20 Nov 95
 |
| Airport |
It’s been so long since my last letter that I guess everyone’s past wondering what’s happened to us and when the next letter will be, and you’re all probably sitting there reading this thinking ‘who are these people?’ Well, to refresh your memories Spike (the cute one in the family, currently less one scruffy beard) took a job with NTT in Japan and Maria (the interpreter) went along for the fun of it!
When we last left our readers, our intrepid adventures were; playing games in the first snow of the year; carrying shrines around town; juggling; playing Santa; visited by Princess Di; enjoying Japanese TV; martialarting and looking forward to a trip back home.
The long awaited fun-filled holiday back to OZ eventuated in late April, however it didn’t tur
 |
| Mari experiencing an Aussie Dunny! |
 |
| Mari and Ryu in Wollongong. |
Up until then (end of July) the baby seemed to be doing fine, however through a fairly routine test we found out that there was an extremely high possibility that our baby had either a chromosomal defect (ie Downs Syndrome) or a neural tube defect (ie Spia Bifita) or both. Once again, after we’d just started to relax, our lives were in turmoil again. To find out for certain if these defects were present, we had to make a tough decision as to whether to have an amniocentesis performed. Using ultrasound so as not to hit the baby, a needle was inserted through my abdomen into the baby’s amniotic sack and some of the fluid was drawn out. This would also once again put the baby at risk through miscarriage (1 in 200 chance). It was an even more difficult decision to make as the baby finally looked human and was now big enough that I could feel it’s movements. The operation went well with no complications (except that the baby was moving around heaps during the procedure and the doctor had to insert two needles in me as the baby moved right under the first needle). After an excruciatingly long 3 weeks wait, we found out that there seemed to be no abnormality present. We were told that there was no explanation for the high results in the previous blood tests, but that this kind of thing happens occasionally. The feeling of relief and joy that we felt is difficult to explain but after all we had gone through, it felt like we’d been holding our breaths over the past four months and suddenly we’d taken that first sweet breath of fresh air (well, fresh for Tokyo air anyway. J
That brings us up to the present. The baby still seems to be doing fine and we are pretty much going about our lives as normal. Of course there are no guarantees where babies are concerned and we won’t know for certain if everything will be Ok until it is born (around about Christmas). It’s hard not to have any doubts or concerns, but we take on day at a time and try to be as positive as possible and try to live as we always have.
Needless to say, after several months of constantly being in bed I have totally lost any fitness I had and gained in it’s place lots of, how should I put it...condition. Spike often says that he wishes we lived closer to the seaside so that he can play with his new beach ball!! Sensitive husband huh!! After finally getting up the courage to start Karate, and getting to the stage where I was really getting into it, I’ve had to give it up (for now). In the last couple of weeks I’ve just re-started swimming to try and regain some form of fitness before the birth and of course there are also my prenatal exercises. There’s no chance of losing weight whilst I’m pregnant, so the hard work will have to start after the baby is born. Spike on the other hand is still as active and sports crazy as ever. On top of his normal sports hit during the week; karate 3 times/week, Kendo twice a week, table tennis twice a week and tennis once a week, he’s also recently been to; a Kendo summer camp for a weekend, mountain climbing and a Karate tournament. As it was his first competition he had some reservations about it but in typical Spike fashion, he was very successful. He ended up taking third place in the competition, surprising most people, especially himself. All he suffered in the end was a split lip, black eye and sore jaw. Not too bad considering he was wearing a face protector at the time!!
 |
| Spike with NTT Kendo Club Members. |
I guess one of the most talked about events in Japan over the past few months has been the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult activities. The gassing incidents (two) and attempts, several murder allegations (one, a whole family), assassination attempts, weapons dealing, weird cult practices and literally hundreds more illegal activities. To be totally callous, I think the Japanese mass media was grateful when the story broke on the cult. I don’t know what would have kept the media in business had it not been for the cult after the Kobe Earthquake news started to go stale. The number of “Wide” (see glossary) and similar style newsy shows on TV here are too numerous to count and I’m sure that the number has grown recently due to the cult. These shows thrive not only on the Aum cult, but gossip about other ‘talents’ (see glossary) and politicians – a big business here.
