Unfortunately for the interest of this blog, the past week has been pretty standard. Classes, juggling, friends, speaking Japanese - the works. The one thing that has been of particular interest lately is that this week and next week are finals, and so beyond having to begin studying for those, the end is drawing near! Don't get me wrong, I've definitely enjoyed several of my classes this semester....and there are several others that I have definitely not. Regardless, now that I know how the system works I some good ideas for what to do next semester, and I will be not be sad once this one is over.
With the lack of particularly interesting things happening, I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about something that did absolutely blow my mind this week. Baths.
As some of you may know, the way of taking a bath in Japan is completely different from in the US. Before you can set foot in a bathtub in Japan, one must first take a shower. Seems a bit redundant at first right? The reason is because you don't use any soap or shampoo in the tub. You don't put anything in the tub. Ever. Nothing but your nice, clean body. In Japan a bath isn't about cleaning, it's about enjoying the hot water, having a moment to relax and to release the stresses from the day. Also, the same water is used by everybody in the family. And why not? Since everybody is clean before they get in, the water stays clean, and so it makes sense not to waste the time or resources to drain and refill the bathtub for every member of the family (since in most Japanese families everybody takes a bath every night). Because of this system, Japanese bathtubs are usually in a room by themselves with a detachable shower head so you can shower not-in-the-tub.
Thankfully, this very different method of bath-tubbery was taught to us during the first week we got here (prior to meeting our host families), so I was adequately informed by the time that first bath came around. Having been here for around 4 months though, this couldn't have blown my mind this week right? I mean, yea it's a really efficient hot-water-enjoying-system, but I'm used to it by now. So what was so cool?
This week, I discovered what happens to that nice, still-clean water after it's gone cold the next day. I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth the other day, and imagine my surprise to see a hose running across the middle of the (very small) room. I asked, my host mom about it, and it turns out that you can hook up a hose to the bathtub, connect it to the laundry machine, and it will use the bathtub water to do your laundry! Is that not the most efficient thing you've ever heard of!?!? I thought it was pretty incredible.
This is just a small example of an otherwise bigger thing that I love about Japan. In the US you'll often here people mentioning the "small things" that, if everybody did them, could make a huge difference in terms of cutting down waste and conserving resources. In Japan, these are already part of the culture. Water and food are never wasted, there are 6 different kinds of recycling and absolutely everybody sorts things out properly, people never use paper towels in restrooms. And those are just the examples that come to mind right now.
There's a lot more that could be said about baths in Japan, it's quite the thing here. While its pretty different, they seem to have gotten the bathtub thing right though.
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Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Entering Adulthood
Despite popular opinion, I didn't actually become an adult until today.
In Japan, the official age at which one becomes an adult is 20, and today was Coming of Age Day (成人の日). While obviously not everybody turns 20 on the second Monday in January, that's the day that the hold the celebration. Every city holds its own, government-sponsored festivities, and so I was invited to the seijinshiki (成人式) for Shinjuku Ward (新宿区).
Typically, a seijinshiki involves all of the 20-year-olds gathering in one place, listening to a very long speech, and then being rewarded for their step into adulthood (and resolve for listening to the whole speech) with some sort of very nice gift. However, that ain't exactly Shinjuku style. Shinjuku is one of the biggest commercial areas in Tokyo, it houses the busiest train station in the world, and has the densest population of foreigners in Tokyo. So how does one come of age in Shinjuku fashion?
One has a party.
This afternoon all of the "seijin" (成人) of Shinjuku gathered at the Keio Plaza Hotel to have what was essentially an enormous mingle-party. Registration opened an hour before the actually festivities began, and so of course I arrived their five minutes early for registration. However, the hotel was already absolutely bolstering with activity. As I later discovered, the seijinshiki is quite frequently a huge reunion between individuals and their high school classmates, and so by the time I got there hordes of laughing friend groups had already formed. The hotel was completely overrun with seijin, and the first thing you notice is the sea of girls dressed in kimonos.
