Japan: Week 7

7 - Family in Tokyo

One of the greatest privileges is introducing people you love to a thing which you love, and have them love it, too. A portion of my family are currently in Japan, and it's one of the most exciting things in the world. This is my third visit to the country, and not so much of it takes me by surprise any more. It's still wonderful, and charming, and exciting, but all those feelings are different when it's not for the first time. Comfort and familiarity are valuable, but seeing such an incomparable place through another's eyes, as they take it in for the first time, that's a feeling which means a lot.

It's Golden Week in Japan, the fortnight containing a string of bank holidays, and one of the busiest times of the year for domestic travel. This was the time we chose for my mother and little sister to come to Japan and pay me a visit, as well as doing a bit of sight-seeing. It was busy, but I think it only added to the atmosphere, and as the weather was perfection incarnate, we just took it slow and rolled with the crowds.

So, you'll want to know what we did! Absolutely nothing of interest happened at the beginning of the week, I  just had to make sure I was on top of all my work so I could enjoy the weekend. On Friday morning I left I-House to make the 4 hour journey to a certain Tokyo hostel.

Empty, sunny bus. Set a good precedent for the weekend.

Given that it's about 250 miles, and I was travelling by public transport, that's pretty good. Most of the credit goes to our dear friend the Shinkansen.

So as soon as I'd achieved Tokyo, and hugged and kissed and marvelled at the tiny size of mum and Claire's room, we had a picnic lunch in the roof garden of the hostel (Great thing about Tokyo - they make use of every available space) and set out to explore.

On the right there is Kaminarimon, gracing the front of many a 'Guide to Tokyo'

First was Kaminarimon, 'Lightning Gate', and the temple it leads to, Senso-Ji. This was one of the things I was talking about. Temples, and the abundance of red, and Japanese architecture in general, are not surprising to me any more. It gave me a glow to see others light up in reaction to them so completely.

Claire, and a pagoda

Another new feeling was meeting up with an old friend out of context. A very dear girl in my life happens to be studying in Tokyo at the moment, and we met up on the Saturday.

The family, and Yuna

We went on a cruise down the River Sumida, enjoying the glorious sunshine (especially the two who had come from England...) and catching up on news. After we'd been deposited in a lovely park, we wandered to Tokyo Station for our free walking tour leading us to the Imperial Palace Gardens. These were a sight worth seeing, surrounded as the serene landscape was by the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo.

On Saturday evening we went out for a pancake/omelette dish called Okonomiyaki because it is delicious, and because you get to cook it on your table. Japanese cuisine > All other cuisine.

Today we packed up and visited the Sky Tree as our last activity in Tokyo, although the Shinkansen does count as an activity in itself in reality.

Tokyo Skytree. Is tall.

We headed back to Nagoya on the fastest mode of transport readily available, and because this was turning out to be just the perfect weekend, also ate Obento (traditional Japanese 'lunch boxes') and saw Mount Fuji out the window, against a postcard-blue backdrop of sky.

Shinkansen speeding into the station.

Lunch!

Fuji-San

Now my mother and sister are tucked up in a hotel in Nagoya, to have fun and get their breath back while I study hard again this week, and we head off for more Japanese sights next weekend. Until then, I'm going to extremely enjoy wearing all my summer clothes which the beauties brought for me from Home.

Yours,

Abby

                                                  

Japan: Week 6

6 - School

I don't have that many lessons, just five 1.5 hour classes spread over Monday - Wednesday, and then an observation and a teaching practice every week. It feels a lot like 6th form again with the same four students in each class, and most of them discussion-based. However, I feel a trend might have been set when we were given homework from each lesson, and although you do get a whole week to complete it, there is the necessary reading to go on top of it... But it'll be okay. I knew it would be hard work here.

I also had my two weekly sessions in the Language Lounge. With some Japanese students it is literally like an English lesson, which is fabulous practice for me, and others are so competent that I was discussing with them why British girls think Japanese girls are so beautiful and vice versa, which was eye-opening and just generally fantastic. I also get to have bi-weekly conversations with the girls on the frisbee team, and it's obvious that in amongst the students is where I'll be doing the majority of learning about this country. We talk about what we eat, what we do in our spare time, and I get to see how they interact with me and each other.

Everyone, go to all the countries.

A very cool place I did go to was a second-hand shop, where the downstairs was just full of books and mostly comics, and even had a little foreign books section!

