Conquering Fuji

Mt. Fuji, Japan’s most familiar symbol, dominates the region southwest of Tokyo. It is Japan’s highest mountain at 3,776 meters high…over 11,328 feet. On an exceptional clear day, you are able to see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo -- 100 km away. But most days, you are lucky if you see it from only 100 meters away. Fuji-san, as the Japanese call it, last erupted in 1707, covering the streets of Tokyo with volcanic ash. Fortunately for present-day hikers, it now lays dormant. Since I was not able to climb the beast myself, I cannot write more about it. However, I will give you the next best thing. The following are first-hand accounts of five brave young women – Cristina, Laura, Jill, Osa and Shana – as they take this volcano head on. This is what they had to say.

We have been looking forward to this since we booked our tickets in May. We were confident in our ability to conquer this mountain. – Laura

I had read somewhere prior to the trip how climbing wasn’t that difficult, a mere relaxed hike up to the summit. With that mental picture in mind, I was fearless about the task at hand, and at the same time clueless, ill-prepared, naïve and in fact in the perfect state of mind to attempt the hike since if I did know what would be to come I would be less inclined to continue through with it. – Shana

I couldn’t have guessed the strenuous adventure which lay before me. – Shana

We went on a series of trains south (from Tokyo) to get to our hotel in the five lakes region of Mt. Fuji. The combined train rides were rather long, so we got to the hotel around 7:00pm. We then rushed to change, buy food for the hike from a nearby convenience store, and get the next bus (8:15pm) to the 5th station of our designated hiking route. Armed with glowsticks, headlamps, lots of water/sports drinks, and bags bursting with more clothes than you can imagine, our group energetically began our hike around 9:45pm. To the north were bursts of heat lightening, but the mountain’s immediate vicinity was merely overcast. The clouds and haze were so thick, Fuji was completely shrouded our entire trip from Tokyo and in the darkness, its looming presence could only be vaguely detected through sensory perception. -- Jill

I felt slightly over prepared when looking around and seeing most hikers with much smaller day packs, less than adequate shoes in my opinion, and surely not enough water. It became a joke amongst our group how thirsty we all are because of the large amount of water we brought; in fact our water consumption led us to every toilet on the trail. The only thing we didn’t have were walking sticks, an assumed necessary accessory for many people to attempt hiking Mt. Fuji. The walking stick was one of many ritualistic behaviors in which I observed by Fuji-goers. I wonder now if having the stick would have made any difference. – Shana

It was warm where we began our climb. We all had on capris and t-shirts or long-sleeved shirts. It was cloudy and although we could not quite see the whole mountain, we could see lights from the different stations that are on the mountain. Along with the line of lights from the hikers that have already begun their climb. It looked like a glow worm zigzagging up the mountain. As we continued to climb, the air gradually got more and more frigid. At the first station we came to, we all added our warm layer of clothes, pants and fleeces. At the second station we came to, we added hats, gloves and scarves. Before we even reached the third station, the rain began. So we added our rain gear and covered our packs with large plastic bags. The wind was terribly strong. You had to concentrate to keep your balance. – Laura

In starting out, we were already a bit fatigued from the travel to the base of the mountain but tired or not, we were about to embark upon an adventure not soon to be forgotten. As a side note and point of advice, it is generally a bad strategy to begin an extensive hike when tired; we later experienced the strange effects of extreme exhaustion. – Shana

At the levels that we were climbing to, the oxygen levels continuously got lower and lower. Some of us were nauseous. Others were light-headed and dizzy. We could not excel at a fast pass due to these symptoms. – Laura

No one was an experienced hiker. – Shana

Sometimes I didn’t think id make it up the mountain having had to catch my breath often because of the altitude situation. Other negative factors... we were tired, it was cold, it was raining, it was really windy...but, thankfully we all kept each other going... Laura, Osa, Shana, Jill and I pushed each other to finish. – Cristina

What killed me the most was the ‘take two steps and stop and wait for the person ahead’ routine for several straight hours. – Shana

There were so many people that we would literally take two steps then stop for 5 seconds. Take three more, then stop for 8 seconds, etc, etc. It was like that for a good two hours. I was falling asleep as I was walking. When the line in front of me would stop, I would dose off until I heard it move again. – Laura

I couldn’t help but feel this was more than just a hike up Japan’s tallest mountain. It was a reflective and spiritual journey. This feeling seemed to be shared by fellow climbers around me during the trek; there was an aura of calm throughout the climb. – Shana

Random thoughts that went through my head after 6 hours of hiking and just after having eaten MSG infused shrimp ramen soup as I continued to take slow baby steps up the mountain in the rain and fierce wind...Oh somebody kill me please, somebody kill me plee-ase, I'm on my knees, pretty pretty please, kill me. I want to die. Put a bullet in my head. (Song from The Wedding Singer sung by Adam Sandler), Filipino-Japanese Death March in WWII, concentration camps, soldiers putting guns to workers heads and telling them to move faster - work harder or I will kill you...Adam Sandler singing "Kill me." – Osa

It was tough. Seems like a dream now...with featured quotes..."just keep swimming, just keep swimming," -finding nemo… and songs..."somebody kill me please," -adam sandler. – Cristina

