甘え、甘え

Amaeru (to depend on the kindness of others, or in a sense to be spoilt) is a concept I run across far too often. It often commingles with male privilege as well.

'Because I am Japanese, I am not good at learning languages'. Nope, sorry. Where there is a will there is a way. I know tons of non-native speakers who have excellent English skills. Have you ever heard 'oh, I'm Swedish so I am bad at languages'? Seriously, you should expect more of yourself.

'Hey, there is this networking group where Japanese salarymen chat with foreign women in English'
*sputters in disbelief*
'No Ms.Godzilla, it isn't weird at all'
Nope, sorry. I am not up to being exoticised, fetishized or viewed as some kind of cheap thrill. Frankly, as this discussion came up with a really good friend, I was left kind of sad by his placid acceptance of it, although after explaining it in reverse (a bunch of international guys all meeting up with exclusively Japanese women) he seemed to get my point.

Amai, amai.

'I want my husband to support me, so I don't have to work ever again.'
Whoa, majorly unfair. Why should he pay for everything while you lounge about and play tennis?

'I want to work in Japan, in a regular job, but I only know conversational Japanese. English should totally be enough.'
Wrong, so wrong. Some people, who usually have worked hard in a very specialized, useful field (aka science) can do so. If not, work your butt off.

Or my particular favorite from the last weeks: 'Comfort women were necessary, so that the soldiers could 'satify their urges'. Oh ho ho, Mayor Hashimoto, what an a** you are. Women were not put on this earth just to satisfy men's desire for sex. Also, how is rape ever an acceptable thing?

And yet other politicians, including female politicians, just say: 'Oh, well that is just his opinion'.

Mini Trip: Kamakura

Seeking to combine some sight-seeing with a bit of hiking, I found a short hiking course in Kamakura, starting at Kita Kamakura Station and ending up near the Daibutsu. We then extended the walk until the sea shore.

The trail starts right next to Jochiji temple, and winds right up into the hills. I thought it would most likely be a very tame hike, but was pleasantly surprised by lots of nice knotty rises and boulders to clamber on. If you want there are smaller trails branching off, that go to other parts of Kamakura as well. The air is wonderfully fragrant and fresh, a very nice change after a couple of weeks in the urbanity that is Tokyo.

Eventually you will get to Genjiyama Park, and Kuzuharaoka Shrine (which specializes in marraige/love, as you can see from the heart-shaped ema). Since this year I forgot to get an omikuji on New Years, I finally got my fortune for the year (5 months late...oh well).

 

There are lots of extremely friendly kitties around the park, and I found two in particular who were happy to let me pet them (always a plus). Heading out of the park we popped into Zeniarai Benzaiten, which is the famous temple where you wash your money in the sacred spring, in hopes that it will multiply. Needless to say, all our change is now spotlessly clean.

The last bit of the trail was a bit urban, as we passed through a tunnel and residential area to get to the Daibutsu. If you like looking at expensive houses it is a great chance to see some excellent examples of the 'faux-cottage' architecture much beloved by wealthy Japanese home owners.

The Daibutsu is serene as always, calm against the bright blue sky. The Kamakura Buddha is probably my favorite amongst the famous giant Buddha statues, as he seems particularly chill and friendly... although I guess that is the point.

On the way down to the beach we stopped at Hasedera, although the hydrangeas are not yet in bloom, to go into the Benzaiten cave, which is filled with tiny little figures of the goddess. We also found that they had vegetarian dumplings (like nikuman, without the meat) which were really delicious!

To round out the trail we walked past Hase Station (which is truly adorable, with its tiny little tracks and tiny little train), past a very distinctive pink and white torii and down to the sea shore. I can never resist wading in water, and this was no exception. A very nice way to reward my feet for their efforts.

I really recommend this trail, it is not very hard but you still get some nature time, without having to worry about not finding a train to get you home.

Hama Life

Most of my friends had 10 days off for Golden Week, but sadly that was not my case. I decided to use the 4 day weekend to get started on pre-training for a marathon ( like the training to be able to do the actual marathon training... very convoluted). Since the first week of doing 24 km is the toughest, being able to take naps in the middle of the day is very helpful.

