Of Health Care

I know this is a fairly contested issue in the States right now, but despite this, it really does need to be addressed. This is due primarily to funding issues, but at times unfounded accusations of "socialism" or other such nonsense. So, you know what? I'm going to come right out and say it. Japan has a universal health care system, and I love it. It's phenomenal, and despite all of the resistance that it may receive abroad, I'm completely behind the idea.

In the health care system, the government pays 70% of the fee while the individual pays 30%. Hospitals are run by doctors, not by companies for profit. Clinics are also owned and run by doctors. For those who live in Japan, enrollment is mandatory. If you are foreign though, you sometimes fall into a grey area. It's still strongly recommended that you join the health care system though.

There are two types of health care here in Japan.

1. Employees' Health Insurance (健康保険) - This is run by companies or associations, and it provides health insurance to employees. Care for employees' families is also provided through this.
2. National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) - This is normally for students or for those who are self-employed.

Individuals can go to any hospital or clinic. It's best to go with a referral though. Cost is extremely low, which is why individuals will often go to the hospital, even for minor problems. In some ways, this is beneficial. You don't have the problem of people staying sick for weeks because they can't afford to go to the doctor. They just go to the doctor and get medicine and get better. They can then go to work, and stop being a burden on their fellow coworkers who would have to cover them. On the other hand, this is a negative thing. People go to the hospital for literally anything, and for this reason, people with serious problems often have to wait.

Understand though that people can get private insurance for certain cases, and some things are not covered, like dental work. For this reason, things like braces are extremely expensive (as they are in the States as well), which is often why the Japanese will have less than stellar dental hygiene.

So, what does this mean for Japan? People do not stay sick very long, and although it may be more expensive at the onset, it is significantly less expensive as the society grows older. By protecting people when they're young, they will live longer and therefore healthier. People with serious issues will also go to the doctor, and those who just wonder if something should be checked out or not will also go to the doctor before it becomes serious. There's something to be said for this. When I went to the doctor here, it cost be 800 yen total, medicine included. That's roughly $9.50 US with the current exchange rate. I'd spend $50 just to go to meet with a doctor in the US, and my medicine would cost far more. From my humble opinion, its clear why Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world. Although its not just due to health care, and its surely due to diet as well, there is no doubt that health care cannot harm a person.

Can it be implemented elsewhere? That's what it all comes to, isn't it? And I'd say yes, it's possible, but there would have to be some changes. Certain things are efficient. Others aren't. I'm not saying to adopt the entire system, but I do think this is a good option, and if the US could adopt it, I'd back it 100%.

Of Gion Matsuri 3

Today was the day of the parade. Here are some more videos. The first is moving the 鉾 (hoko). The second is just general parade fun. In order to see the second one, you'll need to have Facebook. Otherwise, it's all good.

Of Gion Matsuri 2

There are two more videos that I'd like to post. The first is the 鉾　(hoko), or floats on yesterday night playing music. The second is some amazing street performers. The first is playing what is called a shamisen, which is a traditional Japanese string instrument plucked with a brush, and the second guy is playing a drum.





Michelle

Of Gion Matsuri

Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) started the other day, but it's officially in full swing now. So, what is the matsuri about? It began in the 11th year of the Jougan Era (貞観11年), or the year 869 A.D. here in Kyoto as a way to prevent disease. At that time, people feared what was called the a curse from Emperor Kozu (来ず天皇の祟り). Therefore, in the southern part of Nijo Castle (二条城), there is what is called the 神泉苑, which as far as I can tell means a park which contains a fountain for the gods. In those days, to protect Japan, the festival was fheld. Furthermore, portable shrines (神輿) were carried around Kyoto, and so this is how the festival's name came to be called the 祇園御霊会(ぎおんごりょうえ), or the Gion Festival to Meet with the Spirits. A Goryoue - the word listed above - is a festival that is held in order to appease evil spirits that would otherwise do harm.

On the floats, which are called hoko (鉾), there are a group of musicians who play flutes (笛), drums (太鼓), and bells (鉦). These bells have a very distinctive sound, and this music commonly associated with summertime in Japan. It's been playing throughout the grocery stores for the past month. Most Japanese characterization this sound as kon-chiki-chin.  For the past week or so, in the Shijo-Kawaramachi area, they have been building these floats. They weigh around 30 tons, and are made of wood. They are decorated with parasols, trees, figurines, images of battles, etc. They represent the moon or the like.

Last night was what was called 宵々山 (yoiyoi-yama). This is two nights before the parade. It's when most of the food occurs, and people can go to listen to the music.

Tonight was what is called  宵山 (yoi-yama), the night before the parade. This morning was a formal tea ceremony and tonight was a traditional dance. The dance included defeating evil spirits and other such traditional stories.

Tomorrow is the big parade, which is characterized by the act of having these 30 ton floats. It takes a team of around 50 guys per float, which is quite impressive. Unfortunately, they have to turn them around corners, and since they're made of wood, this isn't the easiest task. Luckily, through sheer will alone, the team is able to do it. What they do is put a bunch of wooden planks beneath the wheels, and then soak these with water. They then literally drag the float across them. I've found some handy videos below that you all might enjoy.

Gion Matsuri
Turning the Float

Michelle

Of Blood Types

There's a fairly strong belief in Japan associated with blood type, or ketsuekigata (血液型) in Japanese. Like people's astrological signs, Japanese tend to identify themselves by their blood type. This is the same as you saying, "I'm a Virgo." Instead, this time, it's "I'm blood type A." Although you may scoff at the astrological signs analogy, perhaps it would be better to bring up the idea that birth order determines personality, which is a fairly common belief in the States. As far as I can find, positive and negative don't factor in to one's blood type personality.

This began around the 1900's while trying to classify ethnic traits. Perhaps the most influential of the writings on the effects of one's blood type can be seen in Takeji Furukawa's study titled "The Study of Temperament Through Blood Type." Despite the fact that Furukawa lacked a significant amount of credentials and the study was limited to about 20 people, the idea took hold. When Japan occupied Taiwan, a search was began for why the Taiwanese resisted so much to Japanese takeover. When it was found that they had type O, interbreeding was suggested in order to dilute the genes that had apparently made them so resistant. In the 1970's, several books were released, this time by Masahiko Nomi, who was a lawyer at the time. Nomi's works also lacked scientific evidence, but the idea remains popular today.

In the modern world, these are everywhere in Japan. Facebook and Twitter allow Japanese users to put up their blood types on their profiles. Matchmaking agencies will ask that their customers reveal their blood type in order to ensure a successful match. References to it are frequently seen in magazines, and Japanese Wikipedia actually lists celebrities' blood type in their info. Friends will often ask you what your blood type is, and not knowing it blood type can lead to mixed degrees of shock.

So what makes these blood types so important? It's believed that they determine one's personality as well as one's compatibility with another individual. People will not date certain blood types because of their "negative" traits.

But surely this is just popular culture right? It's just a bunch of teenage girls with nothing better to do than look in their Cosmo magazine and try to figure out if they match up with their potential crush. Sadly, that's not the case. This is believed by everyone from youths to adults, from the common man to the most educated. In fact, the other day the head of the reconstruction effort up in Touhoku had to resign after only a week in office because he said something extremely insensitive to the victims of the disaster. By stating basically that "the country will not help you until you find decent plans to help yourself," calls for resignation rose. He blamed this on his B blood type, and although no one accepts that from a politician - because it really is a sorry excuse - people will blame their faults on their blood types normally. So, let's look at them shall we? These are divided into their positive and negative traits for each type. Whether one is A+ or A- does not matter to this chart.

A: Positive: Creative, sensible, reliable, patient, responsible, neat, takes care of others before oneself
     Negative: Overly detailed, overly earnest, stubborn, tense
B: Positive: Wild, active, creative, passionate, strong, does things that they set their mind to
     Negative: Selfish, irresponsible, unforgiving, unpredictable
AB: Positive: Cool, controlled, rational, sociable, adaptable
        Negative: Critical, indecisive, forgetful, irresponsible, has a "split personality"
O: Positive: Agreeable, sociable, optimistic
     Negative: Vain, rude, jealous, arrogant

Just for your information, type B tends to be the most common here, while back in the States, it's type O.

Of a Scare

I had a close call with death yesterday. I was walking home to my dorm when I decided to take a shortcut. This was nothing new. I always take the shortcut, it's about 10 minutes shorter, and it was really hot outside, so 10 minutes shorter is a pretty big deal.

I stepped onto the little path, which is really just a covered drain in the road, and began to cross over to the other side. To give you a sense of perspective, this drain is only about a foot wide. Everyone uses it here as a foot path, though I've seen the brave bike over it before. The left side is up against a fence and someone's house, where both have a significant green area. The right side drops off a few meters to a communal farm. People can grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers there. It only takes a couple minutes to cross over normally.

