Hello Hakodate

I made it up this morning in good time to make it down to Sapporo Station. We met in front of Mister Donut (who still has nothing on Tim Horton’s), received our tickets to Hakodate, and boarded the train. I am glad we had people who knew where they were going around, because I don’t know if I could have found the gate myself. We boarded the train about 4 minutes before it departed.

Given the lack of sleep, I spent a good portion of the train ride catching what little sleep I could capture between stops. This is the train that April and I will be catching when we go to Noboribetsu and later when we head to Tokyo, so in that sense I was doing a little advance work for next week.

The countryside reminds me of the Fraser Valley. With mountains never far in the distance, the Japanese have had to learn how to do agriculture intensively on small areas of arable land.

On the train we had a bento box with rice topped with shredded crab—it was really delicious. I filled up two water bottles before I left so I didn’t have to shell out 150-200 Yen for water or a pop. Good planning, and it’s good water here.

 Hakodate is a touristly little town. It was one of the three ports that were opened to trade with the outside world in the 19th century—the other two being Nagasaki and Yokohama. Why Hakodate never turned into the larger centres like the other two is probably because it was still the frontier of the Japanese empire at the time. Hokkaido is relatively recently colonized by the Japanese (19th and 20th century), and before that there it was very sparsely populated (and still is relative to the rest of Japan).

The city’s claim to fame is that it is where Commodore Perry landed and there are plenty of murals depicting that. We toured a Chinese cultural centre from the last century, an old mansion, had tea at the former British Consulate (a professor from London commented that he travelled half way across the world only to have tea at the British Consulate) and a saw really cool Ainu museum. The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido and the northern islands and are very much related to the Aleuts in Alaska, and, I highly suspect, the aboriginals along the coast of British Columbia.

We had dinner as a group and to my surprise the main organizers asked me if I could do a closing toast. I obliged and made a small speech about friends, thanked the organizers for putting on an amazing show, and importantly thanking professor Iwashita for his role at the Slavic Research Centre as tonight was his last night as its director (he is still being the director of the Center of Excellence, I understand). I had some compliments on the toast, but I still think it’s funny that the organizer chose me. It’s very flattering.

We'll do this stop next week

Feels just like the Fraser Valley here

The standard slippers are generally too small for my feet. I did manage to obtain some larger ones on this tour.

Shrine at the Chinese cultural centre. Amazing

A fiesty little fox at a shrine we walked around. I liked the look of him... growly but impish all in one. 

A Note on Bicylcles

Bicycles are everywhere in Sapporo, especially at Hokkaido University. Although I have never been to the Netherlands, I have the distinct impression that this is what it is like there.

There are some difference between bicycle riding in Canada and Japan. First, most of the bicycles are single gear, comfort cycles whereas in Canada most are ten speeds, 18 speeds, mountain bikes, and touring bikes. Second is that bicyclists ride on the side walk. This can be irritating and I was initially affronted by this, but have since become used to it. Third, no one wears a helmet. This is concerning to me given the brain injury and other life risks associated with falling or getting hit by vehicles. However, I am not surprised at this.

What took a little longer to sink in was the absence on bicycle locks. I have seen remarkably few for the number of bikes. People just leave their bikes in the bike areas and head off to class, work, or whatever brought them to the University. They don't appear to be being stolen either. When I see this, I lament what kind of society Canada has become where bicycles are stolen and if you don't take responsibility for its security you are at fault for it being stolen. Shouldn't we place the blame on the bike thieves rather than ourselves? This place feels safe. I haven't felt this safe walking downtown streets in a long, long time. I wonder if we, in Canada, can ever reclaim this sense of security and safety?

Presentation Day

Yesterday’s presentation went very well. There were some nice comments from others and a few questions. I feel like my work was appreciated, which is a nice feeling. Many people appreciated my approach and are interested in exploring it more, as well as reading more about Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly’s theory of borders which I base my approach on. If more people read and apply Emmanuel’s theory to their work, then I think that I can count this conference a success.

