Mary Newton

Journey's End in Fukuoka

This entry is written (finally) by Tim Wingfield.

January 8th - All Good Things...

Mary and I said goodbye to Omura; mine perhaps forever, and Mary's for several nights. We met up with Mary's friends at Starbucks before Zara drove us to the bus interchange. The bus ride on the toll road through the trees and mountains was pleasant.

We arrived in Ureshino, a town locally known for their onsens (hot springs baths) and green tea. We were here mainly for the former. I pulled out the "map" Mary had, which showed the inn's location as well as a couple streets, and compared it to the town map just to try to figure out where we should walk. We walked down most of the town's main street, took a left across a bridge, and magically arrived at our destination.

We checked in (losing our shoes for the night) and were shown to our room. The unit was somewhat barren, but it came to life throughout the night as we experienced R&R Japanese style. The bedroom was a simple white box with a TV, short table, pull out mats from the closet. The entryway had a toilet with a warm seat and the bottom washer (by the way - WEIRD!). The back had a tiny, tiny tea room, a sink, and a bathtub.

We settled in and then explored the area. The second floor, where our room was, had one outdoors bath. The first floor had two baths - one for men and one for women. But first, dinner time!

Dinner was simply ridiculous. We ended up eating for several hours. The meal consisted of multiple courses served in our room. The sweet old lady would come by every 20 minutes or so with a couple trays of food. Most of it was delicious. Some of it I didn't much care for. A few things (i.e. seafood) just wasn't worth trying. Mary ate most of my seafood, and I ate her meat. In fact, I (secretly) emptied the water from the bowl-shaped cooker and grilled my raw meat. Yum.

After that, Mary and I enjoyed our respective baths. The entry room is made to be a changing area. Then, you transition into the next area to shower. Finally, you step your way into the warm water, supplied straight from hot springs in the area.

Left - His, Right - Hers

A neat lantern halfway up the stairs.

Upstairs and outside:

That night we relaxed and watched TV. We actually found an English-speaking program - one of the Lethal Weapons. We finished the night up with some variety show action and then hit the sack.

January 9th - Welcome Metropolis

Bright and early we woke up, ate breakfast, checked out, and headed back to the bus stop for the last leg of our journey to Fukuoka. We approached the city and were astonished. It spread endlessly both far and high. We arrived at a central hub, which was several city blocks worth of bus stops, a train depot, and a subway. There we bought our wonderful all-day bus passes which took us everywhere!

Ureshino:

Mary thought this was gross, but cool.

Now the CITY:

For our first experience of exploring the city we wondered to nearby ACROS, a sort of civic building. The most exciting thing about this building are the terraces overflowing with greenery.

Then, we strolled across the street to this small temple squeezed in between two larger buildings. There were everyday people, noticeably businessmen in full suit attire, worshiping here. It is amazing how the tradition meshes with the modern, both in architecture and in social practice.

Making the most of our bus pass, we traveled to Fukuoka Tower, a lone skyscraper on the edge of town. It was sleek and smooth as glass (well, it was glass), and its blue panes soared more than three times the height of the UT tower. We looked over the entire city and seaside from the top. A sweet place, yes, but I wouldn't want to have my wedding there (a large service they provide apparently).

Again, using one of Mary's "maps", we thought it would be quicker to walk to our hotel than to wait for the bus. The walk was... let's just say... an hour and a half longer than we expected. With baggage in tow, Mary and I got very tired, and last night's fish was making Mary feel ill. However, we saw many interesting things on the way there, including an arena and a pagoda. (We couldn't figure out how to get close to the pagoda, but that was one of the primary things I wanted to see, and I was happy.) Finally, we found the correct neighborhood, but still wandered for a bit because Japanese streets don't have street names - just a number and neighborhood name. Finally, the lady at the konbini pointed us to the right street, and we were relieved.

That night Mary and I went to Canal City. This grand mall is Japan's new version of the Riverwalk. There are many levels of shops and restaurants that line a man-made canal. We enjoyed a nice Italian meal followed by a delicious crepe (my first one ever!). Mary even got a Frosty from Wendy's! While at Wendy's we watched a fun waterworks show synchronized to music (think the Bellagio). We ended the night with some intense taiko, purikura, and medal game action.

This sweet robot roams the mall and gives patrons general information.

January 10th - The City

No time to waste! Mary and I woke at the break of dawn and took a stroll at nearby Ohori Park, host to a large pond/lake and home to a former world fair. We walked across a bridge to a mysterious island. Mysterious? Yes, mysterious. There were people and dogs that would magically appear and disappear, no where to be found. There are spirits there, I say.

At the park's end we visited a Japanese garden - another thing I was craving to do while in Japan. Then, we walked across the street to a large shrine. This is where the hilarious (and crude) one-liner originated: "haha, I farted on holy ground." After that, Mary and I enjoyed some very interesting modern art at the Fukuoka Art Museum. Then, a block over we roamed through some ancient castle ruins. (I told you there was no time to waste!)

Mary and I bus-hopped to Nishijin, an open-air market. Mary treated me to 100 yen takoyaki, a neat little treat. We also (finally, and briefly) ventured into a pachinko parlor. The Japanese are missing out on the greats... Blackjack, Roulette, Texas Hold 'Em.

