The end of the end

It's a month later and I have finally sat down to write this final post. That's why I couldn't until now. Final is such a big word but its also a necessary one. I need completion and until I finish this I won't have it. So as the blog once began when I was still in Canada now it'll finish right where it started. I'm going through my photos trying to make sense of those last days. It passes through my head in a sort of montage to Walk On by U2 The only baggage you can bring is all that you can't leave behind: sushi, final shrine visits, the Oshino ponds, a tea party, drinking with friends, a special goodbye party thrown for me by my teachers, my last drive to school, my last game of dodge ball with the second years, a final adventure with Sheena to Izu, feeding the fish, dinner with friends, pachinko and so many more memories which will probably fade with time. I was determined not to waste a single moment of that last week and I think I succeeded.

So let's begin with my adventure with Sheena. Throughout my time in Japan we were always off completing one list of three or another. I'd mean to do a blog post about the lists that I completed but never quite got there. Maybe one day. Anyway, this time it was to complete Sheena's list of three old onsens. I haven't completed mine but there are so many threes that go on about onsens I just decided to pick three and have completed those: Dogo in Ehime, Beppu in Oita and now Atami in Shizuoka. It's kinda cheating but oh well yay three! So off we went to Atami with lots of random stops in between. One of them was this thing called Tanna fault. Every time we go to Izu we saw this sign for it and finally this time we decided to make a point of checking it out (after a stop for ichigo daifuku of course.) It turned out to be pretty cool. About a hundred years ago there was an earthquake in Izu that did an interesting thing to the fault line. It split the land in two with one side going about a foot to the the left and the other to the right. The result is entire rivers, pathways and even shrines being split in two. It's really hard to explain without gestures but the picture of the torii gate at the shrine explains it the best. Basically the fault line was right between the gate and the stairway. Before the earthquake the gate was in line with the stairs, now the gate is off to the right and the stairs to the left. Make sense? Maybe not. Oh well it was really cool! After that we went and pet some cows and then because it was raining and a little miserable we sought out the onsen in Atami and soaked in the mineral rich waters. We also checked out the original water source, this geyser that goes off every few minutes, a rainy shrine and Starbucks for vanilla lemon swirl lattes! Thank you Skeena.

 

Friday was just for me. Besides doing tons of packing (and actually managing to fit three years of my life into two suitcases, this long bag that fit my sword and Fuji stick and a box to be sent home by ship) I wanted to go to some of my favourite places in Fujiyoshida one last time. First I went to Oshino, the eight ponds fed by hundred year old spring water from the great mountain itself, and managed to squeeze in a few shots before the sky clouded over. It was pretty crowded but there is this garden off to the side that I never entered because it costs a whole 200 yen! Pretty silly that it took me three years to check out. It was totally worth it for I was one of three there and I could sit on a rock feeding the fish in the shadow of Fuji in peace. There was also a traditional house to explore where I could climb all the way up to the roof and marvel at the view. After I went to Fuji Sengen Shrine for my last trek down the long corridor of trees and lanterns no less in awe than the first time back in April 2011. I'm always amazing by how much Japan still held be awestruck. I prayed for a last time, purchased my final luck charm and said goodbye promising myself it wouldn't be forever. Thank you Fuji-san.

 

That night I said goodbye in a different way. With umeshu! My friends and I threw this huge party for us because not only was I leaving but so were Stephanie, Kevin and Sheena. Steph went home like me. Kevin went to Tokyo and Sheena to Osaka. In a way I'm happy all my favourites moved on because I can miss them but know that if I had stayed it still would have never been the same. It's an end of an era for Yamanashi. I'll miss them like crazy but my did we go out in style! It was a brilliant party with lots of food, craziness, nomihodai and, for my part, dancing. Still, saying goodbye is never easy... How do you just say goodbye forever to your family away from home of three years? I don't know but the way I see it, I'll do everything possible to see them again. Thank you all my friends.

