So, I mentioned before how a night out in Japan is very different from a night out back home. There are many reasons for this:
* Most likely, you aren’t fluent in reading and speaking Japanese, so it can be easy to get lost. Google maps is great (when it works) but trying to communicate to others (especially taxi drivers) where you want to go can be difficult.
*If like me, you’re used to regular trains, you might get a shock when you move to more rural Japan. Saturday train times are not great, and like home, Sundays are even worse.
*ATMs. This is a MASSIVE problem. Unlike in the UK, where you’re always a stone throw away from an ATM, trying to get money out in Japan is a nightmare- especially if it’s late at night/early in the morning. The combini (convenience stores like 7/11) are open 24/7, but for some stupid reason, their ATMs are not. Most taxis don’t accept card so if you don’t have the money, you’re stuck.
I’ve been in Japan for nearly four months now, but I still forget these details. I thought I’d learned my lesson after many times being caught short, but old habits die hard.
Before I fill you in on my eventful weekend, let me tell you about my week. It was pretty tough, with my kids really acting up more than usual. My voice was killing me from constantly shouting over the top of them. After a particularly bad class, I asked my boss for some advice about discipline. Her response was that I was too nice, and I should scold the kids more. I told her that I do, all the time, but they don’t care or take it seriously because there are no repercussions. M then told me I had to be more firm- ironic coming from someone who coddles the kids and rewards the noisy and bad ones with candy.
On Thursday I helped M with her University student so went home later than expected. Tired and cold, I was cycling home pretty much unaware of my surroundings. Wearing my ear muffs, I didn’t hear a dog barking until it was right beside my bike. Getting a shock, I lost control of my already wobbly bike and crashed into the fence. My far away eye sight is getting worse, and as it was pitch black (street lights are minimal) and the dog was black, it was hard to make out its shape and size. I knew it wouldn’t be a stray but the owner was no where in sight. It was barking and spitting at me, so I knew if I tried to cycle off or turn my back it would attack me. So I slowly walked backwards, not letting it out of my sight, using my bike as a shield. I finally had to abandon my bike near the rack and make a run for the door.
I, of course, cursed myself by thinking the week could get no worse. I had been feeling tremors all night and on the Friday I was ten minutes into my first class with my older kids when a big earthquake hit. I’d spend the previous two hours decorating the class for Christmas and as the kids screamed around me and we got under the tables, I watched my Christmas tree wobble from side to side. Things fell from the walls and the irony didn’t escape me that I was reassuringly my students it would be okay- despite this being my first time experiencing such a large quake, something they had seen many times before. I didn’t feel scared though, or maybe before I was more worried about them, I didn’t have time to feel scared. I think if I’d been at home alone it would have been different.
The earthquake finally stopped, and my kids were shouting at me for my iphone. I was confused at first, and just as I was about to hand it over, my boss called to check we were okay. Meanwhile the kids were in the office, firing up the laptop to find out how big the quake had been and if there was a tsunami alert. There’s no danger of tsunami in Gunma because we’re so inland and landlocked, but clearly they were worried because of what happened in March. I didn’t even try and stop them- they were too excitable, and I was curious myself. It turned out the epicenter was 7, but our quake was about 5- considered a weak one here, so goodness knows what a big one would feel like! I finally got my kids to sit down and distracted them with a Christmas quiz. There were aftershocks for many hours after, and I was dreading coming home to find anything broken. Luckily I had been too lazy to wash my dishes- so instead of leaving them to dry on top of the microwave, where they would have all fallen from and smashed, they were safe in the sink. A few of my books had fell from my shelves and my cupcake bank had been thrown from the TV, leaving a mark on the wall, but apart from that, nothing was amiss.
I thought I would have a relaxing and cheap weekend, seeing how next weekend I go to Tokyo. Of course, these things never turn out as planned!
I met up with T, a new ALT that has joined my boss’ company, and his friend S. It was a cold day, one of the coldest I’ve ever felt in Japan. It really was like a winter day in Scotland!
S was driving, so we went to the big Aeon Mall in Ota. I’d already went the weekend before to get some birthday and Christmas presents, so I wasn’t really needing to buy anything. I was just happy to have a look around. As always, I found myself at the pet store, where they have the cutest little puppies! They are soo expensive though, most pure breeds clocking in at around £1,800!!
I was surprised to feel a tug on my jacket while admiring the puppies, and turned to find two of my students, sisters Karin and Konoha. It’s the first time I’ve ever met my students out of class so it was pretty neat. (Konoha is one of my babies- she likes to sit on my knee during class and call me “Mama”).
Then we went and got something to eat in the food court. It was buzzing with all the holiday shoppers. I was surprised when I went last weekend, and saw the mall fully decorated Christmas style, with carols playing in the shops. Japan always surprises me, because I forget how Westernised it has become. Maybe ten years ago, Christmas wouldn’t have been as big a deal. But now commercialism means that Christmas needs to be celebrated. When asking my kids what they wanted from Santa, most of the replies were “the new Nintendo DS” or “Money!”. Despite the fact it’s not a public holiday, the Japanese had adapted the traditions of Christmas trees and giving gifts.
We wish you a Many Christmas…apparently this campaign is all over Japan. You think they could have ran it by a foreigner first…
It was so cold, so we decided not to wander about the bars of Ota, and instead get a carry out and head to S’s apartment. We all got on well and had a good laugh about many things. After we had some drinks, S’s friend picked us up and took us to Sano, where there was a movie night taking place in someone’s apartment.
