Won't surprise the two people reading this (well maybe there's more than two people, but never heard of them so...) but I'm stopping the blog right about now. I didin't post in a long time cause the internet was out for a while, i don't know why, and just got out of my head. And right now I only have one week to do till I go back and I honestly don'T want to waste it on blogging. Yeah blogging is fun, but not that fun. And after doing it for two months in both english and french I can assure you that it gonna take a while before I open a new blog. If I'm lucky enough i won't have to do it for the rest of my life.
So, if yu got some questions, jsut post them in the animeNfo forum. When I'll be back in Canada I'll start visiting the forum again.
SO... well that's it I guess.
Cya
21.11.08
7.11.08
Another Japanese 101
Ok. Been a while, I had something less educational to talk about first, but then today we learned how to count things in school and it’s so damn stupid that I have to talk about it. The less educational gonna be for later I regret.
So why the hell would I do a post about learning to count? It’s pretty easy no? 1 orange, 2 oranges, 3 oranges, 4 oranges and so on. But in Japan, of course, they can’t do something that easy. It wouldn’t be Japanese otherwise, no? So learn today that counting in Japanese is hard. Not because numbers are hard, but because counting must be half of the Japanese vocabulary. Maybe exaggerating a little, so let’s say the quarter. Gonna, maybe, understand soon.
So let’s say that you want to count how many people there is in a room. It will go like that:
1 person = hitori
2 people = futari (You don’t see between the first two? Me neither.)
3 people = san-nin
4 people = yo-nin
5 people = go-nin
6 people = roku-nin
And so on... Basically only the two first are different. Not that hard for a start. But in Japanese you can’t sheets of paper the same way you count people. So for thin things like sheets of paper, subway ticket and so on, you have to go:
1 = Ichi-mai
2 = Ni-mai
3 = San-mai
4 = yon-mai
And so on… Really easy. But then again if you want to count fruits, chairs, food it changes again:
1 = Hitotsu
2 = Futotsu
3 = Mit-tsu
4= Yot-tsu
5 = Itsutsu
6 = Mut-tsu
7 = Nana-tsu
8 = Yat-tsu
9 = Kokono-tsu
10 = To-o
Yeah for the tenth you change for no apparent reason. But there is worst and it is if you want to count long or high things like tree, cigarettes, and umbrella:
1 = Ip-pon
2 = Ni-hon
3 = San-bon
4 = Yon-hon
5 = Go-hon
6 = Rup-pon
7 = Nana-hon
8 = Hap-pon
9 = Kyu-hon
10 = Jip-pon
Ok so to make it simple. Depending on what you want to count the words gonna change. All of them, tho, are related to the numbers you want to say. That’s why you’ll see I, Ni, San, Yon... and so on. Tho, here I showed three. But there’s a lot more. Like if you count boxes it’s gonna end by “ko”. Cars, bicycle, bike and truck would be “so”. Little animals are with “hiki”, but that doesn’t include all little animals. For example, the eel have a word only for it, can’t remember it tho. Tofu also gets its own word. Days of the month usually end with “ka”. And it’s almost infinite.
Araki-sensei said that now Japanese people use about 20 of them. But actually for poets and writers you can find as much as 50 of them. So it’s actually a real pain in the ass to count things here. Like when I buy cigarettes I would usually say “futatsu Lark 12 kudasai.” And I didn’t understand why they would not understand. Today I learned that I should have said: “Ni-ko Lark 12 kudasai.” And one thing I learned over the last month is that Japanese really suck when it comes to guessing what you are trying to say to them. I don’t know why exactly, but I think it is simply cause there are so many exceptions and particularity in this language that you could as well say something like: “I’m gonna rape your children”, without knowing while you ordered some food. They are patient, but hell bad at guessing.
Ok that’s all. Not long for once. I just needed to get this out of my system. Cause it is really stupid in my mind. Well... stupid is a bit strong. This way to count is, at some extent, really convenient cause you could only say a number and people would know exactly what you are talking about. If you learned it since childhood it’s not so bad, but for me who is trying to learn as fast as I can in a short lap of time it’s really a pain. A whole big damn pain, yes.
Cya.
So why the hell would I do a post about learning to count? It’s pretty easy no? 1 orange, 2 oranges, 3 oranges, 4 oranges and so on. But in Japan, of course, they can’t do something that easy. It wouldn’t be Japanese otherwise, no? So learn today that counting in Japanese is hard. Not because numbers are hard, but because counting must be half of the Japanese vocabulary. Maybe exaggerating a little, so let’s say the quarter. Gonna, maybe, understand soon.
So let’s say that you want to count how many people there is in a room. It will go like that:
1 person = hitori
2 people = futari (You don’t see between the first two? Me neither.)
3 people = san-nin
4 people = yo-nin
5 people = go-nin
6 people = roku-nin
And so on... Basically only the two first are different. Not that hard for a start. But in Japanese you can’t sheets of paper the same way you count people. So for thin things like sheets of paper, subway ticket and so on, you have to go:
1 = Ichi-mai
2 = Ni-mai
3 = San-mai
4 = yon-mai
And so on… Really easy. But then again if you want to count fruits, chairs, food it changes again:
1 = Hitotsu
2 = Futotsu
3 = Mit-tsu
4= Yot-tsu
5 = Itsutsu
6 = Mut-tsu
7 = Nana-tsu
8 = Yat-tsu
9 = Kokono-tsu
10 = To-o
Yeah for the tenth you change for no apparent reason. But there is worst and it is if you want to count long or high things like tree, cigarettes, and umbrella:
1 = Ip-pon
2 = Ni-hon
3 = San-bon
4 = Yon-hon
5 = Go-hon
6 = Rup-pon
7 = Nana-hon
8 = Hap-pon
9 = Kyu-hon
10 = Jip-pon
Ok so to make it simple. Depending on what you want to count the words gonna change. All of them, tho, are related to the numbers you want to say. That’s why you’ll see I, Ni, San, Yon... and so on. Tho, here I showed three. But there’s a lot more. Like if you count boxes it’s gonna end by “ko”. Cars, bicycle, bike and truck would be “so”. Little animals are with “hiki”, but that doesn’t include all little animals. For example, the eel have a word only for it, can’t remember it tho. Tofu also gets its own word. Days of the month usually end with “ka”. And it’s almost infinite.
Araki-sensei said that now Japanese people use about 20 of them. But actually for poets and writers you can find as much as 50 of them. So it’s actually a real pain in the ass to count things here. Like when I buy cigarettes I would usually say “futatsu Lark 12 kudasai.” And I didn’t understand why they would not understand. Today I learned that I should have said: “Ni-ko Lark 12 kudasai.” And one thing I learned over the last month is that Japanese really suck when it comes to guessing what you are trying to say to them. I don’t know why exactly, but I think it is simply cause there are so many exceptions and particularity in this language that you could as well say something like: “I’m gonna rape your children”, without knowing while you ordered some food. They are patient, but hell bad at guessing.
Ok that’s all. Not long for once. I just needed to get this out of my system. Cause it is really stupid in my mind. Well... stupid is a bit strong. This way to count is, at some extent, really convenient cause you could only say a number and people would know exactly what you are talking about. If you learned it since childhood it’s not so bad, but for me who is trying to learn as fast as I can in a short lap of time it’s really a pain. A whole big damn pain, yes.
Cya.
2.11.08
Tokyo's clubbin'
Actually I was already planning of talking about it, but Moi specifically asked that I talk about it so more excuse doing so. Just take notice that this post could be really drunk. Cause I’m drunk and when I’m drunk I really like to tell a lot of thing without any good reasons. SO just like the last sentence, this post could turn out to be really long for no good reason. Myself, drunk in all it could bring.
So Japanese clubbing or what I like to say, going into wonderland. Alice can get herself fuck in the ass; she’s not alone in the house anymore. So forgive me if my language is harsh, but I’m starting this post when I actually came back from clubbing not long ago. So still fairly drunk. I like to write when I’m drunk... Don’t know why and probably will never know but still really like it. So yes it’s gonna be dirtier than usual, more trash talking, more sexual contents and more... of anything that may relate to be being drunk in Japan.
Ok I already said that I hate Japan for turning me into alcoholic, and if you think I’m joking just think about it. Cause I actually get withdrawal if I don’t drink every two days... and still not joking. Don’t laugh... really don’t. Just joking. But I sure drink a lot here. In convenient stores the beer is so cheap. But remember, in bar, alcohol is actually really high priced for some reasons. So before even talking about clubbin in Japan, just take note that you should always get warmed up at your apartment, or wherever that you may stay. For the same price of one small beer in clubs you can get almost 1 litter of beer in any convenient store. I’m still fairly restricting myself on these numbers cause I’m drunk so reality tend to be distorted.
Alcohol: Hiding the truth from people since.... well a really long time. Thanks to the priest in the mountains a long ago for discovering that.
So anyway, keep in mind that for me it cost me at least 10 000¥ for me to get drunk in a bar. Which correspond to more or less 100 Canadian bucks. So warm up before you go out. Always warm up. Cause even beer is high priced. Maybe it’s the club I went to, but that would mean that ten different club we’re really high priced for no reasons. So I do believe that the alcohol is just high priced everywhere.
Ok. That said you’re ready for the night of your life. Still... Just keep in your mind that I’m a gothic, and a metal head to the core. Where I come from, if you go in like a hip-hop bar and you’re a metalhead you’re gonna get a lot of problems. SO a lot of stuff here is new to me. Maybe it’s different where you from, but for me it is what it is. So since I’m a goth, a drink a lot, never dance and never sing. It’s not gothic to dance. What can I say? I’m a whore to my style. Beat me!
But here, whoever you are, whatever music you listen and no matter what you look like you just go wherever you want and you’re always welcome. I’m used to getting these strange half scared half defiant look when I go in hip-hop bar in Quebec. Here, they don’t care and that’s good. Cause if you want to dance, Death or Black metal is not good for dancing. So go everywhere you want you’re gonna be welcomed and even more interesting you actually get good reaction when you’re a gaijin going out. I don’t know why, but in the streets, everyday, people don’t like me. But in club there is always girls, and even guys, that would take time to dance with me cause they find it funny to see a foreigner amongst them. I still prefer when Japanese women dance with me, but they guy are a lot of fun too. And, like I said, I never get this kind of welcomed reaction anywhere else aside from club and bars. So that’s a really good thing. And that’s why I go clubbing every week-end. Clubbing is nothing I never do in Quebec. Maybe when I’ll come back I’ll start to do it, but I doubt it. Wouldn’t get the same feeling I guess. Here I feel like I can let it all goes out for some reasons. In Quebec I often feel sequestrated. So basically if you go you’re welcome. Of course some people don’t like if you’re Caucasian. And they show it, but don’t actually bother you with it. Asian foreigner has it a bit easier.
So, in Tokyo, so far, there are three places you want to go. Maybe more but I don’t know as now. First Shinjiku. Ok... If you go to Shinjuku you have to expect more bad reactions and I mean really bad. Shinjuku is the ward ruled by yakusas. And Yakusas don’t like foreigners. But really not. If you have read or seen Ichi the Killer. This manga take place in Shinjuku. Everything there belongs to Yakusas. But it’s the best place to go for nude dancers, guys or girls. But if you are obviously a foreigner, expect to be followed by two or more guys. They are yakusas and unlike mafia or triads, yakusas don’t hide. You see them in Shinjuku and you know they are Yakusas without a doubt. Actually nothing bad gonna happen to you. They are just making sure you don’t start any shit. And I understand why. Cause the Tokyo police actually make it so yakusas would concentrate in Shinjuku. That way they can have it easier with them. If they have to deal with yakusas they go to Shinjuku. And the yakusas, since they know they are checked by the police, don’t want any problems. And since foreigners usually mean trouble, they check them. So don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you, they just make sure you’re clean. You can wonder around as much as you want, but you’ll have to get in a bar sooner or later or else they will ask you to go somewhere else. Shinjuku also got a lot of Japanese only bars. You can see often, post telling that gaijin are not allowed. Honestly, and believe me on that, don’t try your luck on it cause they are quick to react if you’re a gaijin. Even if you look asian, if you are not Japanese just don’t try, it’s gonna be better for everyone. For you, for the people there and mostly better for the yakusas that don’t want to see you there. Like I said you won’t have any problems, but they’re going to ask you politely to leave the place, something you better do. Aside from that, if you want to see naked Japanese girls dancing please go there it’s the paradise. But keep in mind that since Shinjuku is near to government office you don’t want to get wasted there cause it’s actually even higher priced then everywhere else. You go there to drink a beer and see a girl, or man, dance. If you want to get so drunk that you can’t remember your name go somewhere else cause it gonna cost you a lot.
