04-09-2006 (cont.)
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One thing is for sure, we just felt really comfortable with each other. It was really a strange feeling, especially after just meeting and all, but I felt like I wanted to hang out together for the rest of the day. So, we continued walking down the beach, holding hands, sometimes the silence would be broken, she would say things like, ii hito desu ne （いい人ですね) and then I would just smile and we would continue on our way.
Hiroko got a call on her cellphone that sounded like it was from work. She finished with the call and then mentioned maybe starting to head back, and I agreed. During the walk back and most of the car ride she was talking about her job- turned out that she would have to go back right after she dropped me off and get a lesson together for the next day, it sounded like she was really behind. She even mentioned that it could turn into a tetsuya (徹夜).
At this point, I had already gotten the hint. I started gracefully to give her an exit and to take my leave. That was gonna be the end of the line. I asked her if she wouldn't mind dropping me back off at the ferry and she replied that it was no trouble at all. As we approached the loading docks, we agreed on everything: we had such a good time, we wished we could have spent more time together and so on and so forth, and that it was a very pleasant surprise.
And it ended like it started, I saw her waving at me through her car window- this time however, she was leaving. Of course, we exchanged contact information, and we made each other promise to keep in touch. As I waved back, I was already thinking about how I could get back on the road, where my next destination was going to be. I will send her a mail just to let her know how much fun I had, and that I really appreciate her taking the time to show me around.... and I guess that is how this story will end.
On the whole, taking a trip out to this little island off the coast of Shikoku was a great idea. Everything worked out great and I won't be forgetting about the island of the olive for a while to come!
As soon as I got back to Takamatsu, the big city, I realized I hadn't eaten anything all day. I found this little mom and pop Udon うどん joint near the station and went inside. It was super cheap!! 220 yen (2 bucks) for an Oomori Kakeudon (大盛りかけうどん) so I rocked that and a little Conbu Onigiri (こんぶおにぎり). On a full stomach I set out to kill some time until the "Night Pack" started at the Internet cafe I had scouted out the night before. I had about 3 hours to kill.... I walked all over the city, though the arcades (canopied malls) looking into all the little shops, seeing tons of things I would like to buy, while knowing damn well that none of it would fit into my sack.
Here I am, walking around, and what do you know? An arcade that has Tekken 5 for 50yen. (kinda cheap for Japan actually, most new games will go 100 yen/ one play! good thing it's monopoly money) I get over to the machines and there is a little crowd already playing. I watched the action for a little bit and then decided to jump in. At first I'm using Lee, and man did I destroy this guy!! It was very very ugly. I had a little winning streak, building up about 8 wins (using Lee, Bryan, A.King, pretty much anyone..) and they just stopped playing me.. :(((
Even the guy on the machine next to me preferred to just ignore me and play against the computer. So, I eventually end up losing to some Jin Pachi bullshit, and as I start to make my way towards the exit, they come back out of the woodwork and start playing again! haha, whatever, moving on.
I was trying to find my way back to McDonalds (where you can get a 100yen coffee and sit as long as it takes to write your journal entry for the day), but I am getting a little lost. I saw some random woman in her 30s passing by and just decided to ask her. She was pretty in like a... been through rough times, used to probably be very hot, older and can take care of herself and doesn't need a man but is very lonely kind of way. We start talking and she tells me that, in fact, she has no idea where it is cause she's not from around here, and she just arrived in Takamatsu like 3 days ago. She had been in Tokyo until now.
Since we had a few things in common the conversation quickly moriagattekita 盛り上がってきた , but she was playing pretty low key to my forwardness, which I like. Eventually though, I got her laughing a little bit and things were progressing nicely. I asked her what she was dong now in Shikoku and she said she has family here, and she was originally born in Ehime, Shikoku. In Tokyo she was working as a... "healer".
