Friday, September 25, 2009

August 29-31, 2009: Hello Long-Distance Japanese Relatives that I Have Never Met Before!















































Today I left Hiroshima early to take 3 trains (including a few bullet trains) to Takasaki to see my grandmother’s relatives. I felt a little lost at the station but they found me and Masako (grandmother’s sister’s daughter) and Risa (Masako-san’s daughter) came to pick me up (because the name’s might be overwhelming, I will leave out the “san,” and “obasan”/”ojisan”/”obaasan” usually written after). They were amazed that we could carry on a conversation and said my Japanese accent sounded very natural. I have other long-distance relatives (half Japanese, half Italian) in America that have went to Japan before me to visit and they told me they can’t speak or understand Japanese at all, so they were worried it would be the same with me. They brought me to my grandmother’s sister’s house, Mitsuko. I wrote her a few letters the year before and sent them to her the month before I left NY for Japan. Then Akira and Mari came. It was like a family reunion. Mari was an interesting character. She wore the shortest dresses (she is known for the way she dresses by the family and they warned me before I met her). Her makeup (blush, fake eye lashes: which are commonly used every day by Japanese women) and colored contact lenses were so excessive, I felt like I was looking at a doll. She spent most of her time fluffing her hair and looking at herself delicately in the mirror.

Immediately when I got there, I was fed some noodles in a nice veggie broth for lunch (which I was ecstatic about because I didn’t eat any breakfast). Then I showed Mitsuko pictures from my trip so far (farming and the week in Kyushu).

Akira, Mitsuko, Masako (and her husband), Mari and I all went to Kaiten sushi and I ate so much. Including some green tea mousse that was way too sweet. I had fish that I have never seen before and it was all delicious. I really like raw scallops. O! And fatty tuna and fatty salmon. Wait! Don’t forget the ikura (big fish eggs that pop and ooze in your mouth)! And, unagi and anagi are also so good (two types of eel the latter less oily). Kaiten sushi is fun because you watch the dishes circulate and pick up whichever one you want, and if you don’t see what you want you order it. It’s all color coded: the plates the sushi (usually 2 pieces) is on are different colors, which serve as a price tag. Gold is usually the most expensive, around 490 yen ($4.90) or more depending on the place. After sushi we went back to Mitsuko’s house and Yukiko and her other daughter (other than Mari), Keiko came over after work to take some pictures and talk. It was like a family reunion. I definitely look way different though. And bigger.

Then I slept a night at Masako’s house, which was the most comfortable night’s sleep I’ve had so far. After sleeping in a cold tent for a night a couple of days before, I felt like I was in heaven sleeping on big fluffy clouds.

The next day I had an awesome Japanese breakfast on behalf of Mitsuko. I showed Akira, Mistuko, and Masako some of my pictures. Then Yukiko came with some presents from her and her daughters. Keiko works as a nutritionist at the Kewpie (Japanese mayo) factory so I got an official Kewpie mug (that I was told was not even sold in stores) and cell phone strap. Then Akira drove me to Yokohama.

At Yokohama I met Akira’s wife, Hiroko, and daughter, Ayaka (10 years old). I spoke to Hiroko on the phone and then I thought she spoke really fast in Japanese, but in person her Japanese is even faster. At first Ayaka was a little shy, but she ended up opening up a little and becoming silly, which I enjoyed. That day we went to eat sushi for dinner and I was told to order as much as I wanted. With every dish I finished, they asked me what I was going to have next. I almost never had an empty dish in front of me. It was about $100 for all of us. Sushi 2 days in a row, I had no complaints, it was delicious. Sushi is so much better and fresher in Japan than NYC. I ordered some sushi (scallop, a crayfish looking thing with antennas and eyes, and tuna) that came with melted cheese on top. Raw fish with melted cheese sounds really weird, but it was pretty good. Don’t know if I would get it again, though.

