Japanory

An Eventful Day which Required a Certificate…

Monday 11^th June 2007

I made Rhiannon a Star Certificate today. She deserved it.

Firstly, she was stoic about Tim heading off to Seoul this morning. Usually she gets upset but she's getting used to the idea now that Daddy has to travel away sometimes for work. Mainly though, it's because he's promised to bring her (another) present from there!

Then when I picked her up from Aikido after school she proudly brandished a real certificate for "Making a Good Effort". I think it's so important for children to be rewarded in this way. It encourages them to continue trying, makes them feel very special and boosts their self-esteem. When I was a kid, the thinking was that no rewards or recognition were required (for whatever dumb reason), so even though I was a pretty good athlete, I have nothing to prove that.

The rest of the certificate said this…

She told a boy to kiss her and he did

She played football with the big boys

When she fell over and cut her knee, with blood, she didn't cry at all

She helped rescue a mole from Raymi and Ginger by being very brave and chasing the cats away.

Then she helped mummy catch the mole and find it a new home and set it free

I shall explain:

After she showed me the Aikido certificate in the car on the way home, she shyly whispered that she had something to tell me and would I be cross?

"Of course not", I said, rather nervously, thinking, "oh no! What had she done? Got into trouble, sent to the Head Mistress?"

No, - she had indeed, dared a boy in her class to kiss her during play time, and he did! I wish I could remember who this boy way, but I can't. I tried not to laugh…

Next on the list - more boys! We could be in trouble in years to come…

There are a couple of boys who live next door to us and regularly play football outside the house. Rhiannon often presses her nose up against the window to watch, but lacks the Japanese language skills to talk to them and (usually) the nerve to ask if she can join in. They are some years older than her with the eldest being about 13 or so. But today, with her confidence massively boosted by the day's events she went out and they very kindly allowed her to play footie with them.

Now she's also the world's greatest drama queen when it comes to any injury; a bruise causes a meltdown and demands for a plaster, so you can imagine the palaver she creates when she gets a proper cut or graze that produces blood. Not today though! She fell on the tarmac and got a good scrape with a lot of blood that needed a real pad, not just a teeny plaster! And as the certificate states - no tears!! Being brave in front of the boys…

They went indoors after this to do their homework and Rhiannon got her skipping rope out to continue her playing outside.

Suddenly, she came running in shouting that Raymi (our cat) and his little stray friend - who we have unimaginatively named Ginger - were "being weird down the alleyway - I think they might be fighting". I could hear no fighting sounds, but went out to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, the two cats were being "weird", but it didn't take me long to work out what they were up to - they were chasing some kind of creature and playing with it. They were running up and down behind our linked-neighbour's house.

The only way to rescue whatever it was they were after was for Rhiannon to squeeze through the hedge separating our gardens and chase the cats away. I wouldn't fit. So I went down the other side of the houses armed with a plastic bucket to head the cats off and discovered a mole! Alive and unhurt, thankfully. I retrieved a scared little girl from the narrow alleyway and she helped me guide the mole into the bucket. This was the first mole she's ever seen, so we had a little natural history lesson, said a very firm no, we couldn't keep it as a pet and asked her where did she think it would prefer to live?

Just down the road is a route to an ancient, unused and dry waterway circling Shinjuku-Gyoen garden so we took it down there where Rhiannon scrambled down the bank and set it free in the little wilderness.

I must admit to being surprised at finding a mole in the middle of Tokyo! And I was very proud of Rhiannon today, hence the certificate.

Extra Aikido

Saturday 9^th June 2007

Pacific Aikido - the group who run the childrens' classes at school - have set up some Saturday sessions for those kids who wish to progress quicker through the grades.

Rhiannon is enjoying aikido so much, she insists that we sign her up for them, even though we usually prefer to keep our weekends free from school / sport related activities. But it's only for a few weeks and means Rhiannon will get her yellow belt sooner rather than later.

Who are we to curb such enthusiasm?

We drop Rhiannon off for her hour and a half session and then Tim and I wander down the delightfully named Cat Street to the nearest Starbucks. It's very pleasant for us to spend this rare grown-up time together, talking with each other without a kid interrupting or eavesdropping.

