Living In Ohito (Japan)-4

December 01, 2002

Before we actually begin with this latest installment, I experienced a loss this week that needs to be marked. One of my veteran shoelaces made the ultimate sacrifice for me on Saturday. It snapped while we were walking home from shopping. There in front of the shrine where I practice Kyudo, it died. I remember this lace because it came with my first pair of Fleuvogs. It has been a faithful member of my ensemble ever since joining me on this sacred quest. From the laboratory to meetings and even an odd night out on the town, this lace has always been ready to support me where I needed it most-at my feet. To some the bond between a shoelace and its human may seem transient; however, I can assure you that I felt the strongest of ties with this one lace. It will be missed and mourned.

Samples of Traditional Japanese Shoes

Friends. I am sorry for not having a newsletter in your email boxes last week. Please let me calm you by saying that nothing untoward happed to me since my last dispatch. I simply found myself a little busier than I had expected to be and did not have time to work on a proper newsletter. In the last two weeks, I finally have assembled a functional set of equipment to more than occupy my time in the lab. Many thanks to those who voiced their support and/or concern about the frustration I expressed previously. One wag was clever enough to suggest that in another few hundred years, the Japanese may have a ritualized dance based on the unplugging of appliances. Having seen a little Noh theater, I am forced to conclude that such a dance might actually exist today.

Please keep in mind that in many cases, I am writing from a reactionary position. I'm trying as much as possible to capture what I see as the essence of the moment. I will fail quite often, but in some cases I think I'll be able to express what I am feeling and/or experiencing. My last post was one of those more rare cases. It's my hope that with this effort you're able to gain a glimpse into the life of someone trying to live entirely outside his culture. I don't think that any single essay can really express what it's like to be here. For that reason, I see this as an ongoing serial where the truth might be glimpsed in its entirety, not in any one story...same bat time, same bat station....That said, I am glad to say that at least one person caught the real spirit of my last installment.

"As you could know, everything bad is good for something. I hope, you will find uplifting the thought, that reading your report, I was laughing so hard, I thought I'll get hurt."

Yes, in fact I would take some satisfaction out of putting someone in the hospital from too much laughter. Though, given the nature of my last effort, I can only conclude Jan has a wager against my life. Most unfair.

Now, onto the real stuff...

Last Sunday saw my first unsupervised train excursion. I took the train up to Mishima to do some reconnaissance. I had no appointments, or needs, so I thought it would be a good time to work on taking the train and getting around on my own. To call it an unqualified success would not be particularly accurate. There is the fact that I hoofed it for nearly 10 K, mostly because I walked into an industrial zone and couldn't find my way back to the station. I wasn't trying to not ask for directions, but there really weren't many opportunities once it became apparent that I needed to ask. On the plus side, I successfully asked and received directions from a complete stranger. That made me happy. And now I have a much better idea about Mishima. I made this more difficult than I had to because while I remembered my camera, I forgot my map. Note to self, don't do that again. In the end, I didn't take many photos, but I saw a few very cool tourist spots that I want to go back and see. When I do you can be sure that I'll remember both my map and camera, dang it.

As you might guess, the week started with me feeling bad about my working environment. In my defense, they were fully aware of the type of work environment I was accustomed to. Asahi had one of there scientists work at Molecumetics for several months, and they have had people working at SIDDCO as well. Reflecting on it, maybe that's one of the reasons that I haven't received a formal "Safety and Procedures" training. Maybe they are afraid that I will indeed pack my bags and run. Instead, they prefer to boil me like a frog...slowly ratcheting up the heat so I don't notice until it's too late. ;-) If anything, the amount of safety regs is like peeling an onion, each layer reveals yet another layer of regulations. One note, some of these regs, like posting the HHK cards (4 safety notes required each month) are company wide. Others, like turning off the hoods are only done in our research division. I don't know the origins of every requirement, but I think my colleagues are getting tired of my asking about what would happen if I refused. Hmmm....

