This Time Around

The last time I visited Japan I was a teenage and my world revolved around school and friends. This time visiting Japan as an adult, I am aware of things that probably never crossed my mind on my previous visit. Things such as the recycling system, cooking, groceries and laundry, I have already highlighted through the blog. I hoped that writing about these different areas, those reading would also be provided a glimpse into this beautiful country and the people that call it home.

Unlike North America which is a society made up of mainly immigrants, a foreigner in Japan is very easy to spot. It is not unusual to hear people say “gaikoku jin” when you walk by which means foreigner. I had many people come up to me at public places wanting to practice their English with me as I was walking through public spaces such as train stations or temples. Many of the students visiting this summer had individuals want to touch their hair or skin since it was different. It is all part of being in the country while everyone can tell you are a stranger.

The families I stayed with while in Japan had a very liberate relationship from what I had previously experienced. Twenty years ago in each of the families I stayed with the husband was the head of the family followed by the children and finally the wife. If the husband was sat drinking sake (Japanese wine) in the evening and his glass was empty, he would yell for his wife to fill it for him, even if the bottle was sitting close to him on the table. The husband was served and catered to from the time he woke up until he was in bed asleep. During my previous stay, I never saw a husband assist with any of the cooking, household duties or children. In my first host family, the husband is retired and the wife is still working part-time as a Labo tutor. In this home, the husband played a large role in assisting with tasks around the home including hanging laundry, vacuuming and even cooking. There as been a number of days when we have been very busy with Labo activities, only to return home around a meal time. On theses occasion the husband has had a meal waiting for us on our return. This came as a welcomed surprise.

Having the opportunity to return to Japan as an adult is one I was grateful for. I made the most of each day, working hard on the language, taking advantage of every opportunity provided to me and ensuring I lived each day to its fullest. It was wonderful to be apart of a program that provided youth in Canada the chance to visit a country were life, language and food is so different than what they might have experienced previously. Through adventures and opportunities like this we not only learn more about ourselves but appreciate the country and world we are apart of.

Play Time!

Koma

Children in Japan seem to have a freedom that we have lost in North America. Japan is a very safe country and you see many young children walking to school by themselves (from about age 5) as well as traveling on the trains and buses. You also see lots of young children playing in the streets, school playgrounds and communities centers unsupervised by adults.

Children often leave the house early in the morning not arriving home sometimes until late. They get themselves from a very young age school to club activities, only returning home at the end of the day. Although children in Japan must work very hard at school, specially when writing their entrance exams for senior high school and university, they also make time to get together with friends whether it is at a club activity, hanging out together or playing games.

Menko

Japan has many traditional games that children still play. Most of the traditional games are simple and inexpensive allowing children to purchase them themselves. Although the toys and games may look simple, it could take years to truly master the skill needed to play the game well. Toys such as the spinning top are challenging at first. Once the basic skill has been mastered, there are many other techniques they can learn.

Some of the traditional toys include the kite (tako), spinning top (koma), bamboo helicopter-like toy (take-tombo), paper balloon (kamifusen), paper folding (origami), and Japanese stilts (takeuma).

Koma – this is a spinning top. The top comes in a variety of sizes and can be made out a different materials. Children spin can spin the top using their fingers or a string. Children can play a game using multiple tops. They start their tops spinning. When one tops flicks the other tops, the tops stop spinning and knocks them down. The top still spinning is the winner.

Kendama

Kendama – this is a cup and a ball. The Ken has three cups on it – a large one, a middle on and a small one. The dama is the ball connected to the ken. This simple toy has over 1,000 techniques children can learn and the children enjoying preforming the many different tricks. Many of the tricks has a song that they sing while preforming the technique.

Menko – Menko is a game using small circular or rectangular cards or circles. Children slap on one card at a time on the ground to turn over their opponent's card. There are many different variations to this game.

Otedama – this is a juggling game using small cloth bags that are filled with sweet-beans. It is a game that girls often enjoy very much.

Daruma-otoshi – this is a traditional game made out of wood. Several wooden thin cylinders are stacked on top of each other with daruma doll at the top. The object of the game is to hit of the thin cylinders one at a time from the side without knocking off the daruma.

