Report From Nagano

Part 2 of a continuing saga

by Eric Wenocur

Subject: Report from Nagano - 2: The calm before the storm
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 09:14:42 -0500
From: Eric H Wenocur (EHW_LTS@compuserve.com)
To: editor@s2n.org

Hello friends and countrymen:

I don't imagine I'll write anything as harrowing as the last time, Icertainly hope not, but I figured it was time to go back over events andcuriosities (partly for my own record as well).

I've been in Japan two weeks now and feel pretty well adjusted. Activityat the IBC is beginning to pick up as more and more CBS operators arrive bythe truckload. We had our first substantial tech staff meeting today and Igot a better picture of the scope of this operation. Altogether there areroughly 1500 CBS personnel involved (I don't know if that means all here ornot), with technical operations at the IBC and 14 venue sites. The venuesetups range from one or two remote trucks to full-blown mini-IBCs withediting rooms, studios, etc. Planning for this event actually began as farback as 1994, with the bulk of the work happening in the last two years.The IBC technical installation was nearly a year in construction, beginningwith rack assembly in California last Spring. I mention all this partlybecause it is just so amazing, and partly because it lends perspective toother aspects of life in Nagano. When you consider that CBS may be thelargest TV operation on-site, but only one of many, it is no wonder thereare housing problems.

The official estimates call for roughly 8000 media people, 3000 athletesand staff, and "one million" spectators (according to the New York Timesarticle you may have seen, in which the writer paints a rosy picture of thesituation, of which we are skeptical). It just does not seem like thelocals realize what is coming. There are an assortment of new buildingsand the like, but the roads are congested with just local traffic and theyhave made virtually no attempts to accomodate other languages. Mostrestaurants have only Japanese menus, few of the people speak English(thank god for our Japanese-speaking motorpool drivers) and the subway hasabsolutely no English at all! It seems that part of the reason for this isthat Nagano was a fairly isolated town until the government built the newhighway and Shinkansen (bullet train) line. They have only had a few yearsto adapt and they just have no concept of what 10,000 pushy foreigners, letalone 1 million, will be about.

CBS people are spread out across the city, with large concentrations in theYanagimachi and Asahi Media Villages. Here in Yanagimachi there aresomething like a dozen apartment buildings with various numbers and layoutsof apartments. Mine is set up as a four bedroom, but we believe that thetwo back bedrooms are actually destined to be the living and dining roomsof a 2-bedroom place when we leave. The management has concocted all kindsof ridiculous rules of behavior in an effort to minimize wear and tear ontheir future rental units. We have, essentially, two full baths but theyare laid out unconventionally: one room is a combinationtoilet/sink/shower (prefab unit), then there is another shower/bath roomwith an exterior sink, and a toilet-only closet in the hall. Thankfullyall toilets are "Western" style, and one has a heated seat (which seemssilly until you realize that they do not centrally heat the apartments).

I am in one of the larger back rooms, with a balcony (very useful in thisweather). The front two rooms have Mike and Bob, both New Yorkers. Bobworks for CBS in NYC and Mike is a freelance audio guy who I actually metlast year on a job in Bethesda. The room next to mine is awaiting TWOoccupants come Feb. 2. I guess the ameliorating factor to the 5 guys/2bathrooms dilemma is that we will be running 12-hour day and night shiftsfor most of the last month here. I TOLD you this was not a vacation! I amseriously considering taking the night shift because I figure it will beeasier to do laundry, probably calmer at work, and will put me closer tothe correct time orientation for home.

The biggest hardship so far here is food. Not that it's terrible by anymeans but it requires some searching to find anything really good in eithertaste or value. Obviously, the Japanese food is generally fine--and can behad very cheaply at some places. They have trouble making anything"American," though they try, and ethnic food of other countries is a realgamble since there are so few actual ethnic people here. I have hadpassable but overpriced Indian, both passable-cheap and passable-overpricedItalian, and today some very good and cheap Brazilian-style cooked by anactual Brazilian woman who speaks only Portugese and Japanese. A languagedouble-whammy for me, since even my Japanese is better than my Portugese,and the guy with us that spoke Spanish was of little help!

The local Denny's chain is completely unlike the ones in the States(better, actually), but the Royal Host chain is like Denny's (I also seemto recaall Royal Hosts on either Guam or Hawaii, but I'm not sure). Thereare MacDonalds everywhere, including inside the IBC, which I have beenresisting, plus Kentucky Fried Chicken. Oh, boy! I have been told thatthe local Pizza Hut really is like home, so I may go there at some pointfor a break. The cafeterias in Yanagamichi and the IBC serve vapidinternational-style food which is overpriced. You really can eat betteroutside but they are convenient. Breakfast is free but consists of thesame selection of eggs, meats, fruit, cereal and oddities (curry rice, misosoup) every day. The pancakes are terrible, which I don't understandbecause every confectionary shop (at least in Tokyo) sells an item whichconsists of two very good "pancakes" with bean paste in between. TheJapanese buy these things in cellophane wrappers, multiple assortments andgift wrapped boxes. I think they give them to each other as gifts, but Ihave a theory that they are never actually eaten--kind of like theproverbial fruitcake. Point is, they KNOW how to make pancakes; maybe theyjust need to be told that is what we want!

