Japan: Week 15

15 - Opera. Week ending Sunday 23rd June

I need to catch you all up, I think. To anyone who doesn't know me in "real life", I'm terribly sorry if you thought I'd fallen off the face of the planet. No longer in the incredible place I write about, but still here, nonetheless.

The week-days at this point were filled with studying and felt-pens and re-living exam stress of the like I had not experienced since the GCSE years. It's the sheer quantity of subjects you're supposed to be able to be interested in and theorise about which always got me.

However, as any perfectionist student will tell you, upon glancing up from their textbook, the way to study to the extent that it is feasible for you to hold yourself to such ridiculously high standards is to give your mind a break once in a while. Appreciating the beauty existing in so many places and ignoring the futilities of your worries for a few short hours is a wonderful way to gain some distance from those revision notes. Enough that when you return you'll realise how much you learnt from what you were trying to.

To arrive at the point, the appreciation of beauty which soothed my soul and calmed my fraying nerves was 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Amadeus Mozart, performed by Basel Theater, a Swiss company, at Aichi Arts Centre on 22nd June. This had been arranged for us by the university many weeks previously, and I was at once excited at the prospect of seeing the opera again, but this time in its original Italian. At the time it was merely from a cultural perspective; I will always enjoy an event held at a theatre. I hadn't calculated that this would be the weekend before deadlines would finally creep on top of us, and how necessary the performance would be to my sanity.

We were invited along with Japanese students taking culture classes in Global Studies at NUFS, and instructed to wear formal attire and bring opera glasses... I arrived in the closest dress I had to 'formal', but unfortunately sans opera glasses.

As it turned out, they were unnecessary. We had fabulous seats, ones I would have chosen if I could have my pick of the auditorium. The very front row of the first tier up, but not dead centre so that I could soak up the atmosphere from the viewers as well as the performers. Perhaps it was the fortunate acoustics which made this production so beautiful.

But I doubt it. It had been a while since I'd heard an orchestra of such a high standard play music by one of the most talented composers the Earth has ever known, and it could be needless to say that I was moved. I struggled to remember the plot-line (my spoken Italian and written Japanese not being up to much, and that being an understatement) and cursed myself for not looking up a synopsis before I left, as had been my intention. But in the end it mattered very little. The story is one of love, and all the tribulations which go along with it. This is how great minds become immortalised, they were the ones who figaro-ed out how to write down the stories the human mind obsesses over (Sorry. Not sorry). The plot contains jealousy, multiple story-lines, and the only truly confusing bit in the end revealed its meaning to me because I know the Japanese character for 'mother'.

So, the plot was sufficiently under control in my mind. It was unimportant, compared to the talent of the musicians. I discovered the perfection of orchestral music all over again that evening. Memories of all the ensembles and people I had played with often filled my mind, and these, coupled with the clarity and beauty of an orchestra in full voice tugged on my heartstrings and brought a tear to my eye more than once. In that place, 'Cherubino's Aria', sung by Franziska Gottwald, and her voice as pure and crystalline as water was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I'll be forever grateful that music has no language barrier. Not English, nor Italian, nor Japanese can mask the unadulterated joy caused by the soaring notes of the like of Basel sinfonietta.

And that, friends, is how a heart, tattered from stress like mine, can find its peace in music. And so we go home, and carry on revising.

Japan: Week 13

13 - Ayana and Hana

This week was rather work-heavy but luckily I had a most interesting weekend to make up for it. On Saturday I had the unique experience of meeting up with two girls from Tokyo who I originally met in England and giving them a tour of Nagoya, where they had never been before. Ayana and Hana are both fabulous frisbee players, so naturally we're good friends.

We visited Nagoya Castle, of course

First stop was the castle. I felt proud of all the knowledge I've managed to pick up about Nagoya, and the castle specifically, so that I could keep coming out with Japan facts which genuine Japanese girls didn't know. Luckily my head was saved from becoming too over-inflated by my stumbling attempts at Japanese versus their fluency in English, which extended to topics such as the social comparisons between the two nations. Their conversation skills are exactly as impressive as that sounds.

Possibly because it was a Saturday, and possibly because it was a beautiful day, it was all happening in Nagoya Castle grounds, with food stalls, tombola (we won a packet of Nagoya Castle tissues each!) and some sort of play involving historical figures. As Hana and Ayana were unsure of exactly what was going on, I didn't feel the need to worry about it either.

Free theatre!

