The End

It's long past time for me to put in my final thoughts and say that I won't write in this blog anymore. Our time in Japan is through. It has been for some time. At this point, the next year long assignment has gone to someone else and didn't fall at a convenient time for us, anyway. We are well into the throes of re-establishing our lives in America and it would be very difficult to uproot again.

I miss Japan. I miss many aspects of it. I miss how child friendly it was. I miss lunches at Orange Spice (egg salad with edamame followed by iced coffee and chocolate cake). I miss playgroups at the Mom clinic. I miss the flower arranging class I had just found. I miss learning a new language, however slowly. I miss the toys. I miss Amazon.jp. I miss the vegetables and fruits (Roo misses nashi). I (will) miss the bidet.

I don't miss the smoking. I don't miss the tiny roads. I don't miss not getting what I wanted or expected at a restaurant. I don't miss taking hours to get 5 things at the grocery store. I don't miss not being able to read things. I don't miss having salesmen come to my door all the time. I don't miss our (relatively) crappy apartment. I don't miss sleeping on a futon. I don't miss Roo hating the bidet. I don't miss not being close to anything that felt 'big city'.

I had to work a lot harder to get a substantial "don't miss" list. I wax nostalgic most of the time. It was a lot rosier now that I'm not there dealing with things day-to-day. It was a lot easier after the 12th month that it was in that first month. I would love to, and vow to, go back someday and visit. I want to see how it's changed. I want to stumble around in Japanese again. I want to enjoy the food and see if anyone I knew is still around.

I don't know if I won't post when I get nostalgic, or if I'll remember things and want to write them down because I didn't the first time. For now, though, this chapter is ended.

Whirlwind Tour

Having A come visit for our last weeks was probably the best thing ever. In addition to my onsen partner, it allowed me an excuse to revisit all of the places I'd really enjoyed (that were within driving distance).

My top picks (in no particular order):
Nagasaki arcade
Atomic Bomb Museum/Park
Arita
99 Islands
Huis Ten Bosch
Nagasaki Bio Park
Shimabara Castle
Oura Cathedral/Glover Gardens
Time in Isahaya (Bridge, Orange Spice)
Unzen spa

I saw pieces of each that I'd just glossed over before. It was nice to get another chance to just look and enjoy and see someone else's perspective. I highly recommend it.

Last goodbyes

In our last few days, I had goodbye gifts to give out. I toodled around town giving small tokens (ours were Texas themed hand towels) to the people that we had spent the most time with - Gym, swimming teachers, friends.

My last stop was the coffee shop down the street. Roo and I had been going there every week (at least once) for probably 10 months at that point. It was a big part of our lives. The food was great - especially the egg salad sandwich. The staff were very friendly. In the last months, we had even begun to converse a little bit. I knew I had to give them something.

Chrys and I had some desserts - mmm, chocolate parfait - and coffee. Roo picked at her scones, as usual. When we got up to leave, I took the small bag with the towels to the kitchen. They seemed amazed and very touched. As we checked out, they brought over a gift wrapped bag and told me it was a present for me. As we left, I shed many tears as did they. As we got to the car, one of the women ran out to say "arigatou" because she had missed us inside. I cried harder, especially when I looked up to see her standing on the ledge with red eyes.

I miss that shop. The gift was two little mugs with their store logo. I haven't been able to bring myself to use them just yet. I cry just thinking about not being able to go there.

Nevertheless, my most heartwrenching goodbye was as we went to drive away from our hotel on the last morning. The valet started frantically waving as we pulled out. I stopped and saw Emi (Ayaka's mom) in the rearview mirror. I got out of the car and she was near frantic. She brought a small doll for Roo. She said it was a twin doll and that Ayaka had the mate. Roo named hers Ayaka-doll. We hugged and said goodbye yet again. I promised her that somehow, we would meet up again. I hope I can fulfill that.

First Goodbyes

On December 8, we went to our last Gym Rompers class. A big deal was made about the fact that it was Roo and my last class. Photos were taken, including one of the whole group. More Japanese songs were sung for us. Goodbyes were said. It was pretty easy to get through, even though I knew I'd never see most of them again. I think it was partly, or mostly, due to the fact that our departure was still so far away. It made it easier somehow.

