New Years.

It comes every year.

It’s new.

What’s more to say?!

For some reason we love a new year. I’m not sure who’s grand idea it was to split up time into all these little units but we’ve universally decided that the beginning of the year is a great time to “start over.”

I have news for you.

You can’t start life over.

Yesterday is still the past and last I checked we haven’t successfully sent a person back in time and safely recovered them in the present. Actually it would be the future for them…

Anyways, I don’t believe in New year’s resolutions. I believe in life changes!!! I know, sounds really new agey but whatever.

What life changes am I making this year? I don’t know, but when I make them I’ll know the results much later, I’m sure. There are always things I want to do, or do better, or do more often or less often, but just because today is January 1st doesn’t change my lack of motivation or lack of response. I’m the same person I was a few seconds ago.

Anyways, today was pretty non-eventful since I spent most of the morning waiting to skype with my parents and brother. It was his birthday.

We spent most of the afternoon cleaning all the floors and cracks upstairs and downstairs. We even took apart the kotatsu in Ojiichan’s room and I repaired the frayed cord with electrical tape. A kotatsu is a heating element commonly inserted in a recession in the floor. The recession is the approximate width and length of the table, but the depth is about a meter or a little more. They place the heater at the bottom and the control is above the hole attached by a long cord. Over the table a large thick blanket or comforter is placed, then another table top is placed over that. Consequently, people can sit around the table with their legs dangling down in the hole comfortably. The blanket covers everyone’s lower half, keeping in the heat. Modern houses aren’t usually built with these recessed chambers anymore, especially in apartments. So, manufacturers make little flat, square heaters that attach under your coffee table! You can stick a blanket on top and voilla! A kotatsu is born.

As we were cleaning Okaasan was making New Year’s food. Otoosan appeared from a shopping trip with a variety of bowls of instant ramen for a late lunch. Mine was actually yakisoba and very tasty. 

A few errands had to be run but I had to finish writing yesterday’s blog and was feeling a little tired so I stayed home. Actually, I was super tired and after I finished writing I grabbed the stuffed pig and proceeded to take a nap on the couch. Okaasan caught me and told me to move to the floor. She turned on the heated carpet…yessss…and threw a wool blanket over me. I was freezing for some reason. Everyone returned home and turned on the TV. It was about 7 but it felt like 11pm. I kept sleeping. Eventually I got up for dinner, which we ate around the coffee table in the living room, sitting on the heated carpet. The traditional food is soba; long noodles to encourage long life. There was a New Year’s program playing, featuring music artists. Most were Japanese, and ranged from traditional singing to pop to rock. They even invited Lady Gaga, and a few popular Korean bands. In true Japanese fashion, they captioned the lyrics at the bottom of the screen so that you could sing along at home! (And understand what the heck they were singing…) Otoosan and I had fun making fun of most of them. There were a few weird performances, not the least of which being a Japanese group dressing in Mexican costumes…and singing in a Japanese style. The mariachi band creeped me out. It was pretty entertaining though, as we all sat around our makeshift kotatsu (sitting on the heated rug and throwing blankets over the table) and ate a ton of mikkans! 

I had a small headache, presumably from not wearing my glasses all day, but I also was unexplainably cold. Okaasan pronounced I didn’t have a fever but made me take some weird Chinese root thing in powdered form. I magically felt better. 

At midnight we rang in the new year not with noise, but by kneeling on the floor and bowing to each other saying, “akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo, yoroshiku onegaishimasu.” It basically means happy new year, and good wishes or caring for the new year.  

After that we woke up grandpa and piled in the car to go to the local shrine. We passed many people walking to and from the shrine. There was a line leading through the tori gate and up to the place of prayer. On the way there’s a little covered water place to wash your hands and mouth in purification. At the shrine, you ring a bell to get the attention of or wake up the god of the new year (?). Then you clap twice and bow. You can put any amount of money, usually 5 or 10 yen apiece, into the receptacle and make a wish or prayer for the new year. After that ritual we were handed a cup of hot sweetened sake and a mikkan as we stood around a bonfire and ran into people we knew. 

For some reason, people were receiving or buying (?) arrows that had no tips on them, presumably resembling a broken arrow. Otoosan tried to explain it to me but I got a little lost. 

We ate more mikkans.

The End.  

I got a free massage. Yeah. It was pretty awesome, lying there for almost two hours, slowly falling asleep….

