Japan-itis

One of my most recent loves in life is Japan. I went to visit in summer 2009 and spent some time with an Irish friend that now lives outside of Tokyo. It was one of my most inspiring trips. Japan is a very aesthetic country with one of the friendliest peoples I have encountered. Everything about Japan breaths cultured ambiance. I initially flew into Tokyo to meet up with a small group of Irish people now living there. I was initially struck by the small proportions of everything, from cars to the size of my friends apartment, which is referred to as a 'business mans apartment'. Having come from the USA I felt like I had arrived in hobbit headquarters. My first night was like a scene from Lost in Translation. We went and rented a Karaoke room and proceeded to get inebriated on sake lime. Everything about Japanese technology is space age. The karaoke was controlled using handheld touch screens and as I got tipsy I was sure the Japanese script was making more sense. The intoxicated mess of Irish people was a little too much for the Japanese waitress who suffered through a rendition of 'isn't she lovely, made from love' from the Irish boys every time new pints were delivered. In the end we were asked to vacate the premises. My first night in Japan was great fun!

Tokyo was everything I imagined, skyscrapers, crazy side alleys with small restaurants and stores. We ventured into one restaurant at the top of a little stairwell. Two people were eating dinner at the time and in addition to our group of four the restaurant was full - shut down until we were finished. Japanese food is fresh and absolutely delish, but a side note, sometimes in Asia you can be unsure of what you are eating. I found that out once or twice by the nice hives that developed. I had an amazing time in Tokyo. Harajuku was fun, lots of crazy outfits, shoes, hats and PEOPLE! The crowd surged down the main street of this shopping area and in between you would briefly see a harajuku styled girl in her puffy dresses. I walked through the Shibuya district and the worlds largest pedestrian crossing. I left Tokyo and travelled to a small town, Tokai, in the Ibaraki region. I spent some time unwinding and walked around the town to the stares of the locals. It was definitely a small town! While I was chilling in Tokai I had the great opportunity to attend a town meeting and meet the Mayor. I sat at the table (with my name written in Japanese script) and was amazed. The group consisted of foreigners living in Tokai that had come together to discuss different issues with the mayor in regards to language barriers etc. Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Irish, English, French all came together under the umbrella of speaking Japanese. I was honored to be a part of a very unique evening and one of the Majors friendly assistants patiently translated into English for me. The evening was ended by a session of traditional oban dancing. The dance consisted of using hand movements to demonstrate the rising sun, the mountains, water etc. Unfortunately I had very little rhythm and the video evidence will remain hidden for a long time!

Almost a week after I arrived to Japan my friend and I travelled by bullet train to Kyoto. The bullet train was a great experience on how advanced Japan really is in every aspect of design and technology. Japan = efficiency. The train ride was long but enjoyable interrupted by sessions of Japanese beer and edamme. In Kyoto we stayed in traditional Japanese hotel called a Ryokan. The floor is tatami-matted, the beds are futons and a small table to take tea is provided. We donned our yukatas and drank green tea in the seiza position. Slowly into our first night the tea in the small cups was replaced by Japanese beer and I decided everyone at home needed pictures of me standing fully clothed in the bath (to understand the small proportions of the bathroom suite). Kyoto was a magical concoction of temples, castles, shrines, stepping stones, geisha's and zen gardens. I felt inspired. I felt free. I reached through the clutter of mind and touched my soul. It was a bad case of Japanitis. After 4 days in Kyoto my friend left to return to Tokai and I stayed on for a conference in physiology. The conference turned out to be very stimulating and they put an amazing show displaying traditional Japanese drumming. For some reason all the crazy Japanese physiologists wanted pictures with me. I think it was the crazy blond hair. My friend living in Tokai explained that a lot of the research groups like to take pictures with people from other countries to show they are interacting at an international level. Great people.

After Kyoto I travelled to Hiroshima, the site of the A Bomb. It took 8 hours to get to Hiroshima in total. I spent that time reflecting on many different areas of my life. Japan does that to a person, I think it was the culture difference. I felt beauty, love, ambiance and so many other things. I also thought about what Hiroshima might look like and how it would feel. Going to Hiroshima I was leaving behind my problems as one person and experiencing the problems faced by mankind.