On December 15, we went to the Christmas concert. It was beautiful. Lights, music, songs, games for the kids, Santa. Roo had a great time. We were given some presents. My favorite was the photo that was taken at our last class by the leader. She had matted it and decorated it in a lovely stand up that I will display for a very long time. Roo's favorite was a bag full of Kitty things from Ayaka-chan. She even got some gifts from Santa. More goodbyes were said, but it was still easy to say. After all, we were two weeks away.

Onsen

To you and me, that means hot spa. Oh delight!

One of my bestest friends from school is here visiting and I decided that her first weekend needed to be at a hot spa. One, I was looking for the dose of courage that she would provide to go nude into the spas. Two, I was looking for a night by myself with her so we could talk girly things in peace without having to worry about Roo. I got both and it was delightful.

First, there was the trip there. Unzen is a beautiful little town buried in the mountains around Mount Unzen-Fugen (the volcano nearby). Well, turns out that, in the middle of December, there's snow in them thar hills. Yeah...snow. Lots and lots of snow. Turns out, too, that it's bad to ignore the signs suggesting snow chains even if the first one seemed a bit immature. We did two tries up the hill, failed both times, and found another route that had little to no snow. It took us about 3 hours to get there, but we did it.

There was lots of snow in Unzen that night. It was beautiful to see the snow and the steam from the "hells" in the night lights.

Having skipped lunch, we opted for an early dinner (5p). They were a bit surprised, but able to work us in. Dinner was amazing. Skillets for cooking mushroom and beef. A small pot with tofu, veggies and other delectables cooking as the soup boiled. Plates and plates of sushi. Tempura. We ate far too much, but not a bit was bad.

Then, we changed into our yukata robes and were off to the public baths. We sort of banked on the fact that everyone else would be at dinner and it turns out we were right. We had the bath to ourselves. We showered (like good public bath goers) and then hopped in. It got warmer as the water circulated and we ended up getting too warm and leaving after only a few minutes. We showered again (per custom) and went to our room. Dessert was waiting for us - almost creme brulee and so tasty. Then, we crashed. Yeah, it was early - we were exhausted from the angst of the drive.

The next morning, we woke early and had some of the cake they had left in our fridge. Then, we had our breakfast in the 1st floor restaurant. It started with a fish (still bony...not my thing) that we threw on a grill and ended with the egg and bean sprout mixture that had gone on when the fish was done. In between there was miso (yum), rice, and salad with goma dressing (double yum). It was traditionally Japanese and made me very happy that I usually opted for the Western menu.

After that, was our private bath time. We found what we thought was our bath, only to be stopped by someone asking if we were ok. I showed him our room key and he escorted us to a HUGE outdoor spa. It was lava rocks and open air and COLD (well, the trip to the shower and from shower to bath was), but so beautiful. It was so amazing to be all toasty warm in the bath and have the cool outdoor air on our faces. The snow was just that extra touch of WOW! that made it all so worthwhile. We had just enough time to get back to our room, dress and check out.

On the drive back, we stopped at a noodle house and had amazing udon. It was a great taste of Japan for both of us.

Japanese porcelain

The Japanese are an interesting bunch. They don't appear to really get sets of china. Well, they never entertain or feed more than their immediate family at home so I suppose it makes sense that they don't need settings for more than 4 or 5.

The other interesting thing is that they seem to collect cups. They find one or two that they like and then find one or two more. I don't see many matched sets of cups or other items. Mostly, it is a collection of items that are all very beautiful and sometimes coordinate (based on the tastes of the buyer), but aren't identical as they would be in the US.

It's kind of a freeing concept when you're shopping in Japan. You don't need to remember exactly what pattern you bought before. You just find something in the right color scheme and it will look very nice in your "set".

Beijing, China (Days 3 & 4)

Day 3, I woke to another wonderful breakfast. Being up earlier than my travel companions, I got to enjoy the view from my hotel room. I watched the sun rise on the Forbidden City. It was just beautiful.

After they were up, we decided to head out silk shopping. I asked the porter to get us a cab to the Beijing Silk Store (a store listed in our travel book). Well, apparently he didn't know that so he sent us to Xiushui. This wasn't a bad deal, just unexpected, and would not enable us to walk back to the hotel as I'd hoped. Oh well...

