September 28, 2009-October 5, 2009
So we got to
When we got out at Kyoto Station, it was like déjà vu times a trillion. Again, hate to be a broken record, but it felt like I had JUST left. The underground restaurants right outside the station, Kyoto Tower standing pretty, Isaten department store…We taxied to another Toyoko Inn and then went out to get our own dinner (all of us, incidentally, ended up going to Sukiya, a gyuudon (meat on top of rice)/karee (curry) place across the street). In the restaurant, what comes on the radio, MOM<>J
We met back at the hotel at 7:30pm, joined by a friend of Mariko’s, to walk through Pontocho (narrow street/alley off the main drag, full of restaurants and bars) and Gion, if you wanted to (many geisha there). And this “main drag” is the street our hotel is on, so you literally walk thirty minutes in one direction (to get to Gion) and then turn around/cross the street (for a change of scenery) and walk thirty minutes back. Not too hard, which is good for the MALES in our group. Just kidding. J
Ethan wanted to go to a jazz club he had seen on our walk down the “street”, so we (Mitchell, Abhi, Tamara, Samantha, and I, flowing our fearless leader) end up at this tiny bar playing jazz over the stereo. Samantha left faking a phone call because she didn’t feel comfortable (doesn’t like small spaces) and we all paid too much money for beers, some ginger ales, some Coca-Colas, a rum and Coke, and popcorn. It is customary, when going to a Japanese bar, that all people must order a drink. Food is usually a given too. We were being stupid Americans, even with half Japanese Tamara on our side. It was good to get out of there…
Throughout the trip, starting Sunday or Monday, I got bit by SOMETHING on multiple places all over my calves. I still have scabs now, but they were itching like CRAZY. Maybe the bites were going to my head because I woke up Tuesday (9/29) and thought, “Wow. I will not have eaten black olives for nearly four months by the time I chow down on them next. Hmmm.” I don’t know if I was hungry when I woke up at 7am or what, but when I got downstairs, I found something better than black olives: croissant rolls filled with a creamy Danish-like substance. Delicious rice balls and miso soup too. I lost track of my carb intake, which I should start caring about.
All our cell phones died faster in the Toyoko Inns because we got no service in the rooms and, according to Intelligent Indian Abhi, when there is no service, the phone constantly SEARCHES for service, so the battery is drained quicker.
We taxied to Ryoanji, which is currently under construction (and will be closed January-March). I wanted to be alone because of the peacefulness that the garden represents (it is a garden of twelve, I think, rocks representing islands off of
Mariko said that you should sit and think and when you contemplate hard enough, the answer you are searching for will come to you. I think we could always do with a little more quiet time in our lives, a little more time to sit and think, a little more time to just BE. I bought postcards (because post is a great thing) and wandered around for free time (we were to meet @ 10:30am). We walked the ~18 minutes to Kinkakuji (the
Kinkakuji, as always, was a sight to behold (the weather stayed very nice for our stops in
On the way back to meet up with the group, I went into the bicycle rental shop and got myself a t-shirt. Dad, the kelly green t-shirt I brought back for you last time that has the bananas and water bottle on it and says “We are bike riders. These are our fuel” (I think) is from the same place.
So we then rode the bus to Ginkakuji (
Everyone had to switch to another bus (I know not why) to continue on the route (for us, the remaining 10 minutes to Ginkakuji). Listened to Tamara’s iPod with her, we all disembarked, walked around the corner, and up the shop and restaurant-lined street to Ginkakuji.
Ginkakuji was under construction (scaffolding in place), not that it took anything away from its grandeur. Especially beautiful was the sand
So I walked around, took some great pictures, (throughout the vacation), which are going to overload my computer and take an HOUR probably to turn to the left or to the right. J Bought more postcards when we got all the way through (still have a love for gift shops-that’ll never die). Then Ethan had to go to Morioka Station to buy his shinkansen ticket from Kyoto to Tokyo to Morioka (for 10/5), so we all separated into “taxi groups” and were given money to get back to the hotel whenever we wanted to return. I was carrying some of Abhi’s things in my backpack, so we were a package, and along with Tamara and Samantha, we wandered down the shop-lined road. Some Nagoya elementary schoolchildren stopped us to practice English (“What is your name?” “Where are you from?” “What is your favorite color?” That kind of thing. Then, like in 2007, Mom, they had us sign our names on the back of the paper they were carrying.)
Ended up buying a shirt (Abhi told me to) that is mocking Adidas-it has the symbol, but the three top flower-like parts (okay, they’re not REALLY flower-like, but you get what I’m saying, right), are flames instead. And underneath, it says kazides (kazi means fire; des is desu, which goes at the end of a sentence). I felt like such a tourist. In Miyajima, I saw aidesu (with hearts; ai means love) and azides (with fish; azi is fish). Before walking along a nearby little river to get back to the road the bus had come by, we walk past a table where the man whose bar we had gone to last night is sitting (he is somewhat of a silversmith and makes jewelry out of old coins). Very beautiful work. For example, he took an American quarter and cut out everything but Washington’s head and the “One quarter” letters along the top (if that is even what it says). Much precision. Along the river we saw three GINORMOUS carp-one orange and two dark grey ones. Abhi was SEVERELY tempted to jump in and grab one.
Before catching a taxi back, I wanted to go to the post office (I had seen one close on the ride over) and make sure that the ¥70 stamps that the Morioka post office had told me would work for international postcards, actually would work. ¥70 WAS enough, but I needed to write Air Mail on them/use some stickers that they gave me.
