The Mysterious Drumming Noise

Anyone who has Skyped with me knows that right behind where I live is a densely wooded area through which the trains run. This makes for lovely and safe scenery for the train, and lots of bird calls, songs, and noises for me. Now that the warmer weather is coming, I've been leaving on of the smaller windows open so that my room gets fresh air, but not so many train sounds (especially when I'm sleeping). 

However, there has been a new auditory treat recently. For a few days straight, during the late afternoon while I was making dinner or checking emails, I heard a drumming song. They were simple rhythyms played over and over again. Not annoying, all very happy, to be sure, but they were very consistant. Sometimes there were low "booms" and other times it was only high "tap tap tappitty taps". The first two days, I was far too tired from bad sleep at night to go venture out, but my mind wandered. It could be a group of taiko and kodaiko (traditional Japanese drums and little drums) practicing for the Ise Shrimp festival in two weeks. Maybe they are a local group who does performances and would let me join. They (whoever they were) sounded very close and could be practicing on a regular schedule. I decided that the next day, if I still heard them, I would find out who was playing the music.

Sure enough, on the third day I heard the "tappitty tap boom tap tap". I facebooked: This marks the third day of the mysterious taiko music. I shall now go on a quest for the source. This was more to keep a definite time marker than a status update. I had guessed that they were practicing in the park, but that could have been completely wrong. Anyone exposed to any drum knows that they are loud and can be heard several blocks away. For all I knew, they were practicing inside a building and the sound was just escaping through the windows. In case my first guess was wrong, I was curious how long my quest would last. 

Luckily, not that long.

The source was a Japanese construction worker in the park playing his djembe! The instrument can make three distinct sounds, which is why I thought it was a group of kodaiko before. When I walked under the shrubbery tunnel, I could see him practicing at the picnic table. He and I had a lovely chat about his interest in music, how long he's been playing, and how similar his djembe is to my father's derbake. He doesn't have a group, he doesn't have concerts; he just plays for the love of music. I'd like to bring my friends around sometime to meet him, too. Bridgette especially would like his playing, I think. But for now, I can just enjoy listening to drum music from my apartment while the weather is nice.

Spain Village from Afar

I have mentioned this to a few people, so I may as well bring everyone up to speed.

My area isn't known for very much. Sure Mie prefecture may have some special spots, importnat people, and interesting culture, but little Shima is a bit more humble. We have aosa (see Shima Mascots post), ama (ocean women - a topic for another time), lots of beaches, lovely scenery, and we are also at the end of the train line. So what is our major claim to fame? What put us on the map???

~Spain Village~

That is right, Spain Village! Where you can find all the magic of Spain without leaving Japan. Where Don Quixote (now transformed into an animal mascot along with other characters from Miguel de Cervantes' novel) takes you on a tour of flamenco dancers and roller coasters. People from nearby prefectures only know and come to Shima in order to visit Spain Village. There are special buses from our main station just for Spain Village visitors. People can enjoy the theme park, restaurants  the spa, and the main hotel.

Why Spain? Well, I'm not entirely sure myself. Maybe because Spain is so foreign and interesting to the Japanese. Maybe because Japan did so much trading with the Spanish, Dutch, and Portugese in its history. Maybe because Spain is so colorful and cultural. Or Maybe because one of Shima's sister cities is Valencia, Spain. Maybe they caught a deal. Who knows? It is here now, though, and open (what seems to be) all year round.

I plan on going there myself, and giving a fuller report, but I was advised to wait until a little later in the summer when ticket prices go down. Until then, I am content in just seeing all of the advertisements around town and periodically running into and or being mistaken for the Spanish performers who live and work there. Lovely people, and they are all in great shape, but I haven't quite plucked up the courage to go talk with them yet. I don't want to just walk up to them in the freezer section like a creeper, "Excuse me, are you Spanish? You look Spanish. Want to be friends? Heheheheh." So, for now, I'll wait.

Don Quixote (dog character head on left) and Dores (cat character head on right)
greet arrivals Shima's Ugata train station with the words
"Welcome to Shima Spain Village!"

