Bea in Japan, and Other Stories

Sayonara Japan

2009-07-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it`s the last of my full days at Taga. I was sad last Wednesday when I made my speech to the teachers in the morning. There will be things I miss about this work. The people and the friendly atmosphere. Everyone working together. Although plenty I won`t miss but I don`t want to think about negatives now because I`m just happy.

My ending here has been good. I feel that I have made enough time for everything and everyone I want to. I have visited everywhere that I wanted to visit. I have said goodbye to all of my schools well. I have (and will say goodbye to all my friends well), I`ve made and given and bought meaningful presents for everyone. So I have no regrets I think.

One thing I have been very touched by is the fact that two of my non-base schools have given me enkais – very enjoyable evenings. Aswell as my being paid for (and enkais are expensive) I was given lovely gifts and flowers as appreciation. I have a feeling that it is not usual to have enkais with non-base schools like this especially with an ALT that has only been here one year as I have– and I have been told that it`s because of me and my personality that Kita and Tokai both wanted to. I am very touched by that – I think they did appreciate me. Sure, I didn`t stay late into the evening working on students club activities. I always left on time. I didn`t really mark much students work. But I did make the extra effort in my own way. In ways that I thought were important. I made friends with the teachers I was teaching with. I always took time to talk with them. And I think they must have appreciated that more than I realized before. To practice their English with a native speaker is a rare opportunity for a busy high school teacher. I was an open personality. I was happy around and about the school. I always smiled at people even if I couldn`t talk to them. I was always open to them. It`s such an easy thing to do – just to be open and friendly to people, but perhaps the other ALTs don`t do it so much. Evan probably didn`t as he found the atmosphere at Taga cold – but I have found it the complete opposite – all you`ve got to do is be friendly.

I`m sure I was appreciated for my lessons too – I did have some good ones I remember. When the good ones worked well it was great – getting all the students up and doing something different. Getting a good compliment from the JTE after a good lesson is great. Getting them all concentrated on an activity is great. And it`s true that when you get a student coming up to you, saying they can`t do it, and you give them a hint, and then they work it out for themselves and you see the realization on their face and you get a really big genuine smile from them – THAT, is a REALLY GREAT FEELING.

I`m pleased with the lessons I gave them. My personality was in them – my love of maps, cultural differences, modern culture, places in the world, UK culture, Japanese culture are all what I am interested in so I designed my lessons by that. And I think they did work well overall. I`m liked by my students so they must have respected me in my lessons – not seen me as horrible, nor as a joke teacher. I`ll miss being in the street meeting them everywhere – being said “harrow Bea-sensei!” to everywhere. It is almost like being a minor celebrity in this town – but it`s nice to be liked.

I was so worried about the big speech in Japanese I had to make to all of the school on that stage with the microphone. I fluffed up the bowing (as predicted). My voice was nervous (as predicted) but it was all worth it because I got a really long and warm round of applause from that giant hall (Yao commented that) and I felt very appreciated. It was a lovely way to end. The Japanese love their formailities - I have resented them, felt frustrated by them. But the appreciation you get from doing them is there. It was the first time the students had heard me speak Japanese I expect, and perhaps they respected me for doing it in Japanese and realizing what a hard thing it was for me to do. They still all wave and say hi to me enthusiastically when I see them so perhaps some are sad to see me go.

I`m sad to go too …. But I don`t want to stay! This year in Japan has been the best year of my life so far. I have learnt so much. I have experienced so much. I have grown so much. I have grown up so much. I`ve got new ideas of how I want to live my life in England to be as fulfilled and healthy as I have in Japan. I have truly widened my horizons and I am REALLY REALLY HAPPY.

Yukata YoKATA!

2009-07-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

It`s within my final month in Japan. And yet still! I have sizeable realizations about aspects of Japanese culture being why they are.

The latest eye-opener to me concerns explaining how and why the Japanese move how they do. I`ve always been quite bemused by how the Japanese move. And impressed by it! They tend to move quite quickly. But not in large extensive strides – the manner that most people would move in the west in, if they wanted to get somewhere quickly; they move quickly in a sort of running trot. Small, fast moving steps. Quite lightly on the floor so they are not making thuds. (I have to add an NB here to say that this movement is more typically found among women. Though, men do do this small trotting run also a lot (in addition to regular striding also). It is SO COMMON in a working environment. If there is a phone call someone will leap up from their desk and do the small trotting run to the phone. If someone asks someone to do something/ come here/ go over there – they will do it in the small trotting run.

I noticed it as a difference from a western way of moving because – although on the surface it is something small – it is obvious enough to strike me as a difference. I imagine that in western countries, in the work place people will slump up from their desk to get the phone. And perhaps trudge over to the phone. Because they are tired from getting up from their chair. Obviously people do move quickly in the west. With those big strides. But I would say generally this is done when there is a large distance to cover. Not within the room of an office. In Japan the fast movement is done over small distances.

When I had noticed this in the past I had always assumed that this interesting aspect of the Japanese was tied up with their strong work ethic. The importance to be a very keen and hardworking and enthusiastic contributory member to the working organization. But this weekend I realized this, was not the only reason.

At the weekend I went to another one of April and Jeff’s wicked parties in the countryside of Fukushima. This time the theme was national dress. What with us Americans, British and New Zealand being a bit thin on the ground re national dress someone suggested that we all buy ourselves yukata (the more informal summer version of the Japanese kimono, and where those). So, me Andrew and Jean went to buy ourselves new Yukata and all the rest of it (all the ties, and the obi belt, and hard structures, and undergarments that all strap you into this quite uncomfortable outfit).

We had a fun day the day after Yukata shopping when Tomoko drove us up into Fukushima, we went to a nature area, went on some fun slide thing which you pay money in a vending machine to use (nature rarely ever just natural in Japan). Went to eat soba in the restaurant, went to the kids park area. Jean sighed that we wouldn`t be doing any walking or exploring or anything. Which I might have sighed at before too. But to be honest I`m used to how the Japanese enjoy nature (unless you are a serious hiker). You should not overexert yourself or find ANYTHING even the tiniest bit strenuous. So we went on the ride, we ate, we mooched around the play park.
Then we went to our favourite café for coffee and cake. (I had tea and a pudding though!). Then we went to the onsen. Not that we had earnt the nice café or the onsen in any way! But the Japanese don`t think like that. If they`re having time off, every aspect of the day should be purely enjoyable and relaxing and JUST fun.

And then after a quick shower and go in the onsen us girls got changed into our yukata. First the undergarment – a kind of white hospital dressing gown, then we had to wrap a towel into a square shape and tie it with a cotton tie around our stomach (just under boobs!). The reason for this is – what is attractive to the Japanese – at least traditionally anyway – is for women to be totally flat all the way down. Therefore you put enough folded towels against your rib/ stomach area to make your stomach come out to the same level as your boobs so you go straight down with absolutely no womanly curves to be seen. Then you put on the yukata itself, pulling back the collar so you show off the back of the neck which is meant to be sexy. Then the obi is tied – Tomoko did a brilliant bow on the back of mine. Then a stiff thing is shoved in between the obi and the yukata. And there`s another tie that goes on somewhere but I can`t remember exactly. All of this amounts to a phenomenally restrictive outfit in which it is very hard to move. You can only take small steps in a yukata/ kimono because you are wrapped up almost like a mummy in all the fabric. And that`s not even considering the ridiculous wooden platform clogs that women have to wear where it is impossible to do anything other than take small steps.

So – my great realization is – that it is the Japanese traditional outfit (which is still very popular today) that is a principle cause of how the Japanese move how they do. It`s not only to look cute – but also strongly caused by the clothing (though the clothing style could of course have been designed over time to create and reinforce this style of movement that is thought attractive. All the movments that associate with the Japanese – the little run, the small slow inward steps in tea ceremony, the kneeling, the bowing: all of these movements are the easy ones to do when you are tied up in a yukata/ kimono so THAT IS WHY. What a great realization J

As an important end note to this subject I have to say how popular the Japanese traditional dress is, to the Japanese people. People love wearing yukata (despite how restrictive and comfortable I found it). There is a genuine fondness for them. I guess that people do find the look of them very attractive. I have to say – they are not something I have found instantly attractive as a clothing style – it is afterall very opposite from western fashions past and present, but, the yukata and kimono style has grown on me over the course of this year. I didn`t buy one for ages because I didn`t like them at first. But, now I finally bought one and tried it on and went to the party in it – I surprised myself and quite liked the look of myself in it! Me and Jean had a lot of fun running about like Japanese people in our yukata, having little races, pretending to serve tea to people, excessive amounts of bowing! (Bowing by the way – is one of the few movements it is possible to do very easily in a yukata. Another very interesting fitting little finding of this evening when I tried one on for the first time … given that the Japanese bow so much!)Given that the Japanese are usually entirely unfussed by fakeness – and do partake in a lot of ungenuine activities – which has pissed me off in the past – this genuine affection and use of their traditional dress in all daily life today is something that makes me feel really happy. Yuakata and kimono are sold everywhere – they are not just a novelty item that live in the past. They are part of Japan`s present. People wear them in summer in all the millions of big and totally insignificant festivals up and down this country. I see women in kimono at train stations throughout all the seasons. Like the tea ceremony which is genuinely alive in all the tea ceremony clubs in schools and the lessons women will take, and like the ikebana (flower arranging) classes and Japanses dance groups (that are always present in festival shows in large numbers from elderly participants though adults, young adults, teenagers, factory workers, kids) there are, these are the aspects of Japanese culture that is not superficialised in anyway. They are genuinely maintained through the will of the Japanese. And that makes me pleased :)

For the SAKE of it.

2009-07-18T17:49:00.001-07:00

My mood swings quickly in Japan. It`s because of the whole intensity of the situation I think. Either nice things happen and I`m so overwhelmed by the niceness of people (like the enkai with the Hitachi kita teachers on Friday – where we went to a wonderful Japanese sushi restaurant – fantastic food – great conversations – and I was given two beautiful presents), or I`m so pissed off with the stupidity of certain situations.

I still can`t get over the time wasting – the life wasting of working in a Japanese organization. We are just here for the SAKE of it. Nobody thinks about things objectively from outside of the structure. The structure is how it is so we just do it. Teachers work until late but on Friday I stayed late to wait for the teachers because of the enkai. They say they`re busy – but to be honest the teachers room didn`t look massively busy to me. They were chatting, reading newspapers – some were working but it didn`t seem all that efficient to me. Why ON EARTH don`t they just get their work done and GO HOME and see their family instead staying at work until some stupid hour.

I have realized in my time here that people just like to fill the allocated time. Nobody stops to think and suggest how things could be made more efficient – perhaps that meeting isn`t necessary for EVERYONE to attend/ necessary at all. They must adore their structure as some kind of safety net.

I think about the spot club activities – staying at Kita I heard the band practicing until 6 (3 hours after school) – and I know this will happen everyday. Yet they didn`t sound very good. You would think – for a band that practices 3 hours a day and weekends too would be world class for that amount of practice! But for me it is a kind of proof – that this system isn`t effective. They`re filling time in the band practice. Just going through the motions. Not really trying to improve. Just happy to be with each other and fill the time. (I`m not ranting at the fact they like to be together – the group spirit that is created as a result of this time filling doing a collective activity is quite an amazing thing). I just wish they could step outside of themselves sometimes and relax – follow another interest – do something independent. But perhaps they don`t want to.

And the sport – when I cycle to my yoga class at 6 on Monday evening I always see the football team training hard. And I know that’s the case every evening. And the weekends too. I remember my supervisor in response to my exclaimation at this saying – yes – but the Japanese aren`t amazing Olympians despite this vastly different level of practice between Japanese students and others around the world. Which is true. Which is also proof of ineffectivity of the excessive practice. I remember talking to Joel – an ALT in Ooarai who participates in basketball – he told me his theory – that it is just endless training – endless little drills – they only play in competitive games for the last 15 minutes of practice. And I can believe it! I went along to badminton club because I was interested in it but I only wanted to do it for an hour I said.

My theory is that the reason these kids aren`t particularly good at what they do – is because the motivation for doing it doesn`t come from them. They do it because of the teachers. They do it because of the structure. They do it to fill the time. To be in the community of the school. The competitive and internal motivation doesn`t come from them personally in general.

They`re doing it for the sake of it – like so many things in Japan. Japanese people have an amazing ability to keep going with things/ put up with things that they don`t like. Teachers complain about the fact they have to work so long in the evening – because “everbody does”. But many have complained to me – so why the hell don`t they change this ridiculous situation! Why doesn`t someone speak out against the structure. It strikes me as crazy, but they just live within the structure – for safety. I can`t work in this way. So I`m getting out.
I won`t miss the work life. But I`ll miss the social life a lot. And Japan itself. Of course I`ll miss Japan. But if I`m being objective here – I suppose that much of what I like about Japan itself is inextricably linked with how they work – the politeness, the civic mindedness, the safety, the consideration of others, the kindness – it is created by the manner of growing up and working in the such structured and community intensive settings that frustrate me so much.

Fakery in Japan

2009-06-09T23:38:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-06-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

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.

To Be In Love In Japan

2009-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

Now there`s a difficulty. Of majestic proportions. For me, the language barrier alone is the sole humungous problem to this issue. But even to those ALTs with half decent Japanese/ those who can have a basic conversation, the creation of a relationship across this giant culture gap is pretty-much a non-starter.

Except that it`s not. There are ALTs with Japanese boyfriends/ girlfriends, but to the rest of us without – we just talk with incredulity at how this is ever achieved. The Japanese are so shy. I guess people are always shy when they like someone. But add to this shyness, the intense apprehension of/ shyness towards foreigners. Foreigners confuse Japanese just as much as I am confused by the behavior of Japanese. Which still now, is a lot.

Many ALTs complain that it is very hard to know if a Japanese person is attached at all! Because Japanese are not at all touchy-feely in public. You will rarely see a couple holding hands in public. In fact this is one thing foreigners in relationships have complained about – that there is no acknowledgement of the relationship in public at all. There is really no way of knowing if they`re attached unless they`re married and have a ring on their finger. I don`t really have a clue whether my guy that I like has a girlfriend or not.

But aside from that. The real problems with relationships in Japan are actually getting there in the first place. Subtle cues which are understood between 2 people from the same cultural background cannot be relied upon to have the same meaning to the other individual AT ALL. This makes it all excessively difficult to feel your way through, and understand what on earth is going on in their head.
It is my view that many Japanese are rather afraid of foreigners. I feel that sometimes in conversations. (Though, this could well be because of the fact that I tend to have conversations in English, and therefore naturally would always be the more confident partner in the conversation because I am the native tongue). I am typically more confident. I have the hang of knowing how to make them laugh, I lead the conversations often. Naturally, of course, because it`s my language. So they laugh with me.

The problem of speaking English all the time and not being able to have much of a conversation in Japanese is actually this. I am typically the conversation leader. I guide it, to topics that we can easily talk about, that will be familiar to both of us, that they can cope with based on their level of English. It`s great to be able to do this. And it`s why I have many Japanese friends. But, there is a problem in being a conversation leader rather than a conversation follower. It doesn`t give the other person much of a chance to volunteer their own thoughts/ feelings/ talk from a completely open space. By following a conversation leader like me, everything is a reaction to what I say. It means I never get to know what they really think because it`s all a reaction to what I say (and often agreement - because they are Japanese - and it`s a very Japanese thing to agree, and build consensus, especially when forming new friends).

Of course, this is by no means the only cause of me not knowing what Japanese people really think. The Japanese are notorious for this anyway. Saying things just to please people when their true thoughts are kept hidden. For the other party to guess at. Which is fine if you have grown up in this culture, and you know those subtle cues, and that subtlety of the language and the body language which must be quite different to the west. But the gaijin is really left a bit clueless with Japanese subtlety.

Most foreigner friends of mine, I imagine, would have difficulties with these subtleties of the language. The most ridiculous thing in my case is that my difficulties are with the blatantly obvious bits of conversation too. I can`t hardly have much of a conversation where I find out something I don`t really already know. I can only have conversations where I basically pretty much know what they`re going to say. (eg that`s beautiful isn`t it?, or sounds fun, or lets do this etc). It`s so base level it`s silly.

What a ridiculous situation to be in really. In a way it`s obvious to me that many people like me. I receive a lot of compliments much of the time and many Japanese people do tend to like me because I do tend to find making small talk with the ones who have a basic command of English really quite easy. But, taking things to the next level is fantastically difficult.

It`s obvious in the way someone looks at you that they like you. I guess maybe that is universal.

I can tell this from the Yoga boy. He`s often sneaking a look at me, and me him, and he`s very smiley and we enjoy chatting before and after the class. If we both spoke the same language – or even a related one would be good – it would be easy by this stage. But, his English is not as good as many of my Japanese friends and communication really is that bit more difficult. He said he liked the circus. I`m so keen to go and see a show in Tokyo at the moment. So I was so excited as I was researching it earlier this week to show him, and suggest we go. But, my god. So difficult to establish that suggestion!

The funny thing is I`m not even shy of making all the moves!. That`s the good thing about Japan I think. It has made me so much more confident with men. Because you have to be! The one certainty in all this uncertainty surrounding making a relationship in Japan is that you KNOW Japanese men are slightly scared of western women and would therefore NEVER make a move. So, I`m happy to make all the suggestions. The problem I have – is not with the confidence in making the suggestion – it is getting the meaning of the suggestion across in the first place!!

I really wanted to go with him to see the circus show in Tokyo. But turns out he`d already been! I THINK. But, to ask if he would want to go again – impossible. To do all that subtle suggesting, hinting language that I would do with native English people – impossible. So, we were left, leaning against the gym timetable at the end of our class, just grinning, head against the wall in frustration. Me wishing I could speak Japanese, him wishing he could speak English better I expect, both us probably not really wanting to leave and see you on Monday, but doing that anyway. Arghargh! Impossible situation.

Too Formalised Society

2009-04-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to writing this a long time after much of these events happened. This is because the months of March and April have been rather strange for me. March was filled with all the occasions surrounding the end of the school year. As a result I had few lessons. The obvious apprehension of everyone in the office as people speculated who might be leaving/ the difficulties of negotiating who would take on what extra responsibilities in the life of the school for the coming year. It`s an unsettling time for everyone, - nobody likes this change that is forced upon them. But it is all present in Japanese society – this changeover in companies – I`m sure ultimately the Japanese believe in its` “greater good”, for the benefit of the company/ organization etc, but on a personal level – it is not a nice/ relaxing time.

So resulting from all this change – and the inevitable meetings that accompany it, me teaching regular lessons has been rather thin on the ground. Even when the new term started a couple of weeks ago it has taken until mid-April for me to teach again due to all the entrance ceremonies/ medical checks for students and the like to be over and done with. At first I was grateful for the cancellation of my lessons – easy life for me! But it got to the stage when I resented being confined to my chair/ confined to the teachers room on my own while the rest of the Japanese staff were in meeting after meeting dealing with new teachers/ new students/ new job roles/ new everything. Not to mention all the school all the school leaving/ entrance ceremonies at this time of year too.

The operation of Japanese society is formed by/ structured by HUNDREDS of formailities/ traditions and rituals. Some treasured I`m sure, some disliked but generally accepted and taken with the view that they are important for the good of the company and society.

I have been rather overwhelmed with all these formalities and rituals in the last couple of months. April – the changeover season in Japan is overrun by these.
I have mixed feelings about all these formalities. They, (again), create a structured manner in which you should mark/ behave according with the year in year out custom associated with the passing of this event/ occurrence.

