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Japan
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Concentrated Japanese culture in Shinjuku I've now been in Tokyo for a little over 24 hours, but I already encountered the world-famous Japanese politeness. Everywhere, people are so helpful. It started when I tried to figure out how to get to Tokyo from the airport - the guy next to me on the train explained the system in detail to me (and some other Germans who were lost), and when I had to switch trains, he escorted me to the right platform. Earlier, somebody tapped me on the shoulder, ten minutes after I dropped my pen without noticing. When I was looking for the Internet Cafe I am sitting in right now, I got a two-block escort to the front door, after asking for directions. Japan, at least Tokyo, reminds me more of Germany than of USA. It's not a melting pot, like the US, everything is very proper, people smoke in cafe's, it always feels safe, there are very few homeless people, and they don't beg. I already encountered many Japanese who don't speek English... I could go on forever, there are so many subtle details that shape the overall experience. There are also many details that are very specific to Japan - taking the shoes off inside, cars drive on the left, I already bumped my head a couple of times (because doors are so low), there are so many people everywhere, people have the newest gadgets (especially cell phones - and they are TINY), and you see salarymen in suits on bicycles. Sight seeing is not that exciting in Tokyo - the Imperial Palace was kind of disappointing. But the amazing cultural experience makes good for it: I saw a Kabuki, and I explored Ginza, the famous shopping district today as well. Yesterday evening I wandered around in Shinjuku - the trainstation is one of the biggest hubs, with 2 million people passing through daily. Shinjuku has everything Tokyo is known for - high-class department stores, street bothes that sell dinner to go, flashing neon, strip clubs, government offices, swarming crowds day and night, gambling arcades, bars, and much more. And yes, you see salarymen peeing in public, and Geisas, looking for customers. Where do drunken salarymen sleep? So I thought this would be a really interesting thing to try out. Finding it was a challenge in itself, but that's a different story. I checked in around 2:30 am, giving the receptionist the key to the locker of my shoes. Japanese find the Western way of wearing street shoes indoors disgusting, and most hotels provide shoe lockers or shelves, and triple-warn foreigners to make sure the shoes will never touch the floor that's not intended for them (usually, you have to step up). I don't know what I expected when I turned around the corner from the reception area, but what I saw was quite a surprise: No capsules - this wasn't a capsule hotel after all. Instead, corridors with bodies on the ground, sleeping, all over the place. There was one guy curled up under the staircase, trying to get some shade from the dim lights. This looked like a scenario from after a long party, where all guests are so drunk or tired that they crash wherever they happen to be! After roaming around a little, I saw that they had sleeping rooms as well, where one sleeping couch was lined up next to the other. But they were all taken (obviously, they didn't consider this overbooking), so people just grabbed a mat and put it where they found some space. Only guys, by the way, these places are male-only (Japan is known to be a sexist country). Now here comes the part that makes this experience particularly valuable. It turns out that these places are almost complete spas. One fly of stairs up were the bath-rooms (yes the dash is intended). And I've never seen a setup like that. In the middle of the room was the hot tub, and a few men were soaking. All around, facing the walls, were washing stations. Imagine having a hose with a shower head on waist level, and then picture a big bucket in front of it, upside down, representing a chair. The idea is that you sit down to wash. Everything you might need is provided. A bowl, serving as a sink; soap, shaving cream, one-way toothbrushes and razors, towels - you name it. There was also a separate room with water-sensitive utensils, like hair dryers. Just imagine the scenario in the morning - tens of Japanese butts facing the hot tub, doing their morning toilette ("Ein Bild fuer die Goetter", as we Germans would say). Of course I took advantage of these facilities, and soaking in the hot water is such a pleasure! To complete the picture, there was a whirlpool, a gym, you could buy massages, and there was a little cafeteria. I noticed that evening and also in the morning that it was so quiet. People were not talking. Whether it was respect, embarrassment, or being cautious not to make everybody's hangover even worse, I can't tell. But for me, as a foreigner, there was no way to get even further into the culture, unfortunately. I don't want to report about every detail of my trip, but other highlights in and around Tokyo included bicycling around Kamakura, one of Japan's former capitals, exploring Shibuyo, a part of Japan that looks twice as impressive as Times Square (and is easily twice as big), and taking the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train to Kyoto, where I am right now. Tomorrow, I will meet a Japanese Family, and Sunday I will go to a fire festival, an hour to the north in the mountains, taking place by one of the shrines there. There I will also visit some hot springs, and