Author Archive for risu

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Things I Didn’t See in Japan

Published on November 14, 2013 in Culture, rant and Travel by risu. Closed

Though I was in Matsue, I didn’t get over to Yaegaki-jinja.  I don’t think I’ll ever make it back to this part of Japan again, but I won’t regret missing the opportunity to walk through the shrine precincts muttering “Kushinada“.  I did see Matsue castle from the bus, but I didn’t get to go inside or take pictures.  I guess I’m a little bummed about that.

I went all the way to Uji, but the weather hadn’t been cold enough for the majority of the momiji to turn to red, and Byodo-in was covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting for a 3-year renovation project.  I guess Byodo-in is more interesting to Hawaii folk than the average American, because of the 3/4 scale concrete replica at Temple Valley.  They supposedly have a really nice garden, but I’ve been to some other famous gardens and was underwhelmed, so I passed on the 500-yen entry fee.  The throngs of shouting schoolkids queued up made my decision to pass easier.

Kamiarizuki

Published on November 12, 2013 in Culture and Travel by risu. 1 Comment

I spent all morning and the better part of the afternoon on the Shinkansen from Hakata to Okayama, and a highway express bus from Okayama to Izumo-shi to witness all the kami in Japan congregating at Izumo Taisha (go look up “kannazuki”on the internet).  All the gods were with me, as all the ticketing and connections worked out perfectly, though it did take a while to find the Misdo in JR Hakata-eki.  Spent about ten minutes wandering around then finally asked the information booth girl.  Turns out it is right next to the shinkansen gates, so if I looked for that, I’d have found the donuts incidentally.  The ceremony had lots of fire.  The rainy weather let up just in time for the ceremony to commence, and the stars and moon came out.

Where’s Tier-Zero Guy?

Published on November 11, 2013 in Culture, rant and Travel by risu. Closed

You can spot me easily here in Fukuoka.  I’m the one guy in a MulitCam jacket and green pants in a sea of black and grey-suited businessmen.  …oh, and I have a beard.  It’s probably more glaring since I’m in an area with a lot of business hotels.  I should blend in better when I get into the sticks this evening.

Aozora, for Now

Published on November 11, 2013 in Culture and Travel by risu. Closed

It’s finally light out enough for me to see.  I woke up at 04:00 (09:00 HST) and couldn’t really get back to sleep.  The little spot of sky I can see from my room is blue with wispy clouds, which is in sync with the JMA forecast for today.  Unfortunately, it’s supposed to be rainy on the Nihonkai coast where I will end up this afternoon.  It’s snowing a lot up North (16cm overnight in some areas), and there are gale force winds blowing up skirts in the Kantou region.  The internet says there are two Mister Donut locations within JR Hakata-eki, so I know where I’m having breakfast! Continue reading ‘Aozora, for Now’

What the FUK?!?!

Published on November 11, 2013 in Culture and Travel by risu. Closed

Landed in Fukuoka and breezed through immigration, baggage claim, and customs.  My bag got the “priority/first-class” treatment, so it was one of the first out on the belt!  The customs guy actually asked me to open my pack duffle and my Kifaru, but was somewhat discouraged when he found it to be packed tighter than a sausage.  The inter-terminal bus was right there, and I got over to the domestic terminal and subway station with ease.  250-yen got me to Hakata-eki, and the Garmin got me to the hotel without too much of a hitch (“track up” might have made my life a little easier, though).  I’ll head downstairs to the onsen, then maybe look for a convenience store.  I was going to walk over to the nearest Menchanko-Tei, but I’m not feeling hungry, since it is midnight at home. Continue reading ‘What the FUK?!?!’

Scratchtastic

Published on November 6, 2013 in bike by risu. Closed

Saturday, 19 October 2013

Quite a deal went into the making of this Wailuna loop ride. After all the “who can/can’t go”s and “which day”s, and “what time”s were whittled down, there was only Chris, Ckucke, Root, and I out under an evil looking sky on Saturday afternoon. I got drizzled on twice while waiting for them to show up, but by the time we made the top of the road climb, the weather had cleared to the point where it looked like any further rain was unlikely. Continue reading ‘Scratchtastic’

Enjoying Sunset Hills

Published on November 6, 2013 in bike and Culture by risu. Closed

Sunday, 06 October 2013

The promise of the undiscovered frontier brought everyone except the stand-up crew out of the woodwork, even under the threat of possible heavy thunderstorms. We met at the end of the road in Sunset Hills in Pupukea to explore the much-storied Pupukea-Paumalu trail network. Briefly, the area had been considered for development, but the community worked together with the landowner and State to get the land preserved as a multi-use wilderness area. The weather was fine when we arrived, and there was no hint of muckiness at the parking area. Ckucke had taken a photo of the trail map at a local bike shop with his phone, so that was our only reference, other than topographical information from my GPS. Continue reading ‘Enjoying Sunset Hills’

Mann Where?

Published on October 21, 2013 in car, rant and SUAR by risu. Closed

My most recent Mann oil filter was labelled “Made in Bosnia-Herzegovina”  I guess some mystery Eastern European republic is better than the PRC?  My Bosch wiper refills were from Belgium.

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Genuine Toyota Parts – Globally Sourced

Published on September 30, 2013 in car by risu. Closed

Ckucke had mentioned during his voluminous research for his Taco timing set that the OEM Toyota timing belt was made in the USA by Gates. That made sense, since the truck itself was made here. What came as a surprise to me was when I got the latest set of V-belts for the FJ-80, these too were labeled as “Made in the USA”. All the belts I got since 1991 and up until now were Japan-sourced Mitsuboshi belts. The new belts looked exactly like the previous ones, with the standard Toyota part number colored field and Mitsuboshi label, but the cardstock packaging sleeve had the US origin indicated. I would have thought with the relative rarity of the 3F-E motor and associated consumables, it would be more cost-effective to still source the belts from Japan, as opposed to going through the whole design/test/contract procedure with a CONUS third-party factory. I don’t think these belts are common with any other Toyota engine, with the exception of the 2F and F, which possibly might use the same alternator belt. Gates must have given them a really good deal. Heck, they’re probably exporting these USA belts back to Japan and worldwide! Next time I have to replace them, I’ll get all Gates belts, since the pricing is better. Continue reading ‘Genuine Toyota Parts – Globally Sourced’

Smells Like Dirt

Published on September 29, 2013 in bike, Culture, rant and Review by risu. Closed

There is a traditional myth that the slimy juice from awapuhi ginger flowers can be used as a shampoo, cleanser, and conditioner.  Since the flowers were in bloom on the last ride, I harvested a selection of various levels of maturity for an empirical test.  Both small, young flowers and large, older flowers produced a slime of equivalent quality.  Regardless of age or size, all the gel produced performed the same as a shampoo – poorly.  It didn’t remove any of the oily filth of a several hour mountain bike ride, but it did leave a smooth feeling similar to a commercial conditioner.  The lingering dirt smell the fluid left unfortunately diminished the possible conditioning benefit.  Fail.  I guess it might be possible to use it as a conditioner after first shampooing, but it doesn’t appear to have any cleansing properties.  It would be nice if it smelled like ginger instead of dirt.