メリークリスマス

Merry Christmas, merii kurisumasu, メリークリスマス!

Yes, Japan does in fact celebrate Christmas, just not the way Christians, or even Jewish people, are used to. Christmas has made its way over to Japan just like many other aspects of Western culture. And since only 1% of the population is Christian, it has no real religious significance for people living here. Instead it's become the most romantic holiday in Japan for couples or an excuse for kids to get presents. However, since the 25th is not a holiday for the Japanese, the special dinners are celebrated on Christmas Eve instead of the actual day. Your traditional Japanese Christmas dinner will consist of Kentucky Fried Chicken and for dessert, a Christmas cake! Because that's what Japanese people think Westerners do, so they mimic us by going to our Western fast food chains. Can you imagine taking your loved one to a KFC as a romantic gesture? The KFC Christmas dinner has become so popular that you need to order months in advance to get a bucket of fried chicken prepared for pick up.

Can't wait to eat my Christmas cake

Little something extra on the last day

As you can see from the photo, I once again dressed up to help talk about an American holiday. I started off pretty ambitiously, trying to explain in Japanese about the various traditions and Santa stories we have in the USA, like decorating Christmas trees and how Santa comes down the chimney. Most importantly, I had to correct the notion that the Christmas cake was something Japan took from the US. The tree part they found interesting (you bring it IN the house?!) but since Japanese homes don't have chimneys, there was a bit of a snag there (How does Santa deliver them to the Japanese kids?). And also, it was just too much to pack in as well as holding an activity to make the class fun. So while kid made Christmas cards, I rocked out to Christmas carols dancing around the classroom lip syncing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You"

Perhaps the best thing that happened over the course of these past 3 weeks teaching Christmas lesson after Christmas lesson, was on the last day, it began to snow as I taught my first class of the day. By the time the period was over it had stopped and nothing was left on the ground, but it was still pretty magical

A Tale of Two Cities

As the year comes to a close, Japanese organizations plan events for coworkers to celebrate the past year called bounenkai, 忘年会. This past weekend, those of us at the Yakuba went off to Osaka and Kyoto for a 2 day trip. Since I spend most of the day off at different schools, and the office isn't a place for socializing anyway, this was an ideal chance to interact with my coworkers. Overall, it was a great time, and I learned some new things about Japanese social behavior along the way.

Bingo programmed into the bus

First, Saturday morning kicked off bright and early as we pulled out of the town hall parking lot at 7:30 a.m. Ten minutes later and the men were already cracking open beer cans and chilling in the back lounge area of the party bus. The two who had organized this trip did a great job making sure people would be entertained as we were fully stocked on booze, snacks, and games.

Depending on the schedule you chose, you could either get dropped off in Kobe for some horse race gambling, or continue on to Osaka for a comedy show. I opted for the comedy show despite my reservations about how much I'd actually understand. The show was put on by a famous comedy troupe called Yoshimoto that apparently has venues all over Japan. It seems like the first half was a variety of stuff to showcase some new talent while the second half was a hilarious Christmas skit. When some colleagues later asked if I had understood what was going on, others who had been sitting next to me chimed in that I was laughing louder than everyone else. I apologized for the noise level, but I was pleased I had been able to follow the plot.

Osaka is famous for its takoyaki (fried octopus)
Also a lot of fun to watch them make

Now Osaka doesn't have much in the way of cultural sites. It's a destination for people wanting to shop and enjoy the nightlife. So after the show, people went their separate ways to spend the time until dinner. Once dinner started, the beer kept flowing until dessert. Drinking in Japan is something else. I don't really know how to put it. People are constantly refilling your glass before you even finish all of it because you don't pour for yourself. "Oh no! Your glass is half-full, let me top you off. Some coworkers went too hard too quickly and tried to signal no more drinks by keeping their glasses full. NOPE! When that bottle came around you were expected to take a sip so at least some could be poured in again. After dinner had concluded, people once again went their separate ways. I went off to a karaoke bar with some others and sang for two hours. I do love me some karaoke.

