Once Upon a Tokyo

Summatime

Apparently, it's been hot in Tokyo lately.

I have to admit that even a self-proclaimed heat-lover such as myself am really wearing thin on patience.

I wonder if the Tokyo wave pools have been as crowded as they were in 2007?

Probably.

Japan's Number Three!

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times about the recent news that Japan's economy has slipped from the number two spot to the number three. In a way, he:s saying it:s a good thing, because it takes the pressure off. Sounds like slacker talk to me! Get on the ball, Japan! Or would that be, get on the バール?

In seriousness, though, I think that if conditions remain as they are, China, the one who took over the number two spot, will be on its way to take over the number one spot from the United States. It's just a matter of time!

Health Check

I guess the big news today is the Health Check performed by our employers on behalf of Japanese law. I can't ever seem to get a straight answer if this really is mandatory or not, on behalf of the Japanese passive-aggressive attitudes. It starts with height and weight (I seem to be growing each year, vertically, but am happy to announce that I've been shrinking horizontally.) Blood pressure, blood work, even EKG and X-Ray. Every year I seem to do okay, which is funny because they always have the big medical insurance meeting the same day as the Health Check, and then I feel miffed I have to pay for insurance when I keep myself pretty fit otherwise.

The other sad thing? When the results come back, they have grades on them. Yup, A, B, C, etc. And I always get a B because I test false positive for Hep B due to my taking antibodies or whatever for my trips to Africa. I'm always THIS close to an A!

Hottest Day on Record

The news says that yesterday was the hottest August day on record. So of course it was the same day that I and my roommate decided to ride our bikes to Sangenjaya, a station 4 stops away.

We were on a quest for some gourmet kakigori, shaved ice, and we heard of a place that was relatively nearby. Deciding to make a whole day of it, we would also take the old-fashioned tram that winds its way through the suburban Setagaya ward. By purchasing a cheap all-day pass, we could hop on and off the Setagaya line, with various sites such as a series of shrines and old-fashioned buildings that date older than the country of America itself.

First of all, the kakigori. We rolled up to what's basically an ice shop, with a small refridgerated truck parked along the street outside-- obviously they have to supplement the shaved ice with a side business. The shop itself (not a restaurant by any means) was basically the size of a small kitchen, with seating for about six people on rickety chairs and wooden tables. The feel is one of a local matsuri festival. The Obasan grandma tending the store was seated outside, as if waiting for us, the only customers. Friendly and talkative, she asked if I could read the menu, which was all in Japanese, and even though I said "a little bit" she proceed to read the entire menu in English-- "melon, strawberry, banana"-- while I and my roommate shifted on our feet in amused discomfort. We ordered on the "fancy" side of the menu -- Black Tea for me and Green Tea for my friend.

She gleefully chatted away about the difference between American crushed ice and Japanese shaved ice including a bit of history that I completely missed. The machine she used was 73 years old, but ran with a giant motorized belt that she turned on with a long lever. She layered the ice with tea that she hand-ground with a mortar and pestle and added some sweetened condensed milk. Here is the picture:

 

Some of the best desert I ever had! Not sure if was worth the exorbitant price of ¥650. Heck, the one-day pass and various drinks and snacks? The rest of our day combined was only just above above the same price!  

About the time we were finishing, the shop swelled with four or five other customers dropping in and out, so surely this little spot was a local favorite.  

here I am with the old ice machine, although we might have to go back to use a flash next time. 

Happy OBon 2010!

I posted this last year, so indulge me in doing a repeat:

This week is Obon, a holiday where you are supposed to honor your ancestors, typically at their family shrine. However, the way most celebrate today is that you return to your family home (that is, you leave the Big City to return to grandma and grandpa's house.) In that way, it becomes a bit like American Thanksgiving. And that's especially true in the sense that this is Japan's biggest traveling week. Hotels are booked, flights and bullet trains are filled, but many businesses (from corporations to mom-and-pops') are closed.

It's a great time to visit Tokyo, because instead of thousands of people crowding the streets, you only got hundreds.

That, and the week ends with a giant festival and fireworks display over the river in my neighborhood. Yay, ancestors!

This year is no different. In fact, I estimate that if even 0.1% of the city population has fled for vacations and/or for visiting families, then that means about 35,000 people aren't around right now. That's a significant decrease in street AND pedestrian traffic! The down side is that many things are closed as well. For example, my favorite destination whenever I return to Tokyo after a trip is to stop at the Ootoya restaurant on the way home. Couldn't do that this time, as the business center in which it is located was shut down! Just goes to show, that with every silver lining, there is a dark cloud.

