The Hazards of Fieldwork

I have to admit that I have it easy compared to a lot of anthropologists. I don’t have to worry about malaria, clean drinking water, or getting bitten by a poisonous snake miles from the nearest hospital.

Instead the greatest hazard of my fieldwork is simply finding places in Tokyo. Most Japanese streets do not have names. And buildings are numbered in the order that they were built, so number 17 may be right next to number 67. As a result, addresses are pretty worthless (I’m actually amazed that the Japanese postal service manages to deliver mail so efficiently). Most people rely on maps and most businesses will have a map posted on their website showing how to get there from the nearest train or subway station. The catch, particularly at the larger stations, is to make sure you go out the correct exit. If you exit from the Shinjuku Station West Exit when you were supposed to go out the Central West Exit, you will never find the landmarks on the map. I got turned around like that one time and spent half an hour wandering around before I realized I was on completely the wrong end of the station. One of the landmarks on the map was a MacDonald’s, and I found a MacDonald’s. Only it turned out to be the wrong MacDonald’s. Luckily there are police boxes scattered throughout the city and a major part of their job is providing directions to people who are lost.

Unfortunately the research I’m doing now involves making lots of visits to businesses where I’ve never been before, and I’ve never had much of a sense of direction to begin with. So far I’ve only been late to one appointment, but the concern about whether I will be able to find where I’m going always adds just a little bit of extra nervousness. I usually end up either rushing to get there or arriving half an hour early and having to find a coffee shop or wander around window shopping until it’s time for the appointment. But at least there are no snakes.