Early attempts to play the intro for Lizzy by Ben Kweller. file:///Users/Debu/Desktop/Band/Lizzy%20Intro.wav

Jason's Supreme Tokyo Birthday Party

This, most regrettably, is my first completed post since I've been in Japan. Before I get to Jason's Birthday outing in Tokyo, I feel it's necessary to give a bit of background.

I've been in Japan since December 06, and for almost exactly a year I've been living and working in Tajimi. It's quite close to Nagoya. My city and job are stories in themselves, but that's for another time. In Japan you get to know pretty much every foreigner within a half hour train ride from you, and Jason lived just one town over. He was one of the first people I'd met after finding my job.

As my relationship with Katie was on it's last leg, she left for Toronto. That was at the beginning of September. Just prior, the three friends I'd made in my city (Chris, Yuki and Odette) left Japan and Jason changed jobs and cities. Suddenly I was in a town where I didn't know anyone - again! Jason was in the same situation. We weren't all that close, but our isolation and sense of adventure pushed us together. Even though we were about an hour and a half away by two trains and a bus, we became really close friends. Almost every weekend we've met up for adventures all over Japan. The weekend I climbed Fuji (blog to come?) might be the only exception. I have to say, he's an exceptional guy and I feel very fortunate that things worked out the way they did.

Jason mentioned offhand that his birthday was coming up on February 1st and he was thinking of spending it in Tokyo. Done. We made arrangements for transportation and found out that our friend Tom and his girlfriend (who lives in Tokyo) would be there that weekend. We didn't really know what we'd end up doing, but we knew it would be good times.

Friday night I met with Jason in Nagoya. I left straight from work, showing up in dress shirt and pants. We grabbed a bite and got on the over-night bus to Tokyo. It ended up being quite comfortable, seats reclining close to horizontal. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well because I'm used to going to sleep around 4am and Jason didn't sleep all that well because the guy in front of us snored like someone was throttling his neck. After 7 hours on that bus I'm surprised no one did.

We rolled into the west side of Tokyo just before 6am and made our way to the south-east side for our first stop: the Tsukiji Fish Market.


The Tsukiji Fish Market is one of the largest fish markets in the world. I know, it doesn't sound all that exciting does it. Live here for a bit and you'll see why it became one of only two mandatory items on our agenda. Fish is an almost inescapable part of the daily diet in Japan. It is rivaled only by rice. The difference, of course, is that much of the fish eaten is raw and needs to be moved very quickly. Every day 2,000 tonnes of marine products move through this market. 2,000 tonnes! It's open 24 hours a day but most of the action is between 5:30 and 7am. There are more than 450 kinds of products (mostly fish, fruits and vegetables), which all have their turn to be auctioned off by hoarse men to a frenzied crowd. It's a labyrinth of sellers and buyers pushing and motoring through narrow spaces between vendors. It's a madhouse.



We made sure to get to Tokyo early so we wouldn't miss too much of the action. It's rather uninviting from the exterior, and even with hoards of tourists making their way through the gates I felt like I was walking into the "Staff Only" door. We started our tour in the vegetable market. The sheer number of boxes filled with vegetables was staggering. I expected that there'd be a large stack of cucumbers, then a large stack of seaweed, but instead there'd be various small piles of boxes, with each box containing something different. We had the great fortune of watching some vegetables being auctioned. We couldn't get close enough to see what was being sold. The bidding was fast, furious, and to my ear unintelligible. I tried to take video and got some good footage, but the focus flies to the ceiling and floor as I constantly avoided being run over by the mini vehicles ("turret trucks"). Also, it seems that every box is being moved to another spot just as you stand in front of it, so no matter where you stand you're in someone's way.


Next we made our way through the section for seafood. We were first struck by enormous frozen (what I believe were) tuna, but most of the sealife was still alive. The variety was stunning. Creatures you've never seen or imagined await their imminent fate in countless rows of Styrofoam boxes. At the bottom of the picture to the right you can see a giant crab. It was massive and alive. If I placed my forearm across the top of the box it would span from wrist to elbow - though, I'm not sure I would have had the courage to do so.


Here we see the large frozen fish being cut by a jig saw. They used that saw to cut a whole fish into smaller and smaller pieces until each was smaller than a boneless chicken breast.

The whole place is wet. There are puddles and slop everywhere. Everyone working there wears goulashes, and all the guide books warn you to bring appropriate footwear. I'm sure there have been many people that walked through wearing open-toed sandals, and just the thought makes me uncomfortable.
With the market open 24 hours a day, and with all that the commotion I have trouble imagining how they manage to clean the floors. Discarded messes were occasionally disturbing. One particularly gruesome example can be seen on the right. You can be glad it's only a small photo - it was like something out of a horror movie.