In many ways my feelings towards this are contemporary to those of my feelings about the school day of the students. I resent that the life of the students aged 16-18 in Japan is vastly more structured compared to their counterparts in western countries. Every period of the day is a lesson (the concept of a free period for these late teens is unheard of, and provokes incredulity when I have mentioned it to teachers here in the past). The club activity every student should belong to structure their after school, weekend and holiday hours. Seeing as the teachers teach the lessons and run the after school club activities this wide-ranging structure that exists over most of their waking hours, exists for the teachers/ all adults too.

There is a lot that I think is wrong with this excessive structure present in Japanese society. There is little time for freedom of expression, freedom to think for yourself, to do something outside of the set structure.
And I have the same view towards the vast number of formalities I have witnessed and been a part of in these past couple of months too.
We have had welcome parties (where seating is decided by ballot – can`t possibly sit next to your friend who might be leaving this year), goodbye parties (and when I say parties I mean a formal event with LOTS of speeches at set times etc), leaving ceremony for leaving teachers at an assembly with a speech from each leaving teacher, speeches from each leaving teacher at the party, speeches from each of the 3rd grade teachers at graduation party, clapping the 3rd grade teachers in the staffroom meeting, clapping the new 1st grade teachers 2 weeks later (mostly the same bunch), waving off the leaving teachers as they left the school for the last time, presentation of leaving certificates to the leaving teachers in the principle`s office with all the other teachers crowded in to applaud, moving around all the desks for the start of the new year (just in case people got TOO comfortable where they were).

The number of rituals that happened at this time of year is huge and I haven`t even mentioned all the special bento lunches (often with food that carried some meaning based on the event), and all the meetings to establish the new additional roles and responsibilities for the teachers. (Teachers don`t just teach in Japan – they have budget responsibilities/ timetable creation responsibilities/ recommending universities for the students – (yes! It does seem that the teachers research universities for the students! Unbelievable!)/ social event organizers (the team in charge of organising these formal enkai parties)/ international affairs responsibility …etc.

As in the case of cultures all over the world, often people love their special traditions. Maybe the Japanese like their coming and leaving rituals, but for me the whole thing is far to formalized. All the structure surrounding coming and leaving hardly leaves space for individual expression of your actual feelings. Most of what is said is outwardly in the form of a speech (read: several). I obviously should acknowledge the Japanese peculiarity that at enkais people will get up and pour drinks for the people for whom the enkai is in honour (leaving their cooked food that has been served to them almost straight away – VERY bizarre), so in that way, they have a chance to talk to their leaving friends individually. But in my impression, the enkai is such a socially pressured environment. That culture of continuous drinking. (Incidently, when talking to a colleague about the importance of drinking alcohol to the Japanese people – which is very important by the way – I found out that the word for drinking does not just physically mean the act of drinking alcohol; there is also a social aspect to the meaning of the Japanese word for drinking). For me, all this formality and the rituals (flay, flay …! Male cheerleading, throwing leavers in the air, endless speeches, singing the school song) at the office enkai is too much pressure, and I certainly value the freedom of a less structured social environment in and outside the workplace.
(NB: this enkai situation I guess only applies to the biggest whole-school enkais – smaller ones – perhaps of the volleyball club teachers for example – I`m sure are more like a social situation that I could identify in England for example).

As a result, I have been welcoming the return to normality, and teaching classes again. Though all this was quite fun. But afterall – teaching is the job I came to do. And these past months I have been not doing it. Stupid really. I enjoyed the break for a while but then it was really tiresome. Just wasted time. (But I suppose not wasted in terms of the insight into the culture I have got from this). But, I can`t imagine putting up with it next year aswell.

End-of-Year SPECIAL DAYS

2009-03-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

There seem to be a lot of special events these days at school – or at least, times that would just pass by as regularity in England but are marked out as special in Japan. The way they are marked out – it seems to me – is by having special more expensive bentos (lunchboxes delivered to the school) that are nicer than usual. Most of the teachers order them and I did too – they are really good.

So on graduation day inside the bento was o`sekihan – rice with red azuki beans that I just LOVE. This rice is always cooked for a celebration. (And when a girl starts her periods incidently). I could understand having a special meal for graduation.

But then it was special bento time on tueday aswell. Tuesday was entrance exam day for the junior high school students who wanted to get into Taga in April. So we had a special bento again! That day I (we) ate tonkatsu (deep fried pork – really nice). Tonkatsu is traditionally eaten on days like exam days because it means good luck and hard work. I love the fact that certain Japanese foods are associated with meaning.

Then on Wednesday, another special bento – because it was marking day! Everything is made into such an occasion in Japan. In England I imagine, marking the school entrance exam would happen with each teacher in their own room trying to get it done at the end of the day according to the mark scheme. But in Japan it was an occasion. We all left the teachers room at 9 o`clock in the morning and went downstairs to the special conference room. Us English teachers all around a table working together other subjects sat together around other nice tables – the vice principal and principal at the head of the room just there to show their presence I imagine – can`t imagine they were doing anything. Just being THERE FOR THE TEAM.

All teachers were involved of course – a true group effort. So even the P.E. teachers (of which there are several at Taga) were present and distributed around to mark the exams of other subjects. It was fun, and at times like that I can see why the Japanese love their community spirit. It was nice working together. We were all consulting each other, some teachers (unsurprisingly the school nurse, and home economics teacher) came and served us tea. Then after an hour or so every teacher was presented with a big bag of snacks to keep us going through the hard work. I`ve often commented that the Japanese don`t tend to eat much when they work. But sometimes they surprise me – on this occasion they were just eating and eating continuously. Nearly finishing their huge bag of snacks. The Japanese have this funny ability to sometimes eat nothing for ages and then not eat much for dinner, and other times eat loads and loads. It confuses me! Of course we had a special bento that day too. But there`s no special food for marking I was informed by my supervisor – so my rice and tempura and lots of other nice little bits of this and that had no special meaning then.

Today is another special day. The Very Important Meeting in which all teachers are present to decide which students will enter Taga next year. Like the graduation ceremony and marking day, all schools in Ibaraki do this on this day. I am not in this meeting because it will be solely in Japanese. The meeting can go on for several hours as teachers debate which students should be selected. For those whose exam marks are at the borderline for getting into Taga all the teachers discuss the club activities the students have been involved in at their school, and the recommendation letters from the junior high school. Many teachers won`t contribute at all in this meeting but I was initially surprised to learn that the P.E. teachers have a lot to say. This is because Taga is a school in which the sports club activities are very important. Therefore, the ways in which students can contribute to this aspect of school life is VERY significant in the selection process of the school.

A 10 minute break just occurred and the teachers just came back to the room. Yuji told me that ultimately, despite it seeming very egalitarian (that`s what I was thinking as I was writing this – having all teachers involved in the meeting/ in the decision) only the principal has the final decision. He said that the unlike the structure of a company which is like a pyramid, the structure in Japanese schools is like a pen-top – (all the teachers on the same level of importance, including the vice-principal) and then just 1, the principal at the head, at the top of the whole organization who has the ultimate power over everything. (He has this supreme influence even though he is retiring this year by the way).

I wish I could be a fly on the wall of this meeting. I want to find out who has influence/ I want to find out if the women talk at all! But I`m confined to the teachers room because of my lack of Japanese – hey ho.

End-of-Year ENKAI

2009-03-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

The whole celebration and special events marking the end of the school year are as much for the 3rd grade homeroom teachers as for the graduating students. On the graduation day teacher`s morning meeting these teachers stood up and everybody else applauded them very warmly. It`s a big achievement GETTING YOUR STUDENTS TO THE FINISHING LINE! here in Japanese schools. During the ceremony they stood up and were applauded again by all.

The end of year enkai that evening was a party basically in honour of those third grade teachers. We sat down (knelt on floor of course!) to the meal – the third grade teachers were all seated on one side of the room. Within 5 minutes of starting eating following the kampai most of the second and first grade teachers had jumped up, and moved around to near to third grade teachers, crouching behind them, to serve them drinks, to ensure their galss was never less than half full, to chat to them, to congratulate them profusely.

Given that I`ve been in Japan a long time now (over 6 months) I feel quite used to the Japanese way of eating and drinking when out. You should always serve others drinks, watch for their glass never becoming empty, and the food is not eaten like a western meal. In a Japanese drinking party enkai setting – the drinking goes on for the whole evening (same as England) – but unlike England the eating goes on for the whole evening too. Japanese food is very bitty – lots of different small, beautifully presented dishes are brought out by the waitresses through the course of the evening (same for everyone). When the food is in front of you it is not the style to eat it all at once just because it is there. The food will be eaten slowly throughout the 3 hour period, because Japanese people like to eat while they drink. So, it was not so surprising for me to see several delicious dishes being served – and most of the teachers eating a little, and then jumping up to talk to others sitting a little way from them or seeing how they could serve the 3rd grade teachers for 20 minutes or so. I think it takes a while for westerners to get used to this style of eating where food in front of us is usually eaten straight-away. When I think of the whole evening from an English perspective it is very very different.

One of my home friends emailed me to say my drunken enkai sounded much like a meal he went to for the leaving of one of the teachers at the school he works at. I can imagine going out for a meal in England. But this was so far removed from that. Essentially, it is the extreme formality and hierarchy so present in the enkai setting, combined with the extreme, rapid drunkenness that occurs.

Aside from the obvious differences of it being a Japanese establishment therefore – take off shoes – slippers on – own tatami room – karaoke machine in room – low down tables – kneeling required etc, the differences is in the behavior. People were marked in to check they were all there. The enkai was moved to start at 5 o`clock because everyone had school the next day, but to allow for the fact people had to get drunk at an enkai (as that is what is done) and to allow for the second enkai (the after-party) it was decided that 6 would be too late for all this to happen so it was moved.

The speeches – so many speeches by everyone. Several at the start – by the principal, the vice principal, the heard of the 3rd grade as I expected. But then, in the middle of the enkai later on each homeroom teacher stood up and gave their own little speech and then another by the head of the 3rd grade and principal and vice. It just showed me how important their students are too them. One teacher talked about the girl in her class who had been suffering from anorexia. Another teacher read out an emotional letter she had received from a student that day. Teachers love to talk about students who have had difficulties in the past who have overcome them now – through the hard work and care collectively from the parents, teachers and he student working together to overcome the problem as the child grows up in the school. That`s what gives them so much pride and involvement I think.

Another difference which I almost take as normal these days is the hierarchical nature of many aspects of Japanese society. At the enkai it was a little bit more obvious than usual. All the teachers sat on 2 lines of group tables at the sides of the room. However, the principal, vice, head of the third grade and the older women who works in the office had their own individual tables at the head of the room. At the end of the meal when vast plates of soba noodles were brought in to share for the ordinary teachers on the group tables these 4 important people were given their own plates of soba. Just to make it obvious that they were more important. Although, seniority might be obvious in an English workplace by the head having a nice big office, with a nice view, I certainly doubt that such a separation would occur in a work drinks/ meal. But in Japan, I couldn`t really imagine it any other way. I would feel awkward with the principal next to me certainly (but perhaps that`s because I`m young).

The enkai ended with everyone in a circle hugging, drunkenly singing the school song – many men red faced from the alcohol, one male teacher crying from the emotion and alcohol. One teacher in the centre conducting us all. Everyone was in high spirits. And typical to Japanese form and order at the end the enkai ended. Exactly as specified - at 8 o`clock, exactly 3 hours after it had started. So names were taken of who was attending the second enkai at the karaoke bar and everyone else went off on their way.

End-of-Year GRADUATION

2009-03-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of lessons have been cancelled because students (in all grades) are preparing for graduation. The 2nd and 1sts will help decorate the hall (red and white fabrics stripes all round the walls). Third graders will be taught how to bow/ how long to bow/ when to bow (during the ceremony there is a lot of bowing/ standing up sitting down, and everybody needs to be familiar with the process. There is a lot of bowing to the Japanese flag aswell, and the singing of the national anthem. This made the ceremony itself very formal. Like an English prize giving, but the bowing and to the flag was something different, that added to the formality.

3rd grade female homeroom teachers will wear their kimono for this special occassion. It used to be that mothers did as well, for the graduation ceremony of their child, but in the past 10 years Japan has changed. I saw no mother wearing kimono. In fact the parents were quite casually dressed. A definite change from 10 years ago my supervisor said.

Students seemed very surprised when I told them graduation does not happen in England. Graduation is the biggest and most serious assembly event in the school calendar. (Japanese schools don`t have weekly assemblies like English schools). Although, important, everybody hates it. It is 2 hours long and we all sit in the un-centrally heated (of course) gym hall. The 1st and 2nd graders must also endure this, sitting in rows at the back. Again, typical of Japan for a whole community to have to have this experience together even though this ceremony is totally irrelevant to them.

The end of the school year is a highly emotional time for the 3rd graders and their homeroom teachers who have been with them, so involved in their lives all the way through these past 3 years. The students will be leaving, diverting off, the close, safe community splitting up. So it`s a difficult adjustment to make I guess. Many students cry during the graduation ceremony. The school band play the school song over and over while the students precess in and out with their teachers – it was one of those emotion-inducing songs if you knew it`s significance of being played at every graduation. Some homeroom teachers cry too. The ceremony around this time of year is, in a way, as much for these 3rd grade homeroom teachers who`ve got their students to the end, as it is for the graduating students themselves. They were applauded in the staffroom, they applauded themselves in their separate room, the enkai later that afternoon was in honour of them. During the graduation ceremony itself they were clapped by all. You could just tell – they were elated from their achievement of reaching the end with their students – ready to let them fly off into the world, ready because of their hard and caring work over the 3 years.

Eating, Japan!

2009-02-18T17:35:00.001-08:00

I have finally decided to deal with this little beast of a subject. Before I totally forget how completely different eating in Japan is (foods, food habits, how the habits relate to the culture etc) compared to that in the UK/ west in general.
I have already become completed accustomed to much of it now, so I have had to train my mind to bring English food and habits into the forefront of my brain for this post.

Seeing as I`m at school I`ll start with the school lunch. The big difference number 1, comparing a typical Japanese workplace, with a typical English one, is that many more workers will bring in a homemade packed lunch (bento) from home. There also is the option to buy the school lunch bento box which you can order in the morning and is then delivered to the teachers room (or office) at lunchtime (12 o`clock in Japan. Some schools lunchtimes even run from 11.30 to 12.30. I was curious about this earlier standard lunchtime compared to England. My supervisor said it`s because in Japan, it is not standard to have a mid-morning coffee/ snack break at 11 ish as in the UK).

An endearing feature of the Japanese workers and their homemade bentos is the fact they bring them into work wrapped up in a teatowel (always wrapped on the diagonal with a neat little knot at the top – unless the bento box they bought came with it`s own little cloth bag to be carried in – in which case the teatowel is unnecessary). It is very sweet. I think I am going to start doing it. I clattered around with my noisy plastic bags to prevent leaking. It`s just not so neat. But these days I just mainly buy rice balls for lunch in any case.

The bento box itself is an interesting thing. It is typically divided into two separate boxes. One box to put your rice, and the other to put your morsels of vegetables/ meat/ fish/ pickles. This is necessary because the Japanese don`t like to have their perfect rice being touched by any other food. The non-rice box is also likely to contain dividers so that you can put each different type of small vegetable/ meat/ fish/ pickle in a different section, so that these foods don`t have to touch each other either. This definitely reflects the slightly anal, small, little, controlled culture of Japan. (or perhaps it just reflects the fact they are all just in love with Japanese rice SO MUCH). Rice comprises half of the lunch. Most Japanese will eat rice as their carbohydrate for each meal of the day. They have a big lunch, I suppose, compared to the typical English lunch of a sandwich, yoghurt, fruit, chocolate. In Japan, they just have a lot of rice. After this kind of lunch Japanese (and me) aren`t hungry for fruit etc. (Japanese don`t eat very much fruit really). This rice heavy lunch also accounts for why they don`t snack much in the afternoon either like westerners will do much more.

The compartmentalized bento lunch (shop bought and made at home) is reflected in the experience of going out for a Japanese meal. So it is clearly traditionally how the Japanese like to eat. You will sit down, not to one plate, but typically to about 6 small plates. You might have one slightly more major dish, but still each person will have a several other mini-plates with morsels of this or that. (To take a recent example of the last meal I had in a Japanese restaurant. I had a big bowl of tempura (deep fried vegetables and seafood) on top of rice (actually, unusual in this case that the rice wasn`t separate – curious – normally ALWAYS is), then also there was a small plate of sushi, a plate of pickles, a plate of seaweed, a bean cake, a miso soup. And this was a cheap 5 quid meal! As was evident, the Japanese do eat big meals. This is something I have noticed in Japan. Japanese people do eat big portions (particularly of rice). I often always finish my food in Japanese restaurants too. In fact it is the chubby westerners who often complain they can`t finish. Slightly ironic – because the Japanese are so tiny in comparison. (But the difference must be in the snacking, Japanese people don`t have big snacks – see later on).

This style of a tray of plates/ succession of new dishes being presented to you as you eat is very common in Japanese restaurants as well as the more down-grade “family restaurant” – (which is great food also, certainly not to be likened to their UK equivalent which would be the chain restaurant).

Another common way of eating out Japanese style is the ordering of lots of little dishes and everybody has their own plate in which they pick and choose from the central selection. This is the way you eat when you go to an Izakaya. This is a type of Japanese pub. In these places you will go with a group of people and order dishes to share. This style is also mirrored in a nabe or sukiyaki or shabu-shabu meal in which the cooking is done on the table in an electric pot. The host (or others) add raw vegetables and meat periodically and pick them out to their own little individual bowl when they`re done after a few minutes cooking in the broth. Delicious – that winter style food.

Bitty eating is how the Japanese like to eat. I ate like that at home too – so suits me fine!

It is a very different way of eating, when you compare it to a western meal of just one plate of food. The components all touching. The active method of cooking the food on the table doesn`t exist in England. But it is so common in Japan. Not only is there the winter warming foods like nabe, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu (so named because the meat makes a sound like shabu-shabu when it is bubbling in the boiling broth), but also there is the Japanese BBQ where you melt some lard and fry your meat and veggies on your table, gengis kahn (a similar idea), okonomiyake (where you mix vegetables, seafood, meat, mochi – whatever!) in a bowl with pancake batter and an egg, then turn the whole mixture out on the frying plate in the centre of your table and let it cook into some kind of filled pancake.

All of this is traditional Japanese – at first I was surprised that it was – because it so unlike the delicate sushi and sashimi, the stereotype. But, thinking about it, this is very Japanese. Everybody sharing the same, together the same, it relates back to the communal, community culture of everybody wanting to be the same.

This way of eating many different types of food altogether though, means that Japanese restaurants and people do provide interesting experiences of western food. I went to a party in which western food was served like Japanese. All the dishes were presented on the table. There, set out on the low table was a shepherd’s pie, a quiche, a cheese fondue, a plate of vegetable and meats to dip in it (is all I can remember now). Everyone had their plate, and they picked a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. It was totally bizarre! But kind of fun!

Western restaurants are another interesting experience. Because the Japanese like to order several dishes to share, portions are rather smaller – to account for this. I didn`t realize this initially. So once, in an Italian restaurant with some other foreigners, I ordered a seafood pizza. The others who had been living in Japan longer than me ordered about 3 dishes each. I thought they were just being really greedy westerners, but when the food came my pizza was quite diminished in size! I ended up having a spag Bolognese as well! So now I know to order several things in this particular chain! Not all Italian places are like this one, though. In most, ordering a starter and a pasta will be sufficiant.
But I prefer this portion size. When I finish a spaghetti meal in English restaurants I often feel so full because the portion sizes are vast. But, pastas in Japan, being slightly smaller, are much better sized.