A new part of the castle was also open, the palace, with incredible replicas of the sliding doors it would have once contained. Art which encapsulates Japanese culture, in my opinion.

After a brief stop for a lunch of famous Nagoya chicken, we headed back out, this time to the Orchid garden which I've been dying to see for a while. Aichi prefecture is Asia's leading producer of orchids, explaining the existence of this gorgeous flower garden displaying many varieties (I'm afraid I didn't count) of orchid.

It was peaceful and relaxing, and enjoyable to see people who probably lived nearby, sketching and even reading the newspaper. We continued to explore Nagoya on foot, and I had some minor epiphany moments when I realised how different places I'd visited previously joined up when the right path was taken. We window shopped in Osu and took purikura (the hilarious photo booths which give you bigger eyes and rosier lips), but unfortunately all good things come to an end, and I had to say goodbye to the wonderful girls after one final stop at a cafe.

But time will fly, and I'll be back playing frisbee with these two at uni in no time. Thank you so much for visiting, you two!

Japanese photo booths. I'll be building some in England.

Sunday's weather allowed us our third hike, in Nara this time. The walk was slightly different from the previous two, which were very mountainous and through forests. This one was much less hilly, and is apparently one of the oldest paths in the prefecture. It was the sort of trail where you're walking through forest one moment, a rural village the next, and all of a sudden you're at a shrine with cockerels in trees.

Okay, so maybe that's not really a type of trail, but you see my point here. It was interesting and full of surprises. The feeling of accomplishment upon completing a walk makes these excursions delightfully worth the effort.

So it was back to I-House after an exhausting weekend, where I'm almost scared to add up the miles I walked. On with a week of work, as deadlines are fast approaching, and what will be another exciting weekend...

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 12

12 - Rainy season, 'Tsuyu'

We enter a new month already, and I cannot express my thanks at gaining over 1,000 views again in May. It makes me feel a little more connected, knowing that lots of you want to keep up with my antics, so thank you.

The rainy season has begun in Japan. I think my fellow Brits would scoff at what the Japanese consider a rainy season. I haven't kept track faithfully (maybe I should start a weather diary...) but there's only been a couple of occasions so far when the rain's been heavy enough to warrant an umbrella; I think what Japan means by 'rainy' is 'not gloriously sunny at all times'. The humidity doesn't let up though, and I can no longer tell the temperature outside by looking out of the window. Overcast, yes, but you do NOT need a cardigan.

This week was very much normal, as perhaps we can tell by a post on time for once. I did my show and tell for English tutoring, and took my frisbee as I thought it might make an interesting topic. Lots of new vocabulary, at least. I tutored a different group as well, this one made up of local residents of all ages. Many of them want to visit England, and seemed very happy to have someone British to speak to. It was interesting speaking to a different type of people, rather than just students as it has been up til now, and seeing the variations of questions they ask.

On Saturday I took a trip to Sakae with a couple of friends. They both had things to do and I had a little time to myself in which to wander. There's always something cool to see in Japan.

Shop budgie guarding the watches

I discovered that there was a Hawaiian festival taking place in Oasis 21 that day, and saw many groups of dancers to take to the stage and a variety of stalls selling dresses and jewellery and paintings. I suppose, just about to enter the rainy season, Japanese people need a reminder of what summer will be like eventually.

Today was relaxing. I did some work, I went out for lunch, and I ran up a big hill which I need to return to at some point with a camera. There were some amazing sights and I want to share them with you.

Until next week, friends.

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 11

11 - Culture party

The weekdays didn't contain too much excitement last week, although I have started a programme with the Arts & Sciences section of the university, and the first session was on Thursday. It's supposed to be an English tutoring system, but in reality it's much more entertaining, as a group of English-speakers just chat to a group of Japanese students. The idea of this class was to improve fluency and understanding of native speakers' speech patterns, which meant that we could legitimately teach the students slang. Next week we're doing Show and Tell!

On Saturday there was a cultural party given by the International Society of Nisshin (The town in which I currently reside) and hosted at NUFS. Members of the society performed Taiko drumming and set up an origami table, and NUFS did, in my opinion, what it does best, and set up food which looked like THIS:

The party was attended by a large number of us international students, and we were at least matched in volume by residents of Nisshin, who brought there whole families along. It was a lovely experience; in Japan people tend to completely ignore each other unless there is a deliberate removal of the boundary. There were no boundaries in the room that day, and if you were stood without someone to talk to for 30 seconds, someone would come up to you and introduce themselves, and ask you about your country and how you're finding Japan. This was also clearly a group of particularly open-minded Japanese people, who seemed to relish the difference in ethnicity we provided.

