One Year in Japan: Lost and Found Again

As of November 13^th I have been in Japan for one full year. I have been trying, with little success, to write a deep, reflective post about my past year here, and I have realized that some things just cannot be expressed well in words. But if you have been following this blog, I think you can get a little taste as to what this past year has meant to me and what I have felt along the way.

Having restarted writing this post one more time, I have decided to take a different approach, because, honestly, all of that reflection has boiled down to one simple fact. Through all the turmoil, fear, stress, and unfamiliarity, God has made this place my home. Just like He promised. I’ve come to realize that while I still miss my home in America very much, I will miss my home in Kumamoto almost as much when I leave. With God’s help I have created a home here, complete with family and friends. It hasn’t been easy, and I know I still have a ways to go, but I am comfortable and happy now, here in this place.  I have discovered who Caroline Keenan is in Japan.

So, instead of reflecting on the past year, I want to tell you about some events in the past weeks (since I haven’t posted in eternity) that I feel really show what I am talking about with regards to Kumamoto becoming my home. So, without further ado…

One weekend in September I got tired of staying in my apartment. That Saturday I went alone to a nearby family chain restaurant called Joyful (much like a Japanese version of Village Inn) and gave myself a pep talk while slowly eating my tonkatsu. It was time for me to start putting myself out there. It was time to make friends outside of the missionary community, where people are infamously busy all the time. It was time for me to step up because no one was going to do it for me.

The next day, at the international service I invited a young woman I knew to go get coffee with me that week. We made plans and I went home and invited another acquaintance to coffee for another day that week. So, essentially, for the past couple months, I have been going on “friend dates” to try and expand my circle. They have been working (almost too well my budget and calendar are telling me!) and I have been making many new friends, exploring new parts of the city, and drinking lots and lots of mochas.

My success reminded me that, sometimes, all you need is a short burst of courage, but, also, that many women do not have this. That first coffee meetup, the young woman I was with told me she was so glad I had invited her, because she was shy. I wondered how many other people feel the same in this city and I came to a conclusion. I talked with some of my new girlfriends about it and they thought it was a great idea, and so… I created the Girl’s Night Out in Kumamoto club. The plan is for us to meet up once a month. Everyone is encouraged to invite others so that we can all mingle and make new friends. I also hope that women who are new to Kumamoto might find us on Facebook and join in so that they don’t have to feel lonely in a new place.

We met up for the first time on November 1^st, and went to dinner and karaoke. It was a blast, and deemed a successful venture by all. There is truly nothing like a good circle of friends to make you feel at home.

So here’s to new friends and an overfull social calendar! I’m loving it, and reminding myself to have at least one night a week at home! Also, I really need to rework my budget…

The second and third examples of settling in and making Kumamoto my home happened one weekend in November at Kyushu Gakuin and Kengun respectively. That Saturday, Kyushu Gakuin held its biannual KyuGakusai or culture festival, and on Sunday Kengun held its annual bazaar to raise money for the homeless center. It was a REALLY long weekend. It was also the final piece that let me know how much a part of this place I have become, and, also, how much a part of me this place has become.

What is KyuGaksai you ask? Well essentially it is a big festival here at the school. The students create businesses, such as cafes or mini restaurants, or they create something to sell, the most popular item being towels. This is to teach the students how to run a business or be a salesperson. They also have a talent show portion that students prepared for. The talent show was brilliant. My personal favorite was the karate club’s demonstration. Their coach kicked through like six bats. At once.

I am a helper for the English Speaking Society here at school. The ESS club was making popcorn for the event and I knew I would be helping, but I was also informed that it was supposed to be run by the students and not me. Ha!

So I arrived Saturday morning and met up with the other native speaker teachers and we strategized our day… which went up in smoke a bit later when we found ourselves working the booth alone, none of our students in sight. Now, to be fair, some students had showed up to work that morning. But the ones who showed were 3^rd years, so this was their last bunkasai and we wanted them to have some fun, and our foreign exchange students, for whom this was their first and their last bunkasai. The 1^st years had to work in their classrooms, though one managed to come help near the end and we, sadly, have no 2^nd years.

