Japan - Day 6 - Harajuku

Richard and I didn't see Ezra at all last night.  The two of us got back from Shibuya a little before 1am and Ezra was already asleep.  We had a great night in Shibuya wandering around between restaurants and bars taking in the Tokyo night scene.  We also stopped in at a photo booth called a purikura.  

This is what came out.

We left the apartment at noon today and got gyudon for lunch.  

Gyudon means beef over rice.  Every lunch place that we've eaten at so far has been bar style seating.

After lunch we met Alice outside the train station.  Alice is an Italian student at Waseda University and we asked her to show us around Harajuku.  

The first thing we saw after getting off the train at Harajuku was the Rockabillys.

The Rockabilly's are a group of middle aged men who show up at Yoyogi park (neighboring Harijuku) every Sunday dressed up like 50's rockers and dance all day.  Richard got some video that we'll post soon.

The main entrance to the shopping streets at Harajuku.  Crowded...

Crepes are one of the staples or Harajuku.

Some sort of Japanese punk style...

Ezra and Alice acting cute.

And Richard Swift (known as "Swifty" to his hockey buddies) found his shirt!

Ezra just now realized that Japanese clothes are too small for him.

A t-shirt vending machine!

On the main street in Harajuku.  

After shopping the four of us went to the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park.

Richard wrote out a prayer at the Shrine for safe passage on our trip.

Resting...  It was a long day of walking.  But I'm sure that as soon as we are sitting in a car all day we'll wish that we could walk.

Not very word heavy today.  We're all pretty tired.  Here are a few more pictures from Yoyogi park for your viewing pleasure...

And thanks again for showing us around Alice!

- Jack

Japan - Day 5 - Ebisu and Harijuku

Day 5 in Japan started out slow.  Ezra had plans to meet his host family in the early afternoon so Richard and I were on our own.  We had planned the night before to sleep in and take an easy morning.  

Sleeping in didn't really work.  Richard woke up before 9am and went for a walk and breakfast.  When he got back to the apartment he instantly fell back to sleep on the tatami mats.  

I've grown accustomed to keeping track of time on my phone and so I haven't worn a watch for the past eight years or so.  I knew I wouldn't have my phone in my pocket for most of the trip and I had meant to get a watch before leaving the States.  Of course, I forgot.  I bought this G-Shock in Akihabara.  And as you can see, it wasn't until after noon today that we left the apartment.  

This is Hena in the elevator with Richard.  She's Ezra's good friend from Waseda University and our hostess.  She and Mihi rent the apartment that we're staying in.

Hena at the kaiten sushi restaurant we ate lunch at.

Kiaten sushi is "belt" sushi.  Similar to the U.S., but with some key differences.

Any specialty dishes that you don't see being delivered on the conveyor belt you can order from a TV monitor that sits above every bar stool.  Thirty seconds to a minute after you order your sushi shoots over to you on a small automated sleigh.  When the sleigh makes it to you it will beep at you until you take your plate and push the button to send the sleigh back to the kitchen.  

The white track above the belt and below the monitors is how the sleigh travels back and forth between the kitchen and customers.

After lunch Richard and I said bye to Hena and hopped on a train for Ebisu.  Hena suggested that we visit a beer museum there.

We don't have a lot of pictures from Ebisu because it was raining.  We didn't find the beer museum and ended up wandering around for an hour or so.  We eventually found a Starbucks which we used as a rain shelter.

After Starbucks we caught a train for Harijuku.  I've been excited to see Harijuku ever since we got to Japan as it's the fashion capital of the country.  Because of the rain we weren't able to see many of the extreme styles that Harijuku is known for, but we're heading back tomorrow.  Hopefully it won't be too wet to take pictures.  These are a pair of shoes that I liked at Comso Napoleon.  Next time you see them might be on my feet.

 

Both of us were soaked by the time we made it back to the apartment at Takadanobaba.  We need to do like everyone else does in Tokyo and carry an umbrella with us at all times.

A quick afternoon snack before dinner.  Ezra is busy tonight so Richard and I are going out for dinner and drinks in Shibuya with Hena and fifteen of her friends.  Hopefully some of them speak English...

- Jack

Japan - Day 4 - Shibuya and Ramen

Just got back from a short-ish day out.  Richard has been waking up at 5am or 6am.  We can't figure out if it's from jet lag or the heavy traffic outside our window.  I have been waking up with Richard but going back to sleep when he leaves the apartment for his morning walk.  Ezra has been sleeping in to between 10am and noon everyday.  It's working for now, but we're going to have to sync our schedules in the near future.

