Author Archives: sam5530

Cutie Chewing Love

What comes to mind when you think about music in Japan? Of course there is western music galore here and within Japanese music you can find something in any genre. But I would like to think in terms of music born and raised in Japan, Candy Candy sums it up image I have perfectly.

This song is just one of many ways that Japan lives up to the hype. I wish I could say this is just something I stumbled upon and happen to like because I’m odd, but this is a real mainstream, number one hit single. You can learn more about the singer and false eyelash entrepreneur, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, on wiki, but first, press play.

Location: kuwana-shi, mie-ken, Japan

桜が咲いた

Another episode of Wow, Japan Sure Loves Nature!
Once again, people have been retreating into mountains and visiting gardens, shrines and castles just to see what the trees are doing. In the fall, I wrote about the changing of the leaves. Now it’s spring, and I’m talking about cherry blossms.

The blooming of the cherry blossoms (or 桜 sakura) represents new beginnings and a chance to start fresh for many Japanese. This is reflected in literature, art and music from way back when and up until now. Academically, around this time, it’s the end of the school year with graduations and the start of a new one. And nothing says a fresh start more than a celebratory picnic with family and friends (and sometimes alcohol). This is called 花見 or Flower Viewing.

While enjoying the cherry blossoms with Japanese folk, one might learn the different varieties of cherry blossoms like I did. To simplify, there’s the droopy kind, the white kind (which is also the mountain kind), the dark pink kind, the stereotypical kind, etc. There are also cherry blossom exclusive terms for the night time viewing (夜桜 yozakura), the falling petals (桜吹雪 sakurafubuki), and the trees who’s petals have all flown away (葉桜 hazakura). I’m sure there are even more, but my mind can only hold so much.

The fact that this is all common knowledge in this culture fascinates me, who comes

from a culture that doesn’t

quite pay attention to what’s blooming when on a national level.

Unfortunately cherry blossoms have a pretty delicate lifespan and after they’re gone it’s just greenish brown leaves (which you can kind of see in the photo). It’s been about two weeks since they have been blooming so they are on the decline from here on out. As pretty and magical as the falling petals are, I’m sad to see them go.

Location: Kyoto, Japan

The Train Drama Conclusion

Something I’ve been contemplating since my commute has been extended and changed is politeness in Japan. It is so embedded in the culture that you can make a request 10 different ways depending on who you’re talking to (and I’m certain I’m missing some things I haven’t learned yet). Then there is the unspoken rule that we must maintain peace and joy throughout

the land even if it means humbling yourself into non-existence.

This is not at all to say that other cultures are not as polite, but the detail here is extraordinary. And language structures aside, I’ve met a lot of people who have done amazing things for me after knowing me for only a couple hours. So many people have thanked me and my classmates for still coming to Japan despite the Fukushima diaster that sent so many foreigners away. Everyone’s always smiling and it’s positive energy all around.

And then I’m back to the train station. Politeness in Japan is widely and rightfully praised, but no one talks about what I’m going to call the lack of regard for total strangers.

In the train station, it is all for one and one…needs to get to work so everyone else better move aside. Here’s a step by step guide for how to commute during peak hours

1. Board the train without waiting for the passengers to get off

2. Stand by the doors so you can get off quickly at your station. Don’t fill the aisles, that will only slow you down.

3. If the train is seemingly at full capacity, enter the train backwards so you don’t see the people you’re about to push and squish as you make your way in.

4. Don’t make eye contact. There is no sharing in this. This is only a means to an end.

5. Push through whoever was able to get between you and the door and power walk it off. You got this, champ!

6. If transferring, walk in a bee dance line and hold out your arms in a non-threatening fashion so as to easily move people out of your way like a snow plow.

Feel free to decorate these steps with running and ignoring the station staff’s requests to wait for the next train.

Jokes aside, after my confusion cloud cleared up, I came to notice these these situations are not that aggressive or malicious. It’s truly as if they don’t see you there. Some say it’s because Japan is so narrow a country, people feel like bumping into each other and the like can’t be helped. And some people do apologize.

Perhaps this is more of a big city commute thing than a Japanese culture thing? I’ve never ridden the subway in New York at the peak hours or anything, so I have nothing but the CATA system to compare it to. Either way, what a trip.