Around 3:30am or so, Shana and I crouched against a hut to try to block the wind, rest, and wait for the others to catch up. When they did, we woodenly walked to the next station, and stopped inside for some hot ramen to try to warm up. At this point, I couldn`t stop shaking, my lips had turned purple, and I was wet and numb. I had stopped feeling my feet hours before, and the frozen feeling had apparently spread to encompass the rest of my body. At that point, I had a small breakdown, and a few tears escaped. Outside, the sky began to lighten though, and we emerged to see a rolling, white cloud cover below us, with dark blue mountain peaks piercing through. In small breaks, the five placid lakes could be seen. – Jill

I cannot even begin to explain the scenery. It seemed as if we were miles above the clouds. It was almost surreal. Like someone had painted this beautiful landscape in front of us. – Laura

This ‘out of body’ experience had no time or place. Reality seemed irrelevant and I look back on the experience as surreal, not sure whether I can give an adequate account of the sensation with words. – Shana

I went to the bathroom (a whole in the ground where the smell made me almost throw up). I came out and the group had decided not to go the last leg. We were in too much pain, too tired to even keep our eyes opened. It was almost like we were having an out-of-body experience, like we weren’t really where we were. I wanted to make it to the top, but with everyone else agreeing to just go down, that seemed to be the best option at the moment. – Laura

We had to continue up a short ways to meet the path of people that were going down. Where we stopped, something changed. It was as if something in the cold breeze that stung our faces, awakened something inside of us. Shana, Cristina and I looked at each other and knew what each other were thinking. Shana said “Let’s go to the top!” Cristina agreed and I said it would be foolish to come all this way and not finish. That was it! -- Laura

Let's go to the top! -- Shana (according to Laura)

I was convinced we had all just thrown in the towel when an amazing thing happened. A second wind hit us, or at least a few of us. It didn’t take much convincing to get everyone on the trail again heading up. After all we were so close and had come so far. Even if it killed us (which we knew it wouldn’t) we were going to finish Mt. Fuji damn it! – Shana

Osa and I searched for the trail down the mountain, while the other three decided to reverse the decision to quit. I protested. I whined. I pleaded. But, they wouldn`t let me quit or stay behind. They wrapped me up in a ridiculous fashion to try to allow my body to retain body heat, and we started the last 300-odd meters to the summit. – Jill

People all around me were dropping like flies. – Shana

It was no longer a hike or a climb, or even a trudge: I stumbled and dragged myself up the mountain, dizzily catching myself after losing my balance on numb feet. The final 300 meters took forever, but we finally passed through the torii gate at 8:30am and reached the top. – Jill

We finally reached the top at 7:45 am, Sunday morning. It was amazing. There were food and souvenir shops up top! I could not believe it. The people that run the stores live up there for the two months of the hiking season. There is even a post office up there for climbers to mail post cards! -- Laura

And then we made it to the top, it was as if a weight were lifted when we looked back at what we had just climbed. The view and our feeling about the whole experience seemed instantly improved from the last station. It was success after all. The climb from the 5th station took us ten hours, usually estimated at six to eight hours. It was a long night for everyone on the mountain. We arrived at the summit around 8:00 in the morning. – Shana

Getting to the top really was surreal...What a view...Clouds, mountains, and lakes miles under us... oh, and that massive crater. – Cristina

Looking out over the mountains and clouds below us was a sight to see. We drank hot chocolate to warm us up and then we walked to see the crater of Mt. Fuji. It was beautiful. The pictures, again, do not do it justice. It was breathtaking. The crater itself was not as deep as I thought it would be. The colors along the ridge were beautiful- so rich and deep. The wind picked up and we could not bear the cold any longer. After an hour and a half at the top, we decided to begin our descent down the mountain. It was a complete zigzagging trail down the mountain. It did some number on my knees, let me tell you. It took Jill and Cristina 3 hours to climb down. Shana, Osa and I took 4 hours. The blisters on my feet were raw and painful. – Laura

Getting down was much easier...practically skied... (and sometimes fell.) It just took forever. Well, it was much shorter than up and maybe only felt like forever since I hadn’t slept in over a day (unless you count the few times I fell asleep while climbing). Reached the bottom and Jill and I took a nap on the ground while waiting for the rest of our crew. Once I awoke, the only reason I believed I had actually succeeded and not imagined it was the incredibly sore legs I had. – Cristina

Just as climbing Mt. Fuji has been one of the most rewarding experiences had in Japan, coming to Japan in the first place has been one of the most rewarding experiences had in my life. – Shana

[Climbing Fuji] made me more miserable than I have ever felt in my life.　　The weekend was extremely surreal. Looking back, I still can’t quite believe I climbed the highest mountain in Japan and spent a few hours above the clouds. But, at least I have the pictures and the sore legs to prove it.　　– Jill

It was physically the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. – Laura

Good times, girls, good times! – Cristina

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Mom: Still in Japan!

I last left you with a picture of my mother belting Springsteen’s Born to Run. So much more has happened since then. For starters, we did end up heading to Koyama’s Todoroki Waterfalls. It was really nice and we contemplated jumping in, but decided against it. We chose to just sit amongst the rocks and dip our feet. We did finally get to see some young hooligan-wannabes jumping in and sliding down the rocks. My mother enjoyed it tremendously. She kept mentioning how she felt as though she had been here before because of all the pictures I’ve sent. She also did say that it’s incredible that we have this great lagoon so close to us that we would pay so much at home to visit in a Disney theme park.

