２０１４年５月１２日ー１８日

May 12th-15th:

Each day in the lab is a great learning experience. Throughout this week, I was able to eliminate temperature difference as a direct cause of the differences in hardness levels of my sintered vs. extruded samples. With this in mind, I shifted my focus back the original samples I had worked with. I ran Vicker's hardness tests for the third time, this time using a 200 gram as my weight rather than the 10 and 50 grams I had been working previously. The resulting data showed a higher level of consistency in hardness, but maintained the same trends. Next, I triple checked the grain size of the metal samples and came out with completely different results that made more sense. I am learning that scientific lab work is not always as black and white as one might expect. Rather, there is a level of craftsmanship and skill involved, as well as a constant awareness of the possible outcomes of your actions. If I douse this sample in water now, how will it affect the oxygen or hydrogen test results? How do I extract this metal sample from the carbon epoxy mold it is embedded in without affecting the carbon content test results? Always think about what you are doing.. Perform each step of the experiment with utmost care and most importantly, take your time because if you even slightly botch one step, it will most certainly affect the later steps. I learned to be more meticulous in my work with each progressive test I ran. Don't settle on sketching poor quality micrographs, apply etching reagent in short intervals to avoid excessive, polish in short intervals so you don't erase the grain boundaries from sight, constantly check your work under the microscope, handle samples with care, avoid contamination, etc. After over a month of doing this, it's nice to see the progress. Also, it's nice to daydream about the airplanes that will someday hold these materials.
Also, the lilypad flowers began to bloom. Here's a nice picture from one of the mornings:

The bamboos have such a stark contrast from their surrounding trees. This is on my campus.

May 16th:

I had spent many of the week's nights staying late at the lab (as late as 9), but Friday I decided to leave early because there was a welcome party at Osaka University's Toyonaka Party hosted by the international student group. I must have been in a photographic mood, cause I took a couple (not particularly amazing, but noteworthy) pictures:

The station I parked my bike at. Looks like an American mall. It's called 千里中央 Senrichuo. 

Crowded monorail commute to the other campus. 

I arrived late at the party, but fortunately there was an after-party being held on the campus. I spent the evening mingling with random people, mostly Japanese or Japanese speakers. Here's an interesting character I met:

Pretty classic Japan. He was a nice guy. From Taiwan actually.. 

Late night bike ride.. I took this because it reminded me of LA. But looking back on it, it is not match to the monster freeways of LA..

 There was an after-after party at the dorm. It consisted mainly of political conversations though. Which were held until 4 in the morning...

Third time falling asleep to the Osaka sunrise.

May 17th:

We took it easy on Saturday. During the day, I got some time to play some ball, and at night we celebrated my friends James (Ireland) and Kevin's (US) birthdays with a big takoyaki party. We didn't just make regular takoyaki though. We made novelty takoyaki, where we substituted the octopus with random things like chocolate covered macadamia nuts, gummy bears, and sausage.

That's my bud James wagging is finger in the air. You can see the takoyaki machine in the middle of the table.

Takoyaki: a pancake-like batter with octopus inside, garnished with a sweet soy-based takoyaki sauce, mayonaise, seaweed and fish flakes. Tastes wonderful. 

May 18th:

On Sunday, I sat down and recorded my own rendition of the standard "All of Me". It took a good reception on Facebook, so hopefully you all will like it as well.

Everything was arranged by me, most notably the solo (I am proud of it). C:

２０１４年５月７日−１１日

May 7th-9th:

Wednesday, I worked in the lab all day. My new samples, titanium powder heated to 800 C and another to 1000 C yielded no surprising data. The 1000 C sintered block was heavier, more dense, harder, and contained less N and O content (the 800 C was less dense, meaning more pockets of atmospheric air (mainly O and N) were trapped inside). Anyhow, I was still perplexed as to why the SPS materials were stronger than the extruded materials (read earlier blog if this doesn't make sense).

May 10th

Saturday was a day of relaxation. I did my laundry, watched basketball, and enjoyed some good convenient store food. I also saw this sign in the bathroom stall that afternoon.. I thought it was hilarious.

"Drop it to the water" This is why English speakers have good job opportunities here. They still often rely on Google Translate.