Location: Kuwana-shi, Mie-ken, Japan

After Tokyo came Hiroshima

I am very glad I was able to go to a location as precious as Hiroshima. I’ve seen so many castles and shrines that were destroyed in World War 2 and since rebuilt, but nothing leaves more of an impact than the story told at the Peace Memorial Museum.

Though photos were allowed, I was not in the tourist mode. I read panel after panel of the history of Hiroshima starting with the Sino-Japanese war. The lack of bias was really refreshing. Though I can hardly say I read them all, when I looked at the Japanese version they appeared equivalent. It felt so raw and honest. One can’t promote peace without cleaning out the skeletons in their own closet.

Slowly but surely it built up to the the morning of August 6th, 1945. The morning when mothers, fathers and children were going about their daily commutes. They were on their way to work, even many of the children. As they strolled along, trying so hard to support their country that struggled to feed them, their world was desolated.

The dark patterns of their clothing tattooed their flesh, shadows were burned into the pavement and walls as the people melted and babies shifted inside their mothers as their development physically and mentally was stunted from the radiation emitted that morning.

I’ve seen films, read stories and learned about all of this in school. It’s wasn’t particularly new information, but it was so much more tactile.

Separated only by glass lay their uniforms, skin, and a scroched lunchbox with the lunch still inside. There was a rather stylish a purse that I envied and a lone sandal, complete with the footprint. Sometimes the effects were delayed for those who weren’t burnt to a crisp, but they too eventually expired. I’ve seen them on their last day and in their coffin.

They were real and I know them now. They had people who they loved and to whom they crawled back home to for one last night together. Can you imagine burying your son with his tricycle? Or cutting the least burnt hair from your daughter’s scalp to remember her by? Perhaps we are too young to know the love a parent feels for their own, but we should be old enough to see how unnatural that whole scene was.

What is it all for? Is it really that naive to ask “why can’t we all just get along?” Maybe there would be no offense if we didn’t have such an ugly defense. Whatever the reason, the quest for a world without nuclear arms makes Japan even more desirable to me now.

Location: Hiroshima, Hiroshima-ken, Japan

まあまあだった

Has this happened to those of you studying in major cities like London, Paris, etc, or even just the country in general? Where you just realize it’s just not as big of a deal as you initially thought?

Since I was a child I have been interested in Japan. Obsessed might be a better term. If you didn’t know it, you just hadn’t met me yet. Much like many a great (and not so great) celebrity, I knew from early on I knew exactly what wanted to do with my passion.

That being said, you would think going to Tokyo would be the cherry on top of this dreamy dessert. Instead, it hardly shivered me timbers. And it rained nearly the whole time.

To see it all for myself with my own eyes was the only way to end this day dream era that I’ve been living in. I had seen the place through so many mediums, it was only fair to remove the third party and put my senses to the test.
I was able to gobble up ramen from Hokkaido at the Ramen Museum. In Akihabara, I bought a tiger kigurumi after eating lunch at the Gundam Cafe, and I got to see Hachiko in front of Shinjuku Station.

But as I walked down the street, it just felt like bigger Nagoya with a whole lot more lights and foreigners (despite the awesome Gundam Cafe with a Gundam simulating bathroom! So cool~). Although I will admit it was pretty nice to feel more like a minority and less like an alien from the planet America. I just had imagined so much more.

Having already been in Japan about seven months now, it’s getting hard to surprise me, however. Mostly the way I was treated was different than anything else. No one gave my Japanese a chance. In fact, when ordering food at Disney Sea, the cashier wouldn’t even look at me until he pulled out a binder, flipped through some pages and started reading his bit in English. Statistically speaking, perhaps they are right to assume such, but that doesn’t curb my frustration so easily.

願い

Every culture has it’s own approach and formula when it comes to encouraging the universe to yield in favor of our wild wishes. Back at home, if 11:11 caught my eye, I’d take that as my cue to hope for the best. Then there is the whole falling star business, but that is a little more rare. As expected, as a country filled with ritualistic phrases and manners, Japan is no different. Let us embark on this touristy pilgrimage for the sake of wish making.

From Nagoya we went to Nagahama port on Lake Biwa. This is one of the biggest lakes in Japan and it really looked like an ocean, I could just barely see the other side. We took a ferry to a small island named Chikubu. I fell asleep on the way since it took about 30 minutes.

When we got there we got two clay plates for our names and wish and were told we needed to throw them threw the gate up the way. Fresh from my nap and wanting to write in Japanese, I kept it simple: I want to become fluent in Japanese.