I also met the family I'll be visiting on a home-stay next month. The mother attended the party to meet me, and her daughter showed me ever so carefully how to fold an origami helmet. I'm hugely looking forward to seeing them again.

Sunday brought good weather, and so the chance for another hike! Enjoyable as the first, the views from 600m were spectacular, and there was definitely never any danger of falling off the edge. Ever surprised by Japan's superior natural beauty, we saw a hawk from very, very close, and continued to spot them all the way up the mountain.

We also visited a shrine in the middle of the forest, containing an earthly beauty I'm sure can be imagined. I have no idea how difficult it must have been to build, though.

The hike was finished in perfect fashion by a visit to the onsen. It was gladly received, as the trails we take aren't easy, and we covered 12 miles or so and 684 metres in 4 hours. I've never experienced too much hiking before, but the sense of accomplishment is something I could easily become addicted to, the exercise is refreshing, and the new things I learn about Japan all add to the experience. We saw a baby snake. How cool is that?

So, back to work for now, and more updates will follow next week.

Yours,

Abby

P.S. For all the photos, visit my tumblr! http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/

Japan: Week 8, Part I

8 - Family in Nagoya and Kyoto

This week I realised that I had been somewhat blind to the delights and intrigues available almost on my doorstep. Going to Kyoto, planning trips to Osaka, getting excited about visiting Tokyo with my family, and I had somewhat neglected to explore Nagoya itself, the city in who's outskirts I currently reside. In my defence, it is quite a trek; the journey from my front door to Nagoya station takes an hour. However, it is a relatively cheap journey, and I'm glad that exploring the city earlier in the week has caused me to see that I should spend every available moment there until I have exhausted its finite but grand number of attractions.

Unfortunately we can't all take time off school whenever we feel like it (Don't worry Claire, I'm joking :D) so I had to go to lessons on Monday. But on Tuesday I finish quite early, so I went and had a terrific time in Nagoya with Claire and mum.

Claire, being protected from evil spirits by a lion

We visited the large and impressive Osu Kannon Temple, which has been moved three times since its being built in 1324, because first an emperor, then a feudal Lord, just decided they wanted to.

We then walked back through the city to the station area, where some impressive architecture is located. The asymmetric towers of the station itself, the spiral Gakuen Tower, and Midland Square, Japan's fifth largest skyscraper.

Gakuen Tower

We climbed it, of course (or rather, took the very fancy elevator on the outside of the building) and admired the night view of Nagoya from the 46th floor, including Nagoya Castle, tennis on roof-tops, and thousands of lights as far as the eye could see.

Before heading back to I-House, I was treated to pizza and plenty of catch-up news.

Wednesday was my first teaching to a real class, ever. I was nervous beforehand but it went well considering how terribly it could have gone. I was teaching a group of incredibly receptive first years a listening class about clothes, and the response I got from them at times left me buzzing for hours afterwards. The

teacher observing us confirmed what we'd experienced; once we got over the nerves we were flying, and he thought we'd all improve to a really high standard by the end of the term. From now on we'll be teaching once a week, with the next being tomorrow, teaching a reading class 'Dracula'!

Thursday was the resuming of Golden Week for the Japanese, and the weather obliged by being gorgeous so that my family and I could have enjoy a splendid day for admiring Nagoya Castle.

A replica of one of the mythical dolphins adorning the roof of the Castle

I was glad of my tour of a few weeks prior; I felt like quite the tour guide pointing out aspects of interest around the site. We had enough time to go back and see I-House and my room, and in the true style of students of I-House, went for dinner at the sushi restaurant directly opposite, Hamazushi. From what I could tell from the pile of plates at the end (incomparable though, to the amount Japanese people are able to ingest) Mum and Claire enjoyed their first experience of genuine Japanese conveyor belt sushi.

On Friday we caught the shinkansen to Kyoto, and details of the weekend will be posted in Part II! The reason being, this post's already fairly substantial, I've had an exhausting (though excellent) few days, and I have to teach in the morning! (An insight into the future...?)

Check back for the stories from Kyoto later in the week. Spoiler alert: We did everything and it was great.

