Yesterday, as usual, I was late in doing homework, but at least I had prepared my speech.  The assignment was to explain a photograph using phrases we had just learned (more specifically, noun-modifying verbal phrases).  In the textbook example we had a high school reunion picture explained.  Japanese grammar makes the sentences turn out like this: “Glasses is-wearing Mr. Nakamura-of-back is-standing man Mr. Tanaka is.” 

In absence of family photos on my work computer I used pictures from my visit to Kanazawa, which went like this:

The Kotoji lantern and the Kotoji lantern bridge in front of the Kasumigaike pond and the Uchihashitei tea house.

People come to take pictures…

…or to have theirs taken. 

Because the Kotoji lantern is so famous, it’s hard to get a picture of it without people on it. 

Sometimes you get the feeling that bridge is a catwalk! 

But you can also find quieter places.  These two are looking at the Kasumigaike pond…

…where a distant relative of the Loch Ness monster glides through the water.  Well, okay…

…it’s really a carp like this one.  The carp flock to you…

…but other animals run away. It isn’t only the fauna, though, that make the Kenrokuen beautiful…

…it’s also flora like this pine romantically growing over this stream. 

Whether from far away…

…or from close up…

…or reflected in the water, these pines are an aesthetic delight. 

The people in charge of the park take it very seriously, and it’s thanks to them that you won’t find weeds or grass where there ought not be any. 

No weeds.

No weeds.

Still no weeds.  (Of course, all the moss is intentional.) 

Water runs through almost every part of Kenrokuen, sometimes leisurely…

…sometimes rushing…

…sometimes rippling. 

Add to that the play of the wind in the trees and you’ve got all the makings for a peaceful park that heals the heart, don’t you think? 

I felt a bit like back in high school when I used color overheads to mask not having prepared well for a presentation on Martinique and Guadeloupe, and getting away with a positive review.  Unlike that time, though, I was talking about a place I love this time, so at least I had nice pictures and sincerity to make up for a lack of preparation. 

Two others presented, the Singaporean girl on her collie and the Vietnamese girl with the cute voice on a picture of her and five friends from university.  That presentation caused quite a stir because all her friends were young and attractive like her, so now half the guys are suddenly interested in going to Vietnam.  (In fairness, the Hawaiian had already been interested in going to Vietnam beforehand.)  The collie photo earned more excitement from the female half of the class, especially the Taiwanese girl with the big smile, who then showed me and the Cambodian girl photos of her dachshund wearing some red coat. 

For lunch the Hawaiian guy and I went to a Chinese restaurant that served some excellent niku-man.  He had to leave for work pretty soon, and I headed back to the school to do homework and chat with a guy from China who told of an Uyghur guy who was arrested in Uzbekistan by the Chinese police for having taken on Canadian citizenship while abroad. 

I had agreed with a friend, Mai, to meet for dinner, and called her after dozing and doing nearly all my homework.  Her work ended up going much later than anticipated, so I headed out to Shinjuku and hung out at Tower Records for a while, where I listened to CDs by the Link Quartet and Jabberloop (unfortunate choice of CD cover) and saw a crowd of people get excited over a live performance by ザ50回転ズ.  I quite enjoy their music but I have little patience for the goofy Japanese comedian antics.  The Link Quartet site seems to be lingering in limbo, but I found the Hammondbeat site that also runs a live365 radio with some funky hammond stuff. 

I headed out to Kichijoji, where we were to meet, and by that time it was closer to nine o’clock.  Mai had just boarded the train out from Tokyo, and I’d called my Hawaiian classmate in the meantime, because he lives in Kichijoji.  We went to a chain Izakaya and ordered the regular fare of cold tofu, shrimp sushi, gyoza, salad, and “steak.”  “Steak” means little grilled bits of meat, not one big grilled hunk.  The salad was an interesting combination of avocado, bacon, egg, and lettuce.  By the time we were done, it was after eleven, and Mai’s friend Miki was getting ready to leave the office.  Yes, Friday nights in Japan are something else. 

We checked the train schedule, and after discovering that I’d have to get on an 11:36 train and change four times to get home my classmate offered to put me up at his place.  I accepted, and so we went to the bar aptly named “alcoholics” for a drink to wait for Miki.  She hadn’t eaten, so we walked around looking for a place that was still open and finally found the Shirokiya, which is open until 5am.  At 2am I was fading badly; I think the only reason I can remember Miki’s account of having helped an NGO in Cambodia is because I spent so much effort to neither yawn nor nod off. 

My classmate’s apartment is barely bigger than my dorm room, and his having a futon under his bed sofa for guests in that small a room made me think I should look for a futon for my apartment when I’m back in Switzerland.  A double bed is nice, but not everyone appreciates sharing one.  And if he can stash a futon somewhere, then surely I can. 

It was almost like the sleepovers of yore.  Our conversation stumbled on, both of us lying down in the dark, until we both expired.  I had a few waking moments but only really regained consciousness around 10am.  We walked around the Inokashira park together and talked with a woman that belongs to a group of nature watchers who are concerned about the introduction of external wildlife in the park and the declining water quality.  Before we parted ways, we went to the Village/Vanguard homemade burger diner, where the Mississippi mud burger hit the spot. 

Back home, I ate the gold kiwi I’d bought (thanks to the good people at HortResearch) and took a nap.  At dinner, they showed the Asian Cup game Japan versus Australia.  Although the second half was entertaining, its highlights happened within a six-minute period: Aloisi scored a messy goal to put Australia up, Takahara scored a messy goal to equalize, and an Australian was sent off for hitting an opponent in the face.  At the end, Japan was closer to winning, but they couldn’t get the ball in. 

Oh, yes.  I wore the same T-shirt as before and got some more reactions.  A classmate asked if I liked Hello Kitty.  Not really, I said.  A girl stared at me in the Shinjuku station.  When Mai saw it, she laughed.  Miki said she was going to say it was cute, until she saw what it said and laughed.  The cashier at the Village/Vanguard laughed and said, “Kore wa omoshiroi desu ne” – “That’s funny, isn’t it.”  And an elderly guy on a bike going the other way gave me a dark look and said “Guddo rakku (good luck)” in a loud voice.  I wish I could’ve asked him for some elaboration, because I didn’t understand what he was getting at.  Any ideas?