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１７・０４・２００９
Upon arrival in Japan I spent my first couple of days in Tokyo, I was hoping with these couple of days that I would be able to give a Hulk Hogan styley leg drop to any jetlag that may have been existing within me. Well this never happened and my move was hit with a crude counter attack and jetlag was able to pin me for the best part of a week. I can't remember getting jetlagged on my last visit to Asia but this time it was all very prevalent. There is just something so very un-natural about wanting to go to bed at 4pm and needing to loosen your bowls at 3am.
My first hosts in Japan would be the Sakamoto's from Gunma Prefecture. Masaru-san has several smallholdings around his town and farms a multitude of crops, sweet potatoes, carrots, plums, eggplants, tomatoes, miso and of course a bit of rice for good measure. He has been in farming for about 15 years and is helped out by his wife Yasuko-san, together they have two children, Nanami (6) Takeru (4).
When I arrived at the Sakamotos there was no pissing about, Masaru pointed to a vast selection
of wood, handed me a chainsaw and told me to get on with it, obviously there was no time for jetlag right now, it would just have to wait. The whole scenario would have had RSPB healthy and safety inspectors in fits. No gloves, no helmet, no goggles, no boots and no trousers. Saying that I didn't of course opt to do it in the nip, but the clothing I did wear would have never have met the H&S regime of back home. It was a little daunting at first but I like to think that I'm a confident enough chainsaw abuser...I mean user. And after a short period you come to realizing just how much more easier and comfortable one is to operate without wearing all the cack that is forced upon you back in Blighty. A little care and attention is the key, fatigue however is not, alas I did make it through the afternoon without losing a limb.
The Sakamotos have their own mini onsen which is heated via a wood stove, at the end of the day I took a dip. It was like slipping inside the crater of Krakatoa, it just didn't feel very
safe at all, not to sure how the Japanese folk can spend so long in one as after about 2 minutes I was baked through and had to bail.
As soon as everyone was boiled we had dinner round what is called a Kotatsu, a small table in close proximity to the ground with a big heavy duty blanket covering the sides. When I put my legs under the table I was pleasantly surprised, it was warm, muggy even. About 4ft under the table is a little fire that brews and keeps your lower half toasty, genius!
At about 8:45pm my jetlag really started to kick in and I was forced to retire for the evening. Adjacent to the living room though a set of sliding wood and paper paneled doors known as shoji (The kind that people are always getting lobbed through in Kung Fu movies) was a futon set out upon the tatami floor. Of a night this would be my bedroom but at the dawn of each new day it was required that I role up and put away my futon so as the room can be treated as more than just a persons bedroom,
what however we shall just have to wait and see won't we!
In a few minutes if not seconds I was out like a light. It wasn't until around 2ish in the morning that I stirred again, and it became very apparent to me that I wasn't the only creature to be stirring in my night chamber. Adjoining my room via a gaping great gap was what could only be described as either a lada or a cellar. In there I could make out a number of miniature sets of feet pattering about and rumedging around. Every time I made a movement the noises ceased, I shone a torch in their general direction but wasn't able to catch sight of anything. After a while the noises died out and was overridden by the frogs croaking from outside which was much more preferable, it wasn't long again before I fell back to sleep. I was then however faced with the dilemma of 'DO I' or 'DONT I' I tell the Sakamotos that they have critters in their house, I didn't want them to think that I thought they were a pikey family or anything, especially not on my first night.
18/09/2009
The weather was relatively mild this morning as Masaru and I set about planting sweet potatoes and spring onions. Masaru has a basic grasp of the English language and I would learn that it seems to function much better for him in the mornings. Halfway through the morning we would be joined by the rest of Masaru's family and some of his friends from Tokyo who were visiting for the day. They helped us to plant the rest of the crop and by lunchtime we had just about finished, the weather by now had hotted up considerably but was still more than bearable. One thing worth noting is that at midday a little jingle is aired out across the countryside to signal the fact that it was now midday, there is also another at 6pm. I was quite amused when it aired, but I was the only one it would seem as everybody else went about their business and didn't so much as bat an eyelid, this was obviously the norm to them.
