I went to an exhibit of Hokusai paintings this week. I got to see The Wave and the other "36 Views of Mt. Fuji." It was spectacular.
But the weirdest thing happened while in line. A man heard me and my friend Marie speaking in English. He asked me where I was from. I told him America. And then he said, "Thank you. Thank you." Very emphatically, he said it. And then he hurried back to his place in line before I could ask for what or even say "uh, you're welcome?"
Another American was in line behind me. "That's not the typical response you get when you go abroad," he said with a chuckle.
"Definitely not," I agreed, remembering the little old Belgian lady in Europe who shook her finger at me and said "shame on you" in a menacing tone. There was an anti-war protest going on outside so I suppose that's what prompted his odd display of gratitude, but it was totally random.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Graduation
March is the season for graduation ceremonies here in Japan. I went to one of my JHS graduations last week and this morning I sat in on the rehearsal for one of my elementary schools. It's a very serious affair to go from the elementary school to jr. high or jr. high to senior high. And even the rehearsals are rigourous.
The kids must sit up straight, looking straight ahead, with both feet flat on the floor and their hands resting on their knees in loose fists. The teachers prowl around, correcting the posture of anyone who slips and starts to slouch, moving hands back to the knees, and kicking feet out from under chairs and back to the front where they belong. Some kids get little speeches of encouragement that end with "gambarre yo." Which loosely translated means "suck it up and be a man yo." I usually sit slouching with one knee bouncing out of control, but even I felt the pressure to sit up and be still. It almost killed me, but if my little first graders could do it, then so could I.
The sixth (or third in jr. high school) graders come in, moving with military precision, bow, and sit down. When they go up to receive their diplomas, they bow, take the certificate one hand at a time, then step back and bow deeply, holding the diploma over their head. Then they turn on their heel and walk stiffly with their paper to the side, the other arm swinging slightly. This is the part where I sleep with my eyes open and/or concentrate very hard on sitting still.
Afterwards there are lots of long boring speeches, which thankfully today I was spared, (unlike last week.) Then the younger students say their thankyous - carefully rehearsed speeches shouted from their seats one person at a time. Then they sing to the graduating class. Then the graduating class remembers all the good times they had, once again with carefully rehearsed speeches. They sing to the younger kids. And then they they all sing together. At my jr. high last week several of the girls got very emotional. Tears streamed down their face as they sang the last song before marching out. I almost cried myself and I don't even know most of their names.
They asked me later what I thought. Omoshirokata, I said. It was interesting. But, very different from American ceremonies, I told them. The thought of the guy at my high school who did a back flip and landed on his face as he walked across the stage to get his diploma sprang to mind. I didn't tell my teachers about him because I don't have the Japanese to explain it. Although I can just imagine their horrified looks if I had.
The kids must sit up straight, looking straight ahead, with both feet flat on the floor and their hands resting on their knees in loose fists. The teachers prowl around, correcting the posture of anyone who slips and starts to slouch, moving hands back to the knees, and kicking feet out from under chairs and back to the front where they belong. Some kids get little speeches of encouragement that end with "gambarre yo." Which loosely translated means "suck it up and be a man yo." I usually sit slouching with one knee bouncing out of control, but even I felt the pressure to sit up and be still. It almost killed me, but if my little first graders could do it, then so could I.
The sixth (or third in jr. high school) graders come in, moving with military precision, bow, and sit down. When they go up to receive their diplomas, they bow, take the certificate one hand at a time, then step back and bow deeply, holding the diploma over their head. Then they turn on their heel and walk stiffly with their paper to the side, the other arm swinging slightly. This is the part where I sleep with my eyes open and/or concentrate very hard on sitting still.
Afterwards there are lots of long boring speeches, which thankfully today I was spared, (unlike last week.) Then the younger students say their thankyous - carefully rehearsed speeches shouted from their seats one person at a time. Then they sing to the graduating class. Then the graduating class remembers all the good times they had, once again with carefully rehearsed speeches. They sing to the younger kids. And then they they all sing together. At my jr. high last week several of the girls got very emotional. Tears streamed down their face as they sang the last song before marching out. I almost cried myself and I don't even know most of their names.
