My second missive from my time in Japan, sent on June 5, 1995.

Chapter 2!

Well, it’s been one week in Japan, and right on schedule, those feelings of

disorientation are coming on strong...

Asa-gohan, hiru-gohan, ban-gohan. . .

The above translates to 'Breakfast, lunch, dinner", but the literal meaning is "morning-rice, midday-rice, evening-rice" and it is probably more accurate. Gohan can be translated as either "rice" or "meal", and for the Japanese, they really are synonymous.

No kidding, rice is served three meals a day, *every* day. I managed to escape one meal, where I had ramen (a Chinese noodle soup), and I was asked, "Don't you like rice?" Actually, I do, I love rice, but even so...

There’s an old university expression, "Man cannot live on beer alone”. (More recently, I saw this on a poster with a scantily clad voluptuous female with a strategically placed beer bottle preventing it from being classified as unsuitable to be viewed by minors.) However, I would guess the version here would be "Man can live on starch alone". (Of course, the latter being a modern expression, and not an old one, it may have to modified to be gender (sensitive? neutral?) if these Chapters were ever to be published...)

Some things are the same everywhere...

I had to get my picture taken for my alien registration card. Not having a suitably sized photo with me, I had to go to one of those booths that blind you then manage to capture you in the instant you blinked. Sure enough, Japan’s instant-ugly booths manage to capture you in as unflattering a manner as possible, just like the ones in Canada I guess some things never change... Of course, there are a couple differences. The picture here is much clearer, sharper, and the colours probably won't run after a week (as they did the last time I went to one of those tacky things in Toronto). It also cost about 600 yen (close to $10, compared with $2 in Canada)...

How many CS geeks does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A humourous anecdote. (At least, I find it humourous.) On Friday, I went to a "young researcher's presentation" meeting, where, you guessed it, the young employees of the Database Systems group (where I am) present their research themes to the rest of the department. Of course, it was all in Japanese, as were all the supporting documents, so T couldn’t make head nor tail of either. It was three hours of "blah blah blah computer blah blah internet blah database systems blah blah blah electronic money exchange (!!) blah blah blah".

One of the presenters was using a PC hooked up to an overhead projector to assist him. Anything that came up on his computer screen was displayed on the projector for all to see. Halfway through his presentation, his computer crashed. He spent a couple minutes fiddling, to no avail. The lights were turned on, and he resumed tinkering. Then a couple well-„meaning souls went up to help him out... still nothing. A few minutes later there was a crowd of about ton people standing around this guy and his portable... he had disappeared entirely (from my perspective) in the throng. Remember, this is a room filled with computer scientists, database architects, software engineers, and other researchers... Finally, the problem was fixed by simply rebooting the laptop. (Whatever the Apple equivalent is to the three-fingered salute...) And everything worked fine.

Today, the 5th day of the 6th month of year 7....

Say WHAT? That's right, we're in year 7 right now. Didn’t you know? Oh, you’re thinking it's 1995. Well, that's true, too. It’s 1995 years since Christ's birth (or death? whatever), and that's what the gaijin use. But it's also 7 years into the current emperor's reign. Most Japanese documents I have (which aren’t too numerous, I must confess) use year 7. Every time a new emperor is crowned, the year resets. I wonder if Japanese history textbooks use, for example, 1837, or "in the 32nd year of Emperor whatever's reign..." (When my understanding of Japanese has reached a sufficiently advanced level, I plan to answer this question by direct observation.)

Time to leave?

The stories are legendary, naturally, of the Japanese working hours. I was told time and again not to expect to get away with the 8 hour working day. And I didn't. I was thinking that ten hours a day, on average, would be fair and just, and I'm quite willing to put that in. However, staying much past 5:15 (1 get here at 8:30 every morning) is like pulling teeth. On my first day, my boss said, "We can't pay you for overtime, so please don't stay past your contracted hours." Every day, as soon as my "contracted hours" have expired, he comes by my desk and implores me to leave. I almost feel guilty for staying late to type up these Chapters, but I wouldn't feel right doing it on Company time...

