Catballs in the Tigers' Home!

After spending a fun and a fascinating day in the templey land with all the dear little deers, we were excited to learn the next day that next we would go in to a new land full of TIGERS!  Whale sharks, deer, and now our big stripey ferocious heroes!  We hopped into the big guy's satchel and rode the train for a long time.  It got busier and busier on the train until it was just about ready to burst open when we finally got to our stop.  We knew we were at the tigers' majestic palace when we saw this guy outside the front door:

 So resplendent!

Such a paradigm of carnivorous perfection!

 So what exactly are we doing here?

So it turns out this is not exactly a real roar-bitey-claws-stripes tiger home, but rather the home of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.  We learned that this stadium is the home of a big Japan-wide tournament where all the young people try hard to make their dreams come true, and we catballs are, of course, very big fans of trying hard.  There were people here from all over Japan, it seemed, though we guessed we we traveled the farthest of all to be here. 

Japanese baseball games have a lot of interesting customs when compared to American ones.  An air raid siren sounds off to start the game, unlike America's custom of playing Nickelback songs.  The two teams sprint out from their dugouts into lines and bow to each other and to the umpires, which is much different from the exchange of surliness and tobacco spit in US games.  Also, the crowd is generally very very quiet except for a designated cheering section for each team, which sings and chants and claps and bounces non-stop while their players are up to bat, which is far different from the US game's constant affirmations from all attendees of things and people and other nouns that suck.

We are not sure of what all this says, but we are sure that the umpires working this game were not Yuk, Dum, Boo, and Bum. 

This fascinating creature is a beer girl--that is a refrigerated keg of delicious barley juice strapped to her back, and she pours out refreshing draught brew in exchange for yen.  Of all the baseball game customs in Japan, this is the one that America needs both most and least. 

Two adults and three catballs, plz! 

This was a not-bad way to spend an afternoon, we think.  The game was super-fun to watch.  We wanted to cheer for both sides because the kids were trying so hard to do their best on this humongous stage, but ultimately the side that we sat with lost the game.  Even still, it seemed like all of the cheering section, full of family and friends and fellow high-schoolers, was full of pride that their team had made it so far. 

Later at night after the game, we went to the nearby city of Kobe, and found their version of Chinatown, which is the biggest of its kind in Japan.  It's a very festive and delicious-smelling place full of things to look at.  At one end of it was a big square with a gate to greet visitors, and a sort of gazebo with hanging lanterns and fun statues of each of the animals of the Chinese zodiac to find, like a scavenger hunt.

We found our favorite!

This was a very tigery day in Japan!  We feel super-inspired!

Dear Deer Friends!

Today me and my catball brothers took a pleasant train ride to old templey city called Nara.  We were told ahead of time that there would be lots of new friends to meet here while we looked around at the different sites.  We did not take very many pictures; because there were so many people around enjoying themselves, we did not want to seem disrespectful.  Nonetheless, let's take a look at some things!

This young lady has a very Catball-favorable dress.  They look like they're doing something important, so let's not ask to curl up in its voluminousness.

This flowery tree is a very fine place to tie your wishes to.  I wish for more adventures!

This is the great hall of Todai-ji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the unisphere.  There are many enormo statues of important people in here.

This is the big boss of Todai-ji Temple, but he doesn't want to fight.  Anything but, really.

BONGGGGGGGGGG

This shrine has many lanterns hanging by this waterway.  The fish must have a very hard time seeing their way home.

This guy has a lot of water coming out of his mouth.  I was told it is not drool, but I'm not so sure...

Bow politely...

...receive nom.  It's a good system these guys have figured out.  Sometime their bows are very aggressive and turn into donks, but they mean well. 

WOW LOOK AT THAT BIPEDAL ONE WITH THE BAG oh wait it's just the big guy's cute wife, nevermind.

We are cross-cultural ambassadors!

A Large New Friend Appears!