But before we get there, let’s go shopping.

Otoosan, Okaasa, Takae and I jumped in the car and took a rather long drive utilizing the narrow backroads to reach our destination. We arrived at a covered open-air market where shopkeepers sold their specific goods in tubs, boxes, crates, and plastic bags. All varieties of fish, shellfish, and seafood were available and sometimes soaked in different kinds of brine or sauce. Sardines, king crab legs, halves of crab, red fish, giant tuna steaks, squid, octopus legs, octopus heads, live bottom-dwellers, and many other unidentifiable things. Let’s not forget the many vegetables and fruit for sale, not the least of which being mikan, or tangerines. It’s the food of choice around this season, and people are constantly buying them, eating them, and giving them away. The other main seller is flowers, or at least the bouquets of evergreen/red berry/long brown sticks/single flowers that are a necessity for the New Year celebration. 

We walked around for quite awhile, searching for specific items and picking others at random. Aside from the mandatory flowers and special chopsticks, I really have no idea what we bought…I can’t recognize or name most foods. We did, however, find some garlic and herb cheese that was imported, so Takae stuck it in the basket. Yum. 

After the market we went to two electronics stores in search of a new washing machine. Ours broke this morning. It had a load in it and was doing fine, then started beeping and refused to work. Okaasan freaked out and figured that they had gotten it used from some relatives 10 year ago, that it was time for a new one anyways. That sparked an interesting cultural conversation where I shared that my family typically does laundry once a week. Everyone brings their laundry to the washer where mom separates it and does a few loads, coming back every once in a while to switch it to the dryer and put a new load in. Thus, things are being washed and dried simultaneously and everything is done in a few hours. The Japanese style is to wash whatever you have each morning, then hang it up to dry during the day. In summertime this isn’t a problem as things (even jeans) dry within an hour. In the wintertime, clothes hang out all day in front of a sunny window and are hopefully dry by the next morning. Our system wouldn’t work for most Japanese housewives though, because there isn’t room for both a washer and a dryer!

Anyways, we went to the electronics store. At first Takae and I went to the restrooms and promised to meet her parents upstairs near the washer section.

We never made it.

A few aisles short of the washers we spotted massage chairs---like, from the space age---and made the mistake of sitting in them to “try them out.” We should have taken the hint from the eight other men sitting in these chairs…every single one of them completely passed out.

I found the kanji for the “on” button.

A few buttons, presumably cycles, blinked, urging me to make a selection. Unable to read the rest of the kanji I picked one, noticing it was a 16 minute cycle.

Best 16 minutes of my entire day, possibly even my week.

This was the massage chair to rule all massage chair kingdom. From toe to head (and I mean the top of your head) it didn’t skip a beat. It performed squeezes, rolls, pressure points, holds, the chopping action, kneading action, and all kinds of other magical things. I took a nap…through two cycles.

We got up, reluctantly, and walked over to where her parents were finishing with the salesman.

They didn’t buy anything.

We proceeded to the next electronics store.

As we came through the doors I was distracted by the piano section for about 15 minutes.

Then I looked down the left aisle and behold! The massage kingdom was in need of subjects!

We didn’t miss a beat, walking with purpose to a big-kid Disneyland.

Since the place was nearly empty we didn’t feel bad pushing the cycle button over and over again. This time I did a little experimenting and learned a few kanji in the process. I looked over at Takae. Passed out.

Nap time!

Takae was woken up by a phone call from her parents, saying it was time to leave….two hours later.

We peeled ourselves slowly from the thrones of comfort and walked in a haze to the front doors.

Lastly we went to the grocery store to get things we couldn’t find at the market. It was completely packed with people. We ate some free ham samples.

Arriving home, we pulled up to the front door and unloaded the car in record time, stuffing things into the refrigerator and leaving large items in the genkan doorway. Ojiichan sat shotgun with Otoosan, then Takae, Okaasan, and I sat in the backseat. Yuko was hidden under blankets in the trunk space!

On the way to sushi!!!

We piled the plates high, adding a few desserts at the end. We drove Ojiichan home and once again made a quick trip inside the house to grab some personal items. It was 9pm.

On to onsen!!!

You should read my early blogs about onsen if you haven’t already.

Enter the genkan, remove shoes.

Bring shoes to a locker, insert, close, remove key.