Akira’s apartment was really small. I could see why they found it necessary to put me in a hotel for 2 nights. It was really nice of them to reserve the hotel and pay the fee for me. Hiroko told me that their tiny little apartment costs 130000 yen a month (about $1300). Sounds comparable to NYC, doesn’t it? She said that even though it’s small, it’s close to the major trains and convenient; that’s why it’s pricey.

The next day I met up with Hiroko and Ayaka and we went to Harajuku, a huge shopping district that is very popular amongst young people. Amakusa was where I wanted to go because I want to experience something more traditional, but it was a little farther and we figured I’ll get more than enough tradition in Kyoto. The fashion in the Harajuku district is supposed to be shocking, but aside from the hip colorful clothes and purple hair, there was not much. I wasn’t really surprised at all. Although, there were shoes everywhere, which I have come to realize is my one weakness. At first I didn’t want to walk into any stores, but then realized that’s what Hiroko brought me here for, so I stepped in a few. Hiroko told me Akira wanted to buy me a shirt as a present, but since I took more interest in a cute one piece, she offered to buy me that. And I hesitated, but she insisted. What could I do? To decline within this culture would be rude; I was forced to accept, but happily nonetheless. It was about 4000 yen ($40) for the outfit. She kept asking me if that was really what I wanted, as if it were too small/cheap. And told me I could get the purple one piece if I wanted (but it was ugly, and cost more). They spent way too much money on me already.

I wanted to give Hiroko some money to buy something for Ayaka, to show my thanks, but since we were in a bunch of stores, I told Ayaka to tell me what she wanted. Hiroko insisted I shouldn’t buy her anything, but then finally compromised on something that didn’t even cost 500 yen ($5). I felt bad, but she said she could not accept any present from me because I already gave her a Columbia University t-shirt and said that was more than enough.

Then we went to the only Forever 21 in Japan. I needed new jeans and couldn’t find the style I liked anymore in NY but found it in Japan, so I bought a pair, and then Hiroko insisted I go downstairs where everything was 50% off. Why did she bring me here?! About 3 dresses and one shirt later we were finally out of the store. I have to admit though, the style was a bit different, and the clothes fit me better. And it was damn cheap! And not as crowded as NYC.

We then went to eat dinner at a family restaurant. I had some Indian curry, which of course, is not as good as what you can get in NYC, but surprisingly spicy. Japanese people hate spicy food, so I was surprised that it was that spicy. Hiroko bought caramels from Hokkaido (that I thought you could only buy there, but now there is one store in the area) and I never had them because they were so expensive (12 small pieces for almost 900 yen, $9). After dinner she gave me a few pieces. They were so delicious and soft and just melted in your mouth. They were milky and sweet, unlike any caramel I ever had before. I have never had caramel that good before.

They also bought some gummy bears that have small circular candies that surround the outside. We have them in big candy stores in NYC, but they never saw it before. Hiroko told me she buys these types of candies occasionally because the dyes in candies (red #1, yellow #4, etc) are really bad for your health. They never said this in America! I wonder why! Probably because then no one would buy them and they would go out of business. So they fed me a few pieces and marveled at how my tongue changed color. I was a guinea pig for a while. I had every color and by the end my tongue turned black. They got so excited, laughed so hard, and took pictures of my tongue. I made sure to make a funny face for them to remember me by. Ayaka didn’t have space on her camera phone, and so she told her mother to mail her all the pictures of me later. It was good times.

Friday, September 18, 2009

August 27-28, 2009: Kumamoto, Shimabara, Nagasaki, Hiroshima








































































































Kumamoto:
I got a ride and arrived in Kumamoto. I’ve never been to a castle and so I went to the Kumamoto-jo, Kumamoto castle. I walked in and around and was amazed at the beautiful architecture. The buildings don’t look too sturdy but the surrounding stone walls are thick and strong-looking. The castle is opened to the public as a museum with different things on display in each building. Some of the buildings have small holes in the wall close to the floor, which were used by snipers.