So, on that Monday, I received the first big shipment of equipment that I had ordered. This meant I got to spend an hour setting up the laboratory the way I liked it. I am much happier now. All that week, I received a shipment or two every day. More than a week later, my bench is starting to look like my bench. Even my rotovap has some syringes spinning on it. Speaking of my rotovap. I have what may be one of the most arcane rotovaps still in use. It makes my Buchi R-114 look positively high-tech. I'm expecting some archeologist to break through the door any day to make a plaster cast of it. I'll have a chance to ask for a new one when our budget for the next 6-months is prepared, but I think I'm going to have to choose between a new evaporator, or a speed-vac. In this case, I think it'll be a difficult choice.

Thursday, meant Kyudo night. I went for my first session as a student. Actually, I went not having made up my mind if I want to take up the study of Kyudo. I had such a fun time, that I will likely study it for a while. That is if I can find an English copy of the text. They exist, but I have to order one, since the book stores in Mishima or Numazu don't carry this one. The following weeks Kyudo was a bit tougher. Instead of praising all of the things I did right, they gave me a higher power bow (the one that was appropriate for me) and starting pointing out what I needed to work on. Hhhhhh. This bow had a lot higher string velocity, as a consequence, my first shot struck the cinderblocks about a meter above the target. So much for that arrow. I wonder if the Green Arrow had to go through anything quite like this.

Choose your poison.

Few things are more frightening in Japan than its soft drinks. I spent Friday night tasting some of these to save you from the horror of it. Yes friends, I tried Pocari Sweat, HiLiki, Love Body, and Hello Kitty all to save you from having to endure such torture. I wanted to break out the Cal-Pis but my local vending machine doesn't stock that brand. Oddly enough, it's not one of the Dy-Doo brands, but I digress. Then there is the Corn "Potage" that is sold in the vending machine here. I haven't tried it and I am afraid...very afraid.

Let me start with the worst. Pocari Sweat has to be the most revolting drink that I've ever consumed. Even its name sounds better than it tastes. This drink is marketed as a sports drink, sort of the Japanese equivalent of Gatorade. There is nothing marketed in the US that I can compare this stuff to. All I can tell you, is that if I were a coach and had to face the prospect of having this stuff dumped on me when my team won, I would be begging my players to lose. It's that bad. Really. Any athlete facing drinking this beverage would have to consider taking up a less physically demanding sport, like backgammon or chess. Suffice it to say that this is one bit of Japonica that will not make it to the US shores...I hope.

The next lowest beverage has to be the HiLiki. Actually, this isn't a soft drink at all, even though the vending machine sells it next to orange soda and other sports drinks (Mitsuya Cider or Concept San-I haven't been bold enough to try them though). HiLiki is sort of a fruit/hard liquor drink. Evidently it has some kick as I was getting loopy while drinking it. Maybe two or three of these would be enough to go back to the Pocari Sweat, but I'd rather not drink two or three of them. Also, I am glad as heck that there is no LoLiki to report on.

Love Body and Hello Kitty are actually more convention drinks masquerading as corporate oddities. Love Body is unsweetened Ice Tea that's marketed here by Coke. Actually, it's pretty good. I might even be persuaded to buy it again. Hello Kitty is soymilk. It comes in plain, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavors. I have since bought it several more times. I like the vanilla best. The one pictures is the strawberry. No there is not a Batz Maru beverage, so don't even ask me to send you one.

I am sure that the beverages sold here and loved and revered by the people of Japan in the same way that we think of Grape Nehi as a national treasure. Just the same, to my decidedly American palate, these drinks are along the same lines as the fearsome "candies" that a friend used to bring back from Mexico. They are simply not intended for my consumption.

I was going to try to include a section on odd Japanese foods, but I haven't even gotten there yet. I did take some pictures of natto (fermented soy beans) but I decided not to show it, since I think it might put a few people in the hospital from disgust. That's not the route that I was looking for. Personally, I like natto and all of its sticky, gooey and smelly goodness, but it's not for everyone. In fact, the people of Western Japan think natto is an aberration of nature and should be destroyed along with all of its aficionados. That, I think, might include me, so I hope they don't succeed.

Me, Natsuko, Etoh, Maho (clockwise).

