Watashi wa Tokyo o des

my oh my, here i am in Japan! In the capital of Tokyo! Unbelievable!

but first, its been more than a whole week since my last blog report already; my-oh-my time flies; there is just too much to report on!

the reggae festival was great, it took place in a crater at the top of a hill on a cliff facing a beautiful ocean you could swim or surf on all day while the music rolled over the hill. Several thousand people were here, and the music had some excellent moments; though admittedly it wasn't always good, and they had really long delays between bands, which was a slight bummer.

It wasn't at all like I was expecting; i was thinking more jamaican flavor, but it was quite a trendy place - with a semi-trance vibe/crowd [minus the good things like a proper chill-out and chai tent].

it was really cool to see big reggae groups play that were nearly all from NZ. Made me feel positive about the talent in the country- some of these groups were very pro; like "the black seeds" who simply rocked it on the first night.

Leaving NZ was quite a mixed ball- on the one hand I was happy to go to Japan; it felt like the right thing to do. But another part of me didn't want to leave, and resented my willingness to abandon the place. The feeling was similar to being cut in two pieces... both halves momentarily incomplete; and now the part that was moved along with me has split-divided and grown to fill that hole I left behind... that part I left behind will grow on its own accord; but no longer within my conscious realm.

Leaving also makes my future unclear again; the longer I was staying in NZ; the longer I could avoid having to make [future] choices... now that the clock is running, and there are only a few weeks to go before I am in Amsterdam; my life seems to be materializing once again out of dream-land and into duties and new directions... that's never a simple thing.

It's only been 48 hours since I am in Japan, and already I feel like I have been here for weeks... I'm learning Japanese as quickly as I can... its impossible to write or read it- but fortunately speaking it is relatively easy and rewarding. I bought a book to learn with a dictionary in the back; and already I am making sentences and counting to ten; though admittedly i keep forgetting certain words and I have to keep refreshing my mind with what they are continually; its my full time job! any time I have nothing to do, I open my book and learn more japanese, there is no time to be bored here...
:-P

up at 7am; back home at 10 or 11pm; by days are full... i've already visited some stunning museums, played video games in mega-arcades, seen temples, walked down crazy streets, used a toilet with heated seats and a remote control, heard cars talk to me, watched lit elevators swoosh past me up 100 stories tall glass mega structures, walked sound proofed gangways meters above the lower-lights, watched classical NÕ/NOH theater...

Eating could be called a nightmare, or exquisite-depending on your mood; I am enjoying the challenge and experience quite fully. I've had weird un-sweet blobs on sticks served as desert with pickled horseradish-like plums. Purple glue-like triangles filled with beans, multi-colored pool balls that taste like plastic with various glue-like flavors, complex servings of vegetables and mushrooms with two types of tea [one for each hand] and an oat-like soup-dip complete with three spoons... its bizarre; eating is as a vegetarian is a serious chore, it takes me at least an hour each time to find a place willing to make me something I can eat - and even then I'm not always convinced I'm not eating something with meat or fish sauce... but; its just the way it is here; I'm doing what i can; and I'd rather risk my vegetarianism than go into Mac Donald - one big reason for being here!

packaging is ridiculous... imagine getting a bag of chips only to find out that each individual potato chip has been hand-packaged in plastic... but then imagine that each time you buy a bag of chips we put it into a another thick-paper bag; which we seal with a sticker, and then we put this present-like-package into another plastic bag... thats about the norm here...

I buy a pastry, it has paper around it, it goes in a box, the box gets a present-like wrapping, with a sticker, and then put into a plastic bag all faster than I can say:
ï-e [which means "no"] let alone "no thanks": "˜í-e kek-kõ-des".

Sigh, well at least i've bought my own chopsticks so i can refuse the disposable ones.

ï kappura da to o moymas!

sebastian