We catballs like to think of ourselves as ambassadors, of sorts.  We like to promote happiness, we like to advocate adventure, and we like to dispense friendship.  We were super-excited to be told that today, we were going to take a special trip to the Fish Museum to meet a good buddy that the big guy and his cute wife met the last time they were in Osaka who they said is also a very strong ambassador of good feelings.  We got a good early start to the day and headed down into the subway.  As we awaited the train, we wondered what kind of guy we were going to meet.

We promise we were the only ones here to use these chairs--we are not selfish nuisancey catballs!

Kaiyukan Aquarium--otters and octopi and such!

After a busy jostley train ride, we finally got to the place that the good guy lived in.  It was a huge place with many many people teeming about getting in line and waiting to meet the happy fellow inside.  Judging by the size of the crowd, we guessed that his good vibe-giving abilities must be exceedingly powerful and we could not wait to see him for oursel-WHAAAAAAT?!

HO-LEE SMOKES!  Look at the side of this guy!  This large blue fellow is a whale shark.  He is giant-sized and rolls with a big entourage of little buddies who like to hang out in his wake as he swims in long circles.  He has a big white belly and a bunch of adorable dots on his top half.  He moves slowly but gracefully, strongly but peacefully, and while people look at him and take pictures and shout "Sugoi!" he just rolls along, smiling all the time, with his buddies in tow.  There are many places to sit to watch the whale shark while he spreads his message of peace, and there is very calming, soothing music playing.  It is very easy to get lost in your thoughts while watching this lovely happy giant do his lovely happy giant thing, and at the same time it is just as easy to tune out the unisphere and get mesmerized by his spectacle.  The humans snuggled together and were very quiet for a long time while they got reacquainted with their friend, and we joined them and basked in the blue-tinted peace of the place.

Not pictured:  peace

After a while, we said our goodbyes and expressed our thanks for the good feelings that the whale shark shared with us, and we met other strange and slippery and generally moist creatures, such as this leopardy-looking guy lurking at the bottom of this one tank.

At another tank, the big guy told me to keep my eyes closed while he popped me up on this ledge, and then told me to look behind me...

 OH GOD HORRIBLE CREATURE!  WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?

Anyway, it was finally time to leave the Fish Museum.  We were all full of good feelings and at the same time were a little sad to leave the big friendly fellow behind.  The big guy and his cute wife had a little chat, then asked us if we wouldn't mind maybe being a little cramped in our satchel for a little while...

Nope, don't mind one bit!

Osak-it to me!

When the humans finally woke up in the faraway land they decided that the first thing they wanted and needed to do was ADVENTURE, and so we did.  We climbed into their pouch and our eyes got really really big--this was very definitely a different place than we were used to.  There were lots of moonspeak signs and delicious smells and in every direction we looked, there was something to explore.  Every side street looked like an incredible maze of lights and doors and power lines and funny cars and such.  We could hardly believe the craziness that was all around us.  We started off early in the morning, and surprisingly it seemed like the whole city was still sleeping even though the birds were out.  There were very few people out and about while we wandered--maybe they were scared of the big guy? 

Quiet Osakan side street, riotous to all senses other than the ears.

While we were wandering about, we came upon this very quiet, pastoral, kind-of shriney place.

Mitsu Shrine.  Very shriney!

People came in and out of here very quietly to wash their hands and clap and throw coins into boxes.  There were big giant trees with ropes tied around them and little paper lightning bolts dangling from them--these were very important trees, we figured, and probably did not want to be climbed.  There were big orangey-red torii gates and little box huts that gods lived in...catball-sized gods, maybe, but gods nonetheless.  This is one of the several times we wished we could read the language so we knew more about who lived in these. 


As we adventured some more, we came to another place that was a little more templey than the shrine was.  With a beautiful garden featuring a bunch of little pink flowers, it looked like a pretty good place to romp, but then we saw that this place already had a resident cat.  Catball policy is to not cramp another dude's style, and we abide.

Much respect to the temple nyan, templing like a boss.  We should take notes on how to do it!

Very close to the temple, we came to another shrine, much much bigger than the one before it, with lots of smaller buildings all around on the grounds.  This place was much busier than the previous shrine we saw, and had a good catball perch at the front of it. 

Ikutama Jinja--catball-friendly!