Saturday was my final iaido class. That was the hardest. I hope my teacher's know that every time I think of them my heart swells with admiration and affection. They were the best old Japanese men I've ever known and cared for me like I truly belonged. I will never forget them. I will always remember my Saturday afternoons in Japan with warm fondness. Kevin was there. It was really nice having him there to see how far I had come since I was first a beginner swinging about a sword with no knowledge of the art. Somedays in Canada I wonder how this ever happened? How it is real that I have a black belt? That some old men adopted me and showed me the ways of the sword. Then I kneel before my katana, stroking the smooth metal and I remember it all. Thank you Sugimoto-sensei.

How do you compete with that? By inviting four silly gaijin to a tea party and that was how I spent my last Sunday with Kevin, Chika and Sairus. My principal from my second year decided we needed to be more cultured and had us invited to a friend's house where we were shown a traditional tea ceremony. We we terrible gaijin and had way too much fun for it to be a solemn affair. Try as we might to be serious we always ended up in fits of giggles. After the coals beneath the pot refused to burn and the sensei realized we were not troubled by it he too began to relax and shared in our laughter as he served sweets and matcha. And his house was so beautiful. The tea house was off in its own wing surrounded on three sides by garden and the little well where we washed before crawling through a tiny door into the tea room. After he showed us the rest of the house and it was magnificent. Everything you expect a real Japanese house to look like with tatami floor and bamboo. It smelled of sandalwood and tranquility and I happily closed my eyes and breathed it in, marinating in the experience. We thanked him in all the ways we knew in Japanese, bowed a hundred times and went for katsu lunch. Thank you sensei, Sairus, Chika and Kevin.

 

 

 

 

That night I did something completely different. It was kinda cool because I got to contrast the traditional side of Japan with the modern for Kelly, Loren, Laura and I went out to do pachinko. Well first we went for Chinese food and I took the super awesome picture of us reflected in their mirror ceiling. Then we went for pachinko. Pachinko is like gambling but gambling is illegal so instead middle-aged men (and some woman) go to these pachinko parlors and chain smoke as they twist some nobs and pound on some buttons trying to get these little silver balls to wrack up the points. It's all very flashy, noisy and, because of the smoke, smelly so we wore masks. None of us won much but I got a bag of cookies. And after Loren showed us around the corner to where this really shady guy behind a tinted window buys points for money. So in the end if you win lots you can go to him and actually make money. How is this gambling? I have no clue. But at least it's now crossed of Japan bingo along with capsule hotels, internet cafes and a tea ceremony.

 

 

Monday was my last day of school. I drove down showa-dori with the lanterns and Fuji behind me in the distance and took a picture at the view in my side mirror. What a beautiful commute I had. School was a bit slow because I had no classes but at every break I went and hung out with the kids and signed everything from pictures of mameshiba to pencil cases. I was so blessed by such wonderful students and it was an honour to skip eating my final kyushoku to make time to sign for them. And then for my last period the most wonderful thing happened. I was sitting there trying not to cry as I packed up my things when Chiaki-sensei came running up to the teacher's room and asked if I was busy. My favourite class, the second years, had requested one last game of dodgeball. I almost fell out of my desk in my excitement as I raced after her to the gym and played the funnest game of dodgeball anyone has ever played. Oh I'll miss them. The last event of the day was a goodbye party after all the kids went home. I'd been thinking the whole time it was a goodbye party for all teacher's but it turned out it was just a goodbye party just for ME! I shook with happiness and tears as I got to select the first piece of cake, strawberry tart, and was then handed a whole stack of letters, pictures, booklets and little presents, all gifts from the teachers and students thanking me. I was only there one year but I was so touched by how much I became one of them. I truly cared for them and the students and if I could still have that job and live in Canada I would be there forever. Thank you Asumi and Nishi.

