Medical differences

There is an interesting perspective on vaccination tactics here in Japan. It's one I'd like to see adopted by the US some day. It has to do with the flu vaccine.

In the US, we vaccinate the "at risk" groups. This means that most of the shots are reserved for the elderly and infants. Those whose health would be most at risk should they contract the flu. These are also the groups that I believe are more likely to suffer adverse effects from the shots. With an immune system so delicately balanced, playing with it even for its benefit, is risky business.

In Japan, they looked at what group was most at risk for contracting the disease. This would be the kids in school. Those that contact dozens of other people every day and do it in the least sanitary manners that one can fathom. Japan vaccinates school age children. I don't know how old they go, but they start at the youngest in school.

Big difference, right? The US avoids those most likely to get the disease and tries to protect those it would hurt the worst. Japan tries to actually prevent the disease from spreading at all.

What happens? Japan sees fewer cases of the flu. I haven't read anything about flu pandemics in the local papers. I haven't seen any news about how worried they are about outbreaks. From what I understand, few people in Japan actually get the flu because those most likely to carry it don't get sick.

Interesting how lots of research on both parts has gotten such drastically different answers. I must confess a slight fondness for a society that just doesn't want to deal with the disease vs. one that wants to protect the weak when it gets out of control. Of course, Japan has been doing chicken pox vaccines for two decades and the US only started that in the last decade (I think). Wonder how long it will be until we catch on to some of the other vaccination practices? Seems a trade of best practices from both sides might be a good idea - we can give them dentistry and they can give us vaccinations...seems fair to me.

Protecting the future

I've read several articles about the declining birth rate in Japan. Basically, women are waiting until later and later in life to get married and have kids. The problem is that within a relatively short period of time, the number of elderly will outweigh the number of workers. At this point, the burden of a socialist health care system is so extreme can it can trigger economic collapse.

Thus, the Japanese are trying to figure out ways to encourage more women to marry earlier and have children. While, this is certainly necessary, I'm a bit puzzled. Shouldn't there also be a great deal of focus on protecting the ones that already exist.

What on earth am I talking about?, you wonder as I step on my soapbox.

I am generally appalled at the number of kids I see in situations that just make me cringe. While I am never one to tell someone how to parent, that doesn't stop me from physically wincing when I see someone doing something I consider really stupid. It's especially bad when there's an easy remedy that is readily available.

"What on earth am I talking about?," you wonder as you try to coax me off my soapbox.

Car seats. This isn't rocket science. Car seats protect kids. The leading cause of injury in kids is car accidents. Car seats keep them safer. Why is it then that I see FAR more kids sitting in a lap, playing in the floor, even driving?!?!?! in mom's lap here than I have in the US? The US certainly isn't burdened with a birth rate problem, but we are really pushing the protection of our kids via car seats.

The other thing we realized is that seats alone don't make it safe. They have to be in the right place. It kills me to see parents riding around with infant carriers rear facing in the front seat. Especially since, like the US, most of these cars do have passenger air bags.

Granted, I rode in my grandmother's lap in the back seat with her "hand belt" a lot as a kid. It wasn't a big deal. I also distinctly remember flying to the front of the car and bashing my head on the gear shift when my dad slammed on the brakes one day. I remember the huge goose egg on my head. These days I realize how lucky I am that's all I had and why my dad was pretty shaken up by it. It wasn't safe for me to ride like that. My dad knew it. It was what was done when laws weren't enforced.

This is what really gets me, though. That's where Japan is today. They have laws. No one pays attention to them. No one enforces them. For a technologically advanced society, that seems really backwards.

EZ Bake Oven and Valentine's Day

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that Valentine's Day is for baking, chocolate and booze. What's that? You thought it had to do with love, chocolate and flowers? Well, at least you got the chocolate right.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is for the men. It's a day for women to dote on their men. Yeah...all for the men. That explains the abundance of boxers and beer without a slinky nighty to be found. Wait a sec...that last one doesn't make sense at all! :) Anyway, I guess it also explains the proliferation of items used for baking available in the store. After all, a woman's place is in the kitchen, right? (Not to worry women-friends, March 14 is just around the corner - more on that when it nears.)

Anyway...I wanted to do my part and fully embrace the Japanese culture and traditions. This meant I needed to figure out my oven. Not wanting to ruin the item I got for Chrys, I decided I needed a test vehicle to make sure I knew how this thing worked. Luckily, Blue stepped in with the answer.