It was a busy day but we had a great slogan, “American popcorn made by real Americans!” Later, as the students returned, it became “American popcorn made by real Americans, Japanese, and Australians!” This was really just too long so we dropped the slogan. We had fun and even managed to get out and see our students. This was detrimental to me as I learned (and, more unfortunately, my students learned) that I cannot say no them. I bought six towels. SIX! Plus a T-shirt from the soccer team and WAY too much food. As self-preservation throughout the day I did one of two things. I either told them I would come back later, or I just flat out lied and said I already had bought one of whatever they were selling. Not very Christlike of me, but I was getting desperate at that point because you better believe that later promise was remembered and I was hounded, “Sensei have you bought one yet? Have you?” Even the, “I already bought one” had its issues, as I had accidently told a student I was buying Christmas presents and that spread like wildfire. So when I informed them I had already bought whatever they were selling the response was, “Christmas present!” When the boys found out that I did not have a boyfriend, Dad became the favored present receiver and they tried to explain why Dad would like their towel or T-shirt more than the competition. It was highly entertaining and highly damaging to my wallet.

I left at the end of the day exhausted, happy, and loaded down with purchases. I slept for an hour, ate a quick dinner and headed out to Kengun to make the crepes that the junior high and high schoolers were to sell at the bazaar the following day. We made one hundred crepes that night. I was beat by the time I left, but pretty darn happy.

The next day was very cold and raining. I arrived early to help set up for the bazaar. The fellowship hall had been transformed into a second hand shop and the kitchen was bustling with food prep. There was a short church service and then we opened the doors. There was a huge line! I didn’t see much of the inside chaos because I was outside selling crepes with my students. We took turns eating lunch, crouched behind our selling table. That hot curry was the best I had tasted and warmed me right up. I tell ya, my church ladies know how to make the most amazing curry.

Once we had cleaned up from the crepes I got to go shop myself. I bought several English books on the history of Christianity in Japan that I am very excited about, and even did a bit of Christmas present shopping. There were some really unique finds there and I enjoyed looking around. At last it was time to head out and prepare for the English service. A long weekend indeed. Luckily I had Monday off!

The reason I highlight these three simple things is because they are just that. Simple acts, simple things, that define becoming part of a community. God has truly blessed me here in Kumamoto. Friends, students, church family… home is where your heart is and at times I think that part of the discomfort of my job is that my heart is split. Half back home and half here. It’s not a bad thing, and you learn to live with it, because the half that is here is becoming stronger by the day and the half that is back home is waiting patiently.

I hug the knowledge that I am loved here, that I have a place here, as I enter this Advent season. I gave thanks for it when I had my Starbucks conversation club students ask themselves why it is important to give God thanks, and again, when I ate my Thanksgiving pizza with my friend Karmen. I gave thanks as I decorated my apartment for Christmas. Stocking, nativity, Advent calendar (there was dancing and singing for joy in the aisles when I found that at an import store), simple things, but things that make it a touch more Christmas, a touch more home. In the words of Philip Philips and his immortal song Home, “If you get lost you can always be found, just know you’re not alone, cause I’m  gonna make this place your home.”

Caroline Keenan here. Lost and found again.

Mountain Climbing!

1052 meters! Whoot!

Beautiful fall colors in Kumamoto

A great view of the castle!

Running in the fall at sunset; one of my favorite things!

Sunflowers on my way home from school make me happy!

Girl's Night Out!

Karaoke times!

A day in Fukuoka!

Thanksgiving dinner with Karmen. Introducing my friends from South Africa to a wonderful tradition! Only we had pizza and pasta instead of turkey and mashed potatoes, but it was delicious non the less!

The Christmas tree outside of Kyushu Gakuin! Here comes Christmas!