Daruma-otoshi



Although Japanese children spend many hours in front of the TV or computer, it is wonderful to see them running and playing outside, often playing games that have been passed down through the centuries.

Otedama

Good Luck!

Engimono

Good luck talisman (engimono) are thought to being luck and can be purchased from shops around shines. Each talisman may signify a different thing and would be purchase for a specific reason.

Maneki-neko

Maneki-neko – is a beckoning cat that is thought to bring good business and is a decoration for shops.

Daruma doll

Daruma – when the Japanese went to make a wish come true the often buy a daruma doll and paint in one of the eyes. If the wish does end up coming true, they then paint in the other eye as a sign of gratitude. At the time of elections, many candidates will have one of these in their campaign offices.

Wara-uma – is a straw house for a good harvest

Hamaya

Hamaya – is an arrow with the power of exorcising evil spirits that is bought by people visiting shrines at New Year to pray for happiness

Inu-hariko – This is a paper-mache dog that is often given or purchased by women. It is said to help with child-birth and raising child.

Akabeko – This is a red paper-mache cow or ox. It is used to keep away misfortune.

Temples and shrines sell many different kinds of engimono – for good health, good luck, for a boyfriend or girlfriend, happy marriage, goof fortune, even for talisman for your dogs and cats.

Akabeko



Inu-hariko



Which Bin?

Garbage bins - each for different items

Throwing garbage away in Japan is not as simple as just lifting the lid on a garage can and throwing it away. Japan has complex method of handling garbage due to many people living in such a small area. The house I stayed in close to Tokyo had a large book 72 pages in length explaining how to sort the garbage as well as the packaging and pick up days.

Garbage in Japan is divided into three categories – combustible garbage (moeru gomi), non-combustible garbage (moenai gomi) and recyclable garbage (shigen gomen). Approximately 80% of Japan's garbage is incinerated. These categories are further broken down into sub-categories. The definition of the different categories can change from region to region as well as the collection days.

Sorting garbage is not easy, it is no wonder there is a guide – lipstick itself can go in the combustible pile but the container and tube once it is empty needs to go in the plastic or small metal bin. If a metal items is smaller, it can go in the small metals but if it is larger they are classified a bulky refuse. Plastics must to be washed and cleaned prior to disposal. If you are throwing away one sock, it would go in the burnable bin but if there are two socks, matching, with no holes and they are clean, they can go in the used cloth bag.

Due to the complex nature of handling garbage in Japan, you do not see many public garbage cans available on the street or in public places. Most garbage is carried and disposed of at home.

Ice Cream

Ice Cream Please!

I know a number of my blogs have been about food but I felt that my blog would not be complete without one last one about Japanese ice cream. Like many imported foods in Japan, the Japanese has taken ice cream and truly made it their own. You will find flavours here that you will probably not find in many other places. Here are some of the interesting ones:

• Cactus Ice Cream
• Chicken Wing Ice Cream
• Crab Ice Cream
• Eel Ice Cream Ice Cream
• Fish Ice Cream Ice Cream
• Octopus Ice Cream Ice Cream
• Shrimp Ice Cream – contains shrimps bodies in the ice cream
• Wasabi Ice Cream (Japanese horseradish)
• Ox Tongue Ice Cream
• Squid Ink Ice Cream
• 

  

  Squid Ink Ice Cream

  Garlic Ice Cream
• Horse Flesh Ice Cream – made with raw horse meat (sorry to all the horse lovers reading this!)

There are also many other flavours of ice cream including salt but thought if I listed them all, it might put you off ice cream for a while.

Don't worry, if you are visiting Japanese most of these flavours are only available in the grocery story and not for sale from the the road since vendors in the tourist areas. These road side stands however, do still sell some interesting ones. You can get sweet potato, green tea as well as apple and mango. I am adventurous at times but think this time around I will stick to vanilla!!

Vending Machines

Wherever you go in Japan you will encounter vending machines. They seem to sell almost everything under the sun including hot and cold canned drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, food items and even small clothing items. Vending machines grace almost every corner as you are walking or driving around.

The Japanese people seem to enjoy their snacks and although they are many traditional snacks and foods available, many North American stores and chains have made it to Japan. You will often come across MacDonalds, Starbucks and 7-11. Although at those locations you might find foods similar to what you would order in North America like french fries, each chain has added Japanese style foods and snacks to their menus.

