photo by Stephanie Burnett

"Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores."

   - Walden, Henry David Thoreau -

The Great Wave

 

Last week I rushed to a map of Japan to find proximity of Gifu to Sendai, hoping they were no where close to each other. I was relieved to find that there is a good distance between the two.



August 1994, following my high school graduation, I had the fortunate experience of traveling to Japan for about 2 weeks with a group of teenagers. (Ironically, my mom also stayed in Japan the summer following her graduation.) This was my first time flying on an airplane, 14 hours later we landed at the Narita airport. The combination of heat and humidity was like nothing I had experienced before! Then we took a bus ride for several more hours to Gifu. I was already amazed by the landscape, terraced rice paddies on one side of the highway, a racing bullet train and bustling cities on the other.

Not only was the trip by itself great,

but I shared the experience with one of my best friends.

We arrived at Kakamigahara City Hall late that night and waited excitedly to meet our host families. I met my family, the Watanabe’s; Kunio, Tomoko, their 10 year old daughter Mariko, 8 year old son Junpei and Kunio’s elderly parents. That first night is still a blur and thankful for the short drive to their home. I was exhausted and after exchanging a few gifts I put my head on my buckwheat hull-filled pillow, blinked, and it was already time to wake up.

Kunio, Tomoko, Me, Mariko, and Junpei

Breakfast...a salad with an Asian-version of Thousand Island dressing, and miso soup. Have I mentioned that I used to be the pickiest eater in the world? Not helpful when traveling to a foreign country. Luckily, I didn’t struggle too much with the cuisine and I loved that Kunio owned a restaurant that (to the best to my knowledge) translated to “The Spaghetti Jungle.” I still don’t know what I ate in some of those dishes, but it was delicious.

Wasabi anyone? 

I still feel the same way towards most sushi.

I immediately noticed the little, and not so little, differences. They are impeccably clean people, second only to my Aunt Pam. Tokyo was litter-free, their home was spotless, and then there was the bathroom. The toilet was located in its own room separate from the rest of the bathroom with specific house slippers to use while in there. What a novel idea! The toilet itself was half robot, complete with its own control panel. There was a bidet option, seat warmer, gluteus maximus massage, and though I’m not certain, the ability to launch a small spacecraft into orbit. I didn’t dare try any of them for fear of pressing the one falsely announcing to those inside the house that I was fresh out of toilet paper and fearing they would walk right in with a delivery, as the females had no qualms about doing that while I was showering. That was weird.

 

Kyoto

During my “home-stay” my family not only took me to places such as Inuyama Castle, Buddhist temples, the Sea of Japan, Kyoto and Nagoya, but showed me what their everyday life was like. We went shopping for groceries, watched the kids karate lessons and some insane game shows on TV, went swimming, and “camping” which was more like an all-day picnic in the forest, and of course, karaoke.



Sea of Japan
Mihama Nuclear Plant on the left

The grocery store was quite an experience! We didn’t have Target around here yet, so the concept of buying everything from kimonos, watches, books, and food in one place was amazing. That was the first time I’d seen a nashi (Asian pear) the size of a basketball. (While growing up, my best friend had a nashi tree in her yard; they grew to about the size of a small apple. I was already familiar with them and loved the taste, but these were incredible!) Then Kunio motioned for me to see what he found on the floor near one of the displays. It was an insect (probably a beetle) the size of my hand. I still get chills thinking about it, it was disgusting! They found my reaction quite comical. So amusing, in fact, that later the kids took me for a walk amid a bamboo forest near their house. The area was beautiful and the noise from the cicadas was near deafening, and yet wonderful as I had never heard anything like it before. They showed me where to find more giant creatures and insects, and they picked them up without a second thought, running dangerously close to my face with them.





Just as I was feeling comfortable with the customs, language, and personalities of my host family, it was time to go. It was a solemn morning as we said goodbye to each other. Their hospitality & generosity was overwhelming, I felt I could never say “thank you” enough. We boarded the bus and headed to Tokyo for the last few days of our trip.

Only 5'3 but I felt like a giant there.

I can’t even begin to describe Tokyo. A bunch of teenagers, some really cool chaperones and a city that seemed to run 24 hours a day was phenomenal! We did most of our sight-seeing during the day and took the subway downtown at night. The city was lit up with neon signs, vendors selling knock-offs of every sort, and fresh, mouthwatering pineapple sold on the streets that were packed with pedestrians. It was so fun, but by the end of the trip I was homesick.

Downtown Tokyo

Since my visit, I have corresponded with the Watanabe’s and every year we exchange gifts at Christmas. A package arrives filled with intriguing candies, snacks, toys for my kids, pictures from their travels, and traditional Japanese decorative items and the clean paper-like scent on everything is exactly how I remember it in Japan. I was so excited when I learned that Mariko was planning a trip to Salt Lake City when she was 14 years old. Following a painstaking game of phone tag, I arranged for her to stay at my family’s home. At the end of her visit it was a tearful goodbye. I still consider the Watanabe’s my family and I’ll continue to wait anxiously until I know that they are safe.