Almost the holidays

I just noticed that I haven't posted a blog entry since May, but that is no surprise given how busy I have been this semester. Finally, the end is in sight. Just two more days of teacher workshops and then I'm FREEEEEEEEEE. Well, kind of. Free to work on my other projects in any case. I have been doing just that this weekend. Yesterday I worked for 12 hours with short breaks for lunch and dinner (and a 45 minute nap in the afternoon). During that time, I edited ten articles and made a website for a conference in April. It was a very productive day. On Friday we are going to the Philippines for 3 weeks and I am not taking a computer. I have loaded my Kindle with fiction and I'll buy some notebooks for scribbling in preferably as I swing in a hammock. Oh yes, I am taking a well-earned break.

I started Japanese classes on Tuesday lunchtime. The teacher is a lovely lady called Nakamura-sensei and she came armed with textbooks, videos, flashcards and loads of patience. She needs it. My Japanese is pathetic. It's just Tim and me in the class and it's quite fun. I find myself in the silent phase again. My head knows what I want to say, I build up to it and out comes a splutter and a couple of Spanish verbs. Ugh! Talk about rusty. I feel like an old Cortina that has just been pushed out of the garage after a very long, cold winter. It's a strange feeling being mute. I understand what is being said, but I can't remember how to respond. I know I can't speak in English, but I'm bursting to express myself. I want to say that I can do this, just let me warm up a bit. I remember this grammar function and I used to know all these verbs and adjectives. Just give me time. My teacher thinks I'm in the wrong class and starts looking for a beginner's class to send me to, but I want to stay where I am - I can do this.

I wrote an email to Tim after the class saying that I can find a lower class so that I don't hold him back, but he's really sweet and tells me to stay. I didn't intend to study much, but I find that just going to this one class has encouraged me to do just that. I wrote to Nakamura-sensei telling her that I enjoyed her class and I would like to stay. I am even going to dust off my flashcards.

Nihongo kantan? GILL

Just in case I don't have enough things to do this semester, I registered for Japanese classes at my university. I haven't studied one little bit in almost 2 years. I work in an English bubble, shop at Carrefour, come home to my Irish husband, watch LOST and read books in English. Apart from the odd run-in with the dry cleaning lady, when do I need Japanese? I have enough basic Japanese to manage my daily interactions and when I don't, 3 lovely ladies at work help me. So why am I bothering? Guilt mostly. You've heard of computer-assisted language learning (CALL)? Mine is guilt-induced language learning (GILL). I took the quiz that we give our students at the university to see whether they are mainly intrinsically or extrinsically motivated language learners. Both my scores were zero. I need to re-write the quiz with the following items for people like me:

- Do you think it's lame that you haven't learnt any new words in 2 years?
- Are you embarrassed that people who have just arrived in Japan know more kanji than you?
- Are you sick of miming every time you try to speak?
- Do you feel yourself cringe as you have to point at the pictures on the menu in the restaurant?
- Do you realise how pathetic it is to talk to students everyday about their language learning when you aren't applying the strategies to your own learning?
- Do you break out in a sweat when someone asks you for your phone number?

Yes, yes, yes. Full marks. I am starting a course in GILL.

Daytrip to Yokohama

There are some nice things about living in Japan. The trip to Yokohama with Chantal was lovely. We saw an excellent exhibition on Pompeii, dined at the curry festival and ended up singing Clash songs at a karaoke place behind Sakaragicho station.





This last picture isn't Yokohama - it's Baytown where we live. Pretty nice, eh? I always feel like this park has been modeled on Port Meirion in north Wales.

Stressed out at the dry cleaner's

So it's May. How did that happen? Seriously, I have been so busy I didn't even notice it creeping up or the fact that I have neglected my blog! I won't bore you with the million things I have going on, but be assured that they are all fun things - there are just a lot of them! None of them involve hiking unfortunately.

Anyway, time to blog about Japan....Can I complain please? Sorry to be such a whinging Brit, but blogging about annoyances ought to be therapeutic, let's give it a go....

