Monthly Archives: May 2024

Warning! Lots of photos coming up!

I want to start this post with an observation. – When I lived here in 1995-86 and when we travelled here in 2001 we didn’t really have free access to the internet. No cellphones, no Google translate. Traveling now is EASY now compared to then.  Having access to google maps has been a game changer. Google translate has a phone to help you with signs and labels, Google maps even tells you which train car to get on for fastest access, and the walking routes have been really helpful too. I have to say it also makes people a bit lazy because you don’t really need to know where you are going because you are relying on the phone.

So I went to bed around 10 last night and the woke up at 3am for around 40 min, but I did get back to sleep. At 6:30 I was woken by the sound of a Taiko drum being wheeled through town to remind people about the local Shrine festival Matsuri (Festival). I was very proud of myself because I was able to have a conversation in Japanese with a gentleman outside my door who was in one of the festival headquarters drinking beer at 9am this morning. The children’s participation in the festival was to start at 1pm, and it seems the regular festival events start around 5:30.

Here is a photo of one of the festival staging areas right outside my door. There have been people coming and going, eating and drinking since last night:

There were a lot of preparations going on in multiple staging areas in my neighbourhood. Many people asking around in Hapi coats, full festival outfits with Obi (sashes), Geta (traditional thong sandals), and headbands and bandanas tied around their heads. I really enjoyed just taking in the atmosphere and people watching. It has been very nice not having any schedule to adhere to.

I decided to wander through the area around the station again, and picked up some sunscreen. Erez called for a last minute consult as he was finishing packing before he left to catch his plane to Japan. I was in this multilevel department store and found this cool little are with wifi where I could talk to him. They also had a little free library where you could do a free book exchange.

I eventually made it to Ueno Park. It is a gorgeous area in the middle of the concrete jungle, with museums, temples, a pond where you can rent boats, and of course there are many spots to sit under a tree and relax.

I also almost stepped on this snake! This is a video of it slithering to safety.

This is the five story pagoda:

So many beautiful shrines. stone lanterns, and gardens.

Maybe a pomelo tree on the temple grounds?

One of the many entrances to the Ueno train and subway station:

There also seem to be random panda sculptures everywhere – this was was growing things 🙂

I then booted it back to my neighbourhood to see the children’s part of the festival. I followed two groups of families around through the streets. One group was pulling the wagon with the drum that was used this morning to wake everyone up. The second group had miniature ornate shrines that the kids were carrying on their shoulders through the streets in a parade. Every once in awhile, they would stop for a break and the organizers would distribute those little probiotic yogurt drinks. I just have to say that the kids were ADORABLE!!! It brought back memories of my time in Kazo city when I was partipating in our local festivals. I played drums on the wagons and got to carry the shrines on my shoulders. Here are a few photos and videos of the kid parades. Oh, I also caught this great shot of a lady walking her dog on full festival kimono.

Video of the first group:

Here is the the shrine-carrying group with the multi-instrumental drumming group. It reminded me of the group I was in when I lived in Kazo. Their musical group had a bamboo flute, two regular drums, one bass drum and a metal pan. Of course they have a different rhythm than we did. Every town had their own rhythm passed down through the generations. Here is the group carrying the shrines:

I decided to come home to the airbnb for a bit, take a rest and charge my phone – I am pretty tired. I am really looking forward to attending the festival tonight as well – it should be hopping. I also realized there is another festival happening this weekend about a 15 minute walk away and I apparently missed a big parade this morning. It is called the Asakusabashi Chestnut Festival. It will be happening tomorrow as well so I think I will head there in the morning. All the more reason that I needed to come home as rest for bit and write this blog entry! I have to pace myself 🙂

I found this 3 minute video online of the Chestnut festival opening ceremonies from a few years ago – it looks really cool if you have a few minutes to spare.

I am going to take a very short nap and then go back out to explore. I have already walked over 15,000 steps!

A store full of Prince Merchandising at the Minneapolis Airport – I was sprinting by, trying not to miss my connecting flight after the delay..

I am struggling to type as I have now been up for close to 30 hours but I am trying to beat this jet lag. I do not want to get up at 4 in the morning, so I am hanging on as long as I can .

The second leg of my flight from Minneapolis to Haneda airport in Tokyo was uneventful. I watched some tv and movies, did a lot of work on a wedding ceremony that is coming up in June, chatted with my seat neighbours. The food on Delta was surprisingly good.

Going through customs was hilarious. I wish I had been able to take photos or video, but there were signs everywhere saying not to use your phone. I didn’t want to be THAT woman. There were several planes that were coming at the same time, each with probably at least 600 passengers. It was a zoo. First we were all bottlenecked outside the gates, and then we went through what felt like a rat maze in a lab.  I had no wifi so I couldn’t count steps, but I feel like we got 10,000 just going back and forth, back and forth in line like they do at Disney. Luckily I was in no rush.

It was quite comical, we kept passing the same people and we were all laughing at how absurd the experience was.   I only took a carry on, so besides being a little confusing, I managed to get through customs. The agent was pretty shocked that I didn’t have a checked bag.

I spent a decent amount of time gathering myself in the lobby of the airport, installing my sim card, and planing out my transit route to get to my Airbnb. I did make one train mistake, but it was pretty minor – took the local instead of the express – still got there, albeit a little slower.