The humans met a nice man tending to the grounds who was very excited to learn that we were from Boston--the man knew a lot about American history as a teacher and, gracefully, did not seem to mind being corrected when he called it the "Boston Tea Ceremony."  We were a little ashamed, really--the man knew so much more about our home than we knew about his, but we definitely want to catch up to him some day!

Lots of bottles and barrels of sake offerings--it must be pretty good to be a deity around these parts.

Inari shrine with kitsune statues standing guard--if you guys need a break, we're up to the task!

After a long day of wandering about looking at beautiful and austere things, our traveling companions decided to bring us to a part of the city called America-mura.  This made no sense to us, as we had just hurtled in a giant pressurized metal tube for 20 hours to NOT be in America, but because they carried the satchel we were in, they made the rules.  It was not really terribly America-ish, though, which was good news.  There were lots of funky record shops and clothing shops and things to explore, and at the end of the night it was finally dinner time!  Now THIS:

Sushi nom!

 

 

 

 

 

THIS is why we came here!

Let's Go to a Faraway Japaney Place!

A while ago the big guy and his cute wife that we live with decided to go on a remarkable journey from their home to a faraway land full of temples and fish and trains and small things, and kindly enough they asked us to come along.  Being catballs, and therefore being lovers of adventure, we were more than willing to accept their offer.  They said that we would meet a crazy new friend there that we'd be sure to like, and would see all sorts of things that we cannot see back home in the front yard or the back yard.  Because we are small and quiet and only occasionally rambunctious, they decided that we could ride along in secret in their carry-on luggage.

After lots of planning, it was finally time for us to go.  Really really early in the morning, we went to an airplane place and rode on a conveyor belt and got zapped by rays--it felt really bizarre and kind-of tingly but not so bad.  We were lucky to not be discovered and handled roughly by the policeish folks that worked there--I have heard many unpleasant things about that group!  But the big guy and his wife said not to worry, that they're not so bad and are just doing their best to be safe, and as adventurous as we catballs are, being safe is pretty good too.

We got pretty well settled into our hidey space while we waited for our airplane to take us away.  There were lots of bleary-eyed people and nervous people and excited people all ready to go to different interesting places.  Finally it became time for us to get on ours to go.  We took one last look around, nestled in together, and the big guy's cute wife closed the bag.

For HOURS and HOURS and HOURS we rode in the airplane in secret inside of the baggage compartment.  Lucky for us we had some catball snacks to snack upon and books and games to play while we jetted through the cosmosphere.  It was really dark and there was nobody else in there but us, so on occasion we got out to stretch and play with other people's things (shhhh!  Don't tell!) and roll about, but finally the plane driver said it was time for us to land and that we needed to buckle in to be safe and turn off our electronical devices.  We complied, of course.  Finally, we were in Japan Land!

The big guy and his cute wife told us that we should probably behave ourselves and be polite and respectful of our new surroundings, stressing how different it was from home.  The people seemed smaller and thinner and didn't wear cutoff jean shorts like back home, and there was this funny moon language all over the place, and there were names like Kimiko and Hasegawa instead of Donna and McGee.  It was all quite fascinating--we had not taken any kind of adventure like this before, that is for sure!

From the plane place, we all walked together to a train place, where we hopped on a subway car to where we were going to be staying.  The human members of our group wanted to find their bed so they could recharge their batteries (not sure where those are inserted) so they could enjoy their new surroundings.  Being catballs, we did have a bit of extra energy to spend, and fortunately the train car was more than willing to accomodate us.

This was a very convenient catball-sized hangly dangly thing, just perfect for a traveling catball to thoop into and swing from.  It was neat watching out the windows as the very foreign land with its very foreign cars and very foreign rooftops and things passed on by.

All around there was more crazy writings and cute drawings of things and friendly stuff to look at--it was almost too much for me to take in all at once!  But finally, we got off the train and walked a little ways to the hotel.  The big guy and his cute wife passed out almost immediately, but we catball brothers had a little too much energy built up, too much excitement to discover this fascinating new place we were in.  Because the humans didn't want us to go out on our own, we decided to settle in and watch some tv to help us settle in.

