Monday, October 29, 2012

So a foreigner walks into a beauty shop ...

I love getting my haircut in Japan. The salons offer much more with a haircut than the average place in America. For $45, I think a cup of tea is not too much to ask, but never once does the JC Penny hair salon staff offer me a cup of chestnut tea.

Don’t get me wrong, I went to JC Penny every eight weeks while I lived in Chicago because for $45 I had a competent, friendly, but not overly-chatty stylist who could not only give me a professional haircut, but also remembered where I worked.

A cup of chestnut tea.
But there was no cup of tea. And don’t even get me started on the massage, or lack thereof. But, yes, in Japan, your average run-of-the-mill haircut includes a head and neck massage.

All for roughly the same price as a haircut from JC Penny, depending on the exchange rate. Today 4200 yen is $52, but close enough. I am sure $52 still would not have bought a massage and a cup of tea.



The results - just a trim.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

An Ancient Sport in a Modern World

Where even to begin? I love this crazy sport. It is a relic in the modern world. It is misogynistic and outdated and promotes an unhealthy lifestyle. It is rooted in the past; coming into the future slowly and reluctantly.

Yet, I love it.

The men who compete - yes, only men - do now come from all over the world. And there are amateur sumo clubs around the globe, which include women, but they do not compete against the Nihon Sumo Kyokai. Some people are even trying to make sumo wrestling an Olympic event, but the idea has not caught on.

People ask me (over and over), Why do I love it?

My answer never changes: I am a fan of history and ritual and religion. Sumo is a little of each. In sumo, each and every action has a meaning. Each turn of the hand, each stomp of the foot, each tassel on the roof over the ring, and each drum beat signifies something greater than its appearance suggests.

Sumo is all about ritual. From the ring entering ceremony to the salt and water; from the posturing to the exercises; and even the wrestling itself - it is a series of one historic ritual after another.

The ring is styled after a Shinto shrine because sumo’s origins are shrouded in the ancient religion of Japan. The many actions look like warriors battling it out because at one time they were. Turning from a religious ceremony into a training session for warriors, sumo continued to evolve. And when Japan settled into a long peaceful era of prosperity, sumo also adapted, becoming the entertainment it is today.

But evolution is not a hurried process, and these changes came about over hundreds of years. Now 1500 years old and still hanging on, I wonder how sumo will continue to evolve.

I sat in the gym on a Monday afternoon. Looking around, the place was quite naturally filled with retirees, being a workday for most of the world. I was very lucky that the tour came to Tokushima on my day off. But I wonder how many young people would have come even on a Saturday or holiday. Not many of the younger generation are as excited about sumo as I am.

The Sumo Kyokai knows that, and has already worried more than me about sumo’s future. A sport that changes slowly in a world that changes quickly seems in danger of dying. But the gym today was almost sold out, even on a Monday.

Sumo is still evolving, still changing, and still holing on to its rituals. It even draws in a new crowd of fans, younger fans. The excited four-year-old girl sitting next to us will attest to that. Right after she finishes shouting out the names of her favourite wrestlers.

Monday, October 22, 2012

UI Halloween BBQ 2012

All dressed up for the BBQ.
Ghen-ki gets the grill ready
Kazuyo and me. I didn't have my wand ready for the picture,
but you can see I was a fairy godmother, right?

Ghen-ki with one of the parents.
Self-introduction time. They're impressed because
someone is doing it in English! 
Laughing.
Todd listening intently to Kaz.

My wonderful landlady has many faces... 


Bring on the mikans (tangerines)!
At the end of a long hot day, it's good
 to have someone ready with a fan.
How do you know it's been a successful day?
The flurry of exchanging email and Facebook addresses
at the end of the party.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

If it looks like a lime, and tastes like a lime....

We are coming on toward the end of sudachi season, which are small Japanese limes. Being grown primarily in Tokushima, the sudachi has become the symbol of the prefecture. This limited growing region also deems them a delicacy throughout the rest of Japan. The tourist shops sell sudachi flavoured treats, from candy to alcohol.

Yet, here, we’ve got sudachi trees on every corner. Our landlady owns a sudachi tree and told us to help ourselves - as many as we want.

Because, you see, sudachi trees are huge and plentiful. David has picked several dozen sudachi off the tree, and there are still several dozen left - and probably even more than that!

The traditional thing to do with sudachi, of course, is to squeeze it on fish like a lemon. That deliciously takes care of one sudachi. However, what are we supposed to do with the hundreds still on the tree?

David and I are drinking limeade until we’re sick of it. David makes Sudachi-iced tea. We made chili-lime prawns. I made a “Key” Lime Pie. Don’t tell the people in Florida that I called it that; I’m sure someone will cry foul ... so, I made a Sudachi Lime Pie : )

Results on the pie? Well, it probably tastes like a lime pie should taste: sweet and tart and with a crumbly, cookie crust. Turns out, though, I do not like lime pie.

Limeade? A million times yes!
Chili lime prawns? More, please!
Lime pie? No, thank you. I’ll pass on that.

There are still sudachi on the tree, but next to it, the persimmons are now ripe.

Good-bye sudachi, and hello persimmons!

Monday, October 15, 2012

How to Launch and Maintain a Blog


Designing your blog:
There is no one right answer for this. Use all your favourite colours and mash them together. Or make a collage of all your favourite photographs. It’s okay if it is all jumbled together, as long as you like it. After all, what is a blog but an expression of your personality?

Writing your first post:
The very first post should summarise the purpose of your blog with a nice, succinct topic sentence. For example, “In the following posts I will explore, examine and elucidate the differences between generic peanut butter and brand name peanut butter.”

Or, “The following posts will be a complete record of my days for all posterity.”

If you are unsure why you are beginning a blog, it is okay to babble aimlessly for awhile. Your readers will appreciate the attempt.


What to write about:
Definitely include every daily detail, including what you ate for lunch. For example, “Today I ate leftover pasta sauce, which I reheated in the microwave. On the other hand, I boiled fresh pasta in a 10 quart pot.”

Meticulous recording of details is especially important if you promised your readers a “complete record.” People want to know exactly what is happening at all times, and appreciate knowing you care enough to include the small things.

If you happen to hit a brain block, it is likely because you forgot your topic sentence. Go back and reread it. If it says, “I am recording my days for all posterity,” then write down what time you took a shower and why you chose to take it then. This will help keep you on track to follow your objectives.


How to Find readers:
Send out a massive email to everyone in your email list. Be sure to leave everyone’s name in the “To:” list, so that everyone knows who is being sent the email; this makes the blog feel more communal.

Be sure to shamelessly self-publicise at every opportunity: phone calls, emails, dinner engagements, business meetings, random people on the street. Everyone wants to know about your blog.


How to Keep Readers:
When writing a blog entry, keep it long. Readers appreciate knowing you spent a lot of time thinking about them.

It’s good to include photos. Lots of them. Similar to writing, document every little detail.


What to do if you missed a few weeks:
It’s okay to skip writing for several weeks. It prolongs anticipation in your readers. The longer you wait to write again, the more anticipation builds up, and the happier they will be when you write again.

When you do come back, though, make sure the readers have something extra long to read...just in case it happens again.