The 72 Japanese Microseasons of my Discontent - Part 19 : 立冬 Rittō (Beginning of winter)

November 7–11山茶始開 Tsubaki hajimete hiraku - Camellias bloom

November 12–16地始凍 Chi hajimete kōru - Land starts to freeze

November 17–21金盞香 Kinsenka saku - Daffodils bloom

An untitled panel by late Vancouver pop artist The Boy, April 2019

Saturday, October 29th

According to the old world lunar calendar, winter is just around the corner.

Last week we were 'treated' to a bit of a preview, vis-a-vis a rather sudden early cold snap and some decidedly early December-ish weather. As previously mentioned, there's very little in the way of seasonal transition over here. When change is in the air, the temperature can drop eight or ten degrees celsius within a day. A week ago, our early mornings were a comfortable 18C. Thursday it was just short of 8C at 6am here in Deadbeat City. While the early Siberian cold front responsible for last week's sudden chill seems to have moved on for now, it did drop off an old, unwelcome acquaintance.

Late Thursday afternoon, my throat started feeling a bit sandy and dry. Friday morning, it was more so...and I felt a little dragged out. My temperature was alright. Marginally higher than normal, but well below the 37.5C threshold for COVID.

I had Dr. Cauliflower Ears check it out at my monthly early morning going-over at the CPAP clinic. He had a look and said that it looked, 'almost fine'.

'Almost fine'.

What the fuck is 'almost fine'?

He then half-heartedly recommended that I visit an otolaryngologist (ear/nose/throat specialist) if it was still bothering me in a few days. What a dick. The only reason we continue patronizing his clinic is that it's nearby, and he can 'sort of' speak English (though it's pretty clear that his listening skills are totally for shit). It's too bad that he's such a fucking tool.

I haven't had a cold in quite awhile.

The last time I was treated to a dose of 風邪 (kaze - the common cold), it was early August, 2021 - near the height of the fifth wave of COVID over here. I'd just arrived at the CPAP clinic for my monthly check up when I was stopped quite abruptly at the reception desk, and asked whether I had, '...experienced any 'cold-like' symptoms recently?'

Mina told them that I was fine; but had suffered from a bit of scratchy throat and snotty nose almost a week earlier. I hadn't had a fever or anything. Some sneezing. A little bit of a wheeze. Fairly standard stuff.

In any case, we were both hustled out of the clinic like we were on fire, and told to go wait in Mina's van. About 10 minutes later, Dr. Cauliflower Ears trundled across the street done up from head to toe in the height of summer 2021 PPE fashion, stuck a swab up my nose through the open passenger-side window...then disappeared back into the clinic across the street.

It was the first time I'd seen a nasal swab used to test for coronavirus antibodies. I'd had the same thing done to test for influenza a few years earlier. Thoroughly unpleasant experience.

We sat in the van watching TV for almost half an hour before he came back with a negative result. While I was relieved, it hadn't really crossed my mind that I might have had COVID. He assured us that the test was reliable enough, at least as far as accuracy was concerned. More importantly, it was faster...and cheaper to administer. I think it cost us an additional ¥800.

The verdict?

I likely had a 'summer cold' that would sort itself out within a week. I figured as much. We thanked him, and did our monthly business through the open window. We had to wait twenty minutes to get a printout of the CPAP machine's SD card data, then another ten minutes for my monthly round of asthma prescriptions to be filled, and we were done.

The reason this episode sticks out in my mind is that it was around ten days before I was due to get my second Moderna jab, and I was worried that we'd have to re-book the appointment if my cold didn't clear up. In August 2021, there was a mass rush on over here to get vaccinated. While reservation openings were hard to come by, I'd been lucky enough to get in the priority queue - thanks to Insecthead, and the fact that the ne'er do well Japanese government had finally decided that kindergartens and nursery schools fit their criteria for workplaces that could reasonably be considered 'high risk' venues to everyone involved.

Re-booking a COVID jab reservation wasn't an easy thing to do, so it was highly recommended that people do their upmost to make it to their assigned appointments. After returning to the van with my negative test result, Cauliflower Ears waved his finger at me and told me that I'd need to re-book my jab reservation if my peripheral cold symptoms hadn't resolved by jab day, as trace viral infections could potentially interfere with the efficacy of the vaccine.

