Fakery in Japan

Now this is a funny thing. Some aspects of humanity you think are universal. And it`s only when you live 12 hours by plane from your home country that you find out that they`re not!

And I love that.

There are a lot of things you can learn when travelling to another “close-by” country. Other European countries do do things differently/ behave differently. But even some thigs are European-universal. By just experiencing a European way of life and outlook and discovering those things that are similar to your country you would be forgiven for taking this European-wide similarity and applying it universally to the world.

Sometimes you really need to travel right outside of your segment of this sphere, right from the north to the south, or, the west to the east in this case to really discover what are global universals and what aren`t. It`s funny to discover things that you assume were. And are in fact not.

(I realize this is getting rather abstract, so I`ll give it some concrete).

I came to this thought after an experience on my birthday came to trigger one of these realizations that I periodically have here.

My birthday party had turned into a weekend event. I wanted to go shopping in the days, dancing in the night – desperate to do Tokyo properly because it is a fabulous city and I hadn`t been there nearly enough. (It was an absolutely fabulous birthday which I will describe in the next blog post).

One of the several distinct shopping areas – Ikebukuro, was suggested (by my students and friend Tomoko, so I was enthusiastic to go there. Ikebukuro slightly reminded me of Oxford Street, and then Covent Garden in London in character as we followed Tomoko through the streets to where we were going shopping. We were looking out for “Sunshine City” in the Tokyu building. A shopping mall type experience then. To be inside a shopping centre wouldn`t have been my choice as I did want to experience Tokyo. Rather than a generic shopping centre. But, I`m always keen to follow Japanese people, because as a foreigner, you usually have some typically Japanese experience as a result rather than doing things I normally would ……

…. AND WE SURE DID!

Lunch was on all our minds by 12 – quickly too, so we get straight to the shops. Tomoko though, had that covered. Shes obviously done some research before – armed with google map printouts and what was available in the Sunshine City complex. She said we`d be going to a gyoza and ice cream bar. Gyoza aren`t my favourite food in the world, nor Andrew`s or Jean`s who are trying to be healthy, but we just went along with her anyway, because it`s not the done thing in Japan to stand out and make a fuss.

I first got the hint that this was going to be one of those weird, unique, only in Japan-type experiences when Tomoko mentioned the \300 entrance fee. “What?” An entrance fee just to a gyoza place??!” So, we paid our \300 into the machine (this, by the way, is something in many Japanese food establishments that doesn`t make me bat an eyelid anymore, but for British peple perhaps it is a bit weird buying your lunch ticket of whatever meal-drink bar – sald bar – bread bar – dessert combo deal you`re going to go for) and put our tickets through the automatic gates and entered.

IT WAS ENTIRELY BIZARRE.

No natural light, fake brown paneling – odd plastic cartoon structures here and there – a Christmas tree – a fake shrine – a fake chapel – dark. And then the fake festival too! We had entered some kind of alternative reality theme park world. Except there weren`t rides. This was in a shopping centre. Which was in regular Tokyo outside. Everything was totally weird – almost as if we were in a theatre set of phantom of the Opera in certain areas.

At first I think us gaijin felt a little put out a good well-meaning Tomoko had brought us into this strange dark place that we couldn`t get out of now we had our entrance tickets- we were in. All we had wanted was a quick bite. The Chinese dumpling shop outside of Zara would have been good for me!

But quickly we got into the swing of experiencing one of these “only Japan!” places. They had created this fake festival atmosphere inside the place. With gyoza stalls crammed together just like you would find at a real festival! Tight pathways to walk between the stalls on to create the crowded festival atmosphere. Even the funny fish tanks that you can find at festivals you find there. An open area of small stalls and tables for casual seating (which you would find ONLY at a FESTVAL in Japan). And the crowd was there! There were so many people pushing around these gyoza stalls. We bought our gyoza slightly overwhelmed by all the choice and sat on the low tables in the dark fake festival seating area to eat them. Then we went to the ice cream area up some fake Disney type grand house staircase to the ice cream palce where there was so much different kind of ice cream. Turkish ice crea. Soft cream. Belgian. Giant cabinets with loads of different hagen daaz pots. And the slot machine areas with the high pitched intense sounds to the side. It was consumerism and consumption gone made. (Again this aspect of Japan that I have mentioned before – when we work, we WORK. When we don`t work, we REALLY DON`T WORK. We go to strange lands like this a spend and buy, and eat and drink!) As we were eating our ice creams finding a funny bench opposite some strange structures with flashing lights we noticed people with headsets and wearing packs. Holding their packs up to the sky and occasionally grabbing to hit the lights then walking on. Andrew and Tomoko asked what they were doing. It turns out they were playing some kind of ghostbusters game, where they were hunting ghosts. Entirely bizarre. And all the more so because these were adults doing this. Not kids. Young men and women – probably on a date one couple.

