The thing about Japanese Toilets

Ok, I know, this might be a strange starting point for sharing my experiences in Japan. But I still have a pile of photos and videos to sort through and organize into something I would call 'good content', rather than just mass upload pictures from my phone.

If you are insatiably curious for a taste of Japanese non-bathroom related culture, you can check out the mini photo collages I posted during my trip on my Instagram account, @turner_sr

Japan day 5! Took the train down to Kamakura for a day of Zen Buddhist monasteries, and hiking in the mountains. Spotted some Japanese girls in traditional dress on the way back. #japan

A photo posted by Sara Turner (@turner_sr) on Sep 23, 2015 at 1:20am PDT

But until then, let's talk toilets.

First of all, at many points during my trip I thought to myself, I really need to take a picture of that toilet, but I always refrained from it because, I donno, taking pictures of toilets seems weird. But now I kind of regret not doing it.

I encountered three types of toilet on my trip, in separate locations, and in the instance of the public bathrooms of Narita International Airport, all three types at once. Thank god for airports and choices.

Narita airport was in fact the only point in the trip where I encountered regular old fashioned western toilets, much to my happiness. It was comforting to be able to pee without the awkward toilet anxiety of the past 10 days.

For the toilet weary traveler. A bathroom stall marked with a symbol like this probably indicates a western style toilet.

Now I sure you have all heard of the crazy Techno-Toilets of Tokyo (which would probably make a good band name or something). And the majority of the toilets I encountered were variations on this theme.

If you see the picture of the regular toilet, alongside the picture of the butt fountain, then elaborate toilet technology awaits you. And you should proceed with caution. Because if you think they have a thing for bidets in France, that's only because you haven't been to Japan.

I had heard enough horror stories about toilets spraying water sky high while flashing lights and singing songs before arriving in Japan to make me avoid pressing any of the many buttons on or around my toilets there.

Here's a sample of the kind of options you might see.

And as I didn't take any toilet pictures myself, I borrowed this one from Alaska Girl At Heart's visit to Narita. But you can see that the functionality is exceedingly complex... it also raises a conundrum for me.

You notice the blue 'Butt Fountain' button, when labeled in English it is called spray. The pink button, with the person (although more often than not it featured a woman) is labeled bidet. These two buttons were always colour co-ordinated blue and pink. Making me think, one is for girls and one is for boys.

Which in turn makes me think that the 'Butt' portion of the 'Butt Fountain' is not a butt at all, but something rather more (in the words of Jenna Marbles) Ball-Sac-ier.

Which then brings me to the conundrum of why they used this symbol to label the techno toilets in the women's bathroom at the airport?

Beyond me.

Anyways, lets get back on track, I never touched any of these buttons, preferring my toilets to be as inanimate  as possible, but that still doesn't mean I wasn't subjected to advance toilet functions against my will.

The first time I actually settled my wait onto a Japanese toilet (preferring of course to hover over strange toilets), I immediately launched myself back off of it. Because the seat itself activates a function, and in my moment of fear, surely the toilet was about to come to life. Turns out, sitting down on the toilets just turns on a flow of water into the bowl, for some reason.

But still, moment of terror.

Also, some of the toilet seats were heated. Which when you have a hotel room all to yourself, gives you the creepy sense that someone other than you was just sitting on your toilet (#toiletghosts).

Finally, I was bemused to see that in places with high incidences of foreign tourists (hotel lobby bathrooms in particular) the bathroom stalls all featured an emergency help button. I can only assume these buttons were installed in response to confused tourists flooding the bathrooms when they inadvertently turned the sprayers on when looking for the flush. Pro-tip, the flush may be located on the wall, far away from the toilet.

Now if that was not enough strange for you, I'd like to introduce you to the third style of toilet I encountered in Japan.

If the symbol looks like this.

This is what you can expect.

Oh yeah. And in some places, like the University Hospital Research building in Nagoya, this was the only option.

Yes I was in the women's bathroom. I double checked.

I can tell you one thing, I was really happy to see my crazy techno toilet when I got back to my hotel that night.

And that my friends is how you write over 860 words about toilets...which should tell you a thing or two about just how lasting an impression they left on me.

Eating out in Toronto: A recap of my weekend through food.

Last weekend I visited family and friends in Toronto. Here's a quick recap of the food and drink I enjoyed while I was there.

 Thursday, June 4th

Lunch was at some little restaurant who's name I can't remember on Queen West near Romni Yarns.

