Mt. Fuji is a highly revered Japanese icon. People travel long distances to try to catch glimpses of it. Unfortunately it spends a lot of time shrouded in cloud.

Because we live on the upper floor of a hilltop apartment building that faces in just the right direction, we sometimes have the awesome privilege of seeing the mountain from our very own window. It’s about 120 km away and the city of Tokyo lies between us. Our view of the mountain is almost obscured by buildings and power lines so it’s pretty amazing that we can see it at all.

The very first morning that we awoke in Japan was a bright and sunny one and there stood the mountain in all it’s majesty! Little did we realize how rare that sight would be. Once the humidity of summer arrived, it wasn’t seen at all. Lately, however, as the cool crisp air of autumn arrived, the mountain started showing itself again. We have seen it five of the last six mornings!

Because of our work schedule, we’re seldom home when the sun sets but this week, on days off, we’ve seen Fuji’s silhouette against a spectacular sunset twice! Many people who have spent their entire lives in this country have never been so fortunate.

I’m not sure how well the mountain will show up in these pictures but I hope you can catch a glimpse of what we’re so privileged to see.

Japan has 13 national holidays throughout the year. Most retail stores remain open but schools, companies, government offices, banks and bank machines are closed.

November 23 is Kinro Kanshi No Hi or Labour Thanksgiving Day. Because the 23rd fell on a Sunday this year, today is a day off in lieu. Established in 1948, this holiday is an occasion for honouring labour, celebrating production and giving one another thanks. While the Japanese don’t have a holiday comparable to Canadian or American Thanksgiving, prior to 1948 November 23 was celebrated as a harvest festival known as Niiname-sai.

Unlike most schools, our private English school often remains open on national holidays and we are given other days off in lieu. It’s often easier for our students to come for lessons on days when they don’t work or go to school and it enables our school to set up a calendar that ensures that every class meets the same number of times over the course of a year. Today, however, we do have the day off which has given Richard and I a two day break. On occasions like this, we usually have big plans but today is a do nothing day for us. Rich has a bad cold and I’m nursing a sore back. Neither is serious but perhaps these are indications that we ought to take it easy and relax for a change. Of course, the fact that we have four days off later in the week and have made exciting plans for three of them, is motivation to rest up and get well.  One of my adult students has invited us to spend three days and two nights with her & her husband at their weekend home in Onjuku, a small seaside community on the other side of the peninsula that we live on!  Rie has a busy and exciting itinerary planned out for us.  This is an amazing opportunity and should be lots of fun!

Today is my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary! What an amazing milestone. They’ve never been ones to make a big deal of anniversaries but somehow this one deserves recognition. There won’t be a big celebration as the family is scattered and unable to be with them. Instead we’ve tried to do the best we could to honour them from a distance. Mom doesn’t get out much anymore so I suspect that they’ll be celebrating quietly at home. I hope they enjoy looking back over their long history together. I know Mom still enjoys telling the story of how they met at a Halloween party and Dad still teases her about the fact that she took so long to answer his marriage proposal that he nearly threw the engagement ring off the wharf. Like any couple, they’ve had their share of heartaches but they’ve weathered them together. They’ve also had many wonderful adventures as they traveled the world together. What a wonderful example they’ve set for those of us who follow.

Don and Beatrice Stewart Married Nov. 17, 1948

One of our earliest outings after arriving in Japan was an afternoon visit to Shinsho-Ji, the Buddhist temple at Narita. As we strolled the beautiful grounds, I decided that I wanted to return in the fall to see the trees in their autumn splendor. The last few days have been chilly and gray but today was warm and sunny; a perfect day to spend outdoors and the area was every bit as gorgeous as I thought it would be. We didn’t spend much time in and around the temple itself, preferring to spend our afternoon enjoying its peaceful surroundings.

Omotesando, the narrow street that stretches between the train station and the temple area is an interesting stroll. Packed with little shops and good places to eat, it’s a popular spot for tourists. As we walked it today, we talked about the fact that, while we still have much in common with the tourists, we no longer feel like one of them. Imagine our surprise when, on the way back from the temple, we met one of our Japanese friends from church! We knew that she worked at the Narita airport but didn’t realize that she lived in town. Clearly that encounter confirmed our feeling that we aren’t simply tourists here.

