Saturday Feb 1, 2003 ....
Once again I hopped on the Shinkassen (bullet train) to head 1 1/2 hr. from Hiroshima
to Osaka. I exited the train platform area and I ordered a Japanese lunch at a restaurant in
the station after ensuring that there was no seafood to be found in the dish. I located the
English information office and they gave me some pamphlets about Osaka. I read one and
I learned that Osaka prides itself on being renowned as the city for culinary delights and
entertainment. I learned that they also have a street full of Culinary Shops all close together
that I would have to investigate. Since I had 2 hours to kill before I was to meet my
friend Toshi I explored the bottom floor of the train station and I found many shops that
I would return to before I left Osaka in 3 days to continue my trip. Of special interest
to me was a international store that had a much bigger variety of western grocery items
than you could normally find elsewhere in my travels. I bought a bag of Kraft caramels and
1 or 2 other items.
At around 4 PM I met my friend Toshi. Toshi is 48, and married with 2 teenage sons. he has
been a nice friend, and he is the organizer of an English group mostly based in Osaka. I have
been corresponding with him and correcting some of their assignments for the last 9 months
or so. We got into Toshi’s car and we headed out into the countryside. Toshi had
suggested that I have the opportunity to view some country living since almost all of my
time was spent in cities. It worked out nicely because Toshi also had an errand to run
back in his hometown too. So we drove about 100 Km into the countryside as it snowed
and got darker. We pulled off the main road and onto a snowy side road and we started
to climb it into the woods and hills. At some point it got pretty slick and we stopped and
Toshi got out his chains for his front tires and it took us 20 minutes to install them.. I
grew up hearing about tire chains but I never experienced them in New York because they
are illegal or at least strongly discouraged because they rip up the roads. Just as we finished
installing them another vehicle came down the narrow hilly snowy road and we had to
maneuver the 2 cars so that we could pass each other on the 1 lane road.
We drove for about 10 more kilometers and we stopped at an Onsen in the near by
town close to where Toshi grew up. We went inside and there was a group of younger
guys in their teens and early 20 ‘s hanging out. From what I gathered this Onsen (hot
spring) was started maybe only 6 years before, when they tapped into a local thermal
spring. Since this was a small town this might be the place for the youth to congregate
before they find mischief to get into. Toshi paid the small entrance fee and we went into
the changing area and we each put our belongings into a locker. The we proceeded into
the next area only with the small washcloth towel that toshi had brought for each of us.
As protocol has it we sit on the really small stool and scrub ourselves down before
entering the indoor hot spring for a soak. After a little while we both went into the out
door hot spring area as the snowflakes drifted down next to us. it was nice and relaxing
but it was strange for me to be soaking naked with a friend that I had only met 2 hours
earlier. but there goes the puritanical upbringing again. I had read about these Onsen
procedures so I figured when in Rome ... this is how it is done.
I asked about the segregation of the sexes and sure enough you could hear women and
children in the other side of the wall enjoying their time soaking. I think up until maybe
30 - 40 years ago it was commonplace to find mixed sex bathing but now in modern
times I think it is very rare to find this. Though the sexual libidos might have be there in
olden times, I am rather confident that not too many children have been conceived by
hanky panky in the Onsens as the water is quite hot 110 F ( 35 - 40 C), but maybe I am
wrong. we went indoors, 1 more time to soak and then wash off and dress. I took my
camera outside to take a picture because it was a nicely scenic snowy almost garden like
setting with the decor (there was another male patron indoors so I couldn’t shoot there). But
the picture came out steamy and hazy. I’m not sure if this is due to the night time
exposure or the steam generated from the hot spring clouding up the shot. We dressed
and I joked quickly with an older gentleman in the reception area who was amazed at
how big and tall I was before we left We drove another 15 KM. feeling all relaxed until
we got to Toshi’s parents house. somehow during our driving we managed to avoid hitting
a smaller deer standing in the road as we rounded a curve.
We arrived at Toshi’s boyhood house which was over 100 years old. he explained that
when he grew up the house was located somewhere else nearby but that the house had
been moved to where it is now. The house was similar to the Kagoshima hotel that I stayed
in with many sliding paper doors blocking off different portions. Toshi’s parent’s house is
actually connected to the house where his brother, his wife and 4 teenage daughters live.
Toshi got a portable butane burner stove like we use for our omelet stations at work
and he heated up a pot with oil. we proceeded to cook our own dinner of Sukiyaki
periodically adding in ingredients and a sweet soy sauce ? to the mixture as we went
until we were full from eating all of the beef, cabbage, mushrooms and other various
vegetables.--- Hai, Oishii desu ! --- yes it was delicious.
The house was relatively cold over all and the average person from here in California
would have had a hard time. But I grew up sleeping in an unheated bedroom upstairs and
Ole Jack frost would really paint nice murals on my windows back home so I was
somewhat used to it. As I discovered many parts of modern Japan are not privy to
centralized heating. many small businesses I observed would sometimes have open exposure
to outside with only a small space heater keeping the merchants warm. The house had a
Kerosene heater in the living room to help out but they also had a built in pit in the floor
to put your legs with a table with a built in blanket for the sides to cover this pit in the
floor. So you would sit at this table with your feet in the pit and the blanket would
drape from the top sides of the table over your lap and onto the floor. Toshi and I sat
there trying to load a computer program onto his brothers laptop computer for him. at
about 10:30 his brother and his family arrived after attending a Chinese new years party as
it was the 1rst of February. it was kind of interesting to see the 4 girls sheepishly say
hello to uncle Toshi and the huge American sitting next to him. I am sure the don’t get
very much exposure to foreigners living in the country. They quickly went off to bed into
the adjoining house. Soon afterwards we also decided to turn in for the night and I
slept on a futon with an electric blanket in a spare room.
The next morning the house was abuzz with activity I met some of the girls again as we
had breakfast. some of them left to do certain family activities. but I had the opportunity
to show one of the middle teenage girls pictures of Santa Barbara and some of the pastry
brochures I had picked up. If I am able I will try to do some research in home stays as
the oldest girl is interested in staying in America or Canada for a year after high school
to improve her English. Then before I knew it was 10 30 - 11 am and Toshi and I had
to leave to drive back to Osaka because we had a lunch Date with the English group for 1
PM. Being the mountain person I am I really enjoyed the scenery as we drove through
the countryside back to the city. It reminded me of Vermont.
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