Japanese Jewels

I am in India as I write this and it is amazing how both of these countries are in the same geographic region, so night and day dissimilar are they. I only spent about eight days in Japan, but I had the most marvelous time getting to know Japanese culture and most of all hanging out with some amazing friends with whom I became better acquainted through our crossing of paths. Japan was the last stop on the I’m-staying-with-people-I-know portion of my trip.

Tokyo

I started in Tokyo, which is the financial center and the core of all things modern in Japan. One of my friends said that Tokyo is like New York City and Kyoto, which I later visited, is like Washington D.C. in terms of the activities one can do and the monuments one can see in both cities. I stayed with an amazing American family who is related to the family with whom I stayed in Naperville for nearly two years. I met them over the July 4th weekend 2009 and I told them that I was planning to go to the Philippines then travel around Asia after my volunteer work was finished. They said that I was welcome to stay with them if I should happen to pass by Tokyo. Of course I would go and stay with them! As you have seen throughout my travels, that I more or less planned my itinerary based on where I knew people.

It was great to feel like a part of a family again. I actually miss being in a familial setting, cooking and eating together, coming home to people who care about you, knowing that you are safe and well taken care of. That is what I experienced with this family. They have three kids, so it was also fun to be the big sister to kids who were excited to have me around. Their youngest child, who is a cute little three-year-old girl let me stay with her in her room and asked if I liked pancakes, which she loves—a girl after my own heart although her pancakes were about a quarter of the size of mine. I stayed with them for four days as I explored the city and a nearby village called Kamakura. Although they were unable to travel around with me, I had a great time first discovering the bustling city of Tokyo then coming home to a good meal and great conversation. What fun!

In general, I have very positive things to say about Tokyo, but the one exception is that I found myself getting more lost than I ever have in a city. Everyone knows I have a bad sense of direction, but the thing is, normally cities are pretty good for me because really good maps, which I can use proficiently, often accompany big cities. For some reason, though, I could not connect with the maps I was given. My guidebook was terrible in the map department, and the map I got at the airport was decent but not as detailed as I would have liked. Tokyo has very few road signs, making it next to impossible to determine where exactly you are on the map. My saving grace ended up being these Information signs that popped up periodically on major intersections and in most neighborhoods. With the “You are Here” sign, I could usually determine how to go about finding something, but it wasn’t always guaranteed. I have to say that I got a little fed up with this whole getting lost thing my first day on the job, but after I simply accepted it and moved on, I just laughed about how I always manage to choose places that I simply cannot navigate.

Another confusing thing about Tokyo is its network of subways and trains. Since trains are used most commonly for getting around, there are so many stops and so much intersection of the different kinds of trains and train lines. The trains are all privately run, so each line requires a separate ticket although Tokyo residents normally have a Passmo or Suica Card, which allows you to put money on it and utilize it for any train line. I never got lost on the trains—too much money was at stake—but I did spend many a minute in front of the subway signs with a blank stare wondering how I would get from point A to point B.

In three days of visiting the city, I think I managed to hit all the important sights, like the big parks (Ueno Park, Imperial Palace Gardens, Yoyogi Park and Mejii Shrine, Yanaka Cemetery, Hama-Rikyu), some famous districts (Ginza and Asakusa), the largest fish market in Japan and maybe the world (Tskjiji Wholesale Fish Market), the Tokyo National Museum, and a boat ride down the Sumida River. Not too bad! I think my favorite part of the city was wandering around the parks and seeing the fishermen with their large catches of fish at the Tskjiji Market.

