Golden Week Adventures - Part 1

Sorry about the delay lately, folks. But your favorite stranger in a strange land is back and ready to talk of adventure.

One of the reasons for the radio silence of late was that I was busy planning a major vacation for my first golden week in Japan. One of the reasons why I was making this trip so spectacular was because I got my first visitor from the homeland and I wanted to make sure that his first, and probably only, trip to Japan would be memorable and action packed. While it was as action-packed as I had hoped, I didn’t think it would be so crazy, but we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s just say I learned a lot from this trip. A lot about Japan, a lot about myself and my friends, and a lot about how a sardine feels.

Moving on… Golden Week is a wonderful time between April 29 and May 5 that includes 4 days off and, when mixed with a weekend, gives the average employee seven days off. This is one of the things in Japan that would never happen in North America. Since almost everyone in the country has so many days off, it’s the busiest travel season of the year. And after touring a good chunk of the country, I can definitely say that that is one of the most factual statements on this blog.

After weeks of trolling Japan travel websites, reserving hostels and transportation, and triple checking everything, the big date had finally arrived! On April 30, after school was done, Kris and I grabbed our bags, locked up our apartment and headed to the train station, about to start on our grand adventure.

There are a lot of ways to get across the country; the very reliable JR train, the super speedy bullet train (or Shinkansen), highway buses and overnight buses, or by airplane. For this part of the trip, we opted for an overnight bus. Now, as a North American, I know what kind of images the term “overnight bus” or even “highway bus” brings to mind. But, like most things in Japan, it’s not the same here. While overnight buses are a much more affordable way to travel, they aren’t nearly as dingy, dirty or disgusting as their North American counterparts. They’re very well maintained, modern, and, in some cases, incredibly comfy. The bus we took from Kobe to Tokyo, wasn’t the incredibly comfy kind (we cheaped out on this ride) but the one we took from Tokyo to Kyoto was like a cloud, complete with a cone of silence.

The next morning, we found ourselves in the very large and busy Tokyo Station. This was our second time in Tokyo Station and, if I can help it, our last. Tokyo Station seems to be in a constant state of construction and is very hard to navigate through. I think we were lost for about an hour trying to find our way to the Tokyo subway station that would eventually take us to our hostel.

Ah, there’s another word that would make a normal North American squirm. While this hostel does have rooms that hold eight or so people, they also have nice and clean private rooms that can hold one to four people. We stayed in a private room that held the four of us. It had bunk beds, which is a lot of fun for me, because I have the maturity of a five year old. While the hostel in Tokyo was nice, the hostel in Kyoto was amazing, but we’ll get to that later.

Our hostel was in an area of Tokyo called Asakusa. It’s a very old area of Tokyo, but a very beautiful area. Asakusa hosts an area with a few temples, shrines, old fashioned market and an old amusement park. This area is also famous for making and selling plastic food. Almost every restaurant in Japan has displays outside of it that shows the food you can order. The displays are pretty amazing. They look real enough to eat, and it seems like you can get anything in plastic form. And this is where they get it from. I didn’t get a chance to look at the shops, but there’s always next time. As it was, we didn’t have enough time to explore the area with the temples and shrines as much as we would have liked. But we did get some nice pictures, and I got some great ideas for presents for family and friends.

After we checked in and got our bags safely stored away, we headed to Tsukiji Fish Market. This is Japan’s largest and busiest fish market. The market comes to life at about 5 am. At around 6 am, the tuna market opens up. This is a big tourist attraction. Unfortunately, it was closed during Golden Week, and, thanks to our adventures in Tokyo Station, we would have been too late for it anyways. It was pretty cool to see. Even though there were a bunch of tourists, business never stopped. Men were packing fish in ice, conducting business and just going on as if they weren’t being stared at from on-lookers. Another reason to head to the fish market is to check out the different shops and the restaurants that serve the freshest raw fish you’ve ever had. There’s nothing like a raw tuna over rice for breakfast. Yum! But what really stuck out to me about the fish market is that there weren’t any stray cats in the area, which is pretty impressive considering that the fish smell is so strong that you can smell it while you’re still in the subway.

