may things.

Some things from May:

* I was recently complimented on how good my English is. I went for lunch with some of the Japanese staff from a school I taught at last year, a couple other English teachers, and an adult student. I’d never met the student, and, assuming I was one of the Japanese staff, he told one of the actual staff that I speak English very well. Despite the misunderstanding, I was still a little flattered. 

* Things you will probably never find in North America: yakiniku, particularly all you can eat yakiniku. To give you a brief description, it’s pieces of various raw meat that you cook yourself at your table. It varies a lot in price depending on the quality you’re looking for, and where you go, but I went to all you can eat yakiniku last weekend, and it cost merely one thousand yen (approx. $12 CDN). 

* I’ve never been one to be open to trying new foods, but so far this year I can add whale and raw liver to the list. Didn’t care too much for the whale; it wasn’t anything special. The liver was cold, pretty soft, and all the flavor came from whatever salty mixture I dipped it in. It was surprisingly OK.

* Sometimes I get lectured by old Japanese ladies. The first time was last summer when I was eating a small snack on the train. It happened this morning when I didn’t park my bike in accordance with an old woman’s standards outside my apartment. I have no idea what she was saying, but two other foreigners who live in my building happened to be there at the same time, so I looked to them and they looked as confused. We “sumimasen”-ed and “wakaranai”-ed (“sorry”, “I don’t understand”), listened to her lecture, and went along our way. The best way to lecture a foreigner is to use very graded language – “Dame!” “Abunai!” “Dekinai!” (Bad! Dangerous! You cannot!). Those I’ll understand. Otherwise, I have no other option but to stare blankly and repeatedly say that I don’t understand (which I might sometimes do regardless). 

 

another golden week come and gone.

Golden Week was delightful (if you don’t know, there are a bunch of national holidays all close to each other, and so it’s given that name). I had 8 consecutive days off, and to make the most of them I found myself in Kanazawa for two days, followed by a five day trip to Okinawa.

I went to Kanazawa on my own to wander around, mostly to see Kenroku-en, which is listed as being one of the top three most famous (?) gardens in Japan (I think). It was alright. I had expected more from it. It’s certainly a beautiful garden and with lots of space to walk around, but I found it perhaps a touch too organized and the wide gravel paths rather unattractive. I also enjoy a garden in which you can sit down in some shade, but there were few places to sit down, considering the volume of people. All the same, I’m glad I went.

I went from Kenroku-en to Kanazawa Castle, where I wandered around the grounds, laid in the grass for awhile, and found some lovely paths that I much preferred to the garden, being surrounded by a bunch of trees and overgrown things that weren’t particularly well kept. There wasn’t much to see of the castle itself. I didn’t do any reading about it, but it looked like it wasn’t all there. It was nice to check out anyway.

I proceeded on to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, which I recommend to anyone to check out. It was a really cool museum with a really cool permanent and special exhibit. The museum consists mostly of large, spacious rooms with not much in them, but that not much is pretty interesting (if that makes any sense). Some things were what you might expect from an art museum – sculptures, paintings, etc. Other things, not so much – for example, a room made to look like someone’s house, everything covered in neon circle stickers, illuminated only by black lights. I felt far more involved and included at the art museum than I did at Kenroku-en.

Finally, I found myself at my accommodations for the night, a hostel, and went to sleep at 9 PM after a dinner of green curry close to Kanazawa Station. The next day included a trip early in the morning to the Japan Sea, which took about an hour to get to by train and then by foot, wandering around a city I wasn’t familiar with, and returning to Kanazawa to check out the Higashi Chaya District (where geisha used to entertain), a wander around where samurai used to live, and a brief look at a popular market. Higashi Chaya was interesting, but they didn’t seem to offer a lot of information about things in English – not that I tried hard to find any. I took a tour of a geisha house, not understanding a word that was said about it. Anyway, a day and a half seemed like the perfect amount of time there for me. Had I some company, I might have taken some more time, seen a few more things, but it was nice just to be somewhere else other than Osaka.

I returned to Osaka around dinner time Monday, and went on my way to Okinawa the next morning, which is about a two hour flight south. There are a lot of islands down there to choose from for a holiday, some of the highly recommended ones being the most southern ones, which cost a bit more to get to. I wanted to be somewhere away from the city, somewhere pretty, so I went with my friend Summer’s recommendation to go to Zamami Island, which was 50 minutes by ferry from Naha Port (a short trip on the monorail from the airport). It’s a small island with a few nice beaches, lots of trees, and the most number of butterflies I’ve seen in one place, apart from the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls.