 

 

Faith in Running

I took up running with something approaching gusto, the summer before I left for Japan. I knew that I needed some serious stress busters in my mental tool box before I left, and running was something I had enjoyed on and off for a while. I printed off the “Couch to 5K” workout program from their website and got started.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan of that first program. It had a lot of short timed runs and then short timed walks. Have you ever tried staring at your watch while running? It doesn’t work out so well. However, even though it irritated me, I stuck with it and began to see progress. That summer on my aunt’s treadmill I ran five kilometers in 30 minutes. I was ecstatic! So ecstatic in fact, that I went to a specialty running store to buy shoes that were actually good for me. I plopped down my money, so much of my money, and asked if the store shipped to Japan. They did not.

Those yellow Sauconys (I did NOT choose the color, but I came to love them and their ugliness anyway) took me far that fall. I loved running in Tokyo. Most of my runs are in the evenings or at night. Getting up at five in the morning every day to go run is not my idea of a good time, but I love beating out the frustations of the day with an intense run after work. In Tokyo, running at night, I felt perfectly safe. I had two police boxes really close to me and I kept them in my routes. It was also incredibly well lit and there were so many people everywhere! Never alone in Tokyo.

Also, Tokyo had Tokyo running fashion. Looking cute while running is not high on my priority list (let’s be honest I can wear the cutest clothes and I will still be sweaty, red faced, breathing like a winded rhino, and have a frizz halo around my head), but it is a good motivator to go out when you have new workout clothes! I did buy capris that had a little skirt over them. Cute!

Once I moved to Kumamoto, the running stopped for a couple months. This was for a couple reasons. First, it was cold. I really don’t like the cold. I got by in Tokyo by bribing myself with a hot bath soak afterwards, but I just wasn’t feeling it after a while. Secondly, Kumamoto is not quite as well lit as Tokyo and for the first few months this made me uncomfortable. Still does sometimes. Thirdly, as some of you may remember, I was battling all sorts of illnesses early in my time here.

Then spring came at the end of February and I became a running fool. I was going out for a run four times a week and fairly regularly. I had to build back up to 5 kilometers though. I discovered a great park in Kumamoto that has a running/walking trail along the river. The weather was gorgeous and I could not resist its lure.

June = rainy season = no running.

July + August = summer in Kumamoto. No running then either. The humidity in Kumamoto is intense and I discovered very quickly that as much as I wanted to go out running, it was impossible. My asthma would not allow it. Even walking around town was a challenge to my lungs.

Finally September rolled around and I was hitting the road again. The feeling of running can be pure joy for me. It is the one instance in my life in which I feel utter control. I feel powerful and beautiful; two things that tend to escape me on a regular basis. I’m not a very “good” runner. I am not fast and I can’t go the furthest. But really, who cares? I come back from a good run and am almost always smiling. And I don’t mean just a little grin. I mean beaming. Like a crazy person. It feels that good.

My runs are private times for me. I am surrounded by people, I usually run around rush hour time, but I have discovered this ability to be aware of the people around me, but at the same time… it’s almost like I am meditating. While some of my awareness is on the people, bikes, and cars, it is separate from the dominate part, which is my breath and the pounding of my feet on the pavement. I pray often when I run. They aren’t really focused prayers either. Mostly it is just an intense awareness of God’s gifts to me, both in my own physicality and in the world around me.

A good example of this was the other night when I ran in the pouring rain. It wasn’t raining that hard when I started out, just spitting really, and I thought no worries, if it gets too bad I’ll grab a cheap umbrella at a convenience store and head home. It started raining harder and harder, and I started becoming more and more determined to finish my run regardless of the weather. At the end of six kilometers I was soaked to the bone and my shoes were sloshing. I was wringing my hair out on the step. I felt some kind of crazy wonderful too, and so in awe of the God that created both the rain and the girl whose muscles allowed her to run in it for forty minutes. It sounds cheesy I know, but what can I say? I was still beaming an hour later after a really hot shower and some hot tea.

I love my running if you haven’t already heard. It is my stress buster, my beauty regime, my emotional management, and my own private worship service. I may not go the furthest and I certainly don’t go the fastest, but the only person I am competing against is myself and I am determined to find out how far God made me to go. See you at the finish line!

