Happy New Year

I hope you all had fun on New Years, and that this year brings peace and harmony to you and your family.

As Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, the winter break does not start until closer to New Years Eve. The first day of the break was the 29^th. Students went back to school on the 10^th of January. The teachers went back on like the 4^th or 5^th. Luckily for me, my Board of Education says there is no point in us AET’s being in school if there are no classes. I say no classes as opposed to no students at school, since it seems that the majority of kids went to school over winter break to practice with their clubs. I swear sometimes I really don't understand this place.

That all being said I still had my break, and I intended to use it. While some of the dudes here in town went home for the holidays, others had people coming to visit. Since I had neither, I accepted the gracious invitation from the Yamaguchi family to come and spend some time at their house. For those of you who don't know them, they are one of the families that I tutored in Vancouver. They lived in Van for about 4 years, and I tutored them for the better part of three and a half.

They live in Tokyo Prefecture, about 40 min out of downtown. So on Dec 30^th I boarded a Bullet Train and I was levitated to Tokyo. After doing a little train hopping, I finally made it out to their station. They came to get me at the station, and I was met by two of the three kids running up to me. I cannot believe how much they have grown. Anyway, we hopped in to their minivan and sailed off to their house.

Now I am from the countryside of Japan. Well it’s still developed, but people in the city treat it like the countryside, and really in comparison it is. With that in mind, I kinda made the assumption that space would be a definite premium in The City. Needless to say, I was more than a little surprised when I saw their house. I was expecting something pretty tight for space, but it turned out to be a fairly nicely sized house.

Everyone had rooms upstairs with the two little girls sharing a room. I had a futon (not like the couch kind in North America, this is the real deal) on the floor in the only room that had tatami floor. It’s amazing how comfortable it is sleeping on a futon on tatami. I am glad I have a bed at home here in the cold cold interior of Japan…especially since I have flooring in my bed room, but it wasn’t too bad in Tokyo. As far as the weather goes, there was no snow in Tokyo, and it was quite a nice temperature, but I now understand what people from Eastern Canada say about Vancouver winters. The temp was warm compared to what I was used to, but the air was damp like it is in Vancouver. That moisture just sucks the heat right out of you. It was actually kinda nice since it reminded me of being back in Vancouver.

During my stay we did many traditional Japanese New Year things. On New Years Eve (my first full day there) we went to a city called Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture. Kamakura was the base of power for the Samurai when they ruled Japan. It has considerable history, and a very large temple. Now tradition in Japan dictates that you must go to a temple/shrine on New Years Day. Apparently the shrine in Kamakura is the third most popular in Japan. Whit that in mind we went on New Years Eve, just to sight see. I got the full low down on the history of the place, and we did some traditional Japanese prayers, etc.

The Yamaguchis and I at a shrine (I think) in Kamakura

Writing on a prayer tablet

Hanging up my lucky fortune

Aiki and I.

After the temple, we went to Daibutsu. Daibutsu is a giant Buddha. It is really neat, because you can actually go inside of it. When we where in there checking it out, the kids and I noticed people had stuck coins into the joins in the brass that makes up the statue. The funniest thing is that I noticed one didn’t look Japanese…in fact it had the picture of Queen Elizabeth on the back. Since I couldn’t see the whole thing I am a little unsure, but I am willing to bet it was a Canadian Nickel of all things!
We ended up doing a little more sightseeing and then we played on the beach. There are some beautiful beaches in Kanagawa. They have a nice southern exposure on the pacific ocean, and the sand is fine and soft.

A beautiful photo taken by Aiki (almost age 7)

That night we started the real traditional elements of New Years. Just before the change of the year we had Toshi-koshi-soba (or is it koshi-toshi-soba…) Either way, it translates as the changing of the year soba. If you have never had soba, I highly recommend it. It is delicious buckwheat noodles, and Nagano is actually a little famous for it (almost everywhere in Japan claims to be famous for it’s soba, but Nagano actually is). After the soba we waited for midnight. As the clock struck 12, large temple bells all over Japan started to toll 108 times. We watched the telecast of it. After that we were all getting ready for bed when we heard Hanabi (literally flower-fire…or fire works). We headed out to see if we could catch them. We saw some of them but we retired when it seemed as if they had stopped. Murphy apparently doesn’t take a night off, because as soon as we were back in the house, they started up again.

