Moving In

Sorry for the delay in posting! T. and I have spent the past several days moving into our house. It’s beautiful and quickly beginning to feel like our home. There are some stark differences from our housing experience in the States or Spain.

Japanese houses are fragile. It is a bit shocking how easy these homes can get dinged or damaged. Slippers/socks are worn throughout the house to protect the wood, tatami or flooring. No holes are to be put in the drywall. Etc. Very different from our Spanish house where everything was concrete and tile.

Recycling is hardcore! We’ve always been avid recyclers but the Japanese take it to a new level. There are up to six different classifications, certain items that are picked up once a month, everything must be cleaned, etc. It’s so complex that I actually had to take a trash class so I am aware of the regulations. I’m still waiting for our trash to reappear in our driveway with a memo telling us what we didn’t do properly.

Waxed floors and socks are not a good combo. This is evident by the bruises and pain in my back and hip. Also to be noted, do not try to walk down steps while half asleep.

Japanese leases have interesting clauses. The first one is no shoes in house. I still don’t understand why the houses are made so fragile but whatever, I can adapt. The second one is even better. We will only use Japanese toilet paper. We asked the Housing lady and she said they ran a test and Japanese toilet paper breaks down easier for the septic tank. Interesting!

The house has some great features. I’m quickly falling in love with the front  entry shoe storage. No need to find a place in the bedroom and they are all put away neat and orderly. I’ve also grown to love the bathroom. You just shut the door, shower, steam it up and bathe. Our tub also has a unique feature where it will keep the temperature consistent once it’s full. 

Let the sunshine in! Japanese homes have lots of windows allowing for natural light. It was easy to hole away into our Spanish home with its heavy blinds. Here, my body has begun to adjust itself to the cycle of the sun. 

Being a Japanese mover is a dangerous profession.  I was scared to think of the safety regulations that were being broken by the movers. Moving all our large, heavy furniture in only their socks! They didn’t seem to have a problem with it but for me, I would’ve been on my back with bruises again.

That’s all for now! There’s still boxes waiting to be unpacked and we have another trip to the Japanese dental clinic today. Yes, that’s a whole other story by itself…

Hiroshima Peace Park

“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing the United States Congress

And thus the United States entered into World War II after pretending that seas would protect them from a war raging in distant lands.  The war had come to them and they needed to take action. It seemed fitting that today I follow up with a post that was the "beginning of the end" of this war on the Pacific front, the bombing of Hiroshima.

A few weeks ago, T. and I trained to Hiroshima to check out what the city is best known for in modern times, the first atomic bomb used in war. Today, the city has taken this horrific event and turned it into an A-Bomb Building monument, Peace Park and Museum.

The A-Bomb building is a shell of its former self and survived because it was directly under the bomb when it exploded on 6 August 1945.  Everything else in the surrounding area was flattened by the blast outward and the pull inward. All photos of the city after the bomb show an entirely demolished Hiroshima.

The park is at the epicenter of the bomb and most Japanese felt there were too many deaths in this area to rebuild.  Today it’s a beautiful green space with different statues and memorials for the people who died during the explosion. The un-biased, multi-lingual museum is located within the park grounds and its mission is to rid the world of nuclear warfare.  

While viewing the museum, I was consumed by the fact that my country made the decision to cause this pain and destruction. I realize there are numerous decision points that I cannot begin to understand such as the Americans were running out of money for the war effort, the Japanese were fierce combatants and not likely to surrender their country, the atomic bomb developers needed to validate the expenditure, the war could’ve continued for years with several thousand more American deaths, and so on. However after seeing the effects, I just feel sad for the loss of life and a city in ruins.

This feeling reminded me of a discussion with a young German couple while vacationing in Portugal. We were discussing Germany’s strong performance in the 2006 EuroCup (third place). They said that they were happy about the performance but that came second to the sense of pride they felt from being openly proud of their German heritage for the first time. We stared at them in disbelief and confusion. We couldn’t fathom why they would not be proud of their country and for doing so well in the games.