Hmm. The more she talked about it, the more it became clear to me that she was involved in what I could only describe as a cult. She was very into this type of healing, close to some kind of shiatsu 指圧 massage, but more spiritual (feeling your aura, and healing you with aura, life power?)
very new age, very spiritual. She came here to set up her practice, and join the local community of healers. (who would have known?)
Throughout her entire story she has this face like, "You think I'm crazy don't you, I KNEW it", and it was kind of cute semi-insecurity thing going on. She said that she was a professional and that she could heal people with light from her hands, healing energy. I instantly got excited and asked to be healed, I had been having some serious back pain carrying that sack around all day. I think I must have sounded a little insincere because she got a little defensive and must have mistakenly thought that I was poking fun at her. Even though the whole time I was dead serious about it.. I felt bad so I started to talk about self-healing things that I find some credibility in, hypnotic suggestion, or self hypnosis and suggestion, probably what most people would call "meditation"; and mentioned things I read about being able to control the bodies temperature and things, trying to reach some middle ground.
She seemed interested, (I probably wasn't making a whole lotta sense at this point), and said, "The human body can do much more that we ever expect." And I couldn't have agreed more. Now that I was looking at her, she seemed very lonely. Her eyes were so lonely that I wanted to spend more time with her, I think she must have been asking me (with her telepathy)-- and I even wanted to join in the healing, like my man Marvin Gaye says, but for some reason I said "thank you" instead. We had reached McDonalds. I took a picture of us and then we parted ways, and that as they say, is that.
I returned to the internet cafe at 11pm on the dot and got the Night 5 hour Pack. In the morning I stayed over till 8am, and the grand total ended up being 2,800 yen this time. (27 bucks) That put a little strain on my wallet. I had about 200 dollars left. What I wanted to do was get down to the west most point of Shikoku island and take a ferry to the southern island of Kyushu 九州. I went to the convenience store and checked some travel magazines, the ferry was relatively cheap and would put me somewhere near Beppu 別府. On the way back, the final leg of the trip, I wanted to see Hiroshima and Kyoto on my way up, and then end up back in Tokyo where it all started. I may have to start winding it down a little faster than I had hoped, we will see, weather and money may limit me eventually. Right now, or today rather, I need to catch the JR line all the way back to Ehime and then further on, all the way west to where the ferry departs from. Try and find someway to get around paying the 50-60 dollar train fare and then worry about finding a place to sleep. Its just starting to rain, this is gonna be a long day.
Peace!
Glossary:
いい人ですね- You're a nice guy. Or something to that effect. It's an all-encompassing compliment, and pretty broad but she seemed pretty sincere :)
tetsuya (徹夜)- An all-nighter
Udon うどん- You know Udon right?! Well, its actually good in Japan. Especially in the west, I'm not a big fan of Udon in Tokyo. While I'm home I'll always choose Ramen over Udon.
Oomori Kakeudon (大盛りかけうどん)- Oomori means super-size baby!! and kakeudon is the simplest form of Udon, plain in the soup or kake.
Conbu Onigiri (こんぶおにぎり)- Onigiri is a rice ball you rice ball. Often its filled with a lot of delicious little things they hide on the inside. The traditional shape (or most common?) is a triangle. I guess this was the predecessor to the Squagle. Anyway, the poor man's Onigiri is the Conbu Onigiri. So what is Conbu? Seaweed! and its delicious. Of course its seasoned as well.
moriagattekita 盛り上がってきた- Heated up!!! as in the conversation heated up.
shiatsu 指圧- Shiatsu massage uses pressure points and fierce pressing that often hurts but is supposed to feel good after! Originally this art of massage came from China. Kenpo, Judo and other martial arts use something like Shiatsu when someone has been knocked unconscious or choked out to bring them back. (Or to knock someone out, I guess its a double-edged sword?)
Kyushu 九州- The Isand of Kyushu, Japan. (Highlighted in red on this map)
Beppu 別府- The city of Beppu, Kyushu. Famous for it's world-renowned hot springs. Check it out!