Side note on confections: so far I have tried a few different kinds andthey all seem to have either bean paste, chewy rice dough or this brownishflour dough. I don't understand the Japanese love of bean paste. It's notthat bad, but if you are expecting what looks like chocolate filling and itturns out to be bean paste...well, enough said. They do, however, makesome creditable American style junk-food snack cakes!

I honestly don't know whether to be annoyed at the apparent lack ofunderstanding of Western customs or saddened that the Japanese seem to betrying so hard despite our complaining. I have heard various stories frompeople that have lived here about how the Japanese don't really work ashard as they want everyone to believe, how they lack morals, etc. I canbelieve these allegations because I continually notice the hypocrisies oftheir society, but in our little encampment they seem to want to please.And yet, I don't know if they understand the scorn and cynicism of whichwe (westerners, and especially Americans) are capable. What do you do whena self-effacing young girl proudly hands you a sub-par sandwich and thenthanks you for taking it? Of course you graciously say, "domo arrigatogoziamashite," but the contrasts are daunting.

Meanwhile, entertainment is also hard to come by. I have been somewhatdisappointed at the number of CBS people whose idea of fun is going to someunbelievably smoky club and drinking themselves into a stupor. Admittedlythis is a fairly young crew, but beer seems to be the main topic ofdiscussion. There are an assortment of little bars and restaurants whichhave become hangouts. All of them are sodden with cigarette smoke, sincethe Japanese love to and so do these kids, and usually small and crowded.There are a couple I have liked more, mostly because they tend to be morequiet and low-key. A place we went last night, Lefty's, actually playedjazz on vinyl! I have been told about a local band of some sort that playstwo gigs simultaneously at two different clubs, alternating with a DJ. Ialso want to check out the Japanese bluegrass band. I have been mostlygoing out with my roommates and assorted associates, but I have yet to finda classy bunch to hang with. Perhaps that is too much to ask, particularlysince there is nothing "classy" to do here anyway. Even the Japanese, itseems, don't do much more than work, eat and shop.

So far we have gone to a place that featured all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu(meat and vegetables you cook in broth at the table), beer and sake--youcan imagine how that turned out, mongolian barbecue (good but not as muchvariety as at home) and karaoke. The karaoke place was interesting;basically about 6 sound-proofed rooms, each with it's own sound and videosystem. Your drunken group goes in there and wails karaoke for an hourlyrate while the people outside are spared the experience. The soundproofingwas quite good. I think the time has come for me to take matters into myown hands and begin a quest for proper food and entertainment.

Some of that was had, to my relief, on my trip to Tokyo this past Sunday.I took the Shinkansen down (a shocking 1.5 hour trip) and went around tovarious areas on the excellent subway. I hit Asakusa, which is part of the"old" downtown Tokyo--though I did not get much beyond the marketplace andthe riverside (home of the Phillipe Starck-designed Asahi beer building);Akahubara, one of the consumer electronics centers; Hibya, site of theImperial Hotel (once of Frank Lloyd Wright fame); and Roppongi, which isthe "Greenwich Village" of Tokyo. In Roppongi I stopped an American fellowfor directions and we ended up having dinner at an excellent Koreanbarbecue place. This guy has lived here for 7 years, works in thesecurities industry, and rents a tiny one-bedroom in Roppongi for$3500/month! I can't say Tokyo is particularly charming, but it was easyto get around and by the end of the evening I was beginning to feelcivilized again. It was a slight shock to return to Nagano. More on Tokyoanother time.

I have made one half-hearted trip to a health club near the IBC, but amhoping to maintain some kind of workout schedule. The club is actuallypretty nice; small but with all the facilities of a good club in DC, andspotlessly clean. It's a little pricey, but the other nearby place wasjust a "gym" with no amenities at all and kind of skanky. So far the onlyother CBS'ers I have seen working out are a couple of guys from the sceneryshop who are quintessential New York working-class Italians. I'm alwaysafraid I'll inadvertantly say something offensive or effete and get ontheir bad side. Serious weight-lifters, I should add, so I gotta be tough,ya know?

Well, I can't produce anymore of this spittle right now, so I'll give youall a break!

-- Eric

For pictures documenting some of the highlights of Eric's trip, check out this Web page.

Copyright 1998 Eric Wencour, all rights reserved.