They asked me later what I thought. Omoshirokata, I said. It was interesting. But, very different from American ceremonies, I told them. The thought of the guy at my high school who did a back flip and landed on his face as he walked across the stage to get his diploma sprang to mind. I didn't tell my teachers about him because I don't have the Japanese to explain it. Although I can just imagine their horrified looks if I had.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
I'm lately a Ragkugo star
If I wasn't a local celebrity in Tahara before last night, I certainly am one now.
I went to a rakugo show last night at the cultural center. Before I even got into the theater to take my seat, my friend Hideaki asked if I could please raise my hand when they asked for volunteers. Japanese adults are very much like my Japanese students in that they don't like raising their hand and volunteering for anything. I reluctantly agreed.
The show itself was both entertaining and educational. Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese comedy that involves a man, a pillow, and a microphone. He tells a story with only a fan and a towel as props and he plays all the characters by himself. You know it's a different person talking because he turns his head slightly and the voices and gestures change from character to character. Lucky for me, this rakugo show was put on by some Japanese-Canadians so it was mostly in English.
My favorite part of the show was the more modern magic section. The last trick involved two wooden bunnies, one white and one black, that the magician "magically" changed colors. It involved him putting covers over them, then asking someone in the audience what color it was, and then when he put it back on the table, he not so subtly turned it around. At the end, people in the front were asking to see the backs of the bunny. "You want see back of bunny? I say, NO!" In the end, he finally let us. "I see you back of bunny." But when he turned them around they were red and yellow. It was a clever trick, and his English was cute.
After the magic show, they taught the audience some rakugo. They made us pretend we were slurping udon noodles. And then they asked for volunteers. A small boy jumped at the chance to go up on stage, so I was off the hook.
Until they asked again.
No one raised their hand, so slowly I looked back at Hideaki and put mine up. I thought I was going up to slurp my non-existent udon, but the guy apparently changed his mind and had me do an entire story. So in front of everyone, I changed characters, made silly gestures, and told a joke about ice cream.
Several junior high students were there, so I know what they'll be talking about next week. And already I have an email from one of my adult students complimenting me on my performance. This in addition to all the people who came up to me afterwards last night and told me good job.
I went to a rakugo show last night at the cultural center. Before I even got into the theater to take my seat, my friend Hideaki asked if I could please raise my hand when they asked for volunteers. Japanese adults are very much like my Japanese students in that they don't like raising their hand and volunteering for anything. I reluctantly agreed.
The show itself was both entertaining and educational. Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese comedy that involves a man, a pillow, and a microphone. He tells a story with only a fan and a towel as props and he plays all the characters by himself. You know it's a different person talking because he turns his head slightly and the voices and gestures change from character to character. Lucky for me, this rakugo show was put on by some Japanese-Canadians so it was mostly in English.
My favorite part of the show was the more modern magic section. The last trick involved two wooden bunnies, one white and one black, that the magician "magically" changed colors. It involved him putting covers over them, then asking someone in the audience what color it was, and then when he put it back on the table, he not so subtly turned it around. At the end, people in the front were asking to see the backs of the bunny. "You want see back of bunny? I say, NO!" In the end, he finally let us. "I see you back of bunny." But when he turned them around they were red and yellow. It was a clever trick, and his English was cute.
After the magic show, they taught the audience some rakugo. They made us pretend we were slurping udon noodles. And then they asked for volunteers. A small boy jumped at the chance to go up on stage, so I was off the hook.
Until they asked again.
No one raised their hand, so slowly I looked back at Hideaki and put mine up. I thought I was going up to slurp my non-existent udon, but the guy apparently changed his mind and had me do an entire story. So in front of everyone, I changed characters, made silly gestures, and told a joke about ice cream.