Last Saturday, Etoh-san took me, along with his GF (Natsuko) and friend (Maho) out to a brewery for dinner, drinks and maybe some a band, if one was scheduled. I was hoping for something like the Elesian in CapHill, and I would have been happy to find something like Gordon Biersch or Rock Bottom. I called it wrong. It's probably more like the Eating Factory, or maybe a beer themed version of Todai (for those of you who've been there). What I found most amusing was that you paid not by the food course, or by the drink, but by the hour. Really. We got a two hour course. The food was good. A smorgasbord of Japanese, Euorpean and American foods. The beer was also quite good, at least with the exception of the pilsner. Another interesting fact was that the beer was served by computer-controlled auto-servers. They weren't as good as the bartenders at the Crock, but that shouldn't come as any surprise.

Sunday had me back to Numazu to look for the English texts that I mentioned above. I found what I was looking for, plus a bar that had some good sounding live band playing. I didn't have too much time to hear the band, but they were certainly had a sound that would catch my ear anyday, even in Seattle. Oh, as an added bonus, I found the complete works of Edward Gorey translated into Japanese. Maybe a few of you will see some of these for Christmas. 8-)

I was feeling pretty wiped out most of the week. Working a bit too late, and at the same time trying to fight off a cold. I think I succeeded on that last count. I think I need to try to sleep a bit more. Maybe that fatigue also had some bearing on my Kyudo practice. I am happy to report that I am feeling better right now.

I went to the tofuya (shojin ryori) near Asahi on Friday night with my advanced English/remedial Japanese discussion group. We sampled several different types of tofu and other shojin foods. It was quite good. I had heard that it was quite expensive, but for ¥1200 (about 10 bucks) you can eat pretty good. I will be back, that is if I can figure out how to make a reservation.

Surprising flower.

Yesterday was a good day. Takeo wanted to take me out to buy a cell phone. He's concerned about me, or at least has some idea of how isolated I really am out here. But first we went sight seeing. He and his wife picked me up around 11:30, it was a sunny but windy morning, and we headed into the hills to the west of Shujenji. We started with a look out that sported a panoramic view of the Izu peninsula. It was a bit hazy, but still quite beautiful. Even Fuji-san made an appearance. We then went to an arboretum. It was pretty, just maybe not the best season to be there. The leaf turning was nice, but give me a Vermont forest or aspen grove any day. There were some surprising bursts of color and a some very nice views.

From there, we had some udon to gird our loins for the upcoming phone shopping trip. For those of you used to buying a cell phone in the US, this experience would seem much more difficult and convoluted. First, there are three main carriers, and one smaller carrier. NTT-DoCoMo is the largest, and the most expensive. AU (a subsidiary of KDDI, an international telecom) is next expensive, but has the nicest phones, J-phone (the Vodaphone subsidiary) is next on the list. Tu-Ka is the smallest, has the best price but also no international capabilities. So the first step is to either choose a company, or a phone (and hence the company). Then you have to decide on the service level. I went with J-phone...mostly because the price was better than AU or NTT and I could receive international services. First off, the phones are very nice. Mine is part phone, part camera, and part email. I can even stream video images or listen to MP3's on it, if I want to. It's not that I cared much for all of the bells and whistles, but there were a limited number of phones that had English menus. ;->

The next realization is that the service is expensive. For the equivalent of $60/month, I get 140 minutes of air time. That's it. I can spend the equivalent of $150/month and get a whopping 300 minutes. After that, it's about $0.10 a minute. Yup, there are no bargain carriers here! Say goodby to all of those free Sprint or Verizon minutes. Oh, I should say that calls to the USA are about $1/minute. I think I can see where all the money I am saving on my rent will be going.

So anyway, I got the phone and got the menus set to English, I was really cooking. I called a few people in my dorm to give out my #. So then came the time for the real test, I tried making a call to the US...Hah! I couldn't get through. Basically, J-phone (the Vodafone subsidiary) buys its international lines from KDDI, and I have to register with KDDI to make international calls. They will have another charge for me on top of my J-phone $1/minute. It's nuts here, nuts I tell you!

Today was a rainy day, and I studied, wrote and slept in. I also managed to squeeze out a 12 K run, so I am feeling happy.

Until next week, your man in Japan,

-Vince

Ps. I want to get this out tomorrow, so I won't be giving it a thorough edit...please be kind in pointing out my various and many grammatical mistakes.