Christmas Cake

Ahhh Christmas cakes.

So tomorrow, it just so happens is my cakeday. That's right! So make sure you wish me a good one!

As it also happens, tomorrow is my cake day in more than one meaning. In Japan, Christmas cake has two meanings: one being that exactly what it says and what you might think it means, a cake, indigenous to Japan, that one eats on Christmas day, the other is in reference to a girl. A particular girl who just so happens to be 25. After that, she is said to have the Christmas cake effect.
Don't know what this means? This saying is in reference to the actual cake and how they are good up until Christmas day, the 25th. But after that no one really wants to eat it anymore. Or well they want to eat it less and less. The Christmas spirit is gone, the silly songs and the glad tidings, the presents and the mistletoe all start to get packed away. And Christmas cakes. What isn't eaten is thrown out and the cakes that went unpurchased will go on sale for cheaper and cheaper discounts.
This is also a euphemism for girls. In Japanese culture, they are used to getting married young and popping out babies early on. More or less soon after college. Why they go, do ask me, because soon after they just decide to be a housewife after they get married. Well, topics for another time.
Girls are said they are prettiest, or best by, the age of 25. The same day as Christmas. This is likely because there are no significant events with romantic allusions that land on the 26th, 27th, or 28th which lead to the endearing term of 'Christmas cakes'. So the saying goes that girls and cakes taste the most delicious (or are prettiest) by or before the age of 25 and after she becomes more and more desperate and the price of her goods begins to go on discount, just like the cakes. In progression, she is said to becomes less and less desirable by the year (or for the actual cakes, by the day). And so, she settles for whatever she can get as to a relationship, because the mentality is that she will be expiring soon(or at least her assets.
So for all those single women over the age of 25, I would say fear not. Because rotting fruit actually tastes the sweetest (it's true too!)...ok perhaps it is not the best to insinuate that you are rotting. You aren't. You are beautiful. I didn't mean it. Don't...don't cry...Cakes have preservatives. They don't rot...

Ah well. Tomorrow I start my days as a Christmas cake! Shall I be the best tasting one!

Christmas in Japan

You know I think that it really is slowly and surely becoming a bigger and bigger deal in Japan. I feel like I am seeing more lights this year. And they sure as hell play all the Christmas songs, and there are even some in Japanese that they play. I am even pretty sure that some of my students get presents.

Funny story actually, I asked my students when they thought about when they thought about Christmas, and you know I got Santa, and presents and Christmas trees, but probably the fifth thing someone yelled out was KFC. I lost it. I laughed so hard. I told them that we didn't have KFC for Christmas, but maybe they did and that that was a tradition all of their own.
In addition to their own traditions. Strawberries are grow for exorbitant prices out of season just to make their little Christmas cakes. Like 700 yen for a basket. And yet people buy them. Gotta have them some of that Christmas cake. No Christmas is complete without it.

