Today was my day off and I’d decided that finding somewhere to get my hair cut was a priority. I usually have it cut every six weeks and it had been over eight. Thick and unruly at the best of times, it becomes even more curly and unmanageable in humid conditions such as we’re experiencing here. I was desperate!

Finding a salon was no problem at all. There are several within easy walking distance. Choosing one and making an appointment when I don’t speak the language was another matter. I was determined, however. Obviously, I couldn’t live here for a year without having my hair cut so I pulled out my trusty Japanese phrasebook and wrote down “yoyaku o shitai no desu ga” (I’d like to make an appointment) and “heya-kat-to” (haircut). Armed with my note and the phrasebook, which also lists handy things like the days of the week, I set out to conquer the problem.

The only salon that had been recommended to me was Earth Hair. It was also the first salon I saw when I arrived here and I walk by it almost every day. I had pretty much ruled it out, however. Earth Hair is big and it’s all windows, mirrors and stainless steel. Like most Japanese salons, the prices are listed outside and they are significantly higher than the other shops in the area. A cut and blow dry is 3900 yen (approximately $39) and that’s if it’s done by a lowly stylist rather than a managing stylist or one of the many other higher ups such as the artistic director. I had come to the conclusion that it was just a little too posh for the likes of me.

As I was walking walking by some of the other salons this morning, checking their prices and trying to decide which one to venture into, I passed by a girl handing out advertising fliers. This is not at all unusual in Japan. Often, I refuse the offering knowing that it will likely be printed entirely in Japanese and that it will be of absolutely no use to me. For some reason, this morning, however, I reached out and took what was offered and what do you suppose it was? An advertisement for a promotion at Earth Hair! Amongst the Japanese, there were four English words offering a cut and blow dry for 2500 yen, approximately the same price it would be at any of the other shops! Must be a sign, I thought, and headed back to Earth Hair!

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a girl behind the front counter. I asked if she spoke English but she didn’t. Neither did either of the other two girls behind the counter. I pulled out the flier and pointed to the cut and blow dry ad. The girl asked me something and I must have looked blank so she pointed toward the stylists at work. I nodded not knowing for sure what I was agreeing to and she indicated that I should give her my coat. I didn’t have to make an appointment, I was being offered a haircut on the spot! Bonus! One of the other girls came around the counter and took my purse, hat and umbrella then gestured to the chairs in the waiting area.

As I sat down to wait, I knew that I still had one more hurdle to overcome. I had to communicate to the stylist that I wanted my hair thinned. The phrasebook was no help at all but I quickly grabbed one of the hairstyle books and found a picture of a fairly short textured looking cut. When I showed it to the stylist, he looked a bit dubious but got to work. Noticing that I was holding my glasses, he rushed off and came back with a glasses case for me to put them in. He worked meticulously, cutting my hair dry then wetting it and blowing it dry. When he finished, he handed me my glasses and held up the mirror for me to check the back. A look of great relief crossed his face when I smiled and gave him a thumbs up indicating that I was happy with the results. He handed me a key with the number 12 on it and headed to the front counter. Following him, I wondered what the key was for until I spotted the lockers and realized that my purse and other belongings were safely stowed in locker #12! One of the girls brought me my coat and helped me into it. As soon as I paid the stylist he rushed to the front door, held it open for me while I exited and, in true Japanese style, bowed to me as I left!

For those readers for whom today’s title makes no sense, Katie is my hairdresser back home in Sedgewick.  And no, this isn’t how I dress on a regular basis!  I’ll tell you about the outfit another day.

According to new census data released by Statistics Canada last week, visible minorities have surpassed the five million mark as immigrants from Asia continue to change the face of Canada at a staggering rate.  Visible minorities now comprise more than 16% of the country’s population and should that trend continue, Statistics Canada predicts that one in five Canadians will be a visible minority by 2017, when the country turns 150 years old.

