My Japanese Jail Cell and Me
A Day in the Life of An American Detainee in Japan
First in my series: My Japanese Jail Cell and Me: A Day in the Life Of An American Detainee in Japan
7am: Wake Up
The day started at 7am sharp, when the harsh fluorescent lights would flicker to life above. Moments later, a guard (or tanto-san) would appear to open our cell door so we could put our bedding away. The bedding consisted of a thin futon mattress with one tiny pillow, one comforter, and one scratchy blanket that was also for day use. There was no furniture in the cell, so the blanket was there to provide some padding against the unforgiving tatami floor. Spoiler alert: it offered no padding.
07:05: Cleaning
After our bedding was put away, the guard would then deliver cleaning supplies through a small opening in the cell door. A toilet brush, a small broom and two wash rags. My cellmate and I split the duties, and I usually scrubbed the bathroom while she swept our “living space”. If we did not clean properly, we would receive a stern talking to. (Although I couldn’t understand all the words, I knew it was something to do with “You are not good enough at cleaning.”)
07:15–07:30: Wash Up
During this time we were given our toiletries, one by one, through the same tiny window which the cleaning supplies were delivered. Since my cellmate was prisoner #51, she got to wash first (I was #52.)
We were required to pay for all of our toiletries, which consisted of a wash rag that doubled as a towel on shower days, a cup to carry our toothbrush and toothpaste, a hairbrush, “contact water” for my contacts as I can’t see without them, and some lotion. Nankō (軟膏), or “lotion” is a word in Japanese that can mean several things, this instance being the least moisturizing lotion in all of lotiondom.
The one good thing about having to pay for my own toiletries was that I was able to keep them when I was released. (Score!) I still can’t stand the smell of the soap I had to use during that time.
07:30–08:00: Breakfast
After we finished cleaning and washing up, our breakfast bentos would be delivered through the same slot as the cleaning supplies and toiletries. We would receive two boxes, one filled with rice and the other filled with a small meal. In the morning there was always a small piece of smoked fish and sweet egg. We also got a cup of “green tea” that was mostly lukewarm water. At first the guards would give me a spoon with which to eat, as they thought I couldn’t use chopsticks, so I usually had to ask for them. (It was a GIANT spoon too — like a serving spoon. Giant spoon + small bento box= NOPE)
Sometimes a thermometer would also be delivered to the cell, and the guard would say “goju niban (#52), court today.” If it was your day to go to court, you were to take your temperature, and then hand the thermometer back to the guard. Thermometer delivery was a sure sign you were going to see either the prosecutor or the judge or both, and it always had me sweating bullets.
08:00–10:00: Exercise Time Mon-Sat (not Sunday or holidays) and Shower time Tuesday and Saturday only
Tuesdays and Saturdays were designated “shower days” and I looked forward to them so much. We were only allowed to shower twice a week for 15 minutes at a time, so I always used every single second. It was the closest to “relaxing” that I got. There was a stainless steel onsen tub in the room along with two shower heads on the wall. I didn’t mind the fact that every single prisoner used the same water in that tub — I would have crawled over hot coals to soak in that goddamn water. (Bathing customs in America vs. Japan are very different, as I learned — DO NOT get in the onsen tub unless you have showered FIRST!)
“Exercise time” also started around 8 am. (I put that in quotations because it only lasted 5–10 minutes.) The guards would accompany us to a room with cement walls. There were open windows high up on the walls in this room, and although I could not see out of them, they let in some fresh air. Below were sounds of the world chugging along, completely oblivious of the fact that I was listening in. A person having a cigarette break, a car driving by, the quiet hum of Japanese society. It was oddly comforting.
10:00–12:00 Sit & Reflect time, or Interrogation by police
10 am began what I like to call “Sit and Reflect” time — meaning we were left alone for most of the day. During S&R time we could read, write in our journals, attempt a nap (extremely difficult to do with the hard floor and the glaring fluorescent lighting), or just sit and stare at the wall. One afternoon I counted and mentally measured the cracks in the wall. Those cracks had me shook because Japan is very seismically active.
10 am also gave start to the time when police were allowed to interrogate prisoners. This process was terrifying for me, because I never knew when they would come. There was something like a doorbell that rang throughout the entire jail, and that signaled the police had arrived to interrogate someone. The only warning of the coming interrogation was that doorbell, then a guard coming into the cell with handcuffs. It could honestly happen anytime, and now if I hear anything resembling that sound I get a stab of fear that hits right in the pit of my stomach.
12:00–13:00: Lunchtime
12:00 was lunchtime. Another two bentos, one with rice, one with the meal was delivered along with more lukewarm green tea-water. The food was cold 100% of the time, and included things like Japanese curry and a noodle salad. (No spoon this time!)
During lunchtime, the guards would turn on the radio for us to listen to. I have no idea what station it was, but it played a little news and a little music. Since I was in jail during the Christmas season, the station played several Christmas songs. I heard some new ones that I never knew existed, which was not necessarily a good thing.
