Exams, Capsule Hotels... and Tokyo

Tokyo

Two weeks ago I went to Tokyo to write a Linguistics exam through Unisa (the University of South Africa). Unfortunately Tokyo is the place in Japan where Unisa students can write their exams. On the other hand, I am very grateful that I can write Unisa exams in Japan. :D

Tokyo is pretty far from Matsusaka, my home city. It's a short 2 hours if you take the Shinkansen, Japan's bullet train, but this option is quite expensive however.

Instead, probably because I have some Scottish blood, I took a Night Bus, which travels the distance in 7-8 hours at about half the price of the Shinkansen. (One of my work colleagues was kind enough to organise the logistics of the trip. It seems the website that can be used to make the booking is mostly in Japanese, and unfortunately still beyond my ability to navigate.)

The night bus was comfortable enough. It is a little bit like an aeroplane, but with more leg room, and you can recline your seat a bit further. I slept alright on the way to Tokyo, but on the way back I was quite uncomfortable. I would recommend getting one of those traveller's pillows that supports your head nicely. I think that one of these would make all the difference!

I arrived outside Shinjuku station, Tokyo's most used train station, on Sunday morning just before 6am. What this means is that I arrived just in time to see the last of the die-hard party-people of the night before staggering off in the sunrise, or climbing into cars with "new friends".

Using Google Maps I navigated my way to the Shinjuku Kuyakusho-mae Capsule Hotel - (Men Only), where I would sleep the next night. I would not be allowed to officially check in until 15:00, but they were kind enough to let me lock up some of my belonging so that I needn't walk around Tokyo with everything I brought with me.

As you can see from the image above, the entrance to the Capsule hotel is fairly nondescript. The sign is visible in the photo above. It has the red background near the top left of the photo, but with all the other equally-prominently lit notices around, it's easy to overlook the sign.

The idea behind a capsule hotel is to squeeze the maximise number of guests into the available space. They try to do this by using most of the space for beds. But they still want their guests to be comfortable, and they try to make sure the guests are comfortable. 

So by putting all the bathrooms together like this, they are also saving quite a lot of space. Instead of having separate showers for each person, they would rather use the space to have a communal sauna. And the sauna was great. It was big and spacious, and felt far more luxurious than having my own small shower.

Here is the communal sitting room. Now here there is one major improvement that I would like. I would love it if the room was smoke free, but it wasn't. But hey, it's not the end of the world, and for 3500 yen for the evening, in the middle of Tokyo, it was a gripe I was quite happy to live with.

As you can see, the vending machines are also a nice solution to the midnight munchies :D.

This little notice is left outside the elevator that can be used to go between the various floors of the hotel. It looks all very sweet and innocent, but there is a surprise on 2F. Or at least it was a surprise to me. I'm sure it'll get many of you giggling :).

Also, interestingly, one of the main reasons for the existence of Capsule Hotels, is to accommodate people that are working late (or something) and don't have time to commute back home. For this reason the hotel provides you with toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair products, face-wash and basically everything you need, including your own pyjamas!

In the foyer, they even have shirts and ties on sale, in case you want to give the impression, "... of course I went home last night."

So after I spent the day moving around Tokyo and trying to study in Starbucks, I did eventually find my way to my own little capsule... it's the invitingly illuminated capsule in the bottom right of this photo.

And to be honest, this little capsule had everything I needed. A couple of square meters of bed space, a television (I think, although I never turned it on). I also paid an extra couple of hundred yen to get a power point (which was totally worth it as I had my usual arsenal of electronic devices keeping my company on my journey).

And this was what I saw moments before going to sleep. My TV (probably), my bedding, and the tiny bamboo roller blind separating me from the rest of the ruffians spending the night.

 

This is the night view of the view of the road I was staying on. As it turns out I was spending the night in Shinjuku's famous red-light district. Who knew?!? o_O

Well, all I can see, is that the pimps and hookers know how to decorate a road. Doesn't it look fabulous?

The morning of my exam, I got up early once again (05:45), just in-case Shinjuku station would prove difficult to navigate early on a Monday morning.