Second, comes Roppongi. I really don’t like Roppongi. It’s not that bad. But Roppongi is like a smaller Shibuya for foreigners and tourists. And I really don’t like gaijins in bars. They tend to be loud, annoying and obnoxious. SO I tend to dodge this ward. But actually a lot of my friends here go there and they like it cause they can meet lot of different people. In one bar in Roppongi you’ll meet people from USA, Canada Australia, Norway, Sweden, France, Africa, Egypt, Brazil and Singapore. If you want to see people from elsewhere it’s a good place. The prices are not that bad, but still high priced. I don’t like it, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad place. But you know, I’m not visiting Japan to see other foreigners. But if you’re anxious you may get a bad reaction or something. Go to Roppongi, you’re gonna be okay there. People are usually nice. Japanese that goes there are used to seeing a lot of foreigners and I’ll bet my hand that the Japanese girls going there actually hope to get picked by foreigners. I can’t guarantee it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. So guys you want those kawaii Japanese girls go to Roppongi.
Third comes Shibuya. I love Shibuya. I wish I had something less Cliché to say, but Shibuya is great. If you go there with a lot of people just make sure everyone knows where you’re going cause it’s easy to get lost amongst the crowd there. And by easy I mean that it’s going to happen. So many people there. There is a band from France that actually said that Shibuya is like a complete Tokyo Emulation. There are right. Shibuya is the heart of Tokyo. Wanna know what Tokyo is like? Shibuya gonna show and tells you everything you need to get a good first feeling. Less foreigners than Roppongi but still a lot so you won’t get weird look like in Shinjuku but still people doesn’t react as good as in Roppongi. That’s why I like Shibuya. In Shibuya clubs are like the middle of Roppongi and Shinjuku. But you won’t get topless dancer in Shibuya or if there’s any I didn’t see them. They are very well hidden. But aside from that you’ll find everything to your taste there. Except Metal bar. I’ve been searching for metal heads and metal bars since I’m here and they are really hard to find. So depending on how you feel there’s two kinds of clubs. Those you have to pay to enter and those you don’t have to. If you pay, you’re free to do whatever you like inside. Those you don’t pay they will harass you to buy drink. By harassing I mean that every 15 minutes waiters will come to you and say: Buy drink or get out! Actually last time I went out I was so tired of it that I said the guys to go fuck himself. But since he didn’t understand French, I finally just said no. 5 minutes later the bouncer, not the waiter, but the bouncer came to me to say: Buy a drink or get out! Holy crap! Guess I have no choice. Happy that canucks are really good drinker for once. But in Shibuya you get two basics reaction from Japanese. Those who looks really disgusted by your presence and those you actually find it cool that you are there. Luckily the second one you’ll get more often. And actually, I will say, Girls, Shibuya is your hitting place. As much I would like to say that guys have it easy, girls it’s even easier for you. Every time I went clubbing it was hard to find a foreigners girls alone. Maybe it doesn’t show, but girls, if you’re obviously a gaijin Japanese men likes you. Sorry Shinka, congratulation Moi. And even if you don’t want to actually bring a guy in your bed for the night, girls are sure to get more than one dancing partner for the night. I wish it would be that easy for men, but it is not. Japanese girls seem to be scared of me, maybe cause of my style, I was able to dance with Japanese girls, but you could tell that they were a bit suspicious.
Aside from that, any ward got there bars you can go. I won’t say you’ll get a good reaction, but you can go without any problems. Just promise me that you won’t look like those annoying foreigners that think they can do anything since they’re not in their countries and everything should be fine.
Also in every populated ward you may find girls telling you that they do massage. Do I have to extend on that or you do understand what that means? So if you’re in that kind of thing, go see them, cause in the opposite of Quebec, prostitute here actually look good. They still look like prostitute, but look better than my hometown. But most of them actually just tell that they are offering massages.... and will add on the side, literally what they say: “Sex okay!” I really love that when they say it, its sounds so funny. I feel like meetings that Korean girls in Full Metal Jacket that tells: “Me love you long time.” So funny.
If you’re going to bar and want to get a girl. Go to her. Girls in Japan won’t come to you; you have to go to them. Doesn’t mean that you will get them or they will say yes. But if you don’t go to them there’s no chance you’ll get them. All the people here I know could get girl if they tried. And, it’s same in my country, but here you get the girl, pay the hotel, fuck her and never call her back. I know some countries are more used of dating three r four times before getting to the serious things. Not here. Mostly, if you don’t get the girl in the same night you met her you won’t get her later. So you have to go for the sure shot if you want to make it to the bed. And keep in mind that Japanese girls tend to be dominated in bed. Not in a BDSM way, mind you. But usually the man takes the lead. Keep it in mind, cause I know from a good source that if you wait for the girl to do something you’re gonna be disappointing. And apparently, girls in Japan don’t like it rough. You have to go in a kind of middle. Too soft is like sex for gay, too rough gonna waste you. So you just have to find the middle and you should get a good score at the end of the night. And like everywhere in the world if a girl was happy by you performance in the bed one night there’s more chance for you to get her friends.
Girls to get men, you have to looked interested. GO to them but don’t ask them outright, they don’t like it. In fact if the girls take the lead they feel emasculated. So Go to them, but make it look like they have control of the situation or they will be sacred. But it should be fairly easy, cause like I said, Japanese men really digs gaijins, maybe more than Japanese girls digs gaijins men. So don’t worry, if you won’t to get one in your bed, I think it’s easy. But like I said don’t make it like you took the lead cause they don’t like it, even in the bed. Don’t ask how I know that, I just know. You have to be more dominated than dominating. Actually talked with some Japanese guys that did have sex with foreigners and they actually don’t like the way most occidentals’ women take the lead in bed. In fact they hate it cause they feel like they’re not man anymore. Which is really sad cause they’re nothing better than a girl which whom you can compete to get the lead in the bed. But in Japan if you do that, apparently, Japanese will just bow down and feel completely and utterly emasculated. So it’s really boring for you, but you have to listen more to the guy and be active but not too much. Cause the same as for guy apply. If one guy tells his friends you’re a good hit, there’s more chance to hit on the friends. Of course it depends of the guys you got. I heard from girls at school that some are really wild and are worth it. It’s for you to see. I don’t often have sex with men, which mean that I never had sex with a man, so I can’t tell. I’m just getting the basics here, from what I’ve heard from the girl at school. And, without any vanity, I usually get really close to girls so I hear a lot. In fact, I would say that what I said for girls here is to be taken more seriously then what I said for men before. I in my case, I'm not the kind of guy to pick on girls in bars. So I got a lot of testimony from men, but even more from women.
Alcohol.
I said it already and I won’t say it enough, alcohol his over-priced in clubs and bars. So it gonna cost you a lot. And keep in mind that if you ask for something like whisky they often water it down. And I mean, by waterin down, not just put water in it cause it would look like you have more, but do it cause Japanese drink it that way. Actually had a Japanese girl tries plain whisky and just with dipping her lips in it she found it too strong. And when I drank it in one gulp she went like: “SUGOI! (amazing!) How can you do that?!?” I find it disgusting. I realise now that Japanese people that like strong beverage. So if you order a strong alcohol make sure the barman or barmaid understood that you want only whisky, or cognac, or tequila or sake. Make sure it is not watered down cause it taste like shit. Well that’s my opinion as a Canadian who drinks a lot of strong alcohol. If you like it that way, it’s fine. I won’t judge you, Jesus gonna make it for me when you die. But for all the other, I’m deadly serious, make sure the barman understood what you want cause you’re gonna regret it. Cause they don’t just put “some” water in it, but almost pour four times more water than the actual alcohol. Even asking for something “on the rock” is dangerous sometime.
So the important parts said. Now just blow your brain out on the dancing floor. Japanese like to dance, and actually they are very lame dancers. But does like it. So whoever you are and whatever you like for music, just don’t give a damn and go to the dance floor. And it is a fact that people in club dancing just for the fun actually get more partner than people actually dancing to hit on others. So just enjoy yourself. Even if you don’t dance or drink, just take time to do it cause anyway you’re in a different country. No one gonna remember if you dance like a palsy victim. I mean I’m really a bad dancer. But just to get this feeling of other people that says that they give a damn actually is cool.
I’m just repeating myself. But just enjoy your time here cause even if you stay there from 9 in the evening till 5 am in the morning, it’s gonna be too short. I don’t know why but I really like clubbing here. If it wasn’t for school I would go out every night just to find myself on the dance floors and enjoy myself. Being surrounded with the people who actually seem happy to see a gaijins there. People will dance with you, mean or women. And if they don’t look to want to do it, you can join easily almost any group without any problems. I would say that just don’t force it to the point where you’re tagging along all night. But the will enjoy having you with them for 30 minutes are so. But... but... but. So unfair for us, but men, out there in the Japanese wilderness, you are to them like evil predators waiting for the moments to pounce. Japanese are more suspicious of foreigners’ men than foreigners’ women. It’s the burden we must endure. But don’t worry you should find easily a dancing partner in the loneliness of the night. Except if you are a total jerk that think that dancing is just staying in the back while moving your head back and forth. If you want any chances of having a dancing partner just go to the fuckin dancing floor. If you stay in the back or hug the wall they girls won’t come for you, do hit this fuckin dance floor and you’ll get the time of your life. Don’t care if you feel stupid or ridiculous cause Japanese don’t care, just hit it. Even if you don’t like the music. Just get yourself drunk enough to do it. I’m really not the one to dance. So if I can do it and enjoy myself you can do it for sure. If you can’t, get the fuck out of there cause you’re a total looser that probably won’t never get anything in your life. Grow yourself some balls, put aside your pride and hit the dance floor already. If you don’t, don’t come to me whining cause you didn’t get any girl cause you won’t get any by staying in the back moving your head back and forth you stupid dumbass.
SO I guess I covered the important parts. Any questions just ask. As for the rest of the night. HIT THIS FUCKIN DANCE FLOOR YOU LOOSER.
Cya.
P.S.: Actually wrote the whole message completely drunk. First time I do it. Usually I have to make a pause. So to celebrate this there is a small clip of a Japanese club last week. It is taken on my cell phone cause I didn’t have the right to use my camera. So turns off your pc speakers before playing it. I mean it. The sound is really bad, worst than the image in fact, which should tell a lot considering it comes from a cell phone. It was taken at the Atom.
So Japanese clubbing or what I like to say, going into wonderland. Alice can get herself fuck in the ass; she’s not alone in the house anymore. So forgive me if my language is harsh, but I’m starting this post when I actually came back from clubbing not long ago. So still fairly drunk. I like to write when I’m drunk... Don’t know why and probably will never know but still really like it. So yes it’s gonna be dirtier than usual, more trash talking, more sexual contents and more... of anything that may relate to be being drunk in Japan.
Ok I already said that I hate Japan for turning me into alcoholic, and if you think I’m joking just think about it. Cause I actually get withdrawal if I don’t drink every two days... and still not joking. Don’t laugh... really don’t. Just joking. But I sure drink a lot here. In convenient stores the beer is so cheap. But remember, in bar, alcohol is actually really high priced for some reasons. So before even talking about clubbin in Japan, just take note that you should always get warmed up at your apartment, or wherever that you may stay. For the same price of one small beer in clubs you can get almost 1 litter of beer in any convenient store. I’m still fairly restricting myself on these numbers cause I’m drunk so reality tend to be distorted.
Alcohol: Hiding the truth from people since.... well a really long time. Thanks to the priest in the mountains a long ago for discovering that.
So anyway, keep in mind that for me it cost me at least 10 000¥ for me to get drunk in a bar. Which correspond to more or less 100 Canadian bucks. So warm up before you go out. Always warm up. Cause even beer is high priced. Maybe it’s the club I went to, but that would mean that ten different club we’re really high priced for no reasons. So I do believe that the alcohol is just high priced everywhere.
Ok. That said you’re ready for the night of your life. Still... Just keep in your mind that I’m a gothic, and a metal head to the core. Where I come from, if you go in like a hip-hop bar and you’re a metalhead you’re gonna get a lot of problems. SO a lot of stuff here is new to me. Maybe it’s different where you from, but for me it is what it is. So since I’m a goth, a drink a lot, never dance and never sing. It’s not gothic to dance. What can I say? I’m a whore to my style. Beat me!
