On Marketing Squash Malt and Some Poppy Pictures

Here's a sight you don't often see. A lady was handing out free samples of beer in the grocery store today. Only it wasn't beer. When I got close enough to read the cans, it said: "Squash Malt." She was offering it in paper cups and in half-size cans, but she literally couldn't give the stuff away. I had awhile to ponder her dilemma as I stood in line. I'm no expert in what English words sound attractive or tasty in Japanese, so I didn't worry about the unfortunate choice of a name. The problem, as I saw it, is that 90 percent of the shoppers were women buying food for their families. Of course, none of them were touching the little cups of strange brew. Those cups were sitting on the corner of the woman's table, behind her actually, looking warm and forgotten. She was concentrating on getting little cans into the plastic shopping baskets passing by. But the shoppers wouldn't even look at her. She could have had their attention with free spoonfuls of raw fish eggs or some spicy sea weed. And I've seen others have success handing out samples of wine or tea. But, in the final analysis, I figured that if these women had husbands at home who liked to drink, why would they want to bring home free beer, or some new kind of alcohol that they may have to buy later for 798 yen a six pack?

For my next entry I promise more content. I've decided to spend the next few months slowly working through a few foundational books on Japanese culture and history. I love these subjects because they tell me so much about 'here and now' daily life that I would otherwise miss (or misunderstand). I'll try to work in things I may pick up in a way that's interesting, and I'd appreciate reading suggestions if you have some.

I'm heading to Odawara this Sunday for the "Houjiou Godai Matsuri" at Odawara Castle. This will be our third year in a row. Thousands of local residents dress in costumes of the Tokugawa era for a big show and parade (on Monday). You can see pictures from the past two years here, and I'll be updating that gallery with better photos soon if all goes well.

I took the pictures above by the side of our house. Beautiful poppies are blooming everywhere, like colorful weeds popping up where we least expected them. Well, there are plenty of weeds, too, and I think we need to pull them or something -- it's been a long time since I've had to think about such things.

Namaste! A Blog in Nepal Worth Reading

This blog is relatively new, and I'm new to blogs in general. In addition to developing a focus for this site, I'm enjoying reading several other blogs. If you look on the right column of this page and scroll down a bit, you'll see a list of blogs arranged by country. From time to time I'll try and highlight entries in the other blogs that I read, especially when there's something really worth reading.

Today I want to recommend a look at 'Nepal Namaste!' and the current post about "The Danger of Getting Too Close." This blog is not about trekking in the mountains of Nepal, but it's the sensitive words and photographs of a guy who loves the people there. It's full of first hand accounts of living in the midst of ongoing warfare. I've read a number of great posts at this site, but the post I've linked to above is something you don't want to miss.

Happy reading! More later. Oh, and that's my daughter up there. :)

Tokyo Politics and a Green Party (er, Picnic)

Yesterday I was in Tokorozawa and saw this procession of Democratic Party campaigners coming down a narrow shopping street. They're having a special election for a congressional seat, because the LDP party member they elected the first time apparently tried to buy some votes. A couple of nights ago they mentioned the election on the news and showed pictures of the various candidates. One that got extra attention was riding around Saitama on his bicycle. He wasn't showing off his fitness but riding the kind of bicycle that millions ride to work everyday. He was followed by an entourage of men in suits, like himself, all waving enthusiastically beneath the nylon banners waving above their heads. It's a sight you don't often see. Another candidate was driving around in a packed minivan, face halfway stuck out a small window, smiling and waving while a loudspeaker on the roof blared our her name and a few details. You know, the usual. Then there was the Communist Party candidate, a somewhat angry looking woman in her forties wearing large, gold earrings. Finally, the LDP candidate was a young face. At first glance, I said to my wife, "They're sending out a sacrificial lamb." But then the coverage turned to Koizumi (the PM) who had been stumping in Saitama to support the guy. Koizumi was on TV speaking into a cloth covered microphone, and I wondered if he was standing in front of some train station in front of a van with a giant loudspeaker on top blasting hapless commuters. But he was probably indoors speaking to a crowd of cameras. Anyway, the LDP's young guy got more coverage than all the others combined. That's politics.

