Episode 6: Shopping, Improvements and Comforts

*DISCLAIMER*
BEFORE I BEGIN, let me state that I would never ever ever steal a wild monkey from its family and abduct it for my own butlery purposes. That was photoshop! But, due to the numerous e-mails I received, I'll just simply take it as a compliment on my photoshop skills, and not that you think I'm a cruel and unusual person. Now on to my sixth posting!

I really went out of my to spoil my Thursday morning post today. I'm scarfing down a delicious sweet-milk chocolate chip scone, a "green-tea-steam-cake" (it actually wasn't that good, despite the name) and some semi-acceptable coffee from "Vie de France" (A coffee and bakery chain here in Japan.) Things are good here in Japan, and I'm gonna show you guys some crazy stuff from this strange land to the east. (Check the last pic for an amazing name of a hair salon.)

Okay, so check it out. First, because I'm really excited about my own personal gains this last week, I'm gonna have to toot my own horn for a little bit. If you're not in the mood to hear about how I'm improving myself then please, feel free to skip this section, of course, if you choose to read it, perhaps you too may become inspired to improve yourself. We could even become "Improvement Pals!" Alright, well if you remember back to a few posts ago, you'll see that unlike the Britney Spears of late, I am not going into rehab, but instead strengthening my resolve to become a better person. I started learning Katakana, and as of yesterday, I have now memorized over a quarter of the alphabet (about 30 characters out of 105 or so) and I can write them out with good clarity and speed. I've also managed to learn some Kanji (the 3rd alphabet of Japan, about 10,000 characters) and I can write more than 10 of them. That includes how to write numbers, up to 1000, the days of the week, and even the coveted "Fu-rin-ka-zan" phrase, made famous by warlord Takeda Shingen, of the Sengoku period of Japan. (That one impressed my students, let me tell you!) Also, I've been trying to improve my body as well as my mind, and when I came to Japan, I decided to do a simple workout every night. I started with 20 push-ups, and 50 sit-ups a night. Well, I've blown past my previous goals now, and my nightly workout consists of 120 push-ups, 260 sit-ups, and 100 leg raises. Between that, walking, biking, soccer and my low fat diet chalked full of green tea, I think I've been a little healthier here than at home. I still need work on balancing my diet, but at the same time, I'm making progress. Also, I can communicate in simple situations pretty well, even understanding some little nuances that can take a long time to master. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm impressed with myself. THERE, NO MORE tooting my own horn. Thanks for letting me show-off for a minute, 'cause I just needed to get that out of my system.

Right, well back to the topic at hand, "Shopping in Japan!" Where to begin... well, I guess the first thing to describe is the atmosphere. Shopping here in Japan is quite similar to shopping back home in a few ways. First, there are lots of people milling around malls, you see people from all walks of life, and well, people buy things. I think the similarities start to end around there, and the variations begin to come in. I'd like to bring your focus to the concept of music in public places. Now, this is something that could be very annoying to many people, but I personally find it hilarious. You see, when you go shopping in Japan, you must realize that the music you hear is NOT going to be good. No no no, instead, it is "Musak" of old popular songs from North America, adapted for terrible synthesizer. Yes, I frequently purchase my groceries to the melodies of Bon Jovi synth, and that delightfully overplayed "Ooom-bop, ba ba doooo-op, dee bee da da-doo-op" by Hansen ringing in my ears. (If you thought the original was bad, try imagining it with a sharp droning synth sound for a melody.) But luckily, if you look around at music stores, you might find something that catches your eye. They still sell tapes, and also records at certain stores... this picture here is for my mom to check out. Gotta love the Y&R, eh mom?


Music aside, you'll have to deal with the fact that every store is way over packed. Most displays look like they've been orgainzed by someone who's trying to cram more product per square inch than humanly possible. It's like they've perfected a technique to bend space around their product, allowing a single unified front of consumerism to be provided like a Jenga stack. I'm always worried that if I even touch something, the whole display will come tumbling down, probably ending my Japanese experience right there and then. Oh, and they love the colour pink.

The Manequins are definitely different. The words on signs and posters are normally quite wrong, and to top things off, sometimes you'll even see something that'll make you turn your head and say "Eeeehhh??" (a popular Japanese expression for confusion.) Like getting a pig doll to show off your clothes, for example. Now, I don't know if that's simply because it's the year of the pig, or because the shop loves pigs, but in any case, that last picture is for you Barb. (Unfortunately I can't purchase one, in case you were wondering.)


Another difference that you'll notice in Japan is that the cost of alcohol, and also the regulations surrounding its consumption are very different. You can drink alcohol in the streets, in public places, and even on a train (though normally regarded as a little impolite.) One time when many people drink in public is actually coming up soon, known by many to be the Cherry Blossom Festival. Essentially, picture two weeks of people being crazy and drinking in public parks... pretty much straight. You'll see businessmen in full suits next to people dressed up as Spiderman, all sharing booze. I can't wait. I just wish that the cost of beer wasn't so high. (It's about the same as in Canada, but the hard liquors are all about 1/2 price.)


For all of my video game loving crowd out there, unlike back home in Canada, arcades are alive and well here in Japan. You can see arcades in almost all major malls, and also just out on the street. They have huge four player games, new and old classics, prizes and even gambling places at the back. Also, the biggest craze is in arcade games that give you a specialized card, and when you play it, you put your card in the machine, and it saves your progress. Young girls play tons of games where you advance by getting more outfits for your chacter... in some sort of fashion game. Strange, but true. And, incase you were wondering about those arcades on the streets, normally the street ones are gambling huts, specializing in the craze known as pachinko. Now, since it's illegal to gamble in Japan, the crafty Japanese simply circumvented the situation. Let me enlighten you as to how: It is not illegal to spend money on tiny silver balls. It is not illegal to play those silver balls in games that give you more silver balls (like Pachinko.) It is not illegal to trade in silver balls for prizes, should you accumulate enough. And finally, it's also not illegal to trade in prizes for cash value. VOILA! Gambling is now legal.


I also wanted to add that for the first time since I've been here, I rode on a train all by myself. Here's the pic for proof.


Kampai mina-san!

ja matta neh,

-benjamin


What a beautiful name for a hair salon, eh? Fab-lice. Makes me want to go. Do you think they know what lice are? "Yosh for hair!" Hahaha... (Yosh = expression for excellence. If you do something really well, you could say "Yosh!"... I say it when I score goals in Soccer. Totally awesome.)