Haru yasumi
It's Spring Break (woo!) and with no other specific travel plans I find I'm having trouble filling up my days. Luckily I got a break from the monotony.
A couple months ago I finally signed up for Couch Surfing. I didn't expect anyone would want to come all the way out here (since I'm so far between the major cities) but made my couch available anyway. And am I ever glad I did because I've already had two guests. My first CSer was a Turkish man named Ülkü, who lives and works in Finland as a translator. He was travelling around Japan on the Japan Rail Pass, trying to get as far around as he could before it expired. He stayed at my place for one night and we spent a lot of time chatting about life and travel and so on. We have a lot of philosophy in common. He left the next day, but not before we went for sushi and he got to see the conveyor belts for the first time. It was a cool visit.
My next CSer came on Monday, a Dutch guy named Martin who lives and works in England (heh, what is it with people living and working in a different country, eh? ^_~). He had worked for Kodak for 4 years and with the economy getting all weird he decided that the time was now to finally take the trip around Japan that he'd been dreaming of for a long time. He spent 5 months studying up on Japanese and arrived in Tokyo about a month ago. He doesn't have a JR Pass and instead will be trying to hitchhike as much as possible. He's going to stay out his whole visitor's allowance, so that's 3 months of travel! He was a cool guy too and he stayed for 2 nights. He had arrived in the afternoon and since I was super bored at work I left early and we went to the seashore to hang out and read. I'm halfway through Kafka On The Shore right now, so it seemed an approriate place to go. I got a nice sunburn too, my first of the year. In the evening we met up with Sam, Lily, and Alsn (who is back for a visit) and we had dinner at Gowari. We also had drinks and watched Batman Begins at Sam's.
On Tuesday I went to work to say goodbye to some of the leaving teachers, but I was back to the apartment by 11:30am. Martin and I had briefly discussed going to out to Naruto the night before, so while I was at school I went through all the travel websites to get directions. We decided to go for it and were on the train by noon. With almost 4 years here under my belt I had never made the trip, and it just felt like the right time to go. It was not a short journey, though, as we had to transfer trains in this..."town", and we had an 80 minute wait. We strolled around a while before stopping for lunch at this teeny little okonomiyaki shop. It's always the little out-of-the-way places that are the best, and this one didn't disappoint. We caught our next train and made it to Naruto City. We had hoped to perhaps walk out to the bridge, or take a bus at least part of the way (to save on cash), but time was just not on our side. Not only would the next bus not come for an hour, but the lady at the train station was adamant that you can not walk to the Naruto Bridge. And we could have waited for the bus, but the whirlpool, the whole reason for the trip, is actually time-sensitive. The best time of day to see the waters was rapidly approaching, and waiting for the bus would have ensured we missed it. So I insisted on taking a taxi. We got there pretty quickly and it was 100% worth it. First of all walking out under the bridge was thrilling. It's very sturdy and new, but you can still feel the vibration of every car/truck/bus that passes above. There were quite a few people on the bridge with us. Every so often there would be a glass viewing panel set into the floor and we'd stop and admire the view. When we finally made it to the centre it was awe-inspiring. We hadn't known what to expect, and I had envisioned one giant whirlpool. Instead the clashing currents beneath us formed and disolved countless "smaller" ones as we watched. It was amazing to see the water churning like that and we spent a loooong time with our faces pressed to the viewing glass. Just breathtaking.
When the tidal surges started to ease off we headed back. I stopped along the way to get a wakame-flavoured soft ice cream. We found the bus stop, waiting for a bit at an overlook, and then went back to the station. Our trains back to Kagawa were a bit better (only a 30 minute wait this time at Ikenotani) and we were back at 8pm. And to wind down from a big day, we stopped in Lawson's to get snacks. As I was paying a woman's voice called out my name. It was the mother of a former student! The girl, Airi, was a 3rd year at Daichu when I arrived and while I barely ever taught her class before she graduated, we somehow became buddies. She apparently spoke highly of me, because every time I've run into her mother the woman has been so incredibly friendly. Anway, when I saw her last night she let me know that she was leaving the next day to see Airi's entrance ceremony to...university. Whaaaaaaat!
I was happy to hear that, but also thunderstruck at how much time has passed. So I was already a little thrown off when she suddenly asked me if I eat nori. I do, and said so, and she ran out of the shop. Then ran back in carrying a large container of nori that apparently her company/family (I didn't catch which) produces and sells. It was a gift, she said, for having taught Airi. i accepted it with heartful thanks and surprise and then Martin and I left while I shook my head at Japan and Life in general. Back at my place we had the nori over rice and egg for dinner and it really is very good nori.
Martin left this morning, heading south. He's going to see how far he can hitchhike into the Iya Valley and either camp (though it's still quite chilly) or find a hostel. Then he'll go on to Kouchi, up to Ehime, and out to Kyushu, and all the way up to Hokkaido before going south again and leaving Japan for Singapore. His short visit was fun, as it got me to break my regular routine. I've been incresingly pro-active about meeting my travel goals before going, and he helped me get closer to completion. Couch Surfing rules.
Edit: Before Martin left this morning I checked the weather forcast for him: partially sunny all week. Except for how it's frikkin' freezing right now, and intermittantly raining. Don't die Martin!
