strongly that unpredictability is extremely overrated. I don’t care for being unable to predict the ending; I’m there to enjoy the movie, not predict what’ll happen next. The weak story then doesn’t add anything, but it certainly doesn’t detract either.
On account of the visual beauty, Avatar I’d label as a great movie.
Star Trek
Overall: thrilling, enjoyable, and worthwhile for anyone–fan or no
This is another one I already reviewed when it came out. Link here.
Also for the record, Star Trek falls under the category of a great movie.
Terminator: Salvation
Overall: satisfying post-apocalyptic action, better than T3, not as good as T2
This is one I already reviewed when it came out. Link here.
For the record, Terminator: Salvation falls under the category of an okay movie.
9
Overall: disappointing… it acts epic, but falls flat
|
I won’t spend much time on this. I had some high hopes for 9, seeing as I like post-apocalyptic sci-fi. When the story involves the mass-extinction of humanity as a precursor, you sort of hope there’s a grand story behind it all. Instead, we’re treated to a generic save-the-whatsit plot, a few flat characters, and nothing more. |
 |
The story begins with the main character waking up in this world, not knowing what happened, and suddenly thrust into the middle of it all. This could have been a great opportunity to let the audience learn about the world through his eyes; instead, for some reason the protagonist instantly understands everything inside of ten minutes, and the story rushes along to get you to the action sequences. I suppose I was hoping for something a little more epic, but instead I only got the generic.
9 goes on record as a disappointing movie. Sorry…
Conclusion
There you have it. I didn’t include every movie I saw in 2009 on here, and not even some of the best ones. In fact, most of the reason for this update was because I neglected to make any mention of District 9, and had to rectify that somehow. So, now that that’s done, I can look forward to the rest of this year in cinema. KF
Continuing my set of Better Late Than Never updates…
L>N Part 2: Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon 2010
Mid-December we got hit with a foot or two of snow. It was awful. Took me two hours to dig my car out that week, and it was enough snow to last me a decade.
|
So of course, in early February we get another two feet of snow… and another snowfall of an additional foot a few days later. It was more snow than I’d ever seen in my life, and it shut down the city for a week. And thus it was dubbed Snowpocalypse or Snowmageddon. What happened over that week was rather interesting. All of DC, myself included, was just learning to deal with the weather. Between metro closures, cars being snowbound, and snow and ice everywhere, it was pretty bad. Even the Northerners around here quit whining about how DC folks can’t handle snow. Well, most anyway. |
 |
But by far the worst was being snowbound for a week. Sure it was nice for a few hours not needing to go into the office, but it got old fast and cabin fever set in by the middle of the second day. Basically this is how I felt:
Tarararari-ti-to, tarararari-ti-ti, I need to get out of here, tarararari-ti-to
 |
Well, perhaps being snowbound was the second-worst thing. The worst was having to dig my car out. After the December snowfall, it took me 2 hours of digging my car out with an inadequate snow shovel. This time, J came by to visit and even collectively it took us nearly 3 hours to dig out my car… (And don’t even get me started on how no place in the whole of Northern Virginia sells snow shovels…) Both of us were sore for days afterward… |
Anyway, after several weeks all the snow finally melted and things were back to normal. I almost miss it… almost. But with warmer weather here, I certainly hope we don’t have to go through that ordeal for a long, long time. KF
Greetings everyone! It’s been over 6 months since my last update, but no, I haven’t forgotten about this blog. I’ve just been… quite busy lately. I don’t want to miss anything, so this is going to be the start of a brief series of Better Late Than Never (L>N).
L>N Part 1: MAGFest 2010
In short, MAGFest is an annual music-and-gaming convention in the area; MAGFest 8 was January 1st-4th in Alexandria, VA. And it remains, by far, the best convention I’ve ever been to. Last year (MAGFest 2009) I called it “one of the most fun conventions” I’ve seen, and this year just took it over the top.
