I. Bewilderment

Two weeks in Tokyo have gone by in the blink of an eye. There are so many things to see and do that I’ve already begun to compile mental lists of places to go to, things to experience and “interesting” food to eat. The list is endless. However, so far the score is pretty good: I’ve had jellyfish in an izakaya which was quite nice, tried the sea urchin sushi when the sushi chef came to Nichiran gakkai (loved it!), and last weekend I had octopus which looked interesting enough but was actually rather disgusting when eaten. Still, I’m all for experiencing new and preferably Japanese things. The sumo match we went to last week was terrific, especially since we got to see the usually composed and dignified Japanese business men screaming their lungs out when their favourite wrestlers walked into the ring.

Before coming to Japan I bought a new digital camera (Canon, of course) and I am glad I did. So far I’ve seen so many beautiful and sometimes bewildering things I haven’t been able to keep track of how many pictures I took. What strikes me about Tokyo is that many things seem very “normal,” “Western” or “similar” at first, but turn out to be completely different (or at least have a strange twist). In some ways this city reminds me of Paris: the way people dress, especially women in their skirts and high heels, the metro system (organized according to final destination, instead of where lines are bound like London), the love of food and eating out, and the ideas of centre-periphery (the Route Péripherique and the Yamanote line being the respective boundaries). Yet Tokyo is also completely different. My daily chikatetsu ride, for example, is nothing short of bewildering. As the doors open, the commuter-tide comes rushing in: bags, feet, elbows, knees, ribs, coats, arms are everywhere- no room left to move, or, indeed, to breathe. Yet amazingly enough, the Tokyoites remain calm and keep their poker faces on; even when crushed between tall Dutch people, they keep their cool. The silence in the metro (no cell phones, hardly any conversations) came as a pleasant surprise the first time I traveled by metro- I expect the readjustment to the Dutch railway system will not be easy.

Of course there are low points, as well. Living in Tokyo, I try to use my Japanese as much as I can, whenever wherever. Usually, subjecting unsuspecting Japanese to my limited command of the language is fun- it got me an exclusive guided tour at the Ueno Mori bijutsukan, where the English-speaking guide got so enthusiastic about my interest in Kanji and Japanese history that we explored the expo on the origin of Kanji for at least an hour together. Old ladies in shops and restaurants also respond well; they start explaining about Japanese seasonal flowers, holiday cards or which ingredients make up Gyoza. But often I’m confronted by the limitations of my Japanese language skills and/or the unwillingness of some Japanese to converse with me. This can lead to comic situations where I start asking questions about the menu in a restaurant and all I get in response is “CHIKIN! You know CHIKIN yes?”, but sometimes it’s really frustrating when I’m trying to, for example, fill out some paperwork or buy electrical appliances, and all I get are blank stares or frowns. Nevertheless, most Tokyoites I’ve met so far have been very kind and helpful and generous with compliments about my Japanese (I, of course, respond with “Iie, sono koto nai desu,” or “iie, mada mada”).

In short, my first two weeks in Tokyo have been great- I’ve experienced my first earthquake (which was quite scary, even if it was only a simulation) and as I love singing and corny pop songs, my first visit to a karaoke bar with my fellow JPP-students has been a great success. On a more serious note, last week’s self-introduction speech and meeting the Hitachi people at the Dutch embassy really boosted my willingness to get stuck in with the language studies again. Not only were my future colleagues very friendly and interested in what I had to say, it turns out that I share several interests with one of my future bosses (including Dutch history and classical music). It was great to discover that I already knew enough Japanese to keep the conversation going and explain reasonably well about my background, or ask questions about Hitachi’s Corporate Social Responsibility. We basically spoke Japanese all night, and my other boss joked that anyone speaking English to me during the internship would get fined.

I am really looking forward to my internship, but for now I’m also enjoying my freedom, going for a run at the nearby Hinoki-cho park, browsing for books at Tower Records, partying in Roppongi, making grammar exercises in the Shibuya Starbucks, and experiencing wonderful and at times surreal things on a daily basis, reminding me that I do, in fact, live in the city of Haruki Murakami- one of my favourite authors ever.