It turns out that journalspace, where my blog was hosted before, cannot recover their database after the crash. So, new blog space! Woo! Happy New Year!
I'm getting ready to leave Japan- tomorrow. Wow. I've got terrible butterflies already, everything is packed and waiting... I said goodbye to Dan and Barbara a few hours ago. I'm taking the shinkansen to Tokyo, and then have to switch trains at Tokyo station to the airport...
My time here has been... a learning experience. I wouldn't call it todemo tanoshi but it was certainly interesting. I learned that I don't understand Japanese culture or people, and that I don't fit in, and that I will probably never have the ability to be somewhat communicative in Japanese. It's all very ambiguous. That's what this semester has been, ambiguous.
The holidays here, though, I like. It's not a big deal, it's just another day with a moment of recognition. "Oh, it's Christmas. Oh, it's New Year." It was not nearly as stressful being in Japan for Christmas as it is in the States. Black Friday, people spending too much money to "prove" to people they love them. I don't know, I just don't get it.
Last night I went down to Heian Shrine and watched the crowds. They had it set up like a festival. Food vendors lined the main street. I stuffed myself with okonomiyaki. I almost missed midnight, and would have if people hadn't started to suddenly fidget and clap. The biggest ruckus were 3 boys who jumped off the railing behind me and shouted "Yah!"
New Years in Japan is all about family, and the first visit of the year to a temple or shrine is a big family affair. Everyone goes out (to 3 shrines, if you want to be really traditional) to pray and ring bells at midnight. At Yasaka Shrine, in Gion (an area of Kyoto) thousands of people line up to receive coils of rope that have a little ember on one end. They're supposed to go home and use this sacred fire, lit by a priest, to start the first cooking fire of the year. I saw a few people walking around Heian with coils o rope glowing on one end.
Other temples ring bells counting up to midnight, 108 times to represent the Buddhist notion of cleansing of sin and new beginnings. Heian shrine doesn't have a bell, apparently, so midnight was kind of a... anticlimax. I was standing at the back of the grounds (with a few other gaijin who were probably also perplexed about what was going on) and just watched to see what would happen. About 30 minutes to midnight, people started streaming in from the food stalls, gathering in front of the shrine. Within 15 minutes, the entire ground was jammed with people, waiting for midnight. I had no idea what would happen at midnight. Would bells ring joyously welcoming the new year? Would there be fireworks? Would the crowd collectively break into prayer? Would priests appear and do some sort of ritual? Or dance?
But, like I said, I hardly noticed that it was midnight until people started clapping. And then there was a mad press towards the shrine, when I thought the crowd couldn't get any more packed closer together, as people shuffled by the main hall, throwing coins and praying.
I thought of this crowd of Japanese people the ultimate test for any American mosh-pit or concert enthusiast. Anyone who thinks they are skilled at swimming their way through a tight crowd to front and center. I challenge anyone who thinks they are good at that to come to Japan and experience the tight press of people that is everyday life here! The ultimate test of course would be getting on a local train at Tokyo Station during rush hour, when white-gloved train attendants are PAID to push people into the trains like sardines and shut the doors without any lost fingers.
Anyway, so New Years was less excited than I had planned back when I got my tickets and had wanted to be in Tokyo. I probably could have gone to Tokyo and still have found stuff to do. The warnings of everything closing for a few days wasn't nearly as severe as I took it to be. Mostly just museums and touristy things were closed. There were still parties and bars open, like anywhere else in the world. I almost went to this Irish pub, but vetoed it. How often am I in Japan for New Years? I wanted to see what a real Japanese festivity felt like. It felt like a carnival without the rides and drunk people.
This semester has not been what I planned, but I'm still happy with coming here. And I realized the other day, after fighting all semester about whether or not I would, I knew that one day I will probably come back to Japan for a visit. I may not understand much of what's going on here, but the food's good.
One other sad realization though; I will be leaving without having made a single Japanese friend. Oh well.
Tomorrow I'm up bright and early (if I can sleep at all, that is) and off to Colorado for some fun in the snow with my friend and soon-to-be roomie. Happy Holidays, everyone!
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