Bar rice, portion sizes in Japan are smaller. This then accounts for the smaller sized population. The Japanese abroad exclaim just as much about the giagantic bottles of milk you can buy, as we gaijin exclaim about the bite-sized packets of cheese you can get here. Packets of snacks and sweet treats are smaller. I suppose that one of the things that should shock me, but does not anymore, is the total lack of chocolate bars. What you buy is packets of tiny individually wrapped chocolates about the size of after eights.

Teachers may snack on a couple of these mid-afternoon, or a little bean cake, or a tiny sweet (Japanese people love sweets), or a rice cake, or an individually wrapped little biscuit that arrived on their desk because some teacher went away.

They will of course do this covertly. It`s not really the done thing, to be seen eating in Japan (I guess it looks like you`re not working). That will also be why Japanese people eat their lunch so damn fast! In about 5 minutes! So they can be back working. I find it extreme again (like much of Japanese society) to think about the speed at which they eat at work. And then the long and drawn-out eating process of going out for a Japanese meal. People will eat very slowly. Picking the food from the central dish. Or waiting as more food is brought out – you never know how much is coming!) Funny Japanese.

Japanese tastes, as well as Japanese eating habits are also very different to the west. While they traditionally use very little oil or butter in their cooking, their food will often be very salty or sugary (which goes really well with the big portion of rice). The Japanese love pickles with their food (the bright yellow pickled giant radish – the daikon, the pickled plums – umeboshi). There is a big pickle section in the supermarket, aswell as a lot of tofu, (which I now like!), natto (not yet…!). The taste in meat is different too. Japanese love very fatty meat. Thinly sliced very fatty meat will often be much more expensive than an ordinary beef steak. As you would expect the fish is so fresh in Japanese supermarkets – it make me want to eat it raw it looks so good.

So, this has overviewed Japanese food. It`s a lot to cover. I LOVE Japanese food. To the extent that I now go out for meals much mre frequently than I ever did in England, and buy ready meals (sushi and Japanese sweet omlette) that I`ve kind of forgotton how to cook! I`m going to miss it so much when I`m in England.

Old People

2009-02-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

I have a had a problem with some rather dominating and overkeen old women in Japan, but that`s another story (and I have it under control now in any case).

There are a lot of old people in Japan. Objectively. This is not just a statement resulting from feeling overcome by the enthusiasms of my old women friends earlier this year. It is widely know to most people that Japan, like all modern, developing economies, has an ageing population. This is obviously true from living daily life here.

England, being a developed economy aswell, also has an ageing population, however I feel this far less obviously than I do in the case of Japan. Why? Because I would say old people really are more invisible in Biritsh society. In Japan it is different. They are out there, on the streets, in restaurants, being active, meeting up with friends for lunch, going to the gym, going on trips, keeping up hobbies and interests (eg Ikebana, learning English, volunteering teaching English).

In Japan the elderly are much more out there in society, doing stuff, together on the trains going places. I don`t remember ever having this feeling about the elderly in England. They are just cooped up more at home I think.

Maybe the health of these 2 elderly populations is the reason for the difference in participation in wider society. The Japanese are undoubtedly a very healthy population with their traditional fish and rice based, low fat diet, and active sports instilled in them from day 1 at school.
This healthy lifestyle is most true for the elderly. It is only the younger Japanese who are being tempted by the fast food and burgers (and nikuman!) that is now widely available in the combinis. The elderly though, stick to their traditional very healthy ways. And so live long. The Okinawans are the longest living community in the world.

Obviously if you are a healthy old person then you are still going to be out there, doing stuff. Perhaps it is just the case that more old people are sick in the UK. But there is also another aspect to this. It seems, (perhaps due to the numbers of elderly) that there is more for them in Japanese society. To me there seems to be a huge range of clubs and activities for older people to do here. I`m not particularly familiar with the situation in this respect in the UK, but my impression is that it is old people`s homes, and bingo clubs. Nothing much which uses any brain or skill that you might have. I do feel, that in comparison to the situation in Japan, provisions and opportunities and older people in general are overlooked. Obviously there are adult education classes – but it is not quite the same. Short courses, perhaps lasting a term or 2. It is not quite the same as the wide spread of community centres with wide ranges of activities in literally every insignificant (and significant) settlement of Japan. The community centre activities I guess are dominated by older people. To be a majority in an organization in your town is also a positive boost for old people. It must therefore be easy for other older people to easily fit in and come out of their home. In England I think we have just got into a cycle of old people retreating into their homes because of a lack of a social life, and lack of activities they want to do outside of their home.

The difference is, old people are out in Japan. They are obvious. The rest of the population don`t overlook them. They are more respected. Another reason for the difference must be something I always mention and am always aware of in Japan. The community spirit of people.

These old people have lived in a society with this strong spirit of community for decades and decades. Ultimately, the result is people with very strong bonds with their friends outside of your family, that have been formed and strengthened throughout all of this time, working together, working on something together, having breaks together, talking together. This community spirit, together with being physically healthy and active means that the many old people of Japan still have a wide and active, not superficial or patronized social life. A big difference from the UK I think.

It has to also be mentioned though – a key difference to explain the out-there-ness of the old people in Japan, is the safety of Japan. The streets are safe everywhere. The streets at night are safe. Crime is so low in Japan (apart from theft of umbrellas! I think is most common). I feel so much safer in my daily life in Hitachi, out in the streets, on public transport, compared to the UK. And it must play a big part in the life of old people. It is safe for frail, old people to be out on their own. They are free to go anywhere, even at night (though they go to bed so early this isn`t common!). In England you frequently hear about old people being mugged or accosted by some chav. This makes them and others afraid to go out (either correctly or incorrectly). In Japan this doesn`t happen, so old people do not feel restricted to go out out of fear, and are therefore more present for everyone to see in the wider society.

Having interests, and friends gives meaning to your life, which helps you live long. But also, respect by the wider society exists in Japan to the elderly, from the rest of the Japanese. I don`t think this character of respect is particularly the same. I think there is more of a feeling in England that old people don`t really have much to offer society anymore. But in Japan, longevity is respected and admired. I think there is a respect of the wisdom of old people. People are more linked to the older members of the family.

In addition to New Year, the other big festival in Japan is O-bon in mid August. This is a 3 day festival of the dead ancestors. People will travel to their home town – perhaps where the grandparents still live, and will make visits to the graves of dead ancestors. (side point – graveyards are on tiny plots of land and crammed crammed full of Buddhist gravestones compared to a typical English church graveyard!) There is a stronger awareness and link to the old generations of families here I think - also because older people live so damn long.

I think in Japan the elderly play a big part in the workings of society so they are respected and appreciated, and the old people themselves benefit from this wider respect. Many Japanese companies/ organizations would not work without the grandparent generation to look after the kids while the parents spend most of their waking hours at work.

I think the elderly have a better time of it in Japan compared to England. And I`ve learnt something because of this. To not overlook people, or patronize them, because they are interesting, and can still be good lunch dates etc (in moderation!!!!)
I`ve already been engaging with the older people I know in in my life more (in letters and emails) and my dominant motivation for this has changed. From a slight sense of duty (which is how it is often made out to me to be from Dad) to a sense that I genuinely want to have a meaningful communication with them because they are interesting people.

When (if?!) I have children I am going to emphasise that communicating with healthy older people shouldn`t be a duty – you should change your attitude so it is something you genuinely want – because you should want to talk to people that have led long lives, and therefore have interesting things to say and good advice. Sometimes I think though, the problem with old people is that they get in to a mode of losing interests so they think they have nothing to say (but perhaps this is society`s fault for the general view of no worth of older people).

I read in an article that to have a strong reason to live is also a strong factor in the longevity of the Okinawans. The Okinawans reason for their longevity is longevity itself! They find a lot of value in living a long time so they can pass on their wisdom and experiences of living well to the future generations. I want English old people to be healthy and socially active and present in society, and have a strong reason to keep living like those people.

Being Gay in Japan

2009-02-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

Japan is an extremely advanced society in several ways: it leads the world in robotics technology (I think), they have a very modern (mostly) and efficient public transport system, their toilets are space age … (mostly). So in many ways they are developing on a level ahead of other modern societies.

However, there is a significant number of aspects to Japanese society that is way behind, say, the UK. Homosexuality is a huge issue which demonstrates well, the backwardness of Japan.

I was in my usual 4 o`clock Wednesday English conversation class with the home economics teacher (Yumi – 40) and her very young looking assistant (… - 31). Both are very typical Japanese women, fitting the kawaii stereotype of Japanese women that I have described before. Their home economics room is full of pink, girly things, perfumed air. Little lace mats cover the table. Pretty blankets and soft pink things are around the place. They are typical Japanese women. The only aspect which is unusual about them is that they are not married. I wonder if they worry about this. Because certainly, the level of worry from their their parents generation about lack of husbands is always present I have gathered (from my numerous dealings with old women!).

Yumi wants to improve her spoken English, and she did initiate this weekly conversation class that we have. It is a bit of an effort for me – I`m not being paid. But I suppose I am happy to do it. They give me a perfect Christmas present. And give me nice biscuits and cakes and things, and we`ve become friends I suppose. So that is my payment. After a busy Wednesday, sometimes it`s tiring, but I see it as a sort of replacement for a club activity – which I do not do.

Anyway, last week, we got on to the subject of my holiday to Okinawa. I had just booked it 2 days before. They enquired who I was going with, and I said my friend Andrew – a boy who was a friend, not a boyfriend. To provide extra clarification because I wasn`t sure that they had grasped that subtle difference, I said he was gay.

I was not at all prepared for the huge exclamations of shock and amazement that preceded to follow in the next hour.

“Gay!!!????” Yumi said, in a VERY incredulous, quite loud voice. They were both SO shocked, and SO surprised. I can hardly describe how shocked they were. They were giggling like little girls, embarrassed almost. I was so amazed by their reaction that I was keen to talk about it more, and find out more about their opinions. They were keen to talk about it too, because homosexuality, according to them, is something that is never talked about, or occurs in any Japanese circles, outside of Kabuki-cho (the gay district of Tokyo).

So I immediately decided to tell them about my circle of 6 closest friends at home, in which there was 2 homosexual relationships – 1 lesbian couple, and 1 gay couple.

Yumi and … just didn`t believe it! They thought I was having a big joke with them. It was so way out of the norm for the, and I had to reiterate and emphasise many, many times before they believed I was telling the truth. Obviously, I think my situation does deviate from the norm. But most people, I would say, have 1 gay friend. In Japan though, this is DEFINITELY not the case.

They were expressing so much shock, that I was incredulous at them, to an equal level. Then Yumi said, “oh, I wish I had a gay friend. It would be so much fun. They are so beautiful, and it would be so much fun”.
I was a bit confused by this and asked her further. I mean, I know a lot of people who are gay, and they certainly aren`t more beautiful, or more fun than the rest of the population.

It turned out, that both Yumi and …`s view was that a gay person, was what I would call, a transvestite. They thought that all gay men dressed up as women, they thought that all gay men wore makeup. (I didn`t actually ask them what was their expectation of a lesbian – perhaps they hadn`t ever considered this question before).

I quickly went on to explain no, no, no this wasn`t the case at ALL. I explained about my gay friend who works as a teacher in a senior school in England. (“He works as a teacher??!!! Shockshockshock!), about my gay friends who work for charities. Yumi and … could hardly believe that that there were gay people working in normal, regular jobs. Until I kept re-emphasising that the men wore normal clothes like other men, and they didn`t wear makeup.

After all of this explanation of homosexuality, I was keen to find out about the Japanese view of homosexuality. Was their view typical? Yes, it was. Most Japanese would think like this they said. I was amazed. Because up until that afternoon I had just assumed the situation of homosexuality was the same as in the UK (but without the problem of over-zealous Christians – so perhaps even more open than the UK). In my Japanese ALT community the situation is the same as I find it back at home – there is a couple of gay men in the group (and a transvestite actually). All the 20 something, 30 something Japanese that we hang out with know that Andrew is gay. It`s totally normal, just like in England. Andrew has a semi-relationship with a Japanese guy, and I think Daryle has in the past too. So I had just assumed it was the same.

But, I think that this experience of my Hitachi and ALT community is different from mainstream Japanese society. Perhaps because they hang out with foreigners, so therefore are not typical.

Yumi was obviously familiar with the word gay. Which was obviously used in Japanese. But she also told me about the Japanese word for gay, which literally translates as “sistermans”. (Mans is an incoreect form of men).

Sistermen. So that goes some way to account for why they think that all gay men look like women.
How did they know about homosexuality in Japan I asked. Seeing as it was clear from these women that represented that vast majority of Japanese society at least their age and above, that they hadn`t encountered any homosexual people in their day-to-day life.

Homosexuality doesn`t exist in Hitachi, it wouldn`t exist anywhere in local places like this, they said. Their only knowledge of homosexual culture comes from the TV. Homosexuality in Japan only really exists in Tokyo. In the gay district of Tokyo, Kabuki-cho. They know that gay bars exist – but only really there.
Once you are outside of Tokyo gay people cease to exist in Japan. I raised the word hidden, to account for the situation outside of Tokyo. But they were skeptical that there could be more than a really tiny number of gay people that lived outside of Tokyo, in these “local” places.

(I often find that Japanese people use the word local to describe non-city, country areas – it must be an incorrect translation to English of the Japanese use of the word local to also describe rural areas).
I`m sure it`s the same the world over. Cities are more cosmopolitan than country villages, cities are more ahead in terms of the development of new trends, views, fashions, what`s acceptable, and the countryside is more conservative and traditionalist. So, this is clearly the situation here.
Gay people aren`t openly gay (if they exist at all – according to Yumi and …) in local places like Hitachi. But the significant point is though, that Hitachi City, isn`t exactly a local place! It really is a big town/ sprawling settlement. But Yumi and … were quite adamant. There would be no openly gay people here. No teacher at Taga could ever be gay (heeheehee!! – Y and …).

It`s interesting to think about this. I`m sure it will change in the future. Japanese society is interesting because it is in many ways extremely liberal. No fundamental religions, an acceptance of porn that is present in the mainstream, but yet ignored by the most of the mainstream. So, in a way, I am surprised that being openly gay hasn`t made it beyond kabuki-cho in Tokyo. However, all 3 of us did think that this change would surely come in the next 10 years or so.

Japan – is it advanced, or behind us? Maybe the answer is that it depends on the area. It is Tokyo that is advanced in it`s open-mindedness. Gay culture is evident there. It is beyond Tokyo where you get all the conservativism – the little old women staring at you if you dare eat on the train, the men in their 1980s style glasses. Maybe the answer is also generational. Yumi and … are 40 and 31 respectively. My ALT friends and their gay Japanese friends (who happen to live near Tokyo fyi) – that would also account for the differing experience of gay culture in Japan. The difference between the metropolis of Tokyo and the rest of Japan, is huge. There is so much more individualism in Tokyo. The fast pace of the city. It is a world away from Ibaraki. And universes away from actual isolated country-bumpkin places in Japan.

But other big cities won`t be too far behind Tokyo I shouldn`t think. In Sapporo we went to a transvestite show. I found it interesting to look at the other audience members there. Regular office men and women I think. People Yumi`s age, I suppose. I wonder if these transvestites were their only experience and knowledge of the gay community in Japan too.

I wonder what it`s like to be unsure if you are gay or not if you live in the local places of Japan. What must you think of yourself if you find yourself fancying people of the same sex as you, but having no inclination to want to dress up as a girl. There is no presence in open society of anyone really like you. So you stay hidden I guess. Just like the olden days…
I felt I understood something more about Japan then. And Yumi did too! She said she was reallt culture shocked by my stories, to find out about the open gay culture in England (…well it`s all relative to Japan!)

Snow Flurries and Slow Ferries

2009-02-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

I`m just back from a 5 day holiday to Hokkaido and am feeling really pretty happy. :-D
It is nice to look back on it and remember the fun things that happened, and to look at the great photos that people have. I remember being frustrated at aspects of the trip at the time, but now I`m enjoying my good memories!

To take the overnight ferry from Oarai port, in my home prefecture of Ibaraki to Tomakomai was brilliant. Far and away better than travelling by plane. It was fun to arrive at the port at sunset after work on Friday evening. To see the ocean, see our ship, climb on board with far less fuss than taking a plane. Cheap travel is still the mentality of my age group – and it was a lot of fun to be sleeping in the big room and laying out your futon with everyone else. After the extensive evening buffet we all played cards together, ate ice cream, laughed a lot, and just all in all I had a lot of fun just being with all the ALT gang again. The ocean itself did behave to its name and was very pacific??! (peaceful!, maybe). Beautiful, beautiful scenes from the deck of ferry the following morning under a clear blue sky. The clear skies are something I haven`t stopped appreciating during the autumn and winter in Japan. We even saw some dolphins in the distance from the ship.

Sapporo is a lot colder than Ibaraki. And though snow makes a beautiful scene, I am damn glad Ibaraki isn`t like that. I found that I could be outside wrapped up and enjoying the outside, for about 1 hour. After that time the cold must break a way through to my skin and my bones after persevering it`s way through all my layers, because after that time I suddenly get cold. At that point we usually duck into a restaurant or café to reheat ourselves with supergood Japanese hot chocolate or ramen if we`re hungry.

After arrival we headed out to view the ice sculptures which were beautiful tinged with blue. At the time of the sunset they were most beautiful. Lights lit them from behind and it was just pretty. Of course, I knew to expect, at an occasion like this, cameras would be out in force. I can accept it by getting into that mode too. Obviously photo-taking is fine, but why to so much excess?
Excessive photographs, excessive omiyagae purchases/ purchasing time, standardized tourist itineraries are the features of the Japanese holiday experience I knew to expect on this IAJET trip to Hokkaido. I don`t like them, but I put up with it, because I can`t physically do holidays I want, by myself, independently. Other typical features which drive me crazy is the commercialism of all sites of (tourist) interest. Even many ice sculptures contained adverts within them. Sometimes I feel Japan corrupts too many things with it`s commercialization of history and nature. With the consumerism surrounding historic and natural sites. I hate holidays in which these things dominate. I`m sure that off-beaten track places exist in this country, but such places are so beyond my reach and capability that I have to stick to these situations.

These negative aspects, plus the next famous place, next must-see site mentality does frustrate me, but my feelings of enjoyment now are evidence that I did have a good time despite these frustrations.

One of the things I enjoy most about going on holiday is the eating out! I`m not a very good/ interesting cook – and going on holiday means I have to eat out all the time - :-D Every local area in Japan has a particular food speciality and Hokkaido is famous – so rightly – for ramen. Ramen is the most delicious yellow noodles, in the most delicious broth with crab, perhaps some stir-fried bean sprouts, and spring onions, and maybe some minced meat. IT…IS…SO…GOOD! There is a famous alley way in Sapporo called ramen alley. A tiny alleyway with little ramen shops one after the other. We seeked out ramen alley on our very first afternoon in Sapporo and the reputation did not disappoint. It is not only the food but the whole experience that is so wonderful. To step inside this hot little space after being out in flurries of big snow flakes with my glasses steaming up immediately! Watching the cooks cook my ramen so rapidly – because they have probably owned their little shop for years. Being in such close proximity at the bar with the other customers, and just across the bar from the steaming woks and giant pots of broth. A cooking area just behind the bar with the cooks work rapidly to feed the consistent fast flow of customers coming in and out (ramen shops are quick turnover places). Customers crammed on to stools the other side of the bar slurping ramen. It is a brilliant experience and I frequented ramen alley four times during my three days in Sapporo!

