JIJ Vol. 010 Fukuoka, My Room, strange culture in Japan

Fukuoka... it's like living in a city but not really. I have to say, the city life here is not so congested as it is in Tokyo. Tenjin which is the main shopping area of Fukuoka perfecture definately has that pippin city feel. What makes Tenjin a busy city compared to the little area I live in (called Ijiri) probably has to do with density. Honestly... there isn't TOO much of a difference between Tenjin and Ijiri. I think the only difference is the occasional patch of rice field you'll see in between the house flats. The strange thing is when I look at home in Ijiri I don't think of it as "the city." I think here in Japan I have labeled what is 'city' to what is not 'city' by the density of buildings and most importantly population. Tenjin is so CROWDED. When you get off the train it gets so packed! people are always busy about doing something, going to work, comming home from work, going going going. It isn't so relaxed. There are so many bicycles outside, so many cars, taxis, people. There is constant media advertisement and it never seems to end. Tokyo is a lot more worse than this... in my opinion. As you start heading away from Tenjin the density of people reduce just a little... I mean in Ijiri there is still that dense feeling, but it isn't a big sidewalk full of parked bicycles and full of people. What also makes Tejin more city like is... everything is in Tenjin. The shops you want to go to are in Tenjin, the events (festivals, concerts, etc) happen there, the big shops and better deals are in Tenjin (though there is a shopping outlet somewhere east of Tenjin, but I haven't been there yet), the movie theaters are here so on and so forth.

Alright - I'll have some photos of around Fukuoka... the next time I actually go downtown. I'll take some photos of the shopping areas and other strange things. But... some of you are wondering about my room! So I was lucky enough when I arrived at Hakata station that I was able to move into my dorm room immediately. Which was great! I was really glad that I was able to settle down! Travelling for a whole month can get to you. But I'll slowly introduce to you parts of my room. I'll start with the kitchen. Now that I'm a bit more settled in - I feel more comfortable sharing my room with you... it looks more like a room instead of it being bare.

The "kitchen" in my room is rather small. In my kitchen I have: an electric heater, 2 shelves, 1 strange rack (which has now become my drying rack), 1 minature fridge, 1 sink, and 'storage space under the sink'. Well there isn't anything stored under the sink. Actually I store a handful of items in the cabinet next to my kitchen. I took some photos of the kitchen area...



A general photo of the kitchen. Note the bag that I use for trash, and in the lower right hand corner is a small floor area (green) by the door... that is where you leave your shoes before entering the room. :) I have a few pairs of shoes down there...



my Fridge, and the controls to a kitchen light, air vent, and the turn dial to turn on my stove.



my electric stove and the sauces I cook with. From left to right: olive oil, sukiyaki sauce, soy sauce, mirin.
The first time I went shopping I was looking for oil, but I didn't know what the japanese word for oil was. So to play it safe I bought a small bottle of olive oil instead. I use this in my cooking and it tastes good when I cook italian food... so I guess it was a safe choice to make. Sukiyaki sauce is for when I make sukiyaki. For those who are wondering what sukiyaki is please refer to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki Following that is Soy sauce... you use it a lot in most asian foods; a good base for sauces. Following that is Mirin sauce. I bought Mirin sauce to make "Donburi" (donburi is basically a rice bowl with food on top). Mirin is a condensed sweet sake sauce. It is the base for donburi dishes as well as Teriyaki sauce. So now I can make teriyaki sauce no problem. :)



My sink! all spick and span with all of my dishes completely washed!



My shelving unit. From left to right.
Top shelf: my small tea collection, some red bean mochi, some dry noodles (ramen and soba), and food from a care package that my mom sent me (tasty cambells chicken soup! and asian sauce packet for stir fry cooking [coconut curry sauce]).
Middle shelf: pepper and salt, my sweets pile, my fruit pile.
Bottom shelf: a place to dry my dishes.

I think that was an extensive introduction to my tiny kitchen. Probably more than you wanted to know... but I'll move onto the bathroom. It's more exciting! I promise. So the bathroom is well... interesting. Here's the first picture:



A sink... a spot to shower... top left hand corner is a small cabinet for my soaps. but where is the toilet?!?! I don't see it.

*drum rolls*


THERE IT IS! And there you have it... the sink slides from side to side and the toilet hides under the sink. Strange isn't it? I'm so amazed they're able to fit a kitchen and a small restroom into a tiny dorm room. When I do shower... the floor does get wet... so the best thing to do is shower at night or early in the morning that gives the room time to dry while i'm sleeping or out at school. Amazing isn't it?

I'll share the rest of my room next time... it's a little messy - so when it's cleaned up I shall share.

CULTURE SHOCK: TISSUES!
So this is what I would call a strange part of modern day culture in Japan. Tissues. It isn't the tissues that you buy in boxes at the store. No... they're little packets of tissues:



There is my current collection of tissue packets. Ideally people hang around train exits (and some times on the busy street corners in Tenjin) and pass these little packets ot tissues. They're great to have. Actually these packets of tissue is basically an advertisement stratagey developed here in Japan. But who needs tissues anyway? That's a good question. Tissues are great to have in general, they're free and you don't have to pay for them. It gets advertisement out (the ones I have are for a gym, eyeglasses, an internet cafe... and well i can't read the rest so it doesn't bother me that much) and well... the main reason why: public restrooms don't have toilet paper. Public restrooms in Japan do not have toilet paper. Public restrooms include: restrooms in the park, restrooms in the train station (big one here), some shopping malls, etc. I've had many times where I was saved by a packet of free tissues in the train station restrooms... and there have been times where I was in a public restroom with no tissue at hand! I remember being in Kyoto station and telling my friend that there was no toilet paper in the station and handed them a small packet. So now I generally keep a packet in all of my bags... that way I won't forget having to put a packet in one and it will be there when I most need it. Strange... I don't think tissue packet advertisement in the big cities in the USA would do very good... since all public restrooms have toilet paper...

Well that's it for this issue. Next issue I'll talk about my one day trip to Nagasaki, a little more about my room, and about my classes. I hope everyone is doing well! Take care! Ja mata!