Things I love about Japan

I've lived here for about 13 years total and there's no way I could have if it weren't for the many good points. So here they are not in any particular order. HOT SPRINGS (picture below in Beppu) - The first "onsen" I tried was Japan's oldest and arguably most famous, Dogo Onsen, in Matsuyama; this is also where I lived my first year in Japan and fell in love with this country. It's funny because at that time I just couldn't find the pleasure of sitting in a hot bath with a bunch of naked men. It probably wasn't until I was in my 30's that my "old" body could appreciate the healing and relaxing feeling of it all. KARAOKE (picture above of me and Susan when we entered a karaoke contest - and lost badly) - I actually only go a few times a year but always enjoy it when I do. The sound systems these days can make almost anyone sound like a pro. Plus, singing in English gives me a big advantage whenever I go with students, haha. FESTIVALS (picture of me carrying "mikoshi" taken last week at Odawara Matsuri, pic. on right at summer festival in Okayama when I was a JET) - I particulary enjoy the summer festivals, especially the firework shows. They are so much bigger and better than the ones I've seen back home on the 4th of July. I also love all the festival food (yakisoba, cotton candy, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yakitori). So it goes without saying that my love of JAPANESE FOOD makes living here that much easier. A few of my other favorites are: sukiyaki, tempura, karaage (Jap. fried chicken), donburi and shogayaki. Another Japanese invention that is loved by all, especially every winter, is the HEATED TOILET SEAT. Not only does it warm your tush (bottom), it sprays up water to do the cleaning, very environmentally friendly! :) Of course, the "SAFE" feeling I have here is also a huge plus. Not that I feel in danger in my own country but I am constantly aware of it and it's something that you always have to be prepared for. Here I can walk the streets by myself in the middle of the night and not worry about being mugged or robbed. I'm not saying it could never happen but the odds are so slim here that it's not yet a concern for me. I'll finish by saying it's the PEOPLE. I'm almost always treated well here. This is not only by people who know me but also by complete strangers. Generally speaking, Japanese are polite and easy to get along with. I'm very grateful to all the kind people I've encountered and befriended here.

5-year wedding anniversary

"Time flies when you're having fun"! It's hard to believe it has already been 5 years of marriage. I know it's very short compared to many of you but it's the first milestone in our early marriage career. Sometimes I'm asked how being in an "international marriage" is. Well, I think that all marriages take a huge amount of work and effort and compromise and love regardless of who the 2 partners are.

Thinking back to our wedding reception in Stockton, I have so many fond memories. When else can you have all your family and friends together to celebrate "love". Aki was glowing in her white wedding dress and her excellent speech in English surprised me. My speech, on the other hand, was mediocre to bad. A lesson learned in "ad-libbing". So allow me to give another heartfelt "Thank you" to all our friends and relatives who drove (or flew) from as far away as LA. We both were so happy that you could help make our day (March 28) so memorable.

I promised my wife that on our 5 or 10 year anniversary I'd upgrade her wedding ring. Her diamond can barely be seen by the naked eye, unlike the "rocks" that can be seen adorning the hands of my married friends' wives, haha. Anyway, it looks like she will have to wait until our 10-year anniversary for her upgrade though. :) It's interesting, here in Japan many married couples don't wear their wedding rings. I think it's a waste to spend a lot of money on something that you don't use. It's kind of like the Palm I bought a few years back and never learned how to use; I'm such a technophobe!

On the topic of wedding anniversaries, I'm happy to say that my parents will celebrate their "Golden Wedding Anniversary" next year!

