The previous entry, in response to Kiyo's question, listed the images I had of Japan before I moved there. Although, this entire blog is dedicated to what I remember about Japan, I thought it would be nice to sum it up what I thought of Japan once I was there, the way Jason did.
- gray. concrete buildings. concrete walls. overcast. covered shopping arcades. walking through alleyways and by-ways. litter everywhere. neon in the rain.
- the scent of fried fish. of burning garbage. of pickled things. of sulphur springs. of chestnuts roasting. of okonomiyaki. of kerosene heaters.
- crowded markets. open-air stalls. discount and tourist shops in the train station arcade. department store basement floors filled with food. Dai-ichi Soft City (our video store).
- noise. constant blaring noise. the garbage truck song. the elementary school song. the morning, noon, and evening neighborhood song. the traffic light song, cassette-recorded barkers at the grocery story. Takiwa singing flowers.
- being very hot. windows open. mosquitos. Vape.
- being very cold.kotatsu. mikan. persimmons. making Texas-style chili in the donabi. sleeping with stocking caps on.
- sushi. manju. o-cha. mugi-cha. yaki niku bento. miso. little cakes. o-miage treats left on my desk by teachers returning from trips. sliced bread without heels. Tom and Huck's bakery. the tofu-maker.
- lacquerware. pottery. chopstick holders. Japanese paper. uchiwa. bamboo crafts. tea ceremony supplies. calligraphy supplies.
- laserdiscs. 8mm video cameras. bilingual TV sets. vending machine heaven. everything is cheaper if you know someone who knows someone.
- sorting garbage. hanging out futons. miniature washing machine. learning to cook without an oven. fuzzy-logic rice cookers.
- being blind, deaf, and dumb to the world around me. rushing home to see if there is a letter from the states. reading any scrap of English that came our way. Getting up at 2AM to watch old episodes of Dynasty just to hear English. Breaking down and buying a VCR. Hosting all weekend "Twin Peaks" parties.
- lost in the land of cute. black Christmas trees decorated with pumpkins for Halloween. the antidote to cute: Muji.
- fantastic Japanese department stores. Tokiwa. Parco. Takashimaya. spending hours on the fifth floor looking at the household goods. elevator ladies. the changing of the escalator guard. individually wrapped parcels. overwhelming collection of shopping bags. lunch in a restaurant on the top floor or from food bought from the basement floor vendors. elevators for cars in the parking garage.
- measuring distance in time travelled. Kamegawa Eki. Beppu Eki. riding our bike along the seawall of Beppu Bay. taking the ferry to Kobe.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
November 23, 2002
Comments
Interesting! Especially the scent.
I remembered the B&B room in London had smelled like butter. I don't have any memory about the scent in America, though.
Comment by: Eri. Posted November 24, 2002 04:42 AM.
I forgot to mention one of my favorite scents: the hay-like smell of tatami.
I spent all day thinking about what the scent of America might be. We live our lives inside artificially heated and cooled environments, and even the outdoors seems almost scentless and artificial. The smells are not pervasive, as in Japan, but occasional, and many are specific to Texas or the southwest US.
hot tar on a summer day * fresh-mown grass * cedar smoke from fireplace * Texas BBQ * gasoline * dead skunk on the road * Christmas trees * the smell of rain in summer when it first hits the dry and dusty ground * Mom's Thanksgiving dinner (especially the celery-based stock for the giblet gravy and roasted turkey) * roasting pine nuts * apples in my grandmother's cellar * fresh-baked bread * coffee brewing
As for England, the smell that immediately comes to mind is wet wool (maybe it is just the damp sheep in the Lake District where we always holiday).
Comment by: M. Posted November 24, 2002 03:20 PM.
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