Aloha, Tokyo!

After taking one last walk down the streets of Roppongi and meeting Alfred for coffee one last time, Nicole and I made our way to Narita airport. Really the only good that came from it was that we were upgraded to economy plus for free and there was a different episode of Hannah Montana. My TV, however, wasn't working. So, rather than strain my neck to watch Nicoles, I slept almost the entire 7 hours.

It's nice to be home and see my Dad, but Nicole and I have been missing Tokyo quite a bit. To satisfy us, our first night we rented Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. Of course, I was jetlagged and slept through the entire thing. For Nicole's birthday (4th of July) we went out to a Japanese restaurant in Waikiki! That was nice except the waiters and chefs spoke perfect English. It turned out to be a blessing because after all the talking we did, he gave us ice cream on the house.

Speaking of house, the picture above is my back yard overlooking Kaneohe bay.
I took Nicole on one hike to Manoa falls. It was a fun trail even with the typical sprinkled. Unfortunately, the waterfall was only a trickle - most people were pretty disappointed. We drowned our sorrows in an Andy's eggplant melt and smoothie. Even though Japanese food was good, nothing compares to the food in Hawaii!


Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to Nicole yesterday. She's back in O-town and starting at work again tomorrow. Good luck with those day dreams. As for me, I'm just sitting back and relaxing. I get to swim every day and eat fish... and mochi, and shave ice, and kim chee, and zippy's, and the list goes on...

Thank you to all who read my blog and to those who pretended that they read it even though they couldn't answer specific questions about it. (No, really, I'm not offended at all). :) It's been fun and I may do this again for my trips in the future. Or maybe even for my daily life. I know you're all dying to hear about what I learned about Trademark law on a daily basis.

I will post the link to all my pictures from the trip so check back.

For now, alooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooha!

Park Hyatt

The 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt hotel contains the New York Bar. This was in the movie Lost in Translation. It looks EXACTLY like it does in the movie. That's because it was in the movie.

We were ballers on our last night and paid the $20 cover charge just to walk in the door of the bar plus the $20 for a drink. We decided to splurge and get some food. Nicole suggested the steak tartar, but I pointed out that it was $110. We settled for some $26 pizza.
I enjoyed a Kir Royale....Delicious!

Dizuney sheee

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea were fantastic! That rounded out my 9th Disney park around the world!

Nicole had this great idea that we should bring our kimonos to the park so we could take a picture in them in front of the castle. As stupid as I thought the idea was, I did it anyway. As we were putting them on near the entrance of Disney Sea, a girl came up to us and said that they were doing something special today for people wearing yukatas in the park - would we be wiling to be in a magazine?

Um... YES! So, she lead us over for a photo shoot and we will be appearing in Tokyo-Graffiti - a trendy magazine! Yep, we're big in Tokyo!
The park was pretty strange - it was similar to what I know very well, yet different. Kind of like a bizzaro world. Everything looked the same, but, people were well behaved and nobody spoke my language. Also, Disney was kind of like a fashion show; everybody dressed up all cute-like and they were skinny. It was very different from the fatsos shoving turkey legs and ice cream into their beer guts.

I bought a minnie mouse doll in a kimono - she's pigeon toed.

Splish splah I was taking a bath

The greatest hidden treasure of Japan is the onsen. I don't know about any of you, but I have taken a public bath before....it wasn't pretty.... for details about this experience (in Turkey) ask me directly.

In Japan, however, it is a totally different experience. The odaiba onsen is one of the most relaxing and magical places on earth! Once you get there, they let you choose a yukata (a summer kimono) to wear for the day. You change into this, and you have a bracelet with your key and bar code on it so that you don't have to use any cash for the rest of the day. You can shop, eat, get massages, relax in the hot springs, and more just by scanning the bracelet. Of course, you have to pay for it all when you check out!
There was even a show by the strangest man I have ever seen. He came out riding a mechanical horse, ballet danced, played some instruments, put on a feather boa, and roller skated around. So weird!

The best experience, however, was the doctor fish! Apparently these are special fish from Turkey that like to eat dead skin cells. For $15, we could stick our feet in a pool of them for 15 minutes. My feet never felt so smooth! It kind of felt like a vibrator, but looking down and seeing slimy fish made it really strange.

Sunrise-Sunset

I have seen both the sunrise and the sunset two days in a row. Tokyo has really my schedule really messed up, but is the most fantastic city I have ever been to. Last night, after a farewell dinner for Caren and Jamal, we sang some more karaoke, got a little rowdy, and had some ramen before walking home in the daylight.


