tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62579122011-08-31T23:03:19.756+09:00You'll always find me on the bridge.gundanoreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1111377715843024312004-05-01T12:48:00.000+09:002005-03-21T13:09:54.076+09:00

Yutaka Wakasugi has been teaching fashion for 19 years, a career older than many of his current students. His portfolio includes pupils who have graduated on to top design houses like Yoji Yamamoto, Hiroko Koshino and Yoshiki Hishinuma.As an expressive outlet for his students he puts on a show free from rules and themes called the Street Fashion Show. Following a predetermined route each student

gundanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1083037419801028962004-04-27T12:43:00.000+09:002005-03-22T00:29:54.936+09:00

What a week it’s been. Saturday the 12th I arrived in San Francisco. Two days later I was on a plane bound for Guadalajara for my brother’s wedding. Every day was a different tour.On Wednesday we hired a guide and headed for the city of Tequila. You guessed it, home of that evil drink that makes us gag and do strange things. I learned two important things in this tiny town. First of all, even

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1081340814343723582004-04-07T21:18:00.000+09:002004-04-07T21:30:40.903+09:00

I am exhausted. Monday morning I hopped on the bullet train and was in Tokyo in under three hours. I went to Roppongi Hills to see what all the fuss is. The fuss is, clearly some people are living life really really well. I spent the afternoon hanging on in meetings with CWM and then some congratulatory cocktails in the Tokyo Foreign Corrospondance Club. We threw back beers, salty fried shrimp

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1080747441256154332004-04-01T00:32:00.000+09:002004-04-01T00:40:58.200+09:00

I took the train up to Osaka for a few reasons today. Number one, I had to buy a suit for my brother's wedding. My Japanese has progressed to the point where I can say "cool" (kakui) in English. That seems to take me all the way through the suit buying process. Every suit the sales lady brought me, I just let her know if it was cool or not. At last I had a cool suit and a cool shirt.

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1080169770742982082004-03-25T08:03:00.000+09:002004-03-25T12:13:57.920+09:00

My apartment is on the fourth floor and I can look down on all the low wooden houses in the neighborhood. The roofs are beautiful. A-shaped with silver tiles that become mottled over time. Along the top ridge is a design made from tiles that runs the entire length. It's beautiful to look at, but unfortunately it's also home to all the neighborhood cats. The angle is flat enough that they can get

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1080086969120788302004-03-24T08:56:00.000+09:002004-03-24T11:13:48.233+09:00

Wayne and I spent all night walking into clubs and restaurants in down town Kyoto. My writing for Japanzine is largely about Kyoto so we're trying to get distribution up in the area. What a learning experience. Wayne can speak excellent Japanese and he's been selling advertising for about a year now. For me, I'm lost. I can only follow about 30% of the conversation so I missed a lot. Japanese

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1079939173305972152004-03-22T15:33:00.000+09:002004-03-22T16:09:37.840+09:00

What is with the weather these days? It was starting to get warmer so I put my heater away. The next day it rained followed by a cold front that frosted my windows. I was commiserating with a friend about the strange weather and found out it was quite normal. The Japanese have a term for the weather between Winter and Spring. "san kan shi on." It translates roughly to "three cold three warm."

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1079959872507226662004-03-01T21:44:00.000+09:002005-03-21T17:59:45.993+09:00

Do you remember a fantastic picture book you enjoyed as a child? Written beneath each illustration, in large black print, was a story about a boy named Peter Pan. A boy who promised he’d never grow up. On his adventures he flew from place to place. He met mermaids and fairies. He laughed out loud as he ran from ticking crocodiles and wicked pirates.If you found this book you might be surprised to

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1076670824359731882004-02-13T20:07:00.000+09:002004-02-13T20:18:40.996+09:00

I was exhausted. I was up all night last night and had to get up again early this morning. I found myself downtown telling a girl I'd meet her for coffee and I haven't even the slightest idea why. I guess she asked me. I couldn't bring myself to take a nap because allthough I was exhausted, I was wound up with all the projects I'm working on. And then it hit me. It's time for a sento. Just

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1076567358158376972004-02-12T15:28:00.000+09:002004-02-12T15:33:27.436+09:00

Ninniku is garlic. But when I looked at the picture in the menu it looked like a bowl of curry with asparagus on top of it. Boy was I wrong. I've never seen this before but it's definitely similar in shape and texture to asparagus with all the smell of garlic. And it is strong stuff. In the morning when I walk through the office everyone says "ohayogozaimasu." (Good morning.) The older guys