Three things that MAG taught us:
|
PMD (“Post-MAGFest Depression”) – The onset of sadness once the convention is over and everyone has gone their separate ways. Symptoms include longing for concerts and free arcades, yelling like Colossus in public, and saying things like “Man I wish MAGFest was all year long” without realizing the down-side of it. The only known cure is more MAGFest. |
 |
|
H1M1 (“MagFlu”) – Illness that sets in about two days after the end of the convention. Recommended treatment is lots of bedrest and video games (16-bit era preferably). Of course, you’re less likely to catch H1M1 if your diet during MAGFest consists of something other than cheap beer and ramen. |
 |
|
WOOOOOOOOAAAAAGH! (“Colossus Yell”) – You remember the six-player X-Men Arcade game, right? You always knew one was in the arcade since the only sound you ever heard was WOOOOOOOOAAAAAGH! from Colossus using his mutant power. I mean, I’m sure that game had other SFX and music somewhere, but that damn Colossus yell drowned out everything. And… that was the official MAGFest theme. One person would tell WOOOAAGH! Inevitably followed by a few others repeating WOOOOOOAAAAGH! Followed by a chorus of WOOOOOOAAAAGH! on down the hallways. |
 |
Now that you have a little background, here were some of the highlights.
New Years Eve
|
The New Years Eve party is a little pre-MAGFest celebration, all of us crowded in the concert hall starting the fun a little early. In years past, MAG had to contend with a rival James Bond-themed NYE party down the hall in the same hotel. This year, the Bond aficionados moved to another hotel, so Mr. MAGFest and company decided to fill in the gap with a little Bond theme on our part. The call went out to dress in your best Bond attire, plus relevant gear/gadgets and, quoting, “HAX if you pick Oddjob”. Naturally, I went as Oddjob. Between randomly throwing my hat at people, spending time with J, seeing a bunch of folks from OCReMix a little early, and checking out some lesser-known videogame-themed bands, it was definitely a great way to kick things off. Bonus for the chiptunes version of Auld Lang Syne and Jon St. John as Duke Nukem himself ringing in the new year. |
 |
The Guests
On that note, they really picked it up with the guests this time.
 |
First, they had Sid Meier. Sid -freaking- Meier. Sid -Father of Computer Gaming- Meier. Sid -nearly made me fail my midterms with the release of Civ3 Meier. Sid -got me to spend more time playing Civ4 than sleeping- Meier. And he was awesome. I mean, I didn’t expect him to be that friendly. I figured he was a nice guy, but, for being the designer of one of my favorite game series of all time (Civilization, for those who don’t know me that well), he was really laid back about it all. |
|
Sid: So, in the early 80s I worked on games like F-15 Strike Eagle– Me: So… did you intentionally release Civ3 around my midterms? |
 |
Anyway, Sid mostly talked about the history behind the games he’s worked on, the process involved, and a lot of detail on what all goes into developing and maintaining a game that ends up being beloved and inspirational for all-time. (Ok, well, he didn’t use that many embellishments; that’d be my take on it.)
 |
Second, they had Jon St. John, the voice of Duke Nukem (and some other roles, but seriously, Duke Nukem is the one I’ve heard the most). And similarly, I figured he’d be laid back, but I didn’t expect him to be that friendly. Some folks might try to act all low-key about it, but Jon St. John is pretty damn straightforward: he loves playing the Duke, it’s a fun character to act as and, well, be honest, it’s awesome getting paid to do it. JSJ spent a lot of the time also talking about the voice acting business and even giving some useful tips for anyone actually wanting to go into it. And on Duke Nukem Forever? He “wasn’t at liberty to talk about it”. |
 |
There was also the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN), plus Kyle Justin. I’ve been following AVGN / Cinemassacre since I first saw him at last year’s MAGFest. Since then, I’ve pretty much watched all his AVGN videos and become a fan. This was mostly just talking about the show and all, so nothing too big. |
Concerts
Now my favorite bit at MAGFest is actually the concerts. Three straight nights of video game-themed bands. Last year was great, but my only complaint was that there was a bit of a rock/metal bias. This year, they still had that, but they really got some variety in there. Besides guys like Metroid Metal (metal) and The Megas (rock), they had A_Rival (hip-hop), Select Start (classical?), The OneUps, and more to jazz things up a bit. I won’t go into every act that was up (or I’d never get this done), but here were some of my favorites:
 |
I saw The Megas last year and this year was even better. They hit up everything from their main album, Get Equipped, an arrangement of all the Mega Man 2 themes (which, really, had the best music of all the NES-era games), plus a couple from their latest album Megatainment–a collaboration between The Megas and Entertainment System with some songs from Mega Man 1 (and though the game didn’t have great music, they managed to turn it around into a great album), and a little taste of their planned Mega Man 3 album in the works. |
Oh yeah, their latest latest album is now available: Get Acoustic is an acoustic rendition of all the songs from their Get Equipped album. I just picked it up last week and. While not as good as Get Equipped itself, it’s still worth it.
