Tis' the two week season of celebration in Japan! The sakura trees are starting to bloom, and it couldn't have come at a better time for Japanese people. The sakura tree is a popular symbol of Japan, and brings with it the idea of rebirth and a visual reminder that Spring is here. A pretty big deal is made here for something that only lasts about a week or so. Cherry blossom trees only stay in bloom for about two weeks at most, but the spirit tends to hang on a little longer.
I had no idea what a big deal the cherry trees were pop culture wise in Japan. But, on my way to class the other day, I strolled through the grocery store and came across a pretty pink display promoting all things cherry blossom. Here's visual taste of the delicacy sakura:
Sakura Sake!
Sakura Water!
Sakura self-explanatory!
Candied Sakura for baked confections or just snacks.
More candied sakura
Who's up for Sakura muffins?
Not Sakura beer, just a decoration but I did drink a canned Sakura cocktail the other night! After taste: medicinal.
More snacks!
sakura wine?
And my fave, Sakura Tempura! Oishii!
And with Cherry Blossoms comes the age-old tradition of はなみ (ha•na•mi): Flower looking
But, more on that later...
I haven't written much lately. Initially, it was because I wanted to use my spare time to work on other projects for awhile- getting my photography site up, listening to lectures on Animal Behavior, learning to read and write Kana, etc. Then, the earthquake on March 11, and all of the subsequent aftermath kind of took precedence over... everything.
Coming from LA, earthquakes aren't something I'm really that scared of or a stranger to. I've felt a few, the worst being the first. Still, as I sat across from a student and began to slowly feel disoriented, it took me a couple seconds to realize why. I did my signature move of putting my palms on the desk or table in front of me, and stole a glance out of the window to the right. I noticed a group of people outside, standing in the middle of the open-air parking lot, phones out, making a spectacle (which in and of itself is a spectacle in Japan). Then I realized we were moving.
"Earthquake! Earthquake!" was all that would come out of my mouth. I looked at my student, who was mirroring my stance and repeating, "Jishin! Jishin!". The shaking was very slow and side to side, something I wasn't familiar with at all. And it wasn't stopping. After a minute I started to worry. After two I felt nauseous.
A few days later, a student told me that this slow side to side movement is typical to feel in a place far from a horrible earthquake. He said he knew right away some place had just had just been hit really hard and immediately felt sad for them. He was a survivor of the great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.
An aftershock came about 30 minutes later, and was so light I wasn't sure if it was just me being disoriented. At this point, we didn't know the extent of the damage, or even imagine that we had felt something stemming from over 400 miles away. To put it into perspective, it would be like Los Angeles feeling an earthquake that happened somewhere just north of San Francisco. We all were just sort of asking each other "Did you feel it?" "Are you ok?" "Where were you?".
By the time I iPhone Googled everything on my break, I was met with videos of the tsunami engulfing cars, houses, people- whole cities and towns. The small screen hid much of the detail, and I wasn't even sure I was watching the right things. The best word I can find for this whole thing is: surreal.
This is the first video I saw, sans Voiceover.
The last half of Friday and all day Saturday were spent talking about the earthquake in classes. Over and over and over. At this point, we still didn't know how bad it was, how many people died, how many were missing, or about the nuclear things. Over the next few days, more information came out, each google produced something more disturbing than the last. It was literally a disaster movie come to life, but the images were more heartbreaking because they were real. In some ways, it was hard to believe this was happening so close to where I lived and yet, save some grim faces, it was life as usual here in Nagoya. Something seemed wrong. It still does. It was so normal that I went out and had a blast all of Sunday, until the wee hours of Monday morning. I spent the next day reading the news and feeling guilty.
All the classes the following week revolved around the crisis. Everyday 6-7 hours a day, all I did was talk about the earthquake, the tsunami, the death toll, the nuclear reactors, and radiation. The same horrible conversations over and over. Then, I would go home and scour the news. My life was taken over. After a few days, I tried to ask different questions- questions about the environmental effect of the tsunami and radiation effects on the ecology of the ocean and on foods. And I silently wondered why no one (not even the news) had been talking about how this tragedy had effected pets or local wildlife and livestock. On my breaks and after work, I just checked the news over and over. I couldn't tell who or what to believe about the nuclear crisis that now overshadowed the destroyed towns. The media sensationalizes things to sell stories, to get more clicks, to keep people on the page, but the Japanese government has a history of downplaying things and not revealing adequate information. Most of the public knows nothing about nuclear power and I found myself Googling phrases and word combinations (ie, "effects of long exposed low levels of radiation", "is nagoya safe japan nuclear crisis", "how fast does radiation spread") I never dreamed I would be Googling for anything more than a school paper, let alone because it was something that directly applied to me!