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1076280614367027882004-02-09T07:41:00.000+09:002004-02-09T07:54:22.890+09:00

I was talking to a friend about some weird grammar in Japanese recently. It translates badly in English because we like to say what we want. In Japanese it is preferred to say what you think other people want to do. So, instead of making a suggestion like "Let's go in that cafe and get a drink." you say "My throat is dry, isn't it." The person can then reply "Drinking something cold would be nice

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1075102166035072082004-01-26T16:22:00.000+09:002004-01-26T16:31:33.326+09:00

Huh? I just walked into The Pig and Whistle. A couple is discussing in strong Irish brogue, what else, why their parents made them go to church. An eight piece band is playing a beautiful Irish melody. The flutes are high and quick. The fiddles are are whining together and the guitar keeps jumping up just to let everyone know he's there. Besides the other couple and myself, everyone is speaking

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1075101739984809032004-01-22T16:14:00.000+09:002004-01-26T16:24:27.373+09:00

Standard shirts come in two sizes, neither of which fit me. Rather than suffer through ill fitting sizes, I decided I could afford to get one custom made shirt a month. In a year I'd have 12 beautiful shirts. Today I picked up my first shirt and tried it on. A custom shirt is a beautiful thing, every corner, every tuck has been customed made. But who this shirt was made for is completely beyond

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074694131972495762004-01-21T23:01:00.000+09:002004-01-21T23:10:53.043+09:00

I ran into Faya's wife today. It's quite funny, she can't speak English and I can't speak French. I'm sure we turned more than a few heads as we stood there speaking Japanese. Yesterday I interviewed Julio for an article about his Salsa parties. I think the most memorable quote was his description of learning how to Salsa. His mother used to listen to Salsa on the radio while cooking.

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074494244607564132004-01-19T15:26:00.000+09:002004-01-19T15:39:59.686+09:00

Just had another first last night. We celebrated a friend's birthday and headed off to a Korean restaurant for dinner. Using the usual code for "this will probably gross you out" my friends asked me to try something from a tiny little serving dish. It was a fiery red color, like kimchee. But the glistening meat was very thin and wrinkly, like a plastic bag or thin rubber. Of course I asked "what

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074358368906490722004-01-18T01:36:00.000+09:002004-01-18T01:56:20.060+09:00

Who would have guessed that arranged marriages still occurred in this day and age. But obviously that was not the topic of conversation at my friends house with his new wife. The most fascinating conversation was with a classmate of his from the US. Oddly enough, she is the second person this year I've met studying Sanskrit. We tried to put together a short love note. Unfortunately, the

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074139246218866762004-01-15T12:52:00.000+09:002004-01-15T13:02:38.623+09:00

I love trains. Yesterday afternoon I headed up along the north eastern side of Biwa lake. Kyoto was turning dark and grey and I was glad to find a nice warm seat in the train. Totally absorbed in my studies I was quite amazed when I arrived in Kusatsu to find a city covered in soft white snow. It's incredible that in just thirty minutes I could could be transported to an entirely new

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073916465308796222004-01-12T22:50:00.000+09:002004-01-15T13:04:03.496+09:00

Today I learned a valuable lesson. You can't go anywhere in Japan without bumping into a coffee vending machine. Amazingly, with all the different choices in both brands and labels, it all boils down to a choice of "latte" or "black." For some reason in a machine with 20 different coffees, none of them are just coffee and sugar. But that's not the lesson. What I didn't know before today is

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073752998553052962004-01-11T01:20:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:43:34.080+09:00

A common site around Japan in the new year is a small design of bamboo and pine leaves tied together with straw. I'm guessing the act of putting a pine tree in your house, better known these days as a Christmas tree, predates the Christmas holiday. Besides it's obviously phallic shape, what other explanation could there be for distant countries to both celebrate the New Year with conifers? In

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073636041897035832004-01-09T17:00:00.000+09:002004-01-09T17:16:16.120+09:00

I know I'm back now. On the way to work I stopped off to get my favorite winter breakfast - "kareman." Like many things in Japan, it's seasonal. Kept in a warming box near most convenience store check out counters, it will disappear again come Spring. But now it's cold outside and this warm food is the perfect treat. Originally this was a Chinese food called "chow shiu bow" (pork bun). A

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073515129107588082004-01-08T07:25:00.000+09:002004-01-08T07:39:08.560+09:00

The New Year's fun never stops in Japan. A few weeks before January 31st many homes and businesses put up a small shrine of two wheels of sticky rice (called "kagami mochi") stacked on top of each other with a tangerine on the top. Around January 15th there is a second ceremony where the mochi is broken into pieces and put into a soup called "ozouni." What soup you make depends on the region.