But here, whoever you are, whatever music you listen and no matter what you look like you just go wherever you want and you’re always welcome. I’m used to getting these strange half scared half defiant look when I go in hip-hop bar in Quebec. Here, they don’t care and that’s good. Cause if you want to dance, Death or Black metal is not good for dancing. So go everywhere you want you’re gonna be welcomed and even more interesting you actually get good reaction when you’re a gaijin going out. I don’t know why, but in the streets, everyday, people don’t like me. But in club there is always girls, and even guys, that would take time to dance with me cause they find it funny to see a foreigner amongst them. I still prefer when Japanese women dance with me, but they guy are a lot of fun too. And, like I said, I never get this kind of welcomed reaction anywhere else aside from club and bars. So that’s a really good thing. And that’s why I go clubbing every week-end. Clubbing is nothing I never do in Quebec. Maybe when I’ll come back I’ll start to do it, but I doubt it. Wouldn’t get the same feeling I guess. Here I feel like I can let it all goes out for some reasons. In Quebec I often feel sequestrated. So basically if you go you’re welcome. Of course some people don’t like if you’re Caucasian. And they show it, but don’t actually bother you with it. Asian foreigner has it a bit easier.
So, in Tokyo, so far, there are three places you want to go. Maybe more but I don’t know as now. First Shinjiku. Ok... If you go to Shinjuku you have to expect more bad reactions and I mean really bad. Shinjuku is the ward ruled by yakusas. And Yakusas don’t like foreigners. But really not. If you have read or seen Ichi the Killer. This manga take place in Shinjuku. Everything there belongs to Yakusas. But it’s the best place to go for nude dancers, guys or girls. But if you are obviously a foreigner, expect to be followed by two or more guys. They are yakusas and unlike mafia or triads, yakusas don’t hide. You see them in Shinjuku and you know they are Yakusas without a doubt. Actually nothing bad gonna happen to you. They are just making sure you don’t start any shit. And I understand why. Cause the Tokyo police actually make it so yakusas would concentrate in Shinjuku. That way they can have it easier with them. If they have to deal with yakusas they go to Shinjuku. And the yakusas, since they know they are checked by the police, don’t want any problems. And since foreigners usually mean trouble, they check them. So don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you, they just make sure you’re clean. You can wonder around as much as you want, but you’ll have to get in a bar sooner or later or else they will ask you to go somewhere else. Shinjuku also got a lot of Japanese only bars. You can see often, post telling that gaijin are not allowed. Honestly, and believe me on that, don’t try your luck on it cause they are quick to react if you’re a gaijin. Even if you look asian, if you are not Japanese just don’t try, it’s gonna be better for everyone. For you, for the people there and mostly better for the yakusas that don’t want to see you there. Like I said you won’t have any problems, but they’re going to ask you politely to leave the place, something you better do. Aside from that, if you want to see naked Japanese girls dancing please go there it’s the paradise. But keep in mind that since Shinjuku is near to government office you don’t want to get wasted there cause it’s actually even higher priced then everywhere else. You go there to drink a beer and see a girl, or man, dance. If you want to get so drunk that you can’t remember your name go somewhere else cause it gonna cost you a lot.
Second, comes Roppongi. I really don’t like Roppongi. It’s not that bad. But Roppongi is like a smaller Shibuya for foreigners and tourists. And I really don’t like gaijins in bars. They tend to be loud, annoying and obnoxious. SO I tend to dodge this ward. But actually a lot of my friends here go there and they like it cause they can meet lot of different people. In one bar in Roppongi you’ll meet people from USA, Canada Australia, Norway, Sweden, France, Africa, Egypt, Brazil and Singapore. If you want to see people from elsewhere it’s a good place. The prices are not that bad, but still high priced. I don’t like it, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad place. But you know, I’m not visiting Japan to see other foreigners. But if you’re anxious you may get a bad reaction or something. Go to Roppongi, you’re gonna be okay there. People are usually nice. Japanese that goes there are used to seeing a lot of foreigners and I’ll bet my hand that the Japanese girls going there actually hope to get picked by foreigners. I can’t guarantee it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. So guys you want those kawaii Japanese girls go to Roppongi.
Third comes Shibuya. I love Shibuya. I wish I had something less Cliché to say, but Shibuya is great. If you go there with a lot of people just make sure everyone knows where you’re going cause it’s easy to get lost amongst the crowd there. And by easy I mean that it’s going to happen. So many people there. There is a band from France that actually said that Shibuya is like a complete Tokyo Emulation. There are right. Shibuya is the heart of Tokyo. Wanna know what Tokyo is like? Shibuya gonna show and tells you everything you need to get a good first feeling. Less foreigners than Roppongi but still a lot so you won’t get weird look like in Shinjuku but still people doesn’t react as good as in Roppongi. That’s why I like Shibuya. In Shibuya clubs are like the middle of Roppongi and Shinjuku. But you won’t get topless dancer in Shibuya or if there’s any I didn’t see them. They are very well hidden. But aside from that you’ll find everything to your taste there. Except Metal bar. I’ve been searching for metal heads and metal bars since I’m here and they are really hard to find. So depending on how you feel there’s two kinds of clubs. Those you have to pay to enter and those you don’t have to. If you pay, you’re free to do whatever you like inside. Those you don’t pay they will harass you to buy drink. By harassing I mean that every 15 minutes waiters will come to you and say: Buy drink or get out! Actually last time I went out I was so tired of it that I said the guys to go fuck himself. But since he didn’t understand French, I finally just said no. 5 minutes later the bouncer, not the waiter, but the bouncer came to me to say: Buy a drink or get out! Holy crap! Guess I have no choice. Happy that canucks are really good drinker for once. But in Shibuya you get two basics reaction from Japanese. Those who looks really disgusted by your presence and those you actually find it cool that you are there. Luckily the second one you’ll get more often. And actually, I will say, Girls, Shibuya is your hitting place. As much I would like to say that guys have it easy, girls it’s even easier for you. Every time I went clubbing it was hard to find a foreigners girls alone. Maybe it doesn’t show, but girls, if you’re obviously a gaijin Japanese men likes you. Sorry Shinka, congratulation Moi. And even if you don’t want to actually bring a guy in your bed for the night, girls are sure to get more than one dancing partner for the night. I wish it would be that easy for men, but it is not. Japanese girls seem to be scared of me, maybe cause of my style, I was able to dance with Japanese girls, but you could tell that they were a bit suspicious.
Aside from that, any ward got there bars you can go. I won’t say you’ll get a good reaction, but you can go without any problems. Just promise me that you won’t look like those annoying foreigners that think they can do anything since they’re not in their countries and everything should be fine.
Also in every populated ward you may find girls telling you that they do massage. Do I have to extend on that or you do understand what that means? So if you’re in that kind of thing, go see them, cause in the opposite of Quebec, prostitute here actually look good. They still look like prostitute, but look better than my hometown. But most of them actually just tell that they are offering massages.... and will add on the side, literally what they say: “Sex okay!” I really love that when they say it, its sounds so funny. I feel like meetings that Korean girls in Full Metal Jacket that tells: “Me love you long time.” So funny.
If you’re going to bar and want to get a girl. Go to her. Girls in Japan won’t come to you; you have to go to them. Doesn’t mean that you will get them or they will say yes. But if you don’t go to them there’s no chance you’ll get them. All the people here I know could get girl if they tried. And, it’s same in my country, but here you get the girl, pay the hotel, fuck her and never call her back. I know some countries are more used of dating three r four times before getting to the serious things. Not here. Mostly, if you don’t get the girl in the same night you met her you won’t get her later. So you have to go for the sure shot if you want to make it to the bed. And keep in mind that Japanese girls tend to be dominated in bed. Not in a BDSM way, mind you. But usually the man takes the lead. Keep it in mind, cause I know from a good source that if you wait for the girl to do something you’re gonna be disappointing. And apparently, girls in Japan don’t like it rough. You have to go in a kind of middle. Too soft is like sex for gay, too rough gonna waste you. So you just have to find the middle and you should get a good score at the end of the night. And like everywhere in the world if a girl was happy by you performance in the bed one night there’s more chance for you to get her friends.
Girls to get men, you have to looked interested. GO to them but don’t ask them outright, they don’t like it. In fact if the girls take the lead they feel emasculated. So Go to them, but make it look like they have control of the situation or they will be sacred. But it should be fairly easy, cause like I said, Japanese men really digs gaijins, maybe more than Japanese girls digs gaijins men. So don’t worry, if you won’t to get one in your bed, I think it’s easy. But like I said don’t make it like you took the lead cause they don’t like it, even in the bed. Don’t ask how I know that, I just know. You have to be more dominated than dominating. Actually talked with some Japanese guys that did have sex with foreigners and they actually don’t like the way most occidentals’ women take the lead in bed. In fact they hate it cause they feel like they’re not man anymore. Which is really sad cause they’re nothing better than a girl which whom you can compete to get the lead in the bed. But in Japan if you do that, apparently, Japanese will just bow down and feel completely and utterly emasculated. So it’s really boring for you, but you have to listen more to the guy and be active but not too much. Cause the same as for guy apply. If one guy tells his friends you’re a good hit, there’s more chance to hit on the friends. Of course it depends of the guys you got. I heard from girls at school that some are really wild and are worth it. It’s for you to see. I don’t often have sex with men, which mean that I never had sex with a man, so I can’t tell. I’m just getting the basics here, from what I’ve heard from the girl at school. And, without any vanity, I usually get really close to girls so I hear a lot. In fact, I would say that what I said for girls here is to be taken more seriously then what I said for men before. I in my case, I'm not the kind of guy to pick on girls in bars. So I got a lot of testimony from men, but even more from women.
Alcohol.
I said it already and I won’t say it enough, alcohol his over-priced in clubs and bars. So it gonna cost you a lot. And keep in mind that if you ask for something like whisky they often water it down. And I mean, by waterin down, not just put water in it cause it would look like you have more, but do it cause Japanese drink it that way. Actually had a Japanese girl tries plain whisky and just with dipping her lips in it she found it too strong. And when I drank it in one gulp she went like: “SUGOI! (amazing!) How can you do that?!?” I find it disgusting. I realise now that Japanese people that like strong beverage. So if you order a strong alcohol make sure the barman or barmaid understood that you want only whisky, or cognac, or tequila or sake. Make sure it is not watered down cause it taste like shit. Well that’s my opinion as a Canadian who drinks a lot of strong alcohol. If you like it that way, it’s fine. I won’t judge you, Jesus gonna make it for me when you die. But for all the other, I’m deadly serious, make sure the barman understood what you want cause you’re gonna regret it. Cause they don’t just put “some” water in it, but almost pour four times more water than the actual alcohol. Even asking for something “on the rock” is dangerous sometime.
So the important parts said. Now just blow your brain out on the dancing floor. Japanese like to dance, and actually they are very lame dancers. But does like it. So whoever you are and whatever you like for music, just don’t give a damn and go to the dance floor. And it is a fact that people in club dancing just for the fun actually get more partner than people actually dancing to hit on others. So just enjoy yourself. Even if you don’t dance or drink, just take time to do it cause anyway you’re in a different country. No one gonna remember if you dance like a palsy victim. I mean I’m really a bad dancer. But just to get this feeling of other people that says that they give a damn actually is cool.
I’m just repeating myself. But just enjoy your time here cause even if you stay there from 9 in the evening till 5 am in the morning, it’s gonna be too short. I don’t know why but I really like clubbing here. If it wasn’t for school I would go out every night just to find myself on the dance floors and enjoy myself. Being surrounded with the people who actually seem happy to see a gaijins there. People will dance with you, mean or women. And if they don’t look to want to do it, you can join easily almost any group without any problems. I would say that just don’t force it to the point where you’re tagging along all night. But the will enjoy having you with them for 30 minutes are so. But... but... but. So unfair for us, but men, out there in the Japanese wilderness, you are to them like evil predators waiting for the moments to pounce. Japanese are more suspicious of foreigners’ men than foreigners’ women. It’s the burden we must endure. But don’t worry you should find easily a dancing partner in the loneliness of the night. Except if you are a total jerk that think that dancing is just staying in the back while moving your head back and forth. If you want any chances of having a dancing partner just go to the fuckin dancing floor. If you stay in the back or hug the wall they girls won’t come for you, do hit this fuckin dance floor and you’ll get the time of your life. Don’t care if you feel stupid or ridiculous cause Japanese don’t care, just hit it. Even if you don’t like the music. Just get yourself drunk enough to do it. I’m really not the one to dance. So if I can do it and enjoy myself you can do it for sure. If you can’t, get the fuck out of there cause you’re a total looser that probably won’t never get anything in your life. Grow yourself some balls, put aside your pride and hit the dance floor already. If you don’t, don’t come to me whining cause you didn’t get any girl cause you won’t get any by staying in the back moving your head back and forth you stupid dumbass.