And some random street shots:

Now, for the architectural highlight of the trip! With poor directions, we picked a bus to try and find Nexus World. We rode the urban highway over the water to another far part of town. It dropped us off at... Jusco, of course. So, we naturally went in. Inside we got beverages, snacks, and looked inside a Toys 'R Us. Yes, I'm serious.

We crossed under the highway and walked toward where we guessed Nexus World would be. And, voila, we finally found it! Nexus World is a private community with apartment complexes built by some of the world's most renown architects (such as Rem Koolhaas and Steven Holl). It is truly a hidden treasure! I don't think we were suppose to wander around the neighborhood, but that didn't stop me - and by association, Mary either. I suppose I'm a trouble maker, but it was worth it, and at least I didn't enter one of the buildings and knock on a random tenant's doors (I wanted to).

Late in the afternoon, we took a bus back to the hub and then on to the zoo. Animals are fun! The pictures tell the story.

Less than two feet away from a pacing lion... scary.

Our last dinner was a blast. It was tabehoudai at yakiniku, of course! That is... all-you-can-eat at the restaurant where you grill your own meat, my favorite Japanese meal by far.

We spent the night with another round of Canal City. This time we also found the Lucky 104 game, which LOOKED like video poker, but wasn't at all. However, we figured it out and mastered the game! Then, as Auld Lang Syne (the closing song) played, we tried to turn in our medal winnings for a prize, but lo and behold this Sega didn't give prizes... boo!

January 11th - Departure

This was a sad day. This was the day I had to leave Japan. More importantly, this is the day I had to leave Mary.

Mary went with me to the airport via subway. I flew home to Austin via Nagoya and San Francisco, and she rode the bus all the way home. The highlight of the trip home was watching the movie "The Last King of Scotland." The lowlight was when my ear started hurting again when the plane descended into Austin. Many ear infections at an early age equal bad ears.

A Quick Summary

It was wonderful to see Mary again. I loved spending time with you, and Japan wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful without you.

The Japanese culture and architecture is very rich and exciting. The traditional and the modern are very wonderfully meshed together. It is an experience that I am very fortunate to have and I hope that everyone can have at least once in their lifetime.

Nagasaki: Reloaded

This is Tim's last entry before he leaves for America. Enjoy! :)

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January 7th:

The two of us returned to Nagasaki. This time, we explored the southern half of the city. But first... lunch! We both had a okonomiyaki, a Japanese specialty, which is basically a pancake taken to the extreme. It is filled with noodles, cabbage, your choice of meat or fish, and okonomiyaki sauce. It was pretty darn good.

After lunch we walked alongside Dejima Wharf, the old trading center for the Dutch. The seaside is always a nice view.

Then, we went to the Nagasaki Prefecture Art Museum. The building was pretty enjoyable. The best part was that the building connection from the entrance to the galleries was a bridge over a canal. Also nice was the stairways and the roof garden. We viewed the permanent collections, which included paintings from the turn of the past century as well as Spanish modern and contemporary work. My favorite was the surreal recreations of Don Quixote by Salvador Dali.

The sky from the roof garden.

After the museum, Mary and I crossed the major roadway and began to wander without a set destination. First, we found a series of preserved historical houses built in the western style (built by the foreign settlers). Then, we came upon a Buddhist temple. But then, we found a jackpot - a delightfully colorful and vibrant Confucius shrine. (Also interesting was that there was a Christian church across the street; three different religions in a single block.)

This shrine is special because it is the only one built by the Chinese outside of China. After entering the shrine through a gate, you progress through two interior courtyards until you come to the great hall. In the hall there are many religious and precious things on display, but the most impressive was the overwhelming smell of incense. The columns and walls are painted with a bold red while the lintels and roof tiles are rendered yellow. After looking through the shrine, we also walked through a museum attached to the complex, complete with ancient Chinese artifacts.

After the shrine, Mary and I found ourselves at an elevator. (What, that's it Tim? An elevator?) But this was no ordinary elevator. This "skyroad" took us up the hillside for hundreds of feet at a 45 degree angle. At the top there were several fantastic views of the city built into the valley. In fact, the houses climb up every hillside that we could see with no apparent rhyme or reason and don't seem to end.

Next, we went to Glover Garden. This was the previous residence of a Mr. Glover and his community. The landscaping was also enjoyable, including the neat little Japanese garden.

Night had fallen, so we made our way back to the center of the city. But before we left, we made a stop at Chinatown for shopping and dinner. I enjoyed a sauteed chicken with bell peppers. Then, we rode the trolley back to the eki and departed for Omura.

(The rest of the trip will consist of one night's stay at Ureshino and two night's stay at Fukuoka.)

"Eating my way across Japan"

This entry has been kindly contributed by Tim.

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January 4th:

Fujita Sensei invited Mary (and by proxy, myself) over to her house for lunch. Her house, unlike the vast majority of Japanese houses, is quite spacious, complete with many rooms of tatami mats and sliding doors/walls. In fact, there were two stories, and she and her family seem to enjoy the finer things in life, such as those cool massage chairs that you go to the store (i.e. Yamada) to sit in and then don't buy.

