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As my third week in Kanazawa comes to a close I am able to collect my thoughts in a more positive, logical manner.

The main obstacle that I had to overcome was not one of necessifty but of luxary. Everything is so familiar, simple, and even expected. I can easily navigate through any situation because they are all simply altered states of past experiences. I take for granted the fact that I can speak and read Japanese-Explaining to my peers where a certain resturant or shop is, I can’t remember if the landmarks I have given them are written in Japanese or English, or if there will be any sort of English support for them assuming they reach their destination.

Day-to-day life offers no difficulties. Rather, it is an internal struggle with myself to challenge my expectations. Coming back to Japan is like a second marriige on the coattails of one that ended not due to divorce, but because my wife died unexpectly and tragically. I still love her so, even though she treated me badly at times. And so Kanazawa doesn’t have my favorite Japanese resturants. It doesn’t have my favorite grocery stores or shops. Most importantly it doesn’t have my favorite people.

These are all problems that could only exist because of my past experience. Coming to Japan the first time, everything was so fresh, exciting, and NEW that it didn’t matter what happaned to me. This time my mind is older, harder, and slightly less forgiving.

This is not without its advantages.

I am able to brace myself and accept the inevitable unplentries that life will bring. In a foreign environment, once the honeymoon period wears off every bad thing that happens to you is three times worse then it actually is. In particular making real friends can be daunting, seemingly impossible task. Knowing the problems you face ahead of time allows you to accept them for what they truely are: Not problems, but truths.

If you go into a situation with an empty frame of mind you will fill it with new insights. Go into a situation with a mind filled with expectations and bias and you will find that everything is just how you thought it would be. In other words I have learned to expect nothing from people and chreish whatever I get in return.

Kanazawa In a Nutshell
People from Kanazawa are proud of their city’s history and culture. Although this can be said for every region of Japan for they each have the ‘best’ something, be it apples, water, or neighborhood baseball team, Kanazawa makes (mostly) good on its boasting. For a modern city it has done a comparitively good job of protecting its historical gardens, temples, and crafts. In comparison I visited Kobe and Osaka last weekend and I found nothing to enjoy but concrete. To be fair, Kanazawa has its share of concrete riverbeds and dams, but the city feels more alive then other man-made tombs that dot the island.

The breathtaking view from my window

My apartment is located in the old Samurai district, with wooden architecture, shrines, and temples on all sides. Stepping out one evening the distinct plinking of the shamisen floated through the open second-story window of a classic home across the street. Unlike many other areas in Japan the link to past culture has not been severed.

This is perhaps due to Kanazawa’s long history of political and military amnesty. After the region was conquered by the Shogun in the early 1600’s it was designated as a cutural stronghold for the arts and local handcrafts. Kanazawa’s massive rice yield allowed it the resources to amass the greatest creative brain trust in Japan at the time.

Since then Kanazawa has become famous for seafood, sake, gold leafing (guess where all the flattened gold sheets that cover Kin-kakuji came from) and whatever else people feel like bragging about. This is, however, the dogma of tourists and Kanazawas elderly. Ask people my age inside the city what makes Kanazawa unique, and they respond with a dry laugh-"It’s close to Kyoto!"

Which is not entirerly true. There are beutiful beaches on the east, west, and northern coasts, as well as mount Haku-San in the south that becomes a mecca for snowboarders and skiiers in the winter. There is a lot to do just outside of Kanazawa, but it lacks the well developed train system that most other big cities in Japan enjoy and as a result you need a car, or someone who has a car, to make the most out of living in the region.

Bike 20 minutes outside of the city to find the real countryside

Work In a Nutshell
I work for the Kanazawa International Exchange Foundation (KIEF) under the employ of Kanazawa city. This distinction is important. While there are other CIRs on the floor above me, they are employed by the prefecture and as such operate under a slightly different set of regulation and bosses. Across the city there are more city CIRs working in the city hall, and as fellow city CIRs I see them more often then the folks above my head. Kanazawa has a comparatively large foreign population (1% of the total) with people from America, Russia, Europe, Korea, Brazil, China. As a result we have CIRs from these various countries to help those from their respective countries.

