BAB September 2009 by Being A Broad

Being A Broad August 2009 #47

The monthly magazine for international women living in Japan

our cover girl: HOOP LOVERS’ DEANNE TONKING

s.z. cairney on POOLSIDE GOSSIP the thrills of CANYONING JAPAN’S first bi-cultural school for the DEAF JANE’S struggles explored through ART a broad in the boonies: HAYAMA CITY he proposed at the SHIBUYA CROSSING!

the HAWKER family’s PLEA help do your bit to FIND LINDSAY ANN HAWKER’S KILLER with our pullout poster

www.being-a-broad.com

IN THIS

ISSUE 4

6 If you’re on our email list then you will have heard about our retreat and adventure weekend at the end of September. One of the weekend’s activities is canyoning—if you need any more encouragement to try it then check out Amy’s article on page nine—the smile on her face says it all! In this issue we also profile Emma Brown, who works at Evergreen Outdoor Center, the location of our special weekend. If you’re interested in finding out more about foreign women with interesting jobs then Dr. Haghirian’s article on page 19 covers some perspectives unique to women in Japan. And if you’re looking to develop some new skills, Tokyo English Life Line is conducting a new training programme for budding counsellors— find out more on page 21. As we mentioned in a previous issue, the Japanese police recently increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of Tatsuya Ichihashi from one million yen to ten million yen. In this issue, the family of Lindsay Ann Hawker share their thoughts on the increase and urge us all to contact the police if we have any information. As always, we are including our pullout poster to support the Hawker family. Enjoy! Caroline Pover BAB Founder

Publishers Caroline Pover & Emily Downey Editor & Designer Danielle Tate-Stratton Marketing Consultant Amy Dose Advertisement Designer Chris May BAB reps: Kelsey Aguirre (Shonan), Shaney Crawford (Tsukuba), Aiko Miyagi (Okinawa), Aurora Bonaiuto-Davi (Shizuoka) Contributors S.Z. Cairney, Tina Burrett, Gabbi Bradshaw, Parissa Haghirian, Stephanie Kawai, Kristen McAree-Nishimura, Ulara Nakagawa, Emma Brown, Rebekah Chan, Vickie Skorji, Leigh Wellsview, Laura Jane Pepper Cover Model Erika Gilberti Reis De Aquino Cover Photographer Kerry Raftis, www.keyshots.com Cover Makeup Naomi Saito, Sin Den Proofreader Renata Valz Printing Mojo Print Opinions expressed by BAB contributors are not necessarily those of the Publishers.

BAB events, Tokyo Mothers Group

our cover girl

Hoop Lovers’ Deanne Tonking

news from around the globe

7 8

women of the world things we love small but significant—things we love in Japan

outdoors

the thrill of canyoning

three sisters in a 1R apartment

training to wear kimono

10 Tokyo girl

6 our cover girl

11 learning image: Ulara Nakagawa

feature

Jane’s emotional, yet healing art

14 working

we profile Emma Brown of

Evergreen Outdoor Center

15 pullout poster

BAB supports Lindsay Ann Hawker’s family

some benefits of being a foreign woman working in Japan

being an ‘invisible gaijin’ in Japan

19 working 12 feature

20 real-life story

volunteering become a telephone counseller for TELL

image: Kelsey Aguirre

the broads (and boys!)

being a broad news

image: Kerry Raftis/www.keyshots.com

image: David Stetson

message from the founder

mothers the first bi-cultural school for the deaf

24 humour

S.Z. Cairney on poolside gossip

the Hawker Family’s plea

a conversation with SDPJ leader Mizuho Fukushima

the beautiful beaches of Hayama Town

a shocking proposal in Shibuya

24 community

25 political broad-cast

26 a broad in the boonies

27 she found love in Japan

26 a broad in the boonies

Correction: In the May 2008 issue of Being A Broad, the article entitled Staying Alive incorrectly stated that the Tokyo English Lifeline (TELL) provides counselling and support in both English and Japanese, where in fact they provide counselling only in English. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this error may have caused. For counselling in Japanese, try the Japanese Life Line (Inochi no Denwa) at 03-3264-4343. For support in English, TELL’s Life Line can be contacted at 03-5774-0992. For more information about becoming a Life Line counsellor, please read Vickie Skorji’s article on page 21 of this issue. Being A Broad magazine, editor@being-a-broad.com www.being-a-broad.com tel. 03-5879-6825, fax: 03-6368-6191 Being A Broad August 2009

BAB NEWS

BAB supports Lindsay Ann Hawker A quote from the BAB book: My name is Lindsay Ann Hawker

A Japan-based relationship

Please help my family find peace.

Subscriptions

Being A Broad July 2009 #46

The monthly magazine for international women living in Japan

our cover girl: NUA JAPAN’s ErikA GilBErti rEis DE AqUiNo

s.z. cairney on the triAls of sUMMEr hot weather MAkEUP tiPs trailwalking for oXFAM JAPAN what it’s like to Work WitH sHriMP

a broad in the boonies: tsUkUBA CitY tina burrett on JAPAN’s new lAY JUDGEs

getting MArriED JAPAN-stYlE help do your bit to FiND liNDsAY ANN HAWkEr’s killEr with our pullout poster

www.being-a-broad.com Thanks for picking up this issue of Being A Broad magazine. Like what you see? Then why not subscribe today? For just ¥4,500 you’ll get one year (12 issues) of Being A Broad delivered to your door. Email: editor@being-abroad.com to subscribe today! You can pick BAB up at the following locations: Shibuya-ku: • British School Tokyo • Boudoir • Tower Records • Sin Den • Furla Yoga

Minato-ku: • Suji’s • Nakashima Dentist • TELL • Nishimachi International School • Gymboree • Global Kids Academy • Mitsubishi UFJ Azabujuban • Tokyo Surgical and Medical Clinic • National Azabu • Segafredo • Tokyo American Club • Nissin World Delicatessen • Crown Relocations • Temple University • Hulabootie

Kichijoji: • Shinzen Yoga

In March 2007, Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-yearold English teacher from the UK, was found buried in a bath of sand on the balcony of Tatsuya Ichihashi’s apartment, after giving him a private lesson in a nearby coffee shop. Ichihashi escaped when police visited his apartment to investigate and has not been seen since. As part of a recent effort to catch Ichihashi, the National Police Agency has introduced a new award of ¥10 million (previously only ¥1 million) for information concerning his whereabouts. Based in the UK, it is so difficult for Lindsay’s family to maintain public awareness of the fact that Ichihashi is still missing—let those of us who live here try to do our best to help them. Please help support the Hawker family in finding Lindsay Ann’s killer with our pullout poster on pages 15–18 and read more about the case on page 23 of this issue.

If you met your partner here, your relationship is based on being in Japan, which can bring a fresh perspective to your experience. We met here in Tokyo about two years ago. We are both from the USA. Seeing both the good and bad in Japan through the eyes of another enriches your understanding and appreciation of what the country has to offer. Comparison of compiled experiences, ideas, and resulting feelings can oftentimes clear up once-held misunderstandings and open up new doors to personal growth. You both begin to see more objectively the various choices the world has to offer you. More opportunities are brought forth to accept or reject and this results in learning and growth. The main challenge, whether your partner is Japanese or foreign, arises when you decide to leave Japan… Two friends of mine had a successful relationship for five years in Japan, but when they began considering their future in Britain, she was English, he Irish, and they ran into troublesome traditional issues concerning family and religion, both of which neither had to address in Japan. Ana suggests: Before leaving Japan, anticipate the possible changes that could happen; make an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, your current resources; and remember any experiences you had with change in the past. Ask yourself how you and your partner will change in the new environment, what demands will be put on the relationship. Being prepared saves quite a bit of disappointment. If you are aware of these potential problems before you leave, then you are halfway to solving them. Don’t expect to replicate your life here when you move to another country.

Koto-ku: • Toho Women’s Clinic Chofu-shi: • American School in Japan Tsukuba: Through BAB Rep Shaney (shaney@beinga-broad.com)

Shonan: Through BAB Rep Kelsey (kelsey@being-abroad.com)

Okinawa: Through BAB Rep Aiko (aiko@being-abroad.com)

Shizuoka: Through BAB Rep Aurora (aurora@beinga-broad.com)

Please note that the BAB book is currently being reprinted so please do email info@being-a-broad. com to reserve a copy for when they are released soon.

FEATURED COMMUNITY GROUP:

TOKYO MOTHERS GROUP by Stephanie Kawai

Two of the younger members of the Tokyo Mothers Group family.

also hold other information sessions on topics of interest to mothers as well as arrange other events for members and their whole families to enjoy. Past examples of such activities have included a nutrition workshop, a first aid session, free photography sessions, book readings, and a host of family-fun-day picnics—it’s great to meet the dads, too! It has been at these gatherings that many lasting friendships have been made between members and their little ones. The group also enjoys seeing so many members, both long-timers and newbies, turn up to each get-together. In addition to meetings and other gettogethers, TMG also has the ‘Mentor Program.’ With this, they aim to provide more individual and personalised support to members who request it. It helps make that initial settling-in period and adjusting process just that much easier if you are new to Tokyo or motherhood. Some of the mentors are also Japanese-speaking and can provide language support. All of the mentors are mothers who have experienced life in Tokyo with babies and children and they can meet face-to-face, over the phone, or by email. They try as best as they can to match people up according to location (for ease of access), nationality, age of children, and so on. However, it’s a really flexible system and they can accommodate almost any type of mentor request. More information can be found on their website

Featured event: Summer is winding down, so why not spend the end of it with Being A Broad and Roti Roppongi? Please join us for a very special Broads’ Brunch at a new location, Roti Roppongi. Come relax, sip mimosas, and enjoy a lovely afternoon with your girlfriends, meet some new friends, and share your experiences in Tokyo. Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009. Time: noon–2pm, Where: Roti Roppongi, please see

map: www.roti.jp/en/cnt.php. Who: females only please. Cost: Menu options include threeways eggs benedict, vegetarian spinach and feta omelette, apple pecan and blue cheese salad, and much more! ¥900– ¥1800, not including drinks. Reservations are not necessary, but please email Amy at amy@being-a-broad.com so we know how big a table we’ll need. We look forward to seeing you at the Brunch!

image: provided by Tokyo Mothers Group

otherhood is, as the saying goes, the hardest job you’ll ever love. It is made even harder when you are away from your home country, friends, and family and have to navigate the issue of child-raising essentially single-handedly. Tokyo Mothers Group aims to make the challenges of raising a young child just that little bit easier for women in the Tokyo area. Tokyo Mothers Group (or TMG as they are informally known) is an English-speaking social and support network for any mothers or mothers-to-be, regardless of nationality. They have members from all corners of the globe and all walks of life and try to provide as supportive an environment as possible through a wide variety of regular meetings, events, seminars, and a whole host of other parenting resources. It really is a great chance to participate in some fun activities around Tokyo with your child and meet other mothers and children. Tokyo Mothers Group was known as Tokyo New Mothers Group (TNMG) until September 2008. TNMG was created by a lady called Allison back in 2006, as a response to her own experience as a new mother in Tokyo. She wanted a way to keep in touch with other new mothers she met during pregnancy and, as a result, TNMG was born. In the space of a few months, membership rapidly grew to over 200 people! This just goes to show that there was a gap in Tokyo for the support of English-speaking mothers. Following this, in 2008 the current directors of the group thought the group could reach out even further and become more inclusive as a group to support mothers of babies and children of all ages instead of just new mothers. It was because of this that their name changed to Tokyo Mothers Group. At the same time, they updated the way they shared information, online activities, and resources with their mothers and launched their website (www. tokyomothersgroup.com). Meetings and other regular get-togethers and events have been the backbone of the group since it began three years ago. Set meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of every month in central Tokyo locations and they are usually held at various different play halls (jidokan). They

or by contacting the program’s coordinators at mentor@tokyomothersgroup.com. Membership is free to all mothers who want to join—you simply have to register on the website, which only takes a minute. Once registered, all members have access to the members-only section of the website where they are able to see a calendar of upcoming meetings and events; a resources guide, which provides a variety of useful information ranging from doctors to shopping, a forum to post questions and exchange opinions on many relevant topics, a members directory, and much more. All members are also automatically added to the mailing list and they will receive a monthly newsletter and also be able to see announcements from other members for sayonara sales and so on. Tokyo Mother’s Group is an independent, non-profit association run entirely by volunteers. As they continue to expand and develop new ideas and initiatives, they rely more and more on the kindness and generosity of their members and sponsors, including Kspace, Bilingual Kids Club, and Being A Broad. They are also always looking for others who’d like to get involved as coordinators or help out behind the scenes, so give them a shout! TMG is a great group and it’s wonderful to be involved in something so worthwhile. Web: www.tokyomothersgroup.com; email: coordinators@tokyomothersgroup.com. BAB

