Lantern Floating in Hawaii

In preparation for my trip to Japan, I watched the 10th annual Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony held on Magic Island in Ala Moana Beach Park. The Lantern Floating is a traditional Buddhist ritual from Japan. The the candle-lit lanterns are sent floating on the ocean to honor our ancestors and to calm the "spirits" of those who have passed away. The lighted lanterns are meant to ferry the deceased "from the Sea of Delusion to the Shore of Salvation."

The Japanese Buddhist order that conducted the ceremony was the Shinnyo-en. In Japanese, "Shinnyo" means unchanging truth while "en" is a garden that is open for all. The order was founded by Shinjo Ito in western Tokyo in 1936.

Since it was held here in Hawaii, the ceremony clearly altered to accomodate the local Hawaiian cultural influence. Traditional kahiko hula and chants were highlighted in the opening ceremony along with performances by local performers.

However, the ceremony retained its Japanese roots with Taiko drumming and the traditional buddhist rites and chanting.

Over 1600 lanterns were launched and each lantern held written messages for those who have passed away from their loved ones. The lanterns were bought from Japan and put together by volunteers. All the lanterns were later collected from the water to be recycled.

Before Going to Japan

Before going to Japan or any other country, there are some things that need to be done.

Since Japan is another country, citizens of the United States have to go through Customs before entering Japan and before coming back to the US. Customs is kind of like a police department where they watch over people, items, animals, foods, and plants that enter their country. Customs makes sure that nothing dangerous comes into the country and that taxes are paid for on all items that come into the country.

The US Customs and Border Patrol can be found here! Before coming back into the US from Japan, they may look over all electronics and other goods that one might have. Remember that I'm bringing a lot of electronic equipment from home to Japan and back home. To make things easier on me and to help prove that I did not buy the equipment in Japan and then have to pay extra taxes on the stuff I already own, I filled out this form: CPB Form 4457.

First, I filled out the form by listing all the equipment and goods that I will bring to Japan. I also wrote down their serial numbers.
Then, I have to take the form and the items on the form to a customs office and show them to an officer to prove that I own them.
Finally, when I come back from Japan to the US, I can show them the signed form and that should make things go much faster for me and should make sure that I don't have to pay extra taxes on the stuff I already own.

Using Electronics in Japan

In preparing for my trip to Japan, I realize that I will have to bring a lot of electronic equipment. As part of my project, I will need to bring the following:
Laptop Computer
Digital Camera
Video Camera

For personal reasons, I will be bringing:
Cell Phone (I don't know why since I won't be able to use it in Japan...to be covered later)
Nintendo DS (for the long plane trips)
iPod (I don't go anywhere without my music)

Anyways, all these electronics require power or recharging in Japan. However, the electricity in Japan is a little different than the electricity used in the United States. So, I have some electronic problems to solve.

First of all, in Japan they use 100 Volts while America has about 110 to 120 Volts. After talking with some electrical engineers, folks who have been to Japan, and the local Radioshack guy (whose wife happens to be from Japan and they both go home frequently to Tokyo), I have learned that the Japanese 100 Volts and the US 120 Volts is not that different where I need to worry about my equipment blowing up. At the most, it may take me longer to charge the batteries in my electronics.

With that said, the big difference is in the electrical plugs and sockets. In Japan, they use two (2) flat prongs that are of the same size. In the US, we have the same 2 flat prongs, but sometimes we have plugs that have 2 flat prongs but one prong is a little bit bigger than the other. The different-sized prongs won't fit in a Japanese socket. Also, US electronics sometimes has 2 prongs and a third round pin (sometimes called an Earth pin to ground electronic equipment). Those won't fit in Japanese sockets either. So, I had to buy a simple adapter for about $11 at Radioshack.

Electronic problems solved.

J-Pop: M-flo loves Melody & Ryohei "Miss You"

M-flo loves melody & ryohei "Miss You"
Uploaded by gon-007

Music is a big part of any culture. Much like American music, Japanese music has many different styles, types, and genres. There is traditonal Japanese music and there is modern Japanese music. One particular modern genre is J-Pop. J-Pop has a very similar sound to mainstream Pop music and even draws from Rap and Hip-Hop. One particularly popular J-Pop group is M-Flo. M-Flo started out as a trio of Taka (DJ), Verbal (Vocals/Rapper), and Lisa (Vocals). However, Lisa left the group and M-Flo became a duo. The two then went on to create several albums with the format of "M-Flo loves _____" where they feature other music stars. Enjoy!

The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship

This is a journal leading up to, including, and wrapping up my trip to the Land of the Rising Sun as part of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship. It will hopefully include insights into travel, culture, and the education system in Japan. I'm very excited. Just about 3 weeks before the trip. In preparation for the trip, I have so far:
Got a brand new passport
Started to learn as much Japanese that I can cram into a month
Poured over various travel guides
Ponder over tattoo options
Bought a new digital camera (Nikon S210)

There's so much left to do!

Domo Arigato-Gozaimasu