Moms Visit - Part III

Tuesday - On Tuesday we got up (again) at the crack of dawn (for me, that meant 7:00, for Mom, that meant 5:30ish) and took off for Kyoto. Kyoto is the previous capital of Japan, and the old architecture has been quite well preserved / copied for tourism's sake. Mom and I visited Nijo Castle - a beautiful castle with amazing artwork.



We were required to take off our shoes to walk the old wooden floors through the castle. The original artwork on the doors and walls was breathtaking - unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed. The shogun who built the castle wanted to be quite sure of his safety - and incorporated two over-the-top safety features (the castle was already surrounded by large stone walls and a moat). The castle is famous for it's 'nightingale floors' - floorboards designed to creak, creating a sound like a nightingale. With the special floor, no one could sneak into a room or around the castle without someone knowing. The shogun also had hidden rooms for his bodyguards, marked by large red tassels. We saw the red tassels in several places.


Above - Nijo Jo and it's garden in the background...

After Nijo-Jo, we walked in the hot weather to Imperial Palace Park. We were quite hungry, so we stopped for a Japanese lunch of udon (thick white noodles) and fried rice. After lunch, we discovered that you can only access the Imperial Palace if you request a special permit...so much for that idea! But it was a nice walk through the park, and we had a good lunch there.

We subway'd a ways and walked some more, up to Kyomizu Temple. Since we were pretty tired and it was late in the afternoon, we decided not to go into the temple, and to do some souvenir shopping instead. (Warning: I may rant and ramble in the next paragraph...)

We visited a short but delightful shopping street with all kinds of delightful things...notebooks, art, dishes, incense, dolls, clothing, shoes, umbrellas. I was trying to decide souvenirs I wanted to purchase now to send home with Mom - less stuff for me to bring home in August! I don't remember when it happened - or even how it happened. But near the end of our trip, while I was finally making a decision, we noticed a tag or a label that proudly read, "MADE IN CHINA". Disappointed, we promptly decided that we could not purchase a souvenir from Japan that was made in China. However - this proved more difficult than we thought. Once we started checking, almost everything was made in China! I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was slightly surprised, and disappointed. The shopping street looked so...quaint and realistic. But Kyoto is a tourist district, and let's be honest - it's much cheaper to buy in bulk from China than make it! I was frustrated that I couldn't even buy a true Japanese souvenir. In the end, Mom bought a couple notebooks, and we had some ice cream. Last time I was in Kyoto, I found a beautiful little dolly, and the lady told me she was an antique. She's been on my mind since I first saw her, and I decided that instead of buying several 'Made In China' souvenirs, I would rather have one authentic souvenir. We found the place again, and I bought her. She is handmade with antique fabric - even her face was painted by hand. Purchasing a beautiful and authentic souvenir of my time here took away a bit of my frustration and disappointment in all the China souvenirs.

We left Kyoto with our (few) souvenirs, and went home, with big plans for Wednesday morning.

Wednesday - We got up Wednesday, at the crack of dawn one more time, and had another delicious breakfast. Mom finished packing her (and some of my) stuff up, and we went to the onsen for an early morning soak. We left with plenty of time to get to the airport...

Once we got there, we found out that her flight departure had been delayed by - not 1, not 2, but 4 hours! Didn't need the extra time to get there, after all... So we had a nice lunch, checked her baggage, and then did some airport browsing. We found many of the similar souvenirs we had found before...some seemed more authentic, but you never know. We shopped, then sat, then shopped some more...we explored across the plaza, and into the airport hotel. Sitting in the sunshine on some coin-operated massage chairs, I had a short nap, and Mom had a massage.




We did a little more shopping, and then said our goodbyes. I waited until Mom went through the first security check, and then headed back to the train station. It's difficult to describe what I was thinking and how I felt when I hugged her goodbye.