A fake festival had been created inside a shopping centre with ghostbusters. And finally I am coming to the point in this post. The Japanese don`t seem bothered by fakeness. At all!

I think that in the west, we highly value originality and genuineness. I had assumed this was a universal, but various experiences in Japan and China have made me think this is not the case. Obviously we have such things as theme parks and laser Quest in England, which the only thing I can think of with a small relation to this. But for the Japanese it goes further. In this alternative reality we were in that lunchtime there was also fake shrines. And a fake church. That would NEVER happen in the west – to make a fake religious place. Because that is something serious for many people. And it just wouldn`t be done. But the Japanese view fake things the same as real things. They are just as happy to have their photo taken outside a fake shrine/ festival as a real one.

This lack of bother surrounding fake things extends into other more serious aspects of Japanese life. A wedding for example. For Japanese a church wedding is very fashionable these days. But the Japanese aren`t Christian. They just want a fake Christian wedding. They don`t think this is weird in ANY WAY. There are fake Christian chapels all over the place in Japan. And there is a recognized job in Japan to be a FAKE PRIEST. And I am NOT JOKING. It is even better if you manage to get a western fake priest as opposed to Japanese (so good extra career for some gaijin here!)

These fake Christian weddings are so popular in Japan at the moment. It is not for a select funny few. Most couples want this. (Though, I have to be fair and say, many will also have a ceremony at a shrine too).

But the point remains. The Japanese aren`t bothered by fakeness. To the westerner, genuinity is highly valued. We like to see things that are old, that are the original. Like our churches and old buildings for instance. We like them. We are proud of them. But in the east an original shrine is not particularly valued. They are rebuilt every 40 years. (This is the same in China).
Can you imagine the equivalent – rebuilding a catherdral every 40 years???!!

It is a funny moment when you come to realize that something like really valuing something that is genuine, is not so important to everyone across the whole world, as I think I thought.

Compulsory Gaijins?

When I used to be in the evenings a little more often than I am now sometimes I listened to a BBC World Service programme called “The Forum”. It is quite intellectual where four different people with entirely different areas of expertise come to discuss their areas of research/ art/ whatever in a deep discussion. Somewhow their totally disparate subjects are blended together well in a very clever way by some BBC researcher. I really like it, particularly one aspect of the hour long programme in the middle. The 1 minute idea. Basically, one of the invited people is asked to present an idea that they think will change the world. And to explain it in one minute.

Sometimes the ideas are really small – like having silence time in schools, and sometimes they are much bigger. Several months ago one person suggested that everyone should spend an extended period of time (say, a year) living in a foreign country.

I occasionally think this, and it came back to me recently. Living in Japan has been a brilliant experience for me. To come here has been the biggest challenge of my life, but without a doubt, the best thing I have decided to do. To talk about travel as widening your horizons is really a bit of an understatement. This 10 months in Japan has completely blasted open my horizons into entirely new dimensions! Except to put it like that makes it seem as though there was some explosion in my brain that occurred when the plane touched down and when I stepped out of Narita airport. Which did not happen at all, obviously. This horizon expansion is something incremental as I have experienced more and more of the Japanese way of life, values and how they do things. To the extent it has now become very big as I feel I have learnt so much more about life. I feel very widened is the best way I can think to describe it.

Living so outside of my culture and heritage in an other, I can view my culture, my upbringing, English values and way of life from the outside and from a place where things aren`t done in the same way. It has been refreshing I suppose. The best thing is that it makes you question a lot about your home culture and YOU! and why things a done in the way they are. Often I have found good things. And it is nice to appreciate them. And to not see them as something inevitable and normal. Because the fact they don`t exist here shows they`re not.

For me, one of my favourite aspects about living abroad is that I can now pick and choose from these two very different ways of living and working, how I want to live my life. (Obviously, you can only recreate the personal aspects of each culture that you like where you eventually decide to be – you can`t just bring back society-wide changes along with you! I won`t be able to bring back the safety of Japan with me).

I love the fact I have questioned the way English people do things, I love the fact that I want to have tatami mats in my own flat one day. I love the fact I want to ride my bike more. I love the fact I want to run around an office at work! I love the fact I want to eat like Japanese people. I love the fact I have discovered these things because I have lived in Japan.

I feel that my life has been made so much more richer, and I have so many more options for how I want aspects of my life to be, because of this experience abroad.

So, for me, living abroad for this time has been fantastic. Not only in terms of creating me more choices for my future, but also how much I have learnt about ME. The amount you learn is vast when you are a gaijin, in whatever country you go to, I am sure.

