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Well I'm back from my holidays and Japan is back to normal after the New Year break, so here we go with another 'Empty Seat.' If this issue seems slightly shorter than previous volumes, I was out of the country for nearly 2 weeks and so I lost touch with what was going on here -- not that I regret going! One of the main reasons I was away to check on how they're getting on with my retirement home, being built over 4,800 kilometres from Tokyo. So I'm not planning to stay here after retirement? No thanks -- catfood omelettes are not my idea of a good dinner, and unless you're Bill Gates, your pension won't last long here! And I'm not the only one. There are at least two condo blocks in Bangkok designed for Japanese retirees, owned by a Japanese company. Now even though they are paying much more than a Thai would, it's still a lot cheaper than Japan, especially with the Japanese state pension becoming more of a joke as time passes. However, sad to say I won't be retiring for quite a while yet, so the 'Empty Seat' will continue for the foreseeable future -- whether you like it or not! So saying, let's get on with it . . .

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Japan's health system is pretty good by Asian standards, although it is suitably expensive as well. However, in areas where the central government is concerned, things are often less satisfactory. Take, for example, the issue of SARS. Newspapers have recently reported new outbreaks of SARS, especially in neighbouring China, and so one might expect Japan to be well prepared. Expect, maybe, but such is not the case. According to a Kyodo News survey, the government is seriously lagging in providing hospitals with equipment to handle suspected SARS cases despite requests for help and fears of a resurgence this winter. Let's be more specific. There are 750 authorized hospitals across the country and of these, 480 asked the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for supplies, including masks and gowns. These requests were processed through their prefectural governments. Shamefully, as of mid-December, none of Japan's 47 prefectures had heard back from the ministry. Hello, anybody there? As someone who has less reverence than many for the medical profession, the prospect of trusting my life to a doctor is not a pleasant one. However, this becomes even worse when the doctors don't have the tools they need, and so it seems to me that Japan will be in big trouble if SARS crosses over here, as it well might. If it does, then God help us, for the government clearly won't!

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Remember that 'orgy' arranged for visiting Japanese executives at a Chinese hotel, on the anniversary of Japan's attack on China? Well, the executives concerned might be OK but their Chinese associates sure as hell are not. Offending the powers that be in such a bastion of rule by law as the PRC is not advisable, and so it isn't too surprising to read that a Chinese court has sentenced two people to life in prison and 12 others to lighter jail terms (from two to 15 years) for organizing that orgy. In a rather naive move, the court also issued arrest orders for three Japanese and asked Interpol to issue "red notices" on three Japanese. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that the Chinese Foreign Ministry "has made representations with the Japanese side, requesting assistance to the Chinese police for the capture of the three suspects." A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters that there has been a request from China for Japan's cooperation for the incident, and that the ministry has conveyed the request to Japan's police authority. The Xinhua News Agency then underlined the government's determination by posting pictures of the three Japanese on its web site. An official of the construction company in Osaka, which was allegedly involved in the incident, said the three who were named in the report belong to the company. Now Japanese executives being naughty boys abroad is nothing new -- hell, even some local politicians were recently involved in a sex scandal in Thailand. But wouldn't you think they'd check their calendar and try to avoid a date that would surely infuriate the Chinese? Well, seeing as how the Japanese Government denies it did anything wrong in WW2, and with Japanese leaders paying homage to executed war criminals, maybe the executives in question didn't realise what they were doing!

