Towards the holidays

I’m going to pretend it’s not January and date this for December because this is really when it takes place. In retrospect December went by fast, as soon as my last adventure in autumn was over it was on to winter and the pipes began freezing. And then Sheena invited us to the first illumination of the year. We went on a chilly Friday night and the lights were really pretty but it made me miss Rhee as we had gone together the year before. The best part was riding the giant elevator up on the hill and seeing the light from above and then of course dinner and hot chocolate after.

The next weekend was much of the same thing with the addition of fireworks and I got these amazing photos which I proceeded to accidentally delete so on to other things… Mmm I guess I can use this paragraph to mention iaido is still going fairly well and I still love my students but they have a way of burning me out and by the time it was winter break I was in much need of it.

So the last hurdle, before I could really enjoy my vacation was a long weekend trip to Ofunato again. It had only been a month since our last time there but in that time all the leaves had fallen and it had gotten much colder. We managed to cut our time down a bit by avoiding getting pulled over by the cops, not going on unnecessary detours and following the right expressway, but we had to leave later than normal so that still put us there by two in the morning. We arrived at a different community hall to find Ken (the coolest guy ever) waiting for us with his regular cheery smile and a broken arm held up in a sling. (He’d fallen off the latter a week earlier.) We fell asleep and then discovered in the morning that Yoshiko wouldn’t be joining us due to the flu. We had been debating going but in the end I’m glad we did since Habitat for Humanity was in a sad state that weekend.

So Saturday, we began building an old woman’s shed (she was home during the earthquake but her grandson ran home to get her to safety before the tsunami) and then we went back to the office to chance into Santa clothing for a Christmas party we put on for the kids. It was mostly fun, and Kevin made the best Santa ever! But we were so exhausted that by the end our energy was faltering… luckily we were rewarded with the onsen by the sea and I spent a lovely hour basking in the heat to the sound of the waves. Following was my favourite restaurant ever where I ordered my caesar salad with chicken followed by the best apply pie on Japan again! Then bed!

Sunday we all worked as a group, with the Japanese folks who joined us late Saturday, at a temporary library just outside one of the worst affected areas. We had driven through ((((Takada rizuten???))) before but it never ceased to astound me by the perfect lack of a town which was apparently once there. I could easily mistake it for a flatland when in reality it, Ken told us, was the city centre. Last trip we’d driven through an area where Yoshiko pointed out on the GPS, that hadn’t yet updated, where the houses used to be. I was in aw once again byt the lone traffic lights, broken bridge, demolished supermarket and apartment buildings and the baseball stadium out to sea. But that aside, the day was fun and we built shelters, tables, books shelves and varnished it all including a few benches. Another onsen and the teshoku with our Japanese friends. There was this sweet boy named Yuu there and when I told him in Lawsons that it was Kevin’s birthday the next day, he wasted no time in helping me spread the word until when we got back to the community hall we were able to throw him a little celebration with cakes and hot chocolate and Aiko bought him a pokemon present. It was really fun.

 

More sleep. But not enough.

Monday was our last day and also the day we were supposed to drive back. We parted ways with Aiko, Yuu and the others and went with Ken to this house on the other side of Ofunato. It belonged to a man who designed ink stones. I think he was rather famous for the prices I saw on them were more than I make in a month… anyways, his story is that he was actually away when disaster struck but his family climbed a rope up the steep embankment behind his house (put there for this exact reason) to safety. He had a beautiful house but it was in the process of being restored as the tsunami reached even the second floor. Our task for him was to build a little vinyl tent shed for his inkstones. It was easy enough. Oh and the most important part! It snowed the night before! Beautiful big flakes to mark my first snowfall of the year! And so the following day the world was blanketed in lovely white. It was also warm and bright and before long it melted, but for the first few hours it was fabulous! At lunch we were taken to a community hall for the temp houses nearby (Kevin and Ken went off to the hardware floor) and were asked to sing a few songs which we sand horrible but it was all for the greater cause of the party so we withstood it. After finishing touches and then fish soup prepared by the artist, and goodbye to our Japanese friends, we were on our way home. As it was Christmas eve we stopped for friend chicken and cake (as is the Japanese way) and drove eight hours south to our beds.

For… the following day we were expected at school. It was a long boring affair so I won’t go into details but it involved bad kyushoku and a long and boring closing ceremony. But Christmas evening I headed to Fujiyoshida where Sheena, Laura, Ken and I drank and ate and watched the Santa Clause until exhausted we all fell asleep. The next morning we rose with the sun for an onsen then McDonalds breakfast and after I went home to do the big year end clean.

I won’t go any further for that’s meant for the next chapter. The chapter in which I pick Nikki up in Tokyo and we head to Takayama and Kanazawa!

