Portrait of a Japanese Family

Two weeks ago, fate led me to meet a Japanese college student while I was at Round One Arcade. Since that time, we have been to Kyoto for sightseeing twice and have become very close friends.

On Friday, I was invited to his Grandparent's home for dinner. They prepared a wide selection of food for us - sushi, sashimi, chicken wings, potato salad, miso soup with pork, and beef. It was immense, and I regretted eating onigiri an hour before, as I couldn't finish all of the delicious food.

His grandparents were not quite what I was expecting. His grandmother reminded me a lot of my babysitter's mother from childhood - she looked rather Western in her clothing and appearance to me. She spoke a lot more than her husband did. No one here spoke English. I didn't get to see them much at first though, because they didn't eat dinner with us - they went upstairs while we ate. I was confused, and still am at the moment. I thought they were going to eat with us. There was certainly enough food!

This was taken very casually, with virtually no posing or pre-planning. What I love about this photo is the contrast between young and old - the grandparents are not smiling, and standing as they normally would. The two younger guys, though, are smiling and posing for the camera. I think it stems from olden days when cameras were less common, and even perhaps when you had to stand still for photos so they wouldn't blur.


As a parting gift, she gave me a Nagano guidebook (I'm headed there this weekend), and a box of sweets. I was so grateful. I will be sending them a return gift soon.


Tyler

Neighborhood Hirakata - 枚方市の近所

Today, I took my bike and started heading down nearby streets, in search of understanding my neighborhood.

My travels took my down a street, which quickly turned into a footpath after a block. While riding, I came across this rice field here:

This is a common sight in neighborhoods in Japan. Any spot of unused land is cultivated to grow a crop, usually rice. The shapes are sometimes irregular and match the terrain; you can find triangle shaped ones sometimes.

The homes in this area are very nice, especially when you comparea it to the area just south of my Seminar House. The people here must be very wealthy indeed to afford such large homes. Their family names are written in Kanji on a black placard by the front gate, as seen here:

Neighborhoods are well marked here, as well. Each new neighborhood has a sign posted nearby on a telephone pole. I saw two different neighborhoods on my way around, and they were only a few blocks large.

 

I will leave you with a panoramas of the immediate vicinity around my Seminar House. There's a beautiful park, and in this shot you can see the numerous cars waiting for the parking.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

 

Tyler

Early Impressions of Japan

I came to Japan during the Summer of 2008 for two weeks, on a program known as "Wings of Rotary." I was appointed "Student Leader" for the trip, as I had some Japanese knowledge already. I was going into my 3rd semester of college at that time.

That trip was my first real impression of Japan. It was golden, and I saw this beautiful country through rose-colored glasses. It was so beautiful.

My first impressions were of a few things: vending machines, transit, and of course, toilet seats.

In Narita airport, I noticed the numerous vending machines in the terminals. They serve a myriad of drinks, some hot and some cold. They are called jidouhanbaiki, or "automated selling machine." The kanji are fun too - 自動販売機. It's one of my favorite Japanese words.

My first was a small, indestructable can of grape-flavored drink with a popular Japanese cartoon character on it. To choose a can, just insert your coins and press the button below the drink of your choice. The blue labels indicate the drink is served cold; red labels are for hot drinks.

The transit system here is incredible, especially compared to Oklahoma and America. I learned how to purchase train tickets two weeks ago when I had to get to my hotel in Dotonbori. The machines look like this:

You figure out where you're going and then see how much it costs. Then you get a ticket worth that much money. You deposit the ticket into the check-in lanes usually nearby the machines. It takes your ticket in, punches it, and opens the gates for you to go through. The transit system is used by everyone - it's relatively inexpensive and pretty fast. I was amazed at how punctual all the trains are here - they don't waste time or become late for anything. Just incredible. I've used them many times now. Girls fall asleep on them - I was also amazed at that. If it's not crowded, the safety level is super high. You don't have to worry about anything. People commonly doze off on these trains.

The toilet seats are fast becoming one of my favorite things about Japan. At my seminar house, our toilets are electric and include a warmed seat, bidet, deodorizer, and a "rushing water" sound that provides some white noise if you want it. It has pressure and volume control too. Can you believe it? It's so neat. The toilets in Japan are almost always made of plastic.

That does it for my first post. Hope you enjoyed reading.


Tyler