the difference of a year

So here we go again.  It is kind of weird how everything I wrote last year was tied to living in Japan.  Kind of like I felt my life was more interesting because I lived there(I did; it wasn’t).  Now, almost a year removed(and insanely so) I am picking up writing again…and it is about Japan.  Actually, maybe it isn’t, but the weird thing about living there for some time, and really not that much time in the grand scheme, is how much it affects me on a day-to-day basis.  So maybe what I feel is related to Japan is really just the way I feel about my life last year…and it just so happened to be in Japan.  Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but oh well…it’s late anyways.

I should say that a lot of this Japan stuff has really been on my mind that past two or three months and I don’t know why.  I think that I kind of did a Japan detox for a while just kind of getting into the normal pattern of living back in the states.  A lot of it started back up with the tsunami, realizing all the places we had visited that were devastated.  I know this is probably sounds terrible, particularly to my friends still in Aomori, but I almost wish I was there.  There is something about events like that that can pull people together and I feel like I missed out on something monumental.  I know it sounds terrible(and worse even to me since I can’t find a way to put it in text) but I feel like living in Japan gave me something special with the people we shared the time with.  But, as special as it was because we all shared the same experiences, we don’t share this one and there is no way I could ever relate.  Maybe that isn’t a bad thing, but it is something that I felt especially in the immediate wake of the catastrophe.  Obviously, I understand that it was a terrible thing that happened and maybe I only feel like this because I am distant and if I were there I would prefer to not have experienced it, but nonetheless.

More feelings about Japan bloomed around the beginning of the cherry blossom season.  I just kind of am starting to realize what an experience we had now and didn’t quite appreciate it like I wish I would have last year.  I actually started to get that way for about the last month we were there.  I even looked at some Nebuta pictures this past week as I started going back through all the photos I have not put out online yet.  I look so happy and those last few weeks reside so well in my mind that it makes it tough not to be nostalgic and kind of helpless about wanting to go back and not being able to.

Anyways, that is an excessive amount of rambling  getting to the point that initially brought me here(but I haven’t posted in forever so I’m allowed to ramble…so back off!).  What is most on my mind now is that I really want to go back to Japan.  A lot of stuff has come up in my life that makes me feel like this time would be better, but since living in Japan once was a HUGE blessing, making it there twice gets exponentially harder right?  That’s twice I have to sell my case to Melissa…and pause life…and find jobs there…and then when we get back.  But logistics aside…

I know I am ALWAYS a “grass is greener” kind of guy, and if I re-read my posts from last year I would probably laugh at this now, but I honestly feel like things are different.  Before we moved to Japan I was pretty down with a lot of things.  I wasn’t happy with my job and I kind of felt bottled up in my house since most of my friends were busy “growing up” or whatever.  Anyways, while in Japan I wasn’t happy with my job(though the job I found after we committed to coming home was nice) and while our friends there were great, I missed my friends back home and I felt like I was missing out on things and kind of being forgotten(which I realize is dumb since I was the one that moved away).

I wanted to get to Japan so bad and after only 1 year there I was SOOO ready to come home.  And my reasoning for wanting to come home couldn’t have been any more off.  So many of the friendships I missed in Japan didn’t really pan out.  That was certainly the hardest part about it all because that was one of the main things killing me over there and to come home and realize that we had moved on was hard…especially since I am one that puts so much emphasis on friendship.  But had I never gone I don’t think we would have realized we had grown apart so maybe it is good that the distance kind of expedited the process.

So after dealing with all these things, I actually had to confront my loneliness.  I dealt with it a lot last year(just ask Melissa).  I am one that CONSTANTLY needs to be with people and DOING.  So last year I had it and I blamed some of it on the situation.  Coming home was supposed to fix it, but didn’t.  Though I spent a depressing few months kind of dealing with that, I have come out on the other side realizing that I was ok to not be so busy.  I have had a lot of friendships kind of rekindle that I never expected, and even some new friendships arise.  So realizing I can be ok without constantly being surrounded AND having the new/rekindled friendships certainly has me feeling quite content.