We had another interesting encounter on the train on the way home. There are always many people on the train from Narita who are coming from the airport. Suitcases often fill the aisle and I’m always curious about where their owners have been. In Japan, it’s considered rude to speak to strangers and most of the time we don’t, but when I noticed a Remembrance Day poppy on the lapel of a fellow sitting nearby, I couldn’t help commenting. It turned out that he was returning to Japan after spending the past year studying French in Montreal. His English was also good and we enjoyed hearing about his experiences in Canada and his impressions of Canadian people. It sounds like he enjoyed our country every bit as much as we’re enjoying his.

There are definite signs that winter is on the way.  Lots of people are wearing winter boots, scarves and toques but that’s hardly a good indication since these items are often worn with shorts and many have been dressing this way since the end of August!  Winter attire seems to be much more about fashion than function.

Though daytime temperatures are still very comfortable, it does cool off quite a bit at night now.  We put the fans away and brought out the heaters and some of our winter bedding recently.  This week the kerosene truck began making its rounds of the neighbourhood.  On the other hand, oranges are ripening on trees all around us, flowers are still blooming and new crops of vegetables are coming up in gardens and on vegetable farms so is it really winter?

One clear sign that the season is upon us is the fact that, even here in Japan, the stores have started decorating and gearing up for Christmas.  I found myself singing along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while I grocery shopped today!

Winter will be very different for us this year.  We definitely won’t be experiencing the -20C to -30C temperatures that are the norm back home in Alberta.  The climate is much more humid than we’re accustomed to, however, so we may feel colder than we would at similar temperatures back home.  We may or may not see snow but if we do, it won’t be the dry powdery variety that we’re used to and it won’t stay around for very long.

While the outdoor conditions will be much milder than we’re used to, the same won’t be true indoors.  Like the majority of Japanese homes, ours has no insulation and no central heating.   We can’t just turn up the thermostat and stay warm.  We do have several sources of heat though.  Here in the dining/computer room a built in unit acts as air conditioner in the summer and heater in the winter.   We also have a portable kerosene heater which usually sits in the kitchen and an oscillating electric heater which warms up the tatami room where we sleep.  Right now, we only need to use these to take the chill off first thing in the morning and to provide a little extra warmth in the evening but I’m sure that the time will soon come when they’ll be running much more steadily.

Halloween has come to Japan in recent years but more as a commercial and decorative event than anything else. I suspect that Tokyo Disneyland, which isn’t actually located in Tokyo but right here in Chiba, has had a lot to do with introducing the celebration to this part of the country.  Disneyland has a Halloween theme throughout October each year. Some larger stores and malls also advertise Halloween events which promise candy to children in costumes and English language schools have promoted Halloween by decorating and holding children’s costume parties. Masquerade is definitely something that appeals to Japanese people but trick-or-treating hasn’t caught on yet and though pictures of jack-o-lanterns and plastic replicas abound, there aren’t any real ones here.

Some Japanese, having been taught that the origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain during which ghosts of the dead were believed to return to earth, have equated it with their own Obon celebrations which take place during the summer. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist holiday. Families gather to honour the spirits of their dead ancestors by visiting and cleaning the family graves and the spirits of the ancestors are thought to visit the household altars during this time. Personally, I think we do the Japanese a disservice if we teach them that this is what Halloween is all about.

As a child growing up in Powell River on the coast of British Columbia, I loved Halloween. In our home, costumes were never decided on until after school on Halloween day. At that time, with my mother’s help, we dug through old clothes and came out dressed like hobos, gypsies or pirates. As soon as supper was over, we gathered with the other children from the houses closest to our own and trick-or-treated up and down our street collecting a wonderful bag of goodies. In those days, it was safe to accept homemade treats and my mother was known for her delicious popcorn balls. The only way my siblings and I got to taste them was if we trick-or-treated at our own door. My mother would, of course, pretend not to know who we were! Such silly fun and such good memories. The only year that mom didn’t make popcorn balls was the year that I was six. She was in hospital following the birth of my baby brother. I remember helping my father fill bags of candy for the trick-or-treaters and I also remember the hideous looking rubber mask that he bought for me! Incidentally, that baby brother turned fifty a few days ago!

