We've been in Japan for about a week and a half and I just realized that I've been peeing backwards. Everytime you enter a bathroom it's a new experience. We arrived in Tokyo from Vancouver and proceeded directly to a basball game in Tokyo with some friends from my Mount Abe days. Great game, great spirit, amazing excitment and fortunately some adrenaline rushing through our jet lagged bodies. Just needed to use the bathroom, so I took a chance. Now I had heard about "having to pee in a hole" possibility on this trip but wasn't fully expecting a japanese ballpark to be the time or place. But, if you know me, I take it for what it's worth and do was the locals do (later I find out the locals do it facing the other direction but give me a little credit.) Traditonal Japanese style toilets are quite simply a basin in the floor that you squat over and try your best to aim properly. Coming from the outdoors of Alaska actually helped in this situation, I was well practiced in my backcountry stance.

From my first run in with the culturally shocking women's room I've become quite facinated with this piece of Japanese tradition. In my time here I've come across the automatic lid lifter, the flushing sound effect button, the blacklight backdrop, the apricot cleanser spray, the preflush, the bum washer and sometimes, if you're lucky, it's all rolled into one. And of course, clearly stated "Please use cleanly".

Japan is completely different from anything I've ever known culturally, this just being one small piece of the puzzle but a fair representation of my culture shock. Ryan and I have prepared ourselves by going into these experiences with an open mind and appetite for a challenge but Japan has been an amazing test.