Work hard, play hard, under promise, over deliver and eat rice.

From conversations with other JSPS fellows, everyone’s working environment and hours are different. There is a perception that Japanese people work hard, long hours and in the corporate office complexes that would be cities of their own were they in another country, I am sure this is true. However working hard and long does not convey the actual truth of the Japanese working culture and perhaps as someone who is struggling with the most basic of situations due to a limited grasp of the language, there is much that I yet do not understand about working a job in Japan. Observations I have collected so far never the less I would like to share. During my home visit, the father of the family I stayed with mentioned, during a broken conversation about this very topic, that the MD of his company often uses a phrase which translates as “I employ ten thousand people which really means that I am responsible for one hundred thousand people and I see them all as part of our company's family”. Despite a little chuckle at the extrapolation of the numbers which do not convey the actual size of the average Japanese family, the phrase presents an interesting insight to thinking of your work colleagues as part of your family.

My experience at the Lab, is very much as if I were working with my immediate family. We eat together sometimes two or even three times a day. We socialize during the day discussing the latest Apple products, which Samurai/Anime films are good, playing with the office remote control helicopter and fiddling with the various electronic gadgets in the Lab under the premise of ‘research’. Sports are not a huge part of Lab life but we are each encouraged by Mitsugi Sensie to partake in sports and I certainly do not wish to disappoint him. We often discuss each other’s projects and are encouraged to help each other out. We have our own little self-run shop in the lab for snacks and coffee. Coffee breaks are a good time to have a chat, practice Japanese or for my fellow Lab members to practice English. So, yes, I spend long hours at the Lab, but Lab life includes components which would be outside of working life in the West. Concentrated working hours, I would say, are about the same. I have consigned myself to leaving the house at 8.45am and not getting back until 11pm but my day includes socialising, sports, general banter, getting fairly competent at being a remote control helicopter pilot, learning new concepts from my Lab mates everyday, practicing my Japanese, one on one teaching from Mitsugi Sensie and lovely food. It’s not a bad life. I guess once in a situation where I have my own little family, the time spent at the Lab would be a little too much for me personally and I would perhaps have to cut out the sports and socialising. But for a young, single chap, working life in our Lab is agreeable.

I spent a weekend in Tokyo with L.E. We saw a fair amount in our weekend, highlights being a Samurai Sword Museum and Shinjuku Park. Just for the experience; we stayed in an Internet Café on the Saturday night. How it works is one rents a booth for a given number of hours, it can be any time as they are open around the clock. The booth is just big enough to sleep flat out, has internet access and as many Anime comics as you could not read in one night. It is considered a very cheap, convenient place to get your head down for a few hours. So after a night out in Shinjuku, we checked in, settled in and then on Sunday morning we went back to my home district of Tsujido for Surf Lessons.

Armour at the Sword Smith Shop

A dude enjoying the blazing sun in Shinjuku Park

Master Sword Smith taking a trace of an old Katana

LE infront of the entrance to the Sword Museum

Shrine

Street Guitarist we got chatting to. She could play!

We were met by Shiori and Racoonie from the Lab and went to the surf shack where Shiori had booked the lessons for us. After getting into our gear and meeting our Instructor for the day, a Grandma who longboards but does not look a day over 30, we headed to the beach and into the Surf. We all caught a few waves, got hammered by all the other ones and took in more sea water than is healthy. Surfing in Japan; good times. We had lunch at a restaurant close by which was included in the Surf Lessons. We paid 5200 yen each (about £40) for surf boards, wet suits, three hours of instruction with a Grandma who shreds and a huge lunch. Lush. Tsujido beach is a proper little surf spot, with loads of independent surf stores, as well as known brand ones, a relaxed vibe and many coffee shops having live music long into the night.