One thing is for sure, we just felt really comfortable with each other. It was really a strange feeling, especially after just meeting and all, but I felt like I wanted to hang out together for the rest of the day. So, we continued walking down the beach, holding hands, sometimes the silence would be broken, she would say things like, ii hito desu ne （いい人ですね) and then I would just smile and we would continue on our way.
Hiroko got a call on her cellphone that sounded like it was from work. She finished with the call and then mentioned maybe starting to head back, and I agreed. During the walk back and most of the car ride she was talking about her job- turned out that she would have to go back right after she dropped me off and get a lesson together for the next day, it sounded like she was really behind. She even mentioned that it could turn into a tetsuya (徹夜).
At this point, I had already gotten the hint. I started gracefully to give her an exit and to take my leave. That was gonna be the end of the line. I asked her if she wouldn't mind dropping me back off at the ferry and she replied that it was no trouble at all. As we approached the loading docks, we agreed on everything: we had such a good time, we wished we could have spent more time together and so on and so forth, and that it was a very pleasant surprise.
And it ended like it started, I saw her waving at me through her car window- this time however, she was leaving. Of course, we exchanged contact information, and we made each other promise to keep in touch. As I waved back, I was already thinking about how I could get back on the road, where my next destination was going to be. I will send her a mail just to let her know how much fun I had, and that I really appreciate her taking the time to show me around.... and I guess that is how this story will end.
On the whole, taking a trip out to this little island off the coast of Shikoku was a great idea. Everything worked out great and I won't be forgetting about the island of the olive for a while to come!
As soon as I got back to Takamatsu, the big city, I realized I hadn't eaten anything all day. I found this little mom and pop Udon うどん joint near the station and went inside. It was super cheap!! 220 yen (2 bucks) for an Oomori Kakeudon (大盛りかけうどん) so I rocked that and a little Conbu Onigiri (こんぶおにぎり). On a full stomach I set out to kill some time until the "Night Pack" started at the Internet cafe I had scouted out the night before. I had about 3 hours to kill.... I walked all over the city, though the arcades (canopied malls) looking into all the little shops, seeing tons of things I would like to buy, while knowing damn well that none of it would fit into my sack.
Here I am, walking around, and what do you know? An arcade that has Tekken 5 for 50yen. (kinda cheap for Japan actually, most new games will go 100 yen/ one play! good thing it's monopoly money) I get over to the machines and there is a little crowd already playing. I watched the action for a little bit and then decided to jump in. At first I'm using Lee, and man did I destroy this guy!! It was very very ugly. I had a little winning streak, building up about 8 wins (using Lee, Bryan, A.King, pretty much anyone..) and they just stopped playing me.. :(((
Even the guy on the machine next to me preferred to just ignore me and play against the computer. So, I eventually end up losing to some Jin Pachi bullshit, and as I start to make my way towards the exit, they come back out of the woodwork and start playing again! haha, whatever, moving on.
I was trying to find my way back to McDonalds (where you can get a 100yen coffee and sit as long as it takes to write your journal entry for the day), but I am getting a little lost. I saw some random woman in her 30s passing by and just decided to ask her. She was pretty in like a... been through rough times, used to probably be very hot, older and can take care of herself and doesn't need a man but is very lonely kind of way. We start talking and she tells me that, in fact, she has no idea where it is cause she's not from around here, and she just arrived in Takamatsu like 3 days ago. She had been in Tokyo until now.
Since we had a few things in common the conversation quickly moriagattekita 盛り上がってきた , but she was playing pretty low key to my forwardness, which I like. Eventually though, I got her laughing a little bit and things were progressing nicely. I asked her what she was dong now in Shikoku and she said she has family here, and she was originally born in Ehime, Shikoku. In Tokyo she was working as a... "healer".