As it turns out, by getting out of bed early, it was very easy to get to my destination, so I had time for some last minute revision and a couple of cups of coffee before my exam. This Starbucks was conveniently only about 200m away from the examination centre.

The Unisa exam was hosted by... The British Council! Strange but true. I think that the British Council has some infrastructure in please to facilitate exams, and it seemed that there were 3 different institutions writing on the day I wrote.

Thank you British Council and Unisa for working together to help students change their lives. Your cooperation is very much appreciated!

So during my time in Tokyo, was I all work and no play? Of course not. One afternoon, between sprints of studying, I went to Ueno park.

This photograph is of a commemorative mound, built in honour of the Shogitai warriors; Samurai that resisted the Meiji restoration, unto their own death, here at the top of Ueno hill. You may recognise this battle from is poetic representation in the movie, 'The Last Samurai'.







Before calling it a day, and despite having walked excruciatingly far, I forced my feet to take me to the Metropolitan Art museum, surprisingly (and conveniently) located in Ueno park.















Ueno park in early Autumn.










Although this photograph is overexposed, I think it does nicely juxtapose the old and the new Tokyos, that seem to coexist quite peacefully.

After 2 days in Tokyo  I began feeling fatigued by the sheer number of people that surrounded me every day. It's really quite overwhelming, and more than once I found myself thinking that it feels like every day in Tokyo is a  Matsuri (festival) day.

In Closing...

So in case you were wondering, I think the exam went well enough. It wasn't easy, but I think I was adequately prepared. I'll be very surprised if I don't pass, and I would a lot less surprised if I did quite well. But it's always so hard to predict. :)

So in summary: The exam was not too bad. Tokyo was great. It's a beautiful city, with lots of well dressed and beautiful people. The downside of Tokyo is that there are many, many millions of people, all living on top of one another. Capsule hotels, they're cheep and not very private; but they're private enough, and to be honest, they're quite good value for money! And night buses. Well, in my opinion, I'd rather save 7500 yen, and spend it on something nice, than on the Shinkansen... but that all depends on how precious your time is.

Thanks for reading everybody. As always, please feel free to like or comment. It's always great to hear from you all.

And who knows... Maybe next time you hear from me... will be in person ;).

To all my friends and family, I love you all. And to perfect strangers... I probably love you a little bit too :).

Iinan's Inconspicuous Bakery

On Saturday morning, Taryn and I went to Iinan High School, for a practise of the music duet (Aladdin's, "I can show you the World") that we will be performing at the school festival next Friday.

Autumn colours sweeping through Japan.

After the rehearsal, one of Taryn's work colleagues took us to the town hall (or something) where the school festival will be taking place. You can see it in the background of this photograph.

Taryn remembered that someone told her about a local bakery where an old man and woman bake bread which they sell to the local community. The store opens at 12 o'clock, and apparently it closes fifteen minutes later on some days, due to the popularity of their produce.

This is the house from which the bakery operates. The house is fairly unremarkable, other than that it looks very, very new. Inside it even more  immaculate than it looks in this picture.

Outside the house, some berries and fruits are drying in Japan's Autumn sunshine.

We arrived too early for the bakery to be open. With 20 minutes to spare, we decided to take the opportunity to explore the neighbourhood. Although there are houses around, and this is probably a residential area, there is quite a lot of farmland here as well.

Here you can see some of the hay that laid down to separated the fields. (I have no idea why; but it looks pretty doesn't it?)

This picture was taken just behind the bakery, and in the distance, just above the valley in this photograph you can see an eagle souring.

This photograph was taken from the patio of the bakery. It is an amazing view, isn't it?

Needless to say, we went into the bakery, and  bought way more bread than any sane people should buy... and two slices of the best, home-made-pizza we've had since we got here!

The food was delicious, and I felt that I could justify the calories, at least in part, because we were supporting the livelihood of an elderly couple in the local community.

~ The end.

A picture of the author, and his beautiful wife

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about our little adventure in Japan.

Please feel free to share your comments. It's always great to hear from you, and it's a wonderful way to let me know this blog is appreciated!

On Young People's Minds

Today I went to an English speaking contest in Tsu, a town close to my home town of Matsusaka. It is also the capital of Mie prefecture. The setting, Tsu cultural centre or Town hall,  is beautiful (as you can see from the photo below).

