潮かけ祭り - The Water Fight Festival!!

Photo Credit Here

Before I came to live here in Shima-shi, I perused the city's website and found a list of festivals (matsuri) held in the area. One of the more intriguing matsuri was the Water Fight Festival. I didn't know when, but I knew that before I left this place I must, MUST, attend.

Today, my brethren,...

...was that day.

And today....

was AWESOME!!!!

Photo Credit Here

I'm not trying to deceive you all, readers; this matsuri is just what it sounds like. You go for the very purpose of dousing everyone within range with salt water! You throw water when you are on shore or on boats at people on shore, on other boats, and on YOUR boat even. For maximum wetness, you can throw your friends (who haven't been drinking -safety first, Japan) into the ocean or you can bring the ocean to your friends using hoses, buckets, water guns, or small pink elephant watering cans - anything and everything is allowed during this fight!

But, Alexandra, the Japanese are always so polite and well mannered.

Photo Credit Here

Okay, one, stereotypically-minded person, please watch some of the recent World Cup soccer footage to see Japanese people letting loose and making noise. They are allowed to have their crazy days! Second, maybe being seen as "so proper" gets old and they need to let their hair down, no? Or maybe the idea that the Japanese are always straight-laced is merely the perpetuation of a racist archetype, yeah? They are humans and like fun just as much as the next person.

Surely this is a new event made by a more wild and rambunctious generation.

History. Bam! In your face like salt water!
Photo Credit Here

Guess again, friend! This tradition has been around for almost 800 years! How do you like them ocean apples?  (p.s. Ocean apples aren't real. I think...)

A picture of the mini-shrine area for the purification
ceremony this year. (photo by me)

The matsuri started like many others, based in Shinto beliefs that the gods (mighty and mild) inhabit all of the world surrounding us and that seeking their good graces would help in different aspects of life. This area is known for fishing and aquatic activities, so the fun-loving people of the past would hold a ceremony wishing for the safety of their boats and fishermen as well as for bountiful catches of fish and sea creatures. This was performed on the dock and the small shrine was then taken on a boat out to sea, then brought back again as a way to purify and bless the area over which it sailed. The same idea applies for the parading of a small alter or mikoshi up and down the city streets during other matsuri.

Carrying the mikoshi to the ceremony area.
(photo by me)

What makes this festival so exciting is that on the return trip, the water fight begins! The blessed waters are hurled and splashed upon participants in the water-born parade. When the main mikoshi ship gives the signal, everyone who is up for a good time, lets loose salt-water assaults on the closest person. Sending a barrage of water on the Shinto priests and helpers was particularly fun. One ship even had a stock of water balloons in the crows nest. Good thinking!

Okay, I'll admit, this sounds pretty fun. So how on earth did you get to join this?

Ummmm, I asked, silly. The people out in this area are so friendly and very open to helping people who are kind and respectful in return.

The shrine boat getting ready to take off.
(photo by me)

Full story please.

So, here's how it happened.

I missed the festival last year because it was held on a week day and I was at work. This was back when I was only three months into my new job and I wasn't allowed to take time off with pay. Instead of taking unpaid vacation, I just figured that I'd go to the matsuri at night and douse people with water then. Turns out that isn't how things are done in Wagu (a town in the southern part of Shima-shi). The Water Fight is only in the morning and the party just goes on all day.  Once I figured this out, I vowed to do it right the next year!

Only, well, I kinda forgot until yesterday. The ladies at the elementary school at which I was teaching were complaining about how it was the next day, and I went into panic-regret-wishful-thinking mood and emailed my company about taking tomorrow off. Usually, we are told that 5 business days are required, but because my middle schoolers are taking exams right now, I wasn't needed for classes at all anyway. But luck was on my side (as well as a very skilled and polite team of Nagoya staff members), and the schools let me go today!

