Alex's trip to KEEP

Every sixth grade class at ASIJ goes on an extended three-day campus trip to KEEP in late September. I went to KEEP and it was amazing. K.E.E.P is the Kiosayto environmental educational program. KEEP is about 100 miles north of Fuji-San. KEEP was founded in 1926 when Paul Rusch, an American in Japan, heard from a person about the town of Kiosayto. Rusch went to Kiosayto saw what a beautiful place it was and established KEEP while showing the Japanese how to play American football. KEEP is now a beautiful place with a view of Fuji-San. KEEP is also a dairy farm with tons of cows and really good homemade ice cream and butter.

On Wednesday September 23, 2008 I was at ASIJ duffel bag at my feet ready for KEEP. The bus ride to KEEP was 2 hours long and boring. When we got to KEEP we dropped our bags in the main hall and rested for an hour. I played football with some other kids (I wasn’t that good maybe because I come from Texas A&M) then after we had a rest the 6th grade went on a hike to a waterfall. I being a Texan had to fall into the waterfall and get wet. The water where I fell in was about a foot deep. It was very cold maybe 45 Fahrenheit. The way I fell in the was that I slipped on a rock trying to get to an overhang my friend was on.

We then went on and walked through Kiosayto up to a dairy farm saw some cows and got FREE ICE CREAM but when I got my ice cream (made from the cows we saw) it fell off. I got a second ice cream (not for free 350 yen) and it fell off. A double fall on the same day. We then got back to the main hall and went to our cabins we were going to sleep in. I was in the Amigasa cabin (the name of a town some where in Japan) with 3 other boys and 3 girls. The cabin had a tatami room with futons, a living room with a couch a table and a card table and a bedroom with three beds. There was also a bathroom and a shower. We had the librarian Mr. Swist with us, he slept on the couch. For diner we had spaghetti with curry. Next we read books and then we went to after dinner activities. Then bed we had hot cocoa and told scary stories so unscarred that I went right to sleep and dreamed about a bathtub that night.

We woke up at 7am had breakfast (all you could eat buffet – bacon, eggs, ham, French toast, cereal, milk). Next the group split in two. Our group (with several translators for the Japanese KEEP rangers) started by looking for 4 leaf clovers. I talked to one of our teachers about the MLB penat race (the Red Sox had won the wild card that morning no Yankees in the postseason) I found out he was a Giants fan (no playoffs for the Giants since 2002). Then we went on a nature hike and climbed some trees (I only cared about climbing the trees) and back for lunch. 6th grade then switched groups. My group then went through the trees looking for nature we could put on a piece of cardboard. I used four acorns, a rock, and a pine needle. After that back to our cabins for an hour of rest time. Back in time for diner it was rice with some Japanese sauce I had never heard of. Evening activities again with some reading. Back to cabins for sleep and rest. The cabin also had a Japanese toilet.

On Friday up at seven again and the breakfast buffet. Because it was raining we couldn’t milk a cow so instead we made butter from cow milk (we shook it for 15 minutes). The butter tasted strange mainly because there was no salt in it only fat. Then we had a 2-hour bus ride back to ASIJ with a stop at a highway rest stop, which was much nicer than any stop in the US. They had restaurants, bakeries, nice restrooms, and a convenience store. I had some Ramon noodles for lunch. We got back to ASIJ at 2:58 two minutes before school ended. Then I had an hour bus ride back to our apartment in Shirokane.

I am so happy to be moving to our new apartment in Shoto. Twenty-five minutes closer to ASIJ.

Alex

Thoughts from Lisa

So what is life like in Japan for this gaijin family? Small things take longer. For example we tend to spend more time figuring out what food to cook – since the English is sometimes incorrect. (For example I foolishly purchased “Chedder Cheese“ slices only to find Kraft American cheese when I opened the package.) Purchasing detergent for the dishwasher was also interesting as we almost got pipe cleaner. Since we do not have anything other than our hands and backs for carrying more trips are made to the grocery store than would occur in the U.S. In addition, the prepared food is better, and cheaper than what we would find in the U.S. so that we often purchase a prepared salad instead of the ingredients. Finally, I have no idea what many of the items are in the grocery or how they would be cooked. I am trying to find a cooking class which would help me with this but so far I have had no luck. Perhaps a good cookbook would be better.

Everyday as I walk down the street in front of our temporary home I am struck by the differences. There is no grass anywhere – only concrete from the street to the buildings. Occasionally you see a window box – sometimes with greenery in it. Much of the architecture is just plain ugly and no attempt seems to have been made to improve the looks of anything. However, once you get off the major street and onto a side alley the view changes and you will find bushes and trees and here and there a fabulous building that would be in an architecture magazine at home. This is also where you find the neighborhood parks. This is the true Japan that most tourists do not see.

If you look in the shop windows you will usually see a very artistic showing of whatever is being sold and the variety is overwhelming. Today I found a store that only sells stuffed bears. Trying to find a specific item becomes near impossible even if you do speak Japanese as many of the shops do not advertise. It is difficult to understand how these various shops stay in business since the rent must be very high and many shops are closed irregularly and have otherwise limited hours. Rare is the shop that opens before 11am. I have been told the best way to find something is to ask everyone you know until someone says yes and is able to draw a map of how to find the correct store. Many of the shops are not on what we might consider the main street but on an alley and sometimes the best places for food are not where you might expect.

Finding places is quite difficult. Even if you know the exact address you can still be clueless. Rare is the street that is marked with a name. Also rare is a map that tells you anything but the main streets and, as an interesting twist, north may be at the bottom or the left of a map – there is no consensus – and it will not be marked. Once you find the correct neighborhood you then have to look at each block to see if you are going in the correct direction as the house are not ordered consecutively but according to age. Thus you need to find the correct block number and then figure out the location. At the more heavily used subway stops the exits are numbered and there are usually several maps, although the place you are looking for may only occur on a later map if it is not thought to be significant. Yes, I get turned around quite often although I rarely am unable to eventually find what I need. Luckily I have been able to use baby Japanese to get directions. The entire process is rather frustrating and it is necessary to build in at least 5 to 10 minutes every time I travel to a new area.