I felt very small, very alone, and very vulnerable, and somewhat hopeless. I made it this far, by myself - I knew I would survive the rest of my adventure here. But I suppose I had gotten used to spending most of my time alone, and having Mom there for 5 days - someone to talk to, listen to, hug, laugh with, walk with, eat with...I suppose I knew that being alone now would be that much harder than it was a week ago. Part of me wanted to book a flight home for the next day, part of me wanted to go home and curl up and cry myself to sleep, and part of me wanted to not think or feel at all. I chose the latter most one - pulled out a book, and buried my face in it on the train; so no one would ask if I was alright...because I wasn't.

It's been a week since Mom left, now. I've slipped back into my routine, but I still miss having her here. I miss Canada (I never realized how proud I am to be Canadian, but I am!), my family and friends, and the busy and active life that I am used to having. Mom and I talked some about my life here vs my life in Canada, and some of her thoughts, combined with some of my own thinking has helped me understand why I don't feel like myself, and why I am somewhat over-emotional and so up-and-down. It's encouraging to understand some of why I've had a difficult time, but it's still hard to get through those difficult times.

In 86 days, my friend Jo-Anna will come visit for a week, and then I will be home. I'm excited, but I suppose a little nervous. I wonder how much I really have changed, how much the life I had has changed without me, and how everything will fit together in the fall. But - no matter - that's not for 93 days...

Until then, more Japanese adventures to come...

Moms Visit - Part II

I realized I forgot a VERY important part of the Sunday-day!

When we got back to the dorm, we went to the onsen! I received tickets for the onsen several weeks ago, but didn't want to venture there by myself. So - I brought Mom! The entrance to the mens and ladies rooms are covered by red and blue curtains, respectively. Doorway curtains here are split in the middle, cover the top two thirds of the door, and have fancy writing on them. Inside the pretty curtain is a locker room and a powder room. The locker room has lockers (you didn't know that, didja?), and the powder room has a couple sinks and several counters with blow dryers. A sliding glass door lets you into the shower area. The picture below is from my dorm, but the onsen showers are the same.



This particular onsen had several pools, a sauna, and a steam room. There was a cold pool and 1 hot pool in the shower area. Outside were several more pools...walking outside was like walking into a tropical spa - it was beautiful!

The center pool was made of rock...rock steps, rock sides, rock floor. The water was warm and steaming slightly. On the left side of the pool was a vertical rock wall, with a thin stream of water falling from the top, down across the rock seat, and into the pool. Scattered about the pool were large rocks to rest on or lean against. To the left of the main pool was a horizontal stone area, with taps across the back wall. The taps let hot water flow across the rock platform - laying down on the platform was the perfect spot to rest or cool off, and the hot water ensured you didn't get too cold! Beside the entrance was another pool, with a natural chemical to soften your skin. The pool edge was slightly off the ground, and tiled. To the left of the entrance were the massage pools - two identical pools. Each one consisted of three stalls, with two sets of metal tubes between them - similar to those used as handrails on pool ladders. Leaning against the back wall of the pool awarded you a wonderful and very strong jet massage.

After a long day of being on our feet, the onsen was a perfect way to relax and hopefully prevent some of the ache in our muscles...so they would be all ready for the next 3 days of adventure!

Monday - Monday morning, Mom woke up at about 5:30, and I was up around 7. We had another delightful fruit and pastry breakfast, and walked to the train. We met my boss and his wife at Kintetsu Nara Station. They took us around Nara park and to a couple popular temples and shrines.





Nara Park is famous for the deer - there are over 1000 of them in the park. Deer are considered sacred, and are well respected by park visitors. If you're brave, you can buy a packet of rice cookies to feed them - but they can get pretty aggressive if they know you have food! After a couple hours of sightseeing, Takemori-San & his wife took us for a very fancy Japanese-style lunch, which was delicious! Next we visited a shrine and a flower garden...'Wisteria' was in bloom, and it was gorgeous!



