Kagoshima

I was drawn to Kagoshima mainly because its a good place to be based while I visit the Ebino Plateau but I discovered that the city itself is really lovely too.

Its the place where St Francis Xavier first landed in Japan while he was continuing to spread the message of Christianity across Asia. The reason this is interesting to me is because I'd spent two happy years at St Francis Xavier College so I guess I feel a special affinity to him.

Actually, Kagoshima is brimming with history, it was home to the powerful Shimazu Nari-akira who introduced Western technology to Japan and built the first factory, thus effectively modernising the country. What's more, Nari-akira also designed the rising sun flag. Then, there is the fact that one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration fled to Kagoshima and later committed suicide in the hills surrounding the city.

History asides, Kagoshima has one of the most beautiful Japanese garden in Kyushu with gorgeous views across the waters to Sakurajima, an active volcano that is constantly spewing smoke and ash.

ain't no mountain high enough

I nearly couldnt do this mountain trek because I'd headed to Kagoshima with my trainers still in Fukuoka. Fortunately, I realised when I was just boarding the train so in the end I only wasted an hour or so while I returned to the capsule hotel to fetch them.

I'd originally planned a long trek crossing 5 volcanic mountain peaks but the bus schedule didnt allow enough time for me to walk 19km and catch the last bus in time. This would have meant spending a very cold night in the middle of nowhere. Not a good plan. So, I settled for climbing the first in the volcanic chain.

The weather in the Ebino Plateau (or Table Land according to the road signs, they really need to hire better translators) is unstable at the best of times but I tackled the climb on the sunniest day of the week so the sky was clear and I could see for miles. The view was spectacular, I could see down to the three volcanic lakes dotted near Karakuni Dake, the mountain I climbed, and the rising peaks of the neighbouring volcanoes.

Beautiful Japan

Japan is an incredibly long country so getting from A to B takes a lot of time, especially because I didnt have the pleasure of travelling by Shinkansen. The good thing is that I did get to see a lot of the Japanese countryside; the route between Fukuoka and Kagoshima runs along the coast so I was treated to a glimpse of the stunning coastline.

A Capsule Hotel in Fukuoka

When I applied to go to Japan, I had the choice between Nagoya and Fukuoka so I have often wondered whether the grass is indeed greener on the other side.

Fukuoka is a bustling city, a shopper's paradise, so perhaps its a good thing that I didnt come here afterall. I only stayed here for a day having completely revised my trip to accommodate the weather so that I arrive in Kagoshima on a sunny day for my mountain trek.

I stayed in my first capsule hotel, its one of those things that I had wanted to try out before I came here. It was really cool; I had my own inbuilt TV and radio, and it actually felt rather snug and cosy. Obviously not for the claustrophic but otherwise, it was really comfortable and I had a good night's sleep.

Nagasaki

Nagasaki, because of a strange twist of fate, shares Hiroshima's tragic fate- it was here that the second atomic bomb was dropped. The original target for the second atomic bomb was Kokura but cloudy weather conditions caused the mission to be diverted to Nagasaki.


This monument marks the exact spot where the bomb exploded, reducing everybody in the immediate vicinity to ashes and inflicting horrific burns on those within a 2km radius of the blast, with many eventually dying of their injuries. It's harrowing going through the testimonies from survivors, and worse still is the fact that the US had received intelligence from the highest level that Japan would have surrendered by December 1945 at the latest. This destroys any fabric of credibility to the US justification that the atomic bomb was used to bring an end to the war. The war would have ended anyway.



Paper cranes, a type of origami, is a Japanese symbol for longevity and happiness. Thousands are folded by children to adorn the peace monuments.

Peace Project

Nagasaki is running a project with Hiroshima to build a massive wall made of little wooden blocks 'signatures' around the UN headquarter in New York. The wooden blocks replaces conventional signature collections for petitions, and the idea is that they carry for resonance in their 3-D form. Its easier to ignore a small pile of paper than a wooden wall that you will have to climb over to get into your office building.

Changing Times

Looking at Nagasaki now you wouldnt be able to guess its tragic past. The city has miraculously recovered and prospered as this picture shows. This is taken from the nearby hillside looking over the port and city.

All that Jazz

A jazz bar in Nagasaki. The pianist made me laugh because he was really into the music and made big Ben-type shoulder shrugs as he played and rocking his head like Stevie Wonder.

Another sad farewell

DJ, an ex-Marines and Alex, German mathematician left us at the end of March. Alex was in my Japanese class so we'd spent many mornings together looking very confused, whereas DJ is very good at Japanese and spent a lot of time flirting with the Japanese girls. He also has a secret photo collection which I have never been permitted to see for fear of corrupting my innocent mind. This, of course, only makes me more curious to see the content but alas, he left without ever revealing anything to me, though the boys did get a good look. Sexism!

