experiences – Page 26 – goinggaijin.com

Celebrations

It’s Golden Week plus the weekend afterwards – Japan takes a time out until next Monday. I’m quite happy to catch up with a few things in the coming days, maybe visit a new shrine or temple for a new event, or finally go see the Kyotographie Photo Exhibition… On top of the holidays for everyone, I have my own anniversary:

This Saturday, May 5th, I will celebrate 5 years in Japan!

Wow! I don’t think I should say “I made it”, since business is still a bit wobbly and not where it could or should be, but I can definitely state “It was worth it”!

I have come to this country without help from anyone, I have opened my own business, I have made new friends… Overall, in the last 5 years I have grown in ways I would not have thought possible, and the best thing: I feel so much more secure and confident in my skin than ever before! Even if this doesn’t work out in the long run, I am sure I can just do it again and start over elsewhere. And even though I have my setbacks, like last month, I don’t regret my decision one bit.

Life’s good!

Summer Pets

While I am still endeavouring to japanify myself, so to speak, there are plenty of Japanese customs I will never make my own. One of the weirder things, which is extremely popular with kids, is to get pets. Yeah, you may think that’s not really weird, I mean, all the kids like pets, but have a look at what I mean and think again:

So, these enormous beetles – a number of different species – are very popular with kids to keep as pets over summer, in fact, you can start buying them now. The children are responsible for feeding them and cleaning their boxes, which is relatively easy I think, and since the beetles will die in autumn, it’s a short-term activity as well.

I am not sure what to think of pets like that. These large beetles – I have seen some up to 10 cm long – are indeed interesting, but at the same time there’s no way I would let one inside my home voluntarily, cage or no cage. I have enough of the bugs that visit me without my permission, thank you so much.

Shocked!

The Kyotogram situation is worse than I thought. Today, we were to meet the boss to sign the termination of our contract by the end of May. It turned out that not only the Kyotogram project will be shut down, but that the whole Kyoto office will close!

All of the projects initiated in Kyoto will be terminated, and the department will move back to Osaka headquarters by mid June. Everybody heard only this morning, so people in the office were in shock. At least nobody of them will lose their job, and it seems that they will remain one department and keep working together, on whatever new projects.

While this hurts, from a business perspective it does make sense. Apparently the Kyoto branch office was opened two years ago, and after this time you should start seeing some sort of (minimal) profit. According to the head of Kyoto office “the numbers were good, but the profit was not”. Nowadays it seems that companies are (or must be?) much less patient when waiting for a profit, so I am not surprised that they do that. I did not know that the whole branch – which had initiated a number of new projects – had not made enough profit to keep itself going, but I am relieved to see that the failure with the Kyozutsumi was not the main reason for the shutdown.

Anyway, back to square one: I need to find something to make up the loss of that income, the faster, the better…

Overzealous

Finally, it is getting summer! The weather has picked up, and if the forecast is correct, there will be up to 29 degrees on Sunday! I’m so thrilled – time to get out my T-shirts.

Because it is almost summer, the trees around my apartment are now showing their fresh leaves. In Japan, it is customary to cut back trees and shrubbery during winter, and interestingly, this is often done rather brutally – for my European eyes at least – and I always wonder how the plants manage to bounce back during the next growth season.

However, it is not looking good this year for some of the trees in my apartment complex. Apparently, somebody from the gardening company got carried away and produced this – I took the photo yesterday:

Those are very sad-looking trees, don’t you think? I doubt they will survive this onslaught – I mean, how could they without any leaves or smaller branches left? They were cut several months ago, but for some reason, this is the only row of trees that was treated thus, the other three rows were not even touched. I wonder whether somebody made a serious mistake and was told to leave (and not come back), or whether this was done to try out something or other. In any case, those trees will not give much shadow for at least this year.

Bad Day

Ever since I started my own company which essentially provides me with an excuse to do what I like, I have greatly enjoyed my working life. Of course, there are always things I don’t like doing as much as others, but in general, I am quite content with the way things are going. So, I think this is the first day in a very long time where I can say with utter conviction:

Today was not my day!