As for the other presentations, I only wish we had more time as everyone’s presentation was interesting. We had to get through each and every presentation, so we were very limited for time. As it was, even with tight moderation, we were one hour over schedule by the end of the day. Of the presentations that really stick out in my mind are Jabin Jacob’s presentation on how local provinces along the Indian and Chinese border need to start working together, and Andrew Burridge’s passionate and striking telling of the criminalization of immigration on the US-Mexico border and its human toll. Showing how 500 migrant deaths occur each year mainly due to hyperthermia chilled me to the bone. As well, I learned a lot about central Asia. The immigration problems from central Asian republics to Russia reminds me a lot of the Mexico-U.S. border, the trans-boundary water resource issues remind me of the multitude of Canada-US issues but with multiple governments.

After the presentations we went out for dinner and then went to a Karaoke Bar and sang songs until 2:00 in the morning. It was an authentic Japanese experience with about 15 people in a room singing and dancing away.  For those who know me, I am sure you are not surprised that I belted out more than a few tunes often with the enthusiastic help of others, as my choice in music is superb. Well, maybe it’s just superbly eclectic, but people really enjoyed the songs I chose. I can now take “Sing Karaoke in Japan” off my to do list.

I got back to the hotel at 2:15am and gave April a call since it was 10:00am in the yesterday back in Canada. I am impressed with Skype. It cuts in and out, but for the most part it works very well. It was late and I needed to go to bed. I made contact with the most important person, so I felt it would be in my best interest to steal a few hours of sleep. The group was meeting at 8:20 at the Sapporo Japan Rail Station to go to the city of Hakodate for the weekend.

Doing that thing I do

This was citrus sherbet in a plastic tube you squeeze out. It was refreshing.

They had these jelly packs at the University Co-op. They are essentially vitamins and supplements in Jello. Consuming lots of white rice can do a number on one's digestive system, so the "Fiber & diet" with 1100mg of fiber sounded like a good idea for 100 Yen. It was actually much tastier than I expected.

Day 3: Conference

Today I learned a lot about parts of the world I didn't know so much about.
Chinese migration into the Russian Far East is occurring despite the region being depressed because it's still better than China. They are working on some innovative ideas out there, including a special economic zone that crosses the border where people move freely across the border to trade and do business. Fascinating stuff that I need to look into more.

Central Asians migrating to Moscow have a pretty tough time of it. It resembles the U.S.-Mexican border and immigration issues.

I was surprised to learn that in the Caucuses that there is a great deal of emerging cooperation between the states (Georgia, Russia, Armenia, etc.). The Commonwealth of Independent States has a free visa program that I also need to look into a bit more. I wonder if there are applications for labour mobility in North America.

Went out for Chinese food this evening. It was pretty good, but different from what we're used to in Canada.

Funny story for the day: When the rest of the guys ran across the street when the light was changing I decided not to risk it and waited for the light to change. I rolled my eyes, opened my arms with my palms faced upwards and shook my head as I looked at the two Japanese girls beside me and exclaimed "GaiJin (Foreigners)" They broke out into laughter.

It's not quite as long of a post as it has been as I have been working on my powerpoint presentation for tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it.

And now here's what everyone has been waiting for: the day's photos:

Sapporo Tower

Sapporo Clock Tower

Tea from dinner this evening

Tofu dish with these old eggs that are kind of rubbery. They have turned dark with age. I don't think they were pickled, but preserved somehow. It's not bad.

Ice Guy: frozen orange juice for dessert at the hotel.

Sapporo JR Train Station

Search Amazon.com for japanese knives

Sapporo Conference Day Two

Today was an interesting day.

We had a through overview of the Futenma airbase issue and Okinawa’s unique history and its relationship with mainland Japan. By chance I had lunch with Proffesors Sato (Okinawa lecture) and Furukawa (who presented yesterday). Professor Fukukawa is actually going to be in Ishigaki at the same time as April and I so we will try to organize a dinner or lunch together. He spent a year in Vanouver and is a Vancouver Canuks fan. We also had a lecture on the changing borders in central Europe, Schengenization, and Euroregions. It was a fairly basic overview but a good refresher on the issues.