The other pictures are from the river near my house in Higashikurme on the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line. One shows the river looking like a natural spring (which it is) near the place where it originates. The other picture is from a wide spot (about 10 meters wide, that is) where families gather on weekends when the weather is right. They come to picnic, wade and have fun. Mostly the river is in very good shape and quite natural looking.

Children, a River, Green Grass and Sun in Japan

Saturday was one of those days to remember. We loaded the kids up on bicycles and traveled a short distance to a wide, green spot on the stream near our house. Tokyo is a funny place. I've seen some of the ugliest places imaginable here, and yet there are beautiful places to enjoy nature right in the city. Someone asked the other day about the name of this river. It's called the Ochiai River (or stream, if you will, based on the size). It emerges from a natural spring just above the point where these pictures were taken.

The signs of the city are all around, but if you concentrate on the right things, like the bubbling water, blooming flowers, river grass and laughing kids, you just feel the tensions of city life floating away. Just keep your mind off the omnipresent power lines, the old man stomping down the river grass to help kids catch minnows and the plastic, green landscaping mat that holds the delicate grass carpet beside the river in place (and digs slightly into your back as you you lay down to enjoy the sun).

Of course, photo moments are in abundance. I hope you enjoy these shots and understand why I truly like the place. I love to see families out having fun together, by the way, and especially fathers playing with their sons and daughters. Men in Japan work such long hours during the week that it's a wonder (and, unfortunately, a rarity for some) when they have time and energy to enjoy their wives and kids.

The kids in these pictures are trying to catch minnows and crawfish in their nets. The river bottom gets torn up a bit in the process as I said, but most of the netting goes on in this small section. Not far from this place in either direction I can park my bike and enjoy the untouched water complete with colorful Koi, ducks meandering in the grassy channels and occasional white ibises (I think that's what they are) stalking the same minnows that the kids are hunting. I don't have the nouns and adjectives to put it all together, so I'll post a picture or two another time.

Japanese Food, Mochi and a Movie

I shot some really nice pictures at the river near my house today. Someone asked for the river's name, so I'll make a post about that with the pictures soon. It's amazing the kind of nature you can find right inside of Tokyo. Too bad, but the opposite is also true.

In the meantime, one of the best things about being in Japan is the food. I know for some the opposite is true, and I admit to insatiable cravings for pizza and spagetti at times. Anyway, here are a few things I like to eat here:

Unagi - Sea eel. BBQ'ed. Yum, but kind of expensive to get the good ones that are "grown" in Japan. Cheap Unagi are imported from China, but you really can taste the difference, I guess.

Taro - "Fatty tuna" in English. A tuna fish is divided into many different cuts of meat, and Taro is the best (or the best I know of). This isn't something you BBQ; it's best to eat raw as sushi or sashimi. Mmm. Melts in your mouth.

Ramen - When I want a cheap, unhealthy meal full of flavor and cholesterol then I go for Ramen every time. Tokyo is full of "famous" ramen bars, and it's a joy to discover them one by one.

Salmon - People eat loads of Salmon here. It's generally cheap, and we sometimes have it for breakfast. But I found out recently that the orange oil that sometimes comes out of cheap Salmon is dye. Apparently farmed salmon are fed man made pellets, and the result is that the meat is not orange like the flesh of salmon that eat a natural diet. So they put some orange dye into the pellets. Clever, huh?

Mochi - Mochi is made by pounding the heck out of a special kind of rice. After enough pounding it becomes a sticky, gelatinous blob. This is formed into mouthful sized balls, and it's not bad. Plain mochi is like eating plain gum, but you can get mochi in many flavors, from green tea to sakura (cherry).

By the way, mochi is considered a choking risk for young children and old people. One of my favorite food movies is Tampopo. It's too complicated to summarize the plot right now, but there is a scene where a family drops "grandpa" off at his favorite restaurant with a warning: "Don't eat the mochi; you almost died last time." Of course, he orders noodles with mochi type dumplings inside. After voraciously slurping down all the noodles, he attacks a mochi with passion. Sluuuurp, glug. He grips his throat and falls to the floor unable to breathe. There's a big scene which ends when someone from the restaurant fetches a vacuum cleaner, sticks the narrowest attachment down his throat and sucks out the mochi.