They actually have a very good English website, which you can easily find here. The Japanese version, for those bold enough to try it, can be found here.

給食 School Lunch - Chopsticks and Mystery Meat

Something that I was actually really looking forward to in Japan was the school lunch. For just $45 a month, you can have school lunch everyday. All the students in elementary school and middle school are required to eat school lunch. Once you enter high school or if you have a very particular allergy, you bring a lunch from home, but before that, teachers and students all eat the same thing. It is actually a very important system. Here are some pictures of my school lunches. The ones with green backgrounds and pink trays were at my fastest school and the ones with gray backgrounds and green trays were at my smallest school.

Starting in elementary school, Japanese students are expected to take a larger part of the school day responsibilities. This works well on several levels. On the first, it reminds the students that they aren't babies anymore. They aren't at day care anymore and need to start taking care of themselves, each others, and their own belongings. Students begin to take part in cleaning the school, announcing the transitions between classes, leading the summary speeches before and after school, and in paring out the school lunches for their classmates.

The food is all prepared on an off campus location and then distributed to the local schools in large containers with one set of containers for each grade and class. For example  the third years may be split into A and B class, so 3A and 3B each have their own containers. Why is that? Because there is no cafeteria; each class eats in their classroom. Everyday, a group of students is chosen to serve the lunch to everyone else. They gather the materials, set up a lunch line, and dish out the foods from the containers into plates as the other students file through and take the food onto their trays.

This teaches that to give out fair portions, how to be safe and clean around food (face masks, aprons, washing your hands, and keeping utensils sanitary), to wait your turn, and to be part of a team. The students then wait until everyone is seated before giving a chorus call of「いっただきます」or a sort of "We humbly receive this (food)." Only after all of that are any extra milks, pieces of bread, or seconds of anything else distributed. 

Who gets these extras? Whoever wants them raises their hands and the remainder is evenly divided amongst them. But in the case of milk or bread or something that is only available in one unit, they settle the matter in the most fair manner possible. Leave it up to fate: rock, paper, scissors. Winner takes the bounty. Easily solved.

The school lunches are well balanced, but contrary to stereotype, there is not always rice. if there is bread or another carbohydrate, the rice is not used. The school milk is sometimes also replaced by coffee milk, for which the students have a field day! They love coffee milk, or at least the idea of something new and different. To make their little days, I always give mine away and let another rock, paper, scissors winner have the prize. Sometimes there is even a dessert item; a cold jelly or mochi wrapped in leaves celebrates a special day or season.

With all of this delicious-ness, though, comes a cost. A cost that Shima-city doesn't think that we can afford any longer. Currently there are multiple school lunch centers that make and distribute the food to the schools. Depending on where I am teaching, I will be on a different meal schedule because the meal centers can make whatever they want whenever they want. The city has decided that instead of operating all of these small centers, a larger "central center" in Ugata would be better. That way every single student in the whole of Shima city will be eating the same thing.

What does this mean for me? I'm not entirely sure. It may mean that there will be less flavor, it may mean that the food is cold by the time lunch comes, it may mean that there is less variety, it may mean less fresh fruits and veggies, but we won't find out until September when all of the other centers will shut down. I do know that the current centers' part time workers will be let go and only the full time employees will be kept to work at the Ugata center. Besides that, it is only a shot in the dark.

Until then, I have all summer to enjoy the delicious school lunches and try to get the students to talk to me during that time. Usually I can get by with "Is this fish? What sport do you like?" and so on, but I'm torn between keeping up the conversation and eating up my lunch. Oh tasty food, why do you taunt me so?



p.s. If you can't tell what kind of meat it is, don't fret or worry - it is probably just tofu ;)

Shima City Mascots

My mother sometimes shakes her head when she sees the animal, anime, and superhero characters Japan has come up with. She does like some of them, but there rest are too bizarre, too unreal, or too "freaky" for her taste. Many of my friends have expressed a similar feeling. But the Japanese love their mascots and characters so much, that they have grown into necessity for almost every group and organization. Not only are they made for the sake of storytelling, but for marketing, team building, holidays, locations, and events.