Before we knew it, it was already 6:30 PM and we had to head home to change and get ready for dinner at the Katos’. Upon arriving at the Katos’, I was excited to see that they had prepared a sushi buffet. That is, they had everything on the table needed to make sushi, and then we made it ourselves. My mom was craving sushi and wanted to eat it everyday and learn how to make it. Therefore, this definitely satisfied both requirements. The kids warmed up to my mom and showed her some pictures of Nozomi in her kimono. They were so excited by her reaction, that Nozomi tried on her other kimono so that my mom could take pictures with her. After she was done, little Yume wanted to try on Nozomi’s kimono also. So, she put it on the whole outfit too. It was really funny to see this little 1-year-old girl looking at herself in this oversized kimono. You wonder what she’s thinking. At the end of all the picture taking, Yume didn’t want to take the kimono off, so Tomomi told her there were bugs on the kimono. Everyone was pretending that bugs were swarming the room and coming from the kimono. My mom was especially taking her acting role a bit too seriously. Looking back on it, I am surprised that Yume wasn’t scared by how everyone was screaming. Instead, she simply let Tomomi remove the kimono. Perhaps, she understood what was really going on and simply wanted us to quiet down.

Friday, my mom went to Uchinoura’s beach. She originally only planned on collecting some sand and shells, but upon arriving her plans changed. The low tide was accompanied by great weather and mild waves. This was too much to bear for my mother, so she dived in clothes and all to enjoy the water. My mom had a grand ol’ time. After work, she dragged me back and we had some more fun in the water. We also got a chance to hang out with many of my students and one of my student’s fathers. He seemed like a very interesting person. He knew a bit of English, Spanish and French because he works for long periods of time on an oil tanker that traverses the world making deliveries and pick ups. He apparently was starting his 5-monh vacation after being at sea for nearly one year.

Later that night, we picked up Cristina and took my mother to Furusato Onsen, the outdoor onsen on Sakurajima volcano that looks over Kinko Bay. It was nice because we arrived just as the sun finished setting and we had the entire onsen to ourselves. The night was cool and accompanied by breezes coming from the bay. In the distance, there was a red moon rising. It was truly enjoyable and I think the best way to experience this onsen. After onsen, we headed back to Kanoya to enjoy a greasy Gusto dinner at 10 PM. Gusto is about half a step up from Denny’s, but with some Japanese food tossed in the mix and a mild American West theme to its décor. I have to admit, my stomach did suffer the wrath of the greasy spoon gods on the way home. Gusto is definitely not the best thing to eat before going to bed.

Saturday morning, mom and I had a lazy start. I surprised her with a selection of breads from my favorite bakery, the Ai Shop. After we were done eating, we met with Cristina and the others at Laura’s house to drop off some stuff for the Summer Bash Laura was throwing that evening. After doing that, mother and I continued up the coast to visit Udo Shrine in Miyazaki. On the way there, we stopped do some shopping and to buy the best shrimp roll I have tasted to date. My mouth still waters at the thought of it. This is the second time I visit the shrine. The first time I threw the clay pebbles that you buy (5 for 100 yen), I made one in. However, after I finished, I discovered that boys are supposed to do it with their left hand. So, I guess my throw didn’t count. This time around, however, I threw them with the correct hand and managed to get my last pebble to stay within the sacred circle. My mother did not fair as well. Though, she did enjoy the rest of temple and the coastal view.

Saturday evening, we had the Osaki Farewell-Good Luck-Happy Birthday-Summer cloud watching-etc. etc. Party. It was great. We had the best food. Brownies, bratwurst and raw human just to name a few. (Raw carrots can be easily confused with raw humans if said incorrectly.) My mom managed to also make the best margaritas, just as she always did when I was younger (not that I ever drank any). Laura made mudslides. I made handicap urinals (as requested). Other people made other things. Oh, and everyone managed to get lei-ed upon arrival.

The following day, the Katos were throwing a summer party of their own to say goodbye to Kaz. It was in an Uchinoura beach I had never been to before. We began by driving there and setting up the tarp and barbecue. We put the watermelon, beer and ice in the river to keep it cool. Upon arriving, my mom asked someone with a snorkel and mask if she could borrow his equipment. She enjoyed snorkeling for a bit and apparently spotted tons of urchins and other interesting life in the rocks. Otoo-san then called Alex and me over to go fetch the boat. We drove to the harbor and jumped on his 15-foot fishing boat. While doing that, we spotted a blowfish near the surface. We then sped through Uchinoura Bay to the site of the picnic. We parked it at another harbor. Alex managed to pull himself up to the dock, but I was a bit more frightened. So, I just jumped in the water and swam to the shore. For lunch, we had shish kebabs and yakisoba. We also managed to swim in the water, make sand pies, play a bit of Frisbee, and get bitten by a crab. I think the highlight of the day, however, was the suika wari. Basically, it’s when you blindfold someone and they try to bash open a watermelon using a bamboo stick. You start off with the youngest and work your way to the adults. I am happy to say, that I am the one who was finally able to bash it open (with help of some informative voices).

