"Now I See Why You Love These People"

There are always those moments in life that if someone were to ask you "where were you when blahblahblah happened?" you would remember as if it were yesterday. In my life I have a couple, the moment I was told my father passed away, the 1987 Tornado in Edmonton, September 11th, and now March 11th, Higashi Nihon Daishinsai/The Great Earthquake of Eastern Japan. I wanted to blog about this just as much as I didn't want to. I am not Japanese, nor am I living in Japan now so in a way I feel like I have no right to comment on how I feel regarding this incident, how could I know what it is like to go through something like that? The truth is, I don't know.

Here is what I do know. It did affect me. I had just come home from a great night out, checked Facebook saw a friend's (a fellow lover of Japan) status as "NO JAPAN NOOOOO!!!!!!!". This prompt me to look up the news online, there was something about a large earthquake and so I turned on NHK cause I knew that it would turn to news if it was big enough news. I didn't need to turn it to the Japanese Channel, all the English Channels had news coverage on it. I watched in horror the images of the earthquake and then the tsunami as it's black waters tore through the land, people just watching, unable to do anything. I was numb. The days that followed had me glued to the news and to the computer, checking e-mails and facebook status to get any information about friends who are in Japan.

I was left thinking how could a nation come out from something like this? and then I saw a commercial for the Shinkansen in Japan and it brought me to tears. (granted there were many other things compounded, but that was the proverbial straw) Although it was a commercial, it was also a message for those in the north to hang in there, the rest of Japan is supporting you, we are all in this together. After that all I could see was the strength of the Japanese Spirit. They are one of the only people out there that I see try to smile while surrounded by tragedy. Here in Canada, I see people busking in the streets to raise money for Japan, in the stores I see donation boxes, at school I saw several fund-raising activities and messages for Japan. On facebook, I read friends statuses on how things are in Japan for them, how they are helping, how others are helping them. There is so much solidarity! My mom came to me one day after reading some of the links I shared with you here today and said to me "I never understood why you were interested in Japan, now I see why you love these people"

I am here in Canada, and I have never felt so helpless. But I look around and I can see people doing their part in helping which often is something as simple as a little prayer, good energy, voice of support whatever you want to call it. All I can do now is give my words of support and I ask you do the same. It will be a while before Japan can recover, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will.


Today I came across this: Slow Motion Dancing for Japan. I link it because I like and agree with Genki Sudo, "WE ARE ALL ONE"

The unprecedented disasters unfolding in Japan; earthquakes,
tsunami, and nuclear explosions, will somehow change things to come.
And to send my message about this, I have expressed it here with WORLD
ORDER.
These disasters can be interpreted as a turning point for civilization.
I think that we have arrived at a time of revolution, shared with all
the people of the world, in today's society, economy, and political
systems.
Incidents themselves are neutral.
I believe that every single one of us, wandering through this deep
darkness,
can overcome anything, if only we let go of our fear, and face the it
all in a positive light.
The world is not going to change. Each one of us will change.
And if we do, then yes, the world will be changed.
It is darkest right before the dawn. Let's all rise up to welcome the
morning that will be so very bright for mankind.
WE ARE ALL ONE

Genki Sudo

For more videos from Genki Sudo and World Order:
http://worldorder.jp/video/

Fat and Blue in Japan

Back in the Chrsitmas of 2008, there as a cute little video that I stumbled upon, or that it stumbled upon me.... ok ok so I had it sent to me by various friends until I actually watched it. "Christmas in Japan" as far as I could tell became very well known in a short span of time and in an equally short span of time, it was forgotten like a one hit wonder.

Where did this song come from? Who did this song come from? Where their more songs? Believe it or not these questions plagued me until I got off my lazy rear and started doing some research.

Turns out the song was created by Fatblueman which is headed by a Canadian, John, living in Japan. They have been creating, singing, and preforming in Japan from about 2008 and have their own album out, which if I remember correctly was free to download from their site. (I swear it was free!)

They have a sound that I find reminds me very much of my childhood and of my home, perhaps it is because the leader is Canadian, but regardless I found that they have a warm, friendly and upbeat feel good style that I love. And it doesn't hurt that they have a rendition of Mary Mack! (though their live performance at Blue Note in Nagoya was much better I think.)

There was one song that really stood out for me. Just Don't Forget About That was written back in 2009, shortly after Christmas in Japan got it's fame. The song is a conversation between a father and his son, teaching his son about compassion for the downtrodden and homeless. The lyrics are meaningful and touching on so many levels, reminding us that we are all the same, "the light that's in you, its in them too." There is a new version which is a duet using both English and Japanese.

Many things have made me come to respect this group and their work and I am sad to see that they have disbanded (with members following their own paths). I wish them nothing but success and happiness in the future, and hope that we will get to hear from them again.

Joseph Tame's Tokyo Marathon

I don't care for running, in fact you will only find me running to catch the bus or if there is promise of something yummy, like a cookie. But I am not unfamiliar with the concept. My mom for many years was an avid runner and would often share with me her stories of difficulties and triumphs. I remember she once ran from her office downtown Edmonton to our home in St. Albert (a city just outside of Edmonton) just for the fun of it. But I digress this post is not about her.

A couple of years back while I working on Nandeyanen, I met Joseph Tame not in the "Hi nice to meet you lets shake hands" kind of way, but by the power of the internet. Apparently he heard our podcast and I guess liked it enough to mention it in his. Personally I was thrilled, mostly because Joesph seemed to be someone who was up and coming and I knew I should keep an eye on this guy cause there was bound to be some great things happening around him. Turns out, I was right, Joseph is running the Tokyo Marathon this year. Now if that is not "great" enough, he is running it while strapped into a rig of his own creation, the iRun.

The iRun will allow followers to virtually run with Joseph during the 2011 Tokyo Marathon, which by the way is just around the corner, and pretty much see everything he sees without having to leave the comfort of your own home. Pretty cool eh? So 42.195 km ran without breaking a sweat.

As the marathon gets closer more and more people are taking notice of Joseph and his iRun contraption. In Japan he has landed headline in Yahoo Japan, a story in Time Out Tokyo, and a T.V. appearance on Yokoso 9ch. In The U.K he was on BBC radio as well as an article in The Metro. Online you can find stories about him in engadget and DVIC amongst others. Youtube has a collection of videos of Joseph and his creation, there is also one documenting his early planning stages. And if you want to really go back, here is Joesph in last years run, not to mention last years Ustream.



For more info on the Tokyo Marathon:
http://www.tokyo42195.org/

Why "beer and sushi"

I have taken a page out of Lisa-chan's and Tom's book and decided to blog, mostly to stop spamming my friends walls with my status updates and not so random posts about Japan. Lisa and I use to head up the Nandeyanen Podcast about all the interesting things we found while living in Japan. Sadly time restrictions made it almost impossible for us to meet up and do the weekly podcasts, however; we still have it on the back burner of things we really want to do.

So why "Beer and Sushi" well if there is something I remember about my days in Japan, it was the many nights eating sushi and drinking beer at any one of their many wonderful and inexpensive restaurants. That is not to say that Japan doesn't have other things to offer, because it certainly does, but usually after a long day of checking out some amazing cultural site we usually ended up at some food place eating Japanese food and drinking beer.

Let me just say that this blog will have nothing to do with sushi or beer.... OK it might. But mostly this is a blog to share the many wonderful and unusual things that are Japan, and to look at how foreigners find their way to fitin and live in a society where blending in is a way of life. So I hope you enjoy!