Last Days....

Jonathan and I will be back in the United States one week from today. I can't believe it's almost over. Jonathan's last day of work was on Monday so we will have plenty of time to make these last few days full of adventure.

I'm not sure how I feel about leaving Japan. I've spent the summer vacationing. I wake up each day with little to no responsibility and decide what to do and where to go based solely on how I feel that day. I wonder if I will ever have this kind of freedom again. This freedom has been bittersweet for me. Although it has been fun to explore Tokyo, it has also been exhausting to create a purpose for my life on a daily basis. Being a tourist is only a label I can wear so long, and I think that 3 months is my limit. Jonathan and I are looking forward to coming home.

In the spirit of remembering Japan, I would like to share a few of Japan's unique points. These are the things that struck me during my time in Japan:

1. Toilets are something that I take for granted. I realize that there are people in the world who don't have the luxury of the "porcelain throne," but for those people that do and can utilize this most sanitary and comfortable form of intestinal cleansing, I assumed the method is pretty much the same: sit and flush. Japan has taught me that assuming really does make an a$% out of you and me.

There are two "styles" of toilet here in Japan. The first is what Jonathan refers to as "The Captain Kirk." You know how many older people are intimidated by computers? Well, the technology involved in these Japanese toilets will leave the metaphorical grandma wishing for the return of the outhouse. When I first encountered this toilet with its own digitized control panel, I wasn't sure how to react. I mean, being excited and/or intimidated to sit on a toilet is something that none of us has hopefully experienced since potty-training. When you sit down, the seat is pleasantly warm. Usually, this would indicate that someone had used the throne for quite a while just before you decided to take a turn, but in this case, the seats are actually heated, and yes, the temperature is adjustable. As you start in on your business, a sensor is tripped and the most peaceful bubbling brook sounds are played through a hidden speaker somewhere in The Captain Kirk. Once you are finished, you are faced with a few methods of clean-up that involve streams of pressurized water designed to hit just the right spot (and they never miss). You can also control the pressure of these sprayers, you know, for more heavy duty clean up jobs. Once sprayed, a drier can be activated making the whole process a completely hands-off experience, if you choose it to be. Ironically, the flush is usually activated by the age old lever on the side of the toilet. Go figure.

These toilets are prolific. They can be found anywhere from public restrooms to homes. They vary in the intricacy of their control panels. There can be just a few buttons to experiment with, or a complete line up of buttons, dials, and screens.

The next kind of toilet is what Jonathan refers to as “The Hole in the Floor Approach.” It takes talent to successfully use one of these. As you can see, it really is just a hole in the floor. One must squat, maneuvering feet and clothing into positions that avoid splash back and/or misfortunate miscalculations in aim. It’s always disappointing to go into a stall to discover one of these waiting for you. These toilets are easily avoided by finding the nearest handicap stall which boasts a western style toilet for those in need, especially gaijin like me who would rather pee in the woods than in (or on, as the case may be) the floor. After a few less than successful attempts at using these toilets, I’ve mastered my own method to “The Hole in the Floor Approach” madness.


2. Convenience stores in Japan are on every corner and sometimes in between. These conbeni’s, as the natives refer to them, are basically 7-Elevens without the gas. These amazing all-in-one stores have been a haven for me on my daily excursions. At a conbeni, I can buy a ready-made and mostly healthy lunch for a few bucks. The food is all Japanese, and some of it looks a lot less than appetizing, but I know what I like and it’s delicious.

O-nigiri is my favorite lunch. This is a rice ball stuffed with either salmon, pickled vegetables, or fish eggs, and wrapped in seaweed. The amazing thing about these rice balls is that they are packaged in a way that, until they are opened, the seaweed wrapper does not actually touch the rice. This keeps the seaweed fresh, crisp, and delicious.

Next we have my favorite dessert, a giant cream puff. These tasty treats were my life saver when I first got to Japan. I didn’t know what anything else in the store was, but when I saw this thing sitting on the refrigerated rack of the conbeni, I knew it would hit the spot.

Drink machines are ubiquitous in Japan. My favorite drink is Pocari Sweat. Well, maybe not my favorite, but it’s the one I drink the most. Pocari Sweat is Japan’s version of the sports drink. Its grapefruit flavor almost hides the very salty under-taste synonymous with any sports drink. Although it might not taste the best, it saves my life when I feel I can’t walk another step in the unbearable heat and humidity of Tokyo. I’ve actually become so attached to this drink, I’m planning on bringing some home with me.

3. Plastic food. All restaurants display plastic models of the food they serve in a display case outside the restaurant. Although completely plastic, the Japanese have mastered the art and the food looks almost completely real. Except for their better-than-real-life appearance, you would have no idea that it is plastic. These plastic models are actually quite helpful since I can’t read Japanese. However, there is nothing less appetizing than seeing food in plastic, especially when your food is served and it looks eerily like the model in the case. There is a special part of Tokyo, the Kitchen district, Asakusa, where you can buy these plastic foods in shop after shop specializing in authentic looking meat, or fish, or fruit, etc. It’s really a quite interesting part of the culture here. All restaurants do it, from the high-end Italian to everyday ramen shops.




4. Posters. Because Japanese people spend so much time in trains and train stations, it is a favorite advertising place. Posters are everywhere, and although I can’t read what they say, the message comes across more or less in the pictures. These posters either give me a good laugh or remind me of how different American culture is from Japan. Here is one I took pictures of:

Katie, my sister, could not get enough of this poster. It was everywhere. The guy's face is really impressive.

5. Chivalry does not exist in Japan. It makes sense. The Western ideal of chivalry comes from legends of King Arthur and the like. These legends are not a part of Japanese culture, and neither is the idea that ladies are first or that men are their protectors. I can’t tell you how many times a man has shoved me aside as we both start for a seat on the train or even a hand rail to hold on to. In America, if I were to find myself in a situation like that, the man would almost always defer to me. And although I would always recognize the gesture as extraordinarily nice, I also expect that kind of chivalrous behavior because, hello, I’m a girl! Women in Japan are not so lucky.

6. Jello, pronounced “zelli,” is the chocolate of Japan. Japanese love the gelatin texture. I don’t quite understand the fascination, but in Japan zelli is a culinary phenomenon the likes of which I have never seen. It takes all forms, all flavors, and all sizes. You can buy it at a conveni or at an expensive chocolatier shop. Japanese people can not get enough of it.

7. The sense of protecting community and doing what’s best for the society instead of what’s best for self compels Japanese people to behave in ways that seem unimaginable in America. For example, when people are sick in Japan, even if it’s just a runny nose, they wear surgical style face masks while they are out and about. It’s so strange to see a woman with her hair done, dressed up in her work suit, high heels, and makeup, with this obnoxious mask over her mouth and nose. No one seems to notice her. This sight is very common around Tokyo. It’s sad, however, to know that someone is sick, but still on his or her way to work early in the morning. At least you can fake it in America; it’s kind of difficult to hide a face mask.


8. The sweat cloth. The humid Tokyo summer sucks the water out of you as if you were in the desert, but instead of evaporating, the waters forms in beads of sweat that roll down your face and neck. No one is immune. The loveliest and daintiest of women sweat like hogs right next to the men in their suit jackets. To combat the “wet look” as I like to refer to it, every one in Japan carries a sweat cloth. This cloth is in hand at all times and is constantly sopping up sweat from a forehead or dripping from a chin. Jonathan goes through at least one sweat cloth a day. I have even embraced the sweat cloth as an essential item when leaving the house. Much like your wallet, the sweat cloth goes wherever you go, and to lose it is a social disaster.