Discovering Japan

Since my son is interested in Japanese pop culture -- and to be honest, because I like toys -- we like to shop at J-List, a small company that imports funky stuff from Japan.

Like "Knockman" (below, in the wrapper), a batty wind-up figure that, when you crank him up, bangs himself on the head while his heart spins around. We had four or so of this line at one time.



The owner of the company has his own blog, which tells fascinating tales of the life and adjustments of a gaijin in Japan. Here's a recent sample:

You've been in Japan too long when you pay over $70 for a Captain Santa T-shirt and realize a few days later how much you really spent. It's true: despite the "deflation" you might have heard about -- which was mainly companies increasing their efficiency during the recession years and passing the savings on to consumers -- Japan can be an expensive place. Virtually everything, from construction materials to gasoline (which is the equivalent of $4.50 a gallon now), is priceier here then in other parts of the world, and food costs consume a quarter of the average household budget.

One problem is that the ways goods are sold in Japan is still too structured, with products coming into the hands of consumers through established routes and multiple levels of distribution, which adds to the prices. But there's something about living in Japan that compels a person to want to own things he wouldn't otherwise bother with, like the above-mentioned T-shirt I bought in 1992 featuring Captain Santa, a line of high-end clothing with images of Santa at the beach. It was the best T-shirt I've ever owned in my life, but at $70, I probably should have had my head examined. From toilet seats that wash your butt to the 20+ varieties of massage chairs they sell here, there sure are a lot of ways to spend your money in Japan.

Part of raising kids in Japan means attending "sankanbi," or parent's day, a day when mothers and fathers can come see their kids in class. Today was the first parent's day at my son's new school, so I took half a day off to go see what his classes were like. The experimental school, which is taught 70% in English and 30% in Japanese, is a completely new concept in Japan, and there's been a lot of anxiety over whether the city could pull it off.

My biggest concern was, how can you make a roomful of Japanese kids learning from an American teacher who understands Japanese actually use English?

The answer was the "Japanese mat." If a child wants to say something in his native language, he has to ask "May I speak Japanese?" then after getting permission, go stand on the Japanese mat and say what they need to say. I was very impressed.

Like all such school events, most parents were armed with the latest video camera for recording their child for all eternity. Most Japanese parents really go overboard when it comes to their kids -- which is called oya-baka or "parent-fool" if you want to know -- but I am exactly the same way myself.

You also can discover on his blog how to learn Japanese by frequenting karaoke bars. And you can see how Japanese get their English the same way. Here's the lyrics cue screen for an old Earth Wind & Fire song, complete with the vocal riffs ("ba-de-ya") spelled out for you:



Scrolling incongruously over a scene of Paris in the spring ...