Category: experiences

I went to the sento nearby again the other day, I try to do it regularly. When I arrived, there was a mother with a small boy, maybe four years old, in the changing room. Usually, kids don’t bother me in the sento or onsen – Japanese children are very well behaved, and their mothers know how to keep them content, if the hot bath does not. However, this poor boy, half dressed, was screaming on top of his lungs, clearly unhappy about something; and just imagining this inside, in the fully tiled, cave-like bathroom, made me see my relaxing bathing gone, and made me hope “Please let them be leaving already!”.

Quickly I stripped, put my clothes into a basket and went inside the bathroom. The elderly lady next to me hardly noticed me, and I started scrubbing. (I have written about onsen etiquette elsewhere already.) Halfway through, the mother I had seen outside came in with her boy (literally) in tow, who, unfortunately, was still screaming. His tone had changed to terrified, and he was repeating a single word over and over again (which I could not make out though), but his mother, seemingly unperturbed, tried to get him cleaned anyway. This went on for a few minutes, with the boy trying to escape outside ever so often, still repeating this one word, but his mother was always faster.

It is not considered polite in Japan to complain or voice one’s discomfort about anything (unless obviously drunk), so I was very surprised when the lady next to me finally went up to the mother of the screaming boy. I would be very curious as to what she said, in any case it did the trick and when the two left the sento, peace, and quiet water splashings were restored.

Looking back, however, I do wonder what the boy was so terrified of – the hot water, the shower, all the strangers? I remember when I was small, I loved bathing – but hated having my hair washed. The water pouring over my head always terrified me, I felt like I was suffocating, so I had to be dragged there kicking and screaming. Until this day, I don’t like swimming with my head under water. (Well, I can’t swim very well anyway, let’s rather call it “struggling to keep afloat”.) Maybe the boy had had similar fears? Do all children have at some point? Pity I can’t ask him anymore.

About two weeks ago, on a Tuesday, when I was chewing on my after-dinner sweetie, I suddenly realized that part of a tooth had gone missing… Fortunately it was an old tooth, I mean, one that has been dead for several years, so there was no pain involved.

For that reason, and also, I admit, because I am terrified of dentists, it took me a few days to make up my mind – but at least I was asking for recommendations of English speaking dentists during that time. A friend of mine finally took matters in his own hands and emailed his dentist, and after a bit of back and forth about appointments and directions I went there on Saturday morning.

The staff, despite being very friendly, spoke only rudimentary English – and they had problems with my name again – but they produced what seems to be the standard English form to fill in whenever you see a Japanese doctor: name, personal info, previous illnesses, current medication… Furthermore, not only had I to describe the problem (broken filling at lower left #6), I was also asked to draw a picture. I guess if I knew in such detail what was going on inside my mouth, I could probably also fix it myself?

Anyway, I was finally admitted to the doctor’s office and put on THE chair. From there it went straightforward as usual. After a brief look (no broken filling but the tooth itself gave way), an X-ray (probably overkill) and a discussion of options (no, I don’t want a root canal replacement, thank you so much!) the problem was quickly fixed. It was also very interesting that the dentist took pictures of my teeth. I don’t mean the X-ray, but real photographs. The camera was a very small, sticklike contraption, and the images were uploaded immediately to his computer. Let me assure you that there is nothing more encouraging of proper oral hygiene that having to face 10×10 blow-ups of what should be your pearly whites… Never before have I put so much effort in brushing…

In lieu of Japanese insurance I had to pay immediately; I was surprised that the treatment only cost 5300 YEN – and 2200 of that were the “first visit fee” which not only pays for a nice plastic card with your name on it and room for future appointments, but also for them putting in your details into their system. I also got another appointment for yesterday, where he checked the new filling again, did some polishing and sent me on my way. All in all the experience was just as expected, and it was painless too!

However, I will have to find a new dentist for the next incident. When taking the X-ray, the doctor and I went into that small X-ray cabin; he put that lead apron on me, looked at me and said “You’re beautiful”.