So what is it like to be a visible minority?  In Canada, many face language barriers, discrimination, culture shock and the rejection of foreign credentials.  I completely understand the language barrier.  While we have found Japanese people very helpful, not knowing the language is definitely a handicap to daily living and were we planning to stay longer than a year, we would be making a much bigger effort to learn the language.   Of course, because we’re here to teach English, not knowing the language doesn’t stop us from working but in any other field, we’d be unemployable.

As a visible minority, we really have not experienced discrimination.  In fact, if anything, looking different from those around us is an asset.  People don’t expect us to understand the language or the customs and, though some just ignore us, most are very willing to help in any way they can.  On occasion, there are those who clearly choose not to sit next to us on the train but there are few of them and no one is outwardly rude to us.  That would be so unJapanese!  MIL has on staff, at the moment, several young teachers of Japanese American descent and I think life is actually more difficult for them. Because they look Japanese, people automatically assume that they are and expect them to understand the language and the culture.

For the most part, as I go about my daily life here in Japan, I forget how visibly different I am from those around me!  In fact, once in awhile when I catch my reflection in a train window, I’m surprised at how different I do look!  Japanese women value pale skin, however, so my difference is not looked at as unattractive.  MIL also employs several black teachers and I don’t know what their experience has been.

Perhaps the biggest handicap to immigrants in Canada, visible or otherwise, has been the rejection of their foreign credentials and work experience.  Of course, there need to be checks of some sort to ensure that their qualifications meet Canadian standards.  Obviously, I don’t want a doctor whose medical training has been inadequate operating on me.  On the other hand, we are facing a doctor shortage in Canada while we have medical professionals driving taxi!  Surely, if we’re going to allow or even encourage them to immigrate, something could be done to provide the upgrading that they might need in order to begin to practice.  Instead we have professionals working in low paying service jobs who could be contributing in much more valuable ways and whose lives would be much more fulfilling if they were able to pursue their chosen field.

Fortunately for us, our credentials as teachers are highly valued here in Japan.  In order to teach at a language school such as MIL, one doesn’t have to have a teaching degree, but Japanese law does require a university degree of some sort.  Richard and I are very highly respected, however, especially by the Japanese staff members and the students because we are “professional” teachers and it is clearly a feather in MIL’s cap that they are now able to advertise themselves as a school that employs professional teachers!

After church yesterday we stayed and ate lunch with many of the people there then headed into Tokyo to see Ginza, one of the city’s famed shopping areas. It was an interesting place to browse but Ginza appears to me to be Japan meets downtown Manhattan or any of the world’s other snobbish and opulent shopping areas. It reminded me of walking Chicago’s Magnificent Mile when I attended a conference in that city some twenty years ago. The streets are lined with swanky stores like Gucci, Prada, Christian Dior, Tiffany’s and Chanel. Customers are greeted by uniformed doormen as they enter. We went into only one such store, a place where watches sell for upwards of $3000 and purses for over $1300! Needless to say, we didn’t open our wallets or stay long. It actually felt quite obscene to me!

On Sunday afternoons, many of the streets of Ginza are blocked to traffic. Seats are even set out in the middle of the street for those who want to take a break from walking or shopping. Interestingly, I noticed that, in spite of the wide open streets, the Japanese tended to stay to the sidewalks. Perhaps they feel more comfortable in a crowd!

Ginza had a much more international flavour than most of the places we’ve visited and many who were there were clearly tourists. I hope they see more of Japan than that or they really won’t have seen Japan at all!

Just before nightfall, we stopped at a luxurious little coffee shop where I enjoyed a cafe mocha and Richard sipped a maple milk latte while the sun went down. Starbuck’s seemed to be around every corner but this was a Tully’s and, with the exception of the Japanese signage, it could have been tucked into any North American city. Unlike everywhere else we’ve been recently, McDonald’s was conspicuously absent from Ginza!

Ginza was definitely a place to see lit up at night. In fact, the entire side of one tall building was an ever changing light show!

At 7:02 p.m. yesterday we experienced what one news report called a moderate earthquake.  Apparently it registered a magnitude of 5.0 and was centered about 60 km north of Tokyo, so not too far from here.

