Japan (Random Notes)
1. One of the very serious questions Eli 22.2 and I considered while we were in Japan was "Does the hammer exist here?"Eli said, "Of course. The hammer exists everywhere."
I agree, philosophically, but we never saw one. However, we didn't go to a bowling alley or a range, which are two of their preferred environments.
2. I was constantly astounded by how quickly Eli navigated, even in confusing/complex situations. He said, "A lot of good traveling is just information sifting," which is a nice reinforcement of traveling as a skill, not an intuition.
3. We turned on the TV one night and Gamera 3 was on, and the ten minutes I saw were so batshit insane that I can't wait to watch the entire film.
4. One of the things I was very surprised by was the lack of birds. In Tokyo, there were crows, but little else. In Fujiyama Town, no birds at all. In Kyoto and Osaka, I don't remember seeing birds, either.
5. Bullet trains are wondrous, magical things. The first one we rode was called Kodama Superexpress No. 719. Screw airplanes.
6. I'm not sure I saw a water fountain the entire two weeks we were in Japan. Vending machines with water everywhere (and cheap), but no fountains.
7. We were at Universal in Osaka so we could see Super Nintendo World (my favorite theme park experience ever) and it was blazing hot. 94F with a heat index of 105F and full sun. I looked over and there was an adult dressed in a a full-body Yoshi costume, complete with head (to be clear, a customer, not a mascot). I looked over at Eli and said, "Look at him."
Eli said, "I can't believe he's doing that in this heat."
I said, "You never go full Yoshi."
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