The contest today had a category for speeches, where the topic of the speeches was decided by the students. For this reason I believe, the topics they discuss are very much a reflection of what these students think about, and in some cases may even be a reflection of the Japanese people themselves.

Race, Language and Prejudice

My students, being of some Filipino descent, and living among the more-or-less homogeneous Japanese population spoke about their experiences.

One student spoked about difficulties of living apart from her parents, for years at a time, as her parents sought to provide her with a better future by working in Japan. (Later she was brought to Japan and came to realise how hard her parents worked, and came to appreciate sacrifices that they parents made for her future.)

Another student wrote about his difficulties in learning 3 languages as he moved from country to country, following his parent's work prospects. He is now studying English as a 4th language. He no longer fears nor resents language as he once did; but rather, he sees languages as a door to opportunities, and windows to the thoughts of the global community.

Our last student tackled the mature topic of prejudice in Japan, and how some foreigners felt discriminated against to the point that they no longer felt comfortable shopping. It's a powerful thing to hear a 16 year old say that everyone should have the right to shop without the fear of being discriminated against.

The Heavies

The most meaningful and emotional speech for me was about the repercussions of the 11 March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.

The Personal Touch of Science

One student mentioned how he was now inspired to become a scientist, because during the crisis, he was impressed at how scientists stepped up to the plate during the crisis, providing support and expertise, probably in the analysis of the earthquake, prediction of the tsunami and affected areas, as well as the handling of the nuclear disaster that followed at Fukushima. He believes that science and scientists stood as pillars in society during those difficult times, and in the future, he wants to be an active member of this solution orientated niche of our society.

Unfulfilled Dreams

A second student mentioned that she lost 8 friends that dreadful day. She told the story of how her mind and her body rejected the news that so many of her friends were dead. She spoke about how she was unable to eat and cried everyday. She despaired, and wanted to cease to exist.

She went on to challenge the audience by saying that on that day, 16 thousand people died, leaving 16 thousand unfulfilled dreams and ambitions. It was the opinion of this girl that the Japanese people should accept these 16 thousand ambitions as their own, and try to work towards realizing the unfulfilled dreams of these people prematurely taken. Now, that is how she find meaning in life, by living her life with the purpose of accomplishing another persons dreams.

Conclusion

So yeah, it's quite a weighty topic for a Sunday night, but undeniably important and undeniably powerful. That is why I am here, on the opposite side of the world from my home country, South Africa. 

Japanese people are different. There is something special about their culture, and while I may be too foreign to understand them, I am mesmerised by their attitude and resilience.

I am so grateful for this opportunity.

After Almost 3 Months & Tales of Japanese Kindness

So, we've been in Japan for almost 3 months now. As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging very much lately (yeah, sorry about that). It's mostly because we're a bit more plugged in to society now, and because I'm spending my time trying to explore, clean, watch anime (without subtitles, because we have no choice) or learn Japanese. We have been taking many photographs however, and I hope to add some more content to this blog soon.

Status Check

So, how do we feel after 3 months?

In truth, I think we're doing quite well. We're over the initial "shock" of being out of our comfort zones. To be honest, it's been a bit of a relief for me personally, because I've been forced to relinquish any ideas of me being in control of my own life. I'm actually being quite serious though; it's wonderfully refreshing to know that I simply cannot control my environment. So now, if I'm served chicken instead of pork, then so be it... I just have to try to enjoy the chicken, because saying something like "You've given me chicken and I asked for pork" is still way above my ability to communicate without Google Translate on hand.

True Tales about Japanese People

So, as you may have picked up already, Japanese people are generally very polite and hospitable, which makes living in this environment very easy for us. (Remember I'm here with my wife, so the deep loneliness that some JETs experience is not something with which I can identify.) Here are some of the highlights of their friendliness so far...