I walked into a 7-11 the other day after visiting a tourist area near the Pacific Ocean. Not only does 7-11 here sell many of the items we would expect to see in a convenience store (drinks, chips, chocolate etc) they also sell many traditional foods. This includes dried quid and fish, alcohol, Japanese candy and sweets, and raw fish.

Probably the strangest items the Japanese have seen in a vending machine would be a car. In 2008, a Smart Car vender put a Smart Car in a vending machine at the Shibuya Station (a station in Tokyo). The vending machine held a full-sized car with two choices, coupe or cabrio. It was not a true vending machine in the sense that you could purchase a car from it on the spot but was used as a marketing tool to promote the car. Pushing the button on the machine provided you with a tube containing information and pamphlets on the models, available features and colours as well as purchasing information such as dealers.

I am not sure if purchasing a car from an venting machine will become become an option in Japan but with the number of other items you can already purchase through this method, I would not be surprised if it will be seen in the future!

Nice to Meet You! Douzo Yoroshiiku!

Greetings and Expressions....

When meeting someone in Japan, shaking hands is very unusual instead people bow. It is called ojigi and is a way of showing respect and affection. The degree of the bow, from just a little nod of the head to deep and low, depends on the relationship between the two people and the situation. People bow all the time from coming in and out of stores to while driving as well as to thank someone for stopping.

Banzai is a form of celebration in Japan. It is similar to us saying “hip-hip-hurry” three times. Banzai literally means “ten thousand years:. It is done by raising both your arms straight above your head and shouting “BANZAI”. It is generally done three times.

Kashiwade is done when visiting a shrine. It is clapping your hands clapping your hands together prior to entering or at the main area of the shine. It is done to get the gods' attention as well as to focus your own mind.

In North America if we are taking about ourselves, we might place our hand or finger on our chest. In Japan, when people are talking about themselves, they place their finger on the tip of their nose. Also, in North America when we are calling for someone to come to us, we place our palm up and bringing our fingers up and towards us, motioning them to come here. When the Japanese are calling for someone to come, the place their hand out but place the palm of the hand down and then bring the fingers down towards the feet and to the body to tell someone to come.

The Move....

Today I am moving families. Although the students from Canada stay with the same family for their entire stay in Japan, the chaperones have their stay broken down between two different homes. For the past two weeks I have been staying with the Suzuki family and they graciously welcomed me into their home. Last evening I cooked them supper and cleaned up the kitchen. My host mother laughed that I probably know better were the dishes go then her husband does. My “job” has been drying dishes since arriving so day by day I learned were everything belongs. Last night I cooked baked pasta and cheese with tomatoes, salad and garlic bread – all eaten with chopsticks. I has previously made pancakes and some cookies.

Part of my time with the Suzuki Family has been assisting Mari with her Labo Parties. Over the past few weeks I have had a great time getting to know some of the students and will miss chatting with them. Mari hosts a group of students between the ages of 14 and 22 on Wednesday nights at her house. It is amazing to watch this group work and play together, all while looking after each other. You can see the respect they have for one another. This past Sunday, Mari hosted her special party. Many Labo tutors will hold a special party just prior to summer holidays. The students just finished school for the summer holiday yesterday, July 21st.

The older students helped organize this special day. We started by singing English songs and played some games, everyone took part – even the 21 year old boys (Mari's older youth group has an equal number of boys and girls attending). We played “duck duck goose”, “London Bridge”, and “Old MacDonalds' Farm. Each English song also has actions to go with it. From there we did introductions and the students presented a story that they had learned through the year. This was followed up with food – shaved ice, cotton candy and Okonomiyaki. After food it was back upstairs for more games – a rely race and then a shooting game using guns a few of the students had made out of chopsticks to shoot elastics at cans setup. I was amazed how much all the students jumped in (with enthusiasm) to play the games and sing the songs. I can not remember the last time I saw a teenage play duck, duck goose.

I saw this group last night for the last time and had a short question and answer period with them. The questions could go in either direction, I could ask them questions and they could ask me. Although I have only knew them for a few weeks, they have fun to be around and very welcoming. Today I am moving to a new home for the reminder of my stay in Japan. I can only thank the Suzuki's and her Labo students for a fantastic few weeks.