Today we spent the day in harajuku looking at the people who dress up all crazy. I am in desperate need of some rest. I think tomorrow might be the day to rest Japanese-style. Check back for an update.

The day that never ends

This morning we went to the Tokyo fish market! Because you have to get there really early to see any of the good stuff, I only had a brief "pause" between going out and going to the fish market. We got to see the crazy auction, and there is a crazy Japanese man yelling fish prices. Then we went to one of the sushi restaurants for the freshest sashimi that I have ever eaten. Notice that everyone is drinking beer with their sushi for breakfast at 7am!

Karaoke!

The Japanese loooooove their karaoke! I looooove my karaoke. We get along. Last night was the third time I've gone in this country.

My rendition of "If I Could Turn Back Time" got more intense each time.

Apparently, my calling, instead, is the tambourine.

Lost in Translation

Please bury your old shoes.

You have deaf articles of the menu?

No caption necessary.

sick

Imperial Gardens

Last night was a little much, so today was a day of rest at the Imperial Palace and gardens.

Shibuya Crossing

This is the busiest intersection in Japan.

water water everywhere and not a drop to drink

There is a little bit of my own personal hell in Japan. The Japanese love shoes. I love shoes. The Japanese are small. I am big. Therefore, there are massive shoe stores with beautiful shoes – and none of them fit me. Not only do they not fit me, they don’t come close to fitting me. The LL size is about the equivalent of a US size 7. I am a size 10. Apparently there are Queen size stores where I may be able to find something that fits. What an ego boost





Finally, Emiko took me to one of these queen size stores. Unfortunately, if you have big feet, you aren't allowed to have cute shoes. BUT - I found one pair of AMAZING shoes!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

On your birthday I'm in Japan,
It feels very far away,
but I'm glad that I can still manage
to wish you a happy birthday!

Kabuki

Today we went to the National Theater of Japan to watch a traditional kabuki performance. I was expecting it to be really boring and awful, but it was great! The set was good, and I had a machine that told me what was going on in English.

It was actually a very sad story about greed and love and death. :)

Apparently the writer of the play (who lived in the Edo period) not only wrote plays but invented electricity, the thermometer, eating eel, and the internet. Okay, not the last one. But, seriously! These people are more shameless than the Chinese claiming they invented fire and herpes! "Number one best shop in whole China!"

For a glimpse at what Kabuki is like...


In this scene, the father has just stabbed his daughter thinking that she was a fugitive. The daughter had fallen in love with the fugitive, let him escape, and then hid in his place so no one would know he was gone. Now, her dad is pissed that she let him get away and beats her. She's like, "Dad, you just stabbed me, I'm about to die because of you, and now you're beating me?" and he's like, "yeah."

You can find me in the club

After dinner, we had the pleasure of being the only gaijin at club Genius. Nicole was having a blast dancing with all the crazy Japanese men! Especially Mazuki, whose e-mail address is I love you@hotmail.com.

There were men in the club with curling irons doing girls' hair. Apparently they get their hair done at the club instead of wasting time before they get there?

...with my life....

Yesterday, Emiko took us to a Japanese restaurant for the second time. Non-coincidentally, it was one of my two favorite meals since I've been here. She has such good food judgment that I would, as Nicole says, trust her with my life.

This was the best shabu shabu I have ever had - and it was all you can eat! We started with this many trays of raw beef and pork:


Then we re-ordered about 4 or 5 more times. We cooked everything in the boiling broth at our table and made some interesting mixtures.

Another great part about this meal was that it was all you can drink. The Japanese really mean all you can drink when they say it. Every drink on the menu was included for 90 minutes. So I had the best plum wine, sake (hot and cold), beer (which I'm REALLY liking here in Japan), Cow Piss (yes, it's cow piss. They call it kalpisu or karupissu), cassis and soda, and cowpiss and cassis. This is my new favorite drink, ever! See a picture of me and nicole enjoying our new best beverage.

Like mother like daughter

Every once in a while I will see someone from a foreign country doing something silly – wearing a hat the wrong way or wearing a t-shirt that doesn’t make sense. I always think, “that must be how they do it in their country.” This was an excuse I gave to Jessica when, in Pittsburgh, she walked out of the house with mismatched shoes. “Tell everyone that’s the style in Hawaii!” She did; it worked.

My mom told me an interesting story about her first trip to Asia in the ‘60s. The new trend in the US was to put your hair up in a bun and secure it with chopsticks. For some reason, she thought this might also be fashionable in Asia. Apparently random people would run up to her on the street to explain that chopsticks were used for eating – not for hair. She was Ariel with her dinglehopper.

