Musashino Musings

Mrs Beerhound and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary last week, and in celebration we decided to book a table at the very posh Tokyo Breeze restaurant on the 36th floor of the Maranouchi building. The view from our table was – as you can see – quite stunning.

However it became considerably more interesting when Tokyo was struck by the biggest earthquake we’ve had for months. Sitting atop a swaying skyscraper, 36 floors above a distinctly unforgiving-looking pavement added a certain dynamic to the evening.

Subsequently, we’ve been hit several more times by earthquakes this week. We were woken up at 5am on Tuesday by a magnitude 4 quake, followed a few hours later by a small magnitude 1 tremor. And again this morning, we had a magnitude 2/3 shake. It is very, very unusual to have so many quakes in such a short space of time.

Everyone is a little bit concerned that we might be witnessing the precursors of the long-awaited Tokai quake. This is the big one, that the experts say is long overdue. The last great earthquake to hit Tokyo was in 1923, and this one killed 100,000 people. The experts say the next one will be as big, if not bigger. Of course, building design has improved considerably since those days (as our experienced in the Maranouchi building illustrated). However there will still be destruction and loss of life on a colossal scale. We are told that the government is ready for it and has made sufficient plans for our welfare. Certainly there are government warehouses packed with supplies all over Tokyo – often in secret locations. But everyone remembers the experience of the Kobe earthquake in ‘95 that showed up serious complacencies and flaws in the government’s emergency planning. We can only hope that those lessons were adequately learned, for the Tokai will be bigger and more destructive than anything Japan has faced before.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about what will happen – and the Tokai is a certainty; there’s a 40% probability before next year and a 90% probability within 50 years. But life is itself uncertain. I can only hope that fate will be kind to us.

The thermometer needle remains firmly stuck on “Scorchio” (Japanese: スコーチヨウ. I’ve been telling everyone that this is the correct English term for very warm weather), and while I personally love the Japanese summer, it is energy-sapping and makes it difficult to stay focused on work. The daily grind has been made somewhat harder by the building site that’s appeared next door. The reformers are in town.

In Britain, any house under 10 years old is regarded as new; In Japan, they’re getting ready to slap a blue plaque on the wall after 5. Whereas the Englishman’s home is famously his castle, the Japanese regard houses as rather transient things. Which of course is completely understandable in a land prone to natural disasters. There is also – interestingly – a completely different tradition when it comes to things like old houses; one that reveals one of those subtle paradoxes about Japanese people. Most Japanese consider themselves to be staunchly secular, and yet most would also admit harbouring a lingering unease about inhabiting a space once occupied by someone else (no such problems for Mr and Mrs Beerhound, of course, as our love of a good deal overrides any other consideration!). The enthusiasm for new is not just motivated by aspirations to grandeur, but a deep-seated desire not to risk the ire of jealous or malevolent spirits clinging to the rafters of their former homes.

Anyway – I digress.

Building houses is big business here because having your new pad custom-built for you is not so unusual. Quite the opposite, in fact. And so it is that the owner of next door has decided to re-form his semi-derelict childhood home into a swanky new des-res. Consequently, there has been a great deal of crashing and bashing going on while they clear the old place and dig the foundations for the new one. Being, by nature, a nosy b*****d, I have been peeking out of the back window regularly to see what kind of palace will be springing forth from all this activity. And I must admit, I’m intrigued:

For along with the expected foundations, has appeared an unexpectedly deep excavation. the purpose of which remains unclear. At first I thought it might be a swimming pool. But that would be incredibly unusual for a Japanese town house. Then I thought it might be an underground car park…a kind of motorised hoist that enables two cars to be parked in one space (quite common). But closer inspection reveals a second, deeper excavation in the centre of the first…the plot thickens. Basement bathroom perhaps? Or something else….

I am becoming concerned that the owner might in fact be a fan of the Josef Fritzl school of architecture:  Rest assured I shall be keeping a close eye on developments, and if I see any deliveries from the Yamamoto Steel Door & Soundproofing company, I’ll be straight up the police station.

Summer has very definitely arrived and iaido practice has become a real test of stamina and endurance. Although not as aerobically challenging as aikido or karate, the controlled movements and constant rising from a seated position to standing, and back again is quite demanding physically. Especially for a gentleman of ..ahem.. a fuller figure and especially in 35 degree heat and 70% humidity with no air conditioning! Each class is three hours of fairly constant activity, and it is quite a challenge to stay focused and on the ball. But it is excellent training; in the heat and humidity, your brain is too overheated to get much involved in what you’re doing, so the body kind-of takes over – a sort of induced state of mushin where the technique flows naturally without conscious thought.