PS: I have discovered my cure for not running in the cold, the rainy season, or the heat of summer (cause honestly that would limit me to just running in the spring and fall and that is just lame). The Kumamoto city gym is only 300 yen or roughly $3.00 for a time and it is a good place to go, only about fifteen minutes by bike. They’ve got everything I need: treadmills, weights, bikes and ellipticals for none running days, the staff are friendly, and best of all its cheap. The funny thing is I often run into my KyuGaku boys working out there. I wish I had a camera to capture the expressions on their faces when they see “Caroline-sensei” walk in. Priceless. Every time.

Adventures in Train Travel: A Summer Memoir

To: Sheldon

I would just like to open by stating that the idea of a tour around Japan by local train, getting off the beaten tourist path, and seeing “the real Japan” is really quite romantic. Much more romantic, it turns out, than the reality. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The idea started way back in the winter when we attended church in a smaller town near Kumamoto. The pastors of Kumamoto take turns ministering to the Lutheran church there and so we got a ride with the pastor to church that morning. As he had to stay for council meetings and things, we took the train back.

The train ride back was lovely. We were passing through rural Japan, one of the first times we had seen it, and some of the train stops were platforms seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Afterwards, Laura and I discussed how grand it would be to travel around Japan by local train and stop at some of those small towns. We thought it would be the perfect way to get off the tourist path and see some beautiful, hidden sites. And so the planning began.

We quickly decided summer would be the best time, mostly because it was when we had the most time. Just as quickly we decided that our travels must have a stop back in Tokyo. We missed our friends and that crazy, hectic city, and plus, I really wanted to go to Disney Land (I had never been to Disney Land or World). So the plan began to come together. We would spend five days in Tokyo and five days touring the interior of Honshu (the biggest island in Japan).

We left for Tokyo on the afternoon of August 7^th and arrived around four o’clock. Our first stop? Starbucks of course! Not that we don’t have Starbucks in Kumamoto, we totally do. It was just really hot, and I was early for my second appointment in Tokyo and so we headed into the air conditioning. Did I mention that summer in Japan is really, really hot?

First of many Starbucks stops!

 The second stop of the day was my first haircut in Japan! So what differentiates a haircut in Japan from that in America you ask? First off, price. Haircuts here are very expensive. Especially in Tokyo. But my hair was getting out of control after a year of not cutting it and I was super excited to find someone in Japan who could cut curly hair and so I really didn’t care so much. Then there is the time. My cut took two hours and fifteen minutes! Poor Laura just sat there. Well, they gave her magazines and iced tea so she insists she was fine, but I felt terrible.

The price of the haircut was totally deserved too. I got two massages in the deal, head and shoulders, and a treatment and… you probably don’t really care. But I was SUPER impressed and am now spoiled forever.  

After!

Before!

Afterwards we had dinner at an Indian restaurant with some of our friends from Hongo Lutheran that we missed dearly. We had a great time catching up and I was so happy to see them again! And the food was delicious, which was a bonus. 

Our Hongo people! Together again!

The next day was supposed to be a tourist day. It started badly, when we tried to go to Skytree. The wait just to get tickets was sixty minutes! We would have spent the whole day just trying to get into the tower! So we took pictures from the bottom, I bought a keychain, and we left. But then things picked up when I finally got my rickshaw ride! I had been dying to ride in one since we arrived but everyone else was like, “That’s too touristy!” and turned up their collective noses. But I maintain that I am a tourist! So I dragged Laura with me and it was so fun! Our rickshaw driver spoke English very well and had a lot to tell us about everything we were passing. Later that afternoon (after a delicious lunch at Red Pepper, my apologies to anyone who has never had a chance to taste the awesomeness that is their lasagna) we went to the Imperial Gardens. This wasn’t a mistake, rather an adventure that was not. It was hot. Really, really hot. And we were kinda tired. And cranky. And it was just… yeah. But the view was really great.