I realize it’s one thing not to expect overtime from the gaijin, but to pressure me to go when there's still everyone here... We'll see how things work out. (Besides, at this point, it's not as though I have anything to do when I leave here... )

More on the left/right thing...

Japanese do a lot more than just drive on the left side of the road. (Of dourse. They eat, drink, sleep, work... nobody just drives for a living...) It influences a bunch of other things, as well. Which way to look when crossing the road, where the passenger door is, etc. And something else.

When two people are walking towards each other, as often happens on a sidewalk, what do they do to avoid bumping into each other? Easy. One or both take a step to the right, so a collision course is no longer set, and everyone walks on, content in their lives. I try applying the same thing here. 

It’s a crowded platform, I’m heading one way, and this girl is walking the other, right towards me. Trying to avoid running headlong into her. I step to the right. She spies me at the last minute, and does what's instinctive for her-- she takes a step to the left. Result? Well, if not for her lightning reflexes, we would have collided and spent the next half hour apologizing profusely to each other...

So remember: when in Japan, it's polite to step to the LEFT, not the right.

Easy to remember, but it feels weird in practise. (Of course, I have now run into the other problem: Japanese person approaching, Leslie thinks: Step left. Gaijin approaching, Japanese person thinks: Gaijin. Step right. Result? <CRASH!>)

Munchables

Based on my extensive research (dormitory and company cafeteria meals, vending machines which are everywhere, snacks served at my welcome party, and browsing a couple convenience stores), I have concluded that whereas North Americans cannot get enough sugar in their snacks, the Japanese cannot get enough salt. We have chocolate bars, pop, sweetened juices, cereals, and desserts. I can't recognize half of the snack foods I've had here, and anyway there aren't equivalents in North American confectionary. But everything I have had here-- the dried squid, the seaweed, puffy pastry type finger food- have all been very, very salty. 

That’s not to say the food is all too salty. Not at all. Just take everything in North America that's sweet, transform the product into something else, and make it have as much salt as the original sugar, and you’ve got the idea. Is this significant to the anthropologist who wants to gain a deep understanding of the Japanese way of life? Probably not. But it's something I noticed.

Let it ride.. .

On Saturday I went to the Tokyo racetrack. (I was worried that, after my welcome party on Friday night, I would be in no condition to move on Saturday morning. .. but it turned out that after a few beers and whiskeys, at the early hour of 9:30 or so, everyone was headed home... either my tolerance is way above the Japanese norm, or my workmates just weren't in the drinking mood...) Betting on horses is new to me (I did it once before, years ago, in the States I think), so I can't really make comparisons between here and there.

But I did feel a bit out of place. People pouring over their stat charts, checking against who the experts predict will win, looking at past histories, getting the odds sheets printed, etc. etc. I needed to have the betting cards explained to me. So I used a very simple formula. Bet on the winning horse. (There were other exotic combinations, but I couldn't be bothered.)

How did I choose this horse? Again, simple.

Before each race, all the horse were walked around a small track, paraded for all to see. I would look at each horse (I know nothing of horses-- I enjoyed riding them, I took care of them for a summer, but that’s it), and pick which one looked big and strong. Then I bet. First race: Out of eight horses, mine came in a respectable second. But I had bet to win... so kiss 500 yen goodbye.

Wait a sec! 500 yen? That's over eight bucks! What the hell was I doing?

So the next race, this time with 16 or so horses, I bet just 200 yen. 

Halfway through the race, I was ready to tear up my ticket. My horse was WAY back. Then, on the final stretch, he comes out of nowhere and closes the gap. Omigod. I'm starting to get excited, despite myself The closing few meters, he’s just half a head behind the leader, and... DOH! they cross the line, and my number just misses. Argh. Two second place finishes in a row.