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Sadly, I have too often had to report on the perverted behaviour of some Japanese teachers, both racially and sexually. Well, my reports now have what you might call official backing. Just before Christmas, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology reported that the number of public school teachers punished for obscene conduct has reached a record-high 175 nationwide in fiscal 2002 ending March 31. In 92 cases, the victims were the teachers' pupils, and of those punished, 97, or 55.4%, were dismissed in disgrace. Really gives you confidence as you send your kids off to school, doesn't it? The ministry says that disciplinary action was used for acts such as groping, peeking, taking photos of students getting undressed or in the toilet, and imprudent touching. Unbelievably, almost half of these teachers were harassing their own students. One writer who specialises in this issue, Satoshi Tomisaka, says the figures are just the tip of the iceberg. "It is almost three years ago that I started researching sexual harassment at schools," he said. "As I reported on cases everywhere in Japan, I saw schools that kept their mouth shut in the name of protection of privacy for students. As soon as I saw the voice of kids silenced, I saw a gloomy future." For example, consider the case of a 33-year-old elementary school teacher in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward who used his position as a basketball coach to invite girls to an isolated meeting room.  Even though he has admitted to the charges, the school is continuing to say he isn't all bad and has even circulated a petition among parents asking for his punishment to be light. Nice, huh? But there's more. What about the elementary school teacher in Saitama who was arrested going into a love hotel with a junior high first grade female student, whom he had taught as an elementary student. It turned out that he had repeatedly harassed the girl inside and outside school, that she became pregnant with his baby and had to have an abortion.  In the west, such cases would be headline stuff but in Japan, measures against school sexual harassment are almost zero. "Usually it is covered up unless the case is reported by the media. Despite the lifelong deep emotional scars inflicted on innocent children's hearts, the schools just say things like 'The teacher is not that kind of person,' or 'We need to think about his bright future.'" Such ridiculous logic is used to allow the teacher back into the classroom. In some cases, the offending teacher is merely transferred to another school.

On a related but much less disgusting note, some teachers have been 'misbehaving' in other ways. Believe it or not, 44 teachers were punished because of opposition to the use of the Hinomaru (red circle on white background) flag and "Kimigayo" anthem at school, down from 64 the previous year, it said. Hardly surprising that so many of Japan's neighbours fear a resurgence of Japanese militarism! The wartime flag and national anthem used every day at schools, the prime minister visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, and visiting Japanese executives acting, shall we say, 'disrespectfully' in China. Not exactly tactful or neighbourly behaviour, wouldn't you say? And yet the government wants more Chinese tourists? Or so they claim . . .

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Crime File

• My brother and I never got on well but I can't recall ever wanting to kill him. However, this idea seems to have occurred to at least one Japanese boy. Police report that a 14-year-old boy in Ibaraki Prefecture was arrested for trying to kill his 12-year-old sister by hitting her on the head with a steel rod. Fortunately, although the victim, an elementary school pupil, was seriously injured in the attack, her life is not in danger. The attacker, a third-year junior high school student, is alleged to have attacked his sister from behind while she was watching TV at home. Police quoted him as saying, "I felt like killing someone after looking at an Internet site on murder. It didn't matter who it was." Ah well, boys will be boys!

• Adults attacking schoolchildren is sadly not as rare as it should be anywhere and now it's happening here in Japan. In separate incidents, a schoolgirl in Hyogo Prefecture was hit on the head with a pole after two men intruded into an elementary school and a boy on his way to school in Fukuoka Prefecture was attacked by a stranger, police said. The attacks occurred a day after two boys were slashed by an intruder with a kitchen knife as they were having lunch in their classroom at a school in Kyoto Prefecture. These attacks have brought back bad memories of the murder of eight schoolchildren at a school in Osaka Prefecture in 2001 after which schools throughout Japan were urged to improve security. However, many schools still leave their gates open during school hours.

• Just as the above story reveals,  schools here still naively believe Japan is a totally safe place, and so do many residents. Take, for example, the case of the lady in Aichi Prefecture. A man wearing a baseball cap and dressed in a light-blue uniform, used an intercom at her building to say he had a delivery. When the 69-year-old woman opened the door, he sprayed an unknown substance on her, then bound her with adhesive tape. Another man then entered the building and the two fled with a safe weighing about 40 kilograms, containing some ¥40 million in cash and financial documents, police said. Our quick-witted police claim to suspect the robbery is connected with a case in which a man, also pretending to be a delivery person, bound a housewife with tape and stole money and cash cards. Coincidence, maybe?

• Here's a crime you don't come across every day, thankfully. Sadaharu Oh is the Manager of the Daiei Hawks, one of Japan's most famous baseball teams, and last year, some creep stole his wife's ashes from her grave. Pretty sick, huh? It gets worse. The poor husband has now received an anonymous call demanding ¥3 million to get them back! "If Oh wants the ashes back, pay money," the male caller said in a call to the Hawks after the team won the national baseball championship. So far, the police seem to have no idea who is behind the theft and extortion, but let's hope they get him soon, and that the court throws the book at him!

