Interesting Tidbits: The 8 Most Blatant Misconceptions About Japan

I remember bumping into an old acquaintance of mine during one of my yearly visits to my hometown of Montreal. It had been a while, so we cued in the cookie-cutter questions: how've you been, what've you been up to, and the like. When I told him I was living in Japan, he promptly threw in a "Whoa, cool. Do you see ninjas sometimes?" To which I replied, "Yeah man, all the time."
 Only after we parted ways did it occur to me that the guy was actually serious.
 Now hold on! I'm not under the impression that most people think there are still ninjas running around here, but man, there are a lot of misconceptions about Japan. I thought I'd clear up a few.

1. Japanese Don't Eat Sushi Everyday

That's right. Just like Americans don't eat hamburgers everyday. For the most part. Sushi's kind of one of those things people treat themselves to occasionally. I've met quite a few people here who are skilled in the kitchen, but not once have I heard of or seen a Japanese person make sushi at home. On the other hand, I know a whole bunch of people in Canada who have tried to make it themselves or do so on a semi-regular basis. Surprised? It could just be that the average sushi-lover in America eats more sushi than the average sushi-lover in Japan.


2. Japanese Don't Eat Whales Everyday
Or dolphin for that matter. Whale is a rare delicacy akin to snake in North America in terms of how commonly it might be eaten. I've only ever stumbled upon one or two places that serve whale in Tokyo, and absolutely none that serve dolphin. Yeah, sure, whaling boats aren't fiction, but the reality of it is, mainland Japanese people generally don't care for the meat of aquatic mammals. Who would've thought, eh?

3. Japanese Don't Kill Themselves All the Time
Alright, the whole seppuku thing might have brought the stereotype down on the country, but it turns out that, no, Japanese people in general aren't as eager to off themselves as the trope goes. Japan actually comes in 7th worldwide. That's pretty high, but not quite even the highest in Eastern Asia. That medal would actually go to South Korea, which has more or less 30% more suicide than Japan, and comes in 3rd in the world.

4. Not All Japanese are into Anime
 I've had people I know be asked what they think of a certain obscure anime. Surprise! What's obscure abroad is also likely to be obscure over here. Although it does come to be expected that there would be lots of followers here in the birthplace of the art-form, there are heaps of people of all ages who just don't give a damn about anime. Just like Canadians with hockey, French with croissants and Russians with furry hats. You can't get 'em all.

5. Japanese TV isn't that great.
I've written a whole article about how Japanese TV isn't what it's cut out to be. It's not all quirky game shows and daring pranks. Long story short, yes, even here I flip through the channels and complain that there's nothing good on. Even more often than I did back home, actually.

6. Japan-Only Video Games Are Kinda Lame
If you're a bit of geek like myself, you might've wandered at one point or another if Japan has a bunch of kick-ass video games you might be missing out on unless you import them for ridiculous prices. Suffice it to say that, no, actually, you're not missing out on anything neat. All those video games about your favorite anime series are actually mostly visual-novel type games, which is to say they're like digital books, but with pictures that change very occasionally and a random decision thrown in here or there. If that's your thing, then that's all good too, but generally speaking it's nothing to get excited about.  Unless you're a fan of Gundam. In which case you actually are missing out on lots of shit.

7. Geisha are scarce

 If you came to Japan with a list of things to do that included seeing geisha, well you're in tough luck. Geisha are extremely scarce. There are really, really few places that will put on a geisha performance for you in Tokyo, to the point where even most Japanese people will go through most of their lives without even seeing one performance. Kyoto, which is much more rooted in tradition than Tokyo is, has quite a few more practitioners of the art, but you'd have to pay a pretty coin to get a chance to witness it there, too. I lucked out, and had a chance to catch a show during Aala's wedding, but I'm pretty confident that'll be the last one I'll ever see.

8. Japanese People Don't Often Wear the Kimono
 As pretty as they are, kimono are actually just a one or two times a year thing, usually. You'll find yourself kind of standing out if you wear such traditional clothes on your average day. The kimono is most often used for celebrating something, such as a marriage or coming-of-age day, when girls turn 20. If anything, the yukata is more common and is more likely to be spotted on a Summer day during festivals.

And there you have it really. Hopefully my list will prevent one or two white guys from saying something embarrassing to their nearest Japanese person. Feel free to add to my list if you have your own!

Re-acquaintance

I recently spent a day off meeting up with a friend I haven't seen in quite a while.