Come jab day, I think I probably still had a bit of a wheeze, but went anyways.

Fortunately everything worked out. The vaccine kicked my arse, laid me out for a day, and made me feel like a massive piece of shit for three more.

Fourteen months and two boosters later, we're still dealing with this never-ending bullshit. While life appears to have returned to normal almost everywhere else, the descendants of COVID are still wreaking havoc in these precincts.

Adding to the fun, word is that a number of 'brand spanking new' variants have now breached the gates of these 'magical islands'.

According to what I've been able to glean from a number of 'reputable sources', the Singaporean XBB composite variant seems to be the one to to watch at this point, with six confirmed cases in Tokyo and seven identified at airport checks as of Oct. 17th. The numbers have likely doubled or tripled by now. Most of the infected parties had recently spent time in India.

As of October 14th, said XBB variant accounted for more than 60% of new cases in Singapore, unseating BA.5 as the dominant strain.

It's also currently surging in India and Bangladesh.

Of course, the folks over in India brought us the fun-filled Omicron BA.1 variant for Christmas last year, so expectations are already running high that the hard working elves over at 'Santa's Sub-Continental COVID Workshop' will come up with something every bit as festive to stuff our stockings with this holiday season.

Joining XBB are several other promising 'up and comers'. The variants currently raising eyebrows in Tokyo are BF.7, BQ.1 and BQ 1.1...all competing sublineage variants of BA.5. Confirmed positives nationwide have seen a sharp increase over the last seven days.

Positives here in Aichi are up an average of nearly 400 day-on-day from last week, with 1810 testing positive yesterday.

It's being said in some quarters that the dread 'eighth wave' is already upon us. Numbers are expected to start surging more dramatically into November. Current projections indicate that by late December, the daily number of new infections could easily outstrip what we saw at the peak of the seventh wave this summer.

Ho,ho,ho.

So...what's changed?

For a start, the gates of the kingdom have been thrown wide open. From the middle of September, everyone and their dogs can now come traipsing in without needing proof of a negative test at their point of departure, bookings with an organized tour group, or an official 'itinerary' of destinations and lodgings to present upon entry.

The only remaining 'requirement' for easy, hassle-free entry is that visitors be at least thrice jabbed, and have the documentation to prove it.

Those without three jabs under their belts can still enter, but they'll need to provide pre-departure test negatives and a bit more paperwork to clear Immigration and Quarantine. Even at that, it's now easier to get in to Japan than it is to enter the U.S., where they still demand proof of three jabs, and bar entry to the unvaccinated.

While it appears that the majority of incoming travelers have no issues complying with Japan's mask mandates, there were always going to be a certain number of people coming in that were going to outright refuse to comply...their reasoning simply being, "Why should I? I don't have to do it back in the States!"

If asked to perhaps try equating it with removing your shoe's before entering someone's home - i.e. respecting local customs and traditions that you don't necessarily observe in your country of origin - they simply look confused.

'What in God's name do masks have to do with shoes?'

It just doesn't compute.

In the last couple of weeks, I've noticed an increasing number of unmasked individuals spreading themselves around at local retail outlets, not giving a single solitary shit about mask protocols, or proprietor's requests that face coverings be worn inside of their shops and businesses.

The simple act of walking barefaced into a place of business over here is akin to throwing down a gauntlet, and challenging shop owners and staff to either step up and insist that the rules of the premises be respected (Excuse me, sir...no mask - no service), or slink away, tails firmly tucked between legs.

Direct confrontation is anathema to the Japanese. They'll typically do almost anything to avoid it. The 'unmasked customer dilemma' puts them in an odd and uncomfortable position, as they have a responsibility to provide and maintain a safe and secure environment for both their staff and customers. They're really up against it when someone marches in without a mask on, and refuses to play by the rules. Do they swallow hard and face the situation...or bottle up their resentment, and lose just a little bit more of their dignity and self respect?

Sadly, 99.9% of the time they'll elect to cower behind the counter and suck it up.

The bully wins by default.

Mina and I encountered three of these individuals out doing our weekly hunting and gathering this fine day. Two were Japanese, and one was a balding, haughty looking caucasian male in his early thirties.

A hipster.