Being A Broad August 2009

our cover girl 6

DEANNE TONKING

of Hoop Lovers and Tokyo Made, cover photography by Kerry Raftis A Day in the Life: The first thing I usually do each morning is reach for my phone and check my emails, then it is time for a long stretch and affirmations. Afterwards, I wander into our office and give Masao a big hug. We have a chat about our plans for the day, usually over a hot soy chai or latte. We spend quite a few hours every day photographing products, writing product descriptions, and packaging sales for Tokyo Made. I then usually work on newsletters and blog posts for our mailing lists and various blogs. Emails and social networking soak up quite a bit of time too. I often ride my bike to the International Yoga Center in Ogikubo or take my hoops to the local park for a few hours most days. Afternoons and evenings are always filled with meetings, events, classes, catch ups, and teaching hoop dance classes. Weekends are jam packed and super fun, filled with hoop dance classes, performances, kids’ hoop parties, and workshops. By 2am I start to crave sleep; it is around that time that Masao and I collapse in our tatami room and remind each other of how lucky we are to live such cool lives before drifting off to dream land.

d i room anve m a t a t r to li in ou I collapsef how lucky we are land.” d n a o a s o am Ma off to dre ach other remind e es before drifting liv such cool

“

image : Kerr s.com

ot eysh ww.k

is/w y Raft

Full name: Deanne Tonking Age: 32 Nationality: Australia Grew up in: Queensland, Australia Time in Japan: five and a half years Japanese level: I can shop, give great compliments, and talk about food or love stuff. Works at: I founded Hoop Lovers (www. hooplovers.com) and Tokyo Made (www. tokyomade.com) with my partner; I don’t consider them work but they take up almost all of my time. Why did you come to Japan? Childhood dreams, a sense of adventure, and the Japanese aesthetic brought me to Japan. Why do you stay in Japan? I have an amazing life in Tokyo filled with wonderful people, creative adventures, and lots of interesting opportunities. I also have the chance to get back to Australia or other destinations fairly often, so that helps. How do you manage to balance everything in your life? Balance is a choice. Some things have to give; I am not very organised so I just go with doing what feels right at the time. Ultimately, everything gets done when it needs doing, I guess. A relaxed Aussie attitude helps a lot to maintain balance in such a highly active city. What do you do to relax? I grab my hoops and head to the park. Every Monday night and every Wednesday night I run a hula hoop meet up in Inokashira Park and Yoyogi Park respectively; being around others having fun and relaxing in the park is the ideal way for me to chill. When I am at home, I relax with my partner Masao by listening to our favorite tunes, making yummy salads, or meditating. Best thing about being a foreign woman in Japan? I feel safe.

WOMEN OF THE WORLD

compiled by Danielle Tate-Stratton

image:Sebnem Gurbuzel image: Lawrence Jackson, White House photographer

US President Obama recently announced his appointment of Dr. Regina Benjamin, MD to the position of surgeon general, an important position in terms of public health promotion in the US. Uganda, one of nearly 30 African countries that treats female genital mutilation as a right of passage has made the decision to ban the practice, with the president saying he supports culture, but only that which is useful and based on scientific information.

Zeynep Fadillioglu is among the women who spear-headed a project in Istanbul to build a new mosque. The Sakirin Mosque is perhaps the first ever mosque to be led to completion by women. Fadillioglu is an interior designer who concentrated on ensuring that women would have an equally pleasant place in which to pray as men. Under Islam, women are equal to men, however, it is tradition for the sexes to be separated while praying. Often, women’s spaces are not as pleasant as men’s, something the women leading this project were hoping to equalise. A study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention looked at over 4,600 women and found that in those who had been diagnosed with migraines, there seemed to be a 26 percent lower chance of developing breast cancer. A small study, carried out as part of the bigger Pittsburgh Healthy Women Study, considered postmenopausal women who were overweight but otherwise healthy over a period of 15 years, and showed that the women had a reduction in the volume of their brain’s grey matter. However, while scientists said this was an interesting development, they weren’t clear on how it might affect a woman’s day-to-day life.

The battle over women’s ski jumping and its possible inclusion in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver continues, as 15 women who sued the local Olympic committee (VANOC) over its decision not to include the women’s side of the sport in the Games are taking their recently lost case to appeals court. While the judge in their original case agreed they were being wrongly discriminated against, he ruled that the local organising committee wasn’t able to overturn a previous IOC ruling, meaning that VANOC cannot add the women’s side of the sport to the Games. The girls are hopeful an appeals ruling can come through quickly enough for the sport to be added by next February’s event. image: iStockphoto/EauClaire Media

A girl in the UK is the miraculous survivor of a first-of-its-kind transplant reversal operation. As a young child, the girl required a heart transplant, but surgeons decided to graft the donor heart on to her existing heart in order to avoid a full transplant. After ten years with two hearts, the antirejection drugs she had been on led to malignant cancer, which then required chemotherapy. The chemotherapy then compromised her donor heart, though tests showed her original heart was functioning normally once again. As the cancer looked as though it would be incurable, doctors decided to remove the donor heart in order to allow her to come off the anti-rejection drugs. Following that, not only did her newly-functioning heart continue to work properly, but her cancer has been cured as well, allowing her to look forward to what looks to be a normal life.

image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Former police officer Debra Hartley recently walked 225 miles from Effort, Pennsylvania to Washington, DC in order to raise awareness of the gender gap that exists in police work in the US today, where just 13 percent of law enforcement roles are filled by women. Hartley left her former post with the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department in 2003, after filing reports of preferential treatment given to male members of the force.

image: jeffwilcox

Thirteen women were recently arrested in Khartoum for wearing trousers by the branch of the Sudanese police that enforces Islamic law. Ten of the women were publicly beaten for their ‘crime.’ One woman, a journalist, plans to challenge the charges.

Oregon-based researchers have found that obese women who begin to take oral contraceptives should use alternative methods of contraception for at least ten days, and possibly up to twenty, in order to allow for the drug to build up sufficiently in their blood. For women of a healthy weight, typically five days is a sufficient period of time. The Bulgarian Parliament recently elected their first female speaker, Tsetska Tsacheva, in a vote of 226–0, with three abstentions. Shadi Sadr—an Iranian women’s rights advocate, lawyer, and journalist—was beaten and arrested by plain-clothes policemen who found her walking with a group of friends and pulled her away, beating her with clubs when she tried to escape. This comes as police in Iran try to crack down on so-called dissidents in the wake of political unrest in the country. She was apparently arrested without a warrant, and her husband reports their house was BAB searched as well. Being A Broad August 2009

THE LITTLE THINGS

WE LOVE IN JAPAN c. I love Natura’s Passion fruit body moisturiser and body scrub! Enriched with the emollient Maracujá (Passionfruit) Oil, the body moisturiser stimulates your skin and keeps it moisturised for hours. It’s lightweight for the summer weather and leaves my skin smooth and renewed. The scrub is wonderful after long afternoons at the beach, getting rid of all my dry skin and smoothing out any bumps on my arms. A shower never felt so good! You can buy this and other Natura products at Nua Japan in Omotesando. www. nuajapan.com—AD

a. I love UNO. UNO is a type of hair guk by Shiseido. I discovered it once when I ran out of hair gel and bought it out of desperation since they stopped making my favourite gel at The Body Shop. I found UNO to be perfect for my fly-aways and it washes out more easily than gel or hairspray. UNO is a great hair product I discovered by accident. It’s perfect in the summer when you don’t want to put too much product in your hair. I use the ‘Matt Fiber’ UNO in the grey container. You can pick up a container of this stuff at your local drugstore or even Family Mart.—RC

image: Rebekah Chan

image: provided by Nua Japan

b. I love natto (fermented soy beans)! OK, OK, I know it might sound odd to some people, but I have been living in Japan for about a year and only recently, within the past two months, have I acquired the taste for natto! Believe it or not, after I was in Canada for seven weeks I came back and suddenly started craving natto! I now eat it about three times a week. My favourite natto from the supermarket is the Azuma ‘Hikiwari’ type. It’s the split bean one, and in my opinion tastes the best. I usually eat it with soba, a little ginger, wasabi, sesame oil, and chives. On top of that, it’s supposed to be really good for you too! Today it was on sale for ¥103.—RC

image: Rebekah Chan

image: provided by Evergreen Outdoor Center

Events we love to help us relax:

BAB does Hakuba, September 26 and 27: Day one: 7:30am: Super Azusa from Shinjuku to Minami Otari (get off at Hakuba, second to last stop). 11:30am: Pick up at Hakuba station, shuttle to Evergreen Outdoor Center. Canyoning sign in. noon: Lunch at Roots Cafe. 12:30pm: Ready for canyoning. 1pm: Shuttle to canyon. 4pm: Finish canyoning. 4:30pm: Onsen. 5:30pm: Check in at hotel. 6:30pm: Dinner. 8pm: Wine party or massage or spa options (costs separate to package price). Day two: 7am: Wake up to fresh mountain air and crystal water. 7:30am: Breakfast (Power foods smoothie). 8am: Walk to Matstukawa River. 8:30am: Yoga and meditation workshop at Matsukawa. 10:30am: Shuttle to Lake Aokiko. 11am: Begin canoeing on Lake Aokiko. noon: Organic picnic lunch at the lake. 1:30pm: Finish canoeing. 2pm: Onsen. 2:50pm: Board Super Azusa back to Tokyo. 6:30pm: Arrive in Tokyo. The package costs ¥31,500 for all shuttles in Hakuba, one night accommodation at the Phoenix Hotel, four meals, two onsen, one morning yoga/meditation workshop, one half day canoe, one half day canyoning tour, sports insurance, sales tax, and a whole lot of fun! Direct train access to Hakuba and return to Tokyo costs an approximate ¥13,000 on top of the price of the Hakuba package. You can sign up directly with Dave at Evergreen via tours@evergreen-outdoors.com or through Amy at amy@being-abroad.com. For more information, visit www.evergreen-hakuba.com. Do you have a ‘little thing you love in Japan?’ If the answer is yes, email 50– 150 words about it plus a picture to: editor@being-a-broad.com so we can share it with all the other broads reading BAB.

Beginner’s Yoga with Tokyo Yoga Circle: This course is appropriate for total beginners and is only offered three times a year. Build a firm foundation for safe and stable lifelong practice, which the Iyengar system is renowned for. All beginners are required to start with a beginner’s course to learn the basics before attending any of the other ongoing TYC classes and courses. Take advantage of this opportunity, destress, re-vitalise, get rid of aches and pains, and sleep well! Take responsibilty for yourself and invest in your own physical and mental health and well being! Time and date: Monday evenings from September 14–November 11, 7:15– 8:45pm at the Azabu Kumin Center. Cost: Just ¥25,000 for 10 lessons. Class is limited to 16 students. This beginner’s course fills up quickly, so sign up as soon as possible! Signup deadline: September 5. Advanced Beginner and Intermediate Fixed/Closed course: This course is most appropriate for students who have already taken a TYC beginner’s basic course or for TYC ongoing students. Time and date: Wednesday evenings from September 16–November 11, 7:15–8:45pm at the Azabu Kumin Center. Cost: Just ¥25,000 for ten lessons. Class is limited to 16 students. These fixed courses fill up quickly, so sign up as soon as possible! Final signup deadline: September 5. It is not necessary to bring any of your own yoga equipment to any of the classes, unless you prefer to use your own mat, in which case you may bring it along. There are mats and all other equipment available for use at all locations. For more information or to sign up, email: rajay@gol.com or tel. 033586-7848.—AD

