Memories of Japan, part 4c: A Day in the Life of a Hirado JET (Evening)
Jul 30 '09 (Updated Aug 24 '09)
The Bottom Line In this article, I wrap up my typical day as a Hirado JET, highlighting some of the noteworthy aspects of my experience.
In part 4b (http://www.epinions.com/content_5337686148), I wrote about my time with the Hirado High School men's basketball team. In this article, I will focus on the latter hours of a typical day on Hirado island.
5:20 pm
I descend from Hirado High School by way of a meandering road that switches back twice before connecting with Route 383. As I speed down the road, I see the old corrugated-iron market and bus stop at the corner across from the school. I see Tanaka-kun, a third-year student who is on the soft tennis team. Soft tennis is similar to regular tennis except the ball is a squishy rubber, rackets are wooden, and the courts are slightly graveled. He waves; though he is not the best English student, he is always kind. I imagine he would someday dye his hair, work at a convenience store, and maybe attend a vocational college. Lots of Japanese kids end up like this.
I drive for about five kilometers before I reach Marusei-ten, a small market. I park in the gravel parking lot. As I step out of my car, I see an older man standing behind his open truck door. He is urinating in the parking lot. Tachi-shoben, or "standing while peeing," is somewhat common in rural Japan and reflects what was once a widely-accepted convention in Japanese culture. Now, by and large, Japan shuns this public practice, except for the countryside. The farmer notices me and apologizes with a muttered "Sumimasen." He is not embarassed, but is politely excusing himself as if he had burped in public. I smile to myself and walk into Marusei.
Marusei is a scaled-down version of the supermarkets I was used to seeing in the United States. There are several aisles, but the aisles are understandably stocked with Japanese items, such as shrimp chips, dozens of choices of ramen, many Japanese pre-packaged pastries, and lots of curry, stew, and sauce options. I head for the bento and sushi section, where I grab a package of freshly-made lettuce rolls: these are rice rolls wrapped in seaweed and containing rice, imitation crab meat, lettuce, cucumber, egg, and mayonnaise. These are similar to California rolls, but without the avocado pieces. I also grab a styrofoam tray of slices of teriyaki chicken leg meat. I then go to the beverage section, where I claim a two-liter bottle of Aquarius, which is a Coca-Cola sports drink. It is less sweet than American Gatorade, and thus more refreshing to me. Everything adds up to over 600 yen, so I pay the cashier with one large 500-yen coin (which is the size of an old American silver dollar) and two 100-yen coins (which are slightly smaller than American quarters). I collect my change.
As I exit the market, I see a few Hirado High School male students congregating outside of the market. They hail me. I recognize most of them and wave, though I only know a couple of their names. One of the students is Hirado High School's men's baseball captain (I have forgotten his name over the years, but I remember that he was Kurajiro's friend, despite the one-year difference in grade).
Flashback from 2009...
Marusei was the one place in Hirado to get groceries, so I was a frequent visitor. I don't remember getting a lot of special attention as a tall Caucasian foreigner, unlike several JETs with whom I spoke, who often got a lot of attention. I did my best to not draw attention to myself by quickly purchasing my items and then speaking Japanese at all times. I wondered if the staff at Marusei quietly appreciated that I could not only speak Japanese, but I could also read enough Japanese to navigate around the store. Speaking and reading Japanese go a long way toward blending into the crowds, despite one's apparent difference.
