Duvets and Motorcycle Gangs
Unfortunately, there's no way to completely make up for a bad night's sleep. The comfortable blanket of darkness is finite, and once the sun brightens the sky, you know there's no turning back - even hiding your head under the covers won't change the fact that it's light outside now, and everyone else will be getting their day started, with or without you.
Last night I pulled out one of my favorite possessions, one of those special things that makes me feel like I'm an adult who really "made it" in life - my big fluffy duvet. I wondered for years why certain hotels felt immeasurably more comfortable than others, and realized in my late 20's that it was the unique construction of a feather down duvet that made me feel like royalty as I slept. When we moved back to the US, Eric and I finally bought one, and it's been my favorite blanket ever since. (Calling it a "blanket" feels even a little wrong. It's more than that to me.)
I might have slept like a baby wrapped in a cloud last night if it hadn't been for the motorcycle gangs.
"What motorcycle gangs, what are you talking about?" you might ask.
"You live in Japan, a peaceful and polite country that doesn't have such annoyances, don't you?" you might say.
Or if you're not so naive, you might at least think "you don't live that close to a metropolis, right?"
Well, I don't live in a metropolis, but I do live in a city, and I also live right next to a very long and wide bypass that I truly regret not researching more before I signed my apartment contract.
I'm talking about the Bōsōzoku - a "Japanese youth subculture associated with customized motorcycles."(see more on wikipedia) That's such a mild and simple explanation, so let me elaborate - it's an anonymous group of people, maybe young, I don't know, who use their illegally modified vehicles to deliberately break the "wa" of Japan, destroy the sanctity of night and sleep, and risk their lives and others by ripping up and down the roadways with absolutely no regard. It's an incredibly individualistic and disgusting subculture I'm already sick of. I relate to this video by one of my favorite youtubers, Kaname Naito:
I never really experienced it in my last stint in Japan, because I lived pretty far outside the city. I recall hearing someone revving their engine annoyingly some nights back then, and wonder now if they were a desperate solo trying to assert their dominance among the summer frogs.
Last night isn't the first night I've been roused from my sleep around midnight by the revving engines of the local gang, but it was a particularly raucous night, with not one or two passes, but four passes by my apartment between 12 and 3 am. Now, I also have a mild phobia of ascending noises for some reason, so it causes me quite a bit of anxiety to hear them proceeding up and down the highway. (Side note: I was deeply afraid of the THX trademark sound "Deep Note" as a child, and often covered my ears at the start of any movie they had a part in.)
On the first pass, I felt my heart jump as I knew they were coming. It almost sounded as if they're going to smash right into my building, and as they passed by I knew they'd be back for a second run - as always. After that prophecy came true, I thought that might be it for the night, and after half an hour of waiting in silence, I thought that should be it for the night.
I snuggled into my duvet, and Eric's back.
Then it happened again, and I felt like crying as I buried my head under my pillow praying that they might get abducted by aliens and just go away.
This morning, I woke feeling drained and frustrated... I'm grateful that Eric let me sleep in for another half hour, but no extra sleep would make up for it at this point. I'll just have to proceed with the day and hope tonight is quiet.
But at least, regardless of the time of day, I feel some comfort typing in bed, under my duvet.