Andrew and Kathleen

Updates have been fairly sparse here recently, and it's for a good reason. I leave Japan on Sunday, and Kathleen a few days later, on Thursday. So we've been busy packing, and taking photos of our surroundings, just so we can bore everyone to tears when we get home and force them to sit through 7-odd months of digital photos.

We hope to be back up and running around the middle of August, in Sydney.

The photo on the (temporary) front page is a ticket gate on the JR Yokohama line. Exiting a ticket gate means the end of your journey, apt symbolism for the end of our time here.

Masumi invited us to watch the fireworks at Nakanoshima. We were originally planning to watch fireworks at Yamashita Park, in Yokohama, but it gets hellishly crowded. Nakanoshima's, whilst smaller, would be a little less crowded.

Summer fireworks are a Japanese tradition. People dress in light kimonos, or yukatas, and drink beer and eat yakitori. It's relief from the sweltering daytime heat, although this year the days have been mild and pleasant.

We got there early, enough to stake a claim for our mat on a steep slope overlooking the river. Most people nearby had just put their mat down and, having claimed their land, wandered off to eat, or kill time until the 7.20pm start. We just lazed about, ate, drank and talked.

As dusk fell, the fireworks started, and went for at least an hour!

Every time I catch the train towards Yokohama, the massive sign bearing the words Dreamy Spot Space Ship catches my eye at Shin-Yokohama. Shin-Yokohama is well-known for hosting the soccer World Cup Final in 2002, but is not so well-known for being the love hotel capital of Yokohama.

Love hotels are essentially places where couples can rent rooms by the hour, or overnight, time enough for a liaison. Traditionally, young couples live with their parents until they get married, and even after they marry, many couples continue live with their parents, in order to save money. This means they have precious little 'quality' time together, hence the need for a discreet place to do what couples do.

On Sunday, we decided to check out a few of them.

Of Yukatas And Kimonos

Kathleen's been given some Japanese yukatas recently, and Friday's farewell party for Hakusan High School was the perfect opportunity to show them off. Today, she went to Tennocho, to make her own getta, or Japanese sandals, and ended up, with her friend Joyee, dressing up in kimono.

I've posted a lot of new photos of our suburb, including some extra-special panoramic photos! Run, don't walk, to the Kamoi page.

Just listening to the 175R album. Interesting:

And then, the entire Track 9 is in English. I didn't realise, even after listening to the CD non-stop for the past 3 weeks (listen twice on the way to school, twice on the way home, or four times a day!), until today when I opened the sleeve and checked out the lyrics for this post. It says something, either about 175R or me, I'm not sure which.

So this guy heads an organisation for men falsely accused of chikan, or molesting women, on Japan's crowded trains. He got busted the other day for taking photos up a woman's skirt using a mobile phone. Sort of ironic, but not as ironic as it would have been if he'd been arrested for chikan!

I don't even know where to start with this story. It's sordid, and how the hell do kids in primary school get involved with this sort of thing?!

Story 1

A couple of Sundays ago, Hashimoto-san, a lady I teach English to, invited Andrew and I over to her house in Yokosuka for lunch. She cooked up a real feast, including of course, my favourite, sushi. After being fed 2 courses plus dessert, Hashimoto-san says to me that she's got a little something for me. I have to give Hashimoto-san the award for the most frequent gift giver because even when she comes over for a paid lesson, she brings over with her a little something such as fruit, cakes and ice-cream.

That day, I was expecting something on those lines, but when she presented me with a yukata (summer kimono) complete with obi (belt) and getta (thongs), I was speechless. From what Ive seen in store windows, these little babies aren't cheap and can fetch up to 10,000 Yen (AUD$140) each. I was so shocked that I just kept saying arigatoo gozaimasu! (thank you) and sumimasen! (Im so sorry {for making you think you had to buy me one of these}) whilst bowing profusely.

Story 2

Last night, Andrew came home from teaching Masumi, one of his private students. He had a huge bag with him and I jokingly asked, "What's in there? It looks like another yukata!"

"That's because it is," Andrew says, opening the bag to reveal not only a beautiful male yukata, but also a lovely yellow yukata (including obi and getta), just for me.

Again, I was speechless. I had only met Masumi and her boyfriend, Takehiro once, so I was shocked to have received such an expensive gift.

