About half way through the shinkansen ride to Nagano prefecture I started to get the first stirrings of nostalgia. It wasn't the first class accommodation I was enjoying as the train hurtled through tunnels and cuttings with barely a quiver, as the bullet train track to Ueda and surrounds didn't exist until the Nagano Olympics in 1998. Instead, it was the increasing familiarity I felt with the countryside; the stripped and dusted trees, the emergence of snow drifts at intervals beside the tracks and the quick glimpses of gleaming white mountain tops. When the train made a brief stop at Karuizawa, one of my former stomping grounds, in fact a great couple of days were had at a Santana concert on the ski slopes in the summer of '86, my journey back to 1986 was complete. Or, so I thought!
Walking out to greet my friend and mentor of 30 years hence, Hiromi, was another trip. After a quick hug, it was straight to business...., "Do you mind if I make a brief stop?", an oft-heard refrain from decades past, usually on the way home from a hard day's work. As I should have guessed, we needed to stop in at a business or two where I was roped into service to provide the professional face and an example of the teachers who may be provided for further teaching. It wasn't all business though, as she kindly drove me around the old neighbourhood, including further afield to Sakaki, Nezumi-jo, Togura and Kamiyamada.
It was bitter sweet to visit a couple of places. My dear old farmhouse succumbed to the beckoning of developers and has been transformed into a quite uninspiring set of apartments, but the neighbouring houses have so far survived intact. My much loved yakitori bar/ restaurant was still there, but the truck-stop ramen house now sells ice-creams! The other big blow was to find the riverside Togura machi bathhouse, where I became the mate and mascot for a local Yakuza gang, had been blown away to be replaced by a gleaming new edifice: at least they're still using the same gurgling water source!
Due to train out the next day, I got a surprise when Hiromi contacted the hotel and wanted me to play Santa visiting some pre-schools the next day. My initial thought was , "No way!" , but then I re-considered....will there be another chance to do this in the back-blocks of Japan? Probably not, so just do it! As many of Hiromi's plans always were, the end result was a little muddled! The original Santa had arrived despite late calls suggesting he have a rest, so I was relegated to a rather form-fitting reindeer suit. Incredible hilarity ensued and we visited various pre-schools, starting with tiny babies and culminating in a raucous and fun-filled gig in a hall of 300 strong 5-6 year olds. I went a little nuts and thoroughly entertained the kids with dances and songs and high-fives all round. I'm glad I wasn't the teacher calming them down after we left!
I was making bookings each night online with my phone as the next day panned out, so when I arrived back in Tokyo, I went back to the same tiny, but functional and clean hotel about a kilometre from Tokyo Station in Kyobashi. It was stroll from the glitzy shopping haunts of Ginza, so was an interesting area. I ended up revisiting some remembered sights from decades past and they were much the same as I remembered. The buzz of Shinjuku was constant and exciting if not a little enervating. I was always keen to find some solace from the human press in a series of delightful little cafes, each with their own quirkiness. As always, greeted with a beaming smile, a piping hot wet towel and a glass of water before even ordering were little nuances that made everything feel familiar and nostalgic. The wait staff always approached with some trepidation and it was always fun to put them at their ease by launching into some Japanese ordering. The same could be said for the patient and incredible staff at the JR shinkansen booking centres: despite that they advertise that everyone now speaks English (!), it was fun to disarm them by doing all the bookings entirely in Japanese...there was always a palpable relief!
To wander aimlessly in Tokyo for a couple of days was an exciting option. As I flashed by rail pass constantly in and out of stations, I was glad to have made the call to buy it. Apart from the shinkansens all over the country, the regular trains and ferries and some buses were included as well. I went to the Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace and bustling hubs of Yoyogi, Harajuku and Shibuya. I stuck my head up in the dazzling electronic din of Akihabara before quickly descending down into the subway again. I caught trains at rush hour and had the "joy" of being pushed into carriages by white gloved station attendants...once you're in, there's no need to hang on to anything...the sardines just slightly sway in their can!
I saw modern changes. The bookstore is not dead or dying in Japan, it just seems to be growing larger...yes!! I went to one in Shinjuku that occupies seven entire floors of a building! Not only that, but retailing super centres don't seem to be suffering the same threats from online purchasing that they do in other places in the world. I went past the biggest outlets of various stores and brands that I have ever seen, and they were all packed...Cass would have been jealous of the Uniqlo!
The main things remained the same, however. Despite the incredible crowds and mass of humanity, people are polite and delightful to a fault...it's a remarkable national sensitivity that is a jewel of their society. Food, largely, remains exactly the same too: when something's not broke, why fix it I suppose? People were stylishly dressed in a muted palette and there was an incredible silence to the streets....even traffic seemed determined to be polite and unremarkable!