I then headed out in search of raw horsemeat, basashi. Yesterday the horses wanted to eat me, today I shall eat them! I found an asian pear for 100 yen, $1 and ate that for lunch because I was so hungry. Then I ate some raw horsemeat, and didn’t think much of it. It looks like any kind of raw meat, but looks very delicate. It doesn’t have much of a taste, more of a texture. It was very chewy, but soft. It tasted like meat (beef) and they served it with ginger and scallions. I don’t think I’ll eat that again. I rather eat whale. It tastes much better.

Shimabara:
I wanted to go to Shimabara from Kumamoto, which is a ferry away. But I had to take the bus for 30 minutes to the ferry and I wasn’t sure what bus to take. I asked a woman for directions at the bus stop and she told me that some of the buses don’t go to the ferry and the next one would be in an hour from then, so she told me to get on the bus with her and she would drive me there. What?! I said ok, and followed her. She looked harmless enough. Watanabe-san was her name and she was 29 years old. She was born and raised in the town, Kumamoto, and has never been to another country. When we got off the bus, I paid only 170 yen, $1.70. If I took the bus to the ferry it would have cost about 400 yen, $4. I followed her, met her mother, and her 3 kids. She had her first kid when she was only 21 years old. Wow. That’s how old I am. She stuffed her 3 adorable kids in the backseat, told them to call me Big Sister Kaoru (Kaoru-oneechan) and drove about 30 minutes to the ferry. She waited until I bought the ticket to get on the ferry (680 yen, $6.80) and walked with me to where I was to get on the ferry. Then they all waited about 10 minutes watching me on the ferry, waving goodbye until it the ferry left. She was so nice. I was so lucky.

When I got to Shimabara I went to see the Nehan-zo. The 56 meter tall Buddha. I expected to see a standing Buddha and so when I got to the Shinto Shrine I was a bit confused. Where was this statue? I walked around and found a Buddha lying on his side. A woman walked in front of it and so I asked her if this was the infamous statue and she said yes and gave me a bit of a description. She explained that there were 3 stances: A standing Buddha, standing but one leg crossed over another Buddha, and a Buddha that is lying down. The last one symbolizes that the Buddha is close to death and knows this within himself. The Buddha was impressive from head to toe. The feet especially were unusually decorated in detail.

I then went to a place to eat some guzoni, Shimabara’s specialty dish. It’s a thick soup with veggies and some chicken and flattened mochi on top. It was pretty good and very filling, I’d get it again. I passed by Shimabara’s castle and hopped on the train to Nagasaki.

Nagaski:
I arrived at my hostel for the night when it was already dark. Some young Japanese people, one girl and two guys, were planning to head to an onsen. The guys were travelling Japan on their motorbikes and the girl was taking local trains for long lengths of time. I felt dirty from sweating all day in the strong sun so I decided to join them. The bus to get there was free and the outdoor onsen provided a nice view of the city. It was cheap because someone brought a coupon and so it was 490 yen for each of us ($4.90).

I also met a girl who was half Japanese and half American and she was raised in Japan. She was 18 years old and travelling alone. I thought it was funny because she seemed like my counterpart, how I would be like if I was raised in Japan. I took a picture and thought she might actually look more American than I do.

I was going back and forth on whether or not I should spend 2 nights in Nagasaki (so that I can spend the entire day there) and then head to Takasaki (Gunma Ken) to see my relatives, or spend half the day in Nagasaki and then head to Hiroshima and spend the night there. I eventually decided to go to Hiroshima as well because I found a cheap hostel (2500 yen, $25 a night). Also, once I get to Hiroshima, I’ll be 3 hours closer to my relatives in Takasaki and so instead of taking 9 hours to Takasaki from Nagasaki, it would take me 6 hours from Hiroshima.

I woke up around 7am the next day, pretty late for me. The first day I wake up past 5am. I left the hostel without even telling them I would leave so early in the morning, and there was no one at the front desk. I hopped on the train to the next town over, Urakami. On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped here. I walked around the site, the Peace Memorial Park (I think that’s what it was called) and saw all the donated statues from Nagasaki’s sister’s city (from countries all over the world). It was an encouraging sight.