One of those things you never know you need until, all of a sudden, you find out about them. Harry Potter set, in Japanese... The upstairs was possibly even cooler, row upon row of clothes, as well as shoes, bags, games, and crockery! This wasn't a jumble sale either, everything was in brand new condition, in original sets and packaging. Japan does many things so well.

My week was finished off in the perfect way by a trip to a very nearby onsen. My skin is glowing from the hot baths, the showers and the saunas, and my girly senses are tingling from the gossip shared. Many trips will be taken there for relaxation purposes, I think.

So I'm afraid I don't have any ridiculous sight-seeing tales to tell from this week, but next week will be different. One of the few times Japanese employees can have some well-deserved time off is Golden Week, two long weekends in a row at the end of April/beginning of May when people go on domestic holidays, often to onsen! My week will be no different, getting a bit of travelling done myself, and expect to see mentions of some special guests who are coming to visit!

Yours,
Abby

Japan: Week 5

5 - It all begins

This week I had a small insight into what term-time's going to be like. On Tuesday, the four of us TEFL students met up with the teachers we'll be working with for lunch, at an adorable restaurant close to the university. It's a bright blue shuttered house, back from the road a little with an elaborate front garden with a stone path, complete with archway. The couple live upstairs, and the restaurant is downstairs. Lunch was delicious (even the sea-snail) and I was surprised how easy it was to relax into conversation. Afterwards we went back to uni to receive the timetables of lessons we'll be observing, and lessons we'll be teaching (!!). Thankfully we have just a couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for teaching, but our first observation was on Thursday.

'Observation' is a term used lightly. Although there was a teacher taking charge of the class, we were put into four groups with one British student as a team leader, and were very interactive with the students. I experienced trying to explain and define really quite difficult English terms, and having everyone look to you when they didn't understand something. Daunting, but will no doubt be practice I'll be grateful of once I have to start taking classes of my own.

I also signed up to be a tutor for Language Lounge sessions; rooms where students can go to learn a language from native speakers, and no other language is allowed to be spoken in the room. I feel any practice I can have at this teaching thing will only do good.

Something to make me very happy indeed was my first frisbee training session in Japan. Nagoya University is split into several colleges; I'm currently studying with Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. Well, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences is located very close by, and students often join each other's cross-curricular activities.

So when I spotted NUAS students recruiting for frisbee, I positively squealed with excitement and promised to train with them, 5.30 - 8 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The rules are the same and I've got the head-start on height, so it was pure relief to get back outside, running after a plastic disk, doing something I really know how to do, and not have to worry about the correct grammar structures to use whilst doing it.

This weekend I've taken a bit of a break and relaxed, including a trip to Aichi Arts Centre which I've been promising to myself from pretty early on. This Saturday there was a concert given by 'Rainbow Chorus' and as far as we could tell, would be of traditional Japanese songs and Nursery Rhymes. There was definitely one I picked out quite a lot from, on the subject of a bicycle.

Music never needs to be fully understood though. The way a choir moves just a little as they breathe, the way voices fill a concert hall, and the feeling a conductor puts into their direction is not restricted by a language barrier. It was relaxing and enjoyable. In addition to all that, when a concert invites you to sing along with the final piece, thoughtfully providing music and lyrics on the back of your programme, it's always going to get my vote.

Lessons start in earnest tomorrow, wish me luck!

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 4

4 - Takayama

Sakura never lasts long in Japan. You can't blame it really, it's got to make its way up the length of the country in one short season, after all. No wonder the delicate flowers will be swept away by one heavy rainfall. Therefore, this week I went to a few places where the blossoms would be in abundance to make the most of their gorgeous presence.

A place called Irigaike Park is located just a ten minute walk away from my accommodation. It was ridiculously windy, but this only drew more attention to the beautiful scenery, as the boughs waved and tries to draw attention, as if it were needed.

There were a lot of people outside enjoying the sunshine if not the wind speed, and I confess my heart still melts at the sight of tiny Japanese tots, especially when they're old enough to stare with huge, round eyes at my foreign appearance, and young enough to ignore their parents' attempts to teach them etiquette.

Another group caught my eye also. At first I only noticed the young couple sitting on the park bench enjoying ice cream, the characteristics of Down's Syndrome standing out to someone as emotionally invested as myself, and then I saw the young man in the wheelchair, and a carer standing with another small group of young adults a little further off. It could've been any mencap outing in England. Tears came to my eyes momentarily; here in a country who's gender equality laws leave a little something to be desired, and which created the proverb "The nail which sticks out get hits down", I worried what the stance on disability might be. I was reassured.

