Speech about international relations with a few wee anecdotes

Below is a speech which I had to write about cultural relations and cultural differences between Japan and my home country. It's a mixture of new thoughts and recycled parts of old blog posts, but it's generally a good breakdown of the major cultural differences and some anecdotes about my time in Japan so far.

My name is Hannah and I was chosen to be an ALT as part of the JET Programme, a programme funded by the Japanese government to help introduce Japanese students to foreign culture and create international relations. As a girl who had never travelled outside of the West before and who only speaks a little Japanese, I think that I am definitely bringing Western culture, or more specifically, British and Scottish culture, to Ehime.

However, this exchange of cultures is definitely not one-sided, as every day is a learning experience for me. Throughout my time in Ehime, I have come across some rather surprising cultural differences. For me, the biggest difference is definitely school life in Japan. A typical school day at a Japanese junior high school is certainly very different from high school back in Scotland. 

Probably one of the biggest differences is  cleaning time or soji, when the kids and the teachers clean the school themselves. In Scotland the students and teachers never clean the school, we have professional cleaners who do this after school is finished. I think that back home, many parents would be very unhappy for their children to be down on the floor scrubbing it! The first time I experienced soji, I couldn’t believe it! The kids were working so hard at cleaning, barely even talking to one another due to their complete concentration to the task at hand. At first it was very strange for me to think that children as young as 6 and 7 had to clean the school, but now I realise that it means everyone has more respect for the school because they have to clean any mess they leave behind. It’s definitely not like this in Scottish schools. In fact, sometimes after lunch, it looks like there has been a food fight! 

Another huge difference in school life for me is the school lunch or kyuushoku. Back in Scotland, we do have school lunch, but kids can also choose to bring their own lunch from home or go to a shop outside school to buy lunch. Kyushokuu differs greatly from typical Western school lunch in that everything is the same. Everyone gets the same food, and even more of a shock to me, everyone must finish ALL of their food! This was definitely difficult for me at first because I was not used to much Japanese food apart from things like sushi and ramen. 

The biggest challenge for me in kyuushoku was when I had to eat shishamo. Back in Scotland, it is not usual for us to eat a whole fish with the head and tail, so it was a huge shock when not only was I given a whole fish to eat, but it was also a pregnant fish! The first time I was given shishamo I gave it to a hungry student, but the second time no one wanted it. So I had no choice but to eat it. This was difficult because I felt like the eyes were staring at me. But to my surprise, it really wasn’t that bad when I ate it! This was definitely a big deal for me because I used to be too scared even to eat shrimp. 

Many things in Japan have been a challenge for me, but now I realise that challenging yourself is one of the main aspects of Japanese culture. I was shocked when I was first told that the 2nd year students at two of my junior high schools would have to walk 40km along the Melody Line from Misaki to Yawatahama. It sounded impossible to me! However, only 2 weeks after I thought that sounded impossible, I actually found myself doing the Melody Line walk with my 2nd year students at one of my schools. My legs and feet have never hurt so much, but I am so glad I completed the challenge and I think I will do it again next year.

While I knew about some Japanese customs before coming to Japan, such as bowing and taking your shoes off before entering someones home, there were a few small things that confused me at first. One example was when I was in class and my JTE told me to come here using a gesture, which in the UK we would use to mean "go away", so I was a bit confused and wandered away from the teacher to the other side of the class. The whole class burst out laughing and explained to me that it means “come here” in Japan once they had figured out what happened.

Another different gesture is the gesture to say “no”. In Scotland shaking your head means no, but in Japan, the gesture of waving your hand in front of your nose, that we would use to say "bad smell", means no.

However, despite all these cultural differences, I have come to realise that people all over the world are really the same. This is definitely apparent in Yawatahama, especially because it is a small town. I have always lived in a city until now, so it is nice for me to experience the small town kindness that isn’t so common in cities. Once thing that struck me was how generous everyone is, and how concerned they are about introducing me to Japanese culture and making sure that I am becoming accustomed to Japanese culture. During my time of only 6 months in Yawatahama I have been welcomed into cooking classes, tea ceremony, ikebana and I have even joined a shorinji kempo class. Some Japanese people even joke that I am more Japanese than them.

