Kama-WHAT?!

As always with coming home after a trip, it takes me awhile to settle back into the routine. It's Thursday and I finally feel like I've had enough distance to effectively reflect upon the events of this past weekend.

If you're on facebook and are obsessively (strong choice of words, I know) checking my status updates, then you know that I spent the last weekend in Chiba-ken in a lovely city called Kamagaya. You may be asking yourself, now what is so special about this Kamagaya? Well, let me go right ahead and tell you in two words: Kathryn Bohan. Yup! Kate (or Keto chan - けとちゃん - and please keep in mind that is my translation of the name) has just begun her first year as an ALT in the JET Programme. For more information on what's she doing in Japan, check out her blog and click here.

Originally we had planned for Kate to come visit my little town of Takko, but the trek up to Aomori-ken is quite the journey and although there was never a doubt in our minds that she could do it, it's a bit much to handle on your own with only 12 days of living in the country under your belt. Therefore, I took two days of my allotted 3-day summer vacation and made a long weekend of it. Now, keep in mind that while I have ridden the Shinkansen (a high speed railway that Japanese people go nuts over) a few times now, I had never had to navigate Tokyo Station alone, let alone hop onto two local subway trains to get where I'm going. But I knew my limited Japanese could assist me if I was in dire need, and Kate's fellow JET (who is starting her fourth year!) gave me very specific subway instructions that included the names of the lines and their coordinating colors. I had Kate's apartment phone number written down in case of emergency, so I felt as prepared for this journey as I would ever be.

My, oh my, was I wrong! In the hustle and bustle of the afternoon preceding my departure (a typhoon had arrived, the meeting with the mayor ran late, etc etc), I completely forgot to bring three very important items with me: the specific subway instructions, Kate's apartment phone number and deodorant. While the last item on the list seemed like an easy fix, the first two were a bit necessary towards being successful in my arrival. Luckily, my semi-photographic memory remembered the names of the subway lines, the colors and the stops, but I couldn't for the life of me remember Kate's number. And just as luck would have it, the Shinkansen was delayed because of the typhoon. I eventually arrived in Kamagaya in one piece and starving (since my fav bento place in Tokyo Station was out of food by the time I got there), so we went to this really nice Japanese restaurant called McDonald's.

Two bottles of fine Californian wine, a wheel of brie cheese and hours of chatting later, we slept for a few hours to be as refreshed as possible for the next day. Kate and her fellow newb JET, Kim, had an errand to run in the AM, so we said good morning to the day, hopped onto our bicycles and pedaled to the Kamagaya city hall (yakusho やくしょ). Kate did a fantastic job of introducing me days before my arrival, so the BOE office knew of my Garlic Queen-ness and about my residency in Aomori-ken. They seemed impressed that I had come such a long way, but they clearly weren't aware of the fun that was to be had that weekend.

Our Kamagaya chariots

On the way back to the apartment, we made a brief stop at the 100円 store and picked up supplies for an impromptu art project. We put the iPod on shuffle, Kate made udon noodle and we painted to our heart's content.

Chef Kate making udon noodle...Ganbare!

Finished product: Kate's Welcome sign
and my name in Katakana

Subway Champions

Disney Sea!

After stopping in to meet Sinapi, Kate's awesome JET mentor from New Zealand, and share her homemade banana chocolate chip muffins, Kate and I attempted to tackle the local subways and make our way towards Tokyo Disney (we only got onto the wrong train once...success). Neither of us felt that rising excitement that one usually gets when a Disneyland day is impending, but it's difficult to even realize Disneyland is around until you get off at the station. Since both of us are frequent visitors of Anaheim's Disneyland and Kate had never been to Disney Sea, that was the park we chose to visit that afternoon. Yes, I've already written an entry that introduced Disney Sea to you readers so I'll be mindful of that. In short, in five hours we watched a show, went on three rides and ate a delish meal accompanied by an even more delish beer. We really did have a great time, but we both decided that we are going to stick with what we know and go to Disneyland - neither one of us liked not being familiar with the park. And a word to the wise, no matter what ANYONE tells you, do not wait two hours in line for Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Imperial Gardens...here we come!

Saturday was our big day: TOKYO! Not that I would ever give myself the status of expert when it comes to all things Tokyo, but I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the biggest touristy spots (thanks to an all-star tour guide!). We jumped onto the subways once again, arrived in Tokyo GranSta, grabbed lunch at my fav bento place (this time it had plenty of food) and two personal-sized bottles of chardonnay, and headed to the park outside of the Imperial Palace and Gardens.

Bento? Check. Wine? Double check.

Kire :)

Kate's 1st Temple

Adding our wishes
and hopes to the many

After we inquired in Japanese whether or not the Emperor was around (he wasn't in), we headed to Tokyo Tower and thus was my first mistake as tour guide. I was unaware that: 1) There was a subway line that went to Tokyo Tower and 2) Tokyo Tower is quite a walk from the Imperial Palace. In the end it was a blessing in disguise because I was able to practice my Japanese skills a bit more (Tokyo Tower wa doko deska?...achi?...arigato!) and Kate was able to experience her first Buddhist Temple.

Eventually we reached Tokyo Tower and just long enough to snap a few photos and head back out to the subway system to navigate our way towards Shibuya.

