Archive for Japan
July 27, 2007 at 7:22 pm · Filed under Experiences, Japan, Toys
Off the boat and to the combini to buy fireworks. We bought Hello Kitty and an Anpanman sets full of sparklers and squealers and mice hanabi that spin in circles on the ground. Crap those things are packaged! You need 10 minutes of unpacking before you can set anything on fire.
But they do include the coolest thing - special effect glasses. Actually in Japanese they are “不思議メガネ” (fushigi megane) - mysterious or wonderous glasses. Put them on and アンパンマンの頭がいっぱいあるよ！(You can see a lot of anpanman’s head). Actually in our case it was Uncle Jam’s face that we could see when viewing bright light sources. These glasses are the coolest. Watch someone with a lit sparkle and it looks as though they are holding a magic wand spewing forth cascades of anpanman heads. Don’t worry - I will bring some back to Canada because they are that cool.
A very special kind of hanabi for the Japanese is “線香花火” (senkou hanabi). You light these small, thin hanabi from a candle included with the fireworks set. They are held pointing downwards and if you are lucky you will get a small, beautiful, humble display of fireworks. They are different from sparklers - not so quick and high energy. The flickers of light almost seem to be dripping from the end. They are very special for people in Japan, said to represent the emotion of summer. Some friends told me that they are a good finale to hanabi parties at the end of summer - being small but beautiful they are symbolic of that end of summer happy-melancholy feeling. Oh and Wikipedia tells me that they say you can get the best fireworks if you hold it at a 45 degree angle downwards.
We ended with senkouhanabi and cleaned up but I don’t think I am done with hanabi for the summer. I see a few more bright nights ahead of me.
July 22, 2007 at 11:15 pm · Filed under Evil Things, Japan
Japanese mosquitos are ninjas. Compared to the Saskatchewan variety. In Saskatchewan mosquitos use numbers as force. The ones here travel alone and you rarely see them. But they are there and they bite and they leave a big mark.
Just…if you ever come here…watch out!
July 13, 2007 at 11:37 am · Filed under Experiences, I am feeling..., Japan
This morning I experienced a bit of the stereotypical “avoidance of speaking up” that people talk about when talking about Japan. Notice that I am skirting around actually saying “Japan is like this and today was an example”. I’ve had many experiences that go against the stereotype and I don’t want to give people such a one dimensional impression.
But - this was interesting. I took the bus to work, the same one I usually take and usually 4-8 other people who work in my building take it too. Every day the bus stops in front of our building regardless of whether someone presses the button to request the stop. My building is one of those kinds stops. Today the bus driver must have been new. We drove up to the building and then slowly past the building and then…turn…and then someone pressed the button but the driver kept going because the stop requested (according to the automatic announcement) was the one after our building. I almost said something but then stopped - wait, how do I say that in Japanese? All I know is “tomare” (stop!!) and the tone of that would have been a little spazzy.
We kept on going and no one else said anything. Knowing that the next stop was a little ways away and the way back was uphill I felt it would be kind of ridiculous to all keep quiet and politely get off at the next stop. I walked to the front and asked the driver “sumimasen ga…taitei…NTT tsushin kenkyu-jo…minna koko ni…” (excuse me but…usually….NTT research lab…everyone there…) and he understood right away, stopped the bus and let us off. While I was talking another man had followed me to the front, followed by two other women. So I saved everybody’s morning.
No just kidding but really…why didn’t anyone say anything? I didn’t because of a language issue but also maybe because my first feeling was “eh…I’ll just walk…saying something is so much effort”. Did other people feel that? Or were they struggling, wanting to say something but just not being able to speak up?
I guess this story is important to me on another level. I’ve been a little frustrated lately with how much (and when and where and to whom) I hold myself back in my expression. I know many of you would respond to that by saying “you don’t hold yourself back!” But I do…when I do put myself out there, I find the easy ways to do that but not necessarily the most effective ways for living as fully and creatively as I could. Also, a lot of my expression has been facilitated by other people. My good friends - they are some amazing, outgoing, vibrant people. They influence me, make me feel comfortable coming out of my shell.