 |
By far, the best “new” act I saw was A_Rival, a hip-hop group with AE / A_Rival, Aimee, and DJ Circuit. I say “new” in that I hadn’t heard of them at all until A_Rival came up on stage during The OneUps set for a collab and, well, I was pretty damn floored by that point. So, I made sure to catch their full act the next evening and was left pretty damn speechless. I just got their album released last week, 8-Bit Pimp, and I’ve been listening to it nonstop since. |
Best aspect of their act, though?: A_Rival working the Colossus yell coming from the crowd into his music. You can judge a bit for yourself (apologies for the quality–these aren’t my videos, though, but I assure you that if I’d shot them then they’d be much worse):
 |
Select Start were a very welcome change-of-pace. All instrumental, and all talented. |
 |
Metroid Metal were the polar opposite (except in the talented part). I only include them since I’m actually not a fan of metal–it’s the only genre that I generally dislike. But despite that, I still liked them. Technically and musically they’re damn near flawless, and despite metal not being my thing, it’s still really apparent in how well they play. I can understand why they have so many avid fans; if metal were my thing, I’d probably be among them. |
 |
The Chiptunes concert one evening was great as well. Not a lot to say other than how I found it funny that everyone was dancing to the songs that (I thought) didn’t have much of a rhythm to them, but when someone lays down something with more of a hip-hop beat to it, everybody’s still… The guy at left, by the way, is Dauragon, perhaps the best one that night–mostly GameBoy-based but I think he might be one of the best chiptunes DJs I’ve seen yet. |
The Company
The best aspect of MAGFest is its character, and it’s a character built entirely by the people who attend it. It’s relatively small–only 1300 or so people–but it attracts people from all over the country and world. Through it all, it feels like one giant party where you feel comfortable around everyone there.
As I said before, there were a lot of other folks I knew from OCReMix. And even people you don’t really know, you can get to know here. So all it took to start up a conversation with someone was to ask who they were and you could really just take it from there.
Ah, yeah, and J was with me the entire time.
Other Stuff
Besides that, you also had the video game room and arcade, which (as I’ve said last year) was pretty much like my idea of heaven: an arcade with unlimited free play on everything. And they even had a Marble Madness machine this time!
…I wasn’t good enough to place higher than #9 on the rankings though…
Conclusions
So that’s that. MAGFest as always was awesome, and you can bet I’ll be there next year. You should be too–it really is worth every minute. KF
Japan 2009: Recap
So it’s finally done. After two months I finally made all those planned updates regarding my 2009 vacation to Japan. It was definitely worth all the trouble and expense to get to see so many people I hadn’t seen in years, and for the chance to visit more places I hadn’t seen before. After getting back, I made a promise to myself to make every effort to return in another three years, after I finish my Master’s program. This is both a “recap” post and a set of the best photos I took from the trip.