Several junior high students were there, so I know what they'll be talking about next week. And already I have an email from one of my adult students complimenting me on my performance. This in addition to all the people who came up to me afterwards last night and told me good job.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tea Ceremony
Two weeks ago the Tahara International Association invited us ALTs to a tea ceremony that the elementary school students were having. They weren't really taking no for an answer, and since I hadn't yet experienced this aspect of Japanese culture I went. We arrived at a very traditional Japanese style house (supposedly the site where Kazan Watanabe, founder of Tahara, used to live) late in the morning on Sunday.
Handing in our tickets, we were given a piece of paper with a little origami flower attached. This was for our sweets, they told us. Then we were escorted into a room, empty but for some tea things on the floor and a few decorations on the wall where we sat in the seiza position until I thought my legs would fall off. Then the tea came and I had to sit up even straighter.
I'm totally cheating here and sitting partly to the side.
If I thought I was just here to drink tea then I was very wrong. The ceremony part became evident very quickly. There was bowing. There was a certain way to hold the chopsticks to get my sweet, a certain way to hold my teacup, and a certain way to walk in and out of the room - that one I failed at because they told me after I sat down. The woman one over from me whispered instructions to Emiko and me, while I tried to forget how much my legs hurt and remember to enjoy the experience.
The sweets were good though, the very first I have liked here in Japan. And the little girls were absolutely adorable all kitted up in their kimonos. They looked like the Japanese equivalents of baby beauty queens back home.
There was lots of bowing.
Oishi! I don't usually like Japanese sweets but these were good. I had to handle the chopsticks very carefully with precise movements dictated by the ceremony. Needless to say, I messed up more than once.
In the first room, we had a cup of tea, then a sweet, and then another cup of tea. In the second room, we had a sweet (not nearly as good and I had to choke it down) and then a bowl of thick tea that slightly resembled pea soup in looks. I preferred the first, but most of the Japanese I was with preferred the second. Apparently it is the more common green tea drank in Japan.
Three turns clockwise and I'm ready to drink my bowl of tea.
More on Japanese tea ceremony here
Handing in our tickets, we were given a piece of paper with a little origami flower attached. This was for our sweets, they told us. Then we were escorted into a room, empty but for some tea things on the floor and a few decorations on the wall where we sat in the seiza position until I thought my legs would fall off. Then the tea came and I had to sit up even straighter.
I'm totally cheating here and sitting partly to the side.
If I thought I was just here to drink tea then I was very wrong. The ceremony part became evident very quickly. There was bowing. There was a certain way to hold the chopsticks to get my sweet, a certain way to hold my teacup, and a certain way to walk in and out of the room - that one I failed at because they told me after I sat down. The woman one over from me whispered instructions to Emiko and me, while I tried to forget how much my legs hurt and remember to enjoy the experience.
The sweets were good though, the very first I have liked here in Japan. And the little girls were absolutely adorable all kitted up in their kimonos. They looked like the Japanese equivalents of baby beauty queens back home.
There was lots of bowing.
Oishi! I don't usually like Japanese sweets but these were good. I had to handle the chopsticks very carefully with precise movements dictated by the ceremony. Needless to say, I messed up more than once.
In the first room, we had a cup of tea, then a sweet, and then another cup of tea. In the second room, we had a sweet (not nearly as good and I had to choke it down) and then a bowl of thick tea that slightly resembled pea soup in looks. I preferred the first, but most of the Japanese I was with preferred the second. Apparently it is the more common green tea drank in Japan.
Three turns clockwise and I'm ready to drink my bowl of tea.
More on Japanese tea ceremony here
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Onsen ga daisuke
Lest you think that Japan is a crazy place filled with odd toilets that only locals can use and no beds anywhere, let me assure you that there are some advantages to living here that can’t be had even in America. One of those is the onsen.
Traditionally an onsen was an outside bath strategically placed over a hot springs. There are still plenty of “real” onsen around, but there are even more whose hot springs are merely hot water tanks, not that any of the many Japanese who flock to them mind. I know I don’t.