It was completely inappropriate. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy compliments just like the next gal, but I want them in a private setting and not during a professional meeting. I would not go so far as to accuse him of full blown seku-hara (the Japanese term for sexual harassment), but the comment did make me feel very vulnerable, and yesterday, at the checkup I was more tense than usual even for a dentist’s appointment.

I met my friend today and he tried to explain it away, saying even he gets lots of those comments from both Japanese men and women, and the doctor just wanted to be friendly; but I don’t really think there is an excuse for this behaviour. Remember that simple friendliness will not leave me uncomfortable.

I’ve returned form my weekend in Tokyo. It was nice, a little bit stressful in the beginning, but very relaxing in the end.

When I arrived in Tokyo station after 2 hours 20 (using the fastest shinkansen NOZOMI), I managed once again to take a wrong turn (I hate Tokyo station) and almost missed my friend who was waiting exactly where she promised… Anyway, we then had lunch together (after it was her turn to get lost we went for fish in miso sauce)  and then we went to Tokyu Hands together, which is a large chain store catering to … Well, in the beginning they were selling craft supplies, but by now you can buy virtually anything related to bathroom/office/kitchen/travel/ … on top of that. I will not go into details here, Tokyu Hands is worth its own Saturday post. 😉

Afterwards I betook myself to my hotel near Asakusa shrine, changed and put on makeup, and then went back to the city to the Austrian embassy or rather: to the ambassador’s residence, for the reception in honour of the Austrian National Day. It was my second such reception, and I was surprised that there were so many people. Apparently there are about 500 Austrians living in Japan – at least those the embassy knows of. The Austrian embassy is a large two story building in Minato-ku, that was built in the 1980s when that area of Tokyo was less developed, which means there was enough space to have a large garden also, including koi pond!

There was entertainment (Austrian zither and Japanese koto), speeches (the ambassador and other dignitaries), more music (a wind quartet played the Austrian hymn at a time when everybody was drunk enough to dare singing, but not yet drunk enough to have forgotten the text), and, of course, Austrian food. They did not have my favourite wine, but there was plenty of Schnitzel, potato salad, “Schweinsbraten mit Knödeln”, barbecued sausages, rye bread with various bread spreads, … all finished off with “Apfelstrudel”, chocolate cake and whipped cream (of course). It was an enjoyable evening, I met lots of people, both newcomers and those who have been here for years, both Austrian and Japanese. A Japanese woman asked me to teach her the first verse of the Austrian anthem, well, I could at least write down the text, but I can’t sing… I didn’t see her during the actual singing of the anthem, I hope she did well. I even worked up the courage (on insistence from a friend of mine) to introduce myself to his excellency, the Austrian ambassador, a very nice and pleasant person indeed.

Sunday was much more relaxing, just a bit of shopping (books! winter clothes!) before I went back to Kyoto. I guess I should go out more often.

I went out for lunch the other day to a little snack bar and well, the way things happen, I needed to go to the toilet. And there I was faced – for the first time during my current stay in Japan – with a modernized, because ceramified, version of the ancient hole-in-the-ground.

This sight usually elicits a well trained string of responses on my part:

1. Assess urgency with which relief is needed.
2. Seek other, throne-style options.

3. If the answers to the above are NOW!! and None, then:

a. Curse evolution for relative intricacy of female plumbing as opposed to male one.
b. Curse father for not being able/willing to provide a y-chromosome.
c. Curse modern dress style involving pants and knickers.
d. Assemble aforementioned garments out of the way, face the hood and get down to business.
e. Hope to not lose balance during action.

So far my greatest relief has always occured when I could leave the cubicle again, unscathed, but I realize it is simply a question of getting used to it…

Japanese food is great – and I try to sample as many different types as possible, with a certain preference for sweet stuff of course. A good way to try various cheap types of food is at a matsuri or other gathering where street vendors sell their wares. There is a particular type of sweets that is essentially walnut sized pieces of pancake batter (which allegedly contains just a little bit of soysauce) fried in a mold and preferrably eaten as hot as possible (they become tough rather quickly).