The next job was to seek out some formal clothes. We were invited on a Freshers Camp with the new Global Business students to a place called Tayakama, I think as a point of interest and a chance for them to practice English, and also because on a Teaching English course we won't have all that many trip opportunities. We were told we'd be staying in a very posh hotel, and had to dress for the dinner which would be provided! This panicked us to a certain extent, but shopping in Nagoya is never dull, and we picked up suitable clothing.

The camp itself was interesting. While I understood barely a word of the seminars, the teachers had photo powerpoints and they seemed to be telling the students about where in the world this degree could take them. Seminars were followed by a presentation on British table manners, amusing but accurate. Also, necessary to students who may grow up to be entertained by Western business partners. Practice was also essential, of course. This meant that the day finished with a delicious Western-style supper. Welcome, after a lot of Japanese food these past weeks.

As you know, I visited the onsen as a beautifully relaxing end to the day. I'll point out that it wasn't even strange to be bathing with girls I'd met only hours before, and who I will no doubt see around the university. New experiences.

The next day contained a trip to a place in Gifu prefecture called Shirakawa-Go, a world heritage site with buildings almost unique to the area, as many were destroyed in World War II.  It also had mountains, paddy fields, and snakes. I was sincerely grateful to be taken to a place as wonderful as this. I love to see so much scenery which just doesn't exist in England.

To finish off the week, today I went to a festival event at Iwasaki Castle, also close to where I live. They had a whole timetable of entertainment which I believe was from the local area, including a wind band and a cheerleading troupe. They had stalls of food and games and of course, the Castle in all its splendour itself.

The sakura is mostly gone from this area now, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it a lot in both Nagoya and Kyoto. Now that's quite a lot of travelling, if only lessons would start...

Yours,

Abby 

Japan: Onsen

I want these built in England. I want a law passed that everyone goes to one every month. I have solved the problem of quite a number of issues in the UK...

Onsen are traditional Japanese baths heated by naturally occurring hot springs due to the volcanic activity of the country. There are thousands of onsen all over Japan. They can be outside or inside, and are usually located as part of a ryokan, traditional Japanese hotel, as the Japanese like to travel away from their busy lives and relax in an onsen somewhere new.

These are similar to the reasons guide books list onsen as places visitors to Japan should go - the relaxing atmosphere, the experience of Japanese culture, and other similar reasons. At first, this was why I wanted to try an onsen. On a trip funded by the university, it would be a waste not to make use of all amenities, and it's a long-standing feature of Japanese culture, of which I feel compelled to try as many as possible.

However, these reasons were not sufficient to keep me from being nervous. With shaking fingers a friend and I slipped out of our clothes and into our yukata, cotton kimono, in separate rooms. We told each other that we had to go "Now! Or we'll never do it!" and made our way downstairs to the onsen. First you pass into the ladies' section; the majority of onsen are single-sex in Japan. There's a changing room, although there's not much actual 'changing' to do, only shrugging out of your yukata and placing it in a basket, back to everyone, eyes on the floor, and questions of what you're putting yourself through in your head.

If the floor wasn't soaking wet we'd have scurried through. As it was, we made our way slowly into the bath house, eyes fixed on our next destination: one of the rows of low stools with shower heads beside them. Before you can step into the bath itself, the bather has to thoroughly wash themselves. Shampoo, conditioner and several types of body wash are provided, as are *gulp* mirrors at each station. There are several sets of these rows of stools, resembling a hairdresser's, so you can see everyone.

Oh. I can see... everyone.

Feeling a little more secure sitting on a stool and not walking through the bath-house, I relaxed. It wasn't scary, after all. It wasn't weird. It was just. Women.

I'm not going to pretend the reason it wasn't scary was because I wasn't looking, or because everyone just ignores each other, because Hell, I was looking. I suddenly realised the portrayal of bodies is all wrong. There were children, who we all looked like once, older women, who we'll all look like in the future, mothers, who we might resemble in just a few short years. And there were young women, and seeing us all together like that was the least strange of all.