Though I often bought lettuce rolls and teriyaki chicken at Marusei, my favorite food on the island was sold at Hokka Hokka Tei. Hokka Hokka Tei is a chain of fast-food bento shops that are found throughout Kyushu. It is a pick-up only chain with a small entryway, a counter, and the kitchen in the back. Back in those days, when I was 10 years youngers, 30 pounds lighter, and playing basketball everyday, I used to order two rice lunchboxes (bento) for dinner: kara-age chicken and chicken-nanban. Kara-age chicken is akin to chicken nuggets, but with fresh, not reconstituted, chicken; chicken-nanban was simply a breaded chicken filet that was topped with a sweet mayonnaise-like sauce and a vinegar-based amazu sauce. The kara-age chicken bento was 410 yen and the chicken-nanban bento was 440 yen; so, with tax, I could still buy two bentos for less than 900 yen and be completely full. Each bento featured a tasty helping rice in one styrofoam tray and the meat, tsukemono (pickled vegetables) and a small scoop of potato salad in another tray.
Hokka Hokka Tei would continue to be my favorite fast-food shop throughout my time in Japan, which would be spent in and near Fukuoka City. Of course, while I was on Hirado, I sometimes craved Western fast-food, but the closest Western fast-food restaurant was, surprisingly, Dairy Queen, which was located adjacent to a CD shop in Emukae; to get there, I had to drive from Himosashi to Hirado City, cross the Hirado Bridge, and drive through Tabira-cho to get to Emukae. This took about 45 minutes for me, but if I had a craving for hamburgers, I didn't mind this. Or, if I had a craving for MacDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken, I had to drive one-and-a-half hours to Sasebo. I don't recall there being a Mos Burger restaurant in Hirado -- Mos Burger was a Japanese hamburger restaurant chain. During my time on Hirado, I was not a fan of Mos Burger as their burgers were expensive and small; however, while I lived in Fukuoka Prefecture, I would sometimes favor a Mos burger over MacDonald's.
In any case, Hokka Hokka Tei was my favorite fast-food shop, though I had to drive to Hirado City, which took about 25 minutes. So, a one hour round trip to get dinner was sometimes enough of a deterrent to convince me to settle for Marusei's food options. Near the end of my time in Himosashi, though, a mom-and-pop bento shop opened down the road from my apartment; the food was pretty good there, though it didn't compare to the tasty nanban sauce and yummy rice of Hokka Hokka Tei.
5:40 pm, 1998
I arrive at my apartment and swing open the hollow metal door leading to my concrete genkan. I take off my shoes and step into my living/dining room. I turn on the remote-controlled air conditioning wall unit.
I then hastily take off my clothes and enter the shower. A cold shower feels good after basketball practice.
5:50 pm
I sit at the table that dominates the middle of the room and then switch on the television. With the TV remote control, I navigate the six or so Japanese channels I have and find the two satellite channels I receive. In 1998, many households benefitted from satellite reception of two NHK channels: BS1 and BS2. A third channel, Wow Wow, is available for an additional fee, but I do not subscribe to it.
I was once told that I should expect an NHK (Nihon Housou Kaisha, or "Japan Broadcasting Company") representative to come to my door and ask for a mandatory "donation" because I am receiving NHK transmissions. I was also told that if I see this person, kindly tell them that I cannot give that "donation"; if the NHK person becomes pushy, I could be firm and continue to decline. Eventually, as I was told, the NHK representative would leave and I would be free of such harassment for one year. In this way, receiving any TV transmissions was subject to such visitations, though some veteran JETs often said that if you play the "dumb" foreigner, the NHK representative will just leave you alone.
When I switch to BS2, I see that the Summer Tournament ("Natsu-basho" in Japanese) of sumo has started and that the final bouts of the day are being aired. It is actually Day 2 of the tournament. I have become a big fan of sumo, particularly the hard-charging styles of Chiyotaikai and Dejima. Takanohana and Akebono were the yokozuna (grand champions) at that time, with Konishi fading and Takanohana's brother, Wakanohana, and Musashimaru as long-serving ozeki close to yokozuna promotion. I am not a fan of Takanohana's boring force-out (yori-kiri) brand of sumo, and I am not a fan of Akebono, despite his being an American. I prefer the tsuppari (hand-slapping) and quick tachi-ai (literally "standing and meeting," though this term refers to quick and violent starts from the center of the dohyo, or ring) of Chiyotaikai.