SkyTree!

Insanity!

At Asakusa!

Our rickshaw driver

Better picture of SkyTree

I love this picture! Too cute!

Asakusa Temple grounds

So two strike-outs and two runs and we were headed into the last inning of the day. We had been invited to attend a tea party that was hosted and attended by many of our Hongo friends at one of their apartments. It was positively lovely. I had such a good time! Talking to old friends and new, eating great treats (too many great treats), and drinking all kinds of tea and coffee… such a perfect way to end a long day. This was the main reason we came back to Tokyo. Not to see the sites, not to shop, though we did both, but rather to see all the amazing people we had known for too short of time last winter.

We got up early the next morning because… It was DISNEY SEA TIME!!! Some of you might be asking, “What is Disney Sea?” Well I’ve asked that question myself several times, and have been told that it is the adult Disney Land. Still very kid friendly, but the rides are a little scarier and more intense and based on more adult Disney, like Indiana Jones, or Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Granted you also have Aladdin and the Little Mermaid so it balances out. It is also not owned by Disney (neither is Tokyo Disneyland; they are the only Disney resorts in the world not owned by The Walt Disney Company).

We went with my friend Kate. She and I had attended college together and then, as luck would have it, met back up again a few years later in Tokyo where she teaches at an international school. I was really happy to see her again and feeling like a little kid to be going to Disney Sea! I won’t say too much about the day itself, if you have seen one Disney Park you understand what the day was like. Just make most of the visitors Japanese and all of the characters Japanese speaking and you’ve got Tokyo Disney Sea. I’ve gotta say it was a trip to see the very foreign (probably American judging from the few English phrases he was throwing out) Indiana Jones speaking as Indiana Jones in Japanese. Even weirder was Mickey speaking in the same squeaky voice but in Japanese.  Side note: I was impressed with Indiana’s (who was young and very handsome) ability to perform his treasure hunting duties while being mobbed by teenage girls. But he was totally focused on asking all the little kids wandering around if they had seen various landmarks on his map and if they would show him where they were. It was cute.

We had a great day and stayed pretty late. The afternoon and evening shows were gorgeously done. The evening show in particular made me very nostalgic because, while a lot of the park didn’t have much in the way of classic Disney princess, the evening show did. I really felt like a little girl again, impressed with Disney magic. We headed home after the evening show and were super giggly the whole way home. It had been that kind of a day. Note the picture below.

The next day was spent shopping and then on Sunday we attended the churches we were assigned to while we had lived in Tokyo. I was so happy to see Koishikawa Lutheran again! I love that church! They were my first home here and I was blissfully happy to be returning. I was pleasantly surprised that they were just as happy to see me; that was a feel good that lasted all day. After church I headed down to our old stomping grounds, and did some writing at the Starbucks (good lord I am there way too much!) that I did all my blog writing in while I was in Tokyo. The girl behind the register and I even recognized each other. It was sweet.

You know, as much as I love Kumamoto, and I truly do, Tokyo was my first home here. I still feel quite the pull to it and as much as there is to see in the rest of Japan, I feel the need to return to Tokyo again and again. I can’t imagine living there, I far prefer living here in Kumamoto, but it’s like wanting to live in a small town that is close to the big city so that you can have the best of both worlds. If I could pick up Kyushu Gakuin, Kengun, my apartment complex, the Family Mart across the street with the owner who keeps an eye out for the J-3s, and all of the lovely people I have met here, and move the whole lot closer to Tokyo I would.

Shinjuku Station: We're back!

The first picture I took in Japan was here, right outside Shinjuku station. I had to recreate the experience.

It turns out Snow Cup's iced mochas are just as amazing as the hot ones. I want a Snow Cup in Kumamoto please!