Now I'm not quite sure what you think of when you think of Japan, but kimonos are rare to come by these days, particularly in Tokyo. They're incredibly expensive, and typically only worn on special occasions, and a seijinshiki is one of them. Also, the kimono that is worn for seijinshiki usually has incredibly long sleeves (like, almost down to the floor), and apparently once you're married you can't wear a kimono like that. Just another example of how absolutely everything done in Japan has some kind of meaning behind it.
Once the actual event started all of us made our way into the enormous ballroom. The festivities began almost exactly on time (I'm convinced that this only happens in Japan), and as is typical of pretty much any ceremony it started with a speech or two. I was actually able to understand most of the speeches. The covered your standard topics for such an event: follow your dream, work hard, take responsibility, thank those who have helped you grow. There were also several beautiful spreads of food, tables setup around the area, and probably over 1000 seijin.
The food was absolutely delicious, and we had a group of exchange students that had slowly grown throughout the event. At one point I was actually approached by a girl from Denmark who was there alone and asked to join us. And come on, who's gonna deny that? So she joined our motley crew and we all had a great time.
Today also happened to be the first snow of the year in Tokyo. And we aren't talking a flake here or there. It was absolutely pouring snow for the duration of the day, which was great except for the fact that there was a commute to be had to the seijinshiki and back. But hey, it felt homey, and when I got back my host family and I went out and played in the snow, so I've got no complaints.
While I don't necessarily feel any more grown-up, it was great to go see how coming of age is celebrated in Japan, and to get a familiar taste of "real" winter....although just a taste will suffice.
In Japan, the official age at which one becomes an adult is 20, and today was Coming of Age Day (成人の日). While obviously not everybody turns 20 on the second Monday in January, that's the day that the hold the celebration. Every city holds its own, government-sponsored festivities, and so I was invited to the seijinshiki (成人式) for Shinjuku Ward (新宿区).
Typically, a seijinshiki involves all of the 20-year-olds gathering in one place, listening to a very long speech, and then being rewarded for their step into adulthood (and resolve for listening to the whole speech) with some sort of very nice gift. However, that ain't exactly Shinjuku style. Shinjuku is one of the biggest commercial areas in Tokyo, it houses the busiest train station in the world, and has the densest population of foreigners in Tokyo. So how does one come of age in Shinjuku fashion?
One has a party.
This afternoon all of the "seijin" (成人) of Shinjuku gathered at the Keio Plaza Hotel to have what was essentially an enormous mingle-party. Registration opened an hour before the actually festivities began, and so of course I arrived their five minutes early for registration. However, the hotel was already absolutely bolstering with activity. As I later discovered, the seijinshiki is quite frequently a huge reunion between individuals and their high school classmates, and so by the time I got there hordes of laughing friend groups had already formed. The hotel was completely overrun with seijin, and the first thing you notice is the sea of girls dressed in kimonos.
Now I'm not quite sure what you think of when you think of Japan, but kimonos are rare to come by these days, particularly in Tokyo. They're incredibly expensive, and typically only worn on special occasions, and a seijinshiki is one of them. Also, the kimono that is worn for seijinshiki usually has incredibly long sleeves (like, almost down to the floor), and apparently once you're married you can't wear a kimono like that. Just another example of how absolutely everything done in Japan has some kind of meaning behind it.
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| Note that all of the females are wearing kimonos |
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| The sea of seijin |
Today also happened to be the first snow of the year in Tokyo. And we aren't talking a flake here or there. It was absolutely pouring snow for the duration of the day, which was great except for the fact that there was a commute to be had to the seijinshiki and back. But hey, it felt homey, and when I got back my host family and I went out and played in the snow, so I've got no complaints.
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| The (as of today) Winter Wonderland known as the street corner by my apartment. |
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Train Tracks in the Tokyo Tumult
This past week hasn't been particularly exciting. I've spent some time with friends, and classes have started again. I always enjoy going back to school, mainly because it means seeing a lot of people on a daily basis, but I usually enjoy classes as well. Other than that though, there has been nothing of note really. So today due to the lack of interesting adventures, let's take a look at trains!