A couple months ago I finally signed up for Couch Surfing. I didn't expect anyone would want to come all the way out here (since I'm so far between the major cities) but made my couch available anyway. And am I ever glad I did because I've already had two guests. My first CSer was a Turkish man named Ülkü, who lives and works in Finland as a translator. He was travelling around Japan on the Japan Rail Pass, trying to get as far around as he could before it expired. He stayed at my place for one night and we spent a lot of time chatting about life and travel and so on. We have a lot of philosophy in common. He left the next day, but not before we went for sushi and he got to see the conveyor belts for the first time. It was a cool visit.
My next CSer came on Monday, a Dutch guy named Martin who lives and works in England (heh, what is it with people living and working in a different country, eh? ^_~). He had worked for Kodak for 4 years and with the economy getting all weird he decided that the time was now to finally take the trip around Japan that he'd been dreaming of for a long time. He spent 5 months studying up on Japanese and arrived in Tokyo about a month ago. He doesn't have a JR Pass and instead will be trying to hitchhike as much as possible. He's going to stay out his whole visitor's allowance, so that's 3 months of travel! He was a cool guy too and he stayed for 2 nights. He had arrived in the afternoon and since I was super bored at work I left early and we went to the seashore to hang out and read. I'm halfway through Kafka On The Shore right now, so it seemed an approriate place to go. I got a nice sunburn too, my first of the year. In the evening we met up with Sam, Lily, and Alsn (who is back for a visit) and we had dinner at Gowari. We also had drinks and watched Batman Begins at Sam's.
On Tuesday I went to work to say goodbye to some of the leaving teachers, but I was back to the apartment by 11:30am. Martin and I had briefly discussed going to out to Naruto the night before, so while I was at school I went through all the travel websites to get directions. We decided to go for it and were on the train by noon. With almost 4 years here under my belt I had never made the trip, and it just felt like the right time to go. It was not a short journey, though, as we had to transfer trains in this..."town", and we had an 80 minute wait. We strolled around a while before stopping for lunch at this teeny little okonomiyaki shop. It's always the little out-of-the-way places that are the best, and this one didn't disappoint. We caught our next train and made it to Naruto City. We had hoped to perhaps walk out to the bridge, or take a bus at least part of the way (to save on cash), but time was just not on our side. Not only would the next bus not come for an hour, but the lady at the train station was adamant that you can not walk to the Naruto Bridge. And we could have waited for the bus, but the whirlpool, the whole reason for the trip, is actually time-sensitive. The best time of day to see the waters was rapidly approaching, and waiting for the bus would have ensured we missed it. So I insisted on taking a taxi. We got there pretty quickly and it was 100% worth it. First of all walking out under the bridge was thrilling. It's very sturdy and new, but you can still feel the vibration of every car/truck/bus that passes above. There were quite a few people on the bridge with us. Every so often there would be a glass viewing panel set into the floor and we'd stop and admire the view. When we finally made it to the centre it was awe-inspiring. We hadn't known what to expect, and I had envisioned one giant whirlpool. Instead the clashing currents beneath us formed and disolved countless "smaller" ones as we watched. It was amazing to see the water churning like that and we spent a loooong time with our faces pressed to the viewing glass. Just breathtaking.
When the tidal surges started to ease off we headed back. I stopped along the way to get a wakame-flavoured soft ice cream. We found the bus stop, waiting for a bit at an overlook, and then went back to the station. Our trains back to Kagawa were a bit better (only a 30 minute wait this time at Ikenotani) and we were back at 8pm. And to wind down from a big day, we stopped in Lawson's to get snacks. As I was paying a woman's voice called out my name. It was the mother of a former student! The girl, Airi, was a 3rd year at Daichu when I arrived and while I barely ever taught her class before she graduated, we somehow became buddies. She apparently spoke highly of me, because every time I've run into her mother the woman has been so incredibly friendly. Anway, when I saw her last night she let me know that she was leaving the next day to see Airi's entrance ceremony to...university. Whaaaaaaat!
I was happy to hear that, but also thunderstruck at how much time has passed. So I was already a little thrown off when she suddenly asked me if I eat nori. I do, and said so, and she ran out of the shop. Then ran back in carrying a large container of nori that apparently her company/family (I didn't catch which) produces and sells. It was a gift, she said, for having taught Airi. i accepted it with heartful thanks and surprise and then Martin and I left while I shook my head at Japan and Life in general. Back at my place we had the nori over rice and egg for dinner and it really is very good nori.
Martin left this morning, heading south. He's going to see how far he can hitchhike into the Iya Valley and either camp (though it's still quite chilly) or find a hostel. Then he'll go on to Kouchi, up to Ehime, and out to Kyushu, and all the way up to Hokkaido before going south again and leaving Japan for Singapore. His short visit was fun, as it got me to break my regular routine. I've been incresingly pro-active about meeting my travel goals before going, and he helped me get closer to completion. Couch Surfing rules.
Edit: Before Martin left this morning I checked the weather forcast for him: partially sunny all week. Except for how it's frikkin' freezing right now, and intermittantly raining. Don't die Martin!