THRILLS by Amy Dose

hrill level HIGH, wilderness abundant, BIG waterfalls, not for those scared of heights… Yes please—sign me up! A couple of weekends ago, a few friends and I ventured up to Kusatsu (northwest of Tokyo about two hours by train) to go canyoning. Before coming to Japan, I hadn’t really heard much about canyoning (known as canyoneering in the US) but after a little research had signed my thrill-seeking husband, a couple of buddies, and myself up for an adventure of a lifetime! We went through a company called Canyons and met at base camp at 9am on a rainy, humid Saturday morning. We were greeted warmly by our guides, Igor and Hitoshi, filled out waivers that warned us of the risks and even death, were briefed on the gear, and slipped into dressing rooms to pull on three different very tight pieces, or layers, of wetsuits, booties, and shoes. Just the process of suiting up was a challenge and worked up quite a sweat. I semi-waddled out and was fitted with a harness, Igor double-checking I had the right number of carabiner clips, was given gloves, a helmet, and I was off! Our specific adventure gave us the opportunity to learn the various techniques of canyoning, which included abseiling—commonly know as rappelling—descents that require ropework. We each took turns practicing the main technique of hooking the rope through a metal figure-eight attached to the harness, flipping the carabiner, and reattaching it to the harness. This technique would allow us to descend safely down the canyon, applying pressure on the rope while feeding the main rope through with each backward step. Sounds complicated, but after a couple of practices we were raring to go! The canyon we descended into was very remote, and the pathway steep and slippery at times, winding all the way down to a stream or semi-river at the bottom. We walked through the water, following it downstream until the water became deeper and the current stronger, heading towards the rushing sound of water. We were amazed to find the stream turn to the left and then open up to a huge waterfall dropping seven to eight metres below. Time to put our practice skills to work! Hitoshi hooked up the ropes and headed down while Igor told us what to expect as we descended, which side of the waterfall to stay on, where it might be slippery, and how the wall was shaped. Not wanting to go first, I watched two friends go down one at a time and as their helmets disappeared out of sight, the butterflies and adrenaline set in, but before I knew it, I was being motioned over by Igor. He watched carefully as I attached myself to the rope, making sure it was properly done, and then had me turn around and back myself down

image: canyons

outdoors

CANYONING

up to where I had Ibylooked come from and was amazed the steepness of the wall,

the gushing waterfall, and the mist floating into the air.

this slippery wall, keeping my body at a 90 degree angle, the waterfall rushing to my left, as I walked myself down. It took me a while to get the hang of maneuvering the rope through the figure-eight device, to figure out how far to lean back, and the amount of weight to apply to the rope, as well as where my hands should be, but finally I reached the bottom pool and released myself from the rope. I looked up to where I had come from and was amazed by the steepness of the wall, the gushing waterfall, and the mist floating into the air. It was beautiful, amazing, breathtaking! Hitoshi took pictures of us in front of the waterfall, under the waterfall, and at various ideal Kodak moments throughout the day. We waded through the pool and followed the water downstream, coming to our first slider. A slider is basically a natural rock waterslide. Igor gave us instructions on how to slide; keeping our arms straight in front of our bodies, wrists crossed, and elbows in, gently leaning back to let the water carry us. We took turns sliding down the rocks, dropping about one metre into a pool of water, paddling forward, climbing over rocks to the next slider, and this time floating on our backs, going headfirst down gentle rocks and into another pool of water. Continuing downstream, we abseiled down about two more waterfalls before coming to the ultimate experience of the day! The main reason I wanted to go canyoning was to be able to jump off rocks, plunging into deep pools of water below. As a former springboard diver, I haven’t had many chances to jump and dive in this kind of setting or off rocks not easily accessible on one’s own. I volunteered to go first and attached myself to the rope for a short abseil down and around to a small ledge. I detached myself from the rope and slowly turned around, looking down about eight metres to the pool below. That was my first mistake, me the experienced diver with no qualms of

flipping and twisting myself off the three metre springboard, had to take a deep breath before jumping off. I landed in the water and immediately felt exhilarated. I popped up to the surface with the hugest grin and the biggest thumbs up to let Hitoshi know I was OK. I swam to the edge of the pool and cheered everyone else on. I wish there was an elevator that could have taken me up for another jump, and another and another. There were a couple more jumps throughout the day but none as high and adrenaline-pumping as that one! We broke for lunch about halfway through, snarfing down onigiri, miso soup, and locally prepared Japanese food kept dry in Igor’s backpack. After refueling, we continued down through the canyon, abseiling our way down steeper walls, bigger waterfalls, and awesome sliders. We experienced a new slider requiring Igor to attach a rope to the back of our harness and lower us forward halfway down the steep wall/waterfall. Forced against my will to go first, I sat on my bum, feet straight out, as I was lowered about three or four very steep metres. Not really knowing what to expect, he continued lowering me and I was worried that he was going to let me go when I least expected it. But Hitoshi was at the bottom and motioned for me to scoot over to the middle and gave me the finger countdown: three, two, one, and I was released—a four-metre slide down the wall into a pool of water! Woohoo! Wow, that was fun! I never knew such adventure existed in Japan! If you love adventure, are always seeking new thrills, and are an adrenaline junky, then I definitely recommend canyoning! There are two main English-speaking companies that offer canyoning and the courses vary from easy or medium to more challenging. Check our Canyons (www. canyons.jp) and Evergreen Outdoor Center BAB (www.evergreen-hakuba.com). Being A Broad August 2009

Tokyo girl

SCISSORS by Gabbi Bradshaw

“

I can see your butt crack.” “I don’t care. I’m tired and my skirt is too big,” my little sister Brandy says. “How much longer do we have on the damn train?” Bree asks. I am the big sister; 16 years older than my baby identical twin sisters. I have always modelled impeccable behaviour, patience, unconditional love, and acceptance. I desperately search for my iPod and earbuds. I am following the second rule I gave them at the beginning of our trip—a week ago in Bali. “Keep it in your head.” I haven’t been doing so well with the first rule: “Be nice.” I made Brandy cry when I called her a ‘spoiled baby’ after she fussed about having the only bed in my apartment last night. It broke my heart when tears trickled down her cute, baby face, and she wailed, “I want to go home!” Was I really that mean? Maybe three sisters in a 1R apartment in Tokyo for three nights was not a good idea. Would we end up hating each other? Maybe they would stop calling me for advice. Or wouldn’t feel comfortable telling me stuff. Or hate travelling. Which would defeat the purpose of their college graduation present, an overseas trip to Bali and Tokyo. We arrive at Telecom Station. Brandy hikes up her skirt so that her butt crack is covered. “You worry too much about what others think,” she says. “I worry about keeping you safe, respectable, and culturally appropriate,” I snap. Is she right? Do I care too much what others think?

image: Natasha Wiilliams

ROCK, PAPER

e decide the only fair way to decide w who gets the coveted bed on our last night is ‘Rock Papers Scissors.’

My baby sisters look adorable in their yukatas. Their petite figures are flattering to the robe and design. “Bree, your boob is about to pop out.” “I don’t care. We’re going to be naked in front of everybody anyway.” “Not the boys,” I reply. When I mentioned the onsen earlier, my friends worried that my sisters would not want to be naked in front of strangers. But they have no problems being naked. They sleep naked. I’m glad they are comfortable with their bodies. I am almost 40 and not as comfortable with my body. A body I hated when I was 20 pounds lighter and their age. Sad. Maybe I do care too much about what others think. We strip down and configure our towels.

as I really that mean? Maybe three sisters in a 1R W apartment in Tokyo for three nights was not a good idea. I instruct, “Remember to take your shoes off in the genkan.” “And Brandy, the onsen towel must cover your tattoo. Or you may be kicked out.” She growls at me. “You’re so bossy.” They say I’m bossy; I say I’m teaching. Who wants to eat with somebody who uses their arm as a napkin? But I’m deflated. This is not a vacation for me. “You don’t have the pressure I do. I get oodles of emails from Dad concerned about Swine Flu, perverted boys, and food poisoning.” They’re silenced. Maybe they’re being empathetic. Understanding how stressful it is for me. “When are we eating dinner?” Bree asks. We register and choose a yukata. In the dressing room, Bree whines, “How do we tie this thing?” “I don’t know. Read the directions,” I reply, pointing at the poster.

Brandy has her towel wrapped around her back and covering the tattoo that she doesn’t love so much anymore (it’s been two years), and exposing—almost highlighting—her manicured pubic hair. I almost laugh out loud but remember my second rule, “Keep it in your head.” We take seats at the showers. “Make sure you clean yourself well,” I instruct. “I don’t want to wash my hair. These products don’t look good,” Brandy says. “It’s not a choice,” I reply. “How come you didn’t tell me to wear my contacts?” she continues. “I don’t see anybody else wearing glasses.” I scan the crowd. “There’s somebody over there,” I point. “Yeah, she’s like 12.” I suck in a deep breath and chant silently, “Be nice. Be nice. Be nice.” “Sorry, I didn’t think about it,” I reply.

We tie up our hair and head to the outside area. We perch ourselves on a rock. “Cover your tattoo!” Brandy reminds me. In our scramble to find an extra umbrella and get out the door with lack of sleep and while managing breakfast, I forgot to cover my tattoo with a Band-Aid. What a pain. I begin to feel sorry for Brandy. Just a little though. After all, she slept in my bed last night. After 20 minutes, they are hot and ready to leave. Their young bodies aren’t used to the intense heat. The onsen has softened not only their skin but their temperaments; on the train, they rest their heads on my shoulders just like when they were little girls. They follow me single file like a mother duck and her ducklings back to my apartment. I take my pan out to boil the water for pasta and ask: “Do I put the lid on the pan when I boil the water or keep it off ?” Brandy giggles, and Bree replies, “On.” They too are unconditional and don’t tease me about not knowing how to cook. I open a bottle of pinot grigio, and Brandy takes over at the stove. Then all three of us cuddle on the loveseat and reminisce about our trip. “Where will you travel next?” I ask. Bree wants to explore Europe, and Brandy says she would like to return to Bali. My worries were unfounded. And although I’m almost 40 and it is my apartment, we decide the only fair way to decide who gets the coveted bed on our last night is ‘Rock Papers Scissors.’ And even though I win, I give Bree the bed to share with Brandy. Their tiny bodies fit perfectly in my twin bed. Awake and uncomfortable on my loveseat, I watch them sleep. Just like when they were little girls. I am the real winner. I have the memories and their friendships. And they do want to travel BAB again…without me.

THE KIMONO

by Kristen McAree-Nishimura

Kristen, both getting herself into kimono and then the beautiful finished product.

images: David John and Alexis Alvarez

even years ago, I knew very little about Japan. I knew it was an island and the capital was Tokyo, but more importantly that the national costume was the kimono. Ah…kimono. I fell in love with it after seeing a picture of a kimono in the McCall’s pattern book. I even had a mom-made kimono for Halloween when I was an elementary school student. I found the clean lines, the simplicity, the femininity, and the beauty of kimono irresistible. So, after arriving in Japan amidst the summer heat, this was the first thing I wanted to learn about. In fall, the yukatas gave way to kimonos at the local kimono store, or gofukuya. What I didn’t know from playing with the yukata I had already bought that summer was that kimono is more complicated, with its numerous ties and undergarments. At first, I practiced dressing every night with instructions I had found through the internet, but it took an average of two hours to finish. My first chance to wear the kimono came at school on Halloween. A fellow teacher commented on how well I had dressed myself, but then began to chuckle as she asked if I had just come from a funeral. She immediately began correcting some apparent dressing mistakes. What I didn’t know were the various rules to wearing a kimono. She began to inform me that most Japanese women don’t know how to wear a kimono and that there were kimono schools where one could learn about it. That was when I realised that there was more to this than just waking up and getting dressed for the day. I felt that if I was going to continue to enjoy wearing kimono, and really have a good understanding of the national costume, then I had better learn how to do it properly. I also didn’t want to offend anyone by wearing it incorrectly. Wearing kimono is not unlike wearing Western clothes. You think about what colours go well together, the season and weather, what’s in style, and so forth. What you may not realise is that you only see a small portion of what really goes into wearing a kimono well. How to tie things, balance, manners, and coordinating the numerous parts are some of the other essential elements. There are specific occasions when a kimono can be worn. If you should happen to wear the wrong kimono at the wrong time, likely no one would say anything, but you will have everyone talking. The internet was a good starting point, and as my Japanese language skills improved various books were helpful in providing critical information in getting dressed. For example, in my Western clothes I often put my socks on last. That isn’t really possible once the kimono is on as you can hardly reach your feet. That needs to

learning

LEARING TO WEAR

be the first thing you put on. I attended various events about kimono, such as Kimono de Ginza, where more than a hundred kimono lovers gather each month to share their love of kimono. This offered me many opportunities to practice putting the kimono on and to learn from them. I started to become serious about it when I happened to meet a kimono, or kitsuke, teacher. Mrs. Emi Suzuki of Kawagoe’s Hakubi Kimono Gakuin had a kimono trial lesson one evening. In that short lesson I learned better ways to get dressed and little tricks to make the complicated uncomplicated. I joined Hakubi Kimono Gakuin in the winter of 2007. My first six months of study were all about how to put the kimono on by myself. That included learning about each section of the kimono, each individual piece used, and the various standard obi ties. You are schooled in when you can wear a certain kimono and what type of obi matches what type of kimono. I also learned how to line things up, the importance of the subtle differences in positioning, and how to correct something if it has shifted. What I also hadn’t realised during my self-studying was that I was wearing the kimono as an older woman should. A younger woman should wear her kimono with her collar pulled down in the back, her obi cord set high, and the kimono should be in bright colours. As she gets older, the collar should be set higher, her cord lower, and subtler colours used. Basically, I had been subtlety communicating to others that my age was really 60-something, not the young 20-something I really was. I’m so glad I didn’t have wrinkles then. By the time my first dressing test came, what used to take two hours I had learned how to put on in ten minutes. I received a grade and lost points if something was crooked or incorrect. I also learned how to put the kimono on in a