I kept telling myself that if "x" happened, I would get out of Japan. Then "x" would happen, and I'd replace its value with a new scenario, and then that would happen. Tuesday morning, one of the reactors had caught on fire and that night I told one of my bosses I was thinking about leaving for a bit to see what happened with the reactors. There might not have been a radiation threat in Nagoya, but there was still a risk as far as I was concerned, and it wasn't worth it to me. I got home, and as I searched for flights, the room started shaking. It wasn't even a terribly bad earthquake, but I was on edge and I started to tear up. I found an earthquake website and learned that it was from Shizuoka, a place about 60 miles from Nagoya that also has a nuclear plant. I also saw, for the first time, how many aftershocks had been hitting the people on the east coast of Honshu. These poor people were being hit with earthquakes between a magnitude of 4 and 6+ every ten minutes! I couldn't even imagine of how terrifying that must be and I felt selfish for wanting to leave my intact apartment and refrigerator of food.
About 10 minutes later, another small shake was felt and after a suggestion from my friend I contemplated sleeping on my couch for the night. My bed is reachable only by ladder, and if another earthquake hit while I was sleeping it could possibly leave me wounded and stranded. Again, I couldn't believe I was even in a position to be considering these things. I made a list for an emergency bag and mentally wished I hadn't just thrown out those empty plastic bottles of water.
It was about this time I realized that I would be screwed if the long anticipated "Big One" hit Nagoya while I was here, or if radiation found its way to this southwest prefecture. I don't really know anyone here and everyone I know is either married or in a serious relationship. They've all got people to calm them down or help them through or to do whatever the other person needs. I also realized how much I don't speak Japanese and so what the hell would I do if something did go down?
I talked myself into sleeping in the bednook, rationalizing that if I slept on the couch I was basically telling an earthquake to come. For this same reason, I couldn't work up the nerve to pack an emergency bag. I woke up around what I think was 5am to what felt like violent shaking. I meant it had to be pretty hard to wake me up out of a deep sleep. I remember wanting to grab my phone to see what time it was while simultaneously thinking that I should text my friend about it and that if it was the "Big One" I was going to die because I was too tired to even lift my hand let alone climb down the ladder. Obviously, I survived and it was only about a 5.4.
On Wednesday night, I decided I had to get out. I was all over the shop at this point after all the Googling, news, class conversations and concern from friends and family. I immediately felt better after booking a ticket.
Still as I boarded my flight to Thailand on Friday morning, I couldn't help feel like I was abandoning Japan, and all the people that were homeless, lost, injured or scared out of their wits from being told to stay indoors to avoid possible radiation. And as I stepped onto the streets of Bangkok, Japan seemed years away and like a place I would never go back to. And it felt good to be separated from it, to be at a safe distance. This distance gave me a different perspective on the news I was reading, and the feeling of immediate risk/threat. All of my anxiety about being trapped in Japan was replaced with anxiety about coming back too soon and emotion for all the people still there in the affected areas. I found myself in a shaky emotional state.
The news was so up and down. Every time I check it, it would change it's tune. It's good, its bad, its better, its worse! I realized that 5 days wouldn't be enough time for anyone to know anything, in fact, it could take weeks, months. I couldn't just follow the news and be taken on a roller coaster ride of uncertainty for weeks or months.
Watching the news also gave me a chance to see what was happening in other parts of the world (ie, Libya) because I was watching the actual news, not just doing a Google search. My life wasn't so Japanese disaster-centric and that was a good thing- for me.
So, now I am back in Japan. I check the news once or twice a day, but I don't pay much attention to the small ups and downs. I'm still at a huge crossroads. The problem isn't going away. Besides an ongoing nuclear threat, other challenges are to be faced by the whole country. I haven't really enjoyed my time here at all, but I'm not ready to leave. I know people think I am crazy for being here right now, and others think it'd be crazy if I left. I'm looking into other options, trying to make the best of this horrible situation.
All I know is I have to make a decision soon because this stress is wearing me out. I can't even imagine what the poor people in the north have been dealing with.
