A Great Day!

Before I had internet in my apartment, I went to the library in Minami to use their computers. Minami is a part of Nasukarasuyama near Ogane station. The Board of Education is also there. There are at least 3 computers there, and you can check them out for 30 minutes at a time, and just keep using them if there is nobody waiting for them. But, it costs ¥200 each way to get from Karasuyama station to Ogane station.

So I asked at the local koban (a small police station) if there was a library near Karasuyama station. It turns out there is. But, it only has one computer. So, when I went there the first time, someone was using it. I decided I’d come back later.

To my surprise the lady who was using the computer told me, in English, that she would be done in about 20 minutes, and I could have it then. So I stuck around. When she was done, she introduced herself and we chatted a bit. She lives in Australia, and is visiting her mom. She gave me her phone number, and said to call if I needed help with anything. How nice!

Last weekend, I was at the local supercenter (open from 10 to 8), and ran into her. We chatted some more, and I gave her my phone number, as I actually have one now.

So, last Sunday we went to a local restaurant and just had the all you can drink drink bar. It’s not what you think! Just coffee, tea, cocoa and soft drinks. We had a nice long chat.

Yesterday was a holiday. It’s Showa Day. It’s the beginning of the string of holidays that are known as Golden Week here. Imagine Thanksgiving and Christmas combined to imagine the number of people who travel at this time! Showa Day used to be the Emperor’s Birthday before he passed away. Then for a while, it was Greenery Day. Now it’s Showa Day, named for the reign of Emperor Hirohito. What that meant for me was a day off.

My new friend and I went to the place where they make handmade paper. I’d been there before, but I had only seen the paper gift shop. There is another one. Then we went to a restaurant near the au store. It was quite good – I had the hamburg steak (like a meatloaf burger with no bun), and she had the tonkatsu (a breaded pork cutlet). Then we went to Taki, which by train is the first stop after leaving Karasuyama Station.

Taki means “waterfall”, which is convenient because that’s what we went to see there. The waterfall is called “Ryumon-no-taki”, which means “Dragon Gate Waterfall”. There is also a small museum. Inside is a room with a display that suddenly roars like a dragon and talks in a loud, low monster voice and is guaranteed to scare even kids who don’t understand what it’s saying. The area by the waterfall is cool (temperature wise), and it’s within walking distance of Taki station, so I can see coming here when it’s very hot in summer!

Then we went to a shibazakura garden in Ichikai. It’s made of
moss phlox. About 5 years ago, some smaller towns got money from the central government. This is what Ichikai spent their money on. It brings in tourists, especially since the flowers bloom around Golden week. There was a lot of traffic on the way in. We even saw a bus with a license plate from Osaka. I guess they were on their way to Nasu (a resort area north of Nasukarasuyama) and this is just a stop on the way.

The weather was warm, but not too warm. All in all, I had a great day!

Utsunomiya

I have fallen in love with Utsunomiya. It's ¥570 to get there -- about $5.46 at today's rate. I found that if I change trains at Hoshakuji, I have many more times that I can get there from here. There are only 5 trains that go directly either way between Karasuyama station and Utsunomiya station. I went there yesterday. A coworker had commented on a sweater I was wearing, and asked if I'd made it. I took the opportunity to ask if there was a yarn shop nearby. In Japanese, mind you!! She told me there was a place in Tokyo called Yuzawaya. I got home and googled Yuzawaya, and found there was a store in Utsunomiya. Well, I have to find this!!

So off I went. Last time, I went to Bell Mall from Utsunomiya's East exit. Today, I went out the West Exit. Directly in front of the station is a building called LaLaPlaza. I went in there and -- be still my heart!! -- there was a Yodobashi store on the 6th and 7th floors. Yodobashi is an electronics store. I've been to their stores in both Akihabara and Osaka. I went in in full Gadget Girl mode. I didn't see anything too exciting. Not like last year when I saw a 103 inch TV up close and personal. But it's good to know things like this exist reasonably nearby.

Then it was off, several blocks away to a building called LaPark, where Yuzawaya is. Before I got there, I checked out the building across the street called Parco. It also has several stories of shopping.

Utsunomiya is famous for gyoza. Call them gyoza, pot stickers, guotie or mahn du, I love them. So, in either the basement of Parco or the basement of LaPark, I had an order of gyoza. Yum!! Here's a travel hint: if you are in a department store in Japan, and get hungry, head for the basement.

Then it's off to LaPark for me! I found the store -- it's quite big. Lots of yarn! I'm not much of a summer knitter, though. But I will get myself a project before I leave. They also had beading supplies, felt stuff, drawing and painting, needle work, etc. The cross stitch kits look like American ones. They also have supplies for sashiko, which is a Japanese needlework art. I'll have to get the goods for a sashiko project as well. I also looked over quilting material.

Directly across the street coming from the station is a shrine called Futa-ara-san (二荒山). There are 94 steps up to the shrine. Japan is not for those with anything against stairs.