Now you might be thinking, "Wow! That sounds like you had a great bonding experience." After all, in America, sometimes a drunken night will lead to a new friendship. Or you may never talk to that person again once you're sober. Japan is a lot like the latter. What happens when you're drunk, stays there. So even though I rocked out to some 80's classics with my bosses, I can't act all chummy with them the next day. Also, fortunately for those that got totally smashed at dinner, there is no public shaming the next day.

On Sunday, we set off for nearby Kyoto. What Osaka lacks in culture, Kyoto makes up for tenfold. Kyoto has the largest population of working geisha in Japan, and it's not uncommon to see men and women walking around wearing traditional kimonos. There seems to be a famous temple or shrine of some sort every half a mile, and some smaller ones tucked in between commercial buildings. First, I went off to Fushimi Inari shrine and later met up with everyone else at the temple Kiyomizudera. 

 Fushimi Inari is one of my favorite shrines because of the thousands of torii gates that you walk through as you ascend the mountain. Since it is a shrine, it is related to the Japanese religion Shinto. Shinto is a little ambiguous with each deity's role, so Inari is the god/goddess of business and many other things. The inscriptions you see on the torii gates show the patrons who donated the money to the shrine.

The Buddhist temple Kiyomizudera has a variety of things going for it to attract visitors. The photo at the top shows a fountain that will grant a long healthy life and wishes and other good things if you drink from it. So of course I did, and you can see people extended their cups out under the water. Even though this is a Buddhist temple, religions often overlap in Asian societies. Within the temple grounds there is a shrine to the Shinto god of love and matchmaking. At this shrine there are two rocks about 20 ft apart, and if you can walk from one to the other with your eyes closed, the myth is you will find true love. People rarely do that one for fear of ridicule.

Winter in Japan

Wow, I did not realize it's been so long since I did my last blog post. A month has gone by pretty quickly. I just sent in my 3 month field report to PiA. It's actually hard to imagine that only 3 months have gone by. It seems like Backstreet Boys and rice picking was forever ago.

One reason for the lack of new posts is because things have slowed down here in Yakage now that winter is descending upon us. Things are pretty routine here now. But all of you should get a sense of what Japan is like in the winter.

Japanese people like to say they have 4 distinct seasons, but if you ask any foreigner, there are only 2. Muggy summers and chilly winters. Summer temperature was extending through October, then for a week or so in late October/early November, there was some perfect cool temps. Then suddenly it all got freezing cold again. Growing up in New England, I liked to think I could handle inclement weather better than the average person as I walked around Dickinson in shorts and a T-shirt. And it certainly is colder in the States from a degree standpoint. But the cold just pierces through your walls and into your room.

Buildings in Japan, at least the schools and houses here in Yakage, seem to focus around letting air flow in and out of rooms. I've heard that houses in Japan are not built with thick walls because they need to be flexible for the frequent earthquakes. This means not a lot of insulation. I get that, what I find surprising is the layout of these schools I go to everyday. To move from one class to another, you have to go outside. Meanwhile, school uniforms require kids to wear skirts and shorts. It's tough to be a student in Japan

So how do Japanese people deal with the cold? Some inventions are pretty amazing (like a toilet seat that heats itself up when you sit down). Others are pretty low tech (kerosene stove). Every classroom has one of those babies parked right in the middle blasting away to keep the room piping hot.

Japanese people love their baths for relaxing. Hot springs can be found all over the country. In Japan, showers are really just a way to rinse off so you can be clean upon entering the tub. Don't want to be sitting in a pool of your own filth after all. Also, bathrooms are separated to keep everything free from contamination. The toilet is in a completely different room, and the shower is located next to the tub for the rinse.

Sadly, despite the chilly weather, it hardly snows here in Yakage. When it does, it's a light dusting. However, during the one Christmas lesson I taught at my school, it began to snow for a few minutes. I'll take that as a good sign of things to come.