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Time for some positive economic news for a change! Every year, the 'Shukan Post' publishes a list of the top 10 successful innovators of the year. Take a look at those it listed for 2003.
1. Chihiro Kameyama, 47, Fuji TV producer. He produced a film titled "Network of Police Investigation: Close the Rainbow Bridge" which made ¥17 billion yen in 33 days for Fuji TV, a record high for the last 20 years.
2. Yuji Yamano, 43, senior marketing manager for Kao Cosmetics Inc. In May, he introduced a new tea called "Healthier Green Tea" that decreases fat, targeting men who were concerned about their diet. The new product recorded ¥6 billion in sales over four months.
3. Yumiko Kotani, 36, executive at the Japan Pet Model Association. This lady created Ku-chan, a super idol that appeared in a TV commercial for a consumer finance company. She also created the successful narration of Ku-chan in the TV commercial, saying "Daddy, I want a dog."
4. Akiyo Hirakubo, 44, president of Gold Flag Inc. a company with just 23 employees. This canny executive successfully negotiated with a US manufacturer to import the Nu-Bra. Although this bra costs ¥12,000, 210,000 were sold from February to November in Japan.
5. Takeshi Nakamura, 40, manager of Sapporo Brewery. He came up with a new canned beer called Yebisu Black, which costs ¥15 more than other brands but sold 250,000 cases in the first two weeks after its introduction in May.
6. Motoichi Koyama, 49, assistant director of Nisshin Foods. Koyama came up with a new "cup noodle" product called Goo Ta. The new product was priced at ¥300, higher than any other such product, but sales reached ¥16 billion. No other brands' cup noodle products have ever been close to the sales of Goo Ta.
7. Kenji Matsuoka, 35, section chief of Sony. This gent introduced Sony's new DVD recorder PSX series, which incorporates DVD, hard disc recording capacity and PlayStation functions, but is priced at just ¥79,800. The new product has taken the market by storm.
8. David Eliot, 64, curator of the Mori Art Museum. This Museum opened in October, occupying the 52nd and 53rd floors of the Mori Tower Building in the heart of the new Roppongi Hills development. In its first month, the museum had 250,000 visitors, including many young couples, high school students, families and foreign tourists.
9. Tomoaki Yoshida, 31, assistant section chief of Asahi Bottlers. He introduced a new type of canned coffee called Wonder Morning Shot. 15 million cases were sold — an unprecedented success for such a product.
10. Shigehiro Kawase, 34, employee of Esaki Gurico Co. This chap thought up a new packaged product called Time Slip Gurico, which combines two pieces of chocolate and one CD in one package, priced at ¥300. When the product was introduced to the market, six million pieces were sold immediately.

Who said the days of Japanese innovation were over!

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Japan is, as everybody knows, is a constitutional monarchy, headed by a no longer divine emperor. However, the monarchy is now facing a possible crisis, as the present Crown Prince has not yet managed to produce a male heir. He and his popular, highly sophisticated wife have produced a daughter, but the 1948 imperial law does not allow a daughter to succeed to the throne. That may sound ridiculous in the 21st century but what makes it even more ridiculous is that Japan has had female monarchs before, the latest being the empress Go-Sakuramachi, who reigned from 1762 to 1771. However, with a male child being noticeable by its absence in the Crown Prince's family, the government is now studying the possibility of changing the law to allow a woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. The required and highly reasonable change seems to be on the books, with Taro Nakayama, who chairs the 50-strong study group on constitutional issues, pointing out that "Since Japan had eight reigning empresses in history, succession by a new empress would not be strange". Such a change is certainly needed, for if Crown Prince Masako or his only brother Prince Akishino (who has two daughters) have no boys, the imperial succession would be in crisis under current laws. Now it might seem ridiculous that such a law exists these days but this is just one aspect of the imperial household that is immensely out of date. The publicity shy 'Imperial Household Agency' controls the imperial family to a ridiculous extent, strictly limiting contact between them and the people they 'rule'. The younger members of the imperial family must truly envy the freedom enjoyed by the British royals and so for Japan to become a truly modern nation, let's hope that the reforms being considered include a complete overhaul of that agency and its power. The imperial family gave up its divine status after WW2 and so let them live at least a little like ordinary folk. Doesn't that sound reasonable? 