I got to the middle, and out of nowhere come three suzumebachi. I abruptly froze, thinking what on earth should I do? If I turned around, they'd chase me. They are predators after all, and secondly, they swarm, like bees. So, running would have caused those three to chase me, as well as possibly calling out the rest of the nest. If I stepped back, I might stumble on the path, and also, the stones move, which would have caused a decent amount of sound. These things are known for attacking bikers and such for being noisy, so that really wasn't an option either. I decided to stay still and make like a tree.

The hornets hovered there for a while, me looking at them, them looking at me. I felt like they needed some sort of your-imminent-death-is-approaching song. I could hear the sound of their wings as they fluttered in the air, and the stingers were obvious. I thought, "What do I do if I get stung?" It only takes twice and you're dead. It was only a few seconds I'm sure, but eventually the three suzumebachi decided I wasn't a threat and flew away. I waited a few more seconds just to make sure, and then I cautiously made my way to the other side. When I got back to the dorm, I realized just how dangerous of a situation I was in. Even now, I have no idea why there were three of them together. One alone is enough to kill almost anything. Either the things have moved on to killing bears, or they were returning to the nest. Either way, I'm glad I made it though, and I'll be on the lookout for more.

Of Mukade

Well, Japan has officially entered its ridiculously hot and humid summer season. This means that all of the super-sized bugs have come out in force. The suzumebachi are flying around, the giant cockroaches and ants are coming out, but without a doubt, the mukade (ムカデ) are crawling out of the woods.

I don't really know how to describe mukade except for the fact that they're centipedes about 5 cm long, and they're just plain terrifying. Getting bit by one is not something to be taken lightly. In fact, you should probably go to the hospital. As long as you're a healthy human being, you'll be fine, but if you're a child or an elderly individual, they're far more dangerous. Mukade tend to come out at night, so you'll normally be bitten while you're sleeping. This is exactly why they're so dangerous. Depending on where the bite is - for example, if it's close to your heart or your neck - the consequences are much more severe. Otherwise, apparently you suffer extreme pain.

The other International House deals with mukade often. In fact, they've developed a Mukade Killing Competition Chart, where they rack up the number that each of them has killed as a kind of morbid game. I believe one guy killed about 15 of them in a couple weeks. Regardless, pamphlets and other announcements of how to deal with the dreaded mukade have started circling around.

My personal favorite is how you're supposed to apply first aid for these things. The English goes something like this, "If bitten, immediately remove the centipede and crush the head. Then, while running cold water over the wound, squeeze out the venom. If the wound is painful, go see a doctor."

However, the best part of this is how you're supposed to eradicate these things. No matter who you talk to, the preferred method is always something short of the absurd. The Mukade Killing Club recommends chopping the centipede into pieces as if you're playing a role in some sort of Poe horror story. The standard method seems to be pouring boiling water on them or wrapping them in newspaper and lighting them on fire. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Yet, even this still doesn't seem to kill the bug from your nightmares.

No joke. Taku, one of the buddies over at the other International House, doused a mukade the other day in a pot of boiling water. It stayed dead for about a couple hours. But then it got back up and continued to wreak havoc around the dorm. This begs the question, if you can't kill it with a pot of boiling water, what on earth are you supposed to do?

I personally think that we should pit the mukade against the suzumebachi. Maybe one of them will wipe the other out. I haven't figured out yet what purpose these things serve in the food chain. Supposedly some sort of hardcore indestructible bird eats them, but surely it might enjoy eating something that doesn't threaten kill it more. Either way, the mukade curse continues.

Of Fire Buckets

There's something about Kyoto which has continually perplexed me. All around the city outside of every store and house is a little red bucket with one of two things written on it: For Fire Fighting Use (消火用) or Fire Prevention (防火用). If there are no houses, you find these buckets on corners, in temples, hanging from rafters, absolutely everywhere. Interestingly enough, the other places that I've visited in Japan haven't had these. Only Kyoto.

In the past, this probably made a lot of sense. After all, the entire city was made of wood, and the houses are built extremely close to each other. That means that if one caught fire, it would likely burn down a couple other houses around it before it was put out. This led to huge sections of the city burning down relatively frequently. Long droughts, hot summers, and just general mishaps contributed to this. Of course, in the past, you couldn't just call up your local fire department and ask them to help put it out, so everyone in your neighborhood would try to put the fire out as they gathered more people to carry buckets, etc. All in all, it was a rather organized system, and this prevented the entire city from burning down.

In the modern day and age though, this really doesn't make a lot of sense. Houses are still built with a significant portion of wood, but they also built with concrete, flexible steel, and other materials in order to prevent the collapse of houses in earthquakes and such. If there is a fire, I'm not going to deny that it's useful to have people with buckets to prevent the spread of the flames, but buckets should not be the primary fire prevention here. People have fire extinguishers (消火器) now, and they're in homes and businesses as well. If you're given a choice between a fire extinguisher and a bucket, doesn't it seem more practical to use the fire extinguisher? You might think when would you ever have this choice? Well, sometimes you do. You can run outside and choose. As this picture or this one show.

I actually asked one of my friends this exact same question, and they explained that they don't want the fire extinguisher fumes and excess in their house. Practical enough. But if the fire's big enough, even they would use the fire extinguisher. And in that respect any different from the rest of the world. But these buckets are still everywhere.

The best part of this is that even Amazon, Yahoo, and Rakuten have gotten in on this. You can buy the things for anywhere from 500-1260 yen. Who spends approximately $13 US on a fire fighting bucket they'll never use, I have no idea.

I've come up with a few explanations. They're the only explanations I can find besides the ones given above.

1. It's tradition. Japan, and Kyoto especially, is really big on this. Things are continued just because it's the way that it's always been. "But, we've used buckets for a thousand years. They've always worked in the past." And for that exact reason, their existence continues.
2. It's some law that I haven't been able to find. I've searched all over, but to no avail. It might be secretly one of those things that the Kyoto government has decided for all of its residents to do.
3. Kyoto has this sadistic motive to become the city with the most mosquitoes in all of Japan. Understand that these buckets don't just sit there empty. No, they are always full of water, and the water is never changed. I know this because sometimes they're growing moss and algae. This means that the water is at the perfect speed - meaning nonexistent, and always still - to breed mosquitoes. So far, they're doing pretty well.

Either way I'll give it to Japan. Fire prevention measures are doing well.

Of Kobe

There was an earthquake the other day in Kyoto prefecture. It was a M3 at its epicenter, but it hit us around an M2. Basically, this means it was just enough to feel, but nothing serious. I was underground in class at the time, and things shook a bit, but it was over within a second. Since Kyoto never really gets these, it was somewhat unusual, but it was fine.

Kan's promised to step down after settling the budget for this upcoming year. He didn't even make it a year without calls for him to step down, which is rather sad.

I went the Kobe yesterday, and had a great time. It was my friend's first time there, so it was a good experience. Slowly, but surely, I'll learn to make my way around Kobe. It's actually rather simple to navigate, much easier than Kyoto. Then again, anything is easier than Kyoto. People who visit here frequently comment on how easy it seems to navigate, in comparison to Tokyo and the like. However, once they manage to get themselves lost once, they learn just how hard it is to get un-lost (yes, I'm making that a word). Kyoto is in some ways convenient. It's set up on a grid pattern, but the problem is navigating where you are on that grid. All of the houses look fairly similar due to the building laws here, and the streets that are fortunate enough to have names frequently end in something-something-temple. Since you can walk anywhere in Kyoto and run into a temple almost as often as you run into a konbini, this makes the city almost impossible to navigate. I actually discovered the other day that there's a song or rhyme that the elderly teach to the youth in order for them to learn the streets. It goes from north to south, and east to west. Learning this song months ago would have been good for me. Needless to say, Kobe is easy to navigate, and I'm really thankful that I was able to go again yesterday.

Of Typhoons

Today is day 1 of the typhoon. It's supposed to hit bad tonight, but right now it's just raining incessantly. It honestly feels like normal Kyoto weather. For any of you who haven't been to Japan, let me just tell that Kyoto is like Japan's version of Seattle. If it isn't raining, something's wrong. Honestly, I'm still wondering how Kyoto isn't a tropical rainforest yet. With regard to the weather though, there are a couple things that are different. The rain is blowing sideways. It's like when you turn on the TV, and you see the rain and you go, "Wow, I'm glad I don't live there." Oddly enough, I live here, and it isn't that bad. In fact, it's kind of fun except for the fact that you can't really go out. And if you do have to go out, it's miserable. The other thing that's different is that the river next to my room is pretty high. It's probably around a meter and half so far. I'm really thinking to go take a picture.