And that is where Japan comes in.  I feel like now, after this HUGE process(which I now see as starting almost 3 years ago…maybe more) has kind of prepared me to take something like that on again.  I guess I needed to go overseas to prepare me to come home to go BACK overseas(stupid I know, but my mind works like that).  I even set some goals for myself and learning Japanese, something I was lazy enough not to bother with in Japan of all places, is one of them.  Before I start that I am going to finish organizing pictures but I am diligently working on that.

I don’t know if I will ever live in Japan again and I guess I am at a point where I can handle that.  But, I am certainly going to be very diligent to prepare myself to go back and maybe in a few years Melissa will be up for another go and things will work out for us somehow.  Who knows what is coming up, but I certainly have been on a process and I know it sounds crazy to think we could end up there once, so what’s to disqualify us from making it twice?  Here’s to the process!

adam

we are not in Japan but…

I can’t do Facebook from work because “the man” doesn’t trust me, but I wanted to post this since it would populate in FB to let you all know Melissa and I are in the land of non-events(Oklahoma). However, the earthquake that did hit Sendai was in the same area of the country that we lived last year. I would imagine the tsunami stuff won’t/hasn’t affected my city due to the geography of the bay, but I read that the port was flooded in Hachinohe(a city in our prefecture) and we know some folks there. Also, my former boss’s son lives in Sendai so keep all of those people in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for looking out for us and keeping us in your thoughts. Hopefully I will be able to hop back on here soon and give some updates on our lives. I have actually had the itch to write some more blogs and have just been easing into it with some transition happening in my life.

adam

current emotions

So, the strangest thing about moving back is that NOTHING felt different.  When we came home at Christmas it was a very “woah, I’m jeg-lagged and omg TACO BELL!”  This time, however, was almost anti-climatic.  I honestly expected it to be a lot more because of the added time home and the fact we were not on vacation but trying to get resettled.

So enough time has passed now and I am finally able to think about my past-life.  I know this is weird, but it seriously doesn’t even feel like Japan ever happened for us.  Something that shaped me so much and unless I remind myself it pretty much never happened.  There was not any sort of party(though I hope to have a Japan themed party soon with some pics and delicious food).  It really is strange and kind of hard to cope with.  Did it ever happen?  Was it worth it?

Well, I can say now with certainty that it was most certainly worth it.  Looking through pictures has been really rewarding and a huge boost to my low morale.  I am only saddened to see the faces and places I feel that I took for granted.  The real problem for me is that I was in such a rush to get back because I was feeling really really low at the time and now that I am back and it isn’t anything close to what I felt I was coming home to I would almost just rather be in Japan still.  I guess if I am going to be bored and down, why not be bored in down in Japan where at least I can claim life experiences or whatever.

And here I am back where I was last year.  When we moved to Japan I was desperate for a change of pace and scenery.  When I was in Japan I was desperate to be back with friends and family.  I can’t deny my low feelings in Japan.  I remember how miserable I was for at least the last few months, but I honestly feel the same way here and knowing what I know now, I would probably have stuck it out another year(Melissa permitting).  I don’t know.  It is just hard to deal with I guess.

I am, as it seems, always happier in the recesses of my mind.  Optimistic about the future, pesimistic about the present, longing for the past.  It is really hard to live life this way.  I mean, I build up the possibilities of the future so much and appreciate the bright spots of the past that all I see in the present is the bad.  Am I really ever happy in the present?  I mean, if my mind looks to the past and how happy I was, didn’t I have to be happy at the time?  The part that scares me is that maybe I never was.  Or at least maybe I wasn’t nearly as happy as I make myself out to have been.  I don’t know.  I really can’t even sum up what I am dealing with because it is a complex amount of questioning of life and my role in it, but I just don’t want to regret anything and it seems that I am always regretting letting the past get away.  I know many of you will probably think “oh, well now that you know that just appreciate the present!” which I know is the obvious response, but not at all realistic according to my feelings.  The biggest curse of it all.

