out and about
weill in japan: day 11
Today was quite a busy day. I met up with a fellow student to do some
shopping, went out to dinner with my host father, and managed to get some
laundry done before passing out for the night.
toys, part 2
At about 10:00 in the morning, I met up with Justin, a student from
Tennessee who I met at registration more than a week earlier. We took the
train to Akihabara, Japan's "Electric Town," which I had visited for the
first time a week earlier. Justin was
as ecstatic as I was upon entering the Akidepa (Akihabara Department Store)
before even leaving the station, particularly because he understands what all
those rows and rows of comic books actually are.
One thing that I didn't notice last time: Akihabara has a booming trade in
used games. By "used games" I don't just mean old PlayStation discs; there
were stores that had heaps of old Famicom games, actual Famicom and Super
Famicom systems for sale, and even more obscure systems like the PC Engine,
3DO, Virtual Boy, and 32X. We were both floored by the masses of games
available, and some have apparently been elevated to the status of
"collectibles." One store had a few games from Nintendo's first portable
system, the Game & Watch. These games feature simple LCD screens with
characters in various positions, accompanied by simple beeps to indicate
game actions. Primitive to say the least, but these games started Nintendo's
dominance of the handheld market from as early as 1980. Here, these
unsophisticated gizmos were on sale for over ¥24,000 ($200) and climbing.
I'll have to see if any of my friends still have their old games.
Lunch was at a small and surprisingly quiet noodle shop right on the
outside of the shopping mayhem. Over udon and tempura, Justin and I discussed
what plans we have for the future. I don't care where I end up, as long as
I get a job; Justin has developed a fixation on Japan to the point where he
wants to end up in this country. I have a couple of cousins who developed
the same infatuation with Europe: after college, they both spent a lot of time
traveling around the continent, staying in hostels and teaching English to
make money. It's not an experience for everyone, obviously, but it sounds
fascinating to say the least.
One side effect of becoming obsessed with a country is that the initial
euphoria can lead to some problems. Every place has its upsides and downsides.
Japan has an enormous consumer goods market, but a crippling economic
depression and a rigorous structure of gift-giving rules. While foreign
investment since World War II has enabled a miraculous economic boost over
the last 40 years as a whole, many residents are still not accustomed to
foreigners' presence in the country. America is far from perfect as well, but
one should be cautious to just throw away all of their ideals to start life
anew overseas.
As for the toys, Justin found a Beatmania II DX controller and a game to
go with it; and I was able to get him the same deal that I got on an
electronic dictionary. I picked up a SwanCrystal, the newest version of
Bandai's WonderSwan system; Final Fantasy IV in Japanese for the SwanCrystal;
and the puzzle/action game Kuru Kuru Kururin for my Game Boy Advance. I
think I've spent enough cash on myself on this trip so far, having bought
virtually no souvenirs or gifts for others.
walk this way
Japan, like a few other countries, drives on the left side of the road.
In residential and small commercial areas, roads are so small that cars can
barely pass each other safely. For pedestrians and bicyclists, the roads of
Japan are a truly dangerous place. The police box nearest to my home lists
the number of deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents within its
jurisdiction in the last day. On Friday, there were one death and 315
injuries. Many of those injuries were likely caused by a car striking a
bicycle or pedestrian.
Knowing where to walk is very complicated, because of the left-side driving
and the large amount of pedestrian and bike traffic. Generally speaking, the
rule is to walk with traffic, so I try to stay to the left. Sometimes,
particularly in train stations, the trend is to stay to the right; I don't
understand why that is. The point is to stay vigilant, as a wayward bicycle
could cause an injury in an instant. Already, I've seen a few near-misses.
A collision would ruin anyone's day.
gaijin!
Because of that whole atomic bomb thing, some Japanese people harbor bad
feelings towards Americans. This is mostly demonstrated in smaller towns with
older, exclusively Japanese populations. Japan has had a history of being
isolationist, with no Western visitors allowed in until the 19th century.
Foreigners, literally gaigokujin, are often referred to as the
contracted "gaijin." This term is not typically used as an insult, but
it is used to single out foreigners. Some students have heard it at the
supermarket directed towards them. I haven't heard the word to my face, but
I have seen the ramifications of being a foreigner.
At the pre-departure orientation, students going abroad were urged to blend
in to their cultures, without looking or acting overly American. I think that
those instructions were directed chiefly towards white students visiting
Europe or Chinese students visiting China, for example, because I can't look
any more or less American without expensive plastic surgery here. Everywhere
I go, I am an American. In Japan, kids look curiously in my direction, having
possibly never seen an American in the flesh before. Most people on the street
walk by without incident; I was pleased to see one elderly gentleman smile and
nod at me near my home. At the restaurant where I went for lunch yesterday,
my American friend and I were given a simplified pictoral menu with names
written as to be readable by Westerners. Then I went out to dinner with my
father at a yakitori and unagi shop near Ogikubo train station.
First off, I was absolutely impressed with the quantity and quality of the
food at this restaurant, which serves all sorts of meat and vegetables cooked
on large grills and skewered for easy purchase and consumption. The drink of
choice is beer by the pint. Both of us were surprised to be directed to the
second floor, as neither of us were even aware that such a small place
had a second floor to begin with. A charming waitress greeted us
and directed us to a table on a tatami mat, where we take our shoes off and sit
on cushions at a low table. The waitress first looked at me and asked,
"Tatami wa daijoubu desu ka?" (Are you OK with tatami mats?) I replied
that I was, but knew that I had just seen my first Bad Sign.
Throughout the meal, from when a bowl of edamame (salty soybeans) was
brought as an appetizer to when I was eating from my sticks, the waitress was
looking at me. Every time I looked back, she turned away, trying to appear
nonchalant. This wasn't even the first time that someone was staring at me
that day;
back at Akihabara station, one gentleman stared at Justin and myself and even
threw
his crumpled cigarette box at our feet. (Maybe he was trying to hit the
garbage can near us, but nobody throws that poorly by accident.)
The mood at the restaurant was not hostile, but I could tell that I was
unwillingly the center of attention. In a hushed tone of voice, I told my
host father what was going on, and he just laughed. Maybe it was just the
beer laughing. In any event, the night ended without incident, and we
headed for home.
I find it hard to believe that the waitress had never served an American
before; hell, there was an American sitting at the bar downstairs when
we left! Maybe she was impressed that I was able to eat the food there,
as some of my Asian friends back in the U.S. are surprised that I know how to
use chopsticks. Still, I don't want to be the center of attention. I want
to blend in, impossible as that may be.