Bring key to front desk where they hold the key for you and replace it with a water resistant bracelet sporting a barcode.

Walk in socks down the soft wooden floor. Pass large rooms the size of a small 711 and look inside the many glass-less windows to see an assortment of cusions and pillows, complete with people passed out among them. Some are reading books, others on their iPhones, others eating snacks. No talking though, completely silent and peaceful on the tatami mats.

Continue walking down the hallway and look to the right where a large restaurant gives off smells of delicious food.

Further down is a relaxation spa where one can pay to choose from an assortment of massage types and durations.

The men turn right down a separate corridor to their bath, while the women continue straight and into theirs. I won’t go into more detail because I already wrote about it in the other blog. However, I will note that this bath was a little weird…the water was brown! Takae said it was like coffee, but I thought it was like light soy sauce. It was definitely brown, but you could see through it a little just like soy sauce. Good thing it was dark outside (oh yes, we sat outside and looked at the stars while soaking in the busy pool) because otherwise the color might have disturbed me a little more than it did. The color was because of the natural source or something like that. I just remember that underneath Japan is a labyrinth of lava, lava rocks, and volcanic jazz. It helps me look past the brown color and appreciate the unfiltered-ness of the water.  

The other different thing about this onsen compared to the ones I’d visited was this one was a public bath, whereas the previous ones were owned by the hotels we stayed in. This time we brought our own towels, shampoo, face wash, washcloths, etc. 

We agreed to meet Otoosan in the main corridor at 11, but it was really 11:15 by the time we were all there. Although we were all ready to go and pretty tired, we ended up resting in one of those large rooms we passed and each claimed a cusion. It was there I found out what the barcode bracelets were for. We walked in a line down the corridor towards the baths once more, but instead of turning into the curtained room we ended at a vending machine…filled with milk.

Milk, coffee milk, fruit milk, strawberry milk, and drinkable yogurt were on the menu. Fruit milk was recommended to me so I chose it, placing my barcode bracelet up to the scanner (there was no money receiver) and taking out my little glass bottle. Fruit milk doesn’t sound very good, especially when you look at its mild yellow color, but it’s pretty delicious. Now, everyone I’ve ever talked to has told me that after taking a hot bath like that (especially over an hour) or sauna, drinking water is the best thing for you.

What’s with the milk?!

Any nutritionist out there want to answer my question?

I was quite confused, but happily drank my milk. Apparently it’s a tradition or something for this onsen…

Then on the way out Takae found tofu doughnuts and bought them.

It was pretty late when we all staggered into the house, suffering from onsen hangovers.

We went to bed.  

Today…today…what did I do today?...

I know what I didn’t do. I didn’t run.

I also didn’t eat lunch.

Instead of running, Takae and I braved the great outdoors and searched for running shoes. I was on the hunt for my favorite brand, Brooks, and miraculously found a shop that carried them. There are exactly three stores in this entire region of Japan that carry them and they happen to be reasonably close to where I’m staying. After our scrumptious family breakfast at 11, we hung out and finally left around 1pm…or maybe 2. After deboarding the train at the proper station we proceeded in the direction of the store, only to realize we’d left the directions at home, and the store website graphics were not supported on Takae’s iphone. We called Yuko at home and asked her to look it up for us. While we waited, we found the nearest Starbucks and treated ourselves to soy lattes and a chocolate scone. I especially love it when they heat it up.

After recovering the store’s address we proceeded to follow Google maps and become very confused. We not only called the store, but asked two other people for directions before finally settling on our own common sense. And by that I mean Takae’s common sense, not mine. 

We found it.

It was a quaint little store with a very nice salesman. I beelined to the Brooks in the back, but was sorry to find they didn’t carry the “support” line I was used to wearing. He tried to sell me the other line they carried.

He tied my shoes too tightly.

I could only jog 10 steps in the store before turning around to test them out.

Although the shoes were comfortable, I knew that after running several miles in them the inner structure wouldn’t be enough for me. He ended up calling a sister store in Ginza which carried more variations, and in my size. He printed out a very good map of directions for us and sent us to the nearby subway station.

Pause.