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 6

6 - School

I don't have that many lessons, just five 1.5 hour classes spread over Monday - Wednesday, and then an observation and a teaching practice every week. It feels a lot like 6th form again with the same four students in each class, and most of them discussion-based. However, I feel a trend might have been set when we were given homework from each lesson, and although you do get a whole week to complete it, there is the necessary reading to go on top of it... But it'll be okay. I knew it would be hard work here.

I also had my two weekly sessions in the Language Lounge. With some Japanese students it is literally like an English lesson, which is fabulous practice for me, and others are so competent that I was discussing with them why British girls think Japanese girls are so beautiful and vice versa, which was eye-opening and just generally fantastic. I also get to have bi-weekly conversations with the girls on the frisbee team, and it's obvious that in amongst the students is where I'll be doing the majority of learning about this country. We talk about what we eat, what we do in our spare time, and I get to see how they interact with me and each other.

Everyone, go to all the countries.

A very cool place I did go to was a second-hand shop, where the downstairs was just full of books and mostly comics, and even had a little foreign books section!

One of those things you never know you need until, all of a sudden, you find out about them. Harry Potter set, in Japanese... The upstairs was possibly even cooler, row upon row of clothes, as well as shoes, bags, games, and crockery! This wasn't a jumble sale either, everything was in brand new condition, in original sets and packaging. Japan does many things so well.

My week was finished off in the perfect way by a trip to a very nearby onsen. My skin is glowing from the hot baths, the showers and the saunas, and my girly senses are tingling from the gossip shared. Many trips will be taken there for relaxation purposes, I think.

So I'm afraid I don't have any ridiculous sight-seeing tales to tell from this week, but next week will be different. One of the few times Japanese employees can have some well-deserved time off is Golden Week, two long weekends in a row at the end of April/beginning of May when people go on domestic holidays, often to onsen! My week will be no different, getting a bit of travelling done myself, and expect to see mentions of some special guests who are coming to visit!

Yours,
Abby

Japan: Week 5

5 - It all begins

This week I had a small insight into what term-time's going to be like. On Tuesday, the four of us TEFL students met up with the teachers we'll be working with for lunch, at an adorable restaurant close to the university. It's a bright blue shuttered house, back from the road a little with an elaborate front garden with a stone path, complete with archway. The couple live upstairs, and the restaurant is downstairs. Lunch was delicious (even the sea-snail) and I was surprised how easy it was to relax into conversation. Afterwards we went back to uni to receive the timetables of lessons we'll be observing, and lessons we'll be teaching (!!). Thankfully we have just a couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for teaching, but our first observation was on Thursday.

'Observation' is a term used lightly. Although there was a teacher taking charge of the class, we were put into four groups with one British student as a team leader, and were very interactive with the students. I experienced trying to explain and define really quite difficult English terms, and having everyone look to you when they didn't understand something. Daunting, but will no doubt be practice I'll be grateful of once I have to start taking classes of my own.

I also signed up to be a tutor for Language Lounge sessions; rooms where students can go to learn a language from native speakers, and no other language is allowed to be spoken in the room. I feel any practice I can have at this teaching thing will only do good.

Something to make me very happy indeed was my first frisbee training session in Japan. Nagoya University is split into several colleges; I'm currently studying with Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. Well, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences is located very close by, and students often join each other's cross-curricular activities.

So when I spotted NUAS students recruiting for frisbee, I positively squealed with excitement and promised to train with them, 5.30 - 8 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The rules are the same and I've got the head-start on height, so it was pure relief to get back outside, running after a plastic disk, doing something I really know how to do, and not have to worry about the correct grammar structures to use whilst doing it.

This weekend I've taken a bit of a break and relaxed, including a trip to Aichi Arts Centre which I've been promising to myself from pretty early on. This Saturday there was a concert given by 'Rainbow Chorus' and as far as we could tell, would be of traditional Japanese songs and Nursery Rhymes. There was definitely one I picked out quite a lot from, on the subject of a bicycle.

Music never needs to be fully understood though. The way a choir moves just a little as they breathe, the way voices fill a concert hall, and the feeling a conductor puts into their direction is not restricted by a language barrier. It was relaxing and enjoyable. In addition to all that, when a concert invites you to sing along with the final piece, thoughtfully providing music and lyrics on the back of your programme, it's always going to get my vote.

Lessons start in earnest tomorrow, wish me luck!

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 4

4 - Takayama

Sakura never lasts long in Japan. You can't blame it really, it's got to make its way up the length of the country in one short season, after all. No wonder the delicate flowers will be swept away by one heavy rainfall. Therefore, this week I went to a few places where the blossoms would be in abundance to make the most of their gorgeous presence.