First, the links to each segment of the trip here:
– Day 0-1 (Tokyo): returning, not just traveling
– Day 2-3 (Tokyo): a funny thing happened on the way to Shinjuku
– Day 4-6 (Kasugai/Nagoya): my second (or third?) hometown
– Day 7-8 (Kyoto): the most perfect places to eat
– Day 9 (Fukuoka): a little luxury
– Day 10-12 (Nagasaki): the rich history of Nagasaki
– Day 13-16 (Nagoya): full of nostalgia
I also updated the Kyoto post (“the most perfect places to eat”) after L corrected me on the name of the cafe where we ate (Housendo) and the name of the fish (hamo, or pike eel).
Second, here are some links to my Facebook albums with small versions of all the photos from the trip:
– Tokyo
– Nagoya/Kasugai
– Kyoto
– Nagasaki/Fukuoka
Third, and finally, here are some of my best shots:
More serious update next week, as I talk about the start of my Master’s program. KF
Japan (Day 13-16): full of nostalgia
The end of my trip, finishing off with a return to Nagoya and Tokyo. It only took me a month and a half longer than originally anticipated to update this!
 |
Date: July 9th |
After staying the night in Kyoto, I said farewell to L the next morning and went to Nagoya again. This time, it was to visit my host family from 1999. I don’t have much in the way of pictures from this day, but it was rather packed–and it was great to be able to see so many people once again. This day was just full of nostalgia.
First, I arrived in the morning, and my host mother invited me to see a taiko rehearsal. (Again, I wish I had photos, but I don’t like disturbing folks by taking pictures in the middle of practice like that.) Thereafter, we went to a sushi restaurant nearby for lunch–where I got to meet my host father and his parents. (And again, it was great to be able to see them again.)
Last for that day, well, my host parents are still involved with AFS, the organization I went with to Japan and Argentina in 1999 and 2000. There was someone who was returning home that they were seeing off that afternoon, so I joined them–and, incidentally, I saw a familiar face that I hadn’t seen since 1999 (Mr. Ohyama, then then-regional director for AFS-Nagoya, who’s now much higher in AFS-Japan overall). There was that brief moment like:
O: Do you remember me?
Me: Um… …
Me: (recalls photos from ’99, goes wide-eyed) Yes! Of course!
I still have photos from back then, and I remember one in particular at the train station when we were headed to Shizuoka for three days–it was a group photo, with all the AFS Summer Stay folks and Mr. Ohyama in the front. Ah, memories.
 |
Date: July 10th |
|
This morning, we went to the Nagoya Aquarium–another place I hadn’t been to in ten years. It’s actually a pretty nice aquarium, right on the harbor and all. Two things stood out there. First, we saw a bit of feeding the beluga whales there (top photo). You might notice that most of the people who work at the aquarium are girls in their early 20s–at least, I did. That includes the ones feeding the beluga whales. They were cute. Second, we saw the dolphin show (bottom photo). Y’know, I would’ve felt a little guilty about seeing animals perform tricks for food. But then I remembered who was the dominant species on this planet. We ate at Red Lobster after that for lunch. It was pretty good, actually. Bear in mind, though, that the only similarity to the American Red Lobster is the name–no deep-fried popcorn shrimp and overcooked fish on the menu. |
  |
That afternoon, I took a trip downtown to the Toyota Towers. I’d seen these already on my way down (check a few entries ago), but I didn’t go up to the observation deck at that time. I figured, since I wasn’t there every day, it was worth the ticket cost to go up and take a look (something like $7 I think). And, well, there is a really lovely view of the city from there, including all the new buildings on the horizon. Here are a couple shots:
 |
Date: July 11th |
|
My last day in Nagoya… My host parents and I went to a local park for a picnic–the Health Park (rough translation) in Obu. Lovely food, lovely weather, and lovely lotus blossoms that were in bloom (see right). It gave me some time to reflect on the previous two weeks… |
 |
Anyway! Before I left, I had to snap one photo of Kyowa station–the station near my 1999 host family’s house. I say I had to since I took the same photo 10 years ago and 5 years ago:
 |
 |
 |
|
1999 |
2004 |
2009 |
I arrived in Tokyo that afternoon, and checked into my hotel (a budget business hotel near Shinagawa). That night, I stopped by L’s place in Tokyo (different L than my friend in Kyoto–this is the one I hung out with two weeks prior when I first arrived) for dinner. Then it was a little last-minute shopping in Shibuya, and back to the hotel for the night.
 |
Date: July 12th |
And that’s that. I get up in the morning to catch the express to Narita Airport, board my flight, and get back home about 4 hours before I left.