Train System Layout
I usually joke that the map for the train system in Tokyo was drawn by a 5-year-old. It would be funny...except for the fact that I absolutely believe it. If you need proof, just take a peak at the map. Keep in mind, this is the "simplified" map, it's actually a little bit messier.
Here's the kicker: that map is only the trains that are operated by the government-run Tokyo Metro system. There are also the trains run by Japan Railways (which are equally as numerous), and a handful of other privately owned lines that snake all throughout the city.
After living in Chicago this summer, I thought I had trains down. However, going from a system with 7 or 8 different colored trains to one that has more colors than I even know how to say in Japanese was quite the leap. Turns out it can be hard to determine which of 3 different shades of blue represents the train that you actually want to get on....
But you know what's even crazier about the psychedelic ball of yarn that Tokyo calls a train system?
It works. Tremendously well. It's the single most effective, well-oiled, convenient transportation system I have ever seen. All of the trains usually run every 3-10 minutes depending on the line and station, and are almost never late. Ever. It's absolutely incredible, and once you figure out the diagrams you can know exactly how long it will take to get to your stop, and which car of the train to board in order to be closest to your transfer just by glancing at a sign as you walk by.
Train Etiquette
In some ways train-goers in Japan are much more polite than in the US, and in some ways getting on a train can be the most stressful part of your day.
First for the polite part. On trains in Japan, absolutely nobody ever talks on their cellphone. It doesn't matter of the emperor himself calls you, you do not answer your phone on a train. Nor do you eat on the train, or do anything that could generally be perceived as disturbing. Because of that, riding the train can be a really pleasant experience, and everybody is usually very cordial in the way they respect the other passengers.
That is, except during rush hour.
Despite popular belief that you have a "personal bubble", no such thing exists on a train in Tokyo. The only restriction to how many people can fit on a train is how hard the station attention can shove people in. Literally, the attendants will start literally packing people in when necessary. Fortunately I never cared much about personal space, which is good because on a rush hour train, you ain't gettin' it; you're lucky if you have wiggle room for your nose.
Tickets
The only thing more efficient than the trains themselves in Tokyo is the ticketing system. Instead of buying an actual train ticket, almost everybody has an RFID card that you swipe when you enter and leave a train platform. Fares are based on the distance that you traveled, and are automatically deducted from your card. All you have to do is charge it up, and you can literally use that card to get to the other side of Japan.
Despite the moments of insanity, overall the train system in Tokyo is astounding. It's wicked efficient, connects all major areas of the world's biggest city, and has a color spectrum that could give the rainbow a run for its money.
Train System Layout
I usually joke that the map for the train system in Tokyo was drawn by a 5-year-old. It would be funny...except for the fact that I absolutely believe it. If you need proof, just take a peak at the map. Keep in mind, this is the "simplified" map, it's actually a little bit messier.
 |
| The Tokyo Metro train network map. |
After living in Chicago this summer, I thought I had trains down. However, going from a system with 7 or 8 different colored trains to one that has more colors than I even know how to say in Japanese was quite the leap. Turns out it can be hard to determine which of 3 different shades of blue represents the train that you actually want to get on....
But you know what's even crazier about the psychedelic ball of yarn that Tokyo calls a train system?
It works. Tremendously well. It's the single most effective, well-oiled, convenient transportation system I have ever seen. All of the trains usually run every 3-10 minutes depending on the line and station, and are almost never late. Ever. It's absolutely incredible, and once you figure out the diagrams you can know exactly how long it will take to get to your stop, and which car of the train to board in order to be closest to your transfer just by glancing at a sign as you walk by.
Train Etiquette
In some ways train-goers in Japan are much more polite than in the US, and in some ways getting on a train can be the most stressful part of your day.
First for the polite part. On trains in Japan, absolutely nobody ever talks on their cellphone. It doesn't matter of the emperor himself calls you, you do not answer your phone on a train. Nor do you eat on the train, or do anything that could generally be perceived as disturbing. Because of that, riding the train can be a really pleasant experience, and everybody is usually very cordial in the way they respect the other passengers.