Adam

back

So, I know it has been ages since I have written, but I have been in a big funk I guess.  I think I wrote last about our trip, but haven’t posted those because I only made it a few days in and just never got back to it.  Maybe I will post what I have sometime and briefly cover 10 days in a few paragraphs…I don’t know.

Anyways, August marked the last few days we had in Japan.  We spent about 10 days from July 25th with our dear friend Bec and really just hung out trying to finish up whatever we could.  We were able to go shopping a few more times to pickup all the little things we talked about all year and finally decided we would like to take home.  We went to firework shows and street fairs and of course – Nebuta.  I am actually in the process of sorting out all the pictures from Japan since I am just now able to get back to thinking about Japan.  Look for them on our flickr in the next few days.  Everything from last fall until Korea(oh yeah, we went there too).

In America now I am still unemployed.  Melissa is working a social work job through OU.  Things are slowing down substantially and I am actually going to write a separate entry about all of that next.  Just wanted to update you on our whereabouts.

 

Adam

Here Come the Goodbyes

As you know, we are moving back to the U.S in a few weeks, which means the end of my job as an ALT and many goodbyes. I think it can be said that you can’t really appreciate how much people and experiences mean to you until you have to say goodbye to them. At least that is what I am feeling now, after saying my first set of goodbyes last Friday on my last visit to Namiyou Yougo Gakkou, or Namioka School for Special Needs.

The students and teachers at Namiyou stole my heart from my first day last September – which seems like forever ago. I have visited every other Wednesday since then and have grown quite close to the people there. While I also love my students at Nishiko, I teach about 275 of them and saw a whole new group of them with the start of the new school year in April. So, with some exceptions, I haven’t gotten quite as close with the students there.

The students at Namiyou, of all ages and with a vast variety of challenges – from special health needs to physical and cognitive disabilities – have welcomed me into their lives with smiles and gratitude. Many of the high school students speak English quite well, which allowed me to connect to them. The students who had more limited English abilities still tried to speak to me, and we often ended up playing a funny game of gestures that was almost as effective.

The teachers are some of the kindest people I have ever met. They would go out of their way to make me feel comfortable, offering me hot tea upon my arrival, trying to communicate with me in English, and treating me as one of them. The way I was received at this school is hard to put into words, but I just felt genuinely welcomed into the community of the school and like everyone wanted me to share myself – my culture, experiences, and skills.

Even though I was well aware of how much I was going to miss everyone, my emotions hadn’t really caught up to my thoughts until I was giving my goodbye speech to the students and teachers. I honestly didn’t even consider that I would shed tears, but suddenly and unexpectedly I began to about halfway through my speech (the English version). After the students and teachers presented me with lots of notes and gifts, I left for the last time with both my hands and my heart full. My time at Namiyou was a very special time that will remain close to my heart, and I am so glad that out of all the schools JETs visit in Japan, I was chosen to go to this particular school.

~Melissa

tokyo day 3

So we have been home for about 1.5 weeks and I am finally getting back to updating the blog.  I wanted to post a few times while traveling, but most nights we ended up back to our hotel pretty late.  My goal is to post a blog per day of our trip because we truly did a lot.

So, as I said in the last post, day 3 of Tokyo was spent in Harajuku and Shinjuku.  First thing in the morning we headed to Harajuku.  For anybody familiar with Japanese fashion craziness, you certainly know about Harajuku.  There is a little street of shops filled with tons of teenagers dressed in everything from punk anime style clothes to porcelain doll to house maid uniforms.  It really is something to be experienced.

Another great thing about seeing Harajuku is that beyond the highschool wild fashions lies a district of top notch fashion stores.  The contrast from skateboards and bicycles to Porsches and Ferraris in just a matter of steps is pretty awesome.  Of course Melissa and I aren’t at a place where we can spend that kind of money on clothes, we were able to find a pizza place(thanks Cravak) that had a buffet of American style pizza.  This was an instant victory.

