What I'll Miss

What's that?  You're surprised that I'm actually going to miss something?  What with all the complaining I've done over the past (almost) four years?  Well, it's true....it's hard for me to think about now as I'm deep into anticipating American food preparing to go back to the US but I can come up with a few things....(sorry no pics, hope you can make it through!)

1. I know I'm going to be asked a lot over the coming year(s) what I miss most about Japan....my answer is probably going to be the people.  Being here has certainly made me see that people are basically the same the world over.  But I do think that Japanese people IN GENERAL are a little more quiet and thoughtful and less reactionary and proselytistic than Americans IN GENERAL.  The vast majority of the people I've interacted with have been lovely.  I have not had a single truly negative experience.  I've had a few shop clerks avoid my eyes (in hopes I didn't need help) and I usually get ignored by the people who hand out flyers by kiosks in the mall (I consider that a perk) but that is really the worst I can come up with.  I've been giggled at by a few teenage waiters.  I've been stared at creepily by a few old guys. (For the record, these last two would totally happen in the US too.)   But so many times I have asked for help or initiated a conversation (in my shamefully terrible Japanese) and have had the person try their hardest to figure out what I needed.  Other moms are so very welcoming in the playground and parks we go to. Everyone loves Cora....people around here are  used to adult foreigners but a foreign baby/toddler is still a pretty big draw.  I think when we move back home she's probably going to be offended that she isn't getting fawned over and "kawaii'ed" constantly.  So that makes me a little sad.....I may do a separate post about being an "outsider" in a homogeneous culture but even that hasn't been negative at all for me personally.  
2. I have pumped gas--no kidding--one (1) time in (almost) four years.  It was on a trip home to the US.  I have a lovely full-service place I go to maybe once every couple of months....because I rarely drive more than a few miles from my house.  At the full service place the nice workers will wipe my windshield/mirrors/windows down and give me a damp cloth to wipe my interior.  My dash and steering wheel have stayed astonishingly clean.  Back in America I DREADED pumping gas and my dash was filthy.  And there may be a full service place somewhere in Greenville, but I sure don't know where it is.  Or how much it will cost. And to all you reading from the states that don't allow you to pump your own gas ---- pphhht!!
3. Believe it or not, there are a few food items I'll miss.  Milk tea is probably #1.  I like a little gyudon (beef and rice dish) from Sukiya.  Tonkatsu (breaded sauced pork) from our local bento place is tasty.  You can get really good pre-made frozen dumplings to fry up.  I am going to miss making a lunch off of soft boiled eggs and tuna-mayo onigiri (rice balls) from 7-Eleven.  I realize that last one probably sounds gross but you'll just have to believe me that it's delicious.  However, any time I get a craving I feel sure that I can help it pass by getting a hotdog or a burrito.  Also, I'm looking forward to visiting the tiny Japanese grocery in Greenville.  Fingers crossed they carry milk tea!!
4. Speaking of food, what I"m really, really, really going to miss are Japanese vending machines.  I've blogged about them before but they need to be on this list.  Not only do they have cold and hot selections (cocoa, hot milk tea!) but there is always a wonderful, ever-changing selection of juice, tea and flavored water.  I don't drink a lot of soft drinks.  I never drink diet drinks and rarely drink caffeine (weird, I know).  I am not looking forward to returning to the land of Diet Coke and Mountain Dew. :(
5. I can't leave out Japanese-style service.  My particular favorite is how the grocery store cart and bagging process works.  When we first got here it bugged me but I've come to love it.  For starters, you don't leave items loose, you have to put them into shopping baskets inside your cart.  And then the cashier will move them into an empty basket as he/she scans them.   Whenever I've grocery shopped on trips home I always feel so rebellious and slovenly just chucking stuff down in the cart.  If you really want to be Japanese about it you'll carefully arrange all your food Tetris-style.  But you won't be as good at it as the checkout person, so don't even try. (I have absolutely stopped on my way to the checkout just to rearrange my items in a neater manner.)  Reusable bags are much more popular here and are easier to use, in a way, because you bag your own groceries.  And you should also do that in a careful and Tetris-style manner.  I really want to keep using my reusable bags.  In general, I expect to be kind of a weirdo in the US grocery store for a while.  If you see me out, watch carefully and enjoy whatever obsessive-compulsive-grocery-arranging-bag meltdown I'm having.   And also listen for me to say "excuse me" to everyone in Japanese. :)
6. I am going to miss my house!  Wait, what?  OK, so I'm not going to miss my Japanese house except for one small part---the entryway.  Because of the whole take-your-shoes-off thing, Japanese houses almost always have really nice big entryways that function as what we would call a mudroom in the US.  As I've started looking online at houses (as we will need to purchase one pretty quickly) I am really disappointed in the lack of a mudroom in most.  It's really nice to have a place for shoes, coats, hats, stroller etc.  Plus bags, keys, mail, a mirror....the US really needs to step it up in the entryway department.  However, if I don't end up with one and I get frustrated I'll just go lovingly stroke my thermostat or run something through my garbage disposal and hopefully the feeling will pass. 
7. Japanese clothes.....O, how I shall miss ye.  I have been running around the past few weeks frantically buying up pants and jackets.  Clothing here is more well-made and better quality than in the US. You're much more likely to find linings, pockets, etc.  And I'm talking about just your typical department store clothes.  Nothing designer or super expensive.  And it's all cut for short, narrow-ish people.  I bought a blazer the other day that fit perfectly off the rack.  I swear I heard a chorus of angels sing when I put it on.  Usually I have to have almost everything, but particularly "work clothing", tailored down so I don't look like I'm playing dress-up in my mother's clothes.   A special shout-out to Uniglo and Muji, both of which I am going to miss dreadfully.  I think both have stores in the US but none close to Greenville.  And I have a feeling the clothing is probably cut differently.  If anyone has ever been to an American one, please let me know!