Tampopo is actually one of the best and funniest food movies ever made. You should watch it sometime.

Connecting with Real People in Japan

I was talking with two Japanese men not long ago and told them in my limited Japanese that I want to connect with people. I want my Japanese to improve enough so that I can talk about things that are important "from the heart." Talking "heart to heart" is an image that communicates clearly in Japanese. Anyway, one of them said that what he wants from others is that they leave him alone. He didn't say this to counter my statement but just as an honest expression.

What he said is a reality in Japanese culture. There is a tremendous reserve, expressed through images like "building walls," "wearing masks" or just "hiding inside." This aspect of Japanese culture (or at least what I've learned of it so far) seems to contradict a strong value that I have. But I know that Japanese people really value relationships, including "heart to heart" relationships based on honesty and trust. I've seen the evidence, heard from my wife, and I hope to learn this from experience.

It's taken two years of hard work and frustration, but now I know enough Japanese to talk about some of those important things. I'm a bit dangerous. That is, I could say something really offensive without knowing it, I'm sure. But people are gracious with me. I've been meeting every Saturday with a friend who I met in Starbucks. We speak for a 1/2 hour in English and 1/2 hour in Japanese. The best part is that I'm getting to know him as a friend and not just a language partner. I've also just started meeting with one of the young women who works at Starbucks for a language exchange. Her English is much more limited but we connected well in our first meeting.

This week after meeting with her (the worker at Starbucks), I rode my bicycle home (about 10 minutes away). As I was going down a narrow street I had to get way to the side to let some guy driving a low rider get by. This was a real low rider -- a Ford of some sort, I think. He bounced it a bit with his hydraulics just to impress the American (me). I ride a big mountain bike. As I moved to the side an older woman was walking toward me. She jumped back a bit when she saw the (big) bicycle with the (big) foreigner coming toward her. I slowed way down, and I saw her giving me a blank stare.

Normally, and especially in the past, I would have translated her expression to mean something like: "yuck...a big, dangerous foreigner, I hope he doesn't run me over." But I was in a good mood and ready to assume the best, so as I passed I quietly said, "Weird car, huh?" Her face broke instantly into a nice, familiar smile as she nodded and said, "Neeeh" (Yeah). I thought about that moment the rest of the way home. A few words in Japanese broke through a wall that I thought was ten feet thick. The walls may be more permeable than meets the eye. Imagine when I learn a few more words!

Japanese Children at School and Play

Tomorrow's the big day when my daughter REALLY starts preschool. Above are pictures of children at my daughter's preschool from Friday's entrance ceremony. I shot all of these outside on the playground afterwards. If you like these, you can find more in my Japanese Children Gallery (click here).

Today my wife and I got away for a three hour break while a babysitter watched the kids. First, we went to an Italian restaurant that was pretty good. Then we rode our bikes to a spot on the river not too far from our house. On a beautiful spring day (like today) you can sit next to the water's edge and watch children wading, boys dipping nets in search of crabs, and fishermen with REALLY long poles proudly plucking three inch fish from the swirls (we call those minnows where I come from). We joined many families and groups of kids on the bank watching this scene. I regreted not having my camera. But sometimes it's better that way. My wife and I talked instead, and then I laid my head back on the grass and soaked it all in. Ahhh! I'll go back and take some pictures next weekend maybe.

By the way, about twenty years ago that river was basically flowing with sewage water. The town went through a massive renewal project about that time, so now the rivers (there are two that come together right by my house) are clean and quite beautiful. I'm always amazed that I can ride my bike, or take a walk, alongside such water within the city of Tokyo.

Nyuenshiki: Japanese Children Starting School

Yesterday was my daughter's "nyuenshiki" (means: Entering Yochien Ceremony). A yochien is a Japanese preschool. As a father, it's hard to put in words the wonder of seeing a child grow up. It's been a great week! As a bonus, I had the opportunity to take lots and lots of pictures.