13:00–19:00: Sit and Reflect, or police interrogation (continued)
At 13:00 we were back to “Sit and Reflect” time, where I would usually read. I subsisted on books provided by the American Embassy, which helped keep me sane. I’m a voracious reader, so I was able to read and re-read books 2–3 times each. My favorite novel was In the House of the Spirits, by Isabelle Allende. (Great story!) My least favorite was Eat, Pray, Love, which I still think is the absolute worst book to read while in jail. A book about not only traveling, but eating great food.
16:00: Snacktime (During Sit & Reflect time)
If a prisoner had enough money, they could purchase snacks like juice boxes, sweet buns, candy, or savory snacks like shrimp chips. I only had around 8,000 yen ($80) on me when I was arrested, so I wasn’t able to buy much, but I made my money last the entire 35 days that I was in jail. I budgeted carefully and was able to purchase a few sweet buns, a few juice boxes and a bit of candy. My funds were low after purchasing all my toiletries listed above, along with others like sanitary napkins and shampoo.
I’ve received a few messages from friendly internet folk informing me that “snacktime” invalidates my experience in jail, so I feel inclined to explain it further. The main goal of the Jail/Guard/Prisoner relationship was to impart a sense of caste position. We as prisoners were the lowest rung on the ladder of humans, and because of that we were treated like children. Everything about the Japanese Jail experience was meant to hammer that into our brains. We had to bow to recieve our food and cleaning supplies through the tiny window, and it was expected that we use the most formal of verbiage. One example of this was the guards waking us in the morning with the greeting “Ohayo”, then we were expected to reply with “Ohayo gozaimasu.” So to those that may be thinking “snacktime” is childish, you are correct — that’s the point.
19:00–20:00: Dinner
Dinner was served at 7pm and consisted of the same two bentos. One with rice and one with another small meal. The best meal I received was 2 Honey BBQ chicken nuggets, half a deviled egg and about 6 mandarin orange slices from a can. I enjoyed that meal so much because It reminded me of home. The guards also played the radio during dinner, and every Sunday they had a segment called “It all started with the Beatles!” where they played Beatles songs. It was nice to hear familiar music once a week.
20:00–21:00: More Sit & Reflect time
After dinner was one final hour of S&R time, where I usually wrote in my journal. Towards the end of my time, my cellmate Shen and I would go through Japanese words and phrases. I have thousands of words, phrases and sentences written in my journal. Welcome to the way I learned Japanese!
21:00: Bedtime Prep
Time to prepare for bedtime. Not actually go to bed, but time to bring the futon back out, set up for bedtime, and wash up again. I would always breathe a sigh of relief, because Bedtime Prep meant that I wouldn’t be interrogated by police until possibly the next day (ask not for whom the doorbell tolls, it may toll for me).
During this time, my cellmate and I would attempt to teach each other our respective languages. We would go over the basics every night like eyes, nose, teeth, mouth. I remember her laughing at me when I mentioned that the word for “mouth” (kuchi, 口) sounded a lot like the word for “9 o’clock” (kuji, 九時). She thought is was very funny that I couldn’t pronounce them properly. (I didn’t mention that her pronunciation of “o’clock” sounded like “o’quart”)
Sometimes this time annoyed me because I was so mentally exhausted from being in a constant state of high anxiety, but looking back I am very thankful for the time we spent talking. She had a motherly way of keeping me from jumping off the proverbial ledge. Shen was an amazing lady.
22:00: Bedtime
Best time of the day! I rarely actually slept for more than an hour or two at a time as the futon mattress was very thin, and the floor was very hard. If I slept on my side or my stomach my hipbones would hurt, and on my back my tailbone started to ache. I mostly just laid back and pondered the great mysteries of life. Since I was completely devoid of technology, I rediscovered my own thoughts and imagination.
It took a few weeks for me to stop reaching for my non-existant phone, and I marveled at the silly things I wanted to ask the Googler, like “What is the outside temperature?”, “I have a leg cramp, what should I do?”, “How do toenails grow?” It’s amazing how incredibly dependent we are on technology. We only realize it when it’s taken away.
When I would finally fall asleep, I was inevitably woken in the morning by those harsh fluorescent overhead lights.
Then the next day would progress with the same schedule. Every day…for 35 days. Deviation from the daily schedule was very rare.
All in all, it was not a fun experience. I would have punched someone in the face for a cookie or a bowl of hot soup.
I was always on the edge of panic, and spent the entire 35 days in a constant state of discomfort since there were no chairs or furniture in the cell. I spent 80% of my time sitting on the floor, and when I was not on the floor I was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair during interrogation.
While it may have not been a fun experience, it was a damn good learning experience. I learned more in those 35 days than I had in the entire 10 previous years. I still love Japan, and visit as often as possible. It is a wonderful country with a rich culture and history.
I love visiting Japan, and using the Japanese I learned in jail — not only words, but customs and practices. When someone asks: “Where did you learn that?”, I reply, “In Jail.” After the initial shock, the next question invariably is: “What was Japanese Jail like??”
My answer: “Safe, clean, and very organized.”
Next up in My Japanese Jail Cell and Me:
- The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of my arrest and jailtime.
Stay Tuned!
