Zach Thomas

In Closing: The long journey home

It’s been quite a culture shock returning to Scotland after 100 days in Japan. My 11 hour flight from Narita airport took me to London and after a 6 hour wait in Victoria station I was able to take the 8 hour night bus to Edinburgh. From there a 3 hour bus journey south took me to Dumfries where my family live. I don’t think there are many contrasts as strong as those between central Tokyo and the remote hamlet of population 15 where I grew up. It’s true that I miss convenience stores and game arcades but as I sit here looking out over my garden I feel truly calm for the first time in months. The sound of birds chirping just outside the window as they socialise over a round of birdseed, the mist rolling solemnly over the pine coated hills that enclose my village, the chickens that follow my mother round the garden in a procession of feathers and noisy clucking. It doesn’t take long for the jetlag to shake off and for me to feel at home once again.

I remember sitting on the night bus marvelling to myself at how cold it was. I said to myself: “I did it”. I set out to spend 3 months in Japan. To live there, to work there, to travel there. And “I did it”. There is nothing more satisfying than looking back and realizing that you fulfilled your own ambitious goals. For this satisfaction I owe a great deal to the Saltire Foundation and the team at SDI who made the whole thing possible and have shown a dedication to my internship even when things were looking bleak. Furthermore, I’d like to thank everyone at Toshiba for their patience and support. The environment at the lab was very friendly and has given me a great introduction to research. I would also like to thank Ken Maeda for organizing my placement and for his nostalgic tea break conversations about Edinburgh. Last but not least, endless appreciation goes to Ryuzo Okada (my tutor) for his informative guidance and assistance.

Japan has been a wonderful backdrop to a wonderful set of experiences and it is no exaggeration to say that (aside from visa problems) I would not have changed any element of my time there. From the sweaty commuter train, to the spiritual hush of the Shinto shrine, to the dramatic summit of Mt Fuji, every scene from my time there has been engrained into my mind like the very essence of culture and experience.

I now turn my attention to my 4th year of Mathematics at Edinburgh University and a busy year as president of the Edinburgh University Japanese Society. A very different set of challenges lie ahead but one thing is for sure: I will be in Japan again in the near future. Watch this space.

The busiest week of my life.

For those of you who are familiar with the aforementioned visa predicament you will also be aware that I made productive use of the waiting period by conducting some personal research into the Japanese Animation Industry. When my visa finally arrived Scottish Development International were very interested in what I had been doing and suggested I compile an internal report for them and round things off with a presentation before I leave Japan. Naturally, I was very enthusiastic to make use of my work and agreed to have something put together before the end of my internship.

My internship at Toshiba was scaled down from the original 8 week plan but it has still been very challenging and a lot of hard work. My tutor requested me to have a report and presentation of my work ready for this Friday so I arranged with SDI to give a presentation on the Thursday morning at 9am. What a week it has been! I spent 9 hours each day at Toshiba RDC running tests and writing my report. Then in the evening I returned home to work on my SDI report and browse the web for content. It's been so knackering thinking from two very different perspectives: My market research is very business focused with a lot of qualitative information and my Toshiba research topic is very mathematical. I feel that my brain has developed a new ability to switch between mindsets.

In addition, I am the president of the Edinburgh University Japanese Society and it's getting very close to our famous "Sushi, Sake, Sumo" Fresher's Week event. I've been sending out loads of emails organizing everything for the society. On October 25th I am organizing a large event as part of the Japan-UK 150 celebrations and this has also been a major responsibility on my shoulders during my time here:

http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/japanuk150/events/andmore/EdinburghUniJD.html

On Thursday morning I gave my final presentation to Frank Boyland and Dr Stephen Baker and they seemed very pleased with my results. I presented them with an overview of my report which reached a length of 24 pages. Straight after that I headed to the Toshiba headquarters in Hamamatsucho for a closing meeting with Chika Komatsu who has been coordinating the placement at Toshiba for me and Euan. Chika's a very friendly lady and a great representative for the company, she presented us with Japanese style lacquered picture frames as a momento of our time in the company.

Next stop was Yako, home of the Saiwai-cho immigration office. I collected my Alien Registration Card which is meant mainly for identifying myself as a legal resident but as I am leaving Japan in a few days it's only important as a compulsory document for exiting the country. It was a great feeling being able to collect my card without any hiccups and swiftly return to the Toshiba RDC.

A few hours of work later and I headed back North to Shinbashi for the Saltire Interns leaving dinner. The folks at SDI certainly have a good taste in restaurants. We had a private room with a 42nd floor view of the Tokyo night view and a great range of traditional Japanese food. I enjoyed a rather disturbing fish-eye jelly which only came second place to the eyeball crunching - "It tastes like egg!" - activities of Alex and Colin. In addition to closing speeches and the many "Thank yous" due to Dr Baker and Frank Boyland we also had an interview with a representative from the Magazine "Immigration News". It seemed like a choice opportunity to spread my enthusiasm for Japan and hopefully, despite the inevitable mention of my visa problems, I managed to leave an impression of just how much love and respect I have for this fine country.

I am very happy to announce that we succeeded in convincing Stephen to go to karaoke and his rendition of "You look wonderful tonight" by Eric Clapton was top class!

I woke up this morning and refused to have a hangover. Rather, I felt so numb that I wasn't really aware of my physical condition at all. I had agreed to be at the office for 8am to make some final adjustments to my presentation. Once I sat down in front of my computer my auto-pilot kicked in and before I knew it I was sitting in the lunch hall being congratulated on a job well done.