We successfully arrived in Shibuya in one piece, which is a feat in of itself because it just so happened to be commuter hour. Plans for the evening included dinner at Chopsticks, a bit of karaoke and perhaps some dancing. Party guests included Miho (I met her during the last trip to Tokyo), Michael (Kate's kiwi JET friend), Trey (Kate's other JET friend from Ohio), and a few other Japanese friends that the group collectively brought to the table. So I've been to this restaurant a couple of times before, so I'm familiar with the cuisine; however, the menu constantly changes and is only in Japanese (the English version isn't continually updated). My go-to method is to look around and say, "Ooo that looks good; we'll have that". Fortunately, we had some translators that could clue us in on the do's and do not's. Their ability to make decisions were lacking so it took us a while to get the ball rolling, but we eventually all had our alcoholic beverage of choice and enjoying the cross cultural exchange that was naturally developing.

Sake Bomb!

Post-karaoke, our Japanese partners in crime headed back home and the four gaijin headed to Roppongi for some dancing; hence, tour guide fail #2. I had heard good things about this district and that gaijin really enjoyed it. I had also heard that it could get pretty "seedy"...I think this particular description is the most accurate. First of all, gaijin EVERYwhere. We no longer stood out (well, except Kate and I...we looked to be about as all-American as you could get). I snapped into ultra-aware mode, which in turn canceled out the nice beer buzz I had going on from karaoke. We wandered into a couple of bars and eventually found ourselves at a dance club. I would like to mention here that there is an issue in Japan regarding the lack of respect towards women and their bodies. The one guy that decided to follow through with this was not in fact Japanese; he was a gaijin. Needless to say, I was not happy; I spent four years in San Francisco and occasionally found myself in some pretty sketchy places and not once did that happen. In perhaps a bit of a dramatic fashion, I handed my unfinished beer to some guy that was practically already passed out and pushed my way out. By this time of night, the trains to home had stopped running and we would have to wait until the commuter hour started again. The four of us killed the time in the very classy establishment of McDonald's and made a list of reasons why we would never return to Roppongi. When the trains finally started running again, Kate and I couldn't get on them fast enough and after an intense scrub down in the shower to wash away the nastiness of Roppongi, we finally went to sleep around 7:30am.

Sunrise in Roppongi

An Irish pub in Japan? Makes me smile :)

We finally rose again at 2pm to get ready for the Obon Festival that we were invited to that evening. In short, the Obon Festival is a Buddhist custom that honors the ancestors of each family. Families reunite in a specific place and the spirits of the ancestors are supposed to visit the family altars in the home. The festival itself lasts for three days and includes a lot of eating and dancing (and we all know how I love the dancing).

Fitting right in

Because of her intense knowledge of US baseball teams, Kate won an invitation to a family BBQ on Sunday evening and I got to tag along as her guest. Kate also had enough forethought to get a hold of a couple of yukatas and thus was my omiyage from Kate-o chan (thank you!!!). She had received a lesson from her friend's aunt on how to properly put them on, but let's be honest...it just wasn't going to happen. Our obi sashes were just tied in knots and the bottom of the yukatas kept flipping open as we walked from her apartment to the train station - we were completely disheveled. We tried our best, but we felt like we were shaming Japan with every step we took. We eventually arrived at the train station and were nothing more than a little embarrassed. Nagashima, Kate's coworker, was sweet enough (but probably a bit embarrassed of us too) to help straighten us out and look a little more presentable.

A few of our generous hosts!

We eventually arrived in (insert name of local town in Chiba-ken here) and were greeted by a family that really reminded me of the families back in my little town and for the first time ever, I was "homesick" for Takko. The food was cho oishi (super delicious), the conversation was limited but enjoyable, and the hospitality was, as always, unmatched.

The bon dance performed
around the yagura

After way too much food, we were instructed to "find our second stomach" as we headed to the local Obon Festival. Now, if you've ever had a long talk with me about Japan and what I hope to accomplish here, you've heard me mention once or twice how much I love to dance at festivals. Typically, the dances are very repetitive, are performed to the rhythm of taiko drums and are down in large circles. I am going to shy away from being culturally insensitive and not say that they are easy to learn, but they are rather easy to mimic even though I don't know what each dance means (sometimes the Japanese don't even know).

Professionals

Did I mention how hot Chiba-ken is? We were sweating bullets in our yukatas after a few rounds of dancing and I was insanely jealous of the little girls and boys that were wearing the "festival yukata" (knee-length shorts and a cotton short sleeved shirt...comfy!). I saw one in an adult size, so that's my next big purchase...I think yukatas are beautiful but I've had enough of it. Anyway, we headed over to the booths and browsed just long enough to grab a soda (there was no way I was going to subject myself to a beer) and take a seat on a curb. Overall, it was a pretty uneventful evening until a high school boy came up and asked for my "Japanese" number...haha, oh Japan!

I am happy to report that my first Japanese vacation was a success. I want to thank the city of Kamagaya, the Japan Railway Company and local subway systems, the JETs of Chiba-ken, and of course, the wonderfully fantastic Kathryn Therese Bohan: thank you for hosting me and going to McDonald's with me three times. This trip would not have been as fun and interesting as it was without you all and I appreciate it very much!

It's been real, Chiba! Mata ne!