The next morning brought the full onslaught of Japanese New Years. For the first few mornings of the New Year, Japanese families eat Osechi-ryori…or New Years Food. It is all food that lasts a few days so it can be eaten over the next few days to give the mom a break from making everyone breakfast. It includes many different things and many of them have significance to starting off a new year. For example there are white and black beans, I don't remember exactly what they represent, but it is something to do with having the seeds of a good year. We also had a whole side of fish eggs. Now, since I have been in Japan, I have had my share of fish eggs…some I like, others I don't. I have to admit that these fit into the latter, but to credit myself I ate almost all of them.

Osechi-ryori

Later that day we took a train to a temple in Tokyo Prefecture. The temple was completely packed. There was a line up about 8 people wide, and at least 700 metres long, just to get through the temple gate. It is funny how some things are the same around the world. One either side of the line up were vendor tents, most selling what the Japanese version of ‘festival food’ is. Once we got through the gate, there was a little more of a line to get to the shrine thingy. We tossed in our coins and clapped twice, then made a new year prayer. It was really cool.

On the way home we bought a kite. Apparently it is a traditional Japanese New Year activity to fly kites. When we were back in their neighbourhood we took the kite and some traditional badminton-like game. We had fun I the school yard until it got too cold to be outside.

Taiki and I playing traditional badminton game

Traditional writing is another New Years activity we tried. The kids wrote mottos for the new year...I wrote my name.

The second of January brought a really interesting experience. It is a treat that I know not every gaijin who visits Japan gets to do. We went to the Imperial Palace. We didn’t just go to it though; we went into the court yard. On January 2^nd the Imperial Family greets the nation. We went and saw the second of about 5 public greetings. They are called public, but really it is just the Emperor, Empress, and some of the family, up on a balcony. It was a only a few minuets long, but it was really neat. The Emperor just looked like an older Japanese man in a nice suit, but the Empress was in a beautiful dress that had a gradation from copper to silver. Later that day we went to the Edo-Tokyo-museum. It was a really cool place that documented the growth of what was initially a small farming village, in to the worlds most booming metropolis.

The next day brought a less traditional side of Tokyo. We went to Odaiba. For those of you who watch the Discovery Channel often, there is a documentary about this part of Tokyo. They refer to it as “Tokyo Teleport Town” or “T3.” I guess that is the English name for it, but damned if the Japanese people know it. This part of town has some large displays from some of the largest companies in Japan. We went to a big display centre for Toyota. It was pretty cool. There were tonnes of cars and all sorts of multimedia and interactive displays. We also went to a Fuji Television centre. Apparently that is where they film some of the very popular shows in Japan. Usually you can look down into the studios, but since it was around New Years, everything was on break. There was a tonne of fun things to see and do in and around Odaiba. It is known as a local hot spot for younger Tokyoites, and it did not fail to impress.

The next day entailed a lazy morning, and then my train ride home in the afternoon. I arrived home to my car a few feet in snow. It took the better part of 2 hours to clear it all away, but that was a small price to pay for the hospitality I received in Tokyo. The Yamaguchis really are like family to me. Their kids are full of energy and are pretty much monkeys. They were some of the best students I have ever had, and at 11 years old, Taiki the oldest, has already passed the 2^nd highest level of English Proficiency tests. That is the level that one of my English Teachers at school just passed last spring.

If I had to pick the best of the best of my trip, I would still have to make a list. Some of the top things include: seeing those wonderful kids again, and seeing how much they have grown, getting to experience a traditional Japanese New Year, and most definitely more than a few wonderful home cooked Japanese meals (I try to cook Japanese, but really what do I know compared to a Japanese mother of 3?).

They May have grown, but Aiki and Mizuki are still little monkeys!

My most heartfelt thanks go out to the Yamajuchis for having me as a guest. I had a wonderful time, and I really enjoyed everything we did. It is good to know that even though I am not Japanese, that I still have a Japanese family.

To the Yamaguchis:
Ojamma shimashita

& to everyone else
akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!