How on earth did a cartoon tell me what to bake? Well, Roo and I were watching one of her videos the other day and Spatula and Bowl wanted to make banana cake. The mom in me screams, "Watch, someday she's going to look at me and want to bake what Blue did. I gotta figure out if this recipe is any good." Voila! I decided to bake "banana cake" so I don't forget to do it and get in trouble later.

I baked banana cake. In my microwave. I mean, in my oven. Wait...I'm confused. Oh well. Chrys took pictures.

I baked banana cake. It tastes and looks a lot like banana bread. It's good. I have two loaves because I figured I was lucky to find a bread pan - I sure wasn't going to try to hold out for a big one. We have a loaf that's going to work with Chrys as a gift.

Tomorrow, I'll play with what I've learned to bake a treat for Chrys, in true Japanese style. This one's out of a box because I actually found Betty Crocker-esque things at the store. If it goes as well as the 'cake' did, I may bake more often. It will certainly open up my recipe box a bit more and that would be nice.

ATM

ATMs here are a different beast. The first one we tried, at the post office, dispensed only 10,000¥ ($100) notes. This struck me as a little odd. There are smaller monetary options so why would you get $100, especially if you're just withdrawing $100? I figured that was bound to cause problems the way it does in the US. It doesn't. I guess that comes from being a cash dominant society. If the US was strictly cash based, maybe $100s wouldn't carry the stigma they do now.

Secondarily, we can't get a second ATM card for our bank account. This means that Chrys gets one or I get one. The good news (?) is that they still have a passbook system on the accounts. (Remember passbooks? My first savings account when I was 7 had one, but nothing since.) The passbook can also be used in the ATM. It's a little weird. Somehow, though, the ATM knows the last line printed and keeps a nice, sequential listing of the transactions. It even updates the book if you're missing transactions that were done with the card or ACH.

Lastly, it took some learning to figure out how to not get just 1000¥ notes from the bank machines. You have to hit the number of 10,000¥ notes you want, then the symbol for the 10,000 multiplier (万). Then you can enter the number of 1000¥ notes you want. Then you hit 円 (another symbol for yen) and it then will spit out appropriate denominations.

Basically, some nice features and some weird ones for those of us not used to dealing with much cash. The only other thing I need to remember is not to use the machine on weekends - then I get charged an extra 105¥, which stinks. Oh well, it all seems to work.

Happy New Year!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year. As it turns out, that's also the first day of the Nagasaki Lantern Festival. Not knowing that it didn't really start until the day of the New Year (What?!?! A celebration that doesn't begin 3 months before the actual calendar date? Hmph...), we took our second trip out to Hama-no-machi arcade in Nagasaki hoping to see some lanterns.

We weren't disappointed. There were many lanterns hung and they were beautiful. More startling were the empty plugs so we will go back to look again. The lanterns ranged from simple red balls reading Nagasaki (something, maybe Lantern Festival) which hung all along the perimeter of the arcade to large ornate dragons that spanned the width of the arcade. It was daylight so they weren't lit. Maybe our next trip will have to be in the evening so we can enjoy the light. Roo oohed and aahed at them and I was just star struck.

There were lanterns all over the city as we drove to the arcade, too. I can't wait to see how many are up after the actual date. Apparently the festival lasts until the end of the month so we have plenty of time to go look around. Who knows, maybe there's a better place for viewing than the arcade. I can't imagine anything more densely populated with the lanterns, though, so maybe we'll just settle for that.

30 Going on 13

No, I didn't make some crazy wish with a Japanese fortune teller to be a kid again. Heck, I'm not even 30...

Remember, though, when you were a kid and you would add o's and u's to the ends of words and pretend that you could speak Italian or Spanish (or any other foreign language)? Chrys and I are endlessly amused that it seems to actually work for us over here.

Say acetaminophen and get a blank stare. Acetaminofino, though, and they'll nod and take headache medicine.

"Take out" = funny look. "Take out-o" = food in a bag.

There are others, but I can't seem to remember them right now.

I'm not sure this rule is 100%, but at least I'm not alone...

I drove by a shop today. The sign said ゴフロ (gofuro). I'm betting "golf-o" would be close enough.