I recently found out that I had a similar problem. One of my first days here I bought a cute coin-purse! It’s necessary to carry one here because most money used is coins (seriously – they have a $5 coin)!

Anyway, I did wonder why the coin-purse looked a little funny on the inside, but I couldn’t think of anything else it could possibly be used for.


The other day, I was standing with a Japanese friend when I got out my coin-purse to buy a box of strawberry milk out of a vending machine.
“Shaina!” she exclaimed, “Do you know what that’s for?”
“It’s not a coin-purse?”
“No! It’s a portable ash-tray.”

I guess I should have known. No! How the heck could I have known that people here use portable ashtrays! Although, I understand why they need them. I haven’t had a breath of fresh air in 2 weeks – everyone smokes everywhere. Also, there are no garbage cans – none – not even in restaurants. With that many cigarettes, no trashcans, and clean streets – obviously people are using portable ashtrays.

I now take pleasure in seeing the uncomfortable faces of the Japanese when I pull out my ash-try to pay for my ramen.

All-you-can-eat (sort of)

After the exam today, we went to an all-you-can-eat and all-you -can-drink restaurant. Of course, there were a few catches. 1. you must cook your own food, 2. you must fight mobs of angry Japanese people to get to the bar to get food to bring to your table, 3. you must leave the restaurant in 60 min...GO!mmmm....squid that tastes like burnt beef drippings.

Then, there they were - sailor moons!

Movin' on up!

Today I said goodbye to the spider graveyard that was my room (seriously, spider smear marks all over the walls) and moved into the grand suite! Okay, so this is the size of a normal small hotel room, but after living in a closet this feels pretty good. What feels even better is that I moved to this room because NICOLE IS COMING! She is almost here! I cannot wait! Nicole's bed all made up with goodies! Biggest room ever!

For all my fans out there, you may have been disappointed to see that there was no blog yesterday. That’s because I had a TEST today! Yes, a test. It was more important than you. Just kidding.

There were two questions: 1. Pick an article from the Meiji constitution and compare and contrast it to an article of the current Japanese constitution, 2. Pick a provocative question regarding the Japanese civil code tort statute 715 (regarding liability of an employer) and then answer it. If you’re interested, here’s basically how I answered the questions:

1. The renunciation of war clause in the current Japanese constitution (see post from last week) compared to article 13 of the Meiji constitution, which says the Emperor has the right to go to war at any time. The big differences are that now sovereignty lies with the people rather than the Emperor, and now they cannot go to war.

2. Do the tort statutes in the Japanese civil code make it difficult for plaintiffs to win suits or is there another reason that the Japanese do not sue very much. The tort statutes are almost the same as in the US, and it should be easy for plaintiffs to win. Some other reason is causing the non-litigious society. There was an airplane crash where 24 people were killed. The airline made personal phone calls and there was not a single lawsuit. I’m not convinced that it’s because of the cooperative Japanese society that is more interested in building the economy than wasting money on lawsuits. But, that’s what I wrote – think it’ll win me points?

The life of a Tokyo attorney

Yesterday we had a reception for all the students with Japanese attorneys who are taking interns. We had a full spread with fish, beef, shrimp, sandwiches, and everything else! I met a few cool local attorneys. I met one from Hawaii! He went to Punahou and actually graduated a year earlier than Obama. He told me some of the dirt on Obama.... very interesting.

Something the Japanese do that I have to start remembering is always handing out a business card the SECOND you meet someone. If you're not handing over the card with two hands immediately after saying your name, you are rude. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the 3000 cards that career services made us get - which are completely out of date. I may start handing them to Japanese business men on the street... you never know who will need a good lawyer.

Part 2 of being a good Japanese attorney is being able to go out drinking ALL night. After our reception, we began at a nice bar with a few mugs of beer. Then it went downhill. The family marts on every corner sell 5ths of alcohol and there are no drinking laws on the streets. This makes it very difficult to control oneself.

Part 2 b of being a good Tokyo attorney is sleeping for 3 hours and then getting up in the morning ready for work. This is where I failed miserably.

By the afternoon I was ready again. We went for a tour of the Supreme Court! The Japanese Supreme Court has 15 members. There are up to 30 members who do some other cases, but for the major cases, they need the main 15 justices. The courtroom is pretty cool, and I was able to sit in the chief justice's seat!


This evening I went to the Morgan Lewis Tokyo office's first summer happy hour! It was really nice to be a part of a real Tokyo law firm. Of course, the 4 associates in the firm are all early 30's, male, and American... a demographic I happen to get along well with. I somehow managed to force down a beer and some greasy food. They seem to have a pretty good life here, and I can't wait to see if MLB will give me the opportunity to experience it for real.