The parks are almost always free except for those that have special features, which is nice and cuts down on costs, which tended to be much greater than the other Asian countries to which I had just traveled. The costs are more or less similar to American prices, so not exceptionally costly, but more than I was used to. Anyway, I found a good way of maintaining a pretty good budget! Really the only things I paid for were the National Museum, boat ride, and entrance into the Hama-Rikyu gardens, which happened to be a lovely way to grab the boat much more easily than if I tried to walk to it. (I finally realized that sometimes, in places like Tokyo where walking can be trickier than usual, paying the little extra for the transportation is worth it, so you can maximize time in seeing the actual sights. I only utilized this principle a couple of times, of course :)

Besides checking off the list of things to see, I also partook in some more cultural things, such as the tea ceremony and the public bath. When I was waiting for the boat down the Sumida River, I decided to participate in a small tea ceremony. There are simple and elaborate tea ceremonies. Mine was very basic, but very elegant nonetheless. I sat in this open-air teahouse, complete with the typical woven mats and accoutrements one would think of when considering traditional Japanese construction. Having never experienced the formal Japanese tea ceremony, I read the guide on how to drink tea in the most specific and respectful manner. There were something like ten rules on how to place the teacup and how to eat the Japanese sweet. I don’t think I mastered it, but I gave it a go. The waitress served me on bended knee and bowed low to the ground. Wow! No one has ever bowed to me in giving me a drink and a confection. Welcome to Japan! Just think if we did that in the US. Here’s your coffee (bow). Thank you (bow again). It would definitely throw people for a loop! The tea was a little bitter; it was the powdered green matcha tea you may have heard about. The really good matcha goes for something like 80 bucks for a small can. It is quite costly, but tea is really important in Japan. I mean, even the Japanese family with whom I stayed had a 30-dollar tin of tea that would have been no more than 10 bucks in the US. For them, however, it really is not that big of a deal to buy something like that because it’s just an essential part of their culture. I love Japanese tea, but even more do I love the confections that are served with the tea. They are made from red beans and sugar and are formed in the most artful of ways: exquisite in both taste and aesthetic beauty.

Then there was the bathhouse experience. Man, this is a funny story! I went all over the district called Ginza trying to find this one bathhouse that was listed in my guidebook, if you could call it that! Anyway, at that point in the trip—it was only my first full day in Tokyo—I had no idea how they organized their buildings and how to get to a certain address. However, I was determined to find this place, as the book said it was traditional. After about an hour I think of wandering around trying to find it, I finally made it to the exact block and the exact building and the exact storefront, but I still could not see any indication that a bathhouse existed. I thought, “Great! Here I am wandering the streets of Tokyo trying to find an insignificant little bathhouse and it probably does not even exist anymore!” I decided to ask one of the little ladies in the next store where I could find it, and she pointed to the building at which I was looking, so I entered and turned the corner and saw a bunch of small lockers. I kind of scratched my head and turned around a bit in confusion until a little old lady came out and gave me a nod on where to go. I entered the door, which she indicated—good thing too as the other door was for the men—and I walked into a simple, windowless room where a bunch of old, naked women were washing themselves. I was unsure of how to proceed, but I decided that since I had spent so much time walking about in search of this place, I was going to delve right in. I mean, it is not as if I have never seen an old woman’s body before. After all, that was my job for almost five years. I just had never been naked with them!

I looked surreptitiously to see how the women behaved and where and when to remove my clothes, etc. Here I was the only foreigner among many old Japanese ladies. I stuffed my clothes in the locker, bought a little towel and some shampoo and entered the bath. There were little stools and buckets. I figured the stools were for sitting but I did not understand the buckets. Again, I had to look at the women—stare really—and see how they were going about their business. The buckets were for taking cold or hot water and dousing oneself with it. I was able to use it to cool myself down after the scalding bath water. One woman who knew a little bit of English talked to me with a few sentences, and it was really lovely. Japanese people are so gentle and kind and really welcoming when they know they can say a few words in English. I really appreciated her efforts. What a unique experience and quite liberating, I must say!

