What a weekend. My legs are sore, I stayed up way too late Friday night/Saturday morning and Saturday night/Sunday morning, and I extroverted beyond my comfort zone.
And I feel good.
Let me tell you about my weekend.
Friday Night
Last week I talked with my co-worker, Koida Sensei, telling him I planned to go to Nagasaki City next weekend. He offered to show me around all day Saturday if I had time. Since he is from Nagasaki City and returns there almost every weekend, it was convenient for him to do that. I gratefully accepted his offer.
We met Friday afternoon on the ferry after work. He brought snacks and a six pack of Kirin telling me that his key to surviving the 4 hour ferry ride is to drink beer and then fall asleep. So we drank beer and probably talked for 2.5 hours before falling asleep. When we arrived in Nagasaki we arranged to meet tomorrow morning at the port at 10:00am.
I checked in to my hostel, changed clothes, and met up with an ALT friend living in Nagasaki for dinner and drinks. Nagasaki is an international city and thus offers a variety of cuisine so I chose Indian. It was a pleasant break from what I usually eat on Fukue. Over the course of the night we visited two bars and talked with many people Japanese and other foreigners alike. Plans to sing karaoke never materialized but I still managed to stay out until 3:00am!
Saturday
The Morning
I somehow rallied the next morning to meet Koida Sensei at the port. From there we drove to one of Nagasaki’s highest points to see the bay. The city is surrounded by mountains and the ocean with the Urakami River cutting through the heart of it all. During the course of the day we visited several high points viewing the city and bay from different perspectives. The sun was bright, the sky azure blue, and the temperature had to be a crisp 66 degrees. It was the perfect day to sightsee.
When we walked through the city, Koida Sensei repeatedly said, “This used to be underwater. That used to be under water.” As Nagasaski grew and modernized, the city reclaimed land by draining parts of the bay. With the mountains at its back, the city could only expand in one direction: the sea.
Bordering Kazagashiramachi Park is a statue of Ryoma Sakamoto, one of Japan’s most famous samurai. He is remembered for brokering an alliance between two irreconcilable enemy clans to unite their forces against the Shogunate thus forcing the Shogun to abdicate power and end Japan’s feudal age. Every picture and depiction I have seen of him shows his jaw proudly jutting out. He looks like the kind of guy who strutted around but definitely had the means to back it up. Not only was he armed with a katana but a pistol as well. He was also 5’11 or 180cm which was tall for anyone at that time period. You didn’t mess with him unless you intended to kill him. Unfortunately he was assassinated at the age of 31 before he could realize his full potential. And yet in the short time he lived he spurred Japan’s modernization as his writings later influenced the Japanese constitution.
We also strolled through Teramachi or “Temple Town” to see Kofuku-Ji and Sofuku-Ji. Kofuku-Ji is Nagasaki’s oldest Chinese temple; it was built in 1620 by Chinese merchants who settled in the city. The mountains shielded it during the atomic blast and thus it survives to this day as a “Prefecturally Designated Cultural Property”. Sofuku-Ji, while younger than Kofuku-Ji, is more well-known probably due to its greater size. Within its domains is a giant cauldron which was used to cook gruel and rice for people when a famine hit Nagasaki shortly after the temple’s establishment.
The Afternoon
By around 12:30pm we were wiped and starving. We hiked up so many stairs and my legs certainly felt it; God, I am out of cardio shape. Koida Sensei took me to his favorite champon restaurant in Chinatown. Champon is a noodle soup dish unique to Nagasaki. Nagasaki’s first Chinese residents cooked it and it remains a city staple food. Japan is like that: prefectures and cities are known for specific foods. Akita is known for its excellent rice (and sake); Kumamoto is renowned for horse sashimi; Nagasaki is chanpon country.
Stuffed and energized we strolled towards Glover Garden to see another view of the Bay. I did go to Glover Garden months ago but it rained all day. This time the weather was perfect and we had a nice view of the ocean drinking coffee. The tulip garden was in bloom: BONUS!
The Evening
After drinking coffee, Koida Sensei asked if there was anything else I would like to see. I scratched my head and suggested another historical site and paused. We looked at each other and realized we were both exhausted. Thanking him I returned to my hostel and drowsed for perhaps an hour.
BAM! A presumably fellow American carrying the plague (common cold) with a poor taste for YouTube videos summited the bunk above mine waking me from my rest. Disgruntled I climbed out of bed and decided to grab dinner. I went to a yakitori/sashimi restaurant near my guest house, a place where I had dined before. The old lady who runs it remembered me! We talked for a bit while she gave me extra portions. She is so cool. She even gave me chocolate on my way out. I’m bringing her a gift the next time I eat there. Relationships like these make life so wonderful.
The Nagasaki ALTs had a St. Patrick’s Party at an Irish themed pub called the Public House Maillaig. I joined in meeting up with a friend while making some new friends. Certainly one of the highlights of my weekend was simply chatting with people in both Japanese and English. I used a lot of Japanese this weekend and tried to process as much as I could. It’s tiring—fun for sure but tiring. I talked with people late into the night and early into the morning and it was a blast. I guess extroverting now and then never hurt anyone, right?
Wrap-Up
It’s really easy to fall into a routine even in a foreign country. Recently I forgot I was living in Japan. My day is straight-forward: I wake up and eat breakfast, go to work, teach class, study and read, hit the gym, make dinner, watch something on Netflix or read, and go to sleep. Rinse and repeat.
Truly living and working in a country is drastically different from touring it. When you are a tourist, you can see whatever you want and do whatever you want at whatever time you want (that isn’t prohibited by the laws of that country). As a worker, especially in Japan, I have expectations and responsibilities; they are minimal but they exist nonetheless. Furthermore, getting off the island, as I have said thirty three times before, is itself a chore. Thus all the ingredients were there for me to descend into a slump.
This weekend I remembered why I love Japan: the history, the culture, and the blend of everything that makes Japan what it is today. I value my interactions with people every day from Koida Sensei’s kindness in showing me around to the people I chatted with at the bar. It reminds me how valuable these interactions and relationships are: some may be a passing moment while others will last a life time. No matter the length they present an opportunity for growth, learning, and joy. Among my chief joys in life is conversing with people and above that is getting people to smile. In that one moment the ego, psychological inhibitions, cultural/race/religious/social differences dissolve and you come face to face with another soul. It is a beautiful experience.