This evening I have two leaving parties to round off this epic week. Tomorrow is my last day in Japan and I'm already day dreaming about that roast dinner waiting for me at home.

 

Sunny days and stormy nights: Izu Peninsula

Last weekends Fuji expedition was perhaps one of the most knackering experiences of my life and it took me until Wednesday to return to normal. I can't remember those days particularly clearly but somehow when my senses returned I had half a report and a complete set of code in front of me. I guess I have a reliable autopilot.

It was suddenly the weekend and time for my last weekend trip. I can't believe I have to return to the UK in less than a week! While the other interns were showing off their dance moves somewhere in Tokyo's nightlife scene. I slipped away from Tokyo with my girlfriend (Kept that quiet didn't I?) to the Izu Peninsula south of Tokyo. The weather recently has been very unpredictable and Japan has seen record breaking rainfall in areas further south such as Nagoya so I was slightly worried that we would end up having a miserable time. Luckily, it didn't end up that way...

First stop: Atami. Atami is considered the "gateway to Izu" and it has all the hotels and tourists to go with that title. We stopped there briefly to visit the MOA Art Museum which is a short bus ride through some tight Japanese streets. The museum buildings were beautiful and the surrounding grounds contain traditional tea ceremony houses and a bamboo grove. These well kept extremities are reflected in the high priced entry fee and the entranceway is so epic it takes 10 minutes to get into the main galleries. The grandeur and scale convinced us that the museum was a product of Japan's economic bubble.

Afternoon had arrived and the morning sleepiness had finally lifted, we headed back down the hill and hopped on the train to Ito. On the train there were seats facing East out onto the coastal side of the train tracks. The wide windows gave us a fantastic view of the surrounding scenery as we flew half way down the peninsula to a less frequented station a few stops past Ito. We enjoyed a lovely walk through a sleepy seaside town down to the waters edge were a large group of scuba divers were getting geared up for some underwater exploration. Walking through a few similar bay areas we headed up hill to a lighthouse and a thrilling suspension bridge 23m over a gorge where the waves were raging below.

Jumping on the bus, we left this beautiful scenery behind and headed to Ito where a torrential downpour had begun. Luckily we had decided to splash out on a high quality Japanese inn (ryokan) so I could savour my last full weekend in Japan. The service at the ryokan was ridiculously good. Firstly a member of staff picked us up from the station and dropped us outside the entrance. Another member of staff held an umbrella up so we could transfer into the building. Inside we were checked in by a very friendly looking old man who escorted us through the building to our room, ushering us with polite bows and broken English the entire way. Upon entering the room we didn't get a moment to breathe as our nakai (personal maid) arrived and began perhaps the longest speech I have ever heard a person make without breathing. She introduced us to all the facilities the ryokan had to offer and was bowing her head to the floor the whole time and saying many gozaimasu-s and itashimasu-s - elements of polite Japanese speech.

After our days hike I was looking forward to peace and quiet and when she left the room I was about to breathe a sigh of relief but then suddenly she reappeared with a tray and served us tea. The tea was followed by Okashi, a sweet snack. Then dinner arrived. At some point when I wasn't looking she had set the table and rearranged the room. Food arrived in a constant stream, but not just common dishes, a proper Japanese display with excellent presentation and multitude of different colours. Miso soup, grilled fish (ayu), sashimi, tempura, various tofu foodstuffs like yuba, fishcake, umeshu and many more. I could list them all but as you can see from the photograph that would take some time.

Feeling properly stuffed and understandably sleepy I stared vacantly at the room as the ryokan staff tidied up in record time and made our beds. Eventually we were finally allowed peace and the sudden quiet that prevailed over the room felt unusual after the rush of Japanese customer service. Luckily, the perfect thing was only a lift ride away to ease away the stress of the day: a private rooftop ryokan.

It took a little while to get over the weird feeling that standing on a rooftop naked in a thunderstorm brings but when I climbed into the onsen everything just melted away. The city lights of Ito spread out far along the coast and a cold but friendly wind cooled our faces, flushed from the heat of the bath.

The next morning we were up early. Eager to get out and see the next destination?? Well, yes. But also because our favourite Olympic medalist maid was knocking at our door ready to serve yet another culinary adventure. I've never been particularly good at eating in the morning but I managed to wolf down something before we headed out. Our next destination was Shimoda, all the way at the bottom of the peninsula.

Shimoda is a great example of how well the Japanese tourist industry works. You step off the train, head to the well placed tourist information center in the station and they make a plan for you. Combination ticket in hand we started our afternoon off with a cable car ride to the summit of a mountain where we went to a Japanese shrine dedicated to couples. It is a popular Shinto practice to write down your wishes on a small wooden plaque which is then tied to a special area of the shrine. We got ourselves cute wooden heart and inscribed our wishes to remain a strong couple when I have to return to the UK.

Taking some time to admire the fantastic view of the bay we headed back down to the town and arrived just in time to take a boat cruise of the bay by "black ship". This requires a little explanation of the historical significance of Shimoda. Shimoda is famous as the location where the American black ships landed to force Japan to end its isolationist era. Once upon a time Japan was closed off to foreigners but faced with the power of a fleet of black war ships under Commodore Matthew C. Perry they had no choice but to begin diplomatic relations with the U.S.

We filled the rest of our day with museums focusing on Perry and the surrounding history and a relaxing walk around the bay. We found a tiny area of beach neglected by other tourists and bathed in the glow of the setting sun. It was a picture perfect moment and I couldn't have asked for a better way to bring a close to my traveling adventures in Japan.