Welcome to Japan

Welcome to Japan

I left Australia mid March 2000 to see how life in Japan would be and so far so good. I've written few chapters so my friends and family around the world can keep pace with this other life; feel free to check them out.

My main reason for deciding to live in another country was to fufill my desire to speak another language so most of the links below are oriented toward learning Japanese.At the bottom of the page are some unsorted non language oriented links.

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

I've only spent a few years in Japan, not much by comparison to some of the ex-pat veterens there and in other countries, but still time to soak up a little more than the average "summer holiday" tourist might experience.

When one moves full time to another country one gets to live, work, play, cheer and boo with the locals on all manner of things. It is in doing such things that I managed to learn a bit of the language and understand a little of the Japanese mind.

I'm told that "language defines us" which means that to learn another language is to learn another way of thinking. Seems to me this is a knack we could all do with some training in. Even in our own backyards it's a common tale that men can't understand how women think and possibly vice versa - I won't presume :)

So therein lies my reason for wanting to learn. Not that learning alone isn't enough of a reason, but also just that nice pleasure in being able to communicate with another race and to help some more people find the nearest phone, gas stand, restaurant etc.

I thoroughly recommend Masao Miyamoto's Straight Jacket Society,

"An insiders irreverent view of bureaucratic Japan"

A great read it helped me see past the suits and kimonos.

Chapter 1 - March 2000

My first Chapter on leaving Oz in the third millennium.

The flight to Fiji was fairly ordinary as flights go I guess. Short, thankfully, but long enough to feed me, an important item in my day to day survive-on-not-much scenario. Met a guy, sitting next to me, Adam who was a surfer from Maroubra, who goes regularly to Fiji and he gave me the news on where to go when I fly back through Fiji on my return. He also gave me his meal so I was happily stuffed

So I stayed in the same hotel as him and the crew which he was meeting, for a wedding, and had a few beverages with them and an English couple who were immigrating to Australia.

Met Adam's ex and talked to her for a while, as Adam had taken an ecky pill before the flight and had gone off to bed totally ratshit. Had the naked midnight swim in the pool and all of a sudden it's the next morning and I am hefting my bags back to the airport.

[More:]

Back on the plane there were not many people so I got three seats to myself positioned right outside the galley, that's the kitchen for you landlubbers, so again my stomach was well tended to as well as being able to lie down. Above the galley door was a monitor so I got to watch the three movies from my reclined position.

Movies - "The World is Not Enough" (always got to time to watch 007 in action) "Double Jeopardy" (wanted to see this one for a while, Tommy Lee Jones & Ashley Judd, thank you Air Pacific) and "Bringing Out the Dead" (strange flick with Nicholas Cage, John Goodman & Patricia Arquette)

The plane had a cool display which informed me of how far into the 8000k trip we were, our altitude, up to 12 clicks above the face of the Earth and the outside temp of some minus 50 degrees centigrade and of course our speed - just under 1000 kph.

The sky was gorgeous beyond belief. Blue sea running out to the horizon where a white cloud skirt hid the merger with the sky which turned to a near black above me.

A world of blue-on-blue with cloud creatures grazing the aqua plains.

Didn't see Nihon till we were putting our wheels on the ground due to *very* low cloud cover.

The airport is a slick piece of engineering, nice little train came out to our terminal and commuted us back into customs and immigration. Except for the world of Kanji characters it is just an airport. Made for maximum people throughput.

So I found a place to buy a ticket to Katsuta and then stood in the 10 degree coolness to await my trusty transport.

Got to remember to go from a cooling climate to a warm one and not to a near freezing and snowing one!

Arrived at Katsuta, the bus leaving in front of the train station, and then lugged my bags to my friend Ben's place, stopping every 20 meters to rest my arms and pray that Ben's directions where accurate.

They were but he wasn't - there! Damn.

Next is follow directions to the gaijin (foreigner) watering hole - "The Drunken Duck."

The Drunken Duck, turns out, is owned by a Japanese lady and her daughter runs it. I went in and inquired of the Aussie barman about my friend Ben and got connected with someone who lived with him. Seems the barman, Jamie, fell in love with and married the owner's daughter and as such runs the Duck, much to the satisfaction of many gaijin residents & visitors.

I also wrangled myself a trial work shift tonight (Saturday) so that should prove interesting.

So Ben turned up eventually and the night flew by as we share some celebratory toasts "kampai" ....

My first day awaking beneath the Land's Rising Sun and Ben and I train it off to Mito, the next larger town. Actually the capital of Ibaraki prefecture.

The train stations are well laid out but needless to say the whole Kanji signage and turnstile displays are decidedly intimidating but I made it home on my own after Ben took off for work. I had to stay on and shop around for an adapter for my laptop's power lead.

Can't believe I let that one item slip me &gtshrug<>

Couldn't find one but on returning home I scoured the house for old leads and found one that had a large plug on the end like the type we use, in Oz, with old element water boilers (kettles/jugs whatever).

I unscrewed the plug to expose the metal housings which accommodate the two metal prongs in the jug and I pushed them over the ends of my computers plug, leaving the Earth unconnected, and here I am typing away! Power to the machine at last. Not to mention the music contained therein.

[..]Sunday morning:

Worked last night at the Drunken Duck. Feeling sore in the back from walking everywhere hunched over so that I don't smack my head on the shelving &gtsigh&lt. But it's got to be good for my Japanese to listen to so many drunken Japanese talking.

Note to Jok and Max, next time we speak Nihongo just pretend I am drunk and we should communicate fine {grin}.

OK, off to find an Internet bar and Bath house (Onsen).

[..]Sunday arvo:

Well the Internet place seemed closed so I went to a bath house and for 1780 Yen [US$17] I had the most relaxed afternoon soaking in HOT water then cold then HOT then sleeping in the TV room, then a feed in the Saloon. Nearly wore my shoes onto the Tatami mats [phew!]

Off to work at the Duck real soon.

OK Love to you all in Australia and the rest of the world.

nomaD

Ibaraki-ken, Japan