I was driving (and stopping and driving and stopping) behind
the elementary school marching band then whole while.
(photo by me when parked during the parade)

As I was driving to the festival, I stopped at a Family Mart convenience store where the ladies assured me that even with some rain (the weather was looking kind of cloudy), the festival would still be on - the whole point is to get wet, right? Then, once I arrived in Wagu, a policeman asked if I was going somewhere in a hurry. I was doing great on time, so I replied "no" and he asked me to get in line behind the other cars. We were going at a snails pace and people were lined up on the street watching us go by. Now, Wagu is a pretty small town, so having this many cars come by WOULD be reason enough to bring people out to watch, but I kept hearing some music. More and more cars in front of me turned down side streets or into parking spaces, and I realized that the closer I moved up in line, the stronger the noise was; I was driving behind a parade! The elementary students were marching down the streets (they later gave a standing performance on the docks) and we were slowly brining up the rear of the show.

Flying the colors. All two of them.
(photo by me)

Fast forward to the part where the Shinto ceremony is happening and I spot a bunch of people heading towards the boats. Not wanting to be left on shore, I went to the nearest one and asked in Japanese if I could ride along. They were so happy that I had picked their ship, that not only did they let me join, but they also gave me free coffee, watermelon, and two cooked sazae (turban shells, easily $15 of shellfish stateside). It turns out that when he was younger, the ship's captain was a tuna fisherman and traveled all over the world. He went from Japan to Singapore, Australia to Cape Town, and Argentina to Mexico and back again. After that story, I felt very safe on the boat. We all sat and talked about where everyone was from and how often they've participated in the matsuri, what I should and shouldn't bring, and where to hid my towel during the water fight. They pointed out the flying fish to me (these fish were going for meters and meters!) and let me know when it was time for everything to start.

And then we had AT it! These guys were chucking water and hosing down ANYone who came near us. They had no problem splashing each other, pouring water down their friend's backs, or crawling all over the ship to get a better attack position. Their favorite trick was to distract one guy and have another one get him from behind or from another direction. They were laughing and playing as hard as any of my elementary students. The ship also had a hose which got much farther reach than any of our water splashing did.  A grand total of 15 boats loaded down with people of all ages cheering and screaming, laughing and splashing were out on the water. Run out of amo? Just throw your bucket into the ocean and pull it up by the rope, but make sure that it doesn't pull you in! The captain drove the boat around so that we could fight all the other ships. Kids on the other boats would call out "Hello!",  "Thank you!", or "You are beautiful" when they saw me. I tried my best to splash everyone, but I think I got much more water thrown at me than I did at anyone else. My arms are definitely going to feel this work out later on tonight.

The whole water fight ended before noon, so I was able to dry off a bit, drive back and enjoy lunch after a warm shower. Oh, I ran into my buddy from the cable company who asked me for another interview. I was coming down from a water fight high, so I spoke pretty quickly and I know that I made a lot of grammatical mistakes, but if I can find the video that he took, I'll put it on for you all.

Everyone eagerly waiting for things to get underway.
(photo by me)

The boats that are decorated were the ones that would
participate. The winds and waves were kind of strong
so the smaller boats were advised to stay back.
(photo by me)

Thank you to this fine crew for letting me onboard for the day!
(photo by me after the water fight)

Myself and fellow combatants for the day. All very nice men from
Gifu, the prefecture to our north.
(photo by a friend)

The Japanese link for the festival can be found here.

Rain Rain, Go Away

Japan has a grim history of suicide, so much so that ALTs are highly discouraged from ever playing the spelling game "hangman", for fear that some students may be reminded of a former friend or family member or worse, take the idea to take their own life. Any references to death and killing, even jokes, are discouraged in either Japanese or English. Once more, especially around high school entrance examination time, we are particularly cautious to give praise instead of criticism as this period of high stress and important test taking (and sometimes failing) can leave students feeling as if they have let everyone down, have no other opportunity if they miss the high school their were hoping for, or if they can't deal with the pressure to even go through with the future.

For this reason, I was at first shocked and overly cautious when I found this doll dangling across from the principal's door.

Look at how happy this little guy is!