It's very easy to lose yourself in the parenthood trap and ignore each other's feelings and needs, so this short "us" time is valuable and very enjoyable.

Transporting Trees

Thursday 7^th June 2007

Tokyo is a surprisingly "green" city.

By this I mean there are a lot of plants and trees around. The roads are lined with trees - normally Ginkgo or Willow - and every building has several potplants outside.

Each year, the trees are pruned. Not in the brutal, ugly, top-lopping way it's done in Britain, but carefully and artistically. Think about how bonsai trees look, then imagine that on a larger scale.

Tokyo provides unexpected sights on a daily basis. But this one was the best I've seen so far.

A fully grown tree being transported to its new home! The roots are carefully bagged up ready for replanting.

 

It will be well looked after, that's for sure.

Red Hot Chili Peppers in Tokyo!

Don't get too excited - look at the date... remember I'm writing an incredibly backdated blog!

Wednesday 6^th June 2007

Tonight's the night! The night I've been anticipating for about twenty years!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have rescheduled their cancelled gig. Woohoo!!!!!

Shortly after we first arrived I forced Tim to get tickets to see one of my favourite bands in concert. But as seems to be the case whenever I try to see this band, circumstances got in the way. The concert was supposed to be in March but cancelled because the gorgeous Anthony Keidis developed pneumonia. I offered to travel to the States to rub his chest, but Tim didn't think it was a good idea…! *Sigh*

But now it's on again! I am so excited I could burst!! We made our way to the Tokyo Dome for the gig.

Where sadly my bubble burst.

Perhaps it was too soon for Keidis to return after his illness, maybe there were disagreements in the band, but whatever their reason the performance lacked energy and va-va-voom. The Tokyo Dome is just too big and the acoustics are dreadful.

Flea and John Frusciante were geniuses as ever, though. John made us laugh with his very sweet falsetto version of Abba's "SOS" and Flea played a trumpet solo to a Boney M track, of all things!

But overall, I was rather disappointed. And they didn't play "Under the Bridge". Humph.

The set list is here, with links to some of the videos and solos.

Spending a Yen in Japan… Toilets

I thought I had written about these before, but it appears not. It was for one of my Tokyo Tales articles published in the UK - which, incidentally, was the only article I ever received a complaint about - for being vulgar! Ah well, there's always one, isn't there?

Anyway. Of the many questions I'm asked about life in Japan, a frequently recurring one is on the subject of toilets. Many people have heard of the automatic cleaning, high-tech gadgetry for which Japan is famous and recall various stories on the latest invention in the world of sanitary systems. But are you aware of exactly what they can do?

There are two basic types of lavatory here; the familiar Western style and the Japanese squat toilet, with the Japanese version being the most common in public toilets. Thankfully, there is a handle to hold on to assist my untrained leg muscles. Some are pretty grim - the worst I've experienced was in a hut half way up Mount Fuji which was literally a hole in the floor with everything dropping through to a big pit. Graphic pictures are posted on the wall to illustrate the correct method of using the squat toilet.

Interestingly there are also pictures on how to use a Western style lavatory too!

The Western toilets are very talented with a huge number of features incorporated in them, complete with a spaceship-style control panel. Unfortunately, this is almost always written in Japanese so there have been some 'interesting' and rather unnerving moments when I've inadvertently pressed the wrong button! It was many months before I finally found instructions in English, and most enlightening they were too! I've posted a picture of them further down the page.

One of the more unusual aspects of spending a penny (yen!) in public toilets is the motion sensor that starts the sound of running water. This is found only in the women's cubicles and is designed to cover the sound of bodily functions. It just needs a wave of the hand or general proximity to set it off and has the tendency to make me jump even now. Some play loud piped music instead: "Ave Maria" is a favourite.

When it comes to the modern Western toilet, the functions incorporated are amazing. The lid lifts automatically upon entering the cubicle, the toilet seat is heated – which is pleasant in the chilly winter and sometimes you find a toilet that glows in the dark. In the summer, a few have under-seat air conditioning, but this is not as pleasant or as popular as the heated version.