For lunch she served us a plentiful bounty of food for temakizushi. Temakizushi is where you roll the food yourself in seaweed to create your own sushi. I avoided the seaweed (and for that matter, the seafood) and ate the rice, vegetables, and meats by themselves. She served sashimi (raw fish - octopus, squid, and others), shrimp, ham, egg, cucumber, asparagus, lettuce greens, pork, sausage, and rice, as well as soup, tea, and six different types of cake. Food heaven... just ask Mary. It was comical on the several occasions that Mary overstuffed her sushi.

The remainder of the day consisted of FOUR hours of karaoke MADNESS at SunSpa, a quick a la cart bite at SunSpa, and taiko drums and video games at Jusco.

January 5th:

Today we went to Sasebo, a few stops down the line from Huis Ten Bosch. It is one of the largest cities in the Nagasaki prefecture, and it is mostly known for three things. First, it is a United States Navy Base (and, consequently, there are a lot of gaijin... uh, foreigners there). Second, they have a kilometer-long arcade, the longest of its kind in Japan. And third, this is the home of the Sasebo Burger (the origin of hamburgers in Japan).

After exiting the eki, Mary and I strolled toward the arcade. On the way, we spotted a fairly interesting building, the city's convention center. Then we arrived at our first destination just outside the arcade... Mike's Tex-Mex. We totally had to see if it was worthy of the name Tex-Mex. What's the verdict, Mary? Mary says that the beef should have been fajita meat, but other than that it was muy bueno. (But then again, any half-decent stuff put in front of her that isn't the day in, day out Japanese is probably wonderful. Not that she doesn't love the day in, day out Japanese food...)

The eki.

Is Mary that strong? Or are cars sometimes parked/stored vertically? You choose.

Next, we took a bus to Saikai National Park, home of the 99 Islands (the number 99 represents, basically, a lot in Japanese... it is actually 208 islands). We took the Pearl Queen 50 minute cruise through the islands and experienced it first-hand. The pictures speak for themselves.

After the boat tour, Mary and I entered the museum. There were OK historical exhibits on past ships, but this was also somewhat filler time. But oh wait! We didn't see this... there's a freakin' awesome aquarium. There were sea animals, such as fish and turtles, that were our size. In addition there were eels, rays, sharks, and the like.

Fish or frog? Maybe both. Long live King Yellow Fish Frog Guy!

Back in the city, we strolled through the arcade. (Well, we walked, but isn't strolling so much cooler?)  There were a million, bajillion shops, and most of them wanted me to buy food or clothing. I did the best window shopping I could. Then, Mary and I went to Lucky Burger, where I got... guess what... a hamburger! It is basically like a hamburger in the States, but it has this extra strange (but good) sauce on it.

On the way back to the eki (that's station, in case you didn't catch it the first time) Mary and I stopped at the convention center. Now it was nightfall, and the waterfall had an additional feature... you could create light and sound through an interface. Needless to say, we had ourselves a little fun.

Back in Omura the fun didn't stop. Why not go bowling (which we stunk it up that night) followed by yet another round of purikura?

January 6th:

On a rainy Saturday (which was freezing cold, by the way), we decided to stay in Omura for the day. We filled our time with wonderful enjoyment, including lunch at SunSpa, video games at Sega World (did I mention MORE purikura?), karaoke at SunSpa for... yes... FOUR hours, fun at Jusco, Skylark Gusto for dinner (where we played poker for an hour and a half), and then rode back to the apartment in the SNOW (flurries, but I'm from Texas, so dangit it's snow!). Shiyes!

Our karaoke room. Did someone say free drink bar??!? A rare treat (really).

In many Japanese restaurants, this is the MAGICAL button to get the attention of the waitress.

Huis Ten Bosch

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January 3rd:

Welcome to Huis Ten Bosch. Several train stations away from Omura, Huis Ten Bosch is one of the premiere theme parks of Japan. It is, quite literally, a Dutch village. There are many hundreds of acres of authentic nineteenth-century Dutch buildings, housing shops, hotels, museums, and, of course, rides and attractions. And... did I mention that there are authentic replica windmills??!?

Upon arrival you are greeted by the largest building on site; it's sort of like a really big, cool billboard (with windows for words). Eh, but anyways, here it is.

And here's a windmill in the background:

First, Mary and I walked through a Teddy Bear exhibition. Pictured below is the world's largest teddy bear.

Question - which one do you want to hug more?

Pictured above is the inside of a windmill. Windmills help to drain water into ditches to help avoid flooding.

A working draw bridge... cool.

Mary and I entered the first of many food stores. The first one was solely for cheese, and there were MANY samples. Needless to say, I had seconds and thirds.

The first attraction Mary and I rode was a 3D M. C. Escher-based adventure. Escher is the artist known for creating paintings with altered dimensions (such as the stairs that rise in every direction) and for the interlocking positive and negative images. This was our favorite part of the park.

Then, the two of us walked through the Trick Art building (after wandering through the candy and chocolate stores, of course). Tell me if you see anything fishy here...

Next was another one of our favorites, a video about the creation of the earth and moon. However, this was no mere video; it was 180 degrees around us as well as shown on the ceiling. After that, Mary and I went to see horseland, and there was the cutest pony there.