That weekend, I received deeply cutting news as it circulated around my friends and the internet that Nelson Pratt, a GB snowboard Coach and the Coach for the Army Snowboard team had passed. It was hard to take that he had taken his own life. He was a true gentleman, an incredible snowboarder and one of the nicest chaps you could hope to meet. It often is the case when a young life passes, it is only natural that people say the nicest things and even exaggerate a little. In Nelly’s case, there is no need to exaggerate and the only way to describe him is using words reserved for the truly nice, humble and most gentlemanly of men. My experience under Nelly’s guidance was at every minute enjoyable. He had a way of inspiring, coaxing, if you will and through his energy and positivity, somehow made you into a better snowboarder. It never felt like training or coaching with Nelly. I shared a ride back to the UK from Austria in his legendary Land Rover; he drove all the way, would not accept any money for it or even a coffee for that matter, not once showed any signs of tiredness on the 18hr journey, had classic rock and roll blaring, cracked jokes, smiled all the way home and could not thank me enough for being a co-pilot. I was glad to have spent time, be taught by and simply get to know a true gent. Thanks for being you Nelly.

Riding in Peace. Nelson Pratt. 

As is clear, a lot of my time in Japan is taken up in the Lab but on the weekends I can explore a little more. I organised for Ben, Rebbecca, Dustin and I to stay in the lovely beach town of Shimoda in the Izu Peninsula. I wanted to originally stay with Yasu at his lodge there but he was fully booked that weekend. Never the less in true Yasu style, he still took us around and showed us some sweet spots. The weekend started with meeting Ben and Dustin at Tsujido station. We headed to Tsujido beach for lunch and a nice stroll in the sunshine. We had amazing food then set out on the seemingly straight forward but in the end a little tricky train journey to Shimoda. It was not clear to us that we had to change platforms for certain trains even on the same line. So what seemed pretty easy was in fact a little complicated. We were sitting at a station somewhere in the middle of the journey still on the train as everybody got off. Because we were just dudes on a dude cruise we didn't really pay much attention as we were under the impression that it was a straight shot from there and expecting another hour or so of chill time. Much to our surprise, we were asked to get off and onto another train. This happened a few times. Be careful, pay attention and really do try to learn some Japanese, I suppose! My general experience with the train system has been excellent; they are never late, comfortable, easy to navigate and tourist friendly so this journey was a little out of the norm.

Ben and Dustin getting to some epic food.

The Yasu mobile reaches 200,000km. What a trooper.

Ben's Panoramic of Shimoda

The chilled crew with a dude hanging 5

Yasu took us to candle lit caves by the beach, showed us the best places to eat, lent us a longboard for free, took us to a lovely mountain top view of the sea and took us to an abandoned theme park for a longboard skateboarding session. Cheers Yasu. As Yasu’s place was fully booked he got us into a “mom and pop” lodge with tatami mat rooms and its own huge sento bath.  Everyone had good times on a chilled, fun filled weekend.

Lush train ride home with epic views over the deep blue sea

The deep blue sea

Since the weekend in Izu, I have increasingly  been applying my efforts to my work and just doing chilled things with chilled people on the weekends. Not anything to write home about, just doing what the Japanese do as much as I can and getting down to working hard. There might be a few more blog entries depending on what I get up to. If I can get my project completed in time, I hope to travel to other places in Japan. I have a trip with my Lab mates booked and a weekend break to Kyoto, Japan’s traditional capital, on the cards too. Hope you have enjoyed reading so far. Until next time. Aahdsaaas.

Game Face Time

I was completely lost. I had no idea where building ‘Zeta’ was; it seemed as though nobody did. Stumbling into the campus shop was my slice of luck as Shiori, a PhD student in the same lab as me just so happened to be there getting some printing sorted and overheard my situation as I described it to the clerk. It was just as well she was there as building ‘Zeta’ was unknown to everyone I had asked, even the staff in the shop! Indeed it was a little out of the way and surrounded by woodland in the otherwise open, green and modern Shonan Fujisawa Campus of Keio University. We had left our blanket of safety at the Shonandai University for Graduate Studies and headed out for our individual host institutions that morning. Once on campus and heading to the right building with the lovely Shiori leading the way, I was relieved that I would be making the time I had set for meeting my host Supervisor. More advice my sister had given me was to never, ever, be late.