Throughout the day my goal has been to try and get a phone call in through to April. It’s much more difficult than I had thought. The nice folks at 7-11 did their best to try and help me, but to no avail—the cards were only good for cell phones. Then the folks at the university said that I should try skype. I tried it, but the wireless networks and skype did not like each other, so I am going to have to resort to a collect call. I have investigated the process online, so I will attempt a “wake-up call” for April in a few minutes, as it’s nearly time for her to get up and go to work.

Dinner was fun. A group of us walked down to find a cheap sushi place and found one. It was pretty decent and good quality. Then we wandered with wonder through the heart of downtown Sapporo. All the lights remind me of Las Vegas. It really is quite something. It is truly unlike any other place I have ever been. I now know what my mother-in-law says about really feeling you’re not at home when you’re in Japan. Sapporo (only) has 1.8 million people, so I am both dreading and excited to see what Tokyo has to offer with its 13 million people.

We partook in some touristy activities like going up in a big ferris wheel, hanging out in a video arcade, and finding a bowling alley. All were on different stories in the same mall. I can’t wait to show April around when she gets here. It will be a lot of fun. I think the most fun can be found in simply people watching.

Replica of the border marker from Sakhalin Island. After the Japanese Russian war in 1905 the Japanese took possession of Sakhalin Island below the 50th parallel. They deported all the Russians and sent in settlers. After 1945 they gave up rights to the territory and the Russians deported all the Japanese. This is the Japanese side of the marker, represented by the Imperial Chrysanthemum.

This is the Russian side of the stone with the Imperial Russian double headed crest.

Here's some silly guy posing with it.

Bathroom with the heated toilet seat

Desk and hallway

The best translation yet. I have no idea what it means but its incomprehensibility is poetic.

The surprisingly comfortable bed

Conference: Day One Summary

Yesterday was a very full day.

As I mentioned earlier, the conference started today. The purpose of this conference is threefold:
1. It hopes to bring together and bridge the various networks that study borders from around the world.
2. It hopes to introduce the resources of the Slavic Studies Research Centre at Hokkaido University to researchers around the world.
3. It hopes to bring together to introduce young researchers to each other in order to establish networks.

I can certainly say that it has been successful on point three. The centre is translating information into English, so it is likely going to be successful on point one. And, on point three, the dedication of the people who work here has lead to the establishment of the first edition of the Eurasia Border Review. Given the importance of Central Asia for natural resources and the multitude of borders in this region, I am confident that point one will be met.

We learned about the history of the Kuril islands and their settlement between the Japanese and the Russians. It is quite fascinating how

We also had lectures on the Japanese maritime borders, piracy and border island municipal governments. Dr. Koji Furukawa’s talk on municipal government was my favourite and the similarities between Canada are quite striking. The central government says it wants to increase economic activity in these areas but has no clue on how to do this. When local governments come up with innovative ideas the central government refuses these ideas. There is a great disconnect between the border areas and Tokyo and most bureaucrats in Tokyo have never been to the borderlands and don’t understand them. It sounds a lot like Ottawa! Dr. Furukawa concludes that local politics is extremely important and border governments have to take the initiative to look after themselves because the central government will not do it for them. This is a very similar conclusion to my findings on the Canada-U.S. border.
The furthest south Japanese “island” is a piece of coral about six feet in circumference. A concrete barrier surrounds it so that the water does not engulf and submerge it. Because of global warming, the Japanese are now attempting to grow more coral to increase its size. It has no strategic value whatsoever. It’s really quite comical.

