Golden Week Adventures (Pt 1)

So today is my first official day off (not part of the regular weekend) due to Golden Week, the magical time of year when I get a whole 9 days off of work to do whatever I want! :D Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, it did until I realized that I had no plans for the week other than sit-at-home-and-play-video-games. You may ask "But Shawna, you live in an exotic foreign country full of history and culture, how can you sit around doing nothing?" It's a really good question actually. You see, the problem, as I have talked to some of you about at length, is that I am very nervous about traveling further than a bike's ride from home. I worry that with my limited (if improving) language abilities, if I were to get lost  or have an emergency I wouldn't be able to get help. It's easier when I'm traveling with someone, but everyone had plans this week, so that wasn't going to happen. It's doubly sad because this fear is what kept me around Shizuoka during winter vacation too, and the prospect of spending another vacation within the confines of my own home and neighborhood was rather bleak. So yesterday I decided to change that. I decided that this Golden Week, my goal is to travel at least 2 train stations away from home every day (if the weather permits), and to go exploring and sightseeing on my own. So, with a train/travel itinerary in hand, I set off from my house this morning at around 9:30 on my first trip. 

I took the Tokaido Main Line train toward Atami four stops to the town of Okitsu, right on the coastline. From there, with a helpful map drawn by the station ticket adjustment operator, I walked about 15 minutes to Seikenji (清見寺) a Buddhist temple where Ieyasu Tokugawa, a famous figure in Japanese history, spent some of his childhood and education. 

Reaching back to the year 679, Seikenji has a history of more than 1300 years. It was founded by emperor Tenmu as a guard post the north. Through its location close to the trading route "Tokaido" and its strategic post in the foothills of Mt. Fuji it has played an important role throughout history.

Originally occupied by the buddhist Tendai-sect, teachings changed to the more spartan Zen-Buddhism during the Kamakura period. In 1216 it changed again to the doctrines of the Rinzai-sect at which remains today.

In the Edo period Seikenji fell under the reign of the Imagawa clan who kept the young Tokugawa Ieyasu as a hostage in the close by Sunpu castle. He was sent to Seikenji for education. It was Ieyasu who planted plum trees on the temple ground and designed a beautiful Zen garden at the inner temple.

 About Seikenji

The temple was absolutely beautiful, both inside and in the garden next to it. There was one monk, Gaku-san, who spoke English and gave me the grand tour. One of my Amity students writes a journal every week about Japanese history, so I knew a little bit about Ieyasu Tokugawa, but it was wonderful to get to see the rooms where he lived as a child, and the garden that he played in so many years ago. He was one of the most powerful figures in Japanese history, so it was beautiful to see the gentler side of him that planted plum trees and gardened. 

Here are some pictures from the inside of the temple:

Gaku-san was so friendly and an excellent tour guide. I was really grateful to have him there, because otherwise I would have been unsure of which rooms were ok to go into, and where to take off my shoes. He did the whole tour with me, before sending me out to see the garden alone. Before we parted, though, I bought some absolutely wonderful incense and he gave me some post cards and a keitai (cell phone) charm as a souvenir present. Then, he told me about where I could get lunch, one train stop over in Shimizu, and sent me on my way.

The garden outside of the temple was amazing as well, and full of statues. Apparently there are 500 statues of Buddhist disciples in the garden. "The statues depict the students of the Buddha Syakamuni. Their facial expression are finely detailed and no two look alike."

 

 Afterward I headed off to find some lunch. Shimizu is right on the coast and has a famous fish market called Kashino-ichi where tons of fresh fish are sold every day. In addition, there are several sushi and other seafood restaurant inside. The lines for the restaurants were crazy! I waited almost half an hour at one restaurant, labeled suspiciously "Seafood Restaurant," but it turned out to be a branch of the place we eat lunch at every Saturday in Apita! I found this out when the guy who was making all the bowls, handed me one and said "Aeon Amity, desu ne?" which shocked me no end. Then I saw the emblem on the bowl, which is the same as the Saturday place! Lol, of all the restaurants I pick, I got one that was familiar! It was still yummy, though!  

I was so tired after eating that I finally headed back home, ending my trip around 4pm. My feet hurt sooo badly right now, but it serves me right for wearing heels. Tomorrow, flats or sandals only. In the morning I'm headed back to Shimizu to see the Tokai University Marine Science and Natural History Museums, and the Shimizu Marine Park. In fact, if I have enough energy (and if it's not too crowded, I might even see S-Dream Plaza (another famous spot, but I don't know if it's a theme park or what?)! Anyway, that's it for day one, hope you enjoy the pics! 

Ja ne!

Shawna

 

 

Update! 6 Month Mark!

Hello everyone! Guess what? I'm still alive and well in Japan despite my horrible neglect in posting on this blog. THIS is why I never attempted one in the past, since I knew that I would forget all the time, or be too busy. It's a hundred times easier to type out a line or two on Facebook than to try to compose something meaningful about my life here. But today I thought, "hey, I think I'll give it one more go"... well that and my Mom was all like "Shawna update your blog!" :P So, here I am. 