Later that night, we went to Jill’s house where her neighbors were throwing her a goodbye party. They had set up a bamboo chute for somen and prepared some dishes and a barbecue. They also had some summer games and set off some fireworks. One of the games was suika wari, but I did not fair as well as the last time. Laura, however, did manage to put a big gash into it. However, she wasn’t the one to finish it off. The other game, however, I did win. It’s a type of drinking game for the entire family. Everyone gets a cider bottle that is sealed with a crystal ball. At the time that one person says go, everyone pushes their crystal ball into the bottle and chugs the cider. The person that finishes their bottle full of cider first wins. At the end of the night, we all made a tunnel with our hands that Jill went through as a final good bye.

Today, we’re picking Jill up after school and driving her to Kagoshima City where we will have one final dinner and Starbucks session together before we are all in the States again. From there she will board the bus to Fukuoka where she will catch a plane to the land we all dream of, where the streets are paved with gold and lined with great Mexican restaurants. We’ll miss you Jill! Don’t forget about us.

Suzaku

For those of you interested in finding out a little bit more about the recent rocket launch in Uchinoura, this is a link to a journal by NASA (written in perfect English) in the perspective of the rocket . After some time in orbit, the rocket was given the name Suzaku, a mythological phoenix-like creature. The site also includes a clip of the launch and some pictures of the rocket's journey. Check it out.

X-ray Microcalorimeter's journal of its trip from NASA to Japan and into Space!

Mom in Japan!

Short of killing each other, I think my mother is having a good time. I should have known from the ominous beginning that it was going to be stormy. I was waiting in Kagoshima Airport to take my flight to meet with my mother in the Nagoya Airport, when suddenly a thunderstorm rolled in. There was actually a temporary power outage in the airport and it had to run on generator power for about 15 minutes. Anyway, my flight was an hour late, but I did manage to make it. Both my mom and I were excited to see each other in the airport, but were very tired and ready to go to the hotel. She told me about her impressions of Japan so far and her adventures flying coach on NWA (not that she’s ever flown first class).

In Nagoya, we stayed at the City Hotel. Since there is no ‘ci’ sound in Japanese, it’s actually pronounce Shiti Hotel (which sounds an awful lot like Shitty Hotel). However, I could asure that the hotel was anything but. They were very accommodating a friendly to us tourists, despite it being a business hotel that usually caters to Japanese salary men.

We stayed in Nagoya for two days to go to Expo. I was glad that the weather was good (despite it being incredibly hot and the weather reports that announced 50% chance of rain). My mother was just as amazed as I was from the number of umbrellas and hats present at the Expo. Some of the highlights of our visits was attending the Mammoth exhibit donated by the Russians. You need a reservation in order to see it, and I got one over 1 month ago. Those with a reservation still pushed a shoved for their 60 seconds on the moving walkway that passed in front of a frozen mammoth skull and leg bone. Lucky for those of you who don’t have a reservation, I don’t understand Japanese and took a picture of the skull despite outcries by the volunteers warning you not too. (I’m such a rebel.) The other highlight was visiting all the countries. Mom and I were particularly impressed with Poland that had a replica salt mine you can walk through, and a really nice store and restaurant.

One of the more interesting experiences in Nagoya, was going to a restaurant next to the hotel. It was called Bistro something or another. As soon as we walked in, we were a bit frightened by the glass block windows in the shape of crosses and the dim lighting. The place looked smi-goth complete with dark gray walls and blood red drapes to match. We asked if it was indeed a restaurant, because there were only two tables on the ground floor. The woman informed us that indeed it was and we would have to go to the third floor to be seated at a table. So, we collected the tarot card she gave us and proceeded to the elevator. The elevator ride itself was an experience. The elevator’s landing was half-way between the first and second floors and we could tell that the second floor was used for weddings. We hesitated when the elevator doors opened. The elevator was small and completely covered in faux fauna to give it a small jungle closet feel. After checking for animals, we proceeded inside and rode it to the third floor. We got off and it was a PRISON! I KID YOU NOT! We have the pictures to prove it. If it weren’t for how hungry or tired we were we would have walked out and found a different place. However, we were immediately escorted by the warden (waitress) to the nearest available prison cell and closed inside. We ordered food and were served through a hole in the door. We were in complete shock by this point. Of course, we couldn’t resist taking pictures and making fools of ourselves. When we left, we commented on the place and were shown a more detailed brochure that explained how each floor was themed. The second floor was the “chapel floor” and the fourth floor was the “church floor”. I guess we were lucky.

Saturday morning we departed the Shiti Hotel and made our way on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. In Kyoto, we stayed in a small inn that was the first floor of someone’s large house near one of the more famous temples. After settling in, we walked half of Kyoto to go to the shopping district. On the way there, we stopped at Yasaka Shrine near Gion that was bustling with excitement because of the upcoming Gion Matsuri. My mom loved it and told me how mush she looked forward to visiting the other shrines. We randomly ran into a Mexican family there which made for some cool conversation. Later that evening on the way back to the inn, we stopped by the river to soak our feet like so many other Japanese people were doing. We sat by two of many kimono-clad men and women. We spoke to them awhile about our trip so far. After crossing the river, we took a stroll down Gion to sneak a peek at some geisha and maiko. We concluded the evening with a feast at home from food purchased from several combini.