Trick art, or is one clog bigger than the other?

See that tower? It is 105 meters tall. We would go up twice, once in the afternoon, and again for a spectacular laser and fireworks show. But before then, Mary and I explored many shops, including a large bazaar. Then, we went into a blown glass exhibit. Apparently, this region was the first in Japan to produce glass products. There were beautiful vases of blue and red and green along with a wide assortment of other transparent and opaque objects.

Here are photos from the tower (by the way, 105 meters is equal to 344 feet... the UT tower is only 307 feet tall).

Here is a replica Dutch trading vessel:

In the museum section of the park (also known as intellectual entertainment) we saw a real working carillon (a mechanical setup that plays bells and is controlled either by a keyboard setup or automatically).

Then, we got to experience a myriad of mechanically-produced music boxes. These ranged from small to large, and from classical to carnival. And, they were played by fairies, of course. As evening arrived, we squeezed in one more attraction, a phenomenal Chinese acrobatic act.

The night was both good and bad. The good was that everything lit up (from the buildings to the windmills to the firework show). The bad was that all the exhibits closed between five and six, and the fireworks weren't until 7:45 (that's 19:45 in Japan, by the way). But, we filled the time in between with a nice dinner (we split a pizza at an Italian-themed restaurant) and an even nicer stroll through the lighted buildings.

Now, for the grand finale:

[Catch Up Time! +minus.the.ketchup]

Guess who? M.I.T., backwards.

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December 31st:

Today is the Lord's day. Mary and I got a ride (in a car, mind you) to church. Church was held in a small, two-story building that might be a real estate business. This morning was definitely special for several reasons. First of all, I got to experience Mary's worship experience in Japan. The church is a protestant congregation, part of the Nagasaki International Church. The small service takes part with about 15 people every Sunday. Typically, the service is given by Hiroshi in Japanese and translated by Precious into English; however, on this day the roles were reversed, with Precious giving a message about setting resolutions. Worldly resolutions, such as losing weight or quitting smoking, are doomed to eventually fail and have no eternal value. However, an agreement with God lasts forever.

The other reason I enjoyed this experience was because I got to see first hand how God is working through the lives of those in a nation foreign to Christianity and the Gospel. Precious stressed that it is important to not be committed to the gods of your fathers but to have trust in the one true God. In America, Christianity is not just a religion; it is a subculture. But in Japan, home of the Shinto religion as well as Buddhism, it is very obvious that the Spirit moves through certain people.

After the service we rearranged the chairs and set out tables to eat lunch. Several individuals brought food and we ate a curry rice meal (not the Indian curry, the Japanese curry). It was muy delicioso, totemo oishii, and very delicious. After lunch and chitchat time, Hiroshi kindly offered us a ride back to Mary's apartment.

That afternoon Mary and I experienced/endured/enjoyed FOUR hours of karaoke at Sound Beach. Needless to say, it was pure singing madness and ensuing laughter.

For dinner, the two of us biked to Jusco (Jusco is a "rare" treat) and ate at an in-store restaurant. Mary ordered the katsudon (fried pork and egg on a bowl of rice) while I enjoyed a "Japanese" meal of fried chicken, french fries, and Caesar salad. OK, anyone notice the obvious sarcasm? Apparently, the Japanese wouldn't. They are a very literal culture (however, it doesn't take much from gaijin/foreigners to make them laugh - I'm sure we are very strange to them).

For dessert, Mary and I enjoyed some Starbuck(aneer)/Starbuck(aroo)/Staba/Starbuck(istan) frap. Oh, I must be specific - I got a vanilla bean frappaccino... it's like a vanilla milkshake with no ice cream (and, for that matter, no coffee). Then, we biked to several shrines to see the New Year preparations. Finally, we arrived back at the apartment and parked ourselves under the kotatsu (the freakin' heated table!) and rang in the New Year by watching silly Japanese variety shows.

January 1st:

Happy New Year / Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu

New Year's Day equals fun day. Mary and I tried to meet with a fellow teacher to partake in tea ceremony, but they did not answer the door (after knocks and doorbell rings). So... instead, we went on our merry way. We went shopping at a couple stores, including UniQlo, where I bought a cheap fleece jacket. This was followed by a myriad of games, including bowling, ping-pong (a certain Mary Newton got owned), and the pitching cages. In the evening Mary and I finally found the coat we were looking for, and now I look spiffy cool! Then, we ate dinner at Skylark Gusto (Mary ate a rice and mushroom soup while I treated myself to an ebifurai (fried shrimp) and baked chicken). We biked home in a misty, cold rain and enjoyed a pleasant evening watching my Christmas present Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

January 2nd:

Mary and I began the morning off with a nice, leisurely bike ride along the waters of Omura Bay. This one was much better than the previous death-march-ride (does that even make sense?). Let's be enjoying pictures (original engrish [TM])...

