Hello from Japan

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Welcome to my brand new newsletter detailing my
adventures in Japan. Hopefully, this will be a
regular production, but as of yet, I can only access
the internet at the Board of Education. Hopefully
home access will come soon. Anyway...so where do I
start. I arrived in the Orient last Sunday although
the effects of the 13 hour flight and the 13 hour time
difference are still with me. I spent the first 3
days in Tokyo, a city I can only describe as massive,
claustrophic and absolutely incredible. It is New
York times a hundred, but quiet, clean and safe. At
night, parts of the city lit up in brilliant neon.
The Japanese government put us up in a 5 star hotel,
and we spent the days absorbing as many hints for
success here as time would allow.
Tokyo, however, is not Japan, not the real Japan
anyway. Tokyo is a city of McDonalds and KFC,
basically a Western development, having been rebuilt
after WW2. The real Japan is where I am now, in
Yamaguchi prefecture and Tamagawa city. Now I am in a
land of rice paddies and houses with thatched roofs,
overlooking the Sea of Japan and home to numerous
medium sized mountains that provide for a gorgeous
landscape. My town or inaka as countryside is called
in Japan has its very own grocery store and police
station, but much to my regret no movie theater,
karaoke bar or basically any other form of
entertainment. For that, I will have to go to Hagi or
Maseda, the nearest cities whose population reaches
the grand total of 50,000 souls. Tamagawa, with a
mere 4,000 live in complete tranquility.
As for the people, they are the friendly you can
possibly meet. If you make a request, they will go
out of their way to fulfill it. I have heard stories
of people who lost their wallets only to have them
returned with nothing missing whatsoever. The
Japanese are a people of honor and honesty, but it is
difficult to go beneath the surface. I have spoken
with many Japanese people, but with my Japanese still
at an intermediate level, it is a little difficult to
speak with them. I am sure, however, that I will make
friends but it will take quite a bit of time.
However, there is now no people is this entire town
who doesn't know that I am here. I was introduced at
the police station, the Board of Education, all the
schools, I was even introduced at the post office!
Unfortunately, there are few people here of my age
because most go to the big cities to attend university
and don't return.
I live in a house by myself, a pretty sizable one
by Japanese standards. The floors are covered with
tatami or Japanese straw carpets. I have modern
amenities: air conditioning, microwave, washing
machine. However, dryers and dish washers don't exist
here. I am glad to have that air conditioner because
Tamagawa is very very hot. I basically begin sweating
from when I wake up. It's always between 90 and 100
degrees with zero rain and 100% humidity. It is the
price I pay for living in Southern Japan. I am
closer, incidentally, to South Korea than I am to
Tokyo. That should give me a good opportunity to
explore some of Southeast Asia. That is if I can
figure out how to take the bus that comes four times a
day or the almost non-existent trains to get there.
The food here is really good. I am still working
on my chopstick eating ability, especially with
noodles which I have quite often. I went to a
restaurant which had a conveyor belt of sushi and you
took as much as you liked. I try to eat only the
kosher fish, but that is causing me to miss out on
some many Japanese delicacies such as live octopus and
eel. I have also distanced myself from the fermented
soybeans which is a specialty here.
Tonight is a big night for me. The town is
throwing me a welcome party. I don't think the
concept exists in the United States. It will be my
opportunity to really get to talk to people. But
before that informal stuff, I have to give a speech
about why I came here and what I hope to accomplish in
Japan. Right after that comes the mayor's speech.
What can I say? I am a celebrity here. Hopefully
this red carpet treatment will last a while.
I guess that is about it for now. I realize I
wrote quite a bit. I hope you all find it
interesting. Please let me know what you think, and
as I said before if you have questions, I would be
happy to answer them with a more personal response. I
hope all is well and I would love to know what is
going on in the good old U.S. of A. Signing off from
Yamaguchi, Japan.

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