Archive for category Life in Japan
May 7, 2005 – Yet more karaoke
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Karaoke, Life in Japan on May 7, 2015
After work, I joined yet another weekend party already in progress. Working the late shift on Saturday means that my coworkers have already had a few hour head start on the evening.
Like most parties I have been to in Japan, this one started at an izakaya. Food and drinks were ordered, interesting cocktails consumed, beers chugged, and general good times.
At some point the first party started to run out of steam. The crazy people who wanted to keep going moved along to the second party, which tonight was at a late night karaoke place (as usual). We closed out the karaoke place and got home in the wee hours of the morning.
(2015 Update) I really wish I had recorded more details about nights like this when they happened. Izakaya and then late karaoke describes far too many nights during my time in Japan.
May 6, 2005 – Spending money
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 6, 2015
Today I helped out a fellow teacher with a shift swap, so I had today off. I sat around most of the day playing Playstation games, which was a lot of fun.
When I did leave the house, I went to Seiyu and bought a folding canvas chair for upcoming BBQs. It seems that every time I leave the house these days I am spending money. Japanese economy – you’re welcome.
May 2, 2005 – Visiting Yokohama
Posted by Barniferous in Greater Tokyo Area, Life in Japan on May 3, 2015
Some crazy art near the Minatomirai area of Yokohama
Today was a day off. Instead of sitting around the house, I managed to get out of bed in the morning and went to Yokohama.
I took the Tokaido line to Yokohama, which takes about 90 minutes from Numazu. When I looked up my train schedule, I found that I could have also taken the Shinkansen from Mishima to Shin Yokohama and finished with a subway connection to Yokohama station. This would have only saved me about 20 minutes overall, and would have cost twice as much.
I did some shopping around Minato Mirai, and ended up buying a figurative ton of books. I also saw a really cool street performer who was busking in front of Landmark Tower. He had a 10 minute show where he was juggling increasingly more dangerous items. I have seen street performers before, but this guy was really good. When it came time to pass the hat at the end of the performance, he must have easily made 30,000-50,000 yen (about $300-$500)
After spending a bunch of time in Numazu and Mishima, I had forgotten how big and exciting Yokohama was. It am happy that I still live so close.
May 1, 2005 pt 1 – Communists and carp banners
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 1, 2015
Carp banners along the Kano river in Numazu
Today I went out with The Penpal and her parents. The plan for the day was to see some of the impressive carp banners along the river, and then to go to a historical site in Izu.
Children’s day is a holiday in Japan to celebrate the happiness of children and to express appreciation to mothers. Families with young boys hang decorative carp banners outside. The holiday used to be known as “Boy’s day”, and even after it changed to “Children’s day”, there are still carp banners for boys only.
The Penpal and her parents picked me up at my apartment, and then drove us to the nearby Kano river. We parked and walked along the riverbank to see some of the impressive banners on display. As we approached a bridge, we came across a large gathering of people who were all listening to someone on a small stage (almost a literal soap box) talking through a megaphone. The small crowd was listening enthusiastically to the energetic speaker. This was a bit unusual for me to see in Japan.
I asked the Penpal what we were watching. She wanted to explain, but didn’t know the correct word in English. As she started to look for her electronic dictionary, I used my observation skills to try to find some context to the situation.
- Everyone in the crowd was wearing red armbands
- The speaker was talking in unfavourable terms about American President George W. Bush and nuclear weapons
- Today is May 1
I realized we were watching a May Day communist rally at about the exact time that The Penpal had located the word “communism” in her electronic dictionary. Score one for observation skills! The rally was organized by the Japanese Communist Party.
A few minutes later, the communists began marching towards the bridge playing some folky sounding music (which I assume was about workers) through a loudspeaker. Right at the same time, the right wing Uyoku showed up in one of their trademark black vans to annoy the communists.
Uyoku dantai means “right wing groups”. They usually drive around in black vans with giant Blues Brothers style loudspeakers on the roof. The speakers either feature someone loudly complaining about all of the usual things that ultra-nationalist groups complain about, or they blast dramatic sounding music about how great the Emperor is.
For the record, I probably have a lot more in common with the Communist rally than the ultra right wing Uyoku groups, but the Uyoku have WAY cooler music.
We went to the river to see some carp banners, but ended up seeing a rare open expression of politics outside of an election campaign. It was a great experience to learn more about Japanese culture.
April 24, 2005 – Singing Celine Dion for beer
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Friends and coworkers, Karaoke, Shizuoka on April 24, 2015
Tonight was another fun night out with Azeroth and friends.
Azeroth was friends with Koalako, one of the students at Mishima NOVA. I had taught her many times before, and she was always a fun person to talk to. Koalako lives in Atami, a nearby city built on the side of a mountain on the ocean. Atami is a terrible place to try to ride a bicycle, but a great place to see fireworks, and is famous for its many hot springs.
I met up with Azeroth, Koalako, and Koalako’s friend (that Azeroth was interested in) in Mishima. I was just finishing work and they had already had a few drinks. We all got on Tokaido line for the 12 minute ride east to Atami. In Atami, we drank beer while walking down the steep roads towards the waterfront. Azeroth, being the classy guy that he is, stopped to pee on the side of the mountain while the ladies and I were watching the fireworks. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.
We caught the end of a fantastic firework show, with colours reflecting off the ocean. After the show was done, Koalako got a call from her parents. They had never met anyone from outside of Japan before, so they invited us to have some beer and snacks at their local pub. Azeroth and I are not known to turn down beer, so we were on our way.
The pub was a traditional “snack” style izakaya. The room itself was small, with several tables facing a long bar counter. In total there was probably seating for 25-30 people maximum. It was a small mom and pop bar that catered to a small group of regular customers from the area. The atmosphere was cozy and friendly, especially because we were the guests of some regulars.