The stairs were steep, there was snow on the ground and it was rather cold. We walked up the way up on accident because we weren’t paying attention. Our lack of focus allowed us to see the whole setup before we went to the shrine. We got to see this peculiar statue, so I regret nothing. Always leave time to get lost abroad, you never know what you’ll find.

When we finally got to the cliff behind the shrine, we realized the difficulty level was worthy of

wish granting status. Using our names as practice throws, we quickly realized this was purely chance and let go of all hope for the sake of fun. Though one of us was able to successfully get it through, I missed and tossed my disc into the lake. Something tells me my wish will come true, regardless.

It was an interesting little pilgramage and seeing the traditional spots never gets old to me. Especially when we take such untraditional photos. How much more space do I have in my “unforgettable” slot?

Location: Nagahama, Shiga-ken, Japan

頑張ろう

Up until this point, I would say the classes outside of the intensive language course at Nanzan are quite fundamental. They are not too demanding, most are in English and all are once a week. This is probably out of consideration for the language component of the program, but I still find myself with enough spare time to miss that colorful clash; the burning friction that courses back home make.

Today in literature, however, my professor said something interesting. He’s been saying a lot of interesting things since the semester started, actually. What he said today, though, was this: “Don’t sit there so leisurely. Look at your essays, criticize my criticism of your paper. You students pay all this money and go to school and just stare at the teacher, waiting for them to give you something. Think!”

It’s been so long since a teacher gave a class I was in a sort of “tough love” speech. I felt so inspired because he was right and his words are universally applicable. I knew at that moment that this man isn’t going to merely direct discussions and then assign a final paper before we say goodbye. He’s going to give me the class I’ve been looking for: a class where I can use Japanese to do something and learn something academic in Japanese as opposed to just drilling grammar.

This is not to say I know at all what he’s on about, but that’s all part of the challenge. As much as his love of the question “but why?!” and attention to odd details leave me feeling like I’m chasing my tail, I can’t help but feel like if I really try, I’ll catch it.

Location: Kuwana-shi, mie-ken, Japan

はだか祭り

Or Hadaka Matsuri/Naked Man Festival

Or just plain “Japanese Festival!!” to quote the many drunk men I encountered yesterday.

Yesterday was a classmate’s birthday, so he invited us down to his home stay in Konomiya for a little lunch and to enjoy this festival that was occurring literally in his backyard. It did not take long to assess the situation as we walked from the station to his home.

Loincloth clad men chant “Wasshoi, Wasshoi!” as they parade through the streets carrying heavy decorative poles, mini shrines, large wooden talismans, flags and in one instance, a fish. They are on a pilgrimage to the shrine (T=T shaped structure in the back is the entrance in the photo below) to meet the Naked Man.

This Naked Man (literally and shaved clean) is the chosen one who absorbs the bad luck of those who touch him.

Apparently the ages 23 and 42 represent the age of suffering for men, so those men in are especially present. The origin of this festival, however, was to rid the town of plague and disease by chasing the chosen one out of town. That’s silly, so these days it’s all about luck.

He comes out during the last hour or so of the festival and that’s when the chaos begins as nearly 10,000 men try to touch him. It’s brutal and there is water and sake constantly being thrown to tame the beasts and keep their skin slick to prevent injury on both sides. One of these guys had died before, so it can get quite serious.

Before that crucial moment, however, it is quite light hearted and fun thanks to the blind eye Japan turns toward excessive drinking. This savvy police man tried his best to keep balance between the eager audience and the intoxicated participants who zig-zagged through the streets. Sometimes they would just crash into us and once the wave was so powerful, a friend and I toppled right over like domino.

For those who can’t participate in the festival, there is still a way to obtain good luck for the year. The participants sport headbands, arm bands and cloth on the poles that appeared to be color coordinated according to the group (by region, company, etc). They rip strips off and pass them out to the crowd and the more you collect, the more luck you have. I am a bit disappointed I wasn’t able to collect purple, but I was able to make a neat braid with what I did get.

It’s one of the top three festivals in Japan, so I am very happy that I was able to go. I had only gone to one other festival (Nagoya Matsuri) before, and it wasn’t nearly as memorable as this one. Another point that makes it special is that even willing foreigners can participate. If only I was a man.

Location: Konomiya, Aichi-ken, Japan

The Crowded Trains Are Real!

Since entering university, I`ve had my fair taste of what it`s like to be a commuter. At my branch campus, I had about a 20 minute drive if the weather was fair and at PSU I had about the same time on CATA. Last semester I got incredibly lucky since my homestay was only about 30 minutes away via bike, subway and walking. This semester, however, I am twice as far away.

Time could be an issue, but as for right now I am energized and able to manage. The factor I can`t stop focusing on is the traffic. The number of people that I am going to and from school with is something I imagined for Tokyo. Seeing them now, I bet Tokyo is even more crowded that I initially anticipated.

We start at Kuwana Station, a bike ride away from my home in Kuwana-shi, Mie. Our destination from my home in Kuwana-shi, Mie. From there, the train is already what I will refer to as `comfortably packed.` It reminded me of what I thought were crowded trains where you`re close to people, but you aren`t kissing the window or anything. That amount of crowded was limited to like Friday and Saturday nights, but now it is every morning. So needless to say, I will never get a seat on my 25 minute ride into the city.
I really don`t like holding on to poles or the hanging rings because of germs (think what you want about my phobia, just playing it safe), but I don`t think I`ll be able to keep that up since there a few really bumpy sections. Going to be upping the hand sanitizer this semester, it seems. And if all else fails and I manage to get sick, I will have to wear one of those masks because it would be impossible to cough without offending someone, they are that close.

Once I get to the city–Nagoya Station–we change to the subway. That`s right, I said we. It`s the last stop for that train so everyone is getting off and heading for their transfer. When you have that many people, you don`t walk, you shuffle that many people, you don`t walk, you shuffle along. We shuffled so slowly, in fact, that I felt like I was in line for the stairs to the platform. I saw three trains go by before I was able to get into one. Luckily they come every 2 minutes between 7am and 8am. Also got to see a train official nudge a man in so he could shut the doors.
A majority of the people got off two stops later at the downtown section (Sakae) so I was able to enjoy the last 20 minutes of my ride, but what a trip. That will definitely wake me up in the morning.

Location: showa-ku, aichi-ken, Japan

Home stays: Making it work

Living with a host family, in my opinion, is the best way to learn just about everything while studying abroad. It is like starting life over from the beginning. I highly recommend it to those who are truly interested in and curious about the people and the culture of a place. Language learning can be done anywhere if you are in a home stay or dorm, but I think a home stay is much more intimate and you get people who have higher regard for you whereas friends can be too busy or what have you.

Knowing all this, however, does not take away from the fact that you are living with strangers who don’t even speak your language on all possible levels. It’s very easy to just shut yourself in your room, only come out for meals and stick to yes and no questions. It’s scary, you don’t know the family’s routine or temperament yet, you might be jet-lagged and/or think your language skills are not up to par. If you are like me, you’re going to feel like you made a mistake and bit off more than you can chew. Do not fear, citizen. I come with some advice that can help move things along until you become a member of the family.

1. Don’t hide in your room.
My new family is actually pretty busy so I am in my room more than my previous family, but when they are around, I try to be in the main area which is the dining room. Even if I am just watching tv while they scurry about, at least I am in the open. I think this is the biggest point because they want to see you and get to know you just as much as you do them. It’s a two way street and that is easy to forget for us students. Sometimes I bring down my homework or something to keep busy. Which brings me to my next point.

2. Make your interests known.

If you brought a laptop, take it around with you to the main area. If you entertain yourself in plain sight, they will take the bait and approach you. If you’re like me and interested in Japanese pop culture and media (or whatever media of your target land), it will be a piece of cake to get the party going.

3. When they ask about you, you can return the question.
This is too obvious for words, but when I am in shy-mode I shut down. I find myself answering questions as economically as possible and then going back to whatever I was doing. “And you?” is really easy, so take a deep breath and spit it out.

4. SMILE

Even when things aren’t that funny or if you have nothing else to say, just smile. A smile puts everyone, including the user, at ease. When your words are not as powerful as you need them to be, your actions really pick up a lot of the slack whether you like it or not. Don’t let your host family misunderstand your emotions.

Of course this isn’t all, but these are things I tend to struggle with. It all sounds really simple and obvious in black and white, but I know I can’t be the only person who has defied these. Being shy and ambitious at the same time can be a dangerous formula that cancels everything out, so I hope that these tips can help my fellow Shambitious people out there better adapt to their new lives. It’s been four days so far and I think we’re getting there.