This is definitely an interesting place!

Lofty Aspirations!

Often, catball brothers will gaze out the window into the treetops to look at birds.  "Fascinating creatures," they think, "and cheerful, too.  There are little brown guys and bright red guys and hooting guys and guys that chirp.  They are very different from catballs, but also very pleasant."

 One particular catball brother thought, "I am very pleasant too; perhaps I can be a bird!  I will try it and see."

Catball went outside into the backyard and thought, "What do I need to be a bird?  Feathers?  A beak, maybe?"  He looked around and listened very carefully; all the cheeps and chirps were high overhead.  "I know!  First I need to be in a tree!  Birds are always singing and being interesting in treetops."  There were lots of tall trees to pick from; it was almost overwhelming how many choices there were.  "Should I be in a maple tree?  Or would there be too much sap?  What about an oak tree?  But maybe I'd get plonked by an acorn.  Pine tree...mmm...nah, too piney." 

"Aha!  That's a good one.  Let's give it a try."

Catball climbed up as high as he dared to, and luckily he found a good spot to sample.

"This is a not bad spot, but it might be a little tight.  I would not be able to fit many of my things, and it would be tough to have company over for dinner, and my belly might get a little chilly like this.  I should be a good consumer and not settle for the first one I find..."

"Yes, this is much better!  There's a place for my ping-pong table and my brothers to visit and there's even room for me to settle in.  I'll take it!"

Catball was very satisfied in his new spot.  "I think that next, to be a good bird, I need a good bird nest.  Birds always look happiest when they're in their nests, and I think I would be happiest in a nest too."  Catball thought about the prospect of building a home of his own in his fine tree spot.  "Sticks!  Sticks and more sticks and other stuff!  That will make a fine fine nest for me to nestle into!  Here's one, and there's one, and we could try this thingy over here, and..."

And on and on and on Catball went finding stuff and crud and such to build a nest out of.  The sun arced high up in the sky and back down again.  "I had better hurry," Catball thought, "it will get dark soon and I will not be very warm or happy in my tree without a good nest to nestle into."

He looked to and fro, hither and yon, in the neighbor's yard and by the shed and underneath the car, and soon Catball had a good pile of stuff to build with.

"This is an adequate-to-pretty-good pile of crud," Catball thought.  "There are sticks, and there is string, and weirdo bean pods, and fuzzy nice-smelling lint which will be pleasant to curl up in.  With a little work, I bet I could build a pretty stately estate with all this."

Catball tried his hardest to weave the sticks and string and pods together.  He undid and redid and contacted contractors and considered attending a free event at the Home Depot for guidance on how to grout tile properly.

"This nest is...hmm."

Catball contemplated his new home as he looked toward the skies.  Clouds started to spread over the yard and as it grew darker, the treetops started to sway more and more.  "I forgot to check the weather report, but if the fuzz standing up on the back of my neck is right, I would bet it will be rainy and miserable tonight.  I should have budgeted for a roof for this thing!"

Catball looked at other bird nests in nearby trees and saw that they did not have roofs either.  "That is crazy!  They get all wet and probably smelly and their basements must flood!  And bird feathers have bird oil and are insulated to keep their bodies dry.  I am just a catball," Catball thought, "and out in the wind and rain is no place for a catball to be."

Catball took a long look into the highest treetops and sighed.  "Birds are tough, and bird lives are tough, I guess, now that I think about it.  Though they seem pretty and cheery from the windowsill, they have to worry about rain and larger angrier birds and eating worms and bugs and things that do not appeal to the catball palate.  I still like the idea of a nice nest to nestle into, but a bird nest might not be the right kind of nest."

"Now THIS is the right kind of nest for a catball," Catball thought, "with brothers and fuzz and Whale Shark to keep us company, this is just right.  Different things need different homes to be happy, and this home is the catballiest home I have ever found."

All the brothers were excited to see Catball come back inside, and welcomed him into their fuzzy nest on the couch.  "You are fascinating and cheerful and pleasant right here," Oblong said, "you do not have to be a bird to be all these things.  Welcome home."