Monday we got an early start. We had a full day of train travel ahead of us until we arrived at our destination in Yamagata City, up in the mountains of central Honshu. We made a bit of an error in judgment with that. You see, we assumed that during rush hour everyone would be heading into Tokyo instead of away from it like we were. Buu! (That’s the sound in Japanese that means wrong answer). We stood for several hours that morning with our bags. We had tried to pack light and I think we succeed, but it was ten days, and the train was really crowded. Which leads to…

Things We Learned About Train Travel:

1.   Always be half an hour early for your train. This increases your chances of getting a seat.

2.   One person sits and saves the seat while the other puts the luggage on the racks.

3.   Don’t assume that the sweet grandmother cutting ahead of you in line is okay because it’s one seat gone. BUU! She is actually getting seats for all ten of her grandchildren and she will fight dirty! You will feel bad and not sit for another two hours.

4.   Always get a reserved seat on the Shinkansen during peak season.

5.   Use the restroom at every station. The bathrooms on the train are very clean, but a) you will lose your seat and b) it’s hard to use a squat toilet on a moving train. Just saying.

6.   Bring snacks.

7.   Always look like a lost foreigner when you are one. Don’t be cocky. You will miss your train. Ask for help!

8.   Run when necessary!

9.   Backpack. Rolling suitcases are lame when train traveling.

10.                The number ten thing learned: schedule rest days when traveling by train. It is really exhausting. Yes there is much to see, but, without rest days, crankiness will ensue and then it’s not really even worth it.

Honestly, Monday was an adventure in the truest sense. It wasn’t easy, and it was exhausting, but we learned a lot and had a really great time too. At least I think so. Though I have to say, but the time we stopped for lunch I was so claustrophobic! Our trains had been crowded from the time we set foot on them at like seven that morning, and the restaurant we were eating in was crowded, and I was about ready to scream, and start pulling my hair out. Luckily, the very next train we took was nice. It was full yes, but we had seat and it wasn’t jam packed with people. I felt like I could actually breathe and I could even see the scenery outside of the opposite window! We finally arrived in Yamagata at about five that afternoon and headed straight for… where else? Starbucks! There was one in the station and we were exhausted and beelined for the familiar caffeine heaven.

My first stay in a hotel in Japan was a really nice experience. The Japanese customer service has yet to disappoint where it counts. The people working at the desk didn’t speak fluent English, but they clearly knew the phrases that counted in their business and were very kind. We were, as afore mentioned, exhausted, so we ate at the hotel and went for a bit of a walk afterwards and it was a really nice quiet evening.

The view of Yamagata from our hotel window

The next day we were hiking up the nearest tall mountain, Yamadera! Yamadera is interesting because of the amount of temples it has all the way up the mountain. It is one of the most holy sites in Tohoku. I was expecting a hike, but really it was just a ridiculously long set of stairs that stopped every so often at the next temple. It was really crowded, but beautiful, and I had to marvel at the ingenuity of it all. This temple complex is really quite old, built around 860 A.D., and there were all sorts of monuments just built into caves in the mountain that were surrounded by sheer cliff. I had to wonder how on earth they had done that so many hundreds of years ago. I can’t even begin to fathom how people would do it now! We stayed there for the full day, and ended by wading in the river to cool our aching feet. It was marvelous.

Yamadera!

Ready to hike!

Basho, one of the most famous Japanese poets, and his traveling companion Sora.

The White Buddha

Cooling off with some ice cream!

... and then in the river

We spent a second night at Hotel Castle and then moved on. Originally, we had planned to spend three nights in Yamagata, but then had discovered we were actually close enough to see Matsushima Bay. Matsushima Bay might ring a bell for you, because it is right along the part of the coast that was hit by the tsunami in 2011. It is also considered the third most beautiful view in Japan and from the first time I had seen the pictures I was enchanted.

We took the train to Sendai and then down to the sea. There we toured a few temples while waiting for our ocean tour to take us out to the bay. I was so excited to see it for two reasons. One it is beautiful like I said, but two, it was to be my first time on the ocean! I had seen the sea since coming to Japan of course, but had yet to go in or on it. So exciting! Plus we passed a Japanese Coast Guard ship on our way out so I felt safe.

