tom thinks aloud: June 2006

Homeless man reading the paper

Ginza man in Yukata

Yakuza neko

Old houses in Tsukiji

Giraffe restaurant - Tsukiji

kuro neko

old letterboxes

natural graffiti

soylent green

Neko ippai!

Biker neko

underpass

Sumida gawa walk

cleaning his motorbike

Kappa chan!

Miyu balances life

Badger College Day2

Wednesdays usually finds me at the badger college - where-as Tuesdays are only for this month. Much the same as Tuesday really, but this week the Prof. decided to take the day off and so she had e-mailed me a couple of assignments. The first was creating a database of all references used for our China Badger Project, which I finished off in the morning. Then she asked me to prepare for a Work review session next week. Can't believe it's been 6 months already since I started. Time really has whizzed by. It's been fun trying different things this year: attending Japanese school, learning kanji, trying different jobs and taking time out generally to do what I want to do. I do feel though that I still need to find something that can consume me for a while - a project that I can really bite into and explore. Don't really know what that is at the moment, but I'm pretty sure something is coming, and I just have to keep my senses tuned into spotting it when it comes along.

OK, don't laugh, but last week, one of my students, Noriyuki the banker, lent me a book...it's The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. It's the kind of book that I would never buy myself because it's one of those slushy romantic novels that seem ready made to be made into an equally crappy film. Anyway, Noriyuki just kind of whipped it out (no, not that! The book, silly), and started gushing about how great the book was, and that he had been reading it on the train into work and it had made him start crying right in the middle of salariman rush hour (his first time). Now, Noriyuki is an ex-rugby playing hard nosed banker, who is the last person on Earth I'd expect to be so affected by such a book, so I must admit I was piqued, and accepted his offer of lending it to me. And do you know what, it had the same affect on me!! I was reading it this morning on the train into work, and before you know it there were tears in my eyes and a big lump in my throat (don't even think of it!). What was going on???? I couldn't believe this pulpy little novel could have such a strong effect on me. Had I finally lost it? Reading on, it's basically about love, and how Alzheimer's can devastate those in love. If you get the chance, and you don't have to buy the book, do me a favour. Read it and tell me if it made you cry too - then at least I know I'm not losing it...

Badger Collge Day

Tuesdays this month are badger college day, or rather Yamazaki Animal Health Technology, which is a specialist college training students to be Animal Health Technicians. I'm out there checking academic essays for publication, sourcing funding from foreign institutions and giving advice on all matters English.
Today, the professor I work with had a straight talk with me, saying that I was being too aggressive in my e-mails to funding bodies, and that I had to try and see the bigger picture - that being, foreign countries don't easily equate Japan with being animal friendly, due mainly to their whaling policy. We discussed the matter, and I really didn't even consider that angle before, but it does put a new perspective on being Japanese.
Anyway, it cleared the air, and I think things are cool now. I'll fwd all e-mails to the prof. before sending them out, just to check I'm not being too bullish.

A lovely little odl Japanese house, with typical washing hanging out the window.

Old house

Phew! Today was hot, and I was knackered from lack of sleep and too much of the black stuff last night. Mind you, had an interesting conversation with Shin this morning about guerilla marketing, which is something I've been thinking about recently. Shin's a good bloke, who works crazy hours and can only fit our business lessons in at 7.30am every Monday morning! I don't mind so much as it gets me up and we always end up having these brainstorming kinda sessions where we just follow our train of thoughts, taking in anything that comes to mind, and trying to find connections. Leaves me buzzing.
Later on in the morning I met up with Masaki, who's a up and coming architect with his own practice. I go to his home twice a week and we talk about current trends in architecture, which is proving a real eye opener. Check out his homepage here - LINK
Then in the afternoon, I meet up with Wakako who sells antique 60s British furniture, where we brush up on her English in preparation for a business trip to London in September. This is her cool shop here - LINK
Then it's straight onto a meeting with Chie, who's a dermatologist. We mainly discuss art, politics and religion, as she says she can't talk to anybody else about those kind of things! Her family are all doctors, and whenever they get together, all they talk about is medicine!
I then catch a train up to Nihonbashi, dead in the centre of the business district and give a couple of business English classes at AREA, a small school I work part-time at.
Then it's back home to lovely Miyu, for dinner, a chat and bed.
I like Mondays!

Keitai camera shot of the pub interior, just after kick-off.

World Cup fever

Miyu and I, accompanied by some new friends, Akihito, Satoshi and Tekeshi, met-up at the Dubliners Pub in Shinjuku last night to cheer-on Japan against Croatia. I must say, it was all jolly exciting, witht the pub giving out free Japan headbands and a lot of supporters turning-up wearing the Japan team colours.Although the result basically means Japan is out of this WC, people really enjoyed it, and there was no drunken hooliganism afterwards either. Everybody just quietly went home.

