roarfish

Our Home - Saga, Japan.

This story was written by Saga Shimbun Study Abroad Program students Yurika Nakao, Yuta Kitagawa and Shota Tanaka, as a result of their Study Abroad Program Writing Course, before embarking on Further Education study in Australia in 2007 and onwards.

Introduction.

Saga prefecture is located in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands. Its population is about 866,000. The main city is Saga-shi, with a population of 203,500.

The climate is generally mild, with just a little snow in winter, but a hot, humid summer.
Saga is mainly an agricultural area, famous for saga beef, mikan (mandarin oranges), rice and vegetables. Fishing is also important, especially squid from Yobuko, on the Japan Sea coast.

It is also recognized throughout Japan and some parts of the world for its high quality porcelain ceramics.

Saga is internationally well known for its annual international balloon festival, attracting contestants and visitors from all over the world. Eight hundred thousand people attended this event in 2005.

Kendo discipline in Saga, Japan

Last summer, on a short bicycle excursion to Yoka Jinja, a very nice Shinto shrine located in central Saga city, and only a short ride from my home, I was lucky enough to stumble across a Kendo tournament being held for local elementary school children. I occasionally go to Yoka Jinja, as it is one of the prettiest, and oldest shrines in Saga, and I can usually find some inspiration there for a photography essay when nothing else comes easily to mind. This visit was no exception. I had seen schoolchildren practicing kendo during some of my 'native English speaker' working visits to local Saga schools, but had not taken a lot of notice of it, or had the time to watch, and take it in.

The many beautiful waterfalls of Saga.

It has been raining quite heavily over the last week or so in Saga, because it is spring, and we usually get most of our rain in this growing season, and in the wet season of early summer. And all of the rain means that Saga's many waterfalls are running faster, and a thousand dormant ones will be running again. A short drive in any direction in Saga, or for that matter just about anywhere in Japan, will take you within easy access of many of them.

Obuchi falls, just a few minutes drive to the North of Saga city limits, runs quite hard during summer.

There are several large falls in Saga, at places like Kannon no taki, and Mikaeri no taki, which both run and roar pretty hard in summer, and even have plenty of water in them during the off seasons. But there are many, many smaller falls that become quite spectacular during the spring and summer rains. And there are countless numbers of small, beautifully hidden falls deep in the forest, shaded over by thick growth, but that can still be reached by a short walk.

The ancient ruins at Yoshinogari

One of the down sides to not being able to speak or read Japanese much, is that you can miss out on the full understanding of something, and miss the good stories that people have. Yoshinogari, an archeological dig and historic reconstruction of an ancient site in Saga, on the southern island of Kyushu, is just such an example for me.

Reconstructed fence and sentry box at Yoshinogari.

I had been past Yoshinogari on the train many times. I could see the reconstructed huts, and sentry towers, and see the overall size of the site, and the very nice administation buildings, housing a museum and cafe, amongst other facilities. And whilst it looked interesting, and impressive, it was to me just another historic reconstruction. It wasn't until I had a free, sunny day on my hands, and nothing better to photograph, that I decided to drive the 45 minutes from home and take a close look.

Tokyo's quiet spaces.

Whenever I ask Japanese people who don't live in Tokyo whether they like it or not, the answer is often 'no'. And the usual reason is that it is 'too crowded, and too noisy'. I certainly wouldn't argue about the number of people that are usually out and about in Tokyo, and that some places seem almost perpetually busy, but I have found a few quiet places, even some that are worth visiting in their own right.

Just outside of Ueno Park, the Kaneiji Temple makes a good subject for drawing class. This important building was the temple of the Tokugawa family, yet gets few visitors.

Certainly, if you get dragged into the melee of Shinjuku station, or have reason to visit the backstreets around the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku at night, you will experience wall to wall people, and noise, like no other place in Japan. And if you get on the Yamanote line train, or some of the subway lines into Tokyo or Shinjuku station at morning peak hour, you will know what a sardine feels like. And special events, like the Tokyo Christmas light show, or summer fireworks festivals, attract huge crowds. Very orderly, well behaved crowds, that pose no threat at all to life and limb, or property. People in Tokyo do know how to behave in crowds. But there are pleasant, easily accessed escapes from Tokyo's crowds.

One fine day in Tokyo.

From time to time, friends, both in Australia and here in Saga, rural Japan, have asked me what you can do in Tokyo if you have one day spare for sightseeing.

Old Edo period sweet shop in Asakusa.

It seems that several international airlines, as well as JAL, offer one-day stopovers in Tokyo on their way to Europe. My friends and students sometimes have to go to Tokyo for meetings, seminars or exams, and often have a day, or a large part of a day, free for sightseeing. And Tokyo is so huge, and so different from Australian cities, or other parts of Japan, that it can be daunting trying to figure out a fruitful way to spend a single day. 

Tokyo International Forum.

One of my favorite modern buildings in Tokyo is the Tokyo International Forum. Designed as an an Exhibition Space and a series of conference halls, it is the result of planning for a new exhibition complex first mooted in 1980, a design competition held in 1989, and won by New York architect Rafael Vinoly. The complex was opened in January 1997. I first saw it in 1998, and at that time the huge Lobby Gallery was not quite ready for exhibitions, and some of the facilities were not quite complete.

Outside view of the main 'ship-like' building.

The Ginza, Tokyo. Reborn, again.

The Ginza may be the best known of any of Tokyo's city districts. It is currently going through a rebirth as Tokyo's prime shopping district, after the economic downturn of recent times forced frugality on the big spending Japanese shoppers of the bubble economy.

The main Ginza intersection, opposite the Wako building. Even on a rainy weekday the streets are busy again.

But rebirth is not new to the Ginza, having been through it several times before, for a variety of reasons.

Japlish, or Enganese?

A sign outside my local police station, explaining in a couple of languages what you are supposed to do when confronted by the respective symbol when out on the road. I have no idea what the Korean is like, but check the close-ups below to see the state of the English.

Japanese signage is, to me anyway, often very attractive. Whether it be the overall good design sense of it, or the clever cuteness of it, or even the dazzling flashiness of it, especially when it's in neon. Maybe part of that is because I can't often read it, so the physical appearance is all I can judge by. But Japanese signage in English is another matter. I presume it is their for non-Japanese to read, so in many cases I presume it is of some importance. Of course, there is a lot of English used for product names, bar and cafe names, band names, hair salon names (hair and make salons, usually!), etc. The use of English here is just fashion, and further evidence of the constant spread of American culture. So if these signs don't make sense, it doesn't really matter. It is mostly just amusing, or if not funny, puzzling.

When the sign is there for some important function though, or information, or directions, it would be good if it was readable. Of course it often is, but then again it very often isn't. Sometimes it is just a small spelling mistake, which does not really alter the meaning. This is just a little amusing. But sometimers it is so grammatically horrible, that even wild speculation fails to establish any  clue to its  intended purpose. Here are a few examples  that I gathered in the space of a day or so, just in my travels, without going out of my way.

The breakfast sign in the elevator only contains a small spelling error (Buffe) which would not fool anyone. But I guess the pasted over time of closure was originally P.M., which would have caused some concern. The sign above, outside an elevator in the same hotel, well, what that means is up to you.  I do not usually have any visitors lodged firmly anywhere in or on my person, so I have no idea. The Ajino restaurant sign has only a small slip, but just who is satisfied?

And below, I guess the 'GIVE WEY' would really only cause Little Miss Muppet any real consternation, and the stop sign probably intends you to come to a stuttering stop, but the one on the right? 'TULL TOLD'? I guess it is a sign to stop you at a toll road, but believe me, that is a very wild guess!

I have no idea why it happens. Sure, they are written by non-native speakers of English, so mistakes are very possible, even probable. But there are  so many English teachers residing in Japan these days, and so many English schools all over Japan, that to get some proof reading done is difficult? I don't think so. I don't like to criticise the Japanese, but I think it is a matter of misplaced pride. I 'm sure that if we were writing signage in Japanese in a foreign country, we would be toddling down to the local Japanese department at the nearest University, or even the consulate, to get a little proofing done.

Hello Kitty 'WhiteDay' packaging.

White Day is very much a 'Japanese only' day. On March 14th, White Day, exactly one month after Valentine's day, men who received gifts of chocolate on Valentine's Day are meant to reciprocate by giving a White Day gift to whoever gave to them. Said to have been invented by a marshmallow manufacturer in the 1960's or thereabouts, it is the perfect invention for removing the Japanese obligation one has to always return another gift to the gift giver. What a circle of clever marketing opportunities this creates!

White Day is not celebrated with quite as much enthusiasm as Valentine's Day, but it is catching up. Gifts of marshmallow, white candy and chocolate, and other goods white in color, are the popular choices. It is rumored that a man's affection can be measured by the type of white goods he gives.  Marshmallow means  love, candy means like, and white chocolate means let's be friends, I think.  I'm not sure where white diamonds, or a white Porsche roadster would fit into this formula.

Anyway, as promised, above is a small picture of a small selection of this year's Hello Kitty White Day packaging. It is much softer, and much whiter of course, than the Valentine's Day packs. The gold of February 14th has been replaced by a silver metal phone badge, and the logo is in silver or white. Some packs have a kawaii little Hello Kitty doll inside. The pink metallic marshmallow tin with the old fashioned look, and white logo, is called 'Charmmy Kitty', which I guess means charming Kitty.

She shows no sign at all of slowing down as she approaches that dreaded 'big' birthday!