A view of some fields across the street from Miyazaki University (Or Miyadai, for short)
One of the biggest differences about Miyazaki is the amount of space here. While houses are still fairly close together, things are nowhere near as crammed as they were in the major cities of the Kansai region. Unfortunately, this also means that transportation isn't quite as convenient. Where in Kobe you could catch the subway every five minutes by going underground to a stop a hop, skip, and a jump away from where you were staying, Miyazaki's trains come about once every hour, and the closest train station to Miyazaki University is about a half hour walk away. (Maybe two miles or so)
Because of this, a lot of students have bicycles. Because driver's licenses are pretty expensive here, and also because the tests are pretty hard, those who can afford them purchase motor-scooters if the distance is too far for bicycles, or just 'cause riding a Vespa-look-alike around town is way classier than having a bike.
A Bicycle Parking lot near the Minami Miyazaki (South Miyazaki) Train Station
Because of this, a lot of students have bicycles. Because driver's licenses are pretty expensive here, and also because the tests are pretty hard, those who can afford them purchase motor-scooters if the distance is too far for bicycles, or just 'cause riding a Vespa-look-alike around town is way classier than having a bike.
A Bicycle Parking lot near the Minami Miyazaki (South Miyazaki) Train Station
Miyazaki isn't as super-rural as I was led to believe it was, though. Miyazaki City itself is probably comparable to the Olympia-Lacey area in size, I'd say, with about as many people and the same-ish amount of stuff going on. Miyazaki, like Olympia, is also a port town, but with nowhere near the same kind of activity as Seattle or Kobe. Miyazaki does have a sports center where teams comes to practice before the official season starts, but aside from that, their biggest attraction seems to be their famous governor, who used to be part of a comedy troupe of some sort.
The Giants Team Store, in Miyazaki Proper
The Giants Team Store, in Miyazaki Proper
Sonomanma Higashi, the current governor of Miyazaki Prefecture
Although he's only been the governor of Miyazaki prefecture for less than a year, his image is pretty much unavoidable in this area. Where Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto have omiyage (souvenirs) featuring their famous landmarks and foods, Miyazaki has little key chains of this guy. Supposedly, he's helped to vastly improve Miyazaki's tourist activity, whose biggest claims to fame in the past were it's chickens, mangoes, and hyuganatsu (a kind of yellow, citrusy fruit) In Miyazaki's defense, however, most places we've visited have also had a famous food dish or dessert of some sort, so Miyazaki being famous for it's produce it's super odd. Kobe of course has their Kobe beef, for example. One of Miyazaki's characteristic dishes if Chicken Nanban, which Jillian has also written about and photographed at her blog here.
To my delight, Jillian was definitely right about people being friendlier here. A stereotype I'd often heard about Japan was that I'd have an easier time communicating in the big cities, where the more rural areas would prove to be much more difficult. While more people in the larger cities probably do speak and understand English, part of my being here is also to practice and learn more Japanese. When to communicate with people in Japanese in Kansai, I often felt rushed or hurried, like they would rather I just spoke in English so we could move on already. In Miyazaki, however, people seem to be much more laid back and patient, which I really appreciate. There is also, of course, the occasion where the person I'm speaking to might not know any English at all, so my stumbling along in Japanese becomes necessary. It's a great experience, though!
I think that the area being less crowded in Miyazaki also contributes to there being less stress here as well. Kibana, the suburb-like area where the University is, has few businesses aside from the Kurashikan, (who has the grocery monopoly in the area) Gespa (for Pachinko, Slots, Billiards, and other gaming) and the post office. Interestingly enough, the post office in Japan isn't just for mail, but also usually has an ATM machine. You can also pay some of your bills at the post office, so it's a really nice one-stop kind of place. There's also a 7-11 across the street from the college, as well as a video store nearby.
The neighborhood around the Kibana-Eki (Kibana Train Station)
In a lot of ways, coming to Miyazaki was a huge relief. Not only was there now a place where I could settle for a little while, but the environment was just so much more hospitable as well. No more rushing around, fighting to a seat on the train, only to be squeezed in like a sardine once it started to get really full. The air here was so much clearer than Osaka's, and I was no longer subject to the sensory overload of colors, light and sound that was typical on nearly every Osaka street. Also, having a place to finally put my luggage down for more than just a few days was also really nice. Unfortunately, I'd made the beginner's mistake of over-packing a bit, and I'd even brought an extra suitcase full of holiday gifts from our respective families for Jillian and her friends. Lugging around my three and Jillian's two suitcases all over Kansai had been exhausting, let alone having to worry about where to put them once we got onto the already over-stuffed public transportation we were using.
There's plenty of testaments about how "chill" Miyazaki is that you can find just walking around. One of the biggest shocks to me was the produce stands on the road like this one:
A vegetable stand across the street from the college
To my delight, Jillian was definitely right about people being friendlier here. A stereotype I'd often heard about Japan was that I'd have an easier time communicating in the big cities, where the more rural areas would prove to be much more difficult. While more people in the larger cities probably do speak and understand English, part of my being here is also to practice and learn more Japanese. When to communicate with people in Japanese in Kansai, I often felt rushed or hurried, like they would rather I just spoke in English so we could move on already. In Miyazaki, however, people seem to be much more laid back and patient, which I really appreciate. There is also, of course, the occasion where the person I'm speaking to might not know any English at all, so my stumbling along in Japanese becomes necessary. It's a great experience, though!
