Fall is Here; the air cools and truths reveal.

Well, it's officially mid-October. Time flies. Finally some relief from that awful humid weather. This is my favorite season in Japan. I like the smell of the air; a light crispness that seems to to drift and get cooler as the days get shorter. I don't know why I like it; I guess because it's comfortable.

During this time,  I fall in love with Japan again. Lately I've been reminiscing on my travels in this country: the beautiful temples and nature, the tori gates, the colors, the beautiful traditions, the people. It's easy to become complacent and take it all for granted. But in the fall, I always remember.

I stumbled onto a youtube video yesterday that really hit home. But let me give you a little background first. When I was about 17 or 18 years old, a senior in high school I think it was, I used to be really into trance and house music. Don't ask me why I was so into it, not that I can't appreciate a good trance song now from time to time (and from lounge to club), but back then I WAS trance and house. Anyway, I remember getting hold of an album, I think it was a hardhouse series or something by DJ Quicksilver (I recently rediscovered the name), and it had this one particular song that had an "asian" instrument sound to it. At the time, I thought nothing of it other than that I really liked the song. The years passed-- college, work, and moving to Japan. The mp3 was forever lost as was the old scratched CD I had burned it onto. I never heard it again.

It wasn't until last year that I was reintroduced to that melody I heard so many years ago. Apparently, the melody was composed by a very famous Japanese musician named Sakamoto Ryuichi. The melody, which is from a song called "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" was in a very famous WWII movie about Japan. The melody, which is not only catchy but quite heartfelt has been sampled numerous times over the years in various electronic remixes (it lends itself quite well to it actually).

Ironically enough when I did re-encounter that song about a year ago, I was only able to recognize it, as I heard it only in passing either on television, radio or something or other, and I was able to get a hold of neither the artist name nor song title. I remember feeling frustrated as I googled a number of random entries in hopes of finding it, but unfortunately at no avail.

And then finally, yesterday, I found it. I was so ecstatic, I created a playlist on youtube with about 6 or 7 different remixed versions of that same song, and I listened to it continuously for about 3 hours. You might think I'm psychotic, but to be honest, it felt like a sort of reunion with my past. Except that, now,  I had much more feeling, meaning and emotion attached to it. Now knowing its origins and being that I have lived here in Japan for some time now, I understand the song in a much more profound way. The notes, the pattern, the simple and delicate beginning, and its more powerful yet reserved build-up and conclusion speaks "Japan" to me. I listen to it and I think of all the beautiful things and people I have met. The way of life. Even its overwhelmingly manic preoccupation with purpose, function, and detail--all of it, intricately conveyed in this song.

For those of you finally curious to listen to it, here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Stupid sun. And humidity. Go jump off a cliff. Seriously.

I'm so tired of the heat. Really. It's like you wake up and you're ok because you've left the AC on all night at 23-25 degrees and it's only moderately [sufficiently] cool in your apt. But then...you open your front door, and by the time you make it out of your building, sweat is creeping up on your brow and under your arms...ugh!
If you've ever lived in Tokyo or been here during the months of July, August, and half of September, you know what I'm talking about. By the time August is in, the outdoors are living sauna, left on 24 hours a day. Walking outside is comparable to swimming in hot water, with the sun glaring down at you the whole time, and you've got these really uncomfortable clothes that seem to stick to you everywhere. And let me point out the fact that in Japan, all work attire is business formal, so let's think about this--bottom and blazer, and shirt + 35 degree weather. I'm sweating just thinking about it. Forget blow drying your hair, straightening it, forget make up, or looking done up--it's hopeless. The second you set foot outside, hair has become a fro, and make-up has begun to slowly smudge and drip down your face. You end up looking like a raccoon, or a clown, or Joker...well you get the point. And forget drinking water, because by the time you've finished drinking that 500ml bottle, you've about sweat out the same amount. Hopeless.
And it's funny in Japan-- depending on how big or how major the nearest train station is or whether it is a subway or JR line, you may be lucky enough to experience a little relief in the station on the platform. If not, the conditions are about double the heat of the outside, with the occasional fan blowing hot air at you [and all the dust and dirt from the tracks]. And then comes the train. You're thinking YAY, the trains have AC...but wait, you're part of the morning commute...which means you are part of the 10 million people that commute on the trains every morning...which means...sardine packed subway cars!! So many people packed into each car that all you see from the outside are the breath stains of condensation on the windows and people's bodies plastered onto the doors of the cars. You're lucky if you can inhale your own breath!
Hopeless.
Then you get to work, and people are looking at you as if you've you been out drinking all night [or came down with the flu]: You're drenched in sweat, you're clothes are wrinkled and messy, your hair is sticking up everywhere, you're face is pale [or really red], you stink [despite the fact you showered 20 minutes ago], and your face looks like you put on your make-up with a hair brush in the dark.
Hopeless.
How am I supposed to look like a human being in this weather?!