Before I left the house, Okaasan gave me a “You’re growing up” lecture and said that now that my Japanese is improving and I’ve been here a few times (and I passed the “running around town by myself” test), it was time for me to learn to do things on my own. I had to buy my own train tickets now. This didn’t come as a shock or anything, since I’ve been buying my tickets ever since I got here to get to Koriyama and even on the shinkansen down to Tokyo. I did, however, pay more attention to the train lines and figured out a few more details of schedules and significance of colors. I can pretty much get from Shinjuku to Tsurukawa station by myself now…the trick is getting to Shinjuku from Tokyo station but I think I could figure it out if I had enough time to just stand there and stare at it for awhile.

Okay, back to the story.

We ran to the subway and leapt onto the train just before the doors slid closed. On to Ginza! You probably know that Ginza is one of the most famous and expensive shopping districts in Tokyo.

Gulp.

We found the new shoe store with ease.

As soon as this guy touched my feet I liked him.

If you’ve ever bought running shoes from a REAL running store, from a person who REALLY knows what they’re doing, you’ll understand. I’ve been fortunate enough to have that experience in Oregon thanks to Five Star Sports in Corvallis and Portland Running Company in Beaverton. The people there are awesome. He was speaking in Japanese, but by the way he used gestures and inspected the parts of my feet it was obvious he worked there for good reasons. After seeing my Superfeet insoles and left heel lift he even had me stand up and checked my hip alignment. He checked the tread on my old shoes and made a few minor support adjustments to the new ones. I got to run as much as I wanted up and down the mall corridors! As I passed the eager salespeople lining the side of the walkway shouts of “konnichiwa!” and “irashaimase!” cheered me on….though they didn’t care about my running…they just wanted me to buy stuff from them.

Anyways, this sales guy gave Takae the 411 about foot alignment, balance, and full body mechanics of running as I came in and out of the store for a new adjustment. She’d relay the information to me and I’d agree; we’d look at the shoes and grunt approval.

I bought the shoes. Being imported, foreign brand and rare, and being in the Ginza district, of course I paid an arm and a leg.

But I have new shoes…and I’m officially out of excuses for not running.

Oh, I got the Trance 10 if anyone cares.

We stood on a crowded train all the way home and walked in around 7:30, tummies growling.

Of course there was delicious food to eat and lively conversation. Ojiichan said I was just like another one of his granddaughters.

Awww…..shucks…..

Otoosan showed us the 300 New Years cards he’d designed himself and I discovered that I was on it! He’d written a few sentences about each family member’s year-end highlights, and I had my own space!

Tomorrow is food-shopping day. It’s hilarious that this event has it’s own day in the family calendar…but you don’t know Otoosan. He LOVES to go to the grocery store. 

So last night I went to bed at 2:30 am. No blog. Before you think I stayed up really late, understand that I didn’t get up until 11:30am that day. Yes, I slept 11 hours. I’m pretty sure that’s a record for me! If it’s not a record, then it’s right on par with the time I was jet lagging from my return from the Philippines.

The thing that’s pretty different—and awesome—about coming here for vacation is that the Saito family actually applauds me for sleeping well. When I’m in Washington my mom inevitably wakes me up around 10 am so I’m not “wasting the day away.” Here, the later you sleep the more you needed it and now you’re well again. The last few times I’ve come here I usually get up around 9, unable to sleep any longer. Yesterday at dinner time, Okaasan said, “Yeah, Grandpa thought I should check on you, just in case you were dead!”

Yesterday was the day I vowed to help around the house, right?

Well, after getting up late and eating breakfast (which was really a noon lunch) I felt less guilty because Yuko got up right after me! However, she was studying in her room until 3am…

After a long conversation between the three of us, I decided on a run around town. Despite my plea that I could get lost and find my way back on my own, Yuko gave me a slip of paper that had their address written on it and Japanese that said,

“I can speak Japanese. Please tell me the way to this house.”

It was really cute.

I stuck it in my glove pocket and stepped out into the chilly afternoon air. I started going down a very familiar road, then turned on another road towards the river. I enjoyed a nice view as I ran parallel to the city stream, passing a few bridges and estimating my mileage. I figured if I reached the bridge that led to the train station I could easily get back to the house. I didn’t see the station but I saw a lady and her two kids pulling suitcases, walking across the bridge.

That was a good enough sign for me.

I turned in the direction of home and started taking random roads that seemed good. I passed a familiar structure…then I was in the middle of a housing complex and had no idea. I came out of the complex, ran up a super steep hill, and found a familiar road.

Almost home.

