Suit, tie and no grin
Trip Start
Apr 29, 2007
1
8
Trip End
Feb 29, 2008
Yokohama and Niigata,
Japan
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Although I still have my eye on returning to New Zealand I think it won't harm me to gain work experience in Japan . It is a daunting procedure which entails learning everything Japanese and leaving my self underneath a suit and tie. Yes, appearance is everything here.
I caught up with a few old school friends of mine. Overall a depressing experience. Especially Yuusuke and Taro who were pressured to excel from very early age still live at home and do menial work. Yuusuke lost a few of his front teeth and so much hair, and is now convalescing from pneumonia that he had contracted last month. Taro, a talented guitarist, persevered and got a degree in agricultural science, worked as a postman for four years
Cape Lovers 2
. Disgusted by "arrogant and lazy civil servants at post offices" he resigned last year and is living off his savings, entering his compositions to record companies. He developed a keen interest in cycling and owns three top-range bicycles! The only high-flying friend I have is Shin-ichiro, he is now a taxman for the Japanese government. Now married and saddled with mortgage he has mellowed a bit, but still has rebel spirit.Within three days of touching down Narita airport I joined my parents and brother to attend the 1st anniversary memorial of my paternal grand-father. We went to Niigata , 300km north of Tokyo . It was a convivial occasion, contrary to my initial suspicion. The monk was quite relaxed and informal. The reading of the scripture, which we had to sit on floor and listen patiently, was surprisingly short - only 45 minutes. The reading sounded like sleep-inducing classical music or jazz. When I nearly fell asleep, the monk stopped and resumed with a different rhythm. Meeting my relatives was quite fun, too. I had not most of them for over ten eyars. We could not recognise each other, but had entertaining conversations. Walking and cycling around the village, Oguni-machi, was thoroughly wonderful. Rice farmers were tending their rice paddies to plant rice. Oguni-machi is known for paper production, and has a small gallery tucked in a hill - which even hosted an American-Indian photographer and another American-Indian painter/woodcarver
Koibito Misaki - Cape Lovers, Kashiwazaki
. I saw their works and even met the painter-carver at a temple where he was chipping a log away. On my last day I was walking around the village and saw some usable rubbish next to a shed. Among the rubbish were skiing poles and a bicycle. I asked the man inside if I could have the poles. He said "Don't you need skis and boots to go with the poles?". He offered me a pair of skis and boots for nothing and even gave me the bike - which had a bust-up rear tyre. So for a modest price of replacing the tyre and its tube I was a proud owner of a bicycle in addition to the whole ski set.Back in Yokohama I began job-hunting. I am aiming high now. These days temp agents act as the de facto job centre - adding another layer to application. I went to a few to register my availability as a serf, sat a few tests and discussed my background and skills with the consultants. I don't mind teaching English, but it seems reserved for women, and the openings are limited. And I would like to acquire skills in computers and paper-shuffling. Many classified papers list vacant positions in a semi-gender specific ways. Paato is always housewives needing to earn extra pennies. Arubaito is students and single workers. There is Equal Opportunity of Employment for Both Genders Act in Japan. But it all but academic. It precludes instances where there is specific demands for gendered workforce, and there is no legal consequences when employers infringe the Act
Oguni - a view from my grandma's place
.Working in foreign firms is probably the best I can aim for, for the time being. But they all stipulate that I should have a TOEIC exam score, an English language exam. I will sit the exam and see what offers I get after I find out my results. I am also trying a few translation firms if I could work on an ad-hoc basis, and applying for a few embassy jobs (Thailand and Singapore) and a volunteer interpreter on Peaceboat - a three-month voyage 'teaching messages of democracy and peace'. Early this week I had one interview at a cram school. The manager did not like me from the start and told me that I needed to learn the Japanese common customs. He did not like the way I sat, placed my legs. He pointed out that I should not have smiled too much and the whole list went on. I apologised for offending him and explained that it was not at all my intention to cause deliberate affront. Was the damage done? He said that the cram school was an industry, and could not afford to lose customer base by upsetting students' parents and giving poor influence to their children. Despite this, he told me that he wanted to hire an eccentric. He took pains to explain how poorly the job paid, and how long it would take to build up sufficient hours of work. The system of this school is that students could select tutors; if they like you you get lots of students, if not, then tough! In a nice way he guided me to withdraw application on my accord
Oguni in the morning
. By this stage I had thought that I could not be bothered, whilst I appreciated his useful tips. I spoke of this exchange to my mother, and she sympathised that I had a crush course on Japanese mannerism, and even bought me a book coaching how to crack interviews! I will try a few plum jobs. If nothing comes my way by mid-June, I will train my muscles while earning a few pennies. I did not take his comments as indictment of being a traitor, but more as sincere advice. After all, there are MacDonalds, Starbucks and supermarkets. My guitarist friend Taro and I got together in Tokyo , and went shopping. I was looking for a high quality guitar that will last me ages. Within half-a-mile radius we tried no less than four second-hand guitar shops. At the last shop we tried three guitars, and settled for a Martin D-16GT. The dreadnaught had a price-tag of Y100,000 (US$830). It has a wide range of sonority, handling high/sharp-low pitches. The guitar was last year's model, and feels and smells like a brandnew guitar. Taro and I immediately agreed that out of the three we tested, this was the one. The retail brand-new price for this guitar, by the way, is Y210000 - just over double. I love Japan for its great second-hand shops, although it strongly reflects deeply ingrained psyche of throw-away culture. At a second-hand bike shop I saw a perfectly usable and immaculate fold-up bike for Y5000 (US$40).
Utsugi Bottle shop
What's it like to be in Japan ? I have not had time to read up on the current political, economic and social issues. My observation is confined to my neighbourhood. My instinct tells me, nevertheless, that it has become a distrusting society. The drive for 'protection of privacy and individual information' seems to gone a little too far. Although not as prominent as in London, closed circuit TV cameras are becoming features of our town. The media and corporations are talking of information protection so much so that it is almost encouraged that we internalise the ethics of being wary of our behaviour at all times. My neighbour, Mrs Asakawa, thinks that I am odd because I am having a chat with her. She thinks that people of my age group only talk with their small circles of friends and on the mobile phone, and cajoled me to chat up with beautiful young girls instead so that I can stop the population of Japan from declining. And those cops on mopeds and bikes! They are everywhere. I can't stand their sight. They arouse paranoia in me!My parents are reasonably pleased with my getting a PhD. On the night I arrived in Japan they asked me what a sheet of brown paper stated. They had worked out that 'Doctor' was not necessarily a medical doctor. But they were confused by the word 'Pbilosoby'. The dictionary they used did not list this word and tried different combinations to no avail. The font makes the letter h look like the letter b, making it quite confusing to people like my parents with little English. I translated the words on my graduation certificate. We had a laugh. Then my anxious mother asked me about my job prospects and superannuation. The answer to the first questions exasperated her, and my response to the second question sent her shivers along the spine. Luckily, my father is nonchalant, almost indifferent. So I get a nice balance between the two extremes.
Now I have got to go to a tailor and get my suits. I will be a JOG: Japan-oriented-Gentleman.
Ryota