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Just when you think Japan's politician's ability to upset its neighbours has reached its limit, they prove you wrong. What do I mean? Well, consider our revered leader, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Come New Year's Day and what does he do? He visits the Yasukuni Shrine, which as most folk know, honours Japan's war dead including war criminals such as wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. This was his fourth annual visit to the Shrine since taking office in April 2001 and his first on New Year's Day, when millions of Japanese make their first visits of the year to shrines and temples throughout the country. Koizumi said he prayed for peace and prosperity, and paid ¥30,000 out of his pocket to offer flowers to the shrine. Couldn't he have chosen his neighbourhood shrine or something? Although this visit has already angered neighbouring Asian countries, Koizumi claimed that each country has its "own history and tradition. I think the other countries will understand that." Is he naive or just stupid? To prove him wrong, China's Vice Foreign Minister summoned the Japanese charge d'affaires Chikahito Harada to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing just hours after the visit and lodged a strong protest over the visit. So why did he choose New Year's Day for such a thoughtless visit? "Peace for Japan is not only the result of the efforts of people now," he said. "It is built upon the sacrifice of people who lost their lives even though they did not want to die." In an effort to maybe limit the damage his insensitivity caused, Koizumi claimed his visit to the Shrine would be his only one this year. That may not be enough to placate China. This visit has somewhat blighted hopes for him to visit China and for Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit Japan. Plans for Koizumi to visit China last year were not realized precisely because of his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine. However, don't go thinking that his action upset too many people here. Bear in mind that when he ran for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2001, he promised he would visit the shrine every August 15th, the anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender to Allied forces in World War II. He won and became prime minister, which shows that he isn't alone in thinking like this. Believe it or not, he claims that he makes the visits in the hope that Japan will never wage war again and that there is no change in the friendly relations Japan has with China and South Korea. Pardon? So he pisses off all of his neighbours in order to maintain good relations? Am I missing something here -- or is he?

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Say That Again . . .

Over here, just after the last 'Empty Seat' went online, there was a scandal about some local politicians from the Saitama Prefectural Assembly visiting a brothel whilst on an 'official inspection tour' of Thailand -- nice work if you can get it! However, it seems these guys aren't even original, for when asked what he was doing with a bargirl, one of them replied:

"I took the woman to the hotel where I was staying just to give her a souvenir."
I doubt if his wife would believe that, & neither do I!

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As the above shows, the racism of some Japanese males does not extend to their sex lives, and so there is no shortage of foreign females working in Japan's many hostess bars and brothels. However, the law makes sure these ladies have few if any rights and if they end up with unplanned offspring, they get little help. One lady, Mari Nyota, decided to do something about this and established the 'Self Empowerment Program of Migrant Women' (SEPOM), a non-profit organization, in Thailand, to help former sex workers and their children they had with Japanese "clients." As she explained:

"I met many sex workers who came back from Japan. They had a miserable life. So, I thought there should be some projects to help them."

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For those who doubt the Victorian view of a woman's place prevalent in Japan, consider these words:

"Women in their 30s or older who aren't married and haven't had kids are the same as a dog beaten in a fight that runs off with its tail between its legs." 
They come from writer Junko Sakai, who claims that women who reject traditional values for careers or enjoyment only do so because they are unable to meet the demands of what society expects from them. The irony is -- Junko is a woman! Talk about helping the opposition!

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One lady who has, in her own way, rejected traditional values is Serina Aoki, Japan's most popular cabaret hostess girl. This astute lady recently earned ¥3 million in just three nights  by pouring drinks for customers at a club in Shinjuku. However, don't think these drinks were a prelude to something more, for as she said:

"I don't do any phone calls trying to drum up business. I do turn up for work every day, but I absolutely refuse to go out on dates with customers after I've finished. "
So much for the recession! I think I'll pour my own for sure . . .

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For men who do try to go beyond just having a lady pour their drinks, a new product might cause them to hesitate. Invented by Takeshi Makino, the winner of the 1999 Nobel Chemistry Prize, it is a spray women can use on their husband's underpants to detect semen to determine if their spouse has been having an affair. He said:

"As the prize has become more famous, sales of S-Check have increased."

Talk about putting science to practical use! Now where did I put those old paper undies . . .

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When I first came to Japan, the figures for cell phone ownership were amongst the lowest in the developed world. Things sure have changed, with even elementary school kids having one and sometimes two! As Professor Yoshihiro Sato of Musashino University said, people now find themselves dysfunctional without a cell phone.
"We're moving toward a society where people don't mind exchanging emails but holding meetings and conversations is a strain."

