Welcome back to another installment of Japan Life. Today’s topic is “Onsen.” Do you know what an onsen is? Well I am going to tell you all about it. First let me give you a hint.
Well do you know what an onsen is now? This really does capture the feeling and experience of an onsen. An onsen is the Japanese word for hot springs. But hot springs does not quite capture the whole experience. While the picture above is of monkeys enjoying a natural onsen experience, it is also for human beings.
An onsen is a naturally heated spring. Resorts are built up around the hot springs so that people can enjoy the experience of both indoor and outdoor hot springs all year round.
Outdoor springs in winter where the water is so warm you can hardly tell it is winter until you step out, and then it is freezing.
The indoor springs look like the photo above.
Etiquette
There is with most things in Japan certain etiquette you must follow when entering a hot springs beginning with making sure you go in the men's if you are a man and woman's if you are a woman. They are determined by the color as seen in the photo above
Now here is where it gets tricky for many foreigners. Once you are in the hot springs area everyone is naked walking around except for a small hand towel to cover your privates and to use as a wash cloth for your body. They usually have some sort of character on them along with the resort name.
Are you ok walking around naked in public?
Once in the onsen area you are to wash your body thoroughly before actually entering the hot spring. This is an example of the washing area.
All clean? Good. Now you have a myriad of choices of hot spring pools to enter. Some hot, some cool, indoor and outdoor.
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Welcome back to another installment of Japan Life. This time the focus is on school life, specifically elementary school life. Why elementary school? Well there are two reasons.
During my first English teacher teaching job at a public elementary school in Tokyo as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) who works alongside the Japanese teacher, I experienced firsthand what school life was like. This was long before having our son, Luke. What I realized was what I will be revealing later in this blog.
The other reason, my son who is nine now and is a 4th grade elementary student.
The above picture is my son's elementary school – 小金井さん小学校 or Koganei elementary school.
Taking responsibility
Entering school from first grade is a milestone and one that is not taken lightly. I knew this in advance thanks to my experience all those years ago as an ALT. What I realized first and foremost, that the school teaches the students from the first grade about life. What do I mean by that? The students are responsible for their school.
School Janitors
They are their own janitors spending a period of time each day cleaning the whole school including the bathrooms. During a certain time each day you will find all six grades with zokins or lightly damp rags, buckets and brooms with each grade assigned a certain floor and duties.
Lunchtime
Each day during kyushoku or school lunch four or five students are assigned lunch duty. They are responsible for getting the carts that hold the meal for the day, plates and utensils. They then proceed to serve their fellow classmates the meal. Upon completion they collect all the plates, clean up the room and wheel the cart back.
In most schools, meals are eaten in the classroom not lunchrooms.
Unlike what is available in the US, Japanese school lunches are incredibly healthy.
Sports Day
There are a myriad of events such as musical concerts, classroom observations in which the parents come to observe a class. My favorite is called 運動会, Un-dou-kai or simply sports day. While there are traditional events such as the running relay as seen from above.
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Welcome back and thank you for checking out Japan Life #2.
Today will be a little different as I will let the images do the talking with a few words in the form of explanations.
First of all, as I mentioned previously, Tokyo is a massive city that takes nearly four hours by train to go from one end of Tokyo to the other.
Koganei is a thirty minute train ride from one of the central sections of Tokyo called Shinjuku. Think Times Square NYC times ten and you will get an idea of the image. OR better yet look at this image below.
Welcome to my neighborhood, Koganei city. The Japanese writing Kanji or chinese characters for the town of Koganei looks like this – 小金井市。The first three characters are Ko- Ga-Nei and the last character is shi or city.
Koganei is a peaceful suburban part of Tokyo. A well kept secret with beautiful scenery, a family-friendly environment and home to temples, shrines and one of the best parks in all of Tokyo.
Temples and shrines
A local temple and shrine.
As I came to learn after moving to Japan, while in the US we equate Buddhism with enlightenment and meditation, in Japan it is quite different. There are various forms of Buddhism and do include meditation, but most are used for funerals. While shrines or what is known as Shinto is for weddings. Think of Buddhism as dark and Shinto as light.
I attend this Zen temple for monthly group meditation.
Koganei Park
Koganei park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo. We are only a ten minute bike ride. We are very fortunate because people come from all around to spend time in the park. On a beautiful summer day cars are lined up for miles waiting to get in.