That's all for now, maybe once we get back I'll update this post with more things I miss!

Wicket Games

Lately our schedule involves a lot of going to parks before lunch.  In doing so we often run into seniors playing what I always thought was croquet.   However, research prior to writing this indicates that it may be a Japanese variation of croquet called gateball.

Here's what I can tell you for sure:  the old folks around these parts love it, whatever you call it.  They're in every park with their mallets and wickets, whacking away.  Way back when we first got here I saw some people playing it in the local community center and thought it was mildly interesting that croquet was played here.  But now that I spend all my time in parks I'm a little taken aback by the local fervor for the game. You hear a lot about how Japan has an aging population---I'm inclined to agree based solely on how much time I spend chasing Cora away from croquet balls.

We walk to our neighborhood park at least two mornings every week and hang out with the neighborhood croquet players.  There are usually about 20 or so there on a few teams. It seems to be a fairly informal, easy-going game---I don't know much about the rules but I'm pretty sure that putting one guy past the wicket whose job is to stop the ball from going too far off course is technically cheating.  They're very nice about Cora occasionally trying to steal their equipment.

a team around a wicket 

an overview of several teams (from the playground area)  

On another topic entirely, go back to the first picture and notice what the people are wearing.  It was at least 85 degrees (Fahrenheit) that particular day.  Notice the long sleeves?  Totally typical Japanese summertime attire.

I get some odd looks sometimes in the parks because I'm usually there in running shorts, T-shirt and baseball cap.  All the other moms and the seniors are completely covered up.  It's not an issue of modesty, it's completely an issue of sun protection and the desire for pale skin.  On the same day that I took the croquet photos above an elderly lady literally stopped me on the street and started stroking my bare arms and jabbering at me.  I couldn't really catch much of it but I gathered she was telling me I needed to protect my skin.  She was in a typical Japanese elderly lady outdoor costume that reminds me of a beekeeper outfit.  In fact, I confess to occasionally referring to these ladies as "beekeepers" in private conversation.

yes, they are even wearing gloves (this was another 85+ degree day)

Even the other kids are usually more covered up than Cora in her shorts and T-shirt.  Of course, we are covered in sunscreen which we have to bring back from the US.  Not because they don't have it here, but because it only comes in tiny bottles (think sample size).  They just prefer sun protection in the form of clothes.

One good thing about all this is you can find an awesome array of sheer, gauzy layering clothes in the stores in the summer.  Particularly cardigans.  Great for if you need something to go over a sundress.  I'm really going to miss the cardigan selection here when we go home.  I feel like the hat selection is better here too.

So, the takeaway is, if you are coming to Japan in the summer, prepare to feel a little under dressed and try to pick up some cardigans. :D


(And please excuse the post title, I couldn't help myself.:D)

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago I took Cora to a local chain photo studio called Studio Alice.  Studio Alice is a popular chain with many, many locations all over Japan (the website is all in Japanese).   It was fairly similar to a kid/family photo studio in the US but there are a few differences here and there.  

