pulling your card

Returning from a weekend retreat in the adjoining prefecture, I had a slight lay-over in Takasaki. Checking the departure board, I espied an Express bound for my next connection of Omiya.
Thinking how clever I had been, I settled into the posh surroundings of this JR special. My spirits were quickly dampened by the shark gray suit of a ticket collector. I thought perhaps I’d make it to point b undisturbed. Besides, what excellent time we were making, hard to give that up.
Of course the collector was upon me with his electronic pad. I fumbled lamely through my pockets in search of my embarkation ticket. I’ve made a point of spending the least amount on tickets as precaution the gate-keeper might be on a coffee break. After a few time saving catch phrases and pawing about, the pale orange ticket materialized. All the worse for me once my origins were ascertained. My coordinates quickly shot back a bill.
After recovering my astonished wits, I weeded　through　my ever-thinning wallet and produced the last of my latest advance. I considered the diminishing prospects of meals for the week and the inevitable rings to the company office requesting more funds. These thoughts coincided with visions of Natsume Soseki (1000 yen note person) sprouting wings and flying away. Such was the price of luxury.

seasons in the abbess

It’s a long, long story to tell and I can only show you my hell.
-Yoko Ono

There　was a running joke amongst my colleagues before I left the States to come to Japan, “hey Eric, you’re not turning Japanese are you”? Then they’d bust themselves up in a cacophony of laughter, unbeknownst to them it had been the umpteenth person to say that. Perhaps I’ve come to know what they’ve merely suspected.
Like all good explorers, I survey the maps of uncharted territories and ask for directions at local watering holes. However, as any big game hunter will tell you, there are certain experiences you just can’t prepare for.
Knowing my character, I am somewhat astounded by my adopted mannerisms of my host country, which are the currency of local exchange. I’m wont to exclaim, “I’ve never done that before”.
For instance, when the Kyoto Sensai stamps my timesheet, I act as though it were the second coming or that pearls had fallen from the sky. I bow with such profuseness, you’d swear that I was in front of the emperor himself.
I realize all subjugated peoples must pay a certain amount of lip-service to conquering powers to keep the balance. Still, it’s curious as can be, I’ve had to find the Japanese in me.

first line of defence

mount fuji

messing up your game

coming back from the internet cafe last night, i saw a boy and a girl of high school age pedalling through the darkened alleyways of my town. they had on their little uniforms and a fag was dangling from the boy's right hand. he leaned over and kissed the girl on the cheek, which might not seem like much, but it's the one first time i've seen any show of affection since i've been here. actually tonight i saw a couple snacking on the shinkensen (bullet train), but my stern looks put them in check.

feeling the cut

my great fear with the japanese is their code of conduct and the ever-present spectre of 'losing face'. inevitably, i tend to be a fuck up at times, but i know that once you're on the wrong side of town in japan, there's no way back. hopefully i can stave off my tonterias towards the end of my tenure.

skip a rope

recently i've been watching the kiddies jump rope, but they do it slightly different in japan-everybody has to do it together. so, you'll see 30-some odd kids going at it. usually the kids are broken into halves, boys face one direction and girls the other. then they start counting out 'ichi, ni, san...' and so-forth. i noticed there was one heavy set girl who kept messing up their game, but you wouldn't hear any 'fatso' remarks.
not entirely sure what lessons can be culled from this sort of exericise. it seems nippon education doesn't like to focus too much on the individual, so all levels of acheivers are thrown together. at the same time, their academic track is being determined at a pretty tender age.
the over-arching message with japanese thinking, if one of us fucks up, we all go down. the 'we are in it together' mentality seems to carry through the workplace and society. a sense of obligation to others and accountablity for your actions aren't a bad thing. some of our cooperations in the states could take a note.
the downside seems to be no one is taught objective reasoning skills. nobody is granted executive powers, hence a consensus must be arrived at after a group meeting. the problem with group thinking is that if you walk in front of a light, japanese people might follow you, never mind the rapidly approaching cars.