What I find most appealing is the cherry blossom season. The park is home to over 3,000 cherry blossom trees or Sakura in Japanese – 桜
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Welcome to a new series of blogs I will be doing over the course of the next week. If readers find it interesting I will continue beyond one week.
The idea for this series came from none other than our man from the CBC Telegram group leader Ken. A big thanks to Ken.
The series is simple, I will be posting a daily blog and photos or videos of day-to-day life in my slice of the world on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, a sprawling metropolis with a population of 9.273 million as of 2015.
Some of you have been following my daily posts over the last few months and may get a sense of of just how much my fifteen plus years of life here has influenced my view of the world. Everything from Buddhist philosophy to simple mindfulness and paying attention to the details of everyday life.
Today’s post is about the beginning. A CBC member requested I talk about the first few weeks after moving to Japan. I will do that as well as introduce you to my family and surrounding area of this suburban town of Tokyo called Koganei city, my home ever since moving here, and most likely the place where I will live out the rest of my life.
If you have any topics of Japan you would like me to write on, feel free to send me a DM via Twitter or on the CBC telegram group site.
Buckle up, we are cleared for landing!
WHY
The first question I get is why did I move to Tokyo, Japan, a place so different from not only the US, but also landlocked Minneapolis, Minnesota, my hometown. The quick answer is I moved for LOVE. I met my now wife in Minneapolis through a friend of a friend. She was still living in Tokyo while I was in Minneapolis finishing up a degree at the University of Minnesota. We long distance dated (understatement if ever there was one) for two years seeing each other every couple of months, with me visiting Tokyo and she coming to Minneapolis. She happened to have come during one of the coldest winter days -30 degrees, and not once did she complain. I knew right then and there this would be the woman I would marry. Fast forward two years and after completing that degree I found myself packing 12 boxes and shipping my life to Japan.
Preparation is Key
Moving is stressful. Moving halfway around the world to a different culture with a completely different language is really stressful. I am not one to go into things lightly so I prepared myself having studied the langauge intensely while at the university. I felt ready, but feeling ready and experiencing are two different beasts. I found out pretty quickly that the Japanese I studied and the real Japanese used are not quite the same. The academic Japanese I studied gave me a bit of a foundation, but people use the language in a different way. It took a good three years before being able to do simple things like go to the dentist or the doctor. The area I live in has very few foreigners and nobody speaks English.
My wife helped out in a very big way getting me set up. Japan is a country of rules in which everyone, that means foreigners living here abide by as well. You have to register with the city you live in, you have to register for the national health insurance and I needed to have a sponsor to be able to continue to reside here. The sponsor for the first few years was a company, then my wife (called a spousal visa) and eventually I became a permanent resident, which takes a minimum of seven years to qualify for.
Work and Family
After settling down and realizing the doors to my previous job world, advertising were shut due to the language barrier, I decided to go down the path of teaching. I taught for a number of years in the public elementary, junior and senior high schools. It wasn't until returning to university to get a masters degree in education and landing a university teaching job that we decided to try and have a child. And we did! And Luke is what we called him.
The above photo was taken five years ago. He is nine now.
This photo is part of a Japanese tradition called shichi go san or 7-5-3. These are photos taken around five years old and part of a celebration dating back hundreds of years to acknowledge and celebrate the growth and well-being of the child.
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What will the day bring? What comes next? Where does the river of this life lead? When not it in flow, it's pain and fatigue, or what Buddhists call suffering. When in flow effortless love and kindness.
How to be a kind person in the world? Kindness arises from the work we do on the inside. Make room for it. Don’t go to that place where the light of kindness is easily snuffed out by anger and resentment.
Leave the world in just a little lighter place than when you arrived.
Simplify, identify, connect and be. What do these words really mean? I have a sense that things are alright, but then who knows it could turn on a dime. That is how precious this life really is. And yet we all take it for granted waking up everyday. One day we could just not wake up.
I awaken with a grateful heart and mind knowing that this is another day alive, and knowing today could be the last. It's alright to die because we do every single moment.
I am curious about this feeling of death. Going to that place inside is a sense of fear, and yet I feel no matter what I have had such a beautiful life up to this point. There is not much else I want and need really.