I have been lucky enough to be invited to go mikan picking on 2 occasions, and now I eat about 3 mikans every day. This is because the people of Yawatahama are so kind that I am given new mikans almost every week by someone. In fact, I am given mikans so often that I have to eat them very fast to make sure that they don’t go bad. For example, last week I was on the train and a woman who I have never spoken to before came up to me and gave me a bag of mikans! Some of my friends say that maybe I could cure the common cold.

One of my favourite memories of living in Yawatahama so far is the night of the Teya Teya Festival in October. Not only was I invited to dance the Teya Teya, but at one point I was actually put into a mikoshi and thrown up in the air. It was definitely the first time that has ever happened and it was both scary and exciting! This is something that would never happen back in Scotland, so I felt blessed to be given the opportunity to experience being part of the local Yawatahama community. 

Since there are so few foreigners here, my presence here definitely gets noticed. Almost every time I am at school my students or other teachers comment on how they saw me at Fuji at the weekend. I do my best to follow Japanese customs when I am here, but at the same time I also hope that my students and those around me are able to learn something about Scottish and British culture, even if they have not had the chance to travel. I am going to stay in Yawatahama for at least another year, so I hope to continue getting involved in the community and hopefully make a difference.

Christmas time ventures: Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe

So this blog is going to be all about the travelling I did around Christmas time! And very British it all was too, complete with many British pubs, lots of Strong Zero and definite alcoholism!

On the long weekend before Christmas, I ventured across to the island of Kyushu to visit the city of Fukuoka and one of my Scottish ALT friends who lives in that prefecture. I have to say that coming from the inaka (the Japanese country) then finding myself in Hakata station, the main train station of Fukuoka city, was quite a shock to the system. Train stations in Japan tend to be a city unto themselves, so I ended up extremely lost and accidentally buying the same train ticket twice... After that distressing venture it was a relief to find myself in my friend's town, which is much more similar to my own town in terms of inakaness. Of course, after dropping my stuff off and eating lunch, we headed back into the city for our Scottish alcohol-fuelled all-nighter on the town.

However, before the heavy drinking commenced we had a look round Canal City, a shopping mall which has a canal running through it and also had a very amazing Christmas light display. There was also a One Direction shop, which might also be considered by some to be an attraction in itself. Surprisingly, One Direction is huge in Japan and my students are constantly asking me who my favourite is (If I had to pick, I suppose it would be Zane...)

After meeting some of the other Fukuoka ALTs and eating dinner, it was time to hit the British pub! My friend and I actually planned to stay out all night until about 5am, as there was nowhere to stay in the city and the trains to his town wouldn't start running again until about 5am. But to my amazement, we never actually got home until nearly 8am. And to think I thought I was too old to stay out past 3... I'm not actually sure where the whole night went, but we ended up at a club in which we were the only foreigners and surrounded by Japanese girls wearing extremely sexy Santa outfits.

Somehow, as per tradition, I managed to lose my coat. In the end I just left the club without it, and got on the train in a horrible sleep-deprived and still-drunk state, giggling at the school kids when they got on the train. Though why they were going to school on a Sunday morning was beyond me. It's just how life in Japan is. 

The next day, still in a hungover state, I was shown more of Fukuoka city. It is possibly my favourite city that I've visited in Japan so far. The people are extremely fashionable, the girls are gorgeous, the people are friendly and overall, the city has a very young and great vibe. 

Me in a rather hungover state at a Ghibli exhibition

One such example of this friendliness, is that expecting to have a quick and quiet dinner in a tapas bar, my friend and I ended up being wined and dined by friends of the staff, actually being bought whole bottles of some pretty good wine. We also ended up playing bingo for someones birthday and I won a giant box of Kirin brand fruit juices, which I had to leave with my friend since it was too big to take back to my prefecture. 