Transport

So on Mondays I have to travel about 30kms to get to work. This Monday I took a bus from a nearby bus-stop to the closest train station. I didn't realise it at the time, but I only had 10 000 yen with me, which is more than the change dispenser in the bus can digest. So I tried in extremely broken Japanese to explain that I didn't have the 280 yen necessary to pay the travel fare. At first he seemed a bit annoyed (which is quite understandable considering he had already transported me to the train station), but then after a few moments he politely asked me in broken English to please remember to pay the outstanding 200 yen extra next time I use a bus. Now on my desk at work, I have a post-it on my desk saying "I O 200 (bus)".

Caught in the Rain

One day, we were trying to get a late lunch in Matsusaka. It was about 15:30 in the afternoon, which is about the optimal time to minimize the availability of lunch venues in Matsusaka. (Oh yeah, so don't try this while you're in Japan, people. Many restaurants close between 15:00 and 18:00 as clearly no one eats at during this time... I just wish someone had told that to us!) 

So we were trying to scour the streets of Matsusaka looking for food. This was before we got our car, so we were walking, and the gods decided, probably as some kind of cosmic joke, to open the floodgates of heaven.

Now, when it rains in Japan, it isn't like the gently downward falling mist of Cape Town, no sir. It rains buckets! And Taryn and I were darting from overhanging terrace to overhanging terrace like spy's trying to break into the Kremlin. Obviously, being 2 of the only 4 Caucasian-looking people in Matsusaka, we were about as easy to spot as Oprah in Finland.

Then, out of the blue some kind, young, and dare-I-say attractive Japanese lady came running straight up to us. She said something quickly in Japanese and because it was raining, she scurried off in as little time as it took to confirm that she wasn't charging us for the two umbrellas she had left in our hands! And that's the story of how we got our first umbrellas in Japan.

Going to the Post Office

So, early on in our Japanese adventure, before we received our residence card (which is your passport to everything important, like a cell phone) we received a notice in our postbox saying that we had missed a delivery. In desperation, we decided to make a walk to the main post office (which is about 5 km away) in the hope that we would be able to start the process of organising a cell phone. The unfortunate thing is that it was raining quite badly, but we set out anyway with umbrellas in hand. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up being lost. The solution was to walk into the nearest retail store (which ended up being a pharmacy) and ask them where we need to go to pick up our parcel. (We did this by pointing at the letter from the post office and saying "Doko des ka?" which means "Where is it?")

Anyway, to make a long story short, the Pharmacist got on the phone to... well I actually don't know because I don't speak Japanese, but she seemed to be confirming our order was in fact at the post office. Then she gestured for us to follow her. She proceeded to walk out the store, and into the parking lot where she gently abducted us and drove us to the post office. She then stayed in the queue until we had parcels in hand. Then I had quite a hard time explaining to her that I didn't want a lift back to my apartment. She didn't understand this at all! I mean, it was clearly raining, and I had quite clearly and unequivocally proven that I was more-than-able to get lost without constant supervision; and quite frankly she probably didn't want these bewildered Gaijin getting lost on her watch anyway.

Anyway, I did manage to resist her attempts at taking me home, because quite frankly, I was hungry, and in spite of the rain, there was probably tasty Japanese food nearby.

Closing Comments

These are only as few stories of kindness, and there are many more that I feel I should share; but unfortunately I do not have the time, nor enough stamina in my fingers to complete the task.

Perhaps I will be able to document some more at a later stage.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you return sometime soon. I'll try make sure there's something interesting for you to read as well. :D

And to my friends and family: I love you all very much.

A Day in Iinan

(Special thanks to everyone! Over one thousand views on this site so far, so thank you for your support!)

Saturday 1st September 2012

Today may theoretically have been the first day of Autumn in northern hemisphere, but in Mie Prefecture, Summer showed no signs of backing down today.

Despite us being in Matsusaka for a month now, I still had not visited the town in which my wife works, so this morning we decided to go visit a festival to be held in the morning in this small town of Iinan, in Matsusaka... except that it isn't really in Matsusaka; it's a good 40 minute drive away... but the journey proved to be absolutely spectacularly worth it!

Matsusaka is itself, a relatively flat, broadly painted city. What I mean is that the population density is relatively low, although the city sprawls for a wider radius than it's relatively small population would suggest. Iinan, is technically a part of the Matsusaka municipality, but is quite far away, nestled in valley between mountains that cut it off from the larger cities nearby. The town if Iinan is, what is known in the business as "inaka", meaning "Japanese countryside".

