Our last full day in Hokkaido appeared to start well, as we said goodbye to Keiko’s 96-year old grandmother and snapped a few family photos. However, as her parents went off to the nursing home, they were accosted by a neighbour.
You see, as a man of some importance, as I’ve kept saying, Keiko’s father has to be careful to not be seen to be getting special attention (one of the reasons it was important I reward the firemen with a personal gift so that they didn’t think of it just as their duty – it was a favour for which I am thankful). With the kamakura gone, the drive was now noticeably clear of snow. That was the root of the problem.
Keiko’s dad didn’t call in any favours. On the contrary, the neighbour across the road had a bulldozer (it’s a backwater town) and wanted to clear the road around his house and his own drive, which just happened to call for backing into my kamakura (I’m still a bit bitter). It was a kind gesture that we paid for and then some.
The bulldozer had pushed the snow to an empty plot of land, seemingly out of the way of anyone else. However, one person living across from the mound of snow (some 12 feet high, at least) – not even next to it – decided it was unfair and so complained directly to Keiko’s father in the way that Japanese do so well.
I am coming to the end of reading Karel van Wolferen’s The Enigma of Japanese Power, which discusses power relations in Japan – a great book, after many months of reading it piecemeal. At one point, Van Wolferen refers to a Japanese tendency for their tempers to snap suddenly causing them to act out before being quickly recovered. I have seen this myself and can vouch for it – passive aggressiveness can only go so far, so at some point something gives and hell breaks loose.
Well, this particular neighbour had a tempest in a teacup over this issue saying something about being unable to get his car out, calling out Keiko’s father for using his ‘special position’ to call in favours, and for generally being above them in the social hierarchy. For his part, Keiko’s dad took it and did not grass out the other guy. He did the manly thing and accepted it as his giri, duty, and promised to personally dig out some of the snow to make the complainer’s life easier.
I heard about this when Keiko’s parents came home, and I felt it was deeply unfair. I didn’t hesitate to get my gloves on and grab a spade and go out to find him. It wasn’t for the brownie points, but due to the simple fact that he was family, and family (particularly the men) have a responsibility to one another. His duty was my duty. I had seen the pile and there was no way he could do it alone without breaking his back, it wasn’t his fault, and as his guest, I had benefited from his actual calling in of favours.
The task ahead was incredible. I wasn’t sure how much we had to move out, but after 3-4 hours of lifting huge chunks of snow (which are anything but light), we had cleared out a 6 ft x 12 ft x 5 ft mound of snow, all for some complete and utter aho.
It didn’t help that I was a little worse for wear after the previous night: super tired, with a headache (not from the alcohol) and a slightly unsettled feeling in my gut (most likely due to the booze). After a well-deserved bath, my body more tired than ever, we headed out to meet Keiko’s dad’s brother, wife and sons. It was nice, but with sore head I felt like I was sinking into a deluge of Japanese. I was polite, but perhaps curt… Still, it was nice to meet them.
We finished our third day with yakiniku in Engaru and then an early night. I slept like a baby.
The next morning, my back and muscles gave me a glimpse of my future: 80 and arthritic… it’s not something I look forward to!
It was strange to be knowing I had leave. I felt extremely comfortable at Keiko’s parent’s house and Hokkaido in general. I could have stayed forever. As a guest, I didn’t really experience the downsides, but it was just the kind of place where I could settle down – no doubt in a 2-storey igloo guarded by a pair of snow-bodyguards. I really can’t wait to go back.
We didn’t do much at all on that final day, so we were soon on the plane and landing in Tokyo with a long train ride home – never a nice thing to come home to, no matter how pleasant the service is.
Since coming home, a number of things have happened, so I will follow up with an update soon.
Oh, and if you get the chance, go to Hokkaido!
