I can see clearly now (almost)

A little slow with this update but things are busy as always. The I’m a scientist get me out of here event is sucking up a fair amount of my free time at the moment. So many wild and varied questions from the quiz I’m loving it. I’m also learning a fair bit about physics in the process since I’m the only none physicist in the zone. Happily I’ve not been evicted first so fingers crossed I last the week (I didn't I got evicted today).

Right back to me then. Last weekend was pretty wild. It started with a trip to the hospital. As I’ve mentioned before I have a condition called kerataconus  (円錐角膜 in Japanese) that alters the shape of my cornea making it difficult for me to focus on objects. Well with a lot of help from a colleague I went to the hospital to get fitted for contacts to correct the problem. It was an interesting experience to say the least. My Japanese is getting better but I’m not at a level where I could explain my problems specifically enough or fully understand a Dr’s response so the help was pretty welcome. 

The little differences between countries are the ones that shock the most I think. In Japan eye charts are made up of circles with an opening at the top, bottom, left or right, rather than the alphabet we are used to. It took me a sec to click on to what was going on. Amazingly I could see down to the second bottom like once the lenses were fitted and focused, turns out my eyes aren’t so bad apart from being pointy. It was a real revelation. I had no idea just how much this was affecting my vision until I could see normally. I quite literally could not see the first line of  circles with my left eye. The nurse had to, rather adorably, hold up picture cards and move backwards slightly to test the limit of my left eye. I can’t wait to get my lenses in a week or so and see the world clearly.

So what else was I up to. Well after visiting the clinic I dashed onto a train bound for Osaka. I was due to go to a friends birthday party that night. Another first for me as there would not only be no guys, something I could handle, but no native English speakers either. 頑張ります。Actually my biggest concern was what to buy my friend for her birthday. I have no idea what Japanese girls are into. With a bit of help from some friends though I settled on a small chocolate cake.

We met up for a fun night at a 鶏肉　(chicken skewer) restaurant for a night of drinking and eating. It was good fun. Hadn’t seen my friend in some time and she was shocked how much my Japanese had come along. It turned out one of our party had spent a long time overseas so her English was amazing. In fact probably better than mine and we had fun chatting about the quirks of British English compared to the Americanized version most Japanese people are used to. Following that we went to, of all places, an Irish pub called the blarney stone. Well I guess it was St. Paddy’s day after all. The bar was chock full of rowdy English teachers and there was a wicked Ska band playing covers of current hits. Saturday was a great day all in all.

I ended up kipping at a hostel in Kyoto that night and met some wonderful people. Whilst staying at a friend’s would have been cheaper there is something to be said to staying in a hostel, you always meet interesting people. I got chatting with a lady who was visiting Japan from Spain. She was a massive Japanophile and her enthusiasm was infectious. It made me realize I really need to relinquish some of the jaded views I’ve been holding.

In the morning I had initially planned to head over to Arashiyama, the northern area of Kyoto, for the first time. Sadly I over slept and the weather was a bit rubbish so instead I went and explored the station.

I’ve written about Kyoto station before now but I can’t help but come back to it. I always come across something new in there. This time I took a meander along the suspended walkway that runs the length of the station. It’s even more impressive when you are up high. It also seems that this year marks 100 years until Doraemon, possibly one Japan’s most famous manga icons, will be born.

I should probably explain that. Doraemon is a robot cat sent back from the future to prevent a young talentless boy called Nobi Nobita from becoming a waster by his descendants. It is the most popular children’s manga ever penned and is essentially the Japanese Mickey mouse. To mark the clearly auspicious occasion a giant image adorned the steps of the west side of Kyoto station.

Since it would be mothers day the next day I decided to grab something for my mum and mail it back home. This was another first for me it’s not something I’d had to do before. Fortunately I was doing this in Kyoto so the clerks, used to tourists, were very patient and probably knew what I wanted without me asking. I hope you enjoy the tea mum. Now having lost time mailing the tea, and also searching for a museum that apparently no longer exists, I didn’t have much time left to go to Arashiyama. Instead I just decided to wander the streets of Kyoto a bit.

It’s easy in such an historical town to head towards the major tourist spots and not realize all the exciting things going on about you. Just a short wander from the station are many winding side streets with some surprisingly old buildings. Unless it’s a temple or a shrine you don’t see so much old architecture in Japan and especially not derelicts. In a country where space is at a premium, things are constantly being renovated and, on the whole, going upwards.

The general architecture of Kyoto is different to most of the cities I’ve experienced though. Nothing like the concrete jungle that makes Osaka, the streets are lined with quirky little houses. I love the slap dash nature of Japanese residential areas. Unlike Britain, where streets tend to be lined with more or less the same houses over and over again, Japanese vary wildly in shape, size and style.

It was nice to take a bit of time to look at my surroundings. I think now that I’ve been here a year I’m really starting to appreciate the smaller differences more. Even back home I’ve always been a massive people watcher and it was cool to take the time to watch people living their lives, wondering why they picked a house like that to live in and so on. After a wander and ponder I headed back to Osaka to play some Frisbee. It had been ages and to my happy surprise the team had grown thanks to some university students coming back home. Some of these guys could really play, leading to 3 hours of knackering fun that I’m still feeling now.

Mata neeeee