So at about 10 o'clock in the morning we set off for Iinan, which required us to drive away from Matsusaka towards the mountains. Soon, we had passed through two tunnels that had been bored through the mountainside.

On the other side of these prepubescent mountains, the landscape was quite different. I felt transported from Matsusaka's mosaic of residential properties, small business premises, and surprisingly frequent rice paddies, to a beautiful countryside of undulating rivers, far fewer Japanese homes and far more bamboo forest!

The first stop on our voyage was Iinan High School. Below are some pictures taken at Taryn's school.

The entrance to Iinan High School

Iinan's long drive way is bastioned by pine trees.

As you can see below, the view from the entrance of Iinan High School is absolutely beautiful!

Beautifully planticured (yeah, I just made that up) bushes line the entrance to the school.

The baseball pitch of Iinan High School is located just outside the entrance of the school. The line of trees on the left edge of this photograph is the same copse of pine trees shown above.

Iinan High School is composed of three parallel buildings. Here you can see the beautifully tended lawns that separate two of the buildings.

For some reason there are moments when Japan's flora makes me feel like character in a Dr Seuss story.

No real field trip in Japan would be complete without a harrowing tale about an eight legged monster. Seriously... they're everywhere, and scary as hell. It probably doesn't help that I'm constantly reminded of their presence, either when walking though their webs or even when relaxing and having a good ceiling stare, only to be yanked back to a conscious state by an adrenalin burst that would make Mick Jagger stagger.











Nestled in a corner behind the current Iinan High School is the Old Iinan High School building.

Close to the Old Iinan High School building are some beautiful tall bushes. (No they're not trees.)

Taryn and I had some fun taking some Where's Wally pictures :D.

Can you find her ;)














This photograph is honestly not a composite photograph, although I totally look Photoshopped into the photo.

So while we were at the school we found out that they would be performing at a community festival in Iinan during the evening. We found this out just after noon, and decided that we would support the brass band, so we stuck around in Iinan all day, and got to explore the area a bit more, and took the opportunity to take some beautiful photographs!

Once again, the photograph above is an unedited original. This portrait-orientated panoramic photo was taken a few minutes walk from an Onsen (Japanese Hot Spring), and was also coincidentally the location of the evening's festivities.

While Taryn was taking the photograph above, I got a close up of the breathtaking bamboo forest.

This landmark marks the location of an Onsen. I wish I could tell you a romantic story about it's history; but while such a story may exist, I still don't understand enough Japanese to be able to hear it... Maybe next year folks :P.

The people of Iinan was very hospitable and they made us feel very welcome at their community carnival. 

Taryn's school band performed to the delight of the crowd. The seeds of goodwill we sowed that day may really  have found fertile soil, as Taryn's students and co-workers seem really to have appreciated our support.

As part of the festival, gifts are distributed to the children in the crowd that gathered like pigeons at the foot of this pedestal. I was really surprised at the volume of gifts given out, and this redistribution (by four or five men working in parallel) took about five minutes before they ran dry.

Behold: Food from the festival. On the left we have balls made of rice flour with a barbecue-like sauce and some herbs for seasoning. On the right is some seasoned deep fried chicken served without and any other adornment.

As it got darker, the light of the lanterns grew brighter by comparison, which reminded me of Christmas lights and our community festivals back home in South Africa.

Between six and seven that evening Taryn and I, exhausted from a long day of exploration, drove back through the winding mountain road, along the undulating river and through the tunnels that carve through the hillsides, back to our new home in Matsusaka.

It was a beautiful and rewarding experience. I really like Iinan. I can understand how many people may not feel comfortable living there, but perhaps is because of this very reason that it maintains its aura of community and timelessness.

But more than anything, I am so happy that the place my wife will be spending most of her waking hours, will be a place filled of extraordinary beauty.

A Collection of Photographs from My Ride Home

This afternoon my wife informed me that she would be coming home a little late. So, since I was in no particular rush, and since it was a relatively cool afternoon with a nice dramatic skyline, I thought it was a good opportunity to create a photographic comic strip of my bike ride home from Matsusaka Commercial High School in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture.

