Fall has arrived
Japan is big on the changing of the seasons. For example, the Japanese have many words to describe the blooming of cherry blossoms in the spring.
More recently, however, October 1st unofficially marked the beginning of fall, with a very apparent and drastic change of dress. The men are suddenly wearing suits and every-other girl, woman and grandma is suddenly wearing fashion boots in exchange for the dressy sandals they had been sporting all summer. It is the season for moving-shrine festivals, moon-viewing parties and the spectacular changing of leaves. But for me, the big kicker came this evening when I realized even the grocery store - my reliable neighbor - changes with the season.
I have unsuccessfully tried to replenish my staple udon sauce on several occasions now. But two weeks ago, I realized the bottles in the sauces section were different. I can read some of the labels now, but I am nowhere near proficient enough to simply find everything on my shopping list alone at this point and thought I was either going crazy or was somehow just baffled by the fact that I couldn’t rely on even knowing what section of the grocery store I could find my favorite ingredients in. I brought the empty container of my last bottle of udon sauce into the store tonight, thinking I would be able to use the example and get someone to direct me to the sauce’s new location. What I was told, however, it that I am out of luck until next summer. It seems my sauce is ‘last season’ and my palette should also be changing with the months.
I can handle trading in the shorts and tanktops for jackets, but if I had the room in my kitchen, you would probably find me hoarding mass quantities of udon sauce in the pantry. That sounds strange, but when you find what you like, its worth it.
To end on a positive note, however, here are a few things I absolutely love about this country:
My bankbook - It balances my account and updates each transaction for me every time I use the ATM. And it turns the pages on its own.
Safety - It's not something to rely blindly upon, but I feel extremely safe in this country. I found myself carring a ridiculous amount of cash one day (this being a cash-based society) and realized I was not even worried about it being stolen.
Onsen - When you are floating in big, steaming-hot bathtub filled with natural spring water, bathing nude with complete strangers suddenly seems... normal. It's like The Marsh x 100.
My ketai (cell phone) - I can use my cell phone as a train pass and I email instead of text messaging. It also tells me when the last train is when I am out and you almost don't need a digital with the cameras on these things (they all use memory cards). AND to top it off, it was the free model when I signed up for a year contract so it cost me a whole 0 Yen!
No shoes - I love that I can eat in the cafeteria in socks. It almost feels like you are doing something wrong it is so comfy. I brought a lot of shoes with me to Japan, and have so far worn heels twice. There is not much of a point when you take them off at the door and wear slippers (or nothing) all day anyways.
Purikura (Photo stickers) - There are booths everywhere where you can take pictures with friends, decorate and write on them and then print out a sheet full of tiny stickers (easy to cut and share). It's great!
Cuteness - Japan is OBSESSED with CUTE. At first I found it a little weird and I still don't understand everything about this aspect of the culture, but I find myself calling things cute all the time now, too. Actually, it is probably up there with the Japanese words I use the most.
More recently, however, October 1st unofficially marked the beginning of fall, with a very apparent and drastic change of dress. The men are suddenly wearing suits and every-other girl, woman and grandma is suddenly wearing fashion boots in exchange for the dressy sandals they had been sporting all summer. It is the season for moving-shrine festivals, moon-viewing parties and the spectacular changing of leaves. But for me, the big kicker came this evening when I realized even the grocery store - my reliable neighbor - changes with the season.
I have unsuccessfully tried to replenish my staple udon sauce on several occasions now. But two weeks ago, I realized the bottles in the sauces section were different. I can read some of the labels now, but I am nowhere near proficient enough to simply find everything on my shopping list alone at this point and thought I was either going crazy or was somehow just baffled by the fact that I couldn’t rely on even knowing what section of the grocery store I could find my favorite ingredients in. I brought the empty container of my last bottle of udon sauce into the store tonight, thinking I would be able to use the example and get someone to direct me to the sauce’s new location. What I was told, however, it that I am out of luck until next summer. It seems my sauce is ‘last season’ and my palette should also be changing with the months.
I can handle trading in the shorts and tanktops for jackets, but if I had the room in my kitchen, you would probably find me hoarding mass quantities of udon sauce in the pantry. That sounds strange, but when you find what you like, its worth it.
To end on a positive note, however, here are a few things I absolutely love about this country:
My bankbook - It balances my account and updates each transaction for me every time I use the ATM. And it turns the pages on its own.
Safety - It's not something to rely blindly upon, but I feel extremely safe in this country. I found myself carring a ridiculous amount of cash one day (this being a cash-based society) and realized I was not even worried about it being stolen.
Onsen - When you are floating in big, steaming-hot bathtub filled with natural spring water, bathing nude with complete strangers suddenly seems... normal. It's like The Marsh x 100.
My ketai (cell phone) - I can use my cell phone as a train pass and I email instead of text messaging. It also tells me when the last train is when I am out and you almost don't need a digital with the cameras on these things (they all use memory cards). AND to top it off, it was the free model when I signed up for a year contract so it cost me a whole 0 Yen!
No shoes - I love that I can eat in the cafeteria in socks. It almost feels like you are doing something wrong it is so comfy. I brought a lot of shoes with me to Japan, and have so far worn heels twice. There is not much of a point when you take them off at the door and wear slippers (or nothing) all day anyways.
Purikura (Photo stickers) - There are booths everywhere where you can take pictures with friends, decorate and write on them and then print out a sheet full of tiny stickers (easy to cut and share). It's great!
Cuteness - Japan is OBSESSED with CUTE. At first I found it a little weird and I still don't understand everything about this aspect of the culture, but I find myself calling things cute all the time now, too. Actually, it is probably up there with the Japanese words I use the most.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 4:18 AM
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