Monday

I spoke at an event on Sunday and because of the post-event drinking party they put me up for the night. On Monday I was to transfer at Kyoto to the shinkansen and head home, except I couldn't. Despite the mile long to-do list waiting for me at home, I couldn't just head straight home on Monday morning, it would have been such a waste! So I stashed my bag in a locker and hopped on the JR Nara line.

A few minutes later I was standing beneath the first of many bright orange torii shrine gates.

Thankfully the crowds thinned out the further I got up the mountain and, although the weather was grey and overcast with a bite to the wind, there were only a few intermittent rain drops and my climb kept me warm.

Even without my good camera Fushimi Inari is incredibly photogenic. Much of the route up the mountain is lined with bright orange gates, winding through the forest where a few stubborn maples still held on to their autumnal glory.

There was an older man repainting one of the torii and there were others festooned with wet paint signs and in various degrees of newly painted-ness.

Then there were others that were obviously rotting from within and others that had rotted away leaving empty cement post holes filled with fallen leaves.

The calm and quiet of the surroundings and the walk did me the world of good after days of bonding with my computer in frenzied prep for my talk.

But all too soon it was time for me to head back to Kyoto and, as the rain began to fall, I bought omiyage in one of the station's stores and snagged the last empty seat on my shinkansen back home.

Insults

The kids are on their way home from school. I can hear the little boys run by, yelling insults at each other.

"baka!" says one.
"BAKA!" says another, louder.
"AHO!" chimes a third, upping the ante.
"aho baka!" says the first boy, trying hard to keep up.

"Amerika-jin baabaa!" yells the second boy and dashes off down a side street. The other two are silent. Apparently this insult can't be topped.

I briefly consider jumping out behind the curtain and giving them some lecture on culture awareness and multiculturalism and... but I can't help myself as I start to giggle.

I'll just chalk it up to yet another reason why I'm glad to be Canadian.

Hamamatsu Toshogu

The first time we visited Hamamatsu Toshogu it was mid-summer, hot and humid.  We parked the car in what was almost a parking spot and walked up the hill.  There was only one other person there - a young guy clutching his tourist history map who stared at us as he wandered around.  As always, I had to remind U to pay our respects to the shrine (tossing a 5 yen coin into the box, ringing the bell, clapping and bowing) before taking pictures.

U was disappointed we weren't able to get our shrine stamp books stamped, so when we were back in Hamamatsu six months later, over new year's, we went back with the hope of finding a priest to sign and stamp our books.

Again we found a slight widening in the road in which to park, and walked a short distance to the shrine.  The difference in the shrine, however, was... well, since it was just past midnight the differences were more than just night and day! The path to the shrine was lined by tables, there was a tent with a gas stove where a few older men were warming their hands against the cold night air, and a group of middle aged women and men stood around a gas ring with a steaming pan of amazake.

U accepted a china cup of the ghastly sweet sake-like (alcohol free) drink and pronounced it delicious.  A beaming man thanked U for the compliment, telling us he ran the sake store just down the hill.  As we chatted with the rather tipsy man U asked him whether the shrine had a regular priest, and if would be possible to get stamps in our books.  We were told to go to the sake store the day after next, and our new friend would help us out.

Two days later we pulled up to the sake store and I was more than a little uncertain - there was a very good chance the friendly owner had been too tipsy to remember the promise.  As soon as we walked into the store, however, we were ushered into the back room.  A quick glance around the room convinced me my worries had been unnecessary.  Just about every free space was littered with scraps of paper covered with brush strokes with the shrine name and date, somebody had been feverishly practicing their brushmanship!

Although I'm not sure that the shrine stamp originally contained a line about a certain type of herb sake being Ieyasu's favourite, the resulting stamp and signature are ones that U and I will treasure and remember for many many years.  And U's family enjoyed the herb sake omiyage we brought them, so I guess Ieyasu had good taste!

Hamamatsu Toshogu 

Look carefully above the hand-washing fount...

Its a nemuri-neko!

(See, Rurousha, I told you it wasn't just at Nikko! sorry I made you wait so long for proof!)

Slurping Japanese

After working together for over three years and seeing me translate 150 year-old documents and decipher half-illegible hand written memos, one of my coworkers complimented me on my Japanese the other day.

My handle on Japanese customs that is.

My slurping to be exact.

After being taught as a child to eat silently I had to reteach myself to slurp when I first came to Japan. I now slurp udon/ramen/soba noodles without a second thought but not all are so limited in their slurping.