But I have not made many close relationships to crazy people here (you know, good way crazy) and I think that I have to move beyond relying on the crazy people to say the things I want to say. I need to find that in myself.
I thought about this the whole way to work and then with the bus incident I was all proud that I had a strong voice. But now I am here. And it is quiet (actually I am sort of hiding right now) and I feel hesitant to interrupt anyone and I think that I should just do my work and save my social interaction for the prescribed lunch hour.
Why am I shutting up?
June 19, 2007 at 2:37 pm · Filed under Japan
It is common for, when you are leaving a smaller restaurant, the servers or owners to stand outside the door and see you off. They wave and bow until you are out of sight. If you turn around they will still be there smiling. It makes you really feel like a guest in their home, not just a business.
May 7, 2007 at 6:34 pm · Filed under Japan
I might have mentioned spending some time in the park near my dormitory (umikaze koen) this past week. We had beautiful weather - blue skies and in the mid-20s - for most of golden week and it was definitely taken advantage of by those with tents and bbqs and children. The masses you see in the picture below - they come early to get their spot. Some do not leave. One morning around 8am I jogged through to see some young men crawling from their tents, rubbing their eyes, examining the boxes and coolers and tarp around them to remember what they were doing the night before.
The children are too cute.
A drum circled played some beats and girls were dancing in bare feet.
February 15, 2007 at 1:24 pm · Filed under In the Kitchen and Foodstuff, Japan
It’s a little sad - the other day I went into my neighborhood Lawson’s convenience store and the oden stand was gone. Oden came in the fall when it started getting chilly outside and it is the best warm-me-up convenience store food. Sure, home oden and izakaya oden are much better but on those windy nights where you are just too tired to cook at home…oden did the trick. I loved oden.
It is highly possible that you have not heard of or seen oden before. If you have not, read a description from bento.com and also check out their page on translating the oden menus from 7-11 and Lawson’s.
February 13, 2007 at 3:47 pm · Filed under Experiences, Japan
Moving back to Saturday afternoon – I attending a coworker’s wedding ceremony. It was beautiful (of course) and the food was delicious (of course). From my memory, these are things that happened:
-> Sometimes people have a ceremony the same day but sometimes not. This couple chose not to. The party started at 2pm at a hotel in Yokohama.
-> Arriving at the hotel we checked are coats, dropped off our wedding money (there is a word for this but I can’t remember what it is), received programs and had a chance to have our pictures taken with the bride and groom.
-> About the wedding money: in Japan it is tradition for guests to bring money for the bride and groom. It is partly gift money and partly money for the party. I won’t say how much but – a lot. I was told that Saturday’s wedding was cheaper than regular weddings as the bride and groom set a price for all. If a price is not set there is like an “average” and you pay more or less depending on how well you know the people. Umm…this is my interpretation…I could be wrong about some of the above.
-> The seating plan was included in the wedding program. My name was the only non-Japanese name and it looked kind of funny. Interestingly, we (me and other NTT people) had a table at the very front of the room, closest to the bride and groom. I guess another thing about weddings here – friends and coworkers are guests of the bride, groom, and their families so the families sit in the back of the room, even the parents. Only the bride and groom sat at the very front and I thought they looked so lonely.
-> The party progressed with a mixture of getting food served and bride and groom-related activities. Some of interest: (oh no we are getting into layer two of bullets here)
- The groom’s friends came up to their table often and poured drinks for him. It is possible that the he could get very very drunk if he did not manage this well. My friend told me that sometimes there is a bucket next to the groom’s seat to dump poured drinks into rather than refusing the gesture or drinking too much.
- The MC periodically read telegrams sent by people who could not attend the wedding. Totally a common thing - when someone gets married, people in their workplace will send a telegram.
- The bride started the party in a white wedding dress and halfway through (I think) left to change into a second dress (an as-the-bride-likes dress). Sometimes the bride will also wear a traditional Japanese wedding dress for part of the ceremony but my coworker chose not to.