Aside from ramen and nama-caramel (fresh caramel – omigodomigodomigod!!!), and mitokoibito (langue de chat biscuits and white chocolate), ghengis kahn is famous in Hokkaido. I guess because Ghengis Kahn liked this kind of meal. It is Japanese style barbeque where you melt some lamb lard on your cone shaped griddle pan and fry up lamb, cabbage and bean sprouts. After a serious adventure trying to find the restaurant in a serious blizzard, this kind of fatty lamb meal (unusual for Japan) was just what I needed!

There are many things that are distinctive about Hokkaido, and not only the food. The food in any area of Japan you are in is always made out to be distinctive. Food is localized here, definitely more so than England, but sometimes I get the feeling it is definitely exaggerated for commercial reasons – (omiyage etc).
But Hokkaido is legitimately very distinctive from Hitachi life. What struck me most as our little train made its way from the city of the ice and impressive snow sculptures, to the town of Otaru (next stop on the snow festival tourist trail – to see the lighted canal – for 1 hour! – very beautiful though), was the difference of the landscape. Not only the different shaped mountains. The mountains were bigger, more majestic and snow covered. But, also the difference in the human environment. At certain points the coloured buildings looked Scandinavian, other times the swirling snow which covered lower looking houses made the environment seem Russian. The town of Otaru itself had brick buildings! – something I had never seen before in my life in central Japan. Those brick buildings almost had a European feel to them – very surprising to me!

To experience difference – in cultures and in landscapes is the reason why I love to travel. And the fact I experienced it in Hokkaido was what made the trip very enjoyable. I spent one very nice hour in a café halfway up the TV tower with Lauren. We were lucky to be given the best seats with a perfect view of the main drag with the snow sculptures at the bottom. We could see huge mountains in the distance which wasn`t possible to see from the ground. Although we never made it to those mountains, in terms of walking in them, I was very happy I was able to enjoy that view of them. They looked so vast – stretching out – like a huge giants blanket on a bed I thought was how best to describe them. Different from the shape of the mountains in Hitachi which I also love. But the Hitachi mountains have a different feel. You can see them, neat range after range in an orientation running to length of Honshu main island from the Pacfic Ocean to the Sea of Japan if you climb up. These Hokkaido ones were just vast – speading in all the directions beyond. Hokkaido is a huge huge, mountainous island, and I could really understand that from that view!
That`s why I loved my trip. The slightly faked up experiences which tend to feature in Japanese tourist areas, the “meat fest” in the bar with the foreigners in it, the waiting about for everybody because you`re in a group and people aren`t punctual I gloss over!

Education - Creator of 2 Wildly Different Societies

2009-02-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

I`ve mentioned this before – that Japanese students are considerably more immature than their western counterparts of similar age. The difference really does strike me strongly on occasions. It occurred to me again yesterday when I was planning a lesson concerning the differences between school in Japan, and school in the UK. As I made the list it was so apparent that the reason for their immaturity lies totally in the differences in the system of education.

People in Japan like it when everybody is the same. When everybody has the same. When everybody does the same. And this is reflected in the system of education. By age 16-17 in England students have already done some major subject selection – down to the 4 AS Level subjects they will be studying. They have made some big limiting choices and as a result students across the year could be studying very different things.

In Japan this selection just does not happen (there is some minor selection – but nothing too significant so as to differ your education from your peers). At age 18 in Japan, all students will take their end-of-school exams in 9 subjects. (This in itself, is I think better to the English system which becomes far too narrowed too early in my view).
But that isn`t the point I want to make. The result of this, is that all students are in having all the same lessons up until age 18! This is really surprising for me in comparing this to England. By age 18, I was in small classes, of about 15 students. We were having in depth discussions in the subject. We had relatively grown up relationships with the teachers because of the small classes. When I think about the development level of the third graders here (age 17-18), I am a little embarrassed really. They are still in these big classes (with a kind of dynamic that I left behind in year 8 – 9 (age 14). They are still learning - every single lesson of the day - with everyone in there homeroom class (in their homeroom classroom for that matter). All together - everyone the same - so everyone happy. This situation - of every student being the same, every student studying the same is, I think a one of the reasons for the immaturity. Students aren`t given the opportunity to separate, to develop their interests to a more in depth level. The fact everyone is still kept lumped together - at age 18 - regardless of strong interest of lack thereof in the subject, is a reason for an immature way of learning, and therefore immaturity itself.

I wonder how it is that everyone across the world manages to end up at the same educational level when they come to university/ do university exchanges etc. Or maybe they don`t. From my view here, I initially can`t understand how the students are able to study their 9 subjects in the detail we study our 3. They can`t. So there is be a fundamental difference in the education system – how all these subjects are taught. These fundamental differences will be the reasons for the huge differences between Japanese and UK society.

Perhaps in England we are given more individual project work to do. Perhaps we go slower with the textbook. I don`t know how subjects like Biology and Geography are taught here. But it must be in a significantly different way from this – just so that they manage to cover the same material!

I know that languages (English) is definitely taught in a different (read totally crap/ ineffective) way here. They are effectively learning paragraphs on some obscure subject in the textbook (the strange blood-sweat like secretion from Hippo`s skin, the history of light, to take two typical examples), writing translations based on a word list at the bottom of the page, to help them, or the teacher writing the translation on the board. Then answering questions using the formation of the question to identify the correct sentence in the passage to copy out, without having a clue what they are writing about, but, often producing the correct sentence none the less. Most of the words in the passage are forgotten as soon as they finish the lesson (because they are often so obscure that they will not often meet these words again).
This is how Japanese students are able to study English all their school life, and say very little. It is a phenomenally bad method of teaching, but is widespread.

Students are able to pass the school exams because the exams are so closely related to the textbook. Students are told which part of which lesson will be covered in the exam. This means that they can then memorise these strange textbook lesson words/ structures long enough to enable them to pass the exam.

The system of examination is another aspect of the education system which is key to note, in trying to understand the Japanese system. In England, to get into university, students must pass the national exams to achieve the required grades. Although in Japan, at age 18, there are national exams – these are only for the High Level students. Most of the students in most of my schools are not even put in to take these exams. As a result, all the exams that my students study for, are school based. The teachers (presumably) set the exam, they can teach exactly what will be on the exam, they can emphasise their teaching to what will be on the exam, to do their best to ensure that the students will mostly pass.

Perhaps these are reason why students in Japan are able to study 9 subjects and pass their age 18 exams. The lessons must have to be more intensive too, surely. Much less time for open discussions in lessons etc.

There are other Japanese education system features that are also important to appreciate in considering how the Japanese system can be how it is, and how this leads to immature students and the end of their time (and more generally – a different society!): The very heavy role of the teachers in getting the students through the education system. In England, by age 18 the onus to get through the exams, is definitely primarily on the student. If they can`t be bothered, then that really is their problem. They are afterall, age 18. However, in Japan, teachers are far more implicated in this problem. And to solving it. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, teachers will counsel students individually who have problems with their work. It is standard to have period 7. During this period (which is by the way, outside of the contracted work hours of teachers) teachers will run extra classes, for those students who didn`t do so well in their exams. Giving them that extra push, extra help, extra motivating force to get them to pass. This is for students up to age 18! They all have the teachers behind them like this! This doesn`t happen in England. If the student isn`t working, they are told to work, or get out. But in Japan students will always have the teachers coaxing them on, all the way. Alright for younger students maybe, but this is a major reasons why Japanese kids are more immature in their attitudes to work than western kids. Cram schools are the extreme end of this extra pushing. The cram school – an evening school for students who have difficulties with subjects, are very common. Many students will attend these schools – several evenings a week (after their regular school, after their club activities etc) for the extra pushing from the teachers to help. All of this is, in my view, so removed from the British method. Where students are left significantly more alone in their study. Of course most British teachers will give extra help. But frequently it would be that the student would identify that they wanted the extra help, and therefore the student would ask for it (in sixth form at least). In Japan it is the opposite way around. The teachers will take the first action. And this I think is a fundamental problem with the Japanese system. It helps to account for how British students are more mature, and the Japanese students are far less so.

The fact that students in Japan study 9 subjects seriously, and British students would take 3, obviously leads to some rather significant differences in the timetable. One most obvious difference is the free periods. Yao positively laughed out loud when I mentioned the words free period. The word is totally alien in the Japanese education system. They have nothing like it. They could have nothing like it! Independent study periods – for students aged 16-18??!! It would never work. School is somewhere where students are always shepherded to work. To be suddenly left with an hour to study independently, would be a totally bizarre situation to put Japanese students in. It would not work. But it does work in England. People in my school did get on and work in the free periods (generally). It`s because we were used to being independent more. Compared to the Japanese, we had a much more mature attitude to study.

It does feel a little strange going on about the virtues of the British education system. Because before I came to Japan I would never have thought of it as an example of a good system particularly. Certainly when I read about the education systems of more freer learning, and play in Scandinavia, British schools stressing excessively over health and safety concerns there are many ways in which I think the British system can be improved. However, I think this system, although definitely not perfect, does produce an important characteristic – independence, and self-motivation in students, which the Japanese system as it currently stands, does not.

There are of course several positive aspects to the Japanese system that should not be overlooked, (and are presumably the reason why the Japanese system came about, and why it continues). As a result of the 9 subjects all students study, as a result of the compulsory P.E. lessons, as a result of the compulsory all-life-consuming club activities (2-3 hours everyday after school + both weekend days) Japanese students` time is filled all the time by structured, productive activity producing healthy individuals who co-operate and work well with others.
English kids will most likely get home from school and watch TV. There is some virtue in the fact that presumably Japanese students are having a much healthier lifestyle. Both physically – as club activities are mostly sport. And in terms of developing good relationships by working with, communicating with, playing with real people (rather than developing a one-sided relationship with a screen). The strong community bonds that are developed during all this time that is spent at school (with your school family) must also be a good thing.

There are many aspects to Japanese society that is hugely better than the west. And I do think the reason fundamentally comes back to the education system where the values of community, the group, the team are so reinforced. Groups are predominant in the school life (your group is your homeroom class (with who you will have all of your lessons (ie – all your time from 8.30 – 4.30) – up until age 18!), and after lessons your group is your club activity 4 – 6/7pm and weekend days). The predominance of groups in the education system, and the application of group accountability (all members of a group are held at least partially accountable for the indiscretion of one of that groups` members) are some of the reasons why Japan is such a safe society, why the elderly aren`t a overlooked part of society (they are in general extremely present, active and healthy in Japan, taking an active role in groups and Japanese society – a big difference to the UK, I think),why Japanese people are courteous, polite and public spirited.

However, I can`t help thinking, that in spite of these positive effects the values in the education system have created, there are also negative effects that a Japanese person without an outside view would recognize. All these activities may create healthy young people, but surely people should have unstructured free time, without a leader telling you what to do. The lack of enough freedom to construct your own activities (or, equally importantly, relax!) is also problematic I think. The problem with the Japanese system, I believe, is that there is not enough freedom. Not enough freedom from structure, not enough freedom from leaders.

I think, it is the heavily structured, and heavily teacher-led days of young Japanese people have been a primary reason for the creation of a society that is so different from the individualist west, but is also the primary reason for their immaturity.

Oshogatsu

2009-01-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

New Year in Japan. I have been doing lessons about New Year in Japan these last couple of weeks. And I`m enjoying them a lot. Lessons that are genuine are always the best ones, when there is no pretence, no role play of stupid conversations that do not relate to the students` reality in anyway (but which form such a big part of their English lessons with the textbook).

The reason these New Year lessons are a success is that I genuinely don`t know about New Year in Japan. When I ask them a question in English, it is a real question that I have. This is real communication in English for them – the whole reason they have been learning their whole lives! And in general they respond well to it, because it is not fake.

I like it, because I have learnt so much about New Year from my students. And I`m going to try to write as much of it as I can remember here:

New Years Eve (less important than New Years Day, unlike England).
People will eat “toshikoshi soba”. As far as I can gather, this is soba noodles but made with special noodles that are circular (to represent the coming-around of the New Year/ completion of the last, I think). (Edit: The internet doesn`t mention circularity so I may have miss-heard/ understood this. It says soba noodles because their longness represents longevity).

New Years Day (for family – families will get together – like xmas in England).
Hatsuhinode – people will get up/ stay up to watch the first sunrise coming up over the Pacific Ocean on the beach.

Hatsumode – people will visit a shrine. They will pray/ make a wish for the year and throw a coin into the special box at the shrine.
They may also take a fortune slip at the shrine. If it`s lucky they will believe it, if it`s unlucky they will generally forget about it.
At big shrines there will sometimes be a ceremony (old Japanese is spoken – and nobody will understand the meaning (similar to Latin in church services I suppose). Also in the more Chinese shrines there is the tradition of a person dancing with the head of a lion – shishmai. The lion will bite the head of a few people in the audience. If the lion bites your head, this is considered very lucky.

The dream that you have during the first night of the new year is also considered to be very significant. If you dream about Mt. Fuji, a hawk, and/ or an eggplant this is considered to be very lucky and is a good omen for the coming year.

There are also special traditional games that are played at New Year.
Takoage – children will fly kites.
Karuta – this is a card game that people will play.
There is a traditional game, similar to badminton played with decorated special raquets and a shuttle cock that people (mainly girls) will play.
There is also a spinning top game that children will play; you pull the string and it sets the top spinning.

Nengajo - Japanese people will also send New Year cards to arrive on New Years Day. This is similar to a postcard. Families may send about 100 of these cards. Children might send a few. Typically they are printed with a message from the family (not hand-written like our xmas cards). The picture on the card will always have the symbol of the Chinese animal that represents the coming year, on the card – this year you couldn`t move in the shops for these funny cartoon cows (oxes, I think they are meant to be!). When you send it at the post office, the post office will print a number on the card. This is like a lottery. A couple of weeks after New Year the lucky numbers will be printed in the national newspapers and published on the internet. You can win things like a fridge, down to some stamps if you receive a new year card with those numbers.
Not all families will send New Year cards – if there has been a funeral in the family that year, then that family will not send new year cards/ cannot send a Happy New Year message (because of the death in the previous year).

Otoshidama is a very important custom to the students – adult relatives of children will give the children (up to age 18-20 presumably) gifts of money (presented in special envelopes). Typically my students received about \10,000 – about 50 quid.

There is a lot of special food associated with New Year.
Osechi – this is like a platter of lots of different types of food. (Typical Japanese – small, bitty). It will typically contain – Kaboca – ground up fish paste, chestnuts, black beans, egg and fish paste together, herring roe Osechi is a favourite at New Year.
Mochi – the rice cakes. A lot of these are eaten at New Year in many different forms. They are eaten in ozoni (the clear vegetable soup), with anko (the red, sweet azuki bean paste), with natto, covered in the sweet green soy bean flour. The strange texture takes some getting used to but I like them.
For the Japanese, mochi are a guilty treat. Something they shouldn`t have too much of or else they`ll get fat. To me, it seems strange something that is only made of rice is unhealthy but the Japanese definitely have a different view of what is bad for them. Apparently, the special rice used to make mochi is more calorific. And the fact the air has been compressed out, means more calories. It is a worry for the Japanese!

New Year decorations:
These are all put out to attract the presence of the gods into the family house.
Kadomatsu is a decoration made from 3 bamboo canes and some pine. It is put outside the front gate.
Kagamimochi is a decoration made from 2 mochi stacked, and a orange (mikan) placed on top. With a small decorative flag sometimes aswell. People will eat this decoration on January 11th traditionally.

On perhaps the coming days after New Years Day people will go shopping. Fukubukuro is a tradition. Shops will sell bags of surprise goods. It is common for people to buy these surprise bags. They come in all different price ranges.

In work places, there may be an enkai to celebrate the New Year. However, this didn`t happen in my case, because there is also the tradition to have the bonenkai (the end of year party) at the end of the last year. As enkais are usually expensive, some work places do not have this new year party as well.

The Eccentricities of Christmas in Japan

2009-01-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

This is a delayed entry given that both Christmas, and New Year have passed now. But I just couldn`t let the strangeness of Japanese Christmas go by without a mention.

Christmas is distorted in Japan, as one of my J.T.Es said. This is a phenomenally HUGE understatement of the century. Chriistmas in Japan is nearly unrecognizable to me and my experience of it in England. But, the fact there are still Christmas trees, and it is still called Christmas on top of all the other oddities, is what makes it so damn weird!

It is, I would say, definitely true to say, that Japan is a very consumerist society. Yuji told me that the celebration of Christmas has been propelled into the Japanese consciousness not by any Christian missionaries (who have had very limited effect here), but by the shops, department stores and businesses – all marketing it very intensely in November-December. They want more purchases and the shopping associated with Christmas, and therefore Christmas, is obviously a very beneficial (financially-speaking) occasion to promote.

For some reason the key market at Christmas time is the young couple. Since the 1970s (when Christmas was first started to be celebrated in Japan) shops and businesses have created, out of thin air, Christmas Eve as some sort of alternative Valentine`s day night. Over this time I suppose a sense of guilt/ duty has been created in the Japanese men to take their partners out for a romantic dinner, buy them flowers etc. You can see this marketing everywhere – all the advertising posters have soft pictures of couples bent over a Christmas cake (more about that later), all the restaurants have boards advertising their Christmas menu for two. Just bizarre. Bizarre because Japan has taken this festival of Christmas, but for some reason has not taken the idea that it is a time for family, but completely invented it as a celebration of romantic love!!! Interesting to see how certain ideas are picked up as they are spread around the world, and other ideas are completely not seen and forgotten.

Aside from the consumerist aspects of taking your partner out, and buying Christmas presents the Japanese are entirely confused about what they are meant to do for Christmas. It is something that has been imposed on them by the shops, and therefore, once the purchasing aspects have been done, there are no real clues, this side of the world, as to what else should be done.

The nation have a vague awareness that Americans eat chicken (err…) at Christmas. So typically that is also something that Japanese people have adopted at this time of year. Yuji cooks a chicken for his family. (Quote from Yuji – “we eat chicken ….. but we don`t know why…..” said wistfully). (It is impossible to buy a turkey in Japan by the way).

I laughed a lot when I saw a brochure advertising their Christmas food in one of my local supermarkets: on the centre fold there was a big photograph of a magnificent roast chicken (and presumably a few roasted vegetables) with large plates of sushi displayed around it with pride! What I get a feeling of, is that families may have a meal of chicken, with their other favourite foods that they like – ie sushi (as it is one of the most popular food choices for the Japanese – and me!!) Apparently, (I don`t know if this is true – there can be queues of people outside KFC on Christmas day, because that`s what the Japanese know that Americans eat!)

The Christmas Cake makes up a very significant part of Japanese Christmas. Also, important to the English Christmas (though to a lesser extent proportionally due to all the other stuff in England). Though English Christmas Cake and Japanese Christmas Cake are two entirely different beasts/ genera/ phyla!
I do not know WHERE the Japanese got their inspiration for their Christmas Cake – but it can`t be from this earth. It is as different from the English version as is possible to get – a light sponge, and whipped cream concoction decorated with cut fresh strawberries. Sometimes there is a token Santa figure which may form part of the decoration but this isn`t hugely necessary.
Though, I have just remembered that, in thinking about this before with someone, I realized that the strawberries and whipped cream may have been initially used for their colours – red and white – Santa.
This cake is everywhere in the run-up to Christmas. Every family will have one. All the students will mention it when I ask them “what is Christmas in Japan?”. Looks pretty yuck to me. Primarily because it is TOTALLY out of season!

