Ride that Bus: A Motivational Tale Told With Words

"I missed the bus"

- Kriss Kross

The only thing lower in quality than the items on sale at Wal-Mart are the people shopping there. But I don't mind. It's a big space with plenty of room for B.O. and secretive farts to wander far away from my snobbish nostrils. Now imagine all of those people crammed inside a small rectangular box. Place that box on wheels. Pencil in a door, and lastly install a row of windows so everyone rich enough to own a car can see that you don't. There are lots of kind-hearted, honest, good-looking folk who ride the bus, I've just never seen any.

But that's the bus in America. Now imagine a community of quiet obedient people in respectful clothing (minus the 50 year old in fish net stockings) transporting themselves through the town because there's too much snow on the ground. Welcome to 青森市/Aomori, a city in Japan annually averaging 233 inches of snowfall (compare that to Buffalo's 93.6 inches). Since I don't own a car, bicycling becomes my primary mode of transport. But when those snowflakes launch their attack, I look to my wallet to spring for a taxi or to my feet to traverse the whiteness. In other words, I stay home a lot. 

But being a new year, it's time to make an excuse for change. I thus decreed the time had come to ride the bus. Don't get me wrong, I've ridden a bus before. Talk about a mistake. You can study the kanji characters for as long as you want, but when no bus arrives at the time listed on the schedule, it becomes impossible (for an idiot like me) to know if he should board the next bus. See riding trains in Japan is a breeze. Each one always (99.9%) arrives on time, so one has just to use the departure/arrival times. Buses in Japan are punctual, but in the snowy horizon of Aomori all bets are off. 

Regardless, a cheaper alternative to access downtown was needed. For two years I had been wasting 1800yen ($20) on a taxi ride or trembling for 20 minutes in the cold to the nearest train station. It was worth the walk when the train was only ￥180, but when it increased to ￥250 for a one-way trip, the ￥300 bus seemed the logical choice. 

Thanks to a helpful friend and a fearless girlfriend, I was able to overcome my fear of buses. We began the process with the simple task of learning how and when to get downtown. We walked a mere 50 yards to the nearby Sakuragawa-Rokuchome bustop. Only one line feeds into it, meaning every bus that arrives is the one we want since conveniently they head directly downtown to 青森駅/Aomori Station. 

My Stop

It pains me to think how many times I forked over the cash for a taxi when I could have just hopped on the bus. Looking at the schedule below, it looks easy enough. But I was too scared of all the characters and the mysterious 4th column, which turned out to just state "weekdays" or "weekends/holidays." So once the basic characters were learned, it became second nature.

The Downtown Path

I'm happy to report that I'm riding the bus with ease. I take great pleasure of scaling the stairs in the middle doorway, grabbing my slip of paper, and sitting nervously in the back of the bus (I'm a minority) as I count my coins to make sure I have enough to cover the ever-increasing fare. But this is just to Aomori Station and back. Let's see how long it takes me to navigate myself to the cinema.

Happy bus riding everyone.

Edible Hand Warmers

With average temperatures hovering in the mid-20s (Weather.com), winter in 青森/Aomori is brutal. Luckily one Sunday afternoon I was able to escape the cold by boarding a heated bus. While my body recovered, my hands were so red and numb you'd think I had just administered a TSA pattdown on a snowman. Then to my surprise, a gift was bestowed. Two balls were quickly placed in the palms of my hands. Numbness subsided; warmth restored.

Metallic Spheres of Wondrous Warmth

Each ball had an aluminum foil wrapping and retained a family-sized helping of heat. But what lurked within the shiny silver skin of these heroic hand warmers?

the answer: sweet potato

When the need for heat expires, you aren't stuck with a blob of foil, you're rewarded with a savory morsel of orange-colored food! While in America many grow accustomed to greasy sweet potato fries and baked incarnations attacked by butter, on a winter's day a plain and simple sweet potato is a welcome festival in your mouth!