So last Christmastime I went to both Osaka and Arashiyama for seeing the 'Christmas lights' they put up at this time of year. In Arashiyama, this counts as throwing up some green and blue accent lights accenting the bamboo forest, well it also has a few excessive flower arrangements as well. In Osaka it was that amazing light show and their Chirstmas wonderland which was a (kind of sad looking) Christmasy light display on that little island between the two rivers. Osaka also put on one of my Christmas favorites, German Christmastown. A really fantastic set up over at the Umeda Sky Building with mulled wine, a big jolly Santa and lots of imported German goodies: wood workings and carousels and clocks and Christmas ornaments, even the people, they shipped some people from Germany over just for this occasion.
This year I went to Kobe. I got to see the grand luminarie which is really in honor of the earthquake victims from a decades and change back. They put on this really grand illumination every year and it is free. The line is so long to see it, it goes on for kilometers and is heavily patrolled by police with metal blockades  Pretty impressive in that alone. One you arrive to it, it is over actually pretty quickly or it would be if you and everyone else would quit taking pictures. This is no parade of lights you see, it is a much quicker event than that...though perhaps a little more grandiose. This event doesn't actually cost anything, but they would really like you to donate 100 yen. There are places set up all over to accept it. The 100 yen is to cover the cost of electricity for the event, or so it is said. Sadly they come up in the red every year. But Good Guy Kobe continuously puts it on year after year, because it just isn't Christmas in the Kansai area without these symbolic lights.
Another thing I got a chance to see this year was a luminary out in the mountains around Maibara Kyoto (so you have to have a car to get there). It primarily consists of a little stream and a bunch of trees decked out to each and every twig with some white and blue LED lights. There was also a waterfall that they illuminate and a castle like structure they build out of a bunch of blue LEDs. This one also costs money, but instead of a donation, they require you to pay 500 yen. And for what it is, and the fact that you have to drive out to it. That is pretty over priced, but romantic, so it happened anyways.
But by far the best Christmas adventure viewing you can see is free and it is at Kyoto station. They have a wonderful color changing Christmas tree set up on the upper levels of the outdoor terrace, above Cafe du Monde and Mister Doughnut. But it is not just that that is magical. Their enormous staircase, just in front of the tree. All of the stairs are decked out in LEDs and will put on a light display every so often. And apparently a fairly long one as I sat there for 10 minutes and it had yet to loop back around.

Happy Birthday Emperor!

Happy Birthday Akihito! 

Japan Fashion: Business

There are actually two styles when it comes to business which are primarily dictated by the changing of weather and seasons. In the summer and hotter months, there is a style that they have declared as 'cool biz' with a double entendre meaning both chic and cooler to wear in the warmer months. And then in the autumn, winter, and spring, there is normal business I suppose.

Cool biz is Japan's idea of wearing attire better fitting for the warmer weather. It primarily consists of white button down short-sleeved business shirts. Ties and blazers are no longer required and thus you will not see them anywhere near as much. Of course you still have to wear black slacks or dress pants. Shorts just don't seem to look professional in any setting. Business women typically will always look a little dressier than this, sporting blouses, skirts or pants, and vests if they are true business women. I also think their blouses and scarves or ascots tend to be a bit more colorful in this season. And yes, some do wear little ascots (most likely for business purposes) very much like airline hostesses.








Normal business wear is almost always black or navy, though perhaps if you are a women, you might have a bit more color choice with grey, charcoal, England sky, and lead colors. Though if you are a man and can find those colors I suppose you can wear them too. As with the cool biz season, women seem to be slightly, and only slightly, a bit more colorful when it comes to normal business season. As I said, they never really range much from the dull traditional business suit colors, but you do see a bit more of a variety. In the winter, blazers are a must have for almost all business professionals and will normally be accompanied by a little pin in the upper left lapel signifying exactly which company you work for. Ties or bow ties are also a necessity if you are to be taken seriously, though bow ties are sincerely out of fashion here and are more difficult to find. You will see more people wearing bow ties at weddings and such. If you and looking for one, you will find it slightly more difficult to acquire, with a much more diminished selection to neck tie comparison. Otherwise in normal business fashion, long sleeved button downs are back in fashion with those same slacks you have been wearing year round. But as far as neckties go, it really seems like any will do. I have this one guy in my office who wears the strangest tie; it looks like an extremely tight worked knit with this reddish-orange thread and a few other colors splashed on it, and then where it normally would come to a point, it tassels. Yeah I know what you are thinking...wtf kind of tie is that. One person even said pics or it didn't happen. well I am working on it is all I can say to that.
Also as a pro-tip for business fashion, most people, especially working people, will have a extremely nice suit. I mean not just you normal suit. One day I was told that it was graduation ceremony and to dress up. So I sport a blazer and some matching pants and a nice blouse. Yeah, they meant really dress up. One guys suit looked like a vintage mobsters pin stripe, complete with pocket-chief. Another guy had black velvet accents on his suit. A man! The women all wore pearls. It was a most bizarre scene. But be warned if you are ever asked to dress up, might want to break out the nicer of your two suits and shine up those shoes, and for ladies to put on a bit of perfume and some fashionable accessories.

