Foreigners NOT WELCOMED in Minami Nagareyama! Non-Japanese are Stopped on the street, Questioned and Asked to Provide ID and Phone Number by Local Police
The KOBAN (police box) in front of the Minami Nagareyama Station
By Avi Landau
The policemen at the Minami-Nagareyama Koban ( police box) just outside the TX and Musashino-Line Stations do their best to give directions, help people get their lost objects found, and most importantly, enforce the law and maintain order and peace.
It seems that there is one officer in particular stationed there who is especially vigillant, or should I say zealous, in carrying out his duty of serving and protecting the public. This veteran of the force, is also very alert and extremely sharp.
I realize this about him, since despite the fact that I am no taller than the average citizen of this country and was wearing a cap over my clean-shaven head ( which means no brown hairs), he was able to notice, in the second or two that it took me to pass by his quaint, white-washed office, that my nose and eyes were slightly different from those of the rest of the people around me.
That was enough to alert him to danger and set him into immediate action.
He approached me as I was standing in front of the convenience store next to his koban. I was contemplating going in and getting something to drink, as soon as I had finished the piece of cheese bread ( my lunch) that I was munching on.
Assuming that I could not understand Japanese, he used the thumbs and forefingers of both hands ( despite the fact that he was holding a clipboard) to form a small rectangle (indicating an ID), and asked me to show him my Alien Registration Card, using the expression KA-DO misete kudasai ( Please show me your card).
I have to admit that I was caught a bit off-guard. Not only was this because I had never been confronted in this way before in Japan, but also because I was holding my cheese bread in one hand and my jacket in the other, while my mouth was full.
Nodding "SURE" with my head, and going into a fast-chew-quick swallow- mode, I flailed my arms in a flustered way trying to indicate that first I would have to get rid of my bread and put down my jacket.
He eyed me suspiciously, yet patiently and politely.
Fumbling for my wallet, swollen with unneeded receipts, myriad meishi ( name cards) and various membership cards, I shuffled through the lot trying to find my Alien Registration Card. I muttered an embarrassed yet polite chotto matte kudasai ( just a moment),while he responded with a sympathetic: "You`ve got alot of cards there".
With a feeling of relief I found what he wanted to see and handed it to him. And since I was confident that everything was in order, I thought that that would be it, after he had checked my status validity.
But that was NOT it.Instead of just handing me back my card, he started to write down my personal details on his clipboard.
Then he started questioning me. " What are you doing around here?" Where are you going?" "What do you do for a living?"
If you (dear readers) had been looking at me, you would surely would not failed to have seen my jaw drop and eyes open in disbelief.
I thought about saying something sarcastic or refusing to answer, but KNEW that the best thing to do was cooperate. I have heard that it was possible that things could get much worse if the officer felt I was ressisting.
I told him why I was there. I had to be at Minami Koshigaya Station at 2, and the only way to get there using the TX Line would be to change trains at Minami Nagareyama. And since it was lunch time and I was early, I thought I could have a look around the neighborhood, one which I had never visited before. I also told him that I was going to Koshigaya to record the narration for a DVD detailing a new neurosurgical technique, using a text which I had translated.
I took the original Japanese manuscript for this text out of my bag and showed it to him. He seemed very impressed with my Japanese ability, but that did not stop him from questioning me further, and writing down everything I said.
To top it all off, he asked me if I had a cell-phone. When I told him I did, he asked me to give him my number!
My eyes nearly popped out of my head in disbelief! Still, I complied. When I finished giving him my number, though,I told him that he could check the number I gave him, by calling me from his cell phone, which to my amazement he did! So now I have his number,too!
When he was finished with his questions and seemed to be satisfied that I would not be a danger to the public ( at least for that moment), he told me that he thought all the foreigners had gone back home after the earthquake and nuclear accident ( so I guess he was disappointed to find one still in Japan). He also said that there were many bad foreigners in Japan ( but I thought he had said that all the foreigners were gone!), and that I should cooperate with the police.