A place called Irigaike Park is located just a ten minute walk away from my accommodation. It was ridiculously windy, but this only drew more attention to the beautiful scenery, as the boughs waved and tries to draw attention, as if it were needed.

There were a lot of people outside enjoying the sunshine if not the wind speed, and I confess my heart still melts at the sight of tiny Japanese tots, especially when they're old enough to stare with huge, round eyes at my foreign appearance, and young enough to ignore their parents' attempts to teach them etiquette.

Another group caught my eye also. At first I only noticed the young couple sitting on the park bench enjoying ice cream, the characteristics of Down's Syndrome standing out to someone as emotionally invested as myself, and then I saw the young man in the wheelchair, and a carer standing with another small group of young adults a little further off. It could've been any mencap outing in England. Tears came to my eyes momentarily; here in a country who's gender equality laws leave a little something to be desired, and which created the proverb "The nail which sticks out get hits down", I worried what the stance on disability might be. I was reassured.

The next job was to seek out some formal clothes. We were invited on a Freshers Camp with the new Global Business students to a place called Tayakama, I think as a point of interest and a chance for them to practice English, and also because on a Teaching English course we won't have all that many trip opportunities. We were told we'd be staying in a very posh hotel, and had to dress for the dinner which would be provided! This panicked us to a certain extent, but shopping in Nagoya is never dull, and we picked up suitable clothing.

The camp itself was interesting. While I understood barely a word of the seminars, the teachers had photo powerpoints and they seemed to be telling the students about where in the world this degree could take them. Seminars were followed by a presentation on British table manners, amusing but accurate. Also, necessary to students who may grow up to be entertained by Western business partners. Practice was also essential, of course. This meant that the day finished with a delicious Western-style supper. Welcome, after a lot of Japanese food these past weeks.

As you know, I visited the onsen as a beautifully relaxing end to the day. I'll point out that it wasn't even strange to be bathing with girls I'd met only hours before, and who I will no doubt see around the university. New experiences.

The next day contained a trip to a place in Gifu prefecture called Shirakawa-Go, a world heritage site with buildings almost unique to the area, as many were destroyed in World War II.  It also had mountains, paddy fields, and snakes. I was sincerely grateful to be taken to a place as wonderful as this. I love to see so much scenery which just doesn't exist in England.

To finish off the week, today I went to a festival event at Iwasaki Castle, also close to where I live. They had a whole timetable of entertainment which I believe was from the local area, including a wind band and a cheerleading troupe. They had stalls of food and games and of course, the Castle in all its splendour itself.

The sakura is mostly gone from this area now, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it a lot in both Nagoya and Kyoto. Now that's quite a lot of travelling, if only lessons would start...

Yours,

Abby 

Japan: Week 3

3 - Kyoto

This week I realised, whilst counting through all the things I've gotten used to, all the things which have just slipped into my routine without having to get used to them at all. There are no conveyor belts at supermarkets - you just queue up with your basket. You don't even look for the smallest queue, they're so quick that there's no point moving from the one right in front of you. There are no buttons to press at pedestrian crossings, they're all timed. Buses have a fixed fare, you don't pay for how far you're going. It feels strange, stranger than the little things you do have to remind yourself of (taking off shoes...) to discover there are parts of living a completely foreign life which make more sense to your subconscious than the life you've lived for nineteen years.

It was another Bjork week. Quiet and peaceful. I read for research for my dissertation, I went to the gym because if there's really no frisbee for 4 months, the least I can do is come back totally ripped, I cooked.

Then, at three o'clock on Friday afternoon, I boarded a coach for Kyoto. It's Hanami, cherry blossom viewing, in Kyoto at the moment, and consequently one of the busiest times of the year for the city. During Spring, foreigners and Japanese alike will flock to each city as its native flower comes into bloom in turn. We decided to throw ourselves into the fray, and booked coaches and a room for Friday night. Saturday appears to be all booked up? Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We reached Kyoto station, and decided it would be easiest just to get a taxi to the hostel first time around as it wasn't far away, and then we'd know how to walk to and from the station. Unfortunately, this was one of those times when the Japanese are so desperate to be helpful that they end up being quite the opposite. The taxi driver had no idea either where the hostel was, despite us having the full address written down in Japanese, or how to use his SatNav. Luckily you can just go up to anyone in uniform in Japan and they'll help you out. Consequently, we ended up walking another 40 minutes to the actual location of our hostel, which was about 5 minutes away from the station, in the opposite direction we had just come. Ah well, it was fresh air, and it was Kyoto.

We had a delicious dinner in a much fancier restaurant than we intended to eat at, but it was worth every penny as a one-off. We stayed for hours, talking and drinking. Eventually we decided to call it a night, as we wanted a full day of sight-seeing come the morning. It was another pleasant stay in a hostel - I've yet to find a poor one in Japan.

In the morning we headed straight for Kinkaku-Ji, the Golden Pavilion. My third visit to the temple, and I still find it difficult to take in the side of the pure gold building, floating in the middle of a lake. It was the first time the weather's been good too, and the gold leaf gleamed, and the reflections in the water were so vivid.

Next stop was Nijo Castle, with the Nightingale Floor as an ancient security device; the wooden floorboards sing like birds when they're stepped on. Again, the sunshine and the cherry blossom made walking around the gardens so beautiful, and I was glad I had the opportunity to visit these landmarks yet again.

The final sight-seeing destination of the day was Fushimi-Inari, with a huge shrine at the base and many trails winding their way up the side of a mountain, the paths covered all the way along with hundreds of bright orange torii. There are many paths to take and it would take a couple of hours if you were fit enough to march smartly up them all, but we just ventured up one as high as you could go, and were rewarded with a view of Kyoto. Along the way and at the end of each trail are more, smaller shrines, as well as many places to stop and buy a drink for the thirsty traveller. We also discovered that these torii are purchased, and are inscribed with family names and dates. Prices start at around £2,500 for the smallest, anyone interested...?

After the magnitude of steps it was time for dinner, so we headed to Gion, the Geisha district. The only place big enough to house our group was an all-you-can-eat restaurant, which had a cooking pot in the middle of the table in which you fry as many strips of beef and bowls of vegetables as you like. After we staggered out, we made our way to the karaoke we'd located on our food-hunt, how we'd decided to cross the bridge we'd now come to...

Astonishingly, we managed to find some songs we hadn't got through last mammoth karaoke session, and we also replayed a few favourites. We all collapsed at around 3 in the morning. At this particular karaoke, kicking-out time was 5 am, so, out into the wide world we went once again, after what mathematically should have been two hours sleep, but in reality was about 20 minutes.

In our early morning wanderings we watched a small group of policemen taking a jog (I kid you not), and made our way to a nearby shrine. We soon discovered that during hanami, our behaviour wasn't in the slightest bit bizarre. Another example of Japan working hard and playing hard, they set up mats under the sakura and relax for hours, start drinking early and carry on all night. Some groups were peacefully sleeping in sleeping bags, but others were still in full celebration mode, and were only too glad to invite us to the party.

Taken at 5.30 am

Taken at 6 am

So for a few hours we lolled around, taking photos of the beautiful scenery and making Japanese friends. We only had to wait until 8 am, and Starbucks would be open. After warming up a little, it was back into tourist mode. We went to Kiyomizu-dera, only a short walk away, and ambled around, feeling much more delicate than the day before.

The first Japanese child in history to be brave enough to want to be in a photo with gaijin

The rest of the time we had left in Kyoto was spent perusing the shops in Gion, and wondering whereabouts Geisha used to, and still might, live. By beautiful coincidence, a man told us that there were lots of people down a particular street because some Maiko, apprentice Geisha, would be making their debut appearances that day, and would be appearing just before we had to get the train back to Kyoto station.

Against the cherry blossom, this woman represents centuries' worth of Japanese culture. Beautiful, flawless, one could nevertheless sense her breathing a little heavily, faced with so many photographers, not to mention foreigners, frantically snapping away. I wondered if she worried about the attention of those like me. Would she think I wouldn't understand the difficulties she's gone through on a daily basis to be where she is now? Would she worry I wouldn't find her perfect, ignorant in my knowledge of the culture she epitomises? At one moment she looked straight into my eyes, and I'll never know if my utter respect and understanding of her lifestyle passed between us in those precious few seconds, but I hope it did.

If there's one moment I won't forget in all my time I'll be here, it'll be this one.

From Gion it was back to Kyoto station and the coach, back to nagoya and the underground, back to the bus, and a short walk to collapsing into bed. Who'd have thought I'd break my record of number of hours awake after just one short week? For those interested, it stands at 38 hours.

A couple of exciting things happening next week! See you then.

Yours,

Abby

There were a great many photos from this weekend, and I couldn't possibly post them all here. To see more: http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/