This photo was taken on Route 756, the road that my school is on, and I'm looking in the direction of home, with my school behind me. 

Not far from the school you will find this very picturesque little cemetery. I think it's Shinto, but I'm not really sure.

Just opposite the cemetery is this little vegetable garden. Here I'm looking back in the direction of my school. You can see my silhouette on the pavement. :D

I live in a residential part of Matsusaka. Between my school and my home is a big rural area, and the main roads run around the rural area more-or-less a giant U-shape. There are some smaller roads inbetween that I attempt to navigate on my way home.

So from the previous photograph, I continue down the road for a while, turn left off Route 756. On this side of the road is a few rows of houses.

This panoramic shot didn't come out quite as clearly as I would have liked, but it's one straight road. Between the houses in this area are fields that are used for vegetables and occasionally rice. So even though the area is residential, there is some farming going on as well.

This photo came out a little better. Surprisingly again, this is again one straight road distorted by the panoramic function of my camera. (Go Samsung S3!) This road runs between a few rice fields. The field on the left has already been harvested, and only the stalks remain. The field on the right has yet to be harvested. In Japan, they are able to get about 3-4 yields of rice per field, per year.

The unharvested field above in all it's undistorted glory! :D

Similarly, this is the straight road I was talking about, with a beautiful view of the clouds that threatened rain... and delivered on it's threat! (But in truth it's bark was worse than it's bite.) 

Samurai Scarecrow. Hmm... sounds like the name of a band :D.

A groupie of Samurai Scarecrow ;).

My journey home takes me literally under this tetanus threatening train track.

You can see where I emerge from under the train tracks in the diiiiistant right. Although it's not very clear, in the middle column here, in the distance is a romantic looking wire frame structure.

 

 An undistorted view of the rice field and now I'm facing in the direction I am travelling. The illusion of being in a completely rural setting is about to be temporarily shattered.

But not before granting me one last beautiful view from an elevated perch at the top of the hill.

This K-store, a little convenience store ("combini" in Japan) is one of four or five K-stores I pass on my way home.

On the left is the combini I mentioned above. I'm facing in the direction of home. This road never looks busy, but a surprising number of cars pass through here daily.

(Yes I've recently discovered the panoramic shot option on my phone. :D.)

On this road I still get to enjoy lots of nature. There are farms on the left and the right, and here you can see some bamboo forest in the background.

This man was kind enough to allow me to photograph him while he worked. I'm so surprised that the people harvesting the rice etc are really quite old by South African standards. Ok, some of them use a lot more machinery to get the job done, but I've literally seen woman that look like they're about 80 years old riding tractors through rice fields and as you can see here, elderly people are not afraid of doing physical work. Perhaps it's this physical work that keeps them strong and healthy for so long?

If I could widen the field of view here you would seen the elderly gentlemen above in the bottom right of this photograph.

Further down this road is a tantalizing entrance to this bamboo forest.

I'm nearing the end of the road now, but not far from the end of the road is this beautiful Japanese building. I'm not sure whether it's a temple or a restaurant, but irrespective, it makes a pretty cool photo :D.

The little dot you see suspended in the air is actually a spider suspended between tall trees on either side of the bicycle path.

At last you can we reach the end of the road.

On the left hand side you can see Matsusaka's private school. Mie High School, or in Japanese "Mie Koko".

This is a full frontal photograph of Mie High School. At Mie High School I turn left into Miekodori, which is basically Mie (the name of the prefecture) Ko (school) Dori (street).

Miekodori is an urban street, and a fairly big road in the area. It doesn't stop them from farming rice wherever there's space however.

This photograph was taken further down Miekodori and represents a fairly typical view of the roads in my area.

I finally turn off Miekodori and an quite close to home now. Manicured Japanese gardens punctuate the sides of the roads on the way home. As you can see, the Japanese have a very different style of gardening :D.

Here is a panorama of the "pond" near our house. People fish here... often. It's not huge, but it's big enough to be difficult to circumvent.

Behind the pond is another beautiful view of the residential area that I live in.

And finally I turn left into my road; and I'm home :D.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed this fairly detailed look at a segment of my experience that I re-live every day. :D