With the huge exception of Christmas time I have found food shopping in Japan to be a very seasonal experience. It is obvious to know which vegetable is currently in season because they dominant the vegetable department and they taste so damn good. But, the strawberries in mid-winter are a crazy, major deviance from this.

These obviously fake, out of season, very forced fruits are displayed on shelves surrounded by holly and pictures of Christmas trees. It is very, VERY bizarre to see.
The cake instantly looked like something to eat in summer for me. I was very confused by it. I didn`t eat out of principal (and lack of opportunity more like!)

The universal-across-Japan Christmas drink is champagne. I think I have the same reaction of – “that`s a bit odd that everybody does that”, to the Japanese reaction when I say that champagne is a universal-across-England drink for New Year, because they don`t do that in Japan.

Aside, from the shopping, buying, and eating and drinking there really is nothing else to Christmas in Japan. Which is a bit sad really, and why I didn`t really want to spend Christmas here.

The reason why it`s a bit sad is that there are bits of Christmas here, but just the surface parts. The Christmas colours are still red and green. Holly is a Christmas plant. Of course, they have Santa Claus.

Many of the parts of Christmas that are significant for me, are not here. Which is a little strange. For example the Christmas cards.

Although there are Christmas cards sold in shops, to send Christmas cards is by no means a widespread custom in Japan. I discovered this when I decided to send Christmas cards to all my friends in Japan – as it would be something that I would do in England. I thought it would be a nice way of showing some English culture (and they were really thrilled with their cards – the first ones they had ever received). I discovered, when I tried to buy the Christmas cards, that they are only sold as individuals, not in the big multiple packs you can buy in England. This just shows that if you are going to send a card, you probably will just send one, (maybe to your lover! Seeing as that`s what it`s about here!)

Christmas cards are another aspect of this funny festival that the Japanese celebrate, but that are confusing to the Japanese. I realized this when I was doing a fun making Christmas card lesson just before the holidays. They had to be told EVERYTHING. The Christmas card opens “this way” (plus demonstration of opening). (Understandable I suppose, because the Japanese do read books and magazines back to front).
They had to be told – “The picture goes here. The writing goes here.” The students were all very confused that there should be no picture where the writing was. Boring! They almost all wrote all over the whole inside of the card, and drew pictures inside too. Even my J.T.E, after showing her my draft of the worksheet to help them with the format of the card,forcefully insisted I should have some little picture next to the writing!

What they drew as a picture on the card was interesting for me to see basically what Christmas is, to them. Often santa was drawn in the form of an anime character santa (who looks rather different from the Father Christmas figure I`m used to). They drew Christmas trees – and it is true most families do have a Christmas tree (never real of course though – I doubt you`d be able to buy them here).
Christmas trees are decorated in a similar way to England. But I was interested to learn from Yuji that many people often take the Christmas tree down, ON Christmas day!! How funny is that! Just shows it is not an important festival really.

And why should it be, really? Why is it here at all? Thinking rationally I should not be put out that Christmas is just a time for consumerism here because why should it be anything more than that? Christmas has no part in Japanese culture, no part in Japanese history. I did feel a little put out though, in the run-up to Christmas. (But I think that`s because the superficial reminders I was getting here – xmas trees etc, reminded me of everything else that was not here, that I was missing).
Objectively, I should be glad Christmas is not really here. And I AM glad about that. I like a culturally diverse world. I AM glad that the Christian missionaries have been solely unsuccessful here. Very glad!!

The sad thing is though, that this strange distorted, consumerist Christmas that the Japanese people don`t really know why they celebrate, and in general don`t know what they are supposed to be doing, seems to be growing, and taking over the traditional Japanese New Year. I have been doing lessons about Japanese New Year with my classes at the moment. Students and teachers could come up with a huge number of traditions – special activities, food and decorations that happen at New Year when they really thought about it. And I learn something new in every lesson – it`s really interesting.

In some of my classes the students find it difficult to recall though. Arai-sensei regretted the fact that now, this biggest festival in the Japanese year is becoming a bit diminished over the general population because of the rise of Christmas. It used to be that all the family would have holiday, and be together, but now some people are working. He was saying that my lessons were important to remind the students all about New Year and how it is special!

Hopefully, this weirdo Christmas won`t overcome New Year in Japan, because I think that would be a shame.

Shintoism - Japanese Religion. Or Not.

2009-01-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

I have arrived back in Japan after 2 weeks Christmas in England and I think I am experiencing culture shock here for the first time. I think this is because of the very abrupt change that I have experienced now, as opposed to (in hindsight) the gradual adjustment into Japanese society I experienced when I first arrived here (being with all the other jets, the Tokyo orientation, meeting an English speaking supervisor, meeting other Japanese people one by one).

Whereas now, I had come from a brilliant weekend in London with my friends, to 24 hours later – back in my Hitachi flat on my own. Though, simply arriving in Japan the country and my flat did not give me culture shock. I knew exactly what to expect, that I needed to go in and sort out the place, get it warm etc. And that was OK, I was prepared for that, and I was fine doing that.

The culture shock happened the following day; a day of too much difference, too soon (on top of no rest/ stop time since I arrived). I had been invited to accompany a group of “seniors” on their annual New Year visit to a very special shrine. A shrine to the “number 1 God” in Shintoism, so I was told. When I originally accepted the invitation I had assumed that it would be a visit to the local shrine, as that is typical to do at New Year, but I later found out this annual trip for this group (a majority of men) was to this special shrine in Tochigi prefecture – a 4 hour coach ride away.

This first negative aspect of the trip – the excessive length of journey time in comparison to the amount of time spent in the destination was, – like the Japanese approach to taking holidays (5 day trip to Europe), I knew, going to be something I hated. I cannot STAND the way people take time off, a holiday, and cram in the visit to a place where there is no time for wandering, exploring, talking to local people in a place, doing something that varies from the well-trodden picture-taking route that all visitors to the place add to.

So I knew that over 4 hours outward travel, 2 1/2 hours there, 4 hours return travel was never going to be my idea of fun, but I thought I would go because it was the chance to experience the activities of a very important time in Japanese calendar.
The start of the journey reminded me of the community nature of Japanese society - which is difficult to fully describe unless you actually live it. I realized that in this particular case, it wasn`t just the destination that was the sole purpose of this day – it was the fact all this local community were doing something they valued as important, together. The Japanese love being part of groups and communities, and it is a part of Japanese society that I do really like as well. Many people had bought some food (rice crackers, chocolate, hard-boiled eggs, satsumas) and drinks to share, and these were distributed down the bus to everyone that morning.

And of course the drink was distributed aswell. At the bus stop I noticed Tomobe-san`s friend had bought a can of beer. I was a bit surprised to see this at 6.45 in the morning – and I think he was equally surprised to see my reaction “no way! Not for me, - only in the evening!”. I clearly didn`t know what was to come, and what was customary on group trips to shrines like this one.

That man cracked open his can at perhaps 7.30 – 8 in the morning, marking the beginning of a day of continuous drinking for the two men sitting beside me in the back of the coach. A short while later, paper cups were passed back and then a big bottle of sake was passed back. Sake, rice wine, is a celebratory drink in Japan, very popular with everyone. Rice has so much importance, and is so strongly bound to Japanese culture that I wasn`t hugely surprised to see this bottle. New Year is a celebration afterall. Because of specialness of this drink, and this time of year, I thought I should accept a small glass out of politeness, which I did.

From then on, my feelings about the trip started to change. The two men beside me kept this huge bottle and were continuously refilling their cups with this strong drink, becoming increasingly drunk with more and more slurred speech. I was shocked to begin with, and as they continued became more and more disgusted with what I was witnessing.

It`s not as if I felt so appalled by this behaviour because I am a believer myself – obviously, I think that all religion is ultimately a load of crap. But, I am very respectful to sites of religious significance and have a feeling that others should be respectful of religious sites too, (because of the meaning that they hold/ have held to some people).

Maybe nobody in Japan is a serious believer in Shintoism, therefore nobody`s drunkenness or excessive picture-taking in the shrine will offend anyone now. In which case, if no-one is bothered by the lack of respect/ reverence, then nobody really believes in it seriously. So, here-in lies my big question – why do all the Japanese continue to visit shrines, and tell people they are Shinto?

During the course of the journey I was keen to find out more about Japanese Shintoism from Tomobe-san. I tried to read a bit about it before I came here but it does seem to be a very amorphous, strange religion. The 80,000 gods, the hierarchy of gods, the reverence of certain sites of nature that can also be gods (like Mt Fuji I think), how it seems to combine with aspects of Buddhism aswell. It is all very confusing.

Tomobe assured me that he prayed at his small shrine in his home (every Japanese home has one), every evening. But I just don`t believe a word of it. There is absolutely no sincerity in his voice and there never is when I talk to anyone about this subject. “What can you pray about?” I asked. “We can ask for anything, for anyone and yourself!” he said accompanied by lots of laughter (this was said before he got drunk). There was no sincerity and that`s what convinced me of the fact, he doesn`t really believe in any of these gods, that they would do anything for him. Visiting the shrine, for him, and likely most of them, was just an empty ritual, that they`ve been doing all their life.

Visiting the shrine at New Year is cultural. Having a small shrine in your home is cultural. It`s attractive. It`s not religious at all I don`t think. So, why do people say that it is, why do they say Japanese people are shinto? That is the biggest thing I can`t understand. Why don`t they just call themselves atheists and be done with it? At the shrine the people I was with were, by far and away, most keen on taking my photo in front of everything that they knew to be important in the shrine. Even posing me throwing my coin into the shrine alter and praying. That`s hardly the actions of people who believe, surely. The others who weren`t with me were also taking pictures, and many, once the prayer was done simply moved to the next stage of the conveyor belt that is a shrine visit: to watch the ceremony.

Though, we arrived a little early for the ceremony we were scheduled to be a part in. I followed the group into a room inside the shrine where we could get some green tea. It was a crowded room, full of people sitting on the floor around largish pots. These were used as ash trays. Most people were sitting and smoking as they waited.

There was no sense at all that this place was anything special or held any special meaning for these people. It`s just another task of life that is done. So why not smoke and carry-on as if everything was normal. There was certainly no deeper contemplation of the meaning of life or ANYTHING remotely like that in these people.

Tomobe thought I was confused because of the polytheistic aspect of the religion, but what confuses me is the pretend belief people have. How can there be any sincerity of belief in this place when everyone behaves like this? All I can think is that shintoism means nothing to the Japanese today. It is just something that is part of their history, and the practices you can see at New Year are empty rituals that are carried out every year; to visit your local shrine/ or nearest big shrine to the number one god (as I did). To throw your coin. To say a prayer (more like – make a wish would be a better way of describing this event, I think). To watch the ceremony, if there is one.

(Incidently, this part was the only part of the shrine visit I enjoyed – sitting in silence, and I could at last attempt to meditate and contemplate things, without being hassled for a photo as I was all before. (Though I did have to deal with Tomobe falling into me periodically because he couldn`t sit up straight because of his state of drunkenness). I had thought the whole visit to the shrine would be very conducive to meditation and contemplation – how wrong I was! It was an entirely superficial experience).

I was disgusted by his state, but evidently nobody else was (although, he did hide it well – he just looked tired and spaced out). You could say that my feelings about being drunk in a religious building result from my cultural experience of religious buildings: churches. Obviously, going to church drunk, would just never happen. But I think drinking and smoking does suggest a lack of respect, or simply a lack of meaning of this place.

I was hanging back in the shrine after the end of the ceremony (in which I was given a branch of leaves and had to stand up and do some bowing at the alter along with my group). I wanted to take in the surroundings of this shrine. Afterall, I had been posing for photos for much of the rest of the time since arriving, and hadn`t had much chance to appreciate the place as a result.

But, it was clear, that once the performance was over, there was nothing left for people there. The conveyor belt of a shrine visit moves on: time to move on to the next step on the trail: Lunch. No time for individual appreciation, or exploration of the place, of course.

Lunch; soba noodle soup, and tempura, and that Konnyaku jelly-like starch vegetable for a starter was eaten the small restaurant/ café place at the back of the souvenir shop. I`ve almost become desensitized to this now. At EVERY SINGLE place of enjoyment/ interest there is always a large souvenir shop where you can buy boxfuls of local omiyagae (usually bean cakes or mini cheese cakes are most common) you must buy for your collegues/ to prove that you have been to the place.

So after lunch, the obligatory stop at the souvenir shop for everyone to buy their omiyagae, a group photo (in front of the coach I think) and then we all tramped back on to the coach. A total of 2 hours 15 mins at the shrine, and then back on the coach for the 4 hour journey back to Ibaraki.

I was getting sad at this point. The cumulative cultural shocks of being offended, surprised and shocked by their behaviour, and being crammed on this bus where the drinking continued as if it had never been interrupted, by a supposedly “special” once-a-year visit to a “sacred” shrine.

Cans of cocktail were cracked open, and more sake glugged out into the paper cups. I was recounted the story of the third man in our back row who was so very drunk on this trip last year. They all laughed as they told me this, but I was just disgusted.

They thought I was looking upset because of my fortune paper I picked out. (This is another typical feature of shrines. You pay \100 to pick out a piece of paper from a big box of papers on which your fortune is written. Most Japanese clearly think this is rubbish because I didn`t see many people do it. But, I was encouraged to get one because they must have thought I would want to do this new cultural experience). My fortune paper was I think the worst one. I could tell that from their slightly strained reactions as they read it, as they were thinking how they could explain this in a positive light to me. Apparently, it was entitled “latest luck”. My luck will come later in life. Obviously, I don`t believe a word of that crap (like them I suppose – not that they would admit it), and I didn`t care a less about it.

But, they seemed to think it was that, that was bothering me. They kept on telling me – “you`ll be the BBC announcer!” (as I had told them, it was my ambition to work for the BBC in the future).

Those fortune papers were superstition, and as I`ve been writing this, I`ve come to think that that is all Shintoism is to the Japanese now. A superstition to go and pray at the shrine/ make a wish each New Year. That`s why they do these rituals that they do. Not because it holds any real meaning for them. Just because it is part of their culture, been done by all Japanese people for generations. That; respect and wanting do continue the tradition done by their elders, and the shallow superstitious feeling about it, is what I think motivates most Japanese people in visiting their shrines.

As it became dark and we were nearing Hitachi the three men I was sitting with were desperate for me to come to the Izakaya with them. More drinking! I was incredulous. By this time I was quite upset, and just had to escape. Luckily I could as the bus made a stop at Taga station and I got out as quickly as I could and caught the bus home.

I was shocked very much by the behavior that day. But perhaps that`s because I was viewing the day through the glasses of a British/ European/ Western culture. Where religion is taken so seriously these days. I don`t think it is very common for a (for example) Christian, and not take that as a serious part of their lives these days.
But here, religion is a completely different phenomenon from it`s counterpart in the west. Day to day it has no meaning. Once or twice a year there is a ritual (New Year and O-bon in August) to visit the shrine, where Japanese people go through the motions. But it is definitely nothing more than being an aspect of their culture. This doesn`t mean that they don`t want to do it, of course. They actively want to visit shrines, but it is for a cultural reason only (comparable to me going to a carol service at a church at Christmas, I guess).

I suppose it is surprising for me to be complaining that people aren`t serious about their religion. There are obviously serious problems, wars, human rights abuses in the world today because of religions. But, I also hate superficiality and pretence. I come across superficiality in several different aspects of Japanese society (for example, superficial holidays to places because they only spend 5 minutes there). People should be honest about why they do things and why it is important to them, I think.

Objectively, I can see that my strong negative reaction is perhaps a bit strange. Given that I am not at all religious. But, I think I am quite spiritual, in the sense I really value the inner calm I get from sitting quietly and emptying my mind (or thinking about things). I love getting that feeling knowing it comes from me only, and I love talking about religion and not-religion with my various meditation, quaker and christian friends. In fact I do miss that aspect of my life from university.

In Japan you cannot get this experience, or have this sort of discussion when you relate it to religion, because they would relate it to what they think is their religion – shintoism. And there certainly isn`t any meditative aspect to a visit to a Shinto shrine I experienced.

Parts of Buddhism is also related to Japanese shintoism but yet meditation isn`t really practiced as part of that here either. Again, the Buddhism aspect to the “religion” of the Japanese is in fact, a cultural one. From what I gathered from Tomobe-san, the Japanese follow shintoism in life but they believe aspects of Buddhism once a person has died. This practically evident in the fact people have Buddhist gravestones, (and perhaps they “believe” in a cycle of continuous reincarnation until nirvana is reached – but I haven`t asked anyone about that yet).
I asked Tomobe-san about meditation (as it seems to me an important part of Buddhism) but he said for him sleeping is like meditation. Fair enough. I often used to sleep a little in meditation at Durham I think. I knew he wouldn`t meditate. To be honest, I can`t imagine the majority of the nation have time for such a thing with all the work they do! (exaggeration).

There are obviously many extremes to Japanese society, which foreigners have an impression of. One of those impressions is that of the Buddhism and the meditative calming space of the Japanese zen gardens. I wonder where this impression comes from. I don`t often see this meditative aspect to Japan and Japanese people at all (they work too hard).

In fact the only time I do experience this calmness is during tea ceremony. I love tea ceremony. Watching the tea being made is very calming and the whole thing is very much like a meditative experience. I mentioned this too my supervisor. She said that is also why all Japanese like it so much – for that same reason as me. I love tea ceremony because it is an aspect of traditional Japanese culture that is so strongly held up today (tea ceremony clubs at all schools are very popular, and women take lessons in the art aswell – all the variants of it are very complicated). I can tell it has some genuine meaning to the Japanese. It is a part of their culture - well valued and respected and upheld by all.

What I object to is the superficiality of many aspects to Japanese culture and religion. I value and respect things and people that are genuine and honest.

When I told Tomobe-san about my incredulity at all the drinking that was going on in the back of the bus he kept saying that the Japanese religion was flexible.

It`s not a flexible religion they have – it`s a non-existent one! The shrine visit is for cultural history – surely! Why do they keep this pretence of religion? They pay a lot of money to travel on this trip to the shrine, it takes a long time, they bow and make a wish.

It obviously is important to people because everybody DOES do it, EVERY year. People obviously know what to do. They knew what the different aspects of the shrine visit meant. But, that doesn`t mean they believe it. It means they know the history – they know what people used to believe – they know how the historical beliefs of people created the cultural objects/ rituals that we can see/ participate in today – and what they value. That history and that culture that is created, and is THEIRS. That`s why they do it I think. And that by no means necessitates that they believe it. Because they don`t!

This was an annual visit, to allegedly, a shrine of real religious significance. From my cultural standing point if you had any belief of the significance of this big trip, or reverence towards this important shrine, you would NEVER behave like this, never show such a lack of respect to a supposedly religious place, by becoming so drunk.
Now that the trip is over I am left with the feeling, that perhaps it was the travelling as a group that was the most highly valued part of the trip. I certainly didn`t feel that the Shrine, the Shinto religion has any real significance, importance of deep meaning to this group of people (and therefore most Japanese). My supervisor did say to me that she thought that if you pray when drunk the gods would not grant(?) your prayer. But, the manner in which she said that sentence it was like it was a superstition rather than a proper religion. I think that is the best way to describe it - Shintoism is a superstition that is held by all Japanese and they visit the shrine for this, and cultural reasons.

