Non-Interactive Guide to Ishigaki for non-residents

For those of you out there who have not yet had the chance to visit one of Japan’s most southernest island, here is a little guide to help with your future trip, in order to avoid embarrassing situations or intense cultural shock. Bear in mind that this guide relates to the Island of Ishigaki, as rumors are that the rest of Japan is quite different and therefore the principles described below may not be applicable.

GREETINGS

 Avoid waiving enthusiastically at strangers or acquaintances. Chances are they will respond with a head nod and you will look like a doofus with too much energy. Also, when meeting new people, ensure that you truly pay attention to their appearance. Asians have fewer distinguishing features than Caucasians and in case you come across that person again, it may be hard to know remember you actually have talked to them before. Things are usually smaller in size, a bit like in Ahna’s house. However, as long as you are comfortable feeling a bit like a giant, there should be no problem.

TOILETS

 A key part of the Japanese experience, the toilets can cause a shock if the non-resident is not previously warned. If one is lucky, he will come across the all-inclusive toilet; featuring butt-washing features as well as a button that looks like the toilet is set to play music. However, outside those high-end comforts, the racing traveler might encounter porta-potties without seats. After staring at the hole for long enough, most westerners figured out how to use these interesting commodities. (we hope they do anyways)

FOOD

Before venturing into the local grocery store, it is probably best to be accompanied by a local translator who can explain what the hell it is you are buying. If no such person is available, fruits and vegetable usually look similar to what we can find in normal countries. Breakfast foods will be the hardest to locate (our correspondent had an interesting experience with oatmeal), and there will be some risks involved as to whether or not you are buying what you think you are buying. What looks like chocolate milk is most likely gross coffee-flavored cold liquid and the variety available at the fish counter is quite mind-boggling. Goya (also known as the Bubbly Cucumber) is best avoided, unless sought for its vitamin benefits over its bitter taste, but the island-grown pineapples are a must.

TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF

Just do it. House, hotel room, etc. Just take em off.

SLEEPING SITUATION

If you walk into the apartment where you will be staying for a week, and it is rather small, but there is not a bed in sight, do not panic. Beds are most likely stored away in the nearest closet and only come out at night. Here, the term ‘bed’ is used rather loosely, and might be closer to our definition of “camping in the living room” than of typical indoor sleeping arrangements.

GARBAGE SITUATION

When in doubt, you are probably looking for the “burnable” bin. If not, rubbish might go into the recyclable bin, the non-burnable bin, the glass bin, the cans bin, or if all else fails, the compost bag. This is all rather confusing. The complexity of the rubbish situation is probably the main reason why public garbage cans are a rare occurrence and one might be forced to walk for miles to dispose of their candy wrappers. Or find candy wrappers in every single one of their pockets in every single one of their pants/shorts/jackets when doing laundry.

THINGS TO DO

Refer to local tourist guide. The correspondent has not done very much. The triathlon world Cup event is a recommended stop, as it is well organized, with friendly volunteers and is guaranteed to start on time. Riding around the island is also recommended, but plan extra time to stop for coffee and beach pictures, especially when riding with a notoriously easy going Columbian who might miss his flight if he stops again.

That's all for today folks! I'll try harder to take pictures, and I'll go back to being productive and writting my final paper on american ecnomic history.

Life Amongst the Sheep

After being “home” for a few weeks, the winds blew westward. That’s how I ended up on top of a mountain in New Zealand’s south Island. My uncle travels a lot and his two favorite spots are probably Barbados and NZ. I’ve managed to hit up both in the span of a few months. Gold star for me.

So what’s it like here? Training camp life. Train, eat, sleep, make new friends and try to get a few minutes of spotty internet connection from time to time.

Honestly, it’s been great. Wanaka itself consist of a few blocks of little shops and café by the (cold) lake. The roads surrounding Wanaka lend themselves quite well to hour upon hour of quality riding. And the running trails…oh the running trails….

The company is top notch. Some crazy people out there, but as long as they channel it the right way, then they become winners. That’s my theory anyways. Lots of learning going on. Lots of little things to work on, things to tweak, a never ending process. Process process process…

Tea and crosswords in the morning remind me of home. Although NZ crosswords are different, they have more black squares. Adaptation necessary.

Just finishing up this block of training here before our little group is off to Sydney, Australia, to take on the rest of the world in an epic battle on the blue carpets in front of the opera house. Stay tuned.

Your friend the Mountaineer