Carded!

I have never been carded while buying alcohol in Japan.  Until today.

The drinking age is 20, the age of majority.  The driving age is 18 and the voting age was was reduced from 20 to 18 in 2016.  That said, there is not much of an underage drinking problem.

The first time I studied at Yamasa, there was a beer vending machine (!) outside a liquor store, near the dormitory where I stayed.  A convenience store (Mini Stop) has since been built mere footsteps away from the dorm, and the vending machine is gone.  Whether that is part of a policy to control what little underage drinking there is, or the machine's market dried up when the convenience store opened, I don't know.

I've bought beer, sake, plum wine, wine, whisky and assorted canned fruity adult beverages each time that I've come to Japan.  You can drink on trains (but might be frowned at if you're on an ordinary car on a commuter train), in parks, etc.  You absolutely should NEVER drink and drive, or drink and pedal for that matter.

But I've never been carded.  I've never seen anyone get carded.  Until today.  I bought a can of Kirin lager beer (not bad!), and was asked to tap the "Yes" button on the screen that asked if I was at least 20 years old.  I predict that as this takes off, it will be like buying beer in Wisconsin -- you will get carded even if you are very obviously way older than the minimum drinking age.  Luckily, I didn't have to produce an ID to prove it.

It's sad to see irresponsibility on the part of a few create inconvenience for the rest of us.  I suppose this is to gently ease me back to the way it's done back home -- where I'll be in less than a month.

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Something different

Yesterday, I went to visit something very Japanese.

"But, Jen," I hear you say, "You've visited lots of castles, temples and shrines!"

Aha!  This involves cats and trains!

You may have heard of Tama, the Super Station Master who saved a rail line.  If not, here's the story.

While Japan Rail (JR) is the largest train company in Japan by far, there are lots of smaller private rail companies.  One such company is the Wakayama Electric Railway, in Wakayama prefecture. The company operates one rail line, the 14.3 km Kishigawa line from Wakayama City to Kishi.

In 2006, the company had financial trouble and turned all of its stations into unmanned stations.  They had informal station masters selected from employees of local businesses, and Ms. Koyama was chosen to be the station master at Kishi Station.  She had a cat, named Tama, who hung out at the station and at Ms. Koyama's business.  Since the cat already was popular with the passengers she greeted, the railway named her the official station master.

The news of this spread, and the publicity led to an increase in passengers who came just to see Tama. She was appointed station master in January of 2007 and ridershp increased 17% for that month over January 2006.  The increased ridership continued and the company became profitable.

In 2009, the company remodeled a train -- the same 2 car "one man" train type that I rode from Utsunomiya to Nasukarasuyama -- to feature Tama. When Kishi station was remodeled in 2010, it was made to look like a cat's face

Tama later was named Super Station Master and became the company's first female executive as "Operating Officer".

Sadly, Tama passed away at the age of 16 in 2015.  She was succeeded by her protege, Nitama (Tama II).  Over 3,000 fans attended her funeral and Tama was given the posthumous title,  "Honorary Eternal Stationmaster" and enshrined as a goddess.

Now, Nitama can be seen (during working hours) at Nishi station.  The company also has other themed trains:  Umeboshi, Omocha (toys) and Ichigo (strawberries -- a local product).

Doesn't that sound incredibly Japanese to you?

And here are the pictures!

 At Wakayama Station, it's easy to find the platform for the Wakayama Electric Rail.  You'll buy your ticket or one day pass right at the platform!

There are Tama signs along the way:

 


First came the Umeboshi Train.  It's pretty good-looking, but not the train I wanted.

The Tama train wouldn't come for another 45 minutes, so I wandered around the station environs for a bit.  I didn't find much.  When I came back, the Tama Train arrived!  It came before its scheduled departure time -- I suspect its for photo ops.

The inside is just adorable!  The seating on trains like this is usually in this format -- benches along the sides, instead of facing forward in rows.  It IS unusual for them to be made of wood and have themed upholstery.

I almost didn't notice that even the lights are Tama-themed

If you look closely, you'll see the usual "Don't get your hand caught in the door" warning stickers have paw prints on them.

And there are paw prints on the floor.

Partway through the trip, we passed the Toy Train.

Here's the Strawberry Train.

It was quite crowded.  The man in the picture below led a group of  Chinese tourists.  I suspect that Chinese tourists in Japan occupy the same social spot that American tourists do in France.   That's not to say that there aren't other foreign tourists in Japan that fail to follow local customs and manners.

But Chinese tourists stick out by their numbers. I haven't seen large tour groups other than Chinese ones. I'm sure the size of the group contributes to Chinese tourists seeming louder than most Japanese.  But it is noticeable.

Here's Nitama on duty!  A very beautiful, fluffy cat -- not at all perturbed by the crowd.

And here's the station itself.

Not much around the station.

A shrine to Tama.

To get to Wakayama from Okazaki, I took the Nozomi Shinkansen from Nagoya to Shin-Osaka, then the Limited Express Kuroshio to Wakayama Station.  

Random Differences

Here are some random differences between the US and Japan:

In Japan, salaries are paid monthly.  In the US, usually they are paid every other week, although in some cases they may be weekly or monthly.

In Japan, envelopes do not come with glue on them.  In the US, just moisten the edge of the flap and seal the envelope!  In Japan, you supply your own adhesive.  Grr -- I found this out the hard way.

Japan Post also offers banking services.  A good place to find ATMs that will accept foreign VISA cards is the post office (when it's open -- ATMs aren't always available 24/7).  Another place to go is 7-Eleven stores.  Just be sure to contact your card issuer and let them know that you'll be in Japan, or they might shut your card down.