Studio Alice caters mainly to child photo shoots, but can accommodate taking portraits of entire families.  You can bring your child with their own regular dress clothes (suit, tie, frilly dress etc.) but a very popular thing to do is take your kid and dress them up in Studio Alice's elaborate costumes including fake hair and makeup if you so choose.  (It reminds me a bit of those old Glamour Shot setups that were so popular when I was in middle school.)  The costumes range from Disney princess dresses, Halloween-type characters and traditional Japanese kimonos.  As mentioned in my previous post, this is also a popular place to bring your child for their Shichi-Go-San photos.

Of course, I wanted to have Cora's photos taken in a little kimono because, well, when in Rome, right?  It's an opportunity that can't be passed up while we're here.  When they presented me with the options for fake hair I was so enormously entertained that I make the foolish mistake of letting them put some on her.  It was funny, but so not worth the time and effort.  If you're ever in the same situation, be smarter than me and don't try to put fake hair on a squirmy almost-two year old.  I was there with an American friend and we took some shots her kids while wearing the fake hair but none of them turned out so great.  Multiple tiny kids and elaborate fake hairdos?  I have no idea what we were thinking.  ;)

Disclaimer: Studio Alice doesn't allow you to take photos inside the store for obvious reasons but you can take video.  So the shots below are mostly stills from videos we took, which is why they aren't that great. 

I grabbed this shot of the walls of costumery that greets you when you walk in

The photos below are stills from when we were getting Cora ready.  You can see some of the fake hair if you look closely.  Note that my iPhone is the only thing keeping her still for the hair-fixing.  And in the dressing photo she is actively trying to run away.  Photo shoots are not her thing, unsurprisingly.

 Below she is waiting somewhat patiently in the play area.  The fake hair is blessedly gone by this point.

 And finally, below is the best shot we got.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with it.  Note that she isn't wearing shoes because she was having no part whatsoever of the matching geta, which are those Japanese-style wooden flip-flops.  It's also a little blurry but I'm going to tell everyone that it was an artistic choice and not because my kid won't sit still for more than five seconds at a time.  And as for what she is looking up at, it was me jumping around and singing off-key like an absolute idiot in an attempt to distract her into being still.  I have heard many interpretations of that expression but I know for a fact that she's thinking " OMG, Mama's lost her mind!".

After we took the photos we sat down to review them and pick a package.  The packaging and pricing was fairly comparable to what you would see in the US but they would not sell me digital copies now.  After one year I can go get them on a CD for a nominal fee.  Not a big fan of that but whatever.  So I took the copies they gave me and scanned them.

Although it was not the most relaxing day I've ever had, I'm really glad we did it and I know that one day far in the future we'll look at them and remember that crazy time when we lived in Japan.  :D

Life-Altering

I recently found myself in need of having some clothing alterations done.  Namely, I needed a bunch of jeans and pants hemmed.  This might not sound like a big deal to you, but when you're as short as I am it's extremely important to have a good tailor on deck.

I determined that I had three choices: 1) ship my pants back to the US to be altered 2) get a Japanese friend to locate and accompany me to a local tailor or 3) go alone to the cubbyhole in the mall with a sewing machine on the sign and see what happened.

You're probably thinking "She was going to ship her jeans halfway around the world to be hemmed?!?  That's nuts."  So I should note that two pairs of these jeans had cost me a pretty penny.  That's a long story about growing older and not being able to wear the cute, cheap jeans in the teenager stores yet refusing to wear mom jeans.  We'll skip it, it's depressing.   I'm also particular about having jeans hemmed in that I want them to look like they still have the original hem and have never been touched.

Anyway, I decided to throw caution to the wind and take my fancy jeans to the sewing machine-sign place in the mall.  Lo and behold, it was a place to have clothes altered and they would take anything (I had been concerned that you might have to have a receipt to prove it had been purchased in the department store to which it was adjacent).

I took my pants with pins in them and basically used gestures because I have no idea how to say "hem" or "alter" in Japanese.  I could look it up but I would get 50 results with only one being the actual, common, everyday usage version and no way to know which one it was.  And I could ask someone, but I'm lazy.  That's the way that goes.