Obviously a little doll of a person (possibly a ghost) was HANGING in plain sight! How was this okay?? Did one of the students put it there? Did it represent someone? It is some kind of message against the principal? Why wasn't it taken down by now??? How are we all not in an uproar about this???? *heavy breathing*

I almost didn't ask someone about it, thinking that pretty soon it would be removed before too many students were exposed to the suicide image. But, at the end of the day, there he hung, proud and smiling with only myself raising an eyebrow. Unable to read the scribbles on his little skirt, and unable to stand the curiosity anymore, I asked around the teachers room.

Turns out, this little doll isn't of anyone in particular, but of a monk. He is call Teru Teru Bozu (照る照る坊主) or "Shine Shine Monk". Oriental monks have shaved heads, so the sunshine (teru is the sound of sunshine, ya'll) reflects off of their hairless scalps. There may have been a rhyme that was released in the 1900s about the specific sunshiny monk, but my teachers weren't sure about that (Wiki it up if you'd like to learn the rhyme). During the rainy period, of which there are a TONS in Japan, makes kids just as eager for sunshine on certain days as it does Western children. But instead of singing Little Jimmy who wants to play, they make these monks and hang them in the window or a common spot to wish for good weather.

I ended up spotting quite a few of these little guys at other schools before sports tournaments and again this weekend before the Ise Giant Shrimp Festival. So, no worries, friends! This is a good thing.  No need for the panic, just some sun screen for the good weather that is hopefully on the way.

Disney Deviants

Hello and long time no see, right? Actually, 'no write', which is why I've decided to make a blog post that is packed with fun, smiles, and magic!! How shall I do this? By channeling my inner Disney Princess, of course!

When I tell people that I am a princess, they usually cock their heads to the side before whispering to their friend, "I thought that you said she was normal." Well you were told wrong!

Another thing that people say when informed of my fictional royal status is, "Oh, really? Which princess are you? Belle? You look like you could be Belle." No, you don't understand. I'm not likening myself to one of the other Disney Princesses, I AM one. I am Princess Alexandra. They just haven't gotten around to making my cinematic story because it isn't finished yet. But, trust me, when it finally hits theaters, it will be bigger than Frozen. Everyone can make their life a fairytale. It just takes the right perspective, the courage to sing and dance in public, an ear for learning the languages of woodland creatures, and a little bit of pixie dust. Having a hard time dealing with this new view reality? Don't think too hard; just "let it go".

In the meanwhile, I'm more than willing to support my fellow Disney royals. Sometimes it is in all seriousness, but you have to learn to laugh at yourself as well! Classic beauties like Snow White might not be able to take a joke well, but just look at Rapunzel! For as well as she can wield that frying pan, she knows that there are times to laugh when you trip over your own hair. And Nala knows that one way to turn a lion-sized frown upside down is to let loose for a little wrestling. Today, I'd like to share some of my favorite Disney deviations that help inspire me, leave me in stitches, make me want to dance, or just leave me impressed.

Our first deviation is something called the Pocket Princesses. These small, cutesy versions of my princess peers are created by a fan who likes to see what it would be like if they all lived together. She explores possible causes of tension among the princesses, as well as what holidays would be like in a household of Disney royalty, and how all the new arrivals would be welcomed and interact with the group. They hold some lively party's, and sometimes it is crazier than the Mad-hatter's tea parties, but these comics always make me smile.

For a slightly scarier turn you can check out these Twisted Disney Princesses. Their creature thought that every goody-glass-two-shoes had a dark side to reveal in this original art. My friend made the Pocahontas this artist drew into her Halloween costume one year.

And if I might toot my own horn, I have amassed this group of pins to my board Disney Daytime Collection. For anyone who has tried to pull off a ball gown in the supermarket, getting around in glittering evening wear is no happily ever after. Don't waste one of your three wishes on a new dress - take some inspiration from this and just pay homage to your favorite Disney character by matching their color scheme and main items. Also referred to as "Disney Bounding", this is what I did for my Halloween costume this year as I tied back my hair, dawned a red jacket, yellow jeans, and a blue shirt to be Snow White.

Moving right along, I have a lineup of fun videos that show just how creative people can be when it comes to Disney spinoffs.