Labo and Labo Summer Camp

While staying in Japan we are under the Labo organization. Labo is a youth organization that is available to children as young as 2 until the age of 18. There are also many college and university students involved in the program assisting as college mates. Labo is our sister organization for the exchange program and hosts us while in Japan.

The mission of Labo is to provide Japanese youth with a place to improve their English language stills as well as learn about other cultures and gain an international understanding. Language learning is done through songs, stories and drama.

A Labo tutor hosts a Labo party. Labo parties can be held in the tutor's home or at a community hall or location. Tutors may have one or more group they are looking after in different locations. At the host I am currently staying, the host mother is a Labo tutor. In my fourteen day stay at their home, there is only two days that she is not overseeing a Labo group or activity. This time of the year is especially busy for the Labo tutors as there are send off parties for those students going to Canada, America and Australia for exchange as well as many parties hosting a special day. This special day is like a party were the students demonstrate what they have been doing and learning. This often includes the students acting out a story they have learned. There are no props but the students themselves act out any props they might need such as a tree, house etc.

During the summer time, Labo students also have the opportunity to attend Labo Summer Camp. Labo has five different camps located throughout Japan. All the students in Japan with me this summer will be attending one of these camps with their host sister or brother. I will be also attending a camp. The camps are four days in length.

Camps

Niseko – this camp is located on Hokkaido island.

Zeo – this camp is usually held at a mountain ski lodge.

Kurohime – this is the main camp and can host over 1,000 students per session. Many of the students on exchange this summer will attend one of the sessions at Kurohime.

Daisen – this camp is located in the Chugoku region and is held at a ski resort.

Yutsubo – this camp is located at the foot of Mt. Kujyu, a live but mostly dormant volcano.

The Japanese do not view camp as a time to relax and have free time but to stay busy and make the most of their camp experience. Attending summer camp is very expense so they want to have many different experiences. Camp is very busy with a strict schedule. Some of the activities we will be enjoying while at camp includes mountain climbing and nature hikes, crafts, looking at the wildflowers and local historic attractions.

While staying at camp, everyone will be placed in a lodge. We will also be taking part in lodge based activities.

Camp lodge

In each lodge, there are about 20 to 30 children. All meals are eaten in the lodge. Everyone helps with duties including getting the food, cleaning up and keeping the lodge neat. Sleeping in the lodge is on futons. These are pulled out of the closest in the evening and placed on the tatami mats (the room we sleep in is our activity area during the day). Bathing at the camp is using the public bath with time set aside for different groups to access the bath.

Camp can be an interesting experience for those on exchange but will provide some great memories of the activities they did and people they met. This summer I will be attending the main Labo camp, Kurohime, from July 25^th through to July 28^th.

Kore wa nan desu ka? What is this?

Probably one of the biggest changes for the students visiting Japan this summer is the food. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, meals are generally eaten at the same time each day and consist of many small dishes. Generally there is always rice and a type of soup served with the meal. The types of foods eaten at a meal can vary depending on the region you are visiting. Here are some typical Japanese dishes:

Rice Based

Domburi

Rice – rice is the base to all meals. It is often served in the morning with a raw egg and soya sauce. For lunch, cold rice will be packed for lunch.

Sushi – this is a rice based dish that uses rice cooked in a sushi vinegar. There are many different ways of making sushi and different toppings.

Domburi – this is a bowl of rice with other cooked foods placed on top. Toppings might be tempura, egg and chicken (oyakodon, also know and mother and chick), or beef.

Onigiri – This is something that you often find at convenience stores and people purchase for a quick snack. Onigiri are rice balls made with cooked rice that are then wrapped in nori seaweed. The center of the rice ball generally contains another food such as umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), tuna or salmon.

Kara Raisu – Curry is very popular in Japan. Kara Raisu is a curried rice. Curry is not a spice that is native to Japan but has become a part of their diet. Kare Raisu can be served with additional toppings.

One Pot Dishes



Shabu-Shabu

 These types of dishes are call nabe and are often cooked and served in the winter months. They are often cooked and served right at the table. Typical ingredients used in nabe include negi (Japanese leek), hakusai (Chinese cabbage) as well as mushrooms and meat.