lady-like way and how to move in it. My supplies needed to be properly organised before getting dressed and I had to move gracefully during my dressing contortions. It was all to remind you that when you’re in kimono, movements become smaller and more delicate. The biggest challenge I faced was learning to walk, stand, and sit. I’m certain that my ‘kimono training’ at the fitness club garnered some strange looks. Walking in a kimono on a treadmill is not your typical exercise, though I highly recommend it for those ladies interested in toning their thighs. I also took paper tests to see if I had done my reading from the textbook. The questions covered topics like history, the different varieties of kimono, kimono coordination, and knowing regional kimono styles, patterns, and fabrics. The next six months of school were about how to dress someone else in kimono. That included yukata, men’s and woman’s kimono, the children’s shichi-go-san kimono, and shiromuku, or the white wedding kimono. The most interesting point of study comes when you begin to learn ornate obi ties for the long sleeved unmarried ladies kimono, or furisode, worn on seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age Day). Taking a five-metre long obi and transforming it into a butterfly is no easy feat. Now that I’ve finished the first portion of my studies, I’m considering whether to continue on for my dressing license or for my teaching license. I also hope to get involved in modelling. I’ve gone from someone who can wear a kimono to someone stylish in kimono. I also try to encourage Japanese ladies not to be intimidated about kimono because of the rules or because it looks difficult. The rules are there to help but it’s also OK to try new things as well. Kimono is just clothing, and like any other clothing there are fashion trends with kimono too. The traditional beauty will still remain BAB even if you tie something backwards. Being A Broad August 2009

feature

SURVIVING THROUGH ART

JANE’S EXHIBITION by Ulara Nakagawa

One of the more powerful pieces.

all photographs: Ulara Nakagawa, all art: Jane.

Jane continues to add to her pieces as thoughts arise.

ne very rarely gets to see an art exhibition so raw and personal: on July 10 and 11, 2009, the artist who goes by the pseudonym ‘Jane’ put her collected works on display in a bright space in the Shimbashi district of Tokyo. Jane’s eclectic art pieces include everything from paintings and words scrawled onto cardboard, to hospital x-rays of her own skull and a rape test kit.

President of the World Society for Victimology. The Japanese police initially denied Jane medical care, food, and water while she was at the station. The same officers also mocked her and later laughed and made sexual jokes about her. Furthermore, the authorities denied Jane a container for her urine (integral and necessary evidence for her case). After several hours, she

he government is saying, ‘just go ahead and rape T everyone in Japan, because we’re not going to do anything about it.’

She calls this the “artwork of [her] sacred journey”—having an artistic outlet has been integral to Jane’s seven-year healing process as a rape victim. She says of her sometimes-unusual mediums: “If I can find stuff, I will use anything that I can. Like even if I pick up trash from the street.” Over the course of the two hours I attended the show, I went through a roller coaster of emotions including anger, confusion, sympathy, and sadness. I walked away with an overall feeling of empowerment and a sense of having been deeply touched and inspired. Jane, a native Australian and long-term resident of Japan, was raped by American sailor Bloke T. Deans near Yokosuka naval base in the outskirts of Tokyo on April 6, 2002. After the incident, the mother of three boys went to a local police station to report the crime. There she became victim of what she has termed her “second rape,”—an excruciating 12 hours of humiliation and interrogation by the Japanese police. The conduct by the police officers has been called, “one of the worst cases of police revictimisation I have ever seen,” by John Dussich,

finally used the station washroom, while tears of frustration flowed down her cheeks. Jane explained as she showed me standard police rape reports from Australia: “This is a record of what you’re supposed to do…[It’s] really thorough and would probably take two hours. It would be filled out by the hospital to check for transmittable diseases, etc. [Here], they didn’t even take a urine sample, no blood test.” Exhausted, bruised, and severely traumatised, Jane begged the police officers repeatedly to release her and let her go home, but her requests went unacknowledged. Another ultimate trauma came when the police took her back to the parking lot where she was raped, and asked her to re-enact the scene for their records. “They wanted me to get into the photos. They want you to do the re-enactment photos.” When asked if this is practiced in other countries, Jane answers, “Oh my god there is nobody that does it in the whole entire world!” After she refused, two officers re-enacted the scene. These photos, as absurd and disturbing as they are, are a part of one of Jane’s displays.

The Japanese police later found Jane’s attacker. Deans was a member of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and stationed in Japan. However, formal charges were never laid. Jane filed a civil case and won, and the court ordered Deans to pay three million yen in late 2004. However, during this time, the military quietly discharged Deans, who fled home, unpunished, to the US, where he is now living as a civilian. Later, the Japanese government paid Jane the compensation from a fund specially and secretly kept aside for victims of crimes committed by the American military. Part of Jane’s exhibition is 15 sheets of standard white paper that span the length of the exhibition room when laid out on the floor while overlapping one another slightly, like a traditional Japanese fan. It is a typed compilation of records, dating back over half a century, of various violent crimes against women committed by the American military. On one page labeled “1946,” somebody has highlighted significant statements. One that catches the eye immediately is: “Two teenagers (16 and 17) are raped by the US soldiers and left naked. They are found by the villagers (Katsuren Village).” A page dated from the 2000s includes the update: “The Marine Major who attempted rape on November 2, 2002 and was sentenced in October 2005, is arrested in the US for abduction and attempted rape of an 18-yearold Vietnamese-American female student.” It becomes clear that there are three major themes that can be extracted from Jane’s show. One is that which expresses Jane’s very personal agony—knowing that Bloke T. Deans lives and breathes freely, out of the reach of the laws and

feature

An actual photograph of the traumatic re-enactment conducted by the Japanese police.

Pages of recorded accounts of violence and rape committed against women by the US Military form a shocking part of the exhibition.

authorities of two nations that will not punish him for his crime. The second is a call for change in Japan’s poor methods of dealing with rape crimes, suggested by Jane’s candid disclosure of her own traumatic experience at the police station. On this, Jane says, “There are so many scandals with the Japanese police. They treat us like we’re the criminals so we won’t prosecute…it is just outrageous.” As she showed me a rape test kit, she remarked, “They don’t have them in Japan. There is no rape test kit. There is no 24-hour clinic or rape centre. If you were a rape victim in Japan, what is the process? The government is saying, ‘just go ahead and rape everyone in Japan, because we’re not going to do anything about it.’ Japanese people who are raped can’t even tell their parents. I am working with doctors now… to get the first 24-hour rape crisis centre going.” All of Jane’s efforts are volunteer-based and she uses her own money to fund it. The third overarching, and most powerful, theme is the notion that there is a long withstanding conspiracy of silence and inaction by Japanese authority, in accordance with demands of the US military. The mainstream media in the past year has jumped on Jane’s story, because of new evidence arising of a web of secret and special stipulations (even sometimes written into laws) that protects perpetrators over victims of violence and murder. In a December 2008 article titled Jane’s Story, The Economist stated that, “the reason why cases like Jane’s are not prosecuted may have less to do with incompetent police and more because of a secret agreement between America and Japan in 1953 that has recently come to light.” It also reported that:

replied, “because I was raped too, 15 years ago by the US military.” And with a smile on her face, Jane stopped, turned to me, and said, “We both just started crying. That was worth seven years for me.” Jane has also recently published a book titled: Jiyu no Tobira (The Door to Freedom). She says of her reasons for writing it: “I wish I had a book like this when I was raped. In every chapter, it is written: “It’s not your fault.” For more information about Jane, her book, or the work she is doing, contact her directly by email: warriors.japan@gmail.com. For anyone interested in helping, Jane is currently looking for people to help translate material between English and Japanese. You can find out more by emailing her to the above address. BAB

“On October 28th, 1953, a Japanese official, Minoru Tsuda, made a formal declaration to the United States (not intended for public disclosure), stating, “The Japanese authorities do not normally intend to exercise the primary right of jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces…In other words, Japan agreed to ignore almost all crimes by American servicemen, under the hope that the military itself would prosecute such offences—but with no means of redress if it did not.” For Jane, this rising awareness should be a small victory after seven years of personal and public struggle. She says, “In April of 2002 I could have just gone back to Australia and closed my eyes. But instead I fight and open the eyes of other people in society. It has been a really tough journey for me and my kids.” Of the Japanese government and authorities: “They thought that I wouldn’t do anything, but they picked the wrong person...I’m not going to be silent anymore. I’ve come a long way to be a survivor.” Jane’s exhibit moves chronologically through her emotional and artistic journey as a rape victim. While in the first section the work is dark, troubled, and shocking in its graphic nature and honesty, the second section is noticeably brighter. She explains: “This [artwork] is [about] being a survivor.” At my visit, when Jane and I walked through the violets, pinks, and other warm colours that reflect her recent years of healing, she recounted a tale. After she gave a speech in front of a group of Japanese people, an old woman, in her 70s, approached her and said, “I just want to thank you.” When Jane asked, “Why?” the woman

Jane’s more recent artwork reflects the recovery and healing years of her journey as a rape victim. Being A Broad August 2009

working

WE PROFILE:

EMMA BROWN of Evergreen Outdoor Center

image: Kate Andrews

emember to treat yourself, others, and R the Earth with respect and always be open to new things...

Name: Emma Valentine Brown Nationality: British Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Contemporary Applied Arts Job Title: marketing and reservations manager Employer: Evergreen Outdoor Center Time in this Job: two years Job Description: Evergreen Outdoor Center is an outdoor tours company that runs tours throughout the year in the Northern Japan Alps. In the winter, Evergreen offers ski and snowboard lessons, guided backcountry tours, and snowshoe tours; in summer there are a wide variety of tours to choose from such as kayaking, canyoning, mountain biking, canoeing, and hiking. When I started working for Evergreen, I was initially employed as part of the reservation staff for the winter season. However, not long after I realised that Evergreen was more like a community of people working together to not only encourage others to experience the outdoors, but also to spread awareness about how to help preserve and protect our natural environment. As an employee at Evergreen, I too am encouraged to enjoy and participate in the beautiful environment of the Japan Alps. Although a large part of my job consists of working in the office replying to mail, organising schedules, and dealing with customers, there is a lot of time spent outside of the office generally giving a hand where needed. This continued variation within the job is what persuaded me to stay throughout the four seasons; I wanted to continue working for a company that thinks about the health of its employees and also about the impact that it has on the environment around it. Currently, I am managing Evergreen’s Women’s Retreat, which is a retreat designed specifically to help women escape the heat and stress of the city and have time to concentrate on themselves. I feel very passionate about this project as I believe that women often don’t get the time to nurture themselves, and by showing

women how to incorporate yoga, self massage, and healthy eating into their hectic daily lives we can, in turn, decrease stress and promote inner peace. General requirements: Working for Evergreen means that we are governed by nature—work fluctuates throughout the seasons and so the ability to be flexible with your schedule is a definite requirement. Being friendly, personable, enthusiastic about outdoor sports, and passionate about the environment are all important requirements when working for Evergreen Outdoor Center. General Conditions: Evergreen is a collection of people from all over the world and different walks of life,

Worst thing: I am able to snowboard in the winter, hike and mountain bike in the summer, work with people I consider good friends, continually learn new things about other cultures and my surroundings, and every day work towards living a greener lifestyle. There’s nothing ‘worst’ about it! Issues affecting her as a woman: The outdoor sports industry is predominantly male-orientated. However, increasingly more women are starting to venture into this field and show their capabilities. Working mainly in the office I am not breaking any stereotypes, but managing the Women’s Retreat and working with other strong, independent women means that I can put my

am able to snowboard in the winter, hike and mountain Ifriends...and bike in the summer, work with people I consider good everyday work towards living a greener lifestyle. There’s nothing ‘worst’ about it!

which makes it a very exciting place to work. I am continually learning about new cultures and working together to create an enjoyable, relaxed workplace without the usual hierarchy associated with companies in Japan. I have the pleasure of meeting new people everyday and working with like-minded people that want to live a peaceful, healthy, and environmentally-aware lifestyle. How she found this job: The season before I started work with Evergreen Outdoor Center I was actually a customer, which is how I become familiar with the area and the company. I had been living in Nagoya, but I enjoyed my time in Hakuba so much that I decided to move there the following season. Best thing: The best thing about working for Evergreen is being able to work in such a beautiful and peaceful environment, having the opportunity to meet new people, the freedom to be creative and share ideas, and having access to a multitude of outdoor activities all year round.

energy into encouraging women to focus more on themselves and nurture their strengths. Recommended resources: I would definitely recommend dropping into Evergreen Outdoor Center if you are ever in Hakuba, there is always something exciting happening and a community of people of varying nationalities that have a wealth of knowledge not only about the area but also about working abroad. Please check out the website: www. evergreen-outdoors.com. If you’re looking for work opportunities in Japan, some great sites to check out would be: www.gaijinpot.com, www.eslcafe.com, or www.snowworkers.com. Advice: For me, I find face-to-face a much better way of introduction when looking for work if at all possible and it is a good way to see if the job feels right for you. Remember to treat yourself, others, and the Earth with respect and always be open to new things BAB would be my general advice to everyone.