I went snorkeling and scuba diving for the first time. I’ve had a fear of swimming with fish since I can remember, but it was a lot different being able to see them clearly and in clear, blue water at that. It was rather different from being at the cottage in Ontario in murky water. I saw… clown fish, squid, sea snakes, an octopus, angel fish, butterfly fish, rainbow fish, lots of other fish, and a sea turtle. It was amazing. I didn’t deal too well with being on a small boat, before and after the dives, but I managed to not actually be sick, so, huzzah. Breathing freaked me out at first, but I adjusted well enough. I’m glad I went snorkeling first, especially seeing as my initial reaction to putting my face in the water with the goggles was to bring it out of the water and exclaim, “Oh no, there’s fish!”

Our flight was early Saturday morning, so we headed back to Naha on the main island late Friday morning so we could poke around their and be close to the airport. Most of our time was spent at Shuri Castle, which was the central.. building of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which is what was in Okinawa before it was taken over by Japan. It’s a gorgeous castle, distinct from many Japanese castles because of other East Asian architectural influences. It’s bright red and is decorated with a lot of dragons. The grounds around the castle are also lovely. It was really interesting learning about the culture that existed there prior to it becoming part of Japan. We had a little break from walking around in the tea room of the castle, and had some hot jasmine tea and a plate of sweets for 300 yen.

We eventually met up with some friends who were also in Okinawa and leaving on the same flight as us, after checking out some matsuri (festival) fireworks near the port. I went with two people and by the end of Friday night, we had formed a group of seven (ha ha ha). We slept less than two hours that night before our flight, so Saturday was spent sleeping, back at my apartment.

And now it’s back to the grind. I’ve started counting down til summer break, which will be a nice two week trip to France and England. There are other things to look forward to, of course, in the next few months. Things never seem to get boring here.

fear, flowers, travel, and a cold.

I’ve always tended to have an overactive imagination when it comes to things that scare me. As a child, I was afraid of little red lights in the dark. I had nightmares about gremlins until I was half way through high school, before the zombie nightmares started. For years, I’ve avoided looking at my bedroom ceiling in the dark for fear of some creature waiting to fall on me and eat my face. 

Upon coming to Japan, however, all those fears dissipated. I was in an unfamiliar place, unmarked by all those fears that used to be all over the place back home. I could stay up at night in my one room apartment with no worries about gremlins or creatures on the ceiling or zombies. The dark didn’t trouble me so much (not that I’m afraid of the dark at all…). 

I started getting scared in February, while in Yakushima. We were the only people staying in our hostel on the first night, and our room was at one end of a long, dark corridor, lined with empty rooms all along one side of it. The washroom facilities were at the opposite end of the corridor. The owner was in a different building. The hallways lights were motion activated. 

Since then, and especially now that I live in an apartment that consists of more than one room, my imagination’s been getting the better of me once again. I think it’s an indicator of my being more comfortable here than when I first arrived. 

I’m thinking of adopting a goldfish, but I can’t decide if I can handle the responsibility. I hate the idea of killing it. I’m talking it over with my roommate for now. I saw a lot of goldfish vendors close to the Osaka Mint, where massive crowds of people visit every April to see the sakura. The paths parallel to the path by the Mint were lined with vendors selling tons of festival foods – much more variety than what you’d likely see at a festival or fair in North America. It’s one of the most popular places for sakura viewing in Osaka. And I wanted a fish. 

Golden Week starts in a week. I’m excited. If I can figure out some affordable accommodations, I’ll be in Kanazawa checking out a lovely garden for a couple days (Kenroku-en), and then it’s off to Okinawa where I’ll hopefully go scuba diving for the first time, and may even have the chance to go scuba diving with whale sharks! (Don’t worry, Mom. It’s totally cool and fine.) I’ve also started organizing more travel plans for my summer break, when I’ll be heading to France and England. 

For now, I’m resting up, trying to get rid of a cold that’s got me in its grips. I’ve slept most of the day away, drunk lots of juice, and watched Fern Gully. If that doesn’t get rid of this cold, I don’t know what will. 

it seems to be april.

