Japan-go

I just returned from a trip to Japan. It was a much needed two weeks and an experience I will never forget. Although I have been to Japan more than 6 times in the past 10 years, this trip was by far the most memorable.

The plane ride would last a little more than 10 hours by plane…really racking up the frequent flier miles. Once I arrived at Narita Airport, I made my way to the foreigner section of the immigration line. After about 25 minutes, I finally reached the officer at the counter who asked me what my purpose in visiting was. I stated it was for vacation and to visit family and she gave me a puzzled look, I could only assume she was trying to figure out if my family was there as expats or in-laws that lived there.  

I expected to exit the airport in Tokyo with a sudden onslaught of humidity, but was pleasantly surprised to find cooler and dryer weather than I had 10 hours ago. I live in Southern California where the humidity at most times is relatively mild. But just before traveling to Japan, Socal was experiencing a high level of humidity in the air due to a storm that had developed in Mexico and was making it’s way north.

After meeting the family and exchanging greetings we were off to the house in the countryside. I have occasionally visited the countyside during my trips to Japan but most of the time was spent in the main city areas. The family had recently bought a home in the countyside which has much more land and space. By the time we reached the house it was well after dark. I stepped out of the car and looked up. The sky was filled with an unfamiliar sight. Stars as clear as ever sparkled like a diamond under the light.

After getting the bags into the house, I just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. The futons were already neatly placed on the tatami mat, so after my shower, I crashed with the cool breeze of the night mountain air drifting through an open window.  The end of day one.

The rest of the trip was filled with hiking, visiting friends, attending a Japanese summer festival and helping the family landscape the yard. Even though I still don’t have a great understanding of the language, I think of the challenge before me as an opportunity of a lifetime. To understand another language and communicate with people in their native language is truly amazing. More familiar words connect and I try to guess what people are saying to me, and hopefully this class I will take in the fall will further cement in new skills.

By the way….Japanese fireworks are much better than any of the fireworks I have seen in the U.S.