In the evening, my friend Emilio and I decided to go play some basketball with a campus club. We took a train a long ways up north towards the edge of the city. The club ended up being a bunch of Malaysian guy who were pretty good. We played for 3 hours, then grabbed dinner with one of the Japanese guys at the local "Gusto", basically the equivalent of a Denny's in the states.

A really crappy pic of the view from the monorail on the way back

May 11th:

This was an awesome day full of traditional Japanese arts. I, along with my friends Sophie and Denise, was invited by Kato San (an elderly lady from our community) to visit a friend of a friend's house. What was so special about this place was that it was built in the late Edo Period, making it about 200 years old. To add to the experience, our hosts were Noh theater hobbyists who would be putting on a show for us in the tatami-style house, after which, we would enjoy a 茶道 Sadou or Japanese Tea Ceremony together. I was super pumped. Here are pictures to give you an idea:

From left to right, Kato-San, Denise, Sophie, Kato's friend. I forgot to mention they dressed in full Kimono! 

Our lunch table.

Delicious 海鮮丼弁当 (Seafood with rice lunch box) prepared for us. It was incredibly fresh tasting.

The lady who owns the house on the right. 

One of the house gardeners/hobbyist performers standing in the tatami style room.

Denise standing by the window and alcove.

Here is a video of the Sensei's performance. I forget which play it came from (I think the Tales of Genji) but enjoy. The point is to emulate a puppet while the chorus tells the story. Notice the walk, lifeless expression of the face, and puppet-like arm motions. He was gracious enough to teach us the basics after the performances.

This mask is apparently very sacred in Noh. We had the opportunity to try it. That old guy is the owner of the house/Noh sensei.

A little bit undersized...

A nice group shot to admire the outfits of everyone.

Ikebana in the alcove.

Little garden in the front with the traditional Japanese lantern holder. 

Another alcove with ikebana.

The difference between 200 year old wood (right) and new wood (left).

The entrance to the house. 

Saying our goodbyes. It was a lovely day. 

Overall, I had such an great experience: truly authentic, and all at no cost. The Japanese hospitality and service is boundless, and is something I hope to learn from in my time here. Thank you to Kato-san for sharing the opportunity.

２０１４年５月３日ー６日

May 3rd:

During the Golden Week holiday, Osaka University held its annual　一丁祭り Iccho Festival where various clubs on campus set up stands to provide food/other goods for the students. I went with some friends of mine and enjoyed the festive atmosphere most of the afternoon.

It was a beautiful day. Those trees are so green..

Making takoyaki, something I plan on bringing back to the states. And hey look, she's a gaijin! I'm not alone!

Great people, and they always wanna take pictures with me. Cool I guess.

Our good friend Sarah. That's Andreas (Germany) on the left and Bankin' Ban (from California) on the right.

Late afternoon sun.

In the evening, a bunch of the Osaka University bands played on the main stage. They were all mostly cover songs played, but that did not take away from the excitement. Here is a band that sounded kind of like dream theater.

After the festival was over, we headed over to 石橋 Ichibashi, basically the college town for Osaka University's 豊中 Toyonaka campus. We went with the International Student group, but it ended up being all Japanese people aside from my buddy Andreas. Here's a pic of us at the bar.

May 4th:

May 4th was an adventure. We had a good crew, and we were thirty for an adventure in 神戸 Kobe. We headed out late in the morning with the intention of getting lunch there. The place we went to was recommended to us by my good friend Suguru. It was basically a sashimi (raw fish) with rice place. Here are pics of us/food.

Selfie! The place was basically a bar with 7 chairs or so. We had to wait a good 20 minutes to get in. (Also check out my sunburn from the festival... Nice going Franc...)

Here is what I got for about 800 yen. It consisted of はまち yellowtail (my absolute favorite)、あじ jack mackarel、さんま Pacific saury.

Honestly I would have been happy just after this meal, but the day only got better. We headed away from the central station (三宮駅) and made our way to this massive hill in the city. We decided we want to climb it!

Here is the hill just north of the city we wanted to check out.

We found some sketchy gate that led into the foresty, leaf-littered hills. It didn't say entry was prohibited, but there was most certainly no marked path. We went through the gates and I managed to peer pressure all my friends to start foraging into the forest, through tons of these hanging silk worms that would get all over your clothes and face. At one point, the forest got extremely steep -- I'm talking like 60 degree incline status -- at which half the crew decided to skip out and go back to the city to find another way up the hill (it was more or less a mountain...). According to my friend, "the boys were separated from the men". Here are some pics/dramatic videos.