- When the bride came back in her new dress, her and the groom did a candlelighting ceremony of sorts. They walked into and around the room with a flame, lighting candles at each table then going to the front to light a large candle by their table. I think this is a Japanese tradition but actually, I am not totally sure. I can see it being done at Western weddings too but it has been so long since I have gone to one…
- There were presents at the tables for each wedding guest. Like a wedding grab bag but like – not cheap. If you are in Japan and see a group of people dressed well, kind of drunk and walking around with matching bags possibly marked with a hotel name – they were just at a wedding. Ours contained a box of cakes and a catalog for…a catalog gift. The catalog gift is like a wedding registry but…opposite? A nicely wrapped box contained a catalog from which we can choose a gift to be mailed to our homes. Options include jewellery, furniture, kitchen things, bags, clothes, watches, and so on. The super cool options – food. Great for me as I am not up to buying more things than I can take back to Canada. Some examples: 7 boxes of chicken curry from the Royal Oak Hotel, 7 tins of nori (40 sheets in each tin), 2 octopi, 3 x 250mL bottles of maple syrup, a whole lot of handmade sausage from Hang (a store in Kobe I think), 8 slices of a baked cheesecake from Cake Mania dessert café, etc. I think I will end up going for some good green tea or matcha powder. I can consume it here but it will last me a while. (unlike the iced cream puffs). Moving on…
- Well, that’s all I remember about things at the party for now. It lasted for around three hours and we had two hours before the second party. On the way out the bride, groom, and parents were lined up to thank us and give another piece of omiyage from the party.
I was really surprised at how the guests were made…kind of…important?? I don’t know how to put it. There was just more of a feeling from the couple and their families that “we are happy about getting married and soooo happy that you came to share this with us”. The party even began with a slideshow of the guests! They found pictures of each guest and flashed through them.
For the second party (nijikai) we went to a restaurant in Chinatown. Another different thing in Japan – the family does not typically go to the second party. This is for the bride, groom and friends. Also if some friends did not come to the wedding ceremony/party, they may still come to the second party. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed; some people changed from their suits and dresses to regular clothes, we sat on tatami mats and the happenings were not speeches and formalities but games for the bride and groom to play (like a nintendo wii boxing match…the bride won).
There was also a third party but I was done for the night. I hope that all had fun there too and that the bride and groom have lasting memories of their day.
November 14, 2006 at 10:28 am · Filed under Japan, Work
Am I on strike? I was recently told that it is a National (or similar scope) Blogging Month but I have been too busy for words unless they are combined with {curly braces} and //comments and.operators++. Maybe I care too much about what you (who is reading this now) think so I am holding back because I have no time to correct and assess the neutrality of my writing.
So what is going on? I am preparing for the SFC Open Research Forum to be held on November 22nd and 23rd. Check out the site - it’s really cute except I have mixed feelings about the tossing of crumpled paper into the pond. If I navigate among the menus enough will that beautiful scene become polluted?
Two weeks ago I went to Nikko and I actually did write a few things about it but have not posted. Maybe in a bit.
Last week I was leafing through one of my Japanese lesson books and found the most informative diagram. (My lesson books are very informative on aspects other than the language but often I’m like, “okay yeah I know that already”, but this…this was very useful). So traditionally, women used squatting style toilets (see this link for good toilets in Japan info) and they are still found in many public restrooms. Often they are the only choice and sometimes you will be asked if you are okay with using the squatting style toilets. In the past I have always answered with a confident, “of course, I’m from Saskatchewan”. I had some complaints though. Like why I had to balance while reaching behind me to get toilet paper…why couldn’t they hang it from the opposite wall? Well. Minna no Nihongo informed me via stickwoman drawing that this whole time I have been facing the wrong direction. Why didn’t I realize this before? There is even a splash guard on the one side. The first time I used one, I likely just transferred my western toilet orientation to the new case. We get used to facing the stall door. So now I know and I hope this little bit might help someone finding themselves in a similar situation (sorry I did not include a diagram - if you are interested enough, I imagine Google will be suitable for all sorts of interesting diagrams).
