Thursday, April 30, 2009

On the hunt for the elusive Beach Fox.


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Early in the morning, our bellies full from a hearty meal, we set off.
Our purpose is singular, to capture and study the elusive beast known as Hamabe Kitsune, or 
"Beach Fox".
This terrible creature has never been witnessed by human eyes. It is rumored to only appear in 
spring when the tide is low, and the trash is exposed upon the beach, which i
t then feeds upon, (as well as children, when available). 
Despite the plentiful warnings from the community and local superstitions sending us signals of danger from all 
directions, we do no falter. This monster has plagued our fishermen and their families among the shores for too long now, and it must be stopped!


We arrive at the beach via four passenger automobile, Yoko Kmetz at the wheel. Kevin and I ready at a moment's notice 
to net the beast, (for this kind of expedition requires us to avoid violent means of capture). Having no luck from inside the vehicle, we embark on foot, and begin to comb the sand. to vigilante for any signs or traces of the Beach Fox.

For hours we combed the trash and
sea shells, praying for a sign, never daring to rest for even a moment... and then there it was; Advancing toward us at incredible speed! Fast on the trail of our fresh footprints!

--

Luckily, we were more than ready. Months of preperation for this exact scenario allowed us to keep our focus.
We assumed a tight V formation as we rehearsed, and as its gaping maw flew towards us -
menacing teeth stained crimson with the blood of children and garbage - our months of training paid off:
Adrenaline pumping strong now, I darted in front of the beast as it lept and dropped beneath its soaring frame. Meanwhile, extending the military-grade beast-catching snare I held in my hand. And as it glided toward my companion, so too did it glide through my trap.
The line drew taught, my hands straining 
against the immense force; and just as readily as it launched itself hungrily toward us, it crashed to the earth, its efforts stifled. 
Facing a lesser disciplined party, the threat may have continued, but the legendary creature was immediately put under with sedatives and carried to our vehicle.
Exhausted, but victorious, we transported the Beach Fox back to our lab for further study.
Surprisingly enough, once it awoke, it showed no signs of hostility towards us; and seemed to be stricken with a sort of curiosity; strange for a murderous beast...

As the hours went by. Under close examination, I became more and more convinced that this creature posessed not only a lack of violent intentions, but even a bit of strange benevolence in it's demeanor. Perhaps this was not the same murderous beast we had encountered on the shore? Or perhaps it was driven to those acts of savagery through desperation.
However, more study is required to make a proper analysis of its true  motivations...




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After we went to the beach, we briefly stopped off at a nice little park and took a walk. There were many beautiful obelisks and cherry blossoms all around.
Once home, Kevin and I practiced for a few hours and went out for hirugohan.
As we headed out to look for some food, Kevin remembered he needed to pick up his new pair of 
glasses.

While we were combing the town, I remembered that I needed a kitchen timer to practice my tournament piece against, so we stopped by the DenKodo again.

After stepping out of the electronics store, we happened to spot a pizza place down the way named j.Pizz@Bross. Being the italian kitchen loving Americans that we are, we headed straight for it. Inside, ironically, there was a poster of Britney Spears and Alicia Keys, not any Japanese pop stars. Since the pizza is made fresh, we sit around and watch J-pop videos on the television while our
food is made.
We eat our food and go home.

We decide to go practice at the park again. And yet again, there are drunk people everywhere. This time we had a guy request some Yngwie Malmsteen ironically, and so we played our arrangement of "Far Beyond The Sun"... needless to say he was a bit surprised.
After that, nothing interesting really happened (not to say any of the other things I am doing are that interesting when it comes down to it). We went to dinner at a ramen shop, which wasn't bad at all, except they didn't have any soba.
Anyway, Mike Penny comes to Misawa tomorrow! Yeah!

PS: We made a short film while we were on the beach, I will upload it later on.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

An evening with drunk people.