Today Richard woke up at 8am, I woke up at 9am, and Ezra woke up at 10:30 or 11am.  We took a long morning and caught up on some logistics and emails.

Then we headed out a little after noon to eat at Ezra's favorite ramen place.

Waiting for food...

Spicy miso broth and pork.  You're supposed to slurp the noodles up as quickly as possible.  It helps cool everything down before it reaches your mouth.  We meant to get a picture of us with noodles hanging out of our mouths but we were all too busy eating.  Everything we've had here so far has been delicious!

Richard always eats everything he's given.

After ramen we went to Shibuya.  This is shopping a big shopping/commercial district.  Shibuya is where the Japanese equivalent of Times Square is situated.  We're gonna go back to the famous intersection on Monday to shoot some video.

Everything is built up in Tokyo.  This is from the outdoor staircase of the sixth floor of a guitar shop in Shibuya.

Ezra on the fifth floor.

I asked Ezra what these funky little cars were.  He had no idea...

 Found some tire marks left by someone doing donuts in the middle of one of the busy intersections.  Wish I got to see the car doing it!  Heading out for drinks at "the Hub" now.  Japanese people drink a lot... or maybe it's just Ezra's university friends here.

- Jack

We have all arrived safely into Tokyo with all our equipment and luggage and have settled down with Ezra's friends Hena and Mihi on their apartment floor.  (More to come on Hena and Mihi).  Yesterday we started our exploration of Tokyo with our trusty guide Ezra. On our list of places to visit was the Emperor's palace, the headquarters of Subaru, and the Shinjuku district.   

Here's Ezra ordering from his favorite bento spot.  We are lucky to have a member of our group who has lived in Tokyo Japan for over a year. Ezra has been taking us to his favorite eateries around the city for lunch and dinner, and each place has been different and tasty. To be safe, I always choose what Ezra chooses because my past experience of just picking a dish has led to some interesting meals. 

While we were eating lunch there were two girls at the park with us blowing bubbles to entertain themselves.  I tried to pop one when from out of nowhere Jack was flying through the air and swatted it first. This made me quite sad, but through hand gestures I conveyed my desire for more bubbles. I may also have yelled the word "more" which was met with both confusion and understanding (and lots of giggles).  

After lunch we took the train to the Imperial palace in Tokyo and walked around the gardens for an hour. The walls around the Emperor's residence were high and steep to prevent us from seeing inside.

The long walk took it's toll on our tour guide, who had to pause to nap for a minute before we could continue. 

At the palace we found a photo opportunity with a very small part of the Tokyo skyline in the background.  It's really interesting and striking seeing the Imperial palace surrounded by the huge cityscape that is Tokyo.

Jack performs his first back flip of many on this trip while we were in the Emperor's garden. 

Next we headed to Shinjuku and stopped at the Subaru headquarters.  We were hoping to see some of Subaru's most famous cars on display but were disappointed to find only a legacy wagon.  We did get some directions to their "historic" show room.  That's for another day and another post.  

Ezra is teaching me Japanese one letter and one day at a time. This character means (if I remember correctly) "to go into" but only because of the surrounding characters, and means something entirely different with another set. 

Ezra looking classy while sliding down the railing.

Me not being classy while sliding down same railing.  

And here's Ezra laughing at my technique.  

This man is selling cats on the street. There are restaurants in Japan that give you a cat to pet while you eat, I don't know if your allowed to bring your own though.

There are a lot of stores selling all sorts of products in Shinjuku, it is like a massive outdoor shopping mall.  There are also quite a few "massage" parlors.  Not quite our thing though...

Heading to Shibuya and Ezra's favorite ramen shop.

- Dick (Richard)

Visa Fiasco Pt. 2

Somehow Travisa decided to ship my passport and visa to Richard's house in Colorado with no instruction from us to do so.  At 6:00PM (MST) on Saturday Richard's little brother had to hop on a plane from Denver to Portland to deliver my passport.  Michael saved our trip!  Thanks Michael.

Hopefully Travisa will make up for their mistake with us.  If Michael had not been available to fly out to Portland it would have cost well over $800 to have FedEx deliver the passport to Portland at 4am Sunday morning.  If that had failed and I missed my flight to Japan as a result, it would have cost another $2,000 or so to book another plane to Japan.

But everything worked out.  $550 for a round trip ticket from Denver to Portland.  I got my passport and visa in time and Richard's brother got a free vacation out of it.

We're in Tokyo now.  We'll get some video up of our flight, etc. soon.

- Jack

Visa Fiasco

Another countdown post because I think it's the best way to tell these stories:

Three years ago Ezra and I knew that visas would be one of the many hurdles that we'd have to hurdle to make this trip happen.

