Christmas in Osaka

Another rough-cut blog home from my time in Osaka: 

Khrap (or hello, but what a way to say it in Thai)!

Well, the cockroaches and cicadas are but a faint memory as the chill of winter settles into Japan. The masks are out again (every other person is donning a white surgical mask) and the vending machines once again carry hot beverages and soup. I may be halfway around the world but the Starbucks still has its seasonal drinks, the malls still pipe the sacred Christmas Musak and Santa has become a main fixture of the landscape. I have so much to tell you and so little time (this one really is going to be short and sweet). 

Don Your Santa Suit, 'Tis the Season!

Christmas is in full swing here. Many of the students I asked didn't know what the date signifies but wear Christmas paraphernalia to class. The holiday presents another great reason to shop and have festivals and eat cake and add a repertoire of Karaoke songs to the roster.

The events leading up to the big day here have been pretty impressive. Luminaire light shows, pizza delivery guys and supermarket checkout girls dressed in Santa costumes, every restaurant displaying some sort of Christmas Character on their front stoop, Christmas music blaring in the shops and my aerobics class,  gospel concerts where the tune of "Jingle Bell Rock" and "White Christmas" are sung with not a little cheer and all kinds of "presents" or free gifts are given with everything you buy. I am in commercial heaven. All that is missing is the white (snowy) part of Christmas and of course, for all of us foreigners, the all-important family aspect. I just got back from a Christmas in Germany festival which boasts the largest Christmas tree in Osaka. I drank mulled wine and ate a large quantity of fried junk. They were even cooking hot dogs on a big grill (just like home, except the dogs were slapped between two pieces of white toast).

Chill Time

I know that after my rants about the heat and lack of central air in the summer, I have no license to moan about the cold, but baby it's cold outside! The first comment out of everyone's mouth these days is "It's so cold, yes." Mostly this is followed by the "ah, but not for you, you are from Canada" comment.

I have to admit head bowed at this point that I am NOT a true Canadian. I am in most instances pre-empting the cold comment by saying myself "IT'S SOOOO COLD". It is about 20 degrees warmer here than it is in Canada but again, apartments here lack insulation and central heating so it is actually colder inside than it is outside. The chill seeps into your marrow and stays with you throughout the day. The only reprieve is when you get so fed up you scald yourself by sitting directly in front of a space heater or when you immerse yourself in a scalding public bath. I had a bath at home yesterday and I could see my own breath. At least in Canada, you don't just sit in the cold. If you are outside, you are in motion. Here, everywhere you go you are sitting in the cold. People have heated tables and blankets and hand patches and "extremely safe" space heaters. And an assortment of "room socks" that could fill a factory.

Despite this fact, none of my students seem to dress for the weather. My business students arrive sans gloves or hats with their jackets wide open and proceed to moan about how cold it is outside. I ask "why no hat" and one of them replies that it itches his head. Another student goes out at break to "enjoy" a cigarette without his jacket and comes back professing "I almost died out there." At my high school, you walk in and you can see your breath in front of you, you have to wear your jacket to class and warm your hands in front of a stinky kerosene heater, yet they keep the windows open! Bananas.

To Whale or not to Whale

Controversial food choice alert! Last weekend I and three of my girlfriends were treated to a fancy schmancy dinner. We were supposed to go to this famous crab restaurant featured in every picture of Osaka, however, it was full when we arrived so our host said "how about whale." As I was being treated to dinner I didn't really think about the possibility of saying no and was a little stunned by the suggestion honestly.

We went to a tucked-away restaurant with a line from here to Canada that was plastered with the image of a Mama whale bouncing her baby on her spout water. So many restaurants create cartoon characters out of the food they are serving and plaster it everywhere. The meal consisted of salad with whale jerky, whale sashimi (which was bloody like raw steak) and whale meat, vegetables and tofu cooked in a hot pot at our table. I can truly tell you at this juncture that whale is disgusting and there is no good reason to eat this meat. It is fatty on the outside and tough on the inside and carries the pungent taste of liver. Ah well, I'll try anything once! 

At one point the table talk turned to the fight against killing whales and our host made the extremely insightful comment that left us all speechless "Well, the whales eat other fish so we should eat the whale". Deep.