Tuesday was about all the last minute stuff: cleaning, turning off the water, electricity, giving back my car, locking up the house, going to the dump and recycling bin and then saying goodbye to Sheena. She helped me with the dump so I took her out for our favourite apple pie ala mode at McDonalds and sakura Fizzs. We talked only a little with the heavy weight setting on our shoulders and when it was time to say goodbye there were many tears and hugs. I drove home. Got my stuff. Left the keys in the house. Then it was time to go to the station for real. That's when the full force of it hit me and I shook against my seat and tried not to cry as Fuji slipped into the distance. I met up with Kevin in Otsuki where he was packing up the last of his things and together we headed for his new house in Machida. As the train (we took the express~) passed through the mountains it felt almost like I could fell the point where we crossed the border out of Yamanashi. For three years it was my home and now I'd find a new one. I settled Kevin into his new home that night. We stayed up really late watching anime, talking and eating pizza. Every moment that passed brought us close to saying goodbye and I knew neither of us would find it easy. In the morning we took the train to Harajuku where we shared our last meal together; honey mustard chicken burgers. I started to tear up a little, counting down the hours. Then it was time to count down the minutes. And then I was at the final station and it was time to say goodbye. Let's leave it at it was hard... like really really hard... I'll miss him a lot and never forget him. Thank you Kevin.

I boarded the skyliner and was lucky enough to have a seat alone. I leaned against the window to cool my flushed cheeks and closed my eyes to hold back the tears that kept choking me. I opened my eyes again only because I wanted to drink in every last moment of Japan and watched it slip away listening to Walk On. It became my theme song for leaving Japan. And I know it aches / And your heart it breaks / And you can only take so much / Walk on. And walk on I will. Thank you Japan.

The end.

The beginning of the end

Some days are bad and some are good and some are just downright magical. These magical twenty-four hours began on Saturday with this iaido presentation thing with some of my old students in Otsuki. Last year I failed so miserably at it. I had no idea what I was doing, no confidence and I felt horrible. This year I had confidence, presence and a black belt. I aced it! At the end of it all I was rewarded with a ceremony in which my katana was officially gifted to me by my teacher. What an amazing blessing to have not only learned so much in a year about a martial art I love but also to be able to walk away with the proper equipment to continue training in Canada. I hope Sugimoto-sensei knows how grateful I am.

I should also point out that Saturday was the first day I could consider warm. It seems spring has at last arrived. When the ceremony was over the sun was still shining. I thanked them a hundred times, got changed and rushed to the train station for an evening trip to Yokohama. One of my favourite places to go to Japan at night is Chinatown. Mostly because of the lanterns but there is also this really cool vibe about the place that I always imagined a city at night would have. There is so much activity, the lights are so bright and the people are always in this mode of festivity. The two temples were locked up for the evening but that made them no less beautiful in the golden light. I did a bit of shopping and bought a furoshiki purse which I’d been coveting for two years. It’s a Japanese cloth that can be tied around two wooden rings and made into a bag. I’ve always loved them and now I have one of my own. There were so many cool shops that sold everything from incense to weird food I wouldn’t even dare smell let alone try. As the night wound down, I bought a bento and retired to my shabby little hostel for the night, watched some TV and went to bed.

 

 

 

The next day was easily one of the luckiest I’ve ever had. I woke up early ready to start the day only to find that the single shower for the entire hostel had a reservation list a mile long. I waited outside trying to figure out what to do. I could wash my hair in the sink but after iaido the day before I was badly in need of an actual shower. So I waited patiently and as luck would have it, the person finished their reservation early and I slipped in before the next one. Clean and very happy I set out on my adventure to Kamakura. I’ve been many times now as it’s kinda like the Kyoto of Kanto. When I was trying to plan my one last hoorah it was the place that most called to me. When I got there that morning I would understand why. It was warm, sunny and a few of the early morning blossoms were in bloom. I was simply giddy to see my favourite pink flowers gracing some of the trees. Despite most of them still being a few weeks away I had my fair share of sakura considering it’s so early in the year still and the snowpocalypse threw things off a bit. The Hachimangu shrine was brilliant in the morning light and I flitted around from one blossoming tree to the next like a humming bird seeking sugar. At the shrine I prayed and thanked the kami for three magnificent years and then went to get my fortune. It told me my luck was good and that my wishes would come true if I was patient.