I was greeted in the Lab by Professor Mitsugi and after I embarked on another dismal attempt at an introduction in Japanese, Sensei began speaking perfect American, finely polished during his time as a post doc in Colorado. He got me settled in then took me to lunch with some of the other lab members. The Keio University Café was much like a school canteen with canteen prices and canteen style dinner ladies to complete the set. The food was the usual Japanese fair, I selected the mackerel, pickled spinach and rice then got down to showing how inept I was with chopsticks. Although we were talking throughout the meal, I was concerned how fast my fellow diners were literally sucking up their food. I am a slow eater at best, especially when the food is delicious. I was some way behind and decided to make it part of the conversation. “Do I eat slow, or do Japanese people eat really fast?” to which Sensei replied sternly “in our lab, we eat only for nutrition” but then gave a grin much to the amusement of the other students. My previous experiences of eating Japanese food had been slow, enjoyable, taking moments to note the presentation and filled with conversation. It didn’t seem that was the way at Keio University. Eat and get back to work, quick. I tried as best I could to eat quicker but the walk back from the café to the lab proved I had eaten too fast; with my stomach fighting to digest the food and the midday sun beating down on my back, I didn’t feel too clever. However, I had to keep face and began discussing the project I will be undertaking here in Japan with Sensei. First day over. Time to see my place of residence for the next few months.

 A Small corner of Keio University SFC 

When I was in Japan for a snowboard trip in January, I had stayed at lodge Tabi Tabi in Hakuba and befriended Yasu, the owner. It just so happened that he works as a carpenter on beach houses very close to where I would be studying in the summer months. He helped arrange lodging in a house that his landlord also owned and as the price was almost three times less than the price of official student accommodation, I was very happy to be living in a Japanese house with other Japanese people, much like we rent private houses as students in England. There were obvious issues, such as: would I get on with my housemates? would I be able to adapt to proper Japanese house living? how will I get the washing machine to work? will I be able to understand the recycling system? And then there is sitting down to take a shower, as civilized as it is, will I yearn to stand? I trusted in time I would be able to adapt and that I should just get on with it. Many of my adventures have been exactly that and usually in the relative familiarity of a ski resort. Functioning as a working, normal, everyday human in a new country was actually very new for me. Here goes. I decided to go ahead with the Japanese house and not pay the frankly ridiculous £1000 per month for short term University accommodation. On the first day, after my stomach had settled, a thunderstorm hit Japan hard but thankfully Yasu came to campus to pick me up and take me to the house. He helped me settle in and left me to it. A good thing too, as I was knackered. The house was large by Japanese standards and comfortable enough.

Time to introduce some new players.

Yasu: Japanese, Snowboarder, Surfer, Longboarder, Snow Surf designer, Lodge owner, Carpenter. All round top bloke living the dream of nipple deep powder riding in the winter and perfect cutbacks in the Japanese surf during the summer. He was the host for my 10 days in Hakuba and has helped me during my time here as a researcher. Without him, the adventure could have taken difficult paths at many moments. Thanks Yasu! Can’t wait to learn to surf in IZU with you!

Shiori: Japanese, Trained Nurse, PhD student investigating home healthcare using RFID. Active, fun loving, cute, adventurous and as smart as they come. The quintessential Japanese girl.

Mitsugi Sensei: Japanese, academic, associate director of Auto Id Labs Japan, often does collaborative work with the other Auto Id Labs in Cambridge and MIT, guitarist and tomato cultivator. My supervisor for the two month placement in Japan. So far, really supportive, humble even though it is clear he is the man and forever encouraging. Mitsugi sensei fosters a work ethic in his students through leading by example, being always available to help and making a point of the importance of the all round development of his students.

Dokan: Japanese, 2^nd year MSc Student (Networking), Apple nut and a senior student at the lab. Dokan helped me with everything as well as banking; his English is excellent and his patience is immense! He helps everyone with his or her work in the lab and is widely respected.