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073428669540632062004-01-07T07:26:00.000+09:002004-01-07T07:38:08.730+09:00

While in the office one of the salesmen told me he would join my class on Friday. As a joke he told me I would be able to get a lesson in how the Japanese apologize. It was his indirect way of explaining to me that I had made a mistake and that he was now obligated to apologize for our company. The mistake was a scheduling mishap and I had no intention of mending his damaged ego by apologizing

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073346847657106102004-01-06T08:30:00.000+09:002004-01-06T08:54:26.370+09:00

Slowly everyone is returning back to Kyoto from their vacations. I met two friends last night and we went out to a kushikatsu restaurant. Kushi means 'skewer' and katsu means 'cutlet.' This exotic Japanese treat is of course oil fondu with small wooden skewers. Why is it that an all-you-can-eat restaurant always seems like such a good idea as you ignore the inflated price and drool over

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073261551436312452004-01-05T08:58:00.000+09:002004-01-05T09:17:29.693+09:00

Two weeks have flown by and here I am back in Kyoto. On the return flight from San Francisco I picked up a copy of The Da Vinci Code and couldn't put it down. More fuel for the fire - I love it. When I left Kyoto nearly a foot of snow covered my abandoned plants. Now that I've returned it's almost as warm as it was in was in SF. I just can't figure out the weather these days. But instead of

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073486086866104432003-09-25T23:34:00.000+09:002005-03-21T16:46:16.463+09:00

All morning I've been kicking through light green seas. Gliding over coral that looks like a child's art project. A strange collection of bowls and scoops. Dimpled fuzzy teddy bear legs, sticks and reindeer antlers. Littering the ocean floor they've been splattered with neon greens, blues and tangerine. In my hand I clutch a 6 foot pole with a wicked looking hook at it's end. I've been searching

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073486545196906702003-07-11T20:41:00.000+09:002004-01-07T23:42:44.506+09:00

Kamaete! We all lean forward and place our paddles parallel to the seat. Yoi! Twenty paddles are lifted simultaneously to a vertical position. Attention! Each of us leans forward so that the tip of our blade skims the surface. Shoulders tighten.   My thighs flex expectantly as I  repeatedly work to wedge my toes into a better position. Go! Suddenly I'm pulling my paddle so hard through the

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-107375324157607332003-06-29T10:46:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:47:37.043+09:00

In April I was asked to give a speech to the Minoh Association for Global Awareness near Osaka.  A simple task made extremely complicated by the latitude of the topic.  “You are free to talk about anything you want” they told me; advice I would soon despise. I struggled over choosing the perfect topic that would be most interesting to a group of Japanese who are interested in their global

gundanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073753338524764322003-03-18T13:20:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:49:13.966+09:00

Although from time to time I do find myself lapsing into  "kid in a candy store" mode; work has largely replaced wonderment with alternating urgency and monotony. All that changed last week when my imouto (younger sister) and her friend (imouto no tomadachi) came to visit.  I must say if you don't have the time or money to travel, invite someone to stay.   It felt like I had just arrived in

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073753452263885642003-02-20T08:50:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:51:07.680+09:00

Hisashiburi!  It's been a long time!  Well, it's a new year and I have a new computer.  I went to an insane New Year's party at my sister's house and I made only one resolution I can keep - a new journal every month. I'll start with the snow I'm looking at on my front porch.  It covers my plants and I'm sure they're quite dead.  Outside it's 2 degrees Celsius.  And it feels the same in my home.

