Diary of a Norwegian in Japan

Tsundoku

I have gotten better at not doing tsundoku. When I was younger I amassed hundreds of books but didn’t read them all. And even if I didn’t even plan on reading a book, I could not let go of it. That would be sacrilegious. It didn’t help that when I was studying at university, there was a £2 bookshop where every book was only £2. I dragged suitcases of books back home.

Enter the year 2016, I have finished university, and am planning on moving abroad (again). I’d read Marie Kondo’s book and cleaned out as best as I could the little room I was staying in. Now it was time to tackle my room at home.

I piled all my books on the bed.

(Not all, had already done a pre-konmari during a vacation so there was about 90 books atop my closet at the time)

I went from 304 to 124. It took a lot to get to that number. But it is as they say, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Last time I was home I got rid of even more books and have only about 40 left, but even now I look at the books left and think “I don’t need that one, nor that one…” so I am itching to go back and get rid of more.

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t stopped loving books. But I just want to surround myself with my favorites, the ones that truly “spark joy”.

When I used to hoard books, I also was very reluctant not to finish a book, it felt wrong somehow. So even when I didn’t really like it, I had to stick it out. And then of course, not get rid of it, stick it back on the shelf so I would have to look at it every day. And my tsundoku pile (or mountain more like) would never get smaller. The pile would haunt me, taunt me. I would feel bad, stress would pile on and it was frankly, tiring.

Now I am more comfortable to not finish a book if I find that I am just not that into it, and even to get rid of it (not throwing it in the trash of course).

Thus, my books don’t pile up anymore in impossible-to-finish piles. I might buy many books in a short amount of time, but I won’t get suffocated by the unread amount.

I guess it also helps that I am living in Japan where Japanese books are cheap (to me) but they take longer to finish so I mostly don’t overbuy, and foreign books are expensive so I won’t buy one unless I truly want it on my shelf.

This went on a long tangent it feels like. And my tsundoku pile isn’t getting smaller by going on tangents so I better get back to reading.

Summer vacation

Obon vacation came and went by in a flash. I wouldn’t have minded having another week or two.

I was supposed to go home this year, using my vacation days, and fly back to spend some quality time with my friends and family, but because of the pandemic these plans have been overturned and I’ve had to stay here. But I did get out of the house for a bit.

The first day was spent cleaning and organizing a bit in our stock closet, thanks to (finally) reading this manga by Yururi Mai, I wanted to turn out the whole apartment, but satisfied myself with the closet (for now).

I got this in December last year as I had just moved in with someone for the first time, but it took me until now to actually get to reading it.

Day 2 we went on a drive over to Gunma prefecture to see this beautiful old historic house, a dam, and to eat some himokawa udon (which I have found that I love!)

Day 3 I went on a date with my friend, and she let me drag her out to Daikanyama (where I had never been) to see a bookstore that according to a google search is one of the top 20 most beautiful in the world! It is called the Daikanyama T-site and it is spread over three connected buildings. They had a pretty big English selection too and the interior was gorgeous.

I took more videos than pictures unfortunately, one day I’ll have to make a video I think.

We also went to the Rikugien gardens for a nice (super hot) stroll.

Day 4 we celebrated a birthday with eel, cake, and fireworks.

Day 5 was spent just relaxing.

The last day, Sunday, we got up early and drove to the beach! I took my favorite novel with me, Jane Eyre, but it was too hot to do anything but cool off in the water. It was so hot that the glue must have melted because pages started coming out and I had to try and attach them with washitape when I got home.

It was a good little vacation, a breath of fresh air, before going back to work. Having gotten a day at the beach, I feel like summer is complete for me and that autumn is more than welcome to take its place. Dreaming of hot chocolates and scarves and sweaters and a chill in the air. Wrapping yourself in blankets and knitted socks. What a dream. A dream that feels oh so far away.

52-hertz whales 「52ヘルツのクジラたち」

I picked this up at the nearby Tsutaya, where they were having a summery display, but while this book is blue, fitting with the summery theme, it is anything but a light beach read.