Since being here, there has hardly been a chance for any concentrated exercise. I found out that the Keio University Football team train three times a week on the campus I would be working on. After some emails with the team secretary I managed to get an invite to train with the squad. I turned up without football boots, in surfing shorts, a baggy university snow club t-shirt and black office socks, not exactly looking the part, you might say. I was introduced to Kazu, a senior player who had spent his high school years in America. His English was excellent, was a little shorter than me but well built; athletic and lean. He noticed I didn’t have any ‘cleats’ and invitingly mentioned team pairs are available in the storage room. He walked me over and I picked out a set that fit. To much of the other players interest, I was introduced to a handful and they all asked where I came from and if I had played football before. It was 4.30 pm but the heat was still intense and the humidity was stifling. I thought there maybe two perhaps three hours of practice with a warm up and a cool down. No chance of a mellow session, not here. Straight into an intense small sided game of keep ball where there is a 20x20 meter square and seven versus seven attempting to 'keep the ball' as long as possible. The most passes strung together indicates the winner. This carried on for about an hour or so and needless to say, I was red in the face. My touch wasn’t bad but my stamina was letting me down. Then bigger versions of this game were organised with even more running around. Perfect. During the small breaks for water, provided by a hoard of Japanese girls, I got chatting with Hiro as he had good English too. His touch was good and could pick out passes accurately seemingly  over any distance. I was made to feel very welcome with everyone wanting to meet me. I had really enjoyed the session so far as it was clear to see the love for the game from these very technical, fit, enthusiastic players. I later found out that the lads I had been playing with were mostly the Keio first team. No wonder, as they ran me into the ground and were far superior from a technical and tactical sense. The final session was an 11-a-side game for which I was placed in my favored position of left wing. By this point I was sweating more than I have ever sweated outside of Army training and hardly had any energy left. I gave it my best and even though I was struggling I not once let the left back down by being lazy and not covering him and always tried to be an option when it was our time to attack. I was happy with my performance; putting in some protective work for the left back and providing two crosses for our main striker to head into the net.

I spoke to the manager afterwards. He made a little comment about how my fitness would need to be improved but invited me back for the remaining sessions of the season. I took the advice about my fitness on the chin and decided to work on that aspect in my own time. Once I am used to the heat and put a bit of cadio work in at the gym, I will no doubt perform better on that front. Kazu and Hiro were glad I would be coming back and much banter was had after the session. They are, as expected, good football players but as humble as can be. I have been invited to the end of season nights out and will look forward to more sessions with the lads.

It took me a few nights to recover from football and I had complained, in jest, to Yasu about how the Japanese footballers had broken me. He suggested we go to a Sento; a public bath not too dissimilar to an Onsen except the water was not natural due the usual city locations.  I was up for it and glad I said yes as the experience was lush. Before you get into the Jacuzzi type bath, you need to take a sit down shower and ensure every part of you is scrubbed with a lathered hand towel so you are completely clean when you get in. Since this is my third trip to Japan, I am getting used to being naked in public but my natural reserve still requires the use of a small modesty towel. Yasu took me to a local Izakiya afterwards, the Japanese version of an easy going pub and we enjoyed some great food and refreshing home made lemonade. The feeling of my muscles being totally relaxed and my stomach being full of hearty, healthy, nutritious food was so good that I almost fell asleep on the bike ride home. Almost.

Me taking a pic of Yasu taking a pic of the entrance to the Sento

Leave you bags in a basket, no need for lockers here!

Cool surfer types in the Izakya

Yum

The evening came where I was to give my presentation to the rest of my lab mates about my research, my life in England and my previous travels in Japan. I tried to keep the research bit serious but made the other parts as enjoyable and fun as possible as my presentation was at 7pm and everyone was itching to get some food. I bought a cricket ball to show around and we played some videos from Youtube of great cricket shots (much to my joy) and bowlers destroying batsmen’s stumps (much to my dismay) on the big screen. During the serious part of the presentation there was a very vigorous open question session about the healthcare system in England. To those who had no experience of the NHS, it seemed incredible that no insurance was proven or money was paid at the point of care. Healthcare is such a huge cause for distress around the world and for all the ways it doesn’t work and the inefficiencies, we are very lucky to have a system that does not discriminate on grounds of affluence. Keep your dirty little fingers out of it please, Mr Cameron.

After my two hour presentation, we went for all you can eat style Japanese sea food. The fish in particular was incredible. Check out the photos for all you need to know. Everyone enjoyed the meal and it was a good chance to get to know my lab mates in an informal setting.

?! Bus Stop Blues

From Left: Mickey, Spike, Shiori, Racoonie

From Left: Delicious, Delicious, Delicious, Delicious, Delicious...

Check out Mitsugi Sensie on the left in the glasses. 

Yummy, it really was. Especially the eye.

More players for you make an acquaintance with:

Kazu: Japanese, learned his football skills in the USA, studying Spanish, couldn’t help me enough and a striker as good as any I have played with.

