09/01/15
On the morning of my third day in Japan I decided to try a traditional Japanese food called Natto. Natto is fermented soy beans and is popularly known for its sticky and stringy consistency and it's generally unappetizing appearance. Natto is always available in my cafeteria at school so I tried some for lunch. It was almost impossible to pick up with the chopsticks and was so messy. I was surprised that the initial taste was kind of nutty and tasteless. The after taste was a mixture of melted and spoiled food, go figure, considering that's exactly what it is. I didn't like Natto, and I probably won't be trying it again anytime soon. Now let's backtrack a bit, I got up around 6am this morning to go for a run with one of my EAI buddies. We decided to run through a park located right next to the university. This park actually doubles as a farming village, something we did not realize at the time. We began running the trails until we ended by some rice paddies and the trail became rugged and 'off the beaten path'. We decided to keep running it out of curiosity. After passing the rice paddies the trail lead up a hill through some gorgeous trees and bamboo that canvased the sky overhead. We could hear the cicadas and began to realize the path we were taking was a good decision. Once we got closer to the top of the hill the road became paved once more and widened, much like in a neighborhood. We came around a corner and the trees ended. To my right I saw a large, gorgeous Edo style home with shinto bird perches and gates. I gasped and (yelled) in excitement and my friend reminded me to keep it down because it was still very early. (Oops). We had accidentally stumbled upon a traditional Japanese farming village tucked away in the woods. This was the best happy accident thus far. We explored the town in awe and my friend took lots of photos. We came across a shinto cemetery that kept the ashes in urns and had buddhist statues adorning the shrines. There were a few dogs tied up outside the homes that greeted us with territorial barks as we snuck up to take photos. One cool thing about this park is that there are fruit and vegetable stands that run solely off of the trust system. Farmers come early in the morning and put the harvested food in wooden bins. Above these bins are marked signs that indicate the cost for each individual fruit or vegetable and sometimes they are packaged in bundles. There is a slot to place the coins on the stand. You pay for your selection then leave. In japan, the fruit is very expensive because there are many small local farmers, as opposed to mass production of agriculture and GMO's. This was explained to me by a Japanese farmer at a church I visited recently. I digress, after exploring the Edo style town we decided to run back and catch breakfast. I didn't have time to change so I went to the cafeteria in my running clothes. Here I met a Japanese student named Mana, which means heaven's breath. She was very sweet but asked me, "Aren't you cold?" To which I explained I had gone running. This is the kind way of saying, you aren't wearing enough clothes! After breakfast I went with Emily to another traditional village for a stroll. I was wearing a tank top, running shoes, and shorts. Here we visited another shinto cemetery and I fixed a traditional water bucket that had fallen over by one of the shrines. We came across an old man in this village, and normally Emily will translate for me in real time, this time she didn't do this. The old man asked me if I was cold once more to which I said, "hashitte" (running), he continued to talk in Japanese to Emily and smiled while looking at me. As we walked away Emily said, "That was weird" and then I found out that he had said, "She's naked!". I felt so uncomfortable walking back in public afterwards! I was surprised that what was obviously running clothes had caused so much offense. Needless to say, I no longer wear tank tops when I go running. That evening we went back to Daiso and explored the mall some more, this time we walked from the university so I realized how easy it was to get to town. On our way back from the mall we came across a hip hop group that was performing by Chiba newtown Chuo station. The first group was of five and six year olds that were very stylishly dressed, like adults, performing hip hop oriented dance styles. It was soo cute! One of the kids even had a fake bra on lol. There is a huge appreciation for hip hop and RB culture here in japan and my favorite style so far has been the hip hop dress style that the guys wear here. They wear big boots, or reeboks style high tops, baggy camos or cargos, and stylish tank tops, often with toboggans. That evening I was assigned my bike from the university, I chose a mauve bike with a high pitched bell and cute little basket on the front. My friend and I went on our bikes back to Inzai that night and explored a nice little neighborhood that had more western style houses. I tried a really awesome juice from the vending machine that was clementine and peach!
The next day I went to Inzai by myself for the first time on my bike. The trip was easy and I didn't get lost despite my severe spatial dyslexia; I came up with this term recently for my disease. Once I got to Maruhan (a pachinko parlor where you can park your bike), I had a few hours to explore before the garage closed. I decided to revisit Kaitenzushi and eat. I went in by myself and said "Nihongo no wakarimasen" to the man working at the counter. He smiled and laughed then showed me to my table at the bar side of the restaurant. I ate about eight plates of nigiri sushi and ordered an Asahi and cold Sake. After eating I went to Aeon and got more Taiyaki and explored the shops some more. There's a grocery store called Wakuwaku hiroi in Aeon which literally means, exciting wide space. lol. In Aeon, I used the public bathrooms for the first time and tried the bidet, which I didn't realize you had to stop manually until thirty seconds afterward. When I was leaving Aeon to go back to Maruhan it started raining and it was very windy. I forgot my umbrella despite having my huge backpack with me as I normally do. I began to get soaked and about five feet ahead of me there was a Japanese business man about to go in maruhan. He turned around walked toward me and insisted I take his umbrella to which I shook my head and responded "Kekkou desu!" (no thankyou) but he practically forced it upon me with a smile and wished me a good night before entering Maruhan. I found this incredibly sweet and another great example of the community culture here in Japan. There is certainly an internal consciousness that morally guides the individuals here, at least as a generalization. Side note for today, the A/C in Japan is rarely used so often times you will find yourself saying, "Atsui desu!" (It's hot!), especially if you're a westerner. My word of advice, dress in layers and open some windows to let in the fresh air as it can get very stuffy in rooms.