I also went to the museum that displayed the horrors of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki during World War II. I was horrified by the raw images of dilapidated bodies burned to a crisp and images of young children who were to die soon after they survived the hell. Even now just thinking about it makes me want to cry. I was surrounded by waves of school children that touched and grabbed every item as they learned about their country’s past, and in a daze all I could do was stare past their energetic curiosity to the terrifying images. After about 30 minutes in that depressing hell, I felt like I couldn’t take it. I felt a bit dizzy and the heat from the rage that consumed me was radiating from my face. I wanted to escape. But, surprisingly, my rage was undirected. I was not angry toward the U.S. even though I read their mixed communications amongst each other that led to the fateful decision. It was a mistake with every one to blame (both sides), nonetheless, I’ll say that much. I left after about an hour. I don’t know how I survived.

Hiroshima (Miyajima):
I got on a train from Nagasaki during the day of Aug 28 to Hiroshima. I decided to go straight to Miyajima from the station and head to my hostel later, holding my heavy backpack and a small bag of my 4 days of then, dirty, sweaty clothes.

I took a ferry to get to Miyajima, and with my JR pass I didn’t pay for any transportation. Only the ferry to Miyajima is included in the tourist JR pass. Once I got to Miyajima, I bought black sesame soft cream (ice cream), my favorite flavor. I started walking toward the floating orange torii that I could see from a distance. On my way 2 friendly deer followed me because of my ice cream. Some people laughed and others warned that they jumped. I saw the deer walk into stores, and eat people’s maps. I put my backpack down for a second to take a picture and the deer ate my wet wipes, in the plastic package and everything. Some people seemed a bit scared of the deer, but after my previous experience with the horses and cows that almost ran me over/ate me, I just thought these deer were adorable. I went to the orange shrine on the island and spent my time taking pictures of the orange torii from different angles and deer.

I stayed for a night at the hostel in Hiroshima. The receptionist was such a cool person. Her name was Masako-san. She and I spoke on and off during the night and I was surprised how she was at speaking English. Our conversations jumped from Japanese, to English, to Japanese. She asked if I had facebook and tried desperately to find me, but because I guess I have private settings, she couldn’t find me. I eventually found her, and she left a nice message on my wall.

Most of the people in the hostel in Hiroshima were foreigners (not Japanese) and didn’t seem to take any interest in being social, so I stopped my inquisitive questioning. Out of the other 3 girls in my room, 1 was from Germany, 1 was from Malaysia, and one from Japan. The Japanese girl spoke to me at 5am, complimenting me on my Japanese, saying that when she first walked in she thought I was Japanese (a person from this country) and was surprised at how good my English was when I spoke to the other two people.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

August 26, 2009: In Aso Climbing Nakadake and Eboshidake- Seeing an Active Volcano for the First Time








































































































This was definately the best part of my entire week adventure:

Seems like everyday I wake up before the sun rises. I woke up to get on the 6:30am ferry from Sakurajima back to Kagoshima. Then I took a few trains and in a few hours, before 10am, I arrived in Aso (slightly north of the middle of Kyushu). I went to Aso to climb up and peer into an active volcano. Aso has about 5 volcanoes, and all but one are extinct.

