Stories of Japan (part one)

I am seated in a cosy place that acts as the central office of a youth hostel in Yokohama. I just found out that it is the second biggest city of Japan but nevertheless I liked the name. Behind me are some eight people sitting, some in suits, others are casually dressed women. One men is speaking most of the time and occasionally an older women adds some clarifications to his English. Government, justice, prison, money, privacy, clans, organisations, crime, social workers and safety are some of the words out of their conversation. The topic is related to maffia and breaking the cycle of crime. Only after a while they ask themselves in what place they are: the lobby of the youth hostel. One of the foreigners (US) is staying here. With curiosity they ask where I am from.
Maffia is definitely an actual topic here in Japan. The sound of police sirenes attracts with some fear in the eyes, the company behind me. The third time I come accross this topic, every time in very unexpected circumstances. Those men with one missing finger have been seen before also by a lifesaver from New Zealand and a priest from Signapore that I met on my way in Japan.
The sirene comes from the fire brigade. Someone was cooking fish. The Italian guy next to me refers to suchimi ...raw fish.

I just arrived this morning here in Yokohama where I said "have a good trip" to my friend Brent. He is flying back to New Zealand. His plane is right now on the way to its `right` altitude to fly for 11 hours to Auckland. I find myself in the middle of Japan which also means all options are accessible. A nice feeling when nothing is decided yet. I could go to Tokyo to meet Sam, my former neighbour, I could go to Gifu where Ciera my American sister used to live for two years, back to Kobe for a party with the friends of the Peace Forest or maybe I head towards Hokkaido. The future again is something I can not talk about. I have no plans. The only thing I can say is that I became a member of Wwoof Japan and read today about possible places to work for food and accomodation. I have always liked moments and places that have doors to many opportunities. I often saw my studies like that, as wide as possible ...

So back to the past. The first glimpse I have of Japan are forests and mountains. Already from the boat I saw that these are `new` forests. Just different then any I saw before. The big bamboo trees continue to surprise me untill today. Japan has almost 75% of land covered with forest and mountains. The huge population of over 127 million people lives very packed on the resting 25% mostly along the coast. The cities are big, the houses stand so close to one another that when your neighbour opens the door you think he is standing next to your bed. Trains run sometimes just two meter from the kitchen windows of the small and modest houses that I would stamp with an seventies or eighties character. The building materials are ugly and useful wins over beauty. Something that can not be said about the people and the food. I find Japanese people to be very beautiful and I like the clothing style. Boots stiffed with lam wool though don`t seem to be very useful when it is 30 degrees! And the food mmmmm ... probably impossible to write about but in terms of beauty Japanese food ranks the highest so far! And yes also in terms of tasty or "o-ishee" it is top class. Just imagine a very big smile on my face because the tastes are heavenly! Unfortunately I do not know what I have eaten. I forget the difficult names which results in trying new things all the time because I do not manage to order my favourites. I have been eating in great and beautiful restaurants, on my knees, without shoes, in small rooms, with two people and with 15 people ...the culinary experience is for sure a great part of travelling. Mmmm indeed what have I been doing one month in Japan? Eating a lot. The few kilo`s I lost on my way here have been added again. My chopsticks skills have improved and surprised many Japanese. A bony fish is almost no problem and when offered a fork and spoon I ask for the chopsticks ...feels easier ..mmm.

I met Carina in the end of September in Kobe where she joined me for a charity concert in a beautiful wooden Sake Brewery. Present where many people I knew like two beautiful Japanese children that I gave a bath the evening before and a man that had a typed letter for me about his research on working on a farm in Hokkaido. She asked me how it all started. I realised it is a long story but one that still amazes me a lot.

Carina and I arrived on September the third in Shimonoseki. I hear voices at the crossroads "please wait" Carina translates. I pass a thing called Pachinko which is present even in the smallest village in Japan ..the game-places that make a tremendous noice, full of machines and screens that are obviously unhealty for eyes and brains and filled with different kinds of people you would not immediately associate with such places. Parking lots are crowded and people wait even early in the morning for the opening doors. Crazy, simply crazy! Soon I also touch the `new` trees and happily visit a temple that has not turned into a tourist attraction. Hitching in Japan went easily and Carina and I camped with fire at a beach north of Shimonoseki. At night the jellyfish in the Japanese sea gave me a still lasting obsession with these spooky animals. I remember seeing very very big ones from the boat to Japan and just would not like to feel their stings again. Japan is a country of golf. I didn`t know and smiled at a man who was playing golf with the sea (or with someone in Chine) on a pier. Driving in Japan you often pass places that look like huge birdcages and are heavily lighted in the evening. On several floors people practice their golf skills. Real golf courses you hardly see.
The next day we end up in Kyoto. There is no particular reason. It is late and the temple where we are dropped is closed. We found a great spot in a park to sleep. Public toilets are everywhere in Japan and they are almost 95% equipped with toilet paper, sometimes even folded in a triangle like in luxury hotels ...great for travellers like me. I like it. In the morning I am surprised by the clean water that runs through the park in small rivers. I can`t remember seeing such clean streams in any European city. It was our last morning together. Around 13.00 Carina hitches alone to Osaka to the place she will be living for four months. And me ...I walk on my way ... Next to eating always comes the question of sleeping, sometimes this question arises late but that afternoon on the September the 5th was different. I was about to start a `relatively long term` stay in Japan ...I would work somewhere as life is expensive. I had 30.000 Yen (about 180 euro) and kind of thought I should be able to live from this in Japan, meaning all other necessary cash would need to be earned. So I find my way to international community houses to collect too many papers; information about hostels, work, volunteers teaching English. I explained to the friendly staff: " I want to find a home, a job and actually first of all I would like to find an intensive language course". The summercourses are over ... I take a bus to another International house for more detailed information on language courses. I ended up in Kyoto and not knowing anything about Japan there was no reason to choose any particular `other` place to start my new life. I walk and when I approach the place in a nice and quiet area I hear music. A violin. I see tables and chairs outside on the square in front of the big building I intended to enter. I never did. Two Japanese ladies invite me to sit down. I place in silence my backpack against the wall and take a seat in the front. I smile. It sounds beautiful. I receive a press release telling me more about the man playing barefooted on his violin. David Juritz, an international violinist who left his work for a trip around the world. Busking for the support of music projects. After the concert, of which I only heared the last 10 minutes ...what if I had arrived 15 minutes later ... I talk to the company and introduce myself as a collegue, but only for the travelling part. I buy the cd. One of the ladies speaks fluent English and invites me to come along ..I did not have any concrete plans, no booking for a youth hostel ...nothing planned so I say: "Yes, I would love to". Soon I find myself listening to David`s next concert and Michiko, the Japanese lady, invited me to go with her to Kobe after we had a great Japanese dinner. She could host me.

This cosy place where some girls are talking on the background is about to close. I realise the Japanese sounds already very familiar to me, like Estonian or Russian did ... I enjoy the sounds.