My final day in Fukuoka, I had a lovely afternoon meeting my Japanese friend who is an English teacher that I originally met in Italy over 3 years ago. I remember 3 years ago she showed me a picture of Canal City, to which I replied "I really want to go there!". But I never actually dreamed I would someday be meeting her in her own city and be shown around by her! It's times like this when life feels so surreal. However, I fully believe that life is what you make it and you have the power to do anything or live anywhere.

My Japanese friend and I in a nice park in Fukuoka

So that was Fukuoka! A pretty awesome place and an awesome weekend if I say so myself. And the real trip hasn't even begun yet!

After Christmas, which I will get back to in another blog, otherwise this will end up being far too long, I headed out to Kansai on an overnight bus to meet another British JET, this time from London.

The first place we visited was Kyoto. I met my friend bright and early at about 8am, straight after having spent the night on that overnight bus. Despite feeling a bit grungy, we delved right into tourist mode and visited two different shrines/temples that first day. 

The first place we visited was Ginkakuji. Despite the fact that it translates to Silver Pavilion, there wasn't actually any silver to be seen anywhere. Instead they had this rather odd sand cone, that was painstakingly shaped by the staff. Not sure what they do when it pours. Set up an umbrella over it?

Ginkakuji itself - not very silver

Next we visited a big red shrine. The name escapes me, but the gardens that surrounded it were absolutely beautiful. I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland as I wandered around gazing at everything, particularly when I stumbled across this rather peculiar yet charming abandoned tram car. We also came across some stepping stones, which made for some great photo ops, despite the fact I was certain that one of us would fall in. Interestingly, I later found out that Scarlett Johansson walked across these very same stepping stones in Lost In Translation!

The misplaced tram

Clearly quite worried that I might fall in

Our first night we headed out to A-Bar, as recommended by a friend from my prefecture. It was a very international type place, with the inside decor being like that of a log cabin. Perhaps the drinks were strong there, as my friend and I got carried away with playing a game called "gaijin-punch". Basically it's like Yellow Car, but the aim is to punch your friend whenever you see a foreigner that you don't know. In my prefecture this game is practically redundant as you hardly ever see foreigners, but in Kyoto both our arms were aching after only about half an hour.

That being said, despite the abundance of foreigners, Kyoto can be quite hostile towards them. One thing that really shocked me was when my friend and I tried to go to a ramen shop, but were turned away. This would be fine, apart from the fact that a group of 4 Japanese who were in the queue behind us were welcomed with open arms and didn't even have a reservation. I won't even delve into the awful racism of this since it's such a huge topic, but I certainly was very shocked as I am generally seen as a bit of a novelty in my prefecture, for lack of better words, since I am part of a tiny minority that is well under 1%.

Putting that unsavoury moment behind us, we headed to Arashiyama the next day. This is a very famous bamboo forest on the outskirts of Kyoto. Whilst it certainly photographs well, the atmosphere was ruined slightly by the huge fences separating us from the actual forest.

My hands down favourite place, not only in Kyoto but also the whole trip, was Kiyomizu Temple. The various parts of the temple just seemed to go on and on, and the scene was set perfectly with girls wandering around in beautiful kimonos, as it is traditional for the Japanese to visit shrines and temples around the New Year period. Photographs don't do justice to this temple, as there is just something so mystical about standing at the railing and gazing out at the surrounding hillside. I particularly loved this view with the red shrine in the distance, but unfortunately it never came out that well in the pictures. Perhaps Kyoto is worth it even just for this temple, and I will certainly be returning in spring or autumn to see either the blossoms or the beautifully vivid autumn colours.

I also have to mention the fact that we visited Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. This is probably the most famous temple in Japan because of the fact that it's covered in gold leaf. While I can still admire the lake and the temple itself, it seemed rather overrated and even paled in comparison to Kiyomizu.

Our final stop in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari, a set of 1000 red toris, or gates, going up the hillside to a temple. Whilst we never did the hike to the top, which I was later told takes a couple of hours and the temple at the top is a bit disappointing anyway, the part that I did see was certainly very beautiful and atmospheric, ruined only by the New Year crowds who had come to visit the shrine.