I turned on our street, but quickly realized it was the wrong one. My first impression of this town in summer was that all the houses looked the same. Now, I quickly recognized my error but wasn’t willing to run back up the hill I’d run down. I took a turn, hoping I’d find the right street. I soon found a landmark—the grocery store—and made it safely home. I’d been out over an hour.

When I came inside they were surprised that I’d made it home all by myself without asking for directions!

That’s a win for me.

After taking a nice hot shower and getting dressed, I had a quick snack and went with Okaasan to pick up Takae at the train station. The rest of the night was filled with stories, jokes, and plenty of laughter.

Once again Otoosan made the family vacation schedule and some events changed. Floor waxing has been canceled for this year, and replaced with shoe shopping—what a deal! That’s where Takae and I are off to today J Other events may include Disneyland (featuring kimono-wearing Mickey and Minnie) and onsen. Woot! Of course they were surprised that I’d gone to onsen many times and was okay with not wearing a swimsuit.

Ojiisan said I’m becoming Japanese.

Did I mention that Takae is not here? That's right, my good friend from college who's house I'm currently visiting is gone. 

MIA. 

Absent in body. 

What does this mean? It means that I ventured out of my house during the holiday season leaving all comforts of home and American friends to arrive in Tokyo. Here the Saito family speaks only Japanese. Since Takae is currently in America, there is no back up plan for when my limited Japanese inevitably runs out. This can be frustrating, but since it’s my vacation time I decided that I would just enjoy it and laugh at myself. 

Unfortunately, an innocent party must suffer on behalf of my entertainment. Otoosan, Okaasan, and Yuko have to join forces to figure out what I’m saying. Often one person will understand me before the others, then relay my broken thoughts into a coherent Japanese statement for everyone else. We definitely spent a half hour figuring out how the American teachers came here and how many there were before and after the earthquake. We spent another half hour figuring out my elementary school schedule. About an hour was devoted to Japanese culture and New Year’s events, and before long our dinner conversation had surpassed the ten o’clock hour. The important thing here is that we’re all learning and spending time with each other, right?!

As we were cleaning up the kitchen okaasan said, “When Takae comes back it will be easier to just use her when we don’t understand…but, I like this way better!”

Awww…..

Anyways, right now I’m getting ready for bed and my tush is about the only thing truly warm, courtesy of the heated carpet beneath me.

Let’s recount the days events.

 I woke up. There were about 6 layers on top of me, the least of which not being the most fluffy futon/comforter I’ve ever used. I was super warm and toasty. Mmmm…



I went downstairs and realized that everyone was already up and about their daily routine. Seeing that my place was the only one set it was evident that they’d eaten their breakfast.

Oh. It’s 10:30am. Oops.

Somehow I managed to spend the next hour and a half on skype with my friend and ate my yummy food: avocado and salami salad, chocolate chip bread, yogurt with fruit, soup, and hot cocoa to wash it down.

Taking a shower in the freezing cold bathroom was my next order of business but it actually turned out quite well. Apparently there are a few things Japan thought of in absence of central heating.

1. On the freezing cold tile floor one places a thick sponge-like mat. Okay, not rocket science but certainly a necessity.

2. Outside of the shower area you turn the knob (looks like a bathroom fan timer knob) to the right. Walk into the shower room and *poof* There’s a nice hot breeze blowing from the ceiling. Yes please.

3. As soon as you enter the sink area, push the thing that looks like a light switch (it’s not) and a small floor heater blows hot air from under the sink…you really only feel it on your feet but it’s better than nothing!

So, after following all these steps I further proceeded to take my clothes into the shower area and carefully place them on top of the covered bathtub. Thus, after my shower I was able to dress in the warmth of the ceiling fan and exit fully dressed and impervious to the cool air.

Now ready to tackle the day I asked if I could help with chores. I already knew that Japanese people clean their house from top to bottom during the new year. Yesterday, Yuko and Okaasan reminded me of that fact and apologized that despite their efforts to clean as much as they could before I arrived, there were still things to clean.

No problem. Cleaning is my thing. Actually, I’m better at cleaning other people’s houses for some odd reason…

My first task was to wash the breakfast dishes.

Done.

Number two: Okaasan pulled out the entire kitchen utensil drawer and placed it on the table. Dumping them out, it was obvious that the plastic insert orgainizer thing was dirty and needed a cleaning. No problem. I do this for my mom for fun.