Another striking difference is how much effort is made to keep things clean. We have seen people scrubbing the tile floors of the subway, the handrails of the escalators and steam cleaning the garage floor of a parking structure down the street. Things still get dirty but the city is much cleaner than most and many more people are employed.

Speaking of this the other thing that is very obvious is the over-employment that we see all around us. I rarely see one person doing as much work as we would expect. Instead we see several. The other day we saw an escalator being worked on at a subway station, no fewer than 5 people were deployed to take care of a 2-person job. One person was working and the others were sitting and watching. We spoke to a friend about this and she said that Japan is really a very socialist country but it works and most folks seem to approve. Personal job performance is not important, it is what the company does that counts.

At most counters there are 2 people teamed up to help. For example at each check out station there are two people just to ring up the groceries. One person moves your items from your small basket into an empty basket announcing the price of each item. The other person collects your money at the end of the transaction. At the end of this process I am handed several plastic bags. I then go to a packing station and put everything in the bags.

The effort that is made to have the car fit into the small spaces that are available are truly impressive. On our street there are 3 ways on one block to park a car. To the side of our building is an entrance with a chain that automatically drops to the ground when the sensor of a car that normally parks there is read. Then the car moves onto a lazy susan type of car lift. This then spins the car and places it onto a conveyor belt and this puts it right next to another parked car – on one of 3 levels.

The next garage down uses a sensor to automatically lower metal posts into the ground that are set up at 3 foot increments to prevent non-payers from parking.

The third garage appears to be open but since there are only 2 openings there is little chance that someone will try to park without paying.

Right now I am trying to put together everything we will need in our new apartment. This means that I need to make trips to many different stores to get items such as plastic wrap, drinking glasses, cleaning supplies, etc. We are trying to get some items used but even that is proving to be a several step process. So why are there no Target like stores in the city? Part of the problem is that shoppers have to carry home all their purchases so that big stores would not sell more. (Delivery is an option at some places but there is usually a fee – this is not a discount store sort of option.) The other problem is trying to put together many small land purchases to build one large store is next to impossible. We have seen several cases of a building obviously built around an older structure whose owner refused to sell.

Tama Hills

September 13, Saturday
Alex ran his first track meet today at Tama Hills, an American military recreational facility outside Tokyo. He had to be on a bus at 7.10, so we played it safe and took a cab to the stop. Because it was the start of a holiday weekend, the outgoing traffic was so bad that we arrived half-an-hour late and the meet did not start until 9.15.

The facility is truly the retreat it is supposed to be. Developed in the late 1930s as an ammunition factory (historical markers at preserved sites provide a brief sense of the place ), Tama Hills has huge trees that line the roads the kids run around. We definitely are not in Tokyo. More developed sections include a miniature golf, horse stable, baseball field, and convenience store. The entire facility is much larger than the little bit I saw.

ASIJ differs from other international schools in its proximity to American military bases and its good relations with the schools there. This means ASIJ can offer American sports because the base schools provide teams to compete against. In contrast, many international schools offer sports on the British model (rugby, soccer, and lacrosse (why this is considered British I don’t know).

Lots of parents showed to support their kids. Many parents drove cars, an act that still impresses me but makes sense if several people are traveling together. The races were short: a two-mile run with the first middle-school boys finishing in 15 minutes, Alex in the middle at 20 minutes (19.50 to be exact), and the rest straggling in. The girls ran next.

The real fun was the convenience store afterward, stuffed with American candies and selling in American dollars. Red licorice – hurray!

Going against travel, the bus ride was short and painless.

Alex, for some reason, was tired that afternoon. Noneless, we walked down to a local bike store. A new basic bike with no gears was $200, three gears was $230 and six gears was $260, including pedals and basket. Considering the hills of Shirokane, six would be the minimum. For lighter, niftier bikes, the prices rapidly escalate. We also stopped at a few local playgrounds, all very small with facilities that our kids really have outgrown – but not quite yet. The ground is gravel, which is preferable to grass that would be torn up quickly, but not as good as an artificial yielding terrain that the playgrounds in College Station have. Still, in a city, it is pleasing to see so many small neighborhood spots that are quite busy.

The neighborhood festival was truly a neighborhood festival. A few games for small kids, three food stands with outrageously low prices (50 Y for cotton candy), and taking up only a limited space. Quite a difference from the overwhelming crowds of Azabu-Juban.

Take me out to the garden

Before entering the Tokyo Dome, we visited Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, which shares the same subway stops as the Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome City but inhabits a different world completely. A garden established in 1629 (quick, what was happening in North America at the time?), the seventeen acres are a beautifully sculpted, quiet haven of ponds, hungry carp (packets of food are available at the entrance – the visitors are well trained), and a flower calendar so visitors know what is in bloom. Lisa was understandably enchanted and intends to buy a season pass. The park has not been well publicized in tourist literature, possibly because visitors could not spend that much money there? We did spend 220 Y each for soft ice cream for the kids. The strawberry-and-vanilla was better than the edamame.

The garden was gloriously tranquil. Even the designated smoking spots did not spoil the day (the designated smoking spots in the Tokyo Dome were glass rooms crammed with smokers inhaling and watching the game on tv with very good ventilation. A far cry from Luftansa's early no-smoking policy of the 1970s (I believe), which designated half the plane as non-smoking). Definitely a place to return to.

While a presentation of nature, everything was meticulously laid out and cultivated, like an English garden, but far more interesting with greater variation and manipulation.

Take me out to the ball game

September 14, Sunday
Fortunately, I had Texas A&M to prepare me for a Japanese baseball game. The dedication – fanaticism? foolishness? market opportunity? – of the fans and the cheerleaders on the field at the Tokyo Dome reminded me of nothing as much as Aggie loyalty. We attended the Nomiuri Giants at home versus the Yakut Swallows along with 55,000 or so other fans.