When we kids returned from trick-or-treating, our families gathered across the street from our house in the parking lot behind Bowes Hardware for a giant bonfire. Mr. Bowes always saved some big packing boxes to feed the fire. Hot chocolate was served and as the fire died down, we had our own fireworks show! What a wonderful and exciting evening!

Unfortunately, as a young teacher living in Sedgewick, I learned to hate Halloween. What had once been a time for harmless pranks in rural Alberta had, in our community at least, become a night of vandalism which was directed mainly at schools, churches, businesses and the homes of teachers and RCMP officers. Large groups of teens prowled the streets creating havoc. Year after year, our home was pelted with eggs and other nasty substances. The paint job was totally destroyed but there was no point in repainting when we knew that the new surface would only last until the next Halloween. Fortunately, the generation that celebrated Halloween in this manner has grown past that sort of thing and in recent years, Halloween has once again become a night for the younger children to enjoy. A couple of years ago, we finally had the house repainted.

After dreading Halloween for so many years, it’s been difficult to recapture the delight that it once held for me. As a teacher, I participated in many classroom Halloween parties but I found it difficult to enjoy them knowing what the later hours of the day would hold. Now, I’m teaching at a Japanese English school and my job description includes an entire week of Halloween parties! Because the classes meet only once a week, the event goes on all week so that every children’s class has a party. Teachers are required to wear costumes. Awhile ago, while shopping in a nearby mall, I came across a costume that I couldn’t resist so for the first time in my life, I have a store bought costume! Each day this week, I appear as a big fuzzy jack-o-lantern! Richard was being a bit of a grinch about having to dress up but I dug through a bin of old costumes that have been left behind by previous teachers and found him a clown costume complete with big red squeaky nose! The kids, of course, think our costumes are great and we think they are adorable. Minnie Mouse and Disney heroines such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Belle from Beauty and the Beast are popular amongst the little girls and we’ve seen witches and pirates of every description. We teach them a few Halloween words, play some games, have some fun without cracking the textbooks and send them home with a bag of candy. Halloween really is for children!

Here’s my favourite costume of the week.  Isn’t he just adorable?

And here’s one little guy who wasn’t feeling well but didn’t want to miss the party.  He slept through most of it!

If you enjoyed my last blog entry, be sure to check out http://www.engrish.com.  It’s a hilarious compilation of bizarre English found in Japan as well as other Asian countries and it appears to be updated almost daily.  Take the time to check out some of the Engrish categories listed on the left side of the main page.  We all need a good laugh once in awhile and anyone who can wander through this site without enjoying a hearty laugh is taking life much too seriously.

Thank you, Janis, for bringing this site to my attention!

At first glance, it would often seem that we’re surrounded by English here in Japan.  Sometimes referred to as Japlish or Engrish, a term which arose from the ambiguity between the “l” and “r” sounds in spoken Japanese, it appears on everything from poorly translated signs to bizarre t-shirt slogans.  Looking for examples can be hugely entertaining and I’ve been known to whip out pen and paper on the train, at school and even in church to write down some of the best ones!

Examples can be found even at home.  The bottom of one of my frying pans has this interesting quote, “The wonderful time where there are a wonderful cooking and a pleasant conversation and peaceful music.”   The bags from our local bakery are really quite poetic.  They say, “Women baking bread on Sunday  With flour dusted cheeks  They push up their sleeves  And at the breadboard knead  With strong fingers, hands and bodies.  Warm and yeasty, the kitchen is Filled with promise.”

T-shirts are the most entertaining, though, and they are absolutely everywhere.  Sometimes, even though the message seems rather garbled, it’s possible to find some meaning in what they say.  For example, “Float a ship on the sea and the foreign country which wants to go” and “Love is walking hand in hand  We is sharing your popcorn” caught my fancy and “BePunctual  A special delivery mailbox  Set one’s watch” seemed to be trying to say something.  T-shirts worn by little girls and grown women often sport sayings such as “Shine of Treasure” and “Special Love Magic” but I wonder what message the wearers are trying to give when they wear things like “The secret of deliciousness” and “Delicious Flavor Source” blazed across their bosoms!   I suspect that they often have no idea what the slogan means.  After all, did the young lady wearing the “Little Miss Jailbait” t-shirt really mean to give that impression of herself?  Some are much worse.  In fact, when Matt and Robin were here, they saw one that Matt wouldn’t repeat in my presence and Richard has seen at least one that I wouldn’t print here!