Hmm. The more she talked about it, the more it became clear to me that she was involved in what I could only describe as a cult. She was very into this type of healing, close to some kind of shiatsu 指圧 massage, but more spiritual (feeling your aura, and healing you with aura, life power?)
very new age, very spiritual. She came here to set up her practice, and join the local community of healers. (who would have known?)
Throughout her entire story she has this face like, "You think I'm crazy don't you, I KNEW it", and it was kind of cute semi-insecurity thing going on. She said that she was a professional and that she could heal people with light from her hands, healing energy. I instantly got excited and asked to be healed, I had been having some serious back pain carrying that sack around all day. I think I must have sounded a little insincere because she got a little defensive and must have mistakenly thought that I was poking fun at her. Even though the whole time I was dead serious about it.. I felt bad so I started to talk about self-healing things that I find some credibility in, hypnotic suggestion, or self hypnosis and suggestion, probably what most people would call "meditation"; and mentioned things I read about being able to control the bodies temperature and things, trying to reach some middle ground.
She seemed interested, (I probably wasn't making a whole lotta sense at this point), and said, "The human body can do much more that we ever expect." And I couldn't have agreed more. Now that I was looking at her, she seemed very lonely. Her eyes were so lonely that I wanted to spend more time with her, I think she must have been asking me (with her telepathy)-- and I even wanted to join in the healing, like my man Marvin Gaye says, but for some reason I said "thank you" instead. We had reached McDonalds. I took a picture of us and then we parted ways, and that as they say, is that.
I returned to the internet cafe at 11pm on the dot and got the Night 5 hour Pack. In the morning I stayed over till 8am, and the grand total ended up being 2,800 yen this time. (27 bucks) That put a little strain on my wallet. I had about 200 dollars left. What I wanted to do was get down to the west most point of Shikoku island and take a ferry to the southern island of Kyushu 九州. I went to the convenience store and checked some travel magazines, the ferry was relatively cheap and would put me somewhere near Beppu 別府. On the way back, the final leg of the trip, I wanted to see Hiroshima and Kyoto on my way up, and then end up back in Tokyo where it all started. I may have to start winding it down a little faster than I had hoped, we will see, weather and money may limit me eventually. Right now, or today rather, I need to catch the JR line all the way back to Ehime and then further on, all the way west to where the ferry departs from. Try and find someway to get around paying the 50-60 dollar train fare and then worry about finding a place to sleep. Its just starting to rain, this is gonna be a long day.
Peace!
Glossary:
いい人ですね- You're a nice guy. Or something to that effect. It's an all-encompassing compliment, and pretty broad but she seemed pretty sincere :)
tetsuya (徹夜)- An all-nighter
Udon うどん- You know Udon right?! Well, its actually good in Japan. Especially in the west, I'm not a big fan of Udon in Tokyo. While I'm home I'll always choose Ramen over Udon.
Oomori Kakeudon (大盛りかけうどん)- Oomori means super-size baby!! and kakeudon is the simplest form of Udon, plain in the soup or kake.
Conbu Onigiri (こんぶおにぎり)- Onigiri is a rice ball you rice ball. Often its filled with a lot of delicious little things they hide on the inside. The traditional shape (or most common?) is a triangle. I guess this was the predecessor to the Squagle. Anyway, the poor man's Onigiri is the Conbu Onigiri. So what is Conbu? Seaweed! and its delicious. Of course its seasoned as well.
moriagattekita 盛り上がってきた- Heated up!!! as in the conversation heated up.
shiatsu 指圧- Shiatsu massage uses pressure points and fierce pressing that often hurts but is supposed to feel good after! Originally this art of massage came from China. Kenpo, Judo and other martial arts use something like Shiatsu when someone has been knocked unconscious or choked out to bring them back. (Or to knock someone out, I guess its a double-edged sword?)
Kyushu 九州- The Isand of Kyushu, Japan. (Highlighted in red on this map)
Beppu 別府- The city of Beppu, Kyushu. Famous for it's world-renowned hot springs. Check it out!