Category: in a Japanese Pond

“mita? sakura ga saita,” said each person as they came in, tones reverent. Did you see? The cherry flowers blossomed. All day, the office buzzed with a peculiar mix of anticipation, serenity and excitement, and wandering around the city that evening, I felt the same atmosphere on every street corner. In my head, I saw… Continue reading Flower Viewing

I had no reason not to gawk however, and did so keenly. A man in a doctor’s coat stood beside a gorgeous young woman, naked but for a large area of pixelation stretching from hip to hip. Display of pubic hair is illegal in Japan, rendering the whole erotic industry impotent to achieve its objective.… Continue reading Sex

I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s never received a Valentine’s Day Card. I’m not the only one who, the next day, either had to admit it, or concoct a story of some secret admirer and make it sound so hot that I couldn’t show anyone. In the west, that’s something you deal with.… Continue reading Equality

I stood in the snow for two hours waiting to meet George at the appointed time and place but he, it turns out, had slept in and was having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. While I tried to track him down and started calling the vendors to delay the meeting and to make arrangements… Continue reading Meeting

“Oh, don’t talk to me about Canadians,” said an American voice. “They’re almost as bad as those fuckin’ Australians. They never tip.” It was an effort not to join the debate. I was one of those ‘fuckin’ Australians’ who hated tipping. In my experience, the worse the service someone gives, the more they expect a… Continue reading Money

When I gave up the basketball club at school, I put all my energy into martial arts. My host mother had found a small doujou near home where the sensei taught a style invented by their father, combining aikidou and other styles with a few of his own moves. The senior sensei demonstrated the power… Continue reading Martial Arts

The acts varied, including a foreign dance, a song and a mock TV game show among others and everyone joined in. The idle members of the department sat back with beer, sake and whiskey and laughed and clapped equally to each skit. The team building, I realised, was in the preparation, not in the activity… Continue reading Teams

Everyone sat quietly, but I could feel an energy in the crowd, and when each team came out that energy erupted from the whole stadium. I don’t just mean the people supporting that team – I mean the whole stadium. A chant started. It wasn’t the disorganised rabble calling out a mix of ‘Go the… Continue reading Sports

I’d really been looking forward to a BBQ at the beach the following weekend, but even that became a frustrating experience. It was organised by the company volleyball club – the only place I’d found untainted by gaijin – and I was looking forward to being able to swim, eat good food and get to… Continue reading Alone

The third Monday of July is Ocean Day, and I was blessed with a long weekend. My hours had been building steadily since I’d arrived, and I was often required to work weekends – you can’t upgrade a phone or voice-mail system while people are using them. This was a rare chance to take a… Continue reading お祭り