En route to the game we paused for a few minutes to watch a little league game and noted several differences with its American counterpart. There were no bleachers for parents and no fence separating the dugout from a foul ball. Nets lined all four sides to reduce the chance of a ball entering the non-baseball world and causing damage. Most impressively, the batting helmets of both teams were lined up neatly in front of the dugout. When one team took the field, the surplus players stood on the baseline until the inning started, then stood in the dugout during the inning.

The garden and little league game starkly contrasted with the Tokyo Dome and game. The entire experience felt very familiar. The players wore uniforms with their name and team in English, rock songs in English blared out during and between innings, and the crowd roared their appreciation for a good play or hit. The suites were only partly filled while the rest of the stadium was fully packed.

Small differences emerged. Initially the cheers sounded the usual unintelligible chants, but then you realize it’s the usual unintelligible chant in Japanese. The players stats and other information are all in Japanese as are the signs for food. A national anthem did not begin the game nor was there stretching in the seventh inning. The food overall was forgettable (familiar), but the prices only 20-30% above street prices (though more hot dogs were probably sold instead the stadium than in the rest of the city).

Then the big differences appeared. The visiting team wore white pants, not grey (okay, that’s a detail for baseball fans). There was no bullpen; pitchers warmed up on the side. If a player hit a single, two batboys appeared: one picked up the bat and the other the wristguard from the batter. The vendors walking down the steps were all young girls, none of whom yelled (not that they would have been heard). Instead, they smiled and waved and sold sake, hard alcohol and beer from small kegs strapped to their backs.

Many fans appeared to be either standing-room-only types or had descended from the top bleachers to line the rails three and four deep at the main floor. Far, far more than I have ever seen at an American game. Overall, they acted like Red Sox or Aggies fans, very, very enthusiastic about their team. One neighbor and I shook hands excitedly after a home run, as if only by our efforts, by our cheering, by our support we had made that home run possible. And maybe we had.

Like A&M basketball, the Giants had cheerleader gymnasts attired in outfits that would do the Dallas Cowboys proud. Every few innings they appeared on the sidelines and led cheers while doing somersaults. They also provided color for the pre- and post-game ceremonies, including flanking the dugout when the Giants took the field and posing on both sides of the player of the game afterward. When a Giant hit a home run, a cheerleader greeted him with a small stuffed mascot (I assume) (which he threw into the stands to the appreciation of the fans)

Both teams had organized fan sections in the outfield. The Giants’ fans were, naturally, more numerous and had a huge banner (at least 100 x 40 feet, emblazoned with a huge “Giants” and a smaller but still very visible “Adidas” at the bottom right) that scrolled up their section once during the game and once after. Big flags occasionally appeared too and the chanting, cheers, and trumpet calls were too numerous to track. Alex and I visited the section to see hundreds of cheering fans, most dressed in Giants’ jerseys. The heat and humidity of that upper deck were overwhelming.

The ushers provided ticket control, but also but early warning of incoming foul balls by blowing whistles. One ball landed two rows in front of Caroline and Lisa. Alex was jealous.

After the game, the fans remained. First, the player of the game was recognized, given a small stuffed mascot (which he threw into the stands to the appreciation of the fans – notice a pattern?), was asked a few questions, then put on a golf cart and driven around the stadium, throwing balls to fans and, after that, high-fiving them. The cart stopped and he walked down a line of about 50 fans of all ages and shook their hands. These fans had been ushered onto the field as soon as the game ended. I’m assuming they were fans and part of a fan club and had been selected or randomly chosen for the honor. Certainly, they were clicking away with their cameras and mobiles.

The cheerleaders then went to the main sections of fans in the outfield and led them in cheers, aided by mascot-creatures. The big banner appeared again and a good time was had by all for half an hour after the game.

The game itself was good, excellent pitching and fielding, a few impressive hits, and a Giants relief pitcher who nailed two players in the ninth, an opposing batter and his catcher. Nonetheless, he saved the game. Orderly crowds on departure. The price of vending machine drinks in the metro dropped with distance. A 160 yen drink in the stadium cost 140 at the first level and 110 at the bottom.

This and that

Thursday, September 11.
A frustrating day of mistakes, all mine. I ate at the student cafeteria and chose a noodle option. Turned out I ordered luke-warm udon.

I tried out the Titech gym, which truly was a return to the old days of gym rooms instead of recreation centers of the type that A&M has. This was a weight room where people went to exercise, not to socialize, just like the old gym at A&M. One irritating difference were the barbells. Most gyms I’ve visited have racks of barbells sorted by weight. At the Sheraton Miyako gym, the Oakwood Roppongi gym, and the Titech gym, the barbells are bars with weights that you put on or take off. The advantage of this system is that little space is needed. Instead of a rack of twenty barbells of five different weights, four bars and a set of weights provide the same service. The disadvantage is you spent far more time than you want changing weights with the requisite screwing and unscrewing of the weight holder.

While waiting outside the Indian takeout tonight at Meguro, I looked up and down the street and saw literally scores of restaurants, ramen shops, bakeries, and drinking spots. Restaurants are buried in basements, prominently placed on the ground level, and occupy entire food floors in multi-story buildings. Train stations usually have department stores that have basement food floors with a range of prepared food.

Forgot to mention from a Shibuya Sunday visit: At one department store’s food floor, we saw our first $42 mango. Food at those prices is obviously for a gift where the presentation (this was a very big, flawless mango) was more important than the actual fruit. Similarly, we’ve seen melons (including the square watermelon) for $20-30 and pineapple for $25. All very elegantly presented, but a world away from the fruit and veg we buy at prices higher than the States but not outrageously higher. The exceptions are the grapes, which are also far, far better than any grape we’ve had in the States.

Friday, September 12
We had lunch with Deborah Hayden, a New Zealander, at the Grand Hyatt Oakwood restaurant in Roppongi Hills. She exemplifies the dash, adaptablity, and ability of many of the expat business folks we have met here.

Lisa accidentally took 200,000 instead of 20,000 yen out of her account. I suspect we will use it much more quickly than we expect or desire.

The Fulbright package arrived by messenger tonight as promised. I was impressed by the duplication of earlier material, out-of-date material, and material that would have been very useful months ago.