I have a phobia about dry cleaners in Japan. There, I've said it. I feel better already!

My Japanese is terrible, but I can usually manage and make myself understood in most day to day situations. The dry cleaner's is an exception and I dread having to go to the damned place. I put it off as long as possible which only makes it worse when I eventually do get there with a bag full of whiffy clothes. What is it with the questions??

Q1: "Do you want a crease up the front or flat ironed?"
OK, reasonable question given our experience in Mexico (Mexico blog), but sometimes it's just bloody obvious
Q2: "Are these men's or women's"
Kind of insulting. Annoys me every time. I feel like they really saying "These massive, giant, enormous size 10 (gasp!) trousers have to be men's ones". Um, no - they are mine actually. This argument works well if David is with me as they can see that my trousers would never fit my 6ft 5 husband, but when I'm on my own, they just think I'm trying it on to save 20 yen).
Q3: "Do you want this dry cleaned?"
Do I have to explain why this annoys me?
Q3: "What fabric is it, I can't read the English label"
Oh god, this one really gets on my nerves. I regularly take linen trousers in and the label is in English and I tell them the Japanese. This is totally unnecessary because it is SO OBVIOUSLY linen. We go through this charade each time where I say "linen" and they repeat back (it takes 3 people) "rayon"? "polyester"? aaggghhhh!!!!
Q4: "Do you want the $%@**^$%*^*$%E% treatment?"
I have no idea. Please take pity. A foreigner struggling with basic Japanese is not going to know specific dry cleaning terms. Stop asking questions, just stop it and take my stuff.
Q5: "Do you want the %^&%^E^TE%^E@@$&** service?"
Will I ever be able to function properly in Japan?
Q6: "Do you have your member's card?"
Damn! I forgot it again. This means I have to answer more questions... what's my phone number again? No I don't have Chinese characters for my name. Can't I just write it down in English? katakana is too hard!

Finally, they take my stuff, my money while they continue to talk non-stop. I follow nothing. NOTHING! I walk away with a receipt (which I always seem to lose) a hand full of tiny 5 yen off discount vouchers (which I never seem to be able to refuse even though they are worth next to nothing and I will throw them away as soon as I get home) and a damaged sense of self-efficacy.

Today David had to drop some of his suits off and I was going to wait outside as 2 visits in one week is just too much. Then I thought, maybe I'll just go in and observe and get some more material for my blog, but I was very disappointed. No questions, no hassle, nothing! Why do they pick on me? I think in future I'll either send David or take my chances and stick the things in the washing machine.

Glad that's off my chest.

Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in Tokyo

After a hectic few weeks getting ready for the start of the semester and entertaining visitors we find ourselves without plans this weekend and it feels fantastic!

I have been doing some research-related work, but I have also found time to enjoy the sunshine, do some shopping in Ginza and have afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi. Bliss. Here is a picture of me peering through the stand full of goodies (I didn't eat all of these - I had to share with Kazue and we almost finished everything!)

Challenge Vilja

We have set Vilja a few more tasks as she has apparently completed all but the game show one (which my mum thinks is cruel because everyone knows that there are no rules).

1. Feed some deer and avoid getting attacked
2. Crawl through the hole of enlightenment behind the big buddha in Nara
3. Feed some carp

Tasks

We have set Vilja some tasks to complete while she is off on her own in Japan - she's doing really well. We saw photographic proof of a hot coffee purchase from a vending machine yesterday. The baumkuchen challenge is proving difficult, but we did end up with some nice pastries instead.

Japanese toilet

This is one of Vilja's photos... I am over the novelty, but they have made quite an impact on our guest so this picture needs to make the blog...

vending machine fun

Bean jam roll anyone?

Ami and her Guitar

We have a rock star friend called Ami who was playing a gig at "What the Dickens" and we went along. Here are pictures of Ami performing and Vilja (after half a pint of Yebisu stout) plucking up the courage to ask her to autograph her CD and dedicate it to Tom and William. Ahhhhh.
http://amiguitarra.com/

Sushi in Shibuya

Vilja's husband Pete warned us that Vilja didn't eat sushi. We thought we'd pop into the standing sushi bar in Shibuya just to make sure. Pete - you are wrong. We witnessed Vilja devouring o-toro, bin-toro, katsuo, kohada and shrimp and loving it!