When I first noticed them I was intrigued and decided to try them. The first question was easy: “Amai desuka? – This is sweet?” – “Hai, sou desu – Yes, it is.” Good, the sweeter the better, but my objection to anything containing anko led to the second question: “Okunai wa anko desuka? – Is there anko inside?” – “Iie, anko naindesu – No, no anko.” Sufficiently satisfied I bought a small bag for 300 YEN and found the taste very nice indeed, very simple, straightforward and not too sugary – almost instant happiness. I was even more happy when the vendor complimented me on speaking Japanese so well, a compliment I modestly refused with the expected standard answer any Japanese would give in such a situation: “Iie, benkyoshite imasu – Oh no, I’m just studying…”

Anyway, a few days later when I went over my vocabulary list again my happiness was greatly diminished. I found out that “okunai” does not really mean “inside” in the way I used it, but rather “indoors”. The meaning I had intended called for the word “naka” instead… Somehow the vendor’s compliment didn’t feel that great any longer.

Any Japanese house or apartment has a meter for electricity, gas, and water. Different to Europe, where you get the bill once a year and you pay a monthly amount based on your average monthly usage of the last year; here, the meters are read each month and you pay what you have actually used. Personally I prefer this system, it gives you more control I think and it is easier to find out whether there is a leak somewhere, for example.

Each company has numerous employees that go to each house and read the meters. Usually they just enter the genkan entrance area (Japanese homes are rarely locked during daytime) and loudly announce their presence. They then are allowed inside to read the respective meters, sometimes leave a note with the current reading, and are off again. A few days later the bill will arrive. I am not entirely sure how it is here, but often the bill does not even bear a name, only the address – which makes for one less thing to remember when moving in or out… When nobody is home, a note is left requesting somebody of the household to read the meter and phone the company. I don’t think, however, that anybody in this house has ever done so, I guess in such a case the company simply waits for the next opportunity.

More modern houses than ours may have their meters in more accessible spots outside, so that entering the house is not required anymore. I have seen meters nicely hidden behind little wooden doors or holes made into fences, just large enough for the numbers to be read. Still, not all of the outside meters are placed in a straightforward manner. Our neighbour’s, for example, is mounted on a spot that is about three meters above street level – there is no way to read the numbers from there. When I first realized this, I expected some very ingenious, possibly wireless, transfer of the meter reading going on, after all, this is a highly industrialized nation! Imagine my surprise when last week, I finally caught the woman doing the reading at our neighbour’s – with very small and rather untechnological – binoculars…

It’s typhoon season and we’re having bad weather again. It seems that the first 17 typhoons in South-East Asia have left us unscathed, but now that number 18 – Man-yi – has arrived, things are turning worse.

I woke up some time before six in the morning, when the rain was pattering heavily on the roofs and there was a strong wind howling, coming in through the little cracks in the window frame and rattling the doors. When I finally got to my computer about two hours later, there was a message from my landlady (sent at 6:15) asking if everything was alright. She said an extreme weather warning – something that happens only every five years or so – was issued around 5 in the morning, and some parts throughout Kyoto prefecture had even been evacuated. Neither Shinkansen nor Hankyu trains were running, and the rivers were swollen up to the bridges in some parts of the city. She said we should listen for city trucks that may come by and announce evacuations, and suggested to “follow the neighbour’s lead”. To give you an idea, here is a picture of Kyoto’s famous temple Kinkakuji (which stands in a pond) from their web cam today at 7 am:

It’s now 10 in the morning and things have calmed down. There is only a bit of drizzle, but there are strong gales here and there. The house and its inhabitants are unharmed. The forecast for tomorrow says it will be sunny and up to 29 degrees. Until the next typhoon…