Osaka

The family I stayed with kindly sent me off with a full Korean meal before I took my night bus to Osaka. It was a great way to finish off my time in Tokyo. The bus ride was about eight hours from the Shinjuku station in Tokyo to the Osaka station in Osaka. I arrived at about 6:30 am and I was so tired, I decided that I wanted to sleep a bit before I ventured out into the streets to visit the city. I found the bathroom and a small area that kind of formed a slight alcove. Without really thinking about how the Japanese would perceive me, I thought that the little alcove near the bathroom was a perfect place to lie down inside my sleeping bag; so that is exactly what I did. In about 15 minutes, two policemen came over to me and tapped me although I do not think that I felt them right away. I opened my eyes and here they were crouching down and looking at me with very quizzical yet kind eyes. I gazed at them in a tired stupor and tried to communicate that I wanted only one more hour. One of the policemen made the sign like “I don’t see you” type thing, so I thought I had communicated my purpose well. Come to find out, they had not really understood because about 20 minutes later, someone else came by and nudged me awake, so I packed up and grabbed a locker where I stuffed my huge bag for the day.

I had no map and no information about Osaka, so my first opinion of it was quite negative. For me, not having a map in a city spells disaster and with a lack of sleep and no idea of what I planned to do, I felt a little discombobulated. Of course, once I found a hotel at which to inquire whether they had a map or any tourist information, I had turned the wrong direction for obtaining tourist information and for walking in the direction of the sights. The hotel was really great and gave me instructions for getting to the tourism office, and in a short time, I was armed with information on Osaka and a great and detailed map. I had a fabulous day! I could not get over how having a map and a little information can instantly brighten one’s outlook on a city. Suddenly what seemed bland and uninteresting became bright and welcoming.

Osaka is actually a very cool city. There are tons of places where you can eat and for cheap prices compared to Tokyo. I stopped at a little traditional place where they had set obento boxes for lunch, which means that they serve a certain combination of things like soba—buckwheat noodles—and tempura with rice and condiments. I was the only foreigner and the waitress was very kind to refill my barley tea glass many times, which added to the delicious flavor of my meal. I never thought I liked Japanese food until I came to Japan and discovered that it is really healthy and quite lovely. I want to learn how to make it since Japanese restaurants are so expensive in the States and serve such miniscule portions. Shopping abounds under these covered arcades that are frequented by people of all demographics. Temples fill the space of many neighborhoods, especially the old and historical quarter called Tenojii. I walked all over the city. Later my friend told me that she was amazed that I walked such a great distance and that I was able to see all that I did. It is quite extraordinary that when you are alone and like to walk like I do, how much you can see, and even when you get lost, the distance you can cover is quite astounding. I laughed when my friend and her friends gasped at my thorough exploration of the city.

She and I met at the train station and I accompanied her to her French round table discussion with some of her fellow students. It was one of those moments when I forgot where I was. I was in Japan but speaking in French while throwing in the occasional English word. It just goes to show you that cultural barriers are so thinly displayed these days among the educated youth. My friend’s dad picked us up and again communication was pigeon English, French and Japanese. Of course I could not understand Japanese, but I was glad that my hosts had two language options for communicating with me. It cracked me up to try to talk to her parents, who were absolutely wonderful and who welcomed me with open arms. We had a lovely meal altogether and her mom served this exquisite green tea and a delicate green tea bean paste dessert square, which went really well with the slightly bitter tea. I had more Japanese food with my friend’s family than I did on the street since I could not really afford to eat the food too often. I stuck to trying the sweets more often because I could afford those :)