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Japan's dissatisfaction with the result of WW2 is not only revealed by visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, but also with its stated views of how the UN, set-up by the war's victors, is organised. Now it is reported by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun that Japan is considering reducing its contribution to the UN budget by 2006, because "Japan has not been given its due in the global community despite its huge U. contribution". To be fair, Japan, which accounts for about 19.5% of the UN's budget, is the 2nd largest contributor, behind only the United States, the top contributor with 22% (although it did hold back a chunk of that for quite a while). By comparison, France and Britain, permanent members of the Security Council, each contribute less than 10%. Now no-one seriously expects Japan to be given permanent status, or for any of the permanent five to lose their position, but it does seem a little unfair. Of course, it can be argued that Japan does not pull its weight militarily, preferring chequebook diplomacy to physical contributions to peacekeeping, using its constitution as an excuse. However, the fact remains that Japan is not happy and an advisory panel to the Prime Minister has proposed that its contribution ratio be lowered to around 15%. Seems to me that this a two-way street. Sure, Japan is (for the time being) the world's 2nd largest economy and so it should be the 2nd largest contributor. However, if the system of permanent members is to be retained, then why should those select few pay more for the privilege? Almost 60 years after the end of WW2, being one of the victors doesn't seem much of a qualification for such dominance, especially with one of the five being a notorious dictatorship. However, there seems as much chance of any radical reform at the UN as there is of Japan admitting what it did during WW2, so don't hold your breath on either count!

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Back when I was teaching at a junior college about 110km north of Tokyo, I asked my students if they wanted the American military to leave Japan. Almost all of them said yes. However, when I pointed out that the 'Self Defense Force' (Japanese military) couldn't recruit enough men even with the Americans, any US departure might lead to conscription, they rapidly changed their minds. However, Kiyohiko Koike, the former education and training chief of the Defense Agency who was elected mayor of Niigata Prefecture's Kamo City in 1995 and is now in his third term, suggested that the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq will lead to the same thing. Koike claims that while the SDF has little difficulty recruiting at present because of the economic slump (although it still has recruiting ads on almost every street corner), it might have trouble filling its ranks in the near future, due to (a) Japan's falling birth-rate, and (b) the strong possibility that the SDF will suffer casualties in Iraq. Japan is truly not prepared for planes bringing back dead soldiers and the sight of body bags on the TV news would make a military career even less attractive than it now is. With the US also facing a shortage of soldiers, an increase in their Japan bases would be politically unacceptable to both nations and so the introduction of a military draft might turn out to be extremely likely. However, this ex-soldier goes on to make some less logical claims. For one thing, he states that sending the SDF to Iraq was wrong because those who enlisted did so out of a willingness to put their lives on the line to defend Japan, not to risk their lives in Iraq. Since when has a soldier been able to choose what he fights for? Anyway, I hate to disillusion him but most of them probably enlisted because they couldn't find a job! Anyway, he then claims that since the people of Iraq have not requested that the SDF come to their country, they will be an uninvited guest. Wouldn't that be a first, soldiers as uninvited guests! It really shows what's wrong with the SDF if that's how the leadership thinks!

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One reason there are so many Australians working in Japan is the wise policy of teaching Japanese at some Australian schools. Love it or hate it, Japanese is useful if you're doing business internationally, and is a lot more useful than the Latin my Jesuit teachers thrust upon me. I was therefore very pleased to read a report from Kyodo News about a new initiative dubbed "Ready Steady NihonGO!" which is striving to bring Japanese learning to primary school pupils in Britain. Now the British are, admit it, some of the least gifted linguists around, having trouble with even French, and so the idea of teaching Japanese to kids between the ages of 5 and 10 makes sense. The project is the brainchild of the Japan Foundation London Language Center (JFLLC), an arm of the Japan Foundation. It was prompted by the British Government's stated aim that all primary pupils from the age of 7 will be entitled to learn a modern foreign language by the end of the decade. To help research the project, the centre formed a partnership with The University of Nottingham School of Education in central England, the only training provider amongst English universities for high school teachers of Japanese. However, there is a long way to go, as a questionnaire sent out by the centre to 25,000 British primary schools revealed that learning of Japanese is extremely limited — currently approximately 15 teach Japanese, mostly at voluntary clubs. Only one, an independent fee-paying 'public school' for girls between the ages of 4 and 18 in northwest London, teaches Japanese throughout the primary years. The people behind this project claim that the response from British schools has been very positive, saying they're very interested in new things and Japanese is perceived as a fun language, not at all as exotic or too difficult to learn because the basics are actually not complicated. For someone who is still struggling with a weekly Japanese class, I don't exactly agree, but then, it would doubtless have been a lot easier if I'd learnt at primary school! However, anything that makes the British more multilingual must be good, and the good news is that by the time these kids graduate and come here to teach English, I'll have long retired, so let someone else worry about the increased competition! 

