Solar Eclipse in Japan

This week Monday a solar eclipse traveled through and reached it's maximum at about 7.30 am in Okayama. I had a beautiful accompanied breakfast while watching the eclipse through my camera. I didn't buy those special glasses, since they were quite expensive and used my camera instead as you can see in the picture at the bottom.

The last time I saw one was about 2002 or 2004 in Germany, I can't quite remember well and it was not a total eclipse. This time I was also just a bit out of the inner core shadow but the morning darkness the shadow casted was quite impressive. The light was rather dull and the birds that were singing a couple of minutes before stopped there morning song.

Solar Eclipse over Japan seen from Okayama.

Dream of some green

I remember quite well how shocked I was when I first saw the city architecture of Osaka and later Okayama. Narrow streets, blueish greyish colours and supply lines such as electricity and telephone just above the street. It took me a while to understand and accept why a Japanese city looks like that, so different from cities I'm used to.  But not every place looks like the other - for instance was I positively surprised when I first came to Tokyo and expected to see a busy tree less city, but rather found a green organised town.

First of all Japan suffers from natural disasters, unlike Germany. Since there are regular earthquakes and Tsunamis in most parts of Japan to put things under ground just makes no sense - if they get damaged you need to repair them and when they are underground it will just cost you too much money and effort. To put things above surface is just more handy and convenient in case something brakes - convenient. 

The greyish colour comes from the - in my opinion - most common used material in Japan: concrete. I still try to figure out why architects in Japan seem to be so obsessed with concrete, because even my friends don't agree to the statement that concrete is beautiful (sorry Andy).  One explanation I try to come up with (but still need to confirm) is that public income for a city is much lower than for instance a "general" German city, due to lower tax incomes. In Japan everything is taxed by just five percent. This may lead to a cheaper and just convenient why of constructing things - in concrete.

One last point is that there is just no space in Japan because everyone gathers at the coastal area. Houses, streets and walk ways are just much narrow than most European facilities. 

But even when houses in the city are not surrounded by a back and front yard, Japanese (or at least they give me the impression) want and enjoy a bit of nature and greenery around them. Of course most people enjoy parks and temple areas which are exceptional beautiful, green and recreative.

Temple in West-Okayama city

This desire of an intact and green environment in Japan expresses itself as well in green and harmonic commercials and posters. However, especially in narrow streets and when you expect it least you can find green square meters in front of houses where the inhabitants try to raise plants, sometimes even vegetables. 

I highly appreciate this ability to create these little green and re-creative spots in a greyish city; an ability I lack and try to understand and learn from my neighbours.

little front yard!

Decorated stairwell!

Little "garden" in the middle of the city.

Can you cook?

Before I went back to Japan I got asked by friends to write a bit more about cultural similarities and differences I recognise between the Japanese and German culture, or at least the culture I was exposed to in Germany.
It is kind of difficult to write about "general" cultural things and on the other hand try to avoid putting all Japanese in the same box. So readers, please be reminded that things that have been written down here are not supposed to be seen as generalised "truth" but rather the personal experience of a young male foreigner with his own cultural background in a small town in Chuukoku, Japan.

When ever I bring my own, simple cooked meal to Uni that may has some green and reddish colour in it (so a different colour from white rice) male students in the Lab ask me if my girlfriend has made that for me. The first time when a student asked that to me I looked up on him, not sure if he really can't imagine me cooking, or whether he wants to insult me. I answered to him that of course I have done that by myslef and the reactions are often the quite the same: surprise! Apparently, young male Japanese who are able to cook or at least cook their own meals are a rare species in Japan. Close to my desk sit two Japanese students, both male: one is cooking sometimes simple meals for himself, which I consider as cooking (definitely, compared to my simple daily cuisine), but sometimes he will buy already prepared food in convenient stores. The other guys has not even a fridge in his place and no one lives in the city who would cook a daily meal for him, so he is regularly going in to the campus refectory (for lunch and dinner) and his breakfast lays every morning ready in the convenient store on his way to Uni. He says about himself that he can not cook at all, so he might be a rather extreme example of a not-cooking Japanese student.