hike through the hills. Stay tuned... Encounters with the Japanese The Japanese government recognized the desire of foreigners to understand Japanese culture a little better, and the TICs (Tourist Information Centers) offer two ways to do this. One is the "Home Visit Program", where foreigners (or gaijins, as the Japanese say) spend an evening with a Japanese family. The other is requesting a student guide - the TIC will set you up with a student, who will be your tour guide for the day. Of course, I had to try both. I visited the Kazuya family on Friday, and had Shichi Yasukura guide me through Kyoto on Saturday. The family visit was the most charming experience I had so far in Japan! The Kyoto International Comunity House, the Place organizing home visits, equipped me well with detailed maps to find the way. In spite of rain and darkness, I managed to find the way, and arrived at 7 pm at the Kazuya house. I was welcomed by Kazu and her 6 year old daughter Aoi, who was very excited and handed me an origami flower, and a colorful welcome letter (which I couldn't read, as it was in Japanese, obviously - but I got a translation later). Inside, I met her 14 year old son Keita, and her 16 year old other daughter Mikazu. Mrs. Kazu and Mikazu both spoke well English, and inbetween everything was the whirlwind Aoi. Keita did barely speak a word, and retired early. With no formalities, Mrs. Kazu went on to make dinner, while Mikazu told me about her recent excitement about running (100 m in 13.4 seconds). Now I also know what ordinary Japanese have for dinner: miso soup, a plate with meat loaf, steamed soy bean spreads, potatos, lettuce on the side, and a bowl with rice and seaweed. And of course, tea was served. They were all very excited to see that I could eat with chopsticks (come on, I live in San Francisco), and asking for my food preferences, they were surprised that I would eat raw fish (did I mention that I live in San Francisco?). Actually, I don't think the Kazuyas are that ordinary after all. They had a big, nice house, and were in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city, right next to the Imperial Palace Park. In the course of the evening, I learned a lot about the family and Japan, and they learned about Germany and the USA. Aoi came running with the globe, and I had to show Germany, Hamburg, and various other locations. I learned about the different Japanese alphabets, and got my name written down in Japanese. When Aoi saw my notebook, she jumped up and down and asked her mother to ask me whether she could draw in it. Around 9 pm, Iwasaki, the head of the family, arrived. He workes for National/Panasonic and manages 50 people, as I learned later on. A typical salaryman, I would say, gray suite and tie, very proper, and he looked happy and energetic. His English was more elementary than Mikazu's, but he was trying hard, and grabbed a book about Germany that he got from a German visitor a long time ago. By the time I was splitting, I got various pieces of origami, drawings, and even a rubber ball from Aoi, while Keita and Mikazu went to bed quite a while ago. Aoi was a little rubber ball herself, and asked her mother why I wouldn't stay over night ("Next time," I said.). I was really lucky to meet such wonderful people! The day with Shichi, my student city guide, was interesting, but the experience could not live up to the night before. Shichi is a 20 year old freshman in Environmental Engineering at Kyoto University. His English was good enough to communicate essentials well. It turns out that students are virtually waiting in line to be city guides. In compensation for guiding, the visitor is expected to pay their transportation, admissions and lunch, and I was more than happy to do so. But for the students, this is a great opportunity to save some money, and to learn more about the city at the same time. Shichi had been in Kyoto for less than a year, so he was interested in the sights himself. We spent 6 hours together, and I was trying to learn as much about Japan as I could - about politics, religion, the environment, immigration issues, cultural differences - you name it. Unfortunately, Shichi's English was too limited for these things, and he wasn't too interested in these things, either. While Shichi asked me what I was interested in seeing, he had the agenda pretty much worked out. He took me to some very nice temples with great gardens. And we spend quite a while there. He was very confused, however, when I showed interest in seeing the Kyoto University Campus. But it turned out to be very valuable to me, as it gave me quite some insight into the student live there. I always love to look at the message boards there, and sure enough, there was a listing for a conversation lounge - a place for foreigners and students who want to talk English to meet - and it was even that day, 3 pm! Shichi, wasn't to excited however, and suggested another temple that he considered particularly worth visiting. I hesitated, but Shichi convinced me to go to the temple. Unfortunately so. The temple was not anything I haven't seen before, admission was 3 times as expensive as some other temples, and I missed the opportunity to meet some more English speaking Japanese. I could see that Shichi felt bad, as it was just to obvious that he pushed his own interests a little too hard. But there were no hurt feelings when we split. I just realized that I approached this encounter with the wrong expectations. I wasn't really looking for a city guide - the things I saw with Shichi I already found on my own. I