Later that afternoon we headed to Shinjuku which is famously known for it’s red light district Kabukicho.  Some of you may think this sounds a bit strange or shady, but we wanted to see the area because it truly is party capital in Tokyo.  In fact, there are literally thousands of bars in just the Kabukicho district alone.

Before nightfall Melissa and I walked around and noticed a large amount of bars that could house no more than 4 people at the bar.  These tiny little bars were really cool to me because I could only imagine how expensive it is to rent space there yet they find a way to stay open.  That thought alone was enough to scare me from entering(50 dollar cover charge anyone?).

Once night broke the streets were flooded with people pouring out to bars and shady red lightesque things.  We really enjoyed just people watching and eventually found a cat cafe.  What is a cat cafe you might ask?  Well it is basically a coffee joint that you pay a premium on but while you are drinking coffee you are joined by a host of extremely clean cats(customers are required to wash their hands).  Only in Japan…  Anyways, we considered doing the cat cafe but opted to get a drink at a Scottish pub instead.

Some of you probably think it is strange to drink at a Scottish pub, but after living in Aomori for so long and being unable to find import beers it seemed like the correct choice.  I was VERY pleased with my choice of drink.  I had a couple Belhaven St. Andrews Scottish Ales.  I seriously hope that I can find more of that beer back in America because it was extremely delightful.  Japan is quite devoid of creamy ales unfortunately.

Full on fish and chips and tasty drinks, it was time to say goodbye to Tokyo.  The next morning we would be flying from Tokyo to Hiroshima.

Adam

pink hair guy

this guy was apparently famous. I am sure you can see why.

wish I was friends with this guy.

tokyo day 2

So as we are done with over half of our trip I thought I’d take the chance to update.

The day started with a trip to the southeast side of town to Tsukiji fish market.  Recently there have been changes to what tourists can see at the market so I was a bit afraid the trip across town was going to be a lot of wasted time since there is pretty much nothing else we wanted to see in the area.  When we got there, the street vegetable market was bustling with old women buying their fresh produce for the day.  We pushed through the crowds and finally made it to the fish market at around 9, well after the peak hours.  We were not let down.

Typically if you were to walk into somebody’s place of business as if it was a tourist attraction it would be a bit absurd(unless they work at Disney World I guess), but this day-to-day operation is something that is really amazing to see in person.  There are locals buying up fish before it is shipped off to supermarkets.  There are men driving cars just wide enough to fit down the aisles(no kidding).  There are tourists snapping photos of the chaos around them.  It really is great.  And the absolute best part is stopping in for some breakfast sushi on the way out of the market.  There is something great about eating food that is just a few short hours from living…even though that sounds morbid.

After Tsukiji, it was off to Bridgestone Art Museum.  This was Melissa’s portion of the day.  While I enjoy art, I am not into impressionism which was the highlight of this exhibition.  I will say though, it is really cool to stand a few inches from a highly recognizable Picasso or Monet painting.  It should also be noted that seeing a Monet in person is enough to turn a skeptic into a fan.  Posters always make the paintings look so boring, but to see the textures and layers of oil paint really added so much to a seemingly boring painting.  Pollock still has work to do to impress me.

That evening we headed to Ebisu Palace(turns out it was actually Ebisu Place, but we still prefer the old name).  Ebisu is the premium line of Sapporo beer and like Sapporo, there is a museum tour with tasting at the end.  I was able to taste a few of Ebisu beers and both were really good.  One was a creamy stout beer much like Guinness and the other was an amber.  Ebisu Palace was kind of like a large outdoor mall district or whatever.  It is part of a new Tokyo trend of “cities within a city.”  Anyways, the aforementioned beer museum is the namesake, but the real core is a 39 floor building with a great view of the city.  The great view, however was lined with the expensive restaurants, and the decent view was lined with the “we can afford this” stuff.  All in all, a nice dinner and a nice evening.

