More Japoddness

Well I'm back home in Nirayama after a brief but wonderful trip around Japan, or at least, the bits that I had wanted to see.

Hiroshima: check!
Okonomiyaki: check!
Sake: check!
Kyoto temples: check!
Public baths (sento): check!
Not embarrass oneself by correctly following bathing rules in room full of naked Japanese men: check!
Bullet train: check!
Miyajima: check!
Spectacular autumnal beauty: check!
Identify Ginko tree: check!
Make new friends at hostels: check!
Free wifi, great coffee and feeling at home in Starbucks: check!



This is absolutely the right place to lose your wallet. I lost (and recovered!) mine at the Peace Museum on Wednesday. I noticed an hour later as I was checking in at the hostel. The man at the desk said "That'll be ¥2000 please" and I felt my heart drop.  I patted all my many my pockets but I just couldn't find my wallet. In panic and a state of constant prayer I ran back the Peace Museum, the only place I thought it could be, and the information lady waved at me. I had left it by the postcard counter (typical Rob!) and she had handed it in, of course, completely intact. I have since noticed an odd phenomenon (to western eyes at least); people leave wallets, purses and handbags on tables to reserve seats here. What an incredible trusting society; certainly the best place in the world for terminal droppers, forgetters and losers like me!

Golden Temple, Kyoto. That's real gold!

Yesterday at Kyoto Station I saw a couple holding hands, which is unusual. Japan, as a culture, seems to have a different set of predominant love languages. I don't know if you know about the love languages, but it was a concept that revolutionised my marriage. See here to work out what yours is. It turns out there are five main ways we all naturally express our love for others and naturally feel love being expressed to us; kind words, physical touch, quality time, acts of service and gifts. It turns out that Vic and I, like many couples, have different languages  For a while at the start of our marriage we would both get frustrated expressing our love for the other in ways they didn't feel it. Victoria's primary language is touch, so she would often be holding and stroking me, whereas I was mostly irritated by the constant pawing and needed some quality time. Reading Gary Chapman's book opened our eyes, and we set out trying to learn to 'speak' the other's language.

I get the impression that touch is a much more common language back in the West than here; indeed, anyone who's language was touch would have a difficult time. There's just no holding hands in the street, at least not in your home town. That sort of intimacy is OK when you're on holiday, but you wouldn't want anyone to see THAT personal an event. The threshold of Public Displays of Affection is set very low! Combined with that, it can be hard for married couples to find any space to 'connect,' so to speak. Many families are three or four generations in the same house, and many people share bedrooms with parents or children their whole lives. This means 'love-hotels,' where rooms are rented by the hour,  do a thriving and entirely respectable trade.  I have to admit I would struggle here, and touch only comes third on my list! Thankfully the national character seems vastly more inclined to gifts. So much so that the postal system is an efficient wonder, rapidly and easily transporting little presents, home grown fruit, flowers, letters etc all over the country. It's so fast and so cheap, people post their luggage ahead of themselves on holiday!

Finally for today, Movember is over, and Victoria will be relieved that her bearded husband will return to her in mid-December.  Great efforts by many friends have hopefully seen a few pounds go towards this vital cause. Having seen the sharp end of prostate cancer in the family this year, I'm all the keener that we find better, smarter ways to fight this cancer. The 'cures' and treatments we have at the moment still have a massive impact on men's lives and self-esteems. We have to do better, we will do better. Keep fighting the fight for man cancer, boys!

Hiroshima and so on

Wednesday morning I got up and spent 4 hours on 3 trains, some of which at almost 200mph, all to complete a lifelong pilgrimage. I was wondering if it would be worth a half day travelling there and half a day travelling back for an afternoon and a morning.

A watch stopped at 8.15, Aug 6th 1945

Wow, was it ever! I thought had absorbed as much as can be absorbed from the discovery channel, but it was almost overpowering being there. Seeing the place where the nature of war changed. The echoes of that explosion are still reverberating around the world. If you're in Japan, I recommend you go. The peace museum hammers home the message of the overpowering destructive nature of these weapons, and makes the personal tragedies that day really clear. It's odd to see the personal effects of victims (Hibakusha); sets of clothes in which people were exposed (and shortly after, died), the watches stopped at exactly 8.15 AM, hair that fell out in the following days that relatives kept. You get to see the stark and sudden intrusion of the war into people's everyday lives.  