Disney tried really hard to get Frozen to come out right, but in all that effort, we could see some problems. These people made a trailer that honestly describes the movie but also shows why we all love it so much! (*SPOILER ALERT*)

These handsome princes have a rough time when their fair ladies dump them. The only solution? Express themselves in song and dance, of course! Can you recognize all the characters?

In a similar scenario, these princesses are all broken up with en mass when their princess get sick of their constant texts and annoying antics. They embrace their inner Spice Girl identity to make their boys remember who it is they are throwing away.

In a beautiful self-quartet, our hero (um, heroine?) describes how horribly wrong things can go once the storybook closes. Hear what happens to these princess "After Ever After."

Do you have dreams of a white lab coat, but also can't give up your passion for musicals and flash mobs? Canada has heard you and its creative students crafted this wonderful advertisement to show the many emotions and talents of their students.

Lastly, this isn't Disney per say, but a definite fairytale spinoff that has puns and parodies in spades! No, not hearts, I don't want to mess with the Queen on that one. If you have time, watch all of these short series for a new, fashionable, and silly look at the old stories.

There are so many wonderful renditions of the Disney songs in parodies and spinoffs that could keep me glued to the internet for weeks, but sadly, I still have to go to work in the morning, so this is all I can do for now. If you have a favorite Disney deviation that you want to share, please leave a link in the comments below!

Japanese Driving Test: The Horror...The Horror!!

First of all, I'd like to say that I am way overdue for a blog. I have so many half finished or ideas penned down, but that doesn't mean  a thing if they never get posted! So to make it up to you, I have a doozy of an entry.

Second, I'd like to say that if you know what book I was referencing in the title of this entry, then you are hereby awarded 1200 literary points! Feel free to exchange these for such valuable prizes as "Book Club Street Cred", "Smarty Pants Status", and hugs from every English and literature teacher that thinks their students never retained anything. For those who didn't know (or who just want a quick reminder), I'll post the answer at the bottom of today's post.

Now to our topic for today: the Japanese driving test.

I'm afraid that this can only end in tears. Let us begin this fairly odd tale...

Once upon a time, as the Embassy of the United States Tokyo, Japan puts it,

The Embassy spoke with the Superindendent of the License Division, Traffic Bureau, of the National Police Agency (NPA) to learn that prior to June 2002, Japanese law had allowed foreigners bearing international driver licenses to drive indefinitely in Japan.
As of June 2002, however, foreigners are only able to drive on an international driver license for up to 12 months, then have to have applied for and received a Japanese driver license. Long term foreign residents in Japan who attempt to avoid taking a driving test by continually renewing their international driver license abroad every 12 months will now be required to prove that they obtained the international permit at least three months before re-entering Japan. Tourists and others coming to Japan for short stays may drive with an international license obtained at any time before their arrival into the country.
The driver test consists of hearing, eyesight, written and practical/road test components. Citizens of 21 countries, not including the United States, are exempt from taking everything but the eye test. Some of these countries met the exemption requirement because the NPA examined their domestic traffic safety record and determined that it was at least as good as Japan's. Other nations exempt Japanese license holders from a driving test.
Canada received approval on February 1, 2003 after a lengthy (3-4 years) review. Canada had to submit responses to a lengthy questionnaire, regarding each of the country's 13 provinces and territories. In order for the U.S. to be exempt from the driver test requirement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must instruct the Japanese Embassy in Washington to contact each of the 50 states and provide them with a questionnaire. Once the 50 individual questionnaires are collected, they will be translated into Japanese and studied by the National Police Agency. In addition to individual state safety records and procedures for acquiring a license, the National Police Agency will be looking closely to see if each of the 50 individual states exempt holders of valid Japanese licenses from taking state road and written tests.
We shared with the NPA statistics which showed that the United States had a risk value much lower than that of Japan's with respect to fatalities as a share of vehicle kilometers traveled. We were told that the Japanese police still needed to see the safety records of each individual state. The Police are also concerned to see if each of the 50 individual states exempt holders of valid Japanese licenses from taking state road and written tests (many do not).