¥1620 later, we were at the hotel (cabs vary from ¥550-¥640 depending on place and time (maybe)). Sensei gave us ¥1000 for the cab ride and reimbursed us later the ¥620 we paid out of our own pockets. At around 4pm, when we got back to our room, Tamara and I set to napping. We had alarms for 5:30, but when they went off, we turned them off and kept sleeping. At 6:30pm, I woke up and she awoke shortly after me, saying it was 7:30pm (I’ve heard that excessive sleep inhibits clock-reading ability). We decided it was a good time to get dinner. Still tired and drowsy, we trudged across the street to Yoshinoya, a favorite eatery of hers (saw Abhi and Ethan there), which has much the same feel as Sukiya (both, INCIDENTALLY use red and yellow in their signage and inside, which McDonald’s uses because APPARENTLY the colors make you hungry or you associate the colors with the restaurant so you think of it more often and therefore want it more often; I’m probably getting it a little wrong, so Mike, if you care to help me out here with your accurate knowledge of the corruptive nature of corporations, please be my guest J) Had butadon (pork on rice) and tea, free of course.
After food, we were MUCH more awake, so we set out trucking-down to Takashimaya (famous department store) where Tam saw a ¥13600 ($136.00) Ralph Lauren t-shirt she wanted to buy (had big polo pony on the left front and a “3” on the back, like a jersey). Her mom wants her to change her wardrobe (hmmmm, sound familiar?). We walked to Gion and passed the same corner where Mom took a picture of me as I slumped down, hungry and tired. Took another photo for ya J
We walked around exploring in the dark (I felt like I was with Mike a little) and came back via a McDonald’s bathroom stop, a corner concert by a two-man band, and Baskin & Robbins. Had “Candyman”, the Halloween special flavor, chocolate ice cream with orange crispy candies (Mike) and “New York Cheesecake” (Eric). That night was the only night, thus far, that I didn’t drink since the trip started. Tamara and I talked a lot instead. And went to bed too late (3am), but hey, we napped, right?
Tuesday night, watching TV, Feist’s “One Two Three Four” music came on during a commercial and the “Upside Down” disco song that’s on one of your CDs, Dad, was on another commercial. Then “Take On Me” came on and I almost DIED, Eric. AND there was a commercial for an iPod nano with a built in CAMERA (pictures and video). *GASP*
I was up at 7am on Wednesday (9/30) and downstairs before 7:30am. I ate three plates of two rice balls, a roll, and the croissant filled with Danish-like cream. We left around 8:30am in taxis to Kiyomizudera (Kiyomizu Temple). Mom and I had walked from the bottom of the shop and restaurant-lined street that leads up to the temple last time, but the taxis took us about halfway up. There was a little bit of light rain, so I put my light rain jacket over my backpack and my towel around my neck. Rain for a Seattleite is nothing ;)
In 2007, there were so many people in the actual temple that we didn’t make it all the way inside. We, as a group, went in and it was BEAUTIFUL. There is a saying that to throw yourself fully into something, you must throw yourself like you would off Kiyomizu budai (the stage of Kiyomizu). The view looks out to the main part of the city a little ways away. Near the end, three streams of water come out and over a small platform. You reach out a long-handled cup and drink from each to gain intellectual wisdom, health, and longevity. Abhi, Claire, Mitchell, and I, who were walking through with or close to Sensei and Mariko, did just that.
We slowly regrouped-Abhi went off to find Samantha, Tamara, and Ethan, but when we were all together, Mariko led us (just seconds from the temple grounds) to the studio of a friend of hers who makes EXQUISITE ceramic pottery. He and his wife used to live in the house we were welcomed into, but now it is their gallery. We saw his studio around the corner (he has ~12 people working for him total in Kyoto and Tokyo combined) and saw some of his creations. Beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL.
We broke for lunch and I tried to go out on my own (I found the place Mom and I ate when we visited in 2007-YES!) and looked around at the shops. I ran into Samantha and we got karee (curry). Afterwards, we bought strawberry cheesecake crepes and I bought two boxes of the mochi triangles as omiyage (one box for Yoko, one box for my host family) AND I bought mitarashi dango (pieces of skewered mochi cooked over an open oven with this sauce I don’t know how to describe…it’s sweet, but also kind of like teriyaki sauce…).
We all met at 1pm and taxied to Fushimi-Inari shrine, the land of many, many torii gates. I believe there are said to be 1,000. I carried Abhi, Tamara, and Mariko’s paper bags of goods bought around Kiyomizudera (Abhi and Tam bought ceramic sake cups from Mariko’s friend), and we were given an hour to walk through. It was raining a little harder, but not bad.
When we came back together again, after many pictures among the torii and contemplative walking and cats and many alters, Sensei decided that taking the train from Inari eki (station) right across the street to Kyoto station and then taking a taxi from THERE would be better than taxiing from here. It was also cheaper. We got back to the hotel around 3:15pm and they were still cleaning our rooms, so we waited (they were hurrying, apparently).
That’s a cool thing-they tell you when they will be cleaning your room. AND cleaning is an important part of Japanese culture. Tam and I, the day before, had asked them not to clean our room because we could just use the same towels and could sleep in the same sheets. We didn’t care. BUT that was an American mistake on my part. I was thinking of being ecological when in fact, it might have appeared as dirty/unclean/unhealthy.
When we got to our room and I napped 4-5:30, then Tam fell asleep, so I woke her up at 6:10. At 6:15, we all met in the lobby to go to our group dinner at Bistro Nozomi. About 9 courses Kyoto style (small portions). DELICIOUS. We sat on the floor, on a ledge, with our feet under the table (as if we were sitting in chairs). There were two tables-it was me, Nicole, Samantha, Claire, and Elizabeth versus Ethan, Tamara, Sensei, Mariko, Abhi, and Mitchell. Tam and I ended up switching seats halfway through because she came over to tell a story (she had gone to a ski resort with her host family over Silver Week (9/19-9/23) and she had seen some diapers for older people (or something). She took a long time to explain the story, so I went over to the other table to see what was going on. I didn’t intend to stay, but I ended up sitting with them.