So, the question is, "What do you do on a typhoon day?"

For me, it's probably things that aren't that interesting. I'm sitting inside reading articles about the Meiji Era (明治時代), 1868-1912. I actually have a presentation on it this Tuesday. For those that are a little lax in their 1800's history, think post-Commodore Perry. This is the time when Japan opened up to the rest of the world. Therefore, I'm researching things like wars, the constitution, reforms, and so on. Since I don't know about every third word I read right now, it's killing my head. In the good news, I'm learning lots of new words.

I'm eating rainy food as well. I woke up this morning and made ochazuke, making sure to put some salmon in there for personal enjoyment. And although it's not rainy food, I also ate something called warabi-mochi (わらび餅). Sometimes it's like a gelatinous-type mochi, but the one that I bought is a little different. It's actually honest to goodness mochi, filled with an (あん), or sweet red-bean paste. Normally, I don't really like an, but it's great in this. Warabi-mochi is quite popular with kinako （きなこ）powder over-top. Kinako powder is a sweet soybean flour. Wiki actually has these labeled as dango, which I guess the ones that I ate technically are, but they were still labeled warabi-mochi in the store. Unfortunately, the taste is a little difficult to explain, but you'll just have to take my word for it that they're delicious.

The typhoon is supposed to get much worse tonight at 9 and be bad through tomorrow. Of course, I have class, so I'll be going there.

Of Illiteracy

Looks like I'll experience my first typhoon either May 29th or 30th. It's supposed to land here in Japan with winds up to 100 mi/hr. It will be an interesting experience to be sure. I'm thinking of going to invest in a poncho.

I saw an article the other day from the National Institute for Literacy that was talking about literacy rates in the US. Recently, they had done a survey and found that the rate of functional illiteracy in Detroit was 47% in adults. I'd like to be able to give some excuse for why that might be, but I can't. It's an absolutely abysmal number of people who can't get by in their daily lives with simple reading tasks. This includes things like reading labels in stores and on medicine, reading instructions, and reading signs. I have no clue how or why the number is so high.

And you know, before I came to Japan, I wondered the same thing. I asked myself, how could people possibly get by being illiterate? While I was in Egypt, unable to read even the Arabic alphabet, I was struck by how difficult it was to just get around. Yet, I was only there for a couple weeks, and so, I learned the words that I needed to know and nothing more. In Japan, where I've been living for almost a year now, it's been different. I am, for all purposes, illiterate.

I never thought I'd say that. I never thought I'd come right out and say, "No, I can't read" until I came here. And then, I've realized just how difficult it is, but also how easy it is to just learn a few words to get by with your daily life. It's not hard to learn the simple directions and kanji. Children do so every day in school. The problem comes when you go to an area where you've never been before, and you're surrounded by characters that you've never seen before or that have multiple readings. There are Japanese who come to different cities and say, "How do you read that? It has more than reading." This begs the answer, what is the literacy rate here then? And that's what's so impressive. Japan is praised by numerous literary societies and studies of having a literacy rate at or above 99 percent.

Although of course there are some people who will be the exception, and no one knows all of the kanji. That's just impossible. There are an endless number of them. But in comparison to Detroit where you have such a huge number of individuals who are functionally illiterate, I find this amazing. Japanese is not an easy language to learn. You have thousands of kanji and two alphabets to learn. Within those kanji, there are an multiple readings of most of them. Some of them are old and rarely used, but yet, most people still understand either how to pronounce them or what they mean, and this I feel is something worthy of praise.

Yet, how is it that American English with the 26 letter English alphabet has so many individuals who can't read? Although these are purely personal, I feel that there are reasons for this. Unlike Japanese, English is not a phonetic language. We have ways of spelling things that for children and non-native speakers seem counter-intuitive. As you learn the spelling rules, it becomes much easier, but there are still times, and especially after I've come to Japan, that I've noticed that I cannot spell things. As an adult with a college education, that at times is frightening. If I find it difficult, how can I possibly expect non-native speakers to grasp those rules? English also has many more sounds than Japanese. This means that there is just more phonetic sounds to learn. Third, although I find English grammar strange, when I've spoken with English language learners, they disagree. Many actually argue that it's easier than their native languages. Therefore, this can't necessarily be the problem. With any language, there are easy and hard things. This depends on an individual's previous linguistic knowledge. Despite all of these reasons, none of these really approach the main problem: What is it that's contributing to this plague of illiteracy?

After much thought, this is the reason that I've decided upon - it must be an education issue. I know there are individuals who will blame the teachers or even the schools,but this is a bigger problem. If it was simply the teachers or the schools, I feel like the problem would be more widespread. But no, in my opinion, I feel like this is a governmental issue. The No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to prevent problems like this from occurring, but it backfired and penalized schools that needed help the most by withholding funding. Instead of this, these schools need to receive more funding, and it needs to be country-wide. Unfortunately, to do this, money is needed. But, you know, so much money is spent on other things when it would be better spent elsewhere. There are those who will argue with me and say, "But my child goes to private school" or  "My child is home-schooled. I don't think I should pay for this." And to those individuals, I understand. I do. You spend a lot of money on those institutions, but at the same time, this isn't an option. If we want Americans to be competitive globally in the future, they have to understand their own language before they can possibly start learning a foreign language. These individuals who cannot read now are not stupid, not by a long shot. They've learned how to live without a skill that seems as simple as breathing to the rest of us, and so, that's how we know they're not only adaptable but clever in their adaptability. They simply need the education.

Although not everything should be exchanged between cultures, this is one of those things that the States can learn from Japan. It's time for Americans to stop spending money on useless things, or things that we want but don't necessarily need. Give up on the idea of that new flat-screen TV and donate a few dollars to schools.

Of Fathers

You know, I realized something today. Regardless of background, fathers are the same the world round.

I went to the grocery store like normal, and there was a young couple and their son in the store. The son was having a blast pushing the cart, mom was in front telling him to hurry up, and dad was in the back helping to distract the son.

In classic dad-style, every piece of suggestive selling was picked up.

Dad: "These dumplings look good. Do we want them?"
Mom: "We don't need them. Put them back."
Dad: "Please? They look really delicious."
Mom: "Ok fine, but nothing else."
Dad: "Of course." And then he proceeds to look like a kid in his candy shop with his new purchase as he shows the son what delicious dumplings they'll get to eat.

Five minutes later, and it's more of the same.

Dad: "What about these batteries? Don't we need batteries?"
Mom: "No, we don't need batteries."
Dad: "But I think we need batteries. I have this electronic thing that needs batteries."
Mom: "We have batteries in the house."
Dad: "But they were the wrong kind..."
Mom: "We have the right kind. You just didn't see them."
Dad: "We have X type?"
Mom: "Yes."
Dad: "Ok...."

What is it about suggestive selling that fathers seem so susceptible to?

Of the JLPT

I know it's little late on this post, but I've gotten distracted by some other things recently. Studying for the JLPT Level 2 (日本語能力試験２級), doing some work, making friends, and trying to enjoy the sunshine before the rainy season (梅雨) kicks in. I actually have a cool event to talk about, but that will be the next post because I don't have a lot of time right now.

The JLPT has been revised in the past year to try to make it more accurate as a way of judging a person's language ability. Just like the past, there are five levels to the JLPT, with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.

In the old test, there was a huge jump between level 2 and level 1. The difference was approximately 1,000 kanji. Level 1 is also infamous for using kanji that even Japanese people rarely use, such as the characters for "this, that," and the like. Due to this, even people who live in Japan for years can still fail the test. Moreover, Japanese have been known to fail the test. The new level 2 has been made more difficult to try to decrease this jump. However, due to this, it means the new level 2 is more like the old level 1, so it is extremely difficult.

The test is composed of several parts: Reading, Grammar, Kanji, and Listening. The reading section is full of several passages around a page or two. There are questions at the end. The grammar section is pretty straightforward. You have a part of the sentence underlined and you must choose the appropriate phrase. The kanji section is sentences with words in them, the correct kanji or pronunciation must be chosen. Finally, the listening section is full of several passages. The tape is played, and you must choose the appropriate response.