Following that we opted to walk about 25 minutes to Shibuya.  Shibuya is one of the great night scenes in Tokyo and something we both considered a must.  The walk was actually one of my favorite parts about Tokyo.  I really can’t describe it other than it was kind of like America, but in a chilled out part of LA or something.  There were tons of restaurants and bars and cool little shops with trendy clothes.  It was the kind of place you meet up with friends and drink wine or something.  I really liked the vibe.

Shibuya was also great, but in a not at all peaceful way.  Shibuya brags the busiest train station in Japan and the busiest intersection in the world.  Every few minutes the intersection closes completely to traffic and floods of people march through every part of the intersection on their way to a bar or karaoke joint.  It is remarkably relaxing to watch the floods of people move about the night.  The Shibuya night, while one of my favorite in Tokyo, was actually quite chill for us.  My highlights were Krispy Kreme donuts and Burger King.  I know many will criticize me for this, but seriously BK owns and I have almost zero options for American food in Aomori(haven’t seen an American burger chain outside of McD since…America.  and BK is my favorite).  Other than those two vices, it was pretty much people watching and me posing with the Hachiko dog(side note – this dog is actually a statue of a dog.  It is the number one meeting place in Tokyo.  The statue is of a real dog that waited at the station for his owner.  When his owner died he continued to wait at the station daily for 11 more years.  The people loved him and when he died they memorialized him.  The rest is history.).  My brother had told me about the dog and it was my goal to see him if I did nothing else…for my brother :).

Next up… Harajuku and Shinjuku.

quick update

So, I have been in quite the mood to write, but as it is going so far we have been busy pretty much from rise until fall every night.  That is kind of great and kind of not at times.  We want to do everything possible and we aren’t doing so much we don’t enjoy ourselves, but we are truly soaking up every moment of this experience.  It is great minus blisters on three of my toes…oh and the added pains of extended walking.  It actually is starting to numb out though so that is good.

Anyways, since day one we have seen Picasso and Monet paintings.  We have been to Krispy Kreme.  We have seen the crazy outfits of Harajuku and the extremely raunchy excesses of Shinjuku.  We have been to the peace memorial in Hiroshima(btw, we are in Hiroshima now and will leave tomorrow night).  We have spent a day on Miyajima.  Very busy, very amazing.  Can’t wait to tell you about it.

Oh, and so far we have traveled by bus, subway, train, monorail, airplane, trolley, boat, gondola, and foot.  We will be using taxis and potentially bicycles in Kyoto.  Had I considered record for most modes of transportation in 2 weeks I probably would have dumped the insane amount of money to ride in a jinrikisha(the man-pulled cart).  There is always Kyoto…

Adam

tokyo day one

Last night at 9 pm our trip officially started.  As is usual with all things Japanese, we left not a moment later than we were supposed to.  Our overnight bus was slated for 9.5 hours from Aomori to Tokyo.  That didn’t seem too bad, especially considering that our bus was almost completely unoccupied.  As it turns out, however, our seats on the nearly-empty bus were right next to an old woman who talked to herself and snored extremely loud.  So after 9.5 hours of sleeping in a chair with a snoring woman just feet away, I was ready to get off the bus.

Melissa and I were on the move from Ueno Station at about 7:30 or so and on our way to McDonald’s after a stroll through Ueno Park(think Central Park…I guess…I have never been to NYC).  I can’t explain it, but starting the day off with some hotcakes is just a huge success.  Being so early, there was barely anything open so we headed to Asakusa to see Senso-ji temple.

Tokyo really isn’t the place to see temples or shrines, but what makes Senso-ji worth the trip is that it has a long corridor of shops that sell anything from key chains to swords to traditional snack food to dog kimonos(for 4000 yen it is a shame because I wanted to get one for my parents’ dog).  The walk down didn’t offer much as many shops were still opening and foot traffic was low, but after wasting some time on the temple grounds our return trip was everything I wanted.  I just love the walk looking for neat little trinkets and bargains amidst the sea of people.  It is basically a non-white trash flea market with cool stuff(unless, of course, you are Japanese).