Except….this plastic was old and had become brittle at the corners, meriting a solid taping front and back where plastic had broken and was missing. Since it was dirty I not only had to clean the plastic thing but remove the VERY sticky tape and replace it. I took my time and enjoyed watching the transformation from gross, to not as gross, to useable. My most favorite part was organizing the utensils in the drawer---what fun! (I’m not kidding)

Next I was informed of the week’s schedule:

Tomorrow: Clean.

Thursday: Wax all the floors in the entire house, moving all the furniture into the tatami mat room.

Friday: shop for groceries and cook New Year’s food.

Saturday: Cook and eat food all day and finish New Year’s cards. Go to the shrine at midnight to offer prayers.

Sunday: visit relatives.

Monday: relatives come over, and rest a little.

Tuesday: Something fun, TBD.

Wednesday: buy new running shoes and I return to Funehiki.

Having been informed of this I think I’m going to try and get to bed a little earlier for two reasons: I want to help out more with the chores, and I want to get up early enough to go running….looks like I’ll be eating plenty of food!

Anyways, later in the day Okaasan, Ojiichan and I went to the nursery to pick out flowers for the planters. Japan loves pansies, apparently, because there were more than you could shake a stick at. I was entreated to choose 6 plants. Half of them ended up being red…go figure.

Returning home I hung out playing the piano, eating dinner, and struggling to communicate. There were many pictures involved.

Well, it’s already 11pm and Otoosan just returned from his bonenkai…it’s basically an end-of-the-year party for all the office workers. They all go out to dinner and…relax. He brought home some omiyage for us though!

Good night. 

Alright, I think I’m going to try and do it again.

For the next 10 days I’ll attempt to blog each day…though let’s be honest, sometimes my adventures mandate the blog to be written the next day, if you know what I mean…



So I woke up today with a half-centimeter of snow on the ground. Walking to the Funehiki train station I rolled my red travel suitcase down the un-shoveled sidewalk leaving boot and wheel tracks in my wake.

Train ride: not worth sharing…I did enjoy seeing a picturesque winter scene out the window though.

Koriyama station was another lovely scene. I stood out on the shinkansen platform all alone, and watched the snow fall across the empty tracks. As we pulled out of the station I enjoyed looking at snow-laden trees and rooftops, but it didn’t last more than a half-hour before the snow suddenly disappeared and I felt magically transported into another world. This world was also 15 degrees warmer than where I came from…

Arriving at Tokyo station I came on the alert and used my navigational skills to find “the meeting place of the silver bells.” I knew it was in the basement, so I just took as many escalators and flights of stairs down as I could until I reached the bottom. Upon reaching a fork in the road, I took the path less traveled (which isn’t saying much because the station was FULL of holiday travelers…as if it wasn’t busy enough already).

I quickly arrived at the silver bells and found my party of two: mom (okaasan) and Yuko.

Let the Japanese begin!

It took some stuttering and mind blanks to get the first words out, but from then on my mind switched language modes and I was good to go. Not sure where I was going, but at least I was trying, right?!

They were impressed with my ability to quickly find the meeting place, assuming I would have to ask for directions, get lost a few times, and arrive in 20 minutes. In fact I met them 5 minutes after departing the train. I’m a champ. Then again, I know the station quite well now, since last time I searched the entire place looking for Takae only to find her right outside the turnstile where I first exited. Second time’s the charm.

“Susie, how are you feeling? Are you tired?”

Nope. Let’s do something!

We tried to make plans to tour the imperial palace, a popular site around the new year and directly across from the station in central Tokyo. Unfortunately, Yuko called and was told that we had to make reservations 1 week in advance!

So we ate lunch. In a nearby skyscraper there were 2 floors dedicated to restaurants, all marketing lunch specials. We decided upon Italian after touring both floors and finally playing janken (rock, paper, scissors) to let fate decide our meal.

A fluffy green salad, pizza, and piece of cake later I was a happy girl. With suitcase and bag of Christmas presents in tow we made our way further downtown to check out Tokyo Tower. To reach the top we had to wait an hour to ride the elevator. Since Japan is so awesome and prepared, I was able to stick all my luggage in a locker on the main floor, hands free for the remainder of the adventure.

I suggested we walk up the stairs, and was shot down.

After 5 minutes we were bored of waiting so we decided to see how far we got. 