Last weekend I went to ATR around Kyoto for an Open House event. It was a whole new place. Very international and a little bit culture shocking because when it came to reception time, people were just taking their own beer. An intern from Canada working at ATR, Anton, was super kind and let me crash at his place. Again culture shock or space shock as he was put up in a 3 room + dining/kitchen apartment. If I had that kind of space I’d be learning how to do cartwheels! Anyway, I met a number of his coworkers and they were all very fun and interesting. I also learned that this is not an unripe tomato, it’s a fruit called a persimmon (in English). Actually, I knew “about” persimmon’s but had never actually seen one. Persimmon’s are yummy, they have little barrier between object and eating the object (like seeds and skin) and the flavour is a little almond-y, leaving one quite satisfied.
It’s getting cold here. But it’s not really that cold. It’s weird. I’m weather-confused.
October 10, 2006 at 12:58 pm · Filed under Japan
These strawberries are better because they are from California of course. Arnold says so.
Actually I couldn’t buy any…there is something evil looking about the poster. But I wonder how much this American celebrity turned politician is able to influence people in Japan to buy these strawberries…if I was Japanese, would seeing this in my grocery store make me excited?
September 1, 2006 at 6:43 pm · Filed under Dreams, Japan, Travels, Uncategorized
I was going to finish writing about last weekend…but it is almost this weekend so it looks like that might not happen. To summarize: Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30am to amaaaazing breakfast prepared by Yuko’s mother, then we drove to Kujikuri beach, I had a surf lesson, it was fun, I left in pain, we bought omiyage, went to BBQ at the surf shop, got back on the bus, got off in Tokyo, I got my haircut, then I hobbled home and passed out. Monday I woke up with battered knees and it hurt to laugh but I want to go again.
Tomorrow I leave for Nagasaki and I will not be back until September 11th. Waffles will come with me…last night (s)he finally got some Internet love courtesy of Roz’s connection…so I will post if I can find wifi during my trip. I was hoping to set up moblogging and I am *almost* there but the last part is discouraging…I have to have some “iconv” module in my web server’s PHP installation. I think dreamhost’s wiki has instructions on how to do this…but they seem headache-y. But, I would really really love to moblog so I might give it a go while waiting at the airport tomorrow.
I need this time away I think. My head has been feeling saturated lately. I feel like I am accomplishing a lot and at the same time, like my life is marbles on the kitchen floor and I am a three-year-old kicking them around. Does that imagery work for you? I know this cause I had a “no grip on life” dream last night. These often take the form of me being in my residence (whether real world or a past place or a made up one) and there being something chaotic about the space. In this dream “my landlords” (whoever they were…it was a made up place and they were a made up couple although vaguely familiar) admonished me for letting things go. When “the landlords” enter my dreams…I think that reflects my feeling that my irresponsibility is letting someone down - something that has been present lately. Although I don’t know who…likely no one because ultimately we are only responsible for ourselves. Thinking that can bring some relief and some (hard to help it) feelings of loneliness.
Oh it’s Friday - why am I being such a downer! Super excited for the trip ahead.
And one funny story: When I went to get my haircut last Sunday, I was carrying a full backpack and a bag with omiyage in it. The receptionist gave me the key for a locker and my backpack fit inside but not the omiyage bag. So I went back to the counter and lifted the bad as if to say “oh it doesn’t fit”. She immediately nodded in understanding and put the bag behind the counter for me.
In the final stages of my haircut, the stylist came around and asked me “oh…so did you leave something for us…” and I looked at her strangely…”…a gift?” she said, and then it dawned on me that the receptionist thought I was giving HER the omiyage. Ah language barriers - you gotta love the awkward situations. I felt so bad explaining that I couldn’t fit it in the locker but needed to take it to work the next day for my colleagues. Totally wished I had brought something for them but unfortunately it is not in my cultural instincts to bring gifts to the salon.