Pulled Pork pita, salad with goat cheese and Woodhouse beer on special, can go wrong, especially with the crispy onions on top!

Then it was over to Bloor West near Bathurst Station to meet Steph and Lisa for dinner (Prosciutto Pizza) and martinis (mine was a lychee one!).

Friday,, June 5th

Tim's for breakfast.... boring I know, then I met up with my family when their Porter flight arrived, and we went to O&B Canteen for lunch.

Where Penelope was a pretty little lady, and I had the Green Bean Ceasar Salad and Pulled Pork (didn't eat the bun...cause you know carbs I guess)

Later we grabbed some drinks at Earls, where we were dismayed to find out that it was 'Appy Hour' and not 'Happy Hour'. Lame Sauce. And then back to the Porter shuttle drop off to wait for even more family to arrive. We followed this with dinner at Jack Astors, and I went with my usual order there, the Chicken Asiago Bow Ties Pasta... yum!

Saturday, June 6th

Woke up nice and early... Tim Hortons for breakfast.... because, you know, cheep/fast... if you're lucky the staff is on the ball... unfortunately for my mom they were not this particular morning (she paid for a yogurt parfait only to be then told they didn't have any ready. So she swapped for an oatmeal... then same deal.... so they had to do a refund yeesh). Why was it so important we were up and on our way early? Because we had an appointment at Kleinfeld's, so my cousin Kara could 'Say Yes to the Dress'.

No she wasn't actually on the show, but since we brought 14 people and one energetic toddler with us, she totally could have been. And Kara did find a beautiful gown to say Yes to, but I myself had my eyes on this one.... because you know, maybe one day.

Le Sigh.....

Afterwards we took a brief jaunt over to the Eaton Center for an hour of shopping....and wow, litterally half that place is under construction right now. Then hit up Chipotle for lunch.

I'm going to have to come back to the topic of Chipotle in an entirely separate post where I compare, contrast and rant about it in relationship to Mucho Burrito. So get ready for that folks.

After lunch we walked until our feet bled (or so my short legged Italian family made it seem) and my Aunts Nella and Teresa took their daughters to visit their College Dorms at UofT.

Here are Teresa and Julia on the steps of Annesley Hall at UofT Victoria College (PS Happy Birthday Aunt Teresa!). Annesley Hall is a beautiful old building, that would be just the idealistic place to spend your College years.

After all that walking, my little cousin Caitlin and I hit up the outdoor pool for a swim in the sun, and then everyone cleaned up for my Aunt's birthday dinner at Cibo.

Cibo! First I was all like, we have that in Calgary, but aparently they are two different chains. Either way the food at Cibo in Toronto (we went to the King st location) was amaze balls... kind of like the rice balls above. And better yet, they specialize in Central and Southern Italian Cuisine, so the whole menu just sounded like things that would come out of my nana's kitchen.

After stuffing our faces with appetizers and wine, I tackled this amazing veggie risotto.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped off for some quick family photos, and for Penelope to run around like a silly goose. Then while all the old folk stayed up to have drinks in the hotel lobby, I went to bed nice and early.

Sunday, June 7th

Woke up nice and early to pack up the room and say good bye to my family, who were all headed back up to the North (the Soo and T-Bay). Then I hopped on the train to go meet Jill at St. Claire West Station.

Finally a morning without Tim Hortons, we went to Cocoa Latte, and I had the breakfast tostada and it was incredible, and huge! I also hear the chocolate milk they serve there is second to none.

Afterwards we met up with Lisa and took a walk through High Park.

Then drinks on a patio, where we were joined by Steph and I had a minor wardrobe malfunction, and back to Steph's place to watch Game of Thrones.

Monday, June 8th

Slept in, Tim's for breakfast again! Mad Max for lunch and Air Canada for dinner. I got home to Calgary in time to block out the scarf I'd been knitting all weekend and snuggle with Kevin before bed.

OK that got long winded, Happy humpday ladies and gents!

A day of movies and travel

I just returned from a whirlwind weekend in Toronto. Full of family, friends, walking and blisters and beer, wedding dresses and Penelope, pools and patios. It was great and exhausting, wonderful to see all people I love and miss, but as always I'm so happy to be home.

Today, on the way back, Jill and I stopped at the cinplex on bloor and young (I think) and saw the matinee showing of Mad Max Fury Road, and despite it being all one long car chase scene I really enjoyed the movie.

Fun fact about the movie... it's the 4th in the series, the first 3 are from 30 years ago and starred Mel Gibson.... so I'm going to have to check them out, not because of Mel of course, but rather because Max definitely seems to have some sort of troubled past. I mean outside of the run of the mill troubles of living in a post-apocalyptic world.