The last course prior to dessert is something I now fondly call The Death of Me: a plate of sushi with probably 12 pieces, mostly sashimi (raw fish on top of rice). Nix, I think you would have liked it. Well, there was this one big roll that was, NO JOKE, the width of a clenched fist. I was seriously wondering if I could eat it in one bite (like you’re supposed to do with sushi) and Abhi must have read my mind. He said if I could do I, he would buy me a drink. Now, the drink wasn’t so much the drive-it was the POSSIBILITY that I could get that whole thing in my mouth. BUT as anyone I have eaten lunch with in saga (at Earlham) knows, my mouth really isn’t as big as I think it is. I have SERIOUS delusions of grandeur. SO I tried. And I’m pretty sure I had already scarfed down half my plate and pieces from others. Long story short: I didn’t quite make it. It was hard to swallow/breathe when you have a sushi roll taking up your whole mouth (there’s a video of it somewhere…). Then Abhi tried, I held the same reward of a drink, and he BEASTED it. The secret, I think, (from extensive observation), is to chew looking UP. I tried again, TWICE and they both ended poorly. So after THAT debacle AND finishing 2.5 plates of sushi (because I am The Garbage Disposal) AND ice cream (which I will never say “No” to), I was in SEVERE amounts of pain. Fullness x 34. Because of that, I came out feeling bad juju towards sushi (but it’s all good now, Nix.) I really want to go to Ginza (area in Tokyo) and do dessert hoodai (all you can eat dessert for 1.5 hours) so maybe I will have that SAME reaction to sweets and not eat them.
I REALLY needed to walk so I took and hour and walked to Gion and back, but I still felt SO full. And in my walking realized that I cannot be responsible for others. My eating of their food in order to (in some twisted way) save the planet does not really help anyone. IF we could bring Tupperware everywhere we went, THAT might help. But my getting full for a “cause” doesn’t do good things to my health. Tamara had left the restaurant early because she didn’t feel well and when I got back around 11pm, we went and walked more because she felt full as well (she was feeling better health-wise though). (While walking, I saw a girl with an Utrecht shirt, Dad. Like from the school. It reminded me of the Utrecht art supplies store that was sort of near LeRoi when you lived in First Hill.) We both didn’t want to eat anything more. Ever. The next day, we embarked on our Tokyo adventure.
Ah Thursday. (10/1) Got down to the lobby a little early to send a fax to my mom (that would go my insurance company) regarding my insurance coverage not changing when hers does due to her NEW JOB. I kept pressing the copy button when I wanted to send because it said “start” next to it. Luckily, Sensei came down and she helped me THANK GOODNESS.
We all met at 9:30 (Abhi had left earlier; he was staying with his aunt in Chiba, outside of Tokyo) so Sensei could say goodbye. Samantha had to finish packing and some people wanted to eat more, so we got into our two taxis at around 10:15. When “my” taxi got to the station, I mistakenly didn’t specify south terminal SO our taxis became separated. The other taxi took them on a strange detour and they arrived SOMEWHERE after us. The shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo didn’t leave until 12:22, but Samantha still hadn’t bought her ticket. I called Ethan and they were just getting out of the taxi. I called him again and they were in the station, I told him to meet us outside the main entrance, he said okay. Turns out they went to go get the ticket FIRST and THEN come meet us. It would have been GREAT to hear THAT rather than be standing outside the main entrance for 20 minutes wondering if they were all okay.
Due to the Unfortunate Sushi Event of the previous night, I wanted to eat NOT AS MUCH, so when we got into the station and were buying our lunches, I chose bananas and a sandwich. Had a few tiny bites of Tam’s Godiva Chocolate Caramel ice cream because she enjoys tempting me. We got into the shinkansen terminal and still had time, so some of us visited the bookstore, etc. Got on and on our way-the two hour ride to Tokyo went great (read and dozed).
When we arrived in Tokyo and had to train to the Asakusa station (where our hostel was), it was confusing because we were already IN the station, but we needed to buy train tickets. We went out of the shinkansen terminal, bought tickets, and proceeded to the Ginza line. Tamara and her fluency helped. BUT, because I had no rolling luggage/didn’t want to take the escalator, I always took the stairs that a) got me to the same place first, but b) often diverged from the escalator path. I got to the platform for the Ginza line (to Ueno, Asakusa) and Ethan called me to tell me that I was at the wrong place. I read the platform and destinations to him (it was the right place) and everyone soon arrived. Probably shouldn’t have diverged from the group, but we all got to the right place in eight pieces and didn’t get lost.
We arrived at Asakusa (on a very full train) and left out of a different exit than the Sakura Hostel directions said to. Tamara then asked for directions. WHY we didn’t just follow the directions provided by the hostel I DON’T KNOW. This is an instance where some people in the group seem to not TRUST others or have FAITH in them or WANT to make them the leader (as in, relinquish the leadership). It’s a problem that needs to be addressed, in my opinion. So out the exit, down past multiple rickshaw drivers, past the HUGE lantern that marks the entrance to a shrine, past the am/pm konbini (convenience store). Then the road Ts with a busier road and we take a right (at the vending machine with the fighting demons on it), continue past Denny’s and 7-11, and take a right at the restaurant where there’s a pachinko (gambling) parlor down on the left and a porn theater on the right and take the left fork when the road splits at the entrance to the amusement park. We arrived about 4pm and checked into our rooms. Thanks to Elizabeth’s promptness in both ASKING us if we wanted to room with her and in RESERVING the rooms, she, Claire, Tamara, and I were settling in in no time (in a 4 bed room on the 2nd floor). Samantha was in the mixed 6 bed room next door, Nicole was in a 6 bed room upstairs (on the third floor I think; 6 floors total I think), and Mitchell and Ethan were two floors up. For our four bed room, it was ¥12600/night, so essentially we (due to our four night stay) owed ¥12600 each. When I had taken money out of the Gandai ATM before leaving, I thought I was ROLLING in money. Like always, however, things take money. And I was humbled in the first few moments as we paid before “moving in.”
