Fire and Song

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The other day was the second and final festival of the season in Tamagawa. The spirits who had briefly returned to the land of the living were sent back on their way to their eternal resting place with good wishes and prayers that their journeys be pain-free. To celebrate the occasion, the townspeople gathered at the site of a temple and shrine to pray, to eat, and to witness fireworks. Fireworks, apparently, are a big part of Japanese celebrations. It had been 6 or 7 years since my town had last put on such a display, so I was fortunate to witness it. I suppose by the standards of the Fourth of July fireworks, it was quite small, but I thought it was impressive. The firecrackers were lit on a boat underneath a bridge over the Sea of Japan. The food was pretty typical for Japanese festivals: octopus on a stick, beef on a stick, squid on a stick; you get the idea. In Japan, generally walking and eating is taboo. However, there are two exceptions to this. One is ice cream cones and other is festival food.
Last night, I had a very typical Japanese experience. It is now becoming very popular in the west, but karaoke is the king of entertainment here, far more popular than movies and clubbing. Unlike the U.S., here you rent out a private room where you sing Japanese (or English) songs that are written on a screen until your heart’s content while imbibing any liquor that you please. I went with several people from the Board of Education, and since they were Japanese that was obviously the language of most of the songs. However, once in a while, I got to pick a song in English. Unfortunately, I was virtually singing alone, because their ability to read English is extremely limited. Finally I hit upon the idea of YMCA. Most of the song goes really fast, but they sang Y M C A really well. I think at least on this note, I fit in more with Japanese culture than American culture. Americans are quite willing to make a fool of themselves dancing, but singing is a different story. On the other hand, Japanese people are quite reluctant to dance, but like me they don’t mind sounding ridiculous!
Yesterday, I also had another interesting (and costly) culinary experience. We went to a yakiniku restaurant. As I mentioned once before, at such a restaurant there is a cavity in the center of the table, which acts like a stove for whatever meat and vegetables you throw in. The restaurant yesterday was apparently by reservation only. We were ushered to a table, which to my dismay was in a tatami room. Basically that meant that you had to sit Indian-style or kneeling, not my two favorite positions. I think my legs are not built the way Japanese people’s are because I will never be comfortable sitting like that. The meal consisted of beef, from 101 different parts of the cow! I know I tried tongue and shoulder, but I am sure there were some other parts I don’t want to know that I had. For the thousandth time, I had to explain all the foods that I won’t eat because of religious reasons. Every Japanese person I have ever met has asked me what I think of the weather and the food. I guess when you live in the middle of nowhere, there is not much else to talk about. The biggest shock of the meal came at the end. I gave the woman who was paying a 10,000-yen note worth about 80 dollars, expecting a ton of change. She gave me 5,000 yen back. The meal cost me $40! Granted it included soup, rice, beer, tea, beef, and dessert, but it was the most expensive meal that I have ever eaten! I am starting to see the proof that Japan is indeed the most expensive country in the world. Yesterday alone, bowling cost $15, the dinner $40 and karaoke another $15. It’s a good thing I’m paid pretty well because you can go broke here very easily.
As for the third part of my day, bowling, I’ll just mention it briefly. Disappointingly, it was quite similar to the American variety. I was hoping for something unique like the candlepin bowling in New England. Basically, the difference is in the amount of technology used. To get shoes, we put money in a machine and pressed a button corresponding to our size. At first, I was stumped because of course the sizes are in centimeters. I had no clue whatsoever what my size was in centimeters, so I tried on my friend shoes and determined that my size was 26.5. The computers used to keep score were attached to a video camera so every shot that we took was broadcast on TV. At the end, we each received a score sheet with our individual scores. For each game, the computer circled which pins we missed on each frame. By the way, I got my highest score ever, 163. My fellow bowling mates were very excited. Of course one of them got a 206, but he played in college so that was expected.
Of course, most days are not that much fun. Now I get to spend another week prepping students for a speech contest. I can’t wait until school starts, and I start taking some extended trips. The best is yet to come. Tune in same time next week to hear my latest tales. Until then, take care and may the zen be with you.

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