Forging the path for the crew.

Self-explanatory

After my friends caught up.

We only realized that we were in the Northern Koba mountains when we just kept walking, walking, and.... walking... It was amazing to be in the outdoors away from the city smog. The taste of fresh air and the smell of the woods. Of course you can't forget the amazing views from up there. Here are som pictures.

We found this old creepy abandoned RV in the woods. Also captures the personalities of my two buddies (Emilio on the left and Johannes on the right)

Couldn't read this, but it was pretty. 

A beautiful view of Kobe harbor with perfect weather

The panorama. Hopefully this will show properly on the blog site.

At the viewpoint above, we came across a middle-aged couple. I asked them what the best way down the mountain was, explaining that we had just climbed some random face. They said to follow the road, so I asked if hitchhiking was legal in Japan. They said it was no problem. So.... We started walking down the road trying to hitchhike with every car that came by. Eventually the couple that I met at this point rolled through and offered us a ride in their Mercedes. Cramped in the backseat, we made pleasant conversation all the way back to town, where they were kind enough to drop us off at their favorite Kobe beef restaurant. Unfortunately, the place was close when we returned to it for dinner later. But, before that, we started heading to the harbor to see the other part of Kobe. Here are some pics.

Right next to the strain station was this tiny alleyway. The exposed piping of the buildings/railway structure gave it a really Gotham city feel. Really cool, and the smell of food was amazing.

Finally, I am at the ocean again. This a candid shot of Johannes.

In memory of the damage caused by the 大頭地震 Great Kobe Earthquake

Kobe Harbor at Sunset

That boat the 丸大和 looks straight out of a Pokemon game.. Come to think of it, so does that tower..

The Oktoberfest in the middle of May.

After the lights turned on.

Ferris wheel at the harbor. 

神戸牛丼 A Kobe Beef Rice Bowl Set.

Back at the station at the end of the night.

Kobe might have been my favorite city in Japan so far. I will definitely return soon.

May 5th:

This weekend really was jam-packed with great activities. On the 5th I had the opportunity to visit my Sensei's house along with many of the other lab members. I arrived around 1 o'clock and went straight around the house (very big for Japanese standards) to the back where he had a big guest house. The seating was traditional, no chairs. There were just two tables about a foot off the ground with lots of the researchers, as well as former students of Professor Kondoh gathered around them. As for the food, first I ate about 2 plates of stacked, Kobe style fatty steak. Next, I was asked to make takoyaki, while my Sensei made okonomiyaki. I think I a pretty killer job because they were all impressed. They didn't know that I have been regularly making takoyaki at the dorm with my hallmates.. Next came some spaghetti with seaweed and fish eggs in a light creamy sauce. Finally, dessert and tea. This whole time we all had beers and other beverages. It was hilarious because two of his former students drank so much that they fell asleep at the table. As a side-note, it truly is amazing how adept Japanese people are at sleeping in a sitting position, especially in loud, public places. Anyways, Kondoh Sensei didn't seem to mind their drunken mental absence, which is another interesting point. Work superiors don't seem care how much you drink. Regardless, I was fine the whole time. Here's a group pic after the meal. 

Kondoh Sensei on the left: he's a boss. Imai Sensei on the right: he's also a boss.

May 6th:

I closed the weekend off with a concert. I went with Kato-san, an elderly lady I had met at the weekly "Let's talk Japanese" meetings at our dorm with the locals. Her husband was a violinist in the Suita City Symphony Orchestra, and she gave us free tickets to the concert. It turns out that the orchestra was a volunteer hobby orchestra, and unfortunately it sounded a little bit like it. The song choice was really not to my liking, and there were lots of mistakes in the performance. Also, the venue had pretty weak acoustics. The orchestra didn't resonate nicely in the concert hall. Regardless, I was happy to be there and experience a more local aspect of the Osaka culture. And I appreciated all the hard work that the people put into the music. It certainly was not easy music.

After the concert we returned home I played some sports with my friends and enjoyed a feast of a dinner.

Having a Korean BBQ feast with the hallmates

I had a wonderful holiday weekend.