A Magic, Peaceful, Love Christmas

Roughly 2% of the Japanese population is Christian, but they certainly know it’s Christmastime. Featuring themes like “Peaceful Chrismas,” “Magic Christmas,” and “Love Christmas," decorations and holiday music were in stores by early November.

But Christmas is not a public holiday, nor is it a family holiday, and you don’t usually give or receive gifts. New Year’s is the holiday for family and gift giving (usually cash) and Christmas Eve or Christmas is for date night, or if at home, a dinner of roast or fried chicken, and Christmas cake. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them I’ve never had chicken or Christmas cake for Christmas dinner, since they assume these particular traditions must have come from America or elsewhere. I think the fried chicken came from KFC trying to boost sales in the Japanese market.

So exactly how have we celebrated Christmas this winter? Yes, even I found myself in a celebratory spirit this winter, perhaps to the surprise of friends and family familiar with my usual Christmas funk. Good timing with a baby on the way since disliking Christmas probably isn’t allowed for the next 18 or so years. 

Volunteered at a Children’s Home 

The last few years, Jason and I have focused on trying to bring more Christmas spirit into the day by volunteering. So I signed up when I received an email from the Tokyo Mothers Group about their annual Christmas sponsorship of a Tokyo orphanage. I was concerned that a children’s home, Christmas, and pregnancy emotions could be a volatile combination, but I underestimated just how joyful young children are. Without romanticizing their circumstances, they were as playful and fun and happy to have someone spending time with them as any child is.

The girl in the picture facing my stomach, kept yelling “Okitte” or “wake up” to the baby because she wanted to feel it move. We enjoyed a very American feast of Domino’s pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken and passed out gifts to each of the different age groups.

"Baby, wake up in there!"

Volunteered at an elementary school party 

One of Jason’s colleagues volunteers for an English/Chinese enrichment class every month at a local elementary school. She invited us to attend/assist with their Christmas activities. Jason downloaded carols, printed off lyrics, and bought some Christmas treats for the kids. In addition to practicing English with the kids, we also butchered some Chinese words. Japanese is hard, but at least the pronunciation is relatively simple.

Christmas Tea 

Tokyo has many luxury hotels and nearly all of them feature high tea. After going to the Ritz-Carlton high tea with friends in October, we made plans to try a Christmas themed high tea. The very luxurious Peninsula Hotel was not the same as the 37^th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, but it was still delicious and festive. This is a tradition that I’m really looking forward to enjoying with our little girl. And only about  another dozen or two high teas to enjoy in Tokyo...

Christmas Cake 

We did not pre-order a Christmas cake, as many people do, but we did pick up two slices for Christmas Eve dinner. The traditional Christmas Cake is the vanilla/strawberry confection in the picture.

Incidentally, unmarried women over the age of 25 used to be referred to as “Christmas Cake”, because who wants Christmas cake on the 26^th or later? I think this has fallen out of fashion as the age at which young people marry has increased, but people still understand the reference.

Mmm, Christmas Cake...

Decorating
Even our small apartment was imbued with some Christmas cheer. We inherited an artificial tree set with lights and decorations from a previous Mansfield Fellow.  Jason found an “Engrish” banner at the hyaku-en store (Japanse dollar store) and his parents also sent some Christmas decorations. I liked our fake, Charlie Brown-esque Christmas tree. I also liked that it took all of about 5 minutes to put it up and will be equally easy to take down.

Buying gifts for the baby 

We exchanged gifts, but more fun was buying “surprise” gifts for the baby for each other to open. I got her some board books for Daddy's reading pleasure. One features polar bears and the other features brown bears. Jason got her a very cozy winter set so we can bring her home from the hospital.

Christmas Dinner 

We took Christmas day off, while most people had returned to work following the December 24^th public holiday recognizing the Emperor’s birthday. After breakfast and gifts, we went to Kichijoji, one of our favorite neighborhoods on the western edge of Tokyo. 

It features a beautiful park, lots of interesting shops, great restaurants, and a more relaxed atmosphere than other Tokyo neighborhoods. We went back to a Swedish restaurant we discovered on our last visit and enjoyed their special 7-course Christmas menu. Sorry kids, we even ate Rudolph. Since we don’t have too many fancy dinners left in our near future, it was fun to enjoy one of our favorite Tokyo restaurants in our final BC (Before Child) weeks.

So from Tokyo to you: we hope you also had a magic, peaceful, love Christmas with or without fried chicken, reindeer or Christmas Cake.  And “Yoi o-toshi o shite kudasai” (Happy New Year).

One last piece of Christmas Cake, consumed on the 26th...

Fiscal Fairy Tales

Every year, Mansfield Fellows give various seminars related to their areas of interest at the Graduate Research Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. With an impending maternity leave, I was first up and decided to cover the fiscal cliff. Although I discussed it in excruciating and likely boring detail, I also wanted to emphasize that despite the laser-vision focus on this particular topic, it is probably only the first in a series of death cage budget battles next year, with at least one chance for government default (debt ceiling increase) and at least two chances at government shutdowns (FY13 and FY14 appropriations) in 2013. For those who remained awake, I do not think they were very cheered by my analysis.