* For the record, the Japanese people, while they may not publicly show emotion, I feel they have shown what a fantastic people they are in this time of peril. Reposted from my facebook, please read this blog that showcases the exemplary attitudes and behaviors of the Japanese. http://voicesfromjapan.blogspot.com/
The last Valentine's Day that I actively participated in was in 2007. My new boyfriend painted a short message on a BIG canvas and hung it from the roof of my very communal apartment building. When I walked out of my apartment and looked up, it hung there for everyone to see. I don't remember what I did, but it probably wasn't as cool or embarrassing. I think we actually broke up a few days after or before the next Valentine's Day.
The only other Valentine's Day I remember was from about 10 years earlier. My boyfriend at the time gave me flowers and then we went out to Don Pablos (is this even in business anymore?). I may have gotten a promise ring, I can't remember. Now he's married and I'm in a country that has quite a different tradition on Valentine's Day.
Just like in America, the Japanese celebrate the holiday through consumerism. Except, in Japan, the women are the ones doing the buying, and men are the one's expecting tokens of appreciation. Chocolates are the product of choice, and in true Japanese style, it goes above an beyond the heart-shaped Russel Stover chocolate boxes found in America. Oh- and you don't just get chocolates if you are in a romantic relationship with a woman.
You don't fuck around with gift-giving in Japan. I once saw a cantaloupe for over $100 at a fruit gift store in Tokyo.
Here's a video of the kinds of chocolates (and messages) you can send you the many men in your life:
As for me, I got off the hook because I had Valentine's Day off and I don't have a boyfriend. But, my Valentine's Day wasn't empty. As I sat in my pajamas, lazily on the couch around 1pm, my intercom rang. I usually ignore it because the first time I answered it, it was someone asking about internet services, but we didn't speak the same language, and only had an intercom to try to figure out what the other was saying. I hung up after apologizing in Japanese, only to have him ring me back 5 minutes later with a slight English translation to his spiel. I felt bad and rang him up, and through broken versions of our language, some hand motions and facial expressions we realized it was all in vein.
Hai, internet. (translation: yes, I have internet)
Phone, no. (translation: no, I have no phone)
Hai, ima live koko. (translation: yes, I live here now)
No. America 2 back. (translation: no, I lived in American 2 months ago)
But, the last time I ignored a buzz at 9am, it turns out it was an awesome package from NYC. So, I hopped up, and answered. Said I didn't speak Japanese, and then heard the keyword "flowers". BUZZ. My mind tried to navigate the short-circuiting thought paths of who could be responsible. And then, I realized I looked like shit and it was 1pm. I tried to pat down the flyaways on my head, and remove any fallen mascara from the night before, and was irritated that I had to even care. Then, I slid across the kitchen to shut the door to my messy living room. When I opened the door, 12 long-stemmed beautiful red roses were placed in my hands.
They become BIG red BIG.
Message for you here.
Please name here.
Arigatogozaimau.
I responded with the three Japanese words I knew, bowed and ran inside to read my card. As much as I don't care so much about Valentine's Day, I smiled. It was awesome to know that someone would go out of their way to do something like that. And let my cat in on the action.
Eating in a foreign country is always more than half the fun of going. It's always amazing, educational and challenging to eat local foods, most likely made from different ingredients than what you are used to. I always get a kick out of asking my students their favorite food. I have little kids saying their favorite food is sushi, or octopus balls, or nato (a fermented soybean product)! It's also interesting for me to see how food is viewed differently in different places- what is taboo, what tastes "pair well" together, etc.
NIKUZUSHI
I was recently reading the news and I came across an article about a new restaurant in Tokyo called Nikuzushi, which literally means "meat sushi". Instead of fish, the place serves up slices of raw meat served atop sushi rice. The sushi rice has balsamic vinegar instead of rice vinegar in order to compliment the meat taste. This would never be ok in the United States because we are terrified of bacteria in raw foods. Which is actually stupid because animals eat raw meat all the time. Fresh raw meat is ok. Well, most of it. This place serves raw beef, ox, chicken, pork and horse (a delicacy in Japan). And it is so popular that within 6 months, they have opened up 5 more establishments. The average diners are women in their 30s.
Takoyaki (Grilled Octopus Balls)
Originally from Osaka, Takoyaki could easily be the equivalent of hot dogs in the US. This is because it's the most common street food that I've seen. Its cheap (I got 3 balls for ¥100 today), cooks fast and is pretty much junkfood. Its basically like an undercooked hushpuppy-pancake with chopped octopus pieces inside. It's served with a sweet brown sauce and Japanese mayo and usually comes with the option of some green herbs, seaweed strips, and of course, katsuobushi- the famous dancing fish flakes.