Sometimes it seems all young women think about is the shape of their bodies. The only two things we have to compare are our reflections, and actresses, dancers, models, and we're not even seeing them naked. Well, I saw about fifty Japanese girls my age last night, and the tales of how they're all super-skinny is a myth. Breasts, hips, thighs, tummies, bums, shoulders, legs, arms. Everyone had a different combination of sizes of these, and I'm not trying to make anyone feel good by saying they were all beautiful. A true fact: They all looked like women. Yes, dear reader, even the ones with flat chests. Yes, dear reader, even the ones with wobbly tummies. Do not flatter yourself, dear reader, you are no different, and you do not escape my words.

Your body. Is. Beautiful.

No clothes, no make-up, no anything. I've speculated before about what would happen if we were all at our most vulnerable all the time, and I'm surprised to be able to provide an answer. We wouldn't be vulnerable. At least not because of the way we looked. We would have to worry about other things. Personalities, for instance. Wouldn't that be healthier? These, we can change.

My insecurities vanished into the dark sky with the rising steam. The hot, calming water does nothing to hide you, and besides, you soon grow too hot and lull on a rock to cool down for a minute. For once, the stares of the Japanese at a Gaijin didn't bother me. I was casting many a side-long glance and being reassured about my body, I was only too happy for my body to reassure also. The friend and I realised how womanly females are from the back especially. Men and women just do not look alike. I asked her to drop back a couple of steps as we moved from one bath to the other, to see if I looked as good as that. Her "Oh God, yes!", immediate and said with such sincerity only served to deepen my euphoria.

So, the first issue I have solved is body confidence. The second I feel I have an answer to is how to halt the over-sexualisation of the female form. In my opinion, the leaders of advertising companies are most to blame.  The way an advert about body wash will show a glowing, smiling woman; the camera pans across her collar-bones, show the bubbles swirling round her feet, might skim tantalisingly past what teenagers so elegantly refer to as 'side boob'. Well, I wish they showed you more. I wish they'd show you her breasts full-on, her tummy with creases in it - a tummy which does it's job of containing food... I wish they'd show you her jiggly thighs, her wobbling bum, and all the bits of fat on her, instead of pretending she looks a way she doesn't through clever camera work.

Moreover, I wish every advert along the same theme contained a woman who looked different. In one, a small woman with small breasts and a flat stomach. A short woman with full hips. A woman with large eyes and a wide waist, and occasionally, in the same frequency as every other body shape, a woman with long legs, a small waist, and large boobs, so that this particular body type is not over-sexualised or overly sought-after, so that we all understand it's just another shape women come in.

I want women to understand that the liars are not the ones who say that every body is perfect, and I want those attracted to women to have the chance to see all body shapes in a beautiful light, so that they might decide in an unbiased way which is their preference.

I can't see that it's too much to ask.

My trip to the onsen made me want to discover a way to dispel all my worries so easily as my body troubles,  I need a way to recreate this onsen feeling. More importantly though, how can I encourage everyone else, especially young women, to try it and feel it for themselves?

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 3

3 - Kyoto

This week I realised, whilst counting through all the things I've gotten used to, all the things which have just slipped into my routine without having to get used to them at all. There are no conveyor belts at supermarkets - you just queue up with your basket. You don't even look for the smallest queue, they're so quick that there's no point moving from the one right in front of you. There are no buttons to press at pedestrian crossings, they're all timed. Buses have a fixed fare, you don't pay for how far you're going. It feels strange, stranger than the little things you do have to remind yourself of (taking off shoes...) to discover there are parts of living a completely foreign life which make more sense to your subconscious than the life you've lived for nineteen years.

It was another Bjork week. Quiet and peaceful. I read for research for my dissertation, I went to the gym because if there's really no frisbee for 4 months, the least I can do is come back totally ripped, I cooked.

Then, at three o'clock on Friday afternoon, I boarded a coach for Kyoto. It's Hanami, cherry blossom viewing, in Kyoto at the moment, and consequently one of the busiest times of the year for the city. During Spring, foreigners and Japanese alike will flock to each city as its native flower comes into bloom in turn. We decided to throw ourselves into the fray, and booked coaches and a room for Friday night. Saturday appears to be all booked up? Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We reached Kyoto station, and decided it would be easiest just to get a taxi to the hostel first time around as it wasn't far away, and then we'd know how to walk to and from the station. Unfortunately, this was one of those times when the Japanese are so desperate to be helpful that they end up being quite the opposite. The taxi driver had no idea either where the hostel was, despite us having the full address written down in Japanese, or how to use his SatNav. Luckily you can just go up to anyone in uniform in Japan and they'll help you out. Consequently, we ended up walking another 40 minutes to the actual location of our hostel, which was about 5 minutes away from the station, in the opposite direction we had just come. Ah well, it was fresh air, and it was Kyoto.

