Day 4: Nagoya

Nagoya is of course famous for it's beautiful castle, but I was there more for two other reasons: 1.) the Usagi to Cafe and 2.) 8ball Tattoo Studio.

By shinkansen (bullet train), Nagoya is only 2 hours west of Tokyo, though it's going to cost you about 18,000円　(around $200) for a round trip. Liken the shinkansen to airlines, only more convenient. Futuristic and efficient, they are my favorite part of visiting Japan. If you plan on seeing more than Tokyo and one other city, I recommended getting the JR Rail Pass. It might seem a little pricey up front, but once you start doing the math on how much it costs for each trip plus all the inner city trains you'll be using operated by JR, you quickly realize just how much of a bargain it is. On my last visit, I got my money's worth in 2 days.

My main reason for my visit to Nagoya was to see my friend, Horitake-san, who has a tattoo studio there called 8ball Tattoo Studio only a few minutes by taxi from Nagoya station. But he works tattoo artist's schedule so I decided to get lunch first.

After getting links to a video from several of my friends about Usagi to Cafe, I just had to go. I love rabbits and have two. But most people in Japan cannot have pets because their landlords are jerks, so it's not uncommon to see cat cafes where patrons can have coffee and relieve stress by watching, petting or playing with the cats at the cafe. This one is along the same lines, but with rabbits.

The girls there don't speak English, but don't let that scare you away. You can use google translate to figure out their pricing before you go. Watching the other patrons is rather amusing. They act as though they've never seen a real life rabbit up close and marvel at every little cute thing they do. There was a couple on a date, a mother with her daughter and there was even a middle aged man there just taking pictures of them hopping around with a very expensive camera. Obviously, they all had different reasons for visiting, just as I did.

One of the girls who works there, Yamada-san, was very nice and wanted to know all about my rabbits; their names, ages, what they look like, their sex, etc. They had one that was the same kind as one of the rabbits I own and looked alike, only white with brown spots instead of black. His name is パンプ (Pump) and the website says he has the nicest coat, which I expected having a satin rabbit myself.

After running up quite a large tab at the cafe, I headed off to the castle which was only a few minutes by taxi. It was overcast and rainy that day, but that kept the crowd to a minimum for being a Saturday. To my surprise, they have complimentary English speaking guides. Because of the weather, I was one of the few foreigners there and got a tour guide all to myself. So, I was lucky enough to get my personal tour of the castle and its grounds. I've been to Iwakuni castle (near Hiroshima), but Nagoya castle much, much larger and includes an impressive dry moat, guard towers, and a garden.

From the castle, it was off to visit my friend being late in the afternoon on a Saturday. I met Horitake-san while he was in Tampa for a tattoo convention. I'm not an enthusiast, but I was in the market for finding an artist to do what I wanted and this convention an array of shops in the Tampa Bay area. I had no idea 8ball Studio was there and was amazed by their portfolio. After chatting with Horitake-san (in Japanese) and telling him what I wanted, he squeezed me into their fully booked schedule and not only drew up the design but did a wonderful job on the tattoo as well - all the while turning away everyone wanting to get work done that weekend.

I was so overwhelmed by this gesture, that I made him a thank gift it mailed it to his shop a few weeks later and then I got a reply email saying that he got it and loved it. So we started emailing back and forth. When I was in Japan in September, I couldn't make it to Nagoya, so he and his wife came to meet me in Kyoto and took me out to dinner and then around the sights the next day. After their generosity, I made up some more gifts and made a special trip out to see them this time.

I dropped in to the studio to his surprise. Again, I got a tattoo and had a pleasant but short visit which makes for a very special souvenir. By this time, it was late and I didn't want to miss the last shinkansen.

The moral of the story is when you come to Japan, or if you've been before, I think you'll find that the people here are very friendly and are willing to exchange email addresses if you chat them up a little and will even give you a little token of gratitude if you've made an impression on them. Sometimes these will blossom into friendships.

御茶ノ水! Ochanomizu!

Here's a little hand towel I happened to find at Kanda Shrine in Ochanomizu as my friend and I were walking to Akihabara on our last day in Japan. I thought it was rather serendipitous and will be basing the coming boutique's logo off of it.We had no idea this little gem of a shrine was literally 2 blocks from our hotel. My friend and I had the morning and afternoon to kill before our flight and we decided to take a little stroll in the neighborhood we had called home for a few days. Ochanomizu is quiet and pretty little area on the Kanda river with the main street, Hongo Dori, lined with gingko biloba trees with their delicate split leaves.


We had grown very accustomed to cutting through the campus of the Tōkyō Medical and Dental University and crossing the Kanda river to get to the train station on our way to and from some other part of of the city. This is also where my beloved Origami Kaikan is located! I'll definitely be returning there to get some more projects and much more of their beautiful washi paper.


Ochanomizu also has a little vibrant core complete with the trainstation on one corner, a pachinko parlor across the street and a karaoke bar on the corner facing that one.

In the grand scheme of visiting Tōkyō, there's not much to do or see in Ochanomizu, but it's a very convenient and pleasant place to stay during your visit.

ようこそ！Welcome!

I find this fitting as a welcome for you, dear reader, as it welcomed me once in I arrived in Japan. After a seemingly unending 12 hour flight from Dallas-Ft. Worth to Tokyo, enduring customs and immigration, meeting up with the rest of my party, taking the hour long trip on Keisei Skyliner from Narita Airport to Ueno Station and finally taking a 10 minute taxi ride to the Tokyo Garden Palace Hotel in Ochanomizu, this gentle image in the lobby soothed my cranky and exhausted soul. It sank in that I had at long last made it to Japan and was only minutes away from a bed and shower.

For those of you not familiar with the above subject matter, allow me to explain. In Japanese folklore, rabbits live on the moon where they make mochi - a festive treat made of glutinous rice. This derives from interpreting the pattern of dark patches on the moon as a rabbit using a mortar making the yummy and sticky goodness that is mochi. This heavenly bunny is referred to as "tsuki no usagi" (rabbit of the moon) or as the *drum roll* jade rabbit.

So, ようこそ (youkoso) to my blog about my exploits in Japan, a land where old and new, cute and bizarre intermingle at every opportunity.