Homemade Takoyaki-pa @ Kali's!
Step 1: Pour batter and drop in octopus pieces
Step 2: Wait a few minutes and add dissolving fat flakes
Step 3: Add green onion/cabbage
Next, is the hard part.
Step: 4 You have to turn these half-spheres into balls. How do you do this? By flipping them with chopsticks. The truly trained can use only on chopstick to flip flip flip!
please ignore the stupid conversation going on while the flipping is taking place.
Step 5: top with sauce, mayo and katsuobushi!
Chicken Intestines w/ Spicy Sauce
All over Asia, intestines are all the rage. And with all the crazy shit I've eaten, I don't think I'd ever eaten intestines.
In Japan, chicken intestine is usually skewered and then grilled as yakitori, but in the dish to the right, you can see that its just cooked with a chili sauce on top and I think sprinkled with sesame seeds. Surprisingly good. A little chewy, but very pleasant, I definitely went back for 14ths.
Different Drinks.
What is rare cheese anyway?
Japan has a lot more of a selection when it comes to drinks, and to be honest, I usually agree more with the drinks in Japan. Who wouldn't want a great tasting veggie/fruit drink with 35 different fruits or veggies? Or hot ginger milk tea on a cold day? Or even Calpis (a somewhat carbonated sweet milk drink)? Some of the more questionable ones are things like bean juice, or salad juice. Or you know, ORANGE JUICE WITH CHEESE.
Convenient built-in straw stopper!
Shit-tons of Instant Ramen
I've mentioned this before, there are crates and crates of different flavored instant ramen. While people in the United States are stuck with your average flavors like "Chicken" or the more exotic "Chicken and Vegetables", Japan hogs the fun. When I was here two years ago they had "Seafood", "Seafood Light", "Italian Seafood" and "French Seafood". Even though I almost threw up when I saw it, I knew I had to have "Milk Seafood" at first discovery. Originally too scared to try it (even though its obviously some creamy seafood chowder like thing, and not MILK), I bought it to send home to a friend. Well, hungry struck and my cupboard was empty, so I went for it. It was SO good. And if you are wondering, the seafood is octopus, fish cake, shrimp and crab.
Screwed-up Sandwiches For some reaeson, the Japanese cannot grasp the art of sandwich making. Although I guess you could call their sandwich art Abstract. Its always SO CLOSE, but maybe there is like corn and pickled radishes hanging out with the tuna salad. Something is usually slightly off, to make it unappetizing. Oh and they don't believe in wheat bread, its all wonder all the time.
This is by far the weirdest sandwich I've seen so far: strawberries, presumably a sweet cream, or maybe cream cheese?, and then a slice of American cheese. FTW.
And a special performance by The Dancing Fish Flakes!
Truth be told, for the last few weeks, I've been a bit bummed about living in Japan. I still think that Japan is a fabulous place to visit, but as the days wear on, I am starting to realize there are a lot of cultural differences that I really am not comfortable with. This has resulted in me being pretty unsocial, which isn't hard since I don't really know anyone here anyways. Its a clear avoidance technique that keeps me holed up in my apartment, drying up from the heater and going crazy from the computer screen.
Today I decided to forgo my Japanese lesson and to not work on my big to-do list. I needed fresh air. I decided to go with a friend to some antique shops in Kamayama, an area I'd never been to. Immediately off the train, I spotted a camera store. Camera stores are like my candy stores, especially when they have lo-fi things in stock. This place was great. They had so much awesome film, a huge selection of cameras, lenses and even a few awesome things I had never seen before. In fact, I think I just found the next camera that I want to purchase. It's basically a digital that shoots like a light-leaked lomo camera, which makes me both excited and a little sad.
This was a dangerous place for little ol' me. With my friend nagging us to leave, I escaped with only buying about $30 of film. I am so excited to try this out! And, I was told that there is a cheap used camera store in Osu that is even better! Bye-bye paycheck...
The antique store was filled with some amazing things that were amazingly overpriced and I had to leave after a bit because of all the dust everywhere. You could seriously make a killing importing US antiques to Japan- an old metal sign was about $200. WTF. It's so weird for a culture that doesn't like "used" goods, to have them so expensive.
In fact, I was talking to a friend today about one of the things that bothers me about Japan. It's so disposable. Everything is plastic. Cute, but plastic. I realized this as I was trying to compiles packages for people back in the States. Everything just looks so cheap. And that's when she threw some knowledge my way. Things in Japan are either really cheap or really expensive, there is no middle ground. It's either Forever 21 or Chanel- but for everything. And since I can't afford Chanel, I'm stuck with the F21's of the country.