Built into the toilet is a bidet, with a directional hose, a choice of water temperatures, variations on water pressure, pulsating and massaging options. Instead of toilet paper you can use the warm air blow dryer. Apparently, some people spend an inordinate amount of time in these particular facilities…

When you've finished, the most modern ones flush automatically and close the lid for you. If the flush isn't automatic, there is then an exercise in exploration: is the flush one of the many unreadable buttons, a black sensor on the wall or a manual handle cunningly hidden behind the open lid? Some minutes can be spent randomly pressing buttons in the hope that one of them will actually be the flush. Make sure you are standing up for this experiment - pressing random buttons whilst sitting on the loo can cause you to leap into the air squealing… see the previous paragraph! Yes, embarrassingly I speak from experience as very few are labelled in English as below.

Some home models have a "learning mode" which memorises the times when the toilet is used and only heats the seat in time for this, therefore saving electricity. Some very recent inventions include medical sensors to measure sugar in the urine!

All these fancy functions have a potential for disaster. In 2007, the main manufacturer of these toilets, Toto, had to offer free repairs to 180,000 lavatories which developed wiring problems causing several seats to catch fire. Thankfully nobody was injured.

In restaurants you find pairs of shoes just inside the door. These are 'toilet slippers' and you put them on before entering and removed after leaving. Some toilets are shared by both sexes, with a urinal in the first room and a closed-door cubicle beyond which means you have to pass the urinal to get to the cubicle.

An interesting addition to the range of lavatory systems available is one found in ecologically aware places. After flushing, these toilets send the water that fills the cistern out through a tap over the top of the tank so you can rinse your hands while conserving water.

However, there is rarely anywhere to dry your hands by the basins in public toilets. Everyone carries little personal towels with them for this purpose which are the size of a small flannel. One day I will remember to carry one with me! 

If you really want to see these 'bidet toilets' in action, look at this American website http://www.totousa.com/Washlet/WashletC110.aspx - it's the videos on this page that the complainant considered vulgar, by the way - you have been warned! I think they are pretty tasteful considering what they are talking about!! You will see the kind of surprise that awaits the unsuspecting user…!

And finally... yes, a long post, I know - but when the "flow" happens, I've just got to go with it...!

Someone sent me this picture - I haven't seen it in any toilet but that may be because I visit the ladies, not the gents.

   

Rainy Season in Japan

Sunday 3^rd June 2007

Japan has several extra seasons than the four we are used to. As well as Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, there is also the rainy season and the typhoon season. I think you can also count Hanami (Cherry Blossom time) as a 'season' as well as many other festivals too.

The rainy season has an actual, set start and end date! 8^th June to 20^th July.

Tsuyu is the Japanese name for the rainy season. It doesn't exactly rain every single day, but compared to the rest of the year, it is noticeable. The weather forecasting here is incredibly accurate - which is amazing compared to our hit or miss system in the UK. This is the site we use to work out what to wear each day and whether an umbrella is required and what time it is likely to rain http://www.jma.go.jp/en/yoho/319.html ! Impressive!!

If, by some chance, you forget your umbrella on the day it rains, almost every shop sells cheap transparent plastic ones. Outside every shop or office there is either an umbrella rack for you to leave it before entering the store - it will not be stolen! Or a dispenser that you pop your brollie into where it will be automatically inserted into a plastic bag to save it dripping all over the floor.

It's little things like this that make Japan the special and wonderful place it is.

Of course, the start and end dates of the rainy season are predictions by the Japan Meteorological Agency and Mother Nature doesn't necessarily conform to these. But it's a good way for the shops to predict when to stock umbrellas and wellies.

I took a little trip to explore Ginza. This is an area with three large department stores and every designer store you can name. There aren't any shopping malls in Tokyo, but the few department stores there are provide everything one could possibly need. Other shops are mostly independents and this is one particular aspect of Japan that I truly adore. I loathe the cloned High Streets in the UK and the fact that every town centre is made up of identical shops; chain stores that have shoved the independents away forever.

One store's display of umbrellas was particularly breathtaking. The ground floor ("First Floor" in Japan) reaches right up through all the other five or six floors and the brollies cascaded all the way down from the ceiling. Unfortunately my camera didn't do a great job of showing this.

I spotted an umbrella made in the shape of a red paper parasol - but a proper rainproof one. I must try and get one of these before I leave Japan.