(Both the shops concerned - our local bakery and a supermarket - have signs out front quite clearly requesting that customers mask up and sanitize their hands before entering)

First up was a wormy, thirty-something looking Japanese guy in sweat pants, a pullover, and wing-tipped grey dress shoes (?1?) in the queue outside of our local bakery with a female companion. She was masked up (as was everyone else in line); but he seemed completely oblivious, slouching beside her with his head down, quietly fiddling around with his smartphone.

I was standing over toward the curb, waiting for Mina, who was lined up inside, at the cash register. As there's a seven person limit in the shop (it's a small place), I make sure to leave as soon as we've picked out our stuff, so someone else can go in.

Common courtesy (something else in shockingly short supply over here).

Anyways, as the line moved and they got closer to the door, I expected him to pull a mask out of his pocket - or for his female companion to give him a nudge and pass him one.

Nope.

Just as the door swung open and Mina came out, he walked straight in, bare-faced and carefree.

This place is really small...and busy. There's always a line up outside. They put their wares out on a broad, open counter and set of shelves at the front of the shop. Nothing is covered or wrapped, as it's all freshly baked. Hot trays are coming out from the back all the time, and product turn-over is fast. When we go in, we take a serving tray and some tongs, pick out what we want, then line up to pay the cashier. It's all self-serve. In a place like this, it's really crucial that customers mask up, and stick to the 'seven at a time' limit. In the two years we've been going there, I've never seen anyone go in without a mask on.

It's simply not done.

There's a sign on a stand with a hand sanitizer pump right outside the door explaining the rules. "Seven at a time, wear a mask, and clean your hands". It couldn't be more clear.

Yet, awash in a sea of masked people, the guy walked right in. His female companion said nothing. On top of everything else the over-worked bakery clerks have to contend with, now they need to wrangle with him. As a native, he should know better. No excuses.

What a fucking asshole.

Over at the supermarket, the balding, haughty looking millennial white guy was even worse. The way he carried himself. The air of entitlement and superiority. Manicured, close cut beard, narrow trousers and flannel shirt. No neck tattoo? Nauseating, nonetheless. He made a point of swanning around maskless right in front of okasan and I as we waited near the front of the supermarket for Mina to finish at the check out.

I guess he wanted to make sure that we got a good look at his 'unmasked privilege and freedom'.

I shot him a cold, hard glare, but he quite deliberately avoided making any eye contact with me. I mean, I was right there. Less than a metre away. A tall, masked foreigner with an old lady in a wheelchair, in an open, clear space. Glaring at him.

Hard to miss.

Under normal circumstances I'd get the typical gaijin nod, or at least a raised eyebrow.

He knew he was flouting the rules, and making people uneasy, like he knew I was giving him the hairy eyeball. It felt like he was baiting me - baiting the whole shop - and enjoying every precious minute of it. I suppose he felt a sense of power and control...one that likely eluded him in normal situations, wherever he came from.

The expression on his face spoke volumes. A puny man with a puny plan.

I desperately wanted to say something; but couldn't confront him, as I'd been charged with minding okasan. I was in no position to start any sort of confrontation.

He needed a beating. Perhaps 'the mother of all beatings'.

Karma has a way of visiting individuals like this when they least expect it. Sooner or later, the scales are always re-balanced.

When Mina finally emerged with the shopping cart, I pointed the guy out. He was hovering around a few metres away, conspicuously looking over trays of freshly baked buns he had no intention of buying. He was putting on a show. Making sure that I could see him.

She shook her head, and told me that she'd just seen another maskless middle-aged guy - another native - wandering around further inside the supermarket, with no basket or cart. Just... wandering.

Middle aged guys. What gives?

There's little doubt that we can expect more of this type of thing as time goes on.

On the topic of changes, last week the government announced that the waiting period between booster jabs was being cut from five months to just three. It seems that 'they' finally have enough of the latest bivalent vaccine doses on hand to boost everyone that's currently up-to-date, and are aiming to get as many of those jabs in arms as fast they can, before the December holiday season hits. After consistently fumbling the vaccine ball for the last year, there finally seems to be a sense of urgency in the air. It's almost as if they can hear the December viral train rolling down the tracks.

Maybe the pure tragic folly of their 'day late and dollar short' approach to waves six and seven actually taught them something?

The big problem now is that there doesn't appear to be much booster uptake enthusiasm among the younger folk. The 20's to 40's crowd initially accounted for the majority of infections last summer. From the outset, they were the biggest spreaders, and occupied most of the hospital beds; yet as time passed, the elderly and compromised were the ones who paid the highest price.

