Tokyo University Library

Although I have been griping about the library here to many individuals, I thought I would vent my frustration in a more systematic way. Tokyo University is supposedly the top ranked university in Japan, but its library is totally medieval. By way of comparison, the labrynthine library in Name of the Rose is more rationally organized and accessible. Although the books are no longer actually chained to the desk, they might as well be. At UC Irvine, I can check out an unlimited number of books for an essentially unlimited amount of time. There are due dates, but I can renew all my books online with one click, until someone else needs a books and recalls it online. The main problem with the Tokyo University library is that it is so decentralized. Each library has its own esoteric organizational system, rules, location, etc. Let me go over the ones I use most.

The Main Library.
As with all libraries here, you need a card to get in, to keep the riffraff out. The books are on the third and fourth floor and the copy machines on the first. No free reshelving service here. If you want to copy a book, you have to go up and find it, take it down to the first floor, copy it and then take it back up yourself. Needless to say, a lot of the books are miss-shelved. They also have a plaster cast of Chopin's hand in a glass case. Creepy. I still haven't totally figured out the call numbers. Some books have two call numbers on the spine and are arranged according to both? Not sure. You can keep five books out for two weeks? If the book you are looking for starts with a letter instead of just numerals, it isn't on the third or fourth floor, it is in the closed stacks.

The Closed Stacks.
Back on the first floor, around the stairs, is the secret entrance to the closed stacks. You have to get your ID entered into the computer again. You also have to put all your stuff into a coin locker since you can only take a few papers and a pencil in the the Closed Stacks. These are not particularly valuable books, just anything older than maybe 10 years, bound periodicals, etc. If you want to copy anything you have to fill out a copy request form and put it in a box, and then copy your books. I was a bit amazed at this and tried to ask another student why and he seemed to think it was normal. I mean, since no one sees the copy request form until after you copy the books, what is the point? He said because you aren't supposed to copy entire journals or something due to copyright, but if you were doing something illegal, why would you write that down? The closed stacks have low ceiling and metal stairs. I think there are six floors to the libraries four. The basement seriously feels like the 7 and 1/2 floor in "Being John Malkovich," there are long sections where I can't walk upright. You can check out three books. So I can't get the entire four volume annotated edition of Ennin's Diary.

The Indian Philosophy Department
This is basically a graduate school department, with floor to ceiling bookshelves that have call numbers. The books are in the main office and one of the seminar rooms. It's almost like having the East Asian section of the library in your office and if someone needed something they had to come and get it from you. Hassle for you and them. To check something out you fill out a piece of paper with your information and ID no. It's just as well that it isn't computerized since I had one of their books out for several months past the due date. What happened was that I checked it out right before the semester ended and then everyone left on vacation without my realizing it. I tried to return the book five times, but no one was there for the next month and a half. Sometimes they are gone at lunch time too, or you can't get into one room or the other since they are having a seminar in there. Sometimes the rooms are open and anyone could just walk off with whatever they wanted. You can check books out for two weeks or a month depending on the configuration of the stars at the time you check out the book.

Religious Studies Department.
This is down the hall from the Indian Philosophy Dept. Basically the same set up, but there is a secretary who finds the books for you.

The Japanese Literature Department.
On the same floor as the above, but seems to mostly have bound periodicals. Of course, you aren't allowed to check them out, but you leave your ID there and go down to the basement and search for the copy room. It's all the way past the bins of rocks and skulls outside the archeology department. There you can copy the articles and bring them back and get your ID. Of course, every copy room requires a different copy card, so I now have at least four different copy cards.

The Japanese Literature and Culture Library
Sounds exactly like the other one right, and it is in the same building. But to get there you have to go out on the first floor, come in a different entrance and walk up the fourth floor. I am not sure how I found it in the first place. I have been there twice, but both times it turns out the books I needed were actually somewhere else. Needless to say, it has taken a lot of wandering around to find all of these places.

The East-West Research Center Library
This has a lot of the English books on East Asian studies which I need to look at, but unfortunately it has been under earthquake renovation since I came and the books are all in boxes. I walked over there once and there were workmen coming in and out.

Building No. 3 Library
This building is conveniently hidden, like many essential services at the University of Tokyo, underground. The entrance is across the courtyard from the main library. It is essentially an overflow library for some of the other libraries listed above. So each library has a few rows of shelves, each with their own call number system, plus some other random categories. You also have to put your bag in a locker and get in with your library card, but at least you can check things out for a month.

