Exotic Things

I went to my first kaitenzushi today. It was nice. I've eaten my fill, and surprisingly enough, paid less than I would for a bowl of ramen (outside of our university refectory). The stuff actually fills you up! Who'd've thunk it...

Anyway, there was four of us - let's call us Croat, Kiwi, Malagasy and Finn - and none of the other ones shared my non-dislike of natto. I couldn't figure out why - but then got my comeuppance when I bravely decided to try ikura gunkanzushi. Boy, was that a mistake. Yet Finn and Kiwi had no idea why I didn't like it, they thought nothing of it. Anyway, five plates later, we were full (and I was in search of something that will help me get fish eggs out of my palate).

During that time, Kiwi talked about some of his experiences or insights about Japan. One was particularly telling. Did you know that gambling was completely illegal in Japan? Neither did I. However, there are all these Pachinko salons - I thought it was gambling?

Well, yes and no. Because gambling is illegal, it works like this: when you go into a pachinko parlour (I still haven't, so this is all second-hand knowledge), you buy a bucket of balls. You go and stick your balls into slots, hoping more balls will come out. When you're done, you take your balls and exchange them for - not money, but trinkets and toys. So it's more like a game in an arcade, or a theme park...

...If it weren't for the shop that is always - always! - next door or nearby, and always - always! - unconnected to the pachinko place. Can you guess what it is?

A pawn shop. Specialising in buying toys and trinkets. The largest buyer of which is... (do I really need to say?) A pachinko parlour. Makes perfect sense, and it's all within the bounds of the law.

Yesterday we went to see the Meiji Shrine. There were about forty of us in our guided Todai group, divided into five or so platoons. This weekend was the Shichi-Go-San festival (as well as Culture Day, and the Emperor Meiji's birthday), and there were lil' ones wearing the (mostly rental) best. Props to them, as they were photoed to death. We saw the shinto ceremony in the shrine (well, from outside, anyway), I hung my own ema at the ema-hanging tree, and maybe a passing spirit decides to give me some of my wishes. Afterwards we had a bento picnic just next to aikido demonstration, then walked on by some other demonstrations till we reached what we were ostensibly there for: yabusame.

Yabusame is an old tradition, in some ways like a sport but more like an exhibition, i.e. no winners are announced, where horsemen gallop past three targets while shooting from the bow. At the said targets, of course. It's quite spectacular, if you disregard the long wait beforehand. They ride so fast that if you're not looking at the track all the time, you almost miss them. Afterwards we were taken to a pricy cafe, where we could get beer or a juice, and where soft-drinkers were rewarded by a piece of cake - and all we paid for the day was actually less than what our share cost in the cafe. The Japanese system is actually amazing, from my point of view: the students get subsidised by the senpai. The volunteer guides paid twice as much as we guidees, if not more. Thank you again!

Other than that, I'm a proud owner of the Gathering Storm! Finally!