Once to the other side of Omura (the flat, weaker half) Mary and I invested in 100 yen foot massages, browsed through Sega World (did someone say purikura?), rented a movie from Tsutaya, bought Mary a 100 yen mirror from Bulldog, frequented Jusco yet again for another round of taiko, and finally arrived at Nikubana, a Yakiniku restaurant. Let me tell you what... this place has something called Tabehoudai. That is all-you-can-eat for 90 whole minutes. There's a grill and flame in the middle of the table, and the basic premise is that you order a specific plate (beef, chicken, pork, and so forth), the waiter gets that meat/food from the chef and brings it to you, cut thinly and ready to be cooked. **Tastesanity began.** Between the two of us, Mary and I got three beef plates, two chicken plates, one vegetable plate, two different salads, kimchee, a kimchee-flavored daikon dish, strawberry sherbet, and four different kinds of cake - chocolate, tiramisu, maron, and rare cheese.

After the dinner we rolled out of the restaurant and loaded our bodies onto a forklift.

1945.08.09.1102

Lucky for you guys and gals, Tim decided to write another blog!

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December 30th:

Welcome to Nagasaki, the famous port city of Kyushu. Mary and I arrived via train in the morning. The ride was quite pleasant; we enjoyed many scenic views of the mountains as we traveled in the valleys and through the tunnels.

The train station (eki) literally opened up directly on downtown Nagasaki. It was an architecturally pleasing experience. The station is the center of life for the city; in a sense, it is its lifeblood. Along with the train, the trolley and all of the buses run through this center. Enclosed in the area are five stories of shopping, dining, and entertainment. The station is far more advanced (in use) than any public transportation in Texas or the parts of America I've visited.

We rode the trolley back uptown to begin our exploration. First, we came upon Urakami Cathedral. (Nagasaki was the only port to remain open when Japan closed its borders to the West in the nineteenth century; thus, a slight western presence can be experienced here). Although simplified in plan, the cathedral (and western architecture) still amazes purely on size, one feature that has so far been lacking in Japanese traditional architecture. (But, that does not take away from the superior quality of interstitial spaces in Japanese architecture.) The cathedral was originally built around 1915 I believe (it took a whole 20 years to build), but was destroyed in 1945. The remnants of the belfry remain in ruins down the hill from the cathedral. The cathedral was rebuilt thereafter in a rich red brick, highlighted by two massive towers for the western face. Most of the interior was roped off, but I still got to see beautiful blue, red, and green stained glass windows along the clerestory, with each window picturing a different story from the Bible.

The old belfry.

Next, Mary and I walked to Peace Park, one of the many memorially-themed areas. At 11:02 AM, on August 9th, 1945, the second atomic bomb hit Japan in Nagasaki. There were many people enjoying the park, which included a nice fountain, the ruins of reinforced-clay masonry units that used to exist as a prison, and a statue of a blue man. (However, I don't think he is part of the Blue Man Group, unfortunately.) His left hand projects flat, sending a sign of peace to all, but his right hand points to the sky, a reminder and warning of nuclear threat. His right foot crosses under him, a sign of meditation and peace, but his left foot is on the ground, ready to respond in aid to the needs of others.

See the rainbow?

After lunch (champon - noodles, vegetables, and seafood soup, nikuman - steamed bun with meat inside, and peaches) we walked to the hypocenter, which is the exact location where the atomic weapon landed. Concentric circles spread out from the center as a vivid reminder of the terrible mass destruction that occured one fateful day. Then, we attempted to visit the Memorial Museum, but it was closed for the New Year holiday season.

The hypocenter:

Remains from the old cathedral moved on-site.

After a quick visit by the local baseball stadium and into Yamada, Mary and I rode the trolley back to the eki and (finally) found the bus that took us to the ropeway. On the walk to the ropeway we encountered a very lonely (and precious) kitten. The little kitty was adorable; Mary said that she wished she could keep it. The kitty meowed and ran through our legs constantly, then followed us a quarter-mile to the ropeway entrance where we, unfortunately, had to part ways. Or so we thought. The kitten waited for another visitor to walk through the automated doors and followed them inside the entrance area. This reminded Mary of a time in class where a cat entered her classroom and occupied one of the desks for the entire length of class... what a good student!

We rode the ropeway up to the top of the mountain for scenic evening and night views of both the city inside the valley and the bay with islands beyond. They were all wonderful sights.

That evening we returned to the Nagasaki eki to browse the shopping center. We browsed a large music store, took another round of purikura, and ate a (half-priced) steak dinner. Then, we boarded our train and headed back to Omura.

Beef. It's what's for dinner. Dun dun dun.

Assorted other photos:

By the way, they drive on the left. Trippy.

Omura explorations / take two

Welcome to the land of Tim! (In other words, I bring to you an entry by Tim - enjoy! )

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December 29th:

To start the day Mary and I biked to her school and place of work, Jonan High School. Even though classes are out there were students at the school. What's more - they were cleaning. I promise you, you never would have caught me cleaning McNeil High School back in the day. Later on we found out that they were cleaning in preparation for New Year's celebration. In fact, it was a cleaning day for more than just the students - it was for everyone. The students just got the short end of the stick by having to clean the entire school.

