My Living Quarters

A friend asked me for pictures of my studio so she can picture me in Japan, as now her image is of me sitting on pillows in a tatami mat room. Luckily, I am living in a very Westernized studio apartment. I have a small kichenette in which I've already managed to make a three course meal for two! Although, having one burner does make for a very long dinner with each course lasting as long as it takes me to make the next one (poor M must've been starving by the time I was done!). I also have a nice little balcony with a washing machine. People here don't use dryers so I have a clothing line set up so there's not really much room except for me to stand in a corner and get some fresh air while looking out at the city.

My neighborhood is interesting to say the least. I've already discussed the vending machines but there is so much more...

Every morning I can hear loud salutes. This is because about 3 blocks away resides the Hiroshima Police Academy. Thanks to my brand new camera with 12X zoom I was able to take a pic of them in training. Another bizarre thing here is the PA system. They seem to test that sucker all the time. Either that or they're saying something important in Japanese that I don't understand, but seeing as how I'm still alive and haven't heard of any bombing, I think they're just sending out flood warnings or testing the thing. And let me tell you--that thing is LOUD!

Then there's the other thing...Who knew I'd have to get all the way to Japan to reach Hollywood. I have never lived closer to Hollywood in my life! Parlor Hollywood that is.

This place is FILLED with gambling spots. The favored game is Pachinko. I'm not exactly sure what Pachinko is, I think it was one of the games place on The Price is Right but I may be wrong. Anyway, not only do I live down the street from "Pachinko" and "Parlor Hollywood", even closer--just one block away--is "Bull Dog" a "Casino Cafe".

Thank goodness there is a one block buffer from the bright shiny lights and my window. Actually, this works out for the best. As I still don't know the exact address of my apt building, I can just tell the cabbie--take me to Parlor Hollywood and I'm home. Never have I been so happy to see these neon colored lights as I was on Sunday night when we went downtown and decided to take the bus home (not knowing at which stop to get off). M and I are constantly wondering which one is more popular. I have decided that as experimental scientist, it is our duty to figure this out the right way--we go to all three and decide for ourselves. She's a bit reluctant, but I think I can convince her. Apparently, its illegal to actually make any money off the gambling, so at the end of the day, you exchange your chips for a sticky hand or doll or something (like those arcades you went to back in middle school). Except, you then walk to the building two doors down and "sell" your prize for cash! Well see how we do with the "prizes"--I'll keep you updated.

So another thing about Hiroshima, it is what M has called the Cleveland of Japan. While I disagree--I have not been able to find a more appropriate comparison thus far. It has a smallish downtown with sights (A-bomb related, of course). However, VERY few people speak English. While Japanese students are taught English as a regular course, like math or history, for 10 year, nearly everyone (who hasn't taken English outside of schooling) can speak a word. They can read and write, though.

Last Friday, I went out with a bunch of people from the Institute. It was a mix of ages and areas (physics, geology, sales). I sat with 5 rather shy Japanese men--all friends with H. I made the faux-pas of calling him H instead of K-sensei (since he's actually like faculty--so much more strict with the titles these people!). Anyway, after a few drinks, they all had questions. It was actually a lot of fun. While it took probably 10 times as long to get across what I was saying, it was great trying to make them understand and for me, it was great trying to communicate with the sukoshi nihongo (little Japanese) that I know. The women were a bit more shy and didn't come around until after about 4 beers. In the mean time, perhaps mostly lost in translation--I signed up to participate in an English class, attend a Japanese pottery class and Karate class and go out to Cuzco Cafe and El Barco nightclub! It was great, although I have a feeling that most of these offers were out of politeness and I took them up on it. Oops.

The place was actually really cool. It wasn't a restaurant, but it wasn't a bar either. Its this place where the primary reason you're there is to drink, but there's also food that's served. It was 10 different dishes (all incredibly yummy) and they were all small dishes to be shared--pretty much like Tapas, except they're served in a special order. Apparently, there are now tons of these places as they've become very popular and they all have different cuisine themes. This one was Japanese and we ate on the floor of a large tatami mat room. While everything was delicious, after beer, a grapefruit cocktail and sake, I was glad to see Parlor Hollywood.