Week 4 has me being jarred awake by the sound of a vacuum cleaner running as well as people loudly talking. As I awoke it was not entirely clear where I was but then it quickly came back to me, after hailing a cab for my co-net and sending her back to Kasugai at 3:30AM I returned to Manboo Internet only to find it full. After a brief walk around Nagoya Station I hailed a cab and asked the driver if he knew of a nearby “capsule hotel”. The driver after discussing it with a fellow driver drove me down some narrow side streets and dropped me off in front of a building made it seemed of just glass and neon. After forgetting to remove my shoes again and being admonished by the desk clerk I paid my 3100-yen (29 dollars) and was handed a complimentary pair of blue boxer shorts to put on. Not wanting to appear rude while not yet down with wearing hotel boxer shorts I took off my jeans in the locker area just off the lobby and pulled the boxers over my own. From there I removed my golf shirt, stored my shoes and was then led by the desk clerk up the stairs to a large room where roughly 50 men slept in a large conference room in separate recliners. After being shown to my recliner at the front of the room I then got into my chair just as a man came by with a blanket for which to cover myself with. As I sat in my chair reclined it back into a sleeping position I actually started laughing at the strange night and how it had just gotten even stranger. Being as it was now after 4AM I quickly fell asleep only to be woken at 8:30AM in the way described earlier. At 8:30 the place was immediately turned over as men headed for the bathrooms and then back to their lockers to change. The most interesting thing was the small breakfast area off the main room where several men sat at low tables by the floor eating breakfast and interestingly enough drinking draft beer. I am all for “hair of the dog” but the thought of a beer at this hour with my head pounding from the Kirin I drank last night was out of the question. As I tumbled out into the bright streets of the Nagoya morning I headed immediately for the station to find something to eat as well as something to deal with my now pounding headache. An hour later after an Egg McMuffin, a bottle of water as well as a local energy drink called oddly enough Pocari Sweat and some Japanese Tylenol I was feeling more myself and spent the next few hours at a local Internet café catching up on email. I spent the remainder of the day heading off to the Ozone station to a local mall before returning to Kasugai at around 8PM and my earliest night asleep since I arrived in Japan. I spent Monday close to home running a few errands and then meeting my Co-net and Manager for the remainder of the day. I was able to obtain my new Softbank Cell Phone as well as hit the hyaku yen store (100 Yen store) for some needed school and home supplies. My final stop was dinner at Denny’s in Kasugai with both of them. I initially laughed when I saw the Denny’s standing next to my school when I arrived but was immediately warned it was not like Denny’s from home and they were right. We chose the place because my manager thought it would be funny to see if we recognized the food and we certainly didn’t. I have spent several nights or make that early mornings in a Denny’s but never did I see octopus or squid on the menu, I settled on a bowl of tomato pasta and some fries and called it an evening.
As I have come to learn thus far in Japan the group is valued above all else and individuality is not something that is either recognized or encouraged. Today at school I had the odd experience of causing quite a ruckus when as I was readying a lesson I went to the staff room and began heating some water in the school provided kettle. After the water came to a boil I added it to my Nissan Cup of Noodles grabbed the rest of my lunch (salmon onigiri and a banana) and began to head for the small park across the street in the City Hall area. Immediately as I gathered my things, food in hand I was met with mostly quiet laughter and odd looks. Not realizing what the issue was I hurried out the door into the rare sunny weather to eat my lunch during the hour-long period. Later in the evening after everyone had gone home I asked my Manager with a smile why everyone thought my behavior so odd. She explained that taking your lunch outside is not something done; you either eat out at a restaurant or eat in the staff room. When I laughed slightly and repeated, “No one eats their lunch outside on a beautiful day” her tone grew slightly more serious as she responded, “Did you see anyone else eating there” to which I had to reply, no. This rather innocent story sums up some of my experience in Japan, there is the way you do things and everything else is the way they are not done. Explaining to her my reasoning, from the fact it was not raining for the first time in 6 days to the fact that the staff room as small as it is with its stacks of papers and toys as well as 4 other people in it leaves a lot to be desired as a proper spot to tear into lunch or the fact that it grows rather expensive to eat every meal out were immaterial, simply put what is done and what is not done is the important point. And while you are never told not to do anything (the polite nature of their culture forbids it in most cases) you clearly feel what you are doing is quite odd indeed. In Western culture our individuality is what makes us who we are but as I have learned thus far in Japan, “sameness” or the following of long held ways and traditions seem to give them their identity no matter how small or trivial the matter may seem. It ‘s for these reasons that often Japan can seem so interesting and exhilarating one moment and maddening and isolating the next. As I have come to learn just when you think you have figured the culture out you experience something else that totally turns what you thought you knew on its head, attempt to pigeonhole the Japanese as somewhat cool and detached automatons as in the experience I had with my Co Teacher two weeks ago yet watch as I did tonight on TV as professional baseball managers thank their fans for a seasons worth of support with tears streaming down their faces. And with the maddening and strange their are moments that simply make all the difficulty worth it. As I was enduring the Cup of Noodles incident I was juggling not only setting up a future lesson while speaking and greeting parents at a time when the school lobby can resemble Grand Central Station at rush hour. As I attempted to manage both tasks before getting out to lunch I saw my new 6-year-old female student walking thru the door for a lesson with one of the Japanese teachers. This student who looked on the brink of tears her first time in a private lesson with me came running up to me in mid conversation and threw her arms around me screaming “Brian sensei”. The funny thing about this is due to her small stature she kept throwing her arms around my leg gently pressing her cheek to my knee with a huge smile on her face. After recognizing her with a hug and a smile she repeated this each and every time I reappeared from the staff room all the while her mother politely pulled her away so I could resume the job I was involved in. After saying my goodbyes to her before heading out the door and promising to see her Saturday for our weekly lesson I smiled realizing she had made my day more than she probably knew.
The end of the week passed quietly short for some other interesting items that seem to back up my belief that sometimes things appear one way only to have them turned on their head another. My first interesting experience occurred when I stopped into my now regular spot the Backbeat for a beer after work on Friday. Once again as the 3 other times I visited, the place was quiet with a male City Hall employee I had met before as well as Kazuhiko the owner and Mikka his girlfriend/bartender quietly talking. As has been since I met them they were happy to see me and Kazuhiko even took great pride in showing me the English dictionary he had bought so better to speak to me. After a beer as I was ready to leave (early school Saturday) Kazuhiko asked me to stay to hear him play some music, before I knew it is was 1:30AM as he played his way thru at least 10 Beatles and John Lennon songs on the small stage. I was even able to request my two favorites (Don’t Let Me Down and Beautiful Boy). As much as the culture shock wears me out from time to time, and how sometimes being stared at or having people wanting to say hello to you when all you want is to go home can be tiring there are times here that it feels like my home and that perhaps I am have the opportunity of a lifetime to live here in Japan amongst its people. Sitting in an empty, tiny bar on the other side of the world listening to my new Japanese friend belt out Beatles tunes in his second language I could not help but smile at my fortune at being here to experience all this.
As if Friday wasn’t good enough Saturday was probably my best day here in Japan thus far. After a busy day teaching at the school the staff took myself, our new Japanese teacher and my co-net out for a welcome dinner. Although the Amity staff had cautioned us prior to departure that the Japanese staff would be quiet and business like during work hours I still was taken aback when I joined the group at the restaurant. The all female staff at the school though friendly and helpful take work very seriously, little small talk or laughing during the day is a stark contrast to the normal “gallows humor” most Americans share at work. Complaining lightly about work, sharing personal stories and the like are common in America but not Japan. I immediately noticed the difference they had talked about when arriving. As the last to arrive at dinner they began yelling “Kawaii” or “cute”, gently ribbing me as I entered the restaurant seeing me out of my work clothes and in my jeans and my bright blue Lacoste shirt. As we gathered to go in two teachers wanted to take pictures standing next to me with me holding my hands over their heads showing how much taller I was than them. From there on out the night was great as we laughed and talked like friends over dinner. They had tears in their eyes from laughter as my manager implored me to tell them the many funny and ridiculous things I had done since arriving in Japan. From my story of sleeping in Nagoya, my penchant for eating outdoors or of Kazuhiko calling me “Kasugai Mafia Man” when he saw me in my black suit and sunglasses everyone enjoyed themselves and ate like friends rather than just co-workers. And while there is still much to learn I feel like I learned more about my new peers over sesame chicken and cold oolong tea than any book or manual could have ever taught me. After the restaurant finally kicked us out well past closing we parted ways in the darkness of the parking lot and a reserved bow of thanks to the staff before setting off for home seemed like it fit for the first time.
Sayonara
“Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans”
John Lennon Beautiful Boy
Camera Update: I swear I am close to rectifying my lack of pictures on the blog. I have a package enroute from the states that I believe contains my camera plug. I would have never thought it would be this difficult. Since I purchased a new Sony camera for the trip I honestly thought I was taking the camera to its homeland so I give little thought when I could not locate the USB plug before departure. Since being in Japan I have checked various Electronics Megastores all the while unable to locate the necessary plug. Once I receive the plug look for corresponding albums for each week of the blog.
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