Hiroshima is a bright and vibrant city. Shiny office blocks are outlined against the sky and people run about in business suits, carrying Starbucks coffee cups and briefcases. The city has become a cosmopolitan abyss. I checked into the Ryokan which turned out not to be the fairytale version I saw in Kyoto but it was fine for one night. The intention was not to stay in Hiroshima but when I arrived the need to stay was overwhelming. The owner of the Ryokan spoke no English and had a crazy miniature poodle. She seemed a little nervous of how to deal with an Irish woman. Luckily I had learned the Japanese word for cute and I pointed at the dog and said kawaii. She loved this and said my baby in English. We were now bff's and I headed off to tour Hiroshima.

I could see the A dome in the distance. The only building in the city to survive the nuclear bomb fallout of 1945. The skeleton of the building was harsh and edgy. Ugly and beautiful. An ugly reminder of what mankind is capable of, a beautiful reminder that we are strong enough to withstand. I walked through the peace park and came across the paper cranes. Thousands stringed together, made by hands big and small in many different colors. While I peered through the glass shelters housing the cranes for peace a Japanese woman and her twenty something daughter approached me. The mother from under her umbrella asked me if she could talk to me and practice her English. Sure, no problem. She asked me a few subtle questions and then asked me if mankind could be saved. I said that it was up to mankind but evil will always be among us in the form of people who do terrible acts but we will always rise above that. Then she asked me if I thought god would save us. I said I did not believe in god most likely due to the fact that I am a scientist and very evidence driven but I did believe in the spirit of the human race and their propensity to do good. She had some trouble understanding and her daughter translated. Mother rolled her eyes and hissed at me thrusting a pamphlet in my direction asking me to read out loud to her. I kindly declined and said I had to go as the rain was starting again. Her heart was in the right place and I am sure she is praying for my soul! Strolling through the peace park I felt a sense of serenity even though this was the location of a major atrocity. I forgot my own troubles and really thought about the world and us ants climbing all over it. I came to a memorial to the victims of the nuclear bomb shaped in the form of the arch. Through the centre of the arch in the distance the A dome was visible. Flowers flowed over the cold granite pavement contrasting against the wet grey and bottles of water stacked like soldiers. Water for the victims to be remembered, many whom died of extreme dehydration. The peace museum was well laid out and really told the story from the people on the ground that day. Parents searching for children, children searching for parents. The extreme circumstances that people met that day.......people died instantly, people burned, skin melted and fell from peoples bones, from women's, from men's, from children's. All at the hand of man. The museum went through the history behind the bomb right to the story of the victim. A huge globe was displayed with miniature nuclear warheads in different colors stuck to different countries indicating quantity and size of warheads held by certain countries. It was then I realized we lived life on the brink. Surely man has learnt from their mistakes? Lest it ever happens again. It would certainly be an apocalypse. Peace out on my Hiroshima section.

Following my trip to Hiroshima the next stop shop was Miyajima Island to visit the The floating shrine of Itsukushima. The shrine is listed on the UNESCO world heritage list and was recommended by my Tokai pal. I took a boat out to the island in the blistering heat of July. In Kyoto I was eaten alive by some kind of invisible unknown bugs and took the opportunity to soak up some Vitamin D from the sun during the trip over. I mentioned this to a Japanese friend living in Los Angeles and she laughed 'summer in Kyoto'. The island was very pretty. An island said to be sacred. No person shall be born on the island or die on the island. No industry shall take place on the island. I waded out to the shrine and took pictures beside the monstrous structure. I met a fellow tourist and we took pictures for each other and stood under the huge frame of the shrine shooting the breeze about our travels. The sun was hot and I was in heaven. I wandered around for a while watching the deer and took some pictures of one ransacking a backpack and munching on a guidebook! A shuttle bus took us up to the foot of Mount Misen. We boarded a cable car and travelled up the side of the mountain. Vast amounts of green foliage was visible through the cable car window. An jaw dropping view met my eye. Up and up we travelled pulled along the cable. Towards the end of the journey I realized I was sharing my journey with a strange large blue alien like bug. I stepped out of the cable car with a shoe in one hand to the amusement of the operators! The view from the top of Mount Misen was breathtaking. Blue sky and bluer water punctuated by many small islands. Japanese monkeys skulked around. 'Don't look directly at the monkeys, they do not like it' was the word of warning. So I avoided the gaze! After working on a nice blistered sunburn I descended the mountain started the trek back to Tokyo and the end of my trip.

This is a skeletal description of my trip to Japan-land. There is so much more for me to document and the 2000 pictures to some extent do the job! Japan I love you. Sayonara.