But in a miraculous turn of events, the nice lady at the alterations counter totally just understood that a pair of jeans with pins at the bottom need to be hemmed.  It was like it happened to her every day. ;)  She measured the inseam (in centimeters) and gave me my pins back.  I had to fill out my name, phone number and go ahead and pay.  I got a receipt and was informed that they could be done in two hours!  Two hours! And it only cost about $7! At this point I was ecstatic.  And two hours later when I received a beautifully hemmed pair of jeans I was even more ecstatic!

my beloved cubbyhole, the sign actually has a
sewing machine and a.....squirrel.  don't ask me.

 If there's anyone out there in Japan trying to find an alterations place and wondering where this is, it's in an Aeon.  I think the alterations place itself is called "Fashion Reform".  I'm assuming they are always located with Aeon but I'm not sure.  I took a picture of their services sign but I can't help ya out on reading it.  Except that the first two items listed are "jeans" and hemming, based on the prices.  I really want to know what $84 will get me at the bottom right.  A custom suit?

And I have since taken about 7 more pairs of pants to this place and have had lovely results and service every time.  Classic Japanese service.  Here's wishing you all good service, well-hemmed pants and a happy spring!

Harajuku & Yoyogi Park

I just realized that it's been almost a month since my last post!  Sorry about that.  Time got away from me.  Anyway, this past weekend we went to Tokyo for a couple of nights.  The main purpose of the trip was to experiment with ways to get Cora to sleep in a hotel room.  (We were pretty successful-- throwing a sheet over her crib like she was a canary helped a lot.)

We had a couple of ideas of what to do while we were there but they all fell through until we ended up walking from our hotel in Shinjuku to the area known as Harajuku.  (Incidentally we walked because the train we were going to take was delayed by 20 minutes---virtually unheard of in Tokyo!)

The Harajuku area is pretty famous....if any of you are Gwen Stefani fans you might remember it as a big inspiration in one of her solo albums.  A lot of kids hang out in Harajuku and wear crazy clothes and costumes.  (According to Wikipedia "goth" and "California girl" are two styles that are popular.)  There are also a lot of shops that cater to the kids and their street fashion.

Sunday is the day that the kids are out and about so since we were there on Saturday afternoon we didn't see too many wacky getups.  But we did walk down Takeshita Street and check out some of the shops.

takeshita street



some getups, huh?

a little busy for me

more Harajuku shopping

Overall, Harajuku wasn't quite what I was expecting.  It was pretty touristy--there was even a stand with brochures at the entrance to Takeshita Street.  I was expecting a little more edgy and avant-garde and instead it reminded me a little of one of those streets in a beach town where you can get your hair wrapped or get henna-tattooed.  It was also unusually ethnically diverse for Japan and possibly a little skeevy.  Although it occurs to me that perhaps I am just old. :/

On the way to Harajuku we walked through Yoyogi Park, which I thought was a neat spot to find in the middle of the city.  There is a famous shrine (Meiji Jingu) in the middle of the park but we just skirted the edge.

a torii at the entrance to Yoyogi Park

you wouldn't think you were in the middle of Tokyo

I was also surprised to realize just how close all this was to one of my favorite shopping spots, Omotesando, which I blogged about here.  I knew it wasn't far, but it turned out to be very walkable.  The proximity of Yoyogi Park, Omotesando and Harajuku definitely make this one of my favorite areas of the city.   I hope to come back on a Sunday and see the Harajuku kids so maybe you'll get to see some more one day!

Kicks

So I've been pretty down on Japan lately (it's winter, I miss America, etc.) but I went out shopping the other day and realized I have to give credit for one thing.

This country has amazing shoes.

I really put some effort into identifying exactly what it is about Japanese shoes that are different from American shoes.  I came up with the following:

1. More and better detailing.
2. More colorful.
3. Better variety specifically within one style instead of just a few color variations you will see at least a half dozen different variations in color, detailing, texture, fabric etc.
4. The selection is consistently good, not just at certain times of the year.

The first time I was ever awed by a Japanese shoe display it was this one.....

this photo is over a year old

On my most recent shopping trip I took these photos:

And you'll notice these are just casual shoes.  That's what I look at because it's what I'm most likely to buy.  I appreciate heels (and goodness knows the Japanese girls do) but tend to not just wear them around for funsies.  The dress shoe selection is equally, if not more, impressive.