The Nyuenshiki included introductions, group photos and some classroom experiences for everyone to see what's coming. The top two pictures above are from the classroom time. I mentioned in an earlier post that all the moms had to sew bags for their kids. They also prepared straw baskets by carefully inserting fabric linings. You can see my daughter standing next to the bags and pointing to her's. The boy's bags were almost all blue (with two exceptions, one green and one yellow), and the girl's bags were all pink. In the last picture, some proud moms are lined up behind their kids for the group photo.

Click here to see my Nyuenshiki Gallery with more great pictures and a fuller description of the day. I don't want to repeat everything that I wrote there, so please take a look. I'll post more pictures of individual kids here in the next day or two.

Thanks and a Tribute to Some Japanese Teachers

Today I took over a hundred pictures at my daughter's Nyuenshiki. That's the ceremony for new children entering Japanese pre-schools (or yochiens). It took me a long time to work on the best photos in Photoshop, and there's no time to post them tonight. But they turned out great! Come back tomorrow and see.

I also wanted to say two things.

First, thanks to the folks at The Weblog Review for having very positive words to say about this site. That was encouraging. This is a new site, so if you like what you see, please send others here. I hate the feeling that I'm just writing to myself sometimes. Thanks.

Second, my Japanese tutor pointed out yesterday that about 20 teachers across Tokyo lost their teaching jobs this past month. Why? Because they refused to stand up and sing Japan's national anthem at various school entrance ceremonies. Apparently, about 200 teachers were reprimanded and actually had their salaries cut for doing the same thing last month at graduation ceremonies in Tokyo.

My wife says that the words of the national anthem are written in such ancient Japanese that most people really don't understand it. But singing the anthem is a patriotic act, and buried in there somewhere is basically a pledge of allegience to the emperor. I don't know what exactly the teacher's are protesting, but it's not surprising that some people would resist singing the anthem for one reason or another. What does surprise me is that they are losing their jobs for it.

It's not my place, as a foreigner, to get shocked or upset. I'm obviously not expected to sing the anthem. But it reminds me of something that I read. When the education system was being codified in Japan, there was a debate about the purpose of education. One side argued that the purpose of education was to strengthen the country by producing good citizens and productive workers. Others argued that education should about the pursuit of knowledge and truth. A side debate concerned whether everyone should have equal access to the same quality of education. In the end, Japan developed a system that was designed to produce model citizens and workers. Most would have limited educational opportunities, while a priveleged few would learn in elite educational institutions that would encourage creative, independent thinking and discovery. Entrance to the best universities was not based directly on wealth or connections but on a nationwide system of school entrance examinations. Many things have changed over time, but this way of thinking still guides the system today both in theory and in practice. It's never been a one sided debate. Many people, like these teachers recently and others before them, have paid the price by standing up (or in their case, sitting down) for change.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Photos & Nyuenshiki

Tomorrow is my daughter's "nyuenshiki" -- that is, her entrance ceremony for "yochien" (Japanese preschool). We're really excited! It's hard to explain the feeling that you get when your kids are getting older. She's changed so much in the past year, and she continually amazes us. I'll post some pictures from the ceremony very soon. It's mercifully short, about 30 minutes, since three year olds don't have long attention spans. I'll probably spend the whole time juggling my camera while trying to keep our one year old twins out of trouble.

Despite being sick with a fever, my wife has been busy for the past three nights preparing. Some time ago the school gave all the moms a highly detailed list of the items each child needs for the first day. The list included precise dimensions for a number of bags that the moms are supposed to sew themselves. The bags all must be exactly the same, but the choice of fabrics and the skill with which they are cut and sewn is up to each mom. My wife had to make a cup bag (for my daughter's plastic blue drinking cup), a shoe bag (for her indoor shoes), and one big bag for her papers and stuff. Tonight she's busy will all kinds of little detailed tasks on the list, like sewing nametags in certain places, labeling every little item, etc. She just finished writing my daughters name on every individual crayon in the box (about 20). This is a country where the concept of "detailed instructions" is sometimes carried to new heights.