Takemori-San invited us to have tea at his house, afterwards. The house was quaint and the entrance was surrounded by pretty flowers. The inside of the house was quite small, but beautifully decorated with quilted items! Yoko (Takemori-San's wife) taught herself to quilt and has made some incredible things. She made us tea and coffee and we all chatted - she also gave me & Mom little gifts. I got some delicious green tea, and Mom got a small decorative set. It happened that the day was 'Boys Day', a day to celebrate and bless your sons. The set that Yoko gave Mom was one that a mother would typically set up on the holiday to bless her sons.

We went from Nara straight to Namba to meet my coworkers for a Japanese-style dinner. That was quite the adventure! Everyone was very polite to Mom, and Hisazumi-San brought us both very pretty hankerchiefs. (Sidenote: Bonus to Mom visiting...I get lots of presents, too!) Yamaguchi-San ordered drinks non-stop for Mom, and by the end of the meal she had 5 in front of her. I had to laugh, because usually it's me they do that to! Traditional Japanese dinners come in several small courses, and it was a lot of food...but it was delicious! I was trying to see it from Mom's perspective, since I'm used to being in similar dinner situations. I realized that there is the occasional question or slightly difficult conversation, but for the most part, they talk in Japanese and I (we) watch and try to listen. After dinner, we headed home and watched part of 'Notting Hill'...but Mom was falling asleep, I was tired, and my computer was slow, so we didn't finish it.



It was a very busy day, but full of exercise and good food!

Moms Visit - Part I

Okay - so I'm finally posting the Mommy Visit! I'm sorry it took so long to get up...to be honest, I had a sort of blue weekend. It's hard to be lonely, and then when you're not lonely for 5 days, being lonely afterwards sucks that much more!

It was great to have Mom come and visit me. We had a lot of fun - I had someone to talk to, laugh with, show stuff to, hang out with, and someone beside me. She was very encouraging about my adventures here, and a lot of what she said made sense and helped me sort through the difficulties I'm having. It was really hard to let her go at the airport, but we counted - and in (now) 97 days, I will be back in Canada! :)

Here's a brief summary of her trip and our adventures...

Friday - Met her at the airport. Her flight was slightly late (4:15 instead of 3:45), so when people finally started coming out from behind the mysterious 'Arrivals' door, I was psyched! I wasn't going to cry when I saw her, but (you guessed it), I did. But just for a minute. And I got the best hug in the entire world. We headed home (long trip, heavy bags), and made some eggs for dinner. She was pretty tired (it's a long long airplane ride), and we went to bed around 10...to be all ready for Saturday!

Saturday - Mom woke up really bright and early, and I woke up bright and early. We had some yummy pastries and fruit for breakfast, and set off to visit Expo '70 Park & the Japanese Garden. It was a hot day. And by hot, I mean 30 degrees at 24% humidity - in APRIL. This summer might kill me. Anyways - we picked up some lunch at the supermarket (once I found it - I don't get lost often, but I'll admit I was a little turned around). We watched a kids dance show and had a snack, the continued on our way. At the park, we walked around and took in the flowers and the foliage (both in the park and the garden), stopping for traditional Japanese tea.



After stopping at Namba for a crepe (yummy) and some photobooth photos (fun!), We got off a station early on the way home (at Yamamoto), and got Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba for dinner. THAT was an adventure.

'Why?' you ask? Well. The stand is inhabited by 6 or 7 (good looking) Japanese guys - early 20 somethings. I don't speak Japanese. After staring at the menu (they're all watching the strange white women out of the corner of their eyes), I realized I couldn't read anything on it. So, I picked the second best method. I pointed. Then they asked me a question in Japanese, to which I responded that I didn't understand. They pointed, and I nodded. Mission accomplished. We did waste some ginger when they showed us a handful to ask if we wanted it (we didn't). Being eager tourists, we leaned in to watch the front-most good-looking guy make our dinner. The other good-looking guys thought that was pretty funny. All-in-all, it was a slightly embarassing, giggle-causing, fun dinner stop.

As it turned out, going to bed at 10 became a habit (as did bright & early), but it had been a full and very hot day, so once we got home, we were pretty tired.