Woke up -- grabbed some breakfeast with Kevin and Yoko (his mother).
Afterwards Kevin and I split up and began knuckling down on some practice for the tournament.
Later on when I was taking a break and wanting to use my computer, I then realized that none of the outlets in the house, or anywhere nearby had a three pronged input for my AC adapter..
.doh.
Soooo, Kevin and I hopped on bikes and went over to the Denkodo (electronics store) and they just so happened to sell a three-to-two prong adapter! WHEW! I lucked out, that was going to be a whole mess of suck.
Anyway, along the way we found a couple interesting sites..


On the way back we decided to inspect the park nearby and see how many drunk people were there that we could take advantage of.
-There were many. This time of year there are many people hanging out and grilling because it is festival season. Particularly during this week it is "Sakura Matsuri", which is basically "Cherry Blossom Viewing Festival". Families and friends get together and eat, drink, and play games. And since almost every park in the country has cherry blossoms in it, you can imagine that it's quite widely appreciated.
When we got home we picked up our Shamisens and strolled to the park to set up shop.
An hour or two later, we got a lot of practice in, made the crowd happy, and pulled  2,200 yen($22) and two beers.
--
We walked home and I played with the dog (Yuki) for awhile before we ate some dinner. Kevin's dad made some stuffed bell peppers, which, despite the fact that I don't like bell peppers at all, were good.

The rest of the night was spent in my room practicing my tournament piece. I was still very tired from travelling, so I fell asleep around nine or ten.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The journey begins.

Well, I made it!
Eleven hours on a plane, one hour being screened by quarantine officers, one hour on a train to Tokyo, three hours on a train to Misawa, and a five minute taxi ride, and just like that -POOF-  Japan!
Travelling was slightly more eventful than to be expected, especially since on each leg of my journey I happened to have another gaijin nearby to talk to. I am very thankful that I was sitting next  to this guy named Jeff on the plane, because he didn't mind talking, and he even let me use his
cell phone to call my friends so I could tell them I would be late meeting them. Among other things he also told me about working on a submarine, which was not your normal dinner conversation.
During the flight I watched four movies; The Day The Earth Stood Still, Forever Strong, Marley And Me, and Yes Man.
God damn, I can't remember the last time I watched that many movies consecutively. 
Anyway, here's the lowdown:: Kianu should have stayed in the 80s, Owen Wilson is more lovable than a dog, angsty highschool sports/juvenile deliquency never gets old, and Jim Carry the hotty, (even if she does look ten years younger than him) Ooo-hey!
And of course, right after we land, we have to fill out forms and we held up because we need to be examined by the Japanese Quarantine Officers for the Swine Flu; like I wasn't running late as it was.
I'm let off the plane and walk the half mile all the way to immigration and customs. I'm stamped through and then I realize that I left my shamisen case inside the bathroom back near my gate. Shitty...  As you can well imagine, that added another twenty minutes.
After I am escorted back to get my briefcase, I acquire my JR rail pass and head on my way.
Interestingly 
enough, almost all of the sights and trains I am being faced with are very familiar and I am able to make my way quite smoothly about the stations.
While on the train I talk to some other gaijin from Chicago who is in Tokyo for a wedding. He liked my sunglasses.

 Later on I show up at Ueno, but then I have to walk a few blocks because my friends were waiting near the wrong station.. (sigh, one thing after another). 
-- 
There Kevin and Gustavo were, playing Shamisen and talking with some drunk Nihonjin. I had never met Gustavo before (he's from Brazil), and had only seen him on his YouTube videos. He is surprisingly brash and tactless (much like myself), so we get along very well. He also knows three languages, which is impressive.
The drunk guy liked my sideburns.

Afterwards we got a bite to eat at a noodle shop,
said goodbye to Gustavo, and got onto the 
Shinkansen (bullet train) bound for Hachinohe.
One more train and a taxi, and we were home. 
Whew.
ZzZzZz