SO I guess I covered the important parts. Any questions just ask. As for the rest of the night. HIT THIS FUCKIN DANCE FLOOR YOU LOOSER.
Cya.
P.S.: Actually wrote the whole message completely drunk. First time I do it. Usually I have to make a pause. So to celebrate this there is a small clip of a Japanese club last week. It is taken on my cell phone cause I didn’t have the right to use my camera. So turns off your pc speakers before playing it. I mean it. The sound is really bad, worst than the image in fact, which should tell a lot considering it comes from a cell phone. It was taken at the Atom.
1.11.08
Japanese or the separation anxiety
I’ll take time tomorrow to talk more about the Japanese night life. Been clubbing for the last three week-ends, I’m starting to know one or two things. But before that, I have a small thing to talk about. Cause this week at school I think I might have get a part of the answer about the Japanese’s comportment. I don’t pretend to understand the Japanese way of living or anything like that, but simply that there are one or two things in the Japanese vision of other people that I find strange.
I’ll explain. And please forgive me if it seems a bit confused in the explication, cause I’m writing it as the same time that I think about it. Well for this side I would say that I might have given more thought to it but not much more, so it’s still gonna be a little bit awkward. Sometime I have the impression that Japanese are just so much that they lose the sight of what it is to live in community. They are not vicious people or rude, quite the opposite in fact, but they seems to, and I chose my words carefully, don’t give a fuck of whatever happen. The simplest example would be for the subway. When you see this wagon over crowded with Japanese in suits but you still need a place so you can go don’t hope for anyone to help you get this place. You have to push hard and really hard so you’re gonna squeeze people together even more so you can squeeze with them. And if you don’t want to do that, well good luck chum, cause you’re gonna miss a lot of wagons here. And it’s same for getting out of this wagon. Keep pushing, always push and when it doesn’t work do it harder. And if you don’t you’re gonna be late for school often. SO you push. Just get out of my way you friggin’ maggots I’m more important than you. Don’t care if you get ejected of the wagon when you didn’t want, not my problem, it is yours now. And I would like to immediately cancel the racism effect. What I’m saying there is that it doesn’t happen cause I’m foreigner. I mean if there’s one thing about being a foreigner in the subway that changes people comportment toward you, it’s the fact that’s easier for foreigner to get in and out of the subway. Basically Japanese don’t want to be near you so they make you more places and easier than for other Japanese. Actually among themselves they really don’t help each other a lot. Like can you see the reserved place for handicapped people, pregnant women and old people at the back of the wagon? Well I wish for you are not handicapped or pregnant or old cause you’ll never be able to get to them. No one will help you. You’ll have to force your way to these reserved seats and you’ll have to fight to get it. Sounds mean? It is and there’s worst believe me in those subways.
Earlier this week, I was in the subway, listening to the death metal Japanese hate so much, and not so far of me was a women and her daughter, maybe 7 or 8 years old. We get to the Kayabachô station. This station is big a lot of people transfer here. The doors open and people start pushing to get out... Ok... Do you understand where I’m going? Do you think that something like that can happen? The little girl get caught in the people, she can’t hold to her mother cause they’re pushing too hard and she find herself outside of the wagon. Of course at this point, the mother try to reach for her children, but then people started to embark on the wagon, once again pushing, so she can’t reach her daughter who is still outside the wagon. And the little girl is not strong enough to make herself a place, people won’t move and the girl can’t sneak her way in cause there’s not enough place between people. She’s still outside the wagon and the doors are ready to close, the mother still can’t reach her daughter. And I had to push the two men in front of me so they would stop the door from closing. And without taking notice of the angry faces at my direction, I had to actually push against people to bring the little girl in the subway so she could be with her mother.
At first I didn’t realise. I mean, for me it’s something natural. I don’t have really good principles in my everyday life, but I have at least one good that tells me that you never, never, ever separate parents from their children for any reason. When I walk in the street you’ll never see me go between a mother and her child. I won’t sit between them too in the bus or the subway. Just never separate a parent and his child. But as the subway was going got more and more frustrated as I realised that no one would have done anything about it in the subway. Those bastards probably would have left the child there while the doors were closing. Ok, I’ll agree that we’re in Tokyo and Tokyo is really not dangerous. You see a lot of children alone in the subway making their way. Being afraid is only about being paranoid. But hell, the girl was pushed out and the mother actually tried to reach her. Why can someone be an asshole enough to just don’t care when you see something like that? It’s really out of my head, I just can’t understand. Stupid assholes. Yeah I can hear people telling me that the more people at one place for a given event and the less the chance of someone actually reacting cause no one want to take responsibility and everyone think there’s someone else more suited to react at the event. But it wasn’t urgent brain surgery it was simply pushing people back so the girl could get in the train. The best guy suited for it is the first who will do it.
Anyway I finally got out of the train by pushing the guys that were in front of me wishing they may sprain an ankle or even fall between the dock and the subway. Not happened, but I guess they know the word tackle now.
And this nice little story is the basics of Japanese. If you scream for help, I doubt anyone will show up. Tokyo is untrustworthy, big, without mercy and unfaithful. And I must admit that I spend the last two weeks, or so, to ask myself what the hell is wrong with the people in this place. And I think I got a part of the answer this week.
Right now, in school, we’re learning the basics for telling things simple like I burrow this or that. I gave this, I received that. It’s kinda stupid and boring. But the actual part of the exercise is simply to make us understand more how you construct a sentence in Japanese and how works the particles of demonstration and possession. I want spend much time explaining it, could be really long. But I have to give you a quick example of something you’ll only get in Japanese. I’ll use me and my brother, Julien, for these sentences:
1-« watashi wa Julien-san ni hamaki o agemasu. »
This sentence means: “I gave cigars to Julien.” “Watashi” means “me”, “hamaki” means “cigar” and “agemasu” is the verb “to give”. I won’t explain “wa, ni and o”. Those are particules. Just google’em or something. Or maybe I’ll explain them in another post.
2-« Julien-san wa watashi ni hamaki o moraimasu. »
This one means: “Julien receive cigar from me.” “Moraimasu” is the verb “to receive.”
3-« watashi wa Olivier-san ni hamaki o kuremasu. »
This one is : “I received cigars from Olivier.” “Kuremasu” also means “to receive.”
So well it was strange in our head to have two words that had the exact same translation. So of course we asked to Araki-sensei. The answer was: “It’s the Japanese way.” WTF?
In fact the explication went a little bit deeper than that. What we learned that day is that Japanese people, when they talk, actually make a separation between their side and your side. They do a separation of what yours and what theirs. And I don’t mean like Japanese vs. the world. But simply my vocabulary will change when talking to someone depending on if I’m talking about you or me. Examples would be: “ha-ha” is the word mother when I talk about my mother, the mother of a friend would be “oka-san”. My father is “chi-chi”; the father of a friend is “oto-san.” My father’s father would be “so-fu” but the grandfather of my friend is “ojii-san.” But it works every time and with everyone. If I talk to my father I’ll call him “oto-san” cause when I talk to him he is actually on a different side now. I do the separation between my father and me. So my father will call his own father “chi-chi” but me I have to call him “ojii-san” now. The Japanese always do this separation. SO when I tell that my friend received something I say “moraimasu.” And if I received something I say “kuremasu.” The way I received is told differently than the way you receive.
While Araki-sensei was explaining, I became a bit sour and bitter. She was talking about the separation and I still think of the little girl in the subway. I’m trying to figure out where it started and where it finishes and when it started and when it finishes. And I keep asking myself, what the fuck is wrong with Japanese? Araki-sensei finishes the answer and asks me if I understood. I say yes, but due to my strange face at the moment she asks if I’m sure I understood. No I don’t understand a bit of what you’re saying. In my head it doesn’t work, it’s stupid and there’s no reason for that. But even if I ask you you’re gonna tell me that it’s the Japanese way. So... Yes I understood. And I’m still wondering what did what to who? I mean does the separation in the language with the person I talk too started really long ago and they just applied it to their language or does they noticed they did separation and actually took time to change the language to reflect the fact that Japanese people seems anxious to be associated to the person they are talking to.
Maybe you’re telling yourselves that I push a little hard on it? Maybe... let’s see how you write Japanese just for fun. The first thing you learn is hiragana, already told that. You need it for everything. Then comes katakana. What is katakana? It is a second written language for the same exact thing that is the hiragana. And what is the use of katakana? To write foreign words. You’ll rarely see genuine Japanese written in katakana. Some time in some newspaper when they want to put an accent on a title, but even then it’s rare. SO katakana is only for foreigners’ vocabulary. And not only that the katakana only works for foreign language but they actually did an aesthetic different for it to make sure you won’t miss it. Hiragana is subtle, all sweet and full of grace. Katakana is made of sharp form, broken line and actually looks like spikes all the times. And I’m sure that the katakana didn’t exist at first. They came up with up cause they saw the necessity of actually having a way to distinguish between their language and foreigner language when they were writing it. I know three different languages right now; I can read a bit of 6. And in any case you never see a different design of letter for foreign words. Not in French, not in English, not in German. Even really hard to translate foreign language like Japanese or Chinese didn’t need a separate form of writing.
Some people tried to explain to me that the katakana was created because there are a lot of sounds that doesn’t exist in Japanese. Like the “V”. They can’t pronounce it, it doesn’t exist here. SO according to these people, the katakana now permits Japanese to actually read and pronounce those words. But hell it’s not true and can’t be true cause it doesn’t make a single shit of sense. Cause those stupid katakana are actually the same exact sounds as the hiragana. Not less, not more, the same thing exactly. And Japanese had to create new sound in katakana to fit the foreign languages. They could have done it easily in hiragana first and never create katakana. So no they don’t need it except that they want and need to make this separation visible even in written form.
Ok maybe I’m high or completely wasted, maybe I’m getting paranoid and maybe my brain is not working right now. But Japanese people want this separation they work for it and earn it in their lives every day. Everything in Japanese language is made to make it obvious that you are different. Everything is separated in some way. I’m making a separation with the person I talk to by using a different vocabulary. I’m making this separation too in written form. Separation anxiety. It’s like they fear they wouldn’t be able to tell apart from the person in front of them. And all this separation planning in written form and when talking to me just explain a bit of what might have happened in the subway. They don’t react cause they’re not able to emphasize with the others. Look in the mangas and anime. It’s the same as the color of hairs. You see lot of character with strange hair color only because they fantasize it might be real. The same with story with really good friend tearing each other heart apart so just they can continue together. You see a lot of these stories cause they actually never happens cause they can’t make them happen. In my head this separation explains to me why the most common answer to a question is “I don’t know.” Explain why I get this uncomfortable feeling from both old and young people. Explain why Japanese prefer to live more in 3 square meters than actually trying to get more places. They prefer to pill up than to take the opportunity to know their neighbours. They are rejects from the world cause they are living on a island and they make for themselves little personal islands in their everyday life so they don’t have to commute with the other.
And of course I don’t know where to stand with this. My brother too is confused, as well as most of the students at the school that did notice this separation complex too. Like I often say here, they don’t see us like threat, they don’t actually reject us, but we’re not welcome cause in some way our existence threaten their personal islands. Japanese people spend so much time in confusing excuses and ceremony that you wonder when do they really talk to each other. I often wonder what would be the answer of Aika if I asked her real opinion on something. I’m sure I would get a lot of half answers, quick truth and half excuses. And after 2 hours I wouldn’t be able to tell what she is really thinking. SO basically, never be in the same bubble of someone else, always separate. Separation in writing, in speaking. Separation from the people I’m living with, from people I talk too.
OK. I’m gonna stop there I’m getting a bit enraged right now. Like I said I don’t pretend I’m getting the truth. I just try to analyse what I see. I just feel confused by this lack of empathy. I... aaawww… Just forget it. It really hard to explain and actually kill a lot of what people might think highly of Japanese. Like I said they are good people, obviously. You can’t stop noticing it, but there’s something wrong with them nonetheless.