It started out in the morning when I had received an invitation to provide a voice sample for a deeply religious text. Not just spiritual, but religious in the sense of “look deep down into yourself to find out god’s plans for you”. I’m an atheist, always been. Besides, how deep down am I supposed to look – wouldn’t that require a microscope and a very sharp knife? I’m not sure if I should price myself out of this one. As you’ll see in a moment, I do need the money, and it would be quite a large project…

Things went downhill further when halfway to the bus stop I found out that I had forgotten my umbrella. The whole idea of taking the bus in the first place was because by the time I was to go home, it was supposed to rain; and I didn’t want to get soaking wet on the bike. Not taking the umbrella would have been counterproductive, so I had to return to fetch it… In the end, I was late for my Japanese class, but because I’m usually on time, my teacher takes the few days when I’m not in his stride.

The big blow came in my afternoon Kyotogram meeting. I had barely entered the office and sat down on the table when the big boss jumped up from his own desk to come over and talk to my colleague and me. He brought bad news: After the complete disaster with the kyozutsumi project (only 2 – in words: two – sets sold), the headquarters in Osaka (who were greatly responsible for the failure) decided to shut down Kyotogram completely. Right now, it is unclear when this will happen and what we’ll do until then, but the boss said that the earliest we can close up shop will be by the end of May. Which means that I will have to find a new, steady job, which is not easy, most freelancing jobs are one-time only or at least far and in between.

And to top things off, my Tuesday evening German student informed me today that he would like to suspend his German classes for the time being, meaning: for the next 6 months or so. He needs to take an English test in September or October this year, and since he is very busy with little free time, and he absolutely must pass that test, he would like to focus on his English until then. At least he has decided to employ me as his English teacher, which is nice (I’ve never taught anyone the TOEIC before), but at the same time it will decrease my income since I charge less for English than for German classes (because there are so much more people teaching English in Kyoto). He did offer to pay my German rates, but I didn’t think that was fair to him.

And finally, when I went home, it was raining just as predicted.

So, that was my day. Or rather: it wasn’t. The only part that was enjoyable was my Japanese class. The grammar basics of how to turn verbs and adjectives into nouns are relatively simple, so for once I didn’t make a complete fool out of myself. I think my Japanese teacher appreciated it.

And I will now turn my back on this day and appreciate a piece of chocolate. Thank goodness today’s over…

Visitor

Sorry for missing the last two posts, but I was very busy: I had my first visitor from Austria! Of course she came with a whole suitcase of Austrian goodies just for me which are now filling my fridge and freezer – THANK YOU SO MUCH!

In return, we went out together on two days, it was her third time in Kyoto already, but even after living here for 5 years, we could still find things neither of us had done before. On Sunday afternoon, after a late lunch at a running sushi, we went to an exhibition, and in the evening, we visited the lightup at Kodai-ji and Entoku-in temples, both founded by Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and both considered national treasures for their gardens. The weather was a bit chilly after dark, so there were not many people, but from that one visit I prefer Entoku-in: more space to sit and contemplate.

On Monday I left my friend to explore the city, we just met up quickly for dinner when we had Okonomiyaki and made plans for Tuesday. We spent most of Tuesday walking a stretch along Lake Biwa: In the morning, we took a train to Omi Takashima, and from there walked to Shirahige Shrine, which has a nice torii located in the lake. It’s not as impressive as the one at Miyajima, but it’s still a nice place to visit. However, the enthusiasm is a bit dampened by the Nishi-Omi Highway that runs between the lake with the torii and the main shrine buildings and is a bit dangerous to cross.

We wanted to walk further south, but since the only way at this point is by walking along the highway, we went back to Omi Takashima and took a train two stations south to Omi Maiko. From there, there seems to be one beach resort after the other (with pine trees on the beach, very Japanese), so there are many little roads nearby the lake. Of course, it is way too cold for swimming still, so the beaches and restaurants and little pensions were all but deserted. However, in summer, it is clearly a hot spot teeming with families and youth.

