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Published: April 2nd 2006
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Plum Blossom
Oyama Machi, near Hita Amongst the Mountains & Blossoms
I finished up at work on March 10th and the Wunderman Denstu team put on an amazing send off. Big dinner, piano bar karaoke and presents! I then spent a leisurely week in Tokyo, catching up on personal admin and sleep.
Then, on Friday 17th March, I boarded Japan's budget airline carrier, Skymark, for a 1.5 week trip to my old stomping ground in southern Japan.
I spent 10 months in 1995 living as a high school exchange student in Hita city, Oita prefecture, Kyushu island. One of the things I enjoy the most about traveling to Oita is the striking beauty of the mountains and the natural scenery in the area. I have been able to go back twice now to visit and whilst my original time there posed many challenges for a 19 year old in days when there was no internet, no e-mails and mobile phones, one gift from my time there is what I hope will be a life long appreciation for rural Japan. My host family's house is nestled in what could potentially be some of the most beautiful forested mountains in Asia. Driving up the windy
roads, with sunlight streaming in through the trees and creeks trickling with the freshest, purest water, you can understand why some Japanese people can never bring themselves to live in a big city.
My first stop was Fukuoka, where Miki, my host sister, met me for a wonderful afternoon at Dazaifu Temple. Here we spent a few hours leisurely strolling the temple grounds before stopping in at a beautiful tea house. Throughout the grounds I was treated to one of the most famous plum blossom displays in Japan. Hard to believe from the pictures, but surprisingly, the plum blossoms are the poor-cousin precurser to the Sakura (cherry blossoms) which are expected each April.
Over the next week I spent quality time with the Sato Family, who were my second host family. Little has changed in the house, and I was thrilled that both grandparents are just as active as ever. One of the bigger shocks however was the change in my little host brother, Masaaki, who was 10 when I stayed with them originally. We had a great time in those days playing cards, eating ice cream and studying kanjii together, however now 21, he smokes, wears a
Dazaifu, Fukuoka
View from Tea House lot of black, rides motorcycles and goes out with his friends at 1am.
One evening when Miki and I headed into town for a few beers, we asked Masaaki to drive us in. When it was time to get going, he bundled into Miki's room dressed up in a blue Daimon cat jumpsuit (Japanese anime character) and drove us into town exactly like that. He may be older, but he's still a little groover. 😉 The next evening Miki, Masaaki & I spent several hours hanging out in their rooms - bridging the years and communication gaps - by swapping music from each other's computer's/ipods and watching anime cartoons. It felt just like the old days, but we'd clearly moved on from the playing cards... 😉
I had a pretty busy schedule whilst down south, and spent a day with the Mino Family, who I also lived with in 1995. They now have a 18 month granddaughter in the family, and she was oooh soo cute. Talking very well for that age, she laughed at my Japanese jokes (which was reassuring that my Japanese can at least get a 18 month old to smile!) and by the end
of the day, when we were all in the onsen (hot spring bath), she knew my name and cried out 'Ibetto oidde' (Come in Yvette!).
Mid-week, I spent a great day in Kamakura with Shiori, who I met in Sydney several years ago. We visited Kamakura castle, broused around the shops and had yummy Nabe for dinner!
Toward the end of the week, I then headed back north, for a few days stop at Nagoya. Here I visited Kazue, who was my host sister in the Mino Family. She lives there now with her husband in a lovely 2 bedroom apartment. We spent the day together at Nagashima Spaland, which has had plenty of renovations since I first visited it in 1992 and now has some of the biggest roller-coasters I have ever seen in my life. Now, I'm not one to shy away from the occassion fun-fare ride, but the biggest one was absolutely phenominal. We went on the White Cyclone (pictured) and the drop in that one is only 1/3 the height of it's bigger cousin the Steel Dragon. Luckily for my pride, the Steel Dragon was closed for the day, so I didn't have to
Mountain Living
Near my old host family's house make the tough decision as to whether I could bring myself to ride on it or not. 😉
My last day of travels was then with Ai - my long time friend. Her whole family joined in for Yaki Niku dinner on our first night together, which was great to still see everybody in good spirits. The next day, we had a very sophisticaed time with coffees, hair cuts, shopping and visiting funky bars. Just like the young urban girls we are!
It was a busy week for sure, but I feel close again to a lot of people who were and are, like family.
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