I know Japan is the country of gift giving, but when you receive a gift from someone who pays you for simple English lessons, it really makes you feel awkward. Obviously, it's rude to refuse a gift, but when you don't feel like you deserve something so nice, what do you do?

In 10 days' time, we'll be back in Melbourne. Most of the experiences we'll have between now and then will be tinged with a bit of sadness, of the "This is the last time we'll..."-type. It's hard to fully appreciate and enjoy your last remaining days when you're seeing it through those kind of glasses.

There's a truckload of stuff I wished I'd done, stuff I wished I'd have done more, and stuff I'm glad I did, but wouldn't do again. Overall, this has been one of the more fascinating things I've ever done, and if it's been more up than down, then that's a success in my book.

I have a lot of respect for those who've been here for a long time (but not those who complain constantly about it - why be here if you hate it so much?). It takes strong mental fortitude to constantly live as an outsider.

So stand by for a list - of Japanese things we'll miss, Japanese things we won't and things we're looking forward to back home.

Fuji TV has the new series of Astroboy starting this Sunday morning, at 9.30am! This coincides with the official 'birth' of Astroboy earlier this year.

Did you know that Kanagawa prefecture has a theme song?

There are only two things I'm scared of in Japan. One is being in an earthquake. The other is being harassed by the police, who have a reputation for unfairly targeting foreigners. One of the powers that police have here is a 7 day detention period, with only limited checks on interrogation. The conviction rate, helped by a heavy police emphasis on extracting a confession, is 98%. So it's lucky the Kanagawa police have put my mind at rest.

"How was your day?" Smiles appearing on faces of a family. Pleasant dinner with family members. Lively conversations at the table. An everyday affair at home. Day after day, we patrol in the community hoping smiles of the residents never vanish."

The only thing they will not stand for, however, is the extreme left wing. So let that be a warning!

When your neighbors act strangely, for example, being secretive more than necessarily or suspiciously looking around when entering or exiting their houses, let us know.

With the tiny size of most Japanese apartments, it's not surprising that someone would come up with this - an insulated 'study room'. It's 1.28m x 1.82m x 1.96m - just a little claustrophobic for me. It can be yours for Y380,000.

We got back from a relaxing weekend away at Hakone. It's one of Japan's most scenic spots, with amazing views of Mt Fuji amidst the hills and lakes of the area. Unfortunately, it was cloudy most of the weekend, so we didn't get to see it. Disappointing, but we had already seen Fuji up close. We stayed at the Fuji-Hakone Guesthouse, which is not bad, considering it's right next to a bus stop, making it very accessible from Odawara.

Kathleen's teacher from Eda, Michiko, took us out to dinner at a restaurant in Jiyugaoka, in the southern suburbs of Tokyo. Absolutely fantastic food, too. Lots of tofu cooked in interesting ways. Tofu gets a pretty bad rap in Australia as the poor vegetarian's hamburger, but I think most people don't know just how nice it can be.

I had a farewell party for Tsurukawa JHS on Friday night at a yakiniku restaurant in Machida. All the English teachers, as well as Takahashi (science) and Sugita (maths), came. Officially, that's it, I guess. The end of teaching in Japan.

Last Saturday, we went to Harajuku to check out the once-a-month flea market. Afterwards, Kanagawa AJET had their farewell party at the beer garden above Yokohama Station.

The Machida Slide, as those in the know have dubbed the passage between the Machida JR and Odakyu stations, is a pretty busy thoroughfare, no matter the time of day or night. Towards the Odakyu end is a notorious bottleneck including stairs and the entrance to a department store - congestion central.

To further complicate things, this is the stomping ground for Machida's vast army of 'tissue pimps'. Their job is to hand out free packs of tissues to all the commuters passing by. Most people ignore them, but it's always handy to have a spare pack. And if you accidentally pass by one tissue pimp, and miss getting the freebie, you always can turn to his (or her) 20 pimp friends.

It does get pretty annoying though, to have so many people in the way. It's bad enough with the average Japanese just sort of mindlessly meandering through a thoroughfare that is not built for meandering. And everyone has an uncanny habit of getting in my way. Surely, a 6 foot gaijin walking really quickly is something you don't want to be in the way of if you're a rake-thin Japanese. Add in five or six strategically-placed obstacles and you have a recipe for societal breakdown and anarchy. Luckily, Odakyu station is on the ball, and they've just put up some signs that are pretty clear as to what they're banning.