The contents of my work can be broken down into three catagories- In office, out of office, and events.

In office work includes translating/creating fliers for various events that are put on by the various international groups in Kanazawa. I also am in charge of other mundane tasks such as maintaning KIEF’s English homepage and assisting English speaking foreigners that wander into our corner.

Out of Office work includes interpreting and school visits/lectures. For example, execs from Thailand are coming in two weeks and I will be in charge of interpreting plant tours and lectures on Kanazawa’s history. Sometime in December I will be visiting a "Volunteer College" to introduce my country to senior volunteers. After that I will be going to a school for children with special needs to play games with the students. The context and content varies widely.

Events, or "Culture Classrooms" as we call them around the office, are short cultural events that I plan and put on for whoever is interestest, usually bored housewives and their children. In October I’d like to do a pumpkin carving event for Halloween, and in the Winter I’m planing to teach people how to make American chili and cornbread.

I’m not sure if I’m providing an important social service or just helping people to kill time and allow them to feel more cosmopolitan. In any case, I am my own boss for these events and am free to present whatever strikes my fancy. The possibilities are intimidating, but I’m going to have more fun working with kids then I did working with suits from the automotive biz.

My Life in a Nutshell
Work is 9:00-5:45 Monday-Thursday, and 9:00-12:00 on Friday. Japan gets dark around 6:00 (no Daylight Saving Time) and most shops close around 8:00, meaning, by the time I get home, shower, eat, relax, and head out into the town, Kanazawa has already called it a day. Generally I study for a few hours at a coffee place or fast food joint, then wander the streets until something grabs my interest.

Bars in Japan are very different then in the States. On top of absurd drink prices, most bars have a cover charge, generally 500-700 yen, although this can go up to 2500 yen for singles bars. Generally cover entails snacks to go with your seven dollar cocktail, though this eliminates the possibility of bar hopping.

And when you are the only patron in an establishment, you will want to hop, and quickly. Another interesting characteristic about bars in Japan is their size. Generally they are just that-a bar, with 6-10 stools. This creates a very intimate setting which while condusive to meeting people can at times be overpowering.

I have crawled through a great many bars and met a great many people these past few weeks. Connections were made, but will they lead anywhere? I have made acquaintances with the "English Leech" more times then seems probably in this short period of time. The English Leech is a person who is interested in becoming friends with you solely on the virtue that you can teach them English or that you will become their Gaijin buddy, a living fashion accessory much like pet or a baby.

I am willing to be suckeled by the English Leech.

The biggest problem I faced in Otsu was making friends. I’d meet someone at a party, have a great time, make some fun conversation, and exchange contact information, then never see the person again. This is a common pattern, but even knowing so you can’t help but feel that there is somthing fundamentily wrong with you that is keeping people away from you. Since then I have learned that even if it is a problem with me (which it isn’t, for the most part), but rather something about Japanese culture that I have to work through.

My first weekend I didn’t have a bike and had my hands full with mapping out my neighborhood by foot. My second weekend I was in Osaka. This weekend was my first chance to really explore the shops and malls that close before I can get to them. I discovered that my method of meeting people was terribly flawed. Previously I had been effectively paying for a Japanese conversation partner through the price of my drinks. By going into small shops staffed by the manager and his friends, I was guarenteed to meet people my age with a conversation piece, for free! What’s with these Cheech and Chong stickers, most people in Japan have never even seen marijuana. I saw a concert flyer on your door, are they any good? And so on. People are so shocked to see a foreigner that can actually speak Japanese that they do most of the bridge-building for you.

This leads me to my hypothsis-

In Japan, you need an "in."

Water in a concrete tomb.

The easiest way to reach the ocean is to follow its streams. If you know one person, even if that person just wants to use you as free English teacher, you can go through them and meet their friends, and that person’s friends and so on. This may not be the best approach, but it’s better then no approach. My neighborhood, Nagamachi, is well known for its man-made waterways, which while beautiful to look at are depressing to think about. Is the social stream I find myself wading in as similarily shallow and artificial?

Time will tell.

See you then.

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