Then comes on the instant replay. Sure enough, just a few feet behind the line, and my horse is in second place, inches behind the leader. But the heavens parted, my horse was given wings for the split second it needed, and on a frame-by-frame it became clear that I had WON by those same scant millimetres I had thought deprived me. Then I found out that the race paid 15 to 1 ... yee-hah! I was rich! 3,000 yen! if only I had stuck to my original 500 yen (yeah, and if my bubbi had batzim.)

I lost on the subsequent bets, but my horse came in 2nd or 3rd each time. Not bad, considering my selection "strategy". Beginner's luck, pure and simple. T netted about 2,000 yen in terms of betting, but (of course) lost when you count admission, food, and transportation costs... speaking of which,

I can't believe the prices...

Travel is expensive in Japan. Getting from the airport to Yokohama last week was over 4,500 yen (about $75). Then from Yokohama to my dorm was about another $10. Trains cost a *lot*, even you're not going far. Unlike our public transportation system, where you pay a fare, and you get to where you're going, whether it be the next stop or the next city, in Japan fares vary depending on how far you go. (I have no idea how to determine what to pay-- so far, I've always travelled with someone who knows, and followed their example. It works, and I've had enough to learn to keep me busy without worrying about it.) 560 yen here, 120 yen there, another 240 as you use another line... Already you've spent $16. And that’s one way.

(Fortunately, I have a pass which allows me unlimited travel from my dorm station to my work station, and all the stops in between. However, the bus from Nobi (work station) to the lab is 160 yen, each way, or about $5 per day.) Yikes! I have to stop converting things into Canadian funds, or I’ll drive myself nuts... (in case you’re wondering, I'm using a conversion rate of roughly 60 yen to the dollar. When I left, it was hovering at about 62. 1 have no idea where the Yen/dollar spread has gone since.)

After horseracing, I was brought to Shinjuku for a whirlwind tour. And whirlwind pretty much describes the place... it's huge, busy, crowded, unbelievable. There's a (supposedly famous) English bookstore there. For the first time ever, I walked into a bookstore, and walked out without a newly purchased book. I was intrigued by one, and looked at the price.

The publisher's price, printed right on the cover, was $6.99 (Canadian). Not bad, I'll pick it up. HOLD OFF, I'm in Japan. So this is a North American import. So how much is this small, fairly thin paperback?

Flip the book over, and there's the price tag. Over 1,600 yen. Now, using a 100-1 rate, that's still sixteen bucks for a paperback! With the yen as high as it is, we're talking about over $25!!! I put it down. (I know, I know, I have to stop converting... )

And supper, which was good, but not fantastic, with two beers, ran me 2,500 yen, or over $40... (1 can't help it.)

What have I got myself into?

I sat down this morning and got a detailed job description from my boss. Yikes. I have now come to the following two conclusions:

1. The stuff I’m working on is fascinating, cutting edge stuff This is WAY beyond anything I've seen at home. (Mind you, I haven't had too many hi-tech positions.) The equipment on my desk here is worth more than my yearly salary. 
2. I'm in way, way, WAY over my head.

During the month of June, my boss wants me to become familiar with a particular application by rewriting it. That way, I can know it well enough to develop the conceptual model required to get past a technical hurdle that no commercial database currently supports. Once I've done that, all I have to is code, implement, and test this enhancement, and of course leave enough time to document it thoroughly and give numerous presentations on it (presumedly in Japanese) during my final few weeks here. I'm here for six months, and already a week has passed, and I haven’t compiled a thing...

What have I gotten myself into?

Anyway, that's it for now. I think I'll head back to my dorm, change out of my work clothes, have supper, a bath, a shower, read, and go to sleep. (Yes, a bath and then a shower. The baths here arc like  whirlpools at home. but with a few differences. First. you *must8 rinse before you enter the bath. You also don't wear a bathing suit. Not a big deal, since we’re a dormitory- of all males. It's pleasantly hot water, but not too hot, though warmer than a jacuzzi. And it's just water-- no bubbles or jets or chlorine.)

Gambate kudasai!

Leslie

"It's 10006 miles to Chicago..."