Cya
I’ll explain. And please forgive me if it seems a bit confused in the explication, cause I’m writing it as the same time that I think about it. Well for this side I would say that I might have given more thought to it but not much more, so it’s still gonna be a little bit awkward. Sometime I have the impression that Japanese are just so much that they lose the sight of what it is to live in community. They are not vicious people or rude, quite the opposite in fact, but they seems to, and I chose my words carefully, don’t give a fuck of whatever happen. The simplest example would be for the subway. When you see this wagon over crowded with Japanese in suits but you still need a place so you can go don’t hope for anyone to help you get this place. You have to push hard and really hard so you’re gonna squeeze people together even more so you can squeeze with them. And if you don’t want to do that, well good luck chum, cause you’re gonna miss a lot of wagons here. And it’s same for getting out of this wagon. Keep pushing, always push and when it doesn’t work do it harder. And if you don’t you’re gonna be late for school often. SO you push. Just get out of my way you friggin’ maggots I’m more important than you. Don’t care if you get ejected of the wagon when you didn’t want, not my problem, it is yours now. And I would like to immediately cancel the racism effect. What I’m saying there is that it doesn’t happen cause I’m foreigner. I mean if there’s one thing about being a foreigner in the subway that changes people comportment toward you, it’s the fact that’s easier for foreigner to get in and out of the subway. Basically Japanese don’t want to be near you so they make you more places and easier than for other Japanese. Actually among themselves they really don’t help each other a lot. Like can you see the reserved place for handicapped people, pregnant women and old people at the back of the wagon? Well I wish for you are not handicapped or pregnant or old cause you’ll never be able to get to them. No one will help you. You’ll have to force your way to these reserved seats and you’ll have to fight to get it. Sounds mean? It is and there’s worst believe me in those subways.
Earlier this week, I was in the subway, listening to the death metal Japanese hate so much, and not so far of me was a women and her daughter, maybe 7 or 8 years old. We get to the Kayabachô station. This station is big a lot of people transfer here. The doors open and people start pushing to get out... Ok... Do you understand where I’m going? Do you think that something like that can happen? The little girl get caught in the people, she can’t hold to her mother cause they’re pushing too hard and she find herself outside of the wagon. Of course at this point, the mother try to reach for her children, but then people started to embark on the wagon, once again pushing, so she can’t reach her daughter who is still outside the wagon. And the little girl is not strong enough to make herself a place, people won’t move and the girl can’t sneak her way in cause there’s not enough place between people. She’s still outside the wagon and the doors are ready to close, the mother still can’t reach her daughter. And I had to push the two men in front of me so they would stop the door from closing. And without taking notice of the angry faces at my direction, I had to actually push against people to bring the little girl in the subway so she could be with her mother.
At first I didn’t realise. I mean, for me it’s something natural. I don’t have really good principles in my everyday life, but I have at least one good that tells me that you never, never, ever separate parents from their children for any reason. When I walk in the street you’ll never see me go between a mother and her child. I won’t sit between them too in the bus or the subway. Just never separate a parent and his child. But as the subway was going got more and more frustrated as I realised that no one would have done anything about it in the subway. Those bastards probably would have left the child there while the doors were closing. Ok, I’ll agree that we’re in Tokyo and Tokyo is really not dangerous. You see a lot of children alone in the subway making their way. Being afraid is only about being paranoid. But hell, the girl was pushed out and the mother actually tried to reach her. Why can someone be an asshole enough to just don’t care when you see something like that? It’s really out of my head, I just can’t understand. Stupid assholes. Yeah I can hear people telling me that the more people at one place for a given event and the less the chance of someone actually reacting cause no one want to take responsibility and everyone think there’s someone else more suited to react at the event. But it wasn’t urgent brain surgery it was simply pushing people back so the girl could get in the train. The best guy suited for it is the first who will do it.
Anyway I finally got out of the train by pushing the guys that were in front of me wishing they may sprain an ankle or even fall between the dock and the subway. Not happened, but I guess they know the word tackle now.
And this nice little story is the basics of Japanese. If you scream for help, I doubt anyone will show up. Tokyo is untrustworthy, big, without mercy and unfaithful. And I must admit that I spend the last two weeks, or so, to ask myself what the hell is wrong with the people in this place. And I think I got a part of the answer this week.
Right now, in school, we’re learning the basics for telling things simple like I burrow this or that. I gave this, I received that. It’s kinda stupid and boring. But the actual part of the exercise is simply to make us understand more how you construct a sentence in Japanese and how works the particles of demonstration and possession. I want spend much time explaining it, could be really long. But I have to give you a quick example of something you’ll only get in Japanese. I’ll use me and my brother, Julien, for these sentences:
1-« watashi wa Julien-san ni hamaki o agemasu. »
This sentence means: “I gave cigars to Julien.” “Watashi” means “me”, “hamaki” means “cigar” and “agemasu” is the verb “to give”. I won’t explain “wa, ni and o”. Those are particules. Just google’em or something. Or maybe I’ll explain them in another post.
2-« Julien-san wa watashi ni hamaki o moraimasu. »
This one means: “Julien receive cigar from me.” “Moraimasu” is the verb “to receive.”
3-« watashi wa Olivier-san ni hamaki o kuremasu. »
This one is : “I received cigars from Olivier.” “Kuremasu” also means “to receive.”
So well it was strange in our head to have two words that had the exact same translation. So of course we asked to Araki-sensei. The answer was: “It’s the Japanese way.” WTF?
In fact the explication went a little bit deeper than that. What we learned that day is that Japanese people, when they talk, actually make a separation between their side and your side. They do a separation of what yours and what theirs. And I don’t mean like Japanese vs. the world. But simply my vocabulary will change when talking to someone depending on if I’m talking about you or me. Examples would be: “ha-ha” is the word mother when I talk about my mother, the mother of a friend would be “oka-san”. My father is “chi-chi”; the father of a friend is “oto-san.” My father’s father would be “so-fu” but the grandfather of my friend is “ojii-san.” But it works every time and with everyone. If I talk to my father I’ll call him “oto-san” cause when I talk to him he is actually on a different side now. I do the separation between my father and me. So my father will call his own father “chi-chi” but me I have to call him “ojii-san” now. The Japanese always do this separation. SO when I tell that my friend received something I say “moraimasu.” And if I received something I say “kuremasu.” The way I received is told differently than the way you receive.
While Araki-sensei was explaining, I became a bit sour and bitter. She was talking about the separation and I still think of the little girl in the subway. I’m trying to figure out where it started and where it finishes and when it started and when it finishes. And I keep asking myself, what the fuck is wrong with Japanese? Araki-sensei finishes the answer and asks me if I understood. I say yes, but due to my strange face at the moment she asks if I’m sure I understood. No I don’t understand a bit of what you’re saying. In my head it doesn’t work, it’s stupid and there’s no reason for that. But even if I ask you you’re gonna tell me that it’s the Japanese way. So... Yes I understood. And I’m still wondering what did what to who? I mean does the separation in the language with the person I talk too started really long ago and they just applied it to their language or does they noticed they did separation and actually took time to change the language to reflect the fact that Japanese people seems anxious to be associated to the person they are talking to.
Maybe you’re telling yourselves that I push a little hard on it? Maybe... let’s see how you write Japanese just for fun. The first thing you learn is hiragana, already told that. You need it for everything. Then comes katakana. What is katakana? It is a second written language for the same exact thing that is the hiragana. And what is the use of katakana? To write foreign words. You’ll rarely see genuine Japanese written in katakana. Some time in some newspaper when they want to put an accent on a title, but even then it’s rare. SO katakana is only for foreigners’ vocabulary. And not only that the katakana only works for foreign language but they actually did an aesthetic different for it to make sure you won’t miss it. Hiragana is subtle, all sweet and full of grace. Katakana is made of sharp form, broken line and actually looks like spikes all the times. And I’m sure that the katakana didn’t exist at first. They came up with up cause they saw the necessity of actually having a way to distinguish between their language and foreigner language when they were writing it. I know three different languages right now; I can read a bit of 6. And in any case you never see a different design of letter for foreign words. Not in French, not in English, not in German. Even really hard to translate foreign language like Japanese or Chinese didn’t need a separate form of writing.
Some people tried to explain to me that the katakana was created because there are a lot of sounds that doesn’t exist in Japanese. Like the “V”. They can’t pronounce it, it doesn’t exist here. SO according to these people, the katakana now permits Japanese to actually read and pronounce those words. But hell it’s not true and can’t be true cause it doesn’t make a single shit of sense. Cause those stupid katakana are actually the same exact sounds as the hiragana. Not less, not more, the same thing exactly. And Japanese had to create new sound in katakana to fit the foreign languages. They could have done it easily in hiragana first and never create katakana. So no they don’t need it except that they want and need to make this separation visible even in written form.
Ok maybe I’m high or completely wasted, maybe I’m getting paranoid and maybe my brain is not working right now. But Japanese people want this separation they work for it and earn it in their lives every day. Everything in Japanese language is made to make it obvious that you are different. Everything is separated in some way. I’m making a separation with the person I talk to by using a different vocabulary. I’m making this separation too in written form. Separation anxiety. It’s like they fear they wouldn’t be able to tell apart from the person in front of them. And all this separation planning in written form and when talking to me just explain a bit of what might have happened in the subway. They don’t react cause they’re not able to emphasize with the others. Look in the mangas and anime. It’s the same as the color of hairs. You see lot of character with strange hair color only because they fantasize it might be real. The same with story with really good friend tearing each other heart apart so just they can continue together. You see a lot of these stories cause they actually never happens cause they can’t make them happen. In my head this separation explains to me why the most common answer to a question is “I don’t know.” Explain why I get this uncomfortable feeling from both old and young people. Explain why Japanese prefer to live more in 3 square meters than actually trying to get more places. They prefer to pill up than to take the opportunity to know their neighbours. They are rejects from the world cause they are living on a island and they make for themselves little personal islands in their everyday life so they don’t have to commute with the other.
And of course I don’t know where to stand with this. My brother too is confused, as well as most of the students at the school that did notice this separation complex too. Like I often say here, they don’t see us like threat, they don’t actually reject us, but we’re not welcome cause in some way our existence threaten their personal islands. Japanese people spend so much time in confusing excuses and ceremony that you wonder when do they really talk to each other. I often wonder what would be the answer of Aika if I asked her real opinion on something. I’m sure I would get a lot of half answers, quick truth and half excuses. And after 2 hours I wouldn’t be able to tell what she is really thinking. SO basically, never be in the same bubble of someone else, always separate. Separation in writing, in speaking. Separation from the people I’m living with, from people I talk too.
OK. I’m gonna stop there I’m getting a bit enraged right now. Like I said I don’t pretend I’m getting the truth. I just try to analyse what I see. I just feel confused by this lack of empathy. I... aaawww… Just forget it. It really hard to explain and actually kill a lot of what people might think highly of Japanese. Like I said they are good people, obviously. You can’t stop noticing it, but there’s something wrong with them nonetheless.
Cya
27.10.08
Japanese 101 (2nd part)
Been a while since I’ve talked about it. So after almost one month here I guess I could share just a small part of my little Japanese learning.
So I already talked about the three forms of writing, more or less. Right now I would like to talk about actual Japanese sentences. Cause they are a whole new world of brain pain. You know how occidental people construct their sentences right. [Subject] + [verb] + [anything else]. Well more or less like that. “I’m going to the store.” Simple. Japanese don’t work that way. [Subject] + [anything else] + [verb]. Even if it sounds rather simple it’s a pain really. The verb always is the last thing you hear, always. Which mean that when you hear a Japanese speak sometime you don’t realise he was talking about maybe a location instead of something. So you have to make him/her repeat the whole sentence again. But you get used to it.