With that lovely bit of politics goes the stress and bane of every non-Canadian currently in the rural areas of this country: I have to take this test????? Come on, already!

Even as a college student, I heard the gruesome stories of foreigners who went to get their Japanese license: They failed me six times just to take my money!! They'll fail you on purpose to see if you'll come back!! It is so difficult, there is no way you can pass the first time!! They're heartless, I tell you!! (granted, some of these tales seemed difficult to believe at the time, but everyone was saying the same thing - the test was hard, expensive, bothersome, and racist)

I was so worried about taking the Japanese driving test before even coming here that when I applied for my international license back in the USA, I forced the AAA agent to tell me twice that I would be able to renew this license and not have to take the Japanese one. She assured me of this. And I believed her. There in lies my folly! Technically, she was telling the truth, but it only works if I return to America (WHICH I TOTALLY DID!!!) and obtain a new international license before coming back to Japan (which I didn't, so, yeah...). For you see, ladies and gentleman, the Japanese drivers test is not the mere hassle that the American DMV makes it out to be. No, no, no. The Japanese made improvements to that nightmare. Here are some of the 'joys' that can be expected from the test.

1. Unreasonable scheduling. The Japanese government offices work like many other companies. However, while other companies report employees staying late into the night, dying from exhaustion at their desks, or logging incredibly long hours at work, public servant sector offices maintain VERY strict hours of operation. Except in the case of national holidays, the Japanese driving centers are open ONLY from Monday to Friday from 8ish until 5 with one hour breaks between the morning and the afternoon. No Saturdays, no late hours. In order to come to their office to do anything, you must miss going to yours. In order to do anything at the driving center, I was required to take my paid vacation time since there was no other way of going when I was actually off work myself. What a nightmare.

2. Lengthy waiting. Even with their decreasing population and living in a rural area, Japan still has a high population. This means that waiting rooms will be filled and lines will be long. I did not include this section to say that you will wait in line long. They are very efficient in filing everyone through. I included this section because there is so much waiting out of line that is required. At first, you'll need to translate your license into Japanese. You'll take it to an office and then have to WAIT for them to mail it back to you before you can even think about making an appointment at the driving center. Then you have to make an appointment, go to the center, and WAIT for the 15 minute window of time when the desks open their windows (see what I did there?) and are willing to talk to you. Then you must WAIT in the waiting room (where else, right?) until they have finished all the paperwork. Then, if you pass the paperwork and interview step, you must make an appointment to come back another day (a completely DIFFERENT day!) to take the written test. On that day, you must WAIT to take the test with everyone else who is taking it during your time frame, and some slackers will be so late that your testing time will be pushed back an hour. Then you must WAIT to get your results from the window people again. Then you must sign up for a driving test appointment to come back another day (a completely DIFFERENT day!) to take the driving test. WAITING happens again on that day as you file into the car one-by-one and take the test one after the other, only hearing if you pass or fail after WAITING again when the last driver has finished. If you fail any one of these steps (and I failed the paperwork and driving test part - a 2200¥ charge per test, I'm told), then you must add more WAIT time to your total process. Also, in the spring when all the high school grads and foreigners who weren't warned about this entire process are scrambling to get their license, the WAIT time between steps increases due to clogged scheduling. It took me 20 days between my first driving test and my retest because there just were no free openings during that time. Bring a book or sudoku - this is going to take a while.

3. Inconvenient locations. My lovely prefecture of Mie is oblong in shape and has only one driving center and one translate-your-license-into-English office. They are inconveniently located in the same city smack in the middle of the prefecture, in our capital of Tsu. That is great if you live there, but for those of us in the areas north of Kameyama/Suzuka and south of Matsusaka, that is quite far! I'm out and over in Shima. It takes me two hours to get to Tsu! Remember all the steps required in the last paragraph? Now add driving time to and from the capital city and you can see what I'm so miffed when I need to take time off work just to travel all that way and back again. Even the workers at the driving center were shocked when they heard where I lived. Would it kill them to open other driving centers? Even the state of Wyoming has seven DMV locations!! Outrageous.

