There and Back Again

Yesterday I had a big adventure....I went into Tokyo for the first time by myself.  It was not the smooth operation I had hoped for...I missed one train and wandered around lost under Shinjuku for about ten minutes.  I also screwed up my PASMO card somehow (still not sure how I did it) but fortunately those are easy to get fixed.  There are a couple of different ways to get into the city and I picked the harder of the two which I will never do again whilst alone.  By the time I got to Ginza (my final destination) my nerves were a little frazzled.  See normally when Chad and I go together he navigates while my job is to take photos and window shop.  Or worse yet I read and do the whole thing in a book haze while he pulls me on and off at the right stops.  So this solo trip was very educational for me.  Lesson #1: do not underestimate the complexity of Tokyo's public transportation.

But I made there (and even better, I made it back home again) and this time I had the camera along for the trip.  Ginza, if you recall, is the major shopping district of Tokyo.  I wanted to go check out Matsuya, which is a famous Japanese department store.  It turned out to be a pretty pricey establishment but good to know about if you are looking to splurge.  (Printemps was a little more my speed.)

One day I'll go again (not any time soon though and to somewhere other than Ginza--I want to go to the zoo!) and I think I'll do a better job.    When I've got it down I'll post some more detailed tips and tricks about the trains and subways.

Matsuya Ginza....check out how shiny
that building is!

McQueen in Matsuya

the main drag (check the lady with her parasol)...and you can
see the Apple store we went to on the right

Cartier (how about that gold building?) & Alfred
Dunhill in the other direction

Fill 'Er Up

I went to put gas in the car again the other day and this time I took some photos.  Gas stations are a little different here.  First off, they are not combined with convenience stores.  Convenience stores are everywhere.  Gas stations, on the other hand, are a little harder to find.  I know of three or four and they are all about ten minutes from my house.  Two of the ones I know of (including the one I go to) are more like a combo mechanic and gas station.  It's actually a lot like going to a Valvoline place to get your oil changed.  Several guys wave you in and swarm over your car.  You tell the one that comes to your door to fill it up with regular gasoline please (in Japanese, of course, but the word "regular" is almost the same-- you kind of take the last "r" off).  They'll also ask if you're paying in cash....sometimes they use the Japanese word for "cash" but they know "cash" too and most of the time will see that you're a foreigner and just go with "cash" to start with.

Meanwhile the other guys are wiping off your windows and your windshield and giving you a damp cloth to wipe off your steering wheel and dash.  When they're all done they'll wave you out, thank you profusely and all bow  (typical behavior in service people here).

I have spotted one other gas station that just has a little hut and the pumps.  I think it may be self-serve but I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure that in the one I go to I could get full mechanic services. 

this is a 7Eleven convenience store....note there are no gas pumps

this is the gas station I go to (the picture is bad
because I was driving)

these are the guys that swarm your car...you can almost see
the bays to the left....that is where I think you could get
mechanic work done

Paddy Field Update

Of the four paddy fields directly behind our house, only one ever got planted.  The others were plowed at one point, but then just let go.  As far as I can tell, rice is pretty much planted year round here, although I'm interested to see what happens in winter. 

rice?  I'm going to have to steal a
stalk and dissect

this one is a block behind our house

where the frogs come from (there's a
tadpole in the middle of the photo)

Let's Talk Toilets

If you've ever read much about Japan, you've probably seen something about Japanese toilets.  I decided it was time to share my two cents in the form of some advice......just in case any of you ever come here. First, you're not going to be able to avoid them.  Don't even try.  You're probably going to run into one in a train or subway station.  Especially if you frequent the smaller, local stations.  They may only have Japanese toilets.  Bigger stations in the city will usually have a combination of Western-style and Japanese toilets.  In general, the more rural of an area you're in, the more likely you're going to find only Japanese-style toilets.