A Culture of Cultivation

2008-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

I learnt a lot with the funny, direct woman from my speech. I knew I would like somebody like her. I immediately took her up on her offer to meet with me again and we met this weekend.

She showed me her house – I saw her allotment. I exclaimed how common I noticed that it was for many Japanese people to have a small allotment. How often I have been offered gifts of homegrown mandarins, or apples (or gone fruit picking myself - 3 times!).

So many families have these vegetable gardens. So often I see the orange trees in people`s gardens when I travel past houses in a car. A common sight also at this time of year, is the Kaki (persimmon) strips hanging from the houses, drying (so that they lose their sourness).

She explained to me, how the cultivating way is something deep in the Japanese consciousness – back from prehistoric times when the Japanese were all rice farmers. She talked of the difference between westerners being hunters and the Asians being a people with a greater emphasis on cultivation. How true this is I do not know. But, it does make sense to me.

The difference is clear between England and Japan certainly. Objectively there is a lot of locally produced food here in Ibaraki, and I`m sure, all over the kens of Japan.

I received gifts of apples from Yuko-sensei`s husbands family farm up in the north. My host family grow many vegetables, and Ottosan likes to go fishing for eating.
When we go on trips by road the “service stations” are farmers markets basically. There is so much local production that happens.

It doesn`t surprise me anymore to see the odd rice field in the middle of an urban settlement … but it still always makes me laugh.
Furu Koshi grows rice. Lots of older people grow rice when they have retired from their office jobs. It is not an unusual occurrence for a regular person with a office job to have a little allotment/ farm at home as well. Cultivation, on a smallscale, is done by the average person here.

In England, farmers are farmers – whether largescale operations or smaller organic operations these people live and work on their fields/ warehouses – and they are very separate from the rest of the population of the country who are not farmers, and who live in the villages/ suburbs/ towns/ cities. It is a huge difference that here in Japan, cultivating is just much more a part of the life of the general population who lives in a town (even a big town, - like Hitachi) (admittedly not the huge metropolises like Tokyo though). So many people here with ordinary town jobs also have a little farming lifestyle aswell.

I think that it is a much better way to be. It means the eating local produce is much more a natural thing here. There isn`t a big national cry to “eat local!” because it happens. People are much more connected to the growth of their food (well, vegetables and rice at least) because many people do it! It is an important part of the Japanese culture that wasn`t immediately obvious to me at first, but something that I have gradually realized, over time here.

The International Japanese

2008-12-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

I have been in Japan for 4 1/2 months now. I have a good idea how most Japanese people are, how they interact etc. The problem I have, is with working out people who ARE more familiar with other cultures. I find it difficult to know how to behave, what I can and cannot talk about with them sometimes. Like Kawakami-sensei for instance. He has lived in Canada for 1 year and is therefore very familiar with western culture. There are many things he does differently from other Japanese people as a result. (In his classes, for example, his students don`t stand up and bow to him). I find him so hard to work out sometimes! And sometimes things are a bit funny (amusing) between us because I don`t really know what to expect!

Those people who are more westernized I do very much enjoy hanging out with though. I can be honest, and explain things to them in a very detailed way. (Although, I am also very honest with most people generally, because of my character).
But with the Japanese-Japanese, I can only be honest when the honesty is something that that person can relate to – that is either a cultural universal, or, something to do with Japan.

With the western-familiar Japanese, I can explain many other feelings that a Japanese person wouldn`t really understand if they hadn`t been outside of Japan – because they probably just can`t comprehend how different it is! (also, there is the significant factor that the Japanese-Japanese tend to have less good English than the internationalised Japanese, so it`s more difficult to explain from that point of view aswell).

I do enjoy being friends with both types of Japanese person though, definitely. As sometimes, the western Japanese can be a bit denigrative of certain aspects of Japanese culture (eg – Midorikawa-senssi: “I hate tea ceremony – it tastes so bitter!”. And sometimes I love it the Japanese-Japanese love to tell me about Japan, and I love to tell them what good aspects of Japan are new for me.

But, I do particularly enjoy being with the internationalized Japanese primarily, simply because they can relate to this life-changing experience I am having, living in a completely different culture.

Some international-Japanese people are so knowledgeable about western ways and western culture (due to a strong interest) that when talking to a western person, they want to try and adapt to the western way so much (to make the westerner feel comfortable I guess?!), that they almost have unrecognizable behavior for a Japanese person!

An example is the woman who sat in the front row of my speech. She was obviously very keen, and confident. She was so direct in her conversation – suggesting we should meet again, very quickly. So, I was surprised. But then I recovered myself quickly, and returned to her, equally direct conversation: “how about this weekend?” I think even she was surprised about the directness and immediacy of that! (That kind of directness is unusual for me – I wouldn`t be quite like that in England, but in Japan, in this country where you only meet people fleetingly, you have to take action to make friends. You have to be like this to make your connections here).

Anyway, the weekend was decided, and the characteristically UN-Japanese directness from her continued: “Lets meet, 12 o`clock, Mito station, south exit. OK?”. No voicing of the word “maybe” to be heard anywhere!! The lack of the word maybe in ANY conversation with a Japanese person is absolutely UNHEARD of usually.

She was so un-Japanese, in so many ways that I was laughing. But then, at the Kenya talk we attended, with all the other Japanese people in the room, I did notice her bowing profusely (as I do these days) as she met/ left people. I was reassured. She was in fact Japanese, … and not some kind of imposter!

Other Asia

2008-12-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

It is always surprising, and unnerving to meet other Asian (non-Japanese) people here in Japan. I feel like this because the cultural difference really is significant. They don`t behave in the Japanese way that I am used to. It is as if I am culturally shocked when I meet them. In some cases I also feel really awkward when I see them interacting with Japanese people.

I think that many Japanese people (particularly those who don`t often mix with people from other cultures and who arn`t familiar with how other cultures are) must find dealing with people who LOOK so similar to them – but who behave and interact so differently must be very confusing for them.

I often think that Japanese people must find it easier to deal with western foreigners in a way. Because of the media in which western culture is the most dominant exported external culture, because of English lessons in schools, Japanese people are much more familiar with western culture compared to different asian cultures. They have their sterotypes. In many ways broadly true (if ignorant of the subtler aspects and differences between western cultures). But, they know to expect we are more direct, for example.

But to meet other Asians who behave in different ways must be strange. I`ll take the example of the Malaysian teacher who came with his student on the exchange visit. I was at the nabe party with him. And I found it SO STRANGE to be talking so frankly and directly with someone, across the table. We were talking about education, and the excessively hard-working nature of the Japanese – so not exactly a totally positive conversation about Japan. This man appeared not to have any reserve or embarrassment given the situation we were in – a formal party in the vice-principal`s house. He just kept on talking to me!

He was just so direct, and open. I was so unused to this coming from an Asian person that I was really shocked! (although perhaps Malaysia is a special case, being an EXTREMELY multicultural country itself).
The behavior of the younger Malaysian student also surprised me when upon noticing the wall hanging of Chinese characters (the wall hanging in the corner of the special tatami room that all Japanese homes seem to contain, where there is an alcove and several beautiful Japanese/ Chinese style objects and artworks are on display – sort of in the manner of a small shrine I suppose). Anyway, on recognizing the characters in the wall hanging as a song she knew, she immediately jumped up from the floor and volunteered herself to sing. The self-volunteering and the immediacy of the whole thing was just something I was wholly unused to.

The presence of this almost dominant Malaysian character did seem to make the Japanese people around the table shrink back a little. Perhaps this was due to the language being English so naturally they were less confident in their speaking ability. But, it was noticeable that they weren`t so involved then, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps, it was because of the directness of us. Japanese people are definitely used to more indirect conversation – and certainly in formal parties like this one. Of course, it`s completely wrong to say all Japanese are shy and indirect all the time, because they can be loud and brash definitely (particularly when drunk!) but, I think maybe they just couldn`t relax in this unusual situation for them, where there was an equal number of foreigners and Japanese people.

The awkwardness of cross-cultural interaction does depend hugely on the personalities of the host and visitor involved. I like to think that I am quite sensitive culturally, and I can pick up on things (though, saying that, I`m sure I miss out on a huge amount of non-verbal (well … and verbal!) messages from Japanese interactions). But I try to be as sensitive and forth-guessing (??) as I can. I felt the awkwardness that the Malaysian person made the Japanese sometimes, with his directness.

But when people from foreign cultures are more familiar with the Japanese and how they are, how they interact, what they do and don`t like, then cross asian cultural interaction is naturally more easy.

When the Laotians came to cook … (sounds like the start of a story!) But when the Laotians came to cook, was a great day. For one, they have fantastic food. They came to run a cooking class for students at Tokai High School. It was as an English lesson, as the Laotians speak English and not Japanese.
It was interesting for me to meet them aswell. It was at a time that I was frustrated with Japan, and I found it SO refreshing to talk to people who were more direct, and where there was not so much unnecessary sweetness 8as does tend to occur with Japanese women). I found them to be relaxed and chilled, jokey – not something you always get when first meeting Japanese people in a work setting. I was so happy to be with them (and eat their spicy, exciting, food) for an hour that day.

Being in company with the Laotians and the Japanese together was easier. And it`s because these people have been living in Japan for a year or so now. They`ve been studying here. They`re familiar with how Japanese people behave, so they can adjust their behavior accordingly. And that`s what I do, now that I`ve been here for 4 1/2 months. And that`s how I can get on with many different people here.

I don`t want to give the impression that I encounter non-Japanese people all the time, because that is CERTAINLY not the case. A more accurate explanation of this long post, is that these are all the instances, described in detail, of my meetings with non-Japanese Asians during my whole time here!
Japanese peculiarities, I have become accustomed to now, and although I am occasionally shocked when certain international Japanese people do something/ interact in some way, that is not characteristically Japanese, this shock is NOTHING compared to dealing with other non-western people in Japan, which is a whole, other preverbial kettle of fish.

Dealing with “my particular brand of Asian”, as a fellow JET (of Indian descent) put it, is a big chunk of hilarity for me. I just don`t know what to do with myself! My encounter with a person from south Asia was in an all-you-can-eat Indian restaurant – Spicy Tandoori. On entering a restaurant in Japan you always, ALWAYS bow to the person who greets you. But I just didn`t know what to do with myself with these Indians!! I did some kind of strange sideways sway, and shuffled off quickly.

But, I really didn`t know what to do, and I still don`t. Bowing is such a Japanese thing (other East Asians bow in a different way). I`d never do it to a fellow westerner, but an Indian? Do they bow?? I was wondering, later on, if whether they spoke Japanese would come into the question. But even if they did, I don`t think that would help me know what to do.
There is so much confusion for me surrounding other Asia in Japan.

Kawai Culture

2008-12-08T22:37:00.001-08:00

Culture is my interest. Talking about my culture, finding out about their culture, and the psychology of it too – that`s all fascinating to me.
I don`t speak Japanese and by result of this fact, the people I meet and make friends with are the ones that speak English. Usually these are the peoplewho are interested in cultures too – that`s why they want to learn. And obviously the people who like to come to events like the world culture seminar, certainly are those who are interested to learn about new cultures, who want to share cultures.

As a significant side point to note, the vast majority of this group of people that I have just been classifying, are middle-aged to old women.
I tend to meet a lot of these women. They tend to befriend me. I am interested in them because I love to find out more about the Japanese culture. (Though it does get a little out of control at times – the bombardment of questions during teatime after my speech was quite overwhelming, as one example).
I have been reliably informed that I am very attractive to women like this. They see me as the polite English girl. Absolutely typical of their image of my culture – and that is why they love to meet me, and befriend me. I don`t mind it. I like to meet women who are interested, like me, in sharing information about cultural differences. Though sometimes it does get a little out of control with multiple clashing invitations of lunch dates with old women!

But, it is just brilliant in many other ways, because these women like to share their culture just as I do … and I love to learn about their culture. Sometimes they tell me explicit new things (like what Japanese people do for New Year – decorate their front gate, and make a special Mochi rice cake, and what they eat for breakfast – rice and natto). But, other times they tell me nothing new. We talk about things that I have already observed, but they explain why those things are like that/ done like that. Sometimes, they mention things that I have observed unconsciously but never really thought about as something different or significant in itself.

One conversation, it was as if she had invented a new phrase – but it fitted so perfectly to what I had been unconsciously noticing, but without properly realizing: Kawai Culture. I hadn`t heard it before … but it is so true.

Kawai translates into English as “cute”. Girls and women in Japan, as a generalized rule like everything Kawai. They are Kawai. They strive to be Kawai. Females like everything pink, and young, and cute. As winter has been approaching so the baby blankets which the Japanese girls wear to keep their legs warm are coming out. These are 15-16-17-18 year old girls – with really baby blankets. I was quite surprised. But, that`s what it is – kawai culture exactly.

I wonder if boys like girls who are kawai. I wonder where it comes from, this urge to be small, little, cute and pink. Hello Kitty as well – the alternative national symbol of Japan! Kawai culture. It is everywhere here.

And Kawai culture doesn`t stop with teenage girls. Japanese women are Kawai aswell. My supervisor – probably aged 40 ish (but you never can tell …) – she has a bright pink phone and a pale pink, girly lunchbox. The 40 year old woman I have English conversation practice with is similarly cute and pink in her tastes for things. Her Home Economics room is very girly. You wouldn`t really see many middle aged women like this outside of Japan I don`t think.

Perhaps it is bound up with an urge to look childlike. I wonder if that is in fashion. Certainly, everyone in Japan always looks younger than their years. Maybe this is due to genetics, but also due to the fact that many women do wear young fashions.

Something that struck me in my class this afternoon was the immaturity of Japanese students. Perhaps this is all related as well. This was a class of 15-16 year olds, and yet I realized I was talking to them as if they were 12-13, or 11 even! I always am like this towards them. And it is normal – that is how they are. That is how they want to be talked to. They are immature, and I wonder if this is all bound together with the Kawai, cute, young culture.
I was particularly struck by this immaturity in this lesson because of the presence of the Australian exchange student. She was much more as I would expect a 15-16 year old to be. It made me realize that when I teach, I often forget the age of the students. I realize that I often teach as if I am teaching a class of 12-13 year olds – because that is how they behave! That is how they are! Immature, and the girls kawai aswell.
I wonder where this urge to be young, cute, small, childlike and kawai comes from. It is distinctively Japanese. I can`t think of other countries where physical immaturity like this is an ideal.

Hidden Europe: the mountain villages of northern Albania

2008-12-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

Having meaning in my day-to-day life is something that focuses my mind and my energy and gets me back feeling good. Recently that meaning has been created by my speech for the World Culture Seminar in Mito. I have been working on this speech since the beginning of my time here and I am thrilled that it was a great success, and I feel, a real personal achievement for me.

I do feel that this year has changed me in so many positive ways. And I`m sure I haven`t realized all of these ways yet. I feel confident in my life, I know much more now what I want to do (career-wise), what I am interested in, what my abilities are.

And I don`t have a problem with public speaking. I have never been a public speaker in my life. But, speaking to a class of students doesn`t faze me. And neither did the speech to the World Culture Seminar group. Perhaps it was because I was allowed to sit down, and it was a relatively informal atmosphere. But I spoke for about 1 hour and a half on my subject. I`m still surprised at myself really. Trying to imagine myself doing this in England.
Being in Japan has helped me to articulate myself better too. People have commented that they find it easy to understand my English. Before I left, I`d often be criticised for mumbling so perhaps as a result of this year in Japan, that has become a thing of the past.

I have noticed that I am more sure of myself when I speak, I do articulate myself better. Being in Japan has helped me to express myself more clearly (because I have to) and articulate myself better, and perhaps to become a better public speaker.
But, I think my enthusiasm for the topic was definitely a key reason for the success of the speech. But, to have such an enthusiasm itself is something relatively new for me! A few years ago I had no passion for anything in particular. Now, to be so interested in the subject of my speech helped me to articulate the topic well. I am so pleased that the year in Japan has had this effect to improve my communication skills and my confidence in myself and who I am. ….. what a cliché – to go round the world to discover yourself. …but there seems to be a thread of truth in my case.

Push Factors

2008-12-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

My decision to leave was sudden, and my initial investigation of the flight WAS directly due to an aspect of Japan that I hate, which I experienced last weekend.

There are so many things that I love about Japan. But of the things I hate, everything surrounding the holiday-making habits of the Japanese ranks pretty highly. The reasoning behind the horrific tourist phenomenon that I experienced last weekend goes roughly like this, I think:

In every Japanese workplace there is a strong work ethic. It looks bad if you take lots holiday (meaning take more than half of your yearly holiday allowance, or, take that half holiday allowance all at once – rather than odd days here an there). – The only time when it is legitimately acceptable to take holiday is on the specified national holiday days. (as a side point Japan does have a lot of national holidays – possibly relating to the prevention of national insanity by making people take time off).

Another significant point relevant to the analysis of my bad weekend is the Japanese national enthusiasm for their four seasons. The number of times I have conversations about the beautiful autumn leaves, or the incredible spring cherry blossom, is some absolute astronomical figure. Continuously, I am recommended to go to places at this time, because the autumn leaves will be at their most magnificent, or at this time because of the ultimate cherry blossom. TV channels make predictions of where the best blossom flowers will be as the weeks roll by, and the weather changes from north to south. Autumn leaves viewing, and cherry blossom viewing is a very popular pastime for many Japanese people, so naturally most people know which weekend is the best time to visit particular places to enjoy the beauty.

And therein lies the problem. Hakone is a popular tourist site. I knew that, - a great view of Mt. Fuji, a nice lake, nice nature, (and beautiful autumn leaves at this time of year of course). The weekend we chose to travel to Hakone was a national holiday weekend, in autumn. Error, ERROR. Everyone knows Hakone has beautiful autumn leaves now. Everyone is set free from work because it is a national holiday weekend. So they all go to the SAME beautiful places, at the SAME time.

Tourism on bank holidays is always going to be busy, whichever country you are in, but it is so much more extreme in Japan.
Problem 1 – there was a problem with our hotel booking, and it turned out we didn`t have one. Therefore, the activities we had planned for 3 days originally had to be packed into 1 day. Before, I came to Hakone this already didn`t sound like my idea of a relaxing weekend because I like to have to time to explore, stop and enjoy. And not be a standard tourist following the set route, taking the obligatory photos as and when.

But that was only the tip of the preverbial iceberg. After finally arriving in Hakone at 12 o`clock, after waiting for everyone not turning up on time, and losing people, waiting for smokers to have their cigarettes in the designated smoking squares on the street (you can`t smoke in the street in Japan). (I`m never traveling in a group of 14 again by the way), we stepped off the train.

We stepped off the train into a swarm of human bodies. There were crowds and crowds of people EVERYWHERE. Turned out we had to join the hour long queue of people going out of the station to come back into the station to get on the cram packed train which was taking people up the mountain.

In places like Hakone, where there are set sites to see there are free pass tickets you can by. To do the route of sight-seeing that gets all the important sights in. It is how I hate to be a tourist. No chance to be independent. No chance to explore on your own. Just join the queue, join the crowds of commuters who are moving around the sites like zombies. Horrific. I saw no beauty in Hakone that day. I was in a queue for the whole day. It was fantastic weather outside. And I`m sure the autumn leaves were beautiful if I could have seen them, beyond all the human heads and bodies crushed next to me, beyond the concrete walls and barriers of the building I was standing inside on this beautiful day.