Please help my family find peace.

My name is Lindsay Ann Hawker

I was murdered in March 2007 and buried in a bath of sand on the balcony of Tatsuya Ichihashi’s apartment in Tokyo. Ichihashi escaped from the police and still has not been found. If you have any information that may lead to his arrest, please call the Japanese police on 047-397-0110. There is now a ¥10 milllion reward for information leading to Ichihashi’s arrest. If you know anything, please share it!

W O M E N I N J A PA N

by Parissa Haghirian

Why come to Japan? Building a career as an international woman in Japan is accompanied by a lot of challenges. Not only are we away from home, friends, and family, we also face a very unique culture and unknown work practices. We need time to integrate and adapt; sometimes we may also have doubts about the decision we made to come to Japan. In any event, we need a lot of courage and motivation to build successful careers here. So why do so many of us decide to work here in Japan? Why expose ourselves to a new culture, language problems, and all the difficulties that come along with this? Why not stay at home and have a career in a well-known and supportive environment? What opportunities can we find here that are not offered back home? Many of us come here for personal reasons. However, besides following a partner or interest in Japanese culture, there are plenty of economic opportunities in Japan. Japan is the world’s second biggest economy. Tokyo has around 35 million consumers, more than a million enterprises, and 160,000 restaurants. This makes the city the biggest market place in the world. As a business area, Tokyo still has a higher GDP than all of India. With the big size comes an enormous amount of business or job opportunities. And even smaller cities in Japan, such as Osaka, Nagoya, or even Fukuoka are vibrant business hubs. Many international women become entrepreneurs in Japan. However, the enormous size of the market and the high number of wealthy consumers are not the only reasons why Japan is becoming more interesting to international women. The Japanese market is not fully explored, and many business ideas from our home countries have not been introduced to the Japanese market yet. Many business ideas were born because services and products known from home were dearly missed in Japan and international women entrepreneurs started to introduce them to the Japanese market. The range of businesses is wide, and includes international women who opened travel agencies, restaurants, or IT-firms. Often these entrepreneurial opportunities involve international know-how, which Japanese companies do not hold. Various niche markets have so far not been recognised as being profitable by Japanese corporations. Foreigners and expatriates living and working in Japan, for instance, are a wealthy and increasingly influential target group that can often only be addressed by Western entrepreneurs. Also, the number of initiatives of the Japanese government to ease the conditions of aspiring entrepreneurs is increasing. International

women often use these opportunities to open successful businesses. Being often the only international woman entrepreneur in a Japanese industry has advantages. Marketing, for instance, is not a problem at all. One of my friends, who was for many years the only Western woman in the Japanese wood industry, said that being the only Western woman in her industry even proved very profitable for her business. People would always remember her. She was known to almost everyone in the industry, sometimes without even having met the person. If she wanted to get an interview with a potential client, people would invite her simply to see her and not because they were initially interested in her product. Her first business successes were mainly based on being able to talk to many more people than expected, even if they were only curious to have met her. Being a Western woman in a male Japanese industry proved to be very profitable for her business. Building an international career in Japan: But even if an international woman does not plan a career as an entrepreneur, working for Japanese firms has become a lot easier. Working conditions in the kaisha have greatly changed. Japanese firms realised during the recession of the ‘90s that they need to internationalise. Many of them do so by hiring international staff. This is an easy and effective way to bring new ideas into the firm or to introduce Western work practices and open up to change. Japanese companies therefore increasingly hire foreigners to improve their international business activities and strengthen their relationships with customers in overseas markets. International women have greatly benefited from this attitude change and provide language skills and cultural expertise that are looked for in Japan. Working in a Japanese firm, however, is certainly a challenging task. Many Japanese firms still operate in traditional and inflexible ways. In most cases international women are not hired to support these work processes, but to develop alternative and new ideas for the J-Firm. We are often required to manage international relationships or cross-cultural challenges for Japanese firms. This means that traditional Japanese ways can be ignored and many new career avenues open up. Because we are supposed to bring in new ideas and change, careers in Japanese firms often come with a lot more freedom than one may expect. This is the reason why we often find very inspiring and better working conditions here in Japan than in our home countries. Projects that would be very difficult to implement in our home

country can sometimes (though not always) be more easily done in Japan. Since we are change agents from the start, we have more freedom in Japanese firms than one might expect. Personal growth: Most of all, Japan offers unique opportunities to learn about ourselves. Moving overseas and starting a career in a foreign country, often without a partner, is a major challenge. It needs a lot of courage, enthusiasm, and often also persistence. Experiencing a new culture, whether it is a national culture or organisational culture, always comes with a learning effect. We make mistakes and try again. We experience new and very different work practices and learn to adapt. This is hard at first, but helps us to develop intercultural skills. One of my friends, who worked here in a Japanese firm for the last ten years, said: “Every year working in Japan counts double. I have experienced and learned so much more than I would have back home. I not only improved my management and communication skills in Japan, but I also became a more open-minded person. I can handle cross-cultural challenges and learned to see the world with ‘Japanese’ eyes. In learning all of this, I also benefited from my experiences in Japan personally and emotionally. I am more patient than I used to be and try to avoid conflict. Next to my Western thinking-style and problemsolving skills, I now also understand Japanese ways. This has broadened my horizon and led to many wonderful experiences. Another friend whom I asked about what opportunities she found in Japan said that she became an independent women during her stay here. Coming to Japan made her more independent because she learned to survive in a foreign environment on her own and to be more self-confident. “Japan,” she said, “has been a wonderful chance to experience what I can achieve on my own.” Experiencing and enjoying change is probably the most important reason why we all came to Japan. Living and working in Japan is always an intense experience that touches on many aspects of our lives. We have all changed during our stay in Japan. Not only will we become better and more international BAB managers, we will also grow personally. Dr. Parissa Haghirian is an associate professor of International Management at the Faculty of Liberal Art at Sophia University, Tokyo. She is the editor of J-Management; Fresh Perspectives of the Japanese firm in the 21st Century. www. parissahaghirian.com

Being A Broad August 2009

working

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL

IT’S OK...I’M A GAIJIN

image: digika

real-life story

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

by Rebekah Chan

Being an invisible minority has its pros and cons.

was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and am considered what Chinese Canadians refer to as a CBC—Canadian-born Chinese or Chineseborn Canadian. There are also ABCs (Aussie- or American-born Chinese), NzBCs and BBCs (New Zealand- and British-born Chinese) and so on. In Korean culture, Koreans born or raised outside Korea are called kyopo. I believe that being a CBC or kyopo living in Japan is a unique gaijin experience, and it’s something that I have been coming to terms with for the past nine months that I have been living in Tokyo. With Japan’s foreign population under three percent, it’s not unreasonable for people (foreigners and Japanese) to assume that all people of East Asian descent in Japan are Japanese. This is my definition of an ‘invisible gaijin’ in Japan. Being an invisible minority has its pros and cons. Firstly, I don’t get stared at when I am in a subway car full of Japanese simply because I look like a gaijin. I know this happens to other foreigners because they have described this to me. When I am in large masses of people, I feel comfortable and appreciate the fact that I am not singled out, or that others don’t avoid sitting beside me as they might if I was a tall, blonde European woman. However, people do look at me when I speak fluent English to a fellow foreigner. Granted, I have only been living here for nine months, so as a result my Japanese is at a very basic level. This leads me to my second point about being an invisible gaijin. “Nihonjin ja nai.” (I’m not Japanese.) That sentence is the latest version of the various ways I’ve heard of how to explain to Japanese people that I’m not Japanese. I used to say something along the lines of: “Nihongo ga wakarimasen.” (I don’t understand [speak] Japanese.) There are lots of options, but lately I have found: “Sorry, I don’t speak Japanese,” said in English, to be more useful than trying to explain anything in Japanese. After all, once you speak perfect English and not Japanese, typically people understand exactly what you’re trying to say.

As a CBC, I feel like I am disappointing people because I look like I should be able to speak Japanese, but can’t. However, it’s very impressive when an obvious gaijin does speak Japanese. (I’m very impressed too!). On top of that, because Japanese culture is considered a high-context culture, there are many unspoken customs that I simply don’t know. Some of the most awkward moments for me occur in the elevator, bus, or train when I am in a situation that means I will be interacting with Japanese in small, confined, quiet spaces. These short and small interactions don’t warrant the shock and discomfort that some Japanese display when I explain that I don’t speak Japanese. It’s usually easier to smile and bow and for me to feel uncomfortable inside, instead of making someone else feel embarrassed for mistaking me as Japanese. I believe the most uncomfortable I have felt was during an incident I had on the bus. An elderly lady was sitting beside me and she missed her bus stop. She looked out the window as her

for things like text messaging in the courtesy area of the train or crunching ice in the elevator. Another friend was scolded for smoking in a nonsmoking area but was quickly excused when they realised he didn’t speak Japanese. I don’t want to be rude or break these unspoken (or unnoticeable to some new foreigners) rules, but sometimes I wish I had a sign on my forehead that said: ‘It’s OK...I’m a gaijin.’ Living in a somewhat mono-cultural society (compared to many other places like my home town of Toronto), there is an insidious and subconscious pressure to conform. If people assume I’m Japanese and if they are also surprised, embarrassed, and don’t want to talk to me when they find out I don’t speak Japanese, then I am somehow programmed to feel that speaking Japanese=good, and Japanese behaviour=good, especially since people assume I am Japanese in the first place. A while ago, I started to cover up spaghetti strapped dresses with a cardigan; after all, most women wear t-shirts under their spaghetti straps!

am somehow programmed to feel that speaking Japanese=good, and Japanese behaviour=good, Iespecially since people assume I am Japanese in the first place.

stop passed by and suddenly asked the driver to stop. It was too late. She sat back down beside me and then started talking to me. She asked me something about ‘san chome’ (area three) and at the end of each statement she added ‘desu ne? desu ne?’. She was asking for some kind of response from me, and all I could do was smile and nod. The bus full of people was silent. She was the only one talking and she was talking to me. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I didn’t want the whole bus full of people to notice me speaking English if I were to explain: “Sorry, I don’t speak Japanese.” So I sat there in silence while she talked to me for a few minutes. The last thing she said to me before she got off at the next stop was: “ima nan ji?” (What time is it now?). This being one of the few Japanese phrases I knew, I silently held up my watch for her to see. She thanked me and got off the bus. I felt like such a fraud. I just fooled that old lady into thinking I was Japanese and probably a very rude or non-communicative Japanese person who didn’t respond to her questions. What a sham. Being a CBC in Tokyo, I have come to accept the fact that I am often assumed to be a rude Japanese person as I don’t know all the niceties people greet each other with or I because I am oblivious to some rules. Two of my Asian but non-Japanese friends have been scolded in public

Some of my Asian friends have also started dressing more conservatively, despite the hot, humid weather. Soon, I tried to blend in more and more since people assumed I was Japanese. It became important for me to live up to their cultural expectations and I slowly started to assimilate to the visual cues of Japanese women. It’s summer now, and I love being tanned in the summer. Back home in Canada, I usually get compliments on my healthy tan. This is one mentality I can’t—and won’t—pretend to adopt. As parasol-carrying women pass me by on the streets, I desperately want to tell them: “It’s OK...I’m a gaijin!” I like my skin this way! As a woman, it’s a unique situation to be held to different beauty and behavioural standards based on your ethnicity. Most days I remind myself of who I am and where I come from and proudly wear my tanned skin under exposed spaghetti straps. Other days I silently hide out in the masses. Perhaps it’s just a change in perspective or perhaps I just need a giant Post-it note on the mirror to remind myself everyday that: it’s OK...I’m a gaijin! Being an invisible foreigner does have its challenges, but I believe that, for me, they are overcome the same way that most women overcome preconceptions: by not caring what others think and feeling comfortable in your own BAB skin. Pun intended.

