Mexican food? In Japan? - Oct 23rd

Today we had to meet up early for our Japanese class to go to the Bosaikan to learn about what to do in case of a Fire, Earthquake, or medical emergency. I was planning on biking to Ikebukuro, but due to a light rain, ended up going to baba to meet up with the rest of the class. We headed over on the Yamanote, and even though I had never been to the Bosaikan before, my teacher had me act as tour guide to herd the three classes towards the station. We got to the building, and went up to the fourth floor, where the classes got split up. The level 2 classes got their own tour, and my class went up to the fifth floor for a few fire drills. We watched an animated video showing us how to escape from a smokey building, and then got to practice it by finding our way through a dry ice smoke-filled maze.

After that, we went to a room with a bunch of fire extinguishers. They explained the various kinds of extinguishers, and even had a video screen with sensors around it for us to put out a digital fire. The extinguishers were filled with pressurized water instead of the usual yellow-chemical compound (hey, that stuff is messy and expensive!), and we had three scenarios for different groups and kinds of fire. When we spot the fire, we are to yell "火事だ！" and run with the extinguisher to try to contain the fire.

From there, we went downstairs to the CPR room. All in Japanese, we learned how to peform the life-saving technique on freakishly western-looking dummies. We all got a chance to practice on the dummies. My dummy didn't make it; you can't save them all! I can't remember if I've ever done it before, but it was a lot more fun than a real emergency would be, I'll bet. There was a poster on the wall that showed what looks like a guy on fire running toward someone who has collapsed. Well, isn't that just making the situation worse, I asked to the amusement of those around me. The large caption reads, あなたでもできます, which would translate to "even YOU can do it"

We went back upstairs to the Earthquake room. There was a small room with a kitchen table and some chairs, a sink and fake stove. We sat outside of it and watched videos of the level 2 students reacting to the simulated earthquakes. Then we all got a turn to experience some of the famous earthquakes in Japan; as the room reproduced the seismic readings from the actual events. My group was the Kobe earthquake, I believe. As we huddled under the table, a screen behind the fake window was showing earthquake footage, I guess to make the experience that much more believable. I know the real thing is a truly frightening experience, but we all couldn't help but laugh under the table.

After earning our wings, so to speak, class ended and we were on our own to find sustenance for lunch. I led a small contingency towards Sunshine City, to check out the El Torito, one of the three "Mexican" restaurants I have seen in Japan (the first being a small deserted place in Akarenge in Yokohama, and the other being the infamously horrible and expensive "Que Rique" in Osaka. We took our seats, and amidst an endless parade to the chip bar, enjoyed some remotely familiar dishes. It wasn't Mexican food, but it was certainly El Torito. If anyone is coming this winter, please bring me some burritos from Guad. Thanks.

Coming back from Ikebukuro, Ehtesham asked Hans and I to go to Shinjuku to help him find a belt; apparently he had lost a lot of weight, and his old belt wasn't doing its job anymore. We walked around for a while, and went into O1's flagship store. Finding an appropriate belt, and getting wooed by vests and jackets, we dragged Ehtesham out of the store, about 15,000 yen lighter. I've felt badly about spending so much money here, but shopping with Ehtesham cured all that; he likes buying stuff more than my sister! Hans had to head back, but I had some time to kill, and went to another department store with Ehtesham. We explored every nook and cranny of that store, floor by floor, looking for a puffy maroon jacket that he was longing for. We finally found an appropriate one on the 6th floor, for only 30,000 yen. It had the right color, size, and fur collar that he was looking for. Just in case, let's check out the remaining two floors, I said; I tend to be the voice of reason when it comes to shopping, and although Ehtesham was ready to part with his money, I wanted him to be sure that there wasn't anything better out there.

Then we found something better. On the top floor of the building, there was vest that put the other jacket to shame; leather accents, and a material the shimmered from a deep maroon to black depending on the angle you viewed it at. Unfortunately, this ultimate in fashionable maroon winter wear came with a nearly 60,000 yen pricetag, and the jacket wouldn't even be available for another month. Additionally, only three would be coming to the store, so if Ehtesham wanted one, he would have to pre-order it. This isn't a jacket, it's a freaking Playstation 3!

Again playing the role of conscience, I persuaded Ehtesham to forgo the kings ransom jacket by first appealing to his vanity, "You haven't yet earned the right to wear that jacket, it's too pimp for a student to sport! Wait until you get a real job and start raking in the dough, then you'll be big balling enough to come back and get it." He was swayed, but I could still see the gleam of desire in his eye, so then I appealed to his philanthropy; he had mentioned that he really wanted to get something nice for his sister, who had helped him out a lot before he came here, including paying off one of his bills without saying anything. "If you go with the other jacket, which you were perfectly happy about getting before you came up here, the remaining money could go towards a gift to your sister, like you were saying earlier." Finally persuaded to put the wallet away, he relented and said that he would sleep on it. (ed. a few days later, he told me that he got the "cheaper" jacket).

During this time, I had been messenging Sacchan to let her know what was going on. She told me that her brother's workplace was nearby, and that I should check it out. Until earlier this year, she had been really worried about her brother, who spent most of his time in his room, on the computer (sounds familiar...). In Japan, hikikomori (shut-ins) are a pretty big problem, and when he started showing signs of improvement, she was very much relieved. He started going out more, and a few months ago, started a new job working for Square-Enix (it's a famous company, in case you didn't know). He now commutes to their headquarters in Shinjuku, mere blocks from where Ehtesham and I were. Getting just a bit lost, we found our way to the building, and I took a photo on my webcam, and e-mailed it to Sacchan. We didn't have time to go in and check things out, not that it was likely that there is anything in the building for us to see anyways.

Exhausted from all the shopping, I headed back home, to be greeted by my host-mom's best friend and her older sister from Osaka. We had nabe and some really nice dishes that okaasan had painstakingly put together. Later on, her friend's husband showed up and caught the tail end of dinner with us. He is apparently a well known jeweler, and actually is one of the judges for the 国家試験 (national exams) for metalwork. His younger brother is a theatrical actor, but had lately been seen on a drama about an autistic guy (played by one of the lesser-known members of SMAP). We watched the drama together, and he pointed out his brother, who played as a professional cyclist on the show. Finally beat, I retired to the inner sanctum and floated into space.