Mary showed me around the school grounds (a fairly large area up on a hill). It included the main academic building, many farms and nurseries (as it is the "agricultural" high school, not the "academic" one), playing field, archery range, and gymnasiums. There were various groups of girls here and there (the school gender breakdown is 80% girls / 20% boys) cleaning. Mary went up to some and introduced me. Each time they expressed many "ooooos" and "aaaahs", which might have to do with my race (a foreigner in a very homogeneous land), my height (that's 183 cm, apparently), or just because they are teenage girls gawking over me (haha, maybe not). Especially exciting (and strange) was when we went into the gym. Apparently, my presence interrupted the practice of 30-something volleyball players, as they stopped their drills and circled around me in the corner of the room. Then, they offered me anko (a sweet bean paste in bread) and asked me some questions.

From Mary's school, the playing field, houses, and the bay beyond.

From left to right, the dirt playing field, the covered bike parking area, and the many plants grown here.

After that Mary and I took a stroll in the local Omura park. The sites included ponds and bridges as well as trees and short plants. We ascended a castle-like structure into an area that had yet another shrine. Overall, the park was a very pleasant experience.

If only the path in life was this obvious...

The cut bamboo and the lightning-bolt-shaped paper hanging from the doorway are in preparation for New Year's, which is a religious holiday (for the Shinto religion).

After a nice visit, Mary took me on this ridiculously long, death-march-like bike ride to the other side of town. Once there, we ate conveyor belt sushi. I tried one item of sushi, but the seaweed and other unidentifiable stuff in it didn't sit well with me, so refrained the rest of my meal to fried chicken and fries. There's a lot more to Japanese cuisine than sushi, most of it pretty good, but sushi is still a definite no. After lunch we went to Sega World (yes, like Sonic the Hedgehog) to play taiko drums and take purikura, an outside booth called Shu Shu to get ice cream, briefly looked at Sun Spa (an onsen), and then headed to Omura Dome for bowling and the batting cages. The first game of bowling Mary took care of business, winning 137 to 110, including a double and three spares. Mary improved to 166 the second game with four strikes (including a turkey) and two spares, but not to be outdone I scored a personal best 200, including five strikes (a turkey and a double) along with three spares. And, I barely edged her for the two-game total 310 to 303. Bowling is always fun, no matter where it is. After that, Mary and I got owned by the 90 km/h (50 mph) cages. Those animated SoftBank Hawk pitchers are outstanding!

That evening Mary and I were invited to eat at the house of Hiroshi and Mamiko. Hiroshi is the pastor of a small Christian (Protestant) congregation in Omura that Mary attends. Mamiko prepared a wonderful meal for us that included tempura (fried vegetables and shrimp), a meat and vegetable dish, tofu (which I didn't eat, haha, but Mary claims it was delicious), sweet bean bread, and green tea. During and after the meal we enjoyed delightful conversation in Japanese and English (with Mary, on occasion, again serving as a wonderful translator). Dinner was served on a traditional Japanese table (to sit at the table, you must either kneel or sit on the ground). Once the night wound down, Hiroshi kindly offered us a ride back to Mary's apartment, and thereafter we prepared the next day's trip to Nagasaki and then quickly fell asleep, exhausted.

Omura explorations / take one

Another entry by Tim, have fun!

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December 28th:

Omura is civilization as it should be. The people live and coexist with the land. Streets and houses conform to the contours of the land, trusting the hillside instead of dominating or erasing it. Never mind that the roads are insanely dangerous with their narrowness and many blind turns; the road leaves a message for all who walk it now. Its path is memory of what once in addition to what is now. Each turn, each irregular nuance tells a story of who lived beside it and how they conducted their affairs in a time now forgotten.

Mary and I woke up and walked to Joyfull, a local restaurant. I personally enjoyed their menu: the pictures of all the food were larger than IHOP and Denny's! At this restaurant (and this seems to be true of many places to eat) the hostess seats you lets you know that you can press a button to inform the waitress that you are ready to order. The button, on the table, sounds and alerts the server - all electronically. Also, the order is written into an electronic pad as well - a lot less room for error there. I ordered an entree Mary translated as "Chicken Italian Steak", which was basically chicken with marinara sauce. It came with small portions of potatoes, corn, salad, cheese soup, and a roll. I also tried (several times) Mary's order, which was a soup of tofu, pork, and onion. She is proud of me as I continue to try new Japanese cuisine. Also, I have apparently "mastered" the chopsticks in one day, which is no small feat. Mary had a coupon for the soup bar, so I also had a Pepsi and tried an orange soda and a melon soda. The view from the table was also nice, as i from time to time gazed out of the window onto the bay and the mountains beyond.

Our journey of Omura next visited the exotic... and by that, I mean the grocery store. The biggest difference between that store and an American store was the large amount of fish on display, still wholly intact with eyes and all (yum?). But besides that, everything else was fairly typical.

Next, we went to the house of Kusumoto Masataka, a well-known and well-respected governmental official of the late nineteenth century. A friendly and knowledgeable elderly man gave Mary and I a tour of the residence for about an hour. Mary served as an excellent and proficient translator! His house consisted of two main structures, the greeting portion and the living quarters. The entrance (in the greeting portion) opens onto a genkan, an entryway where guests traditionally remove their shoes. In addition, the floor boards of the genkan in this particular house were intentionally made to be loud and squeaky so that those at home would know a visitor (either welcomed or not welcome) had arrived. The house was picture-perfect traditional Japanese architecture, from the tatami mats in the sitting rooms to the sliding paper walls/doors that create the unique interstitial spaces. In the main sitting room there were walls of delicate and intricate wooden latticework. The house was filled with official documents of the era as well as a few artifacts, such as pottery, cooking area, rice paddles, hair accessories, and clothes. In the backyard there was a small garden area with pond, stone bridge, trees, statues, and a well.

