Nagasaki 2
On Wednesday we awoke to more snow and began a pretty full schedule of touring Nagasaki with a visit to the head of the local education department and then to the Governor (equivalent of our state premiers). He was a nice bloke of quite good humour and told us he had instructed the owner of the hotel we were staying at (a friend of his) take special care of us and give us the best quality rice (this actually happened too). The media were also present at this occasion and we made the local paper the next day. They then decided we were a good story and we made the paper every day of our time in Nagasaki, ah the life of a celebrity.
Next stop was the Hiyoshi Youth House up in the mountains. The roads were small and windy to the point where the bus frequently had to do three point turns to get around the corners. Snow was 20 to 30cm deep up here, but the workshop session was very cold (about 10 degrees in side) as the heating had broken down. The workshop stretched my facilitating skills trying to facilitate via an interpreter and across the cultural difference of westerners willing to but in and polite Japanese who, before speaking, wait for extended pauses that, with us westerners in the room, do not exist .
Wednesday night found us in a traditional hotel in Unzen, with futons on the bamboo tatami floor. We ate traditional Japanese dinner with lots of beer and sake dressed in a traditional Japanese yukata (similar to a kimono but simpler) sitting on the tatami floor with space for our legs under the table like the kareoke bar. We had a great time with our local hosts. Dinner was followed by a naked spa (Japanese style, boys and girls separate) in a natural geothermal hot spring situated outdoors with snow around the pool. For maximum invigoration after sitting in the spa for a while we would get up and rub ourselves in the snow. A couple of us stayed there for about three hours until we got kicked out (ever so politely of course) at pool closing time.
We woke again on Thursday to still more snow. Ever since our arrival in Nagasaki people had been telling us that it normally only snows two or three days in a year here and this is a very unusual cold snap they are having, so we've been very lucky to these days of snow. By the end of the day though we had traveled back to the coast and the snow was mostly melted. The day was much warmer, about 15 degrees and the sun shining. On our travels we visited an old primary school ruined by volcanic eruption, crossed the lava spill way (huge) they had erected to prevent future disasters and planted trees and had a snow fight on the side of the volcano itself - Mt Fugen. We later had a quick look around the volcano museum in nearby Shimabara, and had some workshops with the local volunteers. We then drove on to Tamari to be matched up with our hosts for the homestay. This meant yet another welcome party - the celebrity life can be tiresome.
Before actually going on the homes though we had to make an appearance at the Setsubun festival held every year on February 3rd, the first day of spring. The festival involves throwing beans while shouting Oni wa soto (Go away devil) and Fuku wa uchi (come in luck) to ensure good luck and blessings for the approaching spring and summer. Pernilla from Sweden and myself were privileged to be among a group of eight people chosen to throw beans to the crowd of 300-400 locals because this year is the year of the chicken and we were born in the year of the chicken. To do this we had to go into the shrine and get dressed in the traditional dress of the Shogun (the highest level of Samurai) - a rare honour. The bean throwing was great fun a ceremony full of enthusiasm and laughter, I felt really privileged to participate in this way.
The homestay was a great experience and one we would not get as the average tourist. I stayed with the Nagaoka family:
Shinji an associate professor of geology at a local university who new more about the formation of New Zealand than I did and had quite good English;
Akiyo who works as a health educator and seemed to be able to understand my English but was not confident enough to speak it herself;
and their three year old daughter Kasane who was very cute but quite shy.
A student of Shinji`s, Miyuki Hayakawa also spent the evening and following morning with us but did not stay over.
The first thing we did on arriving home was to re-enact the bean throwing ceremony with Kasane throwing the beans and Miyuki and I wearing devil masks and running away. Then I got a call from the tour organisers to say there had been floods in Melbourne and that I should ring home. I did this to find everyone at home okay but the Yarra had burst its banks at South Bank and Melbourne had had it`s coldest February day on record - 12 degrees, (not quite as cold as Nagasaki). We then had a relaxed evening over a bear sitting on heated mat before the traditional Japanese family bath. The bath is filled to near the top (and it's taller than you`re average Aussie bath) and heated to about 44 degrees. Normally the whole family will use the same water one after another. I was given the first bath and decided to shower first as we had done for the hot spa the night before to keep the water clean and also because the bath was too hot for me to sit in for very long. I did get in though for a few minutes but it was still too hot even though I turned it down to 38 degrees. A great experience though!
Friday morning was spent with our homestay hosts and for me was very relaxed even if we did have a 7:30 breakfast. I asked what there was to see in Tarami - `not much` was the answer, so we had a bit of a walk and I sent a postcard. I had chance to do some washing and then we just spent the morning talking which was nice just to spend time with Japanese people in an everyday situation and have a plain Japanese lunch of muchi (pounded/mashed rice balls, frozen, then re heated and dipped in soy-sauce).
Friday afternoon we farewelled our hosts and drove back to Nagasaki for the A-bomb museum and Peace Park. This was a great chance to give some real meaning to Nagasaki day which we mark each year. We could have spent a day in the museum instead of an hour but it was very moving to read some of the personal stories recorded there. The peace park was much more optimistic with gifts of good will from around the world (but not Australia or Sweden!). The whole thing re-affirmed my convictions of non-violence. If ending war can be used as a justification for using nuclear weapons then how can we even defend using war as a way of resolving conflict. We then returned to the hotel for workshops and dinner and a night at the bar with Kaori and Yumi who were lots of fun.
On Saturday we got to sleep in until 9am before the days seminar started. My day was interrupted with a trip to hospital accompanying Bindie who was diagnosed with flew, an interesting experience with an interpreter as well as one of the organising group. But we went straight through and were well served by a very efficient staff. Our delegation leader Geoff had also been ill for a couple of days after the hot spa. He'd felt really ill and was unable to eat anything. He was diagnosed with dehydration from the hot spa and put an drip for a while but still felt ill.
After the days seminar everyone retired to their rooms for a rest, but I went for a walk exploring a bit more of Nagasaki city which we had not seen much of yet. Nearby I found a beautiful Buddhist temple and then proceeded through a cemetery climbing a steep hill as I went. The cemetery was a complete maze and very crowded. I eventually found my way to the top where I found a great view of Nagasaki which reminded me of Wellington. It is nestled amongst the surrounding hills on three sides with the fourth being the harbor - it is a very beautiful city. On the way down I found an interesting Catholic church with two odd patchwork stone tile pillars on top, I've never seen a church like it.
Our last night in Nagasaki began with a farewell party in Chinatown where I met Yosihiro a real larrikin (I gave him honoury Australian status) with whom I had lots of fun joking around. Then this crazy Japanese women hosting the evening who did not speak a word of English got me up, attached a scarf to my head and pulled me towards the stage. After a few drinks I was up for going along with this but then pulled out some lipstick and proceeded to draw all over my face and lead me in a traditional local dance. We all had a great laugh and there are some incriminating photo's. We then crammed into a small kareoke bar to finish the night before the midnight hotel lockout.
Sunday morning saw the end of our trip to Nagasaki marked by a tearful farewell from Kaori and Yumi to whom we'd all become quite attached and then a smooth flight back to Tokyo and a view of Mt Fuji from the air.
Next stop was the Hiyoshi Youth House up in the mountains. The roads were small and windy to the point where the bus frequently had to do three point turns to get around the corners. Snow was 20 to 30cm deep up here, but the workshop session was very cold (about 10 degrees in side) as the heating had broken down. The workshop stretched my facilitating skills trying to facilitate via an interpreter and across the cultural difference of westerners willing to but in and polite Japanese who, before speaking, wait for extended pauses that, with us westerners in the room, do not exist .
Wednesday night found us in a traditional hotel in Unzen, with futons on the bamboo tatami floor. We ate traditional Japanese dinner with lots of beer and sake dressed in a traditional Japanese yukata (similar to a kimono but simpler) sitting on the tatami floor with space for our legs under the table like the kareoke bar. We had a great time with our local hosts. Dinner was followed by a naked spa (Japanese style, boys and girls separate) in a natural geothermal hot spring situated outdoors with snow around the pool. For maximum invigoration after sitting in the spa for a while we would get up and rub ourselves in the snow. A couple of us stayed there for about three hours until we got kicked out (ever so politely of course) at pool closing time.
We woke again on Thursday to still more snow. Ever since our arrival in Nagasaki people had been telling us that it normally only snows two or three days in a year here and this is a very unusual cold snap they are having, so we've been very lucky to these days of snow. By the end of the day though we had traveled back to the coast and the snow was mostly melted. The day was much warmer, about 15 degrees and the sun shining. On our travels we visited an old primary school ruined by volcanic eruption, crossed the lava spill way (huge) they had erected to prevent future disasters and planted trees and had a snow fight on the side of the volcano itself - Mt Fugen. We later had a quick look around the volcano museum in nearby Shimabara, and had some workshops with the local volunteers. We then drove on to Tamari to be matched up with our hosts for the homestay. This meant yet another welcome party - the celebrity life can be tiresome.
Before actually going on the homes though we had to make an appearance at the Setsubun festival held every year on February 3rd, the first day of spring. The festival involves throwing beans while shouting Oni wa soto (Go away devil) and Fuku wa uchi (come in luck) to ensure good luck and blessings for the approaching spring and summer. Pernilla from Sweden and myself were privileged to be among a group of eight people chosen to throw beans to the crowd of 300-400 locals because this year is the year of the chicken and we were born in the year of the chicken. To do this we had to go into the shrine and get dressed in the traditional dress of the Shogun (the highest level of Samurai) - a rare honour. The bean throwing was great fun a ceremony full of enthusiasm and laughter, I felt really privileged to participate in this way.
The homestay was a great experience and one we would not get as the average tourist. I stayed with the Nagaoka family:
Shinji an associate professor of geology at a local university who new more about the formation of New Zealand than I did and had quite good English;
Akiyo who works as a health educator and seemed to be able to understand my English but was not confident enough to speak it herself;
and their three year old daughter Kasane who was very cute but quite shy.
A student of Shinji`s, Miyuki Hayakawa also spent the evening and following morning with us but did not stay over.
The first thing we did on arriving home was to re-enact the bean throwing ceremony with Kasane throwing the beans and Miyuki and I wearing devil masks and running away. Then I got a call from the tour organisers to say there had been floods in Melbourne and that I should ring home. I did this to find everyone at home okay but the Yarra had burst its banks at South Bank and Melbourne had had it`s coldest February day on record - 12 degrees, (not quite as cold as Nagasaki). We then had a relaxed evening over a bear sitting on heated mat before the traditional Japanese family bath. The bath is filled to near the top (and it's taller than you`re average Aussie bath) and heated to about 44 degrees. Normally the whole family will use the same water one after another. I was given the first bath and decided to shower first as we had done for the hot spa the night before to keep the water clean and also because the bath was too hot for me to sit in for very long. I did get in though for a few minutes but it was still too hot even though I turned it down to 38 degrees. A great experience though!
Friday morning was spent with our homestay hosts and for me was very relaxed even if we did have a 7:30 breakfast. I asked what there was to see in Tarami - `not much` was the answer, so we had a bit of a walk and I sent a postcard. I had chance to do some washing and then we just spent the morning talking which was nice just to spend time with Japanese people in an everyday situation and have a plain Japanese lunch of muchi (pounded/mashed rice balls, frozen, then re heated and dipped in soy-sauce).
Friday afternoon we farewelled our hosts and drove back to Nagasaki for the A-bomb museum and Peace Park. This was a great chance to give some real meaning to Nagasaki day which we mark each year. We could have spent a day in the museum instead of an hour but it was very moving to read some of the personal stories recorded there. The peace park was much more optimistic with gifts of good will from around the world (but not Australia or Sweden!). The whole thing re-affirmed my convictions of non-violence. If ending war can be used as a justification for using nuclear weapons then how can we even defend using war as a way of resolving conflict. We then returned to the hotel for workshops and dinner and a night at the bar with Kaori and Yumi who were lots of fun.
On Saturday we got to sleep in until 9am before the days seminar started. My day was interrupted with a trip to hospital accompanying Bindie who was diagnosed with flew, an interesting experience with an interpreter as well as one of the organising group. But we went straight through and were well served by a very efficient staff. Our delegation leader Geoff had also been ill for a couple of days after the hot spa. He'd felt really ill and was unable to eat anything. He was diagnosed with dehydration from the hot spa and put an drip for a while but still felt ill.
After the days seminar everyone retired to their rooms for a rest, but I went for a walk exploring a bit more of Nagasaki city which we had not seen much of yet. Nearby I found a beautiful Buddhist temple and then proceeded through a cemetery climbing a steep hill as I went. The cemetery was a complete maze and very crowded. I eventually found my way to the top where I found a great view of Nagasaki which reminded me of Wellington. It is nestled amongst the surrounding hills on three sides with the fourth being the harbor - it is a very beautiful city. On the way down I found an interesting Catholic church with two odd patchwork stone tile pillars on top, I've never seen a church like it.
Our last night in Nagasaki began with a farewell party in Chinatown where I met Yosihiro a real larrikin (I gave him honoury Australian status) with whom I had lots of fun joking around. Then this crazy Japanese women hosting the evening who did not speak a word of English got me up, attached a scarf to my head and pulled me towards the stage. After a few drinks I was up for going along with this but then pulled out some lipstick and proceeded to draw all over my face and lead me in a traditional local dance. We all had a great laugh and there are some incriminating photo's. We then crammed into a small kareoke bar to finish the night before the midnight hotel lockout.
Sunday morning saw the end of our trip to Nagasaki marked by a tearful farewell from Kaori and Yumi to whom we'd all become quite attached and then a smooth flight back to Tokyo and a view of Mt Fuji from the air.
posted by James Tonson | 8:48 pm
<< Home