Oden – this dish often contains fish cakes, boiled eggs, seaweed and boiled in a soya sauce based soup.

Sukiyaki – this dish contains thinly sliced meat, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and konyaku noodles. Prior to eating, the foods are dipped into a raw egg

Shabu-Shabu – this is like a fondue, Japanese style. Thinly sliced meats, vegetables, mushrooms and tofu are served. Each item is then dipped into a hot soup and then a vinegar or sesame sauce prior to being eaten.

Noodle Dishes

Omuraisu

Noodles are very popular in Japan and many meals will contain some type of noodle.

Soba – Soba noodles are a traditional Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Soba noodles are thick and can be eaten hot or cold with a variety of toppings.

Udon – Udon noodles are a Japanese noodle made from wheat flour. Udon noodles are thicker than soba noodles and can also be served hot or cold with a variety of other foods and toppings.

Ramen -Ramen uses a Chinese type noodle that is cooked in a soup. It can be served with different toppings. Although ramen was traditionally a Chinese based dish, it has been adopted by the Japanese and very popular.

Somen – Somen are also a Japanese noodle made from wheat flower but thinner. This type of noodle is generally eaten cold and served in the summer time.

Yakisoba – Yakisoba is a deep fried or fried Chinese noodle that is ofter served with meat, vegetables and ginger.

Meat Dishes

Meat is generally a part of each meal but only in small amounts. Popular meats include pork, chicken and seafood. Beef is served but is very expensive.

Yakitori

Yakitori – this is grilled chicken pieces on skewers. Most parts of the chicken are used.

Tonkatus – Tonkatsu are deep fried pork cutlets. It is over served with shredded cabbage and topped with cooked rice or curry.

Nikijaga – this is a popular way of cooking meat and potatoes.

Other Dishes

Miso Soup – this soap is served with most meals. It is made by dissolving miso paste into hot water and adding other ingredients such as seaweed and tofu.

Omuraisu – this is like a omelet. Cooked rice is wrapped in a thin omelet and then generally served with gravy sauce or ketchup.

Hayashi Raisu – this is a type of beef stew. The beef is sliced very thin and cooked with onions in a sauce and served over rice.

Okonmiyaki

Hamubagu – this is the Japanese version of a North American hamburger. The burger patty is cooked and served on a plate with a sauce and vegetables. There is no bun.

Tempura – This is a deep fried dish. Piece of seafood, vegetables and mushrooms are coated with the tempura batter and then deep fried. Tempura was not a dish native to Japan but is very popular.

Okonomiyaki – This dish is one children often learn to make. It is a mixture between a pancake and a pizza. Pork, cabbage and seafood are mixed together with a type of dough. The mixture is then spooned into a pan and fried.

Gyoza – Gyoza are dumplings that fried. They contain mined vegetables and generally some type of ground meat.

Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi – This is a steamed egg custard that generally contains pieces of seafood, chicken and ginko nut mixed inside.

Tsukemono – these are Japanese pickles. There are lots of different kinds of pickles. This dish is generally served as a side dish with meals.

Freedom

Coming to Japan this time I thought my transition into Japanese culture and life would be easy. I had lived in Japan previously and was knowledgeable and comfortable with both Japanese culture and daily life. Although my Japanese language knowledge was burned deep in my brain, day by day it started to emerge with words and phrases beginning to make sense. The one thing I was not quite prepared for however was my lack of freedom and almost total dependance on those around me.

While in Japan I have no cell phone, no access to vehicle (not that I would even try driving here), not even my own schedule. Where I go, what I do, what and when I eat is all decided by someone. This has been a bit of an adjustment for me. In Canada I work, volunteer in the community and oversee a busy household of three children and numerous pets. I am always busy, packing as much as possible into each day. I have access to a truck and many times decide what I doing with my day and where I go. I am able to make decisions for myself. If I am hungry, I can make a snack, if I want to go out, I can go. While in Japan I have surrender myself to those around me, very much like a young child again, allowing them to decide where, when, who and how.