Attitudes don't appear to have changed that much, according to recent 'machi-no-hito' (man on the street) interviews on TV.

Of those questioned, most younger people simply didn't like the 'side-effects' they experienced from the initial couple of jabs last year. The general attitude seems to be that a potential dose of COVID is preferable to suffering from a 38C fever for a day, and feeling a bit shitty for a couple more. A lot people still cling to the idea that COVID is simply something that happens to 'other people', or that it won't kill them, so 'who cares'?

Where does this dangerous laissez-faire attitude come from?

In the U.S., vaccine skepticism is rooted in toxic identity politics. Here in Japan, the vast majority of natives are dangerously indifferent to anything that even suggests politics. While successive administrations from Abe on down have failed miserably at implementing timely COVID policies, neither vaccines or mask protocols have been co-opted or weaponized by any political party to further their aims.

So...what's with the natives?

It's actually pretty simple. To a surprising number of people over here, it seems that getting COVID could be considered a blessing in disguise...or even something one might actually...aspire to?

Case in point.

A co-worker of Mina's got infected in late June, and took a month off work. She'd picked the virus up from her husband, who also passed it on to their two kids. In addition to the full salaries they each received for the duration of their month-long sick leaves from the hospital, their life insurance policies paid them each an additional ¥200,000 (around $2000 CAD).

On top of that, they also received generous hampers of food from the prefectural government, delivered straight to their door.

When the woman came back to work a month later, she laughed and bragged to Mina about how much money she and her husband had pulled in for sitting around at home watching TV. They'd almost doubled their monthly family income.

She was apparently quite pleased with how handsomely they'd made out.

"Cha-ching!"

When Mina came home and told me, her blood was boiling. She and her co-workers had all busted their arses working short-handed and overtime all month to cover for this woman's absence. Upon return, she offered no apologies or words of thanks.

Just a hearty laugh, and a "Cha-ching!"

Word spreads exceptionally fast over here, and before long every scammer and player around is looking for an angle or way in.

The insurance companies had been shortsighted, and made it too easy for people to collect 'extended illness' payouts based on unsubstantiated or dubious claims of COVID infection. By the end of August, these companies were hemorrhaging cash hand over fist, and rushing to close the gaping contract loopholes that a growing number of scammers were actively exploiting to obtain these quick and easy payouts.

As a result, it's now a lot tougher for people with legitimate claims to get any cash at all. The loopholes people were slipping through have now been replaced with flaming hoops to navigate. That's what happens when too many scammers get caught elbow deep in the cookie jar, taking advantage.

The same thing happened with the government's lost income compensation plan for small business owners at the beginning of the pandemic . The scammers were all over that in no time at all, and cases of fraud were rife. As a result, it became nearly impossible for people in legitimate need to navigate the paperwork necessary to qualify for even small offers of further assistance.

Faced with increasingly obtuse screening and application processes, after two or three failed attempts to access government handouts of little more than thirty or forty thousand yen (a few hundred dollars), a lot people simply gave up.

Way to go, scammers.

Whether the majority of the summer's claimed infections were legitimate or not, getting COVID started being seen as something lucky...perhaps akin to winning a kind of lottery. An opportunity to secure an extended, paid holiday, and reap a nice, easy windfall from one's employer and insurance company all in one go.

Why on earth would anyone otherwise young and healthy want to get a booster jab that would make them feel shitty for a few days, and take a chance on missing out on all of that cash and time off? Even without the additional insurance company payout, it's a pretty good deal.

"Cha-ching!"

Funny how foreigners tend to stereotype the Japanese as being so honest and polite. Mina finds that hysterically funny.

As for us 'vulnerable older folk', we're now expecting our omicron booster vouchers in the mail around the second week of November, as opposed to just after the New Year's holiday. If all goes well, we'll have our reservations booked, and be done with it all as soon as humanly possible...or at least by the time Mina's birthday rolls around at the end of the month.

Whether the new fangled vaccines offer any additional protection at all in the rapidly changing viral landscape remains to be seen, of course. Hopes are not high. Thus far, we've both been extremely lucky....aside from a couple of colds, anyways.

Touch wood.