We had a welcome diner at the Sapporo beer gardens where they serve all you can eat lamb stir-fry (called Genghis Khan) that you make on the table in front of you. Many others took advantage of the all you can drink beer while I had numerous Coca Colas. It was delicious and a good time was had by all. The vegetarians were relegated to a different table, but their meals looked delicious as well.
After the beer gardens we went to celebrate the 30th birthday of a friend of one of the English (England) PhD students here –a Bulgarian named Slavvy (I think it was a nickname of sorts. I had fascinating conversations about the differences between Slavic languages (We have a Macedonian, a Russian linguist, and a Russian Finn),  how the Balkan states functioned better when they were parts of larger empires and the failure of the nation-state concept in that area of the world, and hockey with the Finns.
I got back to the hotel at 1:00a.m. and this was early as most of the rest went on to find a karaoke bar. I do want to witness a karaoke bar, but it was too late for me. I am glad I didn’t continue as I heard some of the rest stumble and crash in around 4:00 a.m (the lectures start at 9:30—I think the drinkers are going to be hurting today).

Today we have lectures on Okinawa as a borderland and lectures on Sino-Russian relations, Central Asian migrant workers, and border issues in the Caucasus.

Dinner: Before

Dinner: During (Cooking)

Dinner: After (with wide open-mouth smile)

Old smokestack at Sapporo brewery

I have arrived in Sapporo

 Well, I have finally made it to Sapporo and am staying at the Clark hotel.

In the airport I noticed that on the JAL board above the departure gate had this flight cross listed with a Finland Air flight. Using my power of deduction, I decided to ask the 6’0 tall blonde women if she was from Finland and going to a conference on borders, as I remembered that there were a couple of Finns on the list of attendees.
I was right—well mostly. The woman was from Finland and going to same conference as me, but she was originally from Russia—her name betrayed her heritage: Olga. On the bus transferring to the plane on the tarmac she introduced my to Jussi who was also from Finland. On the bus, Andrew from Australia, but who has spent six years studying in California and has recently moved to Northern England came over and introduced himself. Needless to say the four of us stuck out like sore thumb all being at least a foot taller than the rest of the passengers on the plan. I have never seen grown men have to stand on the seats of a 737 to reach the overhead compartment. This truly is a foreign land.
At the airport we met Matti, another Finn who had a different connecting flight than Olga and Jussi. Interesting Finnish fact: Helsinki has become a hub for Asian air traffic. Apparently all the signs in the airport in Helsinki are in Japanese and Chinese. Because Russia rents time over their airspace, all FinnAir flights generally leave at almost or exactly the same time. This is because Russia charges airlines on the time of all flights over its airspace, not all planes. Both of the flights, Olga and Jussi’s flight, and Matti’s flight left at 5:15.  I also learned at dinner that Russia only permits flights within a 3 km wide corridor. I suspect this is a vestige from the Soviet era.
Finding our way onto the train into Sapporo was easy. On our way in, I was struck by the degree of agricultural activity. It is so similar to British Columbia is some ways, but so foreign in others.
In Sapporo, a student from Hokkaido University greeted us. His name was Alexander and he was from Seiko, Russia. Olga and him hit it off and there was some talk about Russia and its vastness as Olga had never been to the East of Russia. Russia has nine time zones. That’s exactly double Canada’s 4 and a half. We waiting for the next train and met another participant, Jung Wu from Taiwan She was shorter than the rest of us.
After freshening up in the hotel, Matti, Andrew, Jussi and I went out for dinner. We found a soba noodle place in a mall. It was very good. I think I could get very used to eating Japanese. After dinner we walked over to a large Japanese bookstore and wandered with wonder at all the reverse binded books in a language none of us could understand.  Matti and Jussi went off, and Andrew and I kept looking for a while, and then went to the Tourist information booth at Sapporo Station and picked up some literature and maps. We made a stop at Mister Donut on the way back to the hotel. Although the Japanese have perfected many things, their work still does not compare to Tim Horton’s. Green tea icing and filling, though a novel idea, doesn’t work the same way as maple icing with sprinkles.

That’s all for now. It’s 6:30 while I am finishing writing this. My computer says it’s 2:34 am back in Victoria.

Tomorrow I will be taking a museum tour, a lecture on Japanese border and sea security, and Japanese Municipal governments and their borderland policies. Should be fascinating. I look forward to meeting the rest of the participants at the conference.

