Stories from Sendai, Issue #8, April 8, 2002

We take a break from overloading everyone with a long letter and many pictures this month.  The end of March and beginning of April was pretty restful, although we do have a few events to tell of.  We had our school's Spring Break between March 21-31.  With ten days off, we did little else but sleep late, go out to eat, play on the computer and watch TV.  Boring, huh?  But really, we are so busy the rest of the time, who wants to fill up every vacation with more busy-ness?

One of the highlights of the break was a small Easter Sunrise service held at the chapel across the street from the Dai-Kannon (see January 2002 SfS).  One of the ministers, Barry, organized the gathering, and at 5:15 (!! - sunrise comes early here) we were all shivering but ready to go.  Some of the people later said they found the presence of the huge Buddha statue overlooking our service distracting and/or disturbing. But we just tried to focus on why WE were there, and let God take care of the rest. Some early morning Japanese joggers looked our way, and that was somewhat encouraging. Afterward, we had hot cross buns (which had to be served cold - no ovens in the parking lot) and coffee/tea/cocoa.  A group of us ended up at the Royal Host family restaurant for pancakes as well. When all was said and done, we went home and decided to take a nap -- at 10 am!

However, the big news of the month began that week as well.  A friend of ours finished her contract with another school here and was offering her car to anyone who would pay the shaken and transfer costs.  Shaken are taxes that come due three years after a new car is purchased, then every two years after that until the car is ten years old, and then the taxes must be paid every year.  It costs between $350 and $1000, and the car must be brought up to code beforehand.  Many people will give away their cars or junk them when they get to be too old to be worth the shaken expenses.  This seems to be the Japanese government's answer to keeping old, inefficient cars off the road.

We decided to go for it, especially since having a car would mean more freedom, even if it were not more economical.  Well, Barbara took over the job of getting everything taken care of, since we determined she would probably be the one driving it the most.  First step:  getting a parking place.  Our apartment building does not have parking included with the rent.  And Japanese law requires that to own a car, one must have a legal parking space.  Makes sense. So Barbara asked our secretary to research where people in our building parked.  The lot was a couple short blocks over, but a nice down payment and monthly fee needed to be paid.  In the meantime, the person who was giving us the car agreed to have the car pre-screened to see what would need to be done, and how much shaken would cost.

To our great surprise, more than a few repairs were needed (about $1200) and the shaken had to be paid above and beyond that ($600).  The car was 11 years old, and needed a new muffler, shocks, and blinker.  On top of that, the shaken would only be good for one year, since the car was more than 10 years old.  We were starting to feel a little shaky about the whole thing, but...

As a result of telling our headmaster about our impending car purchase, he was able to offer Barbara a full-time job for next year!  This will mean commuting to the other campus across town for part of the time.  She will teach K-4 in the mornings as well as music to K-8 (and possibly 12) in the afternoons.  It is quite a bit more money for her; more than several used car purchases.

So now we were pretty much committed to a car purchase, whether or not it would be this one.  Our friends who teach at MeySen Academy heard about our situation and advised that we get rid of this car (our friend left for the U.S. immediately after we found out how much it would cost to repair it!) and get a new one.  Luckily, the guy who helps them purchase cars in town came to church to visit that very night, and we set up a time to go over to the used car dealer.