The rooms were clean, a window looked out on the street we had just entered from, 2 sets of bunk beds with 4 lockable cubbies (could get a lock from the front desk for ¥250), and there was a power outlet up by the top bunk! We made our beds with the sheets waiting for us on the beds (instructions were on the back of the door, as were rules like no eating or drinking in the room (do so in the lounge downstairs) and noise stops at 9pm (if you want to talk, use the lounge downstairs).
Elizabeth, Nicole, and Claire went to Mos Burger for dinner (on the way from the station to the hostel). Ethan, Mitchell, Samantha, Tam, and I went to Shibuya (30 minute train ride; Asakusa is one end of the Ginza line, Shibuya is the other) to meet up with a friend of Samantha Lynch’s (Ethan’s girlfriend), Amelia, and Amelia’s friend Anneliese. (Kelsey, it was Anneliese Irby, who went to NOMS and then to Ballard-WHAT a small world). Amelia goes to Temple University and is on a study abroad program, much like us. Anneliese is studying too and staying with her sister who is living in Tokyo currently. Meting them was relatively easy though Shibuya is the location of “Japan Times Square”, which is REALLY a sight to see, especially at night. We walked around for a great deal of time, in true Japanese fashion, wondering what to eat for dinner. After about 30 minutes and looking and asking the group and indecisiveness, Ethan saw a good spot. Bowls of raamen (noodles) or dinner sets of rice, miso soup, and noodles. I had rice and gyoza (potstickers)-small and good. AND cheap! (It has been interesting to hear people in our group talk about how much they need to save $, but order too much food and don’t finish all of it.
Ethan, Amelia, Tamara, and Anneliese craved bubble tea (at First Kitchen, a fast food-like place that was just a few feet away; in Tokyo, people call it “fuh-ki” for short; sounds like a swear word). In a moment of “What do we do now?” (it was 8:30pm) we discussed purikura (picture booths). Middle and high school students decorate their pencil cases, planners, cell phones, etc. with pictures of them and their friends in picture booths. A number of different backgrounds are available and then afterwards, you DECORATE the pictures with pen-wands and can put nearly everything imaginable on them. More background detail, stars, glitter, hearts, sparkles, cartoon characters, numbers, kanji characters, glasses, hats… So we did THAT for an hour. (The place we went was part of an arcade and the sign at the entrance to the purikura area had a message to all who wanted to enter: pictures of a girl, a girl and a boy together, and a boy (but with a red X through the picture). Boys cannot go in by themselves or in groups of JUST boys. It is more popular for many girls to go together or for a couple to go together or for a large group of mixed gender to go, but only boys is dame (bad).)
When we were done, Anneliese walked back to wherever she and her sister are (might have taken the train or a bus) and Amelia took the Ginza line with us and got off at her stop (she had to be home (host family curfew) by 10:30). We proceeded to Asakusa, I showered, and went to bed around midnight.
It rained on Friday (10/2). There was a breakfast at the hostel-¥315 all you can eat toast and soup. Didn’t seem worth it (Elizabeth and Claire said so after eating). I had set an alarm for 7am, but I slept through it and got up at 9am. Now that we didn’t have to be anywhere at a given time AND it was the tail end of our glorious adventure, I was much more fatigued, I think. I had set the alarm specifically to do laundry. The Toyoko Inns we stayed at had laundry too, but Tamara and I (at least) figured that we would do our laundry when we got to Tokyo. Well, it wasn’t getting done THAT morning.
I was ready to leave around 10. Nicole, Elizabeth, and Claire set out to the Edo museum and Akihabara (anime/geek central is what it’s known for). Tam and I waited for Ethan and Mitchell and then got a little breakfast (at a nearby Lawson, the BEST konbini ever, though I think my loyalty lies with Lawson because it was the first convenience store we all visited due to its close proximity to Kumagai Ryokan (where we stayed when we first arrived in Morioka)). I had eaten one of m leftover bananas, but I bought an onigiri (in a continued effort to eat less and NEVER feel like how I felt post-Sushi Experiment). Mitchell, Ethan, and Tamara all bought raamen or rice and shrimp tempura (in Mitchell’s case). Mitchell offered me his leftover rice, but I refused (and was SO proud of myself) and they all ended up MORE than satiated.
By 11, we made our way to the large lantern we passed en route to the hostel the previous afternoon and met up with Masaki (Ethan’s plans), a Waseda University student who came to Earlham two years ago, during our first year (07-08). Waseda is a VERY good school in Tokyo and Masaki and Ethan had been roommates during that year. Masaki helped us decide where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do, saying that a tower in Roppongi may offer a better view than Tokyo Tower (Mitchell’s suggestion) and Tamara added that the tower in Roppongi also had an aquarium. We ended up train-ing to Roppongi and up to the sky view floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Arts Center, which USUALLY offers a panorama of the city. BUT due to the rain, we were in the clouds on the 52nd floor and thus all we saw was WHITE. Which was WICKED cool. The student ticket for the view, the aquarium, and the arts museum (3 attractions in one!) was a fabulous ¥1500. We did purikura at the top (though no decorating, just the city behind us) and hit the aquarium.