The day was bright and sunny, but a bit hazy as you will notice in the pictures. It didn’t matter. It was everything I hoped it to be. The wind on my face, the salt spray, other tourists holding up fries for gulls (oh yes that was what I hoped for too…), and the incredibly gorgeous view. It definitely deserves its title.

When our tour ended we quickly realized, as we rushed to catch our train, that we had chosen the wrong train station. There were two. One right near the dock, and one that was some ways into (out of?) town. We were headed to the far away one and did not have enough time. We rushed and nearly made it! But no. For the first time, we had missed a train. And while the next train out came fairly quickly, it caused the rest of our train schedule to quickly cascade until we were arriving at our hotel, not at five, but instead at eight. One missed train and it’s a three hour delay. Yeesh. Still, we were riding high on our tour of the bay, and me on my vending machine ice cream, so after an initial normal reaction to this bad news, we erupted into giggle fits. I tried to document our first missed train properly, but we just kept laughing until the stationmaster interrupted us to tell us that we were about to miss our train. Again. Luckily we managed to snag seats on every train along the way so it made it a bit more bearable.

Laughing in the station after missing our train

One thing about me and traveling. I have to eat. Like a lot. Or I get cranky. So when I hadn’t had dinner and it was eight o’clock, I was cranky. And everything was closing down. We rushed to the hotel, but there was nary a McDonalds or 24 hour convenience store in sight. Things were not looking good, especially when we asked at the desk and all they could give us that was close by were izakaiyas (bars that serve food), which wasn’t exactly appealing at the time. We booked it back to the train station, hoping that something would still be open, and we were in luck. A tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets) restaurant was open till ten. I nearly hugged the lady who seated us I was so happy that she was about to give me food. She was really nice too and tried to speak to us in English and she even brought me a fork with my tonkatsu! I was touched. 

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and it was off to our last stop of the trip: Aizu-Wakamatsu. This was the part of the trip that I had been most excited about. Aizu-Wakamatsu is a town that is very well known for its samurai history, and lately that history has been front and center through a drama about a woman named Yae Nishijima. She was… forgive my expression... a total badass and a lady to boot. At eighteen she defended her castle with a samurai sword and a Spencer rifle against imperial troops in the Boshin Wars. This was right after the Meiji Revolution when power was changing from a shogunate to the emperor in Tokyo. Yae and her people resisted this change, fighting to keep the samurai way of life alive. Throughout her life she was many things: a sharpshooter who could also wield a samurai sword, a nurse with the Red Cross, a Christian, a pastor’s wife, a master of tea ceremony, and a pioneer of woman’s rights. She was a powerhouse woman, a shaker and a mover in the new Japan. I could not wait to visit her hometown!

Below are photos from the drama Yae no Sakura:

Unfortunately, on the train, Laura got heat sickness. She held in there until we got to town and we took a taxi right away for the ryokan, the traditional Japanese inn that we were staying at. It wasn’t time to check in yet, but the ladies at the entrance were super sweet and said they would prepare our room right away. They brought us ice water, and a wet, cool towel for Laura, gave her a thermometer to make sure she wasn’t running a fever, and sat us in their main entryway.

Once we got into the room Laura lay down to sleep and I was on my own. It was in this way that I discovered my new favorite food here… sauce tonkatsu. I had asked the ladies at the ryokan to direct me to a good place and the one they gave me was a small family restaurant right across the street. The experience there was interesting. On the one hand the food was incredible! I must find a place in Kumamoto that serves sauce tonkatsu which is an Aizu specialty. It is a big bowl of rice with shredded cabbage on top, with a big, fried pork cutlet, that has been doused in some kind of wonderfulness and then fried again… heaven in a dish.

On the other hand, clearly foreigners do not go there often. The stares! But it was kinda cute too, because there were two middle school (?) age girls next to me who kept staring even after their mom told them they were being rude. They were watching my every move very intently, so I messed with them just a little bit. When I finished praying I crossed myself, which I rarely do, and their eyes! The size of saucers. They started talking to each other excitedly and their mom called them on it again. They were cute, but some of the others were not so cute. Adults did double takes when they came in. I think that it was the combination of my being a foreigner, a young woman, and I was alone.