But, for now, I'm exhausted and ready to get back to being a student.

Globalization

We went to starbucks after class today to study. It is mostly the same - with some notable differences. I generally order the smallest size when I go to starbucks. Apparently, a lot of Americans make this mistake because when I did this, the woman brought out the 4 sizes they had. The third size is the size of a normal small in the States. (barbri pen is there for size reference. Huhhuh- the pen is there. There the pen is. Haha. Ok, I'm 12).


Here I am enjoying my Azuki Bean Frappucino!

Too much good luck

Yesterday we went to Asakusa. We walked through a bunch of cheesy tourist shops where I refused to go in. They do not bargain in Japan, and I don't think I could have resisted saying, "no... too much... you give me good price.... not impossible." At the end was a large temple. I breathed in incense, and now I am purified. Also, Erin bought me a fortune. I had to shake a really loud drum and the stick that came out was my fortune. Here is what it said:

No.87 The Best Fortune (Erin only got a good fortune)
You will meet good luck by chance just like getting a gem from the rocks while you are digging. Your wishes will be realized. The patient will get well. The person you are waiting for will come. Building a new house and removal are both good. It is good to make a trip. Both marriage and employment are good.

Sounds good enough to me. There was also a lot written in Japanese. It probably said something like, "Za Japanese curse you for being stupid enough to take this fortune. Why don't you go talk to Herro Kitty. Prease eat more fish."

Later, we took a boat ride under 15 bridges to a garden in the middle of the city. And in the middle of a garden, there was a lake. And in the middle of the lake, there was a pagoda. And in the pagoda, there was a tea ceremony. We drank matcha tea and ate red bean cake all while sitting on our knees. This is a very uncomfortable position. I'm not sure why the Japanese insist on it in every restaurant. It was especially painful because I couldn't walk all day. (For reason, see yesterday's post). My legs eventually went numb, and I enjoyed my tea as a paraplegic.

There are no words...

Emergency!

So, there was an earthquake here yesterday morning.  It was in north Japan; I slept right through it.  But my friend Jamal felt it and ran down to the lobby in his underwear in the middle of the night.  Japan is prone to earthquakes and maybe other disasters.  This got me wondering what I would do in the case of an emergency and allowed me to genuinely ask the question I've thought was hysterical all my life - what is the number to 911?

The answer will surprise you.  The number for 911 in Japan is actually 119.  119!  What made the drafters of the constitution say, "equal protection? Let's designate that the same number as the American constitution." While other brilliant Japanese, when faced with something that would actually be useful to standardize, thought, "119.  Vely oliginal." 

Okonomiyaki

Emiko took us to a traditional Okonomiyaki restaurant in her hometown.  Here is a video of chef Shai.  (Okay, so this is the only part that I actually cooked at all)

Aikido (Shaina vs. Grandpa)

Today I trained at a real Japanese Dojo.  I learned Aikido - and by learned Aikido, I mean I am now terrified of anyone who knows Aikido.  One of our classmates, Joe, has been training at this dojo for a while, and he brought us to see what it was like.  The Japanese, once again, have proven that they are the nicest people on earth.  Everyone there took turns helping and teaching us.  I learned neck rolls and pinning people on the ground.  I was having a good time learning at a slow pace until a new man came up and offered to train me... 

His English wasn't good - in fact, he hardly spoke a word.  Somehow with gestures, he was able to show me what to do.  And, with force, he was able to throw me to the ground, smash my elbows and face, and pin me.  Basically, he kicked my ass.  Round after round, with tears in my eyes, I pleaded for him to take it easy.  He just smiled and nodded his head - not understanding a word.  I looked desperately at my friends, hoping one would trade partners with me.  I was stuck - in more than one way.  To add insult to injury, as we were watching the sensei teach a new move, he turned to me and spoke the only English I heard from him all day, "My age... 83."  He smiled.  He seemed pleased with the look of horror on my face after realizing that I was just beat up by an 83 year old Japanese man who was half my height.

He looks innocent enough, but he is no softy.  Thanks for the beating, Grandpa.

Gross

There are bugs in my room.  Here is one I killed.

Feeling hot hot hot (or mild)

Back at the Curry House, they have a part of the menu where you can order the curry with different levels of spice.  It goes all the way up to 10, and there are pictures to show you exactly what your face will look like.  Alfred (pictured below) was bold enough to get the really hot, red, sweating face.  Looks like the curry worked!

Unfortunately, the face wasn't made because the curry was so spicy - it was made because it was NOT at all spicy.  Apparently the Japanese idea of hot is somewhat different from Mexicans- where the mild can usually blow your brains out.