Sunday, we took advantage of my mother’s jet lag and got up at 5:30 to make it to Kiyomizu Temple by opening time at 6:00. We actually got there at 6:10 and were happy to see that we had most of the temple to ourselves. We were able to sit for a while, snap some pictures, drink and collect some holy water, and walk blinded between the love stones. During our time at the shrine, I continued to get phone calls from Cristina. She, along with Jill, Laura, Osa and Shana, had reached the summit of Mt. Fuji, the tallest and most beautiful mountain in Japan. I have to admit I am half glad my mom was here during their trip. I can't say that I could have made it all the way to the top. Apparently some of them felt the same way. However, despite the near brushes with death and bouts of hypothermia, they all did it. Congrats! Hopefully, I'll get some pictures soon and post them!

At 9:00, my mother and Iwalked over to where we were the day before to witness the Gion Matsuri parade. Huge, old carts were pushed through the streets of Kyoto as is done every 17th of July. The streets were packed. Where we were standing was especially packed because it was on a turn. Since the carts are pushed by men, and not pulled by machine, the turns are the most interesting parts of the parade. In any case, after the turn of the first two carts, the crowds began to die down. My mom, being the adventurous person that she is, conga-ed down the street to where all the photographers had set up their step ladders and proceeded to ask one of them if she could go up to snap some pictures. She did, but soon realized that she didn’t know how to operate my camera, so I ended up going up to snap some pictures. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip (one I’ll never forget).

In the afternoon, we decided that we would walk opposite the festival and have a lunch before taking the philosopher’s walk to the Silver Pavilion. We did. It was a nice place away from the tourist center who seemed happy to see us there. After we finished eating, we were not sure of the direction to go in next, so they escorted us down a block until our path was easy and straightforward. Before going to the Silver Temple, we stumbled into some other temples, one which had someone doing some chanting. I think that this was my mom’s favorite and where she felt ‘most at peace’. Then, we walked on for about 35 minutes to the Silver Temple. My mom was not a happy camper and did not find it worth the walk late in the day.

Monday was Marine Day here in Japan. Mom and I decided to celebrate it by going to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo. I had mentioned to my mom briefly how there were deer roaming freely on the Nara Park grounds, but it was nothing like she or I imagined. Within a block of the train station, we were walking along side parks where deer would come up to us. They were expecting food because so many tourists buy deer biscuits at stalls and feed them. We decided against this since they attack you for the food, and we felt it was so much nicer to just pet them and be with them without them chasing you and trying to eat your hand. In Nara, we also visited the world’s largest wooden structure with one of the largest Buddha and a couple of other temples.

Instead of staying in the stale heat of the Kyoto valley, we (read my mother) decided to head to Kagoshima on the earliest flight rather than the planned late flight. We ended up getting it on standby with the original low ticket prices that I had purchased. I was surprised that we did not have to pay anything extra. So, we landed in Kagoshima at about 10:30 and headed to Higashi-Kushira to meet Cristina for lunch at 100 yen conveyor belt sushi. After lunch, I took my mom to my house, where she settled in and spent the day unwinding. Later that afternoon, I took her to the Katos’ and the beach. The Katos were excited to meet her. Well, the young girls were a bit shy at first, but they quickly warmed up to us in no time. By the end of the visit, they were saying my mom’s name and blowing her kisses. (Both things they learned from her.) As for the beach, my mom was surprised to see it deserted. Later that evening we met up with Cristina at Tomo-chan’s in Osaki my mom had a hoot. Tomo-chan made some of his great yaki-soba and treated her to some fine extras along with some beer and shochu.

Yesterday, my mom spent the day lazying about. I went home to take her some sushi lunch. Then, after work, we picked Cristina up and went 100-yen shopping. My mom absolutely went crazy. She would have liked to have bought more, but alas, you only have so much luggage allowance (of which she has already exceeded). We continued to some must-do Kabochate followed by mandatory karaoke. Some of my mom’s hits included Springsteen’s Born to Run and Shakira’s Estoy Aqui.

Today, we’re taking her to the Koyama Waterfalls and going to the Katos’ for dinner.

Missions Accomplished!

It’s hot! I am trying to think of my next sentence, but all I can think of is ‘It’s hot.’ It’s hot. It’s hot. OK, now I’m done. Some things have managed come to my mind besides how hot, humid, sticky, rainy and sweaty it is. So, I guess I will begin.

Mission 1: Create an amazing homecoming for Laura.
Last Friday, Laura got back from her 3 week vacation in the States. We were really excited to see her again. So excited were we, that we slaved over a stove all evening preparing her the perfect dinner. Well, I guess in retrospect it wasn’t me doing the cooking, though I did manage to trim some of her grass with some clippers. I figured it’s the least I can do for her. I wouldn’t want any snakes to hide in the grass and leap out and bite her at the ankles. She seemed to be glad to be back, though if she had to choose between staying here and having a blast with us or going back and living a mundane life in the States where her entire family, haridresser and everything she will ever need is, I think she would choose to go back. In any case, we are glad to hear she had a great time and even happier that she brought me Reese’s Pieces (and socks and band-aids, you’d understand if you knew me, like Laura).