Xiushui (Silk Street) is an interesting place. It's jam packed with little stalls. The proprietor of each yelling "hey lady, I give you good price, you want ?, I give you morning price, you friend, etc" It's deafening after a while and certainly overwhelming. Turns out, they don't like you to help others haggle, either. You get dragged away to other shops while your friend struggles with her purchase. Oh well, I stuck to my own haggling and came away with a jacket, a pants outfit for RC, and about 15m of silk to make skirts with. I also got a cheap (<$8) pearl and jade necklace that I'll restring to make it look nicer. The prices weren't great, but certainly cheaper than I would have paid in the US. Most people carried about the same stuff and deals were to be had by going from shop to shop pricing things out. It was fun, but exhausting after a couple of hours.

Once we exhausted our shopping, we had to find a cab to the Hard Rock Cafe. I wanted shirts to add to the collection. I had the address in English from the web site. A nice woman at information wrote it in kanji for us and we got there. Lunch was typical fare, but I got my shirt.

Back to the hotel to unload and then a quick stop out to the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. They had 3 and it was dinner time so we got to watch them gorge themselves on their bamboo. They were pretty cute to watch. It was brutally cold so we didn't stop to wander the rest of the zoo, but got another cab back to the hotel.

Interesting note on the cabs in Beijing - it only cost us 20-30 RMB to get anywhere from our hotel ($2-$4). Secondarily, if it hadn't been for the little post card map I found in the hotel stationary pouch, we might still be stuck at Xiushui. No one had any idea where our hotel was, must less by "Novotel" or "Peace Hotel." Each drive would pore over the map and eventually get us there, but it took many viewings of the map.

Furthermore, driving there seems to be at your own risk. They often use the white lines as guidance for the center of the car. It's worse than NYC or Boston and I detest both of those from a driving perspective.

We opted for the hotel buffet again and then had massages at the spa. I have very sensitive skin and (as Chrys has always worried) didn't enjoy most of the massage. I liked the face, head, neck. The lower back I could have done without as that was feeling very sensitive that night. It wasn't expensive and a good way to test it out. I did feel relaxed so she must have worked out any kinks despite my tensing up at the pressure in some locations. I've had a Swedish Massage recommended as my next experience. After packing and shower, I was out for the night.

The guide picked us up at 6:30 the next morning (just last enough to allow a quick pass at the breakfast buffet). We got the airport and through customs without incident. We flew to Dalian. We circled Dalian. We were rerouted to Tsentsing (or something). We waited for a couple of hours. We flew back to Dalian and observed the multiple inches of snow they were still shoveling in certain areas. We finally got to Fukuoka 4 hours late and, after I got searched by customs, drove home.

Have you seen Dodgeball, the movie?

Well, I'm pretty sure it's based (at least in part) on reality. We had the good(?) fortune to catch it on TV when we were in Nagasaki one night. It's hilarious!

They are just as into it and driven as the guys in the movie. They do slo-mo plays and everything. I'm pretty sure some of the moves were stolen from the movie (or vice versa).

If we hadn't been afraid of waking RC, we probably would have been rolling on the floor laughing.

Beijing, China (Days 1 & 2)

For a four day tour, we spent two days at the aiport and in planes so the advertising leaves a bit to be desired. Getting into China from Japan is a two step process. We flew from Fukuoka to Dalian. In Dalian, we went through immigration. It was pretty painless. We got there pretty late and all of the shops were closed. They opened them for us and we got to start ogling silks and get ideas for omiyage on the way home. After about an hour, we went on to Beijing where we went through customs. We met the tour guide just outside baggage claim and were on our way to the hotel (a 40+ minute drive in the evening traffic).

Now, the funny thing - we were 4 Americans (3 adults and a baby) on a Japanese tour. We were the ONLY people on the tour. Our guide was a Chinese woman that had been studying Japanese for 4 years. She spoke a little English. It was pretty darned entertaining.

We had a late dinner at the hotel - the seafood buffet was delicious and the sweet and sour pork to die for. They had made to order crepes and other fabulous desserts. Decadent stuff. The gift shop showed lots of promise. Tons of items - very reasonably priced. We got a peek of what we'd be in for on our shopping expeditions and were thrilled.

We woke early on day 2. Breakfast at the hotel was amazing. They had made to order crepes again for breakfast, omelettes to order, fresh french toast and waffles, fruits, pastries, dumplings (oh, YUM!), fried rice with raisins (OMG, delicious!) and a bounty of other delights that I ran out of room before I got to taste.

At 8am, we met our tour guide and we were off to Tienamen Square.