Even after all that we still managed to have an appetite. We found the strip in Tsukiji that housed the sushi restaurants. Surely these restaurants have some of the freshest sushi in the world. The whole walkway was filled with people waiting to get into one of the tiny restaurants, but we somehow found one with seating for two and made our way in. We both ordered a plate with tuna and salmon sashimi. I never thought I'd enjoy sushi for breakfast, but the fish was amazing. The texture was so soft. Needless to say, it's the best sushi I've had so far.

As I mentioned before, we only had two items on our agenda. The second one was to celebrate the birth of Jason good and proper by going out on the town. By this time it was still before 9am, so it would be a while before we were hitting the clubs. A long while. We pulled out our guidebooks and decided to head to Ueno. Jason wanted to go to a street market that's there, but it was closed. Ended up we just got drinks at a coffee shop and moved on to our next destination. We headed to Ginza to check out the Sony Store. It's much more than a place to buy products, it's actually more of a display of the latest technology - some of which are yet to be released. Unfortunately, it wasn't open yet either! You'd think more would be open in Tokyo on a Saturday morning.

So we wasted some time walking around the Ginza area. Checked out a bookstore, and went into the Gap. We walked through the store, chatting loudly and having a good laugh. After about five minutes a security guard ran over to us and quite urgently told us we had to leave. They weren't open until 10:00. We were quite amused that they left the doors unlocked and unattended, and it took five minutes of loud conversation for them to notice us. He said we could come back at 10 when they opened. It was 9:58. It just seemed too demeaning to walk to the front door just to wait 30 seconds to be let back in, so we opted to wait at the Sony Store instead.

It was a definite highlight of the trip. We got to see the latest breed of sharp image televisions, new earphone technology, play with the latest cameras and recorders, and see the new "Rolly" in action. If you haven't seen a demonstration yet, you should check it out at this YouTube link. It's really neat. It's an egg-shaped remote speaker that rolls and 'dances' to the music. There's a picture below, but it doesn't do it justice. It's really cool to see live.


As the morning moved on we'd made plans to meet with our friend Tom in Shibuya. Tom's a great guy. He lives in Seki, close to Jason. When I first met him I was shocked to discover that he wasn't from the States. His English is perfect. Completely natural. Apparently he learned most of it from watching "Friends". Ahaha. Really cool guy. It was a bit difficult finding him because it's a busy area. I got a quick shot of the famous intersection below. This is nothing compared to peak hours.


All of us were hungry, and Tom knew where "the best Ramen shop in Tokyo" was ("Ramen" is the legit form of instant noodles - and ramen restaurants are one of the most common restaurants around). It was way out of the way - and there was nothing else to be found in that neighborhood - but it was that kind of day. We had to wait in queue outside in the cold for 15-20 minutes. Inside we found out why. It was simply delicious.

Next we were off to meet Tom's girlfriend Marie (Mah-dee-eh). As we waited in a coffee shop, Jason tried on the birthday gift I got him. An over-sized red sequined bowtie. He liked it so much he wore it all day. Ahaha.

We were particularly tired from all the travel and lack of sleep, so they suggested we spent a few hours at a Capsule hotel. You may have heard of these. They are coffin-sized rooms which contain a tiny shelf pay-TV and a futon with sheets. That's it. Here's a site that shows some accurate pictures (unfortunately it slipped my mind to take a shot).
The rooms may lack features, but Capsule hotels major draw is found in it's shared facilities. A wonderful sento (public bath) with various tubs of different temperatures, a sauna, and a relaxing room with a large screen TV and leather reclining chairs. It's a brilliant idea. Really cheap rooms and great hotel features are ideal for business travelers and poor slobs like us that need a rest. I don't remember what we paid, but it was very very cheap and we had a much needed bath and a few hours rest.

Afterwards we met up with Marie - Tom had to meet with another friend for a few hours. The three of us decided to check out Harajuku. The Harajuku region of Tokyo is renowned for being a spectacle of interesting and catastrophic fashion. After work or school, the socially repressed youth change into outrageous outfits with matching makeup and hair to temporarily fight their restrained lifestyles. If you've ever seen a bizarre picture of a Japanese kid dressed up, it's probably snapped here. It's quite a beautiful area with many interesting shops. Jason certainly found a store that interested him.


After poking around a few places and having a few laughs we went for dinner. Jason and I split a bottle of shōchū (what you could call Japanese vodka - though a bit more drinkable than it's European counterpart) as we waited for Tom to meet up with us.

