The Bear Patrol

These bears that I have been concerned about for the last few months have been stalking ever closer to us, no doubt smelling the delicious burning of my bacon, and last week they were just down the road in our park. Or at least, a baby bear was. But, where baby goes, mum is usually not too far behind so needless to say I won't be venturing into the woods alone, or entering any strange porridge filled cabins nearby. It was all a bit of excitement as Senior Lukington had a lovely visit from the bear patrol (Yes, there was an actual bear patrol- sirens and all) and the police before they went for their search for the bear, but (probably lucky for the bear) they didn't find it.


Clearly though with this evidence of bears skulking about, the bear patrol is not doing its job correctly. And in light of this we have purchased a bell that *supposedly* keeps away large mammals such as bears (unfortunately, they were out of special, multi purpose tiger rocks). To think, we always though the lady that walked around the neighbourhood with her bells on was always going to a party....




But not to be overcome by a fear of bears, or Melissophobia, we decided to venture to the local woods for a BBQ on a nice summers evening to cook some delicious meats and frolic with the fireflies. The Japanese seem to love nature, and show their love by keeping it beautifully and meticulously groomed.

It is a beautiful park and thankfully the rock worked and we were able to eat bear free- after all, there is nothing like the safety of consuming alcohol and eating meat in the woods in the darkness where the bears lurk. But when the other Gaijins came it did put me at ease a little bit more... After all, it was only a one in five chance of being eaten and I was sure that I might run faster than at least one of them.

Mushi

Being the wonderful wife I am, the other weekend I took my grown up boy (my husband) to the Bug Museum. Don't get me wrong, I like bugs, and I think a lot of them are very cute, like Ladybugs or Christmas beetles, but they don't exactly excite me like they do Senor Lukington.

Never the less, we set out into the mountains of Tainai to find the house in the middle nowhere (Lots of 'watch out for Monkeys' signs) and I am pleased to report that it was an enjoyable morning. They had a few cages where you could pick up the beetles (I felt a little sorry for the beetles though, being manhandled all the time) and of course lots of various dead insects for display. They had lots of gorgeous butterflies too, a lot of which I recognised from Northern Queensland.

They also had a bit of a butterfly house, where you could take little colourful containers of syrup to try and attract the butterflies.

I am sure that our experience would have been even more enriching if we could read half of the Kanji on the wall, but for Y4.10, it was an absolute bargain and a fun day out.

Thank you

Anyone who has been to Japan, or indeed seen any Japanese movies will know all about the bow. In Japan it has a very important place:

You would like to show your servitude: you bow
You would like to ask for a shopping bag: you bow
You would like to enter through a doorway: you bow
You would like to say thank you: you bow
You would like to give something to someone: you bow
You would like to receive something from someone: you bow
You would like to say hello: you bow
You would like to say goodbye: you bow
You would like to express your apologies: you bow
You would like to start eating: you bow

and the list goes on (it really, really does)...

So what, I hear you ask, does one do in a car when wanting to express something to another driver (no, not the finger)?

Well, yes: They bow.

Though personally I find it a bit dangerous to bow and drive, so it becomes more of a nod.
The biggest problem is that the usual protocol is to nod, and then they nod, and then you nod, and then they nod... and the nodding ensues until one of you drives off far enough out of sight or gets motion sick. If I am the passenger I go for the full dip, but needless to say I often feel like I am one of those 'drinking birds' the you see in the sciences labs back in high school...

But in instances such as when you are merging and someone lets you merge in front if them, how can you bow? After all, to the car behind you if you were to bow it would only look like you are hunching over the steering wheel, or perhaps trying to pick up that M&M you dropped in your lap. The answer Japan has come up with.....

A quick flash of your hazard lights.

Yes, it's a little blink of thanks to lighten up an otherwise grey road. Mind you, the first time we encountered such a thing, we thought "This idiot can't merge properly and now they decide to stop randomly in the middle of the road with their hazards on". But now that we understand the system, it is a goodie- especially as it works at all times of day.

So I think that this 'blink of thanks' should be brought all around the world. I know that Australia doesn't have the same 'bowing' problem as Japan, but how often does the old "wave of thanks" look like a  middle finger?