Getting to the Camp Grounds:
When I arrived at Aso I was determined to stay at a youth hostel for one night that would cost me about 2450 yen, $24.50. As I walked up the big hill, there was a split in the road. There were two signs: Following the road about another 0.3 km I would bump into the hostel. Walking 1 km up into the woods would lead me to the Bochu camp grounds. When will be the next time I would have the chance to camp? And do it alone? I was thrilled by the idea of camping for the first time in the woods alone. 1 km is not that far, right? I walked for about 10 minutes straight uphill. Then another sign told me I’d have to walk another 0.8 km. I met an old woman on the way who was walking her 3 dogs. In Japanese she asked me where I was going, and I said to Bochu camp and I went on my way. The next incline was even worse and after walking about 7 minutes I reached a sign that said it was 0.7 km away. I couldn’t believe it, I thought I was at least halfway there or more. My North Face book-bag with my computer and etc and my smaller bag that I slung over my shoulder with a few days worth of clothes felt like it weighed a ton. I wanted to give up. I didn’t eat anything yet except for some caramels that I bought to give me some energy for the way there. Exhausted, I told myself I’ll just go to the youth hostel. I walked down hill and saw the old lady again, taking a smoke break. I told her I gave up because I still had 0.7 km and was thinking of staying at the youth hostel. The old lady told me that I was so close, that there’s a shortcut up ahead that you can cut thru and enter through the backdoor of the camp. Feeling encouraged and renewed I decided to suck it up and make my way there. I couldn’t find the way to the shortcut and on the way I thought I saw a camp site through the woods but thought I was delusional thru hunger and it disappeared after a few steps so I thought I must be crazy (I found out later that it was another camp site, which is closer. I should have went there!). So I walked up a steep incline for about 30 minutes, sun shining, humidity rising, with about 30 pounds or so on my back. When I finally found the place I was so happy. I didn’t make a reservation, but it’s a camp site in the middle of nowhere, so why would it be necessary? Later I found out that in the next few days he would not let people in unless they had a reservation. I was lucky.

Real Molten Lava Rocks:
The old man of the place helped me set up my tent and so now I know how to set one up! Thinking I might run out of time, I took the bus up to the volcanoes and decided I’ll walk back later. All I had on me was the really general map that the old man gave me. I climbed my way up to the Nakadake volcano which should take about 20 minutes, but took me much longer because I took a detour first to see the volcano from the side view and walk through the black volcanic ash. I picked up a few volcanic rocks that were red with black shiny crystals in them to give to my distant relatives as a present when I see them. I wanted to take more, but they were too heavy.

Peering into the Active Volcano:
I was thirsty throughout the whole day. No matter how much I drank, I was still thirsty. I slowly made my way to a huge crater of the Naka-dake volcano that looked fairly inactive but still such a sight. Then I made my way to the active crater. I peered inside and saw the volcanic gas rippling through the cracks and seams of a hot molten lake of blue-green lava (I expected red lava, but learned there are different types of volcanoes, and that Naka-dake is filled with different types of chemicals: calcium, sulfur, etc to give it that color). The rippling gas was mesmerizing and I think I watched it for about 20 minutes. It turned about and swerved and gathered in clumps as if it rehearsing a dance. I only wish I could have gotten closer.

Climbing an Extinct Volcano:
Afterwards I made my way to Eboshi-dake. It took about 30 minutes to walk to it from Naka-dake. 1337 meters high, it’s a lush and green extinct volcano. Beside Eboshi was a caldera lake and cows grazing freely. Words can’t even explain the scenic beauty of this place. I was spellbound. I couldn’t figure out where the trail started to climb Eboshi-dake. I asked a few people and followed a few others, but it only lead to a small hill in front of the extinct volcano that allowed you to take a nice picture. I asked a couple about how to climb it, and the girl was shocked because she didn’t think anyone could climb it. I finally found the path and thought I was running out of time so I ran up Eboshi-dake (I needed to get home before dark because I won’t be able to see anything; I didn’t have a flashlight). Usually it takes about 1 hour to climb and another hour to come down. I climbed up in about 40 minutes and came down in 35 minutes. It was so steep and slippery to get to the top and the trail was the narrowest trail I’ve ever climbed. On my way there were some unusual but pretty flowers and once I got to the top I was rewarded with views of the entire town from ever angle. From one angle I could see Naka-dake; another the caldera lake and other extinct volcanoes. From yet another angle I also saw the rolling hills of the town. All I had was a small lunch so the drink I bought full of electrolytes (Japanese version of Gatorade, I guess) for the climb definitely came through. I was so happy I scream “woo-hoo!” from the top of Eboshi-dake, but there was no one to hear me. Still, in this solitude, I found peace and joy. There were a few butterflies flying around me when I was at the top and one landed on this square white block that was in the ground (the old man at the camp told me there were only 10 of them in the area).