Valentine's Day in Japan

The Japanese adopted Valentine's Day from the West in 1936. This bright idea came from a chocolate maker called Morozoff and now about 20% of Japan's annual chocolate sales is during Valentine's Day week. The interesting thing about it is that almost ALL the chocolate buying is by women! I felt out of place when I went into the Plaza (formerly Sony Plaza) to get my wife a card and some chocolates and was the only man out of about 100 female customers. Of course I didn't mind though, haha. So Valentine's Day in Japan is when a woman can show her affection to the man she is interested in by giving him chocolate. It's almost the exact opposite of how it's done back in America. While men and women do exchange gifts, it is definitely much more the man's responsibility as he usually spends twice as much as the woman does. Sending a dozen red roses to her place of work is always a winner. It's also common to give flowers/chocolate to your mother too. A forgotten Valentine's Day by a man can cause his girlfriend/wife to be very upset/hurt. Isn't it nice for us guys to be in Japan?! JK.

I remember my first Valentine's Day in Japan.
I had no idea about the custom of girls giving to guys. I think I received about 50 gifts, including chocolates and hand-made cookies or cakes. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. There is something called "giri choco". "Giri" means obligatory in English and this is the chocolate that is given to co-workers or superiors (or in my case their teacher) out of a sense of obligation. Anyway, as I'm now an old married guy, last year I only got 5 chocolates and they were all "giri choco". :)

There is one more custom that is unique to Japan (and Korea). This is called "White Day". This was also dreamt up by a Japanese department store eager to boost their sales.
"White Day" is exactly one month later on March 14. On this day, men must reciprocate all the gifts they received AND their gifts should be of MORE value! Giving white chocolates is very common and a friend told me that marshmallows can be given to a girl who is just a friend. Men also can give jewerly or lingerie if they really like the girl (or really hope the girl will like him), hehe.

When I was in elementary school, we used to decorate the classroom with hearts and cupids and exchange cards and candies. I loved this day because I could say "I like you" in a card and hopefully be written the same thing back. I can still remember the girl I had a crush on in the 4th grade; her name was Cindy C. I did become her boyfriend in the 6th grade but that was short-lived as she dumped me for one of my friends. That's OK, she's still my friend. :)

Shogatsu

“Shogatsu” literally means the first month of the year. However, many people tend to consider Shogatsu as the New Year’s holiday period from January 1-3. Most of my students say Shogatsu is the most important holiday time of the year, much like Christmas is in the United States. In fact, this year a record 99, 390, 000 people made New Year visits to shrines and temples across Japan. But January 1st wasn't always celebrated as New Year's Day in Japan. Before 1873, the date was based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

This year on New Year's Day we went to play tennis at Shiroyama. Before starting, everyone watches the first sunrise. This year Mayor Kato came to greet us. I was impressed by this as he was giving up his own time (especially valuable sleeping time) just to wish us a happy new year. We then played about an hour until Aki got too tired or was it too cold. Anyway, it was nice to start the year off doing something active. Thinking about new year's day back in the states, most people sleep in and wake up with a hangover because New Year's Eve (which is also my birthday!) is the biggest party night of the entire year.

Seeing the first sunrise of the year (hatsuhinode) is an important event here. At first I thought it was crazy to wake up before sunrise and go out in the COLD, but it's always worth it. There are always hundreds of people at the local beach near our home to witness the first sunrise. There's even a group that goes for a new year's swim in the sea.

Another custom is sending New Year's Day postcards (nengajo). These postcards usually come with a picture of the sender or the animal that represents the Chinese zodiac sign of the year. This is the "Year of the Ox" (or cow). This time is the busiest time of the year for postal workers as they must deliver all the postcards on New Year's Day!

This is also the time for giving otoshidama. This is the custom of giving money to children. So it's easy to understand why shogatsu is the favorite holiday of most children too. They can usually get a couple hundred dollars total from their parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles.

I can't write about shogatsu without writing about the food. Traditional Japanese food called osechi is served. These dishes are usually sweet, sour or dried. They are usually eaten over a two or three day period. Fortunately for me (because I don't like osechi), sashimi and other delicious dishes were prepared by my mother-in-law. :) And my father-in-law always wears a kimono for shogatsu as seen in the picture with me and the osechi. He also loves to drink his sake.

Christmas

Merry x-mas everyone! This is definitely my favorite holiday of the year. As a child, I can remember counting the presents and counting the days before I could open all of them. My parents spoiled my brothers and me. I think we got over 10 presents each! Probably the best present I received was a blue Schwinn http://www.schwinn-jpn.com/05bikes/stingray_his.htm bicycle with the raised handle bars and big banana seat when I was about 9 years old.