That is, except during rush hour.
Despite popular belief that you have a "personal bubble", no such thing exists on a train in Tokyo. The only restriction to how many people can fit on a train is how hard the station attention can shove people in. Literally, the attendants will start literally packing people in when necessary. Fortunately I never cared much about personal space, which is good because on a rush hour train, you ain't gettin' it; you're lucky if you have wiggle room for your nose.
Tickets
The only thing more efficient than the trains themselves in Tokyo is the ticketing system. Instead of buying an actual train ticket, almost everybody has an RFID card that you swipe when you enter and leave a train platform. Fares are based on the distance that you traveled, and are automatically deducted from your card. All you have to do is charge it up, and you can literally use that card to get to the other side of Japan.
Despite the moments of insanity, overall the train system in Tokyo is astounding. It's wicked efficient, connects all major areas of the world's biggest city, and has a color spectrum that could give the rainbow a run for its money.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
What Happens in Akihabara...
Recently, I feel like my posts have been about things that have some sort of cultural weight to them. So today, I'm just going to throw in a funny story from last night. Why not?
So last night, the other K College student who is in Tokyo, our friend visiting from Kyoto, and I went out for to see The Hobbit last night. Beforehand though, they wanted to go to a maid cafe (a cafe where you are served by cute women dressed in maid outfits, it's a fairly popular thing in Japan, sadly); not exactly my cup of tea, but they seemed excited for it, and I'm sure it's a Japanese experience to be had. We headed off to Akihabara (秋葉原), basically the managa/anime/video-games geek enclave of Tokyo, and therefore where most such cafes are to be found. On the way we realized one problem that would to dominate the hunt for dinner that evening though: Because of the new year holiday (which is still going on), all of the post offices are closed until the 4th. Not a big deal right? Well, the only ATMs that consistently accept debit cards from foreign banks are inside post offices...and not having anticipated this, none of us was carrying much money.
However, 7/11 ATMs will often take American cards, so after spending about 15 minutes hunting for a 7/11, we found one and thought we were in the clear. Low and behold, that for some reason this 7/11 wasn't feeling particularly patriotic, and left us with the same small sum of cash that we had before.
But that's not so bad right? We'd just get a cheaper dinner. Well.....thing is we didn't know if the movie theater would take credit cards (because a lot of places don't), So for the safety of the movie we had to eat somewhere that would take credit cards. Turns out that maid cafes don't accept credit cards (no surprise there), so we just decided "You know what, let's just go to McDonalds": it's cheap, and it's almost got to accept credit cards. Almost. Apparently it doesn't.
There was however, one place that I knew, without fail, was open every hour, of every day and did accept credit cards: the convenience store (called a conbini [コンビニ] for short in Japan). So what had originally been plans for a dinner filled with cute women resulted in us three guys standing on the street eating rice balls.
Sometimes, life just happens.
So last night, the other K College student who is in Tokyo, our friend visiting from Kyoto, and I went out for to see The Hobbit last night. Beforehand though, they wanted to go to a maid cafe (a cafe where you are served by cute women dressed in maid outfits, it's a fairly popular thing in Japan, sadly); not exactly my cup of tea, but they seemed excited for it, and I'm sure it's a Japanese experience to be had. We headed off to Akihabara (秋葉原), basically the managa/anime/video-games geek enclave of Tokyo, and therefore where most such cafes are to be found. On the way we realized one problem that would to dominate the hunt for dinner that evening though: Because of the new year holiday (which is still going on), all of the post offices are closed until the 4th. Not a big deal right? Well, the only ATMs that consistently accept debit cards from foreign banks are inside post offices...and not having anticipated this, none of us was carrying much money.
However, 7/11 ATMs will often take American cards, so after spending about 15 minutes hunting for a 7/11, we found one and thought we were in the clear. Low and behold, that for some reason this 7/11 wasn't feeling particularly patriotic, and left us with the same small sum of cash that we had before.