A Fish to Miss

There is of course, more than one poisonous fish such that you will die from eating it, but perhaps this is the most famous.

For those of you who do not know what that is, it is the famous fugu (ふぐ、鯸), or puffer fish. 

Fugu became a bit infamous, especially overseas with its ability to unintentionally kill. Well perhaps whomever is serving it to you is trying to kill you, but I assure you that is not the fishes' intent. Pretty much, this fish needs to only be prepared by an expert, and I even think it is illegal in the United States due to this grave cause for concern (just want to point out my awesome pun...grave concern...). Regardless, you have to be certified to prepare this fish, which I actually just happen to know one. Unfortunately I cannot boast that I have tried it yet, though I do intend to. 

Not all sushi shops will sell fugu. In fact I would tell you most do not. You can normally determine that a shop will fugu if there is a large fish take outside that has several of those suckers (more like blowers, hah!...really, I will show myself out now) swimming around in it. For the most part they will look spotty and fairly unimpressive and perhaps to many a tourist, they will look like an unattractive, unappetizing fish and wonder why in the world one would display it at the front of their restaurant. But for Japanese people this is a way to determine a good restaurant, it also determines the quality of your fish in person. 

As an additional note, they are puffer fish for a reason. They are not those little cute one with the spikes all over it, but they do inflate a good amount if you squeeze them just right. Not that I am recommending you do so...

Japanese people will eat this fish a number of different ways, but perhaps the expense of it and the expense of hiring a professional to cut it up all nice like for you keeps them from eating it so often. I would hazard a guess that most normal people will even eat it less than a year. Hell I even think that years will pass before they take another sampling. I would say that it is just not something more people crave. If you want sushi, you can go to the dollar sushi restaurant or even a nice one and order all the fish and be full without having to eat fugu. That just adds to the expense of things and not necessarily the flavor (as they are getting plenty of it from their other dishes). Additionally, fugu is not really something you make a whole meal out of. You normally order several dishes and that is just one of them. So do not expect to go to a restaurant and fill up on fugu, unless you are of the wealthy sort who can do that.

But back to food preparation, they normally eat this fish as sashimi in a bunch of thin little slices with soy and wasabi and some daikon garnish. They will also sometimes put it in nabe, a nice winter dish that reminds me of a Chinese hot pot, but of course if you told any Japanese person that, they might get offended and insist that either it is totally different or that they came up with it first. Nabe is a dish of boiling flavored water (flavored with dashi or some other subtle flavoring like salt or kelp) in which there are vegetables and a type or two of meat. Meat can vary to pretty much whatever you want to put inside of it.

oh god so many pictures!

Nap Time Cafe

Japan is no stranger to cafes.

One of the things that pleasently surprised me about Japan when I first moved here was the amount of small wonderful, non hipster filled cafes that you can find in all the crannies of Japan. Among these cafes, some are pretty awesome, and some are just...less awesome than others. And still others are known for their uniqueness like their maid cafes and cat cafes.

But this one is truly unique to me. Not even anime, manga, or any stereotype about  Japan prepared me for this level of greatness. Nap Cafes.
Nap cafes are exactly what you might think they are. A place to get a little bit of shut eye in the long working day. How is that so? Well they offer bedding of various types, chairs, loungers, hammocks, sofas, futons, beds. I am sure there is an even greater variety than just those too. So basically you can go there during your afternoon tea break, or during lunch, or just whenever you can make your escape for a bit of time, and rest up for the rest of your working day, and evening, and night. Yup that is right, night too. Japanese men and women probably need these cafes more than anyone I know. They work so hard and so late, the convenience store, 7-11 has a whole new meaning in Japan. It pretty much identifies with the hours that those salary men work.
These cafes become a necessity in not only offering the eyes and minds of salary men and women a bit of respite, but also function as the name suggest, as a cafe. Or at least the majority do. These cafes will serve things like coffee, teas, and what cafe is not complete without a bit of cake, no? Other say they offer aromatherapy  to help in relaxation or even a massage! How nice! And still more are only for women and have a make up room to help those women touch up their hair and make up so you that they don't have to do it on the train.