A few drinks after Tom arrived we were off to meet with Marie's friends and make our way to a club. To the right you can see a photo of Marie wearing Jason's bowtie while we waited. We were hoping to find a good club because our plan was to stay out until the first train and crash at Marie's house.

We got some nice treatment at the first club we went to because Tom's friends with a dancer there. It was a pretty decent place, and it was really interesting being in a club where half the foreigners there were paid to be dancing on a stage. We started to get our drink on, and decided to check out another place that Marie heard was good.


Off we went to the next club, Tom sporting my Travel Monkey through the streets of Tokyo. The second club was a lot bigger. It was still a bit crowded, but by Japan standards it was quite huge with 3 floors and multiple rooms of music. I was happy to see that Jason decided to wear his birthday bowtie on the dance floor and over the course of the night I treated him to a fair number of birthday drinks. It was one o'clock when we walked in, and somehow time flew until we were walking out around six. I'm going to pinch a quote Jason wrote on his blog - it really captures the night: "Maybe it was the company, or the drinks, or the club, or the big red bow tie, but what ever it was the time I spent in that club from 1 till 6 was one of the best nights I’ve ever had in Japan, which means I can also credit it with a top life moment." It truly was a great night to finish off an amazing weekend. Happy Birthday Jason.





Tom, Marie, and one of her friends.











An unflattering photo of the birthday boy and his big birthday bowtie.











I have no recollection why I made this face. Ahaha.









A sexy sweat-stained picture of me after about 4 and a half hours of dancing.

Jason's Birthday Entourage

Pog Lake

I decided to post the photos and details of my trip to Pog Lake in this blog. It seems like the best way to show photos and explain them without physically being present. The portion in italics are notes I made for Katie about the cottage while I was still there. Enjoy!


We left during the first hours of Saturday.

I was picked up at my place downtown between 1-2am, and we took our time having a few stops on the way and arrived at the train station around 9am. The train leaves around 10. You don't want to miss it because you'd be waiting 2 days to catch the next one.


Above is the trains station we travel from in Cartier. The station had a tiny washroom with a few holes in the wall where a sink used to be. The second photo is cousin Katherine with 3 of the 5 dogs that the family brought up. The last is cousin Dan with Nimo. He's pointing to "Main st." (right). You're not mistaken, that's a T-intersection at the end of this road. This road and the train station are the only things in Cartier.




The first picture above is the two-car train called the "Bud Car". You can see the front half of the train in the second photo. This was taken on the way back. It just happened to be empty. On the way there I was lodged in between two stacks of luggage piled high above my head with my arms out preventing them from collapsing in on us. The third is obviously a picture en route from inside the train.

After the long trip we made our way to my grandparent's cabin. Once all of us were packed in the small cabin I looked out the window and it struck me - it's really nice to be here. It's been over two years.

The photos above and below are of our first trip out on the lake. It was Katherine, Dan, Craig, and I accompanied by Molly and Nimo. Below (and embedded) is the destination of our first trip out. A childhood favorite of ours which we eloquently called "The Rock". It's appeal is not obvious at first, but it just happens to take a very practical shape for what we used to want. One part is ideal for docking the boat, it has a gradual decline into water at another for swimming, it has a steep drop off at another for fishing, and no one ever went there. It was ours. A long time ago I built a mighty fort that took the shape of a decently sturdy fence. It was on one of the plateaus. My friend Octav came up with me that year and we spent most of our time working on it. It was made of arm-thick trees, rocks and nails. Because it was built on a rock-face, it was not really posted. It essentially just rested on the ground. Even so, our fortified fence withstood two harsh winters before being brought down. My grandfather was very impressed. I could hardly find a trace this year.

This place has a strange effect. It's really hard to tell time. Sometimes I would guess it to be earlier, sometimes later, but no one cares unless you're missing a meal. I finished reading the book written by my great aunt Kay. You have to read it. It gives you such an appreciation for this place, and for how hard life was only a generation ago. They were TOUGH.
I can't express to you how much I desire for you to be here with me. To smell the air, to see undisturbed nature, to feel no time. I think you would really enjoy the crowded boisterous family meals. Every member is totally unique - quirky but kind. They keep asking questions about you. Some know a lot, some have just heard that I'm very serious about a girl. My cousin Katherine is very disappointed that you won't be in Canada for August when she's getting married to Craig (who's also up). Craig is great. I couldn't ask for a better cousin-in-law. I'll have to tell you all about him soon.

This is the inside of my grandparent's cabin. It's a small one room cottage, built to be cozy and convenient.

