Christmas in Japan

So, Japanese people are just as crazy as (if not crazier than) Americans when it comes to Christmas.

Literally, the day after Halloween ended, the Christmas decorating started. That means that there are two straight months of decking the halls, roasting chestnuts and all around spreading of Yule tide joy. And let's not forget about the traditional "putting of the plastic cast KFC Colonel into the Santa costume." What joy... What glee...


Starting the Christmas season the day after Halloween might seem ridiculous (and it definitely is), but please bear in mind that the Japanese don't have Thanksgiving. There are no other holidays to fend off that pesky Christmas spirit. In America, people are too tired from eating turkey, stuffing, pie, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, butter, corn, heavy whipping cream etc. etc. (you get the picture of gluttony I'm trying to paint here don't you?) to put up that Christmas tree. But anyone who has ever eaten Chinese food knows how quickly you get hungry after eating rice. The Christmas spirit burns like a hunger deep inside these people and nothing will slow them down. They are amazingly efficient when it comes to holidays. They are like Santa's worker ants...

So far, I love Christmas in Japan... not only because there are inflatable Santas adorning the gates of love hotels, but also because the reasons for celebrating Christmas in Japan seem more "pure" here. Since most people in Japan aren't Christians, the season is almost entirely market-driven (yes, maybe even MORE market driven than in America!). It is a western holiday that was adopted by Japan pretty much only due to the fact that Japanese people love presents and cute stuff. At least they know what they like. And if I've learned anything over here so far, the Japanese people will work tirelessly to perfect things they like (manga, ramen, karaoke, J-Pop, convenience stores, etc. etc.).

more pictures will be coming... I want to get a good picture of the Santa by the love hotel at night, when the neon is lit up...

Speech Contest

We just got back from the prefecture's English speech contest. We didn't win a prize, but that's okay because we already have a trophy.

If you wish to check it out...



but,

"be careful, that's going to be (y)our last wish!"



Best part was I found the Kumamoto Dog Grooming School! But, I'm not sure how well the "Dog Self Shampoo Space" works. I've never known dogs to shampoo themselves, let alone need a special "space" for the "self-shampooing." But, hey... this is Japan... it might be different here.


No... I take it back. The best part was the bento lunch my fellow English teacher, Yamasaki sensei made for me.. FROM SCRATCH and with HAND CUT-OUT HEART SEAWEED!!!
coming back the moon was full and beautiful

Why?

I often wonder why I'm over here in Japan. Driving home from the city to my tiny village this morning I once again asked myself this question. On the weekends I try to go to the city to hang out with my friends. These people are usually Japanese because most of the foreigners here are not people I care to hang out with. This weekend I went to an izakaiya (food and alcohol bar with little private rooms). It was fun, but unless I hang out with other foreigners, I usually have no place to sleep. I never go with a plan for that sort of thing. I usually end up stumbling back to my car on the 3rd floor of a parking garage and sleep there. My car is actually quite comfortable and I'm paying 1400円 for parking anyway, why pay an extra 3500円 for a capsule hotel too?

All of this is fine and I love my excursions to the city, but every Sunday morning when I wake up in my car by myself I sort of wonder... why? What the hell am I doing here? It's the strangest range of feelings. When I'm with people, it's amazing how nice everyone is and patient with me as we talk in broken english and japanese. Other times I feel like I crash landed on Mars and I'm E.T.

I am just ranting and I'm not a poet or creative writer so I can't fully capture the feeling in words. Today that feeling was particularly strong so I felt the need to write about it.

This is video of the people I typically hang out with on Sunday nights. Maybe you can get some sense of what I mean from it, but probably not.

It's been confirmed! (2 things, in fact)

Since I first came to Japan, I had been sleeping on a futon on my tatami floor like a real Japanese person. Despite having a bed upstairs, I thought that this would give me a more authentic experience. Well, after three months of sleeping on one futon and waking up with terrible lower back pain yet again this weekend, I decided to do my futon up American style! That's right.. not one but TWO futon patties to slumber upon.

The change was partially sparked a recent fall skateboarding, when I fell with all of my body's potential energy landing on my tailbone. I heard a loud pop and thought I broke it. Sure it hurt, but I never went to the hospital and I'm getting along fine. However, three weeks later it still hurts, so I'm relishing the extra comfort.

So, on to the two things that I am confirming.

1. Two futons are by far more comfortable than one

2. Eating raw chicken is a culinary experience that I have to give a big thumbs down.

It really is the little things in life...

Oh, I bought a shamisen. This is a picture of the shop where I bought it. Mine is the one with the black on it, on the countertop. If you don't know what a shamisen sounds like, check out this video on youtube.com



Should be fun, once I practice a bit. I actually bought the thing last weekend, but they come unfinished like the image below. It took a week to stretch the drum part on it and get the strings set. And I bet you can't guess what my shamisen's drum is covered with.

That's right, dog skin. I know what you're thinking... but Andrew, I thought that shamisen were usually covered with cat skin! What's up with the dog skin?!?
To be honest, I thought the same thing when the store owner told me that too. Apparantly, the good shamisen are covered with cat skin and you can see the cats' nipples if it is well made. I'm not sure exactly sure what the difference is between dog and cat skin but I'm sure it is very complicated, so I didn't ask in Japanese.


In other news...



I've noticed a few things lately here in 日本... I recently grabbed a drink with a couple of friends and the bartender gave me a 3 leaf clover on the top of my Guinness. Sure, it's not a 4 leaf clover, but hey, it was still a nice touch. Beyond that, the other day I was at a Mos Burger (my favorite Japanese burger joint) and got some ketchup with my fries. The lady made the ketchup to look like an adorable bunny and it made me feel warm inside. Perhaps that was just the hot grease, but you know what... when you live by yourself in the middle of nowhere with very few friends and fewer that speak English you really need that every now and then. Maybe you should also do something nice like that soon.... don't you think?

Oh, and yes, I realize that in the US baristas in coffee shops often make designs in coffee, but the ketchep in a fast food joint was new to me.


In other news, I went to a fun Halloween party the other day in 天水 (tensui) at a friend's house. I thought that 150 people would show up, but it was still fun with around 80 外人と日本人(foreigners and Japanese people). Oh, and I'm just about to the point where I could do this blog in terrible, grammatically incorrect Japanese so don't hate me if I start some blogs in Japanese. It's good practice for me and, hey, you might know what it feels like to not know what the hell's going on like me. Consider it a cultural experience.



she went as a rice ball... it made me happy

the day after the party... i was the first to wake up apparently.