Koalako’s parents were very friendly and outgoing. They greeted us and then started ordering an impressive display of izakaya food and beer. All of the beer was in one litre bottles. The women at the table took turns filling up our small glasses every time there was any space in them. Azeroth and I didn’t pour any of our own drinks. When you are drinking from small glasses that are instantly refilled, it is very easy to lost track of how much you have consumed. Naturally, this led to only one possible outcome: karaoke.
Mama-san (the female owner) brought over the microphones and the song list. There were only about 8 English songs in the whole book. The selection would have made Canadian AM radio proud; Elvis, Paul Anka, Ritchie Valens, and for some reason, Celine f**king Dion. Since we were being treated to our beer and food, Azeroth and I did our best to entertain our hosts. My Elvis and Paul Anka were passable (despite not knowing the songs well), but my version of “My Heart with Go On” was epically awful. Azeroth was laughing the whole time at making the Canadian guy sing Celine Dion. However, he did bail me out half way through the song as we turned it into an over the top duet.
After more beer than I can count and some good karaoke thanks to Koalako and parents, we noticed that it was getting dangerously close to the last train of the evening. Koalako’s father was worried that we would get lost walking to the station, so he got mama-san to call us a taxi to get us to the station. We thanked our hosts for the fun evening, and protested as Koalako’s father made sure to pay the taxi driver in advance as we were leaving. Koalako’s father is great!
The train ride home seemed about 6 times as long as the ride there, and the walk back to our apartment took forever, owing mainly to the fact that we were unable to walk in a straight line. The evening was a lot of fun, but I am not looking forward to the next morning.
(2015 Update) This is a greatly expanded version of my post from 10 years ago. I added in a lot of detail and mentioned that Koalako was a student, something that I smartly omitted the first time around. I ran into Koalako’s father when I was visiting Japan in 2013, and found that he was still as friendly and outgoing as ever.
April 23, 2005 – Beer and karaoke
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Life in Japan on April 23, 2015
Information which should come as no surprise to anyone: after work I went out with coworkers for beer and karaoke. Some people might be concerned that beer and karaoke would get repetitive after a while. Do not be alarmed: there are always different places to drink the beer, and different types of beer to drink. There are also different places to do karaoke, and always different songs to sing.
Rest assured my dear readers: I don’t always drink beer at the same place and then sing the same songs at the same place with the same people. There is some variety.
April 12, 2005 – Raising kids in Japan
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on April 12, 2015
Today was another rainy day in Numazu. It literally rained all day. When you don’t have a car, rainy days can limit your ability to get around, at least if you are concerned about staying dry.
In the evening I went out for dinner at Bikkuri Donkey with The Penpal, one of her female friends, and the friend’s young son. The Penpal’s friend wanted to get her son some exposure to English from a native speaker. This is not uncommon – I have found that Japanese people put a higher value on the English they learn from native speakers, even speakers not trained as teachers, than English they learn from a Japanese teacher.
Over dinner, we talked about differences in how kids are raised in Japan and Canada. I was surprised to learn that in Japan it was common for children to share a futon with their mother from the time they are born until they start school. This would be very inconvenient for the father, and also very inconvenient for increasing the family size. I explained that in Canada, it’s common for children to have their own room, depending on the culture of the parents. This was surprising to both The Penpal and her friend, who had lots of questions about how a parent would know if child needs something. It was an interesting discussion for everyone except the young son.
Note to self: if I am going to raise children in Japan, have the discussion about where the children are going to sleep BEFORE making the children.
(2015 Update) As the proud parent of a 1 year old half Canadian, half Japanese boy, I can inform my wonderful readers that we came to a compromise on where our son would sleep. We are currently living in Canada, and sleeping in a nice, cushy queen sized bed. For about the first 6 months, our son slept in a bassinet in our room so we had easy access to him. After that, he moved to his own room across the hall to sleep in a crib. We can hear him easily from our room, and have a portable baby monitor for when we are anywhere else in the house.
I am sure our arrangement would have been different if we were living in Japan or sleeping on a futon, but I think we came to a good compromise.
April 11, 2005 – Rain on my day off
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on April 11, 2015
Of course it has to rain on my day off. I call BS on this weather!
April 7, 2005 – Flu or bad pub food? Also, Wrestlemania
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on April 7, 2015
Not sure if I am fighting a flu or just ate some bad pub food last night, but I felt like death today and was not able to teach. I spent the day sleeping, trying to calm my stomach, and watching Wrestlemania 21.
Wrestlemania is usually a good show, and this year was no exception. The Money in the Bank match was an exciting stunt show, and Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels was simply fantastic. The downside was a “sumo match” between Akebono and The Big Show.
Akebono is a household name in Japan. Born Chad Rowan, he moved to Japan to compete in the professional sumo ranks. He was very successful in sumo, largely due to his massive size. After nearly 8 years as a Yokozuna, injuries caught up with him and forced his retirement. A failed restaurant left him in debt, so he became an (unsuccessful) MMA fighter to make some money. Even though his best days are behind him, he is still well known and easily recognizable in Japan.
I have no idea what the WWE thought they were going to gain by staging a fake sumo match between Akebono and the Big Show. Sumo is not popular in America, Akebono is largely unknown, and the match itself was not very interesting. It really didn’t make much sense at all.
Also, The Big Show in a sumo thong didn’t do a whole lot to settle my stomach!
April 6, 2005 – Welcoming the new guy
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on April 6, 2015
After work we took a new teacher out to Ryuu for cheap sushi and beer to welcome him to the team. Usually cheap sushi and beer is a great idea, but I started to feel pretty awful after I got home.
Drinking in Japan 
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