OH. MY. GOSH. Glass tanks like you wouldn’t believe. Use of color, of light, of darkness, of shapes. Wow. The art museum was doing a special exhibit on Ai Weiwei, (the architect of the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing), which was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I never knew I loved modern art so much. The audio tour was a great addition, too. The exhibit (and the art) was clean, uncluttered, and utilitarian but at the same time genius. For instance, “One Ton of Tea” is a three dimensional cube of compressed tea. Yup. GENIUS. I wanted to buy a t-shirt of a great piece-bicycle frames joined together in a ring, four high. But I bought a postcard instead. AND they let you take pictures, so that’s great. The exhibit was very much about past tradition vs. the present modern age. Interesting. CAPTIVATING.
For lunch, we headed back to the station and a plethora of choices. Decided on a raamen place with a great price-¥880 for noodles with vegetables and chicken. We then all took the train to Akihabara (Masaki left us to go to a meeting at Waseda) and went to Don Quixote, where Tamara got the Pikachu costume she has. It’s a full body zip up and it’s probably on of the greatest things I have EVER seen. So she bought an Elmo one. J Don Quixote (8+ floors) also has a maid café and the cheapest SoyJoys around (¥98) and lotion (YEAH! I was SO glad to see that because it was on my grocery list) and slutty Halloween costumes (you got about eight four different “student” outfits or “tutor” or “schoolgirl”, your “pirate”, “pirate captain”, “maid”, “nurse”, “bumblebee”, etc.).
We then got dinner before Ethan was to meet Amelia for drinks. Mitchell and Ethan chose McDonald’s (which Tamara gave them a hard time for) and Tamara and I stepped into a small place nearby and got noodles (Tam) and toridon (chicken on rice, me). We thought we should regroup, so we found them at McDonald’s and all took the Ginza line together back to Asakusa (Ethan then took the Asakusa line to Gotanda). Since he was a little unfamiliar with the area of Asakusa and then way back to our hostel, I said I would meet him at 11pm/11:15pm at the lantern so he could find his way back. I told him directions (akin to what I typed previously-the route we took from the station the first time), but I really didn’t want to risk losing him.
Tam had the idea to go to a public bath nearby, so I asked Mitchell (who was walking with us) Nicole and Elizabeth (and assumed Claire’s “no”) just to make sure everyone felt included. Everyone said no and frankly, I wasn’t so up to being naked PERSONALLY. Tamara was a little let down though, I think. I had one priority that night: laundry. And Tam seconded that. We got back to the hostel (to a BUSY lounge), Nicole lent us the remainder of the laundry soap she had purchased, we paid ¥200 each for a washer , then (when the time was up) put our laundry in together on HIGH for 30 minutes (¥100x2). The putting it on “HIGH” was a detail we learned from Nicole and Elizabeth-people who DO not do something first get to learn from others. Thank you Elizabeth and Nicole. ‘Wanted’ was on TV (yeah Liza, you Israeli street fighter, and Breanna, you mixed martial artist!)-so THAT was nice. And it was dubbed in Japanese, so that was even nicer. I got distracted from writing in my journal by Facebook (on Samantha’s computer) via the free wireless and by Tamara’s bottle of sake (she bought it in Kyoto station at the grocery store where most of us bought lunch), yuki (fragrant orange/lemon) flavor. We had a few cups of that and I also bought a ¥150 can of chuuhi, a type of sake…maybe….Went to the lantern at 11pm and Ethan’s phone had died previously in the day, so there was no way to communicate with him. He came at 11:30 and we walked back fine. (I sometimes wonder why I put myself at the mercy of others, abiding by their schedule-first trying to help Tamara get to yabusame (archery on horseback), now waiting for Ethan to make sure he gets home okay. It’s because people matter. That’s my conclusion, the only one I’ve got.) Showered and went to bed around 1am.
Oh (10/3) Saturday. Slept through my 7am alarm again; awoke at 10:45 moderately upset that I had just slept 1/3rd of the day away. It was raining less and Tamara (who had ALSO slept late), Ethan, and Claire (who had been awake for hours WAITING for us to wake up) waited in the lobby for Mitchell to finish showering. Ate a banana. Then when the five of us were ready to go, Ethan, Mitchell, and Tam were hungry. So we stopped at an Indian restaurant on the way to the station. HUGE naan. No joke, the actual size of baby elephant ears. The menu pictures are a tad deceiving. I bought ¥250 turmeric rice (which the man/owner didn’t fully understand, I think, since restaurants are where you EAT; Japanese people don’t eat on the go usually and they don’t snack much) and felt great when others felt full from their curry sets.
Tamara took us to Ginza (via the Ginza line; about halfway to Shibuya), one of the most expensive areas of Tokyo. Up out of the station and into a gift shop kind of store (within the Sony building) with great pencil bags, stickers, bento boxes, planners, etc. Z, I think you would have loved it. A great place, I think, for middle schoolers and high schoolers. Plus, the Halloween display was very cute. We went up to the next floor and it was the headquarters, maybe, of the Miracle Project, a Sony driven photography project that I’ve seen on television commercials-a bunch of elementary school students create sea creatures with arts and crafts supplies in their classroom and a man with a Sony camera documents the project. Above that space were headphones/cameras/iPod-like mP3 players (all Sony) for people to test out. Picked up one set of headphones and what song is playing on the mP3 but “Beautiful Girls”. I’m glad you’re with me, EJ.