However, girls on the other hand are often seen with their own "Obento", a lunch box prepared at home. Girls I have talked to are normally showing off with their skills of cooking and baking, blogging and posting pictures and often thinking about the next meal. The latter point is quite often seen among Japanese - even right after lunch the mind wanders to the next meal - dinner and which delicious combinations of ingredients could be arranged. Something I never experience in any other country. Japanese love food and they live it; but more about this an other time.

The reason for this imbalance in cooking skills among male and female student may lay in the way Japanese are raised. It appears to me that many families don't educate young guys in the preparation of food, especially if one of the children is a daughter. Girls often need to help her mother preparing dinner or lunch and learn how to cook in that way while guys get literally spoiled.

The conservative gender-based roles of man and women occur to me sometimes in my daily life: for instance did I pick up the dirty dishes after breakfast in my girl friends house while her grandma was just stepping by. My girlfriend was still sitting at the table, dreaming and still a bit tired, and it was for me the most natural thing to stand up, clean the table and wash the dishes especially since she had prepared the meal. Her grandma saw it and said to her that "it is opposite!", which basically means she expected her to stand up and wash the dishes while I keep sitting at the table.

So far I have not heard of a husband cooking (in a daily base) for it's family, where as in Germany the husband is quite often preparing dinner, or lunch at the weekends.  Even though Germany has no complete gender-biased free working system is it quite usual for both parents to work. In Japan it is usual for a girl to quite her job after three to seven year of working, stay at home and raise the children - Europe, 40 years ago. I don't want to discuss about whether it is good for the kids when the mother stays at home or not; but I just want to point out, that in the Japanese society and under the current family system a Japanese boy is not required to be able to cook or to know how to have his own household (so far everyone is wearing clean cloth!!). The mother gave it to their sons and sons will look for girls who may cook for them later, which will lead to an continuous chain. During the BBQ Party in Hyogo the male guests introduced their wifes with the word "家内" (Kanai), which basically means literally housewife. My young friends who were with me at the party whispered to me that this is nowadays a rude way to introduce your wife, but for the older generations which mean the generation of my own parents it seemed to be quite normal and socially expectable. Apparently young people start to think differently and noticing the gender discrimination more. Hopefully a process that started in Europe and America with the generation of my parents is now going to happen in Japan with the current generation of students!

As I mentioned above: complete meals and "Obentou" boxes can be already purchased in the supermarket, so everything you need to to is walking into an convenient store and choose an Obentou between 350 to 800 or more Yen with things in it you like. Often a bit of rice, varieties of vegetables, and some meat or fish. These boxes are indeed really convenient of you need a healthy, well balanced lunch box.

However, there are some guys I know who can cook and the reason why they eat every day in University cafeteria may lay in their laziness or some where else. For me it was just surprise what some people expected (from me) and what their image of a "guy" is.

One of the birthday dishes my girlfriend prepared for me.

A surprise Bentou box from Machi!

One of my simple meals (deluxe edition - since it has a Miso-soupe included) (^.~)

Taking a Rest in Hidaka

our ride to Joes house!

It was finally Thursday morning when I woke up at 6 and left my house at around 7 to bike with Machis bicycle that she had left at my place to the train station where I met Machi and Noriko half an hour later.

We were invited from Joe, a friend of us, to stay in his families house for one night in the mountainous area of the state Hyogo. Hyogo is north-east of Okayama and you have to cross it on your way to Osaka or Kobe. I have never been at another place then Himeji, where an old castle watches over the city, and was really looking forward to spend two quite days in the country side with three wonderful friends. We arrived before 11 and helped the family to get everything ready for little feast Joes family was going to give for some of their friends. We were amazed how huge the property of the family was. Joes Dad bought the old house about ten years ago. At that time it was pretty wore down and broken and he spent much time and money into it to rebuild and modernise it step by step. Joe gave us a tour around and it was just impossible not to get lost with all those rooms and gang ways.