Both Deborah and some other tech folks I've met mentioned the Japanese penchant for customized equipment and services, especially computer software, that drives costs up, reduces the potential for compatibility, and keeps productivity down. This is not just an inter-firm but intra-firm problem. Each office or division insists its needs are unique so standard software will not do. It’s also a demonstration of the importance of long-term relationships over costs. This situation may be generational; the younger (less than 40) employees realize that their firms have to change or else Chinese and Korean companies will overwhelm them. According to an IBMer, the five biggest firms control only 50% of the computer market, a significantly lower percentage than other countries.

To Fuji and beyond...

1 September, Monday.
The kids walked themselves to the bus stop, a first. Which is another way of stating that the parents were very tired. A few of the mothers walk with their kids, more to meet and chat for a few minutes with other mothers (never a father) to start off the day.

We looked at a final apartment today. I’m glad we looked before we rented, but I wish we had realized that beforehand; we would have saved a great deal of time and effort. The differences between modern and older apartments are quite interesting: better designed switches, picture hangers on rods in the ceiling to avoid marring the walls, heaters with the shower fans).

From the apartment I went to Titech for the first time. Masanori Kaji greeted me and showed me the museum (Titech dates to 1881) before taking me to my new office. The campus is more compact than A&M, but not as urban as a George Washington University. The subway stop is directly opposite the main entrance. An express takes me from Meguro in five minutes, the local takes eight.

The semester does not start for another month and people are casually dressed. Saving energy is one reason: a “no necktie” sign indicates informality allows the minimum temperature to be raised. Many lights in public spaces, such as bathrooms, are sensor-activated, so they remain off most of the time. A sensible contrast to A&M where many lights blaze away 24/7/365.

The offices of the faculty are filled with books and papers. At least one has papers scattered over his floor. Only one that I saw has a room that might be termed neat. My kind of people.

I met my office mate, Yakov, a Turk who had, like me, spent time at the Smithsonian. He very kindly offered to share the window space with me. The psychological benefits of a view are not to be dismissed (with the exception of a hospital I visited in Oxford that overlooked a cemetery. Sometimes efficiency can be taken too far).

Alex and I took the late ASIJ bus to the Tokyo American Club for the first meeting of his Boy Scout Troop 51. This weekend, the troop will climb Mt. Fuji. I will volunteer to join them.


Why is Japanese print so small? On meishi (business cards), I can understand, but even books (including my textbook) use such small type that reading is hard on the eyes.

The shortcomings of the service apartment are becoming obvious in the kitchen. The ceiling fan extends two feet down and over the stove, putting it in prime position for a certain male to bang his head painfully. No learning curve seems to have evolved. That’s a design flaw (though not for people less than 5'8". The small dishwasher works well, but the person who ordered the full-sized dishes and bowls apparently did not consider its petite interior.

You can tell we’re foreigners – we’re the only people on the subway not dozing, listening to iPods, or reading.

A common sight, whether a house in the countryside or a tall apartment building, is clothes and futons drying outside on balconies. Air drying saves energy and space in small quarters, reducing the need for a clothes dryer. The combo washer/dryer, as Lisa noted, is a poor dryer. Also used for drying is the bathroom, which has a fan in older buildings and a fan with heater in newer apartments. Our new apartment, which is two decades old, only has the fan: we’ll see how well it handles us.

What strikes me as somewhat inconsistent is the focus on recycling (which deserves a future post) and the elaborate, sometimes necessary wrapping that goods, especially food, are packaged in.



2 September, Tuesday
Filling out the paperwork (guessing how this American circle fit into the Japanese square) took most of the day, but we finally applied for an apartment. The form we had to fill was quite daunting, primarily because it was designed for people working for companies, not visiting American scholars. We discussed our answers with the agent before filling in the (small) blanks.

To apply requires a fair amount of information, some of which seems entirely reasonable: Passport, alien registration, income, job. Then there is information (admittedly quite possibly limited to the firm we’re dealing with) which seems a bit intrusive: reason for moving (of the nine possibilities, my favorite was “piano”). A fair amount of information is required about one’s firm, including its year of formation, turnover, my immediate supervisor, &c. To me, what appears most unusual is the emphasis on the guarantor. The information required for that person or firm is quite impressive.

My American circle is partly due to being funded by the Fulbright (in the form of the Japanese United States Exchange Commission, JUSEC), but working at Titech, and partly due to using the Fulbright as my guarantor. We’re waiting to see if the landlord will accept JUSEC as guarantor.

The PASMO card is a convenient way of taking the subways and trains – you fill the card with money, pass the card over the scanner as you enter and exit and the fare is deducted. There is no saving in money, only time (the actual process is faster plus you avoid buying tickets and figuring out how much the fare is). A well hidden secret is that a children’s PASMO exists. Takeo somehow discovered this and I went to the local station today to apply with our kids’ passports. No trouble at all, apart from my poor Japanese. The station attendants helped me fill out a form, translated the names into Japanese, took my money, and we had the kids’ cards. The same cards as the adult version, their names are printed on the card and a little “chisai” (small) is printed on them too.

Since the kid’s fare is approximately half the adult, the savings could be significant. Certainly the frustration factor of understanding which ticket is good for which line is avoided. So why isn’t this advertised more? One reason might be abuse by adults. Metropolis mentioned that police had nabbed a significantly greater number of adults illegally using kid’s PASMOs.

I walked around Shirokanedai-Hiroo today and once again was impressed by the huge contrasts in architecture here. Some of the ugliest and some of the most beautiful, imaginative structures I have ever seen are here, sometimes side by side. Concrete as a rule is unattractive, especially if painted green to resemble the moss-stained wood of a castle (at least that’s what I think the architect meant – the implications otherwise are truly unnerving).

Staircases can be quite impressive. Many spiral staircases – to save space? Some of the modern staircases, wrapped in glass or accompanied by lavish metal, are clearly works of art. Sadly, they are far outnumbered by the emergency staircase bolted onto the building as an aferthought.