On the surface, it looks relatively easy, but in reality, it's fairly difficult. The test takes several hours, and it tests your syntax, grammar, and listening abilities. Some things that make it difficult are the wealth of Japanese expressions that are put in. The only way to know these is by memorization unfortunately. Japanese grammar is also something that can be deceptively simple. In some ways, the Japanese language is very straightforward. Combination is relatively simpler than the way that it is in English, but things that are written and things that are said are completely different. If you spoke the way that you write in Japanese, you would sound like you're from the Edo Period (1608-1800's). For those that aren't familiar with Japanese periods, it's basically you speaking like samurai. Although it's not technically wrong, it's extremely strange. Imagine if you went around speaking like Shakespeare all the time. For this reason, learning the usage of these grammar points is a little difficult to say the least. Since you can't practice them in conversation, you have to go read vast amounts of things like newpapers, books, and really old historical-type novels in order to understand.

And that roughly, is the JLPT in a nutshell.

The other day unfortunately, I took a practice test and didn't pass the listening section. You'd be amazed at how much seeing a person's face is useful to a conversation. It's why talking on phones here is so difficult, and why I'm proud when I achieve it, despite how sad that may be. I was a couple points shy of passing, and although my friends assure me that that is something to proud of, not passing is not passing, and so I need to work harder. I'll continue to do my best.

Now, we'll see if I can pass.

Michelle

Of the Approaching Summer

Do you know what's really weird about updating this blog? Whenever I'm not about to write the blog, I have tons of ideas. Literally, I think I say, "I should blog about that" numerous times in my daily life, but when I finally sit down at this computer, do any of the ideas ever come to me? No. Lovely.

Life continues here in Japan. We've entered what could only be termed the early summer. It's around 27 (80 Fahrenheit) or so every day, and it's also raining like no tomorrow. Apparently there was a tropical storm in the Philippines within the last few days, which is part of the reason that it's so rainy in Kyoto. The other reason is just that it always rains in Kyoto. Even when it's not raining in the rest of Japan, it's raining in Kyoto. I think Kyoto is secretly the Seattle of this country.

Do you know, when I came here, I thought, "How on earth does moss grow 5 feet up on walls?" I'll be honest. I'd never seen moss at eye level before except on trees. I definitely never expected it to be on stone fences. As I came to live here though, I understood. If it rains virtually every day for thousands of years, then moss can grow wherever moss wants to grow. At this rate, it could even grow on the ceiling. So yes, it's either that Kyoto is trying to compete with Seattle, or that Kyoto has a not-so-secret desire to become a tropical rainforest, in which case it's on its way. 27 in the day, 90% humidity, and when it rains it only gets more unbearable.

Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder what will happen in the disaster-stricken parts of the country. Right now, businesses are trying not to use their air conditioners. Some have even gone so far as to require their employees to wear short-sleeve shirts or tank tops. I'm not sure how long this will continue though. It's possible that Japan might change it's working hours, start earlier in the morning, and end earlier in the day. The only issue that I have with this is that the hottest part of the Japanese day occurs around 1:00. That means that you would still have your employees virtually dying in the offices. In this case, it might be better to suggest a siesta type system (you never expected to see Spanish on here, did you?). If this is put in place though, there would still be energy problems. The trains might have to run later, and businesses would have to keep their lights on longer. Honestly, right now, there's no good solution.

Of the Tomb of Go-Uda

Two posts today. I'm feeling generous.

I went on an adventure through Arashiyama (嵐山) the other day. Arashiyama is one of those places that you can spend hours in and still not even know everything about it. In fact, the first time I went, I ended up in touristy Arashiyama, and I wondered, "Why would anyone care for this place? It's a tourist trap." But then I began to explore more, and what I've found has actually peaked my interest.

Western Arashiyama is certainly full of tourists. There are people pulling the carts, and you can buy gifts for your friends and family that are seemingly "classical" Kyoto: Fans, sweets, etc. But if you know where to go, you can find more than that. Arashiyama has some of the best umeshu (梅酒), or plum wine in Kyoto. It also has numerous onsen, or hot springs, spread throughout the mountain. In the past, Arashiyama was a natural retreat for the esteemed and wealthy. There are old temples and shrines designated as World Heritage Sites hidden among its bamboo forests and old red-bark trees.

Eastern Arashiyama is virtually empty. Although it is still filled with the old temples and shrines, it is primarily a farming area now. The rice paddies are a verdant green, and it's not unusual to see herons and hawks diving into the lake around to catch fish.  Perhaps most interesting is when you pass these farms, and hike up into the mountain that is rather aptly named Storm Mountain. When we started our hike, we were at ground level, but as we progressed, we rapidly entered a mist just below the clouds. I separated from my friends for some pure hiking and went into the bamboo forest around us.

As time passed, I realized that I had turned onto a trail that was more for wild boar, or other game than was really meant for people. It was literally so narrow that I could barely stretch my arms out, and there were numerous instances of bamboo and such torn up. Although it was of course fun to travel down it, I was alone, and didn't feel like meeting any snakes, pigs, or bears, so I turned back in order not to worry my friends too much. We continued our hike up the mountain and eventually came out onto a clearing with to large ponds and a hinamatsuri (ひな祭り). It's far past hinamatsuri, it was in March, and to still have it set up was to say the least, a bit strange. We looked at it for a minute, and then walked past the koi ponds and further up the mountain.

There had been a small family feeding the koi, but now we were alone. Just as Mathilde had suggested before, we were standing in front of the imperial tomb of Emperor Go-Uda (後宇多天皇陵). From what I was able to gather about his history just from searching online (I haven't found anyone who knows of him yet), he was the second emperor by the name of Uda, and he was the 91st emperor of Japan. He succeeded Emperor Kameyama and preceded Emperor Fushimi. He ruled over three eras, the Bunei (文永), the Kenji (健治), and the Kouan (公安) during the 1200s. His tomb's official name is Rengebuji no misasagi (蓮華峯寺陵), meaning approximately the Lotus Flower Ridge Imperial Tomb.

It was surprising. Only here where you have such a blend of ancient and modern culture do you run into imperial tombs which are nestled among the forest. Completely quiet, you wouldn't even know it was here unless like us, you were just exploring. Even then, it'd be somewhat of a miracle to find it. And so with that, it was another treasure to add to the memories that I've made here in Kyoto.

Of A Cooking Life Lesson

Yesterday, I decided I'd make something delicious. It was going to be a pork dish with some ginger and other ingredients, but mainly ginger. And let me just say, that it looked fantastic online. With that said, the same was not true of my cooking. You know, normally, I make things up, sometimes use recipes, and I almost always end up with something delicious, or at least edible. Last night's dinner was edible, and that's about where it stopped.

Someone had spilled something in the fridge unfortunately, coating most things in some sort of stick junk. I cleaned it up, but certain ingredients could not be salvaged. That's where dinner started.

From there, I looked at the remaining ingredients, and said, I can make this work. And it's true, I could, if I had one ingredient more. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what that ingredient was. I stared at it, searched for it in dictionaries, Googled it, but to no avail. The ingredient simply would not turn up, and so, in classic Michelle style, I decided it must not be important. Any ingredient that doesn't turn up easily can't possible be useful. I figured it was one of those optional things. Unlike baking, cooking has optional ingredients. This is the point at which I should've figured my logic was less than logical. And here was the beginning of the end.

So I made my dish, added the ginger, added the few vegetables I had left over, and made my sauce to cover my pork in. I taste the sauce, and I realize, why, that's a tad salty (keep in mind it's mostly soy based with a little rice vinegar. So I add some stuff, and hope for the best, tasting it all the while. I finally finish my dish, and taste it, and it's....edible.

Three guesses as to what I left out. I went back to Google, still no dice. Asked SoJeong, she guessed it was some sort of stock, but she wasn't sure. Asked Tai today, and yes, it was chicken stock. I left out chicken stock. Do you know how important of an ingredient that is? I bet my dish would have been awesome if I'd had it.

In other news, I made some genuine American hamburgers with a touch of basil, rosemary, onion, and garam marsala with a side of the famous rosemary potatoes for dinner tonight. I even had some fresh pineapple. It was much better.

Source:
にんにく豚飯 (クックパッド)

Of License Plates

Since I've arrived in Japan, I've been continually perplexed by one thing: Japanese vehicle license plates.  In relation to everything else, I'm sure this is a minor problem, but it really has kept me in a continuous state of bemusement, and so today, I've decided to fix it. I've asked friends, read articles, and after much research, I can finally say that I understand the basics.