After 2 more hours in queues, by 2 o`clock we had been on the train and got some distance up the mountain, but we were getting really hungry. I wanted a good meal not just some rice ball or newsagent snack.
Unbelievably to me, there was only on restaurant in this people swarmed place. So, guess what – we stepped out of our place in the set route queue – and joined another one! – to get into the restaurant! It was nearing 4 o`clock by the time we were done in the restaurant.

And the sun was on it`s way down – oh yes. I kid you not. We would finally reach the destination of one of the sights in Hakone and we wouldn`t bloody be able to see it because it would be dark!

As it goes, we did have a stroke of luck (which was rather overdue this weekend). We did travel on the ropeway at the time of the sunset, giving us a fabulous view of Mt. Fuji with the sun setting around it. Stunning. Of course, everybody was viewing this through the LCD screens of their cameras (will they remember actually being there??? Another problem of tourists everywhere). My camera was broken. But I hope I will remember that view for a long time because it was amazing.

That was the one highlight of a bad trip. We had to skip other aspects of our free pass due to lack of time to complete everything (no chance to fry an egg on the hot volcanic ground!). So quickly back in the queue for us. The view from the lake of Fuji is also said be be incredible, but by the time we made the last boat of the day Hakone was in darkness.

The whole trip was just ridiculous. I wonder how many Japanese enjoy their holiday time like that.
SO, all in all, in returning from Hakone to think about my Christmas plans, I came back thinking, there is NO WAY I want to be near any tourist site in Japan during a period of national holiday time. That`s why I decided to go home! The best place to have a relaxing holiday. Because, a holiday like Hakone, or even a milder version of – would not be relaxing.

A Sudden Change of Direction

2008-12-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, a sudden change of feeling, a dramatic change of direction, and a big movement of cash, and I`m off home for Christmas in 3 weeks.

Up until the last couple of weeks I was brilliantly happy in Japan, and in a secure way. My job, and the other related aspects to being an ALT here is fulfilling. My social life was active, and I was thriving in my complete independence from my English friends and family.

When I signed the acceptance slip of my job offer from JET I knew full well the chanllenge of total independence from family support would be the biggest challenge to meet. I pushed myself to independence – that`s what I always want. That`s what I always view as an ultimate human achievement of human life. To push yourself to be able to survive completely alone in a foreign country. And I`ve done it. I`ve done it for 4 months here.

But I find myself questioning why I strive for this extreme independence all the time. At the end of the day (literally, too), I am on my own. Human beings are social animals. We are meant to form relationships with each other – that`s the real meaning in my existence. I am not in a relationship so the most important links are with my family. And here I am, the other side of the world, nearly as far away as I can be from the most significant relationships in my life at the moment.

My reasoning for my current independence is obviously not completely unfounded. I did definitely really want to come here. It is good to be able to know that you can rely on yourself. That you can survive and look after yourself. That you won`t fall apart if you don`t have your family and your friends around you for support. And because of this experience I have proved to myself that I can do that.

But, people shouldn`t just survive. They should live, and have meaning in their lives. If it just becomes survival through the days - just to prove a point, that you ae strong, and you can survive on your own, then that`s just ridiculous and pointless.

This is definitely not to say, things have got so bad to the extent I am just surviving here, which I am definitely not. As I said I find a lot to stimulate me in my job, (not so much the language teaching, but the opportunity to share my culture is something I find very rewarding).

However, it is the relationships that are a difficulty. Making friends takes timead obviously not everyone you meet at the beginning is such a good friend as you thought they were. People adjust their personalities to a common norm at the beginning – it`s natural of course – to get along with each other. I`m not complaining, I am just wanting something that is not here/ I haven`t found yet.
You need energy to stay in the social loop, energy to not fall out and not miss out on future events. I realise that, and I must keep my energy up.

I`ve concluded from my endless thinking about the meanings in my life, that I have decided to go go home for Christmas. It is starting to feel a terribly long time without my family. I can`t wait to see them – there is so much you miss out on, not being in physical presence with a person, and it is something I feel that I am increasingly missing.

Once the intial serious thought of going home first entered my mind as a serious possibility I think that opened a small gate in my brain that I had been keeping shut, as a “staying happy and on top of life” mechanism. It allowed me to fell, actually, yes, I really do want to be at home now. I don`t know if these feelings had been there for longer, but if I had been thinking them before I didn`t register it. And a good job too because I wouldn`t have enjoyed myself in Japan as much as I have done because half of my mind would have been in England.

Occasionally I feel as though it is giving up, to go home for Christmas. But the very fact I use that very language says something in itself. Giving up on what?? Giving up struggling alone?? If I got to that stage on non-enjoyment there is no point. Whay force myself not to be with my family when that is where Iwant to be?? Why take the difficult path? Should enjoy my relationships, and be with the people I want to be with.

Discovering other cultures is something I am diefinitely keen on, and is a passion of mine, but extended periods of life without people who are important to you is nothing, (or at least unnecessarily difficult).

I might well be idolising home. And of course, I probably am. Of course, Mum and Dad and E and J frustrate me.But, I am happy that I now have a definite plan to go home for Christmas. :-)

The Health of the Japanese Workforce

2008-11-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

Any outsider – on finding out the working hours of the average Japanese worker might assume that the Japanese working population are a haggard, work weary, sleep deprived, aged group of souls who have lost touch with the true meaning of life.
But the reality is startlingly opposite to that. The Japanese nation, on average, to my eyes is a picture of health and vitality. After being at the office until god-knows-what hour being busybusy, teaching classes, team-teaching with me, with A LOT of energy and enthusiasm, staying late doing things I would never know about, meeting parents, running tea ceremony club and all the rest, my supervisor heads home for about 9 pm. There she will be responsible for cooking her son, hers and her husband’s dinner, and doing the housework, before heading for bed, and then getting up at 5 am the next morning, for another similarly relentless day. This is what I can gather is my supervisors daily routine, and probably has been all of her adult life. (Except up until this year she ran tennis club for 2-3 hours every day after school and 4 hours on weekend days – she stopped this to be able to spend more time with her son because of his stage in the last year of junior high – a key year). My supervisor is a vision of health. She is energetic – running around the teachers room, always. She is hysterical – always laughing out loud. I never really see her trudge around with tiredness. And it is the same with many other teachers. This hardcore intense lifestyle seems to suit them in some unfathomable way to me. How they manage to keep it up is a mystery to. Maybe it`s something in that rice that they eat.
But – I`ve been eating Japanese rice for nearly 3 months now and I still trudge around. It is indeed a mystery. I wonder if I will ever discover it …

E-ju-cay-shun

2008-11-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

The club activities are clearly a major difference between the job of an English teacher and the job of a teacher in Japan (see previous post).
Taken aback is too strong a word to use, but I was mildly surprised at teachers behavior towards students in general. It wasn`t just one teacher but I notice it with nearly every JTE I teach with. And the fact I noticed it, a small difference, is important. Japanese teachers have a much more hands-on contact with their students compared to English teachers. If the student is slumped over their desk asleep (as many often are) the teacher will touch the student, and shake them to get them going, hit them (gently!) around the head – almost in a coaxing sort of way. Teachers in Japan have a lot more person-to-person contact with their students. I`m sure that if this occurred in England, students would view it as strange, and probably some smart-arse student would say it was paedophilia/ child abuse in a joking way. Even though in jest, this would cross the minds of English people – the students, their parents, their teachers. But, in Japan this would not cross the mind of anyone. This is just a normal way to be in the classroom.
It reflects a deeper, overall divergence between the style of Japanese and English education. Japanese teachers are much more similar to parents in many ways, concerning the amount of input they have into the raising of children into young adults. Many times in the teachers room I see students talking deeply to teachers about matters that are probably quite serious. This is not just a few isolated cases, but I see it relatively often, in all of my schools. When I speak to teachers and ask how they can possibly find enough work to do to keep them in the teachers room until late into the evening, the teachers often state that they are speaking to the parents of their students on the phone. That that are meeting with the parents of the students. These teachers play a hugely important role in the upbringing of the children. They spend so much time with these children through the school day, and as part of the club activities, meeting the students individually to discuss their work (and having more personal conversations too is what I guess from seeing some hushed conversations here). Naturally, because of all this contact, the homeroom teacher of a student knows that student extremely well, perhaps almost to the level of a parent in some cases. It was interesting for me to find out, that in Japan if a student ever gets into trouble with the police, the first thing the police will do, is to call the school, to get the student`s homeroom teacher to come down to the station! The teachers do have this level of involvement in the moral upbringing of their students.

But, this role similar to a parent has led to problems I believe with the maturity (or lack thereof, as the case may be) in Japanese students. Because the teachers have such a close parental-like role the students can become very dependent on them. Never afraid to ask for help from their teacher-parent (and never will this help be turned down).
It crystallized for me after I had been to Hitachi-kita school for a couple of weeks. Hitachi-kita is my high level school. As is logical, in the higher level schools the students are more serious about school, the teachers are more serious about school. Therefore, the relationship between students and their teacher is perhaps intensified compared to the lower level schools (where the kids view school as purely a social occasion). Hitachi-kita`s aim is to get maximum kids into maximum good universities. They are the 3rd best ranked school in Hitachi and because of this aim there is pressure, pressure, pressure – on the teachers AND the students.
These teachers take few breaks as far as I can see. Even during lunchtime students are frequently in the classroom talking with their teachers, receiving personal help with their school work. Teachers do this because they are so motivated by the university pressure, but also because of the general attitude of heavy involvement in the students` academic and personal achievement and development. A couple of students come and ask me to check over their work during lunchtime. I do it, I correct it, as all teachers do (because these kids are keen – want to study English at university, and to reject them would be seen to discourage them). But, I just think and imagine the situation if this were to happen on a daily basis in an English staffroom as it does here (a stream of students coming into the staffroom to ask for help with their work). Fuck off, let me eat my lunch in peace! would be the response I reckon.
Is this a good thing? This personal help. It might improve them in the short-term. Having your teacher standing over you, making you work, giving you detailed personal help will surely increase your marks, but I would say it is a problem in the longterm. These kids are going through school extremely immature. Teachers do comment that Japanese students are immature, and this heavy involvement in their students lives is I`m sure, part of the problem. When they leave school and study at university it must be a big shock. To work individually without such close teacher help. To work without the knowledge that a teacher is standing over you, and will act as a big motivating force in you getting your work done. To work without knowing in the back of your head that your teacher will correct your work if you ask for it.

It is this kind of personal work that takes so much of a teacher`s time. I remember talking to Tomota-sensei. Leaving school at 5.15 pm. She would be working on a student`s speech contest speech that evening. The student had made some crap attempt at it, but Tomota-sensei was going to rewrite it because she didn`t think it was good enough. She even emailed it to me to check it as well. The dedication of these teachers to their students does astound me. (And for a teacher to write a student`s speech is entirely normal by the way. I judged a speech contest last weekend – and knowing the standard of high school student English there is NO WAY that most of the students had written what they wrote).

So, how has this method of teaching – which in my view tends to produce immature students, come about? Why are these teachers taking on a parental role? It`s because of the wider Japanese working culture. Japanese adults all work late. If both parents work – what happens to the kid? Teachers take the parent role, because the parents often hardly have time to! If the kids don`t spend all their evenings and much of their weekends and their holidays doing club activities who is going to look after the children? Working parents certainly don`t have time too. So the teachers take on this pseudo-parent role. To fill the role that working parents do not have time for, because THEY are at work. It`s a little sad really.
To summarise it is the never-ending commitment to the club activity and all that it entails (coaching, refereeing, driving the club to matches all around Ibaraki – and beyond, if your club is good), and the intense personal attention students receive from their teachers, on top of the regular lessons and lesson planning, that account for the way Japanese teachers work the hours that they do.

Working Hours and CLUB ACTIVITIES

2008-11-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

The Japanese education system is different from education in England in so MANY ways that I hardly know where to begin with this blog post.

But, I will start, logically, with my initial incredulity from my first few days in Japan (which continues today, and I`m sure will continue until the end of the year) at the teachers who remain at school late into the evening, everyday. This is a different case from the reason they all come into work during the school holidays (which relates to the fact that teachers are public servants in Japan. The public expects that they work hard, and not slack off. Just because there are no students to teach doesn`t mean they shouldn`t be at work!).

No, during the school term, it is not like the holidays. Teachers do not draw out their time at work for good appearance to the public (though I am sure that not appearing lazy in front of your colleagues by going home before the average, is a part of it). Teachers remain at work late into the evening because they genuinely are THAT busy, and have not completed their work.

The time at which teachers will break out and leave the teacher`s room does vary from school to school. One JTE at my low level school leaves at 5.30 pm. (NB – all Japanese schools “finish” at 3.30 pm). This seemed very early to me. My supervisor at Taga typically leaves at 7 pm, and a JTE at a higher level school leaves at 8 pm. I am convinced that many teachers remain longer than this though. Certainly when I returned to school one day at 6.45 pm ish the teachers room was as full and lively as at any time during the school hours, and not many were showing signs of readiness to leave yet.

I am exemplifying typical timings here for everyday, normal days. However, Japanese schools have sports festivals, culture festivals, generic school festivals, a lot of effort for which is put in by the students and the teachers alike. Staying until 9.30-10 pm is the norm for my supervisor on these days. (And she only went home because her son was getting hungry(!)).

I am so curious about the teacher`s working hours that I like to ask as many people as I can, their daily schedule. The biggest shock I received was when talking to a junior high school teacher. He stated that typically he left work at 9 pm everyday (having arrived at work at 7 am by the way), arriving home to eat supper at 11 pm every night.

Why do they all work like this? The reason is they do not only plan lessons and teach lessons. That forms half or less of a teachers work in Japan. Admittedly, I have been told that junior high school teachers do have a slightly fuller schedule of lessons to teach in comparison to senior high school teachers who may have more free periods. But, these teachers are busy.

A major contribution to their busy-ness is the infamous “club activity”. Club activities are hugely important in Japanese schools. Every teacher should have responsibility for one (and those that do not, ARE looked down upon as not contributing significantly to the school life, and may even be moved on to another school soon).

Dedication, turning up to the club everyday for practice earns you respect. It is valued highly in Japan. Not only in the sphere of club activities but widely as a whole. In a way how dedicated you are to your club sport is more important than how good you are at the sport (though the two are obviously linked). My supervisor’s husband teaches at junior high level and had moved schools a few years ago. At his previous school he had been in charge of baseball club but at his new school he was to replace the teacher that had been in charge of basketball club. SO, what else was he to do – but learn the rules of basketball! He bought a rule book, he studied it. He turned up to the practice with the students. They respected him as their team coach BECAUSE of that dedication to their team. That is what is important in Japan – participation, dedication to the group, the community.

The teachers participation in the club activity is definitely given a lot of recognition by all the teachers and senior staff (well – you`d hope it would be, given the effort teachers make on this front). Japanese teachers are required to move schools – they are not allowed to stay working in one school for ever and ever (that would just be too kind – to allow a teacher to get comfortable in their school, perhaps live relatively nearby etc). They must stay in their schools for a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 12 years. Though, a period of just 6 years at one school is typical. Teachers can only make a short list of 4 schools and they will be assigned to their next school by the authorities as where to go next. (The final decision as to where the teacher will teach does not rest with the teacher). But, it was interesting for me to find out that the only teacher I know who has stayed at a school for the 12 years is a teacher who is extremely dedicated to his swimming club. The club has been very successful in many prefectural competitions. And everybody in the teachers room knows, is very impressed. I am sure this teacher has not been required to move on from Taga High School because of his role in the club activity. More interesting is the case of a teacher who sits opposite me. My supervisor had told me early on, that she worries about this teacher. This teacher does not have a club activity of her own. As a result during the school holidays this teacher really did have nothing to do. She sat and read Japanese novels and did leave early. Of course this lack of contribution to the school life and community (both in time and club activity terms) was noticed by the other teachers and the by the more senior staff. My supervisor worries that this teacher will be moved on soon, and most likely to a lower level school. Her career could be on a downturn because she isn`t willing – like all of the rest – to live her life through Taga High School and spend most of her waking hours at a club activity. My supervisor says this is because she thinks that she is depressed – but, in England this attitude would be of any regular person! It certainly is my attitude.

Illness in Japan

2008-10-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

I feel the healthiest I have ever been in Japan. And I see people dropping around me. (I hope this is not going to prompt anything …). People do live a healthy life here, what with the food they eat, and the exercise that they do. It has certainly had beneficial effects for me as I feel great.

Though I am noticing the arrival of the autumn chill is bringing colds to the masses here. The number of face masks I see in the streets is becoming increasingly common. It is strange to think how some aspects of life can be so normal, so, mundane, so everyday, in one country. And yet, in another country such a habit would be seen to be completely bizarre. I just cannot imagine any English person wearing a face mask in the street. But, yet, thinking about it objectively it makes so much sense! Such a simple method to stop germs spreading is I am sure, one of the most effective.

Of course people get ill in Japan. And although they have a very good method to reduce their catching of a germ – once they`ve got it, in my view, they`re going about it in a bloody stupid way to get rid of it.
The Japanese working culture – the underlying basis of so many of the cultural differences between Japan, and EVERYWHERE else, is once again the reason. People who are ill in Japan struggle into work. No matter how ill they are. Well obviously not if they`re on their deathbed. But I`ve seen teachers turn up for school definitely looking a little green, weak and in general not fit for work. How they thought that they could work effectively is beyond me. But, again, perhaps that is not the point. The point is to show your face, show your dedication to the group despite feeling so bad. It must look good. Though not resting ain`t going to do anything to speed your recovery. Watanabe-sensei turned up to work in a bad state yesterday. But, I could tell he did have a sort of respect from the other teachers from making it to the office.
Watanabe-sensei is one of the good guys. He is a genki teacher. He runs the basketball team with a lot of dedication and enthusiasm. He sacrifices a lot of his out-of-school time for them. He takes his 20 day holiday to go to the hospital (I was told he had taken nenkyu. I was about to ask where he was going on holiday. Later I found out he had used it for going to the hospital! Typical Japanese that!)
This dedication to the team, company, community must have such a strong pulling factor on the Japanese that I can`t even comprehend the scale. It makes people work so hard. So late. However, they feel. Am I a weaker human than them for looking after my personal interests and feelings? I feel like it sometimes. But, maybe I am staying more healthy my way, looking after myself. I like to think I am.

Into the Inaka

2008-10-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Inaka is the countryside of Japan - rural Japan. It exists all over the country in the mountainous interior I expect. But also definitely present in Ibaraki - outside of the main towns. Most of Ibaraki lies upon the flat Kanto plain so unlike those interior prefectures Ibaraki`s inaka landscape is the rice fields - many, many, many rice fields stretching across the land. I had not appreciated this aspect of Ibaraki existed at all at first. On finding out I would be living in Hitachi I assumed all of Ibaraki to be much of the same - urban areas of industrial development maerging into each other to cover the whole prefectural area. (As it goes Hitachi is a much nicer town than just an area of industry - although lacking in a significant town centre which is my particular little gripe).
But, Hitachi isn`t the norm here - Hitachi is one of the few big urban centres, like Mito and Tskuba. Much of Ibaraki is small towns, smaller towns - and TINY, insignificant little habitations (if that is even a word).