With Noriko and Machi on the Way to Hyogo - while both wee talking in the front I enjoyed a small pick-nick in the back (^.^)

2nd floor of the house! Joe gave us a tour around.

This is the old emblem of the former family, a たじばな (Tajibana)

Outer-Inner gang way. Traditionally are the room in the centre of the house and a gang way leads around the house, whereas the gang way in European houses often connects rooms in the centre of the house.

Friday morning and the girls are still in bed, while Joe prepared breakfast!

Lock of the front door!

Old Japanese way to drain the rain down from the roof. Who wants a pipe when you can drip-drop the water down in that way?!

We took lunch under the maple trees in the garden. Joe and his brother had planted these trees about 10 years ago from little plants they took from the forest in the mountains. I tried to imagine how inflamed the garden must look like in autumn! Joe and his brother made BBQ, while we and the other guests sat at the table, enjoyed the delicious food and talked with each other while drinking a glass of wine. Vernon from California and an artist couple were besides Machi and Noriko my main conversation partners. I was amazed that Vernon, who must have been above 80, came to Japan when he was 23 (like me when I came first here). The difference is that he came as American soldier in 1952 and just stayed here since that time! He saw Kyoto and Osaka and all other cities grew up and Japan rise from ashes to what it is now. While listening to his stories I was wondering if I might be one day like him - sitting in a garden somewhere in Japan and talking about my past 60 years that I have spent in this country...

The artist couple sat right next to me and I enjoyed their natural and joyful atmosphere. Besides this, I was astonished that he could drink more than 5 glasses of wine without getting drunk - it's rather rare to see that in Japan. They both invited us to their gallery for the next day. After the cleaning, cake, sweets, tea and saying farewell to the guests, Joe, Noriko, Machi and I finally left to something I was looking all the time forward to as well.

From left to right: Noriko, Joe, and Machi

Kanpai (かんぱい) and thank you for the party family Bito

We drove to a close city, which is famous for Onsen (hot spring) and wanted to take a long bath. I really do love Onsen and probably have spoken already a lot about this kind of the Japanese culture: you basically get naked and man and woman go in separated areas in a pool of hot groundwater! It was golden week and so many people stayed in the traditional hotels in the village, spending their time with shopping, hiking and taking hot bathes in the evening. We found an old style Onsen and I negotiated hard with Noriko to let me at least take a bath for one hour. That was definitive enough to get completely soak in the water which was pretty salty.

The Onsen we have chosen!

Relaxed, tired and after one ice cream did we drive home and played a bit of cards before sneaking into our futons. Machi really wanted to talk with us, while laying in the beds, since the whole scenery had something of camping: rain was falling outside and knocked at the window and roof; no one was around except us four in this big and dark house. But Joe and I just did lay there with our eyes closed and Noriko gave in soon as well so that Machi gave up and fell asleep.

The next morning we only had a quick breakfast and coffee before driving to a stork conservation area close to the place where we stayed. Besides storks you could also see all kinds of insects and other animals of the area.

Part of the butterfly collection you could see in the museum.

Machi was quite amazed by those bugs (~.~)

From there we brought Joe back to the "real" house of the family, where he grew up and drove to the gallery of the artist couple. He already expected us and two other visitors where also guests in the cute wooden house. I liked the place immediately. Carved wood and pieces of art everywhere. A homey atmosphere and a fire burning in the chimney. We were invited for lunch which was really delicious (Machi was wondering before where we could eat something before we drive back to Okayama). I told him that I'm looking since two years for a place where I can buy a hand carved wooden rice bowl, as I would like to have one for my daily meals. He gave me an address of an artist he knows in Okayama where Noriko, Machi and I definitely want to go before this summer!

Noriko and Machi enjoy the chimney in the house of the artist couple!