The peace dome, peace flame and centotaph

It was also interesting to see some of the background behind the choice of target cities. I had always assumed that Japan was the target because Germany had surrendered, but not so. The Manhattan project knew they'd be ready go for months before Germany surrendered, but Churchill and Roosevelt had already decided to target Japan for all sorts of strategic reasons. (See here for a more accurate explanation than I could give. Bless Wikipedia!) Seeing the back and forth in the letters between staff at the War Dept and Churchill and Roosevelt is eyeopening. The decision was taken pretty coldly and clinically, with an eye firmly on gaining the upper hand in the cold war with Russia they already knew was fomenting, and a desire to appease the people back home that all those lovely dollars they's spent on The Manhattan Project hadn't been wasted. Yes folks, it came to that. We bought it, might as well use it. Nuclear war was unleashed, at heart, by Yorkshiremen. 

"Well, our lass, that's a lovely bomb tha's made." 

"Ar, that it is. Shame Japan's nearly ready to surrender, our Pa. 'S probably not even needed, now."

"Well, let it of quick, love. Be a shame to waste it!"

"Boom!"

On a lighter note, I had a lovely dinner. Hiroshima is known for its Okonimiyaki, and I had cracking ones last night. Even better, having checked in alone I swiftly found new chums to head off with, and Okonomiyaki is good in a group. 5 of us sat round a communal hot plate and enjoyed watching our dinner being prepared, before successfully putting away shrimp, noodles, cabbage, cheese, squid and pork with our chopsticks. Yumsk! 

This morning I set the alarm for 6.50 in order to get breakfasted and all trammed up in time to get out to Miyajima. I had been faithfully informed by a dear friend that it was the best view in Japan. The clouds were not not onside, it was decidedly overcast and yet this charming island did not disappoint. The key feature of this island in the south of Hiroshima is the entrance gate to the Shinto temple, made in steel and set out in the water such that at high tide it seems to be floating. Well worth the visit.  It left me in a great mood to sit on the next shinkansen to Kyoto, wherein I write this, city of even more awesome autumnal leaf action and a zillion temples! The 96 minutes on the shinkansen was put to great use writing up this Sunday's sermon. I'm so excited about it, I get to start advent! I plan to post that up soon. If you see a long post with no pictures, that's it. 

Torii gate, Mirajima.

Autumnal leaves, temple, Kyoto.

Enough for now, more random musings tomorrow...

Cheese, beer, coffee.

Three things that are important to me.

If you had to live with just one, what would it be?
(Substitute tea if that's your caffeine of choice!)

For me, it's becoming clear that it's coffee, and I fit right in here in Japan. Cheese is scarce, pricey and rubbish, as you'd expect in a largely dairy free country where milk costs more than petrol.

That's me, trying a HOT can of coffee from one of the vending machines that are EVERYWHERE over here. It was surprisingly good. I've had many a cup that was much worse (old ladies and staffroom mellow birds, EW!). They love their coffee here, they really do.

By contrast, if coffee is acceptable and pervasive, beer and pubs is a different issue all together. Over here, bars are for drinking, hard drinking. Not for the first time it strikes me that British pub culture to be cherished as a rare and wonderful thing! Both in North America and Japan, public bars are places you go to drink, where the socialising is a side issue. Back in the UK, indeed, if Switzerland and France are anything to go by, in Europe, Pubs bars and cafes are places you go to socialise, and the drinking is a side issue.  Part of me thinks it's because our beer is so bloody good and worth enjoying properly, but then again it seems to be true in France where that's far from the case. I'm far from being an expert, I just know that, for me, pubs are one of the truly great things about Britain.

