Some Links for Peeps in Japan

One of my Japanese friends, Tomoko-san, sent me an email with information for the US families in Japan who may be further seeking English-based information. I wanted to share for our Nihongo blog readers:

I quickly create Twitter and Web site of Earthquake related information for non-Japanese speakers.

I want to share the sites including JFS (NGO) website [Japan for Sustainability, a Non Government Organization], which I work, with you and your colleagues in Japan. It aims to provide necessary information (mostly in English) for anyone who does not understand Japanese as soon as possible.

Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/forestfriendtom

Blogs
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ianekam2011311

JFS Web site has a portal site, "EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN JAPAN'S TOHOKU DISTRICT". It covers Japan's Earthquake and Nuclear Power Plant Information, and Safety Confirmation, Donation for Disaster Relief and Messages for Japan.

Japan for Sustainability (JFS)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030700.html

What Would You Do?

Living Social is offering a deal in which you donate $5 and they will match it to contribute $10 in total to the American Red Cross.

https://livingsocial.com/deals/32115-5-for-10-donation-to-red-cross-relief-efforts

I'm not sure how all the funds are being distributed at this time, but I'd like to think it contributes to some greater good that can help down the road as the chaos subsides. Worst case scenario, you have donated to a legitimate organization that will help someone, someday, somewhere.

As for our military friends and the voluntary evacuation that was announced a couple days ago, there are some who are deciding to stay and some who will be leaving. But (as with anything Navy), there is a lot of "hurry up and wait" going on. They have prioritized families with wee ones and pregnancies to head out first. Where to? Even they don't know. But I do understand operationally this is a lot to coordinate in a small amount of time. They are allowed to bring 35 or 50 pounds of belongings, unsure of when (if?) they will return to their homes and when they will see their spouses next. I can see how it would be a hard decision to leave and I'm sure there are a multitude of emotions that come with that. But if I know my friends over there, they will push through the maze of unknowns and will make it work (do you need a PoA for that? hehehe). Rock on, ladies.

Helping our Far East Friends

My heart continues to break for Japan. What a beautiful country and beautiful people. If you have not yet done so, but are interested in contributing to relief efforts, the following Yahoo link has a nice summary of options:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help

You can also visit the Google Crisis Response page to donate to the Japanese Red Cross. Note that donations will be made in Yen and then converted:

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

We lived about 45 minutes from Tokyo during our time there; that area remains largely unaffected although the base is now detecting low levels of radiation, much like other areas of the country. I have been told, though, by our friends on base that the media has made that aspect of the story rather bloated and they personally do not feel particularly in danger of radiation side effects. The bigger story lies within the absolute heartbreak and destruction farther north.

Please consider helping. Arigato gozaimasu!

This Time Last Year: Fire Festival

This time last year, we were heading up to the mountains of Nagano with our trusty buddies to a) ski in the home of the olympic winter games and b) visit a fire festival where there are a lot of drunk men trying to knock down a platform of even more drunk men. I heart Japan.

Fire and ice can exist in the same place if there is enough sake around.

My first time skiing!

Our good ol' Japanese ride. I miss the Familia very much sometimes - what a perfect little wagon car she was. *Sniffle, sniffle*

To watch the fire festival in action, you can take a trip down memory blog lane to see some videos: http://erikandkate.blogspot.com/2010/02/from-sand-to-snow.html

Meanwhile, the weather forecast for here in Kingsville this weekend is 75 degrees. No snow.

On Base Living

This past week, we moved out of our Japanese home and onto base temporarily before we fly out next week. And I have to say, base living has a couple things going for it!

1) I don't wake up to a 30 degree room. Seriously. The lack of central heating in our off base home was probably the worst thing about living off base. But that's our bad - we really should have had a Japanese friend teach us how to use the timers on our kerosene heaters. Anyways, on base you can use as much heat as you want. It is ridiculously comfortable to walk around and not have to preplan every move.

2) Cable. Well primarily HGTV. I've watched about a dozen episodes of House Hunters over the weekend to make up for years of its absence. Also, commercials - real commercials. Off base, our AFN satellite only offered military propoganda and information spots. Its nice to watch a show without intermittently being informed about the capital of Kansas (Topeka!) and told not to shake my baby.

Other than that, it is a tad claustrophobic to be in this single room for a week and a half. Erik is in Guam for the week to round it his time here with his buddies as they enjoy the lovely shows that Guam has to offer. I have basically just been hanging out and meeting up with dear friends for random lunches and dinners... and running back to my hot box room to catch the next round of Curb Appeal.

Swing Batta Batta, Swiiiing!

When Erik was "visiting" our home this past weekend, we finally got to see a Japanese baseball game. This is likely our last spring here in Nippon, so definitely needed to cross this of our list! We hopped on the train to see the local Yohohama Baystars, up against the Chiba Mariners. The Baystars' mascot has a star for a head, which of course I found super endearing.

The rules are pretty much the same, although the playing field, strike zone, etc are scaled down just a little bit. The interesting thing is that the home team's crowd continually cheers while the home team is at bat. That's a little different since in the States, things are usually quiet so the 'roid runners can focus better.

Here is the crowd doing a cheer while Yoshimura (popular player) is at bat. Coincidentally, we just happened to catch his home run on film while we were actually just trying to film the crowd.

Overall the experience was a lot of fun - we got to drink beer and eat hot dogs and cheer with the local crowd. We even caught on enough to join in the cheers in Japanese, although this skill diminished over time with beer consumption (meanwhile, rate of enthusiasm increased exponentially!).



