Next Stop... India.

Hi everybody!
I'll try to keep this blog a bit shorter than the last one. I end up reading them so many times... yep, I get tired of hearing myself think. I can only imagine what it looks like to someone that has better things to do.

I had a great couple of days here, the last ones in Japan... maybe ever. Today I woke up and rewrote a resume, and then went to the beach in hopes that the surf might be good... it wasn't so I ran instead and then swam in the ocean. It feels like a comfortable swimming pool on a hot day.

The last few days have been a real opportunity to reflect upon my stay here in Japan. In light of some of the personal things that have really become apparent as weaknesses and points for personal improvement, I must separate the introspection from the incredible experiences I have had here and focus on the gratifying aspects of this first leg of my journey. Food, flowers, places and people are a few of the things that define my reality- that goes for in the states too.

As I mentioned before... the people here are incredible. They are so level, so kind and unassuming, so polite and non-judgmental, patient and hospitable. I am humbled by some of the ways in which the culture of Japan creates a slight bit of a utopia. You can leave your stuff chillin' on the beach and know that it will be there when you get back to it. You don't have to lock your bike unless it's really nice. You don't have to lock your doors at night... if it weren't for some of the creepy bugs we would just leave ours open 24/7. There is a collective honesty here that is quite admirable and it really feels safe. There aren't really too many shady characters here... people just don't seem to be that way and if they are...they keep it to themselves out of respect. (I'm not in Tokyo, I imagine it is a bit seedy in spots there). It is refreshing to think that there really are places in the world where people are generally kind hearted for no other reason than to be that way. I think that's pretty cool.



I have just recently met some new people that I want to say a few words about. These people have just been so nice, and have qualities about them that, if everyone had them and used them, the world would be a better place.

The first couple are students and friends of Emily. They are a happily married couple in their 60s, well traveled and classy... still very Japanese. They have done so much for Emily over the last several months that it has truly been a blessing for her to know them, and for me too. They invited me over for tea and snacks and wine... they took the both of us to a very, very expensive sushi dinner in Yokohama, they took us for a Japanese/Italian meal another night, and tempura lunch another time. They don't even know me, yet they were so kind and generous.

(the pic on the left is just somebody random near the fish market).

Eichiro(eh-ichi-ro) and Kazuko are their names. As a couple... I must say they're adorable. I'm not sure if they had an arranged marriage or if it was non-traditional... not something you really want to ask about... either way they act very much in love and take great care of each other. They understand English and can speak it reasonably well (thanks to Emily), but even when they don't understand they are so graceful about asking for clarification, or just accepting it as something they didn't understand and moving on ( I can totally relate). We have had nice conversations. They are just such sweet and humble people, I can't get over them. I can only hope to be that cool.

We went to sushi with Kazuko and Eichiro for Emily's birthday, and I don't really think I will ever have such good sushi ever again. I surely will never look at an oyster the same way again, or sea urchin or tofu or miso or tuna or snapper or... the fact that it all tasted way, way better than anything I have ever eaten... pretty much means I can die knowing what heaven tastes like and having high expectations for whoever St. Peter's got catering the Pearly Gates Cafe.

The next person I would like to mention has changed my ideas of objectivity. Barnaby Haszard IV is a close friend of Emily, and a right stellar individual. The man is so damn calm and objective I sometimes wonder if he's human. He doesn't usually have much to say, but when he does it is pretty much straight forward and precisely what he wants to say. Like I have said before, I want to learn to say more with less. I admire Barns for that... and because he's New Zealander and his middle name is Haszard.

Next on the list is someone I met the other day. I have been wandering by this restaurant for several weeks on my way to and from the grocery co-op... and it always looked vacant. One day last week, I was wandering by, on my way to get groceries and I saw that it was open and there was a sandwich board outside with the daily specials written on it in chalk. I immediately noticed that it was written both in Japanese and perfect English. Sometimes you see funny versions of English on things, like the little pocket pack of Kleenex I received from the Yamaha corporation that said "Fun Your Life!"... it was promoting music and I think that's way cool... but the English is a bit funny, eh? Anyway, this particular sign had well written English on it and I was intrigued by what was on the menu. I walked inside, said sumimasen (excuse me) konnichiwa (hello) and sat down.

This place is called the Sunnyside Cafe, aptly named because it gets the afternoon sun and the whooshing of the monorail train all day. It very much reminds me of any number of places you might find on the Oregon or California coast. The food is awesome and comes from a very different menu from most other places. It is run by a woman named Noboru which in literal translation in masculine form means (to climb).

Noboru is about 5'7", pretty tall for a Japanese woman, and has the classically beautiful Japanese look that easily masks 10 or 15 years, though I estimate she is in her early 30s . She is built like a bean stalk... perhaps her name is fitting. She is tall, lanky and likely only about 100lbs if she were carrying a big sack of rice. Noboru speaks good English and was great to talk to. She had spent a year in Santa Monica, CA. "going to school" and learning English. By "going to school" she means, she hung around in small bistros and cafes of Santa Monica and talked to old people. I found her story interesting, that she now runs her restaurant on the weekends and works as a receptionist for her father's medical practice. I hope she can turn that restaurant into more than her hobby. She is a great cook and her place has a uniquely artistic style that I haven't seen any of in Japan. Her lamb stew and cous cous was spectacular and the home made falafel reminded me of the badass falafel cart outside the UO bookstore.