Sunday - Sunday was (fortunately) a little cooler than Saturday, but still incredibly warm! We visited Osaka Jo (Osaka Castle) and Osaka Ko (Osaka Bay). The Bay area was quite a bit cooler due to the breeze coming off the water. After a Giant Wheel ride, some lunch, and a crepe for dessert, we headed home again after a (very) full day. (Note - We figured we walked for at least 6 hours every day.)


Above - Osaka Castle's Beverage Service...


Above - On the Giant Wheel! (Taking pictures of one's self never turns out well. And that one is pretttyy terrible. Mom looks great, though! Now how does that happen. Me too!!)

Since this post is getting long and I'm getting tired, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest! This was the first half of the trip...although, I was trying not to think in terms of time, because then I realized it would end, and that just sucked. Thinking that it would end brought up a whole bunch of negative thoughts and sadness and lonliness, so I just pretended that she could stay forever. I wish she could have!

Mom - feel free to comment if I missed anything!! :)

All The Fuss (Added To)

(Addition at the end - I finished the book. First part from the morning, second part the evening.)

I am reading Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. Considering all the controversy that surrounded it when it became popular, I thought I should see what all the fuss was about - and I have! The story draws you in, as most mysteries do (especially to me). The book does have a large amount of historically accurate and historically controversial information weaved into the fictional plot and the information it presents to go along with the plot. It reads as a true story - and it would be easier if it were written as one! I will have to do a lot of other reading and research to figure out what is based on fact and what is included as fiction. It is intriguing, though, and I am thoroughly enjoying the book.

I apologize for not blogging this week - hopefully I'll get some updates up this weekend. Mom left on Wednesday...it was really hard to see her go, but we had a great time while she was here. I'll put up some pictures, etc soon.

-------------------------

Edited to Add:
I feel as though I've been handed the answer to the greatest secret in the history of this world. I feel emotionally and mentally strained. All because of a novel - a work of fiction. I don't know if it is that some fact along with controversial 'fact' is so artfully and completely woven in with the fiction. Or if it is the incomprehensible impact that would be made, were the story true. A good book pulls you into the story; intertwines your life and your story with that of the characters. Dan Brown certainly did an incredible job of creating a world and a story that envelopes the reader. I can see what the fuss was all about. Several times I had to force myself to close the book for just a minute and breathe in and out - to avoid exploding with suspense and excitement; my heart racing at the possibility of danger and the taste of an answer to the riddle. When I read a book, I become a part of that world; I am there, and I see, feel, touch, and taste the story surrounding me. Some books are better at drawing the reader in than others. The Da Vinci Code is one of them, and I can understand how so many people took the book as truth and fact. If you haven't read it yet, I would recommend it as an excellent novel. But be careful...you may find yourself running from the French police, sweating at gunpoint, and solving mysterious riddles (I believe have found 83 of the 92 anagrams to 'planets'. But the remaining 9 elude me. Grr.).

PS - Sorry - I know this isn't a book review blog, but I got so caught up in the story that I skipped the gym (read while walking home instead), and haven't eaten supper yet (9:30pm now). So the book is what my evening consisted of; therefore, blogged.

International Arrival

I met my Mom at the airport this afternoon....it is so good to see her!

The trip out to the airport was interesting because last time I made the trip (when I arrived in Japan), it was dark and 3am and I was just trying to keep my eyes open and keep up with my boss. Kansai Airport is on a (sinking) man-made island - from the train, going across the bridge to the airport, all you can see to the left and right is ocean...rippling, endless shiny ocean. It was beautiful.

While I was waiting for her flight to arrive, my mind took a bit of a trip through a wide range of emotions and thoughts. I remembered how much I like travelling, airports, planes, and hotels. I realized (again) - I am living in Japan. I am across the world from Canada, living in Japan. Wow. Some days, I have to remind myself of that - and how incredible it is! At the same time, I felt homesick. I was excited to see my Mom, and excited to show her around Japan. I was excited to be going home in a couple months, and thought about how it would feel to leave Japan and get on that plane to go home. I think I will miss Japan, when I go. But it will be good to be home again.

