I Fought The Law

I figure a year is a long time not to have at least one run in with the law, so let's talk about Japan's legal system! If you're been keeping up with the news of late, you've probably heard of how Japan is in the midst of transitioning to a citizen-juror system. That's right... up until now the Japanese have gotten away without the time-honored inconvenience that we Americans know as jury duty. (I actually think jury duty would be cool, but that's just me.)

First off, we should go over the court set-up since it's a little bit different from that of the U.S. If you look above, you can see the public prosecutor on the left and the defendant's attorney on the right, talk about showdown. In the back, the three professional judges in the middle are flanked by six citizen judges. When witnesses give testimony, you'll notice they sit facing the jurors (scary!) and not the general public.

Citizens jurors are reserved only for more heinous crimes so if you do have any legal problems you shouldn't have to deal with twelve jurors (hopefully). From what I gathered from an NHK documentary on the new system, citizen jurors are wary of being too lenient and usually end up being more harsh in their sentencing than the professional judges so watch out!

As a field trip, the law class went to Yokohama's regional courts and watched a few cases. It was a cool experience, but also kind of sad. The first case we saw was against a homeless man who rode in a taxicab without paying because he wanted someplace warm to stay. (Sidenote: Japanese cabs are really clean and comfortable so I can totally sympathize.) Another was against a woman who had illegally entered Japan and was working with a bogus visa/passport since what she could make working in Japan in a week added up to about what she could make in one or two months back home. It was actually her second or third(?) conviction for the same offense so the public prosecutor was pretty adamant (read: harsh) about getting it across that she would not be allowed in Japan again. Sigh.

On a second field trip with the law class, we met with a public prosecutor and got to talk to him a little bit about his job experience. I'd say the most amusing part was his story on how he decided on his career path... because he read a really cool manga where the lead character was a public prosecutor. All the more reason to stop by Book-Off more often I suppose- maybe I'll find my true calling.

The Tower of Learning

So I know I've been seriously out of touch the last few weeks, but I promise EXTRA posts before the end of 冬休み to make up for all the ones I missed. I wish I could say I've been doing some serious partying, but mostly it's just that I've been way too busy with homework and IUC stuff to write any posts. Even lunchtime isn't sacred... while it's certainly a time to relax and commiserate with my fellow Yalies, it usually ends up being a last ditch effort to finish all the afternoon homework and of course, communal napping.

Anyways, I thought I'd give a much needed introduction/tour of IUC. ご紹介いたします！！
First off, let's take a spin around the school's location which is awesome by any standards. The school's in the heart of Yokohama's modern area called Minato Mirai. Since I live closeby, I walk to school which affords me the opportunity to stroll through Queen's Square and Landmark Tower. When I first saw Landmark Tower, I thought it wasn't much more than an over-sized chess piece, but it has a legit claim to fame in that it is the tallest building in Japan at 970 feet.

(Haha, seriously? I know I'm prejudiced because my hometown boasts the Sears Tower, but 970 feet... that's it? Granted, building height has to be limited in Japan as a precaution against serious damage from earthquakes.)
Both buildings are trendy (read: expensive) shopping centers/office spaces, which are nice to stroll around after class~ there's quite possibly every store you would want to visit with everything from Build-A-Bear to a store that sells souvenirs from Osaka. (Remember, buying souvenirs (お土産）after going on a trip is key in Japanese culture... Why you would want to buy souvenirs from Osaka when visiting Yokohama? That kind of question is beyond the scope of this blog.)

The "school building" itself is actually a huge convention center and luxury hotel that happens to have office space. I'm no architecture major, but the spaceship-esque shape of Pacifico Yokohama is pretty interesting I think... It does make for longer walks between the elevators and classrooms due to the layout of the building, but it's nothing major.

As for the curriculum and the structure of classes, the first quarter everyone is split into morning and afternoon classes. The morning classes, which run from 10-12, cover advanced grammar and phrases. The material seems pretty redundant at first, but when it came time to have to call amazon about redelivering a package I had ordered, whoa- those phone conversations on how to call offices turned out to be really useful.

The afternoon classes focus on important themes in Japanese society like education, the manufacturing industry, working women, pop culture, etc. Second semester the textbooks and themes change, but the overall structure is the same. Ever quarter, there are exams. While students are not graded in the strictest sense, doing well on the exams helps the teachers gauge what classes to put you in (ie. with the kids who speak well or the ones that .... well, don't.) Any more questions on what IUC is all about, feel free to send me an email... after all, I worked so hard to figure out how to add the cool little button at the top that would link to my email.

Day Tripper

Speaking of outings, three weeks ago we had Yokohama Day! Basically, the students got to choose between three “courses” of going to an art museum, hiking, and yay! touring the KIRIN Beer Factory!! (Guess which I chose.)