Afterwards we were harassed by rickshaw runners(pilots? drivers?) to ride their man-powered carts on our way back to Ueno.  This portion of our day was dedicated to museums and we started at the granddaddy of them all, Tokyo National Museum.  Inside the walls of Japans oldest museum, one can find many forms of art and artifacts, but for me it is always a rush to the “Military Elite” section.  Coming from America and growing up wanting to be a ninja(and yes, ninjas are way better than pirates), I have always been fascinated with the mystery of samurai.  I was aware of the quality of swords in the Edo Period, but seeing the amazing craftsmanship of 800 year old swords is what really blew me away.  I mean, you could see the difference between the 1300s swords and 1800s swords, but the older swords must have been like owning an Abrams tank or something.  Seriously high-tech, even by today’s standards.

We then, for the first time in our day, were able to settle a bit.  Our trip planning was helped immensely by my former study abroad advisor.  He volunteered to book all of our hotels and was great enough to put us in interesting parts of the city.  We are staying in the Cube Hotel.  I assume the name comes from the size of the bedroom, which has about zero floor space.  But even for its size, I really like it.  It is very nice and really I didn’t expect much area in Tokyo anyways.  And it sure beats the capsule hotels I have read about(and I believe my friend Crave stayed in).  For those it is quite literally a bed in a little capsule and that is all you get.  Kind of like sleeping in a washing machine(google it).

Our hotel is pretty much right on Ameyoko – a street bazaar that is full of all kinds of random things.  From an evening walk through the network of streets, it seems to focus on shoes, fruit, clothing and fish; quite the combo.  An interesting feature is that the entire area is set up directly underneath an elevated train line.  We even found a cool little curry restaurant that shook violently every time a train coasted by overhead.  It was a really good feel.

And finally, to end our LONG day, we went to Akihabara.  Akihabara is also known as “Electric Town.”  It is the place to go if you want to buy ANY kind of electronic or game(and most likely the area the “42 Game” from the Fenrick childhood was bought).  It is also the cosplay and arcade capital of Japan.  Unfortunately for us, by the time we got there most of the electronic shops were closed.  I really wanted to see this in full force because from what I read it really is quite mind-blowing the amount of things for sale, but I hopefully will have another chance if Kelleher and I come back to Tokyo in a few weeks.

Anyways, because of the early-ish end to our night I was able to update this.  I may try to write a bit every night for my own record, but if not you may not hear from us in a while.  We are having a great time and really soaking up everything we can.  Our itinerary has lots of great options.

Next up: Tsukiji fish market, Bridgestone Art Museum, Shibuya(really looking forward to this).

Adam

finally here…

Last year about this time we began gearing up for our stain in Japan.  Our one big goal was to take the most amazing journey to see as many cool sites as we could in a mega-vacation.  Starting Wednesday that dream will finally be realized.  Our trip will take us from the dense and chaotic Tokyo to the tranquil and picturesque Miyajima to the ancient and culture filled Kyoto.  I hope to give a full write up afterwards, and maybe even a bit along the way, but for any interested, here are some of the sites we intend to see…

Tokyo

Ueno Kōen

Sensō-ji

Edo-Tokyo Museum

Akihabara

Tsukiji Fish Market

Bridgestone Museum of Art

Shibuya

Ebisu Garden Palace

Harajuku

Shinjuku

Maid cafe

Hiroshima

Hiroshima Peace Park

Mitaki-dera

Sandan-kyō

Miyajima

Entire day on the island…

Kyoto

Kinkaku-ji

Ryōan-ji

Uji

Byōdō-in

Fushimi Inari

Path of Philosophy

Ginkaku-ji

Nanzen-ji

Heian Shrine

Gion(aka Memoirs of a Geisha land)

Sanjūsangen-dō

Kiyomizu-dera

Nijō-jō

Nara

Anything possible to fit into one day

Kōya-san

Anything possible to fit into one day

Osaka

Dōtonbori

Osaka-jō