 

I headed back to the station via the lovely little shopping street to look in all the quaint little stores. Everything one would want to buy from Japan could be found along that street and I could have filled a suitcase with all the treasures I wanted but settled instead for a cute little handmade bracelet with a dragon coin. Back at the station now the second lucky thing happened. I have this terrible system of putting things in my pocket with my phone and then whatever is with my phone always falls out when I take it out. It happens time and time again and still I don’t learn. Well out fell my suica card and off I walked only to reach into my pocket and discover it missing. I spun around and raced back the way I came. The strange thing is my gaze caught on a reflection in the glass next to me. It was my card but when I looked to my immediate left I saw nothing. I spun around and found it laying some way off but a trick of light made its reflection first visible. I nearly cried with relief as I picked it up and held it to my chest thanking whatever had helped me reunite with my expensive little train pass. 

After this terrifying but very fortunate experience I walked towards Hasedera. If the best shrine in Kamakura is the Hachimangu shrine then the best temple is Hasederan. Built up on a hill, several paths snake around a garden which on this magnificently warm day was blooming with flowers. Not only were there plum blossoms, which are actually a little late, but there was sakura! The kuwazu type from Izu. I was so happy I could have just stood there next to the little goldfish pond staring at them in awe forever. Instead I wandered around, hopped some stones across a little stream, listened in on a Buddhist prayer ceremony and meditated in a peaceful bamboo grove before reaching the top and gazing out on the horizon for a long time. It was perfect. Another reason I went to Kamakura was that after two years with my first daruma doll I felt my wish had changed a little and thus I burned it at the New Year’s festival so I was in need of a new one. I had bought the first one in Kamakura and found the second one there as well in a little shop selling all sorts of handmade trinkets. I can’t wait to make my new wish and colour in one of the eyes as if the tradition. The second is coloured in when the wish comes true.

 

 

 

There is a fine line between sometimes between staying and over staying. It’s like the games I play with my students. I want to stop a game before they are tired of it but not before they have at least had their fill. It was noonish when I got back to the station. I could have stayed in Kamakura longer but the morning had been so wonderful I did not want to blemish it with staying longer just to force myself to fill the time. In the end I boarded a train back for Yokohama along the fine line that was perfection. Other than Chinatown I’d never really been to Yokohama and got off at the main station to look around. Didn’t find much other than a strange shopping centre on the bay, an Animate where I was super lucky in getting my favourite character key chains and a McDonald’s for lunch. (Don’t judge they have this amazing sakura drink right now that I’m in love with!) However, one station south was where the real excitement was. There, quite by accident, I stumbled upon the tallest skyscraper in Japan. Or it was until this month actually when at 300 meters (4 more than the Landmark Tower) a new skyscraper opened in Osaka. Well I was quite content with my 296 meter sky garden. At the base was an amusement park and the retired ship the Nihonmaru from the 1930s which was reminiscent of the first ships that came into play in the Meiji Revolution. Looking back to the skyscraper behind me I wondered what the ship would look like from up there. I was coming under budget so I thought why not find out. The view was very rewarding and by a third stroke of genuine luck, just as I was rounding the corner to the café, one of the luxurious leather couches looking to the west came available and I was able to curl up with the skyscape and my skyfloat, a blue soda with ice cream. It was one of those moments where you feel like the richest person in the world. I had no worries, no cares, just the simple happiness that comes from seeing the world from hundreds of meters up. Nothing like a little distance to gain some perspective.

The day came to a pleasant end around four, just as the sun was hitting that golden time of day. Keeping to my fine line of the perfect amount of time spent enjoying myself, I headed back to Yamanashi. I got back just in time for dinner and Kevin and I went out to one of our favourite katsu place. It was the best ending to the best day because we told them we were leaving and they were genuinely sad. I never thought three years ago that I would become family to a local restaurant. It was so endearing how much they wished us well and thanked us for our time in Yamanashi. I’ve truly been touched by these three years. Now I know at the end of three years I’ve found that fine line. I’m not tired or Japan but I have gotten my fill. It's knowing when is when.