It was quite a beautiful climb, watching the sun creep lower and lower as we went higher and higher into the tower. The stairs were all numbered, just in case that encourages you. At each landing there was an informational sign telling you how many calories you burned, and what your current height was, comparatively. For example, “You are now at the height of the Tower of Pisa.” “You are now at the height of the tallest pyramid in Egypt.” After we reached the half-way point we opted to go inside and take the elevator the rest of the way up. We landed at the top as the sun was setting behind the distant mountains, casing a vivid orange and pink glow on the skyscraper windows, scattered clouds, and regal mountains. I took plenty of pictures, fighting against the glare and smudges on the windows.  The most intriguing picture set the illuminated cityscape against a dusky Mt. Fuji, and in the dark blue sky sat the most delicate crescent moon to grace the night. 

We returned by subway and train to Tsurukawa, our station nearest to home. Dad (otoosan) was already there and had made dinner for us. Veggie soup, miso soup, and roast beef over fresh greens? Yes please! I also tried something new…not sure what it was though. They warned me that I might not like the flavor because it’s a “strong Japanese flavor” but I thought it was fine! After dinner I volunteered to accompany otoosan to the store to buy some milk. Yuko came with us. I suggested walking, even though the air had become considerably colder since the sun disappeared.

It was so cold that we ran/skipped down the street to the store…it was pretty epic and I’m sure the people passing us in their cars laughed when they saw three adults skipping down the lane in the dark. Upon returning we did a little Christmas gift exchange and I passed out the Christmas cookies I’d saved. Yum.

I received some education on running winter appliances, such as bathroom heaters, floor heaters, carpet heaters, electric space heaters, gas heaters, and foot heaters. Yes, they’re all different.

Not sure what we’re doing tomorrow…or the rest of break for that matter so I guess we’ll see!

Japan still celebrates many traditional cultural and religious events, customs and holidays that have been intact for centuries. America has no idea.

However, Japan has an idea about OUR holidays, namely Halloween and Christmas. Unfortunately that’s all there is…an idea. It’s weird.

They think Halloween is just about trick or treating…but they don’t knock on their neighbors’ doors. People dress up in costumes, usually witches or anime characters, and go to parties I guess. There are plenty of decorations in the stores, but it’s not really celebrated. They certainly have no idea of the satanic rituals behind the holiday.

Christmas is pretty special sauce, too. Instead of a day devoted to family, food, and giving presents, it’s time to order out KFC and buy a Christmas cake for everyone to enjoy…if you got the day off of work. Yep, pretty much everyone at the English School was working on Christmas Eve day except the American teachers. Most Japanese people live in a home that spans 3 generations or more, and if one does live away from their family there are other traditional holidays that merit visiting the relatives such as obon festival in summer and oshougatsu (New Years) in January. There is no more need to take time off of work for some foreign holiday to visit your in-laws, so instead Christmas became a day celebrated by children and couples. Children open the gifts in the morning, and couples travel by train to spend the day together. Like I mentioned for Halloween, despite the lack of meaning there is no shortage of display of the holiday. Yes, let’s try and look like we’re doing it the right way by going over the top with decorations. 

Christmas lights? Check. But be careful because they are like strobe lights on crack. You’ll practically get a seizure from looking at them too long.

Christmas trees? Check. But they’re all fake and really spacey between the branches.

Did someone say the tree just needs more ornaments to fill the gaps? We’ve got ornaments…watch out for the ones still left over from 1974.  

There is no shortage of santas, santa suits, reindeer, star decorations, and snowmen. Plenty of cute Japanified decorations, tiny little red and gold balls, gift bags, and store sales.

What’s missing is the nativity.

As part of our teaching responsibilities we’re requested to teach about Christmas in the public schools. In addition to explaining about Christmas cookies, live trees, plethora of presents, and stockings, we also get to explain the story of the nativity and baby Jesus.

I took the opportunity in my own Wakakusa classes to have a little Christmas party with each class. It looked differently for each grade: The younger kids played Christmas word games, then they decorated their own paper ornament and I blindfolded them as they spun around and tried to stick their ornament on the tree I drew on the chalkboard. The 4th grade wrote letters to Santa, and the 6th grade got to play the epic “unwrap the present that’s wrapped a thousand times” game.  I also baked 120 sugar cookies to share, and they were elated that I let them eat snacks during class. It’s the simple pleasures in life. 