One year ago we started researching.  We would need a double entry business visa for Russia and an invitation for the visa.  Mongolia also required a visa: 60 day tourist.

Three months ago we found out that we could only apply for a Mongolian visa within 60 days of entering the country and a Russian visa within 45 days of entering the country.  60 days before entering Mongolia and 45 days before entering Russia fell on nearly the same date and were within one month of leaving for Japan.  So with less than a month before getting on the plane for Japan we had to start the visa process for two countries, both of which would take more than two weeks.

Six weeks ago we started the application process for a second U.S. passport.  We'd send one passport to the Mongolian Embassy and one to the Russian Embassy to start the visa processes simultaneously.  Meanwhile Richard and I were confirming the visa application process on the Mongolian Embassy's website.  Richard found a statement on the site saying specifically that a visa is not necessary for a U.S. tourist in Mongolia visiting for less than 90 days.  I found a statement saying the opposite.  Both clearly written on the Mongolian Embassy's website.  We called the Embassy's multiple phone numbers to no avail.  The phone numbers listed on the Embassy's websites did not work!  Dial tone every time we called.

Five and a half weeks ago we cancelled the application for a second passport.  Richard confirmed (I forget how) that we did not need a visa in Mongolia.

Four weeks ago when we entered into the 45 day application window we sent our passports to Travisa, a passport and visa service within the U.S.  They would apply for the invitation and visa for us and ensure that we got everything in time.

Three weeks ago.  Richard got a call from Travisa telling him that my passport was rejected because it expires in February 2012.  Not too much of a problem.  We still had time, but Truvisa had to send my passport in for a rush renewal which cost a few hundred dollars.

Two weeks, four days ago I got a call from Travisa.  My passport was rejected at the State Department because according to them I was under 16 when the passport was issued.  I would need to apply for a new passport instead of a renewal.  I double checked my passport photocopy, I was 19 when the passport was issued.  The Travisa agent I was working with, Ruthe, confirmed this with the original passport.  The State Department made a mistake.  Now we were cutting it close!  But no problem according to Truvisa.  Ruthe was very helpful and spoke with the State Department to sort out the issue.  I could still get my passport and visa back by Friday, June 10th, two days before leaving for Japan.

Two weeks three days ago I was paranoid and called Ruthe to confirm that the visa would make it to me by June 10th.  Yes it would.  I also confirmed the shipping address in Portland.  Over the next two weeks I confirmed again and again via email and phone that I would have the passport and visa on time.

Two days ago, Thursday, Ezra's passport and visa arrived in Portland from Truvisa as planned.

Yesterday, Friday, Richard called me to say that his passport arrived in Fort Collins, as planned.  After I got off the phone with Richard I called Truvisa.  Yes, my passport and visa were in their office and they were sending them FedEx overnight to me.  I went to be relieved that I only had to worry about FedEx losing the package (very rare for overnight deliveries).

Today, AM, I find a FedEx package on the doorstep.  Open it.  No visa or passport.  It was a last minute order from Amazon.com that I had overnighted (Amazon Prime is the best!).  Now I'm a little worried because I assumed that FedEx would deliver all their overnight packages to one address at the same time.  But I figured I'd wait an hour or so and see what happens.

Today, 12:09PM, I receive a text message from Richard's dad in Fort Collins, CO.  It reads:

"Your passport is here, but [Richard] left.  What now?"

WTF!!!


More to come...

-Jack

We Bought A Car!

...it's a forester.

Three years ago I heard that older cars were extremely cheap in Japan.  I did some research (read: google searched "car export japan") and found japan-partner.com.  Sure enough, ya!, cars were dirt cheap in Japan. Subaru STis that would sell for $18,000 in the U.S. were listed at $4,000!  What was going on?!? Another two minutes of googling told me that renewing vehicle registration (Shaken) on older cars in Japan could cost as much as half the original price of the car.  It was much more economical to sell the car to an exporter at a rock bottom price and buy a new car than to renew the registration.  The exporters would then ship the cars off to China or Russia where well-built Japanese cars were in high demand.  This is how and why we decided to start our trip in Japan. Cheap cars (cheap cool cars!) made the trip doable.  From then on we took it as fact that de-registered used cars in Japan are cheap and that we could buy them and drive them out of the country.

Twelve months ago we knew that our entire trip hinged upon us buying an inexpensive but capable and reliable car in Japan.  I also started to realize that we hadn't done any real research on how and where we could buy a car. Ezra and I did some more googling and sent some emails to a few of the exporters with big online storefronts.  We assumed that a large and official looking online presence meant efficiency, professionalism, and trustworthiness. A few weeks went by with no response and we sent some follow up emails.  Then some more follow up emails.  And some more.  Eventually we stopped sending emails and forgot about the whole thing.  We focused on funding the trip and school.

