Australia Day 2008

On Saturday I decided to get into the spirit of things and tune in to the Triple J Hottest 100, and found that I didn't recognise most of the songs--including the winning song. ("Knights of Cydonia" by Muse--which isn't bad after a few listens.) That could only mean two things: I'd been living in Japan for a good part of 2007, and I'm getting old.

Well, 31 isn't exactly old, but then age is a relative thing. I realised this one of the last times I set foot inside a nightclub in Perth, and felt like I had stepped into a child care centre. So it was with some trepidation that I ventured into Osaka's Club Pure with young Emma and the other Perth JETs on Saturday night. You see, when I think of thirtysomething males in nightclubs I think of bearded and be-stubbled men wearing tight black jeans and those Chinese/Hawaiian-style shirts that were popular for about 5 minutes at the end of the 1990s (after which most died an honourable death in the local Vinnie bin before resurrecting themselves on the backs of Centrelink clients), dirty-dancing to Gwen Stefani with some pre-pubescent muffin-top. Honestly, boys, it's like watching someone do the "Lambada" with a fetus. And I don't want to be one of those guys!

Fortunately, I was able to overcome my neurosis long enough to have a really enjoyable night with my JET friends (the Daniels C and K, Goran, Aimee, Michelle, Susie and Amanda), as well as chat with (chat with, people, not chat up) some of the locals. There was a dodgy character haunting the dancefloor like the unmistakable odor of eructated garlic ramen--someone who doubtless would have felt right at home at The Shed or The Craic (for those of you with long memories) or Gobbles (for those of you with really long memories)--but the female clientele, gaijin and otherwise, were wise enough to give him a wide berth. The cocktails--watered down though they must have been at $25 for all-you-can-drink--were strong enough for me to lose my inhibitions regarding uncoordinated dancing and seriously off-key singing. Emma, as you know, needs no help in either of those departments, but she appreciated the chance to let her hair down all the same.

Michelle stayed at our place that night, and the next morning was telling me about the mukade (that's giant centipede to you) she encounters in her house from time to time. I showed her a site listing the 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World (language warning). The mukade doesn't make an appearance, but another insect commonly encountered in Japan does: the Japanese Giant Hornet. Watch as 30 of them massacre a hive of 30, 000 honeybees.

Christmas & New Year 2007

Do the Japanese celebrate Christmas? Yes and no. Christianity (kirisutokyou, "The teachings of Christ") is a minority religion here, observed by only 1% of the population, so there is little emphasis placed upon the religious aspects of Christmas. (We didn't see any nativity scenes, for instance). Here the emphasis is more on the non-religious iconography and traditions of Christmas--Christmas trees and gift-giving, for instance--as well as its commercialism. Christmas paraphernalia appears in Japanese shops almost as early it does in the West. And while Christmas cards are widely available, card-giving is more generally associated with New Year, which in Japan is far more important than Christmas--as any Westerner working here soon discovers. December 25th is not a public holiday in Japan (though December 24th is: it's the birthday of the current Emperor).

Emma and I both had to work on Christmas Day, and did our celebrating on Christmas Eve. It was the first time Emma got to open presents on Christmas Eve without protest from me! Here are the presents Emma gave me, including a drip coffee-maker:
And here's what I gave Emma (pillows not included):

Since many of our JET friends were either out of town or otherwise occupied over Christmas, we opted to celebrate on our own with a traditional Christmas dinner:KFC . . .

. . . followed by chocolate cake (cake is actually traditional Christmas fare in Japan).

The following Sunday, we went to a nabe feast at the apartment of a fellow JET, Goran, in Myodani. Nabe may be described as a broth, kept bubbling in a special ceramic or cast-iron pot over a small burner, to which may be continously added all sorts of meat and vegetables. Everyone sits around the pot, refilling their bowls and adding more ingredients to the broth as necessary, inculcating a feeling of "community" and sharing--which, since all present were travelling together to Hiroshima later in the week, was most likely the point. As you imagine, the more ingredients that are added, the tastier the broth becomes. This is one Japanese tradition I can see us bringing back to Australia (depending on the availability of portable burners back home).

Amanda, a fellow JET from Perth, with Emma at the nabe feast

We had a great time on New Year's Eve, which kicked off at an izakaya in Sannomiya--a kind of restaurant best described as "only in Japan." After paying a set price of around $30 a head, we sat around a long, low table, at either end of which was located a digital menu with a touchscreen. From this menu we were free to order--within a time limit of 90 minutes--as much finger-food and alcohol as we could stomach. It was, needless to say, a rowdy affair, and put most of us in the mood for karaoke afterwards. (Click on the image below for a slideshow)Most Japanese spend New Year's Eve quietly with their families, only to congregate around local shrines close to midnight to see in the new year. Emma and I were unfortunate to miss this spectacle, because we had to be up early the following day to rendezvous with others journeying to Hiroshima, and there were no trains running back to Tarumi after midnight.