Like shogatsu (New Year's) in Japan, x-mas in America is a time for family. My family always went to my Uncle John and Aunt Kinu's house. My grandparents, cousins, their boyfriends and girlfriends, my brothers and me and our girlfriends would all be there. Of course we would have the traditional x-mas dinner of roast turkey but there would also be an Asian flavor. My grandma always made inari sushi and maze gohan. My aunt would make her famous fried wonton and Chinese chicken salad. There would also always be lots of California-grown white rice to go with the turkey, ham, steak, chicken and sashimi. BTW, guess what the most popular dish is in Japan on x-mas eve??? It's a bucket of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)!!!

Yes, Christmas here in Japan is different. It's not a holiday and it's hard to feel the x-mas spirit. Christmas Eve is not a time for families to be together but a time for couples to go out. It's much like Valentine's Day in the states. Surpisingly, Christmas was not a holiday in early America either. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. And Congress was even in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until 1870.

In the 17th century, Dutch immigrants brought the practice of gift-giving at Christmas to America. They also gave us the legend of Sinter Klaas; Sinter Klaas is the Dutch name for St. Nicolas and this is how we got Santa Claus. Santa Claus was born in the US in the 1860's. Americans gave Santa Claus a white beard, dressed him in a red suit and made him a cheery old man with red cheeks and a twinkle in his eye. But do you know where Santa Claus is from originally? Most people are surprised when they learn that he was a real person from the warm climate of Southern Turkey. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280A.D. It is said that he gave away all his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Christmas is a time for giving, sharing and peace.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Famous "friends"

OK, I use the word "friend" very loosely here. To be totally honest, the people in the pictures don't even know who I am! :)
I was just happy to have met them and exchange a few words with them.

The famous people are:
Charlie Sheen (actor),


Sean Elliot (former NBA All-Star),


Tamlyn Tomita (actress),


Stephen Malkmus (musician) and Scott Kannberg (formerly of Pavement).


I can claim Stephen and Scott as my friends. In fact, we used to be best friends back in elementary school and were all part of the ol' Morada gang. The picture of the 3 of us was taken backstage when I saw them live at Blitz Akasaka. You can also see them in a couple of the Halloween pictures on my October post. I did also have dinner with Sean Elliot that summer night we took that picture. This was back when I lived in Matsuyama in 1990. He was dating a friend (half-Japanese girl in picture) whose mother was from there.

Since I'm on the topic of famous people I've met, I have to tell the story of when I was a bellman in my hometown around 1984. Nicolas Cage was filming a movie and staying at the hotel I worked at. I was working in the giftshop when he popped in to buy some snacks. He took out a huge wad of cash and for some reason just handed a $20 bill to a little boy who happened to be standing next to him. He just said "here you go". It was so spontaneous and so surreal. Speaking of movie stars, I was also on the set with Michael Caine and Sally Field as an extra. My friend, Jeff, and I were just a few feet from them during the scene we were in. We were so excited and went to the movie as soon as it opened. We watched the whole film anxiously waiting for our scene to appear only to find out that they cut out the entire scene. Anyway, that was the end of my acting career, haha! :)

I'll finish by writing about my famous cousin, Philip Kan Gotanda. He's one of the most well-respected Asian-American playwrights and a very cool guy too. My favorite play of his is "Sisters Matsumoto" which was based on my grandmother and her sisters and their lives after returning from the internment camps. I had the pleasure of seeing it both in San Jose, California and in Tokyo (in Japanese).

