Katei Houmon and Things That Annoyed Me This Week: Politicians, Cockroaches, and Motorcycles

Katei Houmon and Things That Annoyed Me This Week: Politicians, Cockroaches, and Motorcycles

Here's the Meritto shampoo I was talking about! It's been keeping my hair clean and fresh for half a year now! There was a day at junior high when I compared my name to the shampoo as a joke and the kids started calling me Meritto after that haha.

So back to the blog, the second week of school has begun for me, and this means it’s time for katei houmon, when all the teachers pay visits to the homes of each of the students in their homeroom class. (Also on a more exciting note, Taco Bell reopened in Tokyo, with people braving lines up to two hours to get some Mexican goodness. Mexican food is an extreme rarity in Japan, unfortunately). Apparently it's a very stressful time despite the visit lasting for only about ten minutes each. I'm sure it must be just as stressful for all the moms having to clean house and prepare tea and snacks for just a ten minute visit. My teachers said they weren't so much nervous as tired from making all those trips and visits. And they have to be all dressed up in full suits as opposed to their regular track suits and casual wear. Sounds like a lot of work for everyone, but then again that's what Japanese people do best.

Politicians, Cockroaches, and Motorcycles

Apparently April is also a season for elections in Japan. There are many events that occur at different times throughout the year that differ from country to country, for Japan the start of school in April and while taxes are in October if I recall correctly (I was so surprised to have to think about taxes in the fall. What could be better than taxes once a year? Twice! Who else gets to enjoy this?). In Japan, politicians promote themselves by driving around in vans with speakers blasting their name and to remember to vote for them on election day. Greeeeat. Thanks a lot guys. Here's what that looks like:

Also these boards get filled up with the pictures of each candidate and displayed around areas like stations:

I’ve seen a few political rallies around in the past two weeks, including one going on outside a supermarket of all places. I’ll be glad when its all over, cause I’m sick of seeing those vans drive around making all that noise. As someone out there so accurately put it:

Second on my list of annoying things this week: cockroaches. Ugh. I get shudders down my spine just thinking about it. THREE. I have already killed/discovered a total of THREE cockroaches in my apartment in less than two weeks. And in Japan, they come BIG and BROWN. And let's not forget FAST and RESILIENT. I'll spare you the picture. I remember the first time I found a cockroach in my apartment. I totally freaked out seeing it on my wall. I was so flustered and nauseated I had to ask my next door neighbor for help, and she emptied almost the entire can on it before it finally stopped scurrying around and died. Bless her soul. After that I invested in my own can of cockroach killer and have been battling them ever since. Unfortunately summer only makes it worse, but at least I know what to expect this time.

And lastly, motorcycles. In Japan motorcycles, mopeds, and bikes are popular modes of transportation. Now of course you think all Japanese people are quiet, polite, community-oriented people, and on the whole they are. But as with every society, there are those who like to stray from societal memes and color outside the lines. These include “yankee” boys, tough, too-cool-for-school boys who quit school after the mandatory nine years of education, then save up all their money to buy a motorcycle to go ride it around annoying everyone. This can mean late at night, or at any time of day. Once class was rudely interrupted by a motorcyclist last year. Apparently that’s the whole point of owning a noisy motorcycle - to make all the noise in the world. And I thought it was getting from point A to point B. Boy was I wrong. I guess it just wouldn't be fun otherwise. And here we have some fine yankee members of society:

So, what will annoy me in Japan next week? Who knows? There’s a lot. It’ll probably include rain, as it hasn't failed to rain every single week over the entire past year. Again, I’m prepared.

So bring it on.

As a final anecdote, what just happened a few seconds ago as I was writing this: The guy who just delivered my order of 10 pounds of Quaker oatmeal just asked if I go running and then told me with a smile that he sees me running around...I guess my sunglasses don't help me stay anonymous. I need a better secret identity...