For lunch we returned to the Sakamotos house where Yasuko had cooked us up a feast. Yasuko is quite a confident English speaker
and more often than not relays Masaru's instructions back to me when he is struggling to find his English words. She has visited England in the past and informed me that she enjoyed the full English breakfast, she isn't alone.
It was interesting listening to the family talk over dinner, where I practiced quite a bit of Japanese before I came I was able to make myself understood in the language but when being spoken to in Japanese I have so far been really struggling with the listening part, it all seems to get catapulted about at about 1008mph, often makes me wonder if they know what they are talking about themselves. When they are talking amongst themselves though I am occasionally able to pinpoint certain words and sometimes get a general gist of what they might be talking about...sometimes. Yasuko will often speak to me slowly in Japanese which really helps and a lot of the time I can understand what she is saying if she keeps it simple, as if talking to a 3 year old. Masaru doesn't particularly do me any favors though in this department. Seems to me when he is talking he just wants
to get whatever it is in his mouth out as quick as possible as whatever is in there is refusing to pay rent and might as well just leave, and the sooner the better.
After lunch before heading out on to our next venture the children had found a dead rat in the yard, I was pleased to see that even Japanese kids prod dead animals with sticks should the opportunity arise, it's a multi-cultural trend that must never expire. Masaru then asked me to cut some wood up with the chainsaw, as I did so a following of about 12 people gathered round and watched me do so. I don't think they had ever seen an Englishman wield a chainsaw before and for a brief period I felt like a performer up upon the stage and I didn't like it one bit, I hate being watched. Luckily my limelight was cut short when Masaru shouted out 'Ikkimashou' (LET'S GO).
I asked Masaru where we were going and he said 'Onsen, please bring towel'. Oh cack! it was already time to get naked in front of a shit load of other dudes, just a few days in and
I was getting this one thrown at me, this was something that I would rather get eased into gradually, how I’m not sure, it just feels like that’s the way it should work. Going to a public onsen was something I have done in the past in Japan and once you get your head around the whole bunch of naked dudes all having a big un-gay bath together then it's actually alright. But one can never help but notice curious Japanese eyes, all determined to see what the white boy has got going on downstairs. They just can't seem to help themselves.
The plunge however was put on hold as en-route we stopped off in the middle of nowhere to have a go on a big gigantic slide, it was all a bit random but it just so happens that I like a bit of random so that made the event all the more worthwhile. Before going down the slide it had clearly labeled on it suitable for 5-12 year olds only, that was just a form of encouragement in my books and seeing Masaru father of 2 launch himself down the shute it only felt natural to follow
suit. The slide belt was made up of a series of roller pins and you use a mat to sit upon them in order to propel ones self down the slide. There was some serious speed to be had and I had caught up with 3 people clustered together midway down the slide, I had to grab the metal bars on the side of the slide, my only form of braking in order to prevent myself from committing manslaughter of the innocents before me. The slide was most definitely a dangerous tool in its own right and it took me another 5 go's to begin perfecting it. Sadly playtime was cut short as it was now time to go and have a big man bath.
Which as it happens wasn't too bad, I got the expected looks of curiosity, the once over you could say, but once they were satisfied I felt that they were keeping there wandering eyes to themselves. The onsen itself though was incredibly hot, Masaru said it's good for healing the body, but at that heat I'm not so sure, I felt like I was going to faint. I stayed in for just as long as
Beer Vending machine
Just out on the streets, can't see this being allowed back home somehow.everybody else who I was with just to prove to myself that I wasn't a wussy, but directly after getting out I had to hose myself down in freezing cold water which probably wasn't an incredibly sensible idea but I certainly felt a lot better for doing so.......so there!
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Ben Ricketts
non-member comment
Ack!
I read this while in Tesco.