Hiro: Japanese, tall, strongly built, looks like he would be a samurai if it was 400 years ago. Great left foot, big mouth.

Kiora: Japanese, my housemate, finger painter, dreadlocks. Kiora has cool friends and very good English. She is forever helping me around the house and I am grateful for her patience.

So far, I have settled in well, the mosquitos seem to have had their fill and I will be embarking on more adventures over the coming weeks. Look out for a mad weekend in Tokyo and Longboard Surf lessons. Jaa mata. 

Orientation Week

Japan Summer Programme Blog

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) provides opportunities for young pre and postdoctoral researchers from North America and Europe to receive an orientation on Japanese culture, research systems and to pursue research under the guidance of host researchers at Japanese universities over a 11 week period during the summer. The programme includes return flights, a generous sum to cover living costs and a domestic travel bursary.

Having made contact and discussed my research with Professor Jin Mitsugi at Keio University, associate director of the renowned Auto-ID Lab’s Japan base, I was tremendously excited after my request to visit the Lab and conduct some research under his guidance was accepted. That was only the beginning as a long application process to JSPS and the British Council was still ahead. Although 100 places are allocated to American PhD students, only 10 are allocated to the UK. I knew the application process would be difficult so I asked for help from as many people I had access to. I must give special thanks to my supervisors in England, Dr Knight and Dr Lim for reviewing many(!) versions of my research proposal, the careers advisors at Aston for helping me with my CV and written application, Paul Knobbs, Aston's post grad international placement advisor who came in with some very useful advice on the tone of the application and finally my little sister, Subs for teaching me the fundamentals of Japanese humility, in the light of two brave years as an English teacher in rural Japan. Many thanks to my friends and family also who encouraged and believed in me, I don’t possess the vocabulary that can express how much I rely on all of your support in situations where I am completely in over my head!

Right, enough of the Stilton, onwards to weird and wondrous experiences! The first week was a relatively painless introduction to Japan; an opportunity to get rid of the jet lag, be eaten alive by mosquitos, meet the JSPS fellows from other countries, learn some basic phrases, enjoy amazing food and embark on a few Japanese cultural experiences.

As we all came from various places in the world, we spent the first night in Japan in a hotel near Narita airport. It was comfortable enough, beginning with a very friendly greeting from the JSPS staff. I recognised some of my fellow British researchers and we settled down to dinner in the uneasy tiredness after a long journey, a new environment and dire chopstick skills. After dinner we mingled a little and I got talking to a civil engineer from California Tech, Trevor, about the healthcare situation in America. He seemed a little more worldly than some of the other Americans and we discussed, at length, our respective countries differences in various aspects, tales of travels, sporting interests (he was amazed at how hard the cricked ball I had bought for my host was), made fun of ourselves and each other long into the night. As I have never been to America and met very few Americans, it was interesting to get an insight form the horse’s mouth, so to speak. A good chap with good banter to boot.

The next morning we moved on to our home for the next week, Sokendai University for Graduate Studies. I had struck up an understanding with Ben, a researcher from the Open University. As conducting a PhD is a solitary experience even with the most supportive of supervisors, enrolling on a PhD at the Open University is something not to be sniffed at and speaks volumes for Ben’s self motivation, confidence and above all, talent. The concept of the Open University was lost on many of our friends from over the pond, however, we in England know how highly regarded degrees from the OU are and his research and working methods are an often touched upon topic at dinnertimes. I was delighted to know I would be rooming with Ben for the week as he was a keen sportsman, cycling over 10 miles per day and we made a pretty good team when it was time to be witty with the American contingent. The English accent was straight away over exaggerated, for the purposes of jest, by myself and Ben soon found the stiff upper lip to be a useful weapon on the field of banter. Hugh Grant and Jude Law, perhaps, have never had as much fun as we did this week.

Some key personalities for you to meet and for me not to forget:

Eli: Canadian, skier, drinker, student of British banter and a fun guy to be around. He is Canadian after all, eh. Eli spent a season in Hakuba teaching skiing and living with brits, his banter is definatly getting there and as he is Canadian, eh, he is humble, fun, loveable and worldly.