Like all things related to the bureaucracy, it's unnecessarily complex. Here's what I've found:

1. License plates (or ナンバープレート), are issued by the national government except in certain circumstances. These primarily include when the vehicle is considered a small motor vehicle: for example, motorcycles. In this case, the license plate will be issued by the local municipal government.
2. Although plastic plates are being introduced, most plates are still made out of aluminum. The size of your plate and numbers will depend on the size of your vehicle.
3. The color of your license plate and numbers depends on how many cc's your car is.
• General vehicles (though at times 360 cc vehicles are included) receive license plates with a white background and green letters if they are for home/personal use. They receive a green background with white letters if they are for business use.
• Other light vehicles (below 660 cc) receive license plates with a yellow background and black letters if they are for home use, and a black background with yellow letters if they are for business use.
• Two-wheeled vehicles (bicycles, motorcycles, etc.) that exceed 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background, green letters, and a green border if they are for home use. The opposite is used for business use.
• Two-wheeled vehicles below 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background and green letters for home use, and the opposite if they are for business use.
• Otherwise, plates for official business (ambulance, etc.) are issued plates with white background and red letters. Though there might be a case where they have a red background and black letters (as in police officers).
4. The number that goes above the other numbers depend on further cc values within those previously mentioned. The hiragana depends on how many people can sit in your car.
5. The amount of • (ten) or dots that you receive along with the main numbers depend on when and where the plate is issued.
6. Your city name will be displayed in kanji except for special circumstances. These include foreign dignitaries' and military vehicles, along with those that seek to go abroad with their license.

For pictures and further description, please refer to the Wiki page below.

Source:
日本のナンバープレート (Wiki)

Of Golden Week

It's Golden Week（ゴールデンウィーク）, which means basically it's a week of holidays here in Japan. Golden Week is not so much holiday in and of itself, but rather it's known as being a period of rest. Businesses will often close during this time, and actually I think my post office is closed again. If I need to mail anything, I'll have to go to Kyoto Station (京都駅).  Back to the point, Golden Week is also called Oogon-shuukan (大金週間 literally golden week), Oogata-renkyuu (大型連休, large holiday), or just GW for short. Typically, families will make trips during this time, and it's a good time to meet up with people who are far away that you don't see very often. Actually, places like Hawaii normally boom during this week with the flood from Japanese tourists. This year, however, more people are going up to Touhoku (東北) to try to boost the economy up there.

Golden Week officially starts on April 29 and it goes till May 5. April 29 is celebrated as Shouwa Day (昭和の日), and it is meant to be a reflection on the late Emperor Hirohito's reign. May 3 is Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日). On this day, people are supposed to remember the 1947 Constitution of Japan. This gave Japan a parliamentary system of government, and basically created the emperor into a figurehead. This constitition is also known as the Postwar Constitution (戦後憲法) or the Peace Constitution (平和憲法), due to its Article 9 which prevents the Japanese from waging war, or in effect, having a military itself. Therefore, the Self-Defense Force is really an extension of the police force here in Japan. The article itself (taken from Wikipedia because I don't have the Japanese Constitution on hand) reads as following:

第九条　日本国民は、正義と秩序を基調とする国際平和を誠実に希求し、国権の発動たる戦争と、武力による威嚇又は武力の行使は、国際紛争を解決する手段としては、永久にこれを放棄する。

二　前項の目的を達するため、陸海空軍その他の戦力は、これを保持しない。国の交戦権は、これを認めない。 

The English translation if you're curious is here:

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. 

Green Day (みどりの日) is celebrated on May 4.  It's a day to be close to nature.

Finally, we have Children's Day (子供の日). Originally called Boy's Day (端午の節句) it's a day to celebrate children and think of their happiness.  On this day, the carp streamers (鯉幟) are risen to show the male children in the family. This is done in the hope that the boy will become a strong and healthy man. A picture is here. The black carp is the father. The pink one, I believe, is the mother. And the blue one is the boy.

For this reason, Golden Week ends up being a lot of fun. You get to hang out with people, and spend some quality time not working. It's a good change, though of course I'm still busy studying from the JLPT and trying to improve language-wise. Tai's of course still job-hunting. I'm off to Arashiyama for a few hours. Take care!

 Source:
Article 9

Of Tea

My name is Michelle Mego, and I have a tea obsession.

I seem to remember hearing somewhere that admitting you have a problem is first step to getting over it. But I'd just like to challenge that commonly held belief. Admitting you have a problem by no means if the first step to getting over it. The first step is realizing that your problem is actually a problem. I've admitted I have tea addiction since I came to Japan, and it's really the strangest thing because I didn't even like tea in the States. However, I'm not ashamed of it. I love tea. I drink so much tea it isn't even funny. I think I keep the tea companies in business. Lipton, Kirin, and the other tea companies just look at me and go "Well boys, even if everyone else stops drinking tea, at least this lady will keep us in business."

You know, the other day, I drank a liter. That's right, a LITER of lemon tea in a couple hours. Do you know what I discovered at that time? Lemon tea is still delicious after drinking a liter of it. But do you know what else? Tea's a diuretic. I was so sick after that time, and that's when I vowed to myself that I will control my addiction. I will not be ashamed of downing large portions of tea, but I will prevent myself from becoming sick over drinking tea.

And now I'm beginning to wonder why on earth I deprived myself of this deliciousness for so long. 20 years of my life I went without tea. And from years 20-21, I have learned the joy and benefits of drinking it.

I suppose this is all besides the point though, so in classic form, I'll provide some info on tea. I'm sure everyone that reads this blog is an intelligent human being and has already learned the pleasure that comes out of tea-drinking, but just in case you haven't heard of one or two kinds, I feel as if it is my duty to share it with you. (I know, maybe I should work a tea company. I'm a great sales rep when I feel like it.)

Tea is taken very seriously in Japan. Certain regions, and even cities are known for specific types of tea. It's customary to serve certain types at certain times of the year or at certain occasions. Some take some getting used to, but they're all delicious. If they're from Japan, they're called Nihoncha （日本茶）, or Japanese Tea in general. Although, they're sometimes also referred to as Ryokucha（緑茶）, this word refers more to green tea, since it is literally the characters for "green" and "tea." This list isn't limited to just Nihoncha, but it is a basic summary of teas that you'll find here. Here are just a few.

1. All fruit tea - Japan has a wealth of this. I can't even imagine why we don't get it so much in the States. Let's get kids hooked on tea instead of soda and other ridiculously unhealthy drinks. It's better, and delicious. So far, I've seen and tried lemon, apple, and muscat. There's also yuzu, and acerola lemon which I haven't gotten the chance to try yet.
2. Mugicha（麦茶） - This is barley tea. I admit, the first I had it, I was a bit surprised, but I've really grown to like it. Also, thanks to this wonderful tea, I've learned how to drink beer. I still don't like beer, but I'll continue to drink mugicha, and eventually in time I'll get there. Although this is normally served cold in the summer, I have seen it served hot in the winter as well. It's pretty refreshing actually, so I'd recommend it.
3. All green tea/Ryokucha (緑茶)- There are so many types of this. I could write a post just on green tea (ocha). This comes in a variety of ways, starting with tea leaves, to tea powder, and so on. The types of green tea are so specific that there are words for tea which is grown in a mountain's shade and always remains in a sort of mist, to green tea leaves which are harvested in the sun. It's extremely specialized. I recommend trying them all because they all taste different.
4. Oolong - This is served sometimes at restaurants, and particularly at nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink) institutions. Often, you're given a choice for your first drink: beer or oolong. I always choose oolong.
5. Koucha - Of course we have the black teas. This is quite popular abroad, so I don't feel the need to go into them here.

Here's a basic list of the types of green tea if you're curious. These are either called ocha (お茶), or ryokucha (緑茶), or sometimes nihoncha (日本茶).

1. Matcha (抹茶) - I think this is what most people of think of when they hear "green tea." It is the powdered form, which is vigorously whisked with a tea whisk (chasen 茶筅). Different schools of tea, masters of tea, and regions each have their preferred type. This is what is used in the tea ceremony. Well-made matcha is characterized by its even green color on top. There should not be powder on the bottom of the bowl, and the top should also have a nice layer of foam. Matcha is grown in the shade, and it has been found to have numerous antioxidants. It's now being put in a variety of things like sweets as well. Slightly bitter, it is very relaxing to drink. It is also fairly expensive depending on the quality.
2. Sencha （煎茶）- Sencha is different than matcha in the respect that the leaves are not actually in the tea. I would say a fair amount of what is commonly drunk today is sencha rather than macha. This tea, because it does not have the leaves, is a clear green color. It is grown in the full sun. Sencha is normally hot in the winter, but cool in the summer. You will find the majority of people drinking this in their homes.
3. Gyokuro （玉露）- This is slightly different than sencha in that it's grown in the shade for 20 days. This is translated approximately I guess as jewel dew, or something along those lines. Gyokuro is pretty expensive, so I've never tried it, at least, I don't remember trying it, and I'm pretty sure it's one of those things that you'd remember.
4. Kabusecha (冠茶)- This one is a little more difficult. It's like "covered tea." From what I understand, it's basically gyokuro in that it's shaded, but it's only shaded for 1 week before its harvested. Apparently it leads to a milder taste.