If you happen to be traveling in 青森市/Aomori City, be sure to make a stop at the green colored stand in front of the 青森駅/train station and for￥200 ($2.41) treat yourself to an edible hand warmer.

PS: Special thanks to Jaewon Yoo for introducing me to this warm and tasty concept!

LINKED UP: JAPANORAMA

My shoes are off (outside the house as well) to writer Steve Levenstein for effectively presenting Japan's onslaunt of quirky technological advances/backslides. Since May 2007, he has been piecing together fun-to-read posts about the latest gadgets and trends from square watermelons to a Steve Jobs action figure.

Pay a visit today to Inventor Spot's Japanese Innovations Writer page for Steve Levenstein and treat yourself to hoards of entertaining reads on mind-boggling junk (treasure).

Wanna get away?

As an American 先生 (teacher)  in 日本 (Japan), I'm sitting on a gold mine of social research. Ulterior motives aren't part of the curriculum, but whenever possible I zoom in on the personalities, thoughts, and opinions of 青森 (Aomori's) teenagers.
Next week, 2nd year students (10th graders) will fly to Kyoto for the annual school excursion. While Japan's ancient capitol offers a buffet of temples, it just doesn't seem to be worth the ￥150000　($1,785) price tag. Since many of our students will attend premier universities, I feel it's important to expose them to other cultures to prepare for a career in the global community.
Consequently, I was curious to when given the chance to choose the destination of the school trip, where students would wish to go. The students were told to be realistic in respects to time, cost, safety, and school policies. They worked in groups of 4 and were allowed to choose any destination, domestic or international, permitting they thoroughly explained their rationale.

It was interesting to see the reasons behind the proposed trips. For example, the chance to watch a soccer match was the prime motivation for venturing to Spain or the UK. Okinawa and Hawaii offered seaside relaxation. France offered style and culture, while many wanted Italy for the cuisine. If I heard the words pizza and paste one more time, I was going to run out the door and into the nearest Capricciosa. And you have no idea how many Japanese students are eager to bite into a Kangaroo.

Some groups were vague, citing only the country, while others were quite specific. One group chose Detroit to observe the American car industry while another selected Washington DC to take advantage of the Smithsonian Institution. But I'm still puzzled why Acapulco was pitched as a premier world heritage location to experience ancient civilization. I realize sand is old, but these kids just wanted some sun. I think there may be a few future used car salesmen in that class.

While the majority choose to go overseas, I was impressed with the groups adamant on discovering more about their own country. The students were able to think about school activities from an adult perspective while learning more about geography and culture. Though, in the end I think I walked away with the prize. I wonder if I can sell this data to JTB, HIT or any other Japanese travel agency?

Without further ado, below is the list of places in respect to popularity.

• 13.) Kyoto, Japan (1)
• 13.) Spain (1)
• 13.) China (Beijing) (1)
• 13.) Singapore (1)
• 13.) Kumamoto, Japan (1)
• 13.) Hiroshima (1)
• 13.) Nagoya (1)
• 13.) Mie (1)
• 13.) Mexico (Acapulco) (1)
• 13.) Canada (1)
• 13.) Egypt (1)
• 9.) Korea (2)
• 9.) U.K. (2)
• 9.) Kamakura, Japan (2)
• 9.) Osaka, Japan (2)
• 8.) Hawaii (3)
• 7.) Hokkaido, Japan (4)
• 5.) America (Detroit, Washington DC, NYC) (5)
• 5.) Australia (Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, Ayer's Rock) (5)
• 4.) France  (Paris) (6)
• 3.) Italy (Rome, Venice) (7)
• 2.) Tokyo, Japan (8)
• 1.) Okinawa, Japan (9)

***The number is ( ) represents the # of groups choosing that particular destination.
***Please note that choosing Kyoto was prohibited, though this didn't stop one group. In addition, although ***Instead of being listed as one country, Japan is broken down to individual locations.

***Hawaii is a state, it is being treated as a separate destination.