Another Japanese item checked off our list!

McDonarudo's

I'd like to take the high road and claim I eat only local foods while living in Japan, alas I cannot avoid the temptation of McDonald's. Of course the fast food giant uses enough artificial seasonings to make a beef patty to taste the same in Toledo as it does in Tokyo. Sure, there are regional variations such as shrimp burgers and copious amounts of mayonnaise, but I appreciate the consistency of the basic menu items - when I want a McD's cheeseburger, I want a McD's cheeseburger.

"This one is the cheeseburger."

The main difference lies in the service, I think. The other day, they actually bowed after handing over my bag o' deliciousness. How courteous! And I don't think I've ever waited more than a minute for food. In the States, I once waited 3 minutes for a soda. However, I can't say its a fair comparison because the amount of staff in a Japanese McDs versus an American one supports my theory that everyone in Japan has a job.


This is the amount of staff on a weekday at my local suburban Zama McDonald's. And yes, all the women are wearing skirts. But if you work the fryer, make sure you wear some knee highs!

The Girls Festival

Japan has plenty of seasonal festivals, in fact way too many to keep up with. But good for them - it means they get a lot of holidays. This should balance out their 15 hour workdays nicely.

This past week, we celebrated Girls' Day or Dolls' Day here in Japan. If you want to take a stab at saying it in Japanese, its Hinamatsuri (hee-na-maht-serri). Its basically a day for girls and women to celebrate/pray for health and happiness. Mind you this particular holiday does NOT get you off work. But Boys' Day probably does. Anyhoo...

Originally gals would make paper dolls and float them down the river to symbolize ill-fortunes flowing away. I don't think they do that much anymore, though. I'm sure the turtles and other amphibians are pleased with the recent turn of events since surely they've been plagued with generations of bad mojo thrown into their waters.

Most families display special dolls - called Hinaningyou - for the month. I saw a few elaborate set ups and then ones that were feeble attempts to keep the tradition alive. The immediate comparison in my head was a Nativity Scene. Not because the dolls are religious in nature, but I feel like a lot of our families had large beautiful creches at one point, but recent generations feel they do not have the time nor storage to display them fully anymore. Maybe you get a Baby Jesus and Mary out there these days, kind of like how Japanese get the Emporer and Empress dolls out, but not the other 30 some figurines.

It was fortunate that our Japanese American Friendship Group landed on Girls' Day this month - I was in good company to learn about the holiday. The cutie patootie Japanese women sang a special Hinamatsuri song for us. We also ate peach, white, and green foods since they are the colors of the holiday. Side note: I'm still having a really hard time enjoying mochi. Its sweet and and its rice which are two things I love, but in combination something has gone horribly wrong.

Japanese friends singing Hinamatsuri song:

More of the song (baby Paxton is not sure what is going on):

And lastly, not a video, but a picure of my obsession for the day. I got to meet Kayoko-san's dog, a dachshund named Lucky. Which is an unfortunate name for a Japanese dog since it is difficult for many Japanese to form the "L" sound. So incidentally, he also goes by Rucky.


I think all us ladies tuckered him out.

My Quick Getaway is Enabled

Everyone here is posed for their getaway, Italian Job style. Pulling out of a parking spot is fast and easy, despite the narrow footprints and turning radii. This is because the Japanese incessantly reverse cars into spots, so the nose is always pointed out and ready to run. Much like Japanese shoes when you enter a home (remember to turn them so the toes are turned away from the wall - otherwise, a little old Japanese fairy comes along and mysteriously does this for you, perfectly aligning them amongst other pairs).

I have read a little about this - I ain't got nothin' but time on most days - and apparently there are plenty of studies on the subject. It turns out that us Americans will all die in a sad unchoreographed dance of reversing cars if an emergency should ever arise. Safety and traffic flow studies continuously prove that if all cars exited by pulling forward (i.e. park backwards), the world would be a better place. A utopia, if you will. Visibility and clearance are paramount in the Japanese way of parking.

And everyday people seem to agree that they have more time at the end of the day to spend the extra 15 seconds parking in reverse and appreciate a quick start in the morning by just pulling forward. There is also a vanity argument that cars just plain look better from the front (although Japan indeed is not a rear-obsessed culture by any means... because they don't have any... zing!).

Alas, I have taken to reversing my car into spots, not only to respect the uniformity that the Japanese find important, but because I have to admit it is just plain easier. Meep meep.

We'll Try the Fist Bump Next Time...

I've always been a big hand shaker. Its kind of like a reflex when introduced to someone new (unless I have drink in one hand and food in the other - in this case, I jokingly shrug my shoulders and inform the person I would shake their hand but am tied up at the moment - come to think of it, this happens often - hmmm). So I find I'm in an interesting position here in Japan where hand shaking is foreign in practice. In the rare cases hands are offered in return, they are usually limp and contact lasts for a few seconds, or they are very grasping and continue well beyond the typically 2 or 3 "ups and downs" that I've come to expect as standard from a solid shake.

I believe I've finally gotten into a groove with introductions now. If they are students of mine or of friends, I will shake their hands since they understand this is the practice and they usually provide a rehearsed chorus of "Nice to meet you." Otherwise, the slight bow is the way to go. Especially with women. (Don't want to crush their tiny bird-like hands with my giant American man hands anyways.)

There is something to be said for introductory bowing - it comes across respectful rather than a "I don't want to touch your dirty hands" kind of way. Buuut I'm pretty sure its mostly the latter sentiment, veiled with the respectful tradition.