After a little while, we went outside and tried to decide what to do for the limited time we had since it was already around 1 (Ethan was going to meet up with Amelia and Anneliese at Shibuya station at 2:30). He chose the Asahi Shinbun (newspaper company-owned building I think) building across the street and looked around at the shops inside for about twenty minutes. Hello Kitty, lingerie, shoes. It’s like a totally magical world here, so I love to just LOOK.
We hopped the Ginza line to Ginza (~20 minutes) and Amelia found us before we left the station. We waited for Anneliese outside while Amelia complained about her friends who would rather write papers than come meet Ethan and his cool friends. I said I liked doing homework too. J
When Anneliese showed up, we walked in the direction of the karaoke place they wanted to go to. Amelia was hungry, so we stopped at a Sunkus (like “Thanks” perhaps; a konbini), but then Anneliese was thinking Wendy’s while she was inside, so then we went ACROSS THE STREET to Wendy’s. I didn’t get anything (had 2 fries, one from Tam and one from Anneliese, who both bought kid’s meals and received handkerchiefs! SO much better than toys.). It’s not really my thing…AND I wasn’t hungry. Tam had been so adamantly against Ethan and Mitchell going to McDonald’s the previous night, but now freely bought Wendy’s. That was a little strange in my mind. Yes, you’re in Japan and should eat Japanese food (or at least not “American” food). Yes, burgers are great when you need a reminder of home. Now I see why, when I agree with two viewpoints and DON’T have an opinion (CE), it’s frustrating. Sorry about that.
We continued walking in the direction of karaoke and had to ask a policeman for directions because Amelia and Anneliese couldn’t exactly remember where it was-after going in circles in Shibuya, many intersections/streets look the same, so I don’t blame them. We found it and went in and they were all planning to stay for two hours or so. I, however, had scheduled dinner with Yoko, an old exchange who came to stay (at the age of eighteen) with my mother and me when I was eight. Our original plan was to have dinner at her parent’s home in Saitama (about 40 minutes outside of the city; where she still lives) so that we would all be able to see each other-her mother, her father, her, and me. Then Naoko, her sister, was going to be available for dinner and we were going to go to her house in Iriya, about 20 minutes from Asakusa (on the Ginza Line then on the Hibiya Line). We were going to meet at 5pm at Ueno (the transfer/shared station) and then go on to Naoko’s together. THEN Yoko’s father said we were going to go out to a shabu-shabu (cooking meat in boiling water) and sukiyaki (thin noodles cooked in boiling water with lettuce and meat) restaurant in Ueda on him (only about 20 minutes from Ginza on the Ginza line). Yoko emailed me the final plan when we got into karaoke at around 3pm. Yoko and I would meet at 5:40 at the station and walk to the restaurant where we (Yoko, Naoko, Naoko’s 2 year old son Tomo-chan (chan is used after children’s names normally), Yoko’s mother, Yoko’s father, and I had reservations from 6pm). That meant I would leave Shibuya at ~5pm instead of the 4pm/4:30 I had previously thought. SO I joined Ethan, Amelia, Anneliese, Tamara, Mitchell, and Claire for karaoke. Sang ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Take On Me’, ‘Stronger’ (Kanye West), ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Glamorous’ (Fergie; wish it could have been more T-O-P-H-E-R-O-U-S). Ethan sang some Frank Sinatra, Mitchell sang some Queen, Amelia sang some Prince. Great variety.
I left at around 4:45pm to get back to Shibuya station (paid Tam back), bought my train ticket, got on the train (they DO come every 2-3 minutes) and got to Ueno with no problem and time to spare (in at 5:25pm). Was a little nervous because I wanted to make sure I was in the right place at the right time. Early is ALWAYS good, especially in Japan. Yoko arrived shortly (we were mailing each other to make sure we were in the right places) and she looked/looks as young as always. The restaurant was a short walk from the station and until around 8:30, we had a delicious dinner and great conversation. We had our own private room with the same table as was at our group dinner in Tokyo-we were seated on the floor with our feet under the table.
We (Mom and I) saw Tomo-chan as an infant-now he is 2 years and 4 months old, in his words. J Talking a great deal and likes to touch everything. Before her mother, father, Naoko, and Tomo-chan arrived, Yoko gave me omiyage (gifts) because she did not want Tomo-chan to destroy them: 2 sets of exquisite chopsticks (with one containing a rice scoop) and a beautiful handheld, hand painted mirror. Later on, Okaasan (Yoko’s mother) gave me a key clip with a mini fan on it. Tomo-chan was very well-behaved though, which is a constant with Japanese children. Though he was tired towards the end, the idea of pears (2 plates came: one with plain slices, one with slices toped with wine-like flavored jelly topping) and ice cream (we had macha (green tea), he had vanilla) kept him in good spirits. Tomo-chan had some bread from a bag decorated with Anpanman, a cartoon character. Yoko said that because it has Anpanman on the bag, children want to eat it though it is just regular bread. Naoko’s husband works late on Saturdays, so he was unable to join us.
Naoko talked about her visit to Seattle while Yoko stayed with us and a restaurant chain called Boston Market (that specialized in mashed potatoes, gravy, rotisserie chicken, etc.; don’t know WHY in the world it would shut down, not from lack of interest at least) and how much she LOVED it.
After dinner, Naoko and Tomo-chan got into a taxi to get home and Yoko, Okaasan, Otoosan, and I walked back to the station (I saw a Sweets Paradise-dessert hoodai (all you can eat dessert for an hour and a half)) via a narrow street marketplace of booths and garages (the kind of marketplace/back alley greatness that is so characteristically Japan to me). In the station, Okaasan bought me two boxes of different sweets omiyage (gifts), one for my host mother/family and one for my friends, if I wanted to share with them. Both sweets were small, roundish, and soft with soft filling. One was whitish and usagi (rabbit) shaped, the other was brown. The insides of both were matching in color to their exterior. Okaasan also bought me a pancake sandwich, two pancakes with azuki (red bean paste) between them to eat as a snack sometime later.