The list goes on, but I'm going to stop here because I'm getting into teas that I've never heard of.

Michelle

Of Japanese Delicacies

It's rained for the past three days, and it's beginning to affect my mood. Since it's supposed to rain all next week as well, I'm beginning to wonder if we're entering the rainy season. It's supposed to be in June and July, but it seems to be a little early this year. In a way, it'd be good to get it over now. At the same time though, the weather is fairly nice, so it'd be wonderful to enjoy the cool weather without getting soaked. I really need to learn that whole bike with one hand and hold the umbrella with the other thing. Although illegal, it is exceptionally convenient and looks pretty impressive. Since I can't even manage to bike safely with two hands though, I'll have to continue to learn that first though. I managed to get a lot done: paper written, speech planned, kanji and grammar studied. I'd actually planned to have a drink or two today after working so hard as well. I had my drink nice and cold, and it was going to be delicious, but since the rain was ruining my otherwise cheerful mood, I decided I'd put it off to another day.

I actually need to get back to studying, but I decided first to enlighten everyone on some Japanese delicacies.

1. Nattou （納豆）- These are literally fermented soy beans. It's characterized by its smell, which I feel is closest to something along the lines of tire grease, if there is such a thing. It's also very sticky, and clumps together. Despite this, nattou is delicious. Normally eaten in the Kantou region, where it is found often as a breakfast-type food, nattou has gained due popularity. It tastes like beans, really really delicious beans, and everyone should enjoy them. It's especially good with kimchi or tabasco. The most fun part of eating it is that you get to whip it up with mustard and some other stuff like what was previously mentioned. Pictures can be found here and here.
2. Umeboshi （梅干し) - Pickled plums are another favorite, especially in the Kantou region. Served sometimes with a little salt, they are extremely refreshing, if a little sour. They can be served on their own, in the ball form, or a raisin-like form, or they also be used to make umeshu （梅酒), which is pickled plum alcohol. A picture is here.
3. Tsukemono （漬け物 ）- This is just pickled foods. Kyoto is famous for them, and actually they are deemed Kyouzuke here for that reason. They come in a variety of types: everything from eggplant on. 
4. Uni （ウニ）- Sea urchin. I had this recently actually at Tai's house. To be honest, I eat most of these Tai's house, except for tsukemono. He doesn't seem to be too fond of that one. I can't really describe uni. The only thing it tastes like is uni. It can be eaten either as sashimi or sushi though. It looks like this though.
5. Tofu （豆腐）- Kyoto is known for its tofu. We have more tofu shops than anywhere else in Japan I think. It also come cooked in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, I'm still not really fond of it, not due to its taste, but its texture.
6. Fugu （ふぐ）- Blowfish/Pufferfish. I still haven't tried this one actually. There's actually a season for this, so I haven't been able to try it yet. Since it is potentially lethal though, it must be prepared carefully by extremely skilled and licensed chefs.

And actually, not a delicacy, but something worth adding as a recent personal favorite is

1. Ochazuke （お茶漬け）- This is something else that I had at Tai's the previous weekend, but I'd just like to add it to the list of absolutely delicious food in the world. It's a relatively simple dish. You fill a bowl with hot white rice, pour in some green tea, and top with nori (seaweed), nattou, fish, or other simple spices. You have to eat it quickly so that the rice does not absorb all of the tea and become soggy, but it's a great meal, and it's really healthy for you. This isn't a completely standard recipe, but I found one that you might enjoy abroad here.

Take care all.

Michelle

Of Clean Water and a Budget Package

Good news. I'm well-rested and able to properly explain it now. I need to do some research, but this is what I have so far.

Japan released about 10,000 metric tons of radioactive water from its Fukushima Daiichi Plant. The radiation levels despite being much higher than the legal limit, are still relatively fine. TEPCO believes that most of the radiation occurred from hydrogen explosions. Iodine-131, which has a half-life of 8 days, was found in the water. Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 were both found. Their levels are far lower, but they have much longer half-lives. 27,000 tons of water was used to cool down the reactor. This water unfortunately became highly toxic.

Areva SA, a French nuclear company, has offered to clean Japan's water. Since the French have roughly 70% of their power come from nuclear plants, they are considered extremely experienced in this.  Areva SA has stated that they clean the water at 50 tons per hour. Tomihisa Oota, a Japanese chemist, has developed a process that is apparently fast though. Through a special mineral powder that collects radiation from the water, his method can clean 1,000 tons of water per hour. During a sample, he had managed to clean water in 10 minutes. If cleaning facilities are built, then this process even with thousands of tons of water would not take much longer, he believes.

Japan has also created a budget package to for relief efforts. It totals $48.5 billion (4 trillion yen) in all, and it was crated without issuing more Japanese government bonds. More of these will likely follow though, since as I stated before, it's been estimated that the damage is around $310 billion. The spending will go toward disaster relief, waste disposal, public works, infrastructure, loans, tax grants to local governments, and employment support. In order to finance this, they had to reinstate high tolls, tap into reserves for pension payouts, and cut in lawmakers' salaries. Considering Japan's population is rapidly aging, this has been a somewhat risky move, but Japan does not want to raise the national debt any higher (right now it's about $10 trillion US). Overall, it's a step in the right direction, but whether it will remain enough is still to be seen.

Sources:
Japan Discloses Data on Radioactive Water Release (WSJ)
Japanese Scientist Develops Powder That Can Clean Fukushima Daiichi Radioactive Water Faster than Areva (WSJ)

化学者が「福島原発の汚染水を浄化できる粉末を開発」 (WSJ)

Japan approves $48.5 billion quake relief spending (Reuters)

Of Life

It's already midnight and I need to get to sleep soon, but I thought I'd make a quick update first. Classes are going well, and I'm learning a lot. The JLPT is in 3 months so I seriously need to crack down on the studying.

Tai's busy with job hunting. He's been going to seminars, interviews, and continuing his job search every day. I hope he'll be successful.

Speaking of him, his gift still hasn't come. I'm beginning to wonder if customs got a hold of it to be honest...I hope not. It was a mess dealing with them last time.

My work on my senior thesis project is coming along. I'm currently trying to find an advisor, and running into some problems with that. We'll see how it goes. No worries though. This is something I want to do, and I'll find a way to make it work. I feel as if it will be a culmination of my time in school, in Japan, and life goals in general, so it needs to be done. This just proves that anything worth doing is difficult, so I'll just work harder to make it possible.

I've received some wonderful care packages recently. Normally I advise against such things since I honestly don't need anything, but it was nice and I really appreciate them. From my loving parents, I have received makeup as well as some other essentials. Makeup in Japan is often laced with a bleaching agent since Japanese women (and many other women in this part of the world) like to have white skin. I'm not comfortable with that idea since I view it as extremely dangerous and unhealthy so I really do appreciate the care package. My grandmother also sent me some candy the other day. Thanks to all of you!

By the way, did everyone hear? They've apparently developed a powder that can collect the radiation from the water. The question is what to do with that powder then. I was watching a show in Tokyo about it and they were talking about shooting it in dry-ice-encased missiles down to the sea floor. If it's true, they think that the ice will not disintegrate at the depth. Obviously they're still searching, but it's an idea.

It's late now, and I'm starting to get stuck between English and Japanese, so I'm going to go to bed. To be honest, I'm not too sure which language is which when I'm tired now.

Bye all!

Michelle

Of a Trip to Tokyo

I got back from Tokyo last night around 10 by Shinkansen. It was a wonderful trip. I got to see Tai and his family, and we got to spend some quality time together, the first in 4 months to be honest. It was great, and I can't express how happy I am that I was able to take the trip.

Things in Tokyo were actually relatively normal considering all that's happened. I actually didn't go into any supermarkets or konbini so I can't tell you the status of those. However, it seemed like the food supply was restored, especially considering we ate things like sushi and clam miso soup which I'm pretty sure was not ok before. You do notice some change in what's provided though. There's more things from the Kansai and southern areas of Japan. Produce from the Fukushima and other severely affected areas is not really seen.

Honestly, the biggest difference is the continue prevalence of the 自粛 (jishuku) mood (refer to previous posts for a definition). People are keeping power off in a city where most things run on power. Lights are off, and A/C is off as well despite the fact that it's getting warmer and therefore more humid in Japan. People are just opening windows instead. Shops are still continuing to close early. Trains are running normally though. The biggest problem is when the weather gets warmer and people are forced to use power in order to keep cool in the worst of the Tokyo summer. For example, with regard to the jishuku mood, Tai and I were at a vending machine, and the lights came on inside. We spent a couple minutes trying to turn them off because it's unnecessary power that can be better spent elsewhere. Eventually, they turned off on their own. But here in Japan, where electricity used to be taken as a common item, the difference to it today is rather startling.