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073753653243524042002-08-25T09:26:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:54:28.616+09:00

The other day I found my self in the grocery trying to decide if I should buy a pink spongy octopus.  It's not too expensive and there are so many ways to cook those tasty suckers. A new favorite snack of mine is a Kinki specialty called Takoyaki.  Kinki by the way is the name of the region I live in, not a personal preference.  Although you can buy Takoyaki at many roadside stalls, it's as

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073753727878245782002-07-12T15:34:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:56:35.363+09:00

It's always a thrill to get a new haircut in Japan.  I've moved into a new apartment and wanted to try out my neighborhood barber.  In retrospect I would have to say it was more like an art experiment then a routine chore.  The only words I can use to communicate are 'yes', 'no' and 'skoshi' (a little). And of course an entire library of facial expressions and hand gestures I've developed while

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1073753880794481382002-04-06T01:57:00.000+09:002004-01-11T01:58:16.130+09:00

Of all the seasons I think winter is the most enchanting.  It's truly magical when new snow drifts down to transform the landscape; wiping the ground clean of detail under a layer of downy white.  Trees reach out to fill their branches with the icy but soft clusters of snow. Stomping your feet and clapping your hands together for warmth seems a small price to pay for such a sight.  I never

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074358637701684532002-03-05T08:56:00.000+09:002004-01-18T01:59:12.810+09:00

"Hotaka, come here! Hotaka, 6 rooma, come here!"  That's the voice of the owner of my guest house crackling from one of the many speakers in the hallways.  Sometimes the phone will ring for 10, 15 times until someone picks it up.  You learn not to pick it up because it usually involves a short conversation, of which only every fifth or sixth word is understood.  Finally the painful conversation

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074358786816638322002-01-30T10:34:00.000+09:002004-01-18T02:01:41.903+09:00

Well that's it.  I came home.  I rested.  And now I'm off.  Today you'll find me in Kyoto, Japan. Wednesday morning a few weeks ago I headed to the airport a good three hours before departure; no thanks to our good buddy Bin Bin.  Allthough hardly inconvenient, it was slightly unsettling to have my bag thoroughly inspected for bombs. Before I could walk down the corridor past the men and women

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074358884303603582001-11-16T14:01:00.000+09:002005-03-21T18:12:28.500+09:00

Well what do you know. I found my way home. Just over a year later and I've been transported from Asia to my folks home. With an ice cold Sierra Nevada in my hands we talked about old news. A few things have changed in the last year, but sitting in the kitchen it seems as if I never left.What on earth will I do next? As you may have guessed I came home for Thanks Giving. I decided I might as

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1074359020374958092001-10-01T22:25:00.000+09:002005-03-21T18:01:46.573+09:00

It really was no surprise the travel agent lied to me. Sometimes you just know your choices are limited and the more people try to candy coat it the worse it's going to be. My quick little 13 hour journey over the border from Hanoi stretched into a 26 hour nightmare. I peed with the pigs. Sat cramped over boxes of fruit. And as the pain roamed my body from my shoulders to my back to the sides

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1111422562868021922000-11-29T13:28:00.000+09:002005-03-22T01:30:43.596+09:00

I feel like I awoke from a dream. Just the other day I walked upstairs in my parent’s house and doubted what my memory told me was true. Outside my blue truck was parked, same old patch of paint peeling off the top. "I can't believe Ford wouldn't cover paint under their warranty" I fumed for the umpteenth time. The wonderfully burnt smell of coffee drifted from the kitchen and my mom asked

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1111421467303364122000-11-08T13:09:00.000+09:002005-03-22T01:11:07.306+09:00

Could there be anything better than a platter of dried squid with your beer? In Taiwan that's a snack we often ordered with our first round of beers. Stringy white strips like beef jerky dipped into a spicy chili sauce. Speaking of tasty drinks, perhaps you’d be interested in a special drink from Snake Alley.Taipei’s night markets are a nightly flea market that’s gone berserk. Turning a corner

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1111420834709712712000-10-10T11:59:00.000+09:002005-03-22T01:55:58.590+09:00

Taipei | TaiwanI'm here! It's been three weeks now and I'm starting to settle in. I can tell you however that it wasn't an easy transition. From the first day the temperature has been around 92 degrees and it cools down only a bit in the evening. With the humidity I am sweating constantly.On the first Saturday I went with some friends to the mouth of the Dansui River. It's kind of like

gundanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6257912.post-1111419487515036252000-09-06T09:36:00.000+09:002005-03-22T01:51:54.920+09:00

San Francisco | USAI drove across the Golden Gate Bridge one evening from the hills of Marin into San Francisco. The sun was setting over the ocean and the warm haze made the twin towers especially rich and beautiful. To my left strangers walked along and I took notice of how happy they were. Couples played like kids. Whole families excitedly chatted and pointed in every direction. A woman took a

gundanoreply@blogger.com0