I am staying in an apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, hot plate with two burners, sink and a tiny washing machine.   All for $80CDN per night – not too shabby.

My focus tonight was to stay awake till at least 9pm, so I walked around my neighbourhood for a few hours including reading in a park. First I checked out where the language school is and I was delighted to discover is it, literally a 2 min walk away – at the end of my street.    

I had onigiri from a 7-eleven to tide me over till dinner, and then wandered the streets in this particular shopping district ( Okachimachi station area, right next to Akihabara, also know as electric town)., and found a great sushi place. I sat at the sushi bar, and had fantastic sushi. Turns out a little farther down the bar were a young couple from Ottawa.   

Ok, I am literally falling asleep while typing, but here are a few good photos – worth a least a thousand words each.    Sorry for the photo dump, but I am too tired to do much with them now.   

Here is the sushi place:                                   

In the middle of this busy commercial area, there are also small houses with intricate container gardening going on.

cool sculpture in the local park which reminded me of Henry Moore

Same park in the middle of the concrete jungle:

Shopping Area Shots:

Today begins a new adventure for me. I am travelling solo to Japan for 19 days.

It still hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Last night, Aubrey dropped me off in Toronto so I could hitch a ride with Tzachi (my Israeli brother) who was already taking someone else to the airport. My flight was scheduled to leave at 6:34am, requiring me to be at the airport, well, pretty flippin’ early. Tzachi is an extremely early riser, and was going to the airport anyway, so I was grateful for the lift. Aubrey was going to drive me, which would have totally wrecked his work day today, especially considering he got a call and had to work until early this morning.

I woke up just after 3am, and found out that my flight had been delayed by over two hours. Hopefully I will still make my connecting flight in Minneapolis.

I just wanted to send this out now, to warn you all in case you want to unsubscribe. I am hoping, as usual, to document this crazy adventure, and capture some of my feelings as I return to Japan after all these years.

For those of you that don’t know, I lived in Japan for a year in 1995-96. It was an amazing experience. I was on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program. I lived in a small town called Kazo around an hour and half out of Tokyo, and worked as an assistant English teacher at four middle schools. I was one of maybe 4 foreigners in the whole town of 50,000 people.

When I arrived, I barely spoke any Japanese. Except for the English teachers at the school, almost no-one spoke any English. Moving to Japan in some ways felt like moving to another planet entirely. Everything was so different, even when they seemed the same on the outside. For example, it was extremely hot and humid when I arrived and there was a 7-Eleven around the corner from my apartment. Excited for a cool refreshing taste of home, I eagerly ran in to get a Slurpee or a Big Gulp, only to find an entire wall of dried fish snacks, and many other completely unrecognizable items – not a Slurpee in sight…

That year was a huge learning experience for me, and taught me a lot about myself. It was the first and only time in my life I lived completely alone without family or roommates, and I had to learn how to navigate a completely different culture, not as a tourist, where I could barely speak the language. There is some poetic symmetry in me returning now, taking this adventure alone, for the first time in over 25 years

I was extremely fortunate to have been “adopted” by my Taiko drumming teacher, Yasuhide Mori and his family (more about them in a later post), which changed my whole experience in Japan. I have been very lucky in my life to have been the recipient of many acts of great kindness from complete strangers – this has definitely shaped who I am now.

I did return to Japan 5 years later with Aubrey and our friend Danny Rostenne for about 2 weeks in 2001. Many things had changed in that short period of time, I can’t imagine how much things have changed since then.

For my 50th birthday, I started hatching a plan to come to Japan with our whole family, but my 50th ended up being during the pandemic so it never happened. I did however start studying Japanese on Duolingo, and have listened to some Japanese language study podcasts. I also did a little bit of online tutoring, especially in the past few weeks leading up to this trip. I am sad to report that I feel that my spoken language skills are inadequate in spite of keeping up my Duolingo streak for 770 days. I have decided to consciously let my streak go, and have quit Duolingo for the meantime. I will be having plenty of time to praactice over the next 19 days, and will probably not want to be on the app. Our plan now is to still come to Japan as a family, perhaps in December of this year.

So why am I taking this trip now?

My eldest son Erez, who is just two years younger than I was when I moved to Japan, is doing a three month engineering coop placement in Japan this summer. He will be busy, and doesn’t need my help to set up, but I jumped at the chance to spend some time there. Well, sort of. I wanted to jump at the chance, but mulled it over for a LONG time. I only actually booked my flight two weeks ago. I kept finding reasons why I shouldn’t go, but I am really glad that I finally decided to do it.

Although I have planned much of the trip already, I have left a lot of time open as well for spontaneous decisions. I am landing in Tokyo on Friday afternoon and have left myself the weekend to adjust to the new time zone (13 hours ahead of mine). On Monday I will be starting a week of Japanese classes with a strong focus on conversation. I will be staying at an airbnb a 10 minute walk from the school. It is located right in the heart of Akihabara (Electric town). Next weekend I will be visiting the Mori family in Kazo. I can’t wait.

These blogposts are primarily so I can document my adventures for myself, but if you choose to come on part of this adventure with me, I apologize in advance for the bombardment that is about come.

My plane is about to board, so I will sign off here without even proofreading…

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Gambatte Kudasai!