The older man at the table next to us at a nice Italian restaurant did not discriminate between noodles and slurped his carbonara from his plate, fork held aloft.

The guy beside me at Subway last night didn't limit himself to noodles, or even just noodle-shaped sliced onion and shredded cabbage. He slurped his entire subway sandwich, toasted bread and cold cuts and all.

My coworker was obviously just humouring me, I have much to learn.

WordFUL Wednesday

A number of times over the past few weeks I've wanted to take pictures of a certain scene but for one reason or another I didn't or couldn't. So my descriptions will have to do instead. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but does that mean I have to write a thousand words to equal a picture?

.....................

One morning I left for work in the rain. I was cursing my choice of footwear as I could tell my feet would be soaked by the time I got to work. Across the street I could see a woman much better prepared for the weather - rainboots, waterproof pants, raincoat (with the hood pulled tight and only half of her face showing), large umbrella (a little overkill given her full-body getup), and hose...

Wait a second! HOSE?! whaa?!

It was pouring rain, this lady was all decked out in rain gear and yet she appeared to be randomly washing the sidewalk.

I didn't know whethei to worry that she might be cleaning up some toxic substance or be annoyed at her pointless waste of water!

.....................

Taking the train home after work I often find myself standing at the doors, looking through the glass at the city as it speeds by. Sort of like the movie 'Shall We Dance?' (I pass a dance studio too)

The otherday I saw a little old lady immaculately dressed in a kimono - sitting by herself in McDonalds.

Internationalism?

No Ear-Whigs, but a whole lot of Lib-Ears

Another prime minister has stepped down in Japan, something like the 6th in 5 years?? His replacement, Kan, is gathering a fair bit of news attention. One day last week the lunch-time news was all about the new first lady. She seems to be a politically savvy and smart woman, deeply involved with her husband’s political career and a great improvement over her predecessor (although since Mrs. Hatoyama had no qualms telling international media she believed she had been abducted by aliens, there wasn’t much room for going anywhere but up!). Then another day was about Kan and his new cabinet. Since the actual announcement had come the previous day the lunch hour “news” program had to come up with a new angle to the story and brought in a panel of “talents” and a specialist. The talents were the usual mix of ditzy and serious but their specialist stole the show.

A popular political pundit? Nope.

A serious scholar? Nope.

A n eccentric ex-politician? Nope.

An ear-reader. Yup.

Hold on.... a wha??

Yeah... they had an ear-reader, like a palm-reader, only of ears. Their shape, the size and thickness of the lobe, any bumps or bulges, you name it, she gave it meaning.

There are apparently a dozen or so set ear shapes such as “inverted moon” and “diamond” and “half-moon” and the most common with 60% of the Japanese population having “triangle” ears.

Ex-prime minister Hatoyama’s ears apparently show him to be unable to accept responsibility for his actions, and the little bulge at the end of his very small lobes (denoting a lack of intelligence) means that he holds on tightly to money and uses it very selfishly on himself. Apparently overall his ears are well suited to a comedian. In contrast new prime minister Kan has much more promising ears, heralding better times ahead for Japan.

The ear shapes of the entire cabinet were unveiled, as were the shape of the ears of the half a dozen talents on the program’s panel. As usual one guy was completely blasted – he’s a lawyer and talent, but his ears apparently show him to be completely unreliable and always telling lies. The poor guy shakes his head and looks embarrassed while the rest of the panel laugh and tease. Then the woman sitting next to the lawyer is told that her ears show she has a big heart and is generous and kind. She clutches the flounce on her dress above her heart in rapture and gives what she thinks is a *generous* smile as the panel again laugh and tease.

Phew!

With news programs like these, is it any wonder that I tend to get my daily news fix with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation podcasts?!

(although I will admit to spending an embarrassing amount of time in the bathroom contorting in front of the mirror after lunch trying to figure out what shape my ears are and what that means about me)

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Destination Sado

One of the highlights of our trip to Sado was a visit to the Sado Kinzan - the old gold mine. It was on my must-see on Sado list, although I'm not sure I really had any idea what to expect. I ended up being very impressed with the entire facility - the Edo period mine has been fixed up with modern day paths and the old mine shafts and whatnot fitted out with life size moving mannequins that manage to avoid being kitschy and do a very good job of showing what work in the mines would have been like. Each display is clearly signed in bilingual Japanese-English plastic signs designed to look like old wooden signboards. The Meiji period mines have been left relatively untouched and, because they require an extra fee to enter, draw in far less visitors. They are much more "raw" and there is even one section that is unlit, with flashlights left out for visitors who want to explore! The two-room museum is impressive as well, using dioramas to tie into the mannequin displays, but supplementing them with simple and clear explanatory panels (again in Japanese and English) and also original objects. The multiple layers of explanation and the visual-ness of the dioramas makes it easy for visitors to gain as little or as much as they want. I was very impressed at how they made what could be a very dull historical site so interesting!