The basic principle is very simple. There is a hot tub, Jacuzzi, sauna or variations of all three. You must sit and bathe Japanese style before you get in, but that is no trouble. They provide little stalls and often there is complimentary shampoo, conditioner and body wash. You turn on the shower, sit on your stool, and get to work. If you are Japanese this takes a long time because you rinse, wash, and scrub everything at least two or three times. If you are me, you try to drag it out as long as possible so that no one thinks you are still dirty, but not so long that you spend more time in the bath than at the shower. The only small hurdle for an American girl like myself is that all of this is done naked and in full view of other naked people.
Now I’m not particularly modest, just as my roommate or anyone who lived in the dorms with me knows. More than once someone would knock on my door while I was drying my hair in nothing more than my underwear. (I have a lot of hair and I get hot blow drying it!)
“Oh, I thought I heard you say come in!” they would screech while covering their eyes.
“I did,” I would answer cheerfully and beckon them in. Some of the girls got used to it. Others learned not to knock when they heard the hairdryer going. My roommate, Stacey, was just happy that at least I put on underwear.
But stripping down in front of strangers still seemed daunting that first time and I’m still getting used to it. The only protection against immodesty is a small towel that you hold up over your privates while you walk from the locker room to the bathing area. Once you’re in however, the towel comes off and you’re completely exposed. Your only hope is that the steam is thick and that the other bathers are myopic.
Although the hot water of the baths quickly overrides any misgivings I may have about people seeing my cooter, (or me seeing theirs for that matter) and I am able to relax. It’s fun to move from one pool to another. One might have mineral water, another has Jacuzzi jets, while yet another is slightly carbonated. Other onsen have pools outside as well as inside. There are cool baths for after the sauna. Some even have baths with low level electrical currents running through the water! I have yet to brave any of those.
They have an onsen at the gym I joined and I have a feeling I will be exercising more often now that I know there is the option of a bath afterwards. Speaking of, I’m off to my own very large bathtub in my apartment. It’s not quite the same but at least there I am alone.
Traditionally an onsen was an outside bath strategically placed over a hot springs. There are still plenty of “real” onsen around, but there are even more whose hot springs are merely hot water tanks, not that any of the many Japanese who flock to them mind. I know I don’t.
The basic principle is very simple. There is a hot tub, Jacuzzi, sauna or variations of all three. You must sit and bathe Japanese style before you get in, but that is no trouble. They provide little stalls and often there is complimentary shampoo, conditioner and body wash. You turn on the shower, sit on your stool, and get to work. If you are Japanese this takes a long time because you rinse, wash, and scrub everything at least two or three times. If you are me, you try to drag it out as long as possible so that no one thinks you are still dirty, but not so long that you spend more time in the bath than at the shower. The only small hurdle for an American girl like myself is that all of this is done naked and in full view of other naked people.
Now I’m not particularly modest, just as my roommate or anyone who lived in the dorms with me knows. More than once someone would knock on my door while I was drying my hair in nothing more than my underwear. (I have a lot of hair and I get hot blow drying it!)
“Oh, I thought I heard you say come in!” they would screech while covering their eyes.
“I did,” I would answer cheerfully and beckon them in. Some of the girls got used to it. Others learned not to knock when they heard the hairdryer going. My roommate, Stacey, was just happy that at least I put on underwear.
But stripping down in front of strangers still seemed daunting that first time and I’m still getting used to it. The only protection against immodesty is a small towel that you hold up over your privates while you walk from the locker room to the bathing area. Once you’re in however, the towel comes off and you’re completely exposed. Your only hope is that the steam is thick and that the other bathers are myopic.
Although the hot water of the baths quickly overrides any misgivings I may have about people seeing my cooter, (or me seeing theirs for that matter) and I am able to relax. It’s fun to move from one pool to another. One might have mineral water, another has Jacuzzi jets, while yet another is slightly carbonated. Other onsen have pools outside as well as inside. There are cool baths for after the sauna. Some even have baths with low level electrical currents running through the water! I have yet to brave any of those.
