Sunny Seattle Summer

It’s summer in Seattle — there’s no time for silly things like work and responsibility. It’s sun time, and that usually means as many afternoons as possible spent at Madison Park beach, on the shore of Lake Washington. My other favorite location is the grassy area on the tip of Luther Burkank Park on Mercer Island.

The blues and greens in Seattle are even more vivid than I remember. It’s a welcome change from the constant summer haze that obscures what’s left of Japan’s natural beauty. And the amount of greenery in Seattle amazes me after a year spent in the concrete jungles of Japan.

Of course, the downside to all this green will come in October when the skies turn gray for the following nine months or so. All the more reason to leave my computer…

Keitai Shots

Now that I no longer have a camera phone, it’s time to start getting nostalgic about the one I always complained about in Japan.

My trusty little Sanyo took terrible pictures. Nonetheless, it did provide a collection of lo-rez memories of my year in Japan.

A New Phone

Being without a mobile for a week wasn’t that big of a deal — but I wouldn’t have wanted to go much longer.

After seeing all the crappy phones and interfaces that are currently being offered here in the States, I ended up going for small and simple — the Motorola V70 shown above.

After getting used to a camera-phone during my year in Japan, I had been shopping for a similarly equipped unit here — mostly for use in posting pics directly from the phone to this site. But all the models I saw were either too large, too clunky (physical design or interface), or just plain ugly. It’s still first-generation time here in the States when it comes to camera phones.

I was considering the Sanyo 8100, which is offered by Sprint, since I used a similar Sanyo in Japan. But although the 8100 was a bit shorter than the one I’d been using, it was noticeably thicker — to the point where the, um, pocket bulge would be too much.

It seems like most people in the States still carry their phones tucked away, out of sight, whereas in Japan mobiles have basically become accessories to be carried, displayed and in view much of the time. The cascades of dangly baubles just adds to the “notice-my-phone!” factor.

I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to do posts to this site from my phone, but glad to have gotten a small, simple, no-nonsense phone. I figure within the next year there will be more appealing camera phones.

On the subject of camera phones, Dan Gillmor has a few comments about some of the social consequences of the devices. He only scratches the surface, and his thoughts seem almost quaint to me after having lived in a society where camera phones are already so pervasive. I suspect there will be many more social problems with the use of camera phones in the U.S.

We may as well get used to the idea that visual recording devices will be everywhere before too long. The trick will be to use technology to offer solutions to counter-balance the invasive nature of this trend.

In the meantime, your ass may end up here.

A Civilized Culture, Eh?

As America continues along on its clumsy, reactionary path to the future, its northern neighbor quietly and confidently charts a different course.

Another plus for living in Seattle — it’s close to the border. Of course, any day now Canada is likely to be included on the U.S. government’s Axis of Evil list, and Bush will create jobs for the ailing economy through construction of a border wall that’ll put all others to shame.

A Night In Tokyo

Speaking of group shots, here’s one of a collection of amazing friends that I miss so very much already. Shibuya, 11pm on a Saturday night. One last coming together before half of us scattered to different parts of the world. Miss you all. And I promise to get the rest of the photos posted online soon.

Sharing Photos

A post by Tom Coates about cameras communicating with each other reminded me of something I was thinking about last week in Tokyo.

After an all-nighter, a group of about a dozen of us crowded together to take “morning-after” photos (still too happy to realize how wrecked we all looked). We asked a young girl who’d just stumbled out of a club into the morning light to be our photographer. Someone handed her a camera, and then another, and another — she ended up with half a dozen cameras lined up on the sidewalk beside her.

Later that same day, as we all wandered through Yoyogi Park at dusk, we passed a large group of students posing for a group photo. The designated photographer had more than a dozen cameras lined up in a neat row beside her. There were film cameras, digicams, phone cams, and disposables.

It’s already possible to share photos easily with phone cams, but the quality of those shots is not yet great. Wireless needs to be built into higher-quality digicams so one camera can be used, and then the shot sent immediately to any similarly-equipped, surrounding digicams.

Far better to share shots immediately than to worry about parking yourself back home at a computer, trying to remember who wanted what shot.

Korean Soldiers

While in Korea, on an overnight trip to Songnisan National Park, my friend, Jason, and I encountered a troop of Korean soldiers on a training hike. We met at the top of a mountain, on a rock formation that acted as a viewing platform for the surrounding countryside.

The soldiers pretty much ignored us until I asked if I could get a photo with some of them. Within seconds, we were surrounded by the whole troop.

Canadian Asahi

I bought a six-pack of Asahi Super-Dry beer at a Seattle supermarket tonight, and — it’s crap! Don’t be fooled by the label, it’s not the same beer that you find in Japan. The tiny print says it’s bottled by Molsons in Canada, where they apparently don’t leave well enough alone. So disappointing.

Hell On Earth

My second night back in the States and where do I end up? A karaoke bar. I fucking hate karaoke. This is some sort of punishment…

Leaving Japan

I’m at Narita airport, waiting for my plane to take me back to Seattle. Somehow, one year of my life has passed by in the blink of an eye.

I can’t remember how long I’ve just assumed I’d live in Japan one day. It seems like something I’ve always planned on doing. This country has been in my conscious since a very early age, when I’d hear stories from my grandparents of their lives here in the early 20th century. I grew up having scraps of Japanese culture, language and cuisine weaving a cord between me and an exotic country across the sea.

My first visit to Japan was in 1981, when I was 13 years old. Nortoriously unadventurous at that time when it came to food, I suvived on rice, seaweed and two trips to McDonalds. Despite my lack of culinary adventure, the trip left a huge impression on me and I’ve wanted to return every since.

And now here I am at the end of a year of my life lived in Japan. Despite being excited about returning to the States to see family and friends, I have mixed feelings about leaving after only one year. It seems too short a time, really, to come to any fair conclusions as to what type of place Japan really is.

And as I write this, I’m having trouble coming up with anything like a neat summary of my time and of my experiences here. My mind is kind of mush now after three weeks of being uprooted — traveling, as well as leaving one life behind and returning to another I haven’t occupied for a year.

So, no deep thoughts at this point. Only a mention that I know I’ll be back one day.

Okinawa

Today is our final day in Okinawa. The visit has been all about beaches — not much cultural touring. Three nights of camping, two on a beautiful stretch of beach with no other campers. The north part of the main island is beautiful, once you get away from the ugly sprawl of Naha and Okinawa City. Unfortunately, the architecture here is even uglier than in the rest of Japan — everything is built to look like a concrete bunker. The American military presence is impossible to miss, even on the more remote beaches as military planes and helicopters fly overhead at regular intervals. But it is still possible to find more secluded beach areas on the main island. Wish we’d had more time to get to some of the more remote islands. I could easily spend another week or two here.

Back to Tokyo this afternoon.