Rainy Day and Eating Manners

We bought shampoo and conditioner.

 Today is a rainy day. Ben and I were not feeling particularly creative in our endeavors today, so we decided to walk around the town, and just enjoy being in Japan. We also ran a few errands.
















Ben and I are from a dry climate, so were not sure if this is a Japanese thing or not, but most stores have little stands with bags to put your umbrellas in to keep them from dripping on the floor.














I'm starting to get the hang of eating manners here. I have so far only been in fairly casual environments, but I have tried to pick things up from TV, eating in restaurants, and eating with the Saito family. Manners are very important to me, and I relish learning new customs and practices in different countries.
Here are my observations so far, these are coming from a female perspective. It seems to me that men are held to the same rules, just much more leniently, and generally the rules surrounding their practices are more influenced by a need to show appreciation for the food.

I would say the rule to base all rules on here is do not let food go anywhere but in your bowl, or in your mouth, food should not be found on the table or on your clothes. Although this seems to be enforced in all countries, it seems to me that most eating practices here are based around this rule.

It is important to know when to pick up your bowl. The general rule is if it is small enough to be held in one hand, it is acceptable, and generally encouraged to pick up the bowl and bring it closer to your face. If it is a food that is more difficult to eat, the bowl should be held very close to your face. The exception to this rule is if you are using a bowl for food that is shared, even if it is for your own personal portion, for instance for fondue or during shabu shabu. When holding the bowl your fingers should be as strait and together as possible, which is much easier for small bowls.

The practice of slurping is going out of style, women do not slurp for the most part. It is acceptable to slurp in ramen shops, but I would say that it is neither encouraged or discouraged. Most other places it seems to be generally discouraged.

It is ok to talk with food in your mouth, but only if your hand is covering your mouth in some fashion. Women often hold their hands in front of their mouth whenever they are chewing.

You should hold your chopsticks as far back as you are comfortable with. Do not clench your fist while holding them.

Pour drinks for other people, do not pour your own. If you are done drinking leave your glass mostly full. 

There are many more rules, especially about the things you say, but unfortunately I am having much more trouble with that part. I try to say delicious and thank you as much as possible, but I know that I'm missing many nuances. There also seem to be a lot of facets to the host/guest relationship that I do not understand yet either. I hope that I am not offending anyone, and they understand my gratitude.

Yasakuni and Sensoji

Water where you cleanse before entering the shrine area

Ben and I had a very beautiful day, we went to one shrine (a place of shinto religion), and one temple (a place of buddhist religion), both of which were incredible. 

Yasakuni shrine is dedicated to the soldiers and souls who died on behalf of the emperor of Japan. There are statues and memorials for most of the wars, but most prevalent are those for World War II. Foreign tourists are asked to be cautious here because the shrine harbors some controversy. After World War II, the souls of Japanese war criminals were enshrined as kami at the temple. This fostered international resentment especially from China, because one of the souls was of the general who lead the massacre on Nanjing. Although Japanese officials stated that their intent was not to condone the actions of the war criminals, but instead to remove the lingering essence of their spirits, controversy still surrounds the shrine. The Japanese group, the far right, who are known for protesting against pro-chinese, or more generally pro-foreigner, agendas have often taken to the shrine to tout their propaganda. Unfortunately, the far right are known for resorting to violence. Police officers stationed at the shrine will caution foreigners to stay out of the groups way for the safety of everyone.

The shine was very beautiful, but more beautiful in my opinion were the surrounding gardens. There were koi ponds, gravestones, and statues along beautiful paths in groves of trees, some of which were blossoming. There were vending machines for people to buy food to feed to the carp, the sound they made was really fun, it almost sounded like little kisses. The whole area was green and alive, it was very refreshing.

 After Yasakuni we went to Sensoji Temple. There were thousands of tourists, which was an extreme change of pace from earlier that day. Along the path to the temple there were dozens of little stores selling souvenirs and tasty treats.

Built in 628 AD, Sensoji is Japans oldest temple. It harbors Kannon the goddess of mercy.

This is the thunder gate that leads to the temple.

Nearby Pagoda

For a history of the temple check out this site

Today on our way home Ben and I went on a women's only car on the train (it was ok for Ben because it was not during the women only hours). Groping on crowded trains is a large problem in Japan, and in order to give women a secure area where they do not need to worry, women's only cars are offered.

Things were much more feminine on the car, even the "be careful not to smash you fingers in the door" signs were little hello kitties.

Be careful not to smash your finger ^-^

Harajuku and Akihabara

Harajuku

Yesterday, Ben and I went to Harajuku. It was quite fun. It was another shopping district, but this one had more street venders, and smaller, much less expensive shops than Shinjuku. It was very crowded despite being a weekday, which I found very exciting. Luckily for Ben and I, we both really stand out in a crowd here, so it's not hard to find each other if one of us looses the other.

There were about a dozen sock stores along the strip.

Ramen vending machine

  Ben and I had a really fun lunch. We went to a sort of ramen bar. It would be absolutly perfect for a quick bite during a lunch break, or for any time you wanted good food, but didn't want to socialize. The proccess of the meal was really fun. First you buy a food ticket at a sort of vending machine, you choose ramen then any special contents you want such as egg, green onion, or nori. You then seat yourself in a little personal cubby, which has its own water spout, cups, chopsticks, and what ever else you need. There are little buttons inside the cubby for you to call the waiter. A little hole at the front of the cubby was where a waiter comes to take your order, and pass your soup through. The ramen was quite exceptional.

The whole area of Harajuku smelled like crepes, so by the end of the day Ben was nearly salivating every time we walked by a crepe stand. Just before we headed home we bought one for him, it was filled with strawberries and chocolate ice cream.







The general rule for eating on the streets of Japan: Don't. The Japanese seem to feel really awkward about it. You will never see someone eating while walking, and if someone is forced to eat on the streets they are very discrete about it. Generally they try as hard as possible to hide it. Ben ate his crepe where everyone else was, in a little back ally way out of the way.

Akihabara

Today Ben and I went to Akihabara, the electronics district. It was a very interesting experience. Akihabara is also the "nerd" district, so anime, video game, and manga aficionado are quite catered to. I have to say the whole area was just a little creepy. There were a lot of a adult shops thrown into the mix, and many stores had adult sections or content. There were at leaste a dozen maid cafes. Anime culture is just as much of a fringe activity in Japan as it is just about everywhere else. Anime enthusiasts also seem to be considered just as nerdy as back home.

Gundam Cafe: Let your nerdliness shine!

One of the many maid cafes.

 Ben and I ate ramen again today... good thing we're eating healthy breakfasts and dinners. It was really good. For some reason they gave Ben a bib, but not me. I promptly dipped my hair in the soup to make sure they knew they had made a mistake... oops.

Even the statues here are cold?

 Near the house we are staying at is a little shrine. I really like it. There is a playground, a cemetery, and a cemetery on the grounds as well. The whole place really gives you a feeling of the circle of life. There are so many flowers placed on the graves, and blooming on the trees that the whole place smells like spring, despite the fact that it is still pretty cold. It is quite refreshing in the big city