The economic downturn in the global economy has spawned reports of doom and economic malaise across the world. The Japanese press is no exception, with near daily reports of on the troubles of the major exporters of consumer products from cars (who would have ever believed Toyota would face trouble) to electronics.
The Japanese consumer has never been the driving economic force that the U.S. consumer is (was). Still, the reports of malls going under in America (I have heard one commentator speak of “ghost malls”) has not spread to Japan. If the Idle Monkey Trainer’s Sunday afternoon visit to the newish Koshigaya Lake Town Mall, a scant hour’s train ride from central Tokyo, is any indication Japanese malls are booming.
The mall sprawls across a couple of kilometers (and takes nearly 25 minutes for Japanese television reporters to walk across) and is divided into two sections called Wind and Forest (there was no forest anywhere to be seen). It has somehow gained a reputation for being cheap. Personally, I am not so sure. The mall is packed with the usual retailers that are found in Tokyo’s other shopping districts, with no real discernible difference in price, at least as far as I could tell.
In some ways, however, it had distinct advantages. The most prominent, to the Idle Monkey Trainer anyway, was the space. Despite the number of people, the mall does not feel overly crowded, though there were still lines of 30-plus minutes at KrispyKreme and Cold Stone Creamery – just as you’d expect in Shinjuku.
The town of Nikko lies about a two-hour train ride north of Tokyo in the hills of Tochigi prefecture. Famous for its temples and shrines, Nikko is also well known for monkeys. So, on a clear January 3rd, the idle monkey trainer ventured forth to experience the town.
The main attraction of Nikko is a rare clustering of temples and shrines, called Tosho-gu. The complex is the final resting place for the Tokugawa Ieyasu (died 1617). Now a World Heritage Site, the complex stands out among Japanese temples and shrines for a couple of reasons. The first is the proximity of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. The second is the bright coloration of the buildings. In contrast to many temples and shrines in Japan, those at Tosho-gu are brilliantly adorned with gold, as well as the more traditional red.
Along the walls and eves are also numerous intricate carvings of animals and people. Perhaps the most famous of which are the three monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth to symbolize the Buddhist doctrine of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” (see photo at top) and the sleeping cats. The latter are reputed to be near life-like due to their intricacy (and require an additional 530 yen to view).
Up the mountain from Nikko are the Koggen Falls and the Nikko National Park. The falls take a spectacular drop from a lake, and are reputed to have drawn forlorn and unrequited lovers to make a final leap for centuries. Once source has it that more people jump here than from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Other sources have said that the national police each winter take advantage of the freezing of the falls to dive the pool at the base and remove the summer’s leapers. Sadly, it gets dark in Japan very early in winter, and when the idle monkey trainer arrived at the falls it was well past dark. Only the faintest ghost of the falls could be seen in the cold light of the crescent moon.
The only other let-down of the day was that Nikko’s famed monkeys were nowhere to be seen. And so, the idle monkey trainer remained idle.
The idle monkey trainer has been too idle to even update the blog in over a month. My sincerest apologies to both my readers. And Happy New Year! May your year of the ox be a good one. (And yes, I fully realize that the animal sculpture pictured above is not, in fact, an ox.)
The kites witnessed on Thursday showed more scavenger tendencies. Therefore, theory two came into being:
The Idle Monkey Trainer, after several years of living in Japan, finally made it out to "the old ball game". Like anything borrowed from another culture, adjustments to local norms is likely. In the IT industry, this is referred to as "localization". And baseball is no exception. The Japanese have localized it.
The differences were apparent before the game even started. The first difference was presented to us when we reserved the tickets. A friend of the Idle Monkey Trainer made the reservations for tickets through a friend's husband who works for the organization. He apologized for the current bottom-of-the-league ranking of the Baystars. We were also asked which team we supported so that are seats would be in the right place. Fans are divided to keep tempers in check and the fists from flying. About half the stadium was full of Giants fans. Arriving just after 2:00 for a 2:30 first pitch, our party was greeted by the classic strains of "Take me out to the ball game". The song is not repeated in the 7th inning stretch. There were also more cheerleaders and costumed characters -- the black pig at the left is the mascot of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, owner of the Yokohama Baystars -- running around the field than I have ever seen at a U.S. game. The fans keep up an almost constant cheering and singing, in turn with their teams' respective at-bats. There are also specific songs/cheers that rise up after each run is scored. The Baystar's song ends in three cheers of "Bonzai"!
The game itself does not show much difference, in terms of rules or play anyway. The only obvious difference being that when a pitcher hits a batter, the pitcher will tip his hat in apology. I am more accustomed to the U.S. style of staring the guy down. Interestingly enough, on this afternoon, both pitchers were from the U.S.. Williams, starting for the Giants and lasting 2 2/3 innings, only tipped his hat to the first of the two batters he hit.
1500 yen, built for two
Besides Tanabata celebrations, more than 70,000 Japanese shops, offices and tourist attractions such as Tokyo Tower will take part in a "lights off" campaign to save energy on Monday evening.Tanabata is based on a Chinese legend, in which Kengyuu (the star Alter) meets Orihime (the star Vega) only once a year on this day over the Milky Way. People celebrate this day by putting up big branches of bamboo with colourful decorations at home. People also make a wish and hang a strip of paper with their wish written on it. (from nihongomemo.com)
"The G8 summit will take place on Tanabata, so we are working towards turning off the lights, and gazing at the milky way while re-affirming the importance of the environment," said Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in a speech last month.
Having lived in Tokyo for several years, I cannot help but think that the effort will not result in a view of the Milky Way. There is so much light pollution here, that only on the clearest nights and after the
lights at the nearby temple have been turned off, have I seen more than two stars at any one time. And one of those could have been a planet. The G8 leaders, at their relatively remote retreat, may indeed be able to see stars in the night sky.
The orange lights are the shrines.
A foreign monkey trainer burdened with mikoshi.
Scoop them up and take them home, as many as you can before your paper scooper disintegrates.
The catch of the idle monkey trainer, who, by the way, practices catch and release. After all, what is an idle monkey trainer going to do with six small green turtles and that other thing?
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