volunteering

TELL FALL TELEPHONE COUNSELLOR TRAINING by Vickie Skorji

each shift knowing that I have made a difference in the lives of many people. That feels good.” What is involved in the training: Successful applicants are asked to attend a basic training program of 69 hours over a 12 week period. The training is based on the principles of Carl Rogers and client-centred counselling skills. A combination of lectures, small group work, and role plays, which are designed to teach specific counselling skills and explore the ways in which telephone counsellors can support callers to the Life Line, are used. Mid-way through the training, trainees will proceed to an apprenticeship on the Life Line. This consists of at least 24 hours of supervised work (broken down into 4-hour shifts). Are there any requirements? Successful applicants must be 21 years of age and have a current visa or residency status for Japan; TELL is not able to sponsor any individuals. Applicants must also be able to speak English confidently as it is an English-speaking Life Line. No prior counselling experience is required, as all counselling requirements will be covered in the training. Is there a cost? As a non-profit organisation, TELL is currently not in a financial position to offer the training for free. The course fee is ¥35,000. Please note that this is a subsidised fee, which does not cover the full cost of the course and the amount has not been raised for over five years. However, if cost is an issue, please speak to them as TELL may able to provide a small number of scholarships. What commitments are involved? At the end of the training, they are seeking a 12 month commitment to the Life Line of 10 hours a month. Additionally, volunteer telephone counsellors must also attend monthly group supervision sessions of two hours and attend at least one ongoing educational session per year. Initial level one accreditation is awarded after the completion of the training and apprenticeship. Career development: Life Line training also offers excellent opportunities to develop your interpersonal skills in a professional work environment. Experience with Life Line counselling is often used by student social workers, psychologists, and counsellors to gain real-life experience that can complement academic studies and assist in gaining employment or entry into competitive post-graduate courses. Training and beyond: Once a counsellor is qualified to provide telephone counselling and has competed 12 months of shifts on the Life Line, they are eligible to take advantage of several advanced accreditation opportunities. Experienced telephone counsellors can go on to become trainers to assist with the training of

Volunteering with TELL is very rewarding.

image: iStockphoto/webphotographeer

okyo English Life Line has been providing the international community with mental health support for 36 years. Each year their Life Line receives approximately 7,000 calls from men, women, and children all over Japan who call to be connected with someone who cares. In these difficult economic times, so many people are struggling with life’s everyday demands, and for many it proves too much. Japan has been particularly hard hit by the global down turn, with around 16,000 businesses closing in 2009, adding to a significant increase in the number of homeless, suicides, and people suffering with depression. Current government reports suggest around 100 people are taking their own lives each day in Japan; many feel they have nowhere or no one to turn to. Twice each year TELL seeks applications from the community for their telephone counsellor training program. The goal, more than ever before, is to offer support to those in need 24 hours a day, every day of the year. However, they currently do not have enough volunteers to extend the Life Line hours past 11pm. TELL is now accepting applications for the fall telephone counsellors training program, which will start on September 12 and runs until November 28. The fall training schedule is a nighttime program, apart from the first and last days, which are Saturdays, and sessions are held every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6:30–9:30pm near their business office in Minami Aoyama. TELL will also run daytime training in 2010 from February 13 until April 24 for people for whom a nighttime schedule is not suitable. If you live in the greater Tokyo area and would like to make a difference in your community, why not consider becoming a volunteer telephone counsellor with TELL? Telephone counsellor volunteers come from all walks of life, many different countries, and all backgrounds, but share one thing in common...the desire to make a difference in the community by supporting individuals in distress who call the TELL Life Line telephone counseling service. One volunteer counsellor, who has been working on the line for the last three years, states: “So many people feel isolated and lonely. Some feel so much pain that they have thoughts of suicide. Others are experiencing the loss of a loved one and are not sure of how they’ll cope. Some are struggling with work and financial difficulties. Some people just need to talk to another human being who cares. Despite all of the people, Tokyo and Japan can be a lonely place for many foreigners.” She goes on to say: “Although telephone counselling can sometimes be challenging, I get so much out of volunteering my time. I go home after

new phone counsellors, and experienced trainers can go on to train as supervisors or pregnancy option counsellors. As most volunteer telephone counsellors have done, you will also make good friends at the Life Line. Many describe the training as a life-changing experience. For foreign women especially, this can be a great opportunity to get involved in the community in an ongoing, meaningful way, while making friends and learning new skills. For instance, for a trailing spouse new to the country, this could be a great way to find your feet in Japan. Working on the Life Line also teaches skills helpful for a career in fields outside of counselling. For instance, for those working in HR, skills learned on the Life Line are excellent ones to gain and TELL has had people in this industry say they wish they had learned these skills earlier in their careers. A final comment by another volunteer counsellor: “Working on the Life Line itself is something very special. I put myself and my own concerns aside for a few hours and am there solely for the caller. So many times I think, ‘I am glad that TELL was there for the callers, when no one else was.’ I had not realised there were so many people out there, alone. We really make a difference to people’s lives and help them get through the hard times. It is an excellent way to give something back to the Tokyo community from which I have gained so much during my time in Japan. The TELL training and Life Line work has had far-reaching benefits in my professional and personal lives.” To find out more about TELL and the Life Line or to sign up, visit www.telljp.com. BAB

Being A Broad August 2009

by Leigh Wellsview

ack home in Canada, I was always absolutely fascinated by American Sign Language (ASL), and would have to consciously drag my eyes away from anyone I saw signing, fighting an urge to watch the amazing fluidity without staring. Luckily, a chance viewing of Sound and Fury, a PBS documentary during highschool opened my eyes to the world of Deaf culture, a concept I had never heard of up to that point. The documentary introduced me to families proud to be Deaf, men and women who cried at the thought of a cochlear implant eliminating deafness. To be honest, the documentary shocked me in several ways. While I thought ASL was amazing, I would have agreed with anyone who called deafness a disability, and I would have also assumed a cure would be universally embraced. Clearly, I’d been operating under some misconceptions. So, inspired by the film, I took advantage of the freedom I got from being a student in an alternative high school and enrolled in two years of ASL classes. Fast forward seven years later, and as an exchange student enrolled at Meiji Gakuin University, I was amazed to hear my linguistics professor, Dr. Charles Browne, say, “my son is Deaf, and I was involved in helping to open the first school in Japan that teaches Deaf children entirely in sign language.” I instantly wanted to learn more; and Dr. Browne was only too happy to oblige me. As he explained it to me, Japan sticks almost entirely to the ‘oralist’ approach of teaching deaf children, focusing on lip reading and voicing to the exclusion of sign language, which makes it extremely difficult for deaf children to get the linguistic support they need from a young age. As a result of this lack of language input, deaf children in Japan are often labeled as somehow mentally deficient, and simply left behind by the system. It’s certainly hardly surprising that a child who cannot hear doesn’t pick up language when the main source of input is spoken! As Dr. Browne explains, even the designated sign language schools in Japan contribute to this problem. Because they are linked to the public school system, every three years the sign language teachers are forced to rotate, leaving children in the position of being taught in Japanese Sign Language (JSL) by teachers who often know only a very few signs themselves. Besides that, Dr. Browne laments that the system is often very defeatist, saying that “often, the only thingd they are trained for are menial jobs such as assistant to a barber or working making copies at printing company.” Knowing that his son was just as smart, if not more so, than anyone else, and also aware that there was a better way to educate the deaf (having spent a year-long sabbatical in Vancouver, Canada when his son was three and was first exposed to sign language), Dr. Browne and his wife set out to discover the best way to educate his

son in Japan. Eventually, they found the Tatsunoko Gakuen preschool, which was being taught completely in JSL by teachers who were entirely Deaf. After just a few hours at the school, his son was picking up new signs, “like a fish in water.” As entry into elementary school loomed large, several families, including Dr. Browne’s, begged the teachers to turn the Tatsunoko preschool into an elementary school. While the drive was there, so too were several roadblocks. To start out with, the Ministry of Education controls all schools, and as JSL was not recognised as a real language by the Ministry, they would not allow a school teaching only in JSL to open. Though they raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the school off the ground, they still needed to find a loophole to allow what became Meisei Gakuen to open its doors. Eventually, they found one, as Dr. Browne recounts: “The Ministry of Education allows for ‘problem’ students, typically violent or delinquent children, to complete their required education [up to the age of 16] at so-called open schools. Eventually, we opened our school under that law, with the support of Governor Ishihara, who was up for reelection and reached out to those with special needs. He took our case under his wing.” Recounting the story, it’s obvious that the idea that anyone would consider the kids at Meisei to be problem children in any way is almost offensive to Dr. Browne, as it runs completely counter to the concept of the school itself; that students are “proud to be called Deaf with their distinct culture and linguistic identity as users of a minority language.” It’s obvious that the school is working for his son, as Dr. Browne lights up and says, “Joshua is a wonderful 12 year old, full of joy and happiness, he has a great sense of humour, is confident in himself, and just a delight to be with.” Meisei Gakuin, which will open a middle school next year, is also clearly allowing Liene Lase’s preschool age daughter to flourish as well. Liene has been in Japan for several years and is married with two children, the second of which was born deaf. In Japan, Liene explains, parents must pay extra for hearing and other screening tests that are done automatically in other countries. At her daughter’s hearing test, the doctors and nurses were initially hesitant to speak with her, perhaps fearing she wouldn’t understand, but gave her a piece of paper, told her there may be a hearing problem, and referred her to a large international children’s hospital. There, Liene’s daughter was exposed to varying levels of sound to check her ability to hear. The doctors measured the activity in her brain the noises caused and gave Liene the information she was beginning to suspect; her daughter was deaf. She says that the original reaction of the hospital staff was to give her a huge lecture, telling her about

image: iStockphoto/Andrew_Howe

GAKUIN

image: iStockphoto/Loretta Hostettler

mothers

MEISEI

ASL, JSL and other signed languages are languages entirely unto their own, with unique grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

how difficult it would be and how much responsibility comes with having a deaf child. She then goes on to recount a series of disagreements between herself and the people meant to support her and her family. For example, her decision to work part time was often questioned and discouraged, and she was regularly berated for not learning the alphabet in JSL, despite the fact her daughter was just four months old and not ready for that type of communication. Liene began to attend JSL classes once a month, and describes them as a wholly frustrating experience. The (hearing) teacher’s method was to speak in Japanese, while signing (in manually-coded Japanese, a sort of half-way point between speech and sign); a combination that left Liene spinning her wheels and increasingly frustrated: “I would go home and I couldn’t understand anything.” Finally she found out about a program run by Softbank’s CSR division, a family class taught by Deaf teachers in JSL, learned in a free, natural approach. After the first month of classes, Liene recalls, “I thought: ‘I can actually learn it. I’m fine’.” Concurrently to trying to learn JSL, Liene was also struggling with another decision many parents of Deaf children struggle with; whether or not to implant their children with cochlear implants. This surgery essentially implants small wires into the cochlea, or part of the ear stimulated by sound waves, and with the help of an external receiver, helps deaf people to hear. As was Liene’s experience, Japanese doctors tend to push the implant. “They say: ‘just do the cochlear and you’ll be fine.’ They don’t even look at the child. In Japan, they do it very early, even at one-year-old, and then begin speech training.” On the other hand, at the first school Liene and her daughter went to, “The teacher was so against it but didn’t give me any info. That’s why I couldn’t make a decision.” Finally, with the help of neutral information, she was able to make the decision not to implant her daughter, finding her a great environment at Meisei instead. For other foreign mothers in Japan facing a similar circumstance, both Dr. Browne and Liene suggest getting as much information, from all sides, as possible, before making a decision that will work for your family. Dr. Browne says, “Gathering lots of information is the most important [thing]. Don’t listen to one doctor or two or three; become an expert.” For more information about Meisei Gakuin, visit them online at www.meiseigakuin.ed.jp, and for more information on the movie Sound and Fury, also highly recommended by Dr. Browne, visit: BAB www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury.

