Backlog 2: Japan Gozaimas

Ｈｅｌｌｏ，　ｍａｎｙ　ｋｏｎｉｃｈｉｗａｓ　ｔｏ　ｙｏｕ　ａｌｌ　ａｎｄ　ｇｏｚａｉｍａｓ　ｉｎｄｅｅｄ．　

We're in Japan, for those of you who didnt recognize my fluent Japanese greeting, and it appears to be quite a lovely place. We spent about a day in the giant hive of humanity that is Tokyo and then whisked ourselves off to Hokkaido and spent a few days cruising around through national parks in hunt of Higumi, "the most fierce brown bear on Hokkaido", whose picture we see everywhere with little to no explanation of who this predator is and why he's so famous. I think he's like a mascot, but maybe he's a real bear and a real killer. Who knows. We tried to find out about Higumi , but nobody really spoke English, although people did try very hard to explain things to us in Japanese long after it became clear that we didnt understand a damn thing they were saying and just wanted to be left in peace with our quiet confusion. Kind of like Kate talking to Wookie; really no comprehension taking place, but a fun activity nonetheless.

Anyway the national parks were beautiful but not in any particularly noteworthy way. The really cool part about the trip so far has been the glorious little ritual of the japanese bath, of which we have partaken on several occasions in several different spots. It's fun: you put on a kimono provided by your hotel and some little slippers and you go up the 13th floor or whatever floor is bath floor, and you take off your kimono (and slippers. so you could say that we're seeing a lot of japan, while at the same time japan is also seeing quite a lot of us) and sit on little plastic stools and clean yourself thoroughly with a hand held shower head, and then you and a bunch of nice japanese ladies soak in hot thermal baths ranging in temperature and mucky mineral content until you're body overheats and you start to get dizzy, and then you go back and dry off and put on your kimono and leave. but the greatest part is that you don't actually have to put real clothes on again after that--they let you walk around town in your bath kimono! so after dinner and bathtime, the whole town prances around in their various kimonos and the shops stay open late and it feels kind of like summer camp or a costume party, maybe a little of both. there's a bond created there, that's for sure.

after hokkaido we took a horrible smoky overnight train back to tokyo and met aunt debbie, rejuvenated in the calming haven of the hilton, and then set off south. We spent a night in a gorgeous old historic hotel where john lennon liked to go and then made our way to Kyoto, where we find ourselves now, just back in after a night wandering around in the rain in the geisha quarter and serendipitously stumbling into the most adorable restaurant in japan (someone in our party, could have been anyone, just absolutely could not go a step further without a nice glass of white wine, which is how we found ourselves plunging blindly into an alleyway where a sign that said "BAR" may or may not have been pointing) it was a french place where we sat at the counter and made friends with the four japanese chefs who made magic happen with prosciutto and chocolate cake, which is obviously what we had for dinner. one order of prosciutto, six glasses of wine, and two orders of chocolate cake. oh and a mango mousse for our fruit/vegetable course. for a healthy and balanced diet.now we're back in our traditional japanese inn, where we sleep on futons arranged on the tatami mats on the floor like a trio of sardines wrapped in tissue paper and stuffed into a cardboard box. like a slumber party, kind of.

and tomorrow: buddhas.

that s all, time for bed.