Thursday I hosted three of these parties in a row, then stayed after work taking care of last-minute paperwork and cleaning a bit before break.

On Friday I slept in.

I think I cleaned a bit around my apartment but I can’t really remember. Later I received an invitation to a candle light service at a church a few towns away and I accepted the free ride. Three of us girls rode with Mari to the town of Mougi. We weaved in the dark through a windy neighborhood street until we topped out on the mounting, pulling into the church parking lot. What a view! The lit city of Koriyama brightened up the Western sky while the stars above competed for the Eastern half. We walked into the genkan, warmly greeted by two kind women who gave us programs. As we were seated in the small sanctuary it began to feel like Christmas. The gospel choir sang a few energetic numbers, including “Hail Holy Queen” from Sister Act!

Together, the congregation read passages of the Christmas story from the Bible and sang carols interchangeably in Japanese. Though my reading and comprehension isn’t good enough to understand everything, I was able to tell what the passage was about because I know the story so well. My experience in the Philippines was similar; ignorant of the culture and language, being among the body of believers and worshipping the same God dissolves those petty differences in an indescribable feeling of unity. The added blessing of participating in the candle-lighting made it feel like home, resuming my traditions. I was still surrounded by loving people who are becoming like family. After the service the congregation played games, like a Christmas quiz. The problem was that it was all in Japanese, and by the time Mari translated it for us we had to quickly vote on the answer! 

I may have already mentioned that rock paper scissors, a.k.a “janken”, resolves all disputes and ties. Thus, when 10 people all voted for “B” as the answer to number 2, those 10 people stood up and did janken for the prize. Have you ever seen a mass of people all playing janken at the same time?! It’s amazing. Ashley, Janelle, and Mari each brought home a prize---I almost got one but lost the very last round to a guy in the choir.

On the way home we even passed by a large light display and soaked in the Christmas cheer.

This, of course, was nothing compared to the excitement of Christmas Eve. Yuta took me shopping for my last-minute gifts, and Jay came along for the fun. I’m a terrible gift-giver and shopping kind of stresses me out, so it was nice to have an “expert” opinion. Ending the trip with a nice bowl of hot ramen, and lovely drive through the hillside it was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.  

Then Dan and I made a pot of glazed carrots.

A few Japanese friends picked us up and we toted our food and presents to the outskirts of town to Manri’s house for some festivities. Upon arriving we set up the food as the turkey finished cooking. We congregated in the main room and I started playing carols on the upright piano. A few carols like Silent Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas have made the transpacific journey and are now popular in Japan. It was quite fun singing songs in both Japanese and English! As food was served we stuffed ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, beef stew, stuffing, kimuchee, glazed carrots, and plenty of desserts. I sat on the heated carpet. Yes, heated carpet. It’s a great way to get toasty in a hurry on a cold snowy night. 

And it snowed. It snowed just as Travis and his two visiting brothers came in to join us for the rest of the evening, having just completed the long flight and train journey from America. We spent more time visiting, taking pictures, and opening presents before we finally said goodnight at 11:30 and went home.

Christmas morning I woke up at 8am, awaking to an un-snowy winter wonderland….so I went back to sleep. Getting up an hour later, I worked a bit on my knitting, skyped with my parents, and took a nice Christmas shower.

Do you realize you can stick anything after “Christmas” and make it festive? Yeah, like “Christmas shower.” Why do we do that?...

Then I made some special Christmas pancake batter: my traditional wheat recipe spiced up with walnuts, wheat germ, and cinnamon chips. I brought the batter, the rest of my eggs, and my little stash of wrapped gifts sent by my friends and headed downstairs to the Newhards. Walking in I was welcomed with a hearty “Merry Christmas!” by Jay, Ashley, Dan, and Yuta. Janelle soon followed and we made a great Christmas breakfast complete with garlic scrambled eggs and ham. Yummmm.

Then we opened Christmas presents. Yay! We even popped the little  Christmas packing peanuts in each other’s faces. It was pretty legit.

The rest of the Christmas afternoon was typical Christmas laziness, just how I like it. Playing with our new Christmas toys we kept in our Christmas pajamas and had a Christmas file-sharing party. This evening we’re going to the local church for Christmas service and Christmas dinner, then I’m packing for my post-Christmas trip to Tokyo!