Ben and I had to go shopping yesterday because he does not own enough professional work pants, and now, due to my amazing shrinking waist line, neither do I.
There is an entirely different culture to dressing rooms in Japan.
They have created a system where if you follow the rules there is no possibility of being caught mid-change, and no clothes will be damaged in the changing room process.
I will break it down for all the future shoppers in Japan.
Level 1
Places like Forever 21, and H&M have a very loose policy for changing
rooms. They are basically the same as changing rooms at home, but you
are generally given a face protection cloth so that you wont get
makeup on the clothes. You will be given a number to put on your door.
Unlike in America where these are barely used and mostly just a
nuisance, this number is to be placed on the outside of the door. If
you do not place the number on the door, someone will try to come in,
people don’t knock first because they assume people know the rules. I
have seen quite a few foreigners awkwardly standing with their pants
off because they did not follow this rule.
Level 2
Other large clothing stores like Top Shop and Momoko will follow more
of the Japanese rules for changing rooms. The changing room attendant
will take your clothes and escort you to your changing room. You are
required to remove your shoes and place them outside of the door. You
will then step into the changing room and the attendant will hang the
clothes on the wall for you. They will give you the face cloth. You
should clothes the door (or curtain) and the attendant will place the
number on the wall for you. When you exit the changing room you will
put on your shoes, take your clothes, and take the number. Give the
number to the attendant, and depending on the situation you will
either hang the clothes you don’t want on the rack, or you will hand
the clothes and number to the attendant.
Level 3
Boutiques and other small stores, especially those found in Harijuku
follow the most complex rules for changing rooms. Often at these there
will not be an attendant, it’s just a free for all for the changing
rooms. You should always take your shoes off and place them outside of
the room, this will let other people know that you are in there, and
it keeps the floors clean (especially on rainy days). Usually there
will be a large tissue box with face clothes in it, you should use
one. I have found that they keep my hair from looking like I stuck my
finger in and electrical socket after shopping. Close the curtains all
the way. Many people will get very upset, and you may be called a
pervert if the curtains are at all open. Curtains in Japan usually go
all the way to the floor, and there is always enough cloth to fully
cover the doors.
Shopping can be really fun in Japan.
Here are my tips for having a great day.
1. Doll up!
Especially in places like Shinjuku and Harajuku, people really show
off. I think it is more fun to participate. In Harajuku there are no
restrictions to what you can wear. Japanese are usually fairly
conservative, but in Harajuku you’ll see anything.
2. Don’t wear a lot of jewelry.
You might get some glares if you wear earrings in the changing rooms,
I have even seen girls take them off as they enter the room. Jewelry
is not as popular in Japan. I really recommend not wearing any big
jewelry, and nothing that could snag any clothes.
3. Wear shoes that are easy to take on and off!
This is probably my most important tip, and the one that is easiest to forget.
I have started the day in lace-up shoes, and by the end of it I ended
up buying myself some \100 flats because it was difficult to manage
the tie up shoes. My shopping shoes now are a pair of zip up high
heals that take no time to get on and off.
Have fun!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Tachikawa Food Festival and Hachioji Izakaya
Today Ben and I went to the Tachikawa food festival with our new friend Chihiro. It was really fun. We ate a lot of tasty food. The festival was called manpaku which is a combination of the term for full, and festival, so we translated it to 'fullstival'.
We had Kyushu style fried chicken, and soup dumplings. Ben had a massive Hokkaido style hamburger that looked delicious.
The soup dumplings were an IQ test in the form of food. If you were and idiot like Ben you bit into the dumplings and let the boiling hot contests burn the crap out of your mouth. If you were a massive idiot like me you did this 3 times in a row. They were delicious, but my tongue is mad at me.
Betsubara is the term for the second stomach you have reseved just for sweets, a dessert stomach. After delicious foods we had to fill our betsubara. We got shaved ice. I was pleasantly surprised. I don't like shaved ice in America, they taste like artificial flavoring poured over snow, but the shaved ice I had here was pear flavored, it had real chunks of pear, and real pear juice. It was the perfect treat on a hot day.
After our wonderful day at the festival we went into Hachioji to a really cool izakaya (Japanese pub). All the decorations on the wall were from the '50s. There were toys, posters, and even music from the '50s. It was really cool. We had a few drinks, and ate some tasty foods at the izakaya. I had a great drink with a whole frozen mandarine orange in it, it was fruity, and delicious.
To commemorate our day we did a Japanese photo booth. It was surprisingly fun. You choose what style photo booth you want depending on how you want it to photoshop you. Some of them make you whiter, some of them make you skinnier, all of them make your eyes bigger. They are all suppose to make you look prettier, which makes guys look hilarious. Ben has never looked so... ?
Friday, June 1, 2012
School Lunch
According to the textbook Indian people eat curry and rice and a banana for lunch, Korean people eat Kimchi, soup and rice and a banana for lunch, Finnish people eat potatoes fish, potatoes bread and salad for lunch, and Americans eat Pizza, buttered corn, jello, pretzels, and chocolate milk.
At first I was offended, but then I remembered that is what American students are offered for lunch.
There is a video that supports the books claim of what students eat for lunch, it shows what students eat at school for a whole week. The part about the American students lunches was sad and pathetic. It featured elementary school students at a Los Angeles school. Lunch items of the week consisted of pizza, french fries, hamburgers, chocolate milk, puddings, and a ton of other junk. About half of the kids at the school were very overweight. It was appalling.
Everyday at school in Japan they post the days lunch, the number of calories, and the nutritional breakdown. Nutritionists develop the menues for each day, and plan out the week so that the students will get a diversity of foods to meet their nutritional needs. Students are required to eat the full contents of their trays, and are required to eat the school lunches unless they have a doctors note excusing them from doing so.
During health class students talk about the nutrition your body needs, how to loose weight, how to gain weight, and the importance of walking. Students in my 5th year class just completed week 1 of a month long log of their daily activities. Students will all be doing a fitness test next week.
Teachers have asked me if what they hear about American school lunches is true, and I am always ashamed to have to confirm the rumors. They ask how American children keep from getting fat, but the truth is they don't. Approximately 1 in 3 American children between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese. 10% of Japanese children between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese.
"Schools should provide the healthiest meal of the day, so that children can have the freedom to enjoy treats with their parents." I have had this phrase recited to me about a dozen times by Japanese teachers.
Childhood obesity is not such a mystery when you actually look at the facts. If you feed kids crap, they will get fat.
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