However, one cannot live exclusively in running gear, so a few visits to Yokohama were a good excuse to get dressed in actual clothes and wander about.

I had an amazing gorgonzola and honey pizza at Lu's Cafe, while leafing through a book about interesting hikes and (of course) little restaurants hidden in the mountains. There seem to be a bunch in Nagano, another good excuse to visit the region.

Near the station I also came across a classy store called Papilloner, which has some really neat bags. One particular Furla-esque bag caught my eye, so now I finally have a summer purse. It can be worn 4 different ways, so awesome!

Since it is spring the ramen chain Kagetsu once again is purveying their green, 100% vegetarian Nana ramen. Great stuff, and the fact that a whole bowl is only 411 calories is just icing on the cake (bowl?).



Also, how adorable is the poster for the Yokohama Triathlon? Love it, very clever.

Up by Yamate, I finally got the chance to stop by one of the fancy cafes located in the old ijinkan. The Yokohama Jyubankan is a beautifully kept Showa building, with a menu to match ( they do not have cappuccinos, only cafe' au lait). The Baiser cake (chocolate and raspberry deliciousness) is also classically French, one of those perfectly balanced cakes. I totally recommend checking out the rose gardens nearby, for a very British feel.

Round out the weekend with a special Cinco de Mayo Sumo Hash run (including a piñata!), dinner with friends and a koto lesson, and all in all it has been a nice Golden Week.

Weekend Away: Guam

One week of rushing between Yokohama and Tokyo, organizing and supervising events for the institute I represent. I took the very last train home every night. However it was alright, as in my mind I visualized my goal: 4 days in sunny, warm Guam.

A friend was kind enough to share her free tickets with me, so we had an impromptu long weekend in the sun. Unlike last year, the weather was absolutely perfect, a segue of of bright blue skies, clear blue water and white sand.

Guam is kind of strange, a mishmash of American, Chamorro and East Asian influences. When we danced at The Beach, a bar on Gun Beach, it was interesting to hear the MCs speaking the local dialect.

We hung out on the beach of the Fiesta Resort (relatively convenient, not too overpriced) and ate our way through a ton of good food. Besides Proa (already mentioned in this post) and their astounding Taro Creme Brule' Cheesecake, this time we also tried Meskla Dos and their heart stopping sandwiches (double grilled cheese sandwich, with eggs, tomatoes and special tartar sauce, accompanied by cinnamon dusted sweet potato fries- oh my arteries). A little place called Dr.Kabob also furnished us with good falafel, lentil soup and cardamom tea.

I got up bright and early to try paddle boarding, which is immensely awesome and I would definitely like to do again. In the evenings we ran on the beach, and picked our way around the wilder edges of Tumon Bay. Ms.R had to endure my squeals of delight about every moment of Guam's gorgeous sunsets (yup, the subset obsession continues unabated). Hitting up the Ross allowed us to contribute to the economy a bit, and benefited my ever growing running and yoga wear collection

While it is very touristy, I still find it a very relaxing place to go, as the basics can all be reached by bus, and the plane ride is only 4 hours.

It seems that, with age, my ability to take an actual vacation (instead of fun but exhausting trips where I rush around, hitchhike, and wander about constantly) is increasing. Four days is probably the limit, but it is really nice to just chill and take in the beautiful vistas.

Hidden Tokyo: Eating

Like other people collect shoes, figurines or books, I collect restaurants. You have to admit, it is a space-friendly hobby, for a country where meterage is always in contention. A couple lines in a book, or online, and it is yours (until it closes, at least).

A couple of my latest acquisitions are a bit eccentric. A brief walk from Shirokanedai takes you to David's Deli, the oldest Jewish restaurant in Tokyo. The interior has not changed in decades, and the stairwell is graced by copies of Chagall's biblically inspired stained glass (as are some of the plates).

