Trip to Kobe with the Board of Education:
The past few weeks have been very busy, in a good way! Weekend before last I went to Kobe with my office (at the board of education.) The office rarely goes out together, so I thought despite my reluctance I ought to go. If nothing else, it would probably prove to be an interesting culture experience. At the time, what I really wanted to do, was spend the weekend at home, in what I call my "American oasis"--- otherwise known as my apartment. There I can surround myself in things from home, food, television, pictures from home, american TV on my computer, when the outside world becomes too overwhelming, I know I can always rely on my apartment. That makes me sounds frighteningly anti-social, but for many of us JETs, its easy to slip into this isolation as a side effect of culture shock. We are constantly surrounded in the unfamiliar, often expected to jobs we are not qualified to do, and can go an entire day relying on basic Japanese or non verbal communication in order to express ourselves and understand the world around us. It is exciting, and new, and often offers us incredible glimpses into Japanese culture that we would never get unless we were willing to immerse ourselves so completely, but it can also be incredibly stressful and difficult. (I have gotten a bit side tracked here- but you get the point.) Anyway, I decided I HAD to give the office a chance, and so I met up with Steve (another ALT in Tanabe) and 6 other members of the office. Four are middle aged men (all previously teachers) and two are young women my age who are secretaries in training, all can speak little to no english with the exception of a few scattered vocabulary words and phrases. One man and one of the young women speak enough to very occasionally make an incomplete sentence or two, but for the most part, they can not really communicate in english, and really why should they be able to? We left saturday morning, and I was in for a surprise before we even got started. The oldest man I work with, showed up with baggy jeans, untied sneakers, sunglasses, and a very young looking vest. He was dressed like we was a teenager! Keep in mind I have only ever seen these people dressed in suits, so this was quite a shock. Even the secretaries were totally shocked.
The trip there was uneventful, and relatively quiet. We drove up all together in one car, listening to a lot of 80s hits that totally cracked me up. After getting lunch we headed up to Mt. Ruku, which is actually more like a mountain range on the edge of the city. The leaves were just beginning to change in Kobe, and the trip up was beautiful.
Unlike mountains in the US, there are many attractions at the top of mountains here, a bit like a small theme park. I have heard Japanese people are often very disappointed when they climb mountains in other countries only to find trees and other such nature at the the top. Ruku happened to have something that looked like an extensive playground and glider judging by the map, which I thought looked pretty fun. As soon as I mentioned it we took off to go find it. It turned out to be a series of obstacle courses, that forced you to crawl around, jump from moving logs, and pull yourself across logs while hanging on with your legs. Everyone did it! Even in their nice office clothing in shoes! Not just one-- all 40 of them, it took over an hour! They did it and loved it, everyone was cracking up!
Later that evening we went out for dinner and drinks. I had heard tell of many an enkai (office drinking party) that ended in sheer ridiculousness, but I did not believe that my office would be the same. It was hilarious, all the sudden people I had never heard speak a word of english were attempting short clippy phrases. They even proclaimed one guy "the last samurai" because he practiced kendo. He responded with modesty of course, proclaiming himself "a little samurai" (I must add that he was the shortest, balding man of them all). Obviously he meant to say he was only a little bit of a samurai, but he kept insisting he was a "little samurai." Later we all went to karaoke, where EVERYONE belted out Japanese pop tunes at the top of their lungs. As if that wasnt enough, they got tamberines, and danced around the room with them. What I wouldnt give for a picture!
The next day we went to a famous shrine in Kobe, where women traditionally pray for marriage. Of course, for rural Japanese standards they insisted I was quite old enough, and should get married very soon. The night before at the enkai I was instructed by the "little samurai" on exactly how I should go about praying at the shrine. Well I didn't pray, I told them I had no desire to be married right now, something they found fairly strange, but accepted since the fact that I am foreign obviously makes me kind of crazy. I did happen to be there at just the right time to a see a traditional shinto wedding however.
In short, outside the office my coworkers are totally different and really really fun in a way that I could not have imagined! More recently, it has made the office a much more fun place to be!
Takao Middle School Culture Festival:
Last Tuesday one of my middle schools had the yearly culture festival. The culture festival features songs, bands, dances, speeches, and poems all performed by the students and takes up the entire day! They had everything, from dragon dances to student generated rock bands. My personal favorite was the students rendition of Avril Lavigne (an American pop icon). Boys and girls alike rushed onto the stage all rushed onto stage all wearing the girls uniform and waving around pink and purple pom poms. I think that may have been the highlight for the boys as well because the looked positively delighted with themselves. When I asked a teacher about it later, she said "Didn't they look pretty?!" Both extremely conservative, and yet so free under exactly the right circumstances. Immediately after their performance, the boys were sent to the locker rooms to change.