What drew me to it was the cute cover and the interesting title. I bought it not knowing what it was about. It said something about a lonely whale on the cover, but quickly flipping through I deduced it would not be about a whale but actual people so I bought it.

Coming home I googled “52-hertz whale” and found out it is an actual whale. A whale of an unidentified species that calls at 52 hertz, while other whales call at around 10-30 hertz, so no one can hear its call and it remains alone. From this you might think that the book will be about lonely people and it was.

While not a very happy story throughout, you keep reading. You get invested. You want them to be happy, to find happiness. Not a light read or as easy-going as for example 「麦本三歩の好きなもの」but nonetheless a captivating read. I only cried once, I swear.

Neither we, nor the locals in the book, know much about her. It took me twenty pages to figure out her name. It is Kiko. But, her friends call her Kinako, the few she has at least. The opening line is:

明日の天気を訊くような軽い感じで、風俗やってたの？と言われた。
“So did you do sex work? I was told as lightly as if asking about tomorrow’s weather.”

She is having some work done to the house she just moved to, a house out in a small town where gossip is the local currency amongst the grandmas. We see that she is not very friendly, I wouldn’t go as far as to call her unfriendly, but she keeps to herself. And she might be harboring a lot of stress or anger or both. She wants to be left alone, to live quietly by herself. She thinks of someone called An, and we get the feeling they were close but something happened and she is torn up about it. Maybe that’s the reason she came to this place, to escape.

There is a sense of tragedy, that something terrible has occured, but the book keeps you in the dark, keeps you guessing. That is not to say it is all doom and gloom, you have some little sparkles here and there but the overall feeling is sad, lonely, searching for something.

While I loved the book and gave it 5 stars on goodreads, it can be quite a heavy book, emotionally, and so be warned.

A thing I learned from this book was about an old hiragana for ‘e’. It looks like this: ゑ

One of the character’s name is さちゑ. Since it looked like る, or looked like it was in there, I thought it was an old way to write “ru” or maybe a kanji for “ru”. I posted on my instagram story with “what the f is this?? A kanji?” (I know, my language is very lady-like), and kept reading her name as Sachiru.

Two people (a coworker and “my” japanese mom whom is actually my friend’s mom) were nice enough to school me in the history of old hiragana. So I learned that her name is not Sachiru but actually Sachie. The only reason I can think of for the author using this old-ass hiragana for that character’s name is only the fact that she (the character) is an old lady. Maybe there are other reasons, however they are not apparent to me.

Sayonara rainy season

Last night, the night going into August 1st, I lay awake and listened to the rain. It came on suddenly and furiously, the winds whipping it against the windows, hitting the ground sounding like hail. Looking outside I saw the world enveloped in rain. The humidity was almost suffocating, even the air was turning into water.

Waking up on August 1st I was greeted by the sun and blue skies. Any trace of the previous night’s rain gone. Last night was the rainy season wrapping itself up, presenting us with summer nicely tied in a bow to be opened on the first day of August.

It feels like the cicadas have spring to life overnight as well. An endless chorus of their chirping, blending into the background until you barely notice it, forgetting almost the source of the noise. The sound of summer.

I’ll admit it is bittersweet to say farewell. The rainy season isn’t all bad. I don’t mind a rain shower here and there, preferably at night with accompanying thunder, but constantly feeling wet and clammy gets tiring pretty quickly.

With summer incoming, while it does bring a certain lightness, brighter days, sunshine, and not to mention vacation, it also brings a heat like no other. As a viking I am not equipped to handle temperatures above 25 degrees celsius. Japanese summers bring temperatures well above 30 daily. Me and Japanese summers do not go hand in hand, but unfortunately we can’t skip them. I enjoy some summery things, but I am looking towards autumn to soothe me after what will surely be another sweltering summer.

I’m a book flasher

Early Friday morning, standing on the train on the way to work with a mocha in one hand and my phone in the other.

