Below is my sixth Japan Journal, sent at the end of June, 1995.

Japan Journal #6

Tomorrow marks the one-month anniversary of my arrival in Japan. Which means I can do everything I’ve done so far only five more times before I return to Canada (I think, however, that I will choose to fill my remaining months here doing new and interesting things.)

Celebrity Sightings

Western stars are apparently very popular in Japan. I have seen tons of advertising for lots of Hollywood movies. Forest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, Die Hard 3, Batman 3 (interestingly, they are referred to as Die Hard 3 and Batman 3, not as Die Hard With a Vengeance and Batman Forever), and others.

With fame, of course, comes recognition. The Japanese, it seems, are very big on this, so celebrity endorsements, which are now out of vogue in North America, are popular here. I've seen Harrison Ford on a poster promoting Kirin Beer (apparently there are TV commercials with him as well, but I haven’t seen them), Charlie Sheen (I think it was him- it looked an awful lot like him if it wasn't) on a poster for some brand of cigarettes, Robocop (whether from the movies or #om the TV show I have no idea) use some spray to zap the nasty cockroaches (which bore a suspicious resemblance to the California Raisins, except these guys were brown instead of purple), and Madonna in a TV commercial. The only reason I knew it was Madonna was because "Madonna" was shown at the bottom of the screen for the first few seconds of the commercial. She was wearing what looked like a ceremonial suit of armour, was wielding a sword larger than her, and (of course) was wearing enough make-up that it probably outweighed her entire costume. She was fighting a golden dragon that had a tendency to turn into smoke wherever she struck. (Or maybe the smoke coalesced into a dragon.)

I have no idea what the commercial was for.

Blues Brothers Sightings

If you haven’t already seen The Blues Brothers, go out and rent it, NOW, and view. Do not continue reading this Journal entry until you have seen The Blues Brothers. Do not read any subsequent Journal entry until you have seen The Blues Brothers. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

"Have you seen The Light?"

"YES! Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ, I have seen... THE LIGHT!!"

(My e-mail address will make more sense to you, as will the previous dialogue, once you have experienced the greatest movie ever made for yourself.)

The National Enquirer will keep you up to dale on Elvis' current whereabouts, the Japanese media about the latest Aum revelations, and I will keep you informed on Blues Brothers sightings in Japan.

I was in Yokohama Station, looking at the various poster advertisements as I was walking along. One poster had a picture of the a movie-theatre type seats. Sitting in these seats were look-dikes for various famous musical artists, past and present. I saw Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Prince; and there, right there in the middle, were two gentlemen, black hats, dark sunglasses, black jackets, white shirts, black ties-- The Blues Brothers! I I was most impressed. I’m going to take a picture of this ad the next time I see it. (And if I could remember which company made the ad, I would go out right now and buy at least three products from them.)

Monday morning, I am eating breakfast at the dorm, and (as usual) the TV is on. In order to preserve what little remains of my mind, I have taken to ignoring the television, especially in the A.M. But I suddenly hear the opening chords to Gimme Some Lovin. This is the song The Blues Brothers opened with in Bob’s Country Bunker. My head immediately snapped up, and (for the first time) the TV had my undivided attention. Sure enough, there's a rotund man in full Blues Brothers costume dancing on a stage to a large crowd of fans. Granted, at one point he flings his glasses off, and the song is in Japanese, and the melody has been altered from Gimme Some Lovin, but the influence is definitely there (or, if I were feeling uncharitable, I could say it was an obvious rip-off).

I couldn't wipe the grin off my face all day.

Further Blues Brothers Bulletins as events warrant.

Musical Interlude

The Japanese advertising industry enjoys taking popular or well-known North American tunes, giving them the musical equivalent of plastic surgery (I could just say rearranging, but the magnitude of the changes is greater than that would imply), and playing the result (not always better) as the backdrop to commercials. I heard an incredibly bizarre version of "My Favourite Things" (from The Sound of Music) while a commercial showed pictures of beaches, sea, and the occasional bird. 

The Bartle Hymn of the Republic ("Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord", or, as some people know it, "Jesus puts his money in the Bank of Montreal") was the score to some other commercial... altered almost beyond recognition. (it wasn’t until ”His Truth is marching on", or, "Jesus saves Jesus saves Jesus saves" that I clued in. I still wasn't absolutely certain until the next time this ad aired, when I was able to compare what they played to what I knew right from the start.

There have been many other commercials where I've thought, "hey, I know that tune," but haven't been able to place it. I guess it's fair game-- after all, how many Japanese are going to know Western traditional or Broadway songs, and how many viewers of these commercials are going to be in a position to call out, ”Hey! You! Copyright infringement!" Somehow I get the feeling the Japanese are not quite a litigation-oriented as the Americans.