4. Strict judging. The stories are true. The judging for this test is serious stuff. You can not be sure who will be your driving proctor or what mood they will be in. Some take off if you aren't far enough left, if you stop too much, if your turns are too tight, if you look too far over your shoulder, if you don't look over your shoulder, if you take too much time to look over your shoulder. It is craziness disguised as having a system.

5. Pricy alternatives. There are ways to sidestep this whole process. You could walk everywhere (my farthest school is two hours one way by walking - said the girl who did so on Monday). You could cab everywhere, which is super expensive! You could take a bus, if there even is one, if you can even find the bus maps, if they even go out where you want them to go at a decent hour. You could become an extreme bicyclist. Or you could attend drivers school. "Now, Alexandra, I went to drivers' ed when I was younger. It wasn't so bad." No, no, I'm sure it wasn't. But did it cost you hundreds of dollars? Did it practically guarantee you a license if you went with them? Did it have its own professional-grade practice course? No, no, I'm sure it didn't. But if you want to go those options, power to you. Let me know how that works out and if your wallet thanks you afterwards.

Something I can't argue about is their honesty. Most "how to get your Japanese drivers license" sites and blogs are all plain and clear about all the rules and different points you could possibly fail. These other sites give personal accounts of how the writer and other people the writer tested with or knew did. The stories may seem far fetched and odd but they are real. However, none of thyme can prepare you for the frustration of actually being in the process. 

All of these factors equals a pain-in-the-rear, red-tape-gallore, too-much-work-for-too-little-reward experience that motivates many foreigners to become extreme bicyclists or to move to the cities and avoid driving at all costs. Quite honestly, I would rather just renew my American license forever and ever and never take the Japanese one. But, if I can't drive, I can't get to work. If I can't get to work, I don't have a job. If I don't have a job, then I can't stay here. That's how they get 'ya. With all this complaining and moaning and gnashing of teeth, I'm sure that after all of this, I'll be grateful that I stuck it out until the end. I'm sure that I'll feel fulfilled. I'm also sure that I will tell EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER to start the Japanese driver's license procedure as soon as they start their job assignment, too. Better safe than sorry, and I'm feeling pretty sorry right now.

To all the foreigners out there (who can read English and have stumbled upon this blog entry), start now! Start while you still have 11 months left on your international drivers license! Start during the off season so that there will be fewer people to take up space in the lines and the testing spots! Heed my words~~~! You have been warned!!!



Today's title inspired by a quote from  Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad :)

Going to Guam With the Girls! Part 1

The translator for the water sign in our hotel
may have been a pirate. Argh!

This is the cautionary tale of poor planning and travel mistakes.

My friends Ao and Lucy may be leaving for Canada soon, so we all decided that before they left we should have a girls trip somewhere sunny and beautiful. It would definitely be a change from the gray, Japanese winter. At first we thought Okinawa would be a good pick, but because I waited too long to confirm on the trip, the ticket prices skyrocketed. In retrospect, though, Okinawa isn't THAT much warmer than Shima in February, so we set our sights on a new location: Guam! Lucy and I could travel there easily since she is Canadian and I'm America. Ao had been there ten years before, but she was interested in a second visit. With our hotels and tickets booked, I was super excited to go traveling again. Sure, I visited the US last summer and lots of places in Japan in the fall with my boyfriend, but this a "never have I ever been there before in my life" place! The best kind!

Say goodbye to snow, girls!

Unfortunately, I had been apartment hunting for about two weeks and had hardly any extra time to help with the planning. I didn't know ANY of the schedule or locations and had entrusted all of the preparation to the girls. All I knew was that we were going to try scuba diving and to pack summer clothes. 80 degrees weather was so hard to fathom! Was anywhere really that temperature outside? Could I really walk outside without a jacket? It is odd what distance from an experience will do. I was hard to image any of this having been in the cold weather for so long.

We all had work on Friday, but decided to try and catch the train to Nagoya together. We were able to get train seats next to each other and used the ride to catch up about recent events, schemes, and dreams. This is also the time when I found out that we wouldn't be in Guam for as long as I was expecting. Oh, well. I could always layer on the summer stuff I brought to make more outfits.