The bridge to autumn

I can't believe I'm into the first weekend of December now. The morning are frosty and the evening are spent under my kotatsu or electric blanket and the count down has begun to the days of snow and when Nikki comes to visit! As for Chirstmas... well I decided I long time ago, that while in Japan, Christmas just doesn't really exist. Superficially Japan is all about the holiday season with carols and Santa displays but it just makes me miss home and family so I try to put it out of mind... Winter can be very beautiful around here though, but before we get to snow there are still some days of autumn left!

So, on Saturday, Sheena, Laura and I started the day with McDonalds breakfast (yum!) and drove out of the mountains and down the Shizuoka where the weather is still warm and the leaves have barely changed! it was like another world outside of the mountains! Driving along the freeway the cloudy morning broke and the sun cast warmth over us and a brilliant blue sky! We stopped at this really cool rest stop with a gundam shop and got some coffee and hit the road again bound for this pretty little shrine in the momiji.

Okuni shrine is tucked into the hills far away from town but because of it's famous maple leaves it was very happening that Saturday. Still we managed to fight our way to the prettiest spots: first, a lovely red bridge over a river reflecting the leaves and second, a little island shrine in a pond connected by yet another red bridge. I love bridges! This whole adventure came about a full year ago when we were in the area and I saw a picture of a red bridge with momiji I insisted we needed to go there but we couldn't find it... this year we did! And was it ever worth it! If not for the trees, the bridges, and the cute shrine then for the warm afternoon that made winter feel years away!

 

 

I was reluctant to leave the sun and the leaves but we had a two and a half hour drive home. We stopped at this really cool service area that was basically a mall on the highway. Caught the sunset over the ocean and a delicious dinner of chicken parmesan and salad and then headed home. 

Yay for the perfect Saturday! On Sunday, I actually got to relax for a bit and then Kevin and I went to Saori's concert and after went to Mos Burger! Next week it's back to iaido and samurai training!

Of autumn, adventure and assistance

The time is slipping away like the fall leaves. Today was a raining day and with the puddles I found my car waiting for me in a pool of yellow gingko leaves. I try not to let it get to me but I realize that I won't see Japan green again as I'll be leaving just as the sakura blooms. But onto less nostalgic thoughts, I present November in a nutshell!

It's been steadily getting colder and I celebrated the first of November by winter proofing my house with a heated carpet and kotatsu and even eventually brought out the electric blanket. The cold can get so brutal here. I've been steadily keeping up with iaido and have even begun to practice in Otsuki with some old men on Saturdays. I'm learning a lot from them. I went out to dinner with Saori and her friend Mirei. Went to Costco! Bought tonnes of delicious western food: pumpkin pie, muffins and cheese~ Had a tea party with the Fuji ladies at Lauru's. Celebrated American thanksgiving with Lena and Stewart and some fun gaming times. And just generally enjoyed autumn.

On one of the weekends, I packed up Kevin and we went to Fujiyoshida to pick up Sarah and Chelsea to go to Minobu. The weather wasn't great, it never seems to be when I go there, but we had a lot of fun anyway, and the drive their was gorgeous as we wove through the multicoloured hills and down into the lower valleys of southern Yamanashi. Climbing the nearly 300 stairs to enlightenment was optional but after a lot of humming and hawing we tackled them with success and some fun. Kevin and I played Japanese batsu games where we jankened and loser had to ascend the next set of steps backwards. It began to rain just as we got to the top so we escaped into the shelter of the large temple complex. I took some time to just kneel and take in the beautiful main altar room with my favourite dragon painting on the ceiling and then I caught up with the others who had gotten themselves lost in the march of the monks going to pray. The music was breathtaking and it was a really cool moment where I could let the culture wash over me. As a group we explored the rest together as the heavens opened up and the rain pounded against the painted roofs. We got a bit lost and following the smell of pizza (I'm pretty sure monks aren't allowed pizza) we accidentally ended up in the living quarters and were shooed off. (We think because they didn't want us to discover the secret of the pizza!) In the rain we stole back down the stairs, did a bit of shopping in the little town and headed for lunch at Moose Hills!

 

 

With the bad weather I was thwarted my chance to get a picture of Fuji with the fall leaves, as I was last year, so on a Thursday afternoon that I was randomly given off I headed over to that giant beautiful mountain. I awoke to lovely weather but it clouded over and by the time I left Otsuki it was nearly raining but I pressed on with a hopeful heart and was rewarded for the clouds cleared off just as I got to the momiji tunnel. All these amazing leaves lined the road that curves around Lake Kawaguchiko and fighting off a hundred other photographers I was captivated by the breathtaking view. Sneaking away from the crowds, I found myself under this little red tree on the lake sure that perfectly framed Fuji and I did a little dance to count my blessing in the warm sun as the beauty nearly brought me to tears! After I had coffee and cake with Sheena and Ken! ^_^

Oh in there somewhere was a school festival of Kowaze where the kids put on a really fun flea market and at Hatsukari where they had a study party and put on plays and puppet shows! it was really nice and I had a lovely bike ride to the former on a fabulous Saturday morning! Then there was this fancy dinner with Tami with a seven course meal and an awesome evening spent at our favourite Okinawa izakaya in this little corner booth with comfy pillows that made me feel like a Persian princess!