Second Step:  get a different car, and pay to get rid of the other one. Yes, you read that correctly. Here in Japan, you must pay to have the government take away large items of trash -- and that includes computers, desks, chairs, and old cars. Anyway, after a pleasant afternoon sipping coffee with Mr. Suzuki of Marusei Used Cars, Barbara had chosen a very small Suzuki Alto hatchback.  Todd didn't even come along, since Barbara would be the primary driver.  He also figured that with these two MeySen experts helping her, he would have just been "extra baggage."  The car was dark teal, and only 5 years old.  But in Japan, even if you can pay the full price upfront, you are not allowed to drive it off the lot!  The car has to be inspected, given a new shaken, and all other taxes and basic insurance paid.  So Barbara thought, no big deal. I'll just drive my friend's old car home and come back for the new one in a few days.  BZZZT!  Wrong answer.  Mr. Suzuki looked at the registration papers and pointed out that the registration for the old car was already expired - and had been expired since THE DAY BEFORE our friend turned the car over to us!  Barbara was not allowed to drive it any more, even though she had been driving illegally, apparently, for 4 days. Before Barbara was driven back to the subway, Mr. Suzuki's 8-year-old son presented her with several boxes of tissues to thank her for her business. Three days later, by the end of the afternoon, we were official car owners.  And once again, Barbara was presented with 8 rolls of toilet paper as...yes...another thanks for her business. 

Last step:  Get the official shakou shomei papers started.  The police must determine that you have a legal place to park, and issue a sticker for the window of the car. So Barbara came back to Marusei with paperwork showing the exact address of the parking space.  And at the end of this meeting, Barbara was given yet more boxes of tissue as a final thank you. Nicely, Mr. Suzuki took care of the paperwork for just about everything. Barbara needs to return three more times to make final payments on the car, so she suspects that we will not have to pay for toilet paper or tissues for the rest of this year! Barbara has been driving all over Sendai in the last week, getting used to left-hand drive (did we mention that?), narrow streets and slightly different traffic laws. 

Driving around Sendai is a very different experience from walking it, and overall a pleasant experience as city driving goes. One of the memories Todd has of his childhood is walking beneath the cherry trees in Washington, DC, when the cherry blossoms would emerge. Little did he realize then that he would be living in Japan, and able to enjoy these sights and smells again. While there are few monuments around the cherry blossoms in Sendai, this city boasts some of the most gorgeous tree-lined parks and roads anywhere. The cherry blossoms usually arrive about April 20th each year in Sendai, but throughout Japan in 2002, the blossoms were a record 3-4 weeks early!

We had attempted to see the blossoms (sakura) at Nishi Park during the middle of the first week in April. But our attempt to get there in the car proved fruitless, as we couldn't find a parking lot. Our attempt on 5 April at Tsutsujigaoka Park (a touch closer to our Komatsushima residence) proved better. Again, we drove. As we arrived, we noticed that there was a line to get into the park's parking lot. There were at least 15 to 20 cars in line, with the parking lot already full. Each minute or two, a car would leave the parking lot, allowing another car in. Comical, to say the least, was how the parking lot's sign would bounce (yes bounce) from "full" to "vacant" each time a car left, and then right back to "full" again, when a waiting car would enter.

During this part of the year, when the cherry trees bloom, the parks in Sendai are inundated by hundreds, if not thousands, of citizens. They flock like birds to the parks, laying down large blue tarps to secure a spot where they can partake in hanami --  literally, "flower watching." Some die-hard hanami enthusiasts bring tents, blankets and cots so they can sleep underneath the beautiful trees. And since most everyone who participates in this festival brings something alcoholic to drink (sake, beer, whiskey, wine coolers, sometimes all of the above), the tents provide a convenient place to "sleep it off."  For everyone -- including those who just come for a temporary look (like us) -- there are booths selling all manner of Japanese foods: yakitori, soba and ramen among them.  And fast food places like Pizza Hut and Strawberry Cones (another pizza joint) were selling their delivery services to those who had tarps!

We both hope you've done your taxes (we have), and get a refund (we won't - but we won't be paying any federal taxes, either). Our love spreads to you all, as do our hopes for your happiness and well-being.

Todd & Barbara :-)

2002 Komatsushima School Picture, taken after the school Easter Egg Hunt.  Can you find us? Some of Barbara's class (the front row) is a little more interested in the contents of their baskets!

Barbara waiting in line to see the Sakura in our new little car.

Tsutsujigaoka Park covered in sakura and blue tarps.

Enjoying yakitori in front of the trees.