いらっしゃいませ

いらっしゃいませ　（Come On In!）

Hello friends and welcome to my blog. My name is Joshua Wheeler and for about one semester I traveled to Japan's frosty northern Island of Hokkaido. There I studied and traveled and made notes of the journey. The tales of my adventures and woes are all here on this site so pour yourself a nice hot cup of green tea and pull up a chair while you read the Redragon's tales of Japan.

For those who stuck with me and read all those posts, thank you. However, I feel like there's no point in really going on detailing past events or going off on Portland vs. Sapporo. Instead, I'm back in P.Town studying at Lewis and Clark Co. and studing for my B.A. degree. For this trip I'd like to thank 1st Lewis and Clark Oversea's program for offering the program; 2nd for Hokusei Gakuen University for hosting the program; and third my parents who helped me financially to go participate in this program... Thanks guys!

As for blogging, I've gotten some exellent experience in posting and writing. Someday I'd like to start blogging again, but I think i'll wait until I get a new idea or embark on a new adventure. Maybe on this blog you'll see a link to r3dinthailand, r3din(exotic country), or r3dsailingthepacific whatever it'll be, expect a new theme and a new blog detailing my adventures abroad. For now, I'm taking a break.

So to everyone... here's my blog... check out the links, the webalbum, previous blogs from Day 1 to now. See you around!

~Jya Ne Bye Bye

~Josh the redragon

*note: to view some posts you must have Asian characters loaded on your browser if you don't follow intructions at the (asian character's) promt in order to enable them.

More to say... the transistion back...

It's been nearly 2 weeks since my last post. I thought that there was really nothing more to say. To some extent I can't really post about *new* Japanese adventures, but most recently, people have asked what's the transition back like ?

Is it really different coming back?

Getting back in the swing of my original American lifestyle has been challenging in some ways and easy in others. Truth be told... I love America and everything about it. However, a piece of me wants to go back to Japan. The difference between the two places is really "me" (as in my place here verses there). In Japan, I'm a "Gaijin" or foreigner. I'm the minority, but it's not isolation. When you're abroad you can see America from a third point of view. It's like going into space to get a different perspective of earth. Somehow I enjoyed being somewhat of an American ambassador... I suppose that as I continue to live here I'll have more to say on the topic.

I've heard people here (in America) say that they feel like they're becoming the minority due to the increase of immigrants moving here. Perhaps that maybe, but it's nothing close to being the only white Amerikan guy on the train.

I don't want to forget everything I've fought so hard to learn and experience. In some ways Home feels foreign... I don't know why it does, but it does. If anything, I truly want to feel at home and I'm very happy to be home. I only hope that as I slowly unwind and transition back into Lewis and Clark, "American," college my day dreams about Japan and Sapporo won't distract me to much.

~J

P.S.
American T.V. has come to me as a great shock. To go from Japan's light hearted game-shows, cheezy drama's, and easy going news to America's crude talent shows, deep-seated dramas, and overly traumatizing news is something of an eye opener.

I'm back home everybody!

Happy New Years everybody… I’m happy to say that I’ve landed back in the United States. It feels good to be home.

A lot of stuff has happened between when I left you all and now. For starters, Tink and I went to Meiji Shrine on New Years and then the next day went and saw the Emperor of Japan! What an amazing trip it’s been.

I assume that everybody out there has read the little paragraph a the bottom of this blog…

“The adventure is not about people or places or culture. The adventure is what you make it when you're in the middle of it. Seize the day and make it your own. This adventure is about me in a world apart of my own. What doesn't happen is just a part of the adventure as what does happen... Life happens so make the best of it.”

From the day I wrote that, to today I still believe that everyone can have the same adventure as me. However, what of Japan? What of the Japanese? Have I learned any valuable lessons or skills while I was there? The answer is this…

Japan is one of those places that mystifies you with its rich mixture of old tradition and new technology. As soon as you think you’ve witnessed something so magnificent that nothing else could match its “coolness” you’re faced the next day with yet another sight that baffles the mind. I’ve learned that you cannot “do it all” and I have also learned that “you can’t do it all by yourself.” The friends I’ve made along the way have helped me learn just who I am and for that I want to thank them for their companionship.

Japan might seem like the a Far East Asian country that holds it’s secrets deep behind a developed wall of courteously and politeness. In some respects, that is true of them, but it is not who they are. What seems like a system of Honor and Politeness is in fact the result of years of training to be that way no matter what. If one finds a way to peel off that layer they’ll find a group of people much like us who face the same challenges as us and have very similar opinions as us. While it’s easy to call them “Asian” and “Orientals,” after living with them I think that they are more western then we think. In fact, Japan is very “western” and because they are very western (from their clothes to (most) their toilets) it wasn’t hard to adjust.

Like everything else in the world, the concept of “Westernization” is becoming more and more like “Globalization.” Globalization is the common standard of living from one 1^st World country to the next. However, Japan holds on to deeply rooted traditions that make Japan, Japan and not America. As an American I thought I knew just what was American and what wasn’t. I quickly learned that what I thought was uniquely American was really Globalization and what I thought wasn’t American I found out was. For example, upon arrival I searched out a bottle of Skippy’s peanut butter. Skippy’s I thought was so uniquely American that I knew it’d be hard to find, however Skippy’s can be found in most Groceries Stores. There was another case in which I stumbled over some corn dogs. I asked the guy what that was in Japanese and he gave me one of those looks like “are you crazy?” He told me that they call them “American Dogs” and he was convinced that it was an all American food. Things like that are what make up this “culture shock” that is sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Overall, I’ve learned more then a language, I’ve learned a culture. The adventure by far was a success because I kept in mind that, the adventure is what you make it when you're in the middle of it. Seize the day and make it your own.