Climbing down was another story. I tried to go as fast as I could and slipped in the muddy dirt, but thankfully I didn’t slip off of the side of the cliff. Going back to the camp was another story. I tried to find the short-cut, hiking trail but I couldn’t find it so I walked all the way back to Naka-dake and asked some people (but it was past 5pm and very few people were there). They gave me some directions about where the trail started (they said there was a gate and cows), but they told me that it’s a forbidden trail because it’s dangerous and no one is allowed to go through it. I forgot to ask why it was dangerous, and the old guy at the camp recommended it. I only had about 2 hours before it would become dark and taking the normal road would take definitely more than 2 hours so I told them I had no choice and hurriedly went on my way.

Cow Territory:
I didn’t realize it was through the grazing cows. I thought it was someone’s ranch and thought I wasn’t supposed to go through the gate. The old man at the camp said there were 5 gates. I climbed over the first one and walked fast. Why didn’t the old man tell me it was through the cows? These cows had horns sticking out of their head; some were caramel colored, and some black. Some had bigger horns than others (and thinking about how male lions with the darkest manes are the most aggressive, I was slightly scared). The road stunk of cow dung and the cows just pooped mounds of it wherever they pleased. I couldn’t find the second gate and I already walked about an hour. It was 6:30pm or so and I was worried because it would get dark in about an hour then I would be screwed and have to sleep in the cow dung road in the middle of nowhere. I walked through one road and saw a dead end. Where the hell was I supposed to go?! There was no one around to ask. I didn’t have a cell phone. There were no pay phones. I didn’t see people, or cars, and truly felt alone and lost. The people at Naka-dake told me it was over the mountains and I thought I might have to climb the mountains but there were no roads to climb over it so I was so confused. I couldn’t walk back now, there was no time, and probably no one would be there. I used the wrappers from my caramels earlier as trail markers in case I took a wrong road and couldn’t find my way back. If I had skittles it might have worked better as trail markers but then again, the cows might have eaten them. I took one wrong road for about 20 minutes and lost some time because of that. Many times the cows stopped grazing and stared at me. I didn’t know what to do and they just kept mooing loudly. They wouldn’t get out of my way and if I made a sudden movement they bolted. I was scared they might bolt and run me over. So I tried to walk by as slowly as I could, walking around the cows. At one point 4 black cows bolted right in front me across the lawn. Then I walked by and was surround by about 8 cows staring at me as I walked, their heads turning as I made my way across. I thought they were going to gang up on me and butt me with their horns and thought I was going to die. I was so scared. When I finally passed the cows I saw the town below me from far. The houses were so far away, I couldn’t tell if they were parked cars in a really big parking lot or people or buildings. I swear I was delusional. The sky was turning orange and I was so afraid I’d be alone with the cows in the dark. There was not a person in sight, and I was afraid I would die there. No one knew where I was and there were no phones. I didn’t have anything useful on me, not even a sweater. I was wearing a t-shirt, spandex pants, and shorts on top and it was getting cold. I imagined the worst and with tears swelling up in my eyes, I almost cried. I kept telling myself even if I am going the wrong way, people are straight ahead and I have to make it to that town before dark and ask for help. I prayed loudly as my voice struggled to keep steady. I was on the verge of crying. I was talking to myself, telling myself I’ll be okay, that I won’t die if I keep walking fast.

Horses telling me I’m Delicious:
I finally found the second gate. I jumped over it and kept walking determined to find my way back. I found the third gate soon after the second, and hesitated. I thought that after the cows, I’d be in the clear. I saw a ranch of horses and 3 of them were by the gate. Two huge ones came closer to the gate as they saw me and started licking and smacking their lips. They were nudging the gate, trying to open it, and I felt scared again. They looked like they wanted to take a bite of me! So I decided to walk around the gate, into the grass and weeds. A few steps and I was up to my thighs in the weeds, a few more and it went up to my neck. I thought it would be hopeless.