But What I really love is Japanese writing. As if having three forms of writing wasn’t intricate enough, they decided one day, like that, that they wouldn’t separate the words from one another. Which mean, for example, that a sentence is barely written like that: “thisisajapanesesentenceihavetotranslate.” So imagine that, even for someone fluent in English it gonna take longer than usual to understand. Will probably need to read it two times, maybe three. Now imagine for a second that you don’t speak a word of English and stumble on that sentence. The only thing you have as tool is the small English-[Something] stupid dictionary that you bought for too much just before leaving your country and doesn’t contain half the word you search in it. You’re, basically, screwed. And since you don’t make the difference between what is what you only get one solution. Take up your dictionary, a lot of courage, and search for each possible combination in this sentence. Which mean that the first word you’ll check is “this”, then maybe “thisis”... ooh... thisis doesn’t exist. After that you’ll check “is” oooh. Got something there. “this is.” One step toward success. And then the “a” even maybe “ajap” and so on till you found every little possibility and try to make sense of it. And that is of course if you find all the words cause you may as well don’t find one in your stupid little high-priced dictionary. And of course even if you all the words, even if you find them all. Imagine something like that:
“What do you think of Samuel?”
“He’s a pain in the ass.”
Still considering you don’t know a shit about English. Try to translate that. The first part is ok. A question easy to identify, easy words. The second is also easy. But only for the words. Cause your stupid little high-priced dictionary won’t tell you the exact meaning of the expression. So when you read it, for you Samuel is literally a pain in your ass. Nothing more, nothing less. So you may find yourself reading the whole book thinking that Samuel and the other guy are, maybe, a gay couple.
So that’s the main problem I have with reading Japanese right now. In school they make it more occidental, taking time to actual put a space between each word. In a book, they don’t care; you just had to speak Japanese before starting to read. Yeah, I guess it’s a good idea after all. But there’s still some way to help you.
First: Particle. Learn them, know them, and love them. They are your best ally against this terrible war. They are as useful as they are complicated to understand. Particles are inserted between words and actually tell you what is what. If you read “wa”, this mean that the word just before was the subject of the phrase. If you read “na” this is an adjective. If you see “wo” it means that it is the complement to the verb. “he” usually marks a location or a direction. So learn them. After you took time to learn hiragana and katakana, learn those fuckin’ particles or god help you you’re gonna be screwed by a children’s book. And it’s not because it is a children’s book that it’s gonna be any gentler for your brain, believe me. So learn them and love them.
Second: The kanjis. God I hate kanjis, but they are slowly becoming my friends. Cause usually a kanjis is the start of a new word. Doesn’t always work, but most of the time you know you have a new word in front of new because of the kanjis. And also useful because Japanese language have a lot of homonyms and kanjis are a good way to make a difference. Cause even if it pronounced the same, the kanjis will probably be different.
Third: Just learn your freakin’ Japanese vocabulary until you don’t remember how to write your own name in romaji.
Aside from that:
- Remember that if you see a word that end with the sound “masu (pronounced mass)” it’s a verb in a present or future tense.
- “mashita” is for the past.
- “Masen” is a negative verb. Ikimase <-> Ikimasen = I go <-> I don’t go.
- “Masendeshita” is a negative verb in the past.
So I already talked about the three forms of writing, more or less. Right now I would like to talk about actual Japanese sentences. Cause they are a whole new world of brain pain. You know how occidental people construct their sentences right. [Subject] + [verb] + [anything else]. Well more or less like that. “I’m going to the store.” Simple. Japanese don’t work that way. [Subject] + [anything else] + [verb]. Even if it sounds rather simple it’s a pain really. The verb always is the last thing you hear, always. Which mean that when you hear a Japanese speak sometime you don’t realise he was talking about maybe a location instead of something. So you have to make him/her repeat the whole sentence again. But you get used to it.
But What I really love is Japanese writing. As if having three forms of writing wasn’t intricate enough, they decided one day, like that, that they wouldn’t separate the words from one another. Which mean, for example, that a sentence is barely written like that: “thisisajapanesesentenceihavetotranslate.” So imagine that, even for someone fluent in English it gonna take longer than usual to understand. Will probably need to read it two times, maybe three. Now imagine for a second that you don’t speak a word of English and stumble on that sentence. The only thing you have as tool is the small English-[Something] stupid dictionary that you bought for too much just before leaving your country and doesn’t contain half the word you search in it. You’re, basically, screwed. And since you don’t make the difference between what is what you only get one solution. Take up your dictionary, a lot of courage, and search for each possible combination in this sentence. Which mean that the first word you’ll check is “this”, then maybe “thisis”... ooh... thisis doesn’t exist. After that you’ll check “is” oooh. Got something there. “this is.” One step toward success. And then the “a” even maybe “ajap” and so on till you found every little possibility and try to make sense of it. And that is of course if you find all the words cause you may as well don’t find one in your stupid little high-priced dictionary. And of course even if you all the words, even if you find them all. Imagine something like that:
“What do you think of Samuel?”
“He’s a pain in the ass.”
Still considering you don’t know a shit about English. Try to translate that. The first part is ok. A question easy to identify, easy words. The second is also easy. But only for the words. Cause your stupid little high-priced dictionary won’t tell you the exact meaning of the expression. So when you read it, for you Samuel is literally a pain in your ass. Nothing more, nothing less. So you may find yourself reading the whole book thinking that Samuel and the other guy are, maybe, a gay couple.
So that’s the main problem I have with reading Japanese right now. In school they make it more occidental, taking time to actual put a space between each word. In a book, they don’t care; you just had to speak Japanese before starting to read. Yeah, I guess it’s a good idea after all. But there’s still some way to help you.
First: Particle. Learn them, know them, and love them. They are your best ally against this terrible war. They are as useful as they are complicated to understand. Particles are inserted between words and actually tell you what is what. If you read “wa”, this mean that the word just before was the subject of the phrase. If you read “na” this is an adjective. If you see “wo” it means that it is the complement to the verb. “he” usually marks a location or a direction. So learn them. After you took time to learn hiragana and katakana, learn those fuckin’ particles or god help you you’re gonna be screwed by a children’s book. And it’s not because it is a children’s book that it’s gonna be any gentler for your brain, believe me. So learn them and love them.
Second: The kanjis. God I hate kanjis, but they are slowly becoming my friends. Cause usually a kanjis is the start of a new word. Doesn’t always work, but most of the time you know you have a new word in front of new because of the kanjis. And also useful because Japanese language have a lot of homonyms and kanjis are a good way to make a difference. Cause even if it pronounced the same, the kanjis will probably be different.
Third: Just learn your freakin’ Japanese vocabulary until you don’t remember how to write your own name in romaji.
Aside from that:
- Remember that if you see a word that end with the sound “masu (pronounced mass)” it’s a verb in a present or future tense.
- “mashita” is for the past.
- “Masen” is a negative verb. Ikimase <-> Ikimasen = I go <-> I don’t go.
- “Masendeshita” is a negative verb in the past.
Ikimashita <-> Ikimasendeshita = Went <-> Didn’t go.
- Shimasu means “to do”. Learn to recognise it cause you’ll see it often. Like “Denwa wo shimasu” Making a phone call.
- The particle “ka” is always at the end of a sentence and is in fact the “?” of Japanese. If you here a sentence with it, it means it is a question. “Dare desu ka” Who is he/she? “Kore desu ka.” What is it?
- “watashi” means “me”. “Anata” means “you”
It’s not a lot, but just take time to listen to anime you’ll notice them quickly. But probably that a lot of you already noticed them. I would like to tell more cause Japanese is fascinating, but it would take really too long.
And to answer Moi. Time and practice nothing more, nothing less. One of my trick for learning both hiragana and katakana was to actually find text in Japanese that are only written in hiragana and just translate the sounds. Not the actual meaning. But just getting used to reading them and recognising them. I must have done this stupid hiragana table over 20 times and still don’t do it perfectly. Cause often if I see a hiragana I’ll know what it is but when you ask me to write it and just can’t remember. So find yourself excuses to write them down. Anything is good.
Seeya
- Shimasu means “to do”. Learn to recognise it cause you’ll see it often. Like “Denwa wo shimasu” Making a phone call.
- The particle “ka” is always at the end of a sentence and is in fact the “?” of Japanese. If you here a sentence with it, it means it is a question. “Dare desu ka” Who is he/she? “Kore desu ka.” What is it?
- “watashi” means “me”. “Anata” means “you”
It’s not a lot, but just take time to listen to anime you’ll notice them quickly. But probably that a lot of you already noticed them. I would like to tell more cause Japanese is fascinating, but it would take really too long.
And to answer Moi. Time and practice nothing more, nothing less. One of my trick for learning both hiragana and katakana was to actually find text in Japanese that are only written in hiragana and just translate the sounds. Not the actual meaning. But just getting used to reading them and recognising them. I must have done this stupid hiragana table over 20 times and still don’t do it perfectly. Cause often if I see a hiragana I’ll know what it is but when you ask me to write it and just can’t remember. So find yourself excuses to write them down. Anything is good.
Seeya
24.10.08
Answers (again)
Well I guess I'll have to get at it again :P
Actually like to answer question. I don't get much of them on the french side of this blog. So I'm kinda happy to do it here. Ok so I'll answer as I read the comments.
First:
Moi-> Depends of what you mean by vegetarian foods. If you are vegetariena but still eat eggs and fish, Japan is like the vegetarian Paradise. If you don't eat fish or eggs, you're screwed. And by screwed I mean don't come near japan cause a meal without meat (fish or not) is absolutely impossible in most restaurant.
Claudiu-> I don't know who you might be but I'm happy taht your ead my blog. To answer your question: No. Didn't see any western comics here. Not in that library at the café, not anywhere in any library I went too. And God only know how many libraries I visited in the last 2 weeks. I was looking for children's books. You know, to practice reading in japanese.
Shinka-> Actually, in my host family, they had a lot of foreigners. So oka-san, now, is more like a nickname than the actual "mother" thing. But I must admit that I feel weird every time I say it.
Shinka (again)-> Actually the beer is cheap and delicious. Except for the Sapporo. I don't know why. Cause back in Canada the sappora we have there is actaully really good. Here it tastes like shit. But in bars, the beer actually cost a lot more. I don't know why but clubing in tokyo is really expensive. When you buy drink for a girl you better hope she want to sleep with you cause it can cost you easily 50 bucks for bnot much really.
Shinka (2nd again)-> I'm leaving in Kachidoki which is in Chuo-ku. It is a small artificial island about 30 minutes from Tokyo center. It's a residential area with only primary schools and kindergarden. Actually a nice place.
Shinka (3rd again)-> You sure ask a lot of question bud. But I actually like it. So... for the host family. This trip cost me 4500 canadian bucks. In which you have 1200 for the airplane tickets, half and half for the living cost of the fmaily and the class cost. So more or less 1500$ for the host family and 1500$ for the institute. The intitute is the Kudan Institute of cultural learning and language.... or something like. Just type Kudan Institute in google and you should find something. This thing is hosted by GEOS. Their main objective is simply to bring people to learn other languages. I'm in Japan right now, but they actually have options for germans, english, french, spanish, portugese and norway. And maybe more.
The price of this trip include the host family fees, which include a breakfeast and a diner. I hav to pay for my lunch. Everywhere i go with my host fmaily, the food is paid, but alone I have to pay for it. I have classes every weekdays from 9:10 to 12:40. We actually have two teachers. And in fact the classes here are good enough that they can bring you to take the japanese standard test of language. Or something like that. Basically if you suceed to that test, you are, by the japanese laws, fluent in japanese. Usually every lunch cost me around 1000 yens. SOmetimes more, sometime less. but with 1000 yens you can be assured you'll get a decent lunch. The subway cost me daily around 1000 yens too. I have over 15 000 yens spent only for transportation since i'm here. SO i presume that by the end of the month I'll have nearly 200$us in transportation fees alone.
So that's the basic. I could say that i cash nearly 800 yens of alcohol a day. but that would mean that i basically 1 and half liter of beer every day. Which is not false. But not a necessary expense.
And I would like to add that the institute here is really effective. They teach japanese in japanese so you learn fast. Still not fast enough to my taste, but still a little faster than I thought. In one semester i won't be able to really speak japanese well. But i'll be able to actually follow a simple conversation and be able to tell simple facts like where i'm going, when, with who. What the color of the dog... you know the basics. If you want to fo to Japan to actually learn Japanese, I think that the Kudan Institute is for you. But, god help you, take time to learn your hiraganas and katakanas first or you'll regret it.
Actually like to answer question. I don't get much of them on the french side of this blog. So I'm kinda happy to do it here. Ok so I'll answer as I read the comments.
First:
Moi-> Depends of what you mean by vegetarian foods. If you are vegetariena but still eat eggs and fish, Japan is like the vegetarian Paradise. If you don't eat fish or eggs, you're screwed. And by screwed I mean don't come near japan cause a meal without meat (fish or not) is absolutely impossible in most restaurant.
