Leaving Japan

It's hard to believe that it's already time to leave Japan. I've done a lot in seven weeks, but after spending 51 consecutive nights in seven different hotels, I'm okay with going back to the US now. My flight leaves in just under twelve hours, and I'll soon be going to Tsukiji for a final sushi breakfast before going to the airport.

Here's a picture of the view from our post-concert reception at the Hotel Pacific in Shinagawa:

Pre-Concert Hearts Game

... before Mahler 5, which went pretty well tonight! Tomorrow afternoon's concert may not happen, depending on how the weather holds up. We leave for Osaka on Monday, then Tokyo on Tuesday.

Brahms Horn Trio

I played in a chamber music concert tonight- Brahms Horn Trio with Eliko and Andrej. We performed in Naie, a small town about an hour and fifteen minutes from Sapporo. Here's a photo from our dress rehearsal.

More Baseball Pictures

... are here.

Fighting Ham, Hokkaido-style

Just one word: FUN!

..but here's the long version:

On Monday night, a group of about 30 of us from PMF trekked over to the Sapporo Dome, the local pro baseball venue, home to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Of course, even though the "ham" part comes from the name of their corporate sponsor (Nippon-Ham), it's preferable to introduce ambiguity and call them the Ham Fighters instead. (are they fighting on behalf of the ham, or against processed meats?)

The whole thing was really cool- much different from American Major League baseball. Each team has a section of the outfield seating allocated for their most dedicated fans, who wave flags and belt out songs and chants with military precision. In a way, it's all very courteous- you're supposed to let the at-bat team do the cheering and chanting, so everybody gets their turn to make noise.


Plus, there's better food- don't you wish that you could get bento box dinners at MLB games? For beer, too, they have a smart system- beer vendors (representing all of Japan's major breweries) roam the aisles with keg-backpacks instead of bottles.


To top it all off, the Ham Fighters won the game! Last time I checked, they were still narrowly in first place in the Pacific League (the Japanese equivalent of the AL, since they use a designated hitter).

Big Day of Baseball!

In about five hours, I'm off to go see Hokkaido's Nippon Ham Fighters try to hang onto their lead in Japanese baseball's Pacific League. We're planning to get cheap outfield seats- the noisy part of the stadium! Trumpets, drums, fight songs, etc.... If we're able to get tickets, I'll have lots of pictures to put up!

Until then, I need to do a whole lot of practicing- we start Mahler 5 rehearsals tomorrow. Yesterday's concert got rained out, so we had some unexpected free time. Fortunately, the reception went ahead as planned!

Kimono day

The Washlet

Lots of people talk about Japan's high-tech toilets, and these things are everywhere- even convenience store restrooms. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I sat down on a non-futuristic toilet seat in this country. The Washlet (sold by Toto, www.cleanishappy.com) accounts for the majority of the 2.7 million toilet/bidet/butt-washer toilet seats sold annually in Japan, and there are many models in their product line. The most basic is the Warmlet, which does just what it sounds like- a little unnerving the first few times, until you realize that the heat didn't come from the previous user. In cold weather, it's GREAT. The middle-range Washlet is the standard, equipped with a bidet, butt-washer, pressure control, and a giant stop button (perhaps the most important part). The high-end models also add a dryer, completely elimiating the need for paper, and some even have a lid that automatically opens when you approach, though I haven't encountered either of those features in the wild yet.

Time

I was thinking about perception of time last night after our Mahler 2 concert (which went very well- probably my most enjoyable Mahler performance experience). You ever had that feeling when you're so focused during a performance that you lose track of a larger sense of time? I think a lot of in the orchestra experienced this yesterday- after what seemed like not much time had elapsed, we were already well into the last movement!

In a way, my Japan experience has been a little like this. Lately, I typically haven't been aware of what day of the week it is (since that hasn't mattered as dates for hotel reservations I've had to make, or the number of days left before a performance). I also just realized the other day that I've now been in this country for a month! Similar to last night's Mahler, I've lost track of how fast this summer is going by.

Kaiten Sushi experience

Dinner tonight? Sushi, of course! I went to one of Sapporo's hot spots for sushi, a kaiten (conveyor-belt) restaurant in the big mall above the train station downtown. I'm not kidding about the "big mall" part- nine floors! The sixth floor was just restaurants, and even though I didn't know exactly where to find this particular place that everyone had recommended, the long line outside gave it away. People in Japan seem to have a limitless capacity for patience when it comes to good food... the length of the line tends to be a good indicator of restaurant quality. After maybe 45 minutes or an hour of waiting, we finally got seats at the counter. Definitely worth the wait, and the fish was all very fresh and reasonably priced, too!



Salmon and its accompanying roe (ikura) seemed to be the house specialty, though I finished up with some excellent unagi. Totally satisfying meal, all for 2362 yen (just under $25)- you'd never be able to get such good sushi for that kind of money in the US. (tea was included, too)

Convenience Stores

While there are some things that I wish were different about Japan (more trash cans in public places, yet somehow things stay pretty clean), the convenience stores here are way better than anything I've seen in the US. Whenever you need something, there's never too much of a walk required to find a convenience store close by. Second, they've got great food! Yesterday before this Strauss waltz concert, I was pretty hungry and had about half an hour to kill. Armed with the modest 1000-yen per diem money they'd given us for dinner, I thought about how great it would be to enjoy a small bowl of soup. Sure enough, I only had to walk one block to find a convenience store, where I got this perfect little bowl of soup (with vegetables and gyoza) for only 270 yen.



The vegetables were very fresh, and it smelled and tasted great! Try finding real food in an American 7-11...

Sapporo pictures

My Sapporo photo album is up! I haven't taken any pictures yet of the Sapporo Art Park, where we do most of our music stuff, but I do have a few pictures from around town. I've gone running a lot in the park across the river from our hotel, which was the center of the 1972 Olympics. The outdoor stadium (home of speed skating and the opening and closing ceremonies) and indoor stadium (hockey) are all visible out of my hotel room.

I've also got a few pictures from Odori Park, where we played a concert of Strauss waltzes, polkas, and marches last night, featuring principal players from the Vienna Philharmonic.

Please check back soon for more updates!

TV

I was on the evening news tonight in Sapporo! We had the opening concert for the festival this afternoon, and I guess a local TV crew was there. The whole event took a VERY long time, since all of the celebratory speeches for the festival's 20th anniversary were delivered in both English and Japanese.... The opening act was unquestionably the highlight, though- a local elementary school band. It was a little odd seeing this little kids playing so well and putting out so much sound- their band recently won second place in a national elementary-school competition! It made me think of that classic Marimba Ponies video (but considerably less caffeinated, fortunately).

Vending Machines

Suspicion confirmed – Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita, with around one for every 23 people.  They’re everywhere here, which is fortunate when I need to get my hands on a bottle of Pocari Sweat. (as many people have wondered before, what is a pocari, and what’s so great about drinking its sweat?)