Let me digress a bit: It was cold. Not just chilly, but bone chilling, wind piercing your jacket, want to keep moving so you don't freeze in your spot cold. I was, stupidly, unprepared for this. I was warm enough, but very sorry I didn't at least bring a sweater to layer with and maybe my muffler. Oh well...

At Tienamen Square, we stared amazed at the line of people waiting to see Mao. Apparently in the winter, you only have to wait about an hour to get in and can view him for about 10 minutes. We decided to skip in favor of something less windy than standing in the middle of a paved square. The architecture around the square was amazing. The square itself is just huge. You feel very small just standing there. Everywhere were vendors offering to sell hats and gloves to the unprepared - I staunchly resisted, despite their zeal, and the temptation of the furred cap like the national guards wear.

Once done admiring the square, we took the underground tunnel to the other side of the street. This was MOST appreciated considering our route into Tienamen Square consisted or walking across a 6 lane street with no light and no crosswalk. Apparently honking means "I'm not stopping for you, stupid tourist" and we took care.

Across the square is the Gate of Heavenly Peace that leads into what the Japanese call the Kokyuu Museum. Turns out, that's the Forbidden City - delight! We began our walk through, admiring the emperor's road (the center lane of the path through the city, most often paved with very large stones covered with intricately carved dragons), and the father and mother lions (father stands on a ball, mother soothes a baby with her nail) that are a commmon theme. The architecture and grandeur is just astonishing. The carvings and paintings are detailed and eye catching. There is symbolism everywhere. It's truly amazing. It stretches on forever, too. The guide estimated it would take us 3 hours and I think we were there for 4. I could have spent many more just wandering from building to building and admiring the detail. Maybe I'll go back in the spring some day so I can enjoy it more. Near the end, we stopped at the requisite Starbucks to warm up and admired the art display in the gift shop.

Upon leaving the city, we drove to the Friendship Store. This is a total tourist trap. Upstairs, though, we were served a marvelous array of items for lunch. It was more than we could possibly eat, but each item was delicious. There were a variety of things from which to choose and most I have no idea what they were. The downstairs is gift central. They certainly have selection cornered. It was quite overwhelming to look through everything.

After the Friendship Store, we drove on to the Great Wall. We ended up at the Badaling section (which is the most reconstructed, and least authentic area). The drive there takes you through many of the mountains so you get to see many other pieces, though. It's remarkable to watch it spread and unfold before you. The wall itself - it's hard to describe the feeling just looking at it. It's immense. We opted for the lesser traveled left side of Badaling at a friend's suggestion. It was quite steep. I got past the 3rd tower and decided to head back. Given the number of people selling "I climbed the Great Wall" memorabilia at that point, I think it was a common turnaround point. Much of that stretch felt almost straight up and the rest looked worse. It was cold - did I mention there was snow on the wall? So neat to see. I was feeling wussy and wanted to give my travel companion a chance to climb - she'd stayed in the shop with the baby. Nevertheless, the view was astounding. You could see so much from even the distance I ascended to.

Once done at the Wall, we went to a tea tasting. I came home with lychee and rose teas that I will combine for delicious, self-sweetened cups of decadence. They are naturally caffeine free which I am really looking forward to in this caffeine rich society. Oh, my free gift was this little clay guy that you use to see if your tea water is hot enough. If you ever have tea with me, ask me to check the water. It's crude, but SO freaking funny.

After tea, it was off to learn about how silk is made. Fascinating stuff. I opted not to buy the silk comforters. (Though I regretted this last night as I lay freezing while Roo went to sleep. A $60 warm twin comforter with a delicious silk cover would have been delightful in there.) I picked up a dress for me and one for Roo, though. They had wonderful things, and I still can't get over how cheap it all is. We had to rush out of the shop as we were late for dinner.

Dinner - I cannot say enough about dinner. Beef that melted in your mouth and could be cut with a chopstick. Peking duck with plum sauce and rice flour wraps. Broccoli seasoned with something - sesame, maybe. I wasn't too keen on the spare ribs as they were pretty fatty, but everything else was just amazing. We ate it all, much to the disappointment of our tour guide. She feared it wasn't enough as the Chinese try to leave something when they are satisfied - being indulgent Americans, we couldn't leave a drop of such delicious stuff behind.

Then it was back to the hotel for blissful sleep. It was a long day, we were stuffed full and exhausted. Sleep came easy.