I was definitely nervous about it beforehand, cursing myself for picking a topic that it seems half of the world is covering. But I spent a lot of time preparing and it went well. To add to my mental stress, I was concerned about my ability to avoid a bathroom break for that long, but as it turns out, the baby was very cooperative. Only my jaw came out worse for wear after 100 minutes of talking. I wonder if she was enjoying her fiscal fairy tale?

The flags are a nice touch.

O Christmas Tree

This tree is a relative deal at only 17,750 yen, which now costs $213.00 under Abe's weak yen policy.

World of Beauty

In an undisclosed office, deep in the bowels of Japanese bureaucracy is a complimentary calendar from Japan Airlines featuring photos of a “World of Beauty.”

Scenic landscapes? World wonders? City skylines that inspire you to buy your next ticket to Beijing or Bangkok? Nope, nope, and nope. For more than 40years, the World of Beauty calendar series has featured twelve lovely women from around the world in relatively generic-looking locales that might be vaguely identified with the women’s home countries. In other words, fly with us and we’ll introduce you to pretty girls around the world.

One of my young colleagues provided the most entertaining moment of the week when he unveiled the calendar. Within moments, the almost entirely male staff had gathered around like 13-year old boys with a stolen copy of an older brother’s girly magazine - picking, comparing, and arguing over their favorites. This went on for the larger portion of the afternoon, as others came in to look at the calendar. My young colleague was a star that day and he is carefully considering where he will hang it for everyone’s continued enjoyment.

It’s not exactly news that men like young, pretty women. For the record, the pictures are not inappropriate other than the question of hanging it in a government office. The women are attractive, but completely clothed. They are the “girls next door,” assuming you live in Vietnam, Australia, or in one of 3 US cities (go team America!), etc.. It is also curious to me that it is an airline’s complimentary calendar. What do they send to their female customers? I assume they must have at least a few whose patronage would qualify them for a free calendar.

Miss December, from Massachusetts.
The World of Beauty calendar is also available for sale.

But the particularly amusing part of the story goes back to my interview for the fellowship. As a female candidate, I was asked about how I would feel about the gender disparity that persists in Japanese society, particularly in a male-dominated institution like the Ministry of Finance. Specifically, one of the male interviewers related a story about visiting my current office at MoF twenty-some years ago and being surprised at pornographic pictures hanging on the walls, which were explained as “inspiration” in their boring world of numbers. The idea of mid-level bureaucrats needing pornographic inspiration merely makes me go “eww” and want to avoid touching any of the documents they produce. But I did not question my ability to handle such situations, assuming an adequate supply of hand sanitizer. By the way, that was not my response to the question.

Ultimately, we all laughed at the seemingly outdated idea of the smoke filled office, bereft of professional women, but abundant in celluloid versions. And, of course, the smoking is now confined to smoking rooms and the pictures are no longer pornographic, but it is a reminder that change is slow in the Mad Men world of MoF.

Comings and Goings

Between babymoons and business trips, we’ve barely caught our breath in recent weeks. Jason has just left for Okinawa for the week, so I’m catching up on the blog.

We went to Guam over the Thanksgiving weekend for a babymoon. Thursday was the American holiday, Friday was the equivalent of Japanese Labor/Thanksgiving day (Kinryou Kansha no Hi), so we had our last long weekend before I get too far along. We wanted to go to Kyushu for the grand sumo tournament in Fukuoka, but had trouble with bookings. Travelling on holiday weekends is always hard in the US, but Japan seems to be even more challenging. We’ve had a few weekend plans foiled when we simply haven’t been able to book hotel rooms because so many people travel on the three-day weekends. 

So with my doctor’s permission, we set off on a four-hour flight from Tokyo to a small tropical American territory reliant on Japanese tourism and the American military. Of the many places we considered for a babymoon (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kyushu, Hokkaido, etc.), Guam never crossed my mind. But it was exactly what we needed. Easy, relaxing, and we stocked up on baby stuff at Macy’s and Kmart. We even managed to get caught in the Black Friday madness that has started on Thanksgiving evening. We decided to walk up to Kmart for some beach things and scope out the baby aisles, and realized we had unwittingly walked into madness. After some scouting, we left the bargain shoppers to their long lines and super bargains and headed back to the hotel.

I usually prepare for our trips by reading lots of restaurant reviews and strategically planning out my top picks. This time, I spent my time looking up “what you need at a bare minimum for a newborn” and strategically planning our luggage requirements. 

About half of our baby purchases, but it all fit.

We still found time to enjoy a nice dinner and a mocktail.

We considered renting a car to see the island a bit. As it turned out, we slept in late every morning, enjoyed the beach in front of our hotel every day, and went shopping in the evenings. And it was perfect. Guam is quite small and there isn't much beyond diving and snorkeling, but white sand beaches and crystal clear water are perfectly sufficient diversions, especially with great weather. On our first day, the forecast for the following week was sunny with a high of 89 and a low of 76. Every day for seven days straight.