Of all the cults bizarre practices, one I find interesting is the hot water trial. This is where a person is submerged into a bath full of boiling water. I can’t remember if this is part of an enlightenment process or if it’s punishment but it is alleged that several people, notably an 80 year old woman, have perished this way. The reason I find this interesting is that most Japanese do this voluntarily when they go for a holiday to a hot springs resort! In water so hot that I can barely put my toe into, the Japanese sit around in up to their necks for half an hour or so, supposedly relaxing. Actually, I have to admit that I did enjoy one hot spring we went to a while back, but it wasn’t because of the water temperature, it was the location of the pool itself. It was partially outside with only three walls surrounding it and the view of the mountains was fantastic. It was the first time I’d taken a bath naked outside and was quite a weird sensation. For Spike who has a tradition of streaking (yep! Running naked) outside every house we’ve ever lived in (that’s quite a few), I’m sure it was quite boring. Actually I’m dreading the day he decides to streak in Japan because our stairwell has 5 other families in it and they all have children who could pop out of their apartments at any time! He has promised me though, not to attempt it until the day we leave Japan so that if he’s sprung we can flee the country before he’s arrested. And you always thought he was a shy, innocent young thing didn’t you!
Getting back to baths, there is one more bath related activity I’d like to talk about before we leave the subject. Get your minds out of the gutter please! I know I’ve spoken about weird Japanese television programs several times before, but please indulge me. There is a program on Sunday afternoons that has several strange segments but the one involving a bath is quite unique. It’s ostensibly a commercial spot where anyone can write in and ask to have a chance to win some free publicity. The conditions are that you either be a slim, goodlooking young woman, a group of slim, goodlooking young women, or a bloke with a group of slim, goodlooking young women. Next the participants (the chosen few or ‘poor suckers’ as I call them) usually the slim goodlooking young women (getting the idea yet?) have to change out of their clothes into a pair of swimmers. The way this is done is, a potable change room (a hoop with a curtain hung around it large enough to hold one person but often has two people assigned to it) is placed in the middle of the room and the individual or couple have to change out of their clothes and in to the swimsuit inside it, in front of the audience. There is one condition, if the person hasn’t changed in 60 seconds, the change room curtain falls down and reveals them in whatever state they are in. If it looks like they are not going to be ready, the host throws them a towel but of course it’s difficult to cover everything up, so they end up blocking out the offending bits before the show airs. Of course the studio audience gets the full picture, and I’m sure I don’t have to say, that it’s full of men!!
Now, on to the bath. After they’ve managed to change into swimmers they are escorted over to this bath that is full of boiling water and what they have to do is jump in and see how long they can stay in it for. The number of seconds they can stay in the bath up to their necks dictates the number of seconds they have for their live commercial afterwards. They have two attempts and on average these people chalk up about 6-8 seconds! If the other members of their team are real bastards, they actually hold them down in the water and don’t let them up!! Of course there’s crushed ice in a bucket outside the bath for them to rub on themselves afterwards, but I don’t think this helps much. Usually after the second attempt when these poor suckers emerge they look like they belong on a plate at the ‘Red Lobster’ restaurant. The things people will do for some free publicity! Perhaps I should also say, the things people will watch for entertainment! Blows the mind Huh! Of course we only watch these programs to study and document them for academic purposes!
The longer we live in Japan, the harder it is to write of the weird and wonderful aspects of everyday Japanese life which initially fascinated us. Occurrences which have prompted many paragraphs in previous ‘Adventure’ editions, which I trust have entertained you all (what else is this for if not to entertain! J ).
Over the past month or so, I have attempted to view Japan as we did in the beginning; noticing everything and looking at everyday life here through an outsiders eyes, as if seeing things for the first time. The following are some brief descriptions of what I saw....
Buses
I think Japanese bus drivers must be, in general, the most courteous drivers in the world. This may sound biased, however, how often have you sat in a bus in Australia and had the bus driver say to you over the microphone, “Hold on no, I’m about to take off”, or “I’m going to turn left, hold on please”, or “Hold on now, I’m about to break. Be careful.” No, I have ridden in enough buses in Canberra and Brisbane to know that this is not a daily or even a once in a lifetime occurrence. The most warming you have as to when the bus is going to break, is when the back of someone elses head slams into your face or if you manage to get a seat, someone’s bum ends up in your face. Also if you’re not as quick as greased lightning when you’re getting off the bus, the doors either slam in your face and you have to wait till the next stop or you get some part of your anatomy caught in them and you hear a shout from the driver to hurry up and get out! Remember I speak from experience. Ok, I admit that not every bus drive in Japan is quite so polite, but the majority are.