We had a delicious dinner in a much fancier restaurant than we intended to eat at, but it was worth every penny as a one-off. We stayed for hours, talking and drinking. Eventually we decided to call it a night, as we wanted a full day of sight-seeing come the morning. It was another pleasant stay in a hostel - I've yet to find a poor one in Japan.

In the morning we headed straight for Kinkaku-Ji, the Golden Pavilion. My third visit to the temple, and I still find it difficult to take in the side of the pure gold building, floating in the middle of a lake. It was the first time the weather's been good too, and the gold leaf gleamed, and the reflections in the water were so vivid.

Next stop was Nijo Castle, with the Nightingale Floor as an ancient security device; the wooden floorboards sing like birds when they're stepped on. Again, the sunshine and the cherry blossom made walking around the gardens so beautiful, and I was glad I had the opportunity to visit these landmarks yet again.

The final sight-seeing destination of the day was Fushimi-Inari, with a huge shrine at the base and many trails winding their way up the side of a mountain, the paths covered all the way along with hundreds of bright orange torii. There are many paths to take and it would take a couple of hours if you were fit enough to march smartly up them all, but we just ventured up one as high as you could go, and were rewarded with a view of Kyoto. Along the way and at the end of each trail are more, smaller shrines, as well as many places to stop and buy a drink for the thirsty traveller. We also discovered that these torii are purchased, and are inscribed with family names and dates. Prices start at around £2,500 for the smallest, anyone interested...?

After the magnitude of steps it was time for dinner, so we headed to Gion, the Geisha district. The only place big enough to house our group was an all-you-can-eat restaurant, which had a cooking pot in the middle of the table in which you fry as many strips of beef and bowls of vegetables as you like. After we staggered out, we made our way to the karaoke we'd located on our food-hunt, how we'd decided to cross the bridge we'd now come to...

Astonishingly, we managed to find some songs we hadn't got through last mammoth karaoke session, and we also replayed a few favourites. We all collapsed at around 3 in the morning. At this particular karaoke, kicking-out time was 5 am, so, out into the wide world we went once again, after what mathematically should have been two hours sleep, but in reality was about 20 minutes.

In our early morning wanderings we watched a small group of policemen taking a jog (I kid you not), and made our way to a nearby shrine. We soon discovered that during hanami, our behaviour wasn't in the slightest bit bizarre. Another example of Japan working hard and playing hard, they set up mats under the sakura and relax for hours, start drinking early and carry on all night. Some groups were peacefully sleeping in sleeping bags, but others were still in full celebration mode, and were only too glad to invite us to the party.

Taken at 5.30 am

Taken at 6 am

So for a few hours we lolled around, taking photos of the beautiful scenery and making Japanese friends. We only had to wait until 8 am, and Starbucks would be open. After warming up a little, it was back into tourist mode. We went to Kiyomizu-dera, only a short walk away, and ambled around, feeling much more delicate than the day before.

The first Japanese child in history to be brave enough to want to be in a photo with gaijin

The rest of the time we had left in Kyoto was spent perusing the shops in Gion, and wondering whereabouts Geisha used to, and still might, live. By beautiful coincidence, a man told us that there were lots of people down a particular street because some Maiko, apprentice Geisha, would be making their debut appearances that day, and would be appearing just before we had to get the train back to Kyoto station.

Against the cherry blossom, this woman represents centuries' worth of Japanese culture. Beautiful, flawless, one could nevertheless sense her breathing a little heavily, faced with so many photographers, not to mention foreigners, frantically snapping away. I wondered if she worried about the attention of those like me. Would she think I wouldn't understand the difficulties she's gone through on a daily basis to be where she is now? Would she worry I wouldn't find her perfect, ignorant in my knowledge of the culture she epitomises? At one moment she looked straight into my eyes, and I'll never know if my utter respect and understanding of her lifestyle passed between us in those precious few seconds, but I hope it did.

If there's one moment I won't forget in all my time I'll be here, it'll be this one.

From Gion it was back to Kyoto station and the coach, back to nagoya and the underground, back to the bus, and a short walk to collapsing into bed. Who'd have thought I'd break my record of number of hours awake after just one short week? For those interested, it stands at 38 hours.

A couple of exciting things happening next week! See you then.

Yours,

Abby

There were a great many photos from this weekend, and I couldn't possibly post them all here. To see more: http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/