Pictures from Japan 2

Everyday Life Everyday Life

Much has been written about the concept of "Japanese uniqueness," and you may remember that the length of Japanese intestines and even the unique quality of Japanese snow were cited by Japanese bureaucrats in the 80's. Although I haven't seen much evidence contrary to the view that "people are people," I also recognize that they do build societies with different rules and practices. And there is plenty here that differs from what I was raised with in a small town in Ohio.

I've been wanting to take a day to walk around Tokyo with a camera, taking pictures that capture the essence of Japan, but I've had too few days off and Tokyo has had too little sun for that to happen. Until it does, I've scanned a few pictures from my photo albums for you to look at. Some of them date back to the days when I took my first shots as a wide-eyed tourist, and others are more recent. Anyway, I hope it gives a little idea of what it's like to live in Japan.

The pictures should be here any minute, if they aren't already . . .

	Takahata Fudou is a temple area about 20 minutes by bicycle from my current residence. It's built at the foot of a hill that has a lovely pilgrimage trail winding around it. If you take the trail, every few minutes you will come to an alter with a little stone statue wearing a red cloth bib, like the ones you saw on the preceding page. Takahata Fudou is a place that we return to again and again on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.
When we go, we always go by bicycle, and my kids take turns sitting on the back or the front. After we look at the turtles and koi goldfish and then hike the pilgrimage trail, we sometimes have a plate of fried noodles and a cup of green tea from one of the vendors there. Chopstick training comes early in Japan.
	Japan is without a doubt the vending machine capital of the world. You can buy a wide variety of things from vending machines, from the usual Coke and cigarettes to panty hose, rice, bottles of whisky, and even porno movies. I came across this Asahi beer vending machine in Osaka when I first came here as a tourist, and I was amazed that it carried everything from two-swallow cans to large party-size mini-kegs. Don't worry, of course Japanese high school kids NEVER buy their first tastes of sin from them.
If you live in Japan, at least in one of the large cities where most of the population resides, it's a given that you are going to ride a bicycle. For one thing, you will be riding trains almost everywhere you go, and you'll need to get from your apartment to the train station. For another, although many supermarkets have parking lots, even if you own a car the traffic congestion is so bad that it's much more convenient to take your bike. One problem situation you'll immediately recognize is that bicycle parking around train stations is woefully inadequate, so all stations have seas of bicycles parked around them. In some cases there are so many bicycles that sidewalks become difficult to navigate.
	Although learning to speak the Japanese language at a survival level is actually much easier than most people imagine, mastering written Japanese is an incredibly complex task that requires years of study. However, this does not make ordering food in restaurants impossible, as you might suspect, because nearly all restaurants in Japan display their menus in their front windows by using authentic plastic models of all their dishes, as pictured here. The worst that can happen is that you may have to pull your waitress out to the sidewalk to point at the item that most appeals to you.
While we're on the subject of food, here is a type of street stall that you can find all over Japan. You may have noticed the two red octopuses on this stand, signaling that it is a "tacoyaki," or octopus balls stand. These are not nearly so unsavory as my awkward translation might suggest; basically they are chunks of octopus cooked in batter and covered with sauce and seaweed flakes. You eat them with toothpicks. Other favorite foods sold from stands include fried noodles ("yakisoba") and Japanese cabbage pancakes ("okonomiyaki"). Very, very tasty!
	I was overjoyed when I first discovered this little picnic spot, which met all my criteria for an ideal retreat. It was close to our apartment, not crowded, free, and unspoiled. We enjoyed a good number of pleasant afternoons, barbecuing and wading through the cool mountain stream.
That was before we visited one Sunday afternoon and found that someone had taken a chainsaw to the area, felling trees into the water and destroying the whole area. I certainly hope that these scrawny cedars brought a handsome price, because, for all you hear of the Japanese concept of "oneness with nature," I find that they can have an appalling disregard for the little bit that they have left. Totally ironically, the sign in the midst of the destruction reads "Keep our city beautiful." Right.
OK, now that I have that off my chest, I can go back to showing the good parts of Japan.