I experienced my first earthquake. It was a M3. It was fascinating to watch the earth shift left and right. You're standing on it, and you know, the earth shouldn't move. And here I am watching the car bounce around on its wheels, and the fence at his grandmother's house sway, and feeling this kind of weird not-weightless parsay, but a definite feeling of unsteadiness. Earthquakes here have also become commonplace, but yet are a little more untrusted now. People are nervous that there will be another large one, so they're not sure how to respond when the little buzzer goes off on the TV or their phone warning them that an earthquake is approaching. If you know you're safe, you can enjoy it. You can watch the earth move and just be amazed at what's happening beneath your feet. But if you don't know if you'll be safe, they could easily be terrifying. For my brief time experiencing one, it was a positive experience, but for those that endured the big quake, I can't even begin to imagine how they must have felt. I truly wish them the best.

Tai and I spent our time going to the river and playing some catch with the football, which was more of Tai teaching how to throw and catch and me failing miserably, but it was still fun. I'm pretty sure I can get throwing down, catching with take some more time.

We also watched some movies, which were fantastic. We went to Rikkyo University's baseball game as well, and it was a blast. Japanese baseball games are tons of fun. People shout things like "NAME かっこいい！ (NAME, you're cool/hot!)" to cheer on their players while catcalling the other team with phrases like "可笑しい！ (You're strange/weird/funny!)" There's also lots of songs, and just general fun for the team and fans. I have a feeling baseball was like in this in the past, but somewhere it lost that spirit in the States. It really was fun though, and I recommend anyone to go to a game here in Japan if they get the chance cause they'll love it.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip to Tokyo.

Michelle

Of Suzumebachi

Before we begin the main topic of this post, I just wanted to link a little something here for everyone to appreciate back home. It's about the contaminated food, specifically milk that people are worried about overseas. According to this article, it'd take you 58,000 glasses of milk to reach the level that would be considered harmful. Last time I checked, even people who love milk don't drink 58,000 glasses in a rapid period. Here's the article for you to enjoy: Radioactive Milk.

And now onto the main event: Suzumebachi. Suzumebachi are one of those terrifying things in Japan that Japan doesn't want to admit exist to anyone outside of Japan. This is because "terrifying" does not even begin to describe them. Suzumebachi is Japanese for "sparrow hornet." These hornets are several inches long with a wingspan to match. In comparison, make a fist. The hornet is about the length of that.

The suzumebachi are particularly aggressive, especially toward lawnmowers, and other loud noise. They will attack bikers and other people passing too close to the nest though. Unfortunately, since they're hornets, the nest is the trees where you can't see it. You only know you're close to the nest when you start seeing suzumebachi.

Being stung by one will require you to go to the hospital. Since the venom deals with the nervous system, it's fairly dangerous. If you get stung just a few times, you can die. Every year, there are dozens of people who die from them.

Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that the suzumebachi does not live necessarily in a remote area away from people. Of course they're in the forests, but they also live in the cities. For some reason, they really seem to like the area around Ritsumeikan University. I remember the first time I saw one, my friend stopped me and told me about them. The second time, I was walking to the bank with a friend, and I stopped and stared at the largest hornet I had ever seen in my life. These things just hover in the air, looking ridiculously threatening. In my opinion, you should never be able to the see the stinger of a hornet. When you can, you know it's going to be bad.

They also live in Tokyo and other major cities around Japan. Basically, if you find a nest, you call someone to get rid of it. It's not a good idea to take it down yourself.

These hornets became pretty famous recently due to videos that have been circulated around the web. 30 hornets went and destroyed a nest of 30,000 bees. If you're a beekeeper, these things are your worst enemy. Because I believe that everyone should have equal access to appreciate the terror, here's the video: 30 hornets vs 30,000 bees.

However, if you're a beekeeper who keeps Japanese honey bees, you're better off. These bees have developed a strategy to take out the hornets. Literally, they can withstand a higher body temperature, so they'll swarm the hornet and overheat it until it dies. The video is HERE. So, this begs the question, why not keep Japanese honey bees instead? The answer to this is that Japanese honey bees do not produce as much honey, so it's more profitable to keep the others.

If you're feeling adventurous, here are some pictures:
Suzumebachi

Nest

Wiki's Suzumebachi Page (Japanese Only)

One Japanese bug down. At least one more to go. If you want a sneak peek, check out Mukade. In the meantime, I'm off to Tokyo tomorrow! Take care all!

Michelle

Of Sakura Season

First off, some quick news. The nuclear reactor was updated to the same status as Chernobyl the other day. Apparently it qualifies as a 7 now because of a long, sustained release of radiation with significant damage. But honestly, nothing has really changed. It was a level 5 before. But really, nothing has changed within the past couple days, so don't worry.

Secondly, I have some pictures to share with you all of the sakura. This blog is about more than just earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear reactors after all. This year the sakura have had mixed reviews. In some ways, people are so appreciative. They only last about a week or two and then they're gone. It's this fleeting beauty amongst everything else, so it's appreciated all the more, especially in light of recent events. On the other hand though, due to the continued 自粛 (jishuku) mood, people still feel guilty about appreciating anything.

Needless to say though, people are still trying to enjoy the season though. The weather is getting warmer, and the sakura (cherry blossoms) mark the start of spring. So, in order for everyone to understand how this works, I'll explain.

The sakura begin to bloom when the weather just starts getting warmer. For all purposes, it's still fairly cool in the morning and at night. But people will go alone or as couples, school groups, company groups, families, etc. to enjoy the sakura together in parks.  The cherry blossoms since they only bloom for a short time should be enjoyed to the fullest, so people make sure to spend a decent amount of time outside to properly appreciate them.

Of course, no celebration is complete without alcohol, especially here in Japan. So, we all went to 花見 (hanami), or flower-viewing to go appreciate them. You can do this just in a park, or you can go to a shrine such as this one. We were at 平野神社 (Hirano Jinjya) for this picture. There were chairs and tables, benches, and these large platforms to enjoy the cherry blossoms. I drank 甘酒 (amazake), sweet sake, while my friends drank everything from Chu-Hi's to beer to hot sake. 

Of course, sakura during the day are also beautiful. This is Ritsumeikan University's Kinugasa Campus (立命館大学衣笠キャンパス) in full bloom. We've had a pretty strong wind recently, so the petals have been billowing around. There's actually a world for the falling petals, it's called 花吹雪 (hana-fubuki), which means "blowing flowers" or "falling flowers." The petals are getting in everything too. You walk into class and you, your books, your hair, and your food are covered in them. It's kind of cool, and definitely beautiful, but it's amazing to see them falling.

I have to get back to studying. I have a kanji test before I leave for Tokyo, so I need to actually make sure I can write them. Take care everyone!

Michelle

Of an "Aftershock"

Japan has been experiencing hundreds of aftershocks since the big quake. Many of them are strong, rivaling what we could call simply another earthquake. Today's hit near Iwaki city which is in Fukushima prefecture, registering at a 7.1. For those up in Touhoku, it's impossible to imagine what they could be going through. Power is being restored, but these quakes keep knocking it out. Some people, sick of being in the evacuation centers, are trying to return to their homes. When they do so though, they're finding even simple life is difficult. Without electricity and running water, they can't really cook their food or a number of other things. I read an article the other day which was talking about a woman who is living in her house, and she talks about how much things have changed. She also mentioned how little luxuries like clean underwear are provided at the evacuation centers, but not necessarily in her home anymore since she's unable to do laundry. People are worrying about health issues.

I watched the news today when the aftershock hit, and I have to say it looked a bit end-of-the-world-ish. The sky was dark, even though it was still fairly early in the evening. It looked like the camera honestly was being shaken by someone. It's hard to imagine the entire ground moving while buildings sway on top. It was lightning and promptly began pouring. I'm honestly wondering how much these plates have moved. A tsunami warning was given, but it's only a meter, so it should be lifted soon if it hasn't been already. I admit, I haven't checked since I live on a plateau between mountains and a 1 meter really shouldn't do that much damage.

I think some schools were planning to resume school today in Miyagi prefecture, but I'm not sure if they did or not.

The evacuation zone was extended to 30 km. No worries, it's still far away, and I think that a significant number of people had already evacuated.

The nuclear reactors were not hurt in the quake. They remain in their current state.

Classes were good today. I had Comprehensive as well as Listening & Speaking. We just talked about hanami, earthquakes, and the nuclear situation. It was more interesting than learning about what we were supposed to learning about. And since my class was only 4 today, it was easily manipulated.