Girls just wanna have fun

Jenny Packham came along with us to Tokyo and she wanted to come out and play. Ruth and I tried to talk Alex into getting dressed up too, namely in a little sexy number from Ruth's wardrobe, but he sadly declined though I cant see why he did. It was a really sexy number.

At the club, we were immediately ushered into the VIP line so we played along, but eventually they discovered we weren't on the guestlist so it was back with the meer mortals for us.

The dress was heavy, I was wearing about over 2 kilos of beading on top of a six-layer skirt but it didnt matter, Im a girl who simply loves to dance. The club designer hadnt given much thought to the layout, the R 'n' B floor was tiny, and it was more like an intersection between two rooms than a space in its own rights. Plus, the floor was sticky. So, we tried the house floor but here we risked breaking our necks dancing on the stage because there was no room on the dance floor. The Japanese girls favour the arm-flinging dance moves, which could be very dangerous for unsuspecting victims dancing nearby. We were left with Global Beats, whatever that is. Basically, it should have been called Whatever Goes because the music was completely random and there were people doing the robotics, breakdancing and crazed rainworshipping. This involved flinging both arms up in the air while shaking the body vigorously. I love watching all the eclectic dancing styles, dancing is when people completely let themselves go and its such a unique expression of the individuality. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they groove on the dancefloor- much more telling than personality tests.

Nikko

Nikko lies nearly four hours north of Tokyo. The Lonely Planet describes it as 'majestic temples and shrines in a forest setting' and urges travellers to go see Nikko 'even with the most whirlwind tour of Japan'.

The temple grounds are huge, the scale is magnificent in comparison to anything else in Japan. The temples themselves are ornate, withelaborate guilding and a rainbow palette, which are more like the colourful temples on mainland Asia than the usual simple and minimalist style of Japanese tradition.



Legends has it that one of the shrines was deemed to be so perfect that the markers feared that they would evoke the envy of the Gods, since only the Gods could ever achieve perfection. So, one of the pillars of the shrine was turned upside down as a deliberate mistake.

I thought Nikko was beautiful, though not as much as everyone had enthused. I guess this is because having seen the temples at Angkor, everything else is pale in comparison.

Shinto attendants

This is one of the smaller shrines in Nikko, the three Shinto attendants were performing a ceremony involving some tree branches. It was fascinating to watch, though I had no idea what was going on.

The Diabutsu at Kamakura

Kamakura was the capital of Japan during the aptly called Kamakura period (1185-1333). The most famous sight in Kamakura is the Diabutsu, meaning Great Buddha, who always look so serene and stunning in the many pictures that I have seen. Its not only a symbol of Kamakura but is one of the great symbols of Japan too so I was really looking forward to seeing it for myself.

It didnt disappoint at all, the Diabutsu has a certain charm and serenity about it that is just captivating. I have seen many Buddha statues: reclining, meditating, preaching, but this one is definately on of my favourites. It used to be housed in a great hall but this was washed away by the tsunami in the late 15th century.

St Patrick's Day in Tokyo

Alex and I arrived in Tokyo 7 hours after setting off from Nagoya having successfully navigated the matrix of the Japanese railway network. Several times we were directed to the wrong platform and onto the wrong train but somehow we managed to find our way and made all the right connections.


We had dinner with a big group of Brits made up of Emma, Michael (Emma's boyfriend), Zoe (Emma's best friend) and her fellow students from Sheffield University who were studying here and who are also friends of Ruth. Poor Alex, surrounded by 11 brits and not even an American thrown in for diversity's sake.


Drinks were at the Dubliner, where Guiness was being sold for 500 yen which is very cheap by Japanese standards. We needed a pure Irishman to add a touch of authenticity to the occasion and for that, Derry served his purpose well.


The Dubliner was packed, people were spilling outside trying to find somewhere to perch, lean. There was a band playing some classic Irish tunes so Ruth attempted to do an Irish jig, knocking over a few pints in the process.

The Law Faculty Ski Trip

Aaah, the ski trip... how my body aches. I managed to finish packing, grabbed 2 hours' kip and make it to the bus on time (always a feat!) for 7.30 am and then I was out like a light for the entire journey to Hakuba. Boy, I was tired.

No rest once we'd arrived, it was pretty much a case of 'here are your skis, lets hit the slopes'. The efficiency was staggering; everybody was already assigned to a ski group, with ski instructor, all the right equipment, ski pass and lunch money ready. A happy marriage of Japanese's penchance for order and a no faffing policy of the lawyers.

Now, learning to ski entirely in Japanese is certainly interesting! Our instructor would go into lengthy explanations of various techniques and dispense a plethora of advice relating to our performance, he was incredibly enthusiastic and patient, though all his words were lost on me. Par the word, 'Relaaaax', which he would call out while trying to encourage me to stop looking completely petrified. Thats what you'll get if you mix a girl who's terrified of heights with a very steep slope and an inability to stop properly. Looking back, it was hysterical. There I was at the top of the slope trying to make my way down going from side to side except I hadn't quite mastered turning properly so I pretty much went straight down gathering speed as I go. I am thinking all sorts of obscenities, cursing my own stupidity for ever putting on skis in the first place while trying to bend my knees and making an inverted V with my skis. Still no luck, I wasn't slowing down, in fact I was going faster and faster....aaaarghhhh! I sounded like a Hugh Grant movie...'F*ck, bugger, oh f*ck'. In the end, I decided the only way I could stop was to fall over so I crashed, tumbled, rolled a few times and finally came to a stop.

'Tan-san!!! Daijoubu desu ka"
"Daijoubu yo!"

I was laughing so much I could barely get up.

Have a break...

Let it snow, let it snow

Hakuba was stunning. Gorgeous snow-covered mountain peaks and the clearest blue ski every day. This is one of my favourite stretch of the ski course.

Shattered

By the last day we were completely shattered, our bodies begging for a respite. There was a big party the night before where we were plied with various alcoholic beverages while playing a version of Bruce's Play Your Cards Right. It doesnt sound like the most exciting game but god, it was a brilliant laugh. Basically, the quiz masters sets us various questions and we had to decide whether the answers were higher or lower than the number given.

My favourite question was 'How many boyfriends did Okuda sensei have while she was at university?' We had to decide whether the answer was higher or lower than 1, baring in mind that this was 1980's Japan. She went bright red with embarrassment and the whole room erupted in laughter, all her students had no faith in her and every single group voted unanimously for higher. She was laughing so much that she could barely speak but we eventually discovered that the answer was indeed higher!!!

My group won the game, winning a University calendar and a massive bags of allsorted confectionaries. It wasnt so much the prize but the joy in winning, lawyers and politicians are such a competitive bunch!

The picture is of Masa san, our group leader, catching up on some sleep at lunch.

Lead me by the hand

Its four in the morning, I am desperately trying to pack and throw random clothes into my case which is already full with four jumpers and as many pairs of socks. Now, am I likely to need more layers, four jumpers are enough right? It can't be that cold, we're in the middle of March for God's sake! Maybe another one just to be safe...

I popped over to George's at 1 to pick up his hat and thick gloves to take with me, and ended up staying there for two hours nattering away and then I suddenly thought, 'F*ck, I havent even packed yet!' Mad dash back to Chastity Towers, lugging my travel case out with list in hand ticking items off, but now I am still scratching my head. I have no idea what I might need, I have never been skiing before, but I dont want to 'forget' something that might be vitally important to me becoming....someone who's really good at skiing/ snowboarding (insert appropriate famous skier/snowboarder here).

Also, there is this nagging fear that I am going to break an arm or leg or something, but luckily I have already had a hospital visit this month so I should be safe. Phew, okay back to the job at hand....

I'm sure Taso Diso is a lovely name

Time for another visit to the hospital, this time the problem was my left eye. I had discovered last week that there was a small amount of blood on the eye ball, which seemed to be getting bigger much to my alarm. I called George as I always do when such emergencies arise and we made our now-regular hospital trip, but this time to Sugita Eye Hospital in Sakae, the most prestigious one in the city.

They had a difficult time reading my name even though I had written it in katakana. They interpreted as タソ　ディソ, even though it should have looked like　タン　ディン. Can't see the difference? In written form, the only difference is in the direction of the strokes, and the 'n' sound of my name is an upward stroke whereas the 'so' sound is a downward stroke. My hospital card was made out for Taso Diso, rather than Tan Din.

We were listening out for my name, but apparently that was not my "name" at all. The nurse came out to call someone in, one one came forward and we looked around to find that no one else was in the waiting room. Ok, so that had to be me then. George pointed out the error to the nurse, a lot of bowing and apologies later she rushed to print me another card, but even then the card was made out to Tan Diso. Oh well, I'm sure I'll grow to like Tan Diso with time.

The eye is fine, its healing well. Apparently, it was just bloodshot but I've never had that before and it looked awful. Plus, Kevin, the little rascal, struck the fear into me when he said I might wake up the next day to discover that I have lost my eyesight. I could barely sleep that night, thanks Kevin!

ruthinnagoya!

Ruth finally made a visit to Nagoya after much coaxing and persuading from the Nagoyan British entourage! I was so pleased, I havent seen her since early December when Sven and I stayed at her place while we were making a trip to Disney Park.