Closest in green is my grandfather (Art), and to the right is my grandmother (Erna). It's tough to get her to sit during a meal. Nearly impossible in fact. She's been through a heart attack, and more recently back surgery (so recently they told her she shouldn't leave a bed even to this time) but nothing stops this woman. On second glance, I have to say it's not the most flattering picture. Ha! On the left in white is my aunt Janet, who is arguably the loudest (not an easy feat). Further left in black is my mom (Vivian), and my dad to her side (Bob). At the end of the table, looking deceptively small is my uncle Gerry. He's sitting on the pull-out couch that is used as the main bed in the cabin. Continuing around the table is cousin Dan, then Craig, and finally Katherine. Above the pictures view is the loft. The floor of the loft covers half the room, and there is a ladder on a pivot that is lowered when you need to go up. There are foam sleeping mats up there, so that is where we usually sleep when we visit.

It is now my last day here. The folks left with my aunt Janet on Monday so we went from ten people to seven. All nights except for the first I stayed in aunt Kay's cabin (the one who wrote "Pog Tails"). She's not able to look after herself anymore and she stays with her sister up there, so uncle Gerry, Dan and I had her cabin to ourselves.
I know I won't have long to write so I may as well go over the highlights.

The sauna - one pseudo family member of ours (Ward Beattie) owned a software company which was bought by Mircosoft. He's very rich. He was so kind as to build a wooden sauna up here for all of us (Pic to the right). It's small, but fantastic. We just got running hot water here too so you can shower in the sauna when you're ready to get out. So relaxing.

Monday was beautiful, and later in the day I asked Katherine if she wanted to explore the hill. All our cabins are on the south-face of a large hill. It's very difficult to appreciate how large it is unless you're on the lake or have experienced it firsthand.

Interlude:

The end of the dock (bottom left) is where I wrote most of the note on my last day there. This beach is the eastern most portion of our community up there, and although we have full use of it, it is not owned by our family. It's a very nice beach.

My grandparents own two cabins. Cabin one - Mess Hall as we decided to call it - is the one where the family meal was taken. The picture on the right gives you an idea of the hill slope we are on. It is taken from the second cabin looking downward toward the bay. You can see where there were two extensions made on the closer side of the building. The main door is on the left side of the photo, and there is a decent sized deck on the far side.

The second cabin is simpler. It is one room with a queen sized bed and a small table. We named it the Bunk Room. We never call them by these names, but we needed something cute for the plaques. It was made as a guest room, and as a more
comfortable place for the grandparents to sleep when there are no other guests. The steepness of the hill is very visible in the photo to the right.

I've been up (the hill) once on a previous trip, but we only went so far. This time I was more determined. We put on some bug spray and headed out - armed with digital cameras. The vegetation is quite thick to start and it quickly thins out turning into very awkward terrain. Boulders, fallen trees and uneven ground becomes the norm. We often found ourselves hopping on to soft vegetation that could have anything (even a hole) underneath.

As you can see the dangers were readily apparent. A spider with the body size of my palm and a glove. Surely this is the last remaining trace of the explorers preceding us!

As we walked on an on we paused for photographs, each picture becoming more impressive than the last as our elevation rose and the sun dropped. The density of the trees keeps making you think that you are at the highest point, but if you travel further you find another plateau. It felt like quite an adventure.

We were absolutely shocked when we got back. We arrived back to civilization at the exact same point of the trail as where we left. The magnitude of this feat can only be comprehended if you had the experience of going through the untamed wildlands personally. Katherine and I were convinced that we had missed out calling in life - destined to be wilderness scouts.
The pictures I captured that night as the sun set (and afterwards) are quite beautiful. I hope you get to see them as you read this.

Tuesday made Monday feel like a picnic. The grandparents and uncle Gerry were taking the motor boat, and Katherine and Craig were going for a canoe trip in the lake. Dan and I already had plans to explore the river that feeds Pog Lake by canoe and we weren't about to give up and sit around the cabin. We asked aunt Kay and she let us borrow her canoe. It's much heavier than our grandparent's and it's seen better days, but we figured all the better if we were to try going up the river. A few more dents won't hurt it....

We grabbed about sixteen beers, a box of crackers, Nimo, and my trusty camera and off we went. Our departure time was around one pm. The water was as smooth as glass, and I could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Dan and I paddled across the lake (about a half hour) and began up the river opening.

This is on the way up to the river mouth - after we'd crossed the main lake.

The embedded pictures below are at the river mouth.

There were too many rocks to continue paddling up the river so we had a few beers, some crackers and made our way up by foot. There was no path so we made our way rock to rock and occasionally balanced across fallen trees. Nimo was a trooper and followed every step of the way.