Spelling mistakes are not uncommon.  For example, one of the children at church was seen wearing “Texas Burguer Favorite Cheese” across the back of his shirt and I had to write down “Right Shine in the Nught for you to tell you that dream” when I saw it on the back of a sweatshirt on the train platform!

Perhaps the funniest examples are the ones where it seems like someone has just opened a dictionary, chosen words at random and strung them together in no particular order.  “Love You Message to Keep Brilliant My Head” is one such example but my absolute favourite is “fascinating nude makes a stomach sold presently”!  What do you make of that?

Signs are fun too.  Here a few of my favourites.  The first one is in our local train station and, after looking at it many times, I actually do understand what it’s trying to say!

This one’s in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo.  We never did figure out whether or not it was okay to walk down that path!

This one, on the grounds of a temple at Kamakura, is my all time favorite.  I have no idea about it either!  There was no water anywhere in the vicinity!

Oh, how I love Japan!

Today could have been a day for missing home and family but instead it was absolutely wonderful and we are just as happy and stuffed as if we’d sat down to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner! Though they had no idea that it was a special weekend for Canadians, our friends Koji and Etsuko had invited us to their home for dinner.

After our usual lunch at church, we accompanied them to their house where the feasting began almost at once. First, Etsuko served coffee and a delicious ‘western’ cake stuffed with fruit and cream. That was followed immediately by Japanese cake and green tea. Shortly after that they informed us that, rather than preparing supper at home, they’d decided to take us to a nearby restaurant for sushi so back into the vehicle we piled and off we went! The highlight of supper for Richard and I turned out to be the unagi! Who would ever have thought that eel would be part of our Thanksgiving dinner or that we would enjoy it so much! It was absolutely delicious. The eating wasn’t over yet though. Once we finished at the restaurant, we went back to the house where we were served a dessert of fresh grapes and Japanese sweets along with more green tea! Wow! As much as I love turkey and pumpkin pie, I didn’t miss it a bit!

Of course, Thanksgiving isn’t only about the food. The fellowship around the table is just as important and oh, did we enjoy that today too! Koji and Etsuko were two of the first people we met when we started attending Hope Church. They’re about our age with grown children and several young grandchildren. Koji speaks English fairly well but Etsuko knows only a few words. In spite of that, she and I hit it off right away and it’s amazing how often I can understand the gist of what she’s said before Koji even translates! It’s hard to explain but there’s an understanding and a bond there that seems to go beyond words. What a wonderful visit we had today, getting to know one another better as we shared some of the joys and heartaches of our lives.

We had anticipated that once the visit was over, Koji would drive us to the nearest station and we’d take the train back home but, in spite of the fact that it meant an hour’s round trip for them, they insisted on delivering us to our door. Chances are that we’ll visit them at home again but our big hope is that they’ll visit us someday, not here in Japan, but in Canada!

When we rode the crowded train home from Tokyo on Thursday evening we witnessed first hand large numbers of tired businessmen making their way home after a long day at work and I was once again reminded of a phenomenon known as the weekend father. When I taught a Japan unit in junior high Social Studies back in Canada, I remember asking the students what they thought this term meant. Based on their own cultural experience, they assumed that I was referring to divorced fathers who only saw their children on the weekends. In Japan, however, the term has a completely different meaning.

Many people living in our area work in Tokyo. They spend an hour or more on the train every morning and every evening. Their workday is a long one and when it’s officially over, the men are often expected to socialize with their coworkers before heading for home. These are the the weekend fathers; men who leave the house every morning before their children are awake and who get back home long after they’re in bed.

Toshikazu, one of my students from last term, is a perfect example. He has a six-year-old son that he adores. Hobbies are very important to the Japanese people. Everybody has at least one. When you ask Toshikazu what his hobby is, he tells you it’s playing with his son. If you ask him what he would most like to do if he had more time, he says he would spend more time talking with his son. He only sees him on Saturdays and Sundays. Somehow that seems very sad.

As I saw the tired men standing on the platform waiting for Thursday evening’s train, some with their eyes closed because they were so tired, I couldn’t imagine doing that every day year in, year out and I wondered how many children yearned to spend more time with them and how many lonely wives waited at home.