Driver Portraits - Daikoku Parking Area Dec 2016

Those of you who follow my Japanese underground instagram account or follow my facebook page will have seen these, and my previous portraits like them. If it's your first time seeing my [driver portraits] series, the basic concept is that all the cool cars are nothing without the people who build their hearts and souls into them. Everyone shoots the cars, which are just secondary representations. The true creativity, beauty, passion and soul of a vehicle is the person behind the wheel.

If you want to see more of the people that mainstream Japanese society shuns, and the amazing things they do, check out my instagram account or follow my facebook page.

Could it be… Culture Shock?

I've been so busy hating Tokyo that I forgot all that culture shock jibberjabber from JET orientation half a decade ago…

 
When passing on the info to a friend who is experiencing classic symptoms I realized that I too was experiencing them... Which means that I might actually like Tokyo after all in a few months when I adapt to all it's fake plasticity.

The thing is, I'm not so sure I like that…

 

I don't want to think of vacuous husks of soulless, brand huffing meat mannequins as being members of the same species as me. I think I actually like hating them, despite the stress it brings. Though in truth I have much in common with them than I choose to admit. It's just much easier to treat them like the insensitive, selfish scum that they pretend to be…

because they are different to me…

I sound ‘murican.

Though now that I know it's just culture shock I almost want to see if there are some humans under caked make up, vacant expressions and badly fitting suits...

 

almost

I do think that in a month or 2 when I hit my stride here I will have to eat many a word... I mean they truly cannot be as out of touch with reality as the media makes them think they are... right? Well maybe that is possible especially since so many of them were happy about the Tokyo Olympics.

But seriously, even if they are ignoring to the realities facing the country, To take them at face value is a bit harsh….

Ok, the louts who don’t give their seats to old people on the trains will always be scum…

But I think maybe most of them are only soulless brand huffing meat mannequins because that’s what the city expects them to be and it’s so much easier to fit in than to be true. Does that mean that when I adjust to my new life here I will look vacantly through everyone going about my own things in my own way, ignorant or at least resigned to the fact that regardless of how much I rage I truly will not make any difference.

 

JohnnyTokyo would probably tell me to just ignore it and see the good side (because there really is one). That’s probably why he thrives here. I wonder if I will have the willpower to tolerate the levels of BS that one needs to to make this city home… Or whether I should just start applying for jobs in Osaka. Hell Maybe I just need to move back to Gunma, re-shaken the Silvia and take a good drive to cleanse the grime that has been deposited on my mind.

That would be nice but not realistic. 

There is always Shibuya. No matter how much I hate Tokyo I always love Shibuya. Despite having the highest concentration slaves to society, It also has a rich underbelly that cramps and spasms to continually keep the system slightly uneasy. It brings out the truth in people and shows them glimpses of freedom from their societal bondage . Yes. If I am to make something of a life for myself in this cesspool, Shibuya is the place to start.

I hate thinking rationally sometimes. I always have to figure out the truth behind my feelings Being able to blindly and irrationally hate people because you dislike them looks like a nice simple life.

Damn this got deep.

But I’m feeling better already!

Japan How It Is - Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Summer Festival

In the summer I went to the Cat's home town in Nagano. The timing coincided with a relatively new Summer festival in the Onsen (Hot Spring) district of the town. The Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Matsuri.

Iiyama Snow Festival [On Location 03]

Went up to IIyama in Nagano with the Cat and her family to check out the snow festival there.

Shibukawa Bellybutton Festival

The annual Bellybuton festival was upon us once again and as always I went up the road to join in the festivities…

FIRE!

You would think that using Kerosene stoves and coal heaters in houses made out of wood and paper would be a bit like building Nuclear power plants in a country prone to Earthquakes and Tsunamis. You would be right.

At the end of winter when Shibukawa is at it’s driest, windiest and still cold enough to warrant a heater there are always fires.

Natural Instinct.

The simple fact that I (The most selfish person I thought I knew.) am being driven to frustration by the selfishness being exhibited by people in the un/barely affected areas of Kanto is a good idea of the severity of the issue. I suppose I should just continue my own way and leave the fools to their fate. For some reason or the other… I just can’t…

Hit the Jump for a good old RANT!

Dashi Matsuri prep work 2010

Once every two years Shibukawa holds a giant Dashi (float) parade. Last year I just sorta joined in. This year I am doing it right as a member of the Shimogo community. Besides I reckon it will be more rewarding if I put my sweat and effort into the preparation for the event.

 

I liked how all the men were outside doing physical labour while the women were inside doing more delicate work and cooking for the men. Traditions can be cool too :p

At the end of it all I felt like someone was going to bring out a crate of Carling Black Label.

Shibukawa Bellybutton Festival.

 

Shibukawa is right in the middle of Japan and thus it has been dubbed the Bellybutton of Japan. We like to celebrate this once a year!

Japan doesn’t really need much of an excuse for a festival. Just about every machi has some sort of mikoshi moving or firework exploding shindiggery to celebrate whatever it is the town is famous for.

In Shibs, we celebrate that scar we often forget in the middle of our abdomens.

The idea is simple. Paint faces on your belly and parade them around in the street…

They close off the central  intersection in town and line the street with stalls that contain various festival foods and games as well. Its a big party in the streets.

It was particularly entertaining for me because It is essentially in the feeder area for my school so a large proportion of the kids were either my students or my ex students or related to my students (and therefore knew all about the legendary Daruku-sensei) so I couldn’t go more than 3 metres without being stopped and chatted to.

On the Saturday I was going to join in the parade again like I did last year but after we got ourselves all painted up and fuelled up on the beer boosters, Spartacus killed Theocles and the heavens wept.

While those of us in the parade couldn’t have given two shits in a sand basket, the powers that be saw fit to cancel the parade… BASTARDS!

No worries. We will have another chance next year :D

Komochi Children’s Home… Round 3

I love this place.

I really do.

This session was a valentines day shindiggerymabobbie. Essentially we made V-Cards for each other. Kids had a blast, I had a blast. that's all that matters really ;)

The kids were in top form. Genki and super excited to have us there. I don't know how much it really means to them but I reckon it must be pretty damn good just judging by their excitement at having us there.

They do have a tendency to mock our horrific Japanese but its all in good fun. I don’t have any problem with it… Poor Jeevy however got quite uptight about it. I say its their way of appreciating us being there for them. They really don’t want to insult us.

   

Jeevs had a pretty cool game which I intend to steal and strip of it’s Canadianism re-use at Kita-chu

  Not much else to say really… I’ll go back!

Update~ KONYAKU!

No, I didn't sneeze… No, its not Japanese for cognac… No, I didn’t insult your your mother…well maybe I did but that has nothing to do with this.

Konnyaku is a jelly like substance which is made using this weird ass root that grows underground for 2-3 years. It is supposed to have 0 calories and is supposed to be good for you. I dunno about that but it does taste pretty decent.

I was invited to the konnyaku making shindig at the Shimogo (My Neighbourhood) community centre. I figured that it was free food and i got to meet the community… uberWIN.

 

I was essentially there for 2 hours speaking to the grandmothers of the community about various things while they made the konnyaku (men don't make konnyaku it seems) They were fun and cute as most old people are and It was a refreshing change. I particularly enjoyed the way the 2 eldest  talked about their days in nursery school together and used each other’s nicknames from back then.

After that it was time to eat. It was akin to a feast. All in all it was a good day.

If any of you are ALTs or just Foreigners in Japan, How do you interact with your community? Do you also get invited to these events? and do you accept the invitation?