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I have mentioned before that Japan is, officially at least, trying to attract more tourists. Well what would make you consider taking a holiday here, ah? Maybe Mr Koizumi? I'm not kidding. The government here has launched an official tourism promotion video as part of the "Visit Japan" campaign, in which Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi speaks both in Japanese and English, inviting foreigners to visit Japan. The ad, which runs for 30 seconds for both the Japanese and English versions, features Koizumi speaking with background images such as bullet trains, robots and kabuki plays. Riveting stuff, ah? It will be broadcast on in-flight programs by 20 airlines serving Japan and as TV commercials abroad. The report claimed that you can also check it out at the website of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport but I couldn't find any mention of it there. However, if you're feeling bored, go ahead & try for yourself at www.mlit.go.jp/kisha/ kisha04/01/010113_2_.html. 
But Koizumi-san isn't the only one trying to attract visitors. Folks here in Tokyo can now experience the best of Japan's regional products and cuisines at "antenna shops" run by local governments during lunch hours, where tourist information centres share space with restaurants and officials help interested customers make hotel and train reservations. In case you're eager to visit one, Tokyo has 27 antenna shops mainly located in Ginza and other bustling areas. One-third of them have restaurants, and some earn ¥100 million a month! For example, you could visit the Setouchi Junsaikan restaurant in my own Minato Ward, run by the Kagawa and Ehime prefectural governments of western Japan. This place sells udon noodles from the Sanuki region (thick white noodles served on a woven-wicker platter accompanied by a cold dipping broth) for only ¥400 -- 250 bowls during lunch hours alone! They can manage this price (normally what you'd pay at a stand-up noodle bar) because they use wheat produced by an agricultural product development centre in Kagawa Prefecture, and agricultural and fishery cooperatives in Kagawa and Ehime supply almost all other materials at cheap prices. For those who prefer rice, try the Omotesando-Niigatakan Nespaci restaurant near Shibuya, run by a long-established hotel in Niigata Prefecture. This place serves Koshihikari — the most popular rice brand, grown with fewer agricultural chemicals. If you've a healthy appetite, extra bowls of rice are free and some customers eat three bowls of rice for lunch. Then again, maybe you'd prefer the Hiroshima Yumeterasu in front of Shinjuku Station, the busiest railway station in the world. Everyday sees a long line of customers -- an average, 1,000 per day -- waiting for bowls of rice with oysters with meat and vegetable pancakes called okinomiyaki, both prefectural specialties. If the meal whets your appetite, there are tourism officials upstairs who can help you check train timetables and hotel accommodation. Interesting, huh? Well I'm just off to go and get ready for the hoards of visitors Koizumi-san's video is bound to bring in -- that or I'll join the queue for some of that food!  

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Gaijin's Tip:

'Now that the cold weather is here, you might like to consider having a Japanese style bath. If so, here's what to do when you use a Japanese public bath. After paying at the counter and leaving your clothes in the locker provided, discretely cover the front of your body with a washcloth before entering the main chamber. Fill the small basin provided with water and soap yourself completely before rinsing; repeat this process several times. Once you are really clean (and not before), enter the water but remember -- it will be VERY hot indeed so ease yourself in slowly. Then lie back and enjoy it!'
(Taken from the 'Gaijin's Guide to Living in Japan')

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Gaijin's Where-to-Go

'It's a worrying but important fact that Tokyo will almost certainly get a serious earthquake sooner or later. Japan is pretty well prepared but many gaijins here are not. A visit to the Honjo Bosai-Kan will help you prepare. They offer a 3- hour training session in life safety including earthquakes, etc. The centre has an English pamphlet and some English is spoken. Open 9-5pm, but closed on Wednesday. Nearest station is Kinshicho JR. For more information, call 03-3621-0119." 

(For more suggestions, check out the 'Gaijin's Guide to Enjoying Tokyo')