Then I popped on over to Pearson, managed to get myself onto an earlier flight thanks to Air Canada's practice of overselling their flights and flew on home to Calgary.

Along the way I watched The Wedding Ringer (alright) and The Business Deal (meh....despite the comedy of the movie it features a bit of a PSA about cyber bullying). And because even both those movies didn't last the whole 4 hours and 20 minute flight, I also watched the last two episodes of Parks and Rec.... which brings me to my closing point.

I kind of want this t-shirt....available on Etsy here.

Well I'm off to go read movie synopsis-es from the first 3 Mad Max films... happy Monday night world.

Wanderlands Camping is In Tents!

If you do have the chance to go to a Wanderlust Festival, make sure you take my advice on this one and book a campsite in Wanderlands. You really won't go wrong.

Initially my motivation for camping was to save some money, considering how expensive a room at Turtle Bay would be. But after booking it, I received an email from Wanderlust suggesting that campers bring prayer flags to liven up the camp grounds, and that we not be afraid to 'get creative'.

Well that's really all the permission I needed to decide I'd leave my traditional prayer flags up on the wall in my room, get out my crochet hook and get hooking!

I made three strands of flags over the month leading up to Wanderlust, and gleefully strung them around my tent. The details of the garlands will be shared over at the Yarn Lab.

And speaking of my tent, I picked it up for a shockingly inexpensive $20 at Canadian tire, and proceeded to spray paint large Oms on the fly in gold.  Thank goodness I did too, because I think it was only the blessing of the oms that kept my tent standing and dry in all of the rain and wind we had last week. The tent itself is not on the website, or apparently anywhere online, but according to the packaging is a Timberline by Kodiak 4 person Dome Tent.

The most amazing part of camping out at Wanderlands in O'ahu, was going to sleep each night listening to the crash of the waves, and waking each morning to watch the light of sunrise come out over the ocean. Although the waves could be a bit loud, and the strong winds coming in off the shoreline took down a few tents, I couldn't have picked a better camp site.

Wanderlands campgrounds provided all of our needs during the festival. With a large communal camp fire, clean outhouses, and cold water showers, you had your necessities covered. Importantly, they had very helpful campground managers camping near by, ready to help you out with tape or tarps should you run into trouble with your tent. They also had twinkle lights strung through the trees and a generator running all night to light up a tent where you could charge your phones and cameras.

While camping was a little rustic, I have to thank the generous staff at Turtle Bay Resort, as each one of us campers headed up to the resort to use the lobby bathroom, to freshen up and brush our teeth. Heck some people even shampooed their hair in the sinks (which to be honest, the hotel wasn't pumped about, and I can't blame the for it). They also put up with all of us campers spending our down time in the lobby while it rained outside, and providing us with free wifi, so we could keep in touch with social media of course!

All of this was great, of course, but the best part of camping was the people! Hanging out on the beach and by the campfire, you got to meet some of the best festival goers, who had flown in from all over the world with shared interests in yoga and travel.

Here's just a few of us hanging out in the lobby with some wine before dinner on our last evening there! In closing I have to say, I wouldn't do wanderlust any other way. Although a hot shower would be great, and a real bed would have felt amazing, the experiences I had on the beach were worth any small and temporary discomforts!

Wanderlust O'ahu 2015

Well ladies and gents, I'm back in Calgary. I summoned the courage to say goodbye to tropical paradise, leave the North Shore behind and come back home to winter. And to be honest, it feels good to be back home. The kind of goodness that comes from being home with the people you love after having an amazing trip full of personal growth and experience and wonder.

I spent 4 nights in Waikiki, traveling around O'ahu on my own, then headed up to the fabled north shore, and Turtle Bay Resort for the yoga festival Wanderlust. If you have never been to Wanderlust or a yoga retreat, please take my advice on this, and make plans to go to one now. Even if you've never done a single downward dog in your life. Even if it's not located somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii. You will open your heart and bring in so much goodness to your life.

This was my first true vacation taken all on my lonesome, and just after my 27th birthday (on Feb 17th) it absolutely could not have come at a better point. The photo above is from my first morning in Hawaii at sunrise, I rolled myself out of my hostel bed, and headed down to the beach, wrapped in my own thoughts, breathing the fresh sea air. As I watched the clouds go from grey to red and gold, I contemplated being at a turning point in my life. This 27th year of my life will see me finishing up Grad School, Kevin finishing Medical school. He will head to Medicine Hat for residency and I will make the career choices that will set the tone for my future. And although I hate to focus in on age as a number, but there is certainly something about knowing 30 is right around the corner that makes you sit and think hard about your life.

