August 8, 2009: Last week in Hakodate

This week, my last week in Hakodate last week I did many things. Dressed up as a shikan and was in a play that commemorated when Perry opened the ports of Hakodate 150 years ago. Then because we were in the play we got free food and as much as you can drink beer. I try to lay off that stuff, because one: it tastes awful, and two: a beer belly is not sexy. My friends and I saw some crazy fireworks afterwards and I got home late because the street cars were so packed I had to wait for about 5-6 to pass me.

During the week my host mom took me to see the night view. The weather has been horrible; mostly rain, so my host family calls me the rain woman. When my host mom took me, it was one of the nicer nights in Hakodate. Quite perfect, actually. There were a lot of tourists that wanted to get on the ropeway and so it was picking up people every 5 minutes. My host mom paid for me (about 1100 yen) and when we were going up on the ropeway it was looking good, but when we got to the top, there was fog that got so bad you could barely see your hand in front of your face. (See the picture?)

My host mom also took me to see the Goryokaku spectacle. A play about the history of the different countries (America, Russia, England) that influenced Hakodate and made it was it had become today. There were so many people that participated (mostly as volunteers) in the play. And my host mom says she has seen the play about 10 times. And she admitted that she actually participated as an Ainu actor and more.

My host family also took me to a few onsens nearby their house, and they were both very interesting. At one place there was a freezing cold onsen next to a really hot one. That was my favorite. Jumping into the freezing one after the really hot one than getting back into the hot one was the best feeling in the world. You feel a little light headed and a bit numb, and as the feeling comes back to your hands first they feel all sparkly. There were also a jet onsen (with jets so powerful I felt like I was getting stabbed with a knife), an onsen with a huge Chinese tea bag (kind of smelled like medicine), and an onsen with cool water that had menthol in the water to give you that cooled off sensation. It also had 2 saunas. The wooden sauna had a TV inside of it.

The other onsen place had an outdoor onsen, a steam room (where you sat on stone seats upon which water was running down from), a freezing cold onsen, a bubbly onsen, and my favorite one: a hot electrical onsen. This was my first time in an electrical onsen and I didn’t know it was one when I first got in. The water was really hot and as I sat down and rested my arms on these stone arm rests my hands felt so tingly I thought I was having a heart attack. Then I couldn’t help but feel like laughing. My stomach felt like it was vibrating, and so did my back. I was freaked out, stood up, and finally read the sign: Denshi onsen. I was in an electrical onsen. No way! Electrical pulses penetrated your lower back and although it felt amazing, I could not get too close to the pulses. I was basically getting electrocuted. My host mom told me old Japanese people like that. I told her it might be even more stimulating for me because I have a chunk of metal in my belly button. And so when we got home that day she said to my host dad: I have to reveal Melissa’s secret to you: she has her belly button pierced! My host dad was so shocked, and called me Yakuza, yet again. I think I freaked my host family out.

The Ika Oodori (Squid dancing) festival was amazing. At some point, in the beginning, the food and stands that sold toys/masks/candy/games were more interesting than the festival itself. Then it came time to dance like a squid. I took tons of videos and was surprised that people dressed up almost as if this day was Halloween. Men dressed in school girl uniforms, princesses, pregnant women, santa claus, and more. Japan doesn’t have Halloween, so I guess this festival comes pretty close enough. In the last bit, everyone from the audience was free to jump in and join in the squid dancing. It was so fun. The next few days the festival continued, moving to a slightly different location in Hakodate. I would have went everyday if it weren’t for spending some time with my host family, and studying for my final exam.