Puppet Theatre - Endless Magic

In my effort to try all things Japanese, my friend and I checked out one of the three main types of theatre in Japan, Bunraku. The National Theatre is across the street from my flat. Despite the fact that I fell asleep during my Kabuki experience, I thought I'd give it a whirl. To sum it up into two words, it was beautiful torture. Torture because it started at 4:30 and ended at 9. Beautiful because it was puppet theatre and you forgot for stretches that they were puppets you were watching. The narrator half sings, half whinnies and half whines the story as the puppets make their way, directed by two masked puppeteers and one master unmasked and painfully constipated-looking puppeteer, per main puppet. The narrator gets so into it that he is engulfed in sweat and panting by the end of his scene. He is accompanied by a banjo-playing man who makes a frog-like sound as he plays his instrument.

Kat and I had to look away at points for fear of breaking into fits of uncontrollable laughter; it was just so random and strange to us. Even stranger was the lady in the front row who was boppin' her head like she was at a rolling stones concert. Luckily, unlike at Kabuki, they provided English explanations through a headpiece that you could rent. Strangely though many of the Japanese audience also had headpieces to explain the show as the Japanese language used is so old that it's hard for even native speakers to understand. 

At one point the translation did send Kat and me into some hysterical convulsions as the executioner puppet tried to woo a maiden by first telling his mates that the "execution" was going to take place in his bedroom south of the navel and that he was going to use his new sword. And then by saying to the unsuspecting female "Hey, how about it honey" followed smartly by "Hey lovergirl." Sweet pickup lines to take note of for sure!

Temple City

Recently I took a trip to the temple town of Koyasan which is heralded as the resting place of the famed monk Kobo Daishi (he is meant to simply be resting in his tomb, not actually dead but meditating). It is known as the centre of Japanese Buddhism and has over 110 temples. As a result, I had expected there to be hundreds of tourists milling about when I arrived trying to snatch their final souvenirs of the day before the shops closed. However I guess I had picked the perfect time of year as the throngs of Buddhist followers and curious tourists had packed in their rucksacks for another season. Definitely a pleasant surprise and a bit of a shock to the senses in Japan of all places.

In Koyasan the thing to do is to stay in a temple, which is basically a Ryokan with only vegetarian meals and communal toilets. I stayed in a beautiful temple where the staff greeted me with a warm and toasty welcome in the drizzling rain and, as I was one of the only two staying in the temple that night, was assigned to a lovely room overlooking their courtyard garden. I was brought to the room by a monk who seemed to have memorized a list of things to tell me when I got there. I took a minute to relax and enjoy my tea while sitting on my veranda and gazing out at the exquisite display of nature and weather outside of my sliding doors.

The town's major claim to fame is its 2-kilometre-long cemetery which is awe-inspiring. There are ornate and statuesque gravestones as far as the eye can see amidst mile-high cedar trees with countless wobbly stone paths which lead to secret corners impossible to completely explore in one visit. At the end of the walk you reach the mecca, the resting place of the Kobo Daishi. But the real jewel in my opinion is the temple full of hundreds of lanterns, some of which have apparently been burning for over 900 years. It is absolute magic and you can't help but stop, stare and catch your breath.

A stroll at night through the town is serene. Temples adorned with ornate lanterns beam through the darkness and all is still aside from the pitter patter of other tourists taking their evening constitutional and the sporadic business taking place at the few souvenir shops that have decided to catch the last stragglers in need of some prayer beads or a statue or a book on Buddhism.

The next morning I was woken up at the obscene hour of 5am (yes they had warned me but you can really never be ready for this time in the morning) to head down to the prayer and fire service. The ceremony itself was beautiful and it was meditative to listen to the chanting in a foreign language. No choice but to just focus on the sounds and the atmosphere. Then we were carted off to the fire ceremony where the same head monk built a massive meter-tall fire and threw a whole bunch of significant powders on top. I learned very quickly why they had a massive fire hall down the street for such a small town.

A Thai Christmas Ahead

I have completely fallen in love with Osaka, the city, the people, and my lifestyle. Every day is fascinating! Riding my bike around the city I am discovering nooks and crannies that could keep me mystified for years on end. She is confused and outgoing and colourful and lazy and cosmopolitan and traditional and intelligent and fake and cultured and naïve, all wrapped up haphazardly in a neon-coloured concrete bow. It really is something else and also overwhelming to think that there are a million places that hold the same intrigue in the world. Exciting yet overwhelming. I am just thanking my lucky stars that I can't read all of the signs or I would really go nuts.

Alright, so maybe not so short and sweet but I have a gift for the gab. So I'm off in the am to explore Thailand.

Here's wishing you and your loved ones a very safe and wonderful holiday season. I will talk to you all in the New Year!!