was looking for a Japanese experience, some insight into this society, and some sophisticated discussion that I would expect from somebody who studies at one of the best universities of Japan. But that's not what it was advertised for, and it wasn't what I got. But it was worth the try, and certainly an interesting day. Competition for Burning Man I spent all day Sunday in the Kurama area, half an hour north of Kyoto, in the mountains. I got off the train at Kibune, one stop before Kurama, as my guidebook suggested. There is a hiking path over the ridge to Kurama, and it was unbelievably beautiful! Uphil almost all of the time, there were steps leading through the forest, interupted by little temples and shrines along the way. This walk showed me more than anything else the Japanese's appreciation for nature. The hike took almost two hours, and I arrived sweaty in Kurama - perfect time to visit Kurama-onzen, a natural outside bath. Can you imagine how good it felt to soak in the hot water, surrounded by the beautiful mountains? But I wanted to talk about the Festival. This was no tourist festival - and when I arrived in the early afternoon, there were very few people there, at least compared to what I saw later. Kurama is a small village, with one main street, and that's it. The natives were running around, busy with the last preperation for the party. In front of every house, there were tourches. Small tourches, only a few feet long, and huge torches, some of them easily 15 feet long, and longer! They were also cutting and preparing wood for bondfires all over the village, and pots with water were placed everywhere, to extinguish little fires, as I learned later. Even more interesting, all natives opened the doors of their houses, and put the family treasures on display! I saw samurai armours and swords, artistic plates and jewlery, there were flowerarrangements everywhere, and artistic screens were blocking the view on the private parts of the houses. It was obvious, that this was a big feast for the people of the village themselves, and not only a tourist attraction! I was lucky - I met a Japanese lady who was giving away samples of soup, and she invited me to a friend's house across the street, who proudly presented me the family treasures exibited in their window. She volunteered to translate any questions I might have, and so I learned that the festival has been taking place for the last 1000 years, and that this is a huge event for family reunions. It was getting time for the festival - and not to soon to grab a good spot. Suddenly it was crowded! A German told me later in the youth hostel that he had to line up at the Kyoto train station in order to get to Kurama, and that the line was a few blocks long outside the station! But I gathered a good spot, and being a head taller than the average Japanese certainly helped as well! People gathered to the left and right of the street, and there was a policeman every 10 feet too keep the passage free. It was 6 pm, and soon the first tourch carrier appeared. They started with the small torches, and often they were carried by little kids under guidance. It was very cute! They walked up and down the street (a very long street, that is), and were singing and screaming, while I could hear taiko drums and bells ringing. It was very slow and dignified. It took a while before the bigger torches appeared, some of them carried by up to four people. When they came closer, I could feel the heat, and all bonfire along the street were lit by now. Sometimes, when the tourches burned too lively, someone would poor a little water over them, to keep the flames down. The tourch carriers were dressed traditionally, and everybody with an appreciation for male butts would have enjoyed this, as they were wearing sumo-like pants, the ones that only have a ribbon in the back. By 8 pm, it was almost impossible to move, and the police definitely looked stressed out. The tourches got bigger, the fires hotter, and the guys carrying the tourches sometimes got carried away, jumping around, in spite of the heavy weight on their shoulders. And there were little accidents as well - right in front of me, one tourch fell down, and people had barely room to step away. But nobody seemed to care, everybody was taken by the magic of the fire. An hour later, you could feel the electricity in the air, people were tired from standing around, but also excited about what was going on in front of them. By now, carriers brought religious equipment - huge poles that got erected and hold by four or five people, and that had some decor and banners on top of them, and bells that were ringing continuously. The drums got louder as well, but I never saw them. Finally they were taken away again, and all tourches were carried to the plaza in the center of the town, just 150 feet away from me. They were put down on top of each other, to create one last giant bonfire. Everybody was excited and cheering, and I could see some priests disciplining some of the tourch carriers (probably their pupils), as they were dancing a little too much for their taste, as it seemed. The climax of the event happened after the fire was burned down completely, and a portable shrine was carried down from the temple, over the ashes, and up the street. I was exhausted, and my feet were aching, and on top of that there was a one0-hour wait to get on the train, so long was the line. Nevertheless, this was a special and unique experience, and I wouldn't want to have missed it for anything! |
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