At Yodobashi, I had inquired about pre-paid cellphones at the au (KDDI's cellphone company) kiosk. They said I had to go to an au store. Back in Nasukarasuyama, I went to a book/CD/video store that I knew had a cellphone kiosk. Unfortunately, it was Docomo (NTT's cellphone company) and Docomo doesn't do prepaid phones. They are not very profitable. But a regular phone has a 2 year contract. au charges ¥18,900 to get out of the contract after 1 year, and I would guess that Docomo would do the same thing.But the lady there was nice enough to tell me how to get to the au shop. I really feel I live here when someone tells me a landmark, and I can say , "Yeah, I know where that is." or the Japanese equivalent. My version would be　はい、知っています。 Anyway, I found the au shop, and now have a cellphone! It's prepaid, so the caller pays all the charges. For less than $80, I got a basic phone (no camera, etc.), and ¥3,288 worth of calling time that will be available for 3 months. When my minutes are used up, or expire, I'll just buy more.

All I need is a bank account, and I will be all set up here.

Thanks for the comments, everyone!!

I'm official!

I finally got my alien registration card (also known as a "Gaijin card") today! It's an ID card for foreigners. I had to apply for it, then wait a little over 2 weeks to be able to pick it up. If I move, I have to go to my new city hall or ward office to get it updated. Now that I have it, I can get a cell phone.

I also signed up for the National Health Insurance. I have less-than-positive feelings about being associate with nationalized/socialized medicine in any form. Unfortunately, it's my only option for health insurance, and it's mandatory. Generally, you don't hear the awful stuff about the Japanese health care system that you do about the British system (or Canadian). However, I have heard of expectant mothers having to go to upward of 9 hospitals before finding one with room. If childbirth is the only area where there are problems, I'm fine. In any case, the system is set up where the patient pays 30%, and the rest is picked up by insurance.

My one encounter with Japanese doctors was when I had my health check. The doctor diagnosed edema, and gave me the name of his brother-in-law near where I live, along with an introduction. He went over all the possible causes for edema in English for me, but didn't include the most likely culprit: a recent, long airplane trip. And the tests that were done there eliminated the two most worrisome possible causes: heart problems and kidney problems. My own doctors in the US eliminated the endocrine system by previous (and unrelated) tests, and if it was caused by a high sodium diet, then I'm in the wrong country for fixing that!

I had just gotten back to my apartment from picking up my ARC, when a delivery man showed up with a box for me. It was from a very nice friend of mine here in Japan. Rice, tea, cookies, soy sauce and a very cute teapot. Of course it has kitties on it! I have such nice friends!!

I think that American car model names have been reduced to meaningless (and forgettable) letter and number combinations by spineless companies that don't want to research the implications of real names in the different markets in which they sell cars. They got burnt watching Ford try to sell Novas in Spanish-speaking countries, unaware that "no va" means "it doesn't go." Fortunately, Japanese cars still have real names, and they are fun. Here is a small sample:

• Platz
• Alto
• Move
• Belta
• Litz
• Carry
• Hi-jet
• Fit
• Life
• That's
• Mode
• Vivio
• Stream

I have yet to see a car model name that was in Japanese script. With gas prices going the way they are, look for these car models to show up at a dealership near you!

I did some listening practice for the first year students. There are a lot of sounds that are hard for Japanese to distinguish. Most famous is the r/l pair. Other are v/b, s/th, d/th and f/h to a certain extent. I'm sure it's as boring for them as it is for me, but they have to study English for 6 years, and this will be a good foundation should they ever actually have to use it. It's really the one thing that I bring to the table that the Japanese Teachers of English (JTE's) can't do. There is nothing really wrong with the house in this picture, it just looks like it needs a good foundation!

Finally, another little difference between Japan and the US: the texture of white sugar. It's granulated here, but it doesn't pour like it does in the US. It's not exactly like brown sugar, but somewhere in between granulated sugar in the US and brown sugar. I'm sure it bakes the same, but having no oven, I will probably never know for sure.

It's the little things

Japan both is and is not a western country. It is western in the sense that people wear jeans, there is indoor plumbing and electricity, and a lot of people have cars. However when Japan opened up to western ideas at the end of the 19th century, the Japanese picked and chose what they wanted to adopt, and how they would do it. So now the visitor to Japan can be very comfortable with most things, but every so often something will pop up that will make you say "Hmmmm, that's too odd." or just "WTF". I'll try to share some of these with you as I find them. One example would be the aforementioned indoor plumbing. There are squat toilets in Japan. They aren't latrines, as they flush and are made of porcelain. And the body position used is supposed to be healthier than sitting. BUT, they are still not the thrones we Americans are used to. I am not used to having to get my clothes out of the way. My school has squat toilets in the bathrooms, and I've seen them on Shinkansen (Bullet) trains.

At the same time, the Japanese have what are called washlets. It's a fancy electronic toilet seat for the sort of toilet we are used to. They have all sorts of functions: spray, bidet, warm air, heated seat, etc. The toilet in my apartment has a washlet. The spray and bidet functions don't work, but the heated seat is nice! Sit toilets also often have water that comes out like a water fountain (bubbler) into a little sink that drains into the tank. So you can wash your hands with the water for the next flush -- a great way to save water.

In schools, there is a part of the schedule called osouji, or cleaning. The students clean their class rooms and other parts of the school. It usually takes 15 minutes at my school, and I've been just emptying trash cans in the teachers' room and doing some light sweeping. When osouji starts, "The Entertainer" is played over the loudspeakers. Nobody knows why I giggle while I sweep.

Speaking of music, the nearest grocery store has reopened after remodeling -- Yay! While I was there tonight, the theme from Star Wars was playing. Over and over and over. Grocery stores don't bag your groceries. You use a basket that sits on your cart to shop. As you check out, your groceries are put into another basket along with some bags. You take the new basket to a table and bag your stuff yourself. At least nobody can complain about how their stuff was bagged!

Finally, there is a girl at school who has a pencil case that says "Get High" on it. Another case of decorative English! This also happens when we use Chinese and Japanese characters decoratively. Be careful if you are inclined to use Chinese or Japanese for a tattoo!!

AT LAST!!

At long last, I am finally back on the internet!!! To paraphrase Brad Paisley, I'm much cooler if I can get online! That was my biggest hurdle and frustration so far. I can even manage to buy furniture without a car (especially if a nice lady offers me a ride home!), but I can't live without an easy, economical connection to everyone back home and information! Now that I'm online, I must briefly brag that my connection is 100 Mbps fiber optic. And only around $62/month.

Until today, if I wanted to contact someone, I had to walk to the train station (4 blocks) and use a pay phone. It's not fun to set up anything that way. The conversation usually includes:

"So, how can I get back to you? Phone? Email?"
"You can't"
"Um....huh?"

My life here so far has not been bad, except for the internet hurdle, which I considered to be of Himalayan proportions. I walk 15-20 minutes uphill to work each day. The post office is only 2 blocks away. School lunches are good. I get called "Miss Jennifer" when I see students -- both in school and out and around.

There is a very friendly cat that lives a few doors away. I had called him Frank, because of his beautiful blue eyes, but now I call him Miko, because that's his name.

My apartment is 1 room that functions as a living room and a bedroom. There is a galley kitchen with 2 gas burners, a sink and mini-frig. There is a toilet room and a shower/bath room. The bathtub is nice and deep -- great for soaking. I have to turn on the water heater before getting hot water, but there is no bubble wrap feature that tells me I can't have scalding hot water if I want it. But I already know that 40C is about 104F.

I am learning metric. Not how to convert from centimeters to meters, but is 190 cm tall? If I set my thermostat at 16 degrees, will it be warm or chilly? Will a skirt that is 73 cm at the waist fit me? How big are my hips in centimeters, anyway? (I like inches -- the numbers are smaller!) The answers are: Yes, chilly, yes and none of your business.


The nearest grocery store is closed for remodeling but should be open again this week. I love to get something from the deli: gyoza, croquettes, sushi, yakitori (chicken on a stick), and either reheat it at home or eat it as is. The second nearest grocery store is a bike ride away. But it is like a Walmart -- it also has clothes and household items. I bought a low table and legless chair there. It isn't open 24/7 though -- I think it's 10-8.

Some odd things I've noticed shopping:

• Like in Europe, eggs are not refrigerated. They are refrigerated in the US because the FDA insists they be washed. This takes off a layer that keeps air out (and freshness in!). They don't wash this off the eggs here, so they can sit on the counter.
  

• 12 half slices of bacon can set you back $3.

• It used to be hard for me to find clothes that are small enough. Now it's even harder to find things that are big enough. I did go to a mall in Utsunomiya last weekend and found a skirt that fit. I'm scared to look for jeans.

• I never had a real problem with shoes, but I think the largest I've seen in women's shoes here is a 24.5, which is about a size 7. I take 7 1/2.

• Hot lemonade is really good.

• There is a much larger variety of Japanese beer than Pick'n'Save would have us believe. Like most things, it's not cheap. But for about $1.25 a can, you can have Asahi's version of Leinie's.

Other things:

• A post office that stays open until 7 at night is a great thing. When I get a package in the mail, it doesn't have to sit outside my door until I get home, and I can still get it when I do get home.

• Al-Qaeda is keeping me from getting a cellphone. I need to get my Alien Registration Card before I can get a cellphone. It's an ID card for foreigners and it takes about 2 weeks (I should get mine on Friday if I can run to City Hall after work) after you apply for it. Before 9-11, I was able to buy a pre-paid phone from the local convenience store, no questions asked.