Why not? It was a foreign concept to them. They had been taught from an early age to be humble and remorseful regarding all the pain and terror they caused during both World Wars. Though they had no direct part in it and years had passed, there was still that sense of guilt. Being German was not something to be proud of until the EuroCup.  

This feeling of remorse, sadness and guilt was my experience at the park and museum. I read the accounts (all provided in English) along with the other tourists. I was holding my breath and waiting for a Japanese person to look at me with hatred for causing this pain. And to be honest, I couldn’t blame them. Families were lost or broken, people cared for others with a disease they did not know how to treat and they had to begin rebuilding a city that was entirely demolished. My response could only be that “I’m sorry.”

Japan's Bar Culture

You’re probably laughing that this is the topic for my second post. However, you must remember that I’m coming from Spain where anyone can sell alcohol, it’s considered a national past time and cheaper than soda! That is why it is so shocking that there appears to be so few bars over here. 

Last week I met up with two charming Belgian girls for drinks and dinner in Hiroshima. Problem was we couldn’t find a bar! It’s not a new revelation. Tom and I noticed this several weeks ago. He casually asked, “Where are the bars?” I teased him about wanting a drink to break up the sightseeing but he was right. Where were they?

I have noticed that the Japanese drink while they eat. Rarely do they just drink. And if they do, the bars appear to be more focused on the after-dinner group looking for the club atmosphere; not open and ready for pre-dinner drinkers or casual mid-day vacationers.

Another major difference is that most bars are hidden in the upper floors of large commercial buildings. Again, not like Europe where you can walk by a cute bar and decide that maybe it’s time for a break to enjoy a rejuvenating glass of Rioja. You have to know it’s a bar and commit to it.  By committing I’m referring to climbing the stairs to the bar, hoping the vibe fits your mood and most importantly, there are other people. Otherwise it is a very obvious exit to the eager-to-please bartenders.

So we walked the streets laughing at how you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a bar in Europe while hoping to find a place in a reasonable amount of time. We did find a small bar but in hindsight, we believe it was a (business) men-only bar. They were just too gracious to refuse service or didn’t know how to communicate it to us.

After a filling dinner of Okonomayaki Hiroshima-style, we decided to play it safe. We went for a drink at a place where everyone is welcomed to sit, drink and catch up….an Irish pub! It felt like a piece of “home”. 

Driving on the Other Side of the Road

Tom and I have been in Japan for almost two months. We’ve completed most of the tasks to begin settling into our new “home”.  We found a house, purchased a car, got our drivers’ license, set up phone plans and all the other details to make our life complete.  It's the same process done on every base in the world yet there are those moments when I realize that I’m very far from the States…or Europe.

The best analogy I can make is the fact we now drive on the left side of the road. Sure it sounds simple enough. Heck, the Brits have been doing it for years and routinely travel the world and drive on their opposite side of the road.  But for me, there are moments when I become very aware that this is a very different experience from my “normal.” Though it is worth mentioning that my normal is already skewed by the fact that I felt at home in a country where I didn’t fully understand the language and people.

For instance, making right-handed turns use to be so easy. I could execute it with precision and knew where to look to prevent any potential dangers. Now I have to focus on oncoming traffic, pedestrians, traffic lights and more. And I get it; it’s similar to a left-hand turn. Everything’s just flip-flopped. But how do you retrain your brain after 13+ years of driving on the right side of the road? It’s requires lots of concentration, having those “oh crap, am I on the right side of the road?!?” moments and taking it slowly.  

But there are other areas where the difference is evident. I go into Starbucks (ahh, familiarity) but then realize all the signs are in Japanese characters and I’m praying someone is kind enough to play charades with me until they figure out what I want. And Asian food…I love it and we ate plenty of it before arriving to Japan. But how do I communicate? How do I read the menu? What’s the proper etiquette? I would hate to do something wrong like walking on their wood floors with my shoes. (Tom did!)

I’m sure that with time, this life, and driving on the left side, will become “normal” for us.