Next post will be a “recap” with links to all the past entries, plus a few other thoughts. Thanks for reading. KF
Japan (Day 10-12): the rich history of Nagasaki
Apologies for the delay. A lot has happened recently (I’ll get to that later, after I finish these updates). But anyway, let me continue with the next leg of my trip: Nagasaki.
 |
Date: July 6th |
|
I’d been looking forward to going to Nagasaki since I’d first started planning this trip. I wanted to go someplace I’d never been, and considering the rich history of Nagasaki, it was a natural choice. L and I took the train from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, and then the railcar to our hotel: Nagasaki Hotel Monterey, a gorgeous hotel near the wharf that L somehow managed to get an amazing deal for (less than $40 per person per night). |
 |
   |
Nagasaki itself is a really beautiful city. During the isolationist Edo period, Nagasaki was the main international port and Japan’s main link to the outside world. So, you have some historical international influence (Dutch, English, Portuguese, Chinese, etc.) that can still be seen in its food, monuments, churches, and elsewhere. That first day after we arrived, we visited Dejima and Chinatown. Dejima was an artificial island that was once a Dutch trading outpost, where merchants with the Dutch East India Company would stay while their ships were in harbor. We sort of mis-timed it to where we only had less than an hour to look around the renovated buildings there before leaving, but it was still interesting (see the pictures on the left). |
|
We went to Chinatown for dinner that night, where L and I got sara udon and chanpon (made without pork, by the way). These are the two local Nagasaki specialties, both noodle dishes originating from China, and both very delicious. (See the wikipedia articles on Champon and Sara udon for more. |
 |
Lastly, that night we decided to explore the wharf area a little bit. There’s a stunning view of the Megami Bridge from there…
 |
Date: July 7th |
Today on the agenda was Gunkanjima, the canal area, and the Peace Park. A full day.
|
Before I came, I saw Gunkanjima featured on an episode of History Channel’s Life After People. Gunkanjima (actual name Hashima) was originally the site of a coal mine operated by Mitsubishi–since the island was so far from the mainland, the people who worked the mine also lived there, and an town emerged on the tiny island. It earned the name “Gunkanjima” (literally “Battleship Island”) due to its high sea walls and outward appearance. In 1974, the mine was no longer profitable and Mitsubishi closed it. Since it was a barren rock before, there wasn’t any reason to tear down the building. So what you have left is an entire ghost town of abandoned concrete buildings on the 10-mile wide island. And in April 2009, they finally started opening it back up to tourists. Naturally, this was too great an opportunity to pass up. The second day, L and I took the ferry over to Gunkanjima with a tour. Now, while you can now land on the island, they do caution you that in case of inclement weather you may not be able to land. And sure enough, when we got near the island, we hear the message on the loudspeaker: Our apologies. But due to the strong wind and waves, it is unsafe to land on the island. |
   |
All wasn’t lost (they do refund a portion of the ticket in that case). They still took us close enough to the island, and explained the history and function of some of the buildings as we circled it. Here are a few shots of that:
Besides that, we also got a great closer view of the Megami Bridge and Mitsubishi Shipworks from the ferry:
  |
That afternoon, we went around the canal area–as with Kyoto, L not only has a knack for finding the best places to eat, but the best scenery to visit. The canal itself is famous for several ancient bridges on it (some completely or partially destroyed in 1941, and since then renovated of course). One of these is Megane Bridge (literally “Spectacle Bridge”, lower left), so named because the reflection on the water makes it look like a pair of glasses.
|
|
There’s also the story of the heartstones… Scattered throughout Nagasaki are a few heart-shaped stones. They say if you find them, you’ll find love. We found one of them on the canal wall near the Megane Bridge. Still waiting for the effects… |
 |
We had lunch near there at a place called Triple X (not what it sounds like–it was a delicious, small cafe–no pictures I’m afraid). And then, we went for coffee at this incredibly cute cafe: Nanban Chaya. Inside decor was amazing, as was the coffee.