Some interesting background from what I know (FWIK…yes, that will be the new acronym): the department / gift shop bag has significance. Gifts are often handed to people still in the bag. The bag can indicates place of purchase thus value of the gift. What I don’t know: what are the facial expressions and hand gestures that signify “I am giving you a gift”. Few words are used.
July 21, 2006 at 5:58 pm · Filed under Japan
Yesterday I alluded to writing something more substantial soon. Well…I am pretty pooped today so I don’t know if you’ll get much out of me but considering that I went to a Tokyo Bloggers meetup, I feel I should write something about Tokyo…or at least Japan.
…
Actually, that was the other day. Now it is today and I am more pooped. Could not fall asleep last night with the rhythm of sirens, cars driving by, motorcycles roaring by, doors opening, slamming shut, and parking lot conversations, all occasional but enough to make very nonoccasional, constant noise. There is a lot to hear here except for when you are in designated no sound areas like the train. In the morning I hear chimes at some odd hour like 8:20am and then there is a recorded voice on the bus, announcing stops as well as attractions (I think…) in the area. The bus driver as a microphone so that he can be heard by people in the back of the bus but the people in the back of the bus also get to hear his low utterances and grumbles when he is talking to someone up front. My work elevator says good morning and good night (I think…) and if you are still here at 8:00pm, you hear the first 20 seconds of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68, I. Then there are the tunes at intersections and in the train stations. I really need to get a portable tape recorder and document these sounds because I will forever tie them to my experience here.
So this is not about Tokyo or the blogging meetup which was around Shinjuku:
But there is a picture for you. Now to finish up work and then I am off to a work party. I think I have a lot to tell about actually…just need to find time so when I do…
April 7, 2006 at 2:12 am · Filed under Japan, Thinking
I finally set up a bank account today. I almost feel like a person (more on this after part 1). I wouldn`t say that this task was a hassle, but I think I was lucky to have Kento help me, it would be a large hassle without him. It took 3 visits to Mizuho Bank before getting set up. The first two times I was missing documentation needed. The third time there was some confusion over the capitalization of my name in various places but we finally got it.
The best part about opening an account was getting to use my inkan. For those of you who don`t know, an inkan is like a personal seal or stamp. Everyone in Japan has one and it is used in place of a signature when signing things like bank account forms and apartment contracts. I think that normally, you buy one with the Kanji of your family name. Not having a Japanese name I had two options: get one specially made by translating the sounds of my name into Kanji (first or last) or find the closest thing possible available in a store selling inkan. Being much cheaper, I chose the latter. We first looked for something like doi or doitsu because it is the closest sounding to my last name…nothing. Then we looked for mega and there were two options. I can`t remember what the first option was, but the second was great and I chose it. There are two kanji symbols on my inkan and they mean “woman” and “deer”. Sweet!
Now for part 2…back to the getting my bank account. Once I had my little account book, I felt more grounded, more like I exist here. There are records of me. That got me thinking - what are the things, places, or services in my life that make me feel like I am a person. What are the things that I expect? Those elements with NO exception. You don`t need them (so food is excluded) but you must have them to feel at place and capable. Some things I came up with:
* a bank account
* a phone
* health care plan (feel a little unsteady about that here, even with medical insurance)
* internet (yes…I know that`s sad)
* an address (some people in the world might live without one, to me that is scary)
* suitable coffee (for the next few years at least…I`m not giving that up)
Once I have all of these I will feel at peace with being a person here. The list is almost fulfilled…just lacking phone…I will get that tomorrow and then tell you all about it on Monday.