This is about all we saw of Guam.

Shortly after our return, I had a 3-night Mansfield trip to Osaka and Kobe. We had meetings with a variety of government officials, toured the Japanese mint, customs, the Great Hanshin Earthquake memorial and disaster preparedness institutes, along with more tourist-oriented sites like Osaka castle.  But the real highlight was the Kobe beef luncheon before we returned to Tokyo. Kobe beef is so tender and buttery that I’ve described it elsewhere as “delicious meat-flavored butter.” And I mean that in the absolute best way possible. I thought I’d had Kobe beef before, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t. There’s no mistaking meat-flavored butter.  

No tricks necessary at this teppanyaki restaurant in Kobe.

TOIRE WA DOKO DESU KA?

 
There are countless things you are going to get wrong. And if that bothers you, Japan might not be the place for you.  In addition to the procedure associated with shoeing and deshoeing (to borrow from aviation parlance) and the question of where to rest your chopsticks in between bites (not in the rice), there are many customs and protocols, so there is a 110 percent chance that you will run afoul of something, somewhere, and, more than likely, you won’t even know it.  So you get somewhat accustom to not knowing the custom, and to sticking out a bit.  But even with my expectations properly set, there are some things one assumes they will be able to  accomplish without calling undue attention to oneself, and amongst that list of items would be the ability to locate the appropriate bathroom.  

However, as the photo below attests, that did not prove the case. Perhaps I was told in Japanese that the bathroom on my floor was a women's bathroom and didn't understand (wakarimasen) or was told in English and forgot, or wasn't told and there is a sign I can’t read. Regardless,the result is the same. I spent the first three weeks at NIDS using the "women's" bathroom. Not until a sticky-note appeared in the stairwell outside my office indicating that the men’s lavatory was on the second floor, was I clued into the fact I had been using the women’s bathroom these several weeks. 

But before I denounce myself too harshly, a picture of an exact replicate of the “women’s” bathroom (i.e. the Men's Bathroom on the 2nd floor) does absolve me of some guilt.  The bathroom comes complete with two stand-up urinals, one western style toilet, and is free of both paper towel dispensers or hand dryers (a very common trait in most public restrooms in Japan).  

Now if it ended there, the embarrassment would be slight.  But immediately upon learning of the 3rd Floor bathroom’s status as a “women’s bathroom”,  I decided to make a call on the 2nd Floor lavatory. And on that visit and about every 5th visit since the door has closed behind me with a very loud, half-wooden, half-metallic bang.  This is on account of the door’s malfunctioning spring system that doesn’t kick in until the last six inches before door impacts with the door frame, shattering the complete silence of the second floor and interrupting pivotal research on vital international security issues. And every time I hear the door slam shut behind me I wonder if the Japanese have a saying similar to the US saying that “you can’t fix stupid,” but instead for them it’s “you can’t fix gaijin.” 

Akachan Honpo Tour

I joined a few women this week for a "decipher the labels tour" at one of the baby super stores in Tokyo. Akachan Honpo is one of the main stores, though Babies R Us is also here. And, of course, Amazon is available online and very popular.

Tokyo Urban Baby Tour.
It appears I'm being swallowed by my scarf

This blog post has a few more pics from our outing.

I've been a few times to Akachan Honpo, so this was just an excuse to get together with some other women. Generally speaking, it is evident that diapers are diapers, baby tubs are baby tubs, etc.. Brands are different, but you can also buy Pampers and Johnson and Johnson products. But there are lots of other things that you don't quite know their purpose or that you need them.

For example, I didn't know that I might need a roll of diaper-bag-friendly dirty diaper trash bags (a la dog poo bags). Japan has amazingly strict guidelines on trash disposal and some places request that you take your dirty diapers with you. Who knew?

I also didn't know that newborn sizes in Japan are often a touch smaller than the American newborn sizes. Since sizes are in metric here, I haven't compared items yet, but it seems plausible. Good information to have before I go and stock up on newborn diapers and onesies that our kiddo might never even wear. 

And what about this?  

It's called a "haramaki" and it keeps your stomach warm. Many people believe that you shouldn't allow your stomach, and therefore, your baby to get cold. No, really. I had a woman offer me a blanket at a fireworks display this summer despite temperatures above 100 degrees. Just in case. 

I don't plan to wear Mickey knit pants anytime soon, but there are some other cleverly designed items. If you have a c-section, there are special undergarments that open via snaps/velcro at the bottom so that you don't have to pull them up and down. Some women also use these in the early phases of labor when the doctor is checking dilation, etc..

And many baby clothes are kimono style where the top wraps over and then you tie it. Other than my uselessness with ties, that seems very baby-dressing friendly. 

Finally, one of the most interesting things is how few car seats Akachan Honpo sells compared with the endless variety of strollers and baby carriers. Of course, fewer people have cars, so car seats are less important, though still required if you do drive. But you definitely want to make sure your stroller can make it through the ticket gate and can stand up to city life.