Tobias: German, proud, lets the pigs out a lot, clean energy engineer. Tobias is one of those lucky people who not only is abundantly talented but has found a use for his ability. His research on efficient use of clean energy is infinitely interesting and was one of the most discussed posters at the presentation evening. Go Tobias! We talked about football incessantly too, of course.

Rebbekah: English, UCL medic turned researcher, elegant, banterous, princess. Bex is charming and great fun to be around, speaks many languages, really opens up in conversation and wears pretty frocks. A good find.

Christiana: American, honorary Brit due to her reserved polite demeanor, Texas U student, cunning linguist. Christiana stood out from most of the American contingent as she wasn’t clamoring for attention. Ben and I took a like to her instantly as she always spoke in considered calmness, had endearingly dry wit and had us in stiches thanks her willingness to laugh at herself. A complete gem.

Lauren: American, pessimist, the personification of critical thinking. My encounter with Lauren was brief but her honesty and ability to see right through a situation was refreshing and a welcome change to being overrun by Team USA. Our conversation on the healthcare system in America, taken from the view of the normal, hard working citizen was critical but balanced. Thanks for telling it how it is Lauren.

More key players to be introduced over the coming weeks.

So now you know some of the key players lets move onto the game itself. The general schedule for each day went like this: rice, lecture from eminent scientists, rice, language lessons, more rice,  cultural experiences and then banterous chat in the lounge until bedtime.

Breakfast: All you can eat mix of cosmopolitan and Japanese dishes. Fish, cold meats, miso soup, rice, cereal, coffee and excitement for the day ahead.

Eminent Scientist Lectures: Particle Physics, History of the Japanese Language, Collaboration and History of the Koto.

Language Lessons: I was placed in the complete beginner class and was glad for it. Although I had been to Japan before, the basic phrases I knew could be counted on one of Link’s (legend of Zelda) hands. The pace of the lessons was electric and the teachers, although supportive, knew they had to get through a lot of material. It had been some time since formal language learning for me and I definitely felt the pace. Ben and I practiced together at every opportunity, combined with our willingness to try and our determination throughout the few days allowed us to just about get through.

Cultural experiences: This was my favorite part. Although the calligraphy, tea ceremony and origami were all enjoyed, the Koto, Shimasen and Flute performances were the pick of the bunch for me. The performance of the Koto, in particular, was mesmerising. You could tell, although these performances only lasted a few minutes each, they involved a lifetime of skill development, diligent understanding of the history and reason for the instrument, absolute attention to the very smallest of detail in every note and personal interpretation in artistic expression that can only be delivered after hard earned, obvious mastery. There was a standing ovation for the performers at the end and rightly so.

The Home Visit. As part of the orientation week, we all had the opportunity to live with a Japanese Family for the weekend. I was looking forward to using some of my Japanese and seeing normal, everyday, Japanese family life. I had been in touch with Keiko, the mother of the family before hand so I was not so reluctant as some of my fellows. Her English was great so it made for an easy initial greeting at Sokendai. She picked me up with her children; Mina, Akio and Shun. The first night I was told that we were going to a party with some other families. I was open to the idea but weary that my Japanese was running out by the second. When we got to the party, I took my shoes off at the door, walked into the house and was greeted by about 30 friendly faces ranging from old to rug rat staring at me. I smiled and gave a tentative “Kon Ban Wa” as everyone exploded in a better pronouced greeting with broad smiles. Stay calm Mo, the worst is over, right? After being asked to take a seat at the table, Naohiro introduced himself in an American accent and informed me that he had spent the last 4 years in an American High School. He explained some of the customs and made me feel at ease. I was very grateful of his presence and patience. Then, the man of the house came in from work and everyone went silent. He looked at me and I got up to try to introduce myself. At that moment, when I opened my mouth to speak, the cat had most definitely got the foreigner’s tongue. As most of you know, it is rare that I am speechless but the man could see that I was completely stumped. He very graciously started speaking in English and introduced himself, after letting me feel the pain of everyone’s attention for a second but what felt like an hour of torture, in relative terms. As soon as he finished his introduction, I found my voice and gave mine in Japanese. All was well. I was in my suit and sweating already in the hot, crowded front room before the man of the house came in. I was uncontrollably dripping now that my heart was in my mouth. The cat might as well have pulled that out too, such was the embarrassment.