I do want to go on living for my son. Living by example, being kind and respectful and just a little less self-centered. He has my infliction of narcissism and for that I apologize. He will have to transcend all of this on his own over time. For now, kind-hearted actions, kind voice, kind thoughts leads to kindness. I live by example.
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Sometimes things work out. Better yet, often it works out. It’s just a matter of how much to let go and let it unfold. Stepping in to force it to happen things often don’t work out and in the end there is a level if dissatisfaction. When in the flow it is an amazing experience. There is an effortlessness to the experience. And who wouldn’t we want to be in that place as much as possible?
The catch is, the moment you think the flow is lost. Paying attention, mindful in each passing moment is not an easy thing to do and ultimately that is what flow is connected – both a presence and a letting go.
Watching some American students arrive in Japan, so many of them are wedded to their character and how they want the world to see them with the outward trapping. We all have them, but the level of look at me at varying levels is interesting.
It stands out more here in Japan where blending in to one’s surroundings and not standing out is not the norm. I think when so much attention to that kind of detail becomes important the loss of paying attention to the moment to the outside world around you on some level is lost. Seeing these students arrive was interesting to observe as they try to adjust and making mistakes. Everything from which side of the street to walk on to what side of the escalator to stand on.
Putting oneself in a completely different country and culture is a great way to learn to pay attention and be mindful. You have to look to the outside world and observe, follow what others are doing when not knowing what to do. Simple day to day things like paying attention to the way in which people move, timing, lining up, what side of the sidewalk do they walk on, do they stand on left side or the right side when riding the escalator. All of this is part of learning to be mindul. It is not magic.
Going deeper, how are people greeting one another, how are you greeted in the store, what is your attitude when someone is ringing you up at the convenience store, how do you handle money, do you throw it down, is it wrinkled up. Try and pay attention to it all.
There is no right or wrong only observance and ultimately up to you how much you want to adjust and change. Japan is such a unique place and wonderful place to study oneself and mindfulness. It's in the air and people live life in this way. It's nothing special.
Saying and doing are two very different things, yes they are. Of course they are and yet we all say something and do not really do it.
These days I do the things that I say far more than when I was younger. I think this is connected to integrity, trust and age. If I say something you can trust I will do it. Reliability is another word that comes to mind. Being one of those people you can rely on. I will be there for you. Again something I am more adept at than in my youth.
I used to give lip service to just about every aspect of my life. Looking back it is any wonder I had any friends at all during that time. But then again I think we were all the same. Or at the very least this was the kind of people I hung out with – a lot like me.
I am not sure. I may have just been one of those people that do not do what they say and people just put up with it. Ahhh that’s just AL (they used to call me AL in those days) he does that all the time. If that is the case, I apologize to those that I did that to. I know there were many out there.
I enjoy making connections to things that are seemingly unconnected. It does not always happen and sometimes it is a stretch to make that connection, but these days more often than not I am able to make connections in my life.
Is this because the ego or mind is designed or wired to find meaning? Is that a fault or a glitch in the system or is it ok to find meaning and connection? I do know when I think of nature and the earth, in essence everything is connected and operates in a symbiotic manner. When one part is weak the other has to step in and take up the effort, much like our bodies.
Often we are not able to see just how things step in to take over in order to get things back to balance. Sometimes things are so out of whack that it is nearly impossible to get things back to a collaborative manner and things really start to turn ugly. I mean I see that from a human perspective. Our bodies, when one thing is out of alignment with the other parts our body unconsciously adjust. I am specifically thinking about exercise.
If my knee hurts then the other leg takes over to compensate in order to maintain some level of balance, but then that affects the other knee as it becomes weaker, and also parts of the lower back etc. Then things really get out of alignment and it becomes a vicious circle more or less, until something is done to deal with the initial pain.
This happens in relationships, when someone is going through transformation the other may not, but unconsciously that other person begins to shift as things change from the individual in transformation to the relationship. It really does seem to work that way.
What is more pressing is how as a society we are so out of balance. I am speaking of the US of course. We no longer work together to create a world worth living in. It is so out of balance that people are literally overeating themselves to death.
In addition, there seems not to be a care in the world about just how out of balance mother earth is: To think that we just continue to go about our daily business with no care or action in the world to help realign the earth. I am speaking of climate change of course.