Meiji Shrine

After a coffee and a warm-up, we ventured into the much more sedate Meiji Shrine. I love that place. So serene compared to Yoyogi and we even saw a wedding!

parklife

We pushed our way through the crowds into Yoyogi Park and watched the rockabillies for a bit. No tour of Tokyo would be complete without them. We then wandered through the park admiring the cherry blossom and getting into the party atmosphere. Barely an inch of grass was visible as it was covered with blue tarp and picnickers.

Harajuku crowds

Today we introduced Vilja to the crazy side of Tokyo. The tour actually began in a convenience store where the snacks were endlessly entertaining. We then took the train to Harajuku but were disappointed not to see the teenagers dressed up. Actually, Harajuku was packed full of teenage girls going to a J-pop concert. I have never seen such crowds. Vilja was wondering whether this was a normal Tokyo Sunday. Um, no.

Night out in Roppongi Hills

We arranged to meet everyone under the spider at Roppongi Hills. We thought this would be a good (random) introduction to Japan for Vilja and a nice way to end the adventures of Matt, Mandy and Livi in Japan. Our friend Kazue also came along and recommended a really fun Chinese "all you can eat restaurant." This is dangerous as we can eat a lot. There was a note on the menu in English that they would charge us for wasted food. Although the goodies kept coming and coming, we did manage to polish off the lot.


The Spider at Roppongi Hills

Me, Vilja and David posing in front of Tokyo Tower

The Thornes and Tokyo Tower

The lovely restaurant - we had our own private room!

Vilja arrives!

I went to the airport to pick up Vilja today and she is excited about all things Japan. In the arrivals hall she was filling me in on her adventures thus far which included cross cultural misunderstanding at customs, fishy breakfasts on the plane, reading glasses for loan and (of course) sophisticated Japanese toilets. It's brilliant having visitors as you remember how fun Japan is.

Weather

It is freezing and our visitors went off to Disneyland today to stand in queues and shiver. We packed them off with hats, scarves, coats and gloves, but I did worry about them. They seem to have survived OK and had lots of stories about one hour queues for popcorn and 3+ hour queues for a 5 minute ride. I'm not sure if they packed the right wardrobe for a severe Tokyo spring even Livi commented "egt over yourself mum, it's not Tenerife." Indeed.

Izakaya in Shinjuku

This is a new one for us - a restaurant with a touch screen ordering system. Brilliant.

Largest Hello Kitty in the world!

In Yoyogi Park, Livi asked "Are we going to the shrine now?" We all looked at her - did she really want to go to a shrine? Meiji Jingu was on our original plan, but time was moving on. The next but one item on the agenda was the Hello Kitty store in Shinjuku, so to Livi's delight, we skipped the shrine and took the train one stop to Shinjuku. We managed not to lose anyone in the busiest station on the planet and found Kitty with no difficulties.

The characters of Yoyogi Park

Sundays in Yoyogi Park and Harajuku never fail to amuse. Teenage girls dressed as anime characters on the bridge, rockabillies dancing in the park, people having picnics under the cherry blossom (and dancing to keep warm), dogs dressed up (we saw a whippet in a sheepskin coat), the Sunday hulahoop club and lovely blossom.

Cherry blossom shot in Yoyogi Park

Harajuku

Takeshita dori contains shops that every little girl loves. We told Livi that it was a crowded street lined with shops like "Claire's". Actually, there was even a branch of Claire's even bigger than the one in Bridgend. Imagine.

Venus Fort mall, Odaiba

Complete with fake sky.

Odaiba

Sunday morning in Odaiba. Livi has always wanted to go to New York....

Chopstick skills

Not the most successful technique that Livi tried....