As the evening continued, I noticed everyone and I assert, everyone, could speak excellent English. I enquired, as inoffensively as possible, to how this was so and it came to light the party was thrown by members of the Hippo Family Club (HFC). HFC is an organisation that arranges for its members to go on home placements around the world, with the purpose of language learning and cultural understanding. I was intrigued and amazed at the amount of different languages that were being spoken in the room after bringing up the topic. There were descriptions of love in French, engineering in German, dancing in Spanish, even cricket in Punjabi. The party was a welcome back shindig for a student at the university I would be attending who had just finished her placement in America. She spoke French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin and English, evidently with consumate ease. That night I became certain of something that has been lingering on my mind for some time. We live in an increasingly global society and a strong grasp of languages is no longer an impressive addition to a CV but a very basic fundamental requirement, much like GCSE’s. I couldn’t help but feel uncultured, uneducated and somewhat inferior as I sat there sweating like an ape. Something to sort out, very quickly too I should think; languages that is, I can’t do too much about the sweating.

The rest of the weekend was a mellower affair and Mina, the youngest of the family didn’t let go of my hand almost all weekend. She was so cute it was unbearable. Having cousins this age it was easy to entertain and occupy her. I think we are BFF (best friends forever) now. Result. We did some sight seeing, enjoyed amazing home cooked food and I even got a chance to go with the boys to their Chanbara Class. The samurai sword play sport is very popular with the Japanese and especially for children as it is an entry point for the more aggressive, dangerous and ritualised Kendo. Nevertheless, the class included the young, those in their prime and the old and I was very excited for the chance to participate. I was treated very well and welcomed by one and all. There was a chap about my age who was an assistant instructor there and he could see that I was trying to imitate his moves in the small breaks between sessions. He cottoned on and took the time to help me further. I felt like I was being taught by a real Samurai! He was so fast, fluid and powerful and in the later individual duels he pretty much destroyed everyone each in one, lighting fast, deadly accurate blow. His opponents could do nothing but bow and move aside for the next person after being dispatched so easily. I was placed in the beginner group. Being shredded to bits by an 8 year old is a humbling, emasculating but fun experience. The Chanbara swords are basically long beanbags with an air pocket in the middle that is filled with a bicycle pump before a class. They don’t hurt physically but being hit three times in the face before you even know it, by an 8 year old, hurts in other ways. There was one bout where the instructor explained, in her words, where I would have been cut if a real blade was being used; my right eye would have been sliced in half, my throat would be slit from ear to ear, my intestines would be behaving more like a red waterfall and my left achilles tendon would be flapping about in the wind coming from my posterior. I thought I had been hit only once. All by a lad 3 times younger than me. I was in awe of the skill, speed and intensity of the keen practitioners of this much loved, very japanese sport. As I didn’t have any shorts, it is lucky that I didn’t shit my self as I ripped my jeans at the crotch down to the knee. Of course, they didn’t laugh at me in my presence but my perception informed me that they were splitting inside. So was I to be fair.

With the kids watching the highlights of England Vs Sweden

I had the choice of a conventional umbrella but I went for a decorative one

Big Budda at Kamakura; Samurai Town

Chanbara class pre destruction of jeans

This kid slashed me to pieces, I didn't even get close

Try all I want, I will never look as cool as the japanese do.

I had grown something resembling  small girl on my hand for a weekend.

Fried and flattened octopus. Guts and all. Delicious

Easing my tension and embarrassment at the Hippo club party.

The view from our Sokendai base. 

Eli, Canadian hero and I in front of my poster!

Mina being cute as always

Anime at the bowling alley when you get a strike, of course

Automatic shoe dispensers, obviously.

Tempura. Oh yes. Itatakimas.

inside Budda

Assistant Instructor at Chanbara class after he beat the crap out of me and everyone else

Yum

Yum mark 2.0

Arty Farty except for the people in the pic.

View from Enoshima

We can hope

What an epic instrument

Masters, and still yet so young

Some of my fellow JSPSers

Cheeso!

Stay tuned for anecdotes on the final few days of orientation, more players in the game and moving to my host institution. Until then. Jaa Mata (See you soon).