But these cafes do not come cheap. On lists 150 yen per min. That is nearly two American dollars. 10 minutes? You are already looking at over $15.00. The recommended power nap is what 45 minutes? that is well over $60.00. However the same cafe says they do several hour package plans at a much more reasonable price. So you are better off going for the long haul as opposed to just catching a few Z's.

Coincidentally, not a Nap cafe! haha!

Oh and here is a bonus if you are one of those Forever Alone types. There are some more specialized speel shops called Cuddle Cafes too. You can pay an extraordinary fee to cuddle with some stranger in a few select cafes. But that is about all you are allowed to do. Don't go getting hands all over her. You have you clothes on and they stay on. I am not even sure if you would have a private room. Not likely seeing as how some men would just take this opportunity a little too far. But wait! There is more! The same cuddle cafe is starting a delivery cuddle service. Not that seems a bit call girlish to me and probably pushes the envelope for the decency of well, pretty much anyone. But this is Japan, where people stick to rules and follow what other say even when no one is watching...most of the time.
So! What would it cost to get one of these beautiful girls by your side? Well there is an entrance fee, like there is with most specialty cafes, as well as a fee for whatever you do (coffee, sleeping, the amount of sleeping time, breathing...you know the basics). So I think with the minimum, you are looking at spending about 6000 yen. Ouch.

Seems like a pretty big upgrade from sleeping in the chairs at those net cafes that people normally do. Also beats a few hours in a capsule I think. But those options are still open if public sleeping is not quite your style or if someone there is too loud in their sleep for you to get any rest. Come to think of if...I wonder what they would do in that sort of situation...

Japanese Politics

It is political season in Japan! And no one really knows what to do about it...

Well except for these guys. These guys seem to have it down...
Both contenders running for the position of Tokyos governor. Which would you pick?

Japan is a very politically strange country(if you can't tell from the videos), where no one really knows what to do or what they want, but everyone knows they are not happy. I say this because, let us look at the facts, they have had 9 prime ministers in the last 8 years, and the current one is also stepping down.
 Additionally upon appearing on television and I asked who it was, the person I was with could not tell me. In other words Japanese people do not know, care about, recognize, nor really the least bit familiar with their prime minister, quite unlike Americans and our president. I personally could not tell you what the prime minister looked like, other than toad-like, or even his name; though I suppose I could tell you all about that vulture Hashimoto. Sadly, I suppose his is the face of real politics happening in Japan, as he seems to be the only one making waves.
In Japan, people do not directly vote for their prime minister. They vote for their city or prefectural representative, this might possibly be a mayor, and they will vote for them. I am still a bit spotty on how this works though. I know that the current prime minister is stepping down because his party is no longer the majority party in Japan, and that the majority party's leader will soon step up. Though technically, prime ministers are supposed to have a 2 year sentence I think? Though they just voluntarily step down? Maybe because their honor and dignity is at stake if they are over thrown? There are too many questions and I just don't fully understand. Nor do I really want or care to. Politics has never been my thing. Personally I think the vice principal at my school could do a better job running a country (he does such a fantastic job of running the school). Honestly I think that if the people could just vote for their own prime minister directly, a lot of this political instability might be able to be avoided. You picked your bed, now lay in it type of attitude.

Well that isn't what I really wanted to talk about when I brought up politics. I really wanted to talk about they way they go about doing it. Well all except for Hashimoto. That vulture does things his own way.