Noboru helped me with a vegetable that I bought at the co-op... I thought it might have been like a cucumber, but no, it was something called 'goya'. "Bitter Melon" is something they eat a lot of in Okinawa. They usually prepare it fried with a bunch of salted meat and eggs. The name doesn't lie- holy hell it's bitter- that's why it was only Y100 ($1). She grabbed a cook book and eagerly tried to find the best ways to prepare goya so it wouldn't be so gnarly. I made it with fried rice and onions and mushrooms... it made great 'put the drunkyasses to sleep' food. Today I went back to thank her for her help, and that's when I had the falafel.

She inspires me to maybe one day, if the opportunity presents itself, open a small bed and breakfast somewhere beautiful. It's a reminder that you can do things that you like, and make a living, even if it is simple. Perhaps it's the simplest things in life that are so often taken for granted, overlooked and forgotten that once remembered can reawaken the truth within us and rekindle the sense of contentment we had as children-when stacks of mail and keys, shoes and other inanimate objects satisfied our needs for stimulation like a bag of cheerios could fulfill entertainment and hunger at the same time.


There is a record shop in Kamakura. It's on the same street as about 4 shoe stores, 3 dress shops, 2 day spas and a shop that only sells 1 pastry.
At any rate, I was wandering around Kamakura's downtown with a surfboard and a luke warm beer looking for a place to buy a yoga mat (as if I don't look gaijin enough by simple virtue of actually being gaijin). That's when I heard some bitchin tunage... Beres Hammond blairing from inside the rasta shop.

I couldn't help myself. You see, I have this thing...a weakness if you will. There are a few things that are tasty enough to distract me and pull me away from a mission (yoga mat), and aside from the beer and the surfboard already occupying my imagination and my delight, only pretty girls (not likely), rad mountain bikes (quite likely), free beer and rare, high quality vinyls could do it. My Achilles heel... the smell of rare vinyl records. It's as if I were Toucan Sam following my nose to the froooty flavors of Froooot Looops!

So if you've ever seen Japanese people dance, or 'groove', get jiggy if you will, then you know that the only thing whiter than a white guy is a Japanese guy. I swear. Look it up on youtube or in the encyclopedia. So my horrible stereotyping of people was easily thwarted by the two guys in OST. They weren't dancing, but I bet if you sent them to Reggae on the River they would be in the front row Rude Boy Shufflin', Easy Skankin' and passin' the doochie han de left han side. These guys are really cool... pretty well versed in all kinds of music and very willing to listen to anything that might sound good in somebody's ears. Open music lovers unite.

Tsyoshi and Yuichi spend their days hanging out listening to music. It's like working at Dutch Bros. only you don't really do... anything. These guys were really nice, and just excited to speak English to somebody, and super stoked to share the love of all types of music. They had stacks of old reggae, dub and ska records that were mostly in immaculate condition, and at a reasonable price. If I had the money, I would have bought most of their LP's and shipped them home. I almost bought a few, but I can't take them to India, and I don't trust that they would make it to the states without being warped by heat or moisture or pressure.

Thanks to Tsyoshi and Yuichi at OST...
I am reminded again that music is the universal soul language by which we can all relate. Through the vibrations which permeated our own mother's womb we were trained in the connective ways of love and music. To my knowledge, there is not a cultural group on this tiny planet that doesn't practice some form of musical expression. For all of the ways we can see differences and put up walls- music can make those things transparent. Music can melt away the sheets of ice and little plastic trays that divide us into perfectly impersonal packages of pre-shaped frozen nuggets-in the freezer case, waving from a frosty distance. Music unites.


The other night we went out to a place on the beach near Hase. It's called Seedless, and it's a pretty California style joint, as it claims to be. I had a great burger, and on Thursdays they have $3 pints... can't beat that anywhere in Japan. We had to meet her friend Mike and give him her old computer and have a visit. Well it's easy to drink beer in that place, so we did. After a couple of hours, I was about ready to leave, had already paid and everything... dude stumbles up and starts talking to us. This is pretty unusual for Japanese to do, even in a bar.

Well it turns out that Ichi and his friend Taka were born two days appart in the same hospital and their parents lived like a hundred feet from eachother. These two guys were destined to be friends, and they are. Ichi is currently not working, but is definitely a computer science guy... kind of has to be. He's all about quannum physics and you know, space and time stuff? Pretty fascinating. He spoke pretty good English, and don't let him tell you different, because he doesn't think so. I had no problem hearing what he had to say.

His friend, Taka, owns a restaurant in Kamakura near Hachimangu temple. I think we're going there tomorrow. His mother ran the business until she lost her fight with cancer... he took over. He says there are customers that have been going there since he was an infant. He studied computer science and IT in Canada, Toronto I believe. He speaks perfect English and said the best thing about Canada is their passion for hockey. He later gave us a ride home.

These two guys are so nice, and so real. We had great conversations and many laughs. Hanging out with cats like that is going to make me miss being here as much as it makes me miss being home. They have a friendship bond that is almost as much like a brotherhood as being blood. I should hope everyone has at least one person in their life like that. If you don't, gimme a call. Theres room for one more.

Those two guys remind me of my family and friends and coworkers. Those people who will always be your rock, and you theirs, are invaluable to the human spirit. I can't help but feel that relationships are so easily taken for granted. There is something serious to be said about loyalty and unconditional love, but I think it's best left unsaid.


I leave on Monday, and there is so much more to write about... but maybe I'll write more tomorrow. Just remind me to tell you about tombi attacks and pachinko, combinis and oh crap!!! I have to take a picture of something very specific tomorrow!

TTFN!

Be good people!

Nothin but Love,

Chris