Although we only walked a path the length of two train stations, this part of the trip took us almost two hours. Together with the two hours we walked to and from the shrine, this was the longest hiking trip I have done in a long time. When I finally came home, I was completely exhausted… I did enjoy the day though, and it may be worthwhile to take another trip along the lake on the bicycle one day.

My friend has since left me to my own devices again, and is now taking a serious hiking trip from Osaka all the way to Ise Shrine. I had a great time, it’s always nice to be pushed out of my comfort zone, and who knows, next time my friend comes to visit, I’m just as big a fan of hiking as my friend. 😉

Square One

In the last few days, I’ve suffered a couple of setbacks, unfortunately. One private, one business; they are not seriously serious, but still things I’ll need to take care of and find a workaround for.

Personal first: As you know, most of the people who rent an apartment (or even a company office) need a guarantor to do so. The guarantor is required to pay for costs the tenant may not be able (or willing) to pay. This can be missed rents, damages to the property on moving out, etc. When I moved in here, a friend of mine was so kind to be the guarantor for my apartment. He made clear that this is the only one apartment he would ever be guaranteeing for, but since I wasn’t planning on moving anywhere else for the time being, I thought I was settled.

Well, about a month ago, I received an email from him where he told me that he had suffered some hardships, and that he cannot be a guarantor for anybody at this point. So, he asked me to release him from the contract. Obviously, I’m not happy about that, but then again, he’s a friend doing me a favour, so I agreed. I did ask him to talk to my landlord though, and I was hoping the landlord would agree not to have a guarantor for the rest of my lease.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen: I received an email today that he insists on my getting a new guarantor. Dang it. So, I’m back to square one: how to find a guarantor. Of course, after some three years more in Japan, I have a number of friends I might be able to ask for this favour. Still, a good guarantor is a person of “good standing” to which the landlord must agree, and somebody like this may be a bit more difficult to find. There are also companies who act as guarantors (chiefly for foreigners), but of course, they come with a fee attached. I have not yet spoken to anyone, but it’s something I need to start doing relatively quickly.

And then there is a business issue: I have tried to get a Japanese credit card associated with my business account. Usually, I don’t shop online, but there are always things you cannot pay for otherwise, for example web hosting for my What’s Up in Kyoto homepage. My accountant helped me filling out the application form, and last Friday I spent an hour at my bank to get the final kinks sorted out and my hanko at all the right places. I was promised a decision within a month.

They were much, much faster than that: Already yesterday I received a phone call (two, actually, the second girl did speak English) telling me that there’s no way I’m getting a credit card from them. Why? Because Japanese credit cards are reserved for Japanese and foreigners with permanent residency in Japan. Well, I’m not going to magically turn into the former, and the latter will take at least another 6 years, so it seems I’m out of luck for this one as well.

Not even the mention that the card was meant for the company and not for me did help because “the company is you, really”, which is true in a sense, but also bullshit in another sense. The infuriating part of the call was her tone of voice when she said “I’m so sorry” – if you are indeed that sorry, sweetheart, then try to find a way to make it happen after all. But it seems that the girl was too low in the hierarchy to make decisions like that, and unfortunately, my go-to guy in the bank who seemed to be a bit more flexible, must have a new job in another branch.

As you can see, I’m back to the starting point with two things. As I said above, neither of them is extremely bad (what would my landlord do if I cannot find a new guarantor – kick me out?) but both of them require efforts and possibly money that I wouldn’t have needed to spend. I hope life in general will go more smoothly again soon

Acquaintance

Last week, I was very busy. I always am towards the end of a month, but there were a few extra things that needed attention last week. For example, out of the blue, I received a ticket for a kyogen performance in Otsu, and I had to go the very next day, despite my already busy schedule.

Why did I HAVE to go? Well, nobody forced me, of course, but for some strange reason I like Noh, and kyogen are short and funny plays that are usually staged between the more serious and much longer Noh performances. And since I had never before seen a kyogen, I simply had to go and give it a try.