Rather I wanted to tell you how differently they do politics here. They don't go and lecture at your universities, they don't hold debates, they don't appear on the T.V. news channels with the latest updates. They do drive around in cars with speakers and their message blaring all across the streets. Though that really isn't efficient when you think about it. People are also driving and they might not even catch a sentence of what your campaign is about. The amount of people who hear it versus the effort that you put into it, just isn't equal. I mean occasionally they will drive through places with heavy pedestrian traffic and many people can hear their message and they might get stopped at a traffic light and that would really maximize their viewer ratio. But in my opinion, it is a really archaic method and it seems pretty half-assed. I am not going to vote for someone who is yelling at me from their car. And when you have to go and rent the car, pre-recorded a speech and then pay for the gas to just drive around all day, only for people to be mildly annoyed that you are ruining their peace, just not worth it. If I wanted to listen to you rant and yell at me, I would attend whatever function you held and sponsored that I approved of. I am just trying to get my Christmas shopping done and go home, so go away! And no, I don't want you do come and drive down my extremely residential area at 9 in the morning for a little friendly get-the-eff-outta-bed-and-listen-to-my-rant, but thank you for that.
Another of their favorite methods, which I don't mind in the slightest, but I also don't find very effective, is their speeches to the train commuters early in the morning or late in the evening. They like to pick busy stations where they will maximize their commuter and potential voter likelihood and will come in force with their volunteers, and their tissues and megaphones. They too will yell at you and tell you of all the trouble they will relieve you from and what problems there are now. They and their volunteers and families will hand out flyers and tissues and tell you good morning. These types of people are not near so bad, but I am probably biased because of the free tissues. Hey! It is cold and flu season! They are a very important commodity....don't judge me...
And then finally, as a final campaign tactic, only used by the more influential and richer candidates, will you actually see a T.V. campaign. And you will not see these anywhere near as often as you do in America. I might see one in several hours of T.V. watching. And so far I have only seen a grand total of 2. Whereas I am exceedingly grateful for this relief from the quite abrasive Japan politics, I also can see where it can hurt Japanese society in the long run. I know I pretty much discovered about politics through television and news channels. I had no real idea before that. But those annoying guys that come on and interrupt you programming and make your favorite television shows reschedule so they can have their little debate and people will see it, THAT is how you learn about politics. When you want to watch T.V. and you show isn't on, and because we are creatures of habit, we sit and watch anyways and then knowledge happens. But here, people don't really care about their politicians, they aren't really strong advocates for one or another, college kids don't get in little rows with one another over debating it, people don't unfriend each other from Facebook. They just don't care. I don't think that they could even name all the candidates running. Maybe not even half. But I can't fault them for it. Their politicians don't really seems to care enough, why should they? Prime minister has a 2 year sentence and yet he just rolls over after one so that someone else can take his place? It is like the country just has superficial government that doesn't really accomplish anything, but they have to have one, so they do.
I suppose I am just amazed that what pretty much shapes my country is a complete amorphous amoeba to another.

Oh and speaking of the candidates, here is a topics for another time, but a good many of them are representatives of cults! Ok, they are not things like the Jim Jones cult or anything. I mean technically speaking a cult can also be religion. Which is pretty much what I am talking about. They are not religions like the ones we all know, but rather named stuff like The Chemistry of the Heart (yup, no lie. I have seen that cult before). They have their own beliefs and values and politics apparently, and frequently put forth their candidates into the ranks of megaphone wielding politicians in front of the stations. There is even one guy who calls himself Jesus Christ. I'm not kidding.
Oh and another one is an extreme right wing party that wants to expel any and all foreigners. They want Japan only to have Japanese nationals...Not to mention the amount for foreigners is exceedingly small already. But those guys are extremely insane.
Guess my point is Japan is full of crazies and they are all involved in politics.

Here is what the right wingers look like if you ever get curious.

A Little Bird Told me

Something I feel like I have been seeing a lot of recently, especially in Kyoto, is this little cute bird called chidori, 千鳥.

You might think that this is just an original drawing of just any bird by a kid, but apparently it is based on the plover. The sub-seagull bird that sort of resembles sand pipers roaming the Japan's, and the rest of the world's, shores looking for easy watery targets for their next meal. 