I may go on a rant about mascots and characters in general pop-culture another day, but for now, let us focus on my dear, little town of Shima.

On the first day here, I kept my eyes peeled for signs of the Shima mascot. I didn't know what it would look like at all, but I knew that they would have one. It would be on fliers and displayed around the train station, I thought. Sure enough there was a poster covered with mascots of Mie. And next to Shima's name was...

An alien?

A green glove?

A germ?

I wasn't quite sure what he was. The poster said that his name was "Aosa~", but what was that? Maybe I had made an mistake. Sure that whats-its wasn't our mascot. So I asked the ladies in charge of us. But they weren't sure who the mascot even was. We had to stop off at the city office building anyway, so we went upstairs to ask for Shima information and ask the workers there. Luckily enough, the mayor walked by and filled us in. The ladies became all flustered when they saw him, but I wasn't sure who he was until he left and they told me. Thanks for the help, Mr. Mayor!

As it turns out the alien-green-glove-germ is actually our city's mascot! His name is Aosa because he is aosa: a type of seaweed that is grown specifically in this region. The people here love aosa and are so proud of it that they use it in a lot of things: soups and ramen to cookies and other snacks. The funny marks on his head are Shima (しま) the city's name artfully written. He is wide-eyed and smiling warmly at all his friends and anyone who visits us. What do you think of him? I have a feeling my mother would not approve entirely, but I've warmed up to him this past month and a half.

Besides our city mascot, we also have a symbol. An S for Shima! It marks our city flag: Just replace the red circle in the Japanese national flag with this green S and you've got it. Different items dedicated to Shima may also be decorated with this S or made in its shape. It almost looks like a super S, right?

Actually, I'm so glad that you mentioned that comparison! That brings us to the next group of characters in this fine city: The Shima Rangers!!

This group of super heroes (the colorful costume people) are actually residents of Shima who help save the day, represent the good in the city, and fight the bad guys (the black characters). The Yellow Ranger is actually my IC! She is taking a break from crime fighting for a while to take care of her baby, but he husband still serves as the Blue Ranger, protecting Shima from mayhem with the Red, Green, Pink, and new Yellow Rangers. In these photos, they are at the Aeon Mall for an event and are working alongside the "bad guys" (who seem to be doing good for once) passing out balloons to the children.

The Rangers also give live performances! Maybe I can join in their fight against evil one day. Or, I could just sit in the audience like everyone, too, I guess. Of course, I'll let you know if I ever can attend a Ranger show. If you are interested in photos of the first appearance of the Shima Rangers or the fight photos just click on the hyperlinks.

Not quite as impressive, our little unit of interac language teachers has also created a superhero team: The Shima Super Sentai (Squad)! I am the Green member, Jennifer is the Pink one, Travis is Black, Bridgette is Blue, and our ICs and friends round out the group and color spectrum. Instead of fighters, we are just a team. For now ;)

(Photo of the rangers at Aeon Mall came from: http://blog.canpan.info/shima0nsc/archive/371)

Shima Apartment

The view outside my balcony. I live in the last room, and behind us is forest and train tracks. Lots of space!

So many people are curious about my living conditions. The typical thought is that Japanese houses are so small and that we live on top of each other. That might be true in the bigger cities, but I'm out in the country! Lots of space and elbow room! Let me show you around my new apartment.

How my room started. 
Too-short curtains, my futon and the
box my futon came in as a little table.

I guess it is good that I choose the Big Bang Roommate Agreement as my template, but I didn't think I'd need it this soon! The 3 girl roommate situation that we were so scared about earlier has been lessened to just Jennifer and I rooming together. We have to share an apartment, but we have separate rooms, so no worries there. Jennifer has the western room and I have the traditional Japanese style. When we first moved in, I gravitated to the tatami (woven straw) mats in the Japanese room which, to Jennifer's dismay, made the whole apartment smell of straw. I loved it! It reminded me of the smell of dojo in the summer time, but the smell has all but gone away now that the mats aren't as fresh. The rooms are both the same size (six tatami mats in area), but as the Japanese styled one, mine has sliding doors for the closet and entrance, Japanese style closets (no hanger bar, just large shelves) and the actual tatami mats, while hers has western style doors, a small western closet, and wood floors. 