Mission 2: See Star Wars: Episode III.
Saturday, Jill, Cristina and I were on a mission. We were not to return to Osumi Peninsula until we had seen Star Wars: Episode III. Being opening day in Japan and adhering to some warnings of crowds by people in my office, we woke up at 6:00 AM and headed to the City. We assumed that even though Amu Plaza did not open till 10:00, we could cue outside the mall doors until the theater opened. As it turned out, we got there at 9:07 AM and discovered that the theater opened independently of the mall at 9:00 AM. Panic ensued. I began to run ahead of Cristina and Jill to get to the elevator. The elevator was not crowded. We assumed they had already let in the hoards. We got to the 6th floor and circled the hall to the cinema. It was empty. We walked directly to the first cashier and bought tickets for ourselves and Kaz and Alex in the center of the large theater for a 12:35 showing. We found it so funny that we had been so worried that the seats were going to sell out, that we forgot to realize that Star Wars may actually not be that popular in Japan. Regardless, I enjoyed myself and the movie. I cannot say that Jill and Cristina were too impressed with it.

Mission 3: Buy a ukulele.
Once in Amu, we did our mandatory Starbucks and such. In addition, I finally bought my ukulele. Many people (including my mother) cannot stop laughing at the prospect of me playing a ukulele. I really think that it’s a great idea and am seriously committed to learning how to play it. At the moment, I am having a bit of a tough time with tuning, but I will shortly get the hang of it. Cristina also decided to get some new strings for her guitar.

Mission 4: Survive Freshman year in College (all over again).
Mission 5: Survive being held captive in a room with 1,738,934 mosquitos.
After returning back to our side of Kagoshima, we got a second wind and decided to join Laura for Nick’s Dance Revolution Party. Besides being hot and full of mosquitos, it was fun.

Mission 6: Experience an Uchinoura Rocket Launch.
Yesterday was the infamous Uchinoura Rocket Launch – the one that the have been talking about for months. Laura, Jill, Heather, Cristina and I crowded into a car and began to head to the launch site at around noon. Unfortunately, they had closed down the roads because there were too many cars out at the launch site already. So, in a scurry we proceeded to go to Mt. Kano to see if we could find a place there. As we got there, we asked a car (actually, the people in the car) coming down if it was already full. It was. In a last minute chance to see the rocket, we parked the car at my house and ran to the beach to see it from there. The beach looked so calm and beautiful that we all stood in the water while waiting for the rocket to launch. It was then that I saw a starfish in the water. I pointed it out and everyone looked. It was at that moment that I looked up and saw the rocket shot up in the air. We didn’t hear the thunderous roar till about 20 seconds later. It was crazy. You could feel it on the ground (and in your soul). It was a great moment of pride for me and all Uchinourans. Although I think that some of us were a bit bummed we didn’t get to film it or photograph it, it was still well worth it. As for the starfish, we got a great photograph of that and then released it back into the ocean.

Upcoming Missions.
At the moment, I am excited about all the upcoming events. I am heading to Nagoya to meet up with my mother on Wednesday. Harry Potter gets delivered to our door on Saturday. My mom and I are going to Gion Matsuri, the biggest festival in Japan, on Sunday. And, Cristina, Shana, Laura, Jill and Osa are climbing Mt. Fuji Sunday night to watch the sun rise over Japan from the pinnacle. Can’t wait to fill you in on all the happenings, but it’s going to have to wait till next week.

Aichi EXPO. A picture of Cristina and Elena outside of the Cuba Pavilion. We were not allowed inside due to strict embargo regulations. Just kidding. We went inside and had a chat with Fidel who was on a visit. Just kidding. It was via internet. Just kidding. There's no internet in Cuba. Just kidding. There is. The other picture is of Cristina getting some henna done on her hand in the Morrocco Pavilion.

Cristina's uncle, Juanpi, singing for us some "?" and Cristina finding it incredibly amusing.

Golden Week Pics. One picture is of when they dragged me up on stage and I "danced" in front of the Okinawan Band. Okinawa music is very distinct from the rest of Japan. They have a special snake skin-covered stringed instrument that I like to call the Japanese Banjo. In the other picture, Cristina and I are standing in front of America-ya (America Store) which sells everything from Abercrombie and Fitch to used American parachutes for thousands of dollars. It was so ridiculous. Americans are not well received by the Okinawans always because of the number of concentrated American bases on such a relatively small island.

Yu-chan's cousin's son. As you can tell, he was caught with his hand, spoon and chop stick in the chocolate pot. This has to be one of my favorite memories of being a kid.

Satsuma Weekender. A bunch of us taking a funny picture in front of Lake Ikeda and Mt. Kaimon.

Tanabata

If you didn’t know already, Uchinoura is the first Rocket Launching site in Japan and currently one of the three. Therefore, everything in this town seems to have a space/astronaut/rocket theme. The elementary school has a mural. All the bridges have satellite or rocket bookends. The town’s bar is called the New Roketo. The town’s ‘posh’ hotel/onsen is Cosmo Pier. Anyway, you get the idea.

Well, for many months they have been talking about their next launch. It was supposed to be yesterday, but was postponed due to rain. Apparently it’s a big deal because it is the biggest rocket that Uchinoura will have ever launched (and to be honest, Uchinoura doesn’t have the best record of launches). However, this isn’t why I mention the launch in particular, though I would hope that you find it interesting.