The other convenience on all Japanese buses is that there is usually a polite recorded announcement by a Japanese lady informing you of the name of the next bus stop and thanking you for riding the bus. Of course it’s in Japanese, but for us it is a godsend.
Water
No this is not about how clean or unclean Tokyo’s water supply is, but about the Japanese tradition of serving bottomless cups of free water to every customer in restaurants, whether you want it or not. When you are seated the first thing that the waitress does is to plonk a cup of ice water and a clean wet face washer on the table in front of each customer. Then the menu. Throughout your meal, whether you order other drinks or not, the water is topped up at regular intervals. (Present day...how strange, nearly every restaurant in OZ does the same now, but was a big deal back in 94...lol) This may not sound earth shattering, however when you consider that in Australia you may have to pay for a glass of water it’s a nice surprise!
One of the most surprising cases of this I experience only this week, when I had lunch at KFC in Kichijoji. It’s very rare that we eat junk food, mainly due to the fact that there aren’t any joints close to where we live J. But on this day I was in Kichijoji shopping and on the spur of the moment decided to dine at the colonels. After ordering I listened to the obligatory “do you want a drink with that?” and politely said “no” (when really I’m thinking “If I’d wanted a damn drink I would have said so!!”). Well, what do you know, when I was given my order there was a large cup of drink with it. Thinking it was a mistake and that it was someone elses drink, I almost said something but thought ‘what the heck it’s their mistake.’ In the end I decided not to and when I sat down to my meal I realised it was a complimentary ice water. I don’t normally drink anything with a meal but have something afterwards, but as this was a stinking hot summers day the free ice water was a nice treat.
No, It’s not Mr Whippy – It’s Mr Baked Sweet Potato Man
Mr Whippy! Every Aussie has sweet memories of rushing out in the heat of summer the sound of ‘Green sleaves’, or some such tune, and grabbing an ice cream of Mr Whippy on a Sunday arvo. Well, there are no Mr Whippys in Tokyo, however all through winter here, you can hear Mr Baked Sweet Potato slowly making his way around the streets selling freshly coal baked sweet potatoes out of his smoking cart. He doesn’t play music but tells you in a sing song voice over a microphone that his sweet potatoes are fresh and coal baked.
I remember as a kid coming home from my high school in Japan (often around 6pm after a kendo training) on a dark, freezing winters evening and grabbing a sweet potato as a snack. Now, one of my fondest memories of living in Japan as a kid. I can imagine him pulling his little wooden cart by hand around the muddy streets of ancient Japan (B. M – Before MacDonalds) J, bringing a warm smile to his customers faces.
As well as roaming baked sweet potato carts, there are also roaming:
Tofu vendors
Knife sharpeners
Organic food grocers
Bakers
Fermented bean paste vendors
Clothes pole (as opposed to line) vendors
All of which announce at mega-decibels, their arrival, with either a particular recorded tune, trumpet or sing-song voice recording informing you of their product. And no, the Japanese have no concept of noise pollution, but more on that later.
Also, on any Tokyo road at any given time, you are almost guaranteed to see a ‘Takkyu bin’ van or delivery van. The country runs on them! They deliver anything from a box of apples to someone, to a whole household of goods (i.e. removal service). Probably the most common use of this service is to deliver boxes of in-season fruit or vegetables from someone’s parents in the country to their house in Tokyo. The service is very reliable, very fast and very cheap! It’s cheaper for these people to have these sent to them than to buy them in Tokyo!! Incidentally, the ‘Takkyu bin’ delivery men are incredibly conscientious, running everywhere, often running up and down several flights of stairs to deliver their parcels.