There still are smoking sections in some restaurants in Japan, and most pubs (izakaya) are all smoking.  There is debate going on about whether there should be a smoking ban that would include izakaya, and how it would affect business.  Would the people who might come to a non-smoking izakaya make up for the smokers who leave?  This time, I've seen glass walls around the smoking section in restaurants, so that's a good first step.

The US uses stationary sizes like letter and legal.  Japan uses the international sizes like A5 or B6. There are 2 series, A and B.  The smaller the number, the larger the paper (or whatever) -- A5 is A4 cut in half.  A4 is a bit narrower and longer than letter size.

Japan has hot cans of coffee in vending machines.  Instant coffee seems to be more of a thing, too.  I guess it's because people don't have coffee makers in their homes.  I've bought single serve disposable pour-over coffee packets.  The packet unfolds to fit over a cup, and you just need to pour hot water over the coffee.

Beer in Japanese grocery stores is sold largely by the can.

It's OK to drink alcohol in a public park.  It is absolutely not OK to drink and drive -- the blood alcohol limit here is 0.00%!

No need to tip at restaurants in Japan.

Consumption tax (sales tax) is now 8% nationwide in Japan, up from 5%.  It also applies to unprepared food in grocery stores, unlike my state in the US.

The academic and work calendar starts in April in Japan.  Large companies hire their regular, career staff once a year and they start in April -- after they've graduated college at the end of March.   A lot of planners/calendars have an April start version, and I see a lot of suits being featured in stores now.  These are black or dark navy suits and are the thing to wear to an interview.    

When you buy a book in Japan, the clerk will offer a paper book cover, so you can read your book in public without anyone knowing what you're reading.

Hikone

In search of another original castle, I went to Hikone yesterday.  Hikone, on Lake Biwa, is not to be confused with Hakone.  Hakone is a very popular tourist site, being between Mt. Fuji and Tokyo. There is an reconstructed castle there, called Odawara Castle.

Here is my trip on the map.  The blue train is Okazaki, the orange one is Maibara.  Hikone Castle is near Maibara, in purple.

Lake Biwa is the biggest lake in Japan.

  

Here's a comparison between Lake Biwa and Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin:

Area:  Biwa, 258.8 mi ²; Winnebago 215.2 mi ².

Length:  Biwa, 39.45 mi; Winnebago, 28.58 mi.

Maximum width:  Biwa, 14.2 mi.; Winnebago,10 mi.

Construction of Hikone Castle was started in 1603 by Ii Naokatsu, although some of it's parts were brought here from other existing castles. Ii Naokatsu was awarded the fief that generally includes Shiga Prefecture (the area around Lake Biwa) after helping Tokugawa Ieyasu win the battle of Sekigahara.  (Note:  following Japanese naming convention, family names come first.)

After the Meiji restoration, many castles in Japan were slated to be dismantled.  Hikone Castle was saved at the personal request of Emperor Meiji.

Hikone city itself looks like any other Japanese city.

Here's the bridge to the castle.

Walls by the moat.

Another moat, and some outer structures.

The roads to in in the castle grounds are purposely not straight. This is to make it hard for an invading army to move with any speed.  The walls were built to be strong, and even now, they dictate where the road goes.

 Hikone's mascot in Hikonyan.

He's a cat because one of the legends of the Maneki Neko (beckoning cat) involved the third lord of Hikone.  According to legend, he was out in a thunderstorm, and had taken shelter under a tree.  A white cat beckoned him to a small temple.  No sooner had he done so then lightning struck the tree where he'd been.

Have you ever seen a Maneki Neko figurine?

And there were lots of steps.

This bridge was designed to be easily destroyed in case of invasion.

Here are some buildings near the castle that you can enter.

Take your shoes off, that's original flooring.

First glimpse of the castle!

 Here's a bell that's rung at certain hours and can be heard for a long way.

I believe this is a plum blossom.

We could go into the castle.  As usual, it's dark inside, so not good for pictures.  

The steps are also steep, as usual, but they've overlayed more modern material over them and they have a raised edge that gives much better traction.  There are also steel hand rails.

Here are some views from the castle.  There is glass over the windows, so it's not as clear as it could be.

Lake Biwa is visible here, along with mountains in the background.

Here's  a shot of the inside.

And some more views of the castle:

 After looking at the castle, I went to see the area around it.

These are really big walls.  I've read that some castles were saved simply because it would take too much effort to remove these walls and develop the land.

What goes up, must go down!

Here is a former residence outside inner grounds.

And garden, which I expect will look better as it gets warmer.

Here you can see some of the walls and how the road goes around them.  The building to the left is a high school.

I wandered down some streets outside the grounds.

There are lots of shops and restaurants for tourists to visit.

At one restaurant, a man was beckoning in customers.  He showed me his English menu, so I gave it a try.  I wanted to try Omi beef, and he had some.  It's also wagyu, but not as well known as Kobe beef. Hipster wagyu, I guess. Inside, 80s music was playing.  How cool.  The food was delicious.  I'd eat here again, and got their card so I can.

I love this house.

Saw this bonsai outside a house.

Outside Hikone Station is a statue of II Naokatsu.

Hikone is definitely worth the trip, especially if you're going to be in the Kyoto-Osaka area anyway.  I had thought about going to Kyoto, too, but Hikone was enough for a day, considering I had come from Okazaki which took about 2.5 hours, without taking the shinkansen.