Hachiko statue

Here's the statue of the faithful dog who went to the station to meet his owner everynight - even after he died. Now it's one of the most popular spots in Tokyo to meet on a Saturday night. From there we went across the famous Shibuya crossing (1500 people at once cross) and wandered around the streets a bit.

Trains

We took a lot of trains today. The journey from Asakusa to Shibuya was around 30 minutes and everyone fell asleep.

Asakusa

After tea we took the train on to Asakusa to see the old gate and Sensoji temple (below). We all bought something in the tourist trap shops along the way but that's part of the fun. I bought a bag of warm bean jam buns in the shape of the pagoda, but no one really liked them except for me. I love them.

Strange cafe in Akihabara

Over lunch (a deli under the tracks of the Yamonote line in Yurakucho), Matt said "Apart from the food, Tokyo isn't as weird as I thought it would be." We'd soon sort that out as next on the itinerary was Electric Town, Akihabara.

The streets of Akihabara are crowded mostly with boys and most them would be "otaku" (geeks). They are there either for the electronics shops or the shops that stock strange collector's items and models. A lot of people go there for the maid cafes. We've heard of these, but we have never had the nerve to go into one. We were't exactly sure what you'd be paying for with your coffee.... A maid in the street was advertising this cafe / animation studio and it looked quite innocent. Upstairs on the balcony, her colleagues (more cartoon-like maids) were waving at us. I asked the girl if it was OK to come in with Livi and she said it was. I did panic a bit when we got into the lift as it was covered with porn....we told Livi not to look and made David stand in front of the pictures. The cafe itself was just a regular cutesy cafe. Cartoons played on big TV screens and cartoon-like maids served customers. To our relief, it wasn't at all seedy. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside unfortunately. The drinks were served in what looked like kiddy's toy crockery, but were fine. The chocolate cake (according to Livi) was "minging" (this might not mean much as Livi reckons vegetables and coffee are also "minging").

Our maid made us join in on a song with her that went something like "more more cute" while making a heart shape with our hands. The cafe was full of adults just in case you think this was for Livi's benefit. Wierd enough for you Matt?

First stop: Maronouchi

After sorting out the Japan Rail Pass and reserving seats to Kyoto and Hiroshima, we took the Thornes to the palace area in Maronouchi to see where the Emperor lives. Tokyo's very mellow, they though. Not for long...the next stop was Akihabara...

Visitors from Wales

Hooray - my first visitors from Wales arrived yesterday! Matt, Mandy and Livi are armed with JR rail passes, comfy walking shoes and a sense of adventure and are ready to explore Japan. I missed most of their first day as I was in work, but David showed them the delights of Makuhari which included a trip to Saizaria (family restaurant), a games arcade and a 100 yen shop. Classic.

Last night we thought we'd take them to a local izakaya (pub), but everywhere was full. I'd forgotten how busy Friday nights just after pay day could be. Salary men cutting loose. We did go into a yakiniku (DIY BBQ) place, but we weren't that impressed with the menu....It's one of those places where it would have been better had they NOT translated the menu into English. Delights included "cow's third stomach", "uterus", "pig's foot" and "tripe"....Livi wasn't impressed (and to be fair, neither was I). We made our apologies and ran.

We went to the local steakhouse instead. Although the food was good there, the service was unbelievably bad. We've been there many times and had never experienced that before. We'll blame it on poor Shoji, a Kanda student majoring in Spanish. His English was great, but his serving skills left a lot to be desired. So many of our students work part time in the restaurants of Makuhari and this neighbourhood gets so many foreign visitors, I reckon we should teach courses in "English for waiters and waitresses." The course should include note-taking skills and provide tips such as, if there's a hungry 10 year old from Wales at the table, she should get her dinner first.

Tulip Fair

Spring is my favourite time of year in Japan as I really love the flowers. There's always a big deal about them too. A couple of pots of tulips in Maronouchi are given their own "fair". Tokyo-ites queued for hours to buy them. They were lovely, but I didn't feel the need to spend my weekend in a queue.

The line to buy tulips

Celebrity Maronouchi doggies

Me with Kazue