You might say this trip to Japan as forced me to relax and slow down. To relay on others in a way I have not done for years. It has taught me that it is all right to give up control and allow others to decisions for you. Have I missed my freedom – of course but I am here to learn and experience the life and culture. To do this, I also must surrender I bit of who I am in Canada and accept each day as a new adventure just waiting to happen.

Gohan desu yu! It's time to eat!

Meals in Japan are eaten on a regular schedule. It is said that “in order to increase one's energy, one must eat meals regularly.” In Japan, young people are not often given a choice of what to eat. At meals, the mother serves the children what she has cooked, including what they drink. It is considered polite to not give you a choice but instead provide you with what has been prepared. In North America if we are hungry or thirsty we would simply go to the cupboard or fridge and get what we would like to eat. In Japan this would be considered very rude. Children almost never help themselves to something to eat but instead wait and eat only what was prepared and served.

Since I am visiting Japan in the summer time, much of the food is served cold since it is very hot in the summer (often in the mid 30's with high humidity). This includes cold rice, tea, soup, meat and noodles. A typical meal would have a number of items served including rice, a soup, a meat that might be chicken, pork, fish or beef (beef is very expensive) and then different vegetables, fruit and other smaller dishes. Everything is eaten with chopsticks. Chopsticks are used for picking up food from communal serving bowls on the table and for pulling food apart. Rice is served at lunch and supper and can also be served at breakfast.

Since arriving in Japan last week I have been eating a lot of vegetables. Twice we have ate meals that consisted of only vegetables. Early in the week we visited Karakura. Karakura is located about an hour outside of Tokyo. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant and our lunch had eight different courses, all vegetable based. We started with a tomato based soup, then a plate of seasoned cucumbers, then seasoned spinach. Next was a HUGE plate full of big and small tomatoes (not my favourite food!). After this we had some small dark green hot peppers, then squash, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. This was followed by a flat bread with basil leaves and tomatoes. Dessert was a melon slice. You can see why the Japanese people are generally healthy and thin. You hardly ever see an individual that overweight or on the heavy side. This is probably due to the healthy diet they eat and the amount of exercise they get on a daily base. Since most people walk or bike to the local train station, they are always on the move.

Prior to eating your meal you say “itadaki-masu” which means “I gratefully receive this food” and after eating say “gochi-sou-sama dishita” which means “thank you for the delicious meal”. This is said before and after each meal, even when eating out.

I have been in Japan for over a week now. We have yet to go to a grocery store. Most foods are delivered directly to the home. The family I am currently staying with is also a part of a cooperative buying group. There are seven families in this coop. On Mondays, all the food is delivered to my host families home and placed in the carport (one of the cars had to be moved down the street to provide enough room). All the food and products were in bins and coolers. There was even a scale for weighing amounts of vegetables and products they are taking.

Throughout the day, families involved in the food cooperative stopped by with their shopping basket and picked up the items they had ordered, sorting these the buns and weighing things on the scale. The food included everything from fresh meat, frozen products, vegetables and eggs. There was also a lot of visiting that took place as the neighbours came by to pick up their groceries. One of the neighbours was a single gentlemen. He said I was very beautiful and asked if I was available. Upon leaving with his food, he forgot to take his order form for the next weeks delivery. My host mother had to call him later that evening asking him to swing around. She laughed and said that he had probably forgotten it on purpose so he come back and see me again. I just smiled and continued cleaning up and putting the bins away.

In the Kitchen

Kitchens in Japan are not equip with an stove top and oven like you would find in North America. Instead they generally consist of a two burner gas stove top, a small rack under the burners for grilling fish or meat, a rice cooker, microwave and fridge. Most meals are cooked on the stove top with meal grilled.

There a a few different ways food to prepared here -  grilling, frying, deep frying, simmering, steaming, dressing, pickling and then raw. With it being summer, most of the food is cooked and then cooled, so you are eating is cold or cooler. Some items are still served hot.



Rice cooker



The majority of the food is cooked on the burner stove top. Rice is made daily in the rice cooker and left over rice is rolled into individual rice balls and wrapped. These can then be eaten cold or warmed up for another meal.

A typical Japanese refrigerator is different than what you would find in North America. It has six doors: two French doors for the regular fridge compartment on top, two small drawers, one for ice cubes and a fast-freezing drawer for fish, a large zero-degree vegetable drawer and, on the bottom, the freezer drawer.