In good news, I'm going to Tokyo this Friday! I'll get to see Tai and his family, and just overall have a good time. I bought my Shinkansen ticket the other day. I'm so excited.

Source:
Japan expands nuclear evacuation zone as new quake hits (Reuters)

Of Sushi

Another bright and sunny day here in Kyoto. Spring has finally arrived, and it's beautiful. With that in mind, classes started the other day. Things are going well so far. I'm in B class. They go from F to A, A being the highest before you're put into seiki level, which is when you can take classes in Japanese with Japanese students. As is, I can take classes in English with them, but not their normal Japanese classes. Not gonna' lie, understanding is fine, so I may sneak into a couple this semester anyway if I get the chance. As is, right now I'm taking a Comprehensive Japanese class, a Listening & Speaking class, a Writing course, as well as International Organizations (which focuses on NGOs, etc.), Political Economies of East Asia (comparing Japan, China, Korea), possibly a Women's Studies course which is focused on women in war (I know. Not my specialty, but interesting), and last but not least, hopefully a International Management course (which looks at the logistics and marketing strategies of an international corporation). Overall, a pretty decent schedule if I do say so myself.

To answer a quick question that was posted in comments, classes will continue as normal. Kansai is in fact so fine that nothing will change whatsoever with regard to classes. We may take in some more students though who are refugees. Therefore, no worries with class schedules changing unless something major strikes Kansai. The rest of Japan is obviously a bit more affected. According to Tai, Rikkyo University is only taking in two international students this semester because the rest cancelled due to fears of going to Tokyo. I'd like to say that I'm personally proud of those students and especially one of them since he is also from Miami.

What people aren't understanding abroad is that Japan is quite a big country. The problem is that it's normally compared to California. People therefore get a little nervous because California is only 1 state in a country of 50 of them. However, Japan is also relatively the same size as Italy. Because Italy is a country and not a state (by the American English definition of course), people suddenly become much calmer. Therefore, I'd like to propose comparing Japan to Italy in size for the rest of time.

Due to the belief that Japan is a small country, people are refusing to buy fish from Japan. I understand as much as the next person that when you hear about radioactive materials being dumped into the ocean, the last thing you want to do is go eat fish. Most of Japan's fishing is done farther away from the coast though. This is due to past overfishing problems. But Michelle, you might say, fish swim. They can swim close to the coast. And yes, they can. I don't deny it. But if you're concerned about that, then don't eat fish that live close to shore. Those that live out in deeper waters should of course be checked, but if they make it into your markets, they are safe. Japan's economy depends on exports. They will be responsible in this.

In order to prevent more radiation from escaping to the ocean though, TEPCO has installed steel barriers and silt fences. Although I'm not sure about the effectiveness of this, we can only trust them for now.

I love me a good plate of sushi and honestly, if I can eat it here, then you can eat it thousands of miles away. Furthermore, most sushi restaurants abroad are actually switching to fish from other places. Even Japan is not necessarily making sushi from locally caught fish at times. If you're eating salmon sushi for example, it much more likely that it will be from Norway, and your tuna will likely be from Spain. The term sushi (寿司) refers to fish that is offered with vinegared rice. It is a preparation style, and in no way requires the fish to be harvested from Japanese waters. The only requirement of that fish is that it must be of an exceptionally high quality to serve raw. If it is not, you could end up making your customers sick. 

So, this begs the question, which is sushi? In the West, it often refers to what is called makizushi (巻寿司) here in Japan. This is the rolled sushi. It is rice, fish, and sometimes vegetables wrapped with rice in a piece of nori (海苔) or seaweed. A second of type of sushi is nigirizushi (握り寿司). This is hand-formed sushi which is a bit of rice, some wasabi, and fish or something on top. There is also oshizushi (押し寿司), which is literally "pressed sushi." This is specialty in Osaka, where a block-type sushi is formed. There is also inarizushi (稲荷寿司), which is a wrapper made of fried tofu filled with sushi rice. It was believed to be a favorite of the god Inari. I actually find this to be quite sweet, and normally reserve it as a dessert-type sushi for this reason. Second to last, we have chirashizushi (ちらし寿司), which is literally a "scattered sushi." This is when the fish is put on top of rice in a bowl. Lastly, there is narezushi (熟れ寿司), which I actually haven't had yet, but it's been fermented. Considering that Kyoto is known for it's fermented foods, I'll have to check it out.

So, now that we got cleared up. Please don't put your local sushi restaurant out of business. Go support them. It's delicious, and you should at enjoy it when you know its safe.

Oh, and before I go, I'd just like to state that I want a subscription to NIKKEI Shinbun so bad. Because I currently don't have a subscription, their newest articles right now are locked. I have to figure out the cost of it, but I think it'd be nice.

Sources:

Grab Your Chopsticks and Geiger Counters (WSJ)

TEPCO Installs Barrier to Prevent Sea Contamination (WSJ)

Of Jishuku

Well-rested and English working properly again, I feel as if I can write a blog post to everyone now. In a brief update about last night's 7.4 quake, I'd like to note that no significant damage occurred. Only 2 people are known to have died, and a few injured. The Fukushima Daiichi Plant is as stable as it was before the earthquake. Workers were briefly evacuated due to tsunami concerns, but that tsunami warning was lifted, so they went back to fixing the reactor. And before you comment on hearing that there was a tsunami, please understand that it was a meter high. That's nothing. It's like a wave. So, continuing on with things that not overblown in the US news. After doing some silicone gel work, it seems like the leak was slowed and possibly stopped the other day. Not sure on this though because I admit I've been a tad busy as of late.

The lack of food in the Touhoku region is still continuing to hurt the residents there. It's a shame that they've survived through all this only to have to face possible starvation. The government and other groups are distributing food of course, but having the food and having the manpower to distribute the food are different. Japan can get through this, but it's going to take an army of volunteers to do it.

The yen is slowly falling. In a way, this is good. It means that Japanese products will become cheaper for consumers abroad, but at the same time, this is a problem because it's somewhat indicative of a future recession.

Other countries have banned or are checking Japanese products carefully. Although it is understandable, the bans are a shame. The last thing Japan needs right now is for people not to buy its exports. The answer is rather simple in this case. Don't buy things from the area directly near the plant. Kansai and further south are fine. That means things like Kobe beef are safe.

Tourists to Japan are still few. So the Japanese economy is suffering in this way as well.

Actually, the point of this post is to talk about something called jishuku (自粛), or self-restraint. Something amazing has happened to Japan since the quake. In a country which quite frankly prefers expensive goods over cheap ones and brand names over non-brand names, the practice of jishuku was rarer earlier this year. For example, let's look at a fairly common brand name in the States, which is Coach. Coach sells purses, bags, wallets, etc. It's a fine leather maker shop, and it's pretty well-respected in my opinion. In the US, Coach is also considered ridiculously expensive, and for good reason. If you sold bags at the same price in Japan as what you sell in them in the US though, people would not buy them because they would be too cheap for a brand name. That means brand name goods are tripled normally in cost. So if a bag costs $100 in the US, it will cost $300 in Japan. Levi jeans are another good example. I think you can buy them for $20 in the States. The cheapest that I've found them in Japan is $150, and that's the absolute cheapest. I've seen them go for as high as $300. So, what does this have to do with jishuku?

People prided themselves in the past on having luxury goods. It's the same the world round I suppose, but it was definitely theme here in Japan. However, since the earthquake, the practice of jishuku has come back in full force. Watching the TV, hearing the news, and looking at refugees who continue to stream into safer areas, the majority of people have decided to engage in the practice of jishuku. They just don't feel as if they deserve to enjoy a luxury product at the moment when some people don't even have houses, let alone food. In some ways, this has really helped Japan. Japan was supposed to suffer from planned rolling blackouts through April, but because people were conserving so much power, that idea was able to be cancelled. In the summer when energy use increases, we'll see if they're reinstated, but for now, this is definitely a positive. However, the cabinet ministers are urging people not to engage in jishuku when it comes to commodities. Japan needs money to rebuild and it can't do that when people aren't spending money. This of course is a double-edged sword though. If you tell people not to restrain themselves, will they start using goods that they should conserve, like food, water, electricity, gas, etc. If that's true, then it's dangerous to say to stop the feeling of self-restraint. Personally though, I'm for the idea. The economy needs to be boosted, and if you can emphasize still conserving on necessary goods while not necessarily conserving on luxury goods, maybe it would help things out.

Sources:
China concerned at Japan's prolonged nuclear crisis (Reuters)
「自粛ムードやめよう」閣僚から発言相次ぐ (朝日新聞)