And this was a special kyogen to boot, because it was not a traditional Japanese one, but it had been written by W. B. Yeats in 1924, who was inspired by Noh and kyogen to write his own version of it. Kyogen are less stylised than Noh plays, and even though I only understood bits and pieces of the Japanese words, I could get the gist of the overall intentions of the play “The Cat and the Moon”. It is about an interesting symbiosis of a blind and a lame man, which is destroyed the moment the blind man is miraculously healed… Anyway, it was fun to watch, I am glad I took the time to go, and this has strengthened my resolve to learn a bit more about Noh and kyogen.

Fun fact on the side: It was my first time to go to the Biwako Hall, and I had to take trains I had never taken before, so I was a bit insecure. However, there was a nice elderly man in the train with me who happened to also go to the kyogen and so I trailed alongside him to the theatre. After the performance, when the audience was leaving, I saw him again, and he asked me if I wanted to meet the actors (who were lining up in the corridors outside the hall). I was a bit reluctant but he said “Don’t worry, they are my friends!” It turned out that this unassuming man in the train was a Noh actor himself, one who plays waki (supporting) roles. I was so thrilled! I do have his email address, so… who knows where this is going!

Hanami 2018!

The cherries have arrived this year! All Kyoto is now full with cherry blossoms and people are all distracted and taking photos of each and every little blossom…

Of course, I have to go with the general flow as well. Yesterday, on my way home I got a takeout falafel and chai and had it down at the river. And today, I went there again for a proper hanami with two friends. Many people had the same idea, so most of the best spots for picnics were already taken. The weather was lovely, kids were playing in the river (which is particularly shallow up here) and of course, you could hear lots and lots of cameras clicking… Here are a few of my photos:

Important Cultural Property

You have no idea what I have met last Sunday… But let’s start at the beginning!

Last Sunday, I took a few hours off to take an introductory course on Noh in a very small Noh theater. Noh (or Nohgaku) is traditional Japanese theater with a history of some 600 years, and I have seen one play before. This time, however, there was an in-depth explanation of some aspects of Noh, given by three actors of both the Kanze and the Kongo theater – both major traditional Noh schools.

The course came in three parts: In the first, we got a brief historical overview, then talked about chants (Utai), masks (Omote), and movements (Kata). Two people could even try putting on one of the masks, which must have been very exciting for them. Anyway, in the second part, the movements were explored further, and the audience learnt a very short chant to which the actor then performed the moves on stage. Even though I can’t sing, this was the most fun part of them all.

In the third part, we saw a short excerpt of the Noh play “Atsumori“. But first, the most senior actor played that part with all its movements and chanted in English what was happening. Noh movements are very complex and refined, without knowing what is going on it is pretty much impossible to discern it just from watching the play. So, this part was very useful, since we could compare the English version to the stylised real version we could watch just a few moments later. I liked this part a lot, and it gave me more incentive to go back and see more Noh plays. Yes, for some odd reason, I do like Noh, even though most of it is practically incomprehensible to the outsider.

Anyway, after the course, there was first a question and answer session, and afterwards, a few people – me included – went to have dinner in a nearby Japanese restaurant. There, the instructors of the course, the staff of the theater, and 12 people from the audience could sit together and eat, drink, and talk to the Noh actors. It turned out that the oldest one – who spoke English almost flawlessly – was the representative of a very small local Noh theatre. He was very knowledgeable, and talking to him gave me lots of things to think about.

Towards the end of the dinner, people exchanged business cards, and, you won’t believe it: That old sensei was a “Designated National Human Important Cultural Property” of Japan. These people are usually extremely knowledgeable in a traditional art of craft, and they are officially charged to maintain the art on the highest possible level and transmit their knowledge to future generations. Obviously, there are not many of them, and I am so thrilled that I could actually meet one of them – and even more: That he could speak English so well and that I was allowed to ask all sorts of questions.

Yes, I do indeed like Noh. I will be back for more!