April 5, 2006 at 5:56 pm · Filed under Japan
I think that this is what most people want to know about my experiences in Japan: what is the apartment like? Here we go! Some initial background information - I live on the 3rd floor of a 3 storey building that is about 3 blocks away from the Tokyo bay water. The building is labelled a dormitory, but it was built as an apartment so there are not shared spaces and kitchens like you might find in a dorm. The only thing we share are laundry rooms and there are two clothing washer/dryer sets on each floor. Quite the relief! Some of you may know that it is not typical to own dryers in Japan. You can see a lot of clothes hanging out of windows and on balconies. But I guess in the summer, the humidity makes it hellish to get your clothes dry. So I am lucky : ) Here is a picture of my front entrance:
The blue door makes me happy and by May there should be a fridge in that little area to the left of my door. On the left is my kitchen and here is another view of the kitchen:
Well, sort of. You can see that I have a small sink and a hot plate. Next to the counter is my hot water heater. All the rooms have their own heaters so I can`t blame cold showers on other people anymore. Yay no more angry showers! I hope no more cold showers either. The heater seems to work fairly well and it only has to pump water to here:
This is my bathroom - through a door on the wall opposite of my kitchen counter. I have a shower and tub but the tub is shorter, maybe only room to sit down in. Both faucets (or taps…which one is which??) are controlled from the same tap (or faucet?). There is a dial for hot to cold water, and another dial to switch from sink faucet, to off, to shower. Neat right? You know what is cooler. Check out my toilet:
Notice the angle. I might not break this one. You can also choose between two types of flushing, “big” and “small” - great for water conservation. Here is my bedroom area:
I have a single bed which is surprisingly the longest bed I have ever slept in, and a long desk. Behind those curtains is a sliding patio door onto my balcony. My view - another apartment building. Finally, a picture of my bedroom taken from the other side:
You can see that I have a lot of storage: shelves, drawers (under the bed two) and two very large closets. I think that I may need to buy more things to fill everything up : ) I really like my new home, but it does feel a little strange. I didn`t really bring any decorative items so I have nothing to meg it up. This is exciting in some ways because it gives me a clean slate to work with. But I`ll have to watch out with buying too much. Don`t know how I will get it back home!
I think that I might start knitting again. There are plenty of knitting shops around - went into one last night but the clerk was this old man who was giving me the most suspicious look. I think I was making him uncomfortable so I didn`t stay very long. This weekend though, I will go to another one and get some supplies. I will knit myself tapestries and danglies to hang on the walls and it will be beautiful.
April 3, 2006 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Japan, Reflection
So I have not written much about my experiences so far. There are two reasons for this: (1) limited Internet access and too much to do when I do get online and (2) I have not yet wanted to `taint` my experiences by applying some view or perspective. Does that make sense? No? I guess I mean that I`ve been trying to experience Japan without my identity, my preconceptions, my judgements. Without them, things are so much more exciting and I feel more open, but it`s also harder to analyze and summarize. But I do want to share so here I go…
The first thing that has really hit me here is the many contrasts. From busy and crowded and bustling to empty and quiet and peaceful. From traditional to modern. Some things so small or spartan and others large and extravagant. Moderation not in being average but in moderating between extremes.
I`m really enjoying all of this. Enjoying seeing new products, new expressions and actions, new sights. In terms of sights, I feel like I reduce things to lines and shapes and lines and shapes here are put together in a different way from in Canada. The most prominent example of this is houses and buildings. I am used to things being made to give people space and neighborhoods being all constructed at once so all the buildings are uniform and in rows. Buildings here are pell-mell, really old next to new, traditional style next to something more modern (that contrast thing again), streets not so grid like.
Ahh…I have more to say but what should I say next? Maybe a list of some awesome things :)? OK:
- the people I work with are very friendly and so helpful. It can be hard for me to ask people for help at times because I don`t like being a burden - but I never feel like a burden here (at least not yet). I wonder if this has to do with more enthusiasm to help out?
- the toilets in my office have heated seats. Actually that pretty much makes up for anything that might not be so awesome.
- food is delicious, even at convenience stores (which there are plenty of) and for the first week, my breakfast was mainly purchased at the Lawson`s around the corner from my house.
Now I am just thinking about the food so I`m going to leave it at that and write more later.
March 29, 2006 at 8:59 pm · Filed under Japan
This will be short. I am here. Wow - hard to believe. Things are going well. So many exciting and interesting things. A lot of stimulus but also places that I wander around that are quiet and quaint. Many contrasts. I have some pictures and will post them once I get some access at home. Hope you are all well.
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