6 in, 6 left

As of today, I am approximately halfway done with my post here in Niigata, Japan. I have learned a whole lot–too much for one post certainly–but I also hope to learn much more with my remaining time. It is this latter thought that has kept me from more frequent updates. With every new thing I learn in Japan, I discover two or three more that I did not even know existed previously. I would feel guilty presenting a view that is neither entertaining for its bewilderment nor informative for its expertise, so I have just been waiting.

That being said, this checkpoint felt like a good point to fill in some of the gaps for anyone who may be wondering what's going on with me and my life. Without further ado, here's a glorified highlight reel from 6 months in Japan.

In reverse chronological order:

Karaoke

In a sea of black-haired people, this blonde fellow with a bun felt like he was stealing my style

Karaoke is one of Japan's favorite pastimes. Although it has some popularity overseas, I haven't had much experience before coming here. Though I've had a wide range of experiences depending on the crowd, I can definitely recommend belting out a few dozen songs if you ever get the chance, the older the better. Depending on the location and price range, the Karaoke location could have features like bottomless drinks, food, light shows and more.

Also pictured is Katakana English, those symbols above the English writing intended to teach Japanese-speakers how to pronounce the lyrics phonetically...ish. Its inclusion is necessary and understandable, but this is the bane of any English teacher's existence in Japan. For example, this passage reads: Ai kudo bii yua wan ando onrii / Ai kudo meiku yuu unronrii ravu ravu. A lot to undo there. Anyway...

Music

From what I have seen so far, Japanese culture gets music right in most areas. All of my elementary schoolers carry around a recorder and a melodica and many learn other instruments outside of school. I recently went to a Jazz festival and the band pictured, the Niigata city junior orchestra, was made up of middle and elementary schoolers who can knock your socks off. Jazz improvisation is still a tall order for me after a decade of playing the guitar, yet it seemed natural to the 10-year-old on the sax. Mad props.

I say "mostly" in reference to any shopping experience you will have in Japan. For some reason unknown to me, any convenience store, shopping center, or grocery store seems to only have access to terrible midi versions of American songs popular before I was born. Often, there is just one song, about three minutes long, stuck on an infinite loop. That's one way to prevent loitering, I guess.

Mascots

Mascots are a big deal in Japan. Prefectures, cities, towns, companies, they are everywhere. Some of them are even worth billions of dollars, no joke. Some have theme parks, some have merchandise, some have theme songs, sometimes they feel inescapable... but they are very cute. Not to brag, but I have personally met the Bandai City mascot and Gudetama. 

Architecture

Seeing my own breath indoors (5˚C)

There have of course been books written about the intricacies of Japanese architecture and how the culture surrounding buildings here differs to the West. I am not going to talk about any of that; what I am here to do is complain about my cold apartment. For one reason or another, central heating is very rare and most buildings prefer to heat only the rooms being used. This means I come home from work each day to a room that is somehow even colder than the outside temperature. I have found myself too wimpy to cook on more than one occasion (too cheap to heat more than one room) and sometimes wear 3-4 layers indoors. Plus side: no need to have a fridge for a few months a year.

KFC for Christmas

It's true. Legend has it two foreigners were spotted eating at KFC one Christmas evening in the 80s, allegedly trying to emulate a turkey feast as best as the cultural gap would allow. Today, there are lines across the block at KFC and buckets upon buckets of fried chicken filling the grocery stores every year. It is considered by some to be an American tradition and many are surprised to learn Americans genuinely see no connection between the restaurant and the holiday. 

The bro came

Immediately before heading off to his first semester of university, my younger brother and I had a lighting fast tour across Japan. We spent a couple days in my home prefecture of Niigata, where we went to a Soba festival and ate some okonomiyaki. Then, we headed to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo to see some sights and hear some sounds. Not nearly enough time, but we still wandered into some pretty interesting locations, like not one but two Bathing Ape stores. I can genuinely say that was my first time being priced out of buying socks.

Hello Kitty land

Nothing I has convinced me more that the apocalypse is inevitable than this theme park. The characters are too powerful. Hello Kitty is a billionaire and her reach exceeds that of presidents and dignitaries across decades.

Old friends new places

Train ride in Osaka with Diandra and another JET from her area, Laura

Another trip that was far too short, but very exciting! This was the most symmetrical meetup of my life. For those who don't know, Diandra and I met in our very first college class: Japanese 101. Neither of us knew if we would ever come to Japan and here we are, 4 years and some change later. If you're reading, thanks again for hosting me :)

Autumn tints （紅葉）

One of my favorite Japanese words turned into one of my favorite Japanese events. Each fall, what seems like the entire Japanese countryside turns into a tourist attraction (mainly domestic). Although I do not have a great picture on hand, it is still easy to see why. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the cherry blossoms to arrive in the Spring.

Driving is weird

Yes, that's a rugby game on my car's TV. Why this is possible in a country so concerned with safety I am not sure. I tend to stay away from any distractions when driving, but I have explored a bit and it turns out I actually get more channels on my car's TV than the one in my apartment.

Driving is interesting in other ways here, but I actually do plan to elaborate with a separate post soon.

School lunch （給食）

Japanese-style curry: no heat and very sweet.

Because I work in elementary schools, I get to experience the delight that is kyuushoku or school lunch. This is a really interesting concept that I really admire, but I want to save an in-depth discussion for its own post as well. Basically, every class eats lunch together–including the same food. The students help prepare and set up the lunch every day and clean up afterwards. I am invited to a random classroom every day and get to talk to the students for a few minutes if I can understand what on earth they are trying to say with all that rice in their mouth. The food is always very tasty, healthy, and cheap as well!

Owari~

Bandi City Mascot. Told you

That's about it for now. As I gain confidence in my ability to tell the story right, I hope to share more about life in Japan. I have a lot to be thankful for and I look forward to everything I will learn in these next 6 months.