I continue to be alive and well in Japan, though my lack of updates on here would suggest otherwise. As my father informed me on Facebook (though I’m not completely certain it was my father, but rather my mother logged into his account), I didn’t update once in March.

It’s a nice Saturday night here in Osaka and I just got in from going to see The Artist (known as simply “Artist” here in Japan), which just came out in theaters here on the 7th. I am now getting ready to watch “Singing in the Rain”, because for some strange reason I now feel compelled to watch it.

It’s been an eventful month and a half or more (who are we kidding… it’s been an exciting fourteen months, but you know about most of what that’s entailed…). I sort of don’t like writing long updates, though, so I’ll keep it brief for you, and if you’re really interested in any particular point, do ask me to write more and I will! And it’s likely that I actually will, especially now that I have internet again, after having not had it for a month because of moving (I moved! Yay!).

1. Sumo
Really big sumo tournaments happen six times a year, according to Wikipedia (and other sources, I’m sure): three times in Tokyo, once in Nagoya, once in Fukuoka, and once in Osaka. It was cancelled in Osaka last year for a couple reasons, but it was back on this year and I made sure to spend a day taking it in. After buying our tickets as early as we could at 8 AM, we found our seats and stayed there until around 6 in the evening. The first group of wrestlers are the more amateur ones, and it also the largest group. By the time the more exciting matches were getting underway, we were nodding off, but we made sure to be awake for the final match with the yokozuna. Once you get to the more experienced guys, there’s a lot of time before they actually start fighting, during which they walk around the ring and a guy says some stuff.. and the fights themselves aren’t very long at all, sometimes as short as a few seconds. I’m happy to have gone to a sumo tournament, but I can’t see it as something I could ever really get into. It was a fun day, though. You’re allowed to bring any outside food and drink you want, and if you have some good friends with you, it’s alright!

2. Kendo
I attended my friend’s kendo exam back in March and that was really interesting too. He started studying last year. I’d only ever heard about what it was like, and it was great to see a gymnasium filled with tons of people all whacking each other with sticks (I have such an eloquent way of describing these traditional Japanese sports, no?). They were all in their kendo outfits, faces hidden behind some kind of protective equipment, with their long wooden sticks, screaming at each other.

3. Moving
I moved! No longer do I suffer within the confines of a tiny one room apartment, longing for a kitchen that isn’t part of my bedroom which isn’t part of my living or dining room. I’m now in a 2LDK (do we use this term in Canada? 2 bedroom, living, dining, kitchen? I don’t know about looking for apartments in Canada…), living with one of my best mates here. We’ve been there for exactly a month to the day now and I can’t believe I went so long in my previous place. We’re located a short walk’s distance from one of the central areas for going out and doing things and shopping and whatever. I now have a shower that drains properly. I have a proper sized bed. I have room to cook real meals. And on top of all those brilliant things, the previous tenant left us a bunch of free furniture that he (she?) didn’t feel like dealing with – table and four chairs, big fridge (by Japanese standards, anyway), a huge cupboard, and a beautiful, flat screen TV

4. Improv
…is fun! I have my fourth show tomorrow downtown, which will be alongside the Pirates of Tokyo Bay. Improvised singing makes me nervous, but I’m working on it, and don’t actually have to do it all that often. People laugh at things I do; it’s encouraging.

5. Cherry Blossoms
It’s that time of year again! Plum blossoms have come and gone, making way for (no offense, ume no hana…) prettier flowers. There’s not much to say on this that I didn’t already last year. They’re pretty. I like them. There’s a good feeling in the air. Huzzah!

6. Pinatas
As a note, pinatas aren’t a thing that a lot of people that I’ve met here don’t have have much experience with. So Dan (housemate) made one for our friend’s birthday and it was wonderful. I feel like I’ve had a crack at a pinata at some point in my life, but I can’t remember a specific incident. Dan’s from pretty close to Mexico, so he’s rather used to them, but are they, in fact, something that are popular for special events – birthdays, mostly – in Canada? Either way, when our friend beat it up with his kendo stick, it was much fun, followed by much candy.

That’s all for now. Nothing particularly insightful, just a rundown of things in general. I’ll get back to writing more frequently. In the meanwhile, I hope all you lovely people reading are doing quite well and enjoying spring wherever you are!

poetry, apartments, kids.

The Poetry.
I held the fourth poetry event last week on Sunday. While there weren’t as many people reading as I would’ve liked, the turnout was brilliant, with around thirty people coming out. And this time, rather than it being only people I know, there were a handful of others who I didn’t know. The limerick writing contest at the end was really fun and included limericks in English, Japanese, and Russian. I’m really excited to see if I keep this up. I’ll need to put more work into having a solid list of readers lined up for the next one, but hopefully that won’t be too hard. If anyone’s reading this who came out, many thanks! And to anyone who’s reading this who lives in Osaka or nearby, come on out to the next one! I’ll be planning the next event for mid-April, probably. 

Apartment Hunting.
 To be honest, I didn’t really hunt that much. We had a meeting with a housing agent on Thursday, she told us about a few potential options, drove us to see the most promising apartment, we liked it, we took it, we’re figuring out the details of the contract on Wednesday. Could we have found a larger space for the same rent? Could we have found the same amount of space for less? Quite possibly. But neither of us felt like dragging this out and looking around a lot, and the location we found is hard to top in terms of convenience. Instead of being rather south, I’ll be in a more central area, close to three subway lines and a major train line. Downtown is a fifteen minute walk away. I’m moving in two and a half weeks. I can’t wait. This tiny apartment has been alright for the past year, but it’s time to move on to bigger and better things! 
Apartment hunting isn’t so difficult here. There are a number of housing agents who speak English, so it’s alright. 

Kids.
 …are adorable. I visited a particular kindergarten for the last time last week and after the last lesson of the morning, the kids followed me out of the classroom to ask me a million questions. They asked a lot of questions, all in Japanese of course: “Where are you from?” “What is Canadian food like?” “What Japanese food do you like?” “Where do you live?” “Are there any temples near your home?” “What’s your favourite colour?” “How old are you?” “Can you play soccer?” As an English teacher there, I’m not supposed to speak any Japanese around the children, so I responded in English, though whether I could’ve answered in Japanese had I been allowed is questionable. I’m always surprised when a group of kids seems interested in me, because I feel so clueless around them most of the time. I’ve become a lot more comfortable with being around large groups of them in the pass year, though. 

That’s all for now. I’m going to adding a link to my friend Celia’s blog soon, so check out the right hand side of the homepage for that. She writes well and offers more observations on and insights into Japanese culture than I do.  

japanniversary; yakushima.

So I’ve been here over a year now. 

The things I expected/hoped to do  and did: go to Tokyo, the Aquarium find parks in the city, get a new tattoo (though how I got it was unexpected and wonderful), Hiroshima, meet my relatives in Wakayama, go to Kyushu, climb a mountain, go to the Little Prince Museum, see a Hanshin Tigers game (baseball), go to some hot springs, keep writing poetry, learn some Japanese (always a work in progress).

Things I didn’t expect to do and did: go to Hiroshima on World Peace Day, go to Hokkaido, go on a crazy two week journey backpacking through fourteen cities in Japan, meet so many amazing people, join an improv group, hold poetry readings in downtown Osaka (all I wanted was to go to some, but when I couldn’t find any…), work a second job (and one which involves working with young children!), not only go to Kyushu but actually go to Nagasaki and Yakushima (more on this later!), climb Mount Fuji (I wanted to climb a mountain, but I never had intentions for Fuji!).

In a conversation last night with my friend Summer, we noted how one year feels like both longer than it was and much shorter than it was. After getting involved in things and meeting so many people and getting to know my way around Osaka (and other parts of Japan), I feel so comfortable here, as though it’s been longer. And, of course, with the way that time flies when you’re having fun and all that, it feels like it’sbeen a matter of mere months. When I think back to the first couple months, months, days, hours of being here alone, I’m amazed that I was able to do this at all. There’s not much you can do to prepare yourself for the shock of tearing yourself away from your friends and family who you’ve been surrounded by for your whole life, having never lived on your own, with hardly any knowledge of the language and culture you’re about to be immersed in, never having worked a full time job in your life (besides that one summer for a couple months, but we’re not counting that one…), being a picky eater, and not really that comfortable with change.

I don’t know what to expect from here. I’m staying longer than I originally anticipated, and I have a life here that I never expected. I sort of like the not knowing.

The word for the anniversary of your arrival in Japan: Japanniversary.

So I went to Yakushima.

Last weekend, I spent a few days on this little island just south of a Kyushu, which is a larger island south of Honshu (which is the big, main island). It takes an hour and a half to reach by plane, and has an estimated population of around 13 500. The island is around 540 km2. Forty percent of the island is designated as a World Heritage Site. Towards the end of the trip, I commented to my friend that if he’d met a couple years ago, I would have never done many of the things I did on that trip. I wouldn’t have gone on a ten hour hike through snow and rain to see a giant tree, wouldn’t have eaten all the different fish that I did (especially the one in my soup with the giant fin still attached, or the raw fish with all the skin still on it..), wouldn’t have gone to the outdoor hot spring by the sea, wouldn’t have flown to some little island without booking any accommodations ahead of time.

A large part of the appeal of Yakushima for me, at first,was that it’s the island on which Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli) based the setting of Princess Mononoke. If you haven’t seen it, a large part of Mononoke takes place in this really old, lush forest. Even in the movie it’s breathtaking. I heard about it through my friend Ciaran sometime last year and I knew I had to go. The best time of year to go is definitely some time after February, but it was a convenient time for me to go. And anyway, if you go in the summer when the forest is probably the most green and lush, you have to deal with that many more tourists on the trails and at the accommodations, bugs (hornets, mosquitos, butterflies), poisonous snakes, and an assortment of other things. Even in the off season, even covered in snow, it was a beautiful hike. There was still so much green on the trees, which contrasted brilliantly with the snow. When we took a taxi up to the beginning of the path we started on (Shiratani Unsekyo), he warned us that we wouldn’t be able to do the path because of the snow, which only made us more determined. We were in the dark for at least the first hour of our hike, and not only did we do the entire path we wanted, but we did it in under the estimated time on the map. It led us through to the primeval forest that Mononoke was based off of, we saw deer, we saw amazing trees and tree stumps (many of the cedars on Yakushima were cut down many years ago for various uses). Then, after at least a couple hours of walking along an old train track surrounded by lovely tall trees, we followed another path to find Wilson’s Stump (a really large stump, more impressive than we expected!, and then later, Jomon Sugi, which is this old, huge tree that is pretty famous in Japan. It was incredible, but after soaking our feet and pants in the snow for seven hours at that point already, and with the rain, hunger, and fatigue, we didn’t stay around too long to admire it. Getting back into town was difficult as no busses were running where we were during the off season, we didn’t have any reception in the mountains at the end of the trail, there were no pay phones, and hardly anyone else was around. We were lucky to find a tour bus driver, waiting for a group of people, who drove us to an area with reception where he called a cab for us, and let us wait in the bus for it, since it was rather cold outside. The taxi driver was really nice too, and he gave us a mini tour as we headed into town.

The second day was an adventure, too, though we didn’t do any more hiking. We wanted to see a few other attractions around the south part of the island, but after our experience trying to get into town the afternoon before, we were a little wary about how we would actual get around. Sure enough, after some exploring, we realized that we wouldn’t be able to take a bus. Taxis would be too expensive. Neither of us have a Japanese driver’s license. So we hitchhiked, both of us for the first time. We wrote out signs in kanji, with an added “onegaishimasu!!” in hiragana below (a way of being polite). We ended up getting rides from five people that day: a fisherman, a young man who drills for hot springs, a surgeon and his family (who lived in California for a while), a quiet man in a pick up truck, and a young woman who worked at a nearby hotel. The longest we had to wait was maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, the shortest was less than a minute. I have a feeling that Japan is one of the safer places in the world to hitchhike. I hear that it’s difficult for Japanese people to get rides in Japan, but that it’s relatively easy for foreigners. It helped that Tom can engage in Japanese conversation. A few times throughout the day, people looking at me and asking: “Nihonjin desu ka?”. And me: “Iie. Hafu desu. Kanadajin desu.” It gives me a small thrill.

Day two started off with a free, outdoor onsen (hot spring) by the sea. It wasn’t as hot as it will be in a few months because of the cooler winter temperatures, but it was still warmer than the air and it was nice. Off in the distance, there were people fishing, but after being here long enough, you don’t care too much about these things. The next stop was lunch, which ended up being lunch meat and cheese slices on biscuits, yogurt and apples from the convenience store. After, a lovely waterfall (Senpiro no taki). Then, a really cool banyan tree. I’d never seen a banyan tree, and didn’t really know what one was, but it was very cool. In the evening, we had an amazing dinner at a restaurant run by the same people who owned the lovely hostel we stayed at. We hung out with the cook there, and a few Japanese people who were also visiting the island.

A note to anyone planning on going to Yakushima in the off season: it’s worth it because you get the place to yourself, basically. Busses, however, are uncommon. There are some, but not all of them run between October and March. Reception is hard to come by when your in the mountains, so plan ahead and if you want a taxi at the end of your hike, call one ahead of time (though there was a phone along the road back to the town, at some point). Despite how south it is, there is still plenty of snow on the mountains. Yakushima also gets massive amounts of rain, so be prepared for that. It’s also wise to keep some small garbage bags with you, and maybe a roll of toilet paper just in case. You never know. Lastly, we spent two nights in Anbo staying at a place called “Hanasatsuki”. They were incredibly welcoming and friendly; the food at their restaurant down the road was amazing and affordable (just ask for their recommendation and eat whatever they bring you); the tatami room we stayed in was comfortable and had a little TV and very effective air con.

All that stuff aside…

Life is good. I’m looking for a new apartment with one of my best friends here. I have my second improv show coming up next weekend. I have my fourth poetry event tonight. The plum blossoms are beginning to come out, which means that cherry blossom season will be here before we know it.

If you made it through this entire post, congratulations and sorry if I rambled.

January in a nutshell.

I keep waiting to feel inspired to update my blog, and it’s not happening. January has been too much fun and I haven’t been able to sit down long enough to give you an adequate update. I find this particularly thrilling as I have a history of not particularly liking January.

Coming back to Japan was hard. I got in late at night, had to lug all my stuff up to the fourth floor of my apartment. Two of my favorite people in Japan hadn’t returned yet from their holiday adventures, so I couldn’t go to them for cheering up. All I had with me were the very fresh memories of all my dear family and friends back home, and they were all suddenly an ocean apart once again. I guess people who are here for awhile get used to that. Or maybe they don’t, but it’s still worth going back to see everyone on occasion. I’m back into the swing of things now, though. I dove into my work, having picked up some overtime, and working a lot at my second job too. Improv practices have started up again for the new year. My friends and I have kept busy in each other’s company.

I recently celebrated my 25th birthday. It was a delightful weekend. Friday, we ventured out to Asuka in Nara. It’s a small village about a 40 minute train ride away, and the location of a lot of ruins, tombs, and temples (including the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan, apparently?? I think we at least walked past it, unknowingly…). Right outside the train station there, you can rent bicycles for the day. So we biked around all afternoon. There wasn’t actually anything that impressive, but it was still neat and just a nice way to spend a day off. Saturday night after work began at a yakiniku restaurant with some lovely people, before moving on to an Australian sports bar where my Swedish friend Mats was playing an acoustic set. When I got there, there was a sign up for me, and balloons throughout the place. I was thrilled! He happily met my requests for some ABBA and for John Denver’s “Annie’s Song”. Sunday saw a Skype date with my family, a photo exhibit in the north part of the city, a lovely dinner, karaoke, pineapple champagne, and such thoughtful gifts. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

I finally baked for my first time in Japan. It wasn’t a matter of laziness; it’s not an easy task when oven’s aren’t a common appliance and baking powder is so difficult to find (or is baking soda… I always confused them). It felt like baking for the first time. Not only did I have to wait until I had a friend with an oven (actually, I’ve had access to an oven since October..), but I also had to acquire measuring cups, measuring spoons, a mixing bowl, and a spatula. I picked up both baking soda and baking powder while in Canada. I always forget the existence of differences in how things are quantified around the world. I was worried at first because looking at my friend’s oven, I thought it only went up to 300 degrees fahrenheit. He then suggested that maybe the temperature’s in celsius. And so it was. The banana chocolate chip muffins turned out amazingly.

Lots of strange little, delightful observations over the past while here. Carbonated tomato beverage (gross, right?). Mis-shelved books in the children’s section at the book store (“Balloons over Broadway”, “Emergency!”, “I want my hat back”, and “Flesh & Blood so Cheap“). A brilliant Engrish T-shirt that, I realized tonight as I was staring at it, is stolen from some Jack Johnson lyrics, but not very well – beginning to think that maybe Engrish isn’t so simply just a result of poor translation, but so much more. Even after I display my incompetency at speaking Japanese, people in public prefer to address me instead of my less-Japanese looking friend.

There is more to be written, but I haven’t the time just now. But everything above this has been waiting to be posted for days and days, so this much for now. If I ever go so long again without posting, do comment or e-mail and get on my case. I respond well, albeit begrudgingly, to nagging! (My mom might suggest otherwise…

departure.

Fifteen minutes or so until boarding begins for my flight departing from Toronto. I didn’t realize that it’s still dark out here at 7 in the morning. I don’t think it’s this dark in Japan at 7. Things I haven’t given much thought to. Waiting for this flight is so much better than the flight last February. What a relief to know I have my apartment waiting for me, with all my pictures on the wall, my bed made, internet access, cold, filtered water in the fridge, friends. That whole “fear of the unknown” thing in early 2011 didn’t make for a comfortable flight.

I haven’t packed very well, though. I had way too much stuff in my suitcase, because I didn’t feel like lugging my second suitcase back to Canada with me. After some rearranging, I am now carrying all my stuff in four bags instead of three, two of which, of course, are checked. I’ll see my luggage again in Tokyo’s Narita Airport, sometime on Tuesday afternoon, where I will have to retrieve it and carry it all with me via train to a different airport.

The airport is an interesting in between space. Leaving my Canada life, going to my Japan life. There seems to be little connecting the two, beyond myself. But I do miss my friends and family here already. I’ve been urging everyone to come to Japan this spring/summer. So what if it’s expensive? The memories you’d make would be priceless!

It is currently 7:30, Monday morning. I anticipate being back in my apartment in Osaka around 11 or 11:30, Tuesday night.

it’s been nice!

Only a couple days left at home. Christmas was splendid, spent with my family and relatives. The first several days home were really difficult between this cold, which I’m still battling (I think it’s winning), and the jet lag. The latter isn’t so bad now, but I’ve been staying up too late.   With the exception of a couple days, I think it’s actually been warmer here than it has been in Osaka. I was hoping for freezing cold and lots of snow, but apparently it’s a little early for that.

Last night was my friend’s annual gingerbread party, the twelfth or thirteenth one. A Christmas season necessity. We went with a Mario theme this year, creating a two-tiered base on which to place various Mario related items, including bricks with treats in them, stars, flowers, pipes, Yoshi, mushrooms, and Koopas.

I went on a grocery run the other day and bought numerous items which aren’t available in Japan. Shreddies, gravy mix, various canned soup (all I can find in Japan is corn chowder and clam chowder), granola bars, etc. Between various clothes that I dug out of bins and the groceries, I won’t have any trouble filling up my suitcase, which I brought over filled with gifts for almost everyone I know.

Being back home after eleven months in a foreign country, there isn’t actually too much that I’ve noticed upon my return. You know.. how maybe I’d notice lots of little things that I hadn’t before, like maybe how store employees aren’t as polite as those in Japan (though I have noticed this, in fact). I’ve enjoyed people holding the door for me, and visa versa. I’ve been tipping generously everywhere I go, as I’m not supposed to tip in Japan. I’m more talkative with people in stores than I used to be, just because I can be (which is to say we understand each other.. the things we take for granted, right?).

Eleven days isn’t enough, really. There are people I’d love to see, people I’d love to sit down for tea and talk at length with. Being back has given me a lot to think about with regards to what I’ll do about coming home for good. Mostly what goals I have for when I’m back in Ontario.

Most imminent goal right now? Have a satisfying New Years, which involves not going to any parties. Maybe I can catch up on some sleep.

Christmas.

If I was in Japan right now, I doubt it would feel properly like Christmas for me. I need the chocolate fondue, the visit to an old friend’s house, the nephews, the baking, the family. I don’t think KFC, Christmas cake, and snowless Osaka cold would cut it for me. Mind, it hasn’t snowed here yet while I’ve been home – but I’m hopeful! It was rather mild when I got in on Wednesday night, but it’s gotten progressively colder. The forecast for Christmas day is calling for flurries, albeit mixed with some rain.

Despite struggling with jet lag and a cold, Christmas Eve at home was lovely. The day started with a batch of cookies and an apple pie. A visit to the next door neighbors’. Two naps. Lasagna dinner. I’m just happy to be with my family.

It’s 2:34 AM. It’s Christmas day. To family, friends, and strangers reading, a very happy Christmas. =