Claudiu-> I don't know who you might be but I'm happy taht your ead my blog. To answer your question: No. Didn't see any western comics here. Not in that library at the café, not anywhere in any library I went too. And God only know how many libraries I visited in the last 2 weeks. I was looking for children's books. You know, to practice reading in japanese.
Shinka-> Actually, in my host family, they had a lot of foreigners. So oka-san, now, is more like a nickname than the actual "mother" thing. But I must admit that I feel weird every time I say it.
Shinka (again)-> Actually the beer is cheap and delicious. Except for the Sapporo. I don't know why. Cause back in Canada the sappora we have there is actaully really good. Here it tastes like shit. But in bars, the beer actually cost a lot more. I don't know why but clubing in tokyo is really expensive. When you buy drink for a girl you better hope she want to sleep with you cause it can cost you easily 50 bucks for bnot much really.
Shinka (2nd again)-> I'm leaving in Kachidoki which is in Chuo-ku. It is a small artificial island about 30 minutes from Tokyo center. It's a residential area with only primary schools and kindergarden. Actually a nice place.
Shinka (3rd again)-> You sure ask a lot of question bud. But I actually like it. So... for the host family. This trip cost me 4500 canadian bucks. In which you have 1200 for the airplane tickets, half and half for the living cost of the fmaily and the class cost. So more or less 1500$ for the host family and 1500$ for the institute. The intitute is the Kudan Institute of cultural learning and language.... or something like. Just type Kudan Institute in google and you should find something. This thing is hosted by GEOS. Their main objective is simply to bring people to learn other languages. I'm in Japan right now, but they actually have options for germans, english, french, spanish, portugese and norway. And maybe more.
The price of this trip include the host family fees, which include a breakfeast and a diner. I hav to pay for my lunch. Everywhere i go with my host fmaily, the food is paid, but alone I have to pay for it. I have classes every weekdays from 9:10 to 12:40. We actually have two teachers. And in fact the classes here are good enough that they can bring you to take the japanese standard test of language. Or something like that. Basically if you suceed to that test, you are, by the japanese laws, fluent in japanese. Usually every lunch cost me around 1000 yens. SOmetimes more, sometime less. but with 1000 yens you can be assured you'll get a decent lunch. The subway cost me daily around 1000 yens too. I have over 15 000 yens spent only for transportation since i'm here. SO i presume that by the end of the month I'll have nearly 200$us in transportation fees alone.
So that's the basic. I could say that i cash nearly 800 yens of alcohol a day. but that would mean that i basically 1 and half liter of beer every day. Which is not false. But not a necessary expense.
And I would like to add that the institute here is really effective. They teach japanese in japanese so you learn fast. Still not fast enough to my taste, but still a little faster than I thought. In one semester i won't be able to really speak japanese well. But i'll be able to actually follow a simple conversation and be able to tell simple facts like where i'm going, when, with who. What the color of the dog... you know the basics. If you want to fo to Japan to actually learn Japanese, I think that the Kudan Institute is for you. But, god help you, take time to learn your hiraganas and katakanas first or you'll regret it.
23.10.08
The quest for the officially lost passport
I said I would wait to get back my passport to talk about what happened. I was curious to see how works the Japanese bureaucracy before making a post. So today I got my passport back. So… let’s start from the beginning.
08-10-11 17 :43 :32 – Get out of the train and notice that my passport is missing. Look around in the station as much as I can. No passport. Holy crap! A little bit anxious, half amused and really frustrated, I tell myself that I’ll call the embassy as soon as I enter the apartment.
08-10-11 18 :14 :23 – Calling the embassy. Now it starts. First tumble on a pre-recorded English, then French, then Japanese message. Mostly saying that the embassy is closed on Saturday and Sunday. And that Monday they will be closed too cause it’s the national sport day. Aaah crap. Nothing much to do, I’ll call Tuesday.
08-10-14 08 :25 :47 – Taking a small stop to the found objects of the metro station asking if someone brought a Canadian passport in. The guy there tells me to wait and make at least half a dozen different calls. Nope nothing on this line. Did the guy just called every single station of this line? Yup he did. Well, thank you, but disappointing. Guess I’ll have to call the embassy after the classes.
08-10-14 12 :50 :21 – Calling the embassy. A funny little message in English, then French, then Japanese. Choose your language. French. Choose which of the following options. #2 lost passport office and urgency. Fall on the vocal box that tells me that the office is currently closed. But if I let my name and contact information they should call me back in the next two working days. Yeah, lucky I’m not in urgency. Let my name, cell phone number and hang up.
08-10-14 17 :05 :23 – Cell phone ringing. Answering : « Moshi-moshi. » A kind of shy voice speaking more or less well in French ask me if I called the embassy for a lost passport. Well yes, else you wouldn’t have my phone number won’t you? So I start explaining in French that I lost my passport last Saturday. That I already checked the lost objects at the subway station. With a lot of hesitation she asks me if I need a new passport. Duh…. Yes! At this moment, she tries to explain to me the procedure to get a new one. But it doesn’t work well cause her French is not really good. So I tell her that she can do it in English if she is more comfortable with it. She said thank you and started to explain in English. Wish I told her to continue in French, it was worst in English. So basically the conversation just keep switching to English, to French, to Japanese, to French again, to English... and so on. After a moment, I understand that I need my birth certificate, the address of 2 people who know me for longer than 2 years and my passport copy. Well, at least I have the passport copy. Then, she asks me if I went to the police station to report de the lost. Well no… What are the chances of actually finding my passport now. She then tells me that I have to go to the police to I can fill an official form that will make it official that I have officially lost my passport and then they will give me an official paper that will officially say that I officially lost my passport and they can now officially ask for a new official passport... or something like that. What the … ? Oh and she then tells me the passport office is only opens on weekdays from 9h30 to 12h30. Yeah… only getting better. I honestly don’t want to miss classes. Already hard enough without skipping school. But well, I guess that a new passport is actually more important.
08-10-16 12 :45 :21 – Near the school there is what the Japanese call a police box. Those are little stations for neighbourhood patrolling. In the morning you would be able to see maybe 10 policemen planning their patrolling day. It’s really small, but actually has all the useful things you could find in a main police station. So go to the police officer there, tell him I’ve lost my passport. The officer gives me a form to fill. Name, address, phone number, description of the item lost. You know the drill. When I’m about to finish, comes in a second officer that look at me. Ask a few things to the policeman sitting with me. Then decide he stops my form filling… well that sounds dirty. Anyway. He tries to explain something that I don’t get cause he is speaking to fast and refuse to slow down. He then takes the phone and passes it to me. There is an operator speaking English. Tells me that I have to go to the main police station so I can fill the form to have my official paper for my officially lost passport. While he is telling me that, the second policeman is showing me on a map where to go. It’s near. One stop at the subway. Should be easy. Ok.
08-10-16 16 :33 :56 – It took me almost two hours to find the police station. God I hate those Japanese map. Enter the station, go to the reception. Yeah Canadian, yeah lost my passport, yeah second floor. Go to the second floor. The reception there send me to third floor who tells me to go back at the second floor to take a formulary that I should picked up on the way to the third floor. Fill out the formulary, which is the exact same thing I had almost finished earlier in the police box. Got to be kidding. Hand the formulary to the officer there. He tells me to wait while they enter the information in the computer. 20 minutes later! Does not compute! Apparently the guy doesn’t understand what I wrote so he asks me to do it again. 20 minutes later the guy comes back with my official paper of officially lost passport. Back to the first floor where they will compute that and give me another official paper for my officially lost passport. At the reception of the first floor I hand over the official paper to the official officer who officially declares that I have another official form to fill out. Holy hell! Name, address, phone number. Hand over the paper, get a new official paper for my officially lost passport. I can now go to the embassy. But not today cause anyway they are closed at this hour.
08-10-17 13 :42 :08 – PHONE! The embassy. Someone found my passport and brought it to the police. How amazing. No more bureaucracy for me! Forgive me if I’m a bit naive but I can’t help it. So, anyway, where’s my passport, huh? The intelligent thing to do would have been to say to the girl at the phone to wait for me and I’ll go directly to the embassy to get the information. But you know, I’m stupid sometimes. So I ask her. Maybe I forgot that I was in a restaurant in a basement right in the middle of Tokyo, but the line was really crappy. And I don’t hear half the information the girl is giving me in French/English/Japanese. I try to go up one floor. The line is better, but too much noise from Tokyo. Try to go higher while I write the information. When I’m nearing the third floor she asks me if I have an e-mail. Would be easier of course than noting all that on a scrap of paper. HAHA! So I start: “A”, “C”, “I”, “D”, “E”. Then come the underbar « _ ». Yeah, try to explain what is an under bar (_) to someone who doesn’t understand neither English nor French well on a half shitty phone line that threaten to cut every second from now. Just forget it. Impossible. Then I just tell myself if can get the phone number right I’ll just call and ask for the whereabouts of the station. SO make the girl repeat at least five times to make sure the phone number is right. Excellent. I will be able to handle myself from there.
08-10-19 10 :13 :18 – I don’t know exactly why I didn’t call sooner, but I didn’t. Sunday morning, just spent the night clubbing and went to sleep in a capsule hotel.
Just need to make a quicky about capsules hotels. Those things are amazing. You enter the first floor, rent a room from a machine. A guy gives you a key to you can store your shoes, give him back the key, he gives you a new one. You go to the second floor. Lockers. You put your clothes in, and inside you’ll find a bathrobe and a towel. There are showers there and a laundry. On the third floor is a huge salon with 3 huge televisions. 7th floor are our cabins. Actually 1 meter width, 1meter height and less than 2 meters long. Not too bad. You have a sheet, can watch TV, listen to radio, and have you own alarm clock. ON the TV you can see animation, sports, news and pornography. Actually the worst pornography I ever saw. If the pornography was that bad in North America no doubt we would like animation more. In the morning you wake up, go to the bath room. There is individuals’ toothbrush, individuals’ razor. 3 different perfumes. It’s really not that bad. In the morning you have free coffee available on the first floor. I don’t have pics was too drunk to even think about taking some.
Anyway, Sunday morning, I call the station where is supposed to be my officially lost passport. The first thing I hear is a “moshi-moshi”. This is fairly strange for an official government office. I hang up and double check the phone number the second time I try. Japanese phone numbers can be fairly longs so it’s easy to make mistakes. Again, same girl, same “moshi-moshi”. Ok. I try to ask her about a lost passport. Silence and then moshi-moshi. Hang up. I go to the reception of the hotel and try to ask to the guy there if he knows the place I noted on my scrap of paper. Never heard of. His coworkers say the same. Holy fuck!!! Guess I’ll have to go to the embassy.
08-10-22 16 :30 :12 – Entering the embassy. Took me almost 4 hours to find it. In facts, the building is easy to find, but the actual embassy entrance is not. Without any indication in French or English and without finding any katakana saying Canada, I walked past it almost 5 times. Actual walked around the building 4 times. And except for the suspicious looks of the guards watching me, no reaction at all. The entrance is in fact on the fourth floor of a hotel, and you have to go all the way around outside to find an escalator. A pain really. SO I enter. The reception has a superb sign all chromed saying English/Français. Cool! Going to the reception, and telling to the woman there that I lost a passport and I’m here to get the information to get it back. I think she lost me after I said “Bonjour!” She tells me to wait and she goes fetch a Japanese woman that understand French better than her. Ok to me. She could actually really talk it well, but not understand. Took me about 5 times to make her understand that I wasn’t there to report a lost passport but to actually get the information to fetch it back. She then says to me to go to the third floor. Down to the third floor. The passport and urgency office. Which is supposed to be closed at this hour is actually closed. Yeah! But there’s a guy waiting there, so I take a sit. Not long after, a woman comes to me and asks me in English if I’m here for a passport. Yeah... more or less. I ask her if she speaks French. Her fingers tell me « Just a little bit. » Well, congratulation miss you just found a good excuse to practice cause there’s no way I’m gonna speak English in an official government building where I should be able to get services in French according to the Canadian law. 30 minutes later she understands. Then with a suspicious look, ask me if I have some ID. I get out my passport copy, my sun card, my 2 hospitals cards, my Gundam’s mecha driver card, my library card and the scrap of paper with my host family information on it. Am I tired of all this? Hell yes I am! She just takes my passport copy and tells me to wait a moment. She comes back with a paper holding all the information I need, including which subway line I should take and where to disembark and which exit to take. Cool. Then I realise that the school is just near it. Holy cow in heaven!?! Why me? She then tells me that I just go there, show them this case file number and it’s gonna be quick. Cool! Thank you very much miss.
08-10-23 15 :08 :20 – Entering the Keishicyo Isitsubutsu Center (Yup! I had a scrap of paper near me to write this one down on the computer.) I walked from school. To come in the neighbour where this police station is took me only 20 minutes. But to actually find the building took me near two hours. Did I ever tell that I hate Japanese maps? Well, I fucking hate Japanese maps! I found it after asking to ten different people who each single ones of them pointed a different direction to me. I have a really huge thank you that goes to the woman of the pharmacy who actually took 2 minutes of her time on the job to walk me to the building. DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!!! SO enter the station, which is in fact the lost and found objects office of Tokyo. GO to the reception. I hand over the paper with the file number on it and tell the guy it is a passport. He then hand me a formulary to fill. What the!!!! Name, address, phone number. Anything you want I don’t care just gives me back my passport. Give him back is piece of paper. Then tell me to wait. He comes back later with the passport in his hands. JOY!!! I reach to get it, and he step back asking me the name on the passport, date of birth, passport serial number. WHAT!?! Give him the information. Just hand over my passport you piece of sh*&!!! He gives me back my passport and I get the hell out of there.
So that’s it. Now I have officially retrieved my officially lost passport. I can say it was a good day. I don’t have pics of course, no one want to see office buildings pictures. But I do stumble on one thing while in the subway. Since you will only see that kind of decoration in a subway in Japan I thought I should take picture. I really like that.
Cya.
08-10-11 17 :43 :32 – Get out of the train and notice that my passport is missing. Look around in the station as much as I can. No passport. Holy crap! A little bit anxious, half amused and really frustrated, I tell myself that I’ll call the embassy as soon as I enter the apartment.
08-10-11 18 :14 :23 – Calling the embassy. Now it starts. First tumble on a pre-recorded English, then French, then Japanese message. Mostly saying that the embassy is closed on Saturday and Sunday. And that Monday they will be closed too cause it’s the national sport day. Aaah crap. Nothing much to do, I’ll call Tuesday.
08-10-14 08 :25 :47 – Taking a small stop to the found objects of the metro station asking if someone brought a Canadian passport in. The guy there tells me to wait and make at least half a dozen different calls. Nope nothing on this line. Did the guy just called every single station of this line? Yup he did. Well, thank you, but disappointing. Guess I’ll have to call the embassy after the classes.
08-10-14 12 :50 :21 – Calling the embassy. A funny little message in English, then French, then Japanese. Choose your language. French. Choose which of the following options. #2 lost passport office and urgency. Fall on the vocal box that tells me that the office is currently closed. But if I let my name and contact information they should call me back in the next two working days. Yeah, lucky I’m not in urgency. Let my name, cell phone number and hang up.
08-10-14 17 :05 :23 – Cell phone ringing. Answering : « Moshi-moshi. » A kind of shy voice speaking more or less well in French ask me if I called the embassy for a lost passport. Well yes, else you wouldn’t have my phone number won’t you? So I start explaining in French that I lost my passport last Saturday. That I already checked the lost objects at the subway station. With a lot of hesitation she asks me if I need a new passport. Duh…. Yes! At this moment, she tries to explain to me the procedure to get a new one. But it doesn’t work well cause her French is not really good. So I tell her that she can do it in English if she is more comfortable with it. She said thank you and started to explain in English. Wish I told her to continue in French, it was worst in English. So basically the conversation just keep switching to English, to French, to Japanese, to French again, to English... and so on. After a moment, I understand that I need my birth certificate, the address of 2 people who know me for longer than 2 years and my passport copy. Well, at least I have the passport copy. Then, she asks me if I went to the police station to report de the lost. Well no… What are the chances of actually finding my passport now. She then tells me that I have to go to the police to I can fill an official form that will make it official that I have officially lost my passport and then they will give me an official paper that will officially say that I officially lost my passport and they can now officially ask for a new official passport... or something like that. What the … ? Oh and she then tells me the passport office is only opens on weekdays from 9h30 to 12h30. Yeah… only getting better. I honestly don’t want to miss classes. Already hard enough without skipping school. But well, I guess that a new passport is actually more important.
08-10-16 12 :45 :21 – Near the school there is what the Japanese call a police box. Those are little stations for neighbourhood patrolling. In the morning you would be able to see maybe 10 policemen planning their patrolling day. It’s really small, but actually has all the useful things you could find in a main police station. So go to the police officer there, tell him I’ve lost my passport. The officer gives me a form to fill. Name, address, phone number, description of the item lost. You know the drill. When I’m about to finish, comes in a second officer that look at me. Ask a few things to the policeman sitting with me. Then decide he stops my form filling… well that sounds dirty. Anyway. He tries to explain something that I don’t get cause he is speaking to fast and refuse to slow down. He then takes the phone and passes it to me. There is an operator speaking English. Tells me that I have to go to the main police station so I can fill the form to have my official paper for my officially lost passport. While he is telling me that, the second policeman is showing me on a map where to go. It’s near. One stop at the subway. Should be easy. Ok.
08-10-16 16 :33 :56 – It took me almost two hours to find the police station. God I hate those Japanese map. Enter the station, go to the reception. Yeah Canadian, yeah lost my passport, yeah second floor. Go to the second floor. The reception there send me to third floor who tells me to go back at the second floor to take a formulary that I should picked up on the way to the third floor. Fill out the formulary, which is the exact same thing I had almost finished earlier in the police box. Got to be kidding. Hand the formulary to the officer there. He tells me to wait while they enter the information in the computer. 20 minutes later! Does not compute! Apparently the guy doesn’t understand what I wrote so he asks me to do it again. 20 minutes later the guy comes back with my official paper of officially lost passport. Back to the first floor where they will compute that and give me another official paper for my officially lost passport. At the reception of the first floor I hand over the official paper to the official officer who officially declares that I have another official form to fill out. Holy hell! Name, address, phone number. Hand over the paper, get a new official paper for my officially lost passport. I can now go to the embassy. But not today cause anyway they are closed at this hour.
08-10-17 13 :42 :08 – PHONE! The embassy. Someone found my passport and brought it to the police. How amazing. No more bureaucracy for me! Forgive me if I’m a bit naive but I can’t help it. So, anyway, where’s my passport, huh? The intelligent thing to do would have been to say to the girl at the phone to wait for me and I’ll go directly to the embassy to get the information. But you know, I’m stupid sometimes. So I ask her. Maybe I forgot that I was in a restaurant in a basement right in the middle of Tokyo, but the line was really crappy. And I don’t hear half the information the girl is giving me in French/English/Japanese. I try to go up one floor. The line is better, but too much noise from Tokyo. Try to go higher while I write the information. When I’m nearing the third floor she asks me if I have an e-mail. Would be easier of course than noting all that on a scrap of paper. HAHA! So I start: “A”, “C”, “I”, “D”, “E”. Then come the underbar « _ ». Yeah, try to explain what is an under bar (_) to someone who doesn’t understand neither English nor French well on a half shitty phone line that threaten to cut every second from now. Just forget it. Impossible. Then I just tell myself if can get the phone number right I’ll just call and ask for the whereabouts of the station. SO make the girl repeat at least five times to make sure the phone number is right. Excellent. I will be able to handle myself from there.
08-10-19 10 :13 :18 – I don’t know exactly why I didn’t call sooner, but I didn’t. Sunday morning, just spent the night clubbing and went to sleep in a capsule hotel.
Just need to make a quicky about capsules hotels. Those things are amazing. You enter the first floor, rent a room from a machine. A guy gives you a key to you can store your shoes, give him back the key, he gives you a new one. You go to the second floor. Lockers. You put your clothes in, and inside you’ll find a bathrobe and a towel. There are showers there and a laundry. On the third floor is a huge salon with 3 huge televisions. 7th floor are our cabins. Actually 1 meter width, 1meter height and less than 2 meters long. Not too bad. You have a sheet, can watch TV, listen to radio, and have you own alarm clock. ON the TV you can see animation, sports, news and pornography. Actually the worst pornography I ever saw. If the pornography was that bad in North America no doubt we would like animation more. In the morning you wake up, go to the bath room. There is individuals’ toothbrush, individuals’ razor. 3 different perfumes. It’s really not that bad. In the morning you have free coffee available on the first floor. I don’t have pics was too drunk to even think about taking some.
Anyway, Sunday morning, I call the station where is supposed to be my officially lost passport. The first thing I hear is a “moshi-moshi”. This is fairly strange for an official government office. I hang up and double check the phone number the second time I try. Japanese phone numbers can be fairly longs so it’s easy to make mistakes. Again, same girl, same “moshi-moshi”. Ok. I try to ask her about a lost passport. Silence and then moshi-moshi. Hang up. I go to the reception of the hotel and try to ask to the guy there if he knows the place I noted on my scrap of paper. Never heard of. His coworkers say the same. Holy fuck!!! Guess I’ll have to go to the embassy.
08-10-22 16 :30 :12 – Entering the embassy. Took me almost 4 hours to find it. In facts, the building is easy to find, but the actual embassy entrance is not. Without any indication in French or English and without finding any katakana saying Canada, I walked past it almost 5 times. Actual walked around the building 4 times. And except for the suspicious looks of the guards watching me, no reaction at all. The entrance is in fact on the fourth floor of a hotel, and you have to go all the way around outside to find an escalator. A pain really. SO I enter. The reception has a superb sign all chromed saying English/Français. Cool! Going to the reception, and telling to the woman there that I lost a passport and I’m here to get the information to get it back. I think she lost me after I said “Bonjour!” She tells me to wait and she goes fetch a Japanese woman that understand French better than her. Ok to me. She could actually really talk it well, but not understand. Took me about 5 times to make her understand that I wasn’t there to report a lost passport but to actually get the information to fetch it back. She then says to me to go to the third floor. Down to the third floor. The passport and urgency office. Which is supposed to be closed at this hour is actually closed. Yeah! But there’s a guy waiting there, so I take a sit. Not long after, a woman comes to me and asks me in English if I’m here for a passport. Yeah... more or less. I ask her if she speaks French. Her fingers tell me « Just a little bit. » Well, congratulation miss you just found a good excuse to practice cause there’s no way I’m gonna speak English in an official government building where I should be able to get services in French according to the Canadian law. 30 minutes later she understands. Then with a suspicious look, ask me if I have some ID. I get out my passport copy, my sun card, my 2 hospitals cards, my Gundam’s mecha driver card, my library card and the scrap of paper with my host family information on it. Am I tired of all this? Hell yes I am! She just takes my passport copy and tells me to wait a moment. She comes back with a paper holding all the information I need, including which subway line I should take and where to disembark and which exit to take. Cool. Then I realise that the school is just near it. Holy cow in heaven!?! Why me? She then tells me that I just go there, show them this case file number and it’s gonna be quick. Cool! Thank you very much miss.
08-10-23 15 :08 :20 – Entering the Keishicyo Isitsubutsu Center (Yup! I had a scrap of paper near me to write this one down on the computer.) I walked from school. To come in the neighbour where this police station is took me only 20 minutes. But to actually find the building took me near two hours. Did I ever tell that I hate Japanese maps? Well, I fucking hate Japanese maps! I found it after asking to ten different people who each single ones of them pointed a different direction to me. I have a really huge thank you that goes to the woman of the pharmacy who actually took 2 minutes of her time on the job to walk me to the building. DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!!! SO enter the station, which is in fact the lost and found objects office of Tokyo. GO to the reception. I hand over the paper with the file number on it and tell the guy it is a passport. He then hand me a formulary to fill. What the!!!! Name, address, phone number. Anything you want I don’t care just gives me back my passport. Give him back is piece of paper. Then tell me to wait. He comes back later with the passport in his hands. JOY!!! I reach to get it, and he step back asking me the name on the passport, date of birth, passport serial number. WHAT!?! Give him the information. Just hand over my passport you piece of sh*&!!! He gives me back my passport and I get the hell out of there.
So that’s it. Now I have officially retrieved my officially lost passport. I can say it was a good day. I don’t have pics of course, no one want to see office buildings pictures. But I do stumble on one thing while in the subway. Since you will only see that kind of decoration in a subway in Japan I thought I should take picture. I really like that.
Cya.
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