Six weeks ago we realized that we had less than two months before we stepped off a plane in Japan.  We still didn't have a car waiting for us.  We still didn't know how to buy a car in Japan.  We didn't even know if we could buy a car in Japan.  We put me in charge of the car and so I did some more googling. But this time it was personal...  Literally.  I stumbled (not literally) onto an online forum consisting of everything related to importing Japanese cars into Canada. There was a large section dedicated to Japanese exporters.  I ignored all of the big companies this time (and rightfully so - I later found that most of the big companies misrepresent their vehicles because there are almost no ramifications for them when the customer complains that the car they received looks nothing like the car they paid for AND the engine is blown, etc.).  I found two guys who ran their own exporting companies out of Japan.  They both came well recommended by the online community of Canadians whose reviews I was browsing.

Five weeks ago I sent two emails, one to Mark and one to Steve, both of whom are exporters in Japan.  After exchanging some emails with each I decided to go with Mark.  When I was explaining our situation and the difficulty we were running into with registering a foreign car (see my next post detailing the nightmare that registration has been and is) Steve gave a definitive "no you cannot register the car under your name" while Mark said "it's tough, but I've done it before."  That was the deal breaker for Steve.

Three weeks ago we wired a $1,000 deposit to a Japanese bank.  We hoped that we hadn't just sent a thousand dollars to a scammer sitting on a couch in some other part of the world.  It's hard not to trust Mark's New Zealand accent.

Two weeks ago at 8:46PM Mountain Time we got an email with a link to a 1998 Subaru STi sedan that was up for auction.  Low miles and great condition. We told Mark to bid on it and gave him a 500,000yen maximum.

One weeks and six days ago we found out we didn't win the STi.  We twiddled our thumbs for another 12 days.  Note: we didn't actually do much twiddling. We were busy with passport photos, overnighting visa applications, more passport photos, graduating from college, moving out of our respective houses in Colorado Springs, sitting through eight hours of ceremonies at Colorado College, driving back to Portland, Chicago, and Fort Collins, and in general, putting our lives in order before we leave the country for six months.

Yesterday evening I received this email from Mark:

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Hi Ya,

Hope you are well.

The following are up for auction tomorrow which have current shaken.

I realise you only want one, I can try on all three of them in the hope to secure one so please let me know the amount you want me to try up to per vehicle.

Cheers

MB.. 

2000

Forester S/Turbo 5spd

100km's

Electric's, A/C, Alloys.

Grade: 4.0 - LH Door Key Cylinder Broken, Alloys some scuffs, Rear Hatch has some dents, LHF & RHR Door has minor dent, body has some minor car park dents/scratches.

2000

WRX Hatch STi 6spd

96km's

Electric's, A/C, Alloys

Grade: R (accident/repaired rear) - Hatch & Rear Panel Changed, Alloys have scratches & center caps missing, body has some scratches and car park dents.

1999

WRX Hatch 5spd

106km's

Electric's, A/C, Alloys

Grade: 4.0 - Consol Lid Missing, Some Minor Car Park Dents/Scratches, Bumpers have some minor scuffs.

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We skipped the WRX and asked Mark to bid 500,000yen on the STi and 400,000yen on the Forester.  The STi would come up for auction first so if we didn't win that Mark would bid on the Forester.  

Today (well yesterday because it's now well past midnight) at 8:45PM I got this email:

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Hi Ya…

You online….?

Yes…. got the Forester.

Cheers

MB..


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HURRAY!  FINALLY!  I was so excited when I read that email.  I was secretly hoping to win the STi but in the end, the Forester will be better.  I just got off the phone with Mark (Skype).  We ended up winning the car for about 150,000 yen which is less than $1,900 USD.  With all the registration fees it will be close to $3,000 but we were expecting to pay between $5,000 and $7,000 so this car will free up some money in our budget as well!

I'll leave all the details for a later post but the car we won is a 2001 (2000 in Japan because their model years work differently than ours) Subaru Forester S. It's a 2.0 liter turbo engine that wasn't available in the U.S.  Pretty cool.  I can't begin to describe how relieved and excited I am.  And tired.  Talking to Japan during their business hours means I'm up late in the U.S.  More to come on the vehicle registration nightmare, trip equipment/gear, passport/visa fiasco, a detailed post about the Forester (Fozzy for short), and then the actual trip!

-Jack

2000 Subaru Forester Turbo: