After my night of excitement in Kasugai at the Kombah I took it easy on Sunday and did little but stay close to home with a stop up to the shopping center for some Starbucks as my big excitement of the day. Monday I headed out again on the JR Train back to Gifu (this being my third trip) as I had missed the large Buddha statue that is housed at Gifu and I wanted to take some photos and check it out. If I have not mentioned before the rain in this region of the world is amazing. It rains hard as rain can come down for extended periods as it did on my trip to Gifu. Although I was unable to go back up to the mountain to see Gifu Castle as well I did find my way to the Buddha which strangely enough is housed in a large warehouse at the base of the mountain. After paying my 100 yen entrance fee I spent about a half hour taking photos as the only fool who seemingly made there way there in a torrential downpour. After having my fill I walked back thru the park but finally gave in as I was now soaked to the bone and began the bus trip back to Gifu station. The only other item of note on my way home was stopping at my new favorite fast food chain, Mos Burger for a cheeseburger for dinner. The remainder of the week was quiet at school other than parent’s observations and my contracting some type of flu that nearly knocked me out of commission. Fortunately having gotten a flu shot (nice work flu shot) the week before I headed back to the clinic owned by one of my students’ parents were they took pity on me and rushed my thru quickly to see the doctor and gave me some antibiotics to cure what was ailing me. Not sure the ins and the outs of the system but it sure went smooth, the doctor saw me, quickly diagnosed my slight fever and sore throat that was making swallowing increasingly difficult and send me out with my medication in hand in about 30 minutes at the cost of about 14 dollars with my Japanese social insurance card. Way to go Japan! Saturday night my friend Akiko came to visit in Kasugai where we headed to the Backbeat for some dinner and got to check out a Japanese rock band Kazuhiko had booked. The guys were great and really friendly and although I did not know any of the tunes they played they did do a kick ass instrumental version of the Eagles Hotel California.
Christmas in Japan
Several of you have asked about Christmas in Japan and it is a subject very interesting indeed. Since the country is almost entirely either Shinto or Buddhist the religious aspects of the holiday aren’t recognized obviously but with that said the Japanese make up for that with all the secular trappings one could hope for. As early as Halloween lights began popping up all over as did elaborate Christmas displays featuring Santa, Christmas trees, Rudolph as well the other usual suspects. It is odd that on Christmas day I will be working so if they are embracing these aspects you would think they would take that day as a holiday but it seems they roll Christmas into the more popular New Year’s festivities. The other funny thing is everyone here eats what they call “Christmas cake” and even funnier they seem to believe this also to be a popular American custom. As Christmas gears up stores begin posting about what types of cakes they will have available. These cakes are meticulously decorated and are expensive so it seems people try to get the most beautiful and elaborate one they can find. When asked about the tradition I explained Americans do not eat “Christmas cake” per say and on several occasins that comment was met with surprise by Japanese friends as they believed it was part of our holiday tradition.
Other Interesting Note about it Here
Another odd thing of note in Japan is the prevalence of hip-hop culture amongst Japanese teenagers her in Japan. Upon my arrival I began noticing large groups of teens gathering in public places to practice highly choreographed dance moves seen in American Hip Hop videos. On one night out in Fushimi I exited the train station to find about 50 kids in groups practicing all manner of dancing with some even busting out some break dancing. I felt like I stepped into a casting call for an Usher video.
1 comment:
sorry to hear that you were sick. i was watching a frontline documentary on world healthcare and insurance and japan is, if i remember correctly, ranked like 3rd in the world. so i guess if you were going to get sick, japan's not a bad place to be.
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