Halloween

Halloween originated in Ireland and was brought to North America by Irish immigrants in the 19th century, so it's just been over a hundred years that we Americans have been celebrating it. The most common activity is "trick-or-treating". This is mainly for children up to age of about 12. They dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for treats with the question "Trick or treat?" If no treat is given, the homeowner may have a trick played on them or their property. When I was a kid (or early teen), the most common trick was to TP (toilet paper) their house. This is when you get some rolls of toilet paper and throw them up in their front yard, decorating their trees in a lovely shade of white or pink. :) This usually happens in the cover of darkness. Anyway, I used to love going trick or treating and bringing home a huge bag of candy, one of my favorite foods. haha! Nowadays I still enjoy going to a costume party. Here in Japan, Halloween has been getting bigger and bigger every year since the first time I came here in 1990. In almost every city a costume party can be found. They are usually attended by a mixed crowd of "gaijin" and Japanese. You can see some photos of a few of the parties I've attended here and a couple of me on Halloween day when I was in elementary school back in CA.

Man's best friend

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself" is a quote from American writer Josh Billings. This is why dogs are known as 'man's best friend'. The close relationship between humans and dogs began many thousands of years ago. The most popular breed is the Labrador, but the best breed is the German Shepherd. Okay, I admit that I am biased. Since the age of 7, I grew up with 4 different German Shepherds (my parents still have #4 right now). I know what a good and smart dog they are. In fact, they are the 3rd most intelligent breed of dog behind Border Collies and Poodles (what poodles?!). Shepherds are also known for their loyalty and courage. I would agree with this too although our second one, Mari, would jump the fence at any chance. Come to think of it, it probably got bored of being alone in our backyard with nobody to play with. Shepherds do need a big yard to play in and because they are smart, they need a lot of stimulation.

German Shepherds were and still are used to herd sheeps, hence the name shepherd, but they are also used as guide dogs for the blind, for search and rescue, in the military, as police dogs and as they were for our family, guard dogs. Shepherds only bark when they feel it is necessary, so we'd always peek out the back window when we heard him barking. Sometimes it looked like he just wanted our attention but other times he probably did encounter a racoon or opossum.

Having grown up with big dogs, I don't care for small dogs much. They can be cute but for me, they're pretty much "All bark, no bite". Here are pictures of the last 3 German Shepherds my family has had. As you can see, none of these are 100%. Our first one, Lila was a thoroughbred but I don't have a picture of her. She was named after our dear late Aunt Lila who used to live next door to us and was a big dog lover herself. All of them were very kind and gentle and I miss them a lot.

One World One Dream

I like the slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; it's positive. Today is the final day and IMHO the Chinese have been very successful as the host country. They've also been very successful as participants, garnering the most Gold medals. The U.S. has the most overall medals but which is more important??? FYI, Japan has the 8th most Gold medals which is not so bad considering it's the 10th most populated country in the world. Note: More than 200 countries took part in these XXlX Olympic Games.

"Citius, Altius, Fortius" became the Olympic Motto in 1894, the date of the IOC's creation. This means faster, higher, stronger in Latin. Basically it means that giving your best is the goal at the Olympics and in life. And we did see some spectacular performances! Bolt's 2 new world-records in both sprint events were amazing. But to me, Michael Phelps' new record of 8 Gold medals in swimming is by far the most impressive achievement of these games. BTW, may I brag about my own swimming record? I hold the Niigata Masters Meet record in the 25 meter freestyle (12.56 seconds). :)

The Summer Olympic Games are always a treat for me. Out of the 28 sports, 3 are my favorites: basketball, swimming and tennis. One sad thing for me though was that I could not watch one single game of basketball as Japanese TV didn't deem it worthwhile. I guess I can understand as Japan didn't field a team but I would have loved to see Kobe, Lebron and the rest of the "Redeem Team" in action. As I write, they are playing and I imagine on their way to the Gold medal that Team USA promised to deliver after sub-par performances in the 2004 Games and recent World Games.