And JETs get placed in places like this. I feel incredulous to imagine this, particularly after my visit to the Inaka this weekend.

Daigo is a town in northwest Ibaraki. Fukuroda (town?) is nearby. It is hard to work out what counts as separate settlements in Japan as things tend to be rather spread. The North West of this prefecture is lovely. In the mountains, which are beautiful to see, with the leaves just beginning to turn different into their varying colours of red and orange and brown. Just lovely. But, to live here Would. Be. Damn. Hard. Typically, in these small towns only one JET is placed. So, for starters there are no foreigners friends here to introduce to the town and their life. Secondly, the youth of 21 + age tends to leave these types of areas as whenever they can. I hear the Ibaraki JETs from these towns often complain that the population of their town is only young children and the elderly. So, even if you can speak Japanese it would seem to be a near impossible task to make any friends of your own age. So, it might be that you become reliant on the other JETs elsewhere in Ibaraki for a social life/ sanity maintenance through human interaction. But, then there is the issue of transport. These inaka towns have bad transport connections. Infrequent trains, the last train which stops at 8 o`clock in the evening. And that`s even if you have a train station. JETs live in towns which don`t. I honestly don`t know how these people are staying sane. I certainly feel very lucky to be placed in Hitachi considering that I could have been rural.

Aspiring JETs do not think about these realities when applying. With a view of rural Japan as living in a Japanese styled house atop of a mountain perhaps with a stream running down, and a temple next door. What a fairytale. And how lucky I was that I did not request a rural placement. (Though nor did Daigo-based Tina who had asked for city. JET is pot-luck, in every aspect).

To live in the Inaka is certainly a different experience from the one I am having. And perhaps it is one of those where the rewards and positive aspects of living in the place come much later on in the year – through the slow development of relationships with the people in your town. I have heard from an ALT living in a small community that she is looked after by everybody in her town – because obviously everybody knows her. So, that may be a positive. (But even I stand out in my big town!).

But it`s the day to day aspect which is problematic for me. To not be able to go out with friends because you cannot go home after 7 pm. To have no supermarket in your town. (Tina eats from the combini everyday). To have no restaurants in your town. (When we visited Daigo we were looking for a restaurant to eat at 7.30 pm. My mouth dropped open in shock to hear the man say that it would be difficult to find a restaurant open at THIS time of night!!). It is like a different world, the countryside of Japan – is English countryside as remote, and out-there as this?? I`m not so sure.

We were starving, and after driving around in car full of hungry JETs I was thinking that the combini was our only option. There was a the whole issue of the last train to contend with so some people didn`t get any supper that night. For, those of us who were staying in the hotel we did eventually find one open okonomiyake restaurant. Of course, full of people (being the only one open in the town at this late hour of 8pm). Thwarted, we were there, because too many of us, and they couldn’t possibly deal with us as it was just TOO LATE.
Evetually we did find a place. Moody and hungry we crowded in and eventually got fed. I was certainly frustrated with the Inaka life. Lovely to visit, beautiful mountains, fantastic onsen, waterfall. But, what a nightmare to live there!! I was happy to come back to my less pretty, urban, industrial, sprawling town.

Pickin` Fruit

2008-10-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

People do take time off here though (on the national holidays - because that`s the only legitimate way of taking a holiday without appearing weak/ not working for the team/ whatever on earth the reason is that Japanese people never take all of their allotted holiday time).
No, of course not only then, I am (slightly) exaggerating.

And the funny little activities I have done here are worth writing about because it`s not a standard thing to go and pick fruit in autumn - yet I have done it twice in nearly as many weeks!!

It`s a NICE experience. The best word for it. You go along (to an out-of-town establishment), everything is very gentle and friendly. You pay your money, you walk a few steps, and their you are, amoung the fruit trees. Nothing to hardcore, or too over exerting (because remember, this is a fun activity so everything is very safe, signposted and near). I go fruit picking when people have suggested it because I like to walk around in a bit of greenery for once in a while and feel the grass under my feet (a rare lost experience in the Japanese summer I have experienced).

Of course, you have to pay for this fun experience. Of course you do, to enter, and then you pay for what you pick.

Fruit is at a premium in Japan (and vegetables for that matter). It`s so expensive. And definitely makes you appreciate it MUCH more. I would never dream of letting an apple go bad. It is a real treat for me to have an apple in Japan and I savour it definitely. I think they must be a lot sweeter in Japan.
And the nashi pears, - well, they`re in a league of their own. These pears cost upwards of 1 pound fifty EACH. Definitely for special occassions only. If you ate 5 fruit and veg a day you`d be bankrupt in Japan, I`m sure.

Leisure

2008-10-19T22:21:00.001-07:00

It`s interesting to think about the recognized enjoyable activities to do in Japan.

Enjoyable activities have to be obviously enjoyable in Japan. It`s something I notice again and again. It`s something that frustrates me at times, but now I am feeling mild about it and I`ll just describe it.

I have a theory as to why aswell: In Japan everybody works hard, hard, hard. Five days a week, 6 days a week, 7 days a week from early in the morning to late into the evening. So, of course when they`re not working, they really have to be “not working”. They have to be doing something obviously fun. They have to be told that their having fun, by doing a recognized “fun activity”. It`s like a world of extremes. The office enkai is an example. Getting drunk is needed – it has to be extreme. The fun can`t be mild. Because the work is not mild. The work is extreme. (Of course people like to get drunk all over the world). Why the extremes? Why can`t you have a working day where you have time for a balance. Where, for example, you have time to do an activity you enjoy on a regular basis for example.

The leisure time of the Japanese takes up so much of my thinking time as I try to understand how it is like it is. I love being in parks as part of my leisure time, and Japanese parks are instantly interesting to me aswell. In Japan, in my experience, it is rare that I have come across just a park. There is always an amusement park attached to it (and a zoo in the case of Hitachi Kamine park). Why is this? Because just a park, that you can walk around in, is just not obviously fun enough.

Japanese is so full of contrasts however. Many people have the view of the zen Buddhist gardens of Japan. And this is an aspect of Japan that does exist. There are beautiful Japanese gardens. (Though I haven`t actually been to one yet – though I`m convinced they do exist – they must!).
There must be that contemplatative side of the Japanese people somewhere: where they can appreciate their surroundings quietly, and enjoy it. Afterall, I think the Zen Buddhist tradition with all the meditative customs that come with that originated here in Japan.
But, this side of Japanese society it is not obviously present. And it is not something that I have seen in my time here. In my experience to visit an old temple is a purely superficial experience. Everybody traipses along the designated tourist route to see the sights of the day – whatever they maybe. – a temple building, a garden, a waterfall, a mountain, a garden. They look like commuters. All in a line. There is no spontaneity, there is no extra interest. To me, it seems like they visit these places because they know that this is an enjoyable thing to do. They walk to the designated viewing platform for the subject today – and photograph it. They don`t experience it. They don`t have time. After the photo they move on, following the line of people along the special route, to the next object of interest.
Of course, this aspect of tourism does exist everywhere, and I hate it everywhere. But, it`s striking to me here.

Where is the deeper meaning for the Japanese people in their lives? Is it their family? If it is, they have a strange way of showing it in my view, because they don`t hardly spend any time with their family because they`re at work all the bloody time!!
So perhaps it is their work. Perhaps working towards the common goal of their company is the aspect of their lives with the most meaning to them.
How people spend their leisure does have some kind of reflection on what people value their lives and perhaps the fact that Japanese people take such few holidays away from work, for this leisure time is the most notable fact here!

Culture Vulture

2008-10-08T22:48:00.001-07:00

One of the greatest aspects to living in a culture like Japan – where there are so many big differences, so many subtle differences, things that are unexpectedly similar, and so many things that I`m sure I will NEVER understand completely, is that I feel every day I am understanding more about the Japanese people and the complexities of this culture on an increasingly deep level.

I`m sure this is inevitable, as the result of simply just living in another country but I still find it amazing to feel it happen. Of course, this understanding is helped wildly much by talking to my J.T.Es openly about what I find weird - (having JTEs with whom I can chat so openly WITH, massively helps too!), talking to my Japanese friends and also other international people who have lived here longer than me.

I really knew nothing when I came here. Only the tourist stereotypes of this country. And the tourists know NOTHING.

The sense of building community, the group spirit, the team spirit is HUGELY important here. I had read about this aspect of asian culture before I came – the needs of the group being more important that those of the individual. But, of course you never truly understand something like this unless you live and work in that culture. Why do the Japanese work such ridiculous hours? It is to be part of the group. Spending such a long time with your work collegues inevitably means that you bond with them. And that`s a good thing – to be working together for the good of your company/ organization. The sense of good community in Taga`s staffroom is certainly something that I feel. When everybody stays late after their contracted hours to do so, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed in this room. When everybody is aware that everybody else stays to help, it is a significant thing. It is a very significant thing to know that you and your work collegues together are making an effort by staying late to make your cause/ your company better. And I can understand that. (Though not to such an extent that I am willing to do it myself!! And perhaps that`s the most significant point here, me with my individualist western ways…).
People need time to bond – and this does happen as a result of this work practice. I`ll be very interested to know what it is like to work in an English workplace when I return to England.

Is that bond really worth what they sacrifice? though is of course, the important question.

My Community

2008-10-08T22:10:00.001-07:00

I am having a fantastic time in Japan all in all.
Going, on your own, to live in a foreign country is meant to be hard. Going to live in a foreign country where you can only speak 3 words of the local language, where the language is COMPLETELY unrelated to your own, where you cannot read the script, by rights ought to make the experience that I am having near impossible, and well, a downright awful. Sitting in my flat in a pit of misunderstanding, unable to communicate with other human beings (the most significant aspect of my life I think). And it could have been that my time in Japan WAS like this.

But, it`s not. And the reason is a social group. I arrived in Hitachi to find two other JETs in my town. One of these JETs had been living here for two years previously and therefore has a group of friends here, and I think that base fact, has made the biggest difference to my experience in Japan.

Being here for such a time enables you to really become part of the community. The community of internationals is of course an important primary group of people for any foreigner in Japan. Principally because there aren`t many of you! You stare at each other in the street because you are so shocked to see a non-Asian face. Your job is also a likely source of common ground between you because I think it is fair to say that most foreigners I`ve encountered are English teachers – or at least used to be English teachers. So, on arriving in Hitachi I easily became part of the gaijin crowd here. We go out for meals. Certain restaurants here are well-known popular gaijin haunts, and we become regulars. It`s a nice feeling, ALREADY, to be able to go to the places – with people who are such great friends with owners. The sense of community I have by being here is the greatest, most unexpected aspect of my life here as a foreigner in Japan, but, definitely the best thing. The community which surrounds the Gyouza bar is wicked. The owners are extensive (size-wise!) Japanese men who obviously love to eat Gyouza! Every so often they have parties – complete with LOTS of food, and LOTS of drink. When I first arrived they had a beach party. And coming up is the camping party in NW Ibaraki.

But, equally and perhaps more important than the international community here is the Japanese part of our group. When we go out we are typically half and half Japanese and foreigners. Some of the Japanese people learn English with one of the English teachers who has been out here for 10 years now, so I feel very lucky that I can communicate with people like Maya and Tomoko who are FANTASTIC.

It was great to get to know some of the girls as I had been feeling slightly male dominated. But, Tomoko and I tried flamenco classes together, and now Maya and I do Yoga together every week. It is so good to go with a friend – and more than I ever expected for my first months here.
Yesterday evening we went to Yoga, and then Maya had suggested we went to eat at a café that she knew. It was a wicked little place. Right on the ocean-front with the waves crashing very loudly next to us. And tiny inside. Full, though. With people informally playing live guitar music and singing – Japanese songs, and then for my benefit – the Beatles. We all joined in, there were instruments for everyone - I had such a great evening – with this chilled out bunch of Japanese people – in a tiny café in the dark, by the ocean. SO, SO, COOL.

Natural Disasters in Japan

2008-10-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

Japan is obviously known for it`s natural disasters but it does surprise me the differing levels of seriousness with which they take happenings/ impending happenings.

Haven`t experienced many earthquakes in recent weeks, but there was a few in my first month here. Of course I remember the first one. I was sitting in the audience of an awards ceremony at a speech contest. It happened. A significant rumble. But, nobody even flinched! Or looked around, or anything!

Typhoons are a different story. They are forecast, and of course 99.99% of the population that live in this country CAN understand Japanese (…that would make sense …) and can therefore prepare for such an event when they hear the forecast. I tend to get told by my teachers at school on the morning of the day it is due to make landfall near Hitachi.

Hey-ho. So far, I have been told of two impending typhoon arrivals however both changed direction and headed back off into the Pacific I assume, because they certainly didn`t reach me! So, I acknowledge that I haven`t yet experienced the full force of a typhoon. However, it does seem that they are perhaps a LITTLE O.T.T. about typhoons. I planned to visit Nikko the day a typhoon was due. My teachers were completely taken aback in shock, that I was not planning to lock myself in my apartment and bring in extra food supplies to ride out the storm. Many other ALTs were put off going to Nikko because of a similar reaction from all of their teachers.

As it goes, I went anyway. And had a fantastic day. The typhoon made a gracious exit from the Japanese mainland, took a bow and a turn, and swept off into the Pacific. Leaving Nikko marvellous weather I might add.

Disaster from Week 2

2008-08-26T03:37:00.000-07:00

OK, so, - “funny” story – thought I should share: …

After sitting through a good long talk on all the nasty, horrid, disgusting bugs that I could meet in my flat, at the Ibaraki JET orientation I was propelled into taking intensive preventative measures to ensure that I would not have to meet some of these minging creatures of nature (sure I’ve gone on about this far too much now).

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation is what was drummed into us.

SO, the next day, I left ALL my down-to-the-floor windows wide open and went out with my supervisor for the day with a nice big smug feeling about my great flat and how clean and airy it was.

… how the mighty fall …

Quote from the Ibaraki orientation handbook regarding tatami mats: “whatever you do, DON’T spill liquids on them”.

So, … as it goes … there was a typhoon late yesterday afternoon…

Well, it felt like a fucking typhoon to me, as I was racing across the car park from the supermarket to the car with my supervisor in this downpour as the thunder crashed directly overhead and giant lighting bolts cut down the sky.

Apparantly though, it wasn’t a typhoon , - it’s not typhoon season yet. That’s to look forward to for September. Wahoo!

My supervisor thought it would perhaps be a good idea to check on my flat. So, half an hour drive over to my place in the storm. … which was showing no sign of letting up yet as I was stuck in the car doorway, for about a minute, pissing about frenziedly trying to open a complicated Japanese umbrella. Arghargh!

Dashed up the steps to the flat and thrust open the door. There were VERY significant pools of water over all the floor of the flat, all on the tatami flooring. Arghargh!

shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit were I think my words at the time when I was rushing round my soaked apartment slamming shut all the wide open windows in the face of the still-raging storm, chucking towels everywhere.

Now … it’s the next day … and my floor, bed, books, sofa, electronic devices, pants etc are drying well in the daytime heat.!

Apparently, according to my supervisor and vice-principle this level of storm was quite unusual, … and unexpected.

But … funnily enough … earlier that day, when I was walking along the seaside with my superviso,r we strode past a little old Japanese woman bent over her little old-woman shopping trolley/ standing device.

She reached out and tapped my supervisor on the shoulder and motioned for us to come back. Then she pointed at the blue-sky and at one small, faint white cloud in the distance and said in her little-old-woman voice – “Ah, the storm is coming”. I had thought NOTHING of it.

Comfy in Japan

2008-08-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

I need reflection time! This is evident because this is the first time I have been able to post a blog ... but yet I am now in my fourth week in Japan!

In a way it's too late to try to recall my initial feelings about being here in Japan. I was just so busy, so tired, so without internet, so without time to sit down and write a blog. I've realised that I don't like not having no time to sit and think about what I have experienced.

Especially, when there is SO MUCH that I have experienced here. The first weeks here have been a complete whirlwind. I really need time like now to just sit, and think, and reflect, and write. Really therapeutic. It's hard to strike the right balance.

It is great. The reason I have been so busy is because of the ready-made social life that comes with being a JET. Not only discovering Ibaraki with IAJET, but also the community here in Hitachi. There are other 20 something ALTs here, not only JET but others, sister city people, old JETs, they meet each other sometimes through friends of friends, sometimes at G bros the restaurant popular with foreigners. I met a big lot of them at the beach party. I feel grateful to the 3rd year ALT here for inviting me to these events - it's really nice to be part of the social network here.

1 Month Countdown

2008-07-09T01:00:00.001-07:00

It's all getting rather real. I'm back from Albania, crash landed into Summerholme on monday morning and launched straight off to the JET orientation in London for 2 days.

From being an occasional presence in my thoughts, living in Japan for one year is making it's presence known in the forefront of my mind all the time now. It's getting closer. I slightly freak out when I think about it sometimes. What concerns me to a higher level is not living in Japan (though not being able to read the written script is obviously a concerning issue!) but the fact I will be living alone. I hope I'll manage to stay sane. I generally need other people to stay sane in my experience.

Sometimes I think it is my personal challenge to get through this next year. And then other times I remind myself. It is more than that. I did, do want to go to Japan. I had, have lots of positive reasons for going to live in such a crazy country. That it is so different from the UK for one.

I’ll be living in Hitachi City. It has to be said, I am not phenomenally optimistic about having Hitachi as a home town. You wouldn’t pick the home of electronics giant, Hitachi, in Japan’s industrial heartland as first choice. But, I didn’t make choices. I was open. And I will go with an open mind. It’s better to be positively surprised by aspects of Hitachi than the other way around.

Gaaa! It’s coming!

Ibaraki Prefecture

2008-05-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ibaraki prefecture .... that's the extent of my information re my life in 2008/9. And I didn't know where the hell that was either. The anticipation of thinking about next year is the exciting thing. In fact it's been continuous anticipation. I wonder when there is no more question mark about my location, house and workplace what I will feel - when I am there, installed in my new place.

But for now - just Ibaraki prefecture. I jumped to the map page of the General Information Handbook. Although I made no preference my spirits dipped the tiniest bit. In the Kanto Plain - close (relatively to Tokyo). The internet told more; it seemed very developed, industrialised, and densely populated. Secret hopings that I hadn't properly realised that I had, had disappeared. It was unlikely that I'd be living in beautiful hilltop village with a temple.
I hadn't realised I'd be so close to Tokyo.

But I don't really know much about my place. I'm curious to know more.

I really have plenty to get through now though - the G.I.H was slightly overwhelming! It's a lot to take in ... , that I'm going to be living, properly independently, for the first time in my life ....... in Japan!

To Japan

2008-05-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Having just done my now daily check of the JET forums and groups on the internet I am not satisfied. Again! I am reduced to this information scavenging as a result of the JET Desk at the UK Embassy of Japan. Obsessively waiting is the adverb that is absolutely inextricably linked to JET and all my feelings towards it.

I wait to find out if I have an interview, I wait to find out if I got in, I wait to find out the region I'm placed in, I wait to find out where I get placed, (I wait to here from the person I take over from presumably...). All this drawn out from November until mid-MAY.

Some might say I am pre-occupied to an obsessional level. But, it's the waiting, it's all the waiting. Pre-occupation with knowing, but not knowing too much. And knowledge from official sources only.

And then there's the FORMS. Increasing my paranoia about little small details, ... and the postal service.

It's all had an effect on my internet scavenging for information. I go so far and then stop - I can't possibly get information from some non-proper JET source!