Out of China: The Revenge of the "Cute and Little"

Ada "Godzilla" Chan meets Tokyo: PART I

Okay, so I haven't been writing in this online blog of mine for a while which is a big faux pas. I should take advantage of this opportunity, according to Ron (Jan, 2003), since they have apparently banned the usage of this handy lil' web journal in China. Since my last update in Hong Kong, I have taken Tokyo and its environs by storm and have lots of stories and observations to share. I was staying with Alley in Kita-Senju in the middle of her English teaching contract with Nova. I also met up with Chris who is teaching with the JET program.

So what kind of mischief have I been up to in Japan, you may ask. Apart from getting engaged with a sumo wrestler and taking up the position of an amateur karate hostess in the heart of busy Shinjuku, not much. :) But is Japan ever different from China! It seems to me that everyting in Japan is cute and little like those cute but not enough portions they serve you at restaurants. People are so concerned about their weight, health, or both that they have the amount of calories of menu items in some restaurants. Back in China, each dish can feed a family of 6 and their neighbour's dog. The price can rival Canada's which is comparatively expensive in China.

There are three systems of writing in Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana (pronunciation of foreign words and other letters in "bold"), and Kanji (Chinese). I found that I could read most of the Kanji which is helpful at times. However, many characters cannot be translatable to Chinese and the pronunciation is completely different.

Trainspotting

The average commuter in Tokyo travels individually and falls asleep to the rhythm of the rocking train so the subways are generally very quiet. Most of them are so tired from long commutes that they do not stand up and offer seats to older people who are left standing in the crowded train. Standees throw their arms akimbo and hands twisted in a secure, branch-like position to guarantee successful upright slumber. To get to the city centres from Tokyo suburbs, people take an average of 3 trains to get there and three trains back, spending an average of $15 CAN each day. There are heaters beneath the seats to keep booties warm and toasty. The Japanese love their space and if there aren't many people, they may move 3 squat-toilets length from the person sitting closest to them.

Japanese water closet

In terms of facilities for times when nature calls, the Japanese are spotlessly immaculate. If there happens to be the squat sort, they are squeaky clean. If there are western toilets, you get a heated seat and the option of having simulated water sounds to hide the sounds of human expulsion as the Japanese can be sensitive about such issues. (On my first Japanese toilet experience, I had inferred that the water sounds was to help people with number one. . .) They are also sensitive about blowing one's nose in public.

To be continued

p.s. For those curious, I'm writing this in Hong Kong where internet is more accessible (aka free) and I have more time to digest my side trip