The latest Journal Entries from Kendler at Footstops.com en-us Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:39:31 -0700 Copyright 2008, Bryan Rite @ Footstops.com Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:39:31 -0700 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 240 http://www.footstops.com/kendler/ As you can probably already tell from the title of this entry, the content is not for the faint of heart. Once a year, an otherwise remote and obscure town in northern Aichi-prefecture explodes into the frenzy of the Hounen-Matsuri, an annua... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/5601/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/5601/ Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:39:41 -0700 Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while might recall a particularly memorable entry (at least in my opinion) from March of last year, wherein I took part in a rather strange cultural ritual, namely, the naked man festival.... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/4503/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/4503/ Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:58:08 -0700 You may be wondering why I’m writing about snowboarding when it’s spring, it’s because I’m playing catch up again. I’m lazy, if you haven’t figured it out by now.  Aro... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/4349/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/4349/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:47:47 -0700 My apologies for the long hiatus between blog entries. As usual, due to my extreme laziness, I’m playing catch up and writing an entry about an event that actually took place some time ago. But I’ve got a pretty good memory, and some even b... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/3252/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/3252/ Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:40:52 -0800 The Japanese summer plays host to a number of massive outdoor music festivals every year. The following entry concerns the biggest of them. Taking place over two days in both Osaka and Tokyo the SummerSonic music festival attracts some huge ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2523/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2523/ Tue, 30 Oct 2007 05:31:55 -0700 The next stop on John’s great tour was a smallish town called Kurashiki. My plan was to arrive there in the evening and stay for one night, check out the sites of the city in the morning and move on to the next stop in the afternoon. I got... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2428/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2428/ Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:30:01 -0700 Although I was quite exhausted from my day of sightseeing in 37 degree heat, I managed to have an interesting evening on my first day in Hiroshima. While checking my email in the hostel lounge I was approached by a Japanese man who claimed t... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2286/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/2286/ Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:16:49 -0700 After about 13 hours of traveling I had finally reached the westernmost point of my journey, Hiroshima city. Getting off the train, it was just about as hot Nagoya, which is hot. In order to get to the hostel I had booked, I had to hop on a ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1945/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1945/ Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:29:33 -0700 Japan isn’t one of Asia’s cheap travel destinations, quite the opposite, it can be very expensive. This is evident in the cost of domestic travel. Cheap flights like those you might find in Europe are non-existent, the famous Shinkansen-... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1784/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1784/ Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:11:03 -0700 Up to now I have managed to get all my entries published in chronological order. I have however, been permanently backlogged, as I am lazy. I have now come to a point where I must skip ahead of some other events and publish one of my most re... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1377/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1377/ Sun, 15 Jul 2007 08:51:35 -0700 Perhaps the most highly anticipated time of year in Japan is early April when the Sakura, or Flowering Cherry trees come to bloom. The week and a half or so that the blossoms are in full bloom is called the “Hanami” (translated as “flo... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1099/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1099/ Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:29:16 -0700 About a month and a half ago I moved to a new apartment. My previous place, arranged by the company I work for, although adequate, was rather crowed and not particularly nice. I had mentioned to a friend that if an opportunity came up somewhere el... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1044/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/1044/ Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:40:24 -0700 On lists of Japan must-dos, attending a Sumo tournament usually makes an appearance. So, when some friends invited me to join them on an excursion to Osaka to see a traditional tournament I jumped at the opportunity. To sweeten the deal, a f... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/897/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/897/ Sat, 19 May 2007 10:54:13 -0700 Less than a week after the craziness of my first naked man festival experience, it came to my attention through a friend that there was another, similar event, taking place shortly. Opting to act this time as a purely a spectator (alomst), I heade... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/849/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/849/ Tue, 08 May 2007 04:49:18 -0700 My sincerest apologies for the huge build up and subsequent long wait for this next blog entry. I no doubt left you with high expectations; I hope I may live up to them.  I couldn’t quite decide what to ti... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/690/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/690/ Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:23:26 -0700 I've been to the California version of Disneyland twice, if my memory serves me correctly. Even so, when my travel-mates and I heard there was a Japanese version of the magic kingdom, we felt compelled to investigate. We set out bright and early ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/480/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/480/ Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:08:30 -0800 One unique thing about capsule hotels is that they required all guests to check out daily by 10:00am. This isn't a problem for most guests, as they are mostly businessman who are on one-night stays. But, for longer-term travellers like myself, it ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/442/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/442/ Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:10:51 -0800 Immediately following our monkey experience, Duffy, or, the "Duff Man" as I had begun calling him by that point, headed off to Tokyo, where he would soon end his Japan experience and I would meet up with some friends from Nagoya.  It occur... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/381/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/381/ Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:42:29 -0800 Just outside of Nagano city (a 40 minute bus ride followed by a 40 minute forest hike) is a famous place called Jigokudani Yaen-kooen. It combines two very popular attractions in Japan, namely, mokeys and onsens (natural mineral hotsprings). This ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/325/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/325/ Sun, 11 Feb 2007 06:26:58 -0800 After I had had my fill of snowboarding, I decided to try my hand at hitch-hiking the next leg of the trip. Soon after arriving in Japan I met a French student who had travelled all around Japan by way of hitch-hiking; he said it was a perfectly s... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/234/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/234/ Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:23:52 -0800 Next stop: ski town. Recall the 1998 Winter Olympics. From Matsumoto I caught a really cheap train ($10) to the ski town of Hakuba. This area, which features about a dozen different ski resorts, was home to many of the alpine events during... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/226/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/226/ Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:55:10 -0800 The day after hitting up Inuyama (which I discovered today literally means "dog mountain"), I set out early in the morning for a town called Matsumoto--about halfway between Nagoya and Hakuba, the ski town I was headed for. Matsumoto is ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/219/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/219/ Sun, 28 Jan 2007 10:50:09 -0800 So, after much delay I am back at work on the blog. My apologies for those who have been waiting with such eager anticipation for so long. We pick up the story in late December. Christmas was a bit different this year. As is... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/218/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/218/ Sat, 27 Jan 2007 09:21:19 -0800 Just a short, picture-free entry to tell a few really cool stories. Story #1 - The Japanese are honest people. You've probably heard people talk about the low crime rate and generally law-abiding culture in Japan, and let me tell you, it i... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/123/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/123/ Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:20:43 -0800 I have made a point of asking my students for travel recommendations for Nagoya and Japan in general. One site that repeatedly comes up is Nagoya Castle. Virtually every major city in Japan has one or more casltes, Nagoya is no different, except f... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/122/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/122/ Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:07:50 -0800 The exploring continued on day two of my first official weekend. Rather than borrowing my room-mate's bike again, I headed out to the department store near my apartment to buy my own. Buying a bike in Japan is not as simple as it is at ho... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/121/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/121/ Wed, 13 Dec 2006 01:41:55 -0800 On my first day off since starting work I decided I would be a tourist and do some exploring around the city. I grabbed my trusty tourist map and set out on my room-mate's bike. My first stop was a place called Tsurumai Park, which is a short bike... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/116/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/116/ Fri, 08 Dec 2006 06:16:42 -0800 I've now officially started working at my home branch. It is a smallish school in an area called Konomiya. It is a ways out of the city (about 40 minutes by subway/train from my house), and has alomst a country feel to it. It is much smaller and calm... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/100/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/100/ Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:36:15 -0800 On my second night in Nagoya, I had the pleasure of attending a "gaijin" party. For those who are not familiar, the term "gaijin" is Japanaese for foreigner; it's sort of like the equivalent to the Spanish "gringo". Offi... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/99/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/99/ Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:01:47 -0800 After a night in the hotel, I was met by another Nova employee who led me on to the next leg of my journey to Nagoya, the city in which I would be working (note the alliteration). I was on my own at this point, as the other teachers were all headed t... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/92/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/92/ Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:51:05 -0800 I left on Tueday November 14 on Air Canada Flight 35, direct from Vancouver to Osaka International Airport. The flight was a bit late in taking off due to a "clear fluid leaking from one of the wings". This fluid turned out to be water, or ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/90/ http://www.footstops.com/kendler/blog/90/ Sat, 25 Nov 2006 06:03:18 -0800