Jennifer was planning on getting a bed from the beginning, so the wood floors are better for her, but since I like the futon, I stuck with the tatami, which wouldn't be such a pain to sleep on. She has since been kind enough to give me her futon mattress  so I am extra comfy and can store them in my closet during the day for added space or turn them into a sofa. Like so:

Keep in mind that the Japanese futon is not the same as an American one. For one, they don't say "FUH-ton" like we do, but "fuTON". Second, most Americans think of a metal frame with a fluffy mattress that college students use as a futon. But In Japan, it is just the mattress and puffy blanket. The mattress and blanket are used at night, beat outside on the railing in the morning and left a bit to air, then put into the closet or folded in a corner during the day. Pretty economic space-wise. 

I recently bought covers for my mattress and blanket, too, so now I'm all set! I still use a cotton pillow, in case you are wondering. Some people here (especially at traditional style hotels) prefer the corn/seed/millet, but my futon set came with a cotton one, so that is what I'm sticking with for now.

Kitchen fun! The other appliances are just out of shot, but
look! A home phone! Remember those?

What we do share is a shower/bath room, but that is disjoined from the toilet and both are disjoined from the sink. So I could be taking a bath, she could be brushing her teeth, and her boyfriend (for example) could be using the toilet all at the same time. A rather nifty set up. "So after you use the toilet  you have to go somewhere else to use the sink?" you may be thinking. Not true! On the back of the toilet is a small sink. This is actually the freshwater coming into fill the bowl and the tank, but it is used to wash your hands. Weird? Maybe a little bit, but we are trying to save space and water. 

Storm doors. I love these. They fit across the
entire door/window and slide into this holding
area when you don't need them. Very good for
typhoon season!

We have a small common room where the cable box is set up, but which is completely empty otherwise. In the closets there we keep the recycling organized, mutual school supplies, and our empty suitcases and boxes. Our kitchen is also shared, and is composed of a small desk, one office chair, a sink, one electric burner (that is right, folks, just one!), a microwave, a toaster oven (no real oven, though), and a mini fridge that barely comes up to my waste. I do more cooking than she does, so I have two shelves and part of the door, and Jennifer has one shelf and dominance of the door. We have NO room in that little fridge so we have to shop almost three times a week. I try to buy something that I can use that day if possible. But the ice box is big enough for my ice cream treats, so I am please about that :)

My room has gone through a few stages, but i finally feel happy with it all now. I have room for storage, things are still neat and orderly, and I'm trying to limit how much I have. Traveling abroad has taught me to live light and only carry what I need. I'm trying not to accumulate junk, trinkets, and unnecessary papers now so that I don't have to throw them out later. We'll see how that goal works out. So far, this is my set-up!

Thanks for stopping by my room! I hope that you enjoyed your tour. Come back soon, y'all!

Going to Ise: Things on Google Maps Are Closer Than They Appear

Turns out that I was at the outer shrine that first day in Ise.

I'm going to Ise Shrine today with some friends, but I remembered that I still hadn't finished writing the post from my last Ise trip. At that time, I had thought that I had visited Ise Shrine, but maybe I hadn't really. We'll find out today. Either I'll be going to the exact same spot, or finding a new treasure.

"What is so special at Ise?" you may ask. That is a valid question, but one I will allow Wikipedia to take over. Wiki, what are your thoughts on the matter?

 Bird view Area of the Jingū(Naikū)

Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮 Ise Jingū^?) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami, located in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture, Japan. Officially known simply as Jingū (神宮^?), Ise Jingū is in fact a shrine complex composed of a large number of Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, Naikū (内宮^?) and Gekū(外宮^?). 