Still – it has crossed my mind that I must be bloody bonkers! I’m no stranger to hard physical training, but I never thought it was possible to sweat so much in such a short space of time! In three hours I went through 1.5 litres of o-cha, and another 1L of sports drink. And none of it has reappeared in the form of wee! I’m also red raw from the chafing of a soaking wet dou gi But, for all the hardships, there is a sense of achievement from completing a demanding session. This is real Budo training – testing yourself in difficult conditions. And also – the Beerhound has earned his Dai Jocky of beer tonight!

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Today marks the first anniversary of our arrival in Musashino. A time for reflection and not a little thankfulness that everything seems to have worked out ok – well, so far at least. It was a tumultuous year of change and upheaval for everyone. For the girls, getting used to living all together under one roof; for me, adjusting to a new way of life and a new culture. Looking back to last August and my return to the UK to finalise the house move single-handed, my posts from that time bring back all too clearly what a desperately hard time it was for me personally. To be honest, I don’t know how I coped with it. But I did, and I have no regrets; I believed then that we were doing the right thing, and I’m even more certain of it now.

My concerns about whether I would be able to settle here have (almost) evaporated. I love Japan with a very real and visceral affection that seems to grow stronger with each passing month. Of course, there have been frustrations and upsets, but for the most part I am very happy to be here, and I genuinely have no desire to go back to the UK with all its problems.

I’m just trying to think about the highlights of our year here. I think Xmas last year was wonderful – all together in our own house for the first time. The family New Year trip to an onsen in Ito City was great fun.  Competing in the Tokyo Iaido Championships was a thrill; visiting Yamanashi prefecture, staying at a wonderful onsen and driving into the Minami Alps made a spectacular change from Tokyo’s concrete vista. Interspersed with these highlights have been numerous small pleasures and surprises; a tasty new dish, a wonderful shrine or unexpected splash of greenery discovered nearby.

But I think the greatest joy has been the warmth of the people I’ve met here – Japanese and gaijin. With the exception of miserable Mr. O who lives across the street, our neighbours have been faultlessly hospitable and welcoming to this lumbering gaijin. I joined a Japanese language class run by our local council in April. At first, it was very, very difficult and I almost quit (which is very unusual for me) but I stuck with it and have been rewarded with some wonderful new friendships with people from all over the world – as well as a vast improvement in my Japanese skills. Our teachers are both wonderful – patient, kind and encouraging but also persistent and very “genki” – hmm, enthusiastic – about our progress. The course culminated in a chaotic ryori (cooking) party in which all the students had an hour to knock-up a representative national dish. Well, I can tell you – the food was out of this world…curries, Thai, Chinese, Russian, Pilipino, Bangladeshi – an absolutely marvellous evening.

Looking forward to the next year – well, I can’t really guess what might be in store. I hope to further improve my language skills, contribute something to the society which has accepted me (more or less) into its midst and just do my best to create a happy home for everyone.

I know, I know…several months have passed without so much as a single word. If there’s anyone actually reading this, then I most humbly apologise for my tardiness. In mitigation, I would explain that life has become very busy just trying to keep the work and money coming in. But of course, that’s no excuse.

Also – I should explain that the reason for my sudden burst of activity is not entirely motivated by shame. I’ve recently found out about something called the Japansoc Blog Matsuri – a monthly festival of blog writings on a particular theme. There are really excellent writers that take part, and it’s something that looks like a lot of fun. I’ve decided to pitch-in with an entry and see what it’ll do. This month’s theme is “What do you find most strange about Japan”. My entry is an edited version of an earlier post – so if you have a strong sense of déjà-vu reading the following, don’t worry…you aren’t going nuts.

One of the most endearing features of Japanese life for a Westerner is that absolutely nothing can be taken for granted. Food is, of course, probably the first culture-shock people experience here. We are not accustomed to having our dinner arrive still attempting to escape, nor do we share the Japanese enthusiasm for plonking raw egg yolks on everything. But long after these occurrences cease to become remarkable, the country still has the capacity to catch you out with some unexpected cultural roadside bomb.

Take, for example, shower gel. A pretty innocuous household substance, that you would think was fairly universal in its formulation and use. But you’d be wrong, for in Japan they strive constantly to achieve perfection – and those good people at Sea Breeze shower gel are no exception.

Sea Breeze is quite a good name for a shower gel – conjuring up images of bracing sea air, the exhilaration of the briny spray with a hint of wind-swept manliness thrown in. Plus something else: They put bloody menthol in it.

While on the face of it, it doesn’t sound too bad, it’s a different story when Sea Breeze meets the more delicate parts of one’s anatomy. If you’re not expecting it – and why would you be – the sudden warming sensation in the nether regions is an alarming experience.