 The last time I had seen Erika and Maxine was a year and a half ago. God, that went by too fast. Still, catching up took no time at all, and the timing coincided with Maxine's birthday having just past. The kid's 4 years old now, and she's grown into a really sweet child. What's more, Erika recently put another baby into this
world, a boy this time, named Liam. So she's been keeping busy.
 Just like old times, them and Ken and I met up and spend half the day just walking through shopping malls - more for the food than for actual shopping - and eventually made it to a park to let Maxine loose. The newborn, Liam, slept through the whole thing, so I can't really say I got a proper chance to meet him, but hey, that just meant I could give Maxine more of my attention.

 And though she did struggle to remember me a little bit at first, our re-acquaintance was quick and we got to play with each other lots, riding mini-trains across the mall, going up and down slides, bonding over ice cream and the like. Unlike the previous times, this time I could really chat with her, with some interesting results.

 "Maxine, what's your favorite kind of frog?"
 "Um...pink!"
 "With or without cars?"
 "With a car."

 Being that Erika lives rather deep in Chiba now, it's harder to meet up than it used to be. She's one of the first friends I made in Japan, though, so I'm glad we could all meet up like this. I do hope it won't be another year and a half until we do it again.

Interesting Tidbits: The Local Pass-Time

A picture taken by Millo of your typical box style room.

Actually, the number one local pass-time is probably drinking. But karaoke comes pretty damn close! Yes, just like many other Asian countries, Japan's goes ape when it comes to karaoke. The word itself, by the way, is Japanese in origin. Karaoke's been such a regular part of my life in Japan (and even beforehand) that I've forgotten how foreign the concept is to westerners. Back home, it wouldn't really fly, I think, if I got a bunch of my guy friends together and invited them to go singing. It just isn't seen as a manly thing to do? I don't know.
 But here, it suits just about everyone. Young people. Old people. Boys and girls, and couples and groups of friends. It's an affordable way to kill a few hours.
 Going back to the basics, though, there are a few ways Asian karaoke differs from the commonly seen western karaoke bars, where people queue up to stand and sing on a stage in a bar, with often mixed results. Here in Japan, you're entitled to a little more privacy. It's simple though. First, you rock up to the front desk of any karaoke parlor - and trust me, it's rather hard not to stumble upon one in Tokyo. You put in your name and the number of individuals partaking, input an amount of time you expect to be spending, and you get a room number. Every individual group gets a room, blocked off from the others, complete with karaoke machine, television screen, microphones and shitty sounding tambourines, and you just pick your songs and belt it out! A lot less embarrassing, wouldn't you say?

The song selection is pretty wide, too. Of course, you're more likely to find the Japanese songs you're looking for, but the English selection is rather generous as well, with most billboard topping hits being on there, as well as anything well enough known from the last decade down.
 If that sounds fun to you and you're nowhere near Japan, then you can rejoice in the fact that there are probably a few such karaoke parlors in your neighborhood too. My first karaoke experience was actually in Montreal, where I later found out that there were four different such places. Granted, they're a little harder to find (they're usually secluded into a basement of some sort) but they function more or less the same way! You'll know you're in one if there's an Asian woman at the front desk. There always is.

Making (Kamehameha) Waves

As a city as a whole, Tokyo's quite fond of publicity stunts, and twice as much so when they involve popular anime and manga series. In Shibuya, in an attempt to get the word out for the release of an upcoming Dragonball videogame, a Kamehameha machine has been set up for people to try out. The idea's simple enough, really. You can scan your toughest face, and the machine judges your "power level." Then, you go face to face with a friend and shoot laser beams from your hands at each other. Fun! You can see it in action right here.

Actually, maybe coinciding with the encroaching Valentine's day, most of the people lined up to try it were couples, if not good friends. For fear of wasting the time of the pairs in line I opted not to try it for myself. I'll surely get another chance, right? No? Yeah I don't think so either.

So I Heard You Like Cats

I found myself wandering the suburbs today, in search of a temple rumored to worship cats, and boy did I find it. The temple, Gotokuji, a 15 minute walk from the train station with the same name, is actually not very well known, despite its rather large temple grounds.  Within the temple complex are several large gates, a three-story pagoda, a large cemetery and the temple itself, but what reputation the temple has was given to it by none of these, and rather by its curious fixation for cats - a fixation the whole surrounding neighborhood has adopted.