But that's not so bad right? We'd just get a cheaper dinner. Well.....thing is we didn't know if the movie theater would take credit cards (because a lot of places don't), So for the safety of the movie we had to eat somewhere that would take credit cards. Turns out that maid cafes don't accept credit cards (no surprise there), so we just decided "You know what, let's just go to McDonalds": it's cheap, and it's almost got to accept credit cards. Almost. Apparently it doesn't.
There was however, one place that I knew, without fail, was open every hour, of every day and did accept credit cards: the convenience store (called a conbini [コンビニ] for short in Japan). So what had originally been plans for a dinner filled with cute women resulted in us three guys standing on the street eating rice balls.
Sometimes, life just happens.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Winter Travels
Having been used to the 7-week long winter break at K, the fact that our winter break here is only 2 weeks is actually rather refreshing. This past week (from Christmas Eve until now) was the first half of break, and I spent it with my host father and brother in the northern part of Honshu.
Geography of Japan
To those of you who have ever asked me anything about geography, you know I'm not the best person to be giving a geography lesson, but we'll give it a shot.
While Japan is an archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands, the main area of Japan consists of four: Honshu (本州), Hokkaido (北海道), Shikoku (四国) and Kyushu (九州). Where I have been, and will be for the vast majority (if not the entirety) of my stay in Japan is Honshu, which is the big, central island of Japan (it's the shape you think Japan is). Most of the places in Japan that you've heard of are on Honshu: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc.
Don't get me wrong, there are notable places on the other islands as well, but Honshu is where the significant majority of cities and people can be found.
Means of Transport
Christmas Day the three of us packed up and headed up to Sendai, which is some ways north of Tokyo. My host dad actually works up in Sendai during the week, so we were just heading for his apartment. Our departure also meant the first time that I would get to ride a shinkansen (新幹線), or "bullet train". I've got to be honest, it's actually pretty awesome.
One of the many great things about trains in Japan is you can almost always buy your ticket the day of travelling, whether it's just going throughout the city of going across the country. That morning we just rolled our bags to the station, picked up some tickets and were on our way. Also, you just take your bags with you on the train, regardless of however many you have or how heavy they are. Let's see here, with a shinkansen you get:
- Unlimited luggage that will never get lost
- Same day ticket purchasing
- Almost no delays, absolutely no cancellations
I could take trains and avoid airlines for the rest of my life I'd be set. Granted, I think the train is only a little less expensive than flying, but it's infinitely more convenient in my opinion. It was also the single smoothest and most comfortable train I have ever seen. Granted, I got used to the noise of Chicago trains this summer, so my standards are pretty low, but the entire ride you could barely hear any noise from the train, and it was incredibly fast.
My host dad had to go straight to work (they only get the day of Christmas Eve off here apparently), so my host brother and I went to the apartment and just putzed around all day. If it were left completely up to him, I'm pretty sure we would have spent the entire weekend in that apartment watching TV and playing video games (although I'm sure I had a similar opinion when I was 12). However, much to my enjoyment we did actually go places!
Travel
The first trip we took was to the area of what once was a city, but had been destroyed by the tsunami on March 11, 2011. I think the best description of the experience and the place is sad. It wasn't life-altering, it wasn't emotionally unhinging, it wasn't terrifying. It was sad. These days, it is basically an open field, lines by a small handful of dirt paths, dotted with cement rectangles that once formed the foundation for buildings, and absolutely uninhabited. The only other people we saw the entire day were construction works who would occasionally drive by. No buildings is one thing, but no people is a completely different kind of empty.
The only other place that we traveled to during out time up north was a city called Matsushima (松島). It isn't particularly large or anything, but it is a coastal town, known in particular for having over 260 islands in the nearby waters. That day it was just my host brother and I, and we really just played it by ear. We ended up walking through a park that went be the sea shore, going to a history museum about a significant historical figure from the Sendai area, and then riding a boat that went by some of the islands. Although English signs were provided in most cases, I thought I'd be ambitious and try reading all of the Japanese signs in the history museum. That lasted until I hit the second sentence on the sign I was reading, and realized I didn't know a single character in it. My reading has definitely gotten a lot better....but museum terminology is an entirely different story.