Over here in Japan, just like when I went to Romania with St Georges a couple of years ago, I've run into dry Christianity. With drinking-culture being so different, so damaging and un-wholesome, Japanese Christians don't drink alcohol, as a rule, and not waning to stand out, cause offense or damage the reputation of the family I'm staying with, I have't either. It's been good to see that I haven't really missed it. Does one good to go without, every now and then. I know I'll really appreciate it when I get home!

Still, it does make me ponder what I would do, If i were over here long term. How important is it to conform to the world's views, or the local christian world's views. After-all, Jesus loved a glass or two of wine. Should we, as Christians, be demonstrating the joy that can be found in all parts of creation, or is that just the selfish drinker in me talking? I also want to say what huge respect I have for missionaries, who don't always know exactly what they are giving up when they answer the call. I really hope God only calls me to places with decent pubs!

George Best, a biblical role model?!

"I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted."

I have a lot of Time for Belfast's favorite son, and I like to think St Paul would have appreciated the sentiments of this much quoted line.

...(pause for sharp intake of breath)...

Yes, I am saying that St Paul would have approved of a man dedicating his resources whole-heatedly to chasing skirt, getting drunk and driving around in fast cars, absolutely he would!





Alright, I admit it, I'm joking, but only a little.

Check this out:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2Timothy 4:7)

So what's the point? Am I referring to St Paul's legendary athletic abilities? Is he particularly proud of his top ranked for age placing in the Ephesus half marathon? 

No.

Don't be silly.

Paul knew he was near the end of his life. He knew the gig was up, the executioners would be coming for him soon. He wasn't worried. Elsewhere in his letters he writes of how he was ready to go, to move on up to heaven and be with his Lord. Death held no fear for him (although I can't believe he didn't quail at the method he knew was in store!). 

I can kind of get my head around this. I'm not there by any means, but I'd like to be there and I can imagine that a few more years walking with Jesus will see me gradually closer to that fearless point of view. What truly impresses me is the self-confidence Paul shows here, the certainty that he has done the best he can. Just like George, Paul worked out what he wanted from his life and he went for it. I'm not saying he was perfect; I know he can't have been. His own words tell us that! It's just amazing that, as Kipling put it, Paul seems to have filled the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.

I don't think I do better than  30 seconds most days.

It's perhaps a little embarrassing, that as Christians, we need George Best to show us what commitment to a cause looks like. Surely our cause, our faith, our saviour means more to us that booze birds and cars did to George? I know most of us would say yes, but I don't know many who can honestly say that they only wasted 10% of the only real resource their creator gave them, their time to run their race for and with Him down here.

I'm trying to do better.

How are you doing?

I don't know about you, but I'm awfully glad for Grace!

Don't worry, keep trying, and keep praying, keep asking for help!

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not 

discovered the value of life. Charles Darwin

奇妙な (Kimyōna)

奇妙な (Kimyōna) is as close as I can come to 'weird' in Japanese.

Here are a few more of the things I have noticed in my first few days here, some weird, some cool, some just 'things':

Both Victoria and my mother in law have a thing about facing the 'wrong way' when travelling. Forwards or nothing for them. Backwards motion leads to nausea! Well, here in Japan they'd be fine on trains. As the first train from the airport towards the Sinkansen connection pulled in I thought "Hello, that's odd; all the seats face the same way. When we pull out, we'll all be facing backwards. Vic would hate that!" I put the thought to one side and watched as a team of cleaners descended and tidied the train. When I looked back up from my kindle, lo and behold, all the seats were the right way round! They all seem to be on little foot-operated turntables, so everyone can face the direction of travel, or if they are so inclined, go backwards and be sociable with the row behind. Neat! One of the first things that made me think we should do likewise in the West!

When this first train appeared I tried to embark but was shooed off by the team of cleaners. When they had finished I was positively welcomed aboard by a lady who seemed to take immense pride in a simple job well done. Nice work, and nice work-ethic, team clean!