Have a look at what they're whinging about back home!

In the Sydney beachside suburb of Newport, the locals are complaining about the noise of the summer cicadas, which they claim are louder and more irritating than in previous years:

"It's such a loud noise you hear it within in your head," said resident Brett Fulton. Merle Hurcombe said she was unable to hear the radio or the television even when she was sitting right in front of them.

But it's not just the sound that's irritating residents —they say going outdoors now comes with the added risk of being coated in cicada spray.

"It's pretty terrible. You can't walk down the driveway without getting cicada wee all over you. It feels like its raining everytime you walk outside," said local Sky Lund.

I don't think I'd ever even seen a cicada until I came to Japan, let alone heard one. And I can't say I've ever had the pleasure of being urinated on by one of these creatures. Fingers crossed: maybe next summer.

Things you don't expect to hear in Japan . . .

. . . a MIDI version of Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky," playing in the local supermarket.

And just last week, my ESS girls gave an impromptu rendition of the same song.

Japan's annus horribilis?

Nise, Japan's kanji of the year

When you're a tourist in a non-English-speaking country, there seems to be a lot happening right under your nose. Assassinations. Political scandals. Major earthquakes. Nuclear power plant leaks. Food scandals.

Read more here.

Ode to Okonomiyaki

Oh food in Japan it’s a wonderful thing,

It tastes so great, it makes me want to sing.

Okonomiyaki, means as you like it,

Always ready for adventure we thought we’d try a bit.

Our first taste was humble, bought from a conbini,

The shop was called Lawsons’, they are like Aussie delis.

However, despite this offering’s soggy microwaved texture,

We were caught by its delightful flavour: hook, line and sinker.

Taste buds whetted, intrepidly we searched,

Till we reached Osaka where a man sat perched . . .

Stentorianly crying, “Okomiyaki, come try ours first!”

Order we did, quick and with delight,

Our cabbage, bacon, egg and pork mixture cooked in our sight.

Satiated we sat at the street vendor’s stall,

Enjoying the ring of his booming call.

We’ve since recreated okonimiyaki’s magic,

And luckily our attempts have never been tragic.

Above is a picture of our favourite Japanese dish,

And a link to the recipe, to make for yourself if you wish.

Tokyo Disney Sea

(Preface: You'll find that if you double-click most of the photos in this post, you'll be taken to a slideshow)

Day one in Tokyo: Matt hearts beer

Tokyo Disney Sea is cool! All my reservations, that a visit to the Disney franchise as an adult would mar precious childhood memories of delightful days spent exploring the original theme park in Los Angeles with my brother and parents, were immediately dissipated upon our entry. Once inside, we met with a shiny blue and gold globe that was dancing on water, and from that point on we were dancing on wonderment and pure childish enjoyment.

Mediterranean Harbour & American Waterfront

The whole attraction is called Tokyo Disney Resort and is made up of two theme parks, Tokyo Disney Sea (for adults) and Tokyo Disney Land (for kids), which are connected by a monorail that sports very cute Mickey silloutte shaped windows. However, separate tickets are needed for entry into each park, and we only had one day to play with, so we opted for TDS as some of the other ALTs we went with had already been to TDL.

Mysterious Island

Mermaid Lagoon

Arabian Coast

While the place just screams rampant commercialism, and everything is shiny and perfectly painted, it was incredibly easy to forget any niggling bleeding-heart/critical-thinking instincts and get caught up in the spectacle and excitement. The best bits were the Indiana Jones ride (in the "Lost River Delta" section of the park--click the image to the left to see the slideshow--where we had to wait 100 minutes in line), Journey to the Centre of the Earth ride (luckily we got a fast pass to this one earlier in the day and it only a 10 min wait), Raging Spirits roller coaster with its 360 degree turn, the Little Mermaid live show (which involved puppetry and a lot of suspended rhythmic gymnastics) and Aladdin’s Magic Lamp Theatre. Thankfully this last show came with a DS Nintendo style translator to allow us to understand the story, as well as allowing us to sport some obviously couture 3D glasses which brought the genie's magic to multi-dimensional life, not to mention the automated seats that gave us a surprising kick up the butt.

As you can tell, we had a fantastic long weekend, and we really appreciate Shibata-sensei's help in organising the trip. Matt's last day could have been better: evidently something he ate at Mister Donuts on Sunday morning--probably the frankfurt-in-pastry thing the clerk neglected to heat up--strenuously disagreed with him. Fortunately he made it home still bearing the contents of his stomach, but he tells me that it was touch-and-go on the flight from Tokyo to Osaka, where he was seated next to an old man who possessed a very vocal digestive system and whose red wine and beer nuts were repeating on him at the most inopportune of times. Still, it wasn't all bad news . . .

Matt hearts the election result