I think in the end the fact that I was alone was what really triggered it, because I got it the rest of the day too. I traveled through the town and went down to see Tsuruga Castle, the very one that Yae had defended. Well, not the very one. This one is a replica, but a very good one. It is very pretty with its white washed walls. It was totally packed. The drama tends to draw lots of tourists to the area. Everything was in Japanese, of course, so I didn’t really know what I was looking at, but the movie that was showing had English subtitles of all things. Some nice young men who were standing in front of me stood aside and helped me get to the front of the crowd so that I could read the subtitles. They were rather tall fellows and I wouldn’t have been able to see a thing behind them so that made me happy. It was an interesting video too, all about Yae’s life and her impact on Japanese history.

I headed back in time to bathe in the hot springs before dinner and then we put on the yukata provided by the ryokan and headed out to the festival that was taking place on the streets right outside! The week we were traveling is called Obon, a time in Japan with many festivals. Everyone returns to their hometown because it is said that at this time of year your deceased ancestors can return to your home if you guide them. So the festival we attended was part of that. It was brightly lit with lanterns and so many people were dancing in beautiful yukata! I wanted to dance too, but I had no idea what the steps were or where to even begin. Also, I was wearing men’s wooden platform sandals with my yukata, because none of the women’s sizes fit and I was having trouble walking. Trying to dance seemed like a recipe for disaster. We had a really good time anyway. In a memorable moment, two very drunk young men came over to take their picture with us, the “pretty Americans”. I regret not taking one with my camera as well. For as drunk as they were, they were still very charming, and had us laughing pretty hard.  

We demolished that dinner. Except for the river fish. It was looking at me funny so I left it alone.

A little girl learning the dance from her mother and grandmother

Yukata times!

And then, all too soon, it was time for bed. Our adventure was coming to its inevitable conclusion and it was bittersweet. We were both rather tired and anxious to be back in our own beds, but the trip had been such a memorable one. The next morning we were presented with a traditional Japanese breakfast at the ryokan (and despite the fact that I am a cereal or toast only in the morning kind of girl I ate it all and it, was delicious). 

The ryokan

Our garden view room

The garden outside our window

In the gardens of our ryokan

Koi pond!

Time to leave...

Then it was back on the train, back to Tokyo. We had some time left there so we made one last stop at the bookstore with the massive English section in Shinjuku and grabbed a very American lunch (my burger and fries, diner style, made me crazy happy). And then it was off to Haneda airport for the flight home. I bought a Tokyo Starbucks mug at the airport to commemorate our many, many Starbucks stops. We flew home, dragged ourselves onto the bus to downtown, and meandered slowly back to the apartments, laden with shopping bags and luggage and feeling that slap happy feeling that a long day of constant travel gives.

For all that we were probably on the trains more than not, it was still an amazing adventure through the heart of Japan. Laura and I learned a great deal about each other, about ourselves, about traveling in Japan… and about the myriad of things we did wrong approaching the trip, which had really just made for great story later. Personally, I stared in horror at my bank statement afterwards. Travel in Japan is not cheap. I miss that trip and the places that we went. It is one of those vacations that when you think about it later you can almost feel it. Feel the sun and the rocking of the train, smell the summer air, taste the salt in the air by the sea… and the sauce tonkatsu… 

Train travel has its ups and downs. It is not nearly as romantic as we made it out to be long ago on the fateful train ride that led to this crazy plan, but I do think that America is missing out on something. It has a certain charm that I intend to enjoy fully for the remainder of my time here. I will never forget this summer and it will join the ranks of those memorable worktrip summers or the summer I spent at Living History Farms. What is it about summers that can make them so unforgettable? This one certainly was; so thanks Laura, for going on this awesome adventure with me, being such an awesome friend, and always making sure I was on the right train. Your friend, Penny.