Having finished our adventures in the fish market, we headed to Akihabara. Akihabara is Tokyo’s anime and electronic district. This is where you go if you want to find the crazy anime and manga toys, play a bunch of video games, and find the crazy electronics that Japan is known for. This is the only part of the trip that Kris really cared about. Since he didn’t get enough time to really experience Akihabara this trip, next time we head to Tokyo, I’m just gonna leave him there and meet up with him again for dinner. Like a daycare…

Wow that's a lot, and we're not even finished the first day.  Okay, I'm going to go take a break and I'll be back with the next chapter next week!

Beginnings

Spring brings more to Japan than just pretty colored trees.  Spring also marks the beginning of a new school year.  While all around us nature is refreshing and beginning anew, so is our school.  I kinda like that.  Spring has always been used as a metaphor for beginnings, so having the new school year start in the spring makes sense.  With the long break in the summer, it doesn’t necessarily work as well as having the school year start after the long break, but it still makes sense.

Now, for many, a new school year doesn’t mean much more than just a return to the same schedule after a short break.  For others, like the 7 new teachers and 161 new students that just entered my junior high school, it means a brand new life.  And in the case of the students,that includes 2 brand new uniforms, brand new gym clothes, a brand new school bag (which is an official school duffel bag and a complete change from the hard and sturdy backpacks they used for the last 6 years), 2 brand new pairs of shoes, and, of course, new teachers and new classmates.

Oddly enough, at least to me, beginning your time at a new school is so important that there’s a big entrance ceremony to commemorate the occasion.  While it was rehearsed less than the graduation ceremony, it seemed to be much more important.  At least, that’s the feeling I got from the parents.  While there was a good crowd at the graduation ceremony, which was held barely a month ago, the entrance ceremony was packed.  We had to put out more chairs to accommodate the happy and tearful parents.  It also felt like it was more important because a lot more of the mother’s were dressed in kimonos, while the only kimono to be seen at the graduation was worn by one of the teachers.

Actually, now that I think about it, the level of importance of the two ceremonies seems to be complete opposite.  What I mean is, the graduation ceremony was held in great reverence by the teachers and the school in general.  There was a lot of prep time, the teachers were dressed to the nines, and it just felt like a very important occasion.  While there were parents there, and they were dressed nicely, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, especially when compared to the kind of reception a graduation back home gets.  Then there’s the entrance ceremony.  Very little time was spent getting ready for it, the rehearsal took thirty minutes, while the teachers were dressed nice, they weren’t dressed as nicely as they were for the graduation and it just felt like an average ceremony.  But the parents came out in huge crowds, were dressed a lot more formally, and just seemed like this was one of the most important ceremonies that they could attend. Interesting how the two different parties put different levels of importance on the two ceremonies.

Speaking of the parents, it was really cute to see them get excited about the class placement of their child.  Before a new school year begins, the teachers have a meeting and divvy up the students into equal classes.  Right now, there are four classes for each grade at my school.  Every year, the students are separated into different classes.  It’s fun to watch the students crowd around the board that lists each class.  There’s a lot of commotion; squeals of delight by friends who discovered that they’re in the same class, mummers of unhappiness from the students who are stuck with a less-than-favorite person, and just general pushing and shoving of people trying to find their name somewhere on the giant list.  Today, not only did the first year students act this way, but their parents also did before entering the gymnasium and finding a seat.  Many parents also took photos of their child’s name on the list, or a photo of someone pointing to their child’s name.  It was quite entertaining to watch these groups of grown people act like, well, junior high students.

As for the new students... eee... they’re so cute!  Some of them are so tiny they barely fit into their uniforms.  But I know that won’t last long.  They’ll fill them out before the year is done.  Still, it should be a fun year.  I can’t wait to get started!

Cherry Blossom Parties

Every spring, millions of cherry trees (or sakura) come to life.  The different shades of pink and white flowers can be seen as far as the eye can see, a bright touch of color in the middle of the usual green landscape.  It reminds me of the inspiration poster that tells you to be unique or an individual and shows a single yellow flower surrounded by a sea of red flowers.