Looking around the train I spot someone reading a book, the same book that I’m also currently reading, but not at that exact moment of course as my hands are occupied and I am trying my best to remain standing. (The book was 店長がバカすぎて)

I want to reach out, tell that person that ‘hey, I’m reading that too!’, maybe we could talk about it. If I could’ve sat opposite them, whip out the same book, flash it around, then maybe our eyes would meet, recognition, maybe share a smile and a nod.

But as it is not possible on this packed train, I tweet about it and continue looking out the window and the scenery rushing by, disappointed that life is not like in the stories we read.

A sip of my mocha and time to get off the train, never to see that person again.

At least I still have my book.

The boss is too stupid (to function)

This is a Japanese novel I picked up on a day where I was pissed at my job and my company and the title caught my eye and resonated with my feelings so much that I had to get it.

The narrator is 28, works in a bookstore and starts the book with

いつも通りの長い長い店長の話に、いつもよりはるかに苛立っているのに気がついて、私は生理が近いことを思い出した。

Loosely translated (by me) to:

“The boss goes on and on as always and I notice that I am more annoyed than usual which reminds me my period is close.”

Which might have described me perfectly that day. It’s very relatable throughout and as an avid reader I loved to see the daily life at the bookstore. Seeing the interactions between the employees and the customers and how they are when their shift ends and they go home.

Each chapter deals with one thing that is stupid so it goes like:

1: The boss is stupid
2: Writers are stupid
3: The company president is stupid
4: The sales department is stupid
5: God is stupid (or gods as in customers are stupid)
6: In the end, I am stupid

You can feel the characters coming to life in this book. They are all real, flawed, human beings. No too perfect people here.

While it is not a mystery novel, it has a teeny tiny mystery towards the end which makes you want to read faster to get to the bottom of it. I was ready to throw the whole book out the window, but was luckily spared having to do that.

I really liked chapter 5, “God is stupid”, except it is not the god we would naturally think about. In English we say, “the customer is always right”, while in Japanese they say “the customer is God”. The different customers (gods) we meet in this chapter reminded me of my own time working in a couple of bookstores and the kind of people that would frequent them. Not all are bad, but not all are good either. As I do not necessarily believe the customer is always right, nor that they are gods, I believe I am not suited for a job dealing with customers, though I would love to work with books, either in the publishing industry, a bookstore, or maybe a library.

I really hope this gets translated so that more people can get the joy of reading this book. I loved every twist and turn and the little daily happenings that make up our lives.

Maybe I have to set out to translate it myself?

Will definitely recommend this book to everyone who loves books, daily life stories, maybe a bit pessimistic and easily annoyed people, and almost a surreal mystery springing forth between the pages.

Tone deaf but practicing the piano

I never had an ear for music. My grandfather, and now Teddy, tell me I am tone deaf. They may be right, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying listening to music, singing (bad) karaoke with my (very) close friends, and since December; learning piano.

I never learned any instruments as a kid. We did the recorder at school, but luckily only for a short time. I tried my hands at guitar but after spending 30 minutes trying to tune it and then failing at getting my fingers into the seemingly impossible positions described in the ‘guitar for beginners’ book, I put the guitar back in the closet where I found it.

Last year I saw a sign advertising trial lessons for piano at a local bookstore. For weeks I went past, reading it again and again, wondering, thinking. I could maybe? But my courage would always fail me. Until one day in November; I had made up my mind. I marched to the bookstore while making up all the possible scenarios on how the conversation would go in my head. I entered the store and went straight to-

the magazines. I am so bad at talking to and reaching out to strangers that I had to recharge after using all my energy on just getting to and into the bookstore. I circled around a bit, looking but not really looking at the different covers before I squared my shoulders and went to the register where an older man was working.

After stammering out in nervous Japanese about the sign and wanting to try, he tells me to hold on and goes to find the piano teacher that was holding a piano lesson in the back room of the bookstore. Great, I have to redo all I just did to another person. The teacher was lovely though, and we set a date for the trial lesson.

The trial lesson went great, and I’ve been going every Sunday for about 6 months. While I do not have any aspirations to be a great pianist, and while I might still be tone deaf, it’s a great pastime which I very much enjoy.