Of course, we've had to change the way that we do things. Cut out a lot of the stuff that we enjoyed doing. The "grinding dystopia" of Old Nagoyaland grinds a little harder with each passing year.

Fingers crossed that all of this abstinence from fun and pleasure keeps us safe through the winter, at least.

Friday, November 4th

Last Thursday, the official COVID positive count here in Aichi Prefecture was 1,959. Yesterday, it was 4037.

That's a two fold increase in one week. Mina and I were both stunned when we saw this week's daily tally vs. last week's numbers at the end of yesterday's NHK evening news digest. Apparently Wednesday was even worse, at over 4,200. If it keeps going at this rate (and there's nothing to indicate that it won't), we'll be back over 30,000 a day by the end of this month. It absolutely boggles the mind. This 'virus' is like something out of a sci-fi horror flick. It simply cannot be cowed. It adapts and evolves into something different every few months.

The Japanese government has also started to suggest that the country's 'free' vaccine program could be winding down after the current round of bivalent jabs (the 4th and/or 5th for most people) wraps up in early 2023 . Moving forward, that means those who want to continue getting boosters will need to start paying for them.

It seems that 'the men in grey' have better things to allocate the spending of public funds on. Like big, shiny new weapons.

The problem is, there ain't quite enough left in the cookie jar to splash out on the amount of arms Uncle Sam wants them to buy. To address this shortfall, the government is angling toward further raising taxes. Up to now, this type of thing has typically been subsidized via the issuance of government bonds. Sleazy banker Kishida has pledged to double Japan's military spending to about 2% of GDP over the next five years. This implies an increase of around ¥5 trillion.

With inflation and rising energy prices already biting down hard on the average native's finances, any significant tax increase is going to be an extremely hard sell, and highly unpopular move. If you want to get the Japanese public's attention, hit them in their wallets.

So...what to do?

Create fear and hysteria.

Just after 9;00 am yesterday morning, the Japanese government grossly over-reacted to yet another North Korean missile test. The peace and tranquility of a gorgeous, mid-autumn national holiday morning was shattered by needless air-raid sirens in the northeast of the country, and cryptic warnings on TV screens nationwide.

Japan Rail even suspended rail service in 'potentially affected areas' for a time. Trains en-route were ordered to stop, People were stranded mid-track on Shinkansen (bullet train) lines, and on train platforms.

In the end, nothing flew over the country. Even if something had, it would have been at an altitude and trajectory that would pretty much preclude anyone here from any potential danger. With the exception of a brief pause during the Trump/Kim 'Despots in Love' period a few years ago, the North Koreans have been doing this shit for years. They're bad neighbours. It's like living next door to a bunch of belligerent kids blowing off firecrackers day and night.

This is the second time the regime in Tokyo as gone overboard with the air raid sirens and stopping trains bullshit. The last time, the messaging on TV seemed to suggest that we were actually under attack. Mina told me as much when I walked into the living room that morning. I couldn't believe it...but there it was all over the TV.

It only became apparent that it was simply a fly-over rocket test about half an hour later.

This type of fear and hysteria mongering can only be seen as a prelude to the government announcing said proposed tax increases for the February/March 2023 tax filing period. In this case, 'gaining the public's understanding' will entail causing enough fear and paranoia to convince the majority that it's being done to keep them safe. Never mind that it's basically illegal, as per Article 9 of the post-war constitution.

If it comes down to said weapons actually needing be used, we'd might as well bend over and kiss our arses goodbye, anyways. The North Koreans and Chinese will turn this place into ash and dust. We live in a 'country' still occupied by and beholden to the U.S. military. What on earth are they here for, if not to defend 'their territory' - which Japan essentially is - like it or not. The 'men in grey' over at the Diet Building in Tokyo answer directly to the U.S. State Department. They always have.

That's where we'll wrap it up for now. Mina's had a few additional days off, and we've been out and about doing this and that - taking advantage of the last of this year's temperate and favourable weather. This last week saw the coming and going of another old lady minding weekend (she pulled off a straight 'C'), and a rather subdued Halloween at Mr. Insecthead's kindergarten pass into posterity. My endoscopic gut probe/annual health check went off with a fair bit of gagging and discomfort on deck, but no immediately awful results to report. We'll be availed with all the minute details in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed there are no 'surprises', of course.

Until we next convene, you'd do well to remember that...

"No matter where you go, there you are".

There, and nowhere else.