They have an onsen at the gym I joined and I have a feeling I will be exercising more often now that I know there is the option of a bath afterwards. Speaking of, I’m off to my own very large bathtub in my apartment. It’s not quite the same but at least there I am alone.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Beddo nai desu. Futon ga arimasu.
Let’s talk about the bed situation. Or the lack of a bed situation. First some history: When I moved out of my parent’s house two years ago and into an apartment, my father informed me I would not be taking my bed with me. Just in case ten random people showed up at the same time needing a place to sleep he would have a place to put them. He was very disturbed when my mom threw out the bunk bed in my sister’s room that slept three people, (it had a double mattress on the bottom bunk) and downsized to just a double bed. Where would people sleep when they came for a visit? He asked alarmed as he hauled it down the hall and out the door.
“But where will I sleep?” I asked him ten years later as I packed up my stuff.
“On a mattress you’ve bought,” he told me. This, I’m sure, was all part of his plan to make me a responsible adult, but at the time it made me look like a whiny teenager.
In the long run, however, it turned out to be a good thing because I took a good portion of the money I had been saving to buy furniture and spent it on an enormous mattress with an Amish made frame, premium inner spring coils, a very fluffy pillow top on both sides, and a 15 year warrantee. I spared no expense on this bed and then for Christmas my mother bought me 600 thread count sheets. There were days when getting out of bed appeared very ill-advised. Nothing the day could offer me would surpass the wonderfulness that was my bed.
And then I moved to Japan.
Where they sleep on the floor.
The pillow-top on my mattress is probably twice as thick as one of my futons. And yes that’s plural because I have more than one. I am a wimpy, spoiled, scoliosis-suffering gaijin who needs a foam pad and three futons to feel even remotely comfortable, and I still wake up achy. I’m only 25 but I feel old trying to climb up off the floor on a cold January morning.
Although I shouldn’t complain too much because until two weeks ago I had just the pad and one futon. When we went to Kyoto over winter vacation, my sole request was that we stay in a Western style hotel so I could sleep on a real bed. I took a picture of them I was so excited. I think I was more excited at the prospect of a bed than seeing the famed Golden Temple. And it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I got here.
But finally my friends Keely and Jovan visiting provided me with the excuse to buy additional ones. They weren’t for me! They were for my friends! They needed something to sleep on when they came to stay. I can blame it on my father who lives in fear of a mass horde descending on his house demanding a place to crash for the night.
The difference being, of course, that dad doesn’t sleep on all the extra mattresses in his house like I do in my apartment.
My futons and foam pad
Traditional style hotel room with traditional sleeping arrangements which leads to a traditional pain in the back for me.
“But where will I sleep?” I asked him ten years later as I packed up my stuff.
“On a mattress you’ve bought,” he told me. This, I’m sure, was all part of his plan to make me a responsible adult, but at the time it made me look like a whiny teenager.
In the long run, however, it turned out to be a good thing because I took a good portion of the money I had been saving to buy furniture and spent it on an enormous mattress with an Amish made frame, premium inner spring coils, a very fluffy pillow top on both sides, and a 15 year warrantee. I spared no expense on this bed and then for Christmas my mother bought me 600 thread count sheets. There were days when getting out of bed appeared very ill-advised. Nothing the day could offer me would surpass the wonderfulness that was my bed.
And then I moved to Japan.
Where they sleep on the floor.
The pillow-top on my mattress is probably twice as thick as one of my futons. And yes that’s plural because I have more than one. I am a wimpy, spoiled, scoliosis-suffering gaijin who needs a foam pad and three futons to feel even remotely comfortable, and I still wake up achy. I’m only 25 but I feel old trying to climb up off the floor on a cold January morning.