After the tour (which only cost 100 yen each, amazingly) Mary and I continued to explore Omura. First, we stumbled onto a cemetery with large gravestones littered with offerings in small pots and vases. Then, we crossed the Super Steep Street of Death to visit a small local shrine. All religious buildings are approached through a gate called a torii, which is essentially two curved beams across two posts. So far I have seen the torii made out of wood, concrete, and hollow metal, and they are in their natural hues as well as painted red. All of the shrines also have cut bamboo in preparation for the celebration of New Year's.

As the sun set the first round of shopping began. First, we went to Yamada, an electronics store. Here we enjoyed sitting in 350,000 yen massage chairs while watching 450,000 big screen, high definition Japanese TVs. For some reason, the show playing on the screens was of a computer-generated T-Rex eating a triceratops followed by a lizard eating the newly laid eggs of a sea turtle. Go figure. The store was cool (Fry's cool) except for the annoying jingle always playing over the speaker system. ...something something Yamada Denki. And, why that high-pitched girl's voice? In the words of Mary Newton, "Oh Japan..." But the rest of the store was "Sweeto!"

We also visited Daiso, the 100 yen store. (For those who don't know, the current exchange rate is about 118 yen to the dollar, so 100 yen would be about 85 cents.) There I bought the first basketful of souvenirs (which must not be revealed at the present time in case, ya know, they are gifts for certain people that could be reading this). Also, I made my first set of purikura here. Making purikura (small stickers) involves taking photos in a booth and then moving to a side booth to design and decorate the madness... I mean photo... as one sees fit. Color and insanity is a must.

Our last stop of the evening was Jusco, a "department store". I'm not convinced, though. It is large enough to be a mall, and the stores are separated (although ambiguously). We met Meg, Mary's good friend and fellow ALT, and went to dinner inside Jusco at a restaurant named Shoya. I ordered a meal that included rice, miso soup, grilled pork on a bed of cabbage, egg, and daikon/carrot (Japanese radish). Afterward Meg parted ways to prepare for her trip to Taipei and we browsed the mall/department store a little bit, going into a Spencer's-type store, an arcade, and a pet store. At the arcade Mary and I did purikura, round two, and also played the first round of the taiko drum game. At the pet store we saw a monkey, a fox, crazy dogs and birds, and a poor turtle that was surrounded by dogs.

And thus concluded the first full wonderful day of Omura and Japan!

One of the many large nurseries.

As you can tell, there are power lines everywhere. The streets are old (although the asphalt is new). They were probably laid before the implementation of underground wiring, sewage, sidewalks, and wide cars. (Although, the cars are still tiny for the most part.) There are many moats or canals alongside of the road, and most are covered. I suspect that this is how Japan (or Omura) deals with water drainage.

Spiffy mirrors at one of the many blind turns.

Stairs can be outside too.

 

Happy!

In the Land of the Rising Sun!

Tim arrived in Omura late December 26th and he will be writing a series of entries for this blog. I think it will be good to see his perspective on Japan as a first time visitor. He will be here for 2 weeks and I couldn't be happier! I hope you enjoy his writings. :)  ENJOY!

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December 26th/27th:

I arrived at the Nagasaki airport through San Francisco and Nagoya. The journey over here was long but well worth it. First of all, I was very "smart" and only slept for two hours before waking up to depart for ABIA. The night before I went with my sister to her boyfriend's friend's boss' house to play a home game of Texas Hold 'em, something I had never done before. But, it was all good, despite the lack of sleep, as my sister walked out $40 richer and I $110.

The wait to check in inside Austin took a long while, probably because of the holiday crowd. However, I finally made it up to the front of the line and checked in. There I felt very foolish. Why? Because I wasn't checking any bags and neglected to notice the United kiosks. Oops. But regardless, wasted time standing turned into less wasted time sitting at the gate.

We arrived into San Francisco a whole hour late solely because of wind currents. Weak. Once there, I had to exit the domestic terminal and go back through security into the international terminal. Complicated, but necessary. The 11 and a half hours it took to get to Nagoya, Japan were perfectly content ones. First of all, I was quite comfortable in my window seat, especially compared to most of the other seats - the 777 has a 2-5-2 arrangement across with two isles, so I was very glad I wasn't a central seat. At times I would gaze out of the window to see the the land below. As I left San Francisco I believe I saw the Stanford campus (although it could have been Cal). Sorry Mom, I couldn't see the Golden Gate Bridge from my seat. We flew over the Pacific for awhile until we
entered Alaskan airspace (and thus duty-free sales ended). The small rivers and streams flowing through the snow-covered mountains were magnificent (although "flowing" may not be the correct term this time of year, but you can't tell if it is frozen or not from 36000 feet in the air). Then, low clouds covered the earth for the remainder of the flight until I landed in Japan. Over Japan in the darkness I could see the intriguing patterns of life as cities and villages were outlined by a wide variety of lights. As I landed in Nagoya there was a picture-perfect view of the city and its lights on the horizon with a layer of silhouette mountains above and capped by a remarkable orange sky at dusk above that.