For the past month, Uchinoura has been relatively full or people. Not full like a city is full, but full like a small town is full with an extra 100 people that no one has seen before. I look around and notice that none of the faces that I see mirror any child in Uchinoura’s schools. Furthermore, every morning there are people standing at the side of the road waiting for rides from JAXA (Japan’s NASA) cars or taxis that spend their mornings and afternoons just shuttling them back and forth. I hear that Cosmo Pier is completely full as is all the small, family-run inns.

Yesterday, as I was studying kanji for the Japanese Proficiency Test in the library, several men were roaming about checking the reading material. In any case, that is not what struck me, though the library is usually not nearly that full (with grown ups). What struck me was that some of these men were in their yukatas (thin, flimsy, cotton robes) strolling about like it was their personal house. I have heard of people doing this in small towns that have several onsen. I guess it wouldn’t make sense to put on all your clothes for a 5-minute walk if you are simply going to take them off and bathe again. However, Uchinoura is not really an onsen town. And, they are just all over the place. They are sitting in a library with nothing but their robes on. I just don’t get it. You could have put your clothes on for that. It’s not like you’re going to bathe in the library.

I mentioned the Japanese Language Proficiency Test previously. Cristina and I will take Level 3 in December. There are four levels in case you are wondering. Level 4 being the lowest and Level 1 being the highest. Cristina and I were not able to take the Level 4 last year because they only sell a limited amount of applications and they were sold out at the time we decided to take it. However, it is easy and I imagine that we would have passed had we taken it. Therefore, we are “doing level up” as they say in my office and schools. I have already begun studying the kanji needed for the test. You need to know about 300 and all their readings and meanings. I would go as far as to say that I know nearly that many, but not necessarily the ones that are on the test. For a Japanese person to read a newspaper, they have to know about 2,000 kanji.

As for the instrument playing, Cristina and I have hit a wall. We cannot find a way to tune the guitar. All we do know is that it is extremely out of tune. We bought a guitar tuner and have tried to tighten and loosen the strings, but no luck (not even close). I think I may just stick to my ukulele (though I have not bought it yet).

Finally, I will conclude today’s entry with a Japanese story.

A long time ago there was a princess who loved this boy. Everything in the world seemed to pale in comparison to the thought of
the other. They were so in love that they ignored everything
else. Like Narcissus imprisoned by his own affection for himself, the
couple was imprisoned by their own affections for each other. So much so,
that they ceased to do their duties to the gods and their country. Like
every bad deed, this one too had to be punished. So, they were
banished to stars in the Milky Way distant from each other. One to Altair
and the other to Vega. There they would stay for all eternity.
However, even the gods recognized that their love was too strong.
Therefore, they were granted one wish. The lovers’ stars would be allowed
to come closest to each other one day every year – on the seventh day of the
seventh month. And thus it will be for all eternity.

Henceforth, the Japanese have celebrated Tanabata on the seventh day of the seventh month by hanging their elaborately folded paper wishes on a bamboo branch hoping that their wishes too will be granted by the gods like the princess and the boy.

Happy Birthday Damian!

Just wanted to wish you a happy 20th. Hope you're having a great time. Wish I could be there to spend it with you. Let me know what you think of the gifts I got you. I know they were probably not what you wanted, but I thought you would get a kick out of them anyway. Cheers!

By the way, what's up with your name. Are you finally spelling it with an 'e' or an 'a'.

With a Ukulele in my Hand

Forgive me if some of this doesn’t make sense, but it’s actually the second time I write this. I am a bit upset at the fact that I had written 3 pages worth of stuff that I simply forgot to post and then erased unknowingly. In any case, here it goes…AGAIN.

Cristina and I have discovered the wonderful world of Books Misumi. You may be asking yourself, ‘what would Jesse and Cristina want in a book shop that has 0 foreign books (not counting Korean)?’ Well, it’s also a video/dvd/cd rental store. And on every Friday, you can rent 5 videos or dvds for 1000 yen. So, Cristina and I have rented Season 2 and half of Season 3 of Roswell. We have been watching it non-stop for about 2 weeks along with episodes of Lost which we just got. In case you are wondering what I think about them, Season 2 of Roswell was good (better than Season 3 so far). I am finding Lost also very interesting. I have only seen half of it, but I am surprised with what they have done with it.

The last weekend of June, Cristina and I just stayed home and relaxed. We actually got Yahoo BB back, so we had to set it up and get it working. That Saturday night, we went bowling in Kanoya with Jill and Heather. It was surprisingly fun and a good chance for some people watching. Things that surprised me were: how nice and new the shoes were, relatively little smoke compared to American alleys, and the weirdest videos. As for our bowling skills, none of us faired too well. Heather came the closest to clearing 100 both times. Jill and I traded off both times for last. But, we tied for last once you add up our scores from both games. Cristina, as always, is simply getting better at everything she does.

I do have to mention that I did kick everyone’s a#$ at table tennis. Lately, I have been playing with many of my students during recess or a bit after school. They are really good, but I guess so am I. They keep on trying to teach me the ‘proper’ way to hold the paddle. I didn’t even know there was a proper way. In any case, the point is that I beat all the girls. Some of them, even twice. I do have to admit that some of the games were close.