I think that the area being less crowded in Miyazaki also contributes to there being less stress here as well. Kibana, the suburb-like area where the University is, has few businesses aside from the Kurashikan, (who has the grocery monopoly in the area) Gespa (for Pachinko, Slots, Billiards, and other gaming) and the post office. Interestingly enough, the post office in Japan isn't just for mail, but also usually has an ATM machine. You can also pay some of your bills at the post office, so it's a really nice one-stop kind of place. There's also a 7-11 across the street from the college, as well as a video store nearby.
The neighborhood around the Kibana-Eki (Kibana Train Station)
In a lot of ways, coming to Miyazaki was a huge relief. Not only was there now a place where I could settle for a little while, but the environment was just so much more hospitable as well. No more rushing around, fighting to a seat on the train, only to be squeezed in like a sardine once it started to get really full. The air here was so much clearer than Osaka's, and I was no longer subject to the sensory overload of colors, light and sound that was typical on nearly every Osaka street. Also, having a place to finally put my luggage down for more than just a few days was also really nice. Unfortunately, I'd made the beginner's mistake of over-packing a bit, and I'd even brought an extra suitcase full of holiday gifts from our respective families for Jillian and her friends. Lugging around my three and Jillian's two suitcases all over Kansai had been exhausting, let alone having to worry about where to put them once we got onto the already over-stuffed public transportation we were using.
There's plenty of testaments about how "chill" Miyazaki is that you can find just walking around. One of the biggest shocks to me was the produce stands on the road like this one:
A vegetable stand across the street from the college This little shop, which sells things like home-grown carrots, lettuce, and flowers, sells batches and clusters for about hyaku-en (100 yen, a little less than $1) a piece. The odd part is that the only time anyone is ever personing the stand is early in the morning, to stock it, and at sundown, to close it up. Essentially, you're just suppose to take what you want, and leave the money in a little jar near the entrance. It's not even a lock-box or anything like that, just an ordinary glass jar without a lid. If anyone wanted to, they could easily just walk in, take some stuff, (including all of the money) and walk out again, but people are so trusting here that that doesn't seem to be a problem at all) This isn't the only stand like it, either! There's one further down the road that sells tomatoes and oranges, and another on the other side of the school that sells some kind of radish, I think.
One of the things in Miyazaki I could definitely do without are the bugs. Luckily for me, the biggest and worst of them are currently hibernating since it's winter, but even now, Miyazaki has some of the biggest bugs I've ever seen. Sadly, (for you, not me) I haven't gotten close enough to take a really good picture of any yet, but outside there's some really big weaver spiders that make strange haphazard kind of webs, and inside the dorms, (shudder) there's cockroaches. I've never really been exposed to them before, but in Jillian's dorm, they're just a fact of life, I guess. Nobody seems terribly concerned about them, but I worry every time we use the kitchen that they're hiding somewhere close to our food, just waiting to pop out and visit. Another thing that bothers me here is the lack of ovens. Coming here, I'd hoped to cook some American-style dishes for Jill and her friends, but sadly there isn't an oven here, and most of the recipes I know or brought with me require one. It's not too huge of a loss, though, since some of the ingredients I would have wanted or needed are either absent or difficult to find, although there's usually a Japanese alternative that works nearly as well.
As close as I was comfortable getting to a spider here. (Their leg-span is roughly the side of your palm, excluding your fingers - If you're going to click on a picture, click on this one. It's scary up close!)
But! That's enough griping for now. There's plenty of time for that later! I'm still trying to catch up to how I wound up staying here for extra time, so I'll wrap this one up for now. Next time, Takachiho, and the visit with Satomi, Jillian's tutor, and Satomi's boyfriend, Yuuki. 'till next time!
One of the things in Miyazaki I could definitely do without are the bugs. Luckily for me, the biggest and worst of them are currently hibernating since it's winter, but even now, Miyazaki has some of the biggest bugs I've ever seen. Sadly, (for you, not me) I haven't gotten close enough to take a really good picture of any yet, but outside there's some really big weaver spiders that make strange haphazard kind of webs, and inside the dorms, (shudder) there's cockroaches. I've never really been exposed to them before, but in Jillian's dorm, they're just a fact of life, I guess. Nobody seems terribly concerned about them, but I worry every time we use the kitchen that they're hiding somewhere close to our food, just waiting to pop out and visit. Another thing that bothers me here is the lack of ovens. Coming here, I'd hoped to cook some American-style dishes for Jill and her friends, but sadly there isn't an oven here, and most of the recipes I know or brought with me require one. It's not too huge of a loss, though, since some of the ingredients I would have wanted or needed are either absent or difficult to find, although there's usually a Japanese alternative that works nearly as well.
As close as I was comfortable getting to a spider here. (Their leg-span is roughly the side of your palm, excluding your fingers - If you're going to click on a picture, click on this one. It's scary up close!)
But! That's enough griping for now. There's plenty of time for that later! I'm still trying to catch up to how I wound up staying here for extra time, so I'll wrap this one up for now. Next time, Takachiho, and the visit with Satomi, Jillian's tutor, and Satomi's boyfriend, Yuuki. 'till next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment