Journey to the White Tower and "Nomunication"

Close enough.

In Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the wizard Gandalf rides to Minas Tirith and ascends the stairs of the White Tower of Ecthelion to warn the Steward of an impending invasion by the Dark Lord Sauron. The movie's effects and music are so incredible that it immediately made an impression on my nerdy consciousness.

Driving to Osezaki this weekend and seeing the white light house stand proudly against the backdrop of the glistening Pacific Ocean reminded me of this movie scene. Unfortunately I did not have a loyal steed like Shadowfax to take me to the top so I walked. There are no shortcuts for us mere mortals.

Osezaki is about an hour and a half from my apartment. I remember seeing a picture of it in my welcome packet before flying here and then I promptly forgot about it until last Friday. This week the other ALTs are traveling all over the place from Osaka and Kyoto to as far as England and Bali. It is Silver Week, a time where several holidays conveniently fall in the same week (Monday, Respect for the Aged Day, and Thursday, Autumnal Equinox Day). Thus my colleagues took paid leave for this week to enjoy significant vacation time. I am unfortunately low on cash presently and paid leave (I will enjoy some upcoming trips soon enough!). Thus I opted to remain on the island.

But I said to myself, "There is no reason why I cannot enjoy a day trip." How about Osezaki? I consulted with a teacher about it and he suggested I visit on Saturday because a typhoon is expected to hit here tomorrow. Between Saturday and Tuesday the weather would only get worse. He was absolutely right.

Saturday morning I Skyped with friends, had lunch, and leisurely got into my car around 1:00pm. As soon as I closed my car door, it began raining and the wind picked up. Beautiful. I am stubborn and did not relish staying at my apartment all day so I plowed on ahead. As I drove to the coast, I went through the eye of the storm and cursed my poor timing and luck. Several times actually.

I found a vantage point overlooking the lighthouse and witnessed the storm moving over the coast deeper into the island. Overjoyed I managed to get a few pictures of the coast and the light house in the distance. I squinted at it, "Well hot damn, I do believe that is a path leading from the island onto the peninsula where the light house stands. I wonder if I can get there." I determinedly hopped into my car and set a course for the light house.

The winds pushed the storm further inland. It made my drive home just as exciting as driving through it to get here.

If there isn't a path leading to the light house, then I am a Laker fan.

I arrived at a parking lot with a sign leading to Osezaki and immediately felt encouraged. While a slight wind blew around me, the rain stopped so I set off down the 1.2km trail through a forest. The forest smelled so fresh and wonderful. It's the kind of smell candles and deodorants try to emulate but fail to do so. I wish I could have packaged that smell.

No witches or elves in this forest, which actually surprised me a bit.

After about a ten minute walk--I was hopping down the path like a jackrabbit--the forest cleared and I saw the light house. The light house is closed to tourists but honestly the view around it was what I wanted to see. I loved the 360 degree view of the ocean and the cliffs above and below me. I could see myself returning here once every two months or so to enjoy the views and peace this place offers.

A Brief Word on Nomunication

Author's note: It was supposed to be brief. Oops.

In recent years an up-and-coming hybrid Japanese-English word entered the Japanese language: nomunication. It is a portmanteau of the Japanese verb nomu "to drink" and communication. It speaks to alcohol's ability to help individuals transcend cultural and linguistic barriers when talking. I experienced the benefits of nomunication last night.

I will address the all-important "Sport's Day" in my next post but I want to touch on on the aftermath here. Following the end of the ceremony I helped the teachers and students clean up. I honestly loathe standing around dumbly feeling useless; I also wanted to be in solidarity with my teachers and do what l could to help (though I was reminded I could leave any time). This involved loading sand bags, which were used to hold down tent poles, into a wheelbarrow and emptying them in the sand pit.

That evening at the dinner party at an incredibly SWANK restaurant celebrating a successful Sports Day some teachers pulled me aside:

"Will Sensei, we saw you loading sand into the wheelbarrow."

"Uh, yes, I did..."

"Japanese people pretend not to watch but we saw you: teachers, parents, and students all saw you."

"Ok..." (Did I do something wrong?)

"That was very good! You have a pure heart. You are a part of Sakiyama now."

I provide this anecdote not to boast--though I am quite elated--but to demonstrate the importance of the enkai and incidentally alcohol.

In a country which is layered with different forms of communication, the enkai or work party is essential for communicating feelings that are difficult, challenging, or impossible to express under normal circumstances. In the U.S. I might invite someone out for a drink or simply coffee to talk about something important. Perhaps that exists here too (though I have yet to see a coffee shop). What I do know is that the enkai seems to be the best environment for Japanese people to relax and be honest.

The teachers and I had this conversation after a few drinks. When they commented that I "seem" Japanese, that was exaggeration and flattery. And yet the kernel of truth is I made a positive impression on my community yesterday. And the teachers successfully tried to use English to express their feelings, which shows how comfortable they felt taking that risk. It was a hell of a honor.

So I try not to miss an enkai, which between my schools and any clubs I join will add up quickly (it's typically $50 a pop BUT you can have as much alcohol and food as you want for two hours). I don't go exclusively for the food and alcohol--though those are exquisite pluses. I go for the company, the unique cultural revelations, and the opportunity to transcend challenging cultural and linguistic differences.