~J out

Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and stuff

Hey... I was thinking about some big ole post detailing the adventure from City to City, but then I realized that it'd be better to post the pictures I took instead.

So for now (until I get like 5-7 hours of free time) check out "red's web album" (my photo site) for pics of the adventure Tink and I are on.

Thanks~

~J out

My first visit to Tokyo was something out of a Sci Fi film. I wasn’t expecting much other then a big city, what I got was something else.

Coming from Sapporo Japan (5^th largest city in Japan) I thought I knew “big cities.” Standing on the cold platform of Sapporo Station I wondered how much different this new metropolis they call “Tokyo” will be to my Sapporo. Riding the train out of the station made me feel a sense of loss as I went past familiar places and stations. I was leaving a home, bound for adventure in places I’ve never been before.

The train trip itself was nothing special. In brief: “farm…. Farm…. Trees…. Farm….. car…. Farm…. Tunnel…. More farms” Yeah… that’s the same Japan we all know. It’s a lot of farmland and housing. The Tunnel was cool though…. Well ok for about 2 minutes. This tunnel I speak of was the tunnel that connects Hokkaido to Honshu. It’s an underground tunnel that goes on and on. The cool thing about it is that it was created and that it’s there.

The whole trip lasted about ten hours with three neck breaking transfers (i.e. 4 min to get from one train to the other) and one really bad fish bento. The best part of the trip, however, was the last transfer…

Riding the Shikansen (bullet Train).

They don’t call this thing the bullet train for nothing. With its long nose and aerodynamically shaped hull, this puppy shot me down the east side of Japan at 201 kph (124.90 mph). Riding in a bullet train is like riding is like riding in an airplane. The stewards go up and down with snacks (you can buy) and the seats recline easily. What’s different is that, on a bullet train, there’s twice as much leg room, you’ll never have to turn off your cell phone or electronic device, you can call anyone from the on board phone (if you don’t have a cell phone), and on some trains there’s a vending machine. Yes… Japan has come along nicely. In fact, both tink and I think AmTrack could take a lesson from Japan!

Anyway the bullet train pulled into “Tokyo” “Tokyo des.” The excitement built up for me as I stepped off the train and onto Tokyo Station’s platform. My first visit to Tokyo was something out of a Sci Fi film. I wasn’t expecting much other then a big city, what I got was something else. I had to get from Tokyo Station to Gotanda station. Using the Yamanote loop line I got on and rode one of the most futuristic trains I’ve seen yet. On the outside these were just the same commuter trains you get in Sapporo, on the inside, however, there was two televisions. One broadcasted t.v. commercials and the other gave you a map of the Yamanote line and the precise time at which you would arrive at your station… AMAZING!

The city was big and full of lights and sounds that big cities have. The sectors of the city showed different sides of Tokyo’s attitude. “You could get lost very easily if you weren’t careful” I thought. There’s a side of Tokyo for everyone too ya know. There’s a historical side, an Otaku (anime) side, Electronics side, an American side, Euro side, etc etc. anyone can fit in here and get a job if they needed too.

Tink and I were to meet at the KFC outside Gotanda. Those that have been to our hotel before told me it was pretty easy to find… No joking either! There it was. It wasn’t a long wait till Tink arrived. We trudged along till we found the Ryokan (Japanese style hotel) and checked into our little room with tatami mats and a little bathroom and a little (separate) toilet.

The next day we toured the Ueno Park and walked around. Late that night we met up with our friend Alan who took us out for some dinner. We really appreciated that too! We look forward to our next time in Tokyo coming up soon (in a couple of days). Anyway that was a little taste of my adventure.

~J out

Merry Christmas from Japan!

Right now it’s 11:30pm and I can feel Santa making his rounds… even here in Japan. Before he comes however I’d like to say a few things to you all…

First Thank you for reading my blog for the last three and a half months or so… It really means a lot to me and for logging in and reading I feel that’s the best present of them all. Christmas in Japan is similar to America, in that it has all the hustle and bustle of shopping and good tidings, but I feel that it’s also different. I’m lucky to see Christmas from another point of view. It’s special in so many ways.

Christina and I are sharing a Merry Christmas here in Osaka, and so from the both of us

We would like to wish you all a...

Very Merry Christmas!!!

From Japan

I'm Back!

Yeah Finally I found a hotel with free internet! Ohhhh the stories I have for you all. The pictures... the tales... the everything!

But first I should tell you that Tink and Me met up in Tokyo and all is well with us now. We're safe here in Osaka, Japan. However... we're a little hungry from the train trip over.. After we get a little to eat and check out just where the heck we are I'll post all I can about the trip from Sapporo to Tokyo, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Himeji Castle.

So I'm back to Blogging however it is now "RedinOsaka." So check back in a little bit y'all!

~J out