My final thoughts are that although these games cost an astronomical amount of money to hold, they are worth it. They bring the people of the world together. This breaks down barriers and helps us understand each other. It also brings the people of a country closer together as they get behind their team to cheer and share the agony of defeat along with the elation of winning or placing. It also motivates us regular people to do our best and to keep playing the sports we love and maybe even start a new one.
It's been about a year now that Aki and I started tennis lessons and we have both moved up from beginners to "high" beginners, haha. I figure when my basketball days are over that tennis will become my main sport. However, I do hope to be like my dad and play organized basketball into my 60's! Of course, I'll also have to take up golf once I get into my 50's. :)

English Conversation CD's

Have you ever been paid over $1000 for one day's work? I sure hadn't. But a few months ago, my friend, Gayla, and I did some English narration work for Daiso http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/, Japan's largest franchise of 100-yen shops.

The CD's are finally out, a total of 4 CD's and 4 accompanying booklets with both English/Japanese translations. A couple of the titles (shown in picture) are "English for Emergency Situations", eg. The water in the toilet won't stop running - Toile o nagashitara zutto mizu ga nagareteiru(トイレを流したらずっと水が流れている) and "English from Morning til Night", eg. Why don't you do a little house cleaning once in awhile? - Tamani wa souji shitara dou desuka? (たまには掃除したらどうですか？) I'm afraid my mom might want to say this to my dad sometimes, sorry dad! :)

Daiso is also international with nearly 500 stores outside of Japan. Friends in the Bay Area, please visit the Daiso in Union City, supposedly the biggest and best one there. Check to see if they have the CD's. They're a great way for you to study your Japanese. Don't forget to check for my name written on the back (in katakana - コンラッド・マツモト). And in case you didn't know, most items sold there go for $1.50, 50% more than the 100 yen we pay here in Japan.

Anyway, we were treated very well by Mayumi (Editor) and all the sound staff. We really enjoyed the whole process of making the CD's. But for me, I much prefer the face to face interaction I have with my students and the joys of teaching English. Having said that, Daiso, please call me when you make your next English CD :)

Blog blues

Every month I wonder what to write. I usually can't think of anything until the last moment and as you can see it's the last day of June and I'm finally writing this month's entry. So this month is just going to be a hodgepodge. I write this Blog in hopes that a few of my friends/relatives back in CA can catch a glimpse of what's going on in my life here in Japan and for my students so they can hopefully learn a new word/idiom (eg. hodgepodge) and also find out something new about me too. Before starting this Blog almost 2 years ago, I had been keeping a journal. I started writing this journal as a homework assignment when I was in the 6th grade at Davis Elementary School. I continued to write in it every couple of months and usually just wrote gossipy stuff like who I was in love with or what my friends were up to. Then it evolved into marking down milestones in my life such as graduation, getting my first car (Honda Prelude), moving down to Long Beach for college, etc. Later I'd write about Japan, my travels, a friend getting married, a relative passing away or a birthday.

Which reminds me, this month was my dad's (6/20), my wife's (6/25) and my grandfather's (6/29) birthdays.

Yesterday, my grandpa turned 99 years old! We plan to go back next summer to celebrate his 100th.

Anyway, going back to the title of this post, basically I just picked it because the 2 words sounded good together. And as I was having trouble thinking of what to write, I thought it made sense. Actually I do enjoy doing this Blog, especially after I've finished writing it. :) And to be honest, I guess I write this Blog for myself too. It gives me a chance to reflect on what's happening now, remember something from the past and to think about what lies ahead.

Who is the real "Last Samurai"?

I (not Tom Cruise) am the real "Last Samurai". Joke! But on May 3, my father and I marched through the main streets of Odawara along with 2000 other samurai warriors and I did feel a little like a samurai, haha.
We took part in the Odawara Hojo Godai Matsuri (festival). It is the largest sight-seeing event of the year in Odawara.

The annual event reminds us of the glory attained by the five generations of the Hojo family. After all, in the 16th century, Odawara was the cultural and industrial center of eastern Japan under the power of the Hojo clan. It was during this time that the Odawara Castle became the biggest in all of Japan. Castle-town Odawara was protected by the sea on the east side and by rivers and mountains on all other sides. Odawara Castle was originally built about 800 years ago. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, most recently in 1960. Now Odawara is the only castle town from which you can see Mt. Fuji. I love living in this city!