My quest this time was varnishkes, a dish of pasta and fried buckwheat. We also added falafel and hummus for good measure, with cups of nana tea. Lovely. There is also a tahini cake available, but that will have to be for a different time

Completely across town, in a tiny corner of Okusawa, is Onibus Coffee. A friend of Wave-chan's owns it, and is dead serious about coffee. He also did all the wood decor, and the staff are all super sweet, not to mention make a killer cappucino! But beware, don't come here looking for food, as the menu only extends to carefully chosen biscotti.

I am afraid the quick picture doesn't do it justice, but tucked away by the stream in Ebisu is a wonderful udon place called Yamacho. Not only is the decor totally wa-chic, but the menu is also quite interesting, and you can choose the thickness of your udon. I went for the soy milk broth udon, with tuba and umeboshi. You should also order a plate of their dashimaki tamago, which is outstanding.

Finally, a brief ode to ochazuke, in the unlikely locations of Akihabara (or Narita's departure hall). I adore this simple, comforting food, and Dashichazuke En is a simple, cheap option. This is a chain, but the quality level is very high, and I am a big fan of the pickled vegetable set.

Hmm

On my way to and from work I have been distracted by the televised ads for a certain English conversation school (which will remain nameless). There are a couple different versions, so it took a few views for it to finally hit me.

Basically, one of the ads shows a man going into a one-on-one eikaiwa session thinking: 'Me, alone with a foreigner?!'  (and yes, it is written out exactly like that)

Sincerely, I find it rather annoying, bordering on the offensive.

1- I hate the term gaijin/gaikokujin. It still smacks of that 'everyone over there, who isn't us'. As if other countries are all the same, lumped together by their non-Japaneseness. I can deal with oubeijin,as I know it is very difficult for non-EU/US citizens to distinguish between Western countries. Nonetheless, I never use those terms, usually saying 'non-Japanese' or indicating someone's nationality specifically.

2- What is with this 'omg, I will be alone with someone from another country! What will I do? Will he/she try to eat me?!' mentality. Others have written extensively (and far more eloquently) on the subject of (especially non-Asian) 'gaijin' not truly being viewed as actual people.
And this is the problem. Because most people would not say 'Me, alone with another person?!', unless said person was a recognized axe-murderer, known flasher or other dangerous critter.

No matter what my boss says on the subject, it is subtle discrimination, from what I can imagine very similar to that African Americans face in the US. The constant 'oh, your Japanese is so good' comments. They are fully acceptable if you are a student. Not if you work full time for a Japanese company, and still occasionally get the keigo wrong in your frequent e-mails. The questions like 'are foreigners ever shy?'. Who? Everyone outside of Japan? 10 people, 10 colours ya'll.

Okay, enough from me. I shall go have a cup of tea and stop being crabby.

Sakura Days: Mitsuike Koen and Kishine Koen

With all weather forecasts showing that it would rain over the weekend, I had resigned myself to only getting to see the (admittedly pretty) sakura on my walk to work.

 However the weather gods decided to show their favor, and we managed to have two dry, if chilly, days to enjoy the fluffiness to the max.

On Saturday a couple sharemates and I headed over to Kishine Koen for an evening hanami session. I have been trying to seek more local sights, instead of always running off to Tokyo, and this park is a great find. While there are not as many sakura as in other places, the trees they have are huge! Being rather minor, it was not crowded at all, and we got a nice bit of the wooden deck near the stream to ourselves. There is also an awesome slide, that we spent a good 15 minutes sliding down.

The following day was Mitsuike Koen's turn, a really large park with three small lakes and tons of trees. It is a bit troublesome to get to, as you have to catch the 104 bus from ShinYokohama station, but I think it was worth the trek.

 While there were lots of visitors, the sheer size of the park allows it to not feel crowded. There are plenty of places to lay out your blankets, without having to overhear the conversations of nearby groups.

 The afternoon slowly got colder, and poor Matcha-kun had shown up in a t-shirt. Fortunately I was wearing lots of layers, so lent him my oversized sweater and scarf... just to find that he looks better in it than I do! Very unfair ;p