Bar none the hardest thing for me to adjust to since coming to Japan has been the degree to which people smoke here. Coming from Boston where smoking in public (technically, "anywhere people are working") buildings has been banned for years, it was like stepping into Europe...except worse.
Here, a "no smoking section" is often a tiny area of a restaurant in which smoking is not allowed, though there is no means or motivation to prevent the massive quantities of smoke from the smoking section from wafting over and ruining my meal...every time I eat out. And literally, just about everyone smokes. Eat at a restaurant that allows smoking at all, and you're guaranteed a smoky time. Luckily, it does seem like restaurants that are fully smoke-free are slowly becoming more common.
This is not to say that I think people shouldn't smoke. If they want to do that to themselves, that's all well and good. I also don't think that they should stop smoking in places they're allowed to smoke. It's unfortunate for me, but it's their right. However, the one piece of the puzzle that has bothered me the most is smoking parents. I can't tell you how many times a day I see mom puffing up with her infant sitting right next to her. Do these people have any concept of "second hand smoke" health risks? Though I can't be sure, it certainly seems like they don't. Just look at (aforementioned) horrible implementation of non-smoking areas, as well as the blatant disregard smokers here have of the people and loved ones around them. In a culture obsessed with not ruffling the feathers of others, I find such a thing kind of out of place.
Of course, it doesn't help that the government has a large holding in Japan Tobacco. Why let anyone know how bad the shit is for you when a huge portion of your yearly budget comes from tobacco revenue?
Last night in trying to pull a box of cling wrap from a drawer I somehow managed to gash my index finger on the metal teeth that are supposed to (but somehow don't do it very well) cut the wrap.
Apart from being an almost mind-numbingly humiliating injury, I've discovered it makes for rather challenging chopsticks usage.
The 選挙 (senkyo: election, vote) has begun. In Japan that means one thing: A solid week of armies of vans and trucks driving around, blaring little speeches out of oversized PA speakers.
It's an interesting (and unsurprisingly, loud) time, because every town it seems is blanketed by these roving shouting advertisements from precisely 8AM to 8PM. They vie for your vote by driving around and waving at anyone who will take notice, with a chorus of "thank you" and Japanese that has no literal translation.
What I find interesting is that no one seems to care that very few of the politicians running for office actually state what their platform is. I have yet to hear one (though admittedly my echoey-PA-listening skills are subpar), and when I inquired my coworkers agreed that it's rather rare. So how do people decide who to vote for?
Probably just like back home: appearance. And that's what the signboards are for! In a designated area in each section of town (towns are broken into distinct sections) has been erected a massive board with space for each candidate's picture. I couldn't imagine that anyone would actually pay attention to these things, but while playing wiffleball next to one yesterday I witnessed dozens of people looking closely. But what for? None of the pictures have anything but a catchy slogan and name written on them.
A Japanese mystery indeed.
Today I partook for the first time in a mild craze that has been in Japan since just after I arrived: jelly drinks! It's being marketed mostly in the sports drink category, but the particular kind I tried is labeled "For Beauty." Note that I did not buy this product of my own volition; I received it as part of a gift package.
VAAM Jelly (as it is so called) is bizarre. The drinks are all packaged in a plastic/metalized bag with a hard plastic...teat. The experience of "drinking" the stuff isn't particularly pleasant. You suck as hard as you can to get slightly-liquidized Jell-O to blast into your mouth. As this was my first VAAM experience and I didn't know quite what to expect, the sensation was slightly distressing. I got used to it, but I can't see how this could possibly be marketed as a sports drink. When I'm hot and sweaty and thirsty, probably the last thing I would want is sweet curdled chunks washing down my throat. Regular liquid for me please!
Really I just like the drink's name, which I suppose must mean something along the lines of "Here it comes...Wait...VAAM!!"
As today I was biting into a tasty おにぎり (onigiri: a Japanese riceball snack), I realized as I got to the tuna filling that I couldn't stand to have the filling facing downward.
Background for those not in the know: onigiri come in a zillion varieties, with the most popular sold at convenience stores tending to have a filling of some sort (fish eggs, tuna, salmon, pickled seaweed...). Though the filling is in the center, it tends to be near the top or the bottom. Imagine the "top" or "bottom" of pizza or something.
Anyway, I figured that it made no sense to have the filling on the top, because there are more taste buds at the bottom half of my mouth. I flipped the onigiri over, and it just felt wrong. Where did this irrational feeling come from? I suppose from a lifetime of eating toast with spread on top?
Regardless, the snack was finished without further incident.
I know I've been absent for quite a long time, but I've been insanely busy. Good friends have been both leaving and visiting, so I've had very little time for things like posting here. Well, the madness is over with nothing but (mostly) empty space as a replacement. I expect to be posting more now that I have some free time on my hands.
For now, make sure to check out a sampling of the pictures I took while my good friend Jansen was visiting. I've also figured out a way to easily add captions to my pictures, so be sure not to miss those!
As always, click on the thumbnail below for the full gallery.