My first practices at home were done on my tablet, but after a couple of months I invested in a good, and not too expensive keyboard.

A farewell to spring flowers

Violets have long been my favourite flowers.

While the typical image of spring in Japan is that of the ever beautiful cherry blossoms, they only grace us with their presence for an instant. The flowers that greet you daily from every flowerbed winter throughout spring are the violets and pansies.

In front of every house, company, station; flowerbeds full of pansies and violets in every colour, a colourful blanket stretching across the city, prefecture, nation-wide.

My own balcony garden also consisted of these two. (And some orange daisies)

However, as spring was nearing its close, my little garden was devastaded by aphids. Too many to save my little flowers. I had to start over from scratch.

At the same time, the rain season rolled in, and with it hydrangeas took over. Everywhere you look there are pink, blue, and purple hudrangeas softening the blow of the gloomy weather.

The rain also seems to have taken away with it all the pansies and violets that used to cover the city. In their place, marigold and sunflowers are planted, yellow and orange to welcome in the summer and sun.

(There are a bunch of other flowers too but I do not know their names. I should invest in a flower dictionary.)

The season of violets have passed, at the home center where they had been so abundant earlier not a petal was left. The new season’s flowers are in and so my garden too must reflect this change. My marigold has yet to blossom for me, but the radiant yellow suns of the mini sunflowers have begun peeking out.

I wonder what changes autumn will bring?

Summer reading

For me, summer meant summer vacation, (we had two whole months), which meant lots of time for reading. Sitting outside in the garden or on a friend’s veranda or at the beach with a book in my hand enjoying life.

Now that I am working here in Japan I effectively have no summer vacation, but I have noticed that my appetite for reading has gone up considerably the last month and I am finishing books at an almost alarming rate (I am not complaining though).

Here in Japan it is mostly autumn that is closely associated with reading. They say 読書の秋 (dokusho no aki) which means something like “the autumn of reading”. They actually have this thing called 〇〇の秋 where you input a two-kanji compound word to reflect what autumn is about to you. So another popular one is 食欲の秋(shokuyoku no aki) which is “autumn appetite” as autumn vegetables are so delicious here so people spend a lot of the autumn just eating (and reading).

Anyways, for me it’s summer, so I guess it’d be 読書の夏　(dokusho no natsu) instead.

Because it hates me

Why isn’t the bus on time? Why can’t I find my pen? Why did my pansies have to get killed by aphids? The answer is; because they hate me. The bus hates me. The pen hates me. The aphids hate me.

I find myself thinking about this quote from the Dark Tower series by Stephen King a lot. I can’t remember which book, but it is after the fourth, I haven’t read longer than the fourth book in quite a few years as the fourth is my favorite, and the quote hasn’t come up at those times so either in the fifth, sixth or seventh book.
It isn’t anyhting deep in any way or if I remember correctly (which I surely don’t) significant to the plot even, but almost daily I have this quote appear in my mind.

So someone asks Roland, the main character, why the fire won’t catch, or why the wood won’t burn or something along those lines and Roland replies so matter-of-factly, that it is “because it hates us”.
As in, the fire hates them personally and thus is refusing to burn. And in the series, yes, it made sense, because it’s quite surreal at times, but that line has stuck with me for so many years. Out of 7 books, some pretty hefty ones, this is the only quote I remember. And I don’t even remember the context or what the situation was.

Anyway, somehow this reason always come up whenever something happens. Why is the wind so strong today making biking harder than it has to be? Because the wind hates me. Why did the opener tab thing on the can of peaches fall off? Because it hates me and doesn’t want me to eat the peaches. Why is it raining when I wanted to go to the park? Because it hates me. Obviously.

It’s so silly. Such a ridiculous reason for anything to ever happen, but it makes me laugh, and makes it easier to brush off these small, insignifiant obstacles that sometimes tries to throw you off in your daily life.

So live, laugh, love, pray, eat, all of that and remember; if something bad happens, it’s only because it hates you, so no use worrying about it.