1st stop: Yokohama Archives of History
Before the hops, yeast, and malt magic, we stopped by the Yokohama Archives of History. Of all the places I’ve been to in Japan, Yokohama has the longest history with foreigners (and probably the best-kept records of it.) It was pretty fascinating to see the early portraits of Commodore Perry. Some of them were pretty dead on, while others were… pretty unforgiving… both in their portrayal of wrinkles and incorporation of a few extra demonic features here and there. (For more cool photos that visualize the history of Yokohama and Japan in general, check out here.)


The exhibit on how much the city has changed topographically was what I found most interesting. Specifically, I was a little surprised when I found out that where I currently live, Pacifico Yokohama, and basically all around Minato Mirai 21 was once, in fact, water. That’s right, good old H2O. Apparently, a good chunk of the current coastline of Yokohama is actually reclaimed land. I suppose I shouldn’t find this surprising since Japan is an island nation and therefore in a tricky spot when it comes to acquiring more land. However, perhaps because I’ve seen what happens when reclaimed land gets … well, reclaimed by nature (think: Venice and Mexico City), I was fascinated by this little info nugget and had to pick up an old map of Yokohama in the gift shop so I can point out where my apartment would be floating if I magically went back in time to Edo Japan.

2nd Stop: 大さん橋 (OSANBASHI PIER)
We stopped by here for lunch. I’m not all that into architecture, but the unusual setup was fairly interesting. I think it’s post-earthquake inspired, but judge for yourself. It’s a nice lunch spot given the great views of Minato Mirai it affords, only mind the strong winds... my chopsticks nearly got blown away.
Final stop: KIRIN beer factory
The beer factory is a short train ride out of Yokohama. When we arrived, we were greeted by several images of this… fluffy, marshmallow-esque image in the lobby. It’s KIRIN’s mascot for environmental issues called エコジロ (ECOJIRO). I theorize that he’s made from the froth produced by brewers yeast, but really who knows? He points out all sorts of interesting facts like how the average beer bottle lasts 8 years (about 24 trips to/from brewery to customers) AND even where to find the bathroom.

Apparently, he’s kind of a big deal. He’s got his own homepage and a series of online books.

Now, if the little crème puff toilet guy wasn’t puzzling, the random Egyptian-façade decor of the lobby was. I figured it had something to do with the history of beer and after consulting my friend Wiki, I found out that beer does indeed go as far back as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

How to Serve a Perfect Mug of Beer
1. Pour beer in from approx 30cm above the glass, making sure to pour slowly at first and then faster to fill the glass with froth.
2. Start pouring beer slowly again when you’ve got a 50:50 ratio between froth and body. Keep pouring until the froth reaches a centimeter above the glass.
3. Wait for a bit and then pour more beer *slowly until the froth reaches just a centimeter and a half above the rim. You should end up with a 70:30 ratio of beer to froth.
4. Enjoy perfection in all its glory.

Frankly, I thought it was too much of a hassle to wait that long to drink my beer… haha, just kidding- I poured mine before the demo, so sadly missed out. However, the guy who tried it swore it tasted better, so I think I’ll have to try it sometime in the future.

SOS (Rescue Me)

Today's the big day, that is to say, my last day of freedom before IUC starts. Having read a previous Light fellow's blog on the importance of the first two weeks which basically consist of around-the-clock placements exams, I have been sufficiently scared into studying like crazy at the last minute. Don't get me wrong, I made sure to brush up on my Japanese during the summer... just not to the point that I feel I can confidently walk into Pacifico Yokohama... yet. I still have a few more hours and if anything, studying at the last minute is a confidence booster, right? Though I recall I had no problem tackling the placement exams for PII, this time the stakes are a bit higher. IUC is like the Olympics of Japanese studying... or at least, the qualifying events. Unlike my first yearlong stay in Japan in high school, I want to make sure I don't spend the majority of my time reading Doraemon comics and helping friends with their English. つまり、がんばります。絶対負けたくない！

My first few days here in Yokohama have been going well so far. I had no problems getting from the airport to my apartment courtesy of the airport limousine and a taxi. I have to admit I was kind of dismayed by the sparseness of the apartment, but a quick stop to a hyaku-en shoppu and some posters/pictures that I brought from home really spruced up the place. While I had purposely arrived early to make sure I was over jetlag by the time school starts and more importantly, to register with the Japanese govt. as a foreign national.... I uhhm kind of had a bit of trouble figuring out where to go to register also how to get there. By the time I mastered googlemaps (which btw is awesome- I can literally see the street I'm living on!!) the office was already closed for the weekend.... Win some, lose some.

As a consolation, I went to Shinjuku Friday night to meet up with some Yalies!! It'd been waaaay too long since I'd been in Tokyo and it's just as crazy as I remember. We went to a cool gyoza place for dinner and then ended the night with karaoke. Great night all around, though I was a little sketched out by how crowded the midnight train from Tokyo back to Yokohama was. I was definitely ready to karate chop some salarymen who were getting too close for comfort. %!^#(>_<)*#!@