So a trip by myself, at this cornerstone point in my life, was exactly what I wanted and needed. And I promised myself, there on that beach, to make this trip a celebration of me. To embrace the experience to its fullest.  To savor the solitude, and to in the lonely moments to grow as an individual.

And while I was raised as a Catholic, and I don't know what I am right now, I found more time for spirituality on this trip than I have in the last several years. Spirituality that took on many forms. By traveling alone, you are blessed with the ability to sit and contemplate yourself and the world whenever you feel the inner call to do so. Whether it be in the sandalwood scented silence of a Japanese Buddhist temple, or amid 400 other yogis in the rain and the mud at Wanderlust.

Traveling alone has so many rewards, although it can be lonely at times. So also important on this trip was to be open to form new relationships. And in that openness you might even find yourself blessed with the seeds of a new friendship. In an example of how truly small this world is, the girl who pitched her tent next to mine happened to be from right back home in Calgary. And somehow, in addition to having shared roots, we found we had many other things in common as well. So I get to take a little bit of my trip home with me, and hopefully in Alberta's fertile soil grow that friendship further.

Over the next several days I'll be sharing all of my trip on the blogs. So please come on back for more. In the mean time, I have a tonne of laundry to do, sleep to catch up on, photos to print and blogs to write.

From the depths of my heart,

Namaste!

Messing around in Drumheller

A few weeks back, while my cousins were visiting, we drove out to Drumheller, Alberta. My first (and persisting) impression of the town? It's a a town in a hole in the ground. Driving across the prairie towards Drumheller you keep waiting to see it on the horizon. I mean out here you can see a shed from a couple kilometres off, so you'd expect you'd be able to see a town of some 8,000 people at least from the vantage of the 10km to Drumheller sign. But nope, nothing at all, until you're about 500m away and the highway takes a sudden turn, and drops down a steep hill into a hole in the prairie.

OK technically it's not a hole, it's the Red Deer River Valley, but that's the impression it left.

The town of Drumheller, as viewed from the mouth of the world's largest dinosaur. Notice the side wall of the hole in which the town is located.

That's right I said 'from the mouth of the world's largest dinosaur', note the teeth!

Later we took awesome pictures of my cousin Justin running for his life.

But don't worry, he actually has some serious dinosaur defense skills.

OK, so maybe it was already like that when we got there.

Overall the town of Drumheller, apart from being located in a hole, absolutely must have the record for most statues of dinosaurs. You could enjoy a pretty awesome day riding your bike around town trying to find them all. In fact the locals affectionately (maybe?) call the cementosaurs and you can find a walking tour of them all (plus a tonne of random facts) here.

Next up we headed to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, home to Alberta's Dinosaur collection (real fossils and not just cartoonish statues people!) This was my second visit, and I loved it just as much as my first. You can find my best shots from this visit over on my photography blog, by clicking this link.

But we also goofed around at the museum a little bit too...particularly in the gift shop. But I'll spare Justin the embarrassment of posting those photos... especially because he just started university. Instead I'll save them for his graduation or something!

We also met some Alberta wildlife in front of the museum... This adorable chubby, tourist fed Prairie Dog.

Finally, in keeping with the them/trend of the visit... Here's me doing yoga somewhere cool!

Aaaaahhhhh Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana B.... so much easier with the right leg than the left!

That's all I have to say from Drumheller for now, but I'll have to go back to visit again some time soon, and explore the nearby Horseshoe Canyon and Dinosaur Provincial Park. What exciting places did you visit this summer?

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

When I was in Toronto last month I had the chance to visit the new Ripley's Aquarium.

My impression?

It was awesome! I can't wait to go back with Kevin over the holidays.

The Ripley's Aquarium steps up the standard aquarium experience by putting you right in with the fishes. Literally. You get to take a slow moving sidewalk through a tunnel beneath the 2.5 million liter Dangerous Lagoon home to a shocking number of sharks!

There are also a tone of places with kids, or eager adults can crawl through tanks. Krista took Penelope walking through this one.

It was quite possibly Penelope's favourite part of the aquarium.

I was a great experiance, especially for the $30 ticket price. I would recommend you buy your tickets online in advance and save yourself having to wait in line. Also consider going either first thing in the AM or later in the evening (after 7 and you get $5 off admission) because the aquarium is a great place to bring kids...and if you're like me, you will quickly be wishing there were fewer of them there.

One other great thing going on at the Aquarium this summer? Yoga classes in front of the sting ray tank...I so wish I lived in Toronto right about now (which doesn't often happen!).

Anyways, definitely check the aquarium out if you're in Toronto any time soon. In the mean time, you can see some of my favourite photos from my visit on my new Photography blog atTurner_SR.

The Natural History Museum, London

I'm currently reading a truly fascinating non-fiction book, 'Between Man and Beast: An unlikely explorer, The evolution debate, And the African adventure that took the Victorian world by storm'. Penned by Monte Reel, I first picked up this book at Chapters, minutes before seeing the Lego movie. Distracted by the sheer awesomeness of said movie, and the two other books I purchased that day, this one hid out under a pile of laundry for a couple weeks. (yes it is possible in my apartment to have a pile of laundry stay in one place for that long... ah well).

Getting to the point, I picked up the book to start reading it today and it is thus far epic. Following the story of Paul Du Chaillu as he adventures into Africa to go after the near mythical gorilla, with alternating chapters featuring the dawn of the Natural History Museum, the evolution debate and Darwin's writing and publishing of 'The Origin of Species.' The book reads like some perfectly crafted, terribly exciting fictional tale; it's truly amazing just how exciting the dawn of modern science really was! (for an equally enthralling tale of discovery, try Francis Crick's What Mad Pursuit).

When I finish reading, I'll have to write a review post on the book overall, in the mean time however, I realize I haven't shared my photos from my visits to the Natural History Museum in London from this past summer. So lets finish out this post with all this pictures of taxidermied animals you could ever want to see (which aren't featured on the Bloggess).

The Museum exterior is beautiful, and covered with examples of flora and fauna. Fun point from Between Man and Beast, one wing is covered with (at the time) still living species and the other with extinct ones. This was an effort of the museum driving force Richard Owen to establish that there is no connection between extinct species and current ones, in an effort to discredit growing support for transmutation (which would become the theory of evolution).

The hall of dinosaurs was pretty cool, though it has nothing on the Royal Tyrrell Museum, right here in Alberta.

 The hall of mammals was amazing, especially when you consider than many of the specimens are over 100 years old.

A photo montage of everyone's favourite extinct flightless bird, the dodo!

And finally, me with my main man (sorry Kevin) Darwin! (speaking of which the Darwin center recent addition at the Museum was a huge let down... although I suppose would be great for kids and lay audiences).

Public museums like this one, and ones all across the US and Canada are one of the most important things for disseminating science, and raising interest in our natural world. Best of all, admission is often free or inexpensive (usually in the form of a donation). I highly encourage you to find the nearest natural history museum or science center and spend a day (importantly you should not be in a rush, take the time to read the information presented with the specimens or displays) and explore your own world a little more. You never know in what way you might be inspired.

If you can't get out to a physical museum anytime soon, I highly, highly recommend you spend some youtube time with Emily of The Brain Scoop. As a volunteer at the U. of Montanna Zoological Museum, and now a feature of the Field Museum in Chicago, you get to go behind the scenes and discover first hand a little more about our natural world!

All Around the World #Blogember 22

This month I'm writing posts for Blogember, you can join in on the fun over at A Happy Girl.

Today's Prompt is travel, 10 places you've been to or want to go to. Or if you're feeling fun, half and half.

5 Places I've been:

1. New York, New York in Feb 2009 for my 21st birthday.

2. Budapest, Hungary in May 2011 (You touch the gold part on the statue for good luck!)

3. Aspen, Colorado, June 2012 for a FASEB Smooth Muscle meeting.

4.Maui, Hawaii, July 2012 for a Sara and Sarah trip!

5. Havana, Cuba, March 2013 with the boy, and a much needed break from winter.

 

So those are just a handful of the places I've been in the last few years, here's 5 that I'm going to try to hit up in the next few.

1. San Diego, California, April 2014 for Experimental Biology, and hopefully a road trip along the coast.

2. Kyoto, Japan, September 2015 for a Microcirculation Meeting, and hopefully a trip to nearby (relatively speaking)

3. Australia....really any and all of it. Basically, if I'm going to be on the other side of the world, I better go to more than  one place.

4. Mexico....sometime soon... to celebrate a wedding, date has yet to be set.

5. Alaska, Road Trip from Calgary...this one's been on my western Canada bucket list since I moved out here.

Where do you want to travel to next?