Two people waving "sayonara" at Sapporo Train Station

Green Tea icing isn't that great. Chocolate was ok, but not Tim Horton's

Bill Arrives in Japan

Well, I can't sleep. I managed to be blissful slumber from between 7:30pm to 2:40 JST but I think it's going to be a while until the circadian rhythms adjust. I took a sleeping pill and some melatonin before bed which seemed to help, but I was exhausted even before hitting the hay.

It only feels like yesterday, but it is now technically two days since I left April, Victoria, and Canada behind. However, I have only had one sleep. They magic of intercontinental flights is powerful.

The flight itself was uneventful. I found it an easier flight than LAX to PPT, although it was approximately the same length. I think the sleeping pill helped as I slept for a good half of the flight. My bag made it from Victoria to Narita in one piece and customs reminded me of U.S. customs in Seattle. My first impression of the airport was one of familiarity. Having been through so many airports in the past five years, I have come to understand that there is only so much one can do with airport design and function outweighs design wherever you must go.

I took a taxi to the airport hotel here in Narita. It is a functional hotel owned or partnered with JAL. They are giving me a complimentary breakfast tomorrow. I wonder if it is going to be the 800 Yen breakfast or the full traditional Japanese breakfast which was 2300 Yen-- I am thinking the former, but I have been looking forward to trying out a traditional Japanese breakfast sometime.

In the hotel gift shop I managed to find the appropriate flat batteries for my bedside travel clock. I received for a stocking stuffer a number of years ago, and I think this is the first time I am using it. I'm sure glad to have it!

Last night I splurged a bit and decided to go to the Sushi bar in the hotel. I had Nigiri Jou-- a standby we have at Sen Zushi in Victoria-- miso soup, and a ginger ale. I was mightily impressed by the quality and freshness of the fish. The Miso soup was unlike any I have had-- it was very dark, had three shelled clams, and little green onions in it. Green onions are common, but the clams were new to me. It was not unenjoyable. The ginger ale came in a little green glass bottle, and emblazoned on its side were the words and logo of Canada Dry. I pointed to the bottle and said "Canada" to the waitress with a smile-- I think she understood I was from there.

Everyone has been friendly and helpful. I have been use lots of arigato, domo arigato, arigato goziumusu, with konichiwa and konbanwa thrown in for good measure. I think it's almost time to start to move onto to some new phrases.

I miss April, but she will be here soon enough. She reports that he cat is confused by my absence and has been wandering around looking for me. I have been providing her with tips and directions on the journey. I guess all that advance-man training is still paying off.

Sayonara for now. It's back to the airport today and up to Sapporo. I arrive in the afternoon, so there should be some time to go out and explore Sapporo around my hotel. I understand Hokkaido is famous for its Ramen noodles, so I will be seeking those out this evening for dinner.

Here are a few initial pictures of the room at the Nikko Hotel, Narita:

(This is me in the Japanese style cotton robe they provided. My heels fall off the back of the little slippers, but that's ok)

Introduction

For those of you who do not know, Bill took a course on border studies as one of his final courses in his Masters of Public Administration Program. Given that he had a little bit of knowledge on the subject and some practical experience in the area (i.e. being Ministerial Assistant/Chief of Staff to the Minister of Intergovernmental Relations for two years), and that he wrote a pretty cool paper on the development of the Enhanced Driver's Licence in British Columbia, his prof suggested he apply to come to a conference on border issues in Sapporo Japan. Bill applied and was accepted to be one of 16 graduate and doctoral students from around the world to participate. Needless to say it was quite an honour and Bill feels quite humbled, but is also excited and confident about the experience.

for more information on the conference, here is the agenda: http://www.borderstudies.jp/en/events/workshops/index.htm#100730

Well, about the same time Bill was notified about the conference he and April were struggling to figure out what to do for a vacation. When this opportunity came along, we stopped looking at cruisecheap.com and jumped at the chance of exploring Japan. Given work demands, April decided to stay in Canada until August 4th, when she makes her way to Sapporo. Bill's conference ends on August 5. Then, these two intrepid explorers will begin a month long expedition across Japan.

Stayed tuned for updates. This should be educational, entertaining, and exciting.