When I asked him if all foreigners are checked and questioned at Minami Nagareyama, he proudly responded- when Im on duty, they are!
Read more about what you should do ( cooperate!) if you are stopped for no reason by the Japanese police here:
http://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#checkpoint
And no. I will not be going back to Minami Nagaryama very soon.
Print This Post
HIGH PROFILE Tsukuba Landmark To Be Dismantled !
Tsukuba`s Meteorological Observation Tower Will Disappear in June
When not exactly sure of where we are in Tsukuba, locals and long time residents, always look for Mt Tsukuba`s familiar, semi-crushed M shape. When we spot it, we immediately gain our bearings.
When it is too cloudy, or hazy ( as it often is in summer) to spot the familiar mountain, there is another landmark, which Tsukubans have turned to, to find their way- the 213 meter tall steel tower which since 1975 has been standing within the spacious precincts of the National Meteorological Research Institute.
With its blinking beacons, it is especially visible at night, and when returning to Tsukuba from other parts, whether by car or by bus, its flashing lights are always like a warm and reassuring WELCOME HOME.
The Meteorological Measurement Tower
You can imagine how dismayed I was then, to find out, that this highest of all structures in Tsukuba, has been deemed to have outlived its usefulness, and judged too costly to maintain. In other words, it has been condemned, and will be dismantled by the end of June.
I once had the good fortune to have been invited, by a researcher affiliated with the institute, to go up to the top of orange and white tower. I was amazed by how much time the small elevator ( capacity-3) took to get to the top- about 20 minutes! A veritable snail`s pace!
The view from the top was worth the long ride and the frosty temperatures, though, with Mt Tsukuba, Lake Kasumigaura and Mt Fuji all visible.
There is also a ladder which can be climbed to the top- not for the acrophobic! I have heard that this route up has been illicitly used by various late night-thrill seekers, including students from a nearby ( and quite famous) private school.
The tower through the trees
The tower was used to take collect all sorts of meteorological data, which can now be gathered by other means, using newer technologies.
I think I speak for all of those who have grown familiar with, and fond of this tower, when I say I will be sad to see it gone ( though when it IS gone, on very windy days I will no longer have to keep a nervous eye on it as I pass within its falling range!)
Some of the small woods near the tower
I`m also concerned about what will happen to the area around it after it is dismantled. It is now a sort of unofficial nature preserve, with plenty of trees and open meadows to provide a haven for birds and small mammals.Unfortunately, most of this will in all probability quickly disappear.
Deconstruction work has already begun, so if you`d like to take some memorial photos or call out a final farewell, you`d better hurry up.
Alas !What will will we look to now when lost on foggy days or by the dark of night?
Here is what Ive written about Tsukuba`s notorious non-working windmills, and what happened to them:
Print This Post
In Japan, August is a month of REMEMBERANCE
Keiji Nakazawa`s HADASHI NO GEN (Barefoot Gen)
It is in August , when Japan is most ALIVE ,with the droning of cicadas, the wild expansion of vegetation, and with the air itself seemingly PULSATING with LIFE, that the Japanese have traditionally remembered The Dead. In this month, not only is there the O-Bon Festival, in which over the centuries the spirits of departed relatives have been welcomed back to their homes and families for a few days, but there are also the 3 major memorial events related to the Second World War- the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ( August 6th and 9th respectively) and the anniversary marking the end of the war itself, which is on the 15th.
Though more than half a century has passed, and with each passing year they become fewer in number, there are still those who vividly remember, and I guess you could say LIVE EVERYDAY with the memories of wartime events. Some such people also live in or around Tsukuba. Im not sure why, maybe because I am a foreigner ( an outsider), but over the years several older Japanese have confided their stories of that time to me. Since today is the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki , Chizuko-San`s story comes to mind.
