Unlike Bestor’s Neighborhood Tokyo, I do not know where the neighborhood I live in begin or end—or even the name of the area. However, there are a few things I noticed as I bike to school each day. Like many other neighborhoods, this quiet vicinity also has malls and markets, parks and shrines but one thing that never cease to surprise me is how early stores close on weekdays. Sometimes while checking ingredients for tomorrow’s meals and realized I’m missing an ingredient or two, I would head to Sanko but only to find no bicycles or lights to indicate that it is still open. It is quite ironic since by now I got the impression that everything is supposed to be convenient for people in Japan, hence vending machines and 7/11.
But this neighborhood isn’t just about convenience but also safety. There are safety signs almost everywhere—from speed limit to warnings about drowning in the river. They’re all indicators of how a person can contribute to helping the community by following the signs.
While web-surfing, I stumbled upon a unique website about “thE qUirKY jaPan.” The author of this website has an interesting post about “useless people” in Japan—which are people holding unproductive jobs—and I found two of the jobs that fit the description here in Hirakata: the crossing guard and the University gate guard. Coming from the author’s point-of-view I can understand that these jobs aren’t beneficial to the economy and we can go on with our days like every day without someone waving and greeting us, and cars can enter and leave the Komat’su parking lot without any help from guards, but they are not entirely “useless”. Aside from following the job description, every now and then these guards become a 3-seconds photographer.
As an outsider with few words I can only cover the surface of this neighborhood while the heart of Hirakata is left untouched. But even with a million words, the heart is meant to be felt not described.
How can you find out where your neighborhood begins and ends? And it seems you should know the name of your neighborhood at least. Don't you know your own address?
ReplyDeleteYou have some interesting observations but overall you are dealing with too many subjects. It would be interesting to know why stores close so early and how other people deal with these problems.
Why are crossing guards and security guards quirky and/or useless? Perhaps you haven't seen enough of these people to know what their jobs are really like. Believe me, for example, if the security guards were useless, the university wouldn't be paying for them. Beware of sites with names like Quirky Japan. (I couldn't get the site to load from your link, by the way.)
Why is your font different for every paragraph?