Since I'm at about the 6 month mark since I arrived here last November, I thought I'd post some of my thoughts and things that I've encountered so far. These are just little things that I have observed and experienced (and found rather amusing). So without further ado: Shawna's 6 Month Review!

Something I Love about Japan: I love so much about Japan that it's hard to choose only one thing. But I'd have to say that one thing I love here is the people. Almost every person I have encountered, be it on the street or in a store, is kind, helpful, and polite. I've had a whole supermarket turn out a troop of employees (well, 6 actually) to help me find pickle relish because the person I asked didn't know what I was asking for. Some people I've read online complain t that  the majority of Japanese do not exhibit actual kindness, but instead a mask of false politeness, but that really hasn't been true for me. Most of the people I've met give me real smiles and kind encouragement in response to my fumbling attempts to communicate. The people at Family Mart and 7-11 know my name and not only greet me warmly whenever I come in, but even encourage normalconversation.When I've been walking down the street with a map in hand, wandering around like a ship blown off course, often someone will ask me if I need help. This kind attitude, the gentle way that people seem to care for one another (even one who is not of their group), is something that I wish could be found at home more often. I love it! 

Something I Thought I'd Never Live Without: Pets. I miss having a cat around to snuggle and love and talk to when I come home, but believe it or not, I'm actually getting used to it. I'm learning to enjoy the quiet, and even my own company on occasion. I'm still thinking about getting a fish, but we'll see. 

Something I Expected to See, but Haven't: Ninjas. But that's the whole point, isn't it? ^_~

Something I Didn't Expect to See, but Have:  Crocs. EVERYONE wears crocs. Kids at work, their parents, people on the street. They are so popular!!! What is so cool about crocs? Seriously? Well, I guess they're easy to take off and on when you go indoors...But really, crocs?

Something That Surprised Me (In a Good Way): I am shocked at how quickly my Japanese is improving.Other people told me before I left that I shouldn't worry about not being able to speak a lot at first, since I would learn more quickly once I got here, but I didn't think that after just 6 months I would be able to generally make myself understood. A lot of it is thanks to the efforts of my　Japanese teacher, Hiroko-san, who studies with me weekly and always encourages me. She has been a wonderful teacher and friend since I've gotten here, and I think she has helped my confidence build a lot too. Sometimes I'm still a little scared to talk to a stranger, but for the most part it all turns out really well. At hanami last month with my coworkers, one told me that they were surprised at how much Japanese I knew, since I was able to use it and talk to people a little bit. I hope that by this time next year I'll have learned even more. I want to take the JLPT next year too, so I will definitely have to keep working hard.

Something I Miss Back Home: Of course, I miss my family like crazy. It's weird not to have them at least within a reasonable driving distance. Even when I was in Georgia, I knew that if I really wanted to, I could hop in my car and drive home. Here, it's at the very least highly inconvenient, if not downright impossible, to just up and fly off to America when I feel homesick.Thankfully, we have Skype and Facebook. :) Other than my family, I miss going to the movie theater (too expensive here), using a debit card (cash is not as convenient as it sounds), and being able to read the labels on different products (is it bleach? Is it laundry detergent? Shampoo? Let's use the SNIFF TEST!). 

Something I Don't Miss at All:I don't miss the annoying college "spring break" atmosphere that appears around this time of year. I got to experience it a little bit when Allison, Mary, and I went to the Kanagawa Fertility (Penis) Festival last month. The place was crawling with young American men and women, most of them drunk before noon, who leered and pushed and yelled and stomped all over the place. I never have been fond of that kind of atmosphere, and much preferred the second temple we found later that afternoon, which was full of Buddhist monks and quiet tourists. It was really beautiful, and a much nicer atmosphere. I'm happy that in Shizuoka we don't have a lot of obnoxious foreigners. All of the ones I've seen here are really polite and try to blend in rather than flaunting their foreign-ness. One more reason why I love Shizuoka!

The Weirdest Thing I've Eaten: So far, it's a tie between cod roe sushi (which tastes like spicy Pork Rinds), and these weird dried/baked (?) fish with their heads still on. They were about as long as my hand had big mouths and teeth and dead white eyes... You ate them by biting off their heads, which took a lot of courage, but I did it. Surprisingly, when they weren't looking at me, they were very yummy!

The Thing I Eat the Most of: Candy. I love Japanese candy and try  to eat a new kind every day :)

This list was even longer than this, but I'm cutting it short because this post is already super long and I still have to type up the Golden Week Adventure (Pt. 1). So for now suffice it to say that I love Japan a TON and can't wait to keep exploring. Oh, and for those of you who haven't heard already, I renewed my contract for another year. Hooray! Keep an eye out for more posts, I'll try to be more frequent in my future updates. :) 

Hugs and Kisses!

Shawna