Overall, the break was a good combination of travel and rest. I had way more downtime than I am used to (and am definitely glad to be back in the big city), but it was time to catch up on some well-needed sleep, a good chance to get to know my host brother and father a bit better, and an interesting excursion to a different area of Japan.
To those of you who have ever asked me anything about geography, you know I'm not the best person to be giving a geography lesson, but we'll give it a shot.
While Japan is an archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands, the main area of Japan consists of four: Honshu (本州), Hokkaido (北海道), Shikoku (四国) and Kyushu (九州). Where I have been, and will be for the vast majority (if not the entirety) of my stay in Japan is Honshu, which is the big, central island of Japan (it's the shape you think Japan is). Most of the places in Japan that you've heard of are on Honshu: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc.
Don't get me wrong, there are notable places on the other islands as well, but Honshu is where the significant majority of cities and people can be found.
 |
| Map of Japan (Lonely Planet, Accessed Dec 31, 2012, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/japan/) |
Means of Transport
Christmas Day the three of us packed up and headed up to Sendai, which is some ways north of Tokyo. My host dad actually works up in Sendai during the week, so we were just heading for his apartment. Our departure also meant the first time that I would get to ride a shinkansen (新幹線), or "bullet train". I've got to be honest, it's actually pretty awesome.
One of the many great things about trains in Japan is you can almost always buy your ticket the day of travelling, whether it's just going throughout the city of going across the country. That morning we just rolled our bags to the station, picked up some tickets and were on our way. Also, you just take your bags with you on the train, regardless of however many you have or how heavy they are. Let's see here, with a shinkansen you get:
- Unlimited luggage that will never get lost
- Same day ticket purchasing
- Almost no delays, absolutely no cancellations
I could take trains and avoid airlines for the rest of my life I'd be set. Granted, I think the train is only a little less expensive than flying, but it's infinitely more convenient in my opinion. It was also the single smoothest and most comfortable train I have ever seen. Granted, I got used to the noise of Chicago trains this summer, so my standards are pretty low, but the entire ride you could barely hear any noise from the train, and it was incredibly fast.
My host dad had to go straight to work (they only get the day of Christmas Eve off here apparently), so my host brother and I went to the apartment and just putzed around all day. If it were left completely up to him, I'm pretty sure we would have spent the entire weekend in that apartment watching TV and playing video games (although I'm sure I had a similar opinion when I was 12). However, much to my enjoyment we did actually go places!
Travel
The first trip we took was to the area of what once was a city, but had been destroyed by the tsunami on March 11, 2011. I think the best description of the experience and the place is sad. It wasn't life-altering, it wasn't emotionally unhinging, it wasn't terrifying. It was sad. These days, it is basically an open field, lines by a small handful of dirt paths, dotted with cement rectangles that once formed the foundation for buildings, and absolutely uninhabited. The only other people we saw the entire day were construction works who would occasionally drive by. No buildings is one thing, but no people is a completely different kind of empty.
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| One of the few structures still standing in the tsunami-stricken area. |
The only other place that we traveled to during out time up north was a city called Matsushima (松島). It isn't particularly large or anything, but it is a coastal town, known in particular for having over 260 islands in the nearby waters. That day it was just my host brother and I, and we really just played it by ear. We ended up walking through a park that went be the sea shore, going to a history museum about a significant historical figure from the Sendai area, and then riding a boat that went by some of the islands. Although English signs were provided in most cases, I thought I'd be ambitious and try reading all of the Japanese signs in the history museum. That lasted until I hit the second sentence on the sign I was reading, and realized I didn't know a single character in it. My reading has definitely gotten a lot better....but museum terminology is an entirely different story.
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| A panoramic of the ocean from the park in Matsushima |
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| The sign welcoming us into town. |
Overall, the break was a good combination of travel and rest. I had way more downtime than I am used to (and am definitely glad to be back in the big city), but it was time to catch up on some well-needed sleep, a good chance to get to know my host brother and father a bit better, and an interesting excursion to a different area of Japan.
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