Thursday, January 30, 2003

Being kawaii and genki

Cute and little: PART II

I
had absolutely no idea how absolutely tiny Vancouver is compared to other cities until I heard that Tokyo has a population of 13 and that the station of a major city centre called Shinjuku is taken over by 2 million people in a day. This means that the entire population of Greater Vancouver would pass through one train station in the course of one day! Sugoi (v. impressed)! My perspective of Tokyo is that it would be glitz and glamour is a dizzying urban jungle with the newest of technology. But after seeing the suburbs and sitting on 7 trains on the same day, I can't say that it describes the entire city. I didn't originally make a concrete plan to visit Japan on my China trip but I'm so very glad that I did!

Iron Chef

Yes,
there is indeed sushi in Japan. As good as back home? Can't really say. I would say its approximately the same minus the very unauthentic California roll. Sacriligious to say the least to have avocado of all things and imitation crab *gasp* within maki rolls. I was able to experience 100 yen sushi which means plates of sushi and other goodies move on mini conveyers belts past your table and at the end they calculate the bill by the amount of plates on your table. 100 yen a plate = $1.30Can. We had ramen noodles and soba at noodle places. The price of fruits is sky high. And I went to eat okonomiyaki, which is like a Japanese style omelette with batter and we cooked it in real authentic lard ourselves! How exciting! :)

Other rather brill moments of Japanese eating adventures include a couple of 24-hour upscale Japanese family diners with a drink bar (all you can non-alcoholicly drink). We also had fish and chips at a British bar and authentic Aussie meat pies at an Australian pub on Aussie day! Oh and did I mention that 7-11 is my new favourite store in Japan? They have box lunches with sushi, rice, tofu stuff and other yummy Japanese "fast food" you can bring along with you for picnics when you go wandering about.

Japanese characters

In
the Meiji shrine area, there are goths who gather together every Sunday. I was unfortunately unable to make the meeting as I was caught up with another v. important meeting (Hard-core hiking in Tokyo). This area is the fashion district for funky trendy teenagers who may splatter themselves with bloody make-up, super high clogs with white white make-up and witch black outfits. The non-goths are not to be unrivalled, they are decked out in the trendiest, "cute" looks, very hard to describe except to say that I felt v. old and v. out of style.

The young Japanese school girls in uniform have the longest skirts, their skirts go all the way down to the crotch of their panties (or lack thereof as I've been told). Their school socks are ones that look like, when pulled up all the way, they should go up to their hips but when worn the "appropriate way", fall loosely beneath their knees. With the cold temperature and the windy conditions while I was there, I wonder how they can still have the energy to parade down the streets with their bouncy skirts. I guess that's why they have those white masks to avoid giving other people their germs. . .

How can I forget the businessmen. The salarymen who is the sushi winner of the household gets home late every night because he is held back by colleagues. . . to be drunk and merry. He is lured by the hostesses of bars on the side alleys and drinks sake till the wee hours. I've heard of the coffin shaped sleeping portals he can rent to stay the night in downtown after the last subway leaves the station before one in the morning.

Homeless in Japan

In
parks around Tokyo there are tent communities where the homeless live. I've seen this example in Ueno Park, where blue tarps take over an area. It actually looks like a campsite in Canadian campgrounds you can pay $15 a night for. They must be pretty well insulated to keep the people warm in the windy nights. (It reminds me of Hong Kong when temperatures of 12c and under requires a "chill warning" on television. In such conditions, Hong Kong reports several deaths, usually old people who freeze to death.) I have heard that if you want to send a person living in a tent community snail mail, you can address it to the park (ex. Ueno) with the recipient's name on it and it will arrive there safely.

To be continued

p.s. Happy Chinese New Years on February 1st.! My Granny has been so busy with preparations lately. She tells me that for the Hong Kong people, it's like Christmas celebrations. V. exciting to be participating in this years festivities. They celebrate New Years on Jan 1 in Japan so coming back to see decorations and people rushing about with New Years goodies is delicious.

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

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