Whilst in Kyoto, I also met with another couple of Japanese friends that I originally met 3 years ago in Italy. However, these friends don't speak a lot of English, so I had to get back into Italian-speaking mode, which was incredibly confusing given the fact that I've been trying to study Japanese these past few months. Initially all my sentences came out in a garbled mixture of Italian, Japanese and English, but after an hour or so I was able to pull myself together and communicate a bit better.

Next on the agenda was Osaka. My initial impression of Osaka wasn't a very great one as I was incredibly tired and felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of people and the immense scale of everything. It probably didn't help that my first stop was also the Pokemon Centre which basically translated to being pushed around by some extremely hyper little Japanese children. However, looking back I can appreciate the scale and modernity of Osaka a bit more, particularly the curious-looking Umeda Sky Building.

Osaka is definitely not your typical Japanese city though. The city was dirty and rough around the edges, particularly in the area near to our hostel. I think it would be fair to say that it's probably just like any other city in Europe in this sense, but since I have become accustomed to the security and polished finish of all the other Japanese cities, it probably felt more sketchy and dirty than it actually was.

The most famous area of Osaka is probably the Dotombori/Namba area, complete with bustling arcade shopping areas, scalding hot takoyaki (fried doughy octopus, and yes I actually did burn my mouth pretty badly) and epilepsy-inducing neon signs. This Glico sign is probably the most famous neon sign in all of Japan, along with this neon advert for Asahi beer.

This also happened to be New Years Eve, or Hogmanay as we call it in Scotland, so I'm ashamed to say that we headed to the British pub basically as soon as it opened. We never actually made any kind of plan for New Years Eve, so it was a combination of drinking Strong Zero in the street and then hastily making our way to another British pub before midnight struck. I suppose you could say it suited Osaka because our plan was also rough around the edges.

It was that night that I realised the hidden jewel of Osaka: the people! They are much more forthcoming and friendly than people in the rest of Japan tend to be. We were even spontaneously invited to a New Year's party in Kobe by a couple of randoms in the train station, but turned it down since it seemed maybe a little rash. It was very easy to make friends and talk to people in the pub that we ended up that, though I'll be damned if I can actually remember any of those conversations.

New Years Day was a little eery as almost everything was closed and all the Japanese people flock to shrines. Since my friend was stuck in bed with a New Years hangover, I decided to wander the streets of downtown Osaka solo, which were mainly empty apart from a few keen people who were out to hit the sales in the few shops that were open. I ended up in Den Den town, the electronics district, which had a bit of a seedy air to it. Feeling uneasy, I quickly got a few snaps of Osaka Tower and got the subway uptown to see the year's first sunset over Osaka castle.

Kyoto Tower

Osaka Castle

The next day my friend and I decided to visit Nara Park, which is famous for its many deer that just wander around casually amongst all the tourists. The deers are so domesticated that they barely blink an eye when little children paw at their fur. In fact, they seemed a bit sick of the treats that all the tourists kept trying to give them. Nevertheless, here are a couple of obligatory deer pics.

Finally, the last place on the agenda was Kobe! I had grown tired of all the crowds and maze-like train stations in Osaka, so Kobe was like a breath of fresh air to me. While Kyoto was arguably my favourite of the three cities in terms of touristy things to do and see, Kobe felt revitalising and extremely liveable. Whilst I would have liked to explore Kobe a bit further, I was very tired by this point so I stuck to the main attractions. But I think I will probably return to Kobe at some point!

The best part of Kobe was Harborland, which is basically a cool looking shopping area by the sea. I managed to see this area in both the daylight from the top of a ferris wheel, and even better, at night when it was all lit up!

My friend also ate a rather interesting Japanese/Italian fusion, which consisted of ramen in a tomato-based Italian style broth. I wasn't convinced since I'm a bit of a puritan when it comes to Italian food, but my friend claimed that it was delicious. It was also my 23rd birthday on our last full day in Kobe, so in keeping with the running theme of our trip, we headed to the nearest British pub for some celebratory drinks!

The next day we dragged our weary feet to the train station, said our goodbyes and got on shinkansens back to our respective prefectures. And that was Kansai! An extremely tiring, but an amazing and eye-opening trip!