Travel day! We woke up this morning in Tokyo, said a fond sayonara to the New Otani Hotel and headed to Haneda Airport and hopped on a flight to Kumamoto.
Last morning in Tokyo from the 40th floor:
Oh, and by the way, the Japanese are an incredibly honest people. We had learned this earlier when someone had left money in a bathroom and it was still just sitting there. But I learned it today when I got coffee at the airport and was so distracted, I didn't even realize I had left my iPad at the counter until the Starbucks girl came running towards me - after I had left and got to my gate and sat down. The poor thing was following me the whole time. An iPad. Tell me where in the US I would have gotten it back so quickly, if at all!
And without having to go to lost and found. Amazing.
So we found ourselves in an entirely new part of the country - a part that reminded me a lot of the northernmost part of the Philippines where my grandfather was from and Cervantes. Kumomoto is the "Land of Fire and Water" and the "Land of the Last Samurai".
Today was the first day where any of us felt cold. It was rainy and cool all day, but I know I had preferred it much more to the hot mess of sweatiness that was Tokyo.
So we hopped on a bus after the airport to head to lunch at the Takamori Dengaku Historic Residence, an old farming house that was build about 130 years ago. We had the traditional dengaku dish with recipes that dated back to the 1100's.
That would be skewers of potatoes with a pepper on top, tofu, some vegetable that is like tofu but has 0 calories (and it is chewy - it has the texture of coconut but is otherwise pretty tasteless) and a fish. We started the meal with some fried tofu that was served by an adorable, but kind of toothless woman, who spoke Japanese and pantomimed how we were supposed to eat it. She kind of reminded me of the older women in the village where my mom grew up, so I was fine with it since she was trying to be helpful. It was followed by some soup, rice and some pickled cucumbers and plums.
Off in the distance, past the farms, the mountains kept hiding behind the fog, sometimes showing itself. The fog and the rain kept the ambience almost ethereal. It was just a very relaxing setting, even if for the first time in days, I wasn't feeling quite hungry enough to eat a lot of the meal, though it was pretty good.
As we left, I spotted this guy and had to take a picture. This man needs to find more fish. Or eat a chicken wing.
So off we went to Mount Aso, which is a volcano with the largest caldera in the world. It is still active. The scenery on the way was just fantastic as we started to climb up into the mountains.
So we got to the place where we then got ready to go on a cable car up to Nakadake, the largest of the five craters of Mt. Aso, which is the general name for five volcanic peaks. Nakadake is the most active, constantly spewing forth black smoke accompanied by underground trembling. We saw this sign as we waited for a car:
Hmm. Well, I guess we'd find out if anyone had any issues with their respiratory organs.
So we got on the cable car. According to the brochure, 91 people can fit into this thing. I am not sure how, but I didn't want to find out since it got pretty crowded with about 30 people joining us after we got on.
Up we went. And it was raining. And there's all these little round, concrete huts with benches inside of them along the way. We were then told that while they monitor the volcano carefully to determine whether or not people can actually go up in the cable cars that day, in the event it was to kick up anything or start anything, you should run to the huts and you should be alright. Super.
It also is the only place in the world where you can stand on the edge of a crater. And it was breathtaking.
We went straight back in since it was raining, but not before we bought some gifts before returning on a much less populated car back to the bus. And not before I found this guy, Kumamoto, the mascot of Kumamoto. He might be my favorite yet.
And I couldn't help it.
The less crowded cable car back.
We then made our way to tour the areas affected by the floods and landslides in Aso - which happened around June. The scenery on the way down the mountain on the way was just as impressive.
And then we saw the area of the landslide. There were four houses before where we stood. It was now empty with the obvious signs of the landslide.
They lost 23 people that day. This time, though, a landslide gives no warning, it just gives way. I can't imagine the kind of fear that must quickly go through you in a moment like that. They were quickly trying to repair bridges and repaired the road through within a week because there was no other way to get through.
Here's where a waterfall appeared after the landslide near where they were repairing a bridge, held up by what looked like scaffolding. You'll notice the bags of sand they have propped up in these areas where they are trying to repair.
It was sad. I was thinking of the damage after Hurricane Irene being the closest I could think of. It was sobering because you could just see the path. And yet, the residents just roll up their sleeves and rebuild. Like in Iwate. Because the Japanese are so tied to their ancestors and in this area, families have literally been here for centuries, so they won't leave their ancestors behind. It's really fascinating how tied they are to the areas they grew up in. How different that seems in America, though I know of plenty of people who leave and then go back. Hell, I am one who almost did, though just 2 hours east of where I grew up.
You know, it was sad but I hate to say that what made it worse is that every mention of the word landslide, some part of the back of my brain would just say, "this is for you, daddy" and Stevie Nicks would just start singing. Totally inappropriate, but it just kept happening.