Historiographical Institute Library
Five stories of books, plus some cool old manuscripts, picture collections, scrolls, etc. Although I haven't had to use any of this, it is cool that they have it. This is in the same building as my office and I am affiliated, so I can have books out forever, or until they have to close the library for earthquake renovations and we get kicked out of our office, which is happening in any time now. Also, although I never had to return them, I couldn't really go anywhere with them either, since you aren't allowed to take them out of the building. So I had to read them there. Since I am only on campus once or twice a week, that is kind of a hassle.

Komaba General Education Campus Library
This library has a pretty good collection of English books and is a nice, new building. The only problem is that it is on a satellite campus that is on the other side of Tokyo. I have had to go there a few times and have a list of books I need to get from there now. Our friends actually live right behind the campus, but we are usually only there on a Sunday or holiday.

Finally, in all of the libraries except the main one, there is a system where when you take a book off the shelf, you put a little plastic book shaped marker as a place holder. In the spine, there is a place to put a special slip of paper where you write the title and call number and your name. In the age of computers, I have no idea why this is necessary. But it makes a lot of sense in the medieval ages. (At UCI, they plan on having some percentage of the books in circulation at any given time so that they have room for them all.) I am always forgetting to put them in and then on your way out the librarians ask, "Did you put the fake book thing in?" and then I have to go back and find the spot again, and fill out the paper, etc. Stupid foreigner.

There are many other libraries I haven't been too yet, like the History Dept., the Law Dept., which is notorious for their disdain for outside users, the Economics, etc, etc. You get the picture. Although I am pretty much a daytime user and this doesn't bother me, I also hear that the hours are really limited, more like the bank or post office than a library.
One of the reasons that Harvard is the best university in the US, is that they have the best library. They take that as a matter of course. In Japan, where they care more about Harvard than we do, you would expect there would be some similar form of accountability. I hear that at Waseda (the second best college in Japan), the library is easy to use. At least all the books are in one place. Hmmm.

Date with G.

So, Miriam has been needing one on one time with her mom, so I spent Saturday with my favorite littlest daughter, G. Although she was crying and screaming when Bekah and M left, (this is the girl whose whole point in life is not to be left out) and I even had to hold her in so she didn't rush out after them. Eventually, she did, but they heard her coming and took the stairs. Anyway, we went to the other salvation army we hadn't been too. Not as much stuff, but lots of clothes, kimonos, furoshiki, etc. I couldn't really size the kimonos without a real person, so although I spent a bunch of time looking through them, I just bought a bunch of furoshiki and some scraps of cool printed fabric. And a international adapter set for a mac laptop. On the way home we stopped at the park, which is G's favorite thing to do. She was literally jumping for joy as she ran between the slide, which was about twenty feet high and shaped like a rocket, and the swings, and climbing structures. When we got home, she admitted she had had a fun time. Here's some picts of the furoshiki. (If anyone wants a kimono, let me know, we could find you something pretty cool for under $50. I am not sure what the measurements are, but I could figure it out.)

Inamuragasaki 2

So I have been jonesing to surf, but my surf buddies are all busy for the next little bit. There was a little storm swell this week, so I decided to try taking the train out to Kamakura. I was checking the surf report all week and trying to figure out if the wind and swell direction were both going to be working anytime. I finally rediscovered the surf forecast site magic seaweed, which I highly recommend, especially for Japan, which is pretty tricky. The wind is often coming from either the north or south and the coast curves in and out and so different places will be onshore, or offshore, depending on which way they're facing. Anyway, it looked like the wind was going to be okay, but only till 9 or so. So I went to bed around 11, but didn't fall asleep until 12-1 sometime. Since I surf so seldom, I get all excited about going and can't sleep. Nowadays, the problem just feeds off itself and I stay up worrying about whether or not I am going to be able to fall asleep. I set the alarm for 4:50, but got up at 4:20. I couldn't go back to sleep so I just got up, check if there was an earlier train and left. I figure you're going to get one or two REM cycles and the rest it doesn't really matter if you're actually asleep. It was totally light outside and there were actually quite a few people out and about as I walked to the station. I got to the spot at 6:10 and saw some surfers heading home. Japanese surfers take advantage of the fact that there is no daylight savings. I overheard some saying that it was best at about 4:30. It was waist to chest high, and kind of a long time between sets, and weak. The fish is kind of good board for these conditions. A long board would be even better, but I couldn't have taken in on the train. It was a beautiful clear day. There were lots of hawks. The water and air were mid 60's. I surfed for a 2 hours and some. When the outside got unbearably inconsistent and small, I paddled over and surfed some shore break, which was fun. By the time I came in the waves were mostly gone and the onshore wind was just starting to pick up. I walked around the town a little bit afterwards, checked out a small temple from the 13th c. and got home by 11:15. Fun day.