But to make it compulsory – a year abroad. That`s something I wonder about. For someone like me, who is fascinated by the different countries and cultures of the world, and takes such an active interest in them, it is not altogether that surprising that this year has been so successful. But imagine forcing it on other people. I guess it would widen their horizons. But some people don`t feel the need for it – like Mum for instance. Should someone who is happy where she is be forced to leave for a year? I don`t think so. But yet the benefits if you do do it though, are undeniable. But Mum and Dad both have lived in another culture – and they are connected to Europe and have knowledge of the French/ Italian way of things so they have already this experience perhaps.

Perhaps every YOUNG person should do it. Particularly in today`s globalised world we need to understand and be sensitive to other cultures more. (My latest job idea is to be a cross-cultural consultant for businesses operating overseas – the amount of help that having cultural knowledge has to businesses is definitely big I think).
It has benefitted me massively - so maybe more people should do it. Though, I am wary of this bright little idea, and it`s effects on the environment what with people developing relationships criss-crossing the globe. It`s hardly going to do much for reducing plane travel I don`t think.

In My Brain amoung the Rice Fields

I had a funny feeling last week when I was in the car with the usual gang – Gaku-chan, Vince, Jean and Andrew, Yuki, Tomoko and Yumiko in the car driving behind as we were heading north into Fukushima prefecture. We were doing a great daytrip - a walk in a nice forest (marked and paid for trail of course, with omiyagae shop at end) and then heading for V.G. cheesecake at our favourite coffeeshop after, and then the outdoor onsen, and then restaurant dinner. Perfect day. And it was a seriously beautiful drive on these mountain roads in the north of Ibaraki and Fukushima. Through mountainous tree-covered landscape and the stepped rice fields in the valley areas. They`re full of water with little green shoots growing through in this season and they`re particularly beautiful. But I suddenly had a feeling of not belonging to this landscape. I`m always quite interested in landscapes all around the world, I think because of my love of geography. So I do love all the different kinds of natural landscapes of all around the world. But I had this quite strong feeling of not belonging to this landscape of rice fields, and mountains where cedar trees cover the all slopes. I had a strong feeling that this landscape doesn`t come from where I come from. And therefore it meant that I felt that I did not belong here. It felt like quite a fundamental feeling. And it surprised me how I`ve kept thinking about it since then. Because I have been here for 10 months now – it`s not like this landscape surprised me. It`s more that – I have been here for 10 months, I have good friends here, I really enjoy my social lifestyle here, and in general I do things that I like to do. So in a way I am “at home” in the sense I have created (with quite a lot of luck of the town, particularly the people in this town) a home and a lifestyle that I like here. (All be it, always knowing that I want to leave because it is too far from my family). So I do, in the social sense, feel happy and at home here. But, last week – I had this important feeling created from the rice fields and mountains, and the small Japanese settlements where the houses look all different, that this is DEFINITELY NOT MY HOME and definitely not where I come from.

I should perhaps feel surprised that it has taken me 10 months before I have felt this feeling of not belonging here. But actually, I CAN understand it. The reason I have enjoyed Japan so much is because of my attitude here. I have been totally laidback. Been totally receptive to the way Japanese people do things, totally accepting of ALL the TINY, LITTLE DIFFERENCES that make up my life here. Been totally accepting of “oh yeah there`s another rice field over there, next to that house in a town!” My attitude has been whatever – lets do whatever! OK fine – you tell me! That`s the way to discover a new culture by keeping your assumptions about how things should be right down inside you and not near the surface at all. Especially in my beginning few months I would NEVER make a suggestion about where to go/ what to do/ what to eat/ when to do these things – I would never impose at all so I could experience Japan TO THE MAXIMUM.

They are small things all these differences, but just recently my brain has been thinking in a way where I just step out of myself. I see that all these tiny differences in my lifestyle here that have joined together to created something huge. It IS huge the difference of my life in Japan. But if I try to describe it I can only list small insignificant things. It doesn`t seem much when I try to list them. I can`t list them even, because I forget what they are. Because individually they are SO insignificant. But all I know is that they have culminated into something quite big for me.

It`s as if the rice field moment I had last week has suddenly made me look at myself from the outside. When I was on the morning train with all the commuters and school kids I suddenly saw all these asian faces being different from me – almost for the first time! It sounds stupid and is a small exaggeration but I never thought about being so different from the rest of the people in my environment before. Having this thought only occurs to me when I see another unknown westerner on the train – which is definitely a rarity – I look at them and think about how odd they look, without really considering that odd looking foreigner is actually me. Everyday! Everywhere.