Wasp Attack!

Things are pretty chill here, I have to admit. I'm getting a few pet projects done, plus some welcomed reading. It's nice to have vacation away from my vacation. How weird is it that a foreign country like Japan feels more comfortable than a foreign country like Spain? It's not all puppy dogs and rainbows, however. Lack of rainbows are due to the gloomy weather that has set in, as a typhoon has appeared on the opposite side of this island-nation, sending peripheral dark clouds (and yes, scattered showers) our way. It will pass over the mainland and then will become a tropical depression afterward. It's only in the area of Hokkaido that this will be a problem, however.

And the lack of puppy dogs is because of the increase of wasps. On the plus side, I learned a new vocabulary word-- スズメパチ (suzumebachi, or wasp!) Apparently, despite my having housesitters while I was away, a family of wasps decided to start building a nest on my outdoor patio ceiling. It was in the early stages, of sorts, and I was able to use a violent bug spray and a short broom to take care of things. The wasps were trying to make it near the screen door, thankfully. Every so often, one would return to see what happened, and I could spray the bug juice through the screen and create a cloud of poison to chase it away.

These wasps are Japanese-sized, which to this So Cal-desert native means that all insects are ten times the size they should be. Blame the sub-tropical climate, I guess.

New Month- New Content

Well, the summer is starting to wind to a close, and with that my time in Europe. Good thing I got a Masters degree out of all of that. I will be returning to some kind of blogging here, I hope, and let's commemorate that with some fresh re-design here.

One of my personal milestones was to start some serious studying of Japanese kanji, the 'picture-writing' alphabet that's one of three alphabets used in Japan (four, if you count Roman letters like ABC.) I was able to pick up some workbooks before I left-- the same kind of ダリル ("drill") books used for elementary school students. Just last week, before I left to return to Tokyo, I finished off the second grade book. I feel so proud. I still can't hold an extended conversation, but I can recognize second grade kanji a little better now.

Let's see if I can make it to third grade before September!

Diving in Okinawa

One of the things I really wanted to do in Okinawa was scuba dive. It:s been a year since my diving in Thailand, and there:s not a lot of opportunity in Tokyo (or in Prague, my last major vacation destination the previous summer.) Unfortunately, the time we had in Okinawa was a pretty small window, and most of the time we spent on the American bases there.The time we did try to find an English-speaking guide, he was completely booked. As if a little think like language would stop me? Using my best broken Japanese, I was able to sign up with a local dive shop just off the sea wall.

It was one of the best times I had down there. The diving wasn:t that spectacular, being slightly off-season with the rainy season and after a few days of rain made for somewhat average visibility. But interacting with the locals was a blast! This was one of the marked differences between me and the other teachers. They really seemed to prefer the American lifestyle on the island. Granted, it *IS* pretty cool. I ain:t going to deny it. But I think that one of the things that made me want to live overseas was the fact that you HAD to immerse yourself in the local culture. If you really don:t want to risk some security and "safety," then maybe you don:t really want to live abroad.

Okinawa

While I usually avoid hopping on a plane first thing after school:s out for the summer, that seems to be exactly what I:ll be doing. Some friends have contacts who are teachers at the American school in Okinawa (a Dept. of Defense school) and we are going to crash on Okinawa island for several days. (well, hopefully not literally crash, of course.)

Since Okinawa is at the very tip of Japan:s archipelagos, it actually enters into sub-tropical climate, perfect to start a summer holiday. I:m looking forward to swimming and beaching and maybe even some scuba diving-- for what is pretty much like the first time in a year!

I:m sure I:ll have internet access while I:m gone, but in case you don:t hear from me for a week, it:s either because I:m too relaxed or too busy.

Here's a famous band called The BOOM that is influenced with traditional Okinawan music and a bit of ska:

Graduation Day

This week included the graduation ceremony for the Seniors 2010. This was especially poignant for me, since I arrived in Tokyo to teach them in their Sophomore year, and so it:s my "first" year of graduates.

I love graduations-- there is such an atmosphere of celebration and austerity, of triumph and uncertainty, and at once the world is so open and yet so over. A really unique time that everyone shares, but the mixture of emotions is different for all. A parent said to me that, of course, I would love graduations. After all, he said, this is "why" I:m here.

But enough of my own musing. What:s so funny, cheesy, and profound are the various speeches we always hear. It always reminds me of the popular "Everybody:s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" released in 1998 by Baz Luhrmann, featuring advice written by Mary Schmich for the Chicago Tribune in 1997, and listed here for your remembrance:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99--
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice . . . now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees; you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body; use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…