I took today’s photo a month ago on our way back from Tsukiji. While the day seemed like it was well underway for us (as we had been up and about for six hours) it was just beginning for these morning commuters on the Tokyo Metro.

Being 6′ 4″ in Japan has its pros and cons. On a crowded train you aren’t face-to-face with those crowded around you. On the other hand, I hit my head on the dangling hand grips on a very regular basis.

A funny story happened shortly after I took this picture. At one of the main stations most people got off, and I grabbed a seat next to a sleeping beauty. She looked very similar to the lady in the advertisement holding the “Zasshi” (magazine). She was sound asleep though and had no idea a strange gaijin was now sitting next to her. As soon as the train started she put her head on my shoulder and proceeded to sleep on me. My 11-year old daughter’s eyes grew quite wide as she observed this woman sleeping on her father. I tried to get her to take a picture of the two of us, but she was unwilling. 😉

At the sleeping beauty’s stop she promptly woke up and made a beeline for the door, never looking back or noticing who it was that served as her pillow.

Lest you think that being slept on is all fun and games, I’ve had similar experiences a half dozen times since then and they have all been far less pleasant. Usually it’s a fat, sweaty guy, or a pimply-faced teenage boy, or simply far too hot to have anyone asleep on your shoulder.

Posted on September 19th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: people, trains. Comments: 8

Every time the mikoshi was scheduled to stop somewhere, a guy would appear on a box and begin directing it in to its parking space like someone helping an airplane into the proper gate.

At the end of the day a speech was made which included the admonition to continue these traditions by including the ever-shrinking population of Japanese children in them.

At the first rest spot a Shinto ceremony took place. I wasn’t quite close enough to hear what was said.

I’ll leave you with a video I took from the first night’s festival. This was my first real video with my TZ7. I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by the quality of photos the TZ7 has been taking, but this video came out much better than I was anticipating. Not only were the lighting conditions horrible, but I was far from the stage. However, the sound and video are both very good.

Posted on September 18th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: matsuri, nishi-waseda, shinto, video. Comments: 1

Ever since the aforementioned Bon Odori, signs have been going up, and we have observed preparations, for our local shrine’s omikoshi matsuri. Saturday, the 5th, featured the children’s version (kodomomikoshi). While we watched the procession, the man directing the kids struck up a conversation with me and invited us to participate in the following day’s event. He told us to borrow some Happi Coats from the local sake dealer which we did.

At 9 o’clock on the morning of the 6th we arrived at 天祖神社 (our local shrine) decked out in our new Happi Coats and all ready to lift the mikoshi, bounce it up and down, and wave it back and forth through town. I wasn’t so sure we would get the chance given that there were hundreds of people looking to do the same and only space for a couple dozen lifters at a time.

The local elders (to the right of the above photo) gave speeches before we began, telling us to be safe, enjoy the great weather, and continue the tradition that had been happening for hundreds of years. They only take this mikoshi around town once every three years so we were lucky to be here at the right time.

The procession included not only the mikoshi but also boys dressed like Shinto priests, someone in a Tengu mask, a lady dressed in a traditional Shinto outfit with the above wagasa over her, and others.

I got my chance to carry the mikoshi at one point (that’s me on the far left) and quickly discovered that it doesn’t work so well when one person is more than half a foot taller than everyone else. Not only do the tall get stuck with far more weight, but they also tip the shrine a bit. This was a great experience, though, and I’ll post some more pictures soon…

Posted on September 17th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: festivals, japan pictures, matsuri, shinto. Comments Off on 天祖神社の御神輿　2009年9月6日　Part 1

Sometimes the trains are calm, clean escapes from the rat race outside. Such was the case on the Saturday I took the above photo on the Tokyo Tozai Metro line. But then you get a rebel rouser on board who shakes everything up…

You should have heard the thunderous applause! I had to pop some earplugs in and change trains at the next stop to save my eardrums.

Posted on September 16th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: people, trains. Comments: 2

The other morning I got on the train for a couple of stops to Shinjuku in order to open a bank account. Why go so far you ask when there are a dozen banks closer to my apartment? Because I’m a foreigner and Japanese banks, for the most part, won’t let you open an account until you have lived in Japan for six months. I’ve actually lived in Japan for two years now but that doesn’t count either since I’ve only been here a few weeks on this occasion. It’s really bizarre that I can get a working visa but not a bank account. I’m not applying for a loan, credit card, or other service where I could possibly split the country with their money either. I just want a place where my employer can make a direct deposit.

So I took the journey to Shinjuku to open an account with Shinsei Bank 新生銀行, and I’m glad I did. This bank is the best bank I have ever dealt with. I walked in to a waiting room that looked like I had entered a luxurious spa. This is very different from every bank I’ve ever entered in Japan. Most look like a very clean DMV with everyone working around one giant desk in the middle. Not so here. Employees had their own fancy offices. The design and decor of the place was unlike anything I’ve experienced. One wall was a giant screen TV. Not only that but my A’s were playing the Mariners (and winning for once) on this flat screen.

The lady helping me apologized, saying it could take 40 minutes to set up my account. No problem with this kind of atmosphere I thought. I have done currency exchanges that took longer than 40 minutes at Japanese banks and post offices. Setting up an account while watching baseball in the lap of luxury could take much longer for all I cared. All she needed was a copy of my Foreigner Registration Card (外国人登録証明書). She did the rest and had it all done in 15 minutes. I had my choice of over 30 different colors for my ATM card. She smiled at me smartly when I chose bamboo.

Seriously, if you ever need to set up a bank account in Japan look no further than Shinsei Bank. The service is outstanding, you can get an account as soon as you have your 外国人登録証明書, and you can use pretty much any ATM in the country for free (including the post office and 7-11). Supposedly their employees speak English too, but I started in Japanese and we therefore did the whole set up in Japanese so I can’t tell you if they really can speak English or not. The documents she gave me at the end were all in English though.

Posted on September 15th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: shinjuku. Comments: 19