Of course, most commercials, aside from making your brain want to explode if viewed before noon, are not remarkable. I'm just commenting on the ones that I notice, which are a minority.

But What Does it Mean?

I have noticed the Star of David in a couple locations here. It is the design for a clockface in a large shopping mall, and is engraved, with some writing that I can’t read, on the wall of a school that the bus passes every morning on my way to work.

Given that there are very few Jews in Japan, I doubt very much that it has the same symbolic meaning here that it does in North America and Israel. Which makes me wonder, is the Star of David just something the Japanese think looks cool, so they incorporate into various designs? Or does it have some other meaning that is quite different? I have no idea. I am curious, though.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Saturday was to be a hike up Takao-san, which is outside of Tokyo. "Was to be?" I hear you ask. Ah, you are very perceptive. You see, we (Susan Huggett, co-ordinator of the Co-op Japan program and all willing Co-op Japaners) were to meet at 11 am at Takao station. I completely misjudged the travel time required, and, though I did not take any wrong turns in my route, I ended up arriving at Takao station promptly at 11:30. Oops. I looked around, but there was no sign of Susan or other Co-op Japan people lingering around for latecomers such as myself. 

It was rather depressing, actually, because I had no idea where they had gone and I realized I had come all this way so I could walk around and probably get lost all by myself. Heck, if I'd wanted to do that, T could have just turned off the main streets around my dorm. It would have saved the time and expense of coming out to Takao.

Then someone taps my shoulder. It's Wilson. a fellow Co-op Japaner, who was in Vancouver with me in May. He just arrived too. So we were both in the sane predicament- but at least we weren't walking around aimlessly alone. We could walk around aimlessly together. Which is exactly what we did. For awhile. Then Wilson walks into a bookstore, buys a map, and starts studying it. Wilson, you see, is Chinese. This is not very significant, but what is important is that he can also read Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin, I’m not sure). Which means that the Kanji words, which look like so many chicken scratches to me, are recognizable as Chinese characters to him. And though pronunciations differ, often meanings for various characters are the same or analogous.

So a short train ride later, we are at the base of Mt. Takao. We climb up (climb is a misleading word-- there's a paved asphalt path all the way up, with stairs if at any point it gets very very steep), and sure enough, just finishing their lunch, was the rest of the Co-op Japan crowd. I would have never found the mountain, never mind climbed it, if Wilson hadn’t shown up-- I lucked out that he was exactly as late as me.

Leslie Takes Up Smoking

So we all sit around and chat for a while, and Wilson and I eat our lunch. It was very pleasant. We compared jobs, dorm rooms, welcoming parties... When we were ready, we started hiking. I had thought the plan was to walk up the mountain, eat lunch, and walk down. I was wrong. We continued hiking along what was now simply a dirt path, which was much more to my liking. The temperature was not too hot, but it was very humid so I was sweating freely before too long. We were still climbing, mostly. We arrived at another summit about an hour later.

"If it wasn't so foggy," I said, "I’m willing to bet the view from here would be stunning." I was told that was indeed the case. But I couldn’t see a thing. Just white clouds. We took another break there, so I sat down, took off my knapsack, and drank some Aquarius water. (Aquarius is sweetened water stuff, which I have taken quite a liking to. It's like Gatorade, except not coloured.)

I noticed after a few minutes that someone was smoking behind me. I found this odd, because I couldn't smell it. I turned around, but no cigarettes were in sight. I turned back and continued the conversation I was having. But wait-- there it was again. Watching carefully, I noticed that it wasn't someone else that was smoking-- it was me! Steam was literally rising from my back and shoulders. I guess that because the air was cool up where we were, and my knapsack didn’t allow my back to breathe or the heat to dissipate, that I started to smoke once I took the knapsack off. Regardless of the reason, everyone had a good laugh behind my back. Er, at my back. With my back. Whatever.

We hiked for a couple hours more, and then we all went out for supper. I had a pretty good time. And I slept quite well Saturday night. It was a good day. .. not strenuous, but a nice walk for a solid three and a half hours or so (broken up by lunch and rest breaks) climbing up and down a mountain.

'C' is for Chocolate

On the way back from work yesterday, I had a chocolate fit. I needed chocolate. If what I experienced in that moment is anything like what ex-smokers (or those trying to become ex-smokers) describe as a "nic fit", I now have some sympathy for those who lapse. I went up to a kiosk, which is a tiny convenience stand, and bought some M&M’s. Never have I enjoyed a chocolate candy so much in my life.

That’s it for now. Have a fun and safe Canada Day!

Leslie