Although I shouldn’t complain too much because until two weeks ago I had just the pad and one futon. When we went to Kyoto over winter vacation, my sole request was that we stay in a Western style hotel so I could sleep on a real bed. I took a picture of them I was so excited. I think I was more excited at the prospect of a bed than seeing the famed Golden Temple. And it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I got here.
But finally my friends Keely and Jovan visiting provided me with the excuse to buy additional ones. They weren’t for me! They were for my friends! They needed something to sleep on when they came to stay. I can blame it on my father who lives in fear of a mass horde descending on his house demanding a place to crash for the night.
The difference being, of course, that dad doesn’t sleep on all the extra mattresses in his house like I do in my apartment.
My futons and foam pad
Traditional style hotel room with traditional sleeping arrangements which leads to a traditional pain in the back for me.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Winter Break
Sunday December 23 – Nathan (fellow English teacher), his brother Ryan, and I walk to Takagashira Park. The original plan was to play Frisbee but the ground is too wet so we hike up the mountain instead. Sitting on a large rock jutting out the side, we can see the Pacific Ocean, the Bay, and all of Tahara. We contemplate world peace and how we can become more bad-ass. Then it’s off to Toyohashi to visit Nathan’s girlfriend, Miyuki, and her family. We eat shabbu shabbu, which consists of taking meat and cooking it in boiling water and then dipping it into sesame sauce.
Monday December 24 – I get up early and meet Miyuki, Nathan, and Ryan back in Toyohashi and Miyuki drives us to the small town of Seto, famous for its pottery. We have an appointment with a pottery studio where we learn how to throw our own rice bowls, tea cups, and in Nathan’s case Dr. Seuss inspired vases. The sensei will fire and glaze them for us and then ship them to Tahara when they are finished. In the meantime, we wander around town buying up more professionally made dinnerware and eating udon noodles. In the evening we get lost on our way to the onsen, but once there we have a relaxing bath before heading home.
Tuesday December 25 – I get up early and open presents on the webcam, and then make brunch for Nathan, Ryan, and my other neighbor Jason (also an English teacher.) The rest of the day is spent lying around, watching Superbad, and relaxing.
Wednesday December 26 – We get up and catch a train out of Tahara at 6, meet Miyuki in Toyohashi, where we catch a train to Nagoya. Then it’s on a bus to Kyoto. We stop in at Starbucks before checking into our hotel, and then it’s on the city bus to the Golden Temple. After lunch we go to the Path of Philosophy and the Silver Temple (though we decide not to go in since it’s getting dark.) It’s all very lovely but I’ve started to realize that I have a knack for visiting beautiful places in the winter when nothing is in bloom. Versailles in January. Alhambra in February and now Kyoto in December.
We do some shopping for Nathan and Miyuki, eat ramen for dinner, and walk around looking in more shops before calling it a night. And I get to sleep in a bed! Although I have to have Miyuki call the front desk to bring me new blankets since I am allergic to the feather down comforters they left.
Thursday December 27 – We’re up early and back at Starbucks. And then it’s off to Kiromizu Dera, a lovely wooden temple that has an amazing view of the city, (but would be even more spectacular in the spring or autumn.) We have a tofu set for lunch, a dish which Kyoto is famous for, and which I prefer to leave in Kyoto. We walk around looking at some more temples, a beautiful park, and then do some more shopping before catching the bus back to Nagoya. And then two more trains back to Tahara.
Friday December 28 – I spend recovering.
Saturday December 29 – I clean the apartment and buy futons because my American friends (who happen to live in Japan) Keely and Jovan are coming to visit me. They arrive late Saturday night, but I can’t go out to eat with them because I have a webcam date with my rolly-polly nephew Kenny. He’s getting so big!
Sunday December 30 – Keely, Jovan, and I go out to lunch with a lovely couple, the Okuba’s. Later that night we have dinner (more shabbu shabbu) with our mutual friend Yoko and a new friend Keiko and her two young daughters. The great thing about kids is that a common language is rarely necessary. Just tickle them and pretend to eat their arms while saying MMmmm delicious! And they think you’re the best thing since Pokemon.