So if you’re ever in Nagasaki, I have to recommend both Triple X and Nanban Chaya.
The last place we visited that day was the Peace Park. I’d meant to come here for obvious reasons. At the entrance to the park was a long staircase leading up to the fountain:
|
In front of the fountain was an inscription. Translated: I was so unbearably thirsty. Something like oil was floating on top of the water. I wanted water so badly that I drank it, oil and all. – A letter from a girl on that day |
 |
A short distance away were the statue and paper cranes.
The peace park was about another 5 minute walk from the epicenter of the bomb itself, marked by a stone pillar, and the statue of the girl who folded a thousand cranes:
Lastly, we visited the museum. No pictures from the inside, I’m afraid. I’d visited the one in Hiroshima five years ago; the museum in Nagasaki was just as powerful.
 |
Date: July 8th |
|
Almost done here! The last day, before we left Nagasaki, we went to Glover Garden, named after Thomas B. Glover, a Scotsman who helped modernize Japanese shipbuilding. The building, gardens, and courtyards are all gorgeous–not to mention its view of the city itself. |
 |
 |
There were some heartstones here, too. Two of them. Still waiting for the effects… |
 |
Plus, in the fountains, they kept koi, turtles, and… dragonflies?
|
After we were done with Glover Garden, we visited a Confucian Shrine and Chinese Cultural Museum nearby. It was on land owned and maintained by the PRC government, so we were technically on Chinese soil. Besides the shrine (which is still in use), the museum has tons of ancient artifacts since early Chinese history. |
 |
After that, we went to the train station and headed back to Kyoto. It was quite long (two hours train ride, plus another three hours for me, and another hour or two flight for L). But it gave me some time to decompress after what was probably the most packed part of my trip. KF
Japan (Day 9): a little luxury
Now to start the vacation-within-a-vacation: the next day, L and I went down to Kyushu for a few days’ sightseeing. Starting with…
 |
Date: July 5th |
|
Sunday morning, I took the train from Kyoto down to Hakata station (end of the line in Fukuoka). (L took a flight, so we met up at the station.) For my first time in Kyushu, I was pretty impressed with how great the scenery all around looked. Around this time, by the way, people were preparing for Gion Matsuri. So you’d see a lot of floats on display in a few places–the one to the right was immediately outside Hakata station. Anyway, L and I met up at the station. (Which was easier to do without a cellphone than you’d think–I just said “pick someplace that looks like a meeting spot” and we found one another within five minutes of my arrival.) Then it was off to the hotel… |
 |
On the recommendation of my other friend L in Tokyo, and since I’d be splitting the cost with someone else, I opted for a little luxury on this leg of the trip and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka in the middle of Canal City. I’ll say, this was definitely the right choice. I mean, check out just the lobby alone, and the view from the window:
Besides that, the room itself was equally luxurious, just like you’d expect a five-star in Vegas to be (actually, except for the smaller size, it was as good if not better than the room I had at Caesar’s Palace last year).
The best thing yet, though, was the location. Canal City is this rather trendy shopping district. And, even though I’m not much for shopping, just the atmosphere of the place made it a lot of fun to simply wander around in. Here’s a shot of one end:
 |
Oh! And a funny thing happened later that day. While going towards the Book-Off downtown, we passed by some folks with the Happiness Realization Party, complete with their party wagon and loudspeakers. They even handed us a flyer, promising to abolish the value-added tax and prevent incoming missiles from North Korea. It’s not a bad platform if you ignore, say, the hyperbolic fearmongering in their commercials. |
Anyway, that ends this little bit of luxury. The next day we would be on our way to Nagasaki. KF
Recent Comments