Looking back the way we came

Nimo. Part dog - part mountain goat. All balls.

Mini waterfalls scattered the river path

After a long trek we reached our goal. A new lake. One we've never seen. We didn't know it's name and we didn't care. As soon as we saw it, we knew we had to explore it by canoe. Portaging that path would be tough, but it had to be done. We headed back.

We got a good system down for transporting the canoe. Dan was wearing sandals so he pushed it up the stream and any time the canoe encountered rocks, I would be there to help lift it over. After about 45 minutes we worked the canoe right over all obstacles and into the lake.

I explored the coast on foot and Dan set the canoe for travel. When I got back Dan asked for a favor. After only one minute he had seen five "keeper" sized fish FROM SHORE! We had dumped his fishing gear at the river end to save hassle. He wanted to run back and get it. I didn't mind and decided to canoe solo over the new lake while he headed back. It was so peaceful being in the middle of this deserted lake by myself. Completely serene.

Dan got back a good while later and joined me for a quick tour of the closer portion of the lake. Afterwards he went out to fish and I walked along the shore a bit more. Dan was only 20-30 feet from the land and he was using worms that had been in the sun all day. They were literally disintegrating as he put them on the hook. Even so, Dan could hardly put the line in the water without getting a bite. He would cast, then reel in and a fish would be on the line. He cast about eight times and caught five fish. One was not big enough to keep, and one jumped out of the boat. We brought back three good sized fish, one of which was the biggest caught that week by anyone in our family. Dan couldn't stop saying "this is unreal!". It was fishing as we've never seen.

Before fishing, when Dan and I had explored the lake together I noticed a red marker. While Dan was fishing I found a canoe and an old motor boat (sans motor) underneath it. This was a marker for the end point of a portaging route. Aunt Kay and uncle Harry used to host all kinds of portaging trips when they ran the lodge, and this was obviously the neglected remains of one of them. The trail lead in two directions. I could tell that the short portion lead to the top of the river, and presumably the other portion that headed into the woods lead to the bottom of the river. Dan and I had decided it would be easier to use this portage trail on the way back because it would be a lot more direct. A straight line as opposed to the "C" shaped path of the river. From what I could see, the trail looked quite smooth.
I called out to Dan as he was fishing: "we should bring Craig here tomorrow". By chance Craig was rounding the last corner of the river at that moment. Katherine and Craig had been sent by our grandparents to see if we were okay. We had no watch and it was much later than we'd thought.
Craig went along the portage trail to tell Katherine we were on the way and we started to pack up. It took a while to get all set and with all our gear we could not portage with the canoe over our heads as you normally would. We had to lie a lot of equipment in the canoe and carry it at our sides. This proved to be very difficult.

The trail was much more treacherous than we'd guessed - overgrown with fallen trees and narrowed by vegetation after years of neglect. It was about half an hour of very difficult travel. It felt as though it when forever. We were surprised that Craig had not returned to help us, but as it turns out they had to go home to tell them we'd been found. Instead of waiting we stared across the lake. We were so exhausted and by the time we were half way across the lake the sun was gone, and the moon was out.

Dark ominous clouds had appeared seemingly out of nowhere just as the motor boat was coming back to rescue us. The clouds did not blow over, but formed above our heads. They were quite menacing and I would have been very uncomfortable if we had to paddle the rest of the way under these potential lightning clouds. We were in the middle of the lake for most of the trip and heard cracks of thunder in the distance. It was very relieving when we docked the boat.
What an adventure. It was probably about eight hours long in total. Dan and I had quite a bonding experience.

That's the end of my entry.

I have a few photos that I'd like to share that didn't quite fit in before:

The view out of Kay's cabin that I woke up to each morning

The water-plane that my parents and Janet flew out on.

Katherine on our trip up the hill

Mom presenting the fish she caught and me in my "Pocahontas" shot (I hope you all appreciate the rhyme and meter I wrote there)

Molly-May in one of the few pictures ever seen of her off leash in the wilderness.

These two are pictures of Kay and Harry's dock. I don't know why, but I've always loved it...

Safe and sound back home.

I just wish I could have had some more time up there. Looking back, it was simply an incredible experience - and everything worked out perfectly. I could not have asked for better weather, and the time I spent with Katherine and Daniel will be cherished as great adventures. I believe they were adventures of the greatest sort. Just like a child, we were driven by curiosity for the land that we honour and respect. My appreciation for that land has only grown over the years as I come to realize how unique it is, and how fortunate I am to be part of it. It truly is incredible.

Cottage 2006