Monday December 31 – Keely and Jovan go to lunch with a friend while I stay in and rest. All this socializing really takes it out of me. But I’m ready for some more by the time Emiko stops by and we head to the local crepe shop for a snack. Keely introduces me to the owners who spent several years in California, so they speak English AND make crepes. I think I might have found my new best friends here in Japan.
We have some sushi for dinner and then head to Nathan’s for a New Year’s Eve party. At 11:30 we head to Tahara Castle where we wait for the Shinto priests to ring the gong, signaling the New Year. After we throw in our coins and say our prayers for a lucky 2008, we head off to karaoke.
Monday December 24 – I get up early and meet Miyuki, Nathan, and Ryan back in Toyohashi and Miyuki drives us to the small town of Seto, famous for its pottery. We have an appointment with a pottery studio where we learn how to throw our own rice bowls, tea cups, and in Nathan’s case Dr. Seuss inspired vases. The sensei will fire and glaze them for us and then ship them to Tahara when they are finished. In the meantime, we wander around town buying up more professionally made dinnerware and eating udon noodles. In the evening we get lost on our way to the onsen, but once there we have a relaxing bath before heading home.
Tuesday December 25 – I get up early and open presents on the webcam, and then make brunch for Nathan, Ryan, and my other neighbor Jason (also an English teacher.) The rest of the day is spent lying around, watching Superbad, and relaxing.
Wednesday December 26 – We get up and catch a train out of Tahara at 6, meet Miyuki in Toyohashi, where we catch a train to Nagoya. Then it’s on a bus to Kyoto. We stop in at Starbucks before checking into our hotel, and then it’s on the city bus to the Golden Temple. After lunch we go to the Path of Philosophy and the Silver Temple (though we decide not to go in since it’s getting dark.) It’s all very lovely but I’ve started to realize that I have a knack for visiting beautiful places in the winter when nothing is in bloom. Versailles in January. Alhambra in February and now Kyoto in December.
We do some shopping for Nathan and Miyuki, eat ramen for dinner, and walk around looking in more shops before calling it a night. And I get to sleep in a bed! Although I have to have Miyuki call the front desk to bring me new blankets since I am allergic to the feather down comforters they left.
Thursday December 27 – We’re up early and back at Starbucks. And then it’s off to Kiromizu Dera, a lovely wooden temple that has an amazing view of the city, (but would be even more spectacular in the spring or autumn.) We have a tofu set for lunch, a dish which Kyoto is famous for, and which I prefer to leave in Kyoto. We walk around looking at some more temples, a beautiful park, and then do some more shopping before catching the bus back to Nagoya. And then two more trains back to Tahara.
Friday December 28 – I spend recovering.
Saturday December 29 – I clean the apartment and buy futons because my American friends (who happen to live in Japan) Keely and Jovan are coming to visit me. They arrive late Saturday night, but I can’t go out to eat with them because I have a webcam date with my rolly-polly nephew Kenny. He’s getting so big!
Sunday December 30 – Keely, Jovan, and I go out to lunch with a lovely couple, the Okuba’s. Later that night we have dinner (more shabbu shabbu) with our mutual friend Yoko and a new friend Keiko and her two young daughters. The great thing about kids is that a common language is rarely necessary. Just tickle them and pretend to eat their arms while saying MMmmm delicious! And they think you’re the best thing since Pokemon.
Monday December 31 – Keely and Jovan go to lunch with a friend while I stay in and rest. All this socializing really takes it out of me. But I’m ready for some more by the time Emiko stops by and we head to the local crepe shop for a snack. Keely introduces me to the owners who spent several years in California, so they speak English AND make crepes. I think I might have found my new best friends here in Japan.
We have some sushi for dinner and then head to Nathan’s for a New Year’s Eve party. At 11:30 we head to Tahara Castle where we wait for the Shinto priests to ring the gong, signaling the New Year. After we throw in our coins and say our prayers for a lucky 2008, we head off to karaoke.
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