When she finally came out the arrival door, I ran to meet her and got a big hug. I told myself I wouldn't cry, but - I did. Just for a second.

We made the long trip back to my dorm, heavy bags and all. It reminded me of my trip back to the dormitory - how strange it all was, how exhausted I was. And look how far I've come; how long I've been here; and how much I've changed.

Now we're back at the dormitory (3am Canada time, 7pm Japan time), and after a nap, we're going out for dinner!

March 30th

I know, I know. That's about the most creative title in the history of blogging.

Yesterday = Bad Day. Today = Better Day. Stupid Elevator.

I get a visitor! My Mommy is coming to visit me, in May! Someone to talk to, giggle with, and a real hug! I haven't had any actual human contact in 2.5 months. No hugs, nothing. Not really even handshakes, because they bow, here! I never thought about it in Canada, but I've noticed it, here. Strange. Anyways - I'm excited for her to visit! It will be nice to see someone familiar again, especially my Mom, and I think, scratch that, know! we'll have a lot of fun!! :) :) Nothing makes an elevator move up faster than good news!

This morning I got up to meet my coworkers to enjoy the famous Cherry Blossoms & a BBQ. I briefly considered crawling back into my nice, warm, comfortable bed, because the sky was the color of a rat, and looked upset. But I figured that until I heard that we weren't going, I'd go! And we did go.

We picked up some food at the supermarket (random meat, seafood, snacks, drinks), and met the rest of the group in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park. There's a (massive) 'art' statue in the front...



We had a BBQ, Japanese style (grill in the middle of the table). The food was a mix of random meat and vegetables, just thrown on the grill, dipped in BBQ sauce, and eaten. It was delicious.



However, when I say random, I do mean random. I tried chicken heart, liver, and stomach. Yep, that's what I said. They thought my reaction was pretty funny, because I thought it was pretty strange. But I tried it - it tasted fine, but had a funny texture. Especially the liver. Oh, and I could see the aorta - the AORTA - coming out of the heart. That threw me.



After the BBQ, we snapped some group shots in the pouring rain, and some of us visited the Japanese garden anyways. The cherry blossoms were beautiful, the tulips were starting to bloom, and the landscape in the garden was amazing. I am definitely going back (hopefully not in the pouring rain!). Pre-Garden-walking, we watched a Bunraku (traditional Japanese puppetry) show. And participated. At least, I did. They wanted a volunteer, and the other members of my group volunteered Yamashita-San (much to his giggling and dismay). I thought it was funny - but he grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him!! Normally, I wouldn't care. But all I could think was, "Oh my goodness. I neither speak or understand Japanese. What was he thinking?!" With some translating help from him, I managed to say my line into the microphone. I think we were supposed to be acting, but I don't really know. Everyone clapped, they asked (of course), where I was from and how I liked Japan. It was funny.

Partway through the walk, we stopped for traditional Japanese tea! (Suzanne, I'm glad you warned me!) The tea was dark green, foamy, and really bitter, especially the last sip! Fortunately, I like green tea and I like it plain and strong - so it wasn't too bad for me. We also had a sweet treat that was made from beans - so yummy!



I know I always say it, but it was a lot of fun to socialize again. I may come back to Canada socially inept, since my social events here are so few and far between. But, I will be good at crocheting (yes, still obsessed. can't stop. must crochet, more, more, more.)

On another note - fortunately: I will get some more social time, kind of. unfortunately: I will lose my privacy & therefore freedom to internet surf during work hours (I know, I shouldn't be doing it in the first place.) My office room is being used for something else, so Takemori-San and I are moving upstairs to where everyone else.

That's it for today, folks. Except I finally got some pictures up...links below! More to come tomorrow.

Osaka Bay PS - This day was infinite fun with balloon creatures!!
Sumo
Coop Goodbye Dinner
Kobe - Coming Soon!
Osaka Jo (Castle) - Coming Soon!
Cherry Blossom Picnic/Expo 70 Park - Coming Soon!