So come'on everyone- next time someone lets you merge in front of them, why don't you say thank you the Japanese way... With a flash.

Like a hoon

So, to the land of the internet, I come out loud and proud. I am a square (though I am sure you knew this all along).

That's right- I get off my bicycle when crossing at the traffic lights, I feel guilty when I eat supermarket grapes and I don't go over the speed limit by more that 2kms/hr (intentionally).

Which is why driving in Japan for me is like trying to stick the triangle block in my very square hole (Mind out of the gutter, please).

You would think that Japan would be all about the obeying of the rules and that I could live out my life speeding ticket free- but there is more to Japan that meets the eye.

You see, Japan has a bit of a weird thing where if something works, there is no need to fix it. In the case of speed signs; they were doubtlessly put up in the days when the family oxen could quite easily beat one of those shiny new auto-mobiles. So, most speed signs in Japan average 50kms an hour on the highways and main roads.  Around Tainai streets it is 30kms an hour (I am not joking)- and we are talking out in 'inaka' (boonies/sticks) where there are no traffic lights and no hazards whatsoever.

But rather than update these signs to something more appropriate, they just have an unspoken rule in Japan where you are ALLOWED to go 20kms over the speed limit.
Sounds like great fun? I'm sure you can understand how this triangle block just isn't sitting right with me- no matter how many times I bang it with my little wooden mallet. And I have this sneaking suspicion that for foreigners this rule may not apply and I will end up in a Japanese jail somewhere giving free English lessons in exchange for cigarettes....
Where it gets really silly is we have been told that 20kms over is fine, but if you go 21kms over the speed limit, you will be booked for going 21kms over the speed limit, not 1km over.

So, while I hope for the day that Japan will update the signs to what they really should be, in the meantime I will be racing around town at 45kms an hour like a rebel, sampling grapes for free and walking on the grass...

Look out world, a new Cassie has arrived (at 45kms/hr).

Buying a car

So in the land of the rising sun, there is more to buying a car than what you will think. Much like in Australia where there are all sorts of hidden taxes, Japan is no different.
There is registration tax, a parking certificate (making sure you have a space to put the car in) a recycling fee a few other hidden taxes and the almighty Shaken- which is like a roadworthy that costs around $1000, give or take, depending on the size of the car (Some cars can be over $2000 I have heard).

So, off we go and as I had no idea what they were going to ask of me, we took along a foreigner who had lived here for 15 years with a Japanese wife to ask all the tricky questions... Except, there were none.
We rolled up to the local lot (as it had been recommended to us) and basically asked what he had in our price range. Which was a single car...

At this point I was a little sceptical, as there was no price tag on the car he showed us and there were other cars on the lot with lower prices on the windows than what he told us that this thing was. So, naturally, wanting to get the best deal I asked about one of the cars that was advertised as $1000 less. He happily showed us and upon getting in, our knees touched the steering wheel like one would imagine a tall gaijin in a tiny tiny japanese car- so that was a no go. We then asked about the car next to it, which he did not recommend as it was a bit of a fixer upper, so for lack of options- we took the car originally recommended to us.

Being Japan, I expected mountains of paperwork to complete, but all he wanted was a piece of paper that said our plastic stamp belonged to us, and then he sent us on our way to come back two days later to pick up said chariot. I would like to mention at this stage, there was no test drive or anything either.

Naturally after I suffered complete buyers remorse, but due to lack of choice there wasn't much that I could do but put faith in the Japanese.

So, two days later we went to pick up our beast, once again expecting a mountain of paperwork, but nope, he took car of all the paperwork and registrations- It was just a matter of handing over the cash, he gave us the keys and away we went...

Never has it been so unexpectedly easy to buy a car.

So the question became, did we get a lemon....

True to form- no. The Japanese were honest (even the used car dealers). The car drives perfectly, great steering, breaks, 4wd  (for the snow) and all the mod-cons like key less entry and power windows, but best of all...

A spoiler (That makes it go fast)!

So watch out Japan... Cassie is on the road!