They walked me to where I could get a ticket and then I bought and proceeded through to where I would descend to the platform. BUT I almost went down the stairs to the wrong side of the tracks (I would have read the sign on the track and KNOW I was in the wrong place), but before I could go any further, they were calling to me, telling me to go to the other side. AS much as I LOVE Shibuya, I don’t think I wanted to go back there that night. J I was thankful. I walked towards the right stairwell and there was much smiling, waving, and “Jyaa ne”-ing (“See you later.”) I think I was also a little nervous-Yoko is a very important person to me and my mother and there is no way to say “Thank you for letting your eighteen-year-old daughter come stay with us, foreign people in a foreign country, for three years and for letting her stay in the United States for five. Thank you for having a daughter who loves adventure and who really made me love Japan, the language and culture. Thank you for all you have given me and my family, both tangible and otherwise. You and YOUR family have changed my life.” So I will attempt to say that IN Japanese. Also, in America, we hug goodbye (and sometimes hello too!) and in my vain attempt to thank them enough, I hugged them goodbye. They were caught a little off guard I think AND the Japanese way is not one of hugging. So it was funny. While on the train, I emailed Yoko a thank you and perhaps I will make it back to Tokyo to see them before I head out of this beautiful country. On the train, I saw a guy with combat boots, Eric.
Walked back to the hostel and thought everyone was asleep or no one was back (because from the outside, I didn’t quite know which room was ours). However, much to my glee, Elizabeth and Claire were in the room talking. It was such a déjà vu to last year-me and two of my very good friends (Liz and Clairellyn) roomed in a triple in the basement of one of the residence halls on Earlham’s campus. There were three windows that were right at ground level and often I would be coming back from a meeting or a friend’s room at 10 or 11 at night and I would usually be exhausted. I would look at the windows, which I could see when I came across the Wellness Center parking lot, and if the lights were off, I would think, sadly, that I was coming back to a room of sleeping roommates and I didn’t want to wake them up when I came in. HOWEVER, usually when I turned the key and opened the door, light greeted me (the shades had been pulled on the windows AND/OR the lamps were on and so the light wasn’t bright enough to be seen from outside) and my two smiling roommates (probably watching an episode of “Bones”, “Veronica Mars”, or “Gossip Girl”), and maybe an empty pizza box, were there, making me one of the happiest people on the face of the planet. And no matter how tired I was walking BACK, I woke up the minute I entered that room. And I loved that. And I told Elizabeth and Claire that and now writing this, I think I just might cry.
Elizabeth and Claire and I talked a lot about the program, the trip we were on, the people we were with…it was really good (it always is) to talk openly with people, to build trust with others, to hear the viewpoints of others. Borrowed Samantha’s laptop (she had said I could use it) from where it was plugged in in her room and was able to Skype with a friend while taking advantage of the wireless on a landing between the first and second floor. Talked for about an hour, Samantha and Tamara came back while I was talking, and I soon returned Sam’s computer.
In the lobby, I talked with Mitchell and Ethan while ‘Man on a Wire’ played on the TV (dubbed in Japanese). Once again, god to hear people’s points of view on the program, trip, and people. Went BACK to the room and Nicole had come in to visit, so the four of us (Elizabeth and Claire were still there) talked more. Showered around 12:15am, started writing in my journal around 1am (lights were mounted on each bunk; I used mine and covered it with my jacket to try and allow Elizabeth and Claire to sleep), and fell asleep around 2. Tamara came in around 1:30. AND I was getting up at 7 to go to Yokohama the next day…
Light rain continued to fall on Sunday (10/4) and FINALLY we were up at 7, though I did have to wake Tamara up. Left around 7:45am after calling Samantha to ask if she wanted to join, but she sleepily declined and said se would talk to us later. Apparently, we three were originally were going to go to Yokohama to meet Haruna (another Waseda University student who came to Earlham during our first year, 07-08). Got to Asakusa station around 8:15 (after Tam stopped to get an onigiri (rice ball) and an energy drink). Went on the Ginza line to Ginza (20 minutes), transferred to the Hibiya line to Naka-Meguro (15 minutes probably), then got on the JR (Japan Rail) Tokyuu Toyoko line (I think) to Minato Mirai (around 30 minutes). Minato Mirai is also the name used for the amusement park that sits on the Yokohama waterfront, which was our MAIN destination.
We, thanks to my desire to be up and at ‘em (to sort of prove that YES I COULD use an alarm), got to Minato Mirai station at around 9:30, too early to shop at the shops. So we rode the escalator (one of Japan’s longest escalators; maybe 30 seconds) up and down and up to the sunshine. We hit the ATM and then sat at Starbucks so Tam could rink coffee and smoke and we could watch the time tick by via the GINORMOUS Ferris Wheel CLOCK. Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, the wheel has a digital clock and it is PROBABLY one of the greatest ideas since hand sanitizer, but motion sensor lights are good too. We also were at a GREAT vantage point to witness child-parent relations on the plaza-like, park-like open space (you knows, you’ve got your planters and your benches and your wide open space where street performers can do their thang) in front of the station and across from the amusement park. FOR EXAMPLE, a boy (probably 8 or 9) fell on the ground and did not cry, but rather crawled on his stomach towards his mother who was continuing to walk, then got up and walked with her. LOGICAL young lad. A father and a young daughter (who later met the mother and came to sit outside Starbucks) were holding hands and walking down some nearby steps. When she slipped and became a little flustered, he just changed the way he was helping her: rather than walk next to her, he faced her and walked down the steps backwards, but if she fell, she fell into him and I’m sure she felt more secure. The important thing to notice here, class, is that he did not coddle her. He did not make her slipping a big deal. This is why the Japanese are the most successful people in the world.