We then left the area to check into the hotel because we were having lunch with the Mayor of Aso, a Diet member and the Prefecture Council Member who had taken us on the tour of the flooded areas. We were treated to an impromptu fireworks show (no one knew why there even was one in the first place) and then more formal speeches before dinner was served and we had a much more relaxed conversation and dinner.
If you've been reading this blog so far, you'll know that the Japanese dinner like this is not just a 1-3 course meal. It starts with some plate of a few appetizers, mostly small portions of seasonal things. It then moves to a sashimi plate of some sort. After that comes soup. And then seasonal vegetables that have been marinated. Then the main plate, in this case, beef, which this area is known for (brown cow). Then comes another small bowl of fish and tofu. Then the rice bowl (in this case, rice with potato and mushroom) and miso soup. This is the sign that the meal is ending. They give you the rice after you've eaten all that other stuff. Then dessert.
In the meanwhile, you've been treated to beer, wine, sake, tea. It is customary, when drinking, to pour the person next to your their drink. You are not supposed to pour your own. And you don't drink from the bottle. The Councilman kept paying attention to when the beer was empty, so he kept ordering more for me.
Not only were we having some good conversation, the Mayor of Aso is also quite the character. He had us laughing and he was just so fun and genuine and sweet. I mean, look at this guy:
He was proudly showing off the lapel pin we gave him as a gift. We probably could have stayed all night. If we hadn't been incredibly stuffed. For me, by they third course. You bet we all ate our desserts, though. Every last bite.
Our hotel here also has an onsen, or hot spring. In Japan, people come from all over for the hot baths. I would have gone, but the last time I did a mineral bath in the Philippines, well, it had some unintended consequences. And here in Japan, you go to the hot spring naked.
Naked. They have separate baths for men and for women, so don't get any ideas. But it seems somewhat strange to me that in a country where they wear masks over their faces to prevent germs and the spread of them, where hand sanitizer is more abundant than cops (that I've seen - see Starbucks story above), they just get naked into a hot spring? Eh?
For a Washington College grad where May Day is celebrated with a full day in your birthday suit (not everyone participates. Read: me), this shouldn't be an issue. But it is. Because it leaves nothing to the imagination. I'm somewhat remiss that I didn't do it tonight, but I have another reason.
The week before I came to Japan, I was having weird sinus issues. When on vacation at Lake Ontario, I thought I simply got water in my ear. It was then followed by four days of not hearing out of my right ear. After the first day, I realized something else was afoot. The changing of the season was wreaking havoc on my sinuses. I managed to mostly get rid of it before I left for Japan.
Except...
Throw in more than 15 hours of travel, jet lag, a packed schedule, extremely hot and humid going to cold, air conditioned rooms and back and forth, and more jet lag and you've got... sinus issues.
Two days ago, I woke up not hearing out of my right ear again until my sinus cleared up about 10 minutes later. I was alarmed enough. The night before, my throat felt itchy and my inner ear was sore. No good having sinusitis, or worse, an ear infection, while traveling. Especially when I was getting back on a plane. So I did my best to sleep, got some Japanese equivalent of Day Quil and all seemed alright. Until late last night when my eye started acting up.
So when we got here, our translator had pink eye. We did our best to keep our distance as his antibiotics kicked in but then Thad suddenly had an irritated eye that required drops. Then Megan had some eye redness. Now me. I'm guessing that if it was pink eye, Thad and Megan would just be getting over it and I'd just be getting it, but clearly, something is not right with our eyes out here.
I could chalk it up to allergies. I could chalk it up to some weird sinus issues. I could chalk it up to practically getting pneumonia because Laurie and I have yet to go for a walk without getting rained on. And the first day I was rained on, I was soaked. Sure, partly my fault, but it is what it is. So I got some drops. And they have helped. But my eye is still creating mucus, which means it's trying to get rid of something. But it already feels somewhat better though I should take out my contact and get to bed already.
So, that's a really long way of telling you all that my butt will not be getting nekkid and into some hot water, though I am somewhat remiss. Apparently, the health benefits are wonderful and restorative, especially given the fact that I have had back surgery and when it rains, I'm sore. But for my sake and for Japan, until my sinuses are back in place (or I really get my butt on a bike and feel somewhat better about getting naked in front of total strangers), I think ti's best to lay low for now.
All of this is important to know. At the least, it's somewhat amusing (or ironic) that most of us have had some eye problem. More than 50% of the group has some eye issue. Weird.
So here is the picture of the day since I have some sleeping for my sinus to do. We were at the top of Nakadake when Laurie pointed this out. Of course, I was happy to see it, but then I looked around. Which one of these is not like the other?
Ah, my boys are popular everywhere. They really do love the American pastime here and all seem to know the Yankee hat when given it (we give gifts to the people we meet with and the hat so far is a hit since they love baseball).
Tomorrow, we head to Kumamoto proper where we will enjoy the nature sights along the way before seeing Kumamoto Castle, considered one of the best in Japan. This is the stuff I've been waiting for.
Until then, oyasumii!
Location:Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
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