july 5

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July 5

This morning, we slept in until close to 9 when the owner came to our door trying to get us out of the building. I have yet to meat a Japanese person who will be direct with you. Seigo was the closest I’ve come to seeing someone be direct, and I believe that is because he is just from a younger generation.

I wanted to see Kurashika, which I hadn’t seen yet, and Max was headed back east so we took the same train. We talked for a bit, exchanged contact info, and we both told each other to look the other up if we were ever in their neck of the woods. When I first met Max, I actually found him a bit annoying, but we actually became really quick friends. It’s a shame that we’re going our separate ways, but I wanted to continue going west and he had things in the east he wanted to see before he left.

I’m not sure if it was because Max left today or because I’ve been somewhat groggy all day, but I’ve been in something of a bad mood all day. It frustrated me because I’ve been unable to put a finger on exactly what was bothering me. I feel better now, but I still haven’t figured it out.

Turns out there wasn’t a whole lot in Kurashika either. First, I explored a rather extensive shopping arcade and proceeded to explore a nearby park. In the park, I was stopped by an older Japanese man who was curious by my presence. He asked me pretty simple questions like where was I from, and what was I currently doing in Japan. I’m starting to master some of these routine questions, and I was able to spit back answers to him pretty fluently in my opinion at least. Afterwards, I explored a famous historical district located in Kurashika. I stopped for lunch in what looked like a pretty friendly Japanese grill. Inside was a couple (the woman was Japanese, and the man was Hungarian but knew English), a random japanese salaryman, and the cook. I talked to both the cook and the couple. I also had my favorite Japanese dish, yakisoba. After the couple left, I remained and talked to the cook for a while. It turns out that this guy, who looked to be in his mid 50’s, was 71 years old and is turning 72 later this month. His wife (I assume it much have been his wife) actually looked the part of a 70 year old. Little odd. I’ve noticed that many Japanese people have a much thicker Japanese accent than others and are much harder to understand. This guy was one of them. He also used a lot of vocab I didn’t know. When I originally told him I was from America, I don’t think he liked me a whole lot. As we got to talking and after I told him I didn’t really care much for Bush, he became much friendlier. Apparently, lots of people don’t like bush. He jumped from random topic to random topic. To war in Iraq, to war involving my parents (which I still have no clue what he was talking about), to baseball (which is an avid fan of a Japanese team called the tigers), to a really cool museum in town that he talked me into seeing. I had read about it, and I told him I thought it was a little too expensive. He told me there was a student discount (I’m glad I brought my Georgia Tech ID) that knocked off half the price. I finally managed to pry myself away from him. He was nice and all, I just didn’t understand most of what he said.

The museum turned out to be really cool. At the turn of the 19th century, there was a Japanese man (I forget his name) that collected primarily European art. When he died, all of his art was used to make a museum, and pieces are constantly being added to it. The museum had famous artists such as Money and Van Gogh(sp) and many others that surely were famous although I don’t believe that I have ever heard their names. Cool stuff.

After the art museum, I found a deserted corner in a park and curled up with a book. I guess I just needed a break from Japan and Japanese. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t in a great mood to begin with. After a bit, the weather started to look a little bleak, and I decided it was about time to head back. Back being the previous YH I slept at. Tonight is my last night here before I set off to see Fukuyama and Tomonoura. Unfortunately, neither the internet nor my guide book lists a hostel in either of these cities. This leaves me with 2 options. I can either just show up and try to find the cheapest accommodations or try combining the next two cities in one day and spend the night in Hiroshima instead. I guess I’ll figure this out tomorrow.

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Comments

[Ramie]

fyi- Monet, not Money. Love you! Have a better day! Rachel

[JohnWBrooks]

I actually knew that it was spelled with a 't' although my lousy typing skills prevented me from exhibiting that knowledge.