You look a little chilly, sir.

Our first night in Nagoya was spent dancing in the biggest club. I was really impressed with the different vibes each floor had (about five floors in all), but Lucy was shocked that they even had separate floors! I guess stairs in a night club back home are too much of a liability, so all of them are one story or have elevators instead. Also, the Japanese clubs have coin lockers to store your things. No coat checking here. I had seen this sort of set-up in Tokyo, but after she mentioned that difference, I thought of Paris, Greece, and Cleveland - those were usually one story and didn't have lockers either. Definitely a different mindset due to space limitations and lower crime rate here.

My friends trudge on towards the train station.

Personally, I was more impressed with how EVERYONE KNEW ALL OF THE SONGS IN ENGLISH!! Seriously! How was it that everyone in the club knew the words to all of these songs so perfectly and I had a hassle teaching my students Auld Lang Syne? Ugh. As we moved through the club, people we passed were singing along with the music and smiling as they completed long rap segments. Really now? Wow. Sadly, some very happy guys ended up buying us some drinks that I had not anticipated on receiving and I got sick. At this point Ao got stuck dancing with a Brazilian boy that was following me around the whole night. Sorry, girl! But she was able to get a great line out of him that became one of our catchphrases for the rest of the trip: 最高の夜を見せ上げるぜ (Saikou no yoru wo mise ageru ze)。Translated, it is the same kind of super cheesy pickup line that any guy at a bar or club would give: "I'll show you the best night ever." But grammatically it is super showy, totally over-macho, and only ever found in TV dramas or cartoons. No one talks like that in real life! When she told me that line, I cringed and we had to fill Lucy in on how oily and gross it sounded in Japanese. He was very kind and seemed like he would be really funny in any other situation. But a "ze" as a final particle? Bleh!

Look at all the pretty pictures!

The next day was super snowy - a good send off to our island paradise. After much searching, we found coin lockers at the station that would fit our suitcases so that we had our arms free to do some shopping in the city! We had all purposefully left extra room in our luggage for the gifts, presents, and personal things we were going to buy on the trip, and Nagoya was part of the trip, right? Of course! While walking around one of the malls, we stumbled upon a Disney "Fine Art" collection. Different themes, characters, mediums, and styles covered the walls. Tucked in the back corner was an artist drawing Daffy Duck over and over for people to buy at a cheaper rate than the more expensive and larger works. He was an America, so I spoke to him about how he started, when he got here, and what he had been doing since Disney moved away from 2D art before we moved onto the Pokemon center. When I came back, he was giving a speech to the visitors of the collection. The Japanese love Disney so much, and the guests seemed blown away to have him there. It made me really happy they they could all enjoy it together.

Salad on a waffel. So Japanese!

After a lunch of salad waffles (that is right, no breakfast food is safe from the Japanese), we made our way to the airport for a bath before the flight. Bath? Yeah, the airport has a bath house on the second floor, so we stopped in for a soak! It was a great way to kill time before our late flight and my hair still smelled of smoke from the club. We had arrived there earlier than we expected, which was good because it gave us enough time to get lost amid the second floor shopping town, have the bath, make a guy pack up some mochi treats only to realize that we couldn't take them, find out that there was an extra "a" in my name on the ticket, and that I might not be able to go on the trip after all. Spoiler: I was able to go after an hour wait to get clearance.

Anpanman and I have a smile contest

We found an interesting shopping center along
the way. Shonen Jump, anyone?

A very Nagoya style noodle dish for dinner.

Last time I came to the airport, they had ninjas instead of
winter sport mannequins.

Phew! That was just to get into the heart of the airport. More later. I'm tired just remembering all of that.

Super Center Plant - And All That Lies Within

"Put on your Sunday best, kids. We're going to
Sears!" Okay, maybe I didn't really dress up,
but I did put on nice clothes in case my
students saw me.