I traveled to Yokohama by local express train on my last night in Tokyo to meet up again with Sachiko Nakayama, my erstwhile companion and friend of 30 years ago, who has been married to Canadian Christopher for nearly that same amount of time and living in various spots around Asia, mainly following his work opportunities. She met me at the station and proceeded to show me the marvels of the Yokohama waterfront precinct, which has been rebuilt with much flair and pizazz. They've bought a unit in Yokohama and plan to live there for some time to come. We wandered through the restored harbour buildings, now housing galleries and restaurants, before we ourselves settled harbourside at an Italian restaurant. It was probably best that Cass and Chris weren't with us as we just reminisced about places, events and of course our own family and friends that we were both aware of. A lot of the time was spent reminding each other of certain people, reactions and events....it took a while, but we got there! It was a lovely evening and despite a wild waterside squall which blew out both our umbrellas on the way back to the station and gave us a quick drenching when it blew up quite violently, we were both pleased to catch up.
Early the next day, the shinkansen again beckoned and I was whisked further down the island to Kyoto. I'd "cleverly" booked a hotel about a kilometre from the station on the wrong side of town but had a bit of trouble finding it! When I did, the Anteroom Kyoto lived up to expectations. Its cavernous spaces were littered with art installations and stand alone pieces, with quirky items everywhere to be seen. The room itself was pretty basic, but you couldn't fault the lead-in. Another thing I couldn't fault was the availability of a slick Louis Garneau pushbike for use around the city. Despite inclement weather and intermittent showers, I set off, armed with an umbrella unfurled as I rode and got to visit at least 4 of the big temples and shrines with a few smaller hidden gems discovered in between.
I visited a temple we'd never been to before, a five tiered pagoda most impressive, whose name escapes me at this moment! (The To-ji temple thanks to google!) I powered round the city streets and across railway crossings, keeping the revs up high to counteract the falling temperatures as the rain dissipated and the sleet appeared. It's always so peaceful to be in the presence of such majestic structures and the grounds just drip with ancient beauty, trees propped and fortified against time and spaced so carefully to inspire grander and more peaceful thoughts at every turn. I wandered out again in the evening to again enjoy the ambiance of the frenetic holiday shopping in the covered arcades around 3rd and 5th streets in the main town.
Unfortunately, I boarded my last shinkansen of the trip the following day, after an express train from Kyoto to Shin Osaka. It was a little sad: I'd become very used to this amazing transport over the past week or so and was going to miss all the style, speed, luxury and convenience of super rapid transit, as it just always gets better and better in Japan. A few short hours later we glided into the hub of Fukuoka, Hakata Station. My hotel was just a few gates, corridors and underground malls away from the station and it was tiny and functional but very slick. The bonus was its own dedicated, brand new onsen on the ground floor. The Japanese bath house was modern and stylish and very large. It had all the traditional elements with a few nods to modern conveniences (even showers for those who don't like/can't use the stool and bucket method of washing.)
I spent the next day and a half re-visiting some of the precincts of Fukuoka that I'd seen before and discovering a slew of new sights. One reason I was able to spread my wings a little more was of course, time, but also a better negotiation of the very adequate subway system. The city has a few intersecting lines which cleverly weave their way through the main districts. I ate in a recommended ramen restaurant, Ippudo, before sampling some late night, piping hot from the grill, chicken yakitori at a bustling and noisy izakaya I stumbled upon in some back street or other. I managed to slake some thirst for the local brews too, of course!
I arranged through a series of messages to meet Gurecki at the downtown Tenjin bus station early the next afternoon. Despite his slightly misleading directions (leading me to the wrong building for starters!) I was easily able to find his arrival hall and we proceeded to enjoy a most raucous and entertaining afternoon and evening while sampling all that is good in food and beer in this fine city. We moved from venue to venue and it was fun for him to again break our hard and fast beer ordering rules and be slightly chagrined: the trouble was, though, that he was so cautious not to be caught out again that I had a full beer for the rest of the evening whether I liked it, or wanted it, or not! We managed to have a really good catch up on recent news and of course, it was really easy and entertaining for us to both have a chat and relax. After a meal out at a special restaurant, we taxied back to the bus station before he was on his way back to Nagasaki.
As I caught the subway and shuttle bus to the airport the next morning, it was quite poignant to begin to process all that I'd seen and heard and done. I must say I don't really recommend such a strange rediscovery tour after three decades away. Despite some aspects being quite joyous and spectacular, it was also a canvas of disappointment, especially seeing things and people gone, and places not quite as romantically painted as you'd like to recall them. This is interesting. One thing that did resonate with me, however, is the strongest feeling of the lot. Almost as if I wasn't really involved in the decision making, things occurred in my life a few decades back and I'm still benefiting from those choices to this day. Thankyou my much missed partner of the last couple of weeks who has stuck around for those three decades and more....!
Here are more photos....
P.S. I got a great book in that seven story book store in Shinjuku: Ian Rankin with Rebus out of retirement....exciting!