Jodie in Tokyo

Do you currently smoke cigarettes on a regular basis?

I’m going for a medical checkup next week, first time in Tokyo. In the post today, I received a pre-checkup questionnaire. Among the usual questions about lifestyle and medications, there were some strange ones:

Do you seem to eat faster than other people?

Do you feel that you walk slower than other people your age?

Do you currently smoke cigarettes on a regular basis? [more than 100 cigarettes per week]

More than 100 cigarettes per week? Is that all? So if you smoke less than 100 a week, you don’t count as a smoker?I also like this one – Has your weight increased by more than 10kg compared to when you were 20 years old? Now there’s a rule to live by, provided you were not already obese at 20.

Today was the last day of school for Eamon and Curtis, complete with concert and graduation ceremony for Eamon, hats and all. What are they called, mortarboards? That’s him second from right.

I’m feeling a bit anxious about the summer break, though. It’s almost three months until the new school year. Contrary to summer holidays in Australia, which I was always gagging for, the thought of entertaining three kids in Tokyo for the summer scares me – suffocating heat, small apartment, no backyard or beach and most of our northern hemisphere friends will be ‘home’ for the summer. So I’ve been making plans, involving summer school, visitors from home, some Japan sight-seeing and an August trip to London and ‘the continent’. Hopefully we make it to September with our sanity intact.

I haven’t posted for a while because…um, well I don’t have any real excuses actually. I’ve been busy, but isn’t everyone? It’s probably more that I’ve been distracted; the marathon in March, holiday in Australia, friends and family over, etc. My most recent visitors were my Melbourne girls Jane and Astrid. It was great to see them after so long, and to share Tokyo with them and laugh at their adventures. I often sent them off alone, with language classes and a family and all I couldn’t keep their schedule, but also because you can have the best time in Tokyo being totally clueless. Here are some photos and some comments from Jane (Astrid, I’m still waiting on yours…)

Jane’s Q and A:

- What three things surprised you the most about Japan?

How clean and tidy and how little pollution there was considering how many bloody people live there.

How few fat and tall people I saw and how not many people wore thongs: Fat people 5 /tall people 3/ and 3 (Westerners, including me) wearing thongs.

Surprise is not the word…I was shocked how nice people were in Japan, like those who led us all the way to our destinations after we simply asked for direction. Impressive.

- What three things would you definitely do again?

Go to Japan.

Spend three days at the Hyatt in Hakone. Loved the onsen, loved the trees, the hills and the little local restaurant with real sake.

Walk into a little, unknown restaurant where no one speaks English, order things off the menu that look like what you want, get a mug of beer, and just try to resemble someone that knows what they’re doing, and eating. The result – one of the best dinners and one of our funniest experiences.

- What would you change about Japan?

More rubbish bins on the streets, so Astrid has somewhere to throw rubbish. I just threw mine on the ground.

Japanese people could be more honest/less shy about how much English they speak, so white honkies like me know what I’m eating.

The vending machines to include a choice of live men  (with photographs) inside them so Astrid and Jane could finally find a boyfriend.

Let the Japanese ladies know they need not suffer for fashion, thongs are okay and 4 inch heels are bad for your feet.

- What would you change about Australia, after seeing Japan?

To generally be more open to quietness. Respect each other more. Perhaps a smile at a stranger every now and then or even a little bow, not too low, just a quick flick.

Thanks for your thoughts Miss Jane, I look forward to your next trip already. Just make sure you come with a half empty suitcase this time (the girl can shop).

What else has been happening? We went to the Lily Allen concert last night, she was so cute and sharp and genki. It’s strange going to concerts here, they start really early. We got there at 6:30 or so, Lily came on just after 7 and we were out on the Shibuya streets again by 8:30. She’s heading to Australia next, go see her if you can. After that she’s playing Fuji Rock here at the end of July. I’d love to go, but we signed up for the Fuji Mountain Race instead, held the same weekend. In hindsight, perhaps the time and money would be better spent moshing with Lily, instead of running up Mt Fuji (21km plus 3000m climb). I really need to work on my priorities, I’ll go do that now. Ja mata.

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