Still elegant , youthful and very active in her late seventies, Chizuko, has lived all over Japan, having moved around the country in her childhood, because of her fathers job as a government official. In 1945, her family was living in Hiroshima, but because of the danger of staying in ANY Japanese city at that time posed by the American bombing campaign, she took refuge at a relatives house, far off in the country, along with her mother and siblings, while her father remained in the doomed city.
On the morning of August 6th, her father was near the center of Hiroshima. Somehow , maybe by having been shielded from the explosion, heat and radiation by a protective wall of some sort, he survived, and made his why though the INDESCRIBABLE HORROR created by the atomic detonation and its aftermath. In dazed grief and desperation, he set out to reunite himself with his family. Describing how he got to them would require a MUCH longer posting, but anyway, to make a long story short, he DID make it to his family, where they were of couse overjoyed and relieved to see him. He had the same feeling about finding THEM alive and well. That is because they had been staying with country cousins who lived- maybe you`ve already guessed it - just outside NAGASAKI !
Exactly what Chizuko`s father lived through is impossible for us to imagine, and many of those who went through that the same experience found it difficult (and painful) to describe. One of the works that I would recommend which attempts to depict the undepictable horror of The Bomb and war in general is the comic book series entitiled HADASHI NO GEN (Barefoot Gen), by Keiji Nakazawa. If you imagine that a comic book format would belittle this solemn subject, you are mistaken. Rather than millionnaire actors in make-up, or a multitude of skillfulfully chosen black words on a white page, Nakazawa`s combination of simple text and drawings might be the most perfect attempt ever at portraying the UNIMAGINABLE.
Since it is one of the GREAT ANTI-WAR and MILITARISM works that I am aware of, I recommend reading the whole series, preferably in Japanese. There are also translations ,however, including some portions available for free online. See here-
I have written before about the O-Bon Festival. Reread those posts here
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/theyre-coming-home/
and
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/bon-jour/
And for those interested in Japanese history and culture have a look at my article on visiting Yasukuni Shrine on Aug 15. I will be going again this year, so if anyone would like to join me, let me know.
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/
Print This Post
Little Cakes From Akita Prefecture`s Kakunodate Pack a Tasty Surprise- If You dont Know They are Called KINKAN MANJU ( 金柑まんじゅう)
Kinkan Manju from Kakunodate ( 2010)
I have to admit that Ive been a bit down in the dumps these past few weeks. Its been the weather. I was so looking forward to springs warm embrace, and to being able to walk around my house without having a winter jacket on ( in Japan most houses do not have central heating). But things just have not worked out as expected. We seem to have been given the COLD SHOULDER this year, and Im STILL ( on April 18th) refilling the little fuel tanks on my kerosene heaters, muttering expletives to myself as I do so.
So, while DEPRESSION in Japan most commonly sets in in the month of May, as people have trouble adjusting to new work and study situations which have begun in spring, with this syndrome being known as GO-GATSU- BYO ( 五月病), May Sickness, it seems that I have come down with a hard case of what I will call SHIGATSU BYO- April Depression. I hope it will melt away as the air warms up.
Even while the weather has been chilled, there have been encounters which have ( briefly) lifted my spirits. One such experience was the result of a meeting with my friend Kaori Kakuta, who had just returned from a trip to Kakonodate ( 角館) in Akita Prefecture, a town famous for its cherry blossoms ( still too early) and its district of old samurai houses.
As is the custom, Kao-San came bearing OMIYAGE ( お土産) to share with friends. These are gifts, usually foods, which ideally should be representative of a place ( either visited or one`s hometown). Each city and tourist attraction has its own such products with some of them having become iconic representations of their places of origin ( for example, nearly all Japanese people would understand, when recieving dove shaped cookies, that the giver has been to Kamakura).
Kaori had brought what looked like typical Japanese cakes called MANJU, which are dumplings made of wheat flour, usually filled with sweets beans. Not having heard their name, which would have prepared me for what was inside, I casually bit into mine.
Kinkan Manju sliced down the middle revealing its inner contents...