That said, they're not that bad.  I recommend shorts or skirts/dresses.  (No, I don't know how it's going to be in the winter, and no, I'm not particularly looking forward to it.)  Also, work on your balance and your calf muscles. :)

By the by, it's curious that when it comes to toilets here you either get a fancy one with lots of bells and whistles.....or a glorified hole in the floor.  Can't help but wonder how all that came about......

in one of the aforementioned subway stations

Shave and a Haircut, 1000 Yen

Last night Chad and I had one of our our more harrowing Japanese adventures....we went to get his hair cut.  It all started with my trying to do some recon on a couple of the free-standing hair salons/barbers in our neighborhood.  I was mainly trying to determine if they would cut a man's hair (in the case of the salon) and what their hours were.  This turned out to be a very frustrating endeavor, because for some reason both establishments appeared to be closed all day.  One had a sign on the door indicating something special about several days this month, but whether they were special "open" or special "closed" I had no idea.

neighborhood barbershop that we did not visit

Fortunately, Chad was also asking for advice at work and was told to just go to this place in the corner of the mall that cuts hair for 1000 yen.  (This is roughly the equivalent of a $10 haircut.)  Since we tend to feel more comfortable operating within the confines of the mall, we decided to go for it.  We researched Japanese haircutting terminology a little bit but mostly decided to wing it.  We took a photo of him when his hair was freshly cut (our wedding) to indicate to the hairdresser what he wanted.  This was a good idea but Chad mostly just said "That's fine, that's fine." over and over again as she babbled in Japanese and pointed at different parts of his head in the photo.  She asked him about razor vs. scissors and then she was off.  Snip, snip.

as we held our breath

where we ended up

The results were OK, there is a little more layering (typical of a Japanese guy's haircut) than we would have liked but he looks respectable enough to go out in public.  That said, we're coming back to the US before the end of the year and a nice American barber is definitely on our list of places to go. ;)

the results

Happy Birthday From the DMV

When you become an expat one of the things you have to do is decide whether or not to give up your state residency.  If you're like us you're going to ask some questions about the consequences.  You'll be told that since you don't have any children approaching college age you don't need to worry about state residency.  Unless you're talking in-state tuition vs. out-of-state tuition, who cares about state residency, right?

Wrong.  You must also consider one other thing..... 

When does your driver's license have to be renewed?

Let's say you didn't consider it....what happens?

If, in fact, your birthday shows up during your expatriation, and along with it comes a nice license renewal application present from the DMV, you will have to answer some sticky questions about your state residency.  You'll try to ignore the fine print that indicates that you may not be able to renew by mail this time.  You'll realize this is really important as you have to have both your international license and your valid US license to drive in your adopted country.  You will launch a hasty email chain to the expatriation-powers-that-be that ends with you frantically re-applying for the state residency you gave up four months ago.  You'll say a prayer over the license application and make like Lance Armstrong to the post office to mail it off a mere eight days before your birthday.  You'll hope that the fact that you are simultaneously using both your Japanese address and your parent's SC address doesn't bring the DMV or either country's postal service to a screeching halt.  You'll resist the urge to include a bribe.

But, of course, this won't happen to you because now you know better, right?  You're welcome. 

Guam Getaway

As I'm sure most of you have figured out, I've been away from the blog for a few days because we were on vacation in Guam (or Gua-moo, as Japanese people say).  Last weekend we took a bus to the airport, stayed a night in a hotel, and then flew out early the next morning.  Tokyo to Guam is three hours....it's almost one third of the way to Australia.  So why did we go to Guam, of all places?  Well, we had heard from former expats that is was an easy and quick trip, with all the benefits of a tropical island tourist destination PLUS (since Guam is a US territory) American goods are available in stores. 

Guam is a very popular vacation destination for Japanese people, I'd say 98% of our fellow tourists were Japanese.  This makes it a very interesting mix of cultures.  It's half American, half Japanese with a touch of Spanish (leftover from colonization in the 1600's) and a little bit of the native Chamorro culture.  Since Guam was a hotspot during WWII, there's also a US military base on the island which contributes a bit....mainly a proliferation of strip clubs, massage parlors and adult bookstores.  Jammed in between those is the requisite high-end shopping to appeal to the Japanese tourists.

We saw a movie, laid around by the pool, took in the views and visited some history.  We enjoyed the comforts of Wendy's, Chili's, Subway and Little Ceasar's.  We also successfully continued the Hotdog and Mexican Food Tour of Asia and the South Pacific.  We had Christmas early in the local Kmart.....Skittles and Gatorade!  A1 and Neutrogena!  Wheat Thins!  Tostitos! 