I’m always happy to meet new people, especially fellow foreigners. T is from Hawaii and S is from Guam. I was surprised how many foreigners we met for the movie night- about seven or eight people, mainly from America, though there was one English guy from Manchester. We watched Die Hard, which I’d seen ages ago but forgotten most of- and played a fun drinking game where we had to drink anytime there was a moustache or German spoken. Needless to say, I’d finished my two bottles of sake by the time the movie was over!
Me and T both live in Oizumi, and our train was just after ten, so we said our goodbyes and headed back into the cold. It was totally freezing, but I felt more sorry for T who is used to a tropical climate!
I still don’t know how we managed to miss our train- it’s hard to describe, but most stations in the rural areas only have one platform. We’d never been to Sano before, so we just assumed it was the same. As it was too cold to wait on the platform we stayed in the office. A train came, but it was over the other side of the tracks. Minutes later, with our train not in sight (Japanese trains are rarely late) we realised with a sinking feeling that the previous train had been ours- we were on the wrong platform.
There was another train in an hour’s time, so we used good old Google Maps to find a local bar. It was so cold, we went to the first we could find.
Another difficult thing about Japan is it’s hard to tell what bars are normal, and which are hostess. Host bars are more obvious, more glitzy and flashy. On first impressions, this bar looked normal, with a mixture of male and female sitting around. But as we sat down, and we received the familiar hand towels, appetizer and heard the owner be called Mama-san, we realised it was a hostess bar.
As I’ve said before, there’s nothing shady about these bars- you just pay more for excellent and attentive customer service and chat. It was too cold to move elsewhere, and since I’ve been in hostess bars before, it didn’t bother me. We were greeted warmly, and T filled them in on our situation (his Japanese is amazing). It was just nice to sit and be warm. I got roped into Karaoke so sang Your Song by Elton John, because I know the Japanese love that one. Then T and I ended up singing a duet of “I got you Babe” which was absolutely hilarious.
We worked out that getting the next train wouldn’t be possible, because the 2nd train we needed to get would have already left. So our only option was to wait it out until the first train at 5am. We were too far away to get a taxi home and neither of us had much money left. With this in mind, we decided the leave the Hostess bar, because our small stay had already cost us 2000 Yen each (£16- and we only had one drink).
They were really nice and ordered a taxi for us, and after a debate with the driver and consulting Google again, we found a manga cafe. Like the ones I’ve stayed in Tokyo, these can be used to surf the net, read manga or catch a few hours sleep. This cafe was much cheaper than Tokyo, only about a tenner for about five-six hours. We played some pool (I lost both times, I’m losing my touch!) had some ramen, then tried to catch a bit of sleep. Finally it was time to head for the first train. Then came our next problem. Although we had only walked five minutes from the train station to the hostess bar, then taken a ten minute taxi drive to the Cyber cafe, we were now a 50 minute walk from the train station, according to Google maps. I know, it really doesn’t make sense.
It was pitch black and freezing, but luckily (or so we thought) there was a combini around the corner. I went to lift money for the taxi, only to be greeted with an “out of hours” service message.
This is the same thing that happened to me in Kyoto, but I still can’t get my head around how the combini can be open, but the ATM won’t give money. Kind of like walking into Tesco back home and not being able to lift cash. It makes no sense and causes so much inconvenience!!
So, with about £8 between us, our only option was to walk for fifty minutes. If it had been the middle of summer, it might have been pleasant. As it was the middle of winter, and dark, Japanese countryside, it was literally a physical battle. I bought some heat packs and was glad I’d thought to wear my gloves and ear muffs. I was, however, wearing a skirt and tights, and knee high boots that I’d only personally reheeled that morning. I must have done a okay job, because they survived the trek.
I was better off than T, who didn’t even have a proper jacket, just a large sweater. We set off into the night, seeing parts of Japan I’ll never see or want to see again, passing graveyards and level crossings (which started to sound the alarm of a train approaching just as we were passing, giving me a near heart attack)
I was dreading my knees locking again like in Kyoto, but luckily only my left knee hurt, though I suspect it was more to do with the cold. I racked my brains to tell T all my funny stories that I’d gathered from Japan over these last few months. As much as I hate Google Maps sometimes, it did the job and we finally reached the train station, T’s mobile phone vocally confirming that “you have arrived” being one of the highlights of the night.
The sun was just starting to rise at 6am, and we watched it in the station office, mindful this time to be on the right platform. We finally got on the train, and thank God it was warm. We arrived at Tatebayashi and had a ten minute wait until our final train back home.
Photo can’t quite do it justice, was taken from the train so a bit squinty. Although it was a pretty sunrise, I’m not in a hurry to see it again!
There’s been many times I’ve been so happy to reach Higashikoizumi station- my first time back from Tokyo, the time I got lost walking home, my trip back from Kyoto- but I think this homecoming tops the list. It was a clear, blue skied day, crisp and cold. T and I parted ways, and I walked the last five minutes home. My apartment was freezing, the room temperature the coldest I’d ever seen it. I fired up the heating, had a quick cup of soup, then collapsed into bed.
Needless to say, I’m never leaving home again without-
*heat packs
*emergency taxi money
*iphone charger
Hopefully this will be the LAST time I have to write such a blog ^^;
There was a tree with wishes and hopes on it. I decided to add to it because I never intend to go back to Sano. Ever again.
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