So when we leave (what, you thought I was going to stay forever for the shoes? don't think so....even I don't love them that much.) I will probably be buying up a lot of these pretties and bringing them home with me.  Because while I've bought shoes here they've mostly been kinda plain and functional---I haven't gotten any of these fancy ones yet.  I honestly don't know how you would pick.  I could spend weeks planning outfits for these shoes.  And these days my outfit planning time is lean and would be largely a waste.

But when we come back to the US and you see me.....be sure and check out my feet. :D

Primping

Two interesting things you can find in a Japanese drug store....
(click the photos to enlarge them)

neck & face rollers, used to reduce neck & face wrinkles
(apparently very popular in many Asian countries)

electric eyelash curlers--I think they heat up, but I'm not sure.  I'm not about
to poke one of these things in my eye....even to have "glamorous Barbie lashes"

Plus, a truly, truly astonishing array of false eyelashes.....I'm wondering what happens if you try to use an electric curler on false lashes?  Do they melt?  Curl glamorously?  Inquiring minds want to know.....

they go all the way down the aisle

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....

Heaven Must Look Just Like a Japanese Mall.....

A while back I promised some more in-depth photos of our local Aeon Mall so yesterday morning I took the nice camera over there and hit up the boutiques.  This post is photo-heavy but it's necessary to accurately illustrate why I can totally spend three hours every day in the mall.

I also did a little research on some of the shops because they were unfamiliar to me, although admittedly I haven't spent much time in the larger US malls.  From what I've gathered (and glimpsed in Tokyo), our little Ota Aeon Mall just scratches the surface of shopping in Japan....

Don't think this is all, I missed a bunch and there are more photos (and you can see them better) on Shutterfly.  Side note: For less exotic shopping, there is also a Gap, a Tommy Hilfiger, the Body Shop and a LUSH cosmetics store.

Petit Maison

LD Prime: popular Japanese chain

Honeys

L'est Rose: very frilly, expensive and French, I think

Drop and Drop: jewelry and beads

Heart Market: has the best name

Evangile: my favorite for silver jewelry and
accessories

no clue on the name but it's all socks and tights

Cloverleaf: you didn't think I would miss the shoes, did you?

Pinky & Dianne: a Japanese chain/brand originally
started by Americans 

Natural Beauty Basic: a popular (and reasonably
priced) Japanese chain

Footloose

Yesterday morning we both went and got iPhones.  We had to have a company rep. go with us as translator and we had to take our "alien registration cards" (kind of like a social security card but for foreigners).  Other than that the process wasn't very exciting or different than it is in the States.

But now that I have a camera phone I can surreptitiously take (and post) pictures of some of the getups people wear out in public around here.  Those are, in my opinion, a little different.  First let me be clear -- there are a lot of cute clothes here.  And for the most part Japanese women really know how to wear them.  (FYI, I will mostly be reporting on what the 20-30 year old female crowd is wearing.  Write what you know, right?)

In general you see a lot of chic French-ish fashion that's very girly.  The only thing about the clothes here that has taken me aback at all has to do with footwear.   First, it is still a part of the culture here to take your shoes off before entering some places.  Mainly other peoples houses and Japanese restaurants.  I have been to at least three Japanese restaurants where I had to leave my shoes at the door.  I believe this is the reason why you rarely see women without socks, tights or pantyhose.  That's right, everyday just-going-to-the-grocery-store pantyhose.....often with high-heel open-toed sandals and shorts or a miniskirt.  (For those that don't know, I abhor pantyhose and was horrified to see them worn with shorts and sandals.)  Tights and knee-high (yes, school-girl style) socks are also often worn with high-heeled open-toed sandals.  And yes, I know you do see this style sometimes in the States, but trust me, not nearly as often as you see it here. 

While I absolutely refuse to put on shorts, sandals and pantyhose to go to the grocery store, I will concede to not wandering around a Japanese restaurant or house barefooted.  So I bought another common (and pretty cute) item worn by Japanese women.  I have no idea what they call them, but I refer to them as "socklets".  These are typically worn with close-toed flats or pumps.  (Yes, I am very observant regarding footwear, so what?)  They come in pretty patterns and give me some options in regards to shoes worn out only to be taken off.....  Next week look for some more posts about fashion and hopefully some spy-photos....

they don't all have the band
around the ankle

another style