Momiji in Kyoto and Capsule Hotels in Osaka:
I have often been asked the question, does your country have 4 seasons? To be fair some JETs have even been asked "does your country have weather?" (by adults!) The Japanese are incredibly proud of their seasons. If you ever even mention the word season, anyone will tell you that in Japan there are 4 distinct beautiful seasons, each of which is characterized by some type of natural beauty. Flowers and green in the summer, changing leaves in the fall, snow in the winter, and the most famous- cherry blossoms in the spring. I would venture to say that Wakayama seems to have two- Extreme Summer, and Mild Winter, but no Japanese person would ever agree to this. Regardless, Japan has made quite a domestic tourist industry out of their 4 seasons, and posters featuring pictures perfect seasons in famous places adorn every wall of the stations, and adds present through out stores, magazines, and TV. The Japanese travel in mass to experience these changes in famous beautiful places- the most famous of which being the historic capital, Kyoto. Mariel This past weekend we had a three day weekend so Mariel and I headed up to Kyoto to see temples surrounded by changing maple trees. I had been warned that this weekend would be the worst, Kyoto would be packed with tourists, primarily Japanese. We did not even bother trying to reserve a hotel in Kyoto, the hotels are all booked at least 6 months in advance. Instead we opted to stay in Osaka and take a 30 minute train ride into the city. Osaka also offered yet another opportunity- a chance to stay in the famed capsule hotels.
Ever since I started learning about Japan I have heard about capsule hotels, mostly in reference to Japanese business men. Capsule hotels, seem to be one of the many pop icons that characterize Japan in the minds of foreigners. Along with J pop, anime, Harajuku (now very well known thanks to Gwen Stefani), and karaoke of course. Capsule hotels are exactly what they sound like, hundreds of sleep chambers in place of rooms. They are often linked with business men because these men have demanding careers that not only require them to work late hours, but then also pressure them to go out for drinks or snack bars with their coworkers. In the cities the trains stop running at about 1:30 AM, and they often miss their trains back home. Capsule hotels provide a cheap, clean place to stay and are centrally located around many of the bars these men frequent. Vending machines sell collared shirts and ties, so that men have access to a change of clothes, and the capsule hotels have all the necessities, tooth brushes, razors, washing machines, public baths, etc. As you can imagine, the affect this has on the Japanese family is profound, but that is an entirely different subject. I have wanted to stay in a capsule hotel ever since I first heard about them, the idea of my own personal pod was too good an opportunity to pass up. Because so many are catered towards business men however, most do not offer accomodations for women. Very recently, a few have opened seperate looked sections for women. They are cheaper than any hostel here in Japan, and proved to be an excellent option for Mariel and I who were traveling on a budget. They really do provide everything you need, a pod to sleep in, a locker to store your stuff, a public bath, sauna, and all the usual ammeneties. I would say with absolute certainty that I prefer them over most hostels I have stayed in.
Anyway, we woke up saturday morning at 8 (relatively early for a weekend day) hoping to get there before the masses arrived in Kyoto. I had been prepared for how many people would be there, but I still could never have imagined. It was absolute hysteria. At the bus station lines were filling up every which way packed with tourists trying to get to one temple or another. At the shrine, there was a line that stretched for over an hour just to get in to Tohukuji. It didn't let up any once we actually got in, it was an endless sea of people pushing and shoving for the best view. There is a famous Japanese saying about the Gion Matsuri (the Geisha Festival- the most popular festival in Kyoto) that seems appropriate, "What did you see at the Gion Matsuri?" "The back of peoples heads."
To be fair, I am tall, the extra 6 inches I have on most Japanese people payed off, and I found it fairly easy to push my way through. Despite the hysteria, it was worth it. I have only ever seen Kyoto in the summer, and the chance to see one of the most historic cities in Japan during my favorite season was well worth the wait.
Later that day we met up with a friend of Mariel's Dad. He is a professor at the prestigious Kyoto University, and was quite witty and interesting to talk to. He took us on a tour of the campus, and to a school festival that happened to be going on on campus. Later we saw a lot of very large microscopes, which is obviously not my thing, but then he did something very very unusual. He invited us into the bathroom to view the functions of the toilet. Keep in mind this was clearly a very intellegent professor at the graduate level, inviting us to look at his toilet. To be fair, Japanese toilets are very unusual, they are usually one of two extremes, dirty squat holes in the floor, or fancy high tech toilets with functions no westerner would find in a common toilet. His was the high tech variety. With a seat warmer, sound function, and of course bidet. Mariel and I have both had enough experience with Japan, that we did not find it so shocking as he seemed to expect. What was far more of a shock was being invited to see a toilet after seeing multi million dollar microscopes.
The trip back proved to be rather difficult. Even with his help, we could not find a single bus or taxi with any room for more passengers. The city was filled to the brim with tourists. We finally walked part of the way to the subway, and found a bus to squeeze on for the extra few kilometers. It was an experience, every bit as important as seeing the leaves and shrines themselves. The experience of a Japanese phenominon that I can not possibly imagine happening in the US. We may travel to relatively close destinations, the mountains for example, and cities like blowing rock may fill up.... but that is nothing compared to what I experienced in Kyoto. Even the ridiculous traffic and long waits that we are accustomed to during the summer at the outer banks just do not come close. We Americans take the sheer size and space of our country for granted.
1 comment:
i love that- imagining what activity would be on top of kili.
actually, what about on top of the mountain house at boone!
and im totally jealous of the capsule hotel. :)
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