An innocuous park

Jason rides

Tom rides

Pro-leaf sweeper

Golden Gai bar district

Hosts standing under hosts

Hosts photographing hosts

Very Strange interview

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a small job advert in the Japan Times, asking for a native English document checker, to work part-time in a patent attorney's office in Yotsuya. Having just done some research into intellectual property rights of animal DNA samples, for my job at the badger college (which I found fascinating - don't ask me why, it just was), I decided to send off my CV. Imagine my delight when I got an e-mail about a week later asking me to come in for an interview. The sender had attached an amazingly detailed, Excel rendered map of directions to the attorney's office. I was impressed.
So, last Thursday I made my way to Yotsuya, and found myself in front of Osuga & Associates 3rd floor office. I walked in and found myself in a short corridoor. No reception, just a bell on a shelf. In front of me was a room, but I couldn't see anything as the door was half closed. Coming from it was a gravelly Japanese man's voice, talking, as it turned out, to himself. I rang the bell, and a dishevelled looking woman with greasy hair and an old suit came scampering down the corridoor. "Ahh, ahh, chotto mattae kudasai, neh, neh!" (Translation "Oh dear, oh dear, please wait a moment please, is it OK?"). I said it was OK. She ran off, and then a minute later an equally rumpled looking woman came out, said the same thing and then disappeared. Then ANOTHER woman suddenly appeared from behind me, and asked me to follow her down the corridoor.
At the end of the dark, book strewn passageway, I was directed into a stuffy room, where the woman asked me to sit at somebody's desk. She then disappeared and returned carrying a file. She then told me that although the job is part-time, they need somebody to come in everyday, and that if I can't finish checking a document on a Friday, I can take it home with me and complete it there. The post began in August, but the partner must decide who will get the job, and if I wasn't selected then they would not contact me. Well, that was just silly! I mean, I've just taken time out to come in for an interview, and they'd not even spending 5 minutes to tell me if I get the job or not. She then said I had to check a document, and I had 30 minutes to do so. She wouldn't come and collect the document, because she had to go out, so somebody else would come along.
Honestly, some people are just so rude! I did the check (about LAN methodology), and then walked out. The place didn't have air conditioning and everyone there had lost their manners long ago. So, I wont be working there!
I went on a very pleasant urban walk with Jason today. We started out in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, which is full of Yakuza, hosts and skinny cats eating vomit on the side streets. The hosts work in hostbars, where they spend long nights entertaining women with witty talk and plenty of flirting, all washed down with gallons of alcohol. A very strange bunch they are too. Dyed, long, feminine, manga hair and very bad tans. They're all skinny as rakes and apparantly on average don't earn more than a waiter or shop clerk. They also have loads of billboards around Kabukicho showing rankings of top hosts, with their pictures glaring down at pedestrians. I'm not sure if anyone, apart from other hosts, pay these any attention, but they're very amusing none the less (see pictures).
A complete contrast was Yoyogi park, where we observed a an old man sweeping leaves into a very long line, with the utmost care and attention. This man obviously lives to sweep, he was brilliant at it (see picture).
Lunch at Fujimama's in Omotesando next, which was delicious, then we popped into the new Omotesando Hills, a largely underground shopping mall designed by Ando Tadao, the Plitzker Award winning architect who as it happens also designed where I used to work (NWIS). I must say I was unimpressed. It was very low key, minimalist and quite frankly, boring. Just a mass of expensive shops encased in Tadao's signiture grey concrete.
So, we were quick to exit, and found ourselves instead weaving through the backstreets, and came upon a little gem of a second hand bookshop called Intelligent Idiot. Only 500 Yen per book, all in very good nick. I bought "The Code Book - The Secret History of Codes and Code Breaking" by Simon Singh, and "A Widow For One Year" by John Irving. Although the bookshop is tiny, the choice of books (fiction, design, history, biography and childrens), combined with monthly exhibitions of furniture and accessories, was impeccable. The owner, buyer and staff of one was sat reading behind the till, and gave us a big smile and engaged us in some chit chat. Such a contrast from the stale modernity of Omotesando Hills!
After leaving the place, we continued onto Shibuya, stopping off at an oasis of a childrens playground to go on some rides (see pitures).
Jason had to depart to teach a lesson in Yokohama, so I met up with another good friend, Christine for a coffee and a chat. We haven't chatted for ages, so it was great to catch up with all that's happening in her life.
Finally, it was back home, just in time to avoid what is now a downpour outside (the rainy season has come!) Hope Miyu makes it back from Enoshima safely - she's gone to pray to the gods at some temple down there which is supposed to be good for small businesses.