The Maneki-Neko, the iconic white cat with its paw drawn upwards so as to invite good luck, is rumored to have drawn its origin from this very temple (amongst other places in Japan, but none of these claims can be confirmed nor denied.) And sure as hell, if you walk around the temple grounds a little bit, you'll eventually stumble upon a rather impressive collection of the little buggers, lining the floor and shelves on either side. 

Whoa!

 As much as I agree that you don't really need a reason to love cats, I was curious as to why this temple in particular had a profound obsession with them, and did a little research on the side.
 As legend would have it, the feudal lord Ii Naotaka found himself wandering Edo, when a sudden storm hit. As he waited for its passing under a tree, he noticed a cat beckoning to him with its paw, and, just like any sensible fellow, decided to follow the cat. Lucky for him and his preference for domestic animals over dry clothes, though, the tree was struck by lightning an instant after he left its protection, and the cat lead him to the then-humble Gotokuji temple, where he took shelter. In reward for the cat having saved his life, he bestowed upon its owner, the temple's priest, generous funding with which the temple expanded, and made an icon of the beckoning cat.

 Nowadays, if you go to Gotokuji, you're sure to find a bunch of wooden tags suspended on poles in the temple grounds, upon which cat owners from all over write wishes for their cats. It might be worth a visit if you don't mind making the trip!

Milestone: 3¼ Years

                                             3¼ Years : Summary 

                                                                                      Status:

Job: Children's Fitness Teacher, Pro-Bono Cultural Ambassador
Financial status:  Good

City: Tokyo
Ward: Itabashi-ku
Train station: Senkawa
Residing in: Alien Castle, my apartment.




Cast of Characters:

Major Characters: 


Ken Tanaka
Millo, Julian of France
Dario Lupoli of Italy, new father
Ty Clark, my fellow mudblood

Minor Characters:

Aala Kansali of Tunisia
Jean-Paul "Papa Lo"  the French Laotian
Nana Takeuchi, the Bawss
Eri Karasawa, who works a different branch
Erika Mochizuki (and Maxine!) 
Kazue Inoue 

Top Five Highlights:
(since last milestone)

- Takasaki Daruma City
- The Attack on Titan Museum
- The Buddha of Ushiku
- Nagoya
- Dosojin Fire Festival


Still to Come:
- Final Fantasy: The Cafe
- Soaring over the Blossoms
- A Possible Visit to the Music Industry HQ
- Oiran-za
- Fishing Inside a Restaurant

A Matter of Personal History

In the week before I left Montreal to set out for Japan, my mother entrusted me with a guidebook, upon the first page of which she wrote a phone number. "Try calling this number if you're ever stuck and in need of a job," she said. Though time did pass, I eventually managed to find myself employment, and so I never had to resort to it.
 Recently, though, my mother and stepfather have come to Japan for a three week visit. It was a good ride, and they managed to see quite a few of Japan's sightseeing power spots before spending some time in Tokyo, where I frequently joined them for more exploration of the capital. But one thing on our to-do list stood out from the rest, in that its purpose wasn't sightseeing at all, but much more personal than that.
31 years ago, my mother had made her way to Japan much like I did, and found herself working in a German restaurant in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The place was owned by a Japanese man who had developed a liking for foreigners over the years, and kept the restaurant running through his own personal funds. It was a place where visitors to Japan had a chance to find employment, the phone number for which my mother had given me before my own very first steps here.
 Though Tsukuba is far from being the tiny little suburb it was back in the 80's, the restaurant, named Elbe, still remains where it was when it opened. But upon finding it, most of the whole building it was in was changed, and the restaurant itself wasn't without its own renovations. What mattered, though, was that it still stood.
 My mother and stepfather and I took a few steps inside, and were greeted by unfamiliar faces. It figured that the staff would be completely different.

And though I explained my mother's story, how she had been working at this very place 30-some years ago, it was all the manager could do to nod and answer my mother's questions. The owner, it had seemed, was sick and home-bound, his wife had passed away, and the rest of the staff had long since quit. It was all kind of sobering.
 But then an older man stuck his head out of the kitchen - and my mother beamed at the sight of the very same chef who had worked the kitchens those three decades ago. The reunion was heartfelt. We were sat down, given tea, and memories were exchanged between my mother and the wizened old chef. And hearing about those old days was significant for me, too. After all, this was the restaurant where my mother had met the man who would become my father some ten years later.

The staff at Elbe, with my mother in the center right.

We left Tsukuba quite content that day. Even for me, it felt like things were put into their proper place.