Perhaps most striking are the micro-buildings, usually 1-4 stories tall, narrow, and sometimes triangular, clearly designed to fit a specific piece of land. These buildings are often only one room wide at most. My impression is that they represent not only the high cost of limited land in the city, but also a pattern of small land ownership. Acquiring land to build big buildings can be quite an undertaking: for the massive Roppongi Hills complex, decades.

In a way, the buildings are like the small Kubota shovels and other construction equipment that seems so small as to be almost toy-like compared with American equipment, yet performs quite well and actually even better for the small spaces thy were designed to function in. Japan has a great deal of the full-sized construction equipment too.


Wednesday, September 3
A wasted morning, all my fault. I confidently guided Lisa to the wrong subway stop so we never reached the bank. A helpful American took us a few blocks in the direction of Softbank, where the sales representative was not helpful. A visit to Docomo was more interesting: Instead of English speakers at the branch, the sales agent handed me a phone connected to an English speaker, who talked also to the rep as needed. A good way of reducing labor costs by centralizing. Must be frustrating for the rep who just said motionlessly as a conversation passed her by. Docomo had its revenge, however; I could not understand its plan at all.

The older Roppongi area is a bit seedy and ugly. Lots of restaurants and tall commercial buildings. The elevated expressway crossing Roppongi added to the charm. One real estate agent said he could cross the town via expressway at 2 a.m. in 15 minutes. The same commute via local roads 12 hours later would be 2.5-3 hours.

I went to Titech in the afternoon. We have my computer running, hooked up to the internet, and printer. So good to have the essentials.

I visited the gym. It reminds of the A&M weight room of 12 years ago: weights, a few machines, underilluminated and basic, with no accommodation of design or attraction. What’s frustrating is the system of variable weights for a hand dumbbell. Instead of a wall of different weights (e.g, 10, 15, 20 lbs.), there are a few bars that you add weights until you reach the desired amount. It saves space, but takes time to change the weight. Sometimes, efficiency is not all it’s cracked up to be.


Thursday, September 4

Found the bank today, then to Shinjuku to buy Alex and myself sleeping bags. Amazing how much the technology has improved in the years since I last bought a bag. Back to Titech where Lisa saw my office and we both took a Japanese class run by retired volunteers. If I had any illusions about my Japanese, these kind, competent teachers destroyed them.

In the evening, I went to Titech for a Middle School evening. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and excitement of the teachers.

Friday, September 5

Lisa went to the Elementary School day today, while I stayed home and worked until leaving for our Mt. Fuji adventure.
Saturday, September 6
“A person who does not climb Fuji-san is a fool; a person who climbs it twice is a bigger fool.”
– alleged Japanese proverb, passed around the Americans after the climb

When I imagine Boy Scouts climbing a mountain, I think of long lines of hikers cheerfully heading up. The reality of Boy Scout Troop 51's ascent of Mount Fuji (called Fuji-san in Japanese) was somewhat different. Our car of seven (three scouts, two accompanying parents, one parent whose family was taking another car, and one parent whose family was in the States but wanted to do the climb) set out from the old Tokyo American Club, located at the back of the Russian embassy, Friday night at 7.. Alex I reached the meeting spot despite several minutes of not finding the right back of the embassy. Fortunately, several people helped us reach our destination.

The ride took 2.5 hours, including a rest stop (just like an interstate stop, save for greater variation in types of toilet and food as well as significantly higher gas prices) and $38 in tolls. The Scout building held many other scouts when we arrived at 10 p.m/. No real roughing it except for trying to sleep. The scouts had bunk beds, eight to a room, and the adults had either single rooms or a large tatami-room without the tatami. The hall was a wonderful sound conductor, so when we were roused at 5, no one had really slept well. Some scouts had left from Tokyo at 4, which probably would have been the better option for starting a long day with some sleep.

Driving from the building to Station 5, 2000 meters up took nearly half an hour. The two parking lots held 150-200 cars and were already full. Here, as elsewhere, I am impressed by the ability of drivers to park in incredibly tight spaces. I think I could become a reasonable driver here, once I adjusted to driving on the other side of the road. Parking, however, would be beyond my abilities.

By the time we parked, unloaded, and walked to the station, it was 7 and earlier vanloads of scouts had already reached the station and started up in trickles. Tradition (marketing?) recommends buying a walking stick to have branded at each station you reach. What I did not realize is how essential I would find Alex’s stick.

Climbing below the treeline to Station 6 was pleasant, if challenging. The view of Fuji past the treeline was not that attractive, volcanic rock with occasional plants. The real beauty was the weather. Fog and clouds rolled in and out, sometimes dropping visibility to only a few meters, then suddenly disappearing to show where we had climbed or where we had to climb. Alex moved from shorts and a t-shirt at the bottom to jeans, t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, sweater, and sweatshirt at the top. Our hair was wet from the moisture and my glasses misted over several times.

The further we harder the steeper the ascent seemed. Despite frequent switchbacks, the path up was very steep. Our breaks were short and frequent and over the next few hours we consumed the recommended two-three liters of water per person. Our group could tell the oxygen level in the atmosphere was dropping even without using the bottles of oxygen for sale (1000Y at the base, 1500Y at Station 8). The cost of food and liquids rose as we climbed, but considering the difficulty of bringing anything up to the stations, we did not begrudge the cost. The paths were well marked with rope guardrails as needed.

Even though the official two-month climbing season had ended with over 200,000 people ascending and several stations had closed, hundreds of people climbed Fuji today. Rarely were we out of sight of people. We passed some; many more passed us. Nearly all were Japanese from their 20s on up. Most were in groups, especially the younger climbers. Men outnumbered women. Many wore climbing gear, including gaiters, and masks. We discovered why on the descent.

After five and a half hours, Alex and I (our group, reduced from five) reached Station 8 at 3400 meters and he collapsed, resting for half-an-hour on the bench. The station was only a few hundred meters from the summit, which we could see, but his fatigue and a requested turn-around time of 1 p.m., meant I will never stand at the top of Mt. Fuji.