OTHER POOLSIDE MUSNGS by S.Z. Cairney

want to hear it? Honestly? You aren’t pulling my leg? OK! Here goes: ‘Stiffy In A Jiffy!’” To which she claps her hands in glee and looks round the table for our reaction. I burst out laughing: “Well, that’s certainly got my attention!” Rosebuddie B claps her hands again: “Don’t you all think it’s a great product name? Stiffy In A Jiffy? As in, a hard on in a moment kind of idea?” Rosebuddie F has escaped back to the Cosmo. “Yes,” smirks Rosebuddie C, “I think we all get the connection. But will the Japanese?” Just as Rosebuddie B dwells on this mighty conundrum, Rosebuddie A pipes up, “talking about things going ‘stiffy,’ what about Michael Jackson?” The whole table becomes animated as girls recollect their thoughts on the recent news. “Excuse me,” Rosebuddie F suddenly shrieks, loud enough for a few staff to look over, concerned. “‘Stiffy?’…You are referring to a music god, to a genius, to a being endowed with celestial talents far beyond mere mortals, [sniffing] torn savagely from his mortal coils, from his fans who miss him painfully....” Sniffing now gives way to full-on sobbing, as all Rosebuddies rise to comfort her. “Now, now,” soothes Rosebuddie A, “I didn’t mean to offend you, Lovie! It was just, well, Rosebuddie B going on about ‘stiffys’ reminded me that MJ is no longer here with us and his body is, well, stiff.” Putting a hand on Rosebuddie A’s shoulder, I whisper in one ear: “I think you should just shut up as the sound of shovels hitting dirt is starting to drown out the conversation!” An iced tea with a dash of something— for medicinal purposes only, mind—later and Rosebuddie F feels calmer. “Sorry girls! I’ve been a real grizzle since MJ died. I mean, you all may not have liked MJ…” Heads shaking as some of the gals dab their own eyes. “But I met my husband at one of his concerts. Yes, it’s true. Way back, ohhhh,” head tilting to aid memory, “…wow! Nearly 20 years ago. Our eyes met as we were singing the words to one of MJ’s songs and that was it. Inseparable. When hubby is working way too many hours, he sometimes leaves out You are Not Alone, just so I know he’s missing and thinking about me.” Suddenly I remember being 14, feeling all grown up, staying up until midnight to watch that first airing of Thriller on a new music show called The Tube on a new station called Channel 4, with a fresh-faced hostess called Paula Yates. And another memory stirs and yawns in the dark crevices of what—after three kids—is left of my mind. “Hey, now don’t think I’m being disrespectful.” I hold my hands up in Rosebuddie F’s direction, who smiles and shakes her head, “Of course, you all know Bad. Well, that was the song you were singing when you met your hubby, right Rosebuddie

“A chorus of laughter joins the sound of water being seriously splashed.” image: iStockphoto/dblackadder

“

You’re walking funny! Up all night getting bonked?” Joked Rosebuddie B, bursting into raucous laughter. Rolling her eyes heavenward, Rosebuddie A replies: “Fat chance! My cycles are back and these sanitary pads must have been designed for an elephant. Sarong for me today or the Japanese cops will think I’m trying to smuggle something illegal into the pool area!” Smacking her Cosmo down on the table: “Can we try to act like ladies?” Hissed Rosebuddie F, looking around at the nearby tables, “I’m sure the whole world doesn’t want to know about your cycles or your, your sanitary pads!” Smirks all round as ten eyeballs looped the loop under sunglasses. “Well, please accept my most sincere apologies,” Rosebuddie D responds in a hideously affected upperclass British accent. “More beer Mrs. Simpson?” More giggles all round. The Cosmo merely fluttered. Well, it’s too hot to do anything too strenuous. Thirty-seven degrees of sweltering heat, heat made even more stifling by the gagging humidity. “The kids are having a great time, anyway,” chirped in Rosebuddie H. to Rosebuddie A. “You look like you’ve dropped some pounds, me matie!” said Rosebuddie A, smoothing down her sarong, “Well, you sweat out about two kilograms a day this time of year! I’ve had to increase my beer consumption up to six cans a night just to keep up with it!” A chorus of laughter joins the sound of water being seriously splashed as a waft of coconut oil reminds me of summers gone by on a beach with other friends very, very far from here. My nostalgic reminiscences are interrupted by Rosebuddie B enquiring: “How’s business recently? Just wondering, with the current economic woes…” “Just fine,” I answer, “Could be doing better, but...‘Buddy Hubby’ needs a bit more fine tuning on the sales front but the exploding garden gnomes are still hot sellers!” Nods of understanding all round the table, punctuated by the gulps of various beverages being consumed. “I’m asking,” Rosebuddie B says, “as actually, gals, I’ve been thinking of starting my own business.” OKs, question marks, and smiles form queues in the air. “Well, you know I’m a fully trained aromatherapist…Yes, I am—I don’t tell you everything about myself! Well, I’ve produced this product that can help couples to have a more fulfilling sex life. No, I’m being serious. It’s a potion, lotion whatever you want to call it, and it works a lot like Viagra.” The just picked up Cosmo magazine goes back down on the table “OK,” asks Rosebuddie F, “What’s the punch line?” Shaking her blonde curls, Rosebuddie B says: “Seriously, I am not joking. I’ve been working on it for a year or so. I think it might be a winner. I’ve even thought up an attention-grabbing name. You all

humour

STIFFY IN A JIFFY AND

F? Weeellll, in my hometown, this Japanese guy was on a year’s study over in Britain and I don’t know exactly what it was that he was studying, but we all used to joke that it was the sexual habits of British married women. Why? Because putting it bluntly, he was amusing himself with quite a few lonely, bored housewives. Quite frankly, he was rather hot, so I could see the appeal. Anyway, apparently one husband returned home early one morn to find his wife playing a bit more than Sudoku with said Japanese student. There was a huge commotion and the aforementioned student was seen hurriedly climbing out of a bedroom window, down through foliage, buck naked, and making an extremely quick getaway across the neighbour’s well-maintained lawns!” Exclamations of ‘No!’ ‘Really!’, and ‘Jammy sod....’ “Anyway, it being a small town, everybody knows everybody’s business and all that, so before he even arrived at the hospital, everyone had heard about his neardeath escape. My friend was a student nurse doing a stint in the ER and in Mr. Gorgeous walks, saying he has a bit of a delicate problem. The doctor gets him in a cubical, gigilo drops his trousers or jeans or whatever, and his whole genital area is pierced with thorns; rose thorns. My friend and the doc are desperately trying not to laugh as they enquire as to how this unfortunate state of affairs came about, to which the Japanese guy replies that he was gardening that morning and fell in a rose bush. ‘Naked?’ asks the doc, mustering up as much composure as humanly possible. ‘Oh yes,’ replies Romeo, ‘In Japan we like to be at one with nature. It’s our custom to do the gardening naked.’ It took the staff quite a while to remove the thorns and my friend says she will always remember MJ’s Bad playing in the background.” “That’s funny,” chortles Rosebuddie B, who suddenly becomes serious and asks: “At our wedding, hubby asked for Thriller to be played for our BAB first dance. Do you think it was an omen?” Being A Broad August 2009

FAMILY’S PLEA by Aiko Miyagi

Lindsay during happier times in Tokyo (left) and Hong Kong (right).

images: provided by the Hawker Family

community

THE HAWKER

ore than two years since Lindsay Ann Hawker was murdered, her strangled and beaten body left buried in a tub of sand on Tatsuya Ichihashi’s apartment balcony in Tokyo, the Hawker family’s quest to find her killer and bring him to justice continues. The murder remains unresolved, largely due to negligence on the part of the Japanese police, who let Ichihashi escape from nine officers at the crime scene in his bare feet in March 2007 and whose subsequent actions to locate him have not been up to par. In June of this year, following the Hawker family’s visit to Japan in March to try to raise the profile of the case, the Japanese police have raised the reward for information on Ichihashi’s

police have the resources both in Tokyo and throughout Japan...so that if a significant lead now develops, they are able to follow it up quickly. Speed is essential. It is no good following up [on] a sighting two days later, he could have moved on.” The Hawkers have surely been frustrated with prior failures on the part of the Japanese police to act promptly: in addition to having let him slip through their fingers initially after Lindsay’s body was discovered, police received several reports of sightings of Ichihashi in Ikebukuro one year after the murder, but action was not taken quickly enough to yield any results. With the new reward at an amount high enough to entice someone who might have been hiding Ichihashi to give him up, the Hawkers

We are a close family who have been shattered by this terrible crime,” Lindsay’s family laments. “ “Please give him up.” whereabouts from one million yen to ten million yen, an amount that the Hawker family feels, “it should have been at the outset,” if finding Ichihashi were truly a top priority for police. “We wonder why the Japanese police have waited so long to recognise the seriousness of this crime,” they say, recalling other police efforts that the Hawkers simply didn’t feel would accomplish anything, such as the life-sized cardboard cutouts of Ichihashi that were set up around Chiba stations earlier this year, and the rumours going around last year that Ichihashi had committed suicide so there was no longer any point in going after him. While the Hawkers are pleased that the police have taken this action and say they support it, they stress the importance of further action taken without delay. “We hope that the Japanese

are hopeful that the case is on its way to being solved and that soon their beloved daughter and sister Lindsay will be able to rest in peace. However, they want to appeal to anyone who has the chance to turn Ichihashi in not to do it for the money, but because it is the right thing to do. “He deserves to pay for what he has done. No amount of money would come close to matching what an amazing person he destroyed,” they say. What a waste of a promising life, indeed. No one who knew Lindsay could have imagined her losing her life that way. Like so many of us who make the decision to come here and experience life in a foreign country, she arrived with the goals of helping people learn and making new friends. Her family fondly remembers her as “an intelligent, beautiful, caring, kind young woman who would go out of her way to help anybody.”

She was enjoying her life in Japan and contacted her family back in England daily to share her experiences. “She was happy...she had such a shining, outgoing personality that she brought happiness to everyone around her. Pupils, friends, and family. She is the last person to deserve such a terrible end, and it is because of this that we will continue to seek justice.” The Hawkers fear, too, that if proper action is not taken quickly enough, Ichihashi may strike again and devastate another family as he has devastated theirs. “You may be protecting him, but there is no doubt that he is capable of re-offending and you should think about this. By harbouring him, you yourself are committing a crime and adding to our pain.” They pray that anyone with any information on him will come forward. If you have any information with regard to Ichihashi’s whereabouts, please call the police on 047-397-0110 as soon as possible. Only when he is caught and brought to justice can Lindsay’s father, mother, and two sisters begin to find peace. “We are a close family who have been shattered by this terrible crime,” Lindsay’s family BAB laments. “Please give him up.”

by Tina Burrett

As Japan looks set for political change, Mizuho Fukushima and the SDPJ could shake up the Diet.

image: Joe Jones

mart, witty, and impeccably dressed, Social Democratic Party of Japan leader Mizuho Fukushima is the acceptable face of socialism. While in recent elections her party’s social democratic values have won support from only five percent of voters, Fukushima is personally widely admired for her strong convictions and fierce intelligence. A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Tokyo University, before entering the House of Councillors in 1998, Fukushima found fame as a feminist lawyer, academic, and writer, specialising in equality and human rights issues. Not afraid to take on difficult or unpopular causes, as a lawyer she battled to end discrimination against illegitimate children and foreign nationals, as well as representing countless victims of sexual harassment. In the late ‘80s, her high-profile sexual harassment suits raised awareness on harassment in a country that previously had no word to even describe the problem. Most famously, in the ‘90s, she represented several socalled ‘comfort women’—women from countries under Japanese occupation forced into sexual slavery during the Second World War—in their pursuit for compensation and an official apology from the Japanese state. It was Fukushima’s legal work on gender equality that first took her into politics. She explains, “as a lawyer I tried to change the civil law stating that a married couple must have the same surname. In Japan, about 97 percent of women change their surname when they get married. I think this situation is grossly unfair. My work on this issue put me in contact with members of the Diet, including my predecessor as leader of the SDPJ, the formidable Takako Doi.” It was Doi who encouraged and inspired Fukushima to stand for parliament, perhaps sensing some of her own fortitude and conviction in the young lawyer. Unlike many politicians, Fukushima lives by the principles she espouses. After her legal fight to allow married women to keep their own surname failed, Fukushima took the bold decision not to marry her partner of many years, with whom she has an adult daughter. Fukushima’s principled stand has not been without consequences. “As a child born out of wedlock, my daughter has fewer rights than the children of married couples,” she explains. Mizuho Fukushima is not a woman to take the easy way out when principle is at stake. The upcoming general election may prove to be the biggest test of her convictions to date. Depending on electoral arithmetic, Fukushima could hold the balance of power. If the DPJ fail to win an outright majority in the lower house, party leader Yukio Hatoyama would likely turn to Fukushima’s

political broad-cast

BRINGING CHANGE TO THE DIET—MIZUHO FUKUSHIMA

SDPJ to form a coalition (the Communist Party having already ruled out joining a DPJ-led government). Fukushima explains that the two parties are already working together on areas of common ground. “Last month, the SDPJ and DPJ set up a joint committee on protecting bluecollar workers from the adverse effects of the economic downturn,” she says. “We also have similar views on human rights, the environment, and child welfare,” she continues. Furthermore, in some constituencies DPJ and SDPJ candidates have agreed not to stand against each other, but to concentrate on fighting the incumbent LDP. The spirit of accord between the DPJ and SDPJ only goes so far. The biggest stumbling block to a coalition between the two parties is the issue of peace. Its pledge to uphold Article 9 of the Japanese constitution—the so-called peace clause—is at the heart of the SDPJ’s manifesto. The party’s support for Article 9 is an inviolable commitment for Fukushima. ‘For me, support for Article 9 is very important; it is partly why I joined the SDPJ’, she says. While the SDPJ remains resolutely opposed to the Japanese Self Defence Forces serving overseas, the DPJ recently reversed its previous position and publically backed the Japanese Maritime Forces’ mission supporting coalition forces in Afghanistan. This change is part of a broader softening of the DPJ’s criticism of USJapan security agreements ahead of the election on 30 August. While this change may appeal to traditional LDP supporters, it has alienated members of the SDPJ. Despite this setback, Fukushima is confident that the SDJP and DPJ can form an effective coalition, although she is keen to point out that no such decision will be taken until after the election. Pointing to historical precedent to justify her optimism, she expounds, “in the mid-’90s, the Japan Socialist Party (the forerunner of the