The trolley lady passed and I fancied a drink to go with the sandwich my lovely wife had made that I had saved for lunch. I asked what a typical Japanese drink would be and she recommended either hot or cold green tea. Pushing the boat out, I opted for the cold for ¥150, hoping I wasn't being ripped off (Turned out to be CHF2 or about £1.40). Over in Switzerland I've rather taken to the iced-tea and fancied that such a sweet and caffeinated beverage would be just the ticket. How wrong I was; this beverage was nothing like the liptonice I have become partial to, it was just cold green tea. I pushed on, not one to waste a drink, and eventually came to quite enjoy it, but I have decided that I definitely prefer my tea hot, as a rule. I had another cup today, hot, and it was entirely pleasant.

Passed my first Pagoda. Wow! What an elegant and surprisingly earthquake-proof building! 

EVERYONE has been super helpful and seems genuinely delighted with my frequent "'Arigato's (thank you). There is much gracious head bobbing and a real sense of politeness everywhere, something we could perhaps use a little more of. Heather, my hostess, tells me a story of two gaijin chatting in a Japanese bar. One here for 20 months, one for 20 years. The first gets lots of attention and is welcomed everywhere, the second, despite fluent Japanese, feels excluded. I have yet to see the latter position ( suspect a 3 week visit will not be long enough!) but have seen plenty of the former. Everyone was amused and delighted at my first Japanese lesson on Tuesday night at my inability to sit on the floor for long and my not knowing proper toilet-slipper etiquette. It seems they like their foreigners foreign!

Slippers: there are rules people! 

1. NEVER wear outside shoes inside!
2. Shoes off IMMEDIATELY inside door, while on bare floor
3. Socks do not touch floor
4. Step into slippers on inside flooring (wood or carpet)
5. Place shoes on bare floor, next to each other and ready to be stepped into, facing door
6. Failure to follow (4) leads to hostess doing for one
7. Eventuality of (5) leads to shame, dishonour, castigation or ritual suicide depending on, I suspect, value and filthiness of shoes
8. These slippers will be provided by hosts
9. DO NOT WEAR THESE SLIPPERS INTO THE TOILET!!
10. There are extra slippers provided in the toilet, use these for duration of visit
11. Leave your house slippers outside the toilet
12. When finished toileting, leave toilet slippers just inside door facing the right way for next visitor

Some of these rules might be useful, it certainly keeps a house clean! Perhaps Vic and I should invest in a whole box of guest slippers?

Anyway, enough for today, these sermons won't write themselves. 

Sayonara

Rob

Konichiwa

So, here I am on day 2 of my trip to Japan, preaching with the Nelson's at Nirayama, in sight of the beautiful Mt Fuji. I pushed through until 9:00 last night and feel like I am holding the dreaded jet-lag at bay for now. As I made my way here on 2 planes (via Moscow!) and 3 trains I jotted down a selection of random thoughts on my journey so far that I thought I'd take this opportunity to share.

First tho; Mo news...
as you can see, this Movember's effort is coming on strong. Not sure what breed of Mo it looks like yet. Possibly 1950's bin man? I haven't set up a web page for sponsorship, I know too many people already doing it. I thought it made sense to redirect to them. This year I am urging people to give via the page of Steve Besford.  Come on people, dig deep. Some of us look proper silly! I refer you also to the pages of Matthew Arrowsmith and Giles Smith.




So, a beginning to some Japanese cultural differences as noted by a roaming Gai-Jin on day 1. I assume some of these 1st impressions will change as time goes on...

A significant number of people are wearing surgical masks. I first noticed a row of matching young ladies on the plane and some more at the airport. Once I was out in the world, I noticed some men too, but far fewer (would have covered up the magnificent moustaches!). Apparently this is to block in-bound germs (on the plane) or politely restrain out-bound germs when one is afflicted with lurgee.  Some of this makes a good deal of sense; the culture is still very family oriented and many families continue to cohabit. It's not unusual for 4 generations to be in the same home, exposing both elderly and very young to germs. That said, cleanliness seems to be something of a national obsession bordering on the compulsive. I am told that I need to sneeze gently (which will be a MAMMOTH effort) and leave he room to blow my nose. Wonder what else I need to leave the room for...

Anyhow, apparently I'm off to quarter the town to get oriented now (Pun totally intended!). More news and impressions later!