So imagine my surprise yesterday to come across a tissue pimp, bold as brass, standing in front of a sign and doing something that the sign explicitly says not to do. I whipped out the camera - because if ever there's something that screams "Take me now!" it's a picture of a Japanese person ignoring the rules.

As I'm lining up the shot, to get both her and the sign, the tissue pimp sees me, makes the connection with what I'm trying to get on film, and casually glides away.

Warning: wet, gloomy days liable to result in depressed thoughts.

One of the things we first noticed here was the incredible number of power lines on the streets. Overhead, the view is ugly and depressing, one of my least favourite aspects of Japan.

At Tsurukawa, the view from the teachers' balcony boasts 270 degree views of forest - a rarity even in the outer urban Tokyo district of Machida. But nature is never fully left alone in Japan; nowhere can you look without seeing power lines rising gracefully above the trees. One massive tower even buzzes in wet weather with the water hitting the cable lines.

It's on days like this when I stare at the awful streetscape, dotted with power poles and hulking towers that I truly become homesick for Fawkner and St David's Park.

There are two major American military facilities in Kanagawa, the prefecture in which we live, despite the reclamation efforts of Yokohama. There's the naval base at Yokosuka, and the airforce base at Yamato.

Recently, the amount of military air traffic has gone through the roof (pun intended). I normally pause during class, since the jets seem to fly over at altitudes of a few hundred metres, in a deafening roar. The kids seem used to it - they don't even look up. It still bothers me though.

I can't imagine a single other country where people pay native English speakers to simply talk to them. I'm not talking about teaching English, or grammar, or anything like that, but simply sitting and making conversation. What did you do on the weekend? Tell me about your friends. What kinds of food do you like? And getting paid for this! It's good money, but sometimes it's especially hard in these arrangements when the 'teacher' thinks of the 'student' as less of a student and more of a friend. It's hard to take money from your friends just for spending time with them. At least with the pretext of studying grammar it's easier to separate 'student' from 'friend'. And of course, the easiest analogy to make is the one I just did.

While I'm on the topic of foreigners, and our place in Japan, it might be interesting to talk about SmaSTATION. It's a TV show which is on late on Saturday night, and features Katori Shingo, the most exuberant member of the J-pop group SMAP. SMAP are huge, and have been for years. SmaSTATION also has regular openings for foreigners to come and stand in the audience, and sometimes even to share the stage and interact with Shingo. The premise is that Shingo studies English, and is an example of how doing so enables him to communicate with foreigners.

Again, this is one of those only-in-Japan things, where your foreign-ness makes you novel and interesting. What you may truly think or feel is irrelevant - you're a foreigner, dammit, so you must be interesting!

A friend of a friend has been on the show, and forwarded me the contact details of the Japanese man who organises the foreign talent. Also in the email he sent was the requirements for audience members. You might find them interesting:

Procedure of Extra-san:
First of all, please submit your brief profile to OS Planning through e-mail containing below information;
* Name
* Gender
* D.O.B.
* Telephone # & Mobile #
* Street Address w/ Name of the Nearest Station
* Email Address
* Nationality
* Ethnicity
* Height
* Weight
* Hair Color
* Eye Color
* Visa Status
* Visa Expiration Date
* Living Term in Japan
(How long have you been living in Japan?)
* Photo (e-mailable / web-accessible one)
Also containing below info is appreciated (Not required.)
* Occupation
* Language Ability
* Working Experience
* Size: Waist, Chest, Hip, Shoes, etc.

Talk about details! They want to know everything! And just to be in the audience! They also wanted a photocopy of our passport and alien registration card. And we were almost on the verge of sending it off. Until we read this:

Requirement: punctual & cooperative Non-Asian foreigner with pleasant personality.

Unfortunately, it rules Kathleen out (she's Chinese, I don't mean she's uncooperative, or has an unpleasant personality).

I've added some new ads, as well as some new weird things we've come across.

One of the more interesting links I came across is a Time magazine profile of Bob Sapp. If you haven't heard of him, you should have a read.