SDPJ) formed a coalition government with the LDP. Under Socialist Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, the two parties worked together to improve Japan’s relations with its neighbours, culminating in Murayama’s apology for Japanese atrocities committed during World War Two.” She continues, “for the lifetime of the coalition, revision of the constitution ceased to be discussed.” Fukushima envisions a similar scenario after the coming election. “The electorate are currently preoccupied with domestic concerns. They want to know what the competing parties will do to improve their daily lives. Although the future of the constitution is very important to many people, it is not the issue that will decide the election. Changing the constitution will not be a priority for the DPJ government after the election. Instead, they will focus on providing jobs, eliminating child poverty, and improving welfare; all areas on which we can agree.” She says. As in the United States last November, Fukushima senses a real desire for political change among Japanese voters. “In this election I am confident that the voters will finally give a red card to the LDP. People want a totally new political and social order,” she argues. However, Fukushima suggests that the election of the DPJ alone will not deliver a radical break with the past. “Many DPJ politicians have very similar views to the LDP. To bring real change to Japan will require not only the DPJ but also the SDPJ,” she says. She concludes, “only with the influence of the SDPJ will a DPJ government tackle the deep problems confronting our economy and society.” Whether Fukushima gets the opportunity to change Japan as member of a governing coalition remains to be seen. However, in an age of political cynicism, where politicians speak in sound bites and cling to the centre ground for fear of offending voters, the principled, direct, and devoted Fukushima has much to offer. BAB Being A Broad August 2009

HAYAMA TOWN by Kelsey Aguirre

From l–r: Tateshi parkingview, where I fell ‘in love’ with Hayama, Morito Beach in the afternoon, and a view from Denny’s of the Hayama Marina area. all images: Kelsey Aguirre

a broad in the boonies

THE COMFORTABLE

y life in Hayama began after a pretty exhausting divorce from my American ex-husband. I wanted to move as far away as possible from him or anyone associated with the military base in Yokosuka. I had been teaching at the same school for almost five years in the Yokosuka area, but I didn’t want to be in Yokosuka. I really love my job but hate riding on packed trains, so I knew that I couldn’t move that far away. A close friend introduced me to my current town of residence. At first, I wasn’t sure about moving into this area. I mean, there’s no train station here and not many convenience stores, but Hayama has its own special charm. To be honest, I fell head over heels in love with Hayama at Tateishi parking lot. A parking lot? Crazy, right? But this isn’t just any parking lot. The view from here on a clear day is so amazing that you can even see Fuji-san. It’s packed in the summertime with everyone from kids to lovers to photographers trying to get the perfect shot and waves crashing on the beach below. I decided this was the place for me. I’m not really stuck in the boonies. I’m in the boonies, but at the same time I’m not. There are two very big cities, Zushi and Yokosuka, trapping this small town in Kanagawa Prefecture. On any given weekend, you can see joggers passing the Goyoutei (Imperial Summer Villa) in Isshiki, couples enjoying coffee on beachside verandas in Akiya, or surfers headed to catch the early morning windswells in Chojagasaki. Welcome to Hayama Town, where dogs are welcome nearly everywhere, and parking is abundant for drivers. We have our very own Hayama Beer and flip-flops in any colour and size are easy to find at your local Genbei shop. Hayama, while being small and in the semiboonies, has a lot to offer to the broad that likes a quiet, chill lifestyle with a semi-Hawaiian vibe.

Hayama Town is about 50km, give or take, from the Tokyo metro area and is located at the northwestern point of the Miura peninsula. It’s a pretty small city with a less than 35,000 people, but what it lacks in population, it makes up for in personality. Hayama is divided up into six ‘villages:’ Kikoba, Horiuchi, Isshiki, Shimoyamaguchi, Kamiyamaguchi, and Nagae. As a Pisces and a true water lover, I’m grateful for the five very clean beaches here, where I can chill oceanside and watch cute surfers wait for waves. There’s also an abundance of amazing restaurants and small stores. The Denny’s has an awesome outside deck where you can enjoy the beach and sunshine as you eat. We even have a Starbucks within walking distance from the ocean! You can find American shampoo and detergent at my local supermarket. Pasta sauces from back home and delicious imported cheeses at my local supermarket. There are not a lot of foreigners here and if you do happen upon one, they are probably American military living in the next city, Zushi. The few that I have met are very friendly and often into water sports. When I registered at my city hall, the staff was shocked to learn that: one: I’m not military and two: I work at a Japanese kindergarten. Now, when I have to go to the city hall, the staff is incredibly helpful and addresses me by name. On the weekends, I head out to Kamakura. Most people know it for the temples and shrines, but I had my fill of those when I did the Shichifukujin tour all in one day. Basically, you walk to all of the shrines and temples for the Seven Happy Gods. Trust me, even for the well-adjusted walker it’s a lot of ground to cover in one day. Now, I just go to my favourite burger joint, Kua’aina. (Word to the wise: Don’t eat on the

beach, because it’s impossible to avoid the violent food-stealing seahawks.) It gets pretty crowded out in Kamakura with all the tourists, but the best places are in the opposite direction as the sightseeing spots. I also like the small boutiques near JR Kamakura station that sell everything from handmade jewellery to Hawaiian crafts, and ecofriendly products. I can always find the cheapest vegetables from the little ojiisan stands near the station. Living so close to Kamakura is also great when family and friends come to visit. I also frequent Zushi, which is about a 15-minute drive or short bus ride away. Two of my close friends introduced me to Vahannas Bar, a small Hawaiian café and bar near Shin-Zushi train station. They sometimes have live shows and it’s very dog friendly, in case any of you broads have a pet. There’s an American military housing detachment in Zushi, so a lot of shop owners and locals are used to dealing with foreigners and can speak some English, which can be helpful for the broads who aren’t up to par with their Japanese. Fujisawa, Chigasaki, and Enoshima also have a lot to offer and are a quick train ride away. The ocean, cool restaurants, and surf shops are all waiting for you there. Some people have to be in Tokyo. I can’t stand sardine-can packed trains and dirty, crowded streets. I like the variety and multiculturalism that the big city offers, but I also love it when the shop owner knows my name or saves the last bottle of mushroom marinara for me ‘cause she “knows I’ll stop by after work.” The old man at Kuruwa Beach $5 Cafe knows exactly how I like my coffee and always cuts me an ‘American-sized’ slice of homemade cheesecake. So for me the boonies of Hayama aren’t a bad place to be ‘stuck’ in. I love it here. I just wish I could convince my parents and brother to move here, that way I BAB could stay forever.

PROPOSAL

by Laura Jane Pepper

B’s surprising proposal.

charms. Busy with work, I turned down three dates with him in one week and was amazed when he continued to call. Eventually, I gave in and agreed to join him for a coffee one rainy Sunday afternoon in Jiyugaoka. In a stubborn attempt to remain distant, I remember not even washing my hair or wearing any makeup that day. I arrived somewhat late (though not purposefully) and after an hour or so of window shopping we sat in a cake shop and began to really talk. Spending that afternoon with him would be the beginning of my tumble into love with him. He was a hundred times more interesting than I had given him credit for and we clicked on so many levels, despite our wildly different upbringings and characters. He was a business school graduate who had grown up in Taiwan and worked in the States. I was a dreamer; an aspiring writer, yoga-loving vegetarian from England. What I began to see was that he had so many sides to him. He had just returned from an orchestra tour to New York, where he had played violin on stage with Yo-Yo Ma and was in the process of writing a book. The next six months flew by fast. We spent much of our time together and took trips to

I saw him I handled that OK as we were out and about at parties and, since we were always with friends, we didn’t have many opportunities to talk. Insistent that I should stay clear of dating in order to fully enjoy my six months, throw myself into my traineeship here, as well as focus on my own dreams of being a writer, I remained very defensive in order to keep my distance from his

Taiwan for his high school reunion and China to meet my brother, who was living out there. Early on in the relationship, B gave up meat for a oneweek experiment and has never touched it since. Enjoying vegetarian dining and cooking together has since become a passion for the both of us. I never envisioned staying in Tokyo longer than my six-month assignment here, but when April came around, I just wasn’t able to take that flight. The thing was, all the while I had envisioned that a relationship would stall my dreams and halt my

come to see that the perfect relationship is one that does not get in the way of your dreams, Ibuthave rather helps you to find them...

images: provided by Laura Jane Pepper

t all started on a boat. After an exhausting day lugging a huge pumpkin to an elementary school festival in Yokohama and teaching Halloween to fifty-odd three year olds, I was reluctant to attend a boat party that would cruise around Tokyo Bay that night. It was a friend of a friend’s sayonara party and the idea of a night in was ever so tempting, but something made me put on my black dress and head to meet two friends at the port. The party turned out to be great fun and there was so much energy from the friendly crowd on board. We met all kinds of people, and although I didn’t know it at the time, one of them would go on to play a very special role in my life after we returned to land. B was talkative, confident, and considerate and we talked a lot that night. At some point we exchanged contact information and two days later I received a message from him while at work. I was in my boss’ office and began grinning like a school girl. Something about him really attracted my attention, even though I certainly wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship, knowing that I only had a six month stint in Tokyo and wanting to enjoy it fully. The next couple of times

restaurant on time, but he told me that we should probably arrive a little late since it was run by an old lady who didn’t open up shop until 8pm. In hindsight, I have no idea how I bought this story, but we stood at the crowded Shibuya crossing as he continued to fidget and stall and ask bizarre questions about our busy surroundings. I thought the poor boy had lost the plot. I remember at one point him saying: “Isn’t there something magical about this? Us standing here while everyone rushes around us?” Next, he began to question me about the kanji characters that flashed up above the big screen above Starbucks. I struggled to read each character slowly and not-so-surely, and my concentration made me forget about his strange behaviour. Suddenly, in huge flashing lights appeared a picture of us and the words that I could only just make out through sheer shock: “Laura P., will you marry me, Brandon W.” I turned my head to look at him as he dropped to one knee and my eyes fell to meet his. Then we really were the

that afternoon with him would be the beginning of my tumble into love with him. Spending

L and B travelling together.

creativity and ability to stay focussed on my personal goals. What I came to realise, however, is that the reality is so much different. B is so optimistic, so positive, so driven, and full of good ideas. He is like the petrol while I am the brakes. Rather than interrupting my dreams, he made me see that they are more than possible and his enthusiasm and confidence are impossibly contagious. One Friday night we decided to check out a new vegetarian restaurant and he made a reservation for 8pm. At 7:50, we were still running around Shibuya finishing some errands, and all the while he appeared to be acting rather out of character. I was impatient to make it to the

she found love in Japan

A STUNNING

only still figures in Shibuya as everyone else dashed around us and continued with their business. I didn’t hesitate for one second to say ‘yes.’ All this happened within seven months of us meeting on the boat for the first time, and while my usual reaction to such whirlwind romances has been to be sceptical and full of doubt in the past, I have learned never to judge other’s relationships, as I have experienced the power of a connection that I would never have believed in. I have come to see that the perfect relationship is one that does not get in the way of your dreams, but rather helps you to find them and then BAB encourages you to pursue them together. Being A Broad August 2009

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