Preparing for yochien is apparently an annual ritual across Japan. New yochien moms, most of whom haven't sewn a bit since some class in high school, work like mad trying to sew and prepare in a way that befits the love and pride they feel for their daughters and sons. Of course, they also want to "wow" the other moms. Some produce wonderful creations, while others pay to have the bags made by professionals. Others wish they had paid someone when it's all over. In our case, I think my wife remembered her high school lessons well. My daughter's bags are all "Disney princess" themed. Personally, I think it would be funny to get some fabric with a fake Luis Vuitton "LV" on it, but I'm sure some of the moms wouldn't be laughing.

If you enjoy the Japanese Cherry blossom photos above, you can see more in my Cherry blossom gallery (click here). I didn't take that many photos of blossoms this year. I'm having too much fun taking pictures of people recently, and you can expect more of those coming soon.

Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) in a Tokyo Park

Spring is wonderful in Japan. After the cold, damp Winter, one day the wind changes and light and warmth return. Thousands of cherry trees sense the change in weather and break out in celebratory blossoms all across Japan. On the weekends, people flood out of their houses and into parks for Hanami (flower viewing). Basically, they have a picnic under the trees along with copious amounts of alcohol. You have to be quick or you'll miss the opportunity for a Hanami. The Cherry blossoms cling to the trees for about ten days, and usually there are just a couple days when they are declared to be at their fullest and best. After that they begin to fall off like a fine snow in the breeze or weighed down by Spring rain.

These Hanami pictures capture some of the sights that we saw last weekend. We went to Shakujikoen, a fairly well known park along the Seibu-Ikebukuro line. The most famous parks are wall-to-wall people, and sometimes you can barely even walk between them. Although it's not exactly a "nature experience," a Hanami is a great people viewing experience. It's one of the few times that you see whole families out together. My only regret is that scenes like this aren't repeated more often.

I'll be posting cherry blossom pictures during the next few days. Then I have some exciting plans for this blog for the rest of the Spring, so please bookmark this sight and come back for more soon.

Please go to my Hanami gallery (click here) for descriptions of all the pictures above.

Japan and Singapore Thoughts and Pictures

I just got back from a trip to Indonesia and Singapore. The last few days (in Singapore) were a family vacation for us. Maybe our kids are still too young to call it a vacation, though, if that means "resting." Personally, I'd rather be backpacking in New Zealand (or Colorado) or exploring a deserted island somewhere, but Singpore is still nice. The city has a lot of things that I like but can't find in Japan, like: good, CHEAP Chinese food, Thai food and Indian food. Not to mention American food (whatever that is), and I even found a New Zealand ice cream shop and returned several times! We enjoyed the Singapore Zoo. The animals are kept in quite natural habitats, and some aren't enclosed at all. For example, several species of monkeys are living freely in different sections. On the downside, I was drenched in sweat after an hour, and the place was a bit smaller than I expected. The next day, our friends offered us a 2 hour break from the kids, so my wife and I went to Boat Quay for lunch and a walk along the river. That was very relaxing. We also visited Chinatown and ate Dim Sum (Yum Cha), enjoyed Singapore's cultural/religious variety, and, of course, we shopped.

At one point, I started to compare Singapore and Japan. In Singapore the buildings are new. It's colorful. You get a strong feeling of forward progress. It's a great city, uh, I mean country. Japan feels old and very slow to change by comparison. On the other hand, the entire economy of Singapore pours into a country that compares better size-wise with Tokyo, and it's efficiently managed by a government of technocrats. The bulk of Japan's economy is generated in several large urban areas, but the proceeds are used to maintain the whole country. On the one hand, I'm glad that Japan preserves so much of it's history, but Japanese wealth has been poured out with some remarkably unimpressive results, like lining the rivers of Japan and most of the coast with concrete and building unneeded highways to nowhere.

Before this turns negative, let me change course. On the three hour bus ride from Narita back home, I realized that I'd probably get bored of Singapore. I'd tire of the smallness. The intensity of change would wear me out. I'd stop eating out all the time. I'd go crazy waiting for Winter to come.

Ok, who am I fooling? I'd love to live in Singapore. Or in New Zealand, Colorado, Vancouver, China, Thailand... I'd like to live in a lot of places.

And I love living in Japan. My family is here. My friends are here. It's not a perfect place to live, but it's home. The more I learn the language and figure out what's going on, the better life here becomes.