Marshmallow Day

So, I realise that this post is a few days late (must excuse the mountain of uni work going on) but on the 14th of March, Japan has just celebrated White Day. 

So what is White Day? No, it is not some sort of inappropriate KKK holiday, but instead another Japanese holiday celebrating obligation.  Unlike valentines day, where it is all about the girls forking out money to buy chocolate for anyone they may want to (or feel obligated to), White Day is all about the guys giving it to the girls.  In fact, it is quite an insult to not return the gift of obligation chocolate if you received something on Valentines day. So, once again the stores are filled with chocolate;or at least they leave the same valentines chocolate out on the shelf, with a newer, more expensive price tag, and a 'white day' sign on top.

And, unlike valentines day, where the day was originally about love, White Day is all about obligation (giri). White Day was created by a marshmallow company, who later paired up with other confectionery companies and did a massive marketing campaign for the citizens of Japan to take the day on. Eventually they did and another money spending day was created. Originally called 'marshmallow day' it was later changed to 'white day' as the colour of marshmallows, which allowed other companies to cash in on the day (Lingerie, cookies, jewellery etc). And, unlike Christmas and Valentines day, where there may once have been a noble message in there somewhere- White Day is purely a money making scheme... And it does seem to work.

There is a bit of a 'rule of three' when it comes to white day chocolate- as in, the man should be giving you something that is three times more expensive than whatever you gave him. Apparently, it is not entirely unheard of for some Japanese school girls to give their father a couple of hundred dollars (10,000 yens) worth of giri-chocolate (Obligation chocolate), just so that their dad's might buy them that new Gucci bag they always wanted....

 

Ahh, the cunning....

So, if it is that easy to create a new money spending holiday; I prose that April 8th be "Cadbury Creme Egg Day." A day to celebrate the wonders of consumerism...Oh, wait... I think it already is....

Bento time

So, there is more to a bento than just a lunch box- instead they are a way to show the person whom you love most that you care...

Forget the secret love notes or the subtle stalking of the high school girls in Australia; in Japan if you want to show a man you care- make him a bento. High school girls who are competent enough may try and win the love of their life by giving him a lunchbox of food prepared lovingly by hand. Yes, it seems that the way to a man's heart really is through his stomach in Japan. Or possibly it is some kind of teenage test to show that you could be a housewife worthy of serving him 'til kingdom come.

Mothers too (if they have enough time on their hands and could be bothered) may also prepare their love in box form. None of this 'fun size pack of chips and a random tubed shaped yoghurt' (Or that one piece of bruised fruit that appears over and over again mysteriously, no matter how many times it gets returned in the afternoons)- Bentos in Japan are serious stuff...

No, that is not one I prepared earlier, but I have gotten to making my husband a box of love everyday. After all, I do want to be a good housewife.

My problem is that he does not eat vegetables, cold meat, or any type other Bento ingredient so it looks like all these fancy pants bentos are out for me (whatever will I do with the extra time now :p). Instead, Senior Lukington gets some lovingly prepared onigiri....

Step One: 

Cook rice in the amazing rice cooker 

(FYI- if you do not have one and eat rice more than once a week: Get one! This one has two timers so the rice is ready for whenever I want and it keeps it warm. No more of that embarrassing rice water spillage in the microwave for me, no sir)

Step two: 

Fill half the onigiri triangle container with rice (that's right, I cheat) and then put in a delicious filling. Senior Lukington has Japanese curry in this one. 

(FYI- ignore the "bold and the beautiful" style photos with the layer of vaseline on the lens.... The rice was very steamy)

 

 Step three:

Fill the rest with rice to the top, place on the lid and squeeze the love into it...

 Step four:

Pop it out of the container and cover in delicious sesame seeds- these ones are curry flavoured...

Step five:

Place in bento box and send it off with love. 

Nom nom nom.

I pack the nori (seaweed) separately so Luke can wrap it himself when he is ready to eat it so the seaweed stays crunchy...

Well, it might not be anything like this....

But the good news is that Luke has already bought the cow, so I don't really need to impress him with food shaped animals for lunch.

Besides, it sure beats a stale vegemite sandwich....