The best find of the day was this place called Banana Record. I flipped through the bins of Rock and Hip Hop/RnB and snagged about 7 great albums for ¥100-¥500 each:
- 2 Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- 1 Billy Joel
- 1 Roxy Music
- Beatles
- Simon and Garfunkel
- Paperboy ("The Ditty" single!)
And recently, after getting back into this Japanese band I liked in 2003, I asked if they had any of their records. The band is eastern youth and they are like a post-hardcore band from the 90's who eventually did a split with Cursive in 2002. They are great live tons of energy. I was in luck! They had one eastern youth album, so I grabbed it.
I remember being in 8th grade and scouring the racks of any CD store trying to find rare Japanese imports that were always horrendously expensive. So far, things are relatively cheap at the record stores I've been to and the selection is pretty phenomenal.
All I need now, like I've always needed to play the small amount of vinyl I've collected over the years, is a record player...
I am beginning to think the Asians are far far ahead of white civilizations. For example, China controls the weather all the time. Sure, maybe not safe, but they do it. They are god-like for a few days at at time. I mean, they also add plastic to baby formula though, so I don't want to give them too many props.
Today is Chinese New Year and we find ourselves in the year of the rabbit. And, as I found out today from a student, the Japanese actually follow the Chinese Zodiac, and have (new word for her!) adopted it as their own.
Cute Zodiac. A jump-roping dog!
Perhaps, this is why they choose to have Setsubun on the same day as Chinese New Year. So what is Setsubun? Well, its pronounced like seh-(t)su-bun, and it is officially the last day of winter.
THANK GOD. As I was walking to work yesterday I couldn't feel my fingers, which is usually just an occurrence that saves itself for when I am trying to go to bed. My eyes are bloodshot and my skin is flaky from constantly being tortured and dried out like papyrus from the heaters surrounding me 20/7. I've decided I never want to live somewhere with cold weather and that, yeah, I am a sun-loving girl who would rather wear a scarf in the dead of summer than so chap herself to death.
So, I welcomed Setsubun with open coats, and fingerless gloves (or, groves, depending on where you are from). But I didn't know it was Setsubun, the end of winter, until around 6pm when a student explained it to me. I was impressed. Somehow the weather in Japan doubled in temperature today, and it was actually something I might describe as warm. I almost didn't wear a coat out. It's like it KNEW it was supposed to get warmer, like its parents were Asian versions of Mother Earth and Father Time and going to make it practice the violin all day if it wasn't warm on Setsubun*.
Wanting to know more about this holiday involving beans, bunnies and demons, I quickly structured my last lesson of the night to be a conversation about-WHATASURPRISE!!- Setsubun! Here is what I found out:
Sushi Log, Roasted Soybeans and a devil who has a drummer fetish
1. During Setsubun, soybeans are roasted. People buy these soybeans for two reasons. One: For good luck, you eat the same amount of roasted beans as years you are old**. So, of course, I'm eating an invigorating 24 beans. Two: Little children are then given the midori light to throw the beans all willie-nilly around the house and out the windows. This "throws" away bad luck and eating the beans invites in good luck.
2. Sometimes, the father of the house will put on a Demon mask, terrifying the children as they panic and defeat the evil monster by pelting handfuls of roasted beans at him. This is to ward off evil spirits. I asked who cleans up after all the "exorcising" and she said everyone (I'm going to read that as the mother) and the neighborhood birds do it outside.
3. One more tradition also involves eating something so you know I'm in. You have to down a big, thick, long, black, uncut sushi roll (what, did you think I was going to say something else?) without speaking, while- and here's where the Chinese show up- facing the nautical direction of animal whose year it is on the Zodiac. So this year is Rabbit, and Mr. R is dead East.
Seriously, a mouthful. Not even hungry.
The Japanese like to party and we have another holiday (work off!) coming up next Friday that I will tell you about too. In the meantime, go get your sushi log and roast some soybeans to ring in Spring!
*This is most definitely a reference to the latest book I've read, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which an Asian-American mother goes on a tirade about raising children the Chinese way. It's a quick read, and fairly interesting. You can't help but have an opinion about it, since, you know, growing up is something we've all done.
**To illustrate a key difference in American and Asian cultures, I asked my student, What happens if someone eats more beans than their age? She was baffled. This was the first time anything had ever come up. She just widened her eyes and said, "I've never heard of such a thing before."
