Sendai & Matsushima

In all, I spent a month in Japan in early 2000.  Tokyo was where I stayed most of the time, and I used it as a base to take trips west and north by shinkansen (bullet train).  The trip north took me to Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture.  I was meeting up with the Uomotas, a couple who runs a church in that area.  My connection to them was through an American friend, Dawn Herzog, who, incidentally I first met when she and a mutual friend of ours traveled to the Deep South.  They actually stayed at Lake Espy, had lunch with Uncle Watty and me, visited my mother's second-grade classroom, stopped by the bank to see me, and took a day trip with me to Seaside, Florida.  Their journey to Headland is a blog post unto itself!!!  Anyway, Dawn's uncle is Murrary Uomota, my contact in Sendai.  I stayed for a few days with him and his wife.

Murray Uomota (left) and his wife (next to me), standing with a friend of theirs, Mrs. Abe

Three things about my time at their home really stood out:  (1) the completely tiled floor and walled "wet bathrooms," which I later learned were most common throughout Asia.  Easy for cleaning!!!  (2)  The movie, Dr. Zhivago.  I had a vague awareness of it, but had not seen it - strangely, in spite of earlier travels to Russia and Central Asia.  The Uomotas had a copy, and I watched it before going to bed.  Watching it, right there in Japan, actually deepened my interest in Russian history.  (3)  For breakfast one morning, Mrs. Uomota served some barbecue eel on rice!   Although I had my doubts, and didn't think I even wanted to try it, I did.  And it was good!



Two more friends of the Uomota's: left, Mrs. Wakaki, right, Mrs. Igari

One day they gave me a tour of the city Sendai, and treated me to an International Buffet at Sendai Royal Park Hotel.  Later, we stopped off at the home of the lady in pink, and she brought out photo albums from trips she and her husband had taken to the USA.  The lady (again in pink) also first truly brought into my consciousness, to stick there, the name Douglas MacArthur, the American general of the Pacific theater who oversaw the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Empire and the writing of a new Japanese constitution.  It may shock you that I didn't know that.  It should!  And it should speak volumes about what's taught in some US schools, or at a very minimum, what's truly emphasized.  I might have heard the name MacArthur, but I couldn't have written a piece about him or properly told someone about him, and that's a tragedy.  This MacArthur epiphany is a blog post for another time!

Another day, I went out with this group of ladies and a guy from Texas (center).  The ladies belonged to an English class run by the Uomotos.   I had actually helped teach one class!  From left to right: me, Mrs. Horiuchi, Mrs. Abe, Grey Jackson, Mrs. Owaki, Mrs. Wakaki, Mrs. Ito

This was my first exposure to a Japanese meal displayed like this - a work of art really.  Perhaps a bento box?!?!?  I recall strugglng with the chopsticks.  The meal was delicious!!!!

Matsushima is a beautiful bay covered by 260 small islands.  To reach the area where you take boat tours you have to go about 20 minutes north of Sendai, right on the Pacific coast.  I went by myself, and I just recall seeing some lovely temples and bridges.  I didn't know much of the history - and still don't.  The video above give you more details.  Another thing I remember - because I was myself - is struggling to figure out where I was going to eat.  It was cold where I was, and it had been snowing some in Sendai and the Matsushima area.  I was wandering around, trying to get up the nerve to walk into a restaurant - one where I saw little English, if any, and no white westerners like me!  Hunger took over, and I reached a restaurant where they had some of the artificial foods displayed out front.  Went in, got a seat, and ordered some soup and some tea.  I still didn't know the eating customs or how to properly use chopsticks, and it can make you feel very self-conscious.  Finally, I just looked around and observed what others were doing, and I followed suit.  The fish soup really hit the spot!!!

the ferry I took

colorful walking bridges and numerous pine-covered islands

A Hong Kong Chinese couple (Wai & Dorothy) on their honeymoon took this photo of me.  Wai and I became friends after this.  I met him in Hong Kong, where he gave me a tour of one of the islands and taught me how to properly use chopsticks.  I had a Russian fur hat that I had packed for this journey to Japan.  It was actually too small for my head!  I gave it to Wai just after he took this photo.

Matsushima is ranked as one of the top views in all of Japan

A well-known apocryphal haiku often attributed to Matsuo Basho indicates that the poet is at a loss for words:

Matsushima ah!
A-ah, Matsushima, ah!
Matsushima, ah!

Special note: You surely remember the devastating 1-2-3 punch that rocked Japan a little over two years ago.  First, an earthquake.  Second, a tsunami.  Third, a nuclear plant disaster.  The Sendai region took the brunt of the massive waves, and Fukushima, which is just down the road, is home to the nulcear plant.  Although there was an incredible loss of life, fortunately the Uomotas - and I believe all their friends - survived.  Matsushima, too, was pretty much left unscathed, thanks to the islands providing a natural barrier.  As for Sendai, the coastal areas took a real beating.  Rebuilding continues.  If you're interested in some theories as to why the Japanese did not really loot in the aftermath of the tsunami, click here.

Hiroshima

At every stop - significant ones, anyway - I would routinely send postcards back to Solomon Road.  I also sent postcards to Dad at the bank, but would rely just as much on e-mailing him.  Internet cafes, where you could pay by the hour (or half), were readily available in every Asia city - and island and small village, for that matter - I visited. 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, 2000

I arrived in Hiroshima by bullet train from Kyoto, where I had spent several days. I met a Japanese guy as I exited the station, and we walked together to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum. He either studied in the USA, or gew up here. We both were looking for a money exchange place or a bank somewhere. After a long, long walk, we made it to the park. I spent at least a half day touring the museum and walking the grounds.