I eat my dinner as the yokozuna grapple in the last two matches of the day. I am thankful that an English broadcast is available on a second audio channel. Each day, one play-by-play commentator and one color commentator analyze the sumo action. I like certain commentators; Ross Mihara and Dave Wiggins are my favorites as play-by-play guys, and Murray Johnson is okay, though he is a bit dry. Most of the color commentators are dull and say little that's insightful. I find that in Japanese sumo commentating, it is the play-by-play guy that is most interesting. This is in contrast to American sports, in which the color commentator is usually more interesting and knowledgeable, except for the great play-by-play guys like Vin Scully, Marv Albert, and the like.
6:00 pm
Sumo finishes for the day. I switch the TV to a Japanese-language station. A news program is on, though I only understand about 40% of what is said and some of the text on the screen. I have come to realize that though I can do quite well in conversation, my news and newspaper Japanese is sub-par. I wonder how those Caucasian TV personalities I've seen on TV speak Japanese so well...
7:00 pm
Japanese-language news bores me, so I switch on my Sega Mega-Drive. I put in NBA Live 95, which I brought from the U.S., and waste time playing a couple of regular-season games as the Lakers. Nick Van Exel, Elden Campbell, Vlade Divac, Cedric Ceballos, Eddie Jones -- this was the Lakers before Shaq and Kobe Bryant would join the team.
I win two games handily.
8:00 pm
It's time for Japanese dramas. Japanese dramas are 10- to 12-episode mini-series that chronicle the exploits of one or more central characters and conclude storyline by the end of their 10 to 12-week runs. This contrasts with American drama shows, which runs for multiple seasons at 22-24 episodes per season. There are benefits to both types of dramas: Japanese dramas fully engross viewers for a short amount of time and promptly bring closure to storylines at an expected time; American dramas allow viewers to become attached to certain characters, caring about how each character develops, and there is usually no foreseeable end so viewers can expect to continue to enjoy shows for a long time. Of course, there are detriments to both types of dramas: Japanese dramas tend to end just when one begins to care about the characters; and American dramas tend to end long after one stops caring about the characters.
I settle in as I watch two dramas back-to-back. I can't stop yawning as I finish watching the second drama.
10:00 pm
It's time for bed. I unfold my futon on the floor behind the dining table. The air conditioner has made the room bearable, but the air has cooled since daytime, so I switch off the air conditioner.
As I pull the cord on the overhead light and settle into sleep, my mind wanders over the day's events. I then think about home, how Mom and Dad are doing, and my friends. I need to write a letter to my friend Steve -- he has been a faithful correspondent. I then think about my imminent departure from Japan: what will I do when I get back to the U.S.? What kind of job can I get? Would I miss Japan?
At an indeterminate time, I drift off to sleep...
2:30 am
I suddenly awaken from sleep with a dull pain in my abdomen. Thinking I had gas, I go to the toilet. After sitting for several minutes, I am unable to relieve the pain. I then decide to take a warm shower, thinking that the massaging effect of the shower would help. The shower does nothing, so I exit and dry off. After that, I lie on my futon with my legs up on a dining chair. I try to relax, but the pain gets worse.
I then realize that the pain is emanating from my lower-right quadrant. I think, "Appendicitis?"
5:30 am
With the pain slowly growing stronger, I quickly dress and get into my car. I drive myself down Route 383 to a nearby hospital. It is a new facility with two wings. Armed with my Canon Word Tank (a Japanese-English electronic dictionary), I say to the attending nurse: "Hara no naka ni itami ga arimasu kara mouchouen ka naa to omoimasu." (Translation: there's a pain in my stomach area, so I think it might be inflammation of the appendix...")
To be continued...
Admittedly, what I've shared at the end of this article is not typical, but it is a wonderful segue into the next article, in which I will discuss my experiences as a patient in a Japanese country hospital!
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