Evidently there is in fact some interesting, and as always in most Japanese culture, and exaggerated meaning to this specific bird. 

Well before we get into that, let me do a little background, Japan is pretty notorious for their onomatopoeia words. They have them for everything. For example, zaza is the sound of rain, shinshin is the sound for snow, pokapoka is the meaning for when you are grateful that it is sunny (so you would not say this in the summer and you are hot and sweaty...there is a different 'sound' for that...jirijri or giragira), fuwafuwa is fluffy, sallasalla is smooth, gorogoro is being lazy and rolling around on the floor (my favorite), chuchu is the sound a mouse makes. I am sure you get the point. These types of words are called gion-go. So you see, they have a 'sound' for everything, or perhaps it is better described as something they say to express the sentiment of the situation but not really a sound.

So anyways, the sound for chidori, comes from its name as much as the call it makes to others of its kind, it is chiyo. Chiyo when put to kanji, becomes 千代.  千代 also has another meaning, as anyone could have guess given the Japanese cultural affinity for having double meanings. 千 means 1000 and 代 means generation. 1000 generations. Can you guess what it means? Probably. It means longevity and good health to whatever the symbol is representing. So if you wear it on a kimono to a wedding, it means you hope they have a long and healthy marriage. If it stands in front of an izakaya, it means they either want their establishment to be prosperous, or they want you to think that you will have a long and healthy life if you eat there. 

I have also been seeing them in pastries a lot lately, especially this one found in the Porta area under Kyoto Station. I can only assume that it means I will live for 1000 years if I eat one...

Ordering some Take Out

To order up some take out in Japan is an incredibly old new-fangled idea. Don't understand what I mean? Well, Japan has done take out in at least one form for quite some decades. That form takes the shape of the very well known bento. Sure most people prefer to make their own or have their mothers or girlfriends make them for them, but there have always been bento shops for that special occasion or the rare incidence wherein you forget to pack a lunch. These bento shops are places that you could either pick up your order, or on the rare occasion (at least for back in the day) they could deliver it for you (probably if you had a large order or something).

Today, it seems like take out food is more of a new thing in Japan. Yes they have McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's does take out. But that isn't really where I am going with this. I am going in the direction of real meals, restaurants and the like. I know in America, it is perfectly acceptable to walk into nearly any restaurant, or at least any restaurant chain, and order your meals to go if the wait to get a seat is just too long or if you were feeling rather misogynistic that night. Places like Outback steakhouse or Chili's. In Japan, not every place does that. I even doubt the Outback in Osaka will do that, granted I haven't tried yet...However, there are some places that do. My favorite ramen joint with excellent karage now does that, Osho, the kansai chain of Chinese restaurants as well. Why I am really not surprised by Chinese take out?
But whats more?
Some places even deliver. I am not just talking about your local Pizza Hut, which of course delivers, but even the Tokyo McDonald's has a fleet of McDonald's emblazoned scooters that scoot around the city getting meals to their patrons. I am sure there is a price limit to justify the use of one though. Bento stores like the one that my school orders en masse from of course deliver directly to our school. Most other bento places will deliver as well to patrons who probably fall under the McDonald's clause of spending x amount of money. And then a bunch of mom and pop places will deliver to their long time patrons or patrons who are possibly too feeble to make it to the store. Or maybe just to anyone?
The favored method of deliver is is via scooter. They will equip these scooters with large insulated coolers as a back attachment for the mopeds and away they go. I am sure there is also some variant of three wheeled scooter-car with a bed or larger back area to enable them to carry their large order to patron such as my school. There are also special rigs that either must be done personally or by some interesting tech that does some bizarre designs. I will let your minds wander as to what contraptions I might be referring. Perhaps one day you will be so lucky as to get a picture. But then my favorite, is the delivery method by my favorite mom and pop restaurant shop. They too have a little moped and the driver has this great wooden delivery box with an enormous handle that he holds on to as he rides to his destination.
Need Proof?