The descent took half the time and was awful. Instead of climbing down a trail, we skidded down long stretches of ash, dirt, gravel, and rocks. I fell twice, ripping jeans and jacket but nothing more. What comfort I could have taken from the many other people I saw falling was totally eclipsed by the spectacle, repeated many times, of single men in bright gear literally bouncing down the slope at high speed. I suspect that was not their first descent, but this is only a suspicion. One of the scoutmasters climbed in three hours and descended in one. We learned from an American Air Force officer that some Navy officers had climbed (and descended) Fuji four times in one day as a fundraiser.

The gaiters kept the pebbles and dirt out of shoes and the masks kept the dust from being inhaled. One scoutmaster had brought duct tape to wrap his troop’s shoes for the descent. It looked funny but it worked well.
I survived the final steep descent by holding on to a guiderope and walking down backward. It looked odd, but it worked.

We drove back to Tokyo that evening, stopping at an excellent ramen noodle shop for dinner. In a land of overemployment, the shop was a model of labor-saving. You choose your dish and bought a ticket from a machine before you entered the restaurant. The waiter took half the ticket and gave it to the cook. When ready, the waiter then matched the ticket with the other half. Simple, efficient, and effective.

In Tokyo on the expressway, we saw an accident that backed traffic up the other way for miles. Ouch. Reminded me of the New Hampshire toll on Interstate 95 South on a Sunday night in summer.

7 September, Sunday.

I woke up today with very, very sore legs and a marked aversion to going down stairs. This made taking the subway somewhat painful at times. Although some stations have elevators and all have escalators, finding the elevators is not always easy and often there are short flights of stairs without any escalators. Although the situation has improved since our 1995 visit, Tokyo is not a good place for a handicapped person or anyone who does not like to walk.

In contrast to the DC or Moscow metros with their long escalators, Tokyo stations tend to have several shorter escalators, connected by small level areas. I wonder if this is because shorter escalators are less expensive, the consequences of one breaking are less serious, or a tradition in building the subways.

To celebrate Alex’s birthday, we went to Kiddyland, an amazing five stories of toys and souvenirs, including one floor devoted to Charlie Brown. What struck me was the branding. Hello Kitty, Barbie, Totto, and many, many other lines were well represented. En route from the subway, we encountered processions of portable shrines behing carried through the streets. Quite interesting and proof that we should always carry a camera.

We then had amazing $21 hamburgers at Zipzap. Especially fun was watching the avocado burger emerge, a beautiful hamburger with half an avocado on top of the burger. We then wandered into a shopping complex, had some superb gelato, and visited the MOMA store.


8 September, Monday

I had intended to look at a surplus bike from an American, but Softbank took so much time that I phoned Lisa to phone the American, who just laughed at my delay. She knew what I was learning.

It took five visits, but we finally have cellphones. The visit we intended to buy phones but the contract was so complex that we wandered out in a daze. A visit to Docomo, however, introduced us to plans even more incomprehensible. The assumption is that any plan will be costly; Softbank at least has a plan that we have a hope of understanding. A policy change banned firms from subsidizing the cost of the cellphone. Consequently, the price of phones soared, but I am told monthly charges did not drop.

Most of the plans are based on a two-year contract with sliding fees, discounts, eye-of-newt charges, and goodness knows what else. Since we are staying for a short time, we paid for the phones fully up front and will not receive discounts. But at least we can talk (with the price varying, depending on what firm’s phones you call). Incidentally, Skype does not work on 0120 numbers, the Japanese 800 numbers.

The sales representatives, almost all female, had an odd mix of technology, ranging from erasable white boards with markers to the latest scanners and directional microphones to softly speak to each other. Oddest of all were the pages of printouts of phone prices. At least one page was arranged by descending cost. Others I could not understand at all.

The second visit to Softbank failed utterly when we could not find someone able to communicate in English. The third was about to end in a contract, except they did not have the phones in stock. So, like the Marx brothers flying across the Atlantic, but running out of gas halfway, we had to go back and start over. The fourth visit found the phones, but I only had my alien registration card and not my passport, so I had to go back and get it. In fairness to Softbank, that was a requirement in the the fine print – the fault was mine. The fifth visit succeeded – we have the phones. Now if only we could figure out how to use them.


I also went to a main post office (not the one down the street) to pick up my registered (or equivalent) Citibank cash card. What seemed odd to me was that Citibank sent our credit cards directly to us, no registration needed. Nor, for that matter, any activation procedure. The cash cards, however, were obviously considered more important, possibly because Japan is still a very cash-oriented society. Many, many more places take credit and debit cards since 1995, but they rarely advertise the fact.

From the post office, I went to Shibuya to buy a Canon printer-scanner for the Mac. Took the wrong exit from the station and lost fifteen minutes trying to figure out where I was. Bic Camera was much quieter than on the weekend. Not quite pleasant, but definitely not painful. Packaging the box for me to carry was ingenious. The salesclerk placed the box on top of a machine that extruded plastic strips long enough to circle the box. He then placed a plastic handle between the strips, taped some bubble wrap over the handle, and I had a convenient way of carrying the printer.

I dropped the printer at home, made a sandwich for Alex, then met him on the late bus to ride to the Tokyo American Club for his Boy Scout meeting. Some of the adults mentioned that they had decided not to climb Fuji because the climb down was so hard. Now they tell me. The troop leadership is, like in College Station, very impressive. The outings sound spectacular, though I think I will avoid any involving mountain descents.
One of the differences between the business community and, at least, this Fulbrighter, is they have lots of support in moving and settling in. Financially, the stakes are much higher (and the resources greater) so the businessman and businesswomen have staff to help them. Those expats are often staying for several years too. A few moms (most of the “reason for being here” spouses are male), when I asked questions, confessed that their husband’s staff had done the legwork.

ASIJ and picking grapes: a sweet harvest

So after a busy Sunday festival we went to the elementary school orientation for the American School in Japan (ASIJ) on Monday with both kids. (Alex’s orientation is actually tomorrow but he gets dragged along.) At the crack of dawn– or 7:20am we get on a bus to ride to the ASIJ campus. Unlike buses in the US there is a place to hang your umbrellas as you get on – does this tell us something about the weather or about Japanese design? At this point we are still jet lagged so getting up is much easier than normal. The bus ride takes us through the ugliest parts of town – nothing but elevated highways looking out on construction projects and concrete slabs – which combined with the gray rainy weather is not a very welcoming sight. We get to the school at 8:20. The ride makes us more determined to move closer to the school so that the ride is shorter for the kids.

