Let's enjoy sparklers!

I thought my last post would be the last, but I have to tell you about Obon. Obon is a three day long holiday for worshipping ancestors. Many businesses close this week, so although Obon is not a public holiday, many people have the week off (sort of like the week between Christmas and New Years).


On Thursday night, my friend Ayako invited me to her family's celebration of Obon. I thought it was just her family and parents, but her sister and cousins and their kids came from out of town. It felt much like an American family reunion - lots of kids running around, the women in the kitchen preparing for the barbeque later. But then we went to the cemetary to pray at the ancestors' grave. And back in the house, next to the Buddhist altar, there were large framed photos of their ancestors and wrapped gifts for them.

My friend's daughter and niece, rinsing their mouths before entering the cemetary.

After the cemetary, Ayako took me to the nearby temple where she learned tea ceremony as a girl. The priest's wife made tea for us and then took us on a tour of the temple buildings.


Then we went back for the barbeque which didn't include hamburgers or chicken. There were hot dogs on sticks for the kids and corn on the cob but also squid, many kinds of shrimp, beef, cabbage, onions, tofu - all grilled. We just took the pieces we wanted and dipped them into our bowl of sauce.


After dinner, we headed to the local park for the kids to light off fireworks (which, by the way, can be bought at any store).


(But let me back up a bit, to a party we had at Shirasagi about a month ago. We invited our boss and his family. In the parking lot, we lit some sparklers and other fireworks and our boss' two kids got in on the action. But later, his wife was overheard telling him that Americans were very lively with fireworks. We laughed that off, but now I know exactly what she meant. Back to Obon...)


At the park, the kids (all between the ages of 3 and 7) all sat down nicely on the curb. One of the dads went down the line passing out sparklers and then came back down the line to light them. The kids stayed seated and held their sparklers absolutely still, just watching them!!! If you don't believe me, see the photos!!


After their sparklers went out, they put them in a big bucket of water and sat back down to wait for another! Amazing! I told Ayako about what my boss' wife had said about Americans and sparklers. Ayako's response: "Japan is safety". Indeed. But for all this safety, they don't buckle their kids up in the car! In fact they often don't use car seats. It's not uncommon to see someone sitting in the front seat holding a baby in her lap. Anyway, I digress.

THIS will be my last posting from Japan, as I leave in just a few hours. I am awaiting reverse culture shock, which I expect to be severe as I drive on the wrong side of the road, am unerringly polite to everyone, speak very slowly and clearly, and leave my wallet on a table at a restaurant to reserve a table. And gain a lot of weight eating everything I haven't had this year!!

One man's treasure is another man's...

Gomi!

Gomi was one of the first Japanese words I learned when I arrived. It means garbage, generally. But there are all kinds of gomi, as I sooned learned! The garbage system is very complicated here, so I have been waiting to post this blog until I figured it out. For the most part I think I have.


Garbage is so complicated it needs its own poster which I keep on the fridge for frequent reference! (You can click on the photo to zoom in.)

To give you an idea of the complications, here is the schedule for garbage pickup:
Burnable garbage - Wednesday and Saturday
Plastic garbage - Friday
Paper garbage - 1st and 3rd Friday of the month
Large garbage - every two weeks
Things like TVs and other electronics cannot be put out. You have to pay to recycle those.

With a schedule like that, I wonder most nights which garbage I need to put out for the next day: "is tomorrow paper?" And we here at Shirasagi remind each other: "don't forget, it's dai-gomi night".

First is the burnable garbage. It has to be put in special garbage bags which we buy at the grocery or drug store (they're very cheap). I like to think that the bags are made of some special plastic that won't release dioxin when burned... but that might just be wishful thinking. Japan doesn't have much space for landfills so most garbage is burned if it can't be recycled.

Plastic garbage is pretty straightforward, though there is a lot of it. The Japanese LOVE packaging. It's common to buy, let's say a package of cookies, something like Chips Ahoy for example. Every single cookie inside the package is wrapped individually!! Every cookie! And there is usually one of those crystal packets to suck up moisture in the package too! So you can easily generate a LOT of plastic waste every week. Plastic garbage also has a special garbage bag that has to be bought (cheaply) at a grocery or drug store.