Kyoto

My first stop after staying one night in my friend’s home was Kyoto, which is the historical capital of Japan. It is where the largest concentration of temples exists in Japan, I think. Anyway, it is a “must-see” on the list of Japanese destinations. Normally, people take about two or three days to visit the city. I did it in one day, in the pouring rain and all on foot. I have to say that at the end of the day, my feet hurt like never before. I was thankful for the umbrella that my friend’s mom had given me as a last minute thing before I left the house. She also gave me these rice rolls called onigeri—I am unsure about the spelling—which are simply made of rice and formed into triangles then filled with salted fish or seaweed or these salted plums. They are fantastic and perfect for a light lunch or snack. I loved Kyoto even in spite of the rain. Both modernity and history coexist in a very interesting fashion, as the history is almost tucked away into the crevices of the city. What I mean is this: I spent the whole time walking around the main streets of the city and would not have noticed much history, except for a few temples in some parks along the way. Once I turned the corner, though, onto some windy roads, I would dead end into these World Heritage Sites of astounding beauty, which seemed even more serene and vibrant with the rain. I probably would have enjoyed the city a little more had it not been raining, but I never let weather conditions keep me from enjoying something!

Nara

To round out my visit to Japan, I hit the city of Nara, which is dominated by a large deer-filled park. When I say it is full of deer, I mean that deer are literally everywhere, and they are encouraged to remain since there are many people who sell deer biscuits to the tourists. I saw pictures of my friend’s grandmother visiting Nara when she was in her teens and the deer were even there at that time. It is a distinctive part of the city. More than the deer, however, people go to Nara to revel in the historical entrenchment of one of the oldest capitals in Japan. It was the capital from 710 AD until 785 AD or something like that. Therefore, they are celebrating their 1300th anniversary of being an imperial settlement, and I was able to take part in the fun. As part of the festivities they had free tours of the once regal site of the emperor and his court as well as a free shuttle (gotta love those free items). My tour guide was great, giving this Dutch girl and me an almost personal tour of the grounds, including the history and the tidbits regarding the archaeological excavation and rebuilding of the Imperial Palace—just finished in April—and one of the gates that once ushered in stately processions of officials and Chinese ambassadors. (Apparently at that time, Japan traded goods and information almost exclusively with the Chinese whose architectural style particularly influenced the manner in which the Japanese built their palaces and temples.)

Besides the lovely tour of the old imperial city, which is more or less barren apart from the newly constructed gate and palace, I saw one of the most fantastic sites in Japan called the Kasuaga Shrine. I thought it was so striking because of the way the road was flanked with stone lanterns and meandered until the actual building, which was almost wholly visible without paying the entrance fee. It was shrouded in verdant trees and mystical shadows that created a spectacular ambience. After having seen so many temples and palaces, I was glad to see something so distinct and memorable. It was a grand finale to a beautiful trip.

Family and Friends moments

As I mentioned, I stayed with the family of my friend with whom I shared a house in France, and they were absolutely wonderful. We shared two meals together that lasted for hours, just as they had in Tokyo with the other family I stayed with, demonstrating that you do not need to be of the same culture to share good moments together. Her parents were very inquisitive and we talked until well into the night over delicious Japanese food. I never expected her parents to take such an interest in me and my life and culture. It really touched me that they were interested in my life, and I was able to reciprocate the interest in looking over her father’s family’s old photos, which were incredible! I even got to make tempura and see how Japanese noodles are made. Everything was delightful with the icing on the cake being the opportunity to try on a kimono with the full on belt and tie in the back. (My friend and her mom have been taking kimono lessons, which teach people how properly to wear a kimono and how to make the belt and various ties aesthetically pleasing and incredibly artful.) It was so much fun, and at the end of it, they presented me with the kimono! It was such a lovely blessing and a wonderful memory. I am going to be the best-dressed person at my next sleepover :)

Not only was I included in her family, but her friends also adopted me for a night and really blessed me with a fantastic dinner at this little place close to wear they go to school. The Japanese way of sharing a meal is to get a bunch of dishes for sharing. I felt a little bad that they had to make a concession for my being a vegetarian and I offered to just get my own dishes, but they said that they did not mind and would prefer to do it the Japanese way. That was sweet. They even paid for me! What a welcome to their country and what a wonderful opportunity to pass an evening with people my age who grew up far differently than I had! Moments where you can share smiles, laughs and thoughts with people of all kinds make traveling one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Japan was full of those moments with both my fellow and dear Americans and cherished Japanese friends.