It was a good trip, I even figured out how to take some videos of a Polynesian Fire & Dance show that our hotel (the Hyatt) put on every night. I don't like how they come out here on Blogger so I put them on Shutterfly along with all the photos!  Enjoy!

cannons at the Spanish Fort Santa Agueda,
overlooking Agana Bay

caves used by the Japanese army during WWII

there were at least two of every high-end designer
store imaginable on the island...how many Louis
Vuittons does one small South Pacific island need?

skeevy strip mall, one of many (click to enlarge...if you dare)

diagram of an underwater observatory built in a
WWII bomb crater

latte stones, built by the native islanders
between 1100AD and 1700AD

  

Chamorro latte stone explanation (click to enlarge)

there were a lot of weird & tropical trees and flowers that
 I'd never seen before

At Two Lover's Point, tourists leave luggage tags for
some reason?  And yes, there's a sappy story about two love-lorn
teenagers jumping off the cliff...

Fun with Japanese

A little while ago I posted about our Japanese lessons.  That was just a (slightly boring) introduction so I could attempt to explain some of the more entertaining bits of Japanese I've learned.   Here are my current most favorite examples:

There is a lot of onomatopoeia in Japanese. The other day I learned the verb "to microwave".  It's "chinmasu" [cheen-mas].  "Masu" is just the standard ending to every Japanese verb so for the purposes of this example you can ignore it.  It's the "chin" that's important.  Where did it come from?  Well, what sound does the microwave make when it's done?   Or rather what's the Japanese interpretation?  You got it.....  "CHEEN!"  

Our teacher taught us a slang way to say "I'm hungry".  You say "peko peko desu" [peck-o peck-o des].  You know the pump dispensers that ketchup is in at Fuddrucker's and Wendy's?  Think about the sound one of those makes when you pump it and it's empty.  Japanese people interpret the empty dispenser sound as "peck-o peck-o" (say it out loud, it's pretty accurate).  As in, I'm still hungry, because this food dispenser is empty. (I think this may be regional slang.) 

And my favorite.....I learned a few different words for "husband" before we came.  But since our current Japanese teacher thinks it's hilarious to teach us to argue with one another in Japanese she taught me a new one, "teishu" [tay-shoe] which is what you call your husband when you're mad at him.  There is even a particular saying in which you use this version which is roughly....."Teishu wa genki de rusugai."  It technically translates as "My husband is healthy, but away."  I think a more accurate translation would be "I'm not mad enough to wish him dead, but it's a good thing the jerk isn't around right now.".  ;D

More Cookery

We had a small dinner party last night with a couple of Chad's co-workers and what do you think I made?  Mexican, of course.  It's fast becoming my specialty....I'll probably open a restaurant before all is said and done.  I'm also hung up on frosted cupcakes, which was our dessert.

I've added a recipes page (links only) over to the right that includes some of what I made, among other things. :)

Baking Supplies Update!

I spend half of Sunday in Japanese Wal-Mart and lo and behold, what did I find?  A whole previously-unseen area of baking supplies!  The only explanation for my not seeing it before is that it's a small section and most of the rest of the aisle is coffee, which we don't drink.  I found some mixes (which would take me forever to translate), decorations and a few other things I thought I had to order.   However, it's still not quite like the baking aisle I'm used to.....

tiny pie crusts

tiny packages of chocolate chips

decorations

mixes for cookies and other.....things

tiny frosting

Ikea & Fireworks

On Saturday we took a trip to Ikea.  There are about a half a dozen Ikeas in Japan, two of which are around Tokyo.  We had to take the trains and subways all the way to the other side of the city (across the bay) to get there.  We bought ourselves a new couch, a chair and some odds and ends.  It was more or less the standard Ikea experience except we had to ship it all back to our house.  I don't know how Ikea shipping works in the US but here you have to pack it up yourself if it's not already in a box.  They provide boxes, tape, padding and tables to do it on but that's it....does anybody know if it's that way in the States?  Ikea is complicated enough as is, but having to do all that, plus tell them where to ship it in Japanese?  Sheesh.