The kitchen are is generally very small. All the storage and appliances in the kitchen are compact, making the most of the small space.

fridge

stove

Obon or Bon Festival

Takahata Fudoson Temple

Takahata Fudoson Temple

Yesterday, prior to going to English lessons we stopped by the Takahata Fudoson Temple. This is the temple for my host mother's family. The temple has a graveyard beyond the large public area. My host mother met her sister and niece at the temple and left flowers and an offering on the grave. It is currently Bon or Bono Festival in Japan.

Japanese graves

This festival is celebrated in July or August depending which calendar the family follows. In Japan Obon is one of the most important Japanese traditions and many companies provide their employees with time off to allow them to travel home and celebrate with their extended families.

Family alter

Obon Festival is a Buddhist tradition. According to them, the souls of people's ancestors return back to their homes and reunite with their families for a short period of time. During this time, homes are generally cleaned and a variety of food offerings such as vegetables and fruits are provided at the spirits of the ancestor's at the Buddhist alter. Most families have a small altar in their home. At my host mother's bother's home yesterday there were many items left at the alter including oranges, melon, Japanese pastries and cucumbers made to look like horses. Since her brother is the eldest child, he is the heir to the family and items are left to their parents at his home and alter.

On the first day of Obon, paper lanterns are often light outside homes and people travel to their family's grave at the temple to call their relatives spirits back. It is call mukai-bon. Depending on region in Japan, you might see small fires being lite and burning at the entrance to the home. This is called mukei-bi and is done to guide the spirits to the home. One the last day of the festival, spirits are led back to the grave by hanging paper lanterns with the family crest painted on them to guide them back. This is called okuri-bon.

Paper lanterns

During Obon, the smell of of incense (senko) can be very strong as it is being burnt in homes and at the cemeteries. The floating of paper lanterns (toro nagashi) can also be seen during this festival. People send off their ancestor's spirits with the lanterns. The lanterns have a candle inside and are floated down the river to the ocean. Many traditions during Obon Festival can variety from region to region with some regions have a special style of dance.

Shoes off please..

An entry way into a home

Shoes are never worn inside a Japanese house but removed at the entry way. This area of the home is called “genkan” and is found in all houses, apartments and many public buildings and schools. It is a combination of a porch and a doormat. This area is used for removing your shoes prior to entering the main part of the house. The floor in this area may be dirt, tile or concrete. It is often lower than the rest of the house, allowing you to step up into the home once shoes are removed.

Shoes are always left in this entry area. In a home there is generally a shoe closet close by for additional pairs. When removing your shoes in the home, you place your shoes with the heel against the step and your toes pointing towards the door. This is done so your shoes can be easily stepped into again when leaving the home (having shoes you can step into and off out in Japan is a bonus!). You never step or stand on the genkan or entry area with just your socks or bare feet. This is consider rude and would bring dirt into the home. Once shoes are removed, slippers are wore in the home except in rooms that have tatami mats in them or when using the toilet room. In the toilet room you remove your house slippers and put on the toilet slippers.

Entry into a public building

Shoes are often also removed in many public buildings and schools. When visiting the public recreational center the other day, we removed our shoes prior to entering the main building, leaving them in some cubbyholes at the entrance way. Shoes are removed in schools and exchanged for inside shoes. The removal of shoes in the home cuts down on dirt coming into the home or business.

When visiting or going to a Japanese home, you would never enter a the home without first ringing the door bell and being invited in. Door bells in Japan at not at the front door but on the front gate and wall. Most homes have a wall and a gate around the outside, making the main front door inaccessible without first entering the private yard area. At the gate there is a door bell that when rung, activates a camera inside the house. This whay those inside can not only talk to you but also see you. Prior to entering, you would wait for a response and the invited in.



Door bell on outside gate



Japan is a very formal society with expressions of welcoming used when entering and leaving a home. When you enter a home you say, “tadaimai” which means “I'm home” and those in the home would respond by saying “Okaerinasai” meaning “welcome back”. On leaving the house you say “Itti kimasu, meaning “I'm going now” and those in the home would say “itte rasshai” in response saying “have a good day”.

Video screen in the home