The welcome that we receive at the school is nothing short of fabulous. We are greeted multiple times and asked if we need help. Even though we had been unable to attend an orientation earlier all the teachers and councilors interrupted their most hectic day to help us out. Caroline spends a couple of hours with her teacher while we attend parent meetings – Alex spends the time in the library. We also scope out the information booths in the cafeteria – some information is for the children with the range of after school activities explained. Others are for the parents including a booth for printing your home business card with a map – very necessary in Japan. When we pick Caroline up we spend a couple of minutes with her teacher – Mrs. Bade who was raised in Japan and has been teaching at ASIJ for 7 years. She seems to be a wonderful teacher who is very interested in science and writing. We are most impressed. We are even more impressed after having lunch at school. There is a small kiosk as part of the book store that has a small but nice selection of sandwiches and salads. These come in plastic containers that they reuse. You get a 100Y back for returning these items. They also have a good selection of ice cream and snacks.

The elementary counselor meets with Caroline to see how she is feeling about the move . (He meets with all the new families and makes sure that the children are ok with their new school. Throughout the year he works with each class to help them grow emotionally – some of the adults I know could use his services.) Alex has a similar counselor that works us into her schedule . She has hiked Monchu Pichu and has traveled all over the world – her office is decorated with items from her travel and I would like to spend more time talking with her. She talks with us and then talks separately with Alex. As soon as she hears that we had a Japanese tutor at home she whisks him up to the Japanese teachers so that they can put him at the correct level. I have never seen this type of responsiveness at our Texas public schools – although they might be able to do this if they had the amount of money that ASIJ has as well as the committed parents – the turn out for orientation is quite high and the place is packed. I think both kids will have a great year. Finally, we notice the libraries are very well stocked and encourage the parents to check out books – 25 at a time – to make sure everyone has access to reading material. (We can even get items from the High School if we want.)

After a full day at ASIJ we return by train, finding our way to the Chofu train station through a drizzle. The trip back to our apartment takes three train transfers and ninety minutes; not difficult but I would rather not do this too often.

Tuesday Alex does the same trip again with Jonathan, but this time Caroline and I stay behind and remove some of our things from the bags. I do not want to unpack too much as it will all have to be re-packed when we find a permanent apartment.

Jonathan and Alex return very impressed. Alex will have much more freedom to roam his campus compared to the US and he is very happy.

Wednesday we all get up early and see the kids off – thereby meeting the other returning parents at the bus stop. Mostly wives of businessmen – Jonathan is the only male. Both kids return quite happy so I think we made the right choice in sending them to this distant school.

With both kids in school Jonathan and I get to business finding an apartment. Since we were in total agreement after seeing our first 3 places we split up. We realize that we prefer low-rise apartments and wooden floors. After being shown both western and Japanese places we decide that we prefer Japanese bath rooms – that is we like having the bath and toilette in separate rooms and we prefer the Japanese shower – mainly because it feels much less cramped than standing in a small tub. Our main frustration is that the real estate folks do not understand that the need to be near a late morning bus stop is more important than having a beautiful apartment. They would never make an adult have a longer commute in order to keep the children from a long bus ride

What do 4 gaijin do on their first real weekend in Japan? They travel to Shibuya to check out the electronic stores. Shibuya has an incredible street crossing that has to be seen to be believed – this would never work in US as nobody would observe the crosswalk signs and traffic would be stopped for hours. Japanese apartments are usually rented with no appliances – we spend a few minutes pricing refrigerators and combination washer/driers. The latter sound great but I can state from using one in our service apartment that they still have a long way to go – these take about 4 hours for one very small load. The electronic store is very loud; definitely don’t want to spend more time here than necessary.

On Sunday we were invited by a Japanese friend to travel on a slow view train to the wine district and then try to see Mt. Fuji on another slow train. We had to line up at Shibuya at the entrance to a non-smoking non-reserved car and it is a good thing that we got there a bit early as a line did form, but it was behind us so we had our pick of seats. We did notice a size difference between this and Amtrak – the seats were perfect for the kids but Jonathan did not have room for his knees. The advantage of these trains is that they enabled us to see that Japan is more than just concrete slabs and construction sites. The first train was a double-decker with wonderful viewing possible – that took us to the wine district.

When we got off the train our friend got a cab to take us to a grape harvesting stand. There we were fed a sample of grapes and then we were loaded into a very small van which took us up to the grapes – about a 5 minute drive. We cut a few bunches of very delicious grapes from their over-protected growing spot – each was encased in plastic. (By the way we were told that each bunch is pruned 5 times by 5 people or 25 times.

We then went to an onsen for a quick soak. The onsen was rather typical – men separated from women, one must wash completely before entering, then enter your choice of pools with different temperatures and some inside and some outside. Since the train schedule was inflexible and the lunch possibilities were too expensive for our host to recommend – we have noticed he is rather good at hunting out inexpensive alternatives, we then took a cab to the train station and went to the nearest town for lunch. Then we boarded another train and headed to Fuji. It was getting progressively greener and the landscape was demonstrating why much of Japan cannot be used for building – very steep terrain.

Although the outing was not demanding it was a bit too long for my taste and I was quite happy to take a Shinkansen back to Tokyo, especially since the next day was a school day for the children.

The following day we were shown the empty apartments by one of the real estate people and decided that the top floor with a view but old fashioned kitchen was better than a great kitchen and no view. This is where we will be – very close to the University of Tokyo in the Shoto area – which we were originally told was too expensive. However, we are in an older place – 20 years without a major overhaul and the location is great for the kids- the bus stop is at 7:44 not 7:20 and Jonathan is walking distance to a major train stop. Also there are many eating places within walking distance so I don’t care what the kitchen looks like.