Ruth had hitchhiked with a fellow Sheffield-lite from Tokyo all the way down to Nagoya- a six hours journey in all! I was especially impressed because Matt and I had failed in our attempt to hitchhike from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok, we lacked the perserverance and gave up after 15 minutes.

Ruth and Matt (no relations to Thai trip Matt) were only stopping for a day while on their journey to Kobe, so we went out for dinner at Outback in Sakae cos I have been craving a good jacket potato with melted butter and topped with scrumptious bacon pieces. Life without an oven is sad and I end up missing the strangest things, before coming to Japan I'd never thought I'd crave jacket potatoes of all things.

Kevin and I shared the yummiest jacket potato, rack of ribs, steak and chicken wings combo....mmmmMMMMMmmmm!

I had to show Ruth my Jenny Packham dress since I'd thought of her when I'd bought it. She has something similar hanging proudly on her wall in Tokyo and we'd always said that we'll get dressed up and hit the towns. I'm heading to Tokyo next week for St Paddy's Day and Jenny Packham is coming with me.

Mothering Sunday

A special message to my ma and mummy Tricia on Mothering Sunday. I feel very fortunate to have two wonderful mothers who are shining examples of how mummys should be.

Something has to be said

There's not many things that leaves me speechless, but on this occassion the right words to convey how I feel just refuses to materialise. My grandfather passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning and after a long, laborious flight, my mum only arrived at his house at 8 am so she never got to see him before he died.

I saw my grandpa last summer when I was backpacking with Charlotte and Matt, he was incredibly frail. How 5 years had taken its toll on his aged body. When I was last in Vietnam with my ma and Thi, he was fit and healthy, and he came travelling with us around the southern coast of Vietnam.

I have had no personal experiences with bereavement, no one I have known has died so I cant fully understand these strange, alien feelings. Distance and circumstances prevented any close relationship from forming between us; my family left Vietnam when I was four, and only returned again 11 years later, and then I came back alone last year. In his passing, I felt regret, guilt, and a deep sense of loss for a relationship that was never discovered. My dad's father died a long time before I was even born so he was the only grandpa I've ever had. This is not an entry I had particularly wanted to write, but I couldnt allow the passing of my grandpa to go unregistered in this account of my life. I apologise for not telling my friends personally, I just couldnt find the right words.

Five will make you get up, sing it....one, two, three, four...

I spent the beginning of my fifth month being sick and miserable, which was bad enough by itself but then I also had essays and coursework to finish too. The ever-present departure dates didnt help make things easier and the Ohmeikan seemed to get quieter and quieter by the day. I could almost see the tumble weed rolling across the floor. The Spring vacation was a welcomed change, but then I had more free time than I ever knew what to do with. Being sick also completely messed up my sleeping pattern because I couldnt sleep at night and so I was catching naps throughout the day. At the start of the vacation, I was getting up at 2 or 3 pm and staying up til 5am! That had to be quickly addressed. I began to get pro-active, enrolled into the Japanese Spring Intensive Course - 3 hours a day of Japanese starting at 9am! - and signed up for an experiment the Japanese students were conducting measuring brain-wave activities, which paid for a week's shopping.

Then, I got myself a student to teach English to, and soon my time was filling up nicely. The Japanese Intensive is going really well, and I have only missed a couple of lessons due to an eratic sleeping pattern. And while Im showing off on how pro-active I am these days, did I mention that I am also a frequent visiter of the gym now????!!!!!! Haha, hell is going to freeze over, I am sure! Yes indeedy, I've been going to the gym with Jae and Kevin, which we dont have to pay for thanks to the generosity of Nagoya University and also thanks to the ancient-ness of the machines. It would be a crime to charge for the creakiness of the machines available, but it still works well and its free, so one cant complain, can one?

I have also received my grades for last semester: A's in Japanese History, Japanese Diplomacy and International Relations, and for Jan Oberg's Intensive class. Then B's for Peacebuilding, Japanese (!!!), and Japanese Law and Politics.

Now, I am pleased with everything apart from the B in Graduate Peacebuilding, which so blatantly should have been an A. I feel robbed! My presentation received 90%, atendance and punctuality- tick, coursework and essay- tick. Grrrr! Still, water under the bridge now so no point vexing about it.

No travelling this month, because I want to go in March when its a little warmer and the cherry-blossom viewing season begins. I am going skiing next weekend with my faculty, i.e. Law, and then Alex and I are going up to Tokyo for St Paddy's Day. We'll also head out to Nikko (beautiful temples in woody grounds), Kamakura (home to the biggest Buddha statue in Japan) and then Mount Fuji. After that, I have tentative plans for a solo trip around the Eastern tip of the country. All this on the cheap juuhachi kippu, which is the discounted train tickets letting students travel for a whole day on the local and semi-express trains, so sadly no shinkansen, for a tenner. Bargainous!