Paper garbage is a bit complicated for me, having been used to the ever-changing paper recycling rules at the Q. I'm still not sure if magazines or glossy paper or colored paper can be recycled... Paper garbage is to be put into a paper shopping bag (from any major department store).

Then there's the "large garbage" (dai-gomi). It's the most confusing of all for us foreigners, because it includes little things like tin cans, plastic PET bottles, newpaper, cardboard, batteries, milk cartons etc. But it can also include big things like bikes, furniture, and used clothing.
It's perfectly acceptable to go dumpster diving on dai-gomi day. You never know what you might find! And each neighborhood sends a representative to oversee the collection. Our apartment building custodian gets that task on our behalf!
Here are a couple photos of our dai-gomi collection point.




And here's a photo of my garbage collection system in the hallway kitchen - there's the poster for easy reference; the green bag is for plastic; the black bins below are for dai-gomi; the paper bag for paper; and the garbage can for burnable. It gets really complicated and often I don't know where something ought to go.


So now you know about garbage in Japan. I think you know everything I wanted to tell you about Japan now! Just in time, because this might be my last posting, except perhaps for one last good-bye blog. And especially timely since I'm almost out of space on blogger!

August 12 on 12 - Last memories

I leave Japan in 5 days so I have been running around taking photos of all the things I've been meaning to take photos of for the last year!! Not to mention packing, cleaning, buying last minute souvenirs! Yikes!!

One of my favorite signs - it's at the entrance to a local grocery store:

No cameras, no smoking, and oh yeah, no bombs.

At another local grocery store - The Next Coming to Our Store. Thank You.

Me finally trying the green tea ice cream. It was pretty much as I suspected...

All the other flavors of ice cream including miso and black sesame.

Classic Photo of Shachi and Himeji Castle

Underground bike parking. I've never actually parked here though. I think it costs about a dollar a day.





Top fashion in swimsuits this year - Pez Candy and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.



Three more of my favorite no smoking signs. I recently realized that these actually give some good insight into Japanese culture. In each, the message is to think of other people, whereas in the US, no smoking messages usually focus on your health or your children's health.







Me playing Pachinko. Pachinko is sort of a combination between pinball and slot machines. It's not technically gambling because you don't win money. You win tokens which you take across the street to cash in for money. So you see, it's not gambling at all.

Check out this site for a great description of pachinko!

I didn't really figure out how to play because all you do is try to get a ball into a specific hole. I thought that was pretty pointless, but that's just me. No fear of me losing all my money gambling, I guess.



Article about how Japanese cell phones are becoming too complicated! I plan to bring my cell phone back home. It won't work there, but I can show off its dictionary, converters, TV, and other features.

Nagasaki (August 1 and 2)

Back in Japan, I had one more place high on my to-see list: Nagasaki.

The 63rd anniversary of the atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki was just the other day. When I was there on August 1st and 2nd, I could see preparations being made for memorials on the anniversary.

Nagasaki was particularly unlucky, because on August 9th, they were actually the second choice as a target for the atomic bomb drop. The first target was the city of Kokura but it was too overcast that morning. So the planes flew on to Nagasaki where a break in the clouds allowed them to drop the bomb over Urakami suburb of Nagasaki.

I visited Hypocenter Park to see a marker of the hypocenter and remnants of a church wall.


The black column (hard to see) is the hypocenter of the atomic bomb


A wall of a church that survived (not its original location)


Chains of origami cranes which symbolize peace (and health and long life)


Just a block away from Hypocenter Park is Peace Park.

Water fountain at Peace Park. The water is in the shape of a pair of dove wings.


The sign in front of this statue read: "... dedicated as an appeal for lasting world peace and a prayer that such a tragedy would never be repeated. The elevated right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons, while the outstretched left hand symbolizes tranquility and world peace. Divine omnipotence and love are embodied in the sturdy physique and gentle contenance of the statue, and a prayer for the repose of the souls of all war victims is expressed in the closed eyes. Furthermore, the folded right leg symbolizes quiet meditation while the left leg is poised for action in assisting humanity."


Half of this torii (entrance to a shrine) was knocked down by the atomic bomb blast, but half remained (and remains) standing.


After a sombering morning seeing the sights related to the atomic bomb, I moved on to less recent history: Nagasaki's role as Japan's primary link with the outside world. In 1542, the Portugese accidentally landed in Nagasaki. Of course, the Portguese had brought along Christianity and, soon enough, missionaries. In 1587, Christianity was outlawed in Japan, and ten years later, 26 European and Japanese Christians were crucified in Nagasaki.


