Nojiri - July 21~25

The last leg of our trip was the most relaxing.  We joined Joy’s family at their Nojiri Lake cabin.  Nojiri is nestled in the mountains, across Honshu (the skinny way) from Tokyo, not too far from the Japan Sea.  It’s a place my parents took our family a couple of times when I was very young, about 7 and 8.  My memories of it were vague, but fond.  Many of my friends grew up going there regularly, so I also feel a little connected to it through their stories, too.

Joy’s husband, Yuichi, came to Tokyo so he could drive us all back to Nojiri on Saturday morning.  We arrived about noon, settled into the cabin, felt ourselves embraced all around by gentle nature and surrendered to relaxation until we had to tear ourselves away on Wednesday morning.

Let me summarize...

~A beautiful mountain setting, lush forest and a warm (by NW standards), inviting lake.

~Cool air, rain on the roof, sunshine.

~Good company, warm & generous hospitality (perhaps a second family?), and new friends.

~Long, luxuriant home-cooked dinners, good soba and great sushi.

~Games, darts, music, sake, talking, laughing, swimming day & night, hanabi (fire crackers), ping pong, trampoline, long walks.

~Morning ofuro (bath) with a fabulous view.

~St. Cousair Winery & exotic sorbet.

~Artist town of Obuse with galleries (including Yuichi’s workshop & showroom) and gardens.  Did I mention that Yuichi is a sculptor?

~Ninja School.  Really.  Well, it was.  Now it’s sort of an obstacle course/amusement park for kids, young and old.

Julia’s observation on Wednesday morning, as we were packing up to return to Tokyo, reflected my feelings as well.  “I’m so happy we’re going home tomorrow but I just hate leaving!”

Here are a few photos from our time at Nojiri.

Here’s hanging out with the family:

Darts

Here’s the lake and surroundings:

Activities:

St. Cousair Winery:

Obuse Gardens & Studio:

Meiko & Joy

Yuichi in His Sculpting Studio

Ninja School:

First of all, let me introduce:  The Chibi-Ninja (Mini-Ninjas)
Hmmm.  Do you think this would be allowed in the US?

Chibi--Ninja prancing on a roof, no less!

Class Picture (of the survivors)

Bigger Ninja.  Costumes not compulsory.

I love it... Ninja Slalom.
I overheard a conversation.  Visitor: I see you've put in tracks for the slalom.  There didn't used to be any.
Ticket Taker:  Yeah, we had to.  There were just too many injuries without them.

This is the only one where there is actually sort of a net below.

Hiding Gate

Shuriken

Crazy Girls

Tippy Room where the ball rolls up the upper bannister.
Not sure what the purpose is... To practice sideways walking?

And that’s a wrap for Nojiri.  On Wednesday we took the train back to Tokyo and prepared for our Thursday departure for Japan.

Before my final reflections, though, I’m going to post a number of sets of photos that I can’t resist sharing, but haven’t found a way to incorporate so far.  Please indulge me!

Coffee, Tea & History - July 20

We went to my old high school today.  But first we saw a Starbucks at Ueno station, and for the second time this trip, I succumbed.  I just HAD to have a nice, big, hot, milky latte to hold and suck down my gullet!!!  And now I will take this opportunity to clamber aboard a small soap box and gripe about some pet peeves in Japan, having to do with beverages.  Hot beverages, in particular. Lots of very delicious and good quality teas and coffee are available.  However, there are rarely any hot beverages available without caffeine.  (Unfortunately, caffeine and I don’t get along well.)  A couple of kinds of tea maybe, but they’re not always available.  No decaf coffee in restaurants or convenience stores or grocery stores, that I could find.  Not even instant.  Also, the portions are small.  Generally, they are served in small cups, and the cups are only filled about 2/3 full.  And they tend to charge quite a bit for these delicate tastes of good quality coffee.  And there are no refills.  It’s sort of a small thing, overall, but having a nice big mug of hot steamy, creamy decaf is a huge source of comfort in my life.  Basically, I've had to do Japan without my blankie.  Hence, the stop at Starbucks.  Okay, I’ll stop whining now.

It was rainy and as cooperative as she’d been throughout the trip, Julia wasn’t much in the mood to do Mom’s memory lane thing today.  So it was quick, but that was enough.  We got a bit tangled up getting from the Higashi Kurume station to campus, as the entire station and surrounding area has been rebuilt and I couldn’t tell which side of it I was on.  

Higashi Kurume Station

View from Higashi Kurume Station

But eventually we found our way.  I knew there’d been some changes on campus, but it was disorienting at first.  Once at the center, it looked quite familiar again.  The former dormitories are all gone and there’s a new gym where the girls dorms used to be.  But the main high school/admin building, the chapel, cafeteria and play field are all still there.  I just stood there and looked around.  It all seemed so small.  I don’t think I’ve grown that much since high school, so I’m not sure what that’s about.  I spent most of three years of my life in that little space in and between those buildings.  Wow.  I was tickled to see that Shimizu’s store was still there next to campus and still run by the same people.  As was the farmer’s field between them and the school.  

View from Corner of Shimizu's across the Field to Campus
Building Visible is the New Gym (Where Girls' Dorms Use to Be)

Side of the New Gym and "Face" of the School

High School & Administration Building

Chapel

Garden Area & Expanded Parking Lot
(There Used to be a Boys' Dorm Back There Somewhere)

Class of '69 Benches
(Hey Phil, They're Still There!)

Cafeteria

Play Field

Shimizu Store from Campus

That was it.  It was fun to see again and then I was done.  Very uncomplicated; almost surprisingly so.  Maybe I’m just too far from those days; or maybe I’ve really worked through most of the issues pertaining to boarding school; or maybe what’s important in the end is the relationships, and I still have many of those which have evolved along with me, so I can let the past be the past.  I don’t really know.  I just know I enjoyed seeing it again, and that I feel content.

That afternoon we spent some time at Tokyo National Museum, which was a first for me.  Although it wasn’t really Julia’s cup of tea, she humored me.  In some ways, we just scratched the surface, but I found it amazing in terms of Japan’s artistic history.

After dinner, Julia & I discovered a Japanese sweets shop just around the corner from our hotel.  That’s another passion we share!