I watched 3-7/8ths worth of movies on the long flight. First I watched Talladega Nights. People had said Will Farrell and the movie were funnier than the previews led to believe. However, these people were sorely mistaken. The plot was weak. The jokes were not funny (even the ones used in the commercials). The characters were not at all charming. In short, I regret watching this one. Second I watched Invincible. This is the story of a Philadelphia native, Vince Papale, who attends open tryouts and makes the squad for the Eagles. Basically, it is a Rocky-type story in my mind, but not as good (and without the sweet montages). Then I watched Lady in the Water, which is a "bedtime story" and almost made me fall asleep with its weak and seemingly unconnected/non-continuous plotline. It is like a story that was made up off the top of someone's head and just keeps going with no clear direction. Finally I watched The Night Listener by Robin Williams. Basically, he looks deeper into a story written by a 14-year-old boy that has been sexually abused. Easily, it was the best film of the four (although Invincible might have been the most enjoyable).

Finally I arrived in Nagoya, Japan... late again. I entered semi-hectic mode as I needed to reach my new gate in a short amount of time. I exited the international terminal, which required me going through customs. At customs I was suddenly bombarded with questions. Why are you here? Where are you going? Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Then I needed to find the domestic terminal, which was no small task. There was no obvious signage that told me I needed to go down the hall, find the elevator, go up a floor, enter the main area, and walk all the way down the corridor from the international area to the domestic flights. I waited for a good while again at security and, right as I tried to enter, they turned me around to check in and get my boarding pass. I already had a boarding pass that I printed off my computer from online check-in, but apparently that just wasn't good enough. After trying two check-in lines, the third finally got me the piece of paper I needed, and I went back to security and successfully passed take two. I hustled down to gate four and arrived with little time to spare. On a side note, the Nagoya airport was interesting because the many lights and ambient sounds reminded me of a casino. Ah, the marvelous post-modern world.

Finally I arrived in the Nagasaki airport. After a little searching I eventually found the beautiful Mary, strikingly dressed in all black from head to toe. We rode a taxi through Omura back to her apartment where she gave me the "grand tour". Then, the jet-lagged me, who spend all day (or was it two days?) chasing the sun around the earth got a full night's rest.

The First One

I asked Jason Sanchez, a good friend of mine, to write a blog for this journal. He is an English major and senior at Texas State University and is graduating this December (congrats, J! Just a little more, MOU SUGU!). Below you will find a movie review, football updates, among other things. A little taste of home for me :) Jason has been a great friend these past 2 months. As I was trying to grow accustomed to my new lifestyle, he helped me feel NOT 6,000 plus miles away. Thanks, Jason!!

I would like to take this time to thank the people who made this blog possible.  First, Mr. Newton who dished the many Yens so that Mary can let us all know how she is and what she is doing and for suggesting that I should blog. And Second, to Mary for acting on that suggestion and inviting me to blog. 

On with the blog, I admit it is kind of weird blogging on someone else's blog but I figure I have time to spare, no real significant homework to do, might as well do something useful.

For those who do not know, I've known Mary for the past 3 years and we have amazingly blossomed into a great friendship.  I'm very lucky to have her in my life.  She is worth staying up for in the early morning hours though she always pesters me about going to bed ;) but I don't think my nights would be as exciting if we didn't talk. 

This past week was a bit of challenge, most of it dealt with school and silly emotions that run inside my mind.  I love challenges, it brings out the best in me, without them life would be kind of dull, nothing to shoot for.  I had a major test on Thursday in my film class, 83 multiple choice questions.  I didn't find out that we had a test until Monday, so who did I freak out to? That's right, Mary.  Like any great friend would do, she said I would do great, thank you much.  I studied for a few days and I took that test, it was easy.  For some reason this semester, I've been preparing more than I ever have for my classes.  In the past, I was a pretty laid back kind of person.  Maybe this change is credit to the fact that I'm graduating in December so I know I have to take care of business or I figure this really is the easy way about doing things, planning accordingly and executing them, who knows.  I'm pretty sure I pulled off a B, if not, an A. 

This weekend, I saw Jackass 2, I do not recommend it for the faint at heart but it was really funny.  I also ordered the UT game which cost 30 dollars.  Mary gave me hassle about spending money on a game on which I knew that UT would crush Sam Houston State.  I simply told her, "a true longhorn finds a way to watch his team at any cost." And she utterly responded "psssh."  I also told someone a piece of advice for his birthday. I didn't really want to but sometimes you have to give up or set asides the things you want the most in order to do what is right so to speak, sort of like a sacrifice. I dunno.  I hope he listened and if he is reading this, then let me reiterate; don't let her slip away. 

Other highlights of the weekend was hanging out with some of my old high school buddies and being nerds and playing video games, but it was good to hang out.  And then today, I watched the Dallas Cowboys wreak havoc on Vince Young and the Titans AND watched the Houston Texans squeeze out a victory, pretty good way to end the weekend.  Thank you all and have a good night and a great week.  Sayonara.