There are things that make a small town a "small town". But it is more about what an area lacks rather than what it has that gives it the "countryside" title (inaka in Japanese). Country charm and small town splendor are all well and good, especially if you live close enough to a large city in order to balance out the quiet quaintness with convenience.

My city of Shima was a definite inaka contender until recently. On the roads leading to Toba and Ise, there has been construction on what looked on the outside to be a large square. The writing on the walls of this plain building read "Super Center Plant - Medicine, Food, Home Goods." Since this is about 8 minutes by car from my house (and I prefer walking to driving, especially for errands), even after the center opened, I didn't bother going. Around my home, there are various small shops where I can buy groceries and the mall is up the hill from me. Convenient much? But during a recent get together with the other ALTs in my area, this place received so much praise that I decided to check it out. On Facebook, I made the following announcement.

This looks oddly familiar...

Today, I go on a journey of discovery to "The Plant"! No, it is not a secret alien factory, but the newest shopping spot in Shima. Supposedly bigger, better, cheaper, and with more variety than our current options. I am expecting a Japanese version of Walmart or Target, but I won't get my hopes too high. 
I go now.

The Center has been open for a while and has lost much of its initial appeal. It is still new and exciting for our town, but they no longer have the opening month, cheaper than dirt pricing that drove people to the store in droves! While it is still cheaper than many other locations around, it has changed to somewhat normal pricing. So while the parking lot was huge, it was hardly full. Going around lunch time also helped cut down on the number of customers I had to contend with.

Walmart with yen signs!!

From the outside, I started to get a familiar feeling, but it wasn't until I got inside (past the policeman/guard guy, hello?) that things really started to register: it felt just like Walmart to me! It was the same size and pretty much the same setup as a Walmart, but less white and blue themed. There was so much to look at and so many options compared to what I have become use to that it was almost tiring. Like, "There is more store to go through? How did they find that many kinds of honey in Japan? These shopping carts are the size of Home Depot carts!"

The lighting and coloring on the inside of the store had a rather Sam's Club or Costco air about it all and I had filled up my little shopping basket well into my first ten minutes at the store. I was hesitant about using one of the American-sized shopping carts in case I filled it up, so I trudged along with my full basket up and down ALL the aisles. Is this what shopping in America was like? I had almost forgotten how there could be so many choices. There was the food, and the clothing, and the home goods, and the toy section, and the garden department, and the pharmacy, and the electronics, and the cleaning supplies, and the pet stuff, and the sports equipment, and it just kept going!

Truly comparing this store to a real American Walmart would have probably been less impressive if I had just gotten back from America, but it has been months, okay? I haven't seen this much of an expanse for shopping in just one store in a while! Even the malls here, even the Meiwa shopping mall and Lala Park, were all tiny stores merged together like transformers. This was ONE LARGE ROOM OF STUFF! I ended up getting a good amount of produce, a basket for carrying my flashcards and things for school, a beanbag for reclining on the floor, and some curry mix.

Japan, you and your tiny tables. Although I do
like the "kotatsutable" - it is a table with a heater
and a blanket around the edges to keep you nice
and warm!

What was helped to remind me that I was definitely in Japan, though, was the checkout area. There were rows and columns of cashiers who, when not assisting other customers, stood at the front of their particular column and directed people down to them. You could have easily seen which registers were operating based on their lamps, but this way they could help anyone who didn't realize that they were free. But cashiers would never have done that in America! First of all because cashiers are hardly ever free in the States and leaving your drawer unattended like that is surely against company policy. However, that is the system they had here, and I found it endearing.

Was this a life changing experience? No.
Will I change my shopping habits now that I've been to the plant? No.
Do I understand why that is the new hangout spot for students? Not in the least.

But it was kind of nice to see Shima getting all worked up over a convenient place to shop and get a little taste of American-sized consumerism in inaka Japan. I'll definitely be back, and I'll definitely have my eyes out for other small town adventures.

Til then!

Curious about the tissues? Try a sample. 

Toilet paper samples too!

Definitely a Japanese toy store. Look at all
the Anpanman characters!

My little girl love Pretty Cure and here is their
shrine.

Truer words were never embroidered on hats.