Okutama

So I went camping with the boy scouts. We went back out to the area where Mt. Mitake is. We did a long hike along the river, but it was mostly high above the river and not really right next to it like I have hoped. On the way home, we stopped at an onsen on the way home, and drove up to check out some waterfalls. I wasn't expecting too much, but each one was totally neat and different. I forgot my camera, but someone had a cell phone and I will post the picts as soons as he sends them to me. Since we'd had some heavy rain earlier in the week, the waterfalls were gushing. If it hadn't been raining and cold, I would have gotten in. No one else had been there before, so everyone was pretty stoked to find something so cool so close to Tokyo.

Golden Week at Tanzawa, Choshi

So here is my version of this hike we went on. On Monday evening we all went out to Takao and spent the night. Early the next morning, we left and took a train and then a bus to the trailhead. The whole first day was uphill through sugi (japanese cedar?) but dry grass and leafless trees when we got higher. I was hoping it would be greener, but the snow had just melted a few weeks before and so it still looked like winter. The first summit, To no dake, was packed with people. Here is a picture of the hut.Then we kept hiking up and down to Mt. Tanzawa, where we spent the night. We got there at about three. It was also crowded, the most annoying group being a bunch of old guys smoking and drinking. The average age of hikers here is well over fifty, including a bunch of older women. Since you can stay in huts, and get meals, it makes it all way more accessible for old people and they have the most time. We hung out and read some mountaineering books by this guy who started doing it when climbing gear meant a rope and pocketful of rocks and string. Made our whole expedition seem a little wimpy. Dinner was surprisingly good, and it was lights out at 8:30, but I still didn't get a lot of sleep because of the snoring. Then we were up at four because of the bento making. So by five we just decided to start hiking and have breakfast on the trail. About and hour later found a little wood platform with a fantastic view of Fuji and ate breakfast there. This early morning was pretty magical, since there was no one else on the trail really, and it was cool and clear, and the views were great. Below are two pictures from the morning.



After the second peak, there was a long, gradual descent down a ridge. We reached the next little town, which was way less charming than I had hoped, but did have ice cream and a 700 year old sugi at the shrine. Officially designated as one of the hundred famous trees of Kanagawa prefecture. Kind of like the hundred famous trees of Oahu, or Orange County.

Walked down the river and took a look. I was very tempted to get in, except that the sign says "Dangerous, Do Not Enter" in characters about five feet high. Could it be because it was right below a dam? Still, the dam wasn't that big and they had a siren for when they were letting excess water through. (The dam looked like it had a couple really nice places to jump from as well, once you'd found a way past the barbed wire fence.)
Had to wait an hour for the bus, which we rode for five miles to another tiny village, and then wait another fifty minutes there for the next bus and then take a train back to Takao. Took about three hours for a 30 miles trip. Bus to go get the kids, get on the train back to Tokyo. All of these multiple transfers on public transportation add up and it's kind of a hassle, but mostly its pretty easy being carless in Tokyo. I did talk to another hiker and get some beta about some streams with multiple waterfalls and places to swim. It isn't really accessible by train, so I just need to convince some friends with cars to come with.
Then on Saturday morning we went surfing in Chiba. I found a glass ball on the beach. Just sitting there in a pile of seaweed on a pretty crowded beach. Mostly they were down farther, but they had all driven by. Everyone just drives and parks on the beach there. We drove by it and I saw it and had them stop the car and ran out and got it.
The waves were maybe head high to a few feet overhead on the sets. The wind died down a little and the tide came up, so by the time we had to leave it was a lot better. Mostly they closed out pretty quick but I caught a few that I was able to stay ahead for a while and one really nice one that I actually made it out the other end. So it's been a pretty fun golden week so far. Monday we have a barbecue at some ward members house. Tuesday there is straw crafts and taiko at the traditional house museum with a bunch of friends.