But, this being a BOOKcase tour post, I suppose I should share some images of the museum's guide book! A very simple and small booklet, it cost only 100 yen. Since the pictures show what appear to be old signs in the mines, I'm guessing the booklet is rather old, but English explanations have been added in with stickers on the bottom of each page.






Perhaps not an eye-candy type book, but the mine and the museum shouldn't be missed if you ever find yourself on Sado!

Wonderland

Yesterday I went to a very odd museum with a friend. We kept feeling as if we had fallen down the rabbit hole as things just kept getting curiouser and curiouser.

After today I am convinced that I am in some sort of bizarre alternate universe.

Not only did my visa application get (successfully) processed in under a week, but when I went to pick it up today I was back on the bus to Shinagawa with a new sticker in my passport in under 15 minutes!

I got there later than I had planned and fully expected to have to cancel my lunch plans. Instead I was early and had to wait for my friend!

Certainly an alternate universe... or at least I thought so until a crazy guy started making faces at me while I was waiting for the train, and later I realized I was getting a full watt obaasan glare... yup, still in Japan.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Beautiful Japan

At the risk of sounding sappy, it was after an all-day visit to the Edo-Tokyo Museum (or 'Edo-haku') that I remember first saying to myself "I would LOVE to work in a museum someday... And, wow, to work in a Japanese museum!" At the time I wasn't in museum studies, nor did I actually think I would end up working in a museum - let alone a Japanese one (which by the way looks like it will continue a while - Japanese immigration willing - as the museum has offered me increased hours and a half-step up from my current position post-graduation... wheeeeee!)

Edo-haku has two large floors of exhibits on the history of Edo - from its beginnings as a castle town in the 16th century, to the modern Tokyo. It has some great hands on sections, and I really like the mix of historical objects with dioramas and other modern secondary objects to round out the picture. Unfortunately over the past few years Edo-haku has begun to show signs of carelessness - objects being changed around while the interpretive panels remain the same (and thus no longer quite fit with the objects on display), a lack of background information, and most glaringly seriously flawed English.

The "Beautiful Japan"(Utsukushii nihon - taisho showa no tabi) exhibition in the late summer/early fall of 2005 was no exception - some truly beautiful objects, a fascinating range of objects, and some appallingly bad English.

The good...


the bad...


and the just plain ugly English... (and no, I'm not referring to the name, although it would more commonly be spelt "Chichibu")


and some more good...




(sorry for the poor quality of the images this time around, its a big catalogue with a very hard spine, and didn't want to play nicely with my scanner!)

Brought to you by the colour white and the letter "U"

A few snapshots from a wonderful white weekend away made possible by a wonderful guy called U...

The small wooden shrine in the dark forest is lit by a sunbeam sneaking through the dense trees. The golden wood of the shrine seems to glow in the light, and is visible even after we walk back to the car along the overgrown trail.



The deserted shrine and neglected garden are covered with a dusting of snow. The forest behind the temple hides a seemingly endless number of small shrines. Their stone is old and worn, the characters indiscernible. One is broken and half buried by decomposing leave and underbrush.



The snow-covered balcony of our hotel with a private wooden bath continuously being filled by natural hot springs.



The source of the hot springs, where the hot sulphuric water bubbles up through the ground. Squat wooden huts and wooden walkways covered in snow dot the steaming mud. Pooling water create splashes of colour - mint green, turquoise, an emerald.




Yunoko Lake and Yutaki Falls covered in ice and snow except where the hot springs warm the water. Cold with a biting wind one minute, sparkling in the bright sunlight the next minute.




Oku-nikko's "Winter Festival" was the only disappointment - a dozen open igloos with ice sculptures by artists from hotels around the country. The mermaids, dancers, and warrior princesses demonstrate the (fully-endowed) interests of their creators (and much of the male population of Japan)




Most of the year Nikko Toshogu is teeming with visitors from around the world and across the country. Bus tours follow the flag of their guide, school groups run from spot to spot yelling and squealing. But late on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon the crowds are small and subdued. One father holds the leashes of three small dogs as his wife and daughter rush to see the sleeping cat. Slowly the crowds depart and the blue suited security guard pulls a barricade across the famous gate. The shrine, like the cedar forest that surrounds it, descends into quiet stillness.

Cultural Divide

So Christmas was a bit of a bust, and I was rather upset about it, especially it was U's first "real" Christmas. The silver lining is that we got another chance at a whole different holiday almost right away! By the time New Years rolled around we were both over our bouts of sickness and although my thesis and a paper he is way past due on meant we didn't have a lot of time for relaxing (and opted to spend it just the two of us at my place instead of turning it into me meeting his parents for the first time - wheeeeeee!) But in the end we had a great time, traditional and low-key and still lots of fun.

We started with decorations - kagami mochi (rice cake).



And then we watched the traditional New Year's eve TV programs Kohaku uta gassen - (literally "red-white song battle" a sing-off between the women/red and the men/white).




This year's surprise guest was Susan Boyle, who looked a little overwhelmed at being flown all the way around the world and showered with all the adoration (apparently she was randomly proposed to by a couple of different young cute Japanese guys!).



Then we bundled up in warm gear and headed out just before midnight. We were waiting for a train as it ticked down to midnight so we didn't have a countdown, and I didn't even get a New Year's kiss! (although I bullied poor U into giving me a quick peck on the cheek - aaack! public displays of affection - oooh! the horror!!) We headed into Tokyo, to Zojoji - or rather to the small Shiba Toshogu shrine next door. (I've had a thing for Toshogu ever since I first went to the biggest one in Nikko, and for a while was planning on studying the shrines as my PhD. That plan is no longer in play, but I still have a thing for Toshogu and U has developed a liking for them too, we've been known to spend hours trying to track an itty bitty one down...) Anyways, so we headed off to Zojoji...


Which, I found out later, is where a big count-down happens, so there were hordes of people there. Luckily, however, they were mostly leaving when we were arriving.



Shiba Toshogu lit up with paper lanterns was magical. I'd only ever seen it deserted in the middle of the day, so it was really special to see so many people there and see it so festive.

It was great fun, but we were getting cold and sleepy so we headed back to the station - walking past Starbucks that was both open and PACKED at 3 am! The train too was full, and it seemed surreal that it really was 3 am.

We came home and slept, getting up around midday on the first. U was in charge of food, but we had wimped out and bought a selection of traditional fare. I had tried various types of osechi (New Year's food) made by friends in Canada, and really liked it, but apparently it wasn't the "traditional stuff" that it turns out most people don't like much (or at least don't like unless they've had copious amounts of sake!) But both U and I like ozoni, a New Year's soup that varies widely from house to house and region to region. So I convinced U he should call his mom and ask for her recipe. As I suspected she was THRILLED that her son was making me ozoni and was even more thrilled that he wanted HER recipe (which turned out to be so basic it wasn't even a recipe!).

New Year's Dream

Last night (or rather this morning) U told me lucky New Year dreams - the kind you have when you sleep. He said that the best thing to dream about was Mt Fuji - that foretells great fortune and good luck. An eagle is second in line and an eggplant is third.

I don't tend to dream much, or at least I don't remember my dreams. When I'm particularly stressed or busy I tend to dream about whatever is stressing me - which is even more stressful as I can't get away from whatever it is even when I sleep! When I do remember my dreams they tend to be a weird mixture of things happened the previous day and whatever else is on my mind.

I didn't dream about the "big three" last night, but I woke up this morning with the vivid memory (that has since disappeared completely) of a dream of kado matsu - New Year's decorations with the triple good luck combination of pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms. Only the one in my dream didn't have any pine (besides the name - which literally means "gate pine") but it did have a strange animal - a cow that seemed to be dressed up as a tiger, or trying to change into a tiger. It wasn't until I was telling U about my dream for the second time that we both suddenly realized the symbolism - last year was the year of the cow, this year is the year of the tiger... U is convinced that my combination of all three of pine and bamboo and plum and the cow-turning-into-a-tiger animal in one dream completely trumps even Mount Fuji, ensuring only the best of luck for me in the coming year.

With my thesis due in less than two weeks I'm willing to take ANY suggestion of good luck!

Happy New Year!

Noren

A few weeks ago a friend and I ventured out to the fabric district, Nippori. We chatted a bit over coffee and then headed out for the purpose of our trip - my friend had volunteered to make me a curtain/noren for the doorway into the main room of my apartment. My friend's offer to make me one was the perfect solution to the problem of never finding quite the right thing in stores. We found a few different fabrics that we thought might work, but in the end we were able to agree on a beautiful green fabric similar to traditional fabrics from the Aizu region.

Within a few days of having bought the fabric (and the equally carefully chosen bamboo buttons) my friend had whipped this up for me...





I'm very happy with my new curtains, and the fact that it was made for me by a friend makes it even better - I love having crafty friends!

Smile of the day

I got off the crowded train at my station and began my usual practice of crowd weaving as I made my way around slow moving grannies and tired salary men. I came up behind a young guy, who was walking very slowly. As I was about to pass him, he looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see his girlfriend. When he saw me instead of his petite, short-skirted, high-heeled girlfriend he jumped quite noticeably. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. He turned quickly to the other side, and his girlfriend who took his hand and teased him for his mistake. He had noticed my grin, and was doubly surprised - "Hey! She's laughing too!" he remarks to his girlfriend. Really laughing then I looked back over my shoulder, but the pair was lost in the sea of home-bound train-goers.

Doctor Doctor

I can tell something is wrong with my friend. She's not her usual boisterous self. She doesn't dig into the meal with her usual abandon. (Despite her small size she has a reputation for being a big eater)

I'm not the only one who notices and when we question her she whispers that she went to the doctor for her annual check-up and was told she needs to watch her weight.

I couldn't believe it. She was told WHAT?!?

Sure she's a big eater and she always has to have a big bowl of rice to finish her meal and she likes sweets. But watch her weight??? This is a girl who is far from overweight. She may not be stick thin like so many Japanese women, but she's in her mid-20s, actually has muscle, and is one of the few of my Japanese female friends who doesn't get sick at the drop of a hat.


As more dishes arrived and we began chatting my friend slowly began to relax. When it came time to finish off the fried rice she did so with her usual gusto, and promptly ordered redbean-filled sesame balls for desert. My friend was back to normal, but I couldn't help but worry about the effects of Japanese doctors on those with less self-confidence than my strong friend.

Just Another Manic... Wednesday?!

Lots going on but can't seem to actually put it into coherent sentences... perhaps trying to get more than four hours of sleep a night on a regular basis would help?

1 ) Final final final preparations are underway at the museum for the special exhibit that opens to much fanfare on Saturday. I've been involved with planning and translation for the exhibition, but not the actual layout so I have little clue as to what it will actually look like and am rather excited. We have a full day of festivities planned for invited guests on the day of opening, particularly meetings with a large number of museum professionals and experts from around Japan as well as the US, Europe, and China. These are aimed to get feedback on the exhibit but also to provide the first step in the process of redoing our regular exhibition. I'm particularly excited as professional simultaneous translation has been hired (for both English and Chinese) so I can actually enjoy listening to the discussions!

2) Ever since I moved into my apartment in the fall I've been jokingly complaining to friends that I could hear the snores of one of my neighbours. Nobody believed me. Over the past few days two different people have not only believed me, but said they could too! (one said it had been a major reason for her decision to move!) I feel vindicated and somewhat relieved to know that I'm not just imagining things.

3) I am guiltily relieved by the frequency of classes being cancelled. It has seemed that just about every week one of my classes is cancelled - often because the professor has other committments that take precedence - like university administrative meetings. Yup. Apparently administrative meetings trump classes, I think that tells you just about everything you need to know about universities in Japan!

4) Four. Yes, four. That is about how much sleep I've had both of the past nights. I'm working on a presentation on non-profit organizational law in the US, to which I'm adding the comparison of Canada. The text is in Japanese and I'm quite convinced that if it were in English it wouldn't make much more sense. If I was ever in any doubt, neither economics nor law are fields my brain seems capable of comprehending (at least when said subjects overlap and are in Japanese and my brain is sleep-deprived).

5) With the rainy season just around the corner fears over the new flu epidemic seem to be disappearing here. This hasn't stopped the museum from putting bottles of hand sanitizer at both the staff and pubic entrances to the building. All those entering the museum are encouraged to use the hand sanitizer so as to stop the spread of the disease.

6) Any suggestions for uses of eggs that don't require an oven? My mind isn't going much beyond omeletes, scrambled, and Japanese rolled egg. Although a friend did suggest doing soft boiled eggs for and adding them to a salad. Any and all suggestions are welcome as I have 14 eggs sitting in the fridge - leftovers from a brunch party at my place this past weekend (we had pancakes but never got around to making the scrambled eggs).

Random Wednesday

1 - I have a friend staying with me for about a week. We went for dinner to my local okonomiyaki restaurant, a cheap and yummy place just minutes from my apartment. Good food, good company, and a couple of drinks - what more could you ask for?!

2 - While I wasn't sure that talking about his worries over reconciling his girlfriend with his plans to go on exchange to Sweden was going to do anything for my sempai, I was wrong! After only a month of weekly meetings, he upped his spoken TOEFL score from a 9/30 to 17/30! Sadly he still has a long ways to go if he wants to go on exchange, but this is an incredible start!

3 - I'm finding it amusing to watch my two academic worlds colliding. The advisor of my last MA thesis wrote an overview of Japanese history (in English) that he used as a textbook for the undergraduate core class he co-taught with another professor. I TA-ed one section in my second year of the program and so taught from the book myself. Fast forward a few years and I'm reading the book as a student, but this time in a different language! In one of my current grad courses we're reading the Japanese translation and discussing different ways of viewing history...

4 - I'm enjoying TA-ing this time around so much more. The students look at me funny in the first class of the year, but after that they do remarkably well at ignoring the fact that I am a foreigner, and treat me normally. In the hands-on class this week one of the professors couldn't make it so the office assistant and I had to fill in, leading activities instead of just assisting as we normally do. While I know I didn't have all the right vocab, I enjoyed the opportunity to teach and found the students patient and eager - which surprised me!

5 - I thought I had a fifth point, but it was driven out of my head by my next-next door neighbour, an older man who seems to enjoy clearing his lungs loudly enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear... Lovely, eh? And on that note...

My Favourite Place

The subject of this month's Japan Blog Matsuri is "My Favorite Place in Japan" hosted by Nihon Sun.

My favourite place in Japan... that's not one I have to think about very long, the answer is simple - I have two.


I first visited Nikko Toshogu just over a decade ago. It was a magical experience, and I've gone back likely a dozen times since that first time. I've gone in the fall and seen the stunning fall colour, I've gone in the winter and shivered in the chill drizzly rain, I've gone in the summer and baked in the humid heat, I've gotten a sunburn at the spring festival



and interviewed by a local TV station at the fall festival,



I've lined up with the ojisan with their huge cameras to photograph the shrine lit up at night, I've gone alone and I've taken friends. I love the contrasts of the shrine - the explosion of colour and goldleaf covering almost every surface


contrasting with the natural simplicity and silence of the surrounding cryptomeria forest.



I only have to close my eyes and I can be standing in front of the Yomeimon


or admiring the intricately carven panels running from either side of the gate


or standing in front of the simple grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu - the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate and the deity enshrined at Toshogu


or wandering down the path lined with stone lanterns.


In my mind's eye I can see the carvings of the famous sleeping cat


and the see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil monkeys


or the climbing dragon


or beautiful irises



Nikko Toshogu is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Shrines and Temples of Nikko. Huge numbers of Japanese and foreign visitors visit every day. My other favourite place in Japan, however, is not on a single tourist map. It is found about a half an hour from the city of Kagoshima in the southern part of the island of Kyushu.

It looks like your average old Japanese home as it sits part-way up a hill overlooking rice paddies and small vegetable patches. The carport is covered in climbing plants, and the garden beyond is overrun with greenery. Squeezing past the car, you pick you way along a path of old weathered stones to an equally old sliding door. The hallway you enter into is dark with age, as is the entire house. Grandfather sits in the main room at the low table, reading the newspaper with a magnifying glass and practising his calligraphy. Grandmother putters about, straightening out things in the other room, fixing tea, and washing dishes. A few cats have free run of the place - jumping from between the papered sliding doors to the garden beyond.

When the younger two generations descend upon the house father inevitably turns on the TV to watch baseball - causing grandfather to complain about the noise while also muttering that he can't hear what they are saying. Mother complains that grandmother won't sit down and rest. The girls tease their grandfather and lounge about. And the odd looking older sister cradles her small cup of tea and smiles. She may have grown up an only child in a country on the other side of the world, but this place, these people, are home.