We are told that obtaining an apartment in Japan is the biggest hurdle that we will face during our visit and we feel lucky that the time between our first day of looking and our acceptance by the landlord – they often say no to foreigners – is exactly 2 weeks. We filled out paperwork that shows our income – the real estate folks do not care about savings at all, only monthly paid income which must be at least 3 times the rent. Much of the form is ridiculous – for example it is more important to have a Japanese person who will back you than a company – go figure. At no time do they ask to see anything that one would need in the states. The letters that we fax could be totally bogus and they would never know. Perhaps this is one of the reasons they dislike dealing with gaijin.

The only problem with the apartment is that we have to wait for them to repaint – this is done after every tenant has moved out – steam clean and replace the heater and a.c. unit. We would prefer to move ASAP but this should give us time to hunt down what we need to get started.

And we're here

21 August

A long flight over. I followed the approach of entering the flight exhausted. That plus Lisa’s Dramamine provided several hours of sleep. Having flown JetBlue recently, the Continental 777 failed to impress. The kids complained about the lack of shows to watch (they did not mention the smaller screens). The adults did not like the lack of room and the tendency to place metal boxes on the floor, cutting down on feet space. The bins were poorly set – not organized for 22 inch suitcase storage, creating much wasted space. Friendly, competent staff, but poor food.

Arrival was uneventful. Fingerprinted at immigration and photographed too all without hassle, then loading 12 bags on carts, green lighted through customs while adding 8 boxes (to be delivered) as unaccompanied luggage. Four suitcases and eight duffels, the latter to be stored inside the former once emptied (and thus saving significant space). Outside the secure area was oddly empty, like arriving at a second or third tier airport. Many signs in English to guide us, including big signs to the baggage delivery service, the greatest boon to traveling since the wheeled suitcase (of which I need to write more). Four firms offered their services; we randomly chose ABC (possibly reflecting my Japanese grammar which had ABC Foods as a firm). Instantly, several staff moved the luggage into one long line, wrapped each bag in plastic (cleanliness or security?) and filled out paperwork. For approximately $16 a bag, the luggage was delivered the next day to our apartment.

Thus, we only had backpacks and roll-on bags to board the bus. This meant that we could then walk the five minutes from the bus stop at a hotel to our service apartment. So much easier than trying to carry everything.

The bus location was well marked; buying tickets was no problem. The young ladies giggled at my Japanese. The bus was called a limousine bus, but the adjective was a tad excessive. We took the waterfront tour to the hotel – some fascinating architecture en route, then walked to the apartment. A walk down the street to a Chinese restaurant, then back for a full night of sleep.


22 August.
A full first day. I went to the Fulbright office in the morning and in the late afternoon we went to Minato City Hall to get registered as official aliens (long suspected by some, but now it’s official). Lisa took the kids around the area, finding two parks.

The Fulbright office was easy to reach. I received an administrative overview and other information. The financial administrator had graduated from Minnesota 30 years ago and had worked for Fulbright since then. He walked me through the finances and gave me 200 kY in bills and two checks for over 2 MY. I could cash them at the issuing bank, just down the road. It felt very odd to be carrying so much money, but I did not feel at all worried. Nor did I feel particularly wealthy because I knew how quickly that money could and would evaporate (at a back-to-school meeting, the middle school principal noted that the 1000 Y bills (about $10) just float out of wallets).

The director emphasized communications and danger. To be exact, contacting Fulbright with any problems whilst still small (including unhappy spouses). The danger was The Big One. The odds of a massive earthquake are low but the consequences disastrous. He emphasized stocking up on food and drink even in the service apartment and to consider keeping a full bathtub. I’m glad to know earthquakes are taken seriously. Another aspect was to keep the Fulbright and the embassy updated on our travels for emergency communication.

We went to Minato City Hall to be registered. How incredibly easy the process was and how helpful the people. Language assistance in English, Korean, Chinese. We went at 4 pm on Friday so we probably missed the long queues of people that the chairs indicated. Helpful young people manned the counters. We left with temporary certification, forms that indicated we existed (needed for opening a bank account &c), and processing for national health insurance. I had to sign a form stating our previous year’s income in Japan was zero. As we are taxed by what we earned in Japan last year, that means our insurance rate is almost free.

The twelve bags arrived from the airport and now line the walls. Tomorrow we excavate and unpack and discover what we forgot. Notice that each bag was wrapped in plastic, presumably to protect it. We had a huge pile of plastic wrap to discard. For a nation that prides itself on recycling, a huge amount of plastic waste from coverings and boxes is generated

We’re still in the euphoric stage – what’s different is exciting, new, and often better. Walking back from dinner we saw a road construction crew at work. Some had vests with flashing red lights. Safer, but a little silly. I’ll go with safer any day.

Similarly, the apartment is very well designed for optimum use of space. There is built-in space on most walls and the closets are well designed with a place to stow the small suitcases. The apartment comes with everything needed to cook – from pot holders to a (small) oven and range. We also have a rice cooker and toaster. All in a space that most Americans would think of as cramped but that serve us very well due to the thoughtful design. We’re staying in a service apartment, a furnished apartment for short-term stays, in our case until we can find an unfurnished apartment. Until then, we are on a bus route for the kids so they can easily go to school.

Going to Fulbright, I figured out how to buy a Passmo card, but promptly put it into the machine just as the attendant tried to show me how to place it over the reader. Fortunately, he opened the gate machinery and extracted it, saving my card and no doubt confirming his opinion of gaijin. The subway indicators are well designed. Every station, in addition to its name, is numbered sequentially on its line. Our stop, Shirokanedai, is number 2 on the Nambuku line, which makes it easy to remember or judge in relation to other stops. The challenge is reading the map. Not only are there many stations, some lines are incompatible with other lines in regards to transferring and tickets. There is an above ground train, underground competing subway lines.

Transferring stations usually involves long distances within stations, like Paris. Except in Japan the distances are given, so you know you have 250 meters to go. Outside the stations are local maps with a fair amount of English. I noticed at our stop there are two evacuation areas marked. We need to go and see them.

Azabu-Juban festival