Richard and I were between classes at our respective schools so there was no one around except us and the Japanese receptionists.  In both cases, they seemed considerably more frightened than we did.  Perhaps we’re too naive to be afraid!  The buildings definitely rattled and shook but it wasn’t nearly violent enough to cause any damage or serious concern.

In spite of our somewhat relaxed attitude, earthquakes definitely are something to take seriously here.  Every school has a disaster response notice posted showing where we should evacuate to in the case of a serious quake.  A couple of weeks ago, we received by mail from the City of Funabashi a 62 page multilingual disaster prevention guide complete with maps of the area and information on safety precautions as well as evacuation areas and shelters.  It is provided specifically for the use of foreigners living within the city.  Hopefully we never have to use it!

I especially love watching the little lady who lives in the corner house across from us. Whenever the weather allows, she’s outside in the mornings working on her planters and it’s been a delight to watch her flowers bloom. Like many elderly Japanese women, she is very stooped over, probably the result of malnutrition during wartime. She can hardly move around but she tends her plants with great care and keeps her yard looking absolutely clean and tidy. She appears to live alone but several women drop by on a regular basis. One, perhaps a daughter, is there most days.

Across from the elderly lady, an old man is often observed out working in his yard. One day I noticed that he was taking a break from gardening and practicing his golf swing. He didn’t have a club in hand but a fellow golfer recognizes that motion! I’m a little worried about him right now though as he has a terrible cough. Walls are thin here and I can hear him from here!

We also love watching the tiny children who gather with their mothers at the corner just down from us each morning to wait for the bright yellow bus that picks them up to take them to preschool. They look absolutely adorable in their little uniforms!

In addition to being able to watch life unfolding around us, there is a definite bonus to living where we do. On a very clear morning, we can see Mt. Fuji from our window!

We love our neighbourhood, a quiet residential area made up of small apartment buildings and private homes. Streets are narrow and buildings are close together but people do have small yards that they tend with great care. The area is safe, peaceful and very clean. Yesterday was a good example. On Tuesdays people put out recyclable cans and bottles for pick up. Sacks are provided for this purpose. Yesterday was extremely windy, however, and the sacks kept blowing over and emptying themselves. As pop cans rattled their way down the street, neighbours scurried out of their homes to pick them up! It was almost comical to watch. I’ve also seen people out sweeping the edge of the street in front of their property, cleaning up leaves and debris that have fallen from their trees. I can’t imagine such a thing happening back home.

Many of the homes in our area appear to be three generational with children, parents and grandparents living together. There are lots of kids in the neighbourhood. In fact, most mornings they’re our alarm clock as they pass beneath our window on their way to the nearby elementary school at about 7:45 every morning laughing and calling to one another. We’ve missed that this week as the school year ended recently. It’s basically year round schooling here, however, so they’ll be back in school next week.

Though our immediate surroundings are very peaceful, there are two train stations, one of our main schools and a busy commercial area all within easy walking distance. There are also two department stores each with a large grocery section less than a kilometer away. We’re fortunate in that two train lines intersect at one of our nearest stations so it’s easy to go in any direction from here.

Last week we acquired a bike from a teaching couple who were leaving to go back to the States. They sold it to us for 2000 yen, approximately $20! We also bought computer speakers from them for 300 yen and they threw in a folding canvas chair, a couple of cushions and a kitchen clock for nothing! I went for my first bike ride today and discovered a great park, also within easy walking distance from here. In fact, it’s right across the street from the post office. We’d seen the ball diamonds before but didn’t realize that they are at one end of the park which also contains tennis courts, gardens, a big playground area and many cherry trees! The park was crowded with people this afternoon and as is the custom at this time of year, many of them were picnicking under the cherry blossoms.

I wasn’t sure how well I’d navigate the bike up some of the hills around here but apparently all the walking this past month has been good preparation. Like most of the bikes here, ours is very basic with no gears but I cruised up the hills with little difficulty!