On either side of the gate were a few rusted poles and barbed wire. I decided that I’d be better off climbing that than getting eaten by horses. I climbed one rusty pole and realized it wasn’t sturdy at all and slipped off. Luckily I already had my tetanus shot. I climbed in between two poles for support, but got caught by some barbed wire close to the ground. I finally quietly jumped over, and walked around the horses. A few of the smaller horses saw me and galloped toward me. Why me? I walked around the horses and jumped over the fourth gate. I couldn’t find the fifth. Did I miss one? I finally hit a road and I saw the camp in the distance to the right. But the road curved into the left and it was the only road. I was a bit confused and tired from all the heart-attacks I incurred throughout the day from the close encounters from all the wild animals. I was sick of walking and the sun was setting. I saw a car and pretended to ask for directions. They gave me a lift for 5 minutes. That was the first time I hitchhiked. But, I didn’t mean to: the thing is, I didn’t ask them to drive me, I wanted to make sure I was heading in the right direction and was just asking for directions. But, deep down inside I was hoping they would pick me up because it was already about 7:30pm and would get really dark really soon.

Back at camp:
I was happy to get back to camp. Most people come by car and set up camp on the site right next to their car. There were only about 4 other people there. I convinced the old man from the camp to let me use his personal shower because I fell in mud earlier and walked in cow dung all day. He told me not to tell anyone I used his shower. Feeling refreshed I had some blueberry ice cream for dinner that I bought from the camp. They didn’t have much of a selection, and the nearest food store was about 30 minutes on a road in pitch black darkness. I wasn’t that hungry anyway. I didn’t have a sleeping bag or any equipment, so I borrowed one blanket for 150 yen, $1.50. I spoke to the camp guy for about an hour. He was happy that I wasn’t like some of his previous customers. He told me that people from France are the rudest people. And that he practices a martial art to defend himself against them. One time he punched a customer in the ribs and he has these metal pronged dull round-tipped knives to defend himself if necessary. He’s also a parasailing instructor. He was quite interesting. And told me when I have the chance to come back.

I didn’t think it would get so cold, but during the night I almost froze to death. I should’ve borrowed 3 blankets. I wore all my clothes that I brought with me and wrapped myself up in the blanket and used my bag for a pillow and still was so cold I couldn’t sleep. I woke up about every hour until 5am. Around 1am I woke up cold, with a headache and took some Tylenol to sleep.

Goodbye Aso and Hellish Night:
I then woke up at 5am to head to my next destination, Kumamoto, slightly southwest of where were currently were. When I woke up, the guy who slept in his car that night was awake as well. I was surprised that someone else would be awake so early. He asked me of my plans and was shocked to hear I would walk to the train station from there and offered to drive me to Kumamoto because he was going in that direction anyway. Why not, I was tired of walking. Since I had some more time, he suggested I slowly get ready and eat breakfast. I told him I didn’t have any food, but that it was ok because I wasn’t hungry anyway. Packing up my clothes and getting ready, the guy came over to my tent with bread and coffee. The coffee was hot and I was so happy. I thanked him for the coffee and food. He asked how I slept, I said horribly because I was freezing cold. He was surprised that I didn’t have any equipment; he thought the tent was mine and I had a sleeping bag. If I was cold, he said I should have told him and he would have given me some blankets, because he has extra. I said I didn’t want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night and just sucked it up.

It definitely was an experience. Now I know better.

It should’ve taken 1.5 hours to drive to Kumamoto, but we took the scenic route so it took a little more than 2 hours. The guy, Arikawa-san, 42 years old (I swear you can’t guess a Japanese person’s age), told me he went to Doshisha University (the University I will attend for a semester here in Japan) but dropped out because it didn’t fit him and transferred to a different school. He told me he likes camping so he drove to Aso to camp the night and is meeting his wife and 10 year old daughter in a town above Kumamoto for his daughter’s musical performance/recital. He was happy I could speak Japanese. He thought if he gave me a ride and I couldn’t speak Japanese that it would be difficult. Also, he told me he spoke to the old man at the camp the night before and the old man at the camp said I was a good person. I got a recommendation! This was the second time I hitchhiked. Wow. Didn’t think I would do that in Japan. I don’t think I should tell my grandma.