In Japan, when I would talk with other travelers and go to bookstores, I first "got wind" of Lonely Planet travel guidebooks.  So, wherever I would go, I would try to buy a copy of the LP guidebook for that particular country.  Sometimes, in used bookstores or at street kiosks (in SE Asia), you could find used copies that travelers used, then unloaded, before heading on to their next destination.  Often I would buy these second-hand ones. 

Before arriving in Hiroshima, I read about Okonomiyaki, a hearty dish first created in the region.  The guidebook recommended a few places where I could find it, and I zeroed in on one.  So, when I got to the city, I was going to eat some Okonomiyaki at this particular restaurant.  I found it, and after talking with the hostess - actually, more just gesturing - I got a table for one.   I wasn't close to the kitchen, but I could see cooks making these giant pancake-like dishes.  The menu, all in Japanese, wasn't going to help.  When my waitress came over, all I did was point towards the item they were cooking in the kitchen, and pointed to a Coke logo on the menu, and that was that.  I was the only Westerner I could see in the whole place - out of about 100 customers.  I liked the environment, and was fascinated by being an outsider in it.  The food came, and to me it was just as good as I had imagined.  I then scratched it off my bucket list!!!!

For a class at UNCA, our assignment was to design a WebQuest project for a class level that we would day teach.  For me, it was a 9th-grade Social Studies class.  And the subject matter I chose was a trip to the Far East.  Destination:  Hiroshima!  Here it is!

And recently, a grandson of ex-President Harry Truman visited Hiroshima to attend a memorial service for the victims.  Here's the article.

Handicrafts & Bathhouses

This is a painting, signed by the artist, of a scene in a Japanese onsen.  In 2000, when I was souvenir hunting, I purchased this painting in the Kyoto Handicraft Center as a gift for my mother.  She then had it framed and hung on a bathroom wall in our family home in Headland, AL.  The Kyoto Handicraft Center was also the scene of possibly the most surreal experience I've ever had.  Call it coincidence, or something divine.  I wrote about it here.

To take a look at the onsen Kade and I experienced at Wakayama City Marina in 2004, click here.

And here's an excerpt from an e-mail I sent to Dad and my brothers excitedly telling them about Wakayama Prefecture - town, Arida and city, Wakayama.

Kade and I are currently in Japan, about seven hours west of Tokyo and three hours east of Hiroshima. On Tuesday of next week we will be taking an overnight ferry back to Pusan, Korea.

Wakayama City, Japan......stunning scenery, reminds me of the pacific northwest or Montana in US. mountains, rivers, forests, national parks......oranges and seafood are big industries. we are actually staying in a small, rural town 10 minutes from the coast. very peaceful. staying with Kade's classmate from UA. really nice, four-bedroom home mixing traditional and contemporary japan. styles. the mom cooks amazing dishes every night.

Destination: Japan

Exactly this month, in the year 2000, I embarked on a journey that forever changed me. This journey was not going to be a package tour or luxury cruise or anything that required too much planning. I had a starting destination in mind: Japan. I would fly to Japan, where I would meet an American contact, and then I would travel around Japan for a month or so. After that, I didn’t exactly know where I would go or what I would do next. This was going to be challenging for sure. I was going to be traveling by myself. It’s something I had done for a brief two or three weeks back in the 90’s, but this longer solo journey wasn’t something I anticipated being totally comfortable with. However, what drove me most was the freedom of the open road and the excitement of experiencing and seeing something I could have only dreamed about. I had purchased the requisite backpack from a fancy outdoor catalogue. I had gotten my standard vaccinations. I had my passport, some traveler’s checks, a debit card and a Lonely Planet Guidebook. I was ready to go. Overall, my journey lasted six full months, created a lifetime of memories and enabled me to meet my wife, Kade. I am very grateful, fortunate and lucky to have experienced this. Read and scroll to see this journey in the proper sequence. Here's a map.

A meal I ate in Sendai, Japan

A Geisha in Kyoto!

w/ Uzbek friends

Kyoto temple

Kyoto temple

with some other travelers I met and had a drink with

Gernot from Austria and Anja from Germany

Ground Zero: Hiroshima

Japan was a fabulous place to begin my journey. I was captivated by the enormous size and bustling life in Tokyo. To me, it outranks New York City in terms of sheer vibrancy and hustle and bustle. Tokyo, NYC and Hong Kong are currently the three main engines of the business world. The Japanese mass transportation system, from the buses to the metro to the world-renown Shinkansen (bullet train) made moving about more practical, more convenient and more intriguing. I certainly had my moments when I was overwhelmed in Tokyo, but the pulsating atmosphere of the city was powerfully seductive. When I had my fill of Tokyo, I took the Shinkansen up to Sendai and saw the Northern part of Japan. I then hopped back on the train and whizzed through cities and by Mt. Fuji, eventually stopping in the ancient capital and cultural mecca, Kyoto.  One of the temples I visited was the Nanzenji Temple, and one of the lovely parks I explored was Maruyama.   By an act of divinity (so I thought), I overheard Uzbek spoken in a handicraft center and turned around to find an Uzbek student I had taught in 1994 and had since lost touch with. To me, this chance meeting confirmed “God’s hand” in my life. Another fascinating thing about Kyoto is that I tried one of the public bathhouses (onsens), which is a unique part of the Japanese culture. Believe it or not, I even rode an elevator naked! You had to have been there! Other than Tokyo, Sendai, and Kyoto, I had one other place I wanted to visit: Hiroshima. I toured the A-Bomb Museum and, for the first time really, contemplated what might have gone on during that part of WWII. After a thoroughly good time in Japan, it was time for Hong Kong.

I bought this for my mother when I was in Kyoto.