Expecting the usual bean filling, my tastebuds were jolted with the suprising sweet and sour sensations they encountered. I held the cakes up for a look at what exactly it was there inside........ a stewed KINKAN, in other words- kumquats, which are like tiny, bite-sized oranges.
I excitedly asked what these cakes were called, and found out that their creator had simply named them KINKAN MANJU ( kumquat dumplings). I said that it would probably be better to give them a name which would hide the identitiy of their contents because the surprise it provides to unknowing biters is surely one of its strong points.
In any case, these snacks are a great idea and right away I went for another one. i even asked if I could take one more for the road, and was kindly obliged.
...a kumquat!
Just what connection there is between kumquats and Kakundate ( if any), I do not know, but if anyone does head up there, as well you should, for either the cherry blossoms or its historical architecture and crafts, please bring back some KINKAN MANJU for me!
It might also be possible to order them buy phone, mail or email. Here is there contact info:
014-0325
仙北郡角館町東勝楽丁１２－２
tel 018７-５３－２３１０
fax018７-５３-２３１０
The name of the shop is GOTO FUKUSHIN DO ( 後藤福進堂), and it seems that they sell kinkan manju for 100 yen a piece.
For more info on Kakunodate:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3601.html
Remember, you still what time to catch the cherry blossoms up there.
Print This Post
Tsukuba`s Unusual Mid-April Groundscapes of 2010
For the Japanese, falling and fallen cherry blossom petals have always inspired a sense of regret ( OSHIMU, 惜しむ), a sadness brought on by the fact, that all things must pass ( and ever so quickly).
I, too, experience the same melancholy as the petals come raining down on me with each breeze or gust, beginning just a day or two after the glory ( and power) of the sakura`s full blooming.
Walking around for the next few days can offer a mesmerizingly, even dizzyingly beautiful experience, if you keep your head down observing the myriad of changing patterns which the fallen petals form.
My favorite fallen petal scenes are those that I find in the tracks of wild animals or tires or any other spaces in which the delicate petals are safe from being blown away by the wind.
Shakuyaku ( peonies) in the snow- by Harumi Takaya
More snow in the fields
This year, however, has given us some rare groundscapes indeed, as winter which never wants to give up its grip, has been able to successfully cling on to dear life right through mid-April. In fact, when I got up this morning, April 17th, groggy from sleep and grumpy because it was still VERY COLD in my house, I nealry PLOTZED when I looked out the window and saw an almost completely white landscape! It was the first time in over 40 years for such a late late snowfall.
Nanohana ( rape blossoms) in the snow
I thought that I should get outside and take a closer look, but as soon as I did, the sleet that was falling picked up in intensity and I head back for the shelter of my TATAMI ROOM which was starting to get heated up ( luckilly I still had some kerosene left over for my heater).
Mid-April snow in Harumi Takaya`s garden
A carpet of cherry blossom petals
Pheasant ( kiji) tracks filled with cherry blossom petals in Konda, Tsukuba
Fallen petals by the Sakura City Office, Tsukuba
In the afternoon, when the sky cleared up, I headed out on foot, towards the university. On the way I passed more groundscapes, these, particular to the season. The farmers, have recently been getting the fields ready for the rice plantation by plowing the soil. This is called TA OKOSHI. Traditionally this was done in the coldest part of winter, the idea being to expose harmful warm to the frosty cold and thus killing them.
These days, the farmers wait until early spring to get things started, and instead of relying on the cold, use chemicals to kill the pests. HMMM.
Tractor tracks in a Tsukuba rice field ( April 2010)
The cherry blossom petals will be on the ground for a few more days. In fact, because of the cold, there are still many blossoms on the trees! That means you still have time to enjoy HANA FUBUKI ( petal blizzards) and HANA IKADA ( petals floating in the water) and the dazzling patterns on the ground in general.
Enjoy
Dodan tsutsuji in the snow ( Harumi Takaya)
[/caption]
Print This Post