from the train platform just before crossing Tokyo Bay,
looking back into the city

the mothership

At any rate, we made it back (on the train) to the neighboring town of Ashikaga just in time for.....a fireworks festival!  Ashikaga holds a fireworks festival the first week in August every year.  Why?  As best we can figure, just because they feel like it.  It's a pretty big deal around here, supposedly it's one of the bigger fireworks shows in the country.  We caught a little bit of it and it was a pretty decent show.....comparable to the July 4th show in Greenville.  When we got off the train, I intended to take some video of the fireworks, and I thought I did, but now that I plug the camera into the computer it appears that they didn't take.....all I've got are a few bad photos.  Oh, well.....

the fireworks (in the right side window) started while we were
still on the train, it was a fun way to see them (I know the
photo is  horrible, it was with the point-and-shoot)

some girls bust out their best kimonos for the
festivities.....I've got a whole post planned about
kimono-wearing....

A Few of My Favorite Things

A month ago I posted about my least favorite things in Japan.  Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite things:

1. It's really safe here.  People let their little kids wander around the neighborhood and ride the subways alone.  No one ever really looks like they're up to no good.

2. It's clean.  You do see a little bit of litter and some run-down areas but it isn't quite as bad as in the States.  Especially the litter.  And the subways and trains are spotless.  If you ask another expat (especially one from China) what they think about Japan that's the first thing they say..... "It's so clean!"

3.  The recycling is a good thing and making it mandatory is probably the only way Chad and I would ever have done it. ;)

4. This one sounds odd, but I love watching people sleep on the subways in Tokyo.  They get on, fall into what appears to be a slumped over, slack-jawed coma, yet somehow always know when to pop up and hop off at their station.  If I tried to sleep on the subway I'd just go around and around until someone swept me off at midnight.

5. I like my yard full of frogs.  And my backyard rice paddy field.

6. Clothing here is really well-made (not to mention pretty).  Lining and pockets is pretty much standard in pants and shorts.  Also, Japanese women are short, so things here are made short which is awesome for my 5'1" self.  I can wear maxi dresses straight off the rack here!  Yippee!

7. My extremely practical bicycle.

8. Another odd one: Japanese salesgirls are entertaining.   The ones in the small clothing boutiques keep up a continuous, high-pitched, sing-song patter at no one in particular.  They swoop around like birds making nests out of T-shirts. 

9. Those cute Japanese cars.  (Although it still remains to be seen whether I'll ever get one....we're getting by OK with just one.)

10. An finally, people are nice here.  I haven't had a single bad experience and goodness knows my bad Japanese and general cluelessness has to be frustrating.  Sure, some people are more enthusiastically helpful than others, but no one has been completely unwilling to assist us.

Sweet Reward

The other day when I paid the bills, I also had a new adventure.  I filled the car up with gas by myself for the first time.  As soon as I manage to get some photos I'm going to post about gas stations....they're another thing that's just a little different.

For now though I'm going to post about how I rewarded myself afterwards.  I went to another sweet shop, this one being much closer to my house (I could bike to it if the weather was good).  I've been wanting to check it out for awhile now and see if it was comparable to the first one I went to.  It was, although it wasn't quite as cute.

almost too pretty to eat

no clue what it's called....'cuz I'm
too lazy to translate it

lots of pre-wrapped gift options in this shop

my reward

Gettin' Schooled

So we have both been taking Japanese lessons twice a week for about nine months now, six months of which were in the States. In the States we learned to speak Japanese using the English (aka Roman, aka Romaji) alphabet, which is basically cheating only good for pronunciation.

Real Japanese has three alphabets.  To illustrate, I swiped a handy chart off of a popular encyclopedia site (which incidentally gives a pretty good, super-basic summary of Japanese).  The first three columns are the three Japanese alphabets, the fourth is the English alphabet version. 


When we began our lessons here we were unceremoniously switched to reading the real deal.  Good news is, we both now know the two easier, phonetic alphabets (Hiragana and Katakana). While real written Japanese incorporates all three of the alphabets together, we have found that just our Hiragana and Katakana knowledge really comes in handy.  For example, we have used it to tell shampoo from conditioner and chocolate ice cream from vanilla.  It really helps that a lot of Japanese words (particularly the more modern or "imported" words) are surprisingly similar to the English word.  Notice "tabako" in the chart above.  Can you guess what "shanpuu", "kondishona", "chokoreto" and "banira" are? ;)

from our textbook....believe it or not, we can whip
through that chickenscratch pretty quickly