The following Sunday, Cristina, Jill, Heather and I decided to venture to Miyazaki’s new mall, the one that I had gone too when Cristina was in Kyoto with Juanpi and Elena. If I had not mentioned it earlier, it is the biggest mall in Kyushu, though it will certainly not seem so (from an American perspective anyway). Cristina and Jill bought their head lamps for their climb up Fuji on the weekend of July 18. Other than that, nothing too exciting. I guess the highlight of our trip was dinner with Osa in one of her favorite restaurants.

Like usual, we had trouble deciding what restaurants to go to. The two we decided on were closed. Then, in a sheer moment of clarity, Osa remembered Akabei. Within 12minutes, we called to reserve a table and were there ready to sit at it. It is a Japanese style pub (maybe a little bit bigger) with amazing food. Among my favorite things to eat were the pumpkin mousse, the cheese and prawn spring roll and the chicken nanban. My absolute favorite was the pumpkin mousse. Imagine something like a sweet potato casserole with cheese instead of marshmallow on top. Mmmm… Simply delicious. In any case, we ate, drank and were merry and then we went home. Big KUDOS to Osa for remembering the place and taking us there. Now, if she only picked up the tab. (Just kidding Lady Bear!)

During the week, I had two demonstration classes. Basically what this entails is the JTE planning a class and incorporating the children and me in it somehow. You may not think so, but it’s really one of Japan’s favorite spectator sports. About 25 people come from the board of education and other schools for the sheer pleasure of making kids stay after school and watching the teachers get really nervous. After they observe us demonstrating how a great class should go, you walk out to the school courtyard for some tea and biscuits to listen to halfhearted comments about how well you did. Soon after, you’re taken like cattle to a meeting room where you spend the next 100 minutes listening to brainless questions from people who are simply asking questions to look like they are efficiently doing their job. It was great. All I had to do was smile and look foreign. Not so difficult, huh? Actually, it is a bit more involved and interactive than that.

Besides that, this week has been pretty uneventful. Well, there was the night that I went on a bayside cliff to eat Sri Lankan Curry in a restaurant that you have to honk a horn to call your waitress. Oh, and that time that I went to that party on top of the mountain for a girl from my office who is leaving to Kagoshima City for a 2-month study program. And, that day when my boss flipped because he didn’t have a tax form that my supervisor should have given me to fill out back in October. But, hey, that’s life of an ALT. Smooth sailing.

As for this past weekend, Cristina and I volunteered to teach in a One Day International College event. It is meant for people planning on going to an international college to study to see how it is like. However, what it ends up being is a group of women that probably studied English in college and end up using it for nothing else, so they go to events like this to meet people like us and them that they can speak English to. I was surprised that they were so enthusiastic about English, that they actually spoke in English to each other. As for what we taught, I had originally planned on speaking about U.S. Hispanics and teaching some Spanish. But then, I decided to stick with the basics and teach them what countries speak Spanish and some Spanish. Some things that surprised me were what countries they thought spoke Spanish, what countries they didn’t know spoke Spanish, and how good their accents were when they spoke Spanish. I actually think that it is easier for the Japanese to speak Spanish than English. The sounds that you have to make with your mouth are more similar to Spanish than English. Overall, I would say that the lesson was a big success. Cristina and I enjoyed it so much that we are thinking about volunteering to do the same thing in our towns.

Later that night, we went to the rooftop beer garden of the Mitsukoshi Department Store. It was the big Leaver’s Farewell Party. It was a lot of fun and all you can eat and drink which was nice after the crap lunch we had at the College event. It was great to see so many people and be able to have one final bash before they went back to their respective countries. They also gave out some funny (and some mean) awards like high school superlatives. Jill won Karaoke Master of the Universe. After the beer garden, we headed over to On the Table for the after party that was also a lot of fun. Since we couldn’t crash at Alex’s flat, we ended up crashing in a surprisingly spacious Single-room in a business hotel with Jill and Shana.

The following day was declared an AMU day complete with the KFC Dragon Twister and some Starbucks. We just spent the day lounging about. Like June, July seems to be just as rainy and a little bit warmer, so we decided it would be nice to go to the movies. We saw War of the Worlds, which I was pleasantly surprised with and highly recommend if you are looking for a loud, summer blockbuster. My favorite part of the day, however, was not the movie (which should be surprising if you know me). It was the musical instrument store. Cristina tried to teach me some stuff on the piano, which I am determined to learn. She also decided to get a guitar tuner to tune and learn a guitar that Kaz gave to her that was just sitting at her house gathering dust. I have also gotten on the kick and am thinking of learning the guitar, or possibly the ukulele. Yes, you read correctly, the ukulele. I figure it may be easier to learn and a bit more interesting. I have not bought it yet, but I think I will when I go back to AMU on Saturday to see Star Wars. And with that thought, I will leave you – imagining me strumming a ukulele on a street somewhere in this world wearing a brightly-colored Hawaiian shirt and possibly sporting a straw, cowboy-shaped hat.

Hey everyone, Blogger.com has made it even easier to post pictures. So, here I have posted some that I had with me in my desk drawer. I will post more as soon as I get home. To the left is a picture of Alex, Kaz, Me and Cristina and the Wild Irish Party for St. Patrick's Day. To the right is a picture of Cristina with some of her favorite graduating 3rd Graders at Higashi-Kushira Junior High.