A quick look at some of the things that have stood out over the past week (approximately) of being in Japan.
One of the things I looked forward to the most for this second trip to Japan was the “second time” factor. i.e. how would my experience be different now that I can look at everything through the comparative lenses of “this is how it was the first time I was here”?
A lot of stores and landmarks are still right where I remember them—Fresta (a supermarket), various convenience stores, all of downtown Okayama. Having so many familiar locations has really helped with navigating. If I ever get lost (which is easy to do in Japan), it’s not too hard to find a major road and trace my path that way. Naturally the church has remained the same as well—still on the second floor above a coffee shop in the southeast corner of Tsushima-minami.
Sidewalk transit is still a free-for-all. I know you’re supposed to drive on the left in Japan, and you’d think that rule would carry over to the sidewalk (given the huge pedestrian population), but such is not the case. Most often riding a bicycle on the sidewalk involves choosing the side that is the least crowded, and then changing sides as the pedestrian flow changes. Most large intersections have a seperate crossing for bicycles on the intersection side, so it seems like they want bikes to take the road side of the sidewalk. In reality, however, no such rule exists, or if it does, hardly anyone follows. What’s superbly strange is that this (lack of a) system works—despite a wide variety of travel speeds, everyone comes out okay.
Japanese courtesy hasn’t changed (let’s hope that one’s always true). The attendants at full-service gas stations still escort you out of the station and watch for traffic for you as you pull into the street. Construction crews still have flag personnel for stopping traffic and assisting pedestrians with crossing parts of the sidewalk that are under construction. Store employees still use super-formal language when talking to customers (which can be a disadvantage if you’re just starting to learn Japanese, since the real core of the sentence will often get obscured by the polite conjugations and formalities). And everyone who’s anyone still bows—-hello, goodbye, thank you, I’m sorry… It’s sort of the universal phrase over here.
For whatever reason, I seem to notice that I’m stared at more often. I can’t say I find this unsettling, because I’ve read several accounts from fellow gaijin who have ventured to Japan and experienced the same thing. So in some respects I was expecting a lot of stares, but even though I had this expectation before my first trip I don’t remember noticing this. I do know that over the past several days I have collected a plethora of stares. The most curious aspect of this is that the staring isn’t limited to a particular age—I can apparently hold anyone’s attention, from kids on their way to elementary school to gray-haired businessmen in suits. Another curiosity is that the Japanese are never surreptitious when staring. If one is caught staring in America one typically looks away. Not so in Japan. As long as you’re in the area you’re fair game for watching material. I imagine it’s a similar feeling for professional athletes or someone who is constantly watched by the media, except the difference here is that I’m not raking in millions of dollars.
The undoukouen (sports park) across the street to the south of the church had major construction done over the past several years, including a new arena, stadium, and track/field complex. All of the roads inside the park were repaved with smooth yet grippy pavement that is lots of fun for skating. The best part is that most of these roads are off limits to cars and are 40 to 50 feet wide, so if you don’t mind skating in loops you can have a lot of fun (and go really fast, which is the whole point of skating).
The entire reason for rebuilding the sports park was a major athletic competition that was held in Okayama last autumn. So along with the renovations came information pillars scattered around central Okayama. Each pillar has a map of the surrounding blocks, so navigating in Okayama isn’t quite the chore it used to be.
In the church and English classes there are a lot of new faces. At the outdoor worship service this Easter I only recognized one person besides the Gotos and those whom I had already met during my first day plus in Okayama. The college group that met on Thursday nights when I was first here (and now meets on Wednesday nights) has a completely different set of students. All of the international students I met through this group have graduated and moved back to Australia, Korea, or America. Even so, I can already tell that this new college group will be just as much fun as the old one.