Monument to the 26 Christian martyrs (three of them were boys).


During this period of persecution, Japanese Christians made statues of Mary that looked like the Buddhist goddess of mercy, Kannon.

I checked out Glover Garden and Dejima, both tourist sites with replicas of buildings that the early foreigners lived in in Nagasaki.

It was too hot to be bothered with taking photos at Glover Garden (plus the buildings just looked like Western buildings, so to me they weren't especially interesting). But I learned that the opera Madame Butterfly is set in Nagasaki and may be based on actual events.

Dejima is the artificial island where the Dutch had a trade port from 1641 until 1853 during Japan's period of isolation. The island was originally built for the Portuguese traders and priests. But then the Portuguese were thrown out of the country for trying to convert the Japanese to Christianity. Then the Dutch were forced to move onto the island. It was attached to the mainland by a small bridge that was heavily guarded by the Japanese. The video shown said that business must have been very lucrative for the Dutch to have stayed on during the imposition of these strict rules.

The island is now within the city (much of Nagasaki was built on reclaimed land it seems).

One last famous sight in Nagasaki: Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge). The water level was a bit low, but when it's right, the bridge and its reflection look like a pair of spectacles.

More photos of Nagasaki

the DMZ and North Korea (July 29th)

On the 29th, I took a USO tour to the DMZ. I have to admit I knew little to nothing about North Korea except that the US is always wigged out about the latest events there. So I learned a little something today about world history and current events.A bit of Korean history (that I didn't know so maybe you don't either): Korea was a Japanese colony until the end of WWII. When the war ended, Korea was liberated from Japan. The country was arbitrarily divided into two only for the purposes of the Japanese surrender. Japanese troops above the 38th parallel surrendered to the USSR, and below the 38th parallel to the US.

Fast forward a few years to the Korean War ceasefire in 1953, the 4 km wide DMZ and the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the general vicinity of the 38th parallel. (Yes, I know I am brushing by some major moments in history, but we all know that history has never been a real interest of mine... Until today when I found myself standing at the most heavily armed border in the world and realizing I didn't know why.)

Our tour started at Camp Bonifas with a short slideshow by the US Army. Next we boarded surprisingly nice military buses to Panmunjeon, the Joint Security Area (JSA). The JSA is where the negotiations and other communications between North and South Korean and world leaders take place, on an apparently regular basis. It's an 800 square meter area with several color coded buildings: the blue buildings belong to the UN Command and the silver buildings belong to North Korea. This row of silver and blue buildings is divided by the MDL which you can see as the slightly raised line of concrete between the buildings, and as the line of microphones on the table inside the building.

We were allowed into one of the blue buildings where Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers stood at the ready in some sort of martial arts pose. We were allowed to walk around in the building, even standing on the North Korean side of the table! But we could not sit in the chairs or set anything on the tables.

In these photos, a ROK soldier standing halfway behind the building to only expose part of his body.The large gray building in the background is a North Korean administrative building, and the North Korean soldiers are wearing olive drab.

One building on the South Korean side of the JSA is the Freedom House, originally built as a venue for family reunions, but no family reunions have ever taken place here. But note all the security cameras on it!

We boarded the buses again to overlook the Bridge of No Return. When POWs were exchanged they were given the option to cross the bridge to the other country or stay where they were. But they couldn't return, hence the bridge's name.The Axe Murder Incident occurred in 1976 right next to the Bridge of No Return. You can read about that incident and Operation Paul Bunyan here.

From our vantage point we could also see "Propaganda Village". This is the North Korean "Peace Village" in the DMZ. It's an apparently empty city with a huge North Korean flag. The flag itself is so large it weighs 600 pounds and only flutters in gale force winds! Lights go on and off in the buildings every day at exactly the same time. This and the fact that there is no glass in the windows clued the UN Command into realizing no one actually lives there.

After the morning portion of the tour, we stopped at the gift shop which sold bits of barbed wire from the MDL and other souvenirs.

Then a Korean lunch in Freedom Village.

After lunch we visited Dora Observatory. It offered nice views of North Korea which from a distance looks like any other place. However, we couldn't take pictures beyond the yellow line at the observatory. I thought it was more entertaining to take pictures of people trying to take pictures from behind the yellow line.