The sad thing about sakura trees is that their beautiful blossoms don't last for long.  Within a week or so of their blooming, they will fall off of the trees in a storm of pink and white petals.

Since the beauty doesn't last long, people take time out to go and sit under the trees, usually with a picnic and some alcoholic beverages.  Apparently this practice (known has hanami, or flower viewing) started in China and has since become very popular in Japan.  Hanami is so popular in Japan that it's almost like a holiday season.

In Canada, or America, when the next upcoming holiday approaches, the stores are filled with items for that holiday and everything and anything comes out with holiday versions in order to celebrate.  The same happens with hanami.  The stores are filled with products to help you enjoy your picnic; like picnic baskets, tarps to sit on, temperature controlling bags for food or drinks and even mini-BBQs.  Sakura themed products fill the shelves; dishes, chopsticks, boxes of beer, and even kit-kats.  Also, to help with the planning of hanami events, the news has a sakura viewing forecast on after the weather.  There are also quite a few websites dedicated to reporting on the blossoming around the country as well as tips about the best locations for sakura viewing.

If you ever want to visit Japan, I highly recommend coming at the end of March or beginning of April, when the sakura are in bloom.  Its incredibly beautiful and there's nothing like a picnic under the trees with some good friends and a couple of cold drinks.

Graduation, Part 4: The Final Farewell

I’m happy to report that the graduation ceremony wasn’t eight hours. It was two hours, saying goodbye to the students and taking pictures took about an hour and a half, and now the rest of the day the first year and second year students will have club activities.

It turns out the ceremony is much more important to the family than I was lead to believe. A lot of families, not just the mothers, came. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, and a lot of women were wearing corsages pinned to their outfits. A few mothers were even drying their eyes as they watched their children walk out of off the school’s grounds for the last time.

The ceremony was pretty much what I thought it would be, and was pretty much like a western graduation ceremony. There were long speeches, there was singing, and there was a lot of bowing. Actually, because they’re a bowing society, the only thing that really surprised me was that we didn’t clap after any of the speeches, only slightly bowed. This made the ceremony a lot more solemn and boring than some others that I’ve attended. There was no hooting and hollering as people stood to accept their diplomas. There was only a room full of quiet reverence. And the sound of camera shutters clicking.

All in all, it was a decent enough graduation ceremony. But note to self: dress up as much as you can next year. Since the students can’t dress up for this important occasion, it’s up to the teachers and parents to pick up the slack.

Graduation, Part 3: Singing

One of the things I love about Japan is how musical it is. It’s probably one of the only places where I can walk down the street singing to myself and not get any weird looks. Well, I might get a weird look cause I’m singing in English, but the actually singing is pretty normal. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I come across a big musical number happening in front of the school.

So it comes to no surprise to me that the school has its own anthem or that the students must sing a few songs at the graduation. Of course they will sing the school anthem, which I plan on memorizing before the ceremony, the traditional graduation song, and a special song the first year and second year students have been learning for the third years.

When I first heard the graduation song, you can imagine my surprise when I recognized the melody for “Auld Lang Syne.” The Japanese graduation song is called “Light of Fireflies” which is in reference to in the old days when students study by a jar of fireflies. Not sure why they didn’t use a candle, but the imagery is quite nice. Here’s the lyrics:

hotaru no hikari, mado no yuki.           Light of fireflies, snow by the window,
fumi yomu tsukihi, kasane tsutsu.         Many suns and moons spent reading
itsushika toshi mo, sugi no towo.         Years have gone by without notice
aketezo kesa ha, wakare yuku.           Day has dawned; this morning, we part.

tomaru mo yuku mo, kagiri tote,         Stay or leave, either an end
katami ni omofu, chiyorozu no,           Think as mementos; so many
kokoro no hashi wo, hitokoto ni,        Corners of my heart, in one word
sakiku to bakari, utafu nari.                Sing for peace.

There are two other verses, but these two verses are what my students sing. I think it’s quite pretty. Not as good as “Everybody needs Sunscreen” but a lot better than “Graduation (Friends Forever).”