OK, back to the noise pollution. Our apartment, as I have said before, is quite nice and large compared to a lot of Tokyo’s apartment buildings and we rarely have cause to complain. However, there is one problem which has to do with the location of the apartments. I mentioned in a previous newsletter that it is very conveniently located on a main road near a large supermarket, Spike’s office, a bus interchange, hospitals, Denny’s Restaurant, our friends houses and more importantly, the video store! J As a result of this at times it can be VERY noisy! Say between 12 midnight and 12 midnight!! No, that’s not a typo. All day and night!
It took some time but we have finally gotten used to the traffic noise, except for when an ambulance passes in the middle of the night. Not only does it have a blaring siren, but the guy sitting next to the driver always has a microphone and screams at the top of his voice at cars in front of him to pull over and let him pass or tells everyone in which direction he’s going to turn next. During the middle of the day this is tolerable and I guess understandable, but at 2 or 3 am it’s a just a joke! When it first happened we thought we’d been mysteriously transported into an old Godzilla movie, that he was once again attacking Tokyo and that we all had to evacuate the city!
The most recent of our problems is road work. Since Tokyo roads are too narrow and too frequently used during the day, closure or even partial closure for construction is just not an option in some cases. Unfortunately, this is the case with the road in front of our apartment. So, instead of working on them during the day when traffic is heavy, those kind, considerate men on the road work team start their work when there are fewer cars on the road. Yep, you guessed it, at around 10pm! By the time they get around to using their jackhammers and heavy machinery to tear up the roads it’s midnight and they continue until 2 or 3am! So at around midnight for about 4 weeks now, we have been kept wide awake by the sound of jackhammers, huge saws, machines that crush the chunks of old road into powder and dump it in a truck to be taken away. The joys of living in one of the world’s largest cities!
One of the few outings we’ve had recently was a couple of weeks ago when Mari’s little boy Ryu and his ‘5 year old’ ceremony at a local shrine. From the first of November until the 15th of November, boys and girls around Japan have what is called their ‘7, 5, 3 year old festival’. They dress up either in suits and western dresses or traditional Japanese Hakama and Kimono (the latter being popular these days). They go along to a local shrine and have the priest bless them and pray for their health, happiness and success in the future. Ryu was dressed in typical traditional Japanese formal dress and Mari even had his hair put up into a kind of pony tail on top similar to how Samurai used to wear their hair. These days the only people who you see with their hair done like this are the sumo wrestlers. When Spike and I saw Ryu the day we were amazed at the resemblance between Ryu and the current champion sumo wrestler, ‘Takanohana’, when he is dressed in formal Japanese wear. Those of you who saw Ryu in Australia will have no problem in understanding why (and he’s 6 months older now!!).
Well, although this letter has been a little different to my previous letters, I hope you enjoy it. Due to my confinement (no straightjackets involved, honest!) and our general situation over the past few months, it lacks the many little exciting adventures in Japan that filled many a page in previous newsletters. However, the biggest adventure is yet to come!! around Christmas day!! It will be the biggest event in our lives to date and of course we are terribly excited and scared out of our wits!!
If time (and the baby) permits, I would like to write another newsletter at the beginning of next year. It will probably be full of boring baby details, but I’ll try to include some gory bits to keep you interested. If all goes well, the next time you hear from me, Spike and I will be MUM and DAD and we’ll have the best souvenir of Japan ever!! I hope you are all happy and healthy and stay that way!
Glossary
‘Talent’ – pronounced Tah-ren-toh) – applies to anyone who appears on one of the hundreds of TV quiz, chat, game, wide shows). This person could have become a talent through being an actor, singer, sportsperson, model, comedian, artists, novelist, reporter, dancer, lawyer, famous chef, after appearing in a commercial, being another talents spouse/lover/sibling/child.
‘Wide Show’ – (pronounced Wah-ee-doh shoh) – are shows basically gossip programs but have a small amount of news content. Instead of having just one announcer they have a panel of 6 to 8 people who sit around giving their three bobs worth after each story. These people of course are just ‘talents’ who may have no expertise as a journalist and offer no further information, but are there to bring a bit of humanity to the program with a few laughs or tears where appropriate. They are there to present the average Joe’s (or should I say Tatsuo’s) point of view. These shows are usually called something like ‘Super Wide’ or ‘Mega Wide’.
Love Maria and Spike
No comments:
Post a Comment