November
November was an interesting month packed with a variety of activities. To start the month I was invited by one of the 3 bosses at the board of education for a sleepover at his house. Konno-san lives about 20 minutes away in a modest place out in the middle of the rice fields. He has about 5 head of cattle and a bunch of rice fields around him that he manages. When he invited me in October he told me I could bring some friends if I wanted, and with him not speaking any English and my Japanese choppy and basic at best I sent out an invitation to the local JETs around me, but alas, no takers. He picked me up at 3:00 from my house and showed me some good backroads out to his town (Semine). We dropped off my stuff and sat for a bit enjoying some coffee and sembei (rice crackers) as is custom here in Japan. Then we were off to pay a visit to a local wetland area that was currently host to a ton of migratory birds. We arrived there as the sun was beginning to set, so all the birds were cruising in from their daily exploring to share about their adventurous day, where they had found some great food, bragging about how great they looked, and calling out trying to find their best friends and snuggle buddies. The rice fields were a cacophony of sound which was very welcome to my ears since it seems there aren’t as many birds vocalizing here as much as they do around my house in Portland. Being around the wetlands made me think about my dad, Bob, and I heard him next to me identifying birds and noting behavior. He would have liked it there. Konno-san told me that 10 years before the wetlands had been rice fields and they brought back a chunk of the native land for the birds. I was very happy to hear this since it is pretty much agreed that Japan’s native wildlife and natural areas have been all but wiped out. Japan is so small and packed with so many people that every inch of land that can be cultivated for food is. The native forests have all been replaced with a monoculture of this one type of cedar tree that 60% of the population is allergic to (including me), and walking through these forests with the neighbor dog I have notice that indeed, these, too are silent with the lack of wildlife. Anyway, after the wetlands we headed to the local onsen for a bath and then back to Konno-san’s place for a feast of yakiniku (yaki=grilled, niku=meat), sake and beer. He had purchased all this food for me an my friends but, of course, it was only me so he called up some of his neighbors and they dropped by and helped us with the food. It was a grand time, and after a few beers we were all communicating with gusto! In the morning I had a horrible hangover… shouldn’t have had the few cups of sake that I did, and went for a walk to get some air. Despite my pounding headache in the barren rice fields at 6 AM, I was still able to admire the beauty of the low mist creeping through the rice fields around hugging the surrounding hills. I noticed an object in the sky and to my amazement it was a hot air balloon. At first there was only one, but soon others floated up from the mist and with the birds quacking and squaking, the cows mooing, and the dog barking at the crack of dawn in Japan, well it made for a very surreal moment that I absolutely loved. Usually with a hangover like that one I can’t eat till dinnertime, but after Konno-san’s wife insisting that I drink some clam-in-the-shell miso soup I felt amazingly better and was chowing down one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in Japan; the aforementioned soup, a grilled chunk of fresh salmon, some sushi slabs over a mound of mountain potatoes, and handful of mini shrimp over some steamed collard greens, and of course a bowl of fresh (shinmai=this year’s harvest) steamed rice and green tea. Absolutely scrumptious and healthy. After coffee, Konno-san dropped me off at home where I took a nap and read a book. I must mention that is has been the few experiences like these that haven been the richest in my time here in Japan. Hanging with the locals and doing what they do is so insightful and rewarding. I continually find myself humbled by the Japanese- not purposefully of course, but it’s my own awareness humbling my own self/ego. After these times I am reminded why I am here, and the amazing rewards of traveling. What an amazing time. Konno-san had a good time, too and wants to have me back again before I go.