We went back into the station around 11am and looked around the Snoopy Store and the Disney Store. I had called Hanako, my host sister, who goes to school in Yokohama and thus lives there now (went back after Disneyland trip) and she said she would come after washing her clothes, bussing to the train station, and training to Minato Mirai. After about 20 minutes, she called again and asked if we could meet her at Sakuragicho Station instead, a 5-10 minute walk away. The answer is ALWAYS “Yes” on Sundays, SO we met up with her around 11:15am. We did a little dance for getting together (HOORAY!) and headed for lunch with our capes rippling behind us. Found a soba restaurant in the building between the two stations. Tam and I had ocha (tea) soba (green noodles) (LOVE soba, just btdubs) and Hanako had the manager’s recommendation-soba with some hard boiled egg and radish in it. We all ate fast. We’re like a secret SOCIETY of Should Eat Slower-s. Went for Coldstone Creamery (YEAH. Seriously, with Starbucks, Krispy Kremes, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and COLDSTONE, HOW can you be homesick?) and all had Like Its (the smallest size, which I THINK is smaller in Japan, as is everything). Chocolate Decadence for Hanako, Romancing the Cheesecake for muah, and Very Berry Cheesecake in a waffle cone in a bowl for TamTam.
THEN we went to Sweet Factory, another way you are never left wanting in Japan. We had seen it en route from Minato Mirai to Hanako and we just HAD to go. Dried grapefruit, pineapple, and watermelon; chocolate-covered strawberries, Ramune hearts and stars; the small, spiky candy Claire loves so much (for her). So almost $10 LATER (for me; Tamara spent nearly double probably), we were off to the park! Tam spent ¥2800 worth of tickets which was actually worth ¥3500 (which maybe gives the illusion that you’re getting more for your money…) and we went on a spinning ride together-it went on a half-pipe like base, up and back down, and spun too. It was then suggested by Tam that we should each by our own tickets, though I don’t think it was ¥2800 worth. THEN we went into the Polar/Ice Room, literally FREEZING. MY GOODNESS. ICE and BREATH and PAIN and everything.
Went across the bridge to another section, the “big kid” rides, like the Ferris Wheel and roller coasters and a water log ride. Went on a sort of scary (it was attempting to be scary) ride where we were in a cage that went on tracks through various scary incidents (much dropping down and popping out, so if you’re scared by such things, go ahead). Then we went on a roller coaster that spun the seat as well (4 people total in a small round “car”; much back and forth movement). My head kind of hurt afterwards, which worried me. Haven’t had bad headaches here so far, but I’m thinking the kind of movements on roller coasters and jolting rides like that might adversely affect my brain case.
Went on the BIG rollercoaster that wove in an around the base of the Ferris wheel and the large arcade center there on that side of the bridge and THEN up in the gondola. WOW. 60 gondolas (reppin’ the 60 seconds of a clock)-it was quite warm with the sunshine and we could squint and look out onto the bay and the city. BEAUTIFUL. Afterwards, we killed the remaining ¥ left on our cards by going to the kiddie area and riding on this pedal car ride and a carousel.
We hit the Snoopy Store and the Disney Store on last time and received a call about dinner-meeting Machiko (another Waseda student who was at Earlham our first year, 07-08) in Shibuya. Hanako was invited, but the trouble was, Shibuya was the OPPOSITE direction Hanako needed to go (as we were in her ‘hood). I thought this kind of problematic, but she said she didn’t mind riding the train at night and had done it before from inner Tokyo. We called Machiko to explain this and she said, after much shuffling by us and ‘What would be better?” and Hanako saying Yokohama station was the most convenient for her, Machiko said she could meet us at Yokohama station, just a short ride from Minato Mirai and Sakuragicho. We all got there, met up with Machiko after looking around a little, and had okonomiyaki for dinner in one of the MANY restaurants to be found in the station. Like usual, I was given the pleasure of deciding since Hanako and Machiko (and Tamara too) could have this food whenever they wanted. We ordered three, and then cut each one into 1/4ths which was GENIUS (Thank you, Machiko!).
Afterwards (around 9:30pm), we said goodbye to Hanako (who bussed home), and Machiko, Tamara, and I took the Hibiya Line to Ginza, a very full train back. At Ginza, we parted ways-Machiko to home, Tamara and I to the Ginza Line to Asakusa. It was AWESOME. Got back to the hostel and did a little bit of packing in preparation for leaving the next day.
Monday (10/5) was relatively easy-we prepared enough ahead of time so that we weren’t rushing that morning. In other words, we left the hostel at 10:15am and got to Asakusa Station, then took the Ginza Line to Ginza I THINK and caught the shinkansen from there. We were in the waiting area at 11am and our train didn’t left until 12:59pm. We all had bento (boxed lunches) and went up to the platform around 12:45. There, like clockwork, was our train. We got on and it rolled. We were in Morioka around 3:15pm and we all got home in various ways. I took the bus with Elizabeth and Claire to the bus center, then got on another bus (with Elizabeth) that dropped me off 7 minutes from my house. Claire got on another one at the bus center. Some people took taxis, some called their families.
Walking out of the station into the afternoon sunshine and knowing that we were back in Morioka (which has 30,000 people, not the 300,000 I thought; you would think I would notice a big difference like that…), it was such a good feeling. Like being home.
Hope everyone at Earlham has a good Early-Semester Break and plans for Halloween are proceeding nicely. Love to all the students, parents, and family. May your days be rich in joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment