MY FIRST CHRISTMAS IN jAPAN

As Christmas was fast approaching, I was exuberant to share the news that my son and his girlfriend were coming for a two week visit.  My friends and students, my teachers, and the office personnel were well aware of this major event, and no doubt noted my improved spirits.  I did not notice their attention to the matter so much, because I was pretty busy making preparations, but also busy with a new lifestyle.

Through October and November I found that almost every weekend was filled with plans for a party with ALTs or with students from Nancy’s adult classes or the Japanese friends I had made on my own.  Soon outings to restaurants, karaoke, (which will have its own blog post eventually), and parties in some of  the Japanese friends' homes were on the calendar. In addition there were parties with my office, weekends spent out of town with other ALTs and corresponding visits from them so I could show off my apartment and the lovely little town of Kaseda.

Sharing weekends with the other ALTs who hosted parties or just had  me over to tour their town were so much fun and so interesting.  We shared strategies about work, clothes, shopping, including ordering from catalogs and places in Tokyo with goods from home (remember, Internet  was not readily available then).  Despite the fact most of the other ALTs were considerably younger, we had a lot of the same problems, and as we approached December the problems were being resolved, and most of us were happily settling into a lifestyle.   I was still very much unaware of the metamorphosis; but I was emerging as a social butterfly.

 
Jason and Debbie arrived from the U.S. via Northwest Airlines which flew into Fukuoka, a few hours by overnight bus from Kaseda.  The arrival would not be uneventful, but blog readers, that will be left for another post, a blog worthy unto itself, so I will not dwell on that now.  For reasons to  be revealed later, I took the shorter day bus up and met them.  We arrived back in Kaseda in fairly good shape to spend their first day resting, then taking in the town and eating at Southern Cross for their first  evening.

It seemed that everyone I knew was waiting for them, too. They got a chance to meet both Brian and Nancy before they left town over the coming holiday.  From the first day they learned to bow, and the smiles from everyone came naturally.  More importantly, and so surprising and memorable, my new friends wanted to share with us their town and their time and their holiday of the New Year.  We were overwhelmed by offers of dinner, lunch, and many different trips to see things, many that I had not yet seen myself.

 We started at my education office on Monday. One of the head members volunteered to take us to see Sakurajima, the volcano in the city on the last day of the year.  I started checking off the calendar dates like the most popular girl at an old formal dance where the dance card gets filled up.  The offers were numerous, but all different.  If I had sat down with a tour guide with a private car and tried to chart the days to the fullest, I could not have done as well as all the friends who were stepping forward with ideas of how they would entertain us and take us to all the best places. 

A principal at Kaseda High School started us off on Tuesday with a trip to the top of ChoyaSan, a nearby mountain with a million dollar view of Kaseda and the sea in the other direction.  We did that over the lunch hour.  When we returned, my head English teacher accompanied  us to a small separate building with traditional tatami floors used for formal Tea Ceremonies.  We were served the tea and small cakes in a formal and traditional manner.  If you ever have the chance to visit Japan, there are ample opportunities to experience this cultural art, and it should not be missed.

The adult class Nancy taught invited us to  a dinner party, a catered affair in a private room where we ate all the best foods, talked and took turns at the microphone trying to embarrass each other.  My son started it by not understanding that karaoke and singing acapella are very different things.  He said I wanted to sing them a song, which I very ardently did not.  I was on the spot!  What could I do?  I regressed to childhood and sang a very short version of "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?"  It's still embarrassing!

Some of the many members of the Adult English Class from Kawanabe.

It was a true feast, though some of us were not as excited about sushi.

I got back at Debbie and Jason by making them waltz to "Moon River", which I did sing later because after we went to the dinner party we went to the "nikai", the second party which is usually karaoke.  We had the grandest time and got back after midnight.  The Japanese party hearty!  I often found it hard to keep up and stay up as long as the partying went on, and I was glad to see it was not just because of my age.  Jason and Debbie begged me to leave one day on the calendar completely blank and I promised that I would.

Yes, we do not wear shoes in the karaoke room!  It's so much easier to let loose without your shoes.  A little wine or beer helps, too.  It especially helped me.  I waited for them to relax and drink a little in hopes my singing would sound better.

One member of the adult class signed up to take us out on their fishing boat to help pull in the day's catch.  Iffy!  It's cold in Kaseda in December, and my queasy stomach predicted possibly dire consequences.  But the crew of 3 took us out carefully, early in the morning, to give us an overview of their work every day.   

The haul included belt fish, meter long, very skinny fish that they kept, and a nasty skate with a wicked tail that they immediately closed in around and shouted "Abunai"  danger - to us to keep us away from it.   We got the message and stayed on our seats, watching as they gingerly got hold of it and threw it back.The three of us and the best of the catch for the two hours we were out in somewhat choppy seas were bundled into a warm car and then whisked back to our apartment.  Our gifts of the day were two small lobster tails and some delicious white fish that led to a wonderful and easy dinner.

Typical village fishing fleet.  I saw almost no pleasure  craft of any kind except in the cities.

Photo op with Koze San at scenic Nomaike after the fishing expedition.

Nothing tastes better for dinner than what you caught yourself, or at least you were there when it was pulled in.

Arimura San and his wife, my dearest friends, were delighted whenever we stopped by their optometry shop, and he chose a morning before the shop opened to take us on the scenic route because he "had a plan".  We started out before daylight to head south to Kaimondake, where we would view the "Rising Sun".

Magical moments in the Land of the Rising Sun.

We would follow the coastal road north around the mountains' edge to Akime,  looking down at the beautiful sea to visit one of the the most famous spots in south Kyushu.  This would be where "You Only Live Twice" was filmed in 1967.  Sakurajima was the volcano that was also used as a backdrop as a helicopter flew over the city of Kagoshima for the movie.  Another volcano was used for other scenes where the plot was coming to a climax inside a volcano.

Arimura San with Jason and Debbie in Akime.  Maybe we all get to live twice if we stay open to adventures!

This was Arimura San's favorite place, one of many places in nature.  Bonotsu's bay was clear and protected.  He would often snorkel here to see the coral and fishes below.  But it's way too cold in December for snorkeling!

 We finished at KinpoSan, my favorite mountain.  Rather than walk from the bottom, a real climb, we drove to the shrine near the top.  Jason and Debbie joined Arimura San and I as we rang the bell and clapped twice and took a moment for silent prayer. Then the four of us climbed up to the incredible views unfolding before us in all directions, views of mountains and seas.  To the South we could see Kaimondake, a most perfect dormant volcano in the image (shape) of Mt. Fuji, the same mountain we had visited to see the "Rising Sun".  North we could see beautiful Sakurajima, a live and smoking volcano, and nearest to the southwest, my other local favorite Nomadake.  

A small shrine at the very top of the mountain.  A full shrine was based in the parking lot below.

Arimura San had brought hot drinks and buns and we rested and talked.  He thought Jason, with a walking cane and long hair and beard looked like Jesus on the Mount.   For years Jason would later joke that the Japanese thought he was God.  But it was his way of saying how well he was treated by so many there.  It was also a great relief to him because make no mistake.  His intentions in coming here were not just to have an exotic vacation with his girlfriend.  He was here to make darn sure his mother was safe and well.  And he was delighted to see what fun I was having, like no other time in my life. 

Before we left the mountain top the the kids took the bags with our trash and picked up the other trash left by those who had come before us.  As clean as the people of Japan were and as proud of their heritage, I was often struck by the litter many chose to leave behind them.  Arimura San was surprised that two foreigners cared enough to pick up others' trash.  Perhaps, as often happens, it seemed normal for the trash to be there, and was somewhat invisible to him. But to us it marred the natural beauty, and the cleanup took only minutes. 

On another day Arimura San took us and a British couple from neighboring Kinpo to lunch at an old favorite diner type hole in the wall very close to my apartment.  It was to sample a Japanese favorite, okonomiaki, which is a pancake batter poured over your choice of grilled shrimp, pork or squid, and the batter has a healthy helping of chopped cabbage in it.  A bit of mayonnaise, a sprinkling of nori, dried seaweed, and katsuobushi, shavings of smoked tuna are added as toppings along with a spoon or two of a sweet soy sauce.  

The platters are filling and fun, a favorite of both old and young.  But Debbie's platter was just a little different for when she moved it, a rather large cockroach darted out.  It was the first I had ever seen in Japan, but not the first for the owner.  She promptly whacked it with a dishrag and slid it very unceremoniously to the floor.  Well, with our best poker faces but with pretty wide eyes, we continued to eat away and delayed laughter and all other expressions until later.  The others down to the side hadn't seen what happened but we continue to laugh about it to this day.  ( I never did go back there to eat again, though.)

Friday evening after work we had a party at our house.  It was a  sit down affair meaning that a few students, the office girls and several friends joined us for a party seated on cushions around my kotatsu, the quilt covered table with an electric heated globe underneath to keep legs warm in the cold weather.  I always felt that those rumors of the Japanese who are a bit cool and not friendly was completely dispelled by sitting down on the floor with each other.  I have never found anything more equalizing and friendly.  Add a warm blanket with everyone gathered around and it's not just warm on the legs, it's heart warming. 

Students, friends and office workers come to the party in my apartment.  I loved my cozy apartment!

Beautiful Tazuko San, a real friend, and her daughter

On the weekend, our friends, the Yoshinagas, from Kawanabe and the adult class, took us to a full day of activities in Ibusuki, to the south and on the water.  We went past fields of drying daikon, large white radish, and stopped for photos.  

Ibusuki is at the southeast end of Kyushu Island's Satsuma Peninsula, and it's a semi-tropical vacation destination.

 Then we went to the featured attraction, a sand bath in the lava sands that are heated by pockets of thermal heat from the volcanic action in the area.  Hot springs and baths are a huge part of Japanese culture, and we would sample those as well, but Ibusuki is known for the hot sands.  We put on yukata and walked out and lay down.  Workers gently shoveled hot black sand over us. We lay there in the heat until it seemed unbearable, then stood up and  shook ourselves off.  I only lasted 10 minutes, Debbie about 15 and Jason a full twenty.  After then washing off inside, we were whisked off to a lunch at Tousenkyo, a restaurant famous for somennagashi (cold noodles served with  a special moving water bath).  

The somen noodles are picked up with chopsticks dipped into a circular rotating water bath centered in the table, so all can dip into the water at the same time.  The water rotates counter clockwise, so guess what that means?  If you are a lefty, and I am, the noodles get pulled out of the chopsticks by the fast moving water and you have to try again.  It was frustrating but very funny.

(I have heard that they have some tables set up just for those who are left-handed.  But I would have been eating all by myself!) The taste of the noodles was excellent as they get dipped into a sauce, but I think I left hungry.  Chalk up another memorable day! We were again chauffeured back home where we could crawl into bed and peacefully enjoy a good night's sleep before the next day!

A typical feast of somen with additional dishes.

I think Christmas Day would fall under the "Your wish is my command" category.  I had mentioned we have baked turkey for dinner in explanations that mesmerized all of my students and teachers about how we celebrate Christmas.  My Oura Jr. High school teacher surprised me by saying all of us and his family were going to his neighbors' house for Christmas.  Taeko San and her English husband, Graham, were going to host the feast, and she had ordered a turkey that would be fixed English style for all of us.  Truly, the surprises of this Christmas vacation did not stop.  They were hosting the teachers' family of 3 and the 3 of us, so we could have turkey! 

  Taeko San was the perfect Christmas hostess.  Bring on the turkey!

We had the most marvelous time, and the food and the company were wonderful.  But yet another surprise came after dinner.  We were talking about Japanese onsen, (baths) and I had not been to one since the summer in the mountains.  And, of course, Jason and Debbie had never been.  Immediately upon hearing that, Taeko San suggested we would go to the onsen not far from my apartment.  My teacher was embarrassed, thinking we might harbor Western inhibitions.  But Taeko San insisted and chided, "Of course, they will love the onsen.  We must go."  And she quickly gathered towels together for all of us, and off we went.

This onsen was divided as most are, women to one side and men to the other.  We undressed and washed at an outside onsen, the air brisk and the hot water inviting.  Some older women came to touch my skin, a little strange, but Taeko San chattered at them and waved them off.  They meant no harm, and were actually admiring me;  they had never seen a foreigner at the onsen before.  We became absorbed in the beauty and serenity of the natural stone and quiet in the night.  We had had a relaxing time after a big holiday meal,  The onsen guaranteed a good night's sleep, and it had been a Christmas like no other.

Another day the Yoshinagas, from the adult class in Kawanabe took us to nearby Chiran to see a kamikaze museum and the streets of the samurai homes that are centuries old.  The museum and garden with hundreds of cherry trees and stone lanterns commemorates what had been a training and departure site for kamikaze bombers to fly south to target U.S. ships in WWII.  This place is beautiful, but very somber; and we tried to absorb yet another side of this far away place that was now home. We were on a whirlwind sightseeing tour of the entire area, and the scenery, as well as the history, was amazing.

Chiran's somber kamikaze museum is preserved for visitors with a garden, hundreds of lanterns and many cherry trees to remember so many young pilots that took off in WWII but never returned.

On the last day of the year, Iwamoto Sensei, from the Education Office was taking us on a tour around the park of lava and rocks from a major eruption in the 1940's of Sakurajima, the active volcano across the bay from the city of Kagoshima.   

After the hour's drive to the city, we all had lunch at  one of his favorites, and mine, too - Kentucky Fried Chicken!  I may not eat it often here, but to me, for those 4 years, any stops at McDonald's and the Colonel's were like gourmet food to me.  Truly, we didn't have it in Kaseda, so I didn't often have the opportunity to sample what became comfort food in a far away place.

I found I had misunderstood Iwamoto Sensei when he said that he and his wife would take us to his family home.  Instead, we went to the cemetery where they would take the time to clean the family grave site, put fresh flowers on the memorial, and say prayers for the ancestors for the New year starting the next day.  This is very traditional, and they took their time and swept, scrubbed and polished the monument that was built to hold the remains of their family members from recent to very old times.  It was personal and we stood to the side and remained very quiet, appreciating that we had been allowed to witness what most tourists do not get to experience.  I was touched they allowed us to share this.

Out of respect I did not even think of taking any photos but saved  that for the next part of the tour, the well-known Sakurajima, smoking, steaming, and beautiful but a very active live volcano.  On the way to the fields of lava, I took some photos of something they said was biwa.  Later, my dictionary would inform me a biwa is a loquat, but I still didn't know what that fruit is. While I could see the trees were filled with them, each fruit was neatly wrapped in white paper, to keep the ash from ruining them.  When I finally tasted one months later, it was a luscious, soft-pitted fruit, perhaps similar to apricot.  It grows in California but is too delicate for shipping.

Sakurajima was amazing.  First we saw a torii, the large T-shaped supports that we would normally walk under to enter the area around a shrine.  But because of the explosion of the eruption, it was buried up to the top few inches, so instead we looked down on it.  Rocks the size of my house were all around the park area, laying where they had for the last 50 years or so, after exploding into the air and falling into the spots we found them in now.  There were some buildings with maps, brochures and souvenirs.  We read and learned what we could about how a beautiful active volcano could turn violent and endanger so many living in the area. 

Impressive Sakurajima

We also observed that people still lived in areas below the immediate park area. Young school children here wear helmets in various class colors instead of the the typical baseball caps worn by others in elementary schools around Japan.  And we saw many three-sided, open concrete bunkers where anyone could run for shelter if Sakurajima decided to erupt again.  This volcano is still very active, with smoke and ash blowing out almost all the time.  I have mentioned the ash falls on laundry, flowers, gardens etc. and that if it is a bad day, an umbrella helps keep it off you when you are outside.

Lava rocks the size of houses erupted out of the volcano in 1949.

We had seen so much in one day, and we were grateful again for how generous this couple had been with their holiday time.  Our glimpse into the present at Kentucky Fried Chicken contrasted with the somber visit to cleanse the family grave, and then visit the dramatic volcano.  

We were filled with thoughts, including some of exasperation, when I found what  every photographer, no matter how amateur, never wants to admit.  Some of the day had not been captured; I had not put film in the camera!
 
The first day of the New Year dawned, and we got up and dressed  for another adventure.  My landlady, a graceful, white-haired widow had extended an invitation to join her family and two couples who turned out to be our neighbors for the feast that would be held at her home which was right behind my apartment.  New Year's day is the equivalent of Christmas day in the U.S.  Families travel long distances to celebrate together, and serve traditional favorites in a half day period of feasting, i.e. overeating.

It was an honor and a privilege to be included, yet again, to a huge family celebration and we tried to be really good guests, to try everything though we often didn't recognize what it was and to give our best smiles in thanks for their generosity.  Again, as customary to what I had seen in my first six months, we were all seated on the floor and many, many various dishes were displayed before us, everything from ozoni to kazunoko -soup to fish roe.  (I would have preferred soup to nuts.)

The hostess' son and daughter-in-law could speak a bit of English, and when her son asked if I would mind if he smoked, I said no.  But would he mind if a didn't finish the fish roe?  It was gray in color and very bitter.  I believe it came from herring.  I just could not handle it.  He smiled and said that would be o.k. not to eat it.  Whew!

New Year's Day family dinner with Kariatsumari San and her family and friends.

But as had happened throughout the course of my months of adventure in Japan, and as even Jason and Debbie had discovered in just a two week vacation, the best was to be a surprise to all of us, and totally spontaneous.  I think it would come under Debbie's "my wish was their command".  She mentioned she loved kimono patterns, and would love to learn more about them and how they are worn.  Hey, Presto.  "We will arrange to meet you at a friend's tomorrow.  She has many kimono and is an expert at dressing people in them."  And, so there we were.  Plans were made for the time to meet,  directions to the friend's house given, and we made our best bows and repeated arrigatoes as we left a feast given by such a gracious hostess.  

The next day all three of us were "dressed" in kimono.  This is actually quite a prolonged activity because of all the unseen under-trappings that are involved with making the kimono straight around the bottom and the correct length.  Strips of lace and material are wrapped around the kimono which is really  quite long, to shorten it and pull it up in the right places.  Then it is draped down over and tied around you again, and finally, the large silk belt called an obi is tied around all of that and given a perfect bow in the back.  One needs a lot of patience to dress another person in this way, and our friends from the day before and their friends were both patient and full of fun.  

After about 2 hours the three of us were declared ready to go about town.  Since most businesses were closed for the New Year's holiday, and families were still at home visiting with distant relatives and eating yet again, we were almost "all dressed up with no place to go".  But not to worry, we went for a fabulous dinner at Southern Cross.  So fitting, our last dinner on the town, and ever my favorite place.  The master chef/owner was shocked and smiling widely when he saw us enter.  Seeing 3 foreigners together in one day in a small out of the way town is enough of a sight, without them being dressed up in kimono.

We were dressed up and ate at my favorite, Southern Cross.  This was the master chef and owner.  It is the only time I ever saw him sit down.

We ate our fill and went home for the kids to start thinking about packing up and heading home.  There were things to sort through and their next day was their "free" day.  I had kept my promise and no plans had been made.  The knock on our door the next morning changed that, however.  Kawahara San, an office worker in Kaseda High School, came in bowing and asking in excellent English, which was his hobby, "Won't you come to dinner at my apartment tonight?.  My wife would be honored to cook for all of you.  And she is a wonderful cook."  I was speechless, and looked at Jason who was looking at Debbie.  He spoke rather like a robot, but he got the words out.  "Sure, we would really like that."  Sometimes, you do what's right, and who could say no to such a kind gesture?  All I could say was,  "O.K., now you can see why we had such a busy schedule since you arrived!"

The next day they toured town and picked up the last of the souvenirs they wanted, including a nice kimono style quilted jacket to thank me and keep me warm in the coming cold months.  They took a last walk around Takeda Jinja, ancient, reverent, with those huge trees that had lived for hundreds of years.  In the evening, we went to the Kawaharas and had a great time.  Again the offerings of good food was enchanced by the warmth of both their friendship and the kotatsu while sitting on the floor.

And then we went home to sleep for the last night of their wild and wonderful, hardly planned vacation that had included so many different experiences with so many different people that took us all to wonderful places.  We could never say enough to thank them all and we remain very appreciative of the kindnesses we received. 

                           "Mountains, fire, water
                            Ten thousand kindnesses
                             ALTs love Japan!" 

As a note to my regular readers, I am so sorry that it took so long to get this post out on my blog.  I wish you all a very Happy New Year.  As always, please feel free to leave a comment.