A Month Well Spent
Hi again everyone! Today marks a month and 3 days since I
arrived in Japan, and I can honestly say that it has been a month of my life
that I will never forget. Every day is an adventure here and there is always
something new waiting around the corner. The last 2 weeks I have really focused
on making new friends and growing the friendships I have already created. I
have already become very close with the people that live in my apartment
building. They are mostly in their 20’s and they are all very kind and unique
people. Every day I usually end up spending time with some of them. Whether is
practicing my Japanese with the Japanese PhD student Akina, getting dinner and
seeing the city with my Canadian housemate Brad, or going to the gym with my Mexican
housemate Aldo I can always find a reason to spend time with them. I have also made
plenty of new friends at my school. I have gotten very close with the other
exchange students and I end up hanging out with them often. I’ve also become
more active in the club I joined, Niji no Kai (which essentially translates to
the rainbow gathering). All of the exchange students are invited to join since it’s
a club that seeks multicultural exchange. They have world study events every week
and plan fun activities like barbeques and dinner parties. It has been a great
way to make new Japanese friends and practice my Japanese with native speakers.
I’m having a great time in Japan and I have learned so much. So without further
delay I’ll share some of the more interesting things with you all! Please enjoy the picture of Godzilla about to destroy the city.
The Japanese approach to lines
The
Japanese people love lines. I’m fairly certain they are attracted to them. Most
Japanese people have no problem spending hours in lines for things that they
want. Whether it is for the fancy popcorn shop in Harajuku, or for the Tower of
Terror at Disney Sea you better believe many Japanese would be willing to
sacrifice a good portion of their day to experience it. However, while in Japan
I have seen a few interesting twists on the concept of waiting in lines. The
first of these I witnessed at Disneyland and Disney Sea. Most of you are
probably familiar with the concept of fast passes. At many major theme park in
America you can pay extra to wait in shorter lines. However, with such a high
population density and with a culture that values fairness like Japan, this
process would be hard to implement. Instead, in Tokyo Disney theme parks anyone
can get a fast pass. These fast passes are only for one ride and you can only
get 1 every two hours or so (and only while supply lasts). This results in
everyone usually getting 2-3 fast passes in a single day. Is this system more
practical? No, probably not, but it definitely is more fair. Furthermore, in
the spirit of fairness you can generally leave your place in line to go to the rest
room or get a snack and return without angering those around you. Another interesting
approach to lines I have seen in Japan is at the public gym where I often work
out. In America when the gym is crowded you end up waiting near whatever
machine or bench you want to use while making sure everyone knows that you’re
next. In Japan this would most likely be seen as disruptive and rude to the
person currently using the machine. Instead the gym I go to has certain waiting
areas for machines and they use a unique reservation system with strict time
limits on the more popular areas. Once again it is apparent how important
fairness is in Japanese culture. Below are some pictures of the reservation
system at the gym, as well as one of the fast pass machines at Disney Sea
Rain in Japan
In the past two weeks it rained... a lot. It isn’t even the rainy season yet, and it rained more often than it was sunny! I don’t enjoy the rain since it
often brings my mood down, but there are a couple interesting things about the
rain in Japan that I’ve noticed. First is that the average Japanese person will
never be caught in the rain without an umbrella. There were multiple occasions where
I forgot to check the weather and didn’t have one with me. However, regardless
of where I was, the instant it started raining everyone had one! I have no idea
where some of the men even kept theirs! The second difference about the rain in
Tokyo is the wind it brings with it. Tokyo is a fairly windy city to begin
with. In fact they have a word for the wind that gets amplified as it’s forced
between buildings (ビル風) “biru-kaze”, which literally translates to building
wind. However, when it rains the wind is even worse. My friend Rise brought an
umbrella with her from America and it broke the first time it rained here! So a
word of advice if you come to Japan; don’t bother bringing an umbrella since it
probably won’t last long. I have heard that most of the umbrellas here are much
strong than the average foreign umbrella, but even so, every time after it
rains the garbage cans are filled with broken umbrellas. Honestly I am not
looking forward to the rainy season what-so-ever… At least it will be warm
though. Below are some pictures of the umbrella genocide that Tokyo rains
produce.
Theft in Japan…or lack thereof
Another thing that has become blatantly apparent to me is
how little danger there is of your stuff getting stolen in Japan. Every day
that I walk near my school there are dozens of bikes littering the sidewalks,
and not one of them has a lock on them. I see people studying outside and they
fearlessly leave all of their belongings out when they go to the bathroom or
get a snack. One of my friends left his credit card at a restaurant last week
and got it back the next day, and another person I know has lost his passport
and gotten it back. Twice! Needless to say, the Japanese take theft very
seriously, and they pride themselves on being one of the safest countries in
the world. You can stop by any 交番 “kouban” (tiny
police stations that are on most major streets) and they will help you find
anything you may have lost. Chances are you will get it back. Yes you should probably be careful when in crowded
touristy places, but for the most part you should not stress out too much about theft
in Japan. Below are some pictures of some bikes that would have lasted maybe 3
minutes if they were in a large US city.
More food
In the past two weeks I have eaten more delicious food! I
had yakiniku, (traditional Japanese grilled meat) and gyoza (Chinese dumplings
that are very popular in Japan) to name a few new ones. I even learned how to
make gyoza! A couple of my housemates and I decided to make them and have a
small dinner party out of it. It was delicious and super eat to make! I also went
to a barbeque last Sunday with the club that I’m a part of at school. It was
all you can eat for 1000 yen. It was a beautiful experience. Having delicious
food with good friends definitely turns those meals into even better memories. Oh and I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to non-Japanese rice again. Its just too good. Below are pictures of the yakiniku, the gyoza I made, and a small portion of
the meat we had at the barbeque.
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Misc.
There are a couple pictures that I have taken that I want to
put up here that I don’t really have much to say for so I’m just going to lump them
into one random category. First of all I have seen more tiny dogs in clothes
while in Japan than I have throughout my entire life. I’m pretty sure I have
seen more dogs in clothes than without clothes. So here is a picture of that. I’ve
gone to karaoke a couple times now as and I have finally gotten the hang of using
the machine. It’s pretty complicated considering my Japanese is not that great, but its so much fun! Lastly they have some pretty advanced toilets in Japan, but I saw an interesting
one the other day. From someone who has never used one like this before I wasn’t
exactly sure how to approach it… so I just decided to find a different one. Sooo yeah.
These past few weeks have flown by for me. I can’t believe
that I have already been here for over a month. I have done so many amazing
things and met so many different people that I can’t even imagine what the rest
of my time here has in store for me. Next week is golden week here in Japan. During
that time students get the whole week off due to national holidays falling one
day after another. Its the longest break until summer vacation in Japan. Needless to say, everything fun is super crowded. Personally I'm of
going on a trip with my club Niji no Kai for the first half of it, and then I'll spend the rest of
my time exploring the parts of Tokyo I have yet to experience. I’m sure it’s going
to be an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait to share more of my adventure
with you all! As always, thanks for reading! Here are some touristy photos I’ve
taken that I think are pretty good.
Imperial palace bridge
Statue in front of the imperial palace
Ginza main road
View from Uni Qlo's top floor in Ginza
Shinjuku buildings at sunset
Kasai-rinkai-kouen park (BBQ location)
Kasai-rinkai-kouen ocean path
Kasai-rinkai-kouen ocean city view