Meanwhile, the focus in the US is on such pettiness as a wall to keep immigrants out or the current president’s last tweet. When in fact it ought to be about health, education, welfare of others and the earth.
Humans have a tendency to really muck things up and complicate things to the point of inaction and it is quite frustrating to witness. I know I have played my role in it, but have gradually over time weaned myself away from the rat race that distracts from what really matters, and taken life into my own hands so as to be able to shape the kind of life and world I would like to live in.
It takes transcending personal issues and effort to make this happen. Many people in the world are morally lazy and do not want to do make the effort and end up focusing on that pettiness. Don’t get me wrong I can go there in a heartbeat and do on occasion, but I do not stay in that place for very long because on the inside it just does not feel right.
I am in this place where I would like to bring balance to those around me. To help others find a place where they can let go of the petty and distill their life down to a simple manner of living.
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I live in Japan as some of you know. As I reflect on the more than fifteen years of having lived here, I find that this is the place that I now have deep roots. Other than living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, my hometown, this is the longest I have been in one place. And for sure the longest in one dwelling. I have moved on occasion in the US and prior to Japan, New York City was the longest at eight years.
Recently, I had a short-lived phase of what I call cultural weariness. The weight of living in Japan, and having to continually adhere and be mindful of the cultural and social mores. I have been here long enough and feel responsible enough that I do not want to just go into foreigner mode and play that card doing whatever I like by fulfilling the stereotypes of the loud, entitled American. I have done it on very rare occasions. In fact I did it last week during my son's soccer match. I blame it on the cultural weariness that had been weighing me down as of late.
I showed up to watch my son's soccer match. Arriving early I had hoped to find a nice quiet place to view the game. There were parents and coaches going back and forth carrying various things from one place to another in preparation for the soccer match. Jumping in to help would have been the culturally acceptable thing to do, which is to do what the group is doing. Instead I hardly acknowledged anyone because I was still in that weary place and just wanted to watch the game once it started.
This is the beautiful thing about living here, I can be in-between that cultural place and not suffer any consequences to speak of. One of the benefits of being a foreigner in Japan who can speak the language and have a sense of moving with the culture and knowing my limitations I can choose how much or how little to participate. I do participate most of the time. But there is a sense of freedom knowing I can opt out with very little backlash.
The other benefit of living here is that I get to reflect on the flaws and cultural biases I acquired having grown up in the United States. One that has been the bane of my existence is the incessant me too narcissistic attitude. In addition to not concerning others or the group nor considering the consequences of my actions. Living here has given me a perspective that it is not just about me, but others. And to take responsibility for my actions and what I do, rather than blame it on outside circumstances.
I have learned patience, and allowing things to happen and come to fruition. I have learned how to be culturally flexible, and to observe and watch others in order to follow their lead if I do not know what to do, rather than just go head long into something without giving it any thought.
I have learned to be culturally sensitive by paying attention to details, which has allowed me some understanding of the culture and to move with it.
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I find myself being drawn to simplicity. In the art world there is brilliance in simplicity of how something is created. There is simplicity in life, and it takes a life time of creating it. Most don't ever live a simple life. They prefer complicated ones.
I know from experience that it really does take a long time to get to a point of simplicity. As I reflect on my life it has been an ongoing goal to simplify. It continues to be an experiment of trial and error and a constant refinement, letting go and change.
If something does not feel right I make changes and try something different. If something no longer works I let it go. Life is complicated enough so why not make life simple?
I have paired things down to an equation. Funny to write a word associated with math because I don't like math. I think each of us tries in our own way to strive for an equation. Each equation like one’s character is different. The equation has to do with both simplicity and balance. My equation is the following: spirituality in the form of meditation, mantras, spiritual-related books. Creativity, these days in the form of writing and music, healthy lifestyle is food and exercise. And finally people, which includes community, family, work and social life.
A typical morning routine covers just about half of these even before 9 am. I wake up, meditate, read something from a daily reflections book, say a few mantras, eat a healthy breakfast, go to the gym, run or cycle and write.
Anytime throughout the day I will text, talk or meet with friends. Throughout this family is always there whether in the background or foreground depending upon what is going on.
When work is involved because of simplicity things tend to flow in an effortless manner. And no matter what is going on around me like me in a swirling mess, I am less affected by it and find it easier to let go.
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Japan Life #4 – Onsen