Bird view Area of the Jingū(Gekū)

The Inner Shrine, Naikū (also officially known as "Kotai Jingū"), is located in the town of Uji-tachi, south of central Ise City, and is dedicated to the worship of Amaterasu-ōmikami. The Outer Shrine, Gekū (also officially known as "Toyouke Daijingu"), is located about six kilometers from Naikū and dedicated to Toyouke no ōmikami, the deity of agriculture and industry.^[1] Besides Naikū and Gekū, there are an additional 123 Shinto shrines in Ise City and the surrounding areas, 91 of them connected to Naikū and 32 to Gekū.^[2] 

Purportedly the home of the Sacred Mirror, the shrine is one of Shinto's holiest and most important sites. Access to both sites is strictly limited, with the common public allowed to see little more than the thatched roofs of the central structures, hidden behind four tall wooden fences. The high priest or priestess of Ise Shrine must come from the Japanese imperial family, and is responsible for watching over the Shrine.
The two main shrines of Ise are joined by a pilgrimage road that passes through the old entertainment district of Furuichi. The region around the shrines consists of the Ise-Shima National Park and numerous other holy and historic sites including the "wedded rocks" (Meoto Iwa), and the Saiku (the site of the Heian period imperial residence).^[3]

Nice work, Wiki. That will be all for now. I think that I may have gone to the outer shrine before, which means if today is the inner shrine, I would have seen it all!! Mwahahaha!! But how did I go to the outer shrine before? Isn't Ise far away from Shima? Well, it all happened on Google Maps...

A really cool building I found in Ise. Satoko says
that it is a boarding house for foreigners.
I'd love to see the inside!

... My city (which is much more of a town - sorry, Shima, but let's be honest with ourselves, okay?) doesn't have many things that larger cities do. Oh, it has things, and maybe imitation places of the larger towns, but not exactly the same thing. For example, we have banks here. And some of the banks are related to other banks in the larger cities in that they are all in the same network or company, but aren't exactly the same. So if you have an account at one of the larger city banks (like I do), you can withdraw money at the smaller ones, but you can't do anything else. And for banks in Japan, if you want anything changed (I feel like I've said this before), you have to be there in person on regular business days between the hours of 9 and 5 with all forms of identification and all documents relating to the items you wish to change. I wanted to change my address, the spelling of my name, and get a new cash card, so I had to go to the closest bank I could: Ise.

Finally in Ise I found the entrance to the
outer shrine.

Trying to live on the cheap, I went to a nearby, but surprisingly small train station. On the map, it looked really close, but I needed to get on these side streets and nothing was straight and there were these hills, and Japan doesn't believe in street signs, so like any good foreigner, I ended up getting lost. Wandering around for a bit, I started to head back in the opposite direction, when I heard the sound of an engine. It was the first car I had seen all day, so I stuck out my thumb hoping to get some proper directions at least. The owner of the car was extremely concerned that I wouldn't get there, so he offered me a ride. This may seem extremely dangerous, but let us all remember that I am in rural and safe Japan. It is actually better that I hitch-hiked with this little Japanese grandpa because he had such a heavy old person's accent and dialect that I couldn't understand 60% of his banter as we went up and down the roads. Something about his daughter.....English.....living in Japan.....fine weather today.....going to the market..... But he seemed happy for me just to smile and nod, say "really?" and "ooh, how nice" a lot.

Would you like to sweep this ENTIRE walkway
(it was very long) for a living?

As I said, he took me to the very small station, but it wasn't a station at all. It was a platform. There was nothing else there. Next to the platform, there was a small pond. With ducks. That was it. There was nothing else there. I don't even remember seeing a timetable. There was a machine that asked you to take a ticket, which I did, and you were expected to either pay when you got off or pay the conductor. I'll be going back there again today, so hopefully I don't get lost again.














The rest of the day was rather uneventful. I had brushed up on my bank terminology before going and I already had the maps set and ready to go, so I was able to get to the bank and then to the post office easily. I had everything in hand, so I changed all my information, update my bankbook, and chatted with all the people so that I would be able to access my money from Shima without more frequent trips to Ise. I finished all of this around noon, so I treated myself with a trip to the Outer Shrine, which was very close to the post office.

Not a riveting story, perhaps, but some interesting insights into life here in the land of the rising sun.

The bridge leading up to the outer shrine and a viewing area for the shrine lake.