Our last stop was The 3rd Tunnel. Again, I had to admit total ignorance to what this even was, but I was quickly informed. North Korea has made at least four tunnels under the DMZ for the purpose of invading South Korea. The outlet (or intended outlet) of the 3rd Tunnel is only 44 kilometers from Seoul, so when it was discovered in 1978, the people of South Korea were alarmed. Today it is a tourist attraction with its own gift shop. We watched a video and went through a small museum before entering the tunnel.

When the tunnel was discovered, the North claimed it was a coal mine - although the bedrock is granite. They had even gone to the trouble of painting coal on the tunnel walls to substantiate their claim. When that didn't work, they claimed the tunnel was created by the South.

Throughout the day, it was very interesting to hear some of the sides to this story - the US Army's; our tour guide whose parents were refugees from North Korea; and the Australian authors of Lonely Planet. Of course I didn't get to hear North Korea's side of the story, which would be called propaganda. But the cheesy video we watched before entering the 3rd Tunnel was clearly propaganda by the South. It showed the DMZ as a lovely park with benches and flowers for happy family reunions, and of course all the natural wildlife that currently thrives in this uninhabited 4 km zone.

All in all, the most interesting day I spent in Korea.

More photos of the DMZ and JSA

Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung Palaces in Seoul, Korea (July 28 and 30)

On the 28th, I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. It's a huge palace compound right smack in the middle of downtown Seoul. It was constructed in 1394 and given the name Gyeongbokgung, meaning "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven". It was destroyed in 1592 when the Japanese invaded Korea. But the Japanese cannot be blamed for that (at least not directly). That dirty deed is blamed on either the slaves of the palace who wanted to "destroy the records of their servitude" (Moon Handbooks' version) or on the citizens of Seoul who were angered by the desertion of the king and aristrocrats as Japan invaded (Lonely Planet's version). Of course the sign at the palace blames the destruction on the Japanese, and the audio guide I rented lost no opportunity to blame the "evil" Japanese for anything.

The changing of the guard

Throne hall.

The throne room. The painting of the five peaks was a standard scene around the palace, as well as behind the throne at Changdeokgung.

At the rear of the palace grounds, considered one of the prettiest scenes in all Korea

More photos of Gyeongbokgung Palace

On my last full day in Korea, I visited Changdeokgung Palace (by the way, don't ask me to pronounce any of these names!). It's a smaller palace, but was a bit nicer because you must go on a tour and so it was less busy and quieter.

The throne hall. In the courtyard in front of the throne hall were lines of stone markers indicating where each rank should stand. The area to the right of the approachway was for civilian leaders and the left for military leaders. The right was considered more important, so in times of war, they switched positions. The middle section of the steps leading to the throne hall has no steps because the king was always carried in a palaquin so he didn't need steps.

Looking back at the city from the throne room. The gate in the foreground was for the king, and if I understood the tour guide correctly, that white ridge on the rooftop was to indicate which buildings were for the king.

The throne - notice the same five mountain peaks on the painting behind the throne.

Some mythical creatures on the throne room roof for protection.

Raised corridor for the king, since his feet should never touch the earth.

Two interesting features here. On the left is a small door. That was for when the king had to go to the bathroom. They would slide the chamberpot in and out of the building through this door.

In the bottom right is a fireplace. Korean palace floors were heated by fires under the building!

The Secret Garden. Much was made of this Secret Garden, but once again, I couldn't help comparing it to Japanese gardens and being less than impressed. I was told that the name Secret Garden was given to it by the Japanese, and my first thought was that they probably thought it was so embarrassingly small and basic that it should be kept secret.

More photos of Changdeokgung Palace

On the 31st, I took the KTX train from Seoul to Busan. I don't know if the KTX is similar to Japan's bullet train (shinkansen) but it took only 3 hours to get from northern South Korea to the southern tip. In Busan, I had a quick lunch of spicy ramen before getting on the ferry to take me back to Japan.

Overall I really enjoyed Korea, though when I got back, a friend correctly diagnosed that I went through some culture shock there. That really surprised me because I had assumed Korean culture and Japanese culture to be at least surficially similar. But I guess I've been in Japan too long... Only one week left in Japan, then REAL culture shock will begin!