Yamanashi day granted us with a Tuesday off and under a blue sky I dragged Kevin, Lena and Stewart to Mt. Takao to enjoy the leaves. The cable car had a massive que as everyone seemed to have the same idea as me so we took the chairlift! It was really cool. At the top it was a bit chilly but we remedied that by the hike to the peak, passing through the temple complex and the pretty shrine which overlooked Tokyo for the day was clear enough to see where mountain met plateau. For the first time going there it was clear enough that we could go all the way to the top and look out over Yamanashi but the sun was too bright over the ranges to clearly make out Fuji. We found a quiet little place amongst the leaves to picnic on leftover turkey sandwiches and mikans and then headed home at sunset.

 

I don't really go on weekend trips like I used to and this is partly because of money, not having Rhee about and because I want to spend my time off going to Tohoku to volunteer. Kevin and I had such a good time last month in Miyagi that I contacted Habitat for Humanity on my own and asked if they'd have us again. They had no room in Miyagi on the long weekend but asked if we wouldn't mind going further north to Ofunato as not many people volunteer there for it's so far from everything. of course because of the tsunami, their are no trains in the area, so people by cars are most welcomed. We obliged and though it was a long drive dotted with detours, getting lost, traffic and getting pulled over by the police at one in the morning, we were glad we went!

Unlike last time when we got to wreck things, this time was dedicated to building. We spent both days working at temporary housing complexes building shelves and shelters from the rain and the ladies, Lena, myself and Yoshiko spent Saturday working on painting the temporary storefronts of a fish, stove and seaweed shop. In the evening we onsened for we slept in a community hall without bathing facilities, and feasted in a restaurant complex where businesses that were destroyed can find a little home in the temporary stalls that have been made incredibly cozy!

Ofunato is near one of the most damaged areas in Iwate and thus the community has had to rebuild more than I'd seen previously. What took me off guard was the inexhaustible kindness of the locals. We were brought apple slices and offered tea, persimmon treats and a bagful of goodies on the first day alone.  On the second day we were granted free access to an onsen (all the onsens in the area were free after the disaster so that those displaced could bathe and have a little reprieve of luxury) with a bath on the ocean so that outdoors, in a little rock garden, I could lean my head on the oak wood of the tub and listen to the waves. We also were blessed with a feast for lunch in the little community hall of sashimi, from our friends at the fish shop, pound cake, rice sweets, figs, yams and bento boxes. Their kindness was so touching I found myself wondering how they could all be so nice. I naively rationalized that they had been through a disaster, of course they are nice, but if anyone has a right in this world do be miserable and hateful it's these people who have lost their homes and not to mention family and in cases entire livelihoods. There are no words to express my affection for the warm people I met in Ofunato and I cherished each meeting from the grandma who told me how scared she was and showed me how the ocean had swollen right up to under the shrine gate I stood beneath as we spoke to the old fisherman who served us fried sol and coffee right in his shop and let us play with his dog, fran, who was an especially big fan of sushi.

On Sunday it was time to head home as the drive is an incredibly long one. First we stopped at Ofunato's one tourist destination! On the way we passed the bay, where the tsunami passed between the two hills caving into the water like a futile gateway, and the community from the day before. Stopping in an abandoned parking lot we walked along a little sunlit trail in the woods down to a cliff where the waves crashed against the rocks and beheld an amazing sight. The picture explains it all do I won't try to explain the rock but it was really cool and in the background was Ofunato itself. We could have spent all day there but we had to get home (as it turned out we hit super bad traffic and were three hours longer than we had hoped for.) We drove back through Takada (the worst hit area) this time in the day. On the way there we were driving in the dark and caught glimpses of bare foundations of communities no longer there that gave us the eerie sense of driving through ghosts, but now in the sun we could see the full affect of the damage. But seeing, and comprehending are two different things. Most of the garbage and debris has cleared up but in a flat plateau between the hills, bordered by ocean, used to be an entire town that is now gone. It was too hard to imagine and a ghostly image of a baseball field which has now found itself in the ocean, now that the ground has sunk by a meter, was imprinted in my mind. It was difficult to fathom what used to be there...

Lunch was amazing curry and then we hit the road. Kevin and I shared the driving and finally by ten on a Sunday night we were home~ We are really hoping to go again maybe for christmas or at least in the new year!