Here's a wrap-up:
The end of November was overly bureaucratic with the JET mid-year conference and the day-trip to Takasaki to fill out paperwork for my re-entry permit. The beginning of December was a fresh start into why I enjoy this country.
On Sunday, December 2nd, Minoru-san and his wife invited me and Odelia on a fun day of adventure. They drove us to Omama station which is about an hour away from my apartment in a hilly and scenic part of Gunma. Their car, like every car I've been in, has a GPS system. Unlike in the US, these systems seem to be standard on cars here.
At Omama we bought a day pass and waited for the train to arrive. It was a chilly day, and I took advantage of the wondrous vending machines that sell hot beverages.
I am a big fan of public transportation and I practically squealed with delight when I saw the train we would be taking. Unlike the modern, silver, six-car trains that I was used to, the train along this route was a tiny, one car, diesel powered, trolley-like train.
The old fashioned train set the mood for the landscapes we were entering. There were no big towns; a few stations we passed had no attendants, no ticket machines. The scenery was gorgeous though. The tracks followed a river mostly filled with white boulders. Fall is late this year, and even in December the forests we were traveling through had brilliant colors.
We took the train to Goudo where we transfered to a bus that took us to the Tomihiro Hoshino art museum. Tomihiro's life is an interesting one. Paralyzed from the neck down when he was 24, he learned to paint and write by holding a brush in his mouth. His art is almost all of flowers or other plants. He also wrote brief poems on most of his paintings. His museum was truly encouraging.
After the museum (and a brief meander around its grounds), we returned to the station for a lunch in a nearby abandoned train car. We all got a large bowl of soba and tempura. The train was straight from the seventies with orange fabric on the chairs and orange accent glass.
Following this stop we continued on to a small village that was having a street party of some sort. A young musician was singing and playing piano, girls in modern kimonos were modeling, antique cars and trucks were parked nearby, and food vendors were selling drinks, yakisoba, and fish (on) sticks. Despite this lengthy list there wasn't much to see or do, so before long we left the village fair for the copper mine in Ashio.
Apparently, the abandoned Ashio copper mine was the origin of pollution in Japan. Or at least, that was how Minoru put it. I looked into it; it seems he was right. The mine was responsible for killing all the surrounding trees and fish, and poisoned many of the local residents. The mine tour was self-directed and rather disappointing. Clumsy dioramas and dusty display cases were all it had to offer. Sadly, I don't think it will ever get the World Heritage Site distinction it is seeking.
After the mine tour, we boarded a fancy looking train with large glass windows. Most unusual of all was that the train had tatami mat floors. You had to take your shoes off to enter. It was a pain since we were only traveling for one stop.
We got off at Mizunuma which was the place for the kick-off ceremony for the illumination celebration. The train line has a Christmas tradition of putting up lights and decorations at each of its stations (even those tiny attendant-less ones). The opening ceremony was fun. There were bands, dancing groups, speeches. It was also very cold, so our party spent most of the time inside the train station (that also had a restaurant, large gift shop, and public bath). When most of the crowd had dispersed, we got our chance to board the small diesel train and travel from station to station to see the lights and decorations. It wasn't as magical as it sounds. The conductor kept flicking the inside light on and off, unable to decide if the train should function as normal or be dark to better see the Christmas lights.
We ended where we had started and traveled home, stopping for dinner at a lovely restaurant where the waitresses dressed in kimonos. Odelia saw two of her students working at the restaurant. They were summoned over by Minoru and made to suffer through some basic English interrogation.
The second set of awesome isn't nearly as involved (so hold on a little bit longer). Last Friday I went to Oizumi, the next town over which has a large Brazilian community, to eat at a Brazilian restaurant. I ate coxinha which was delicious. At school the following Monday I mentioned that I ate coxinha. Apparently, it's a topic that was covered in the second year book. The teacher got a big kick out of it.
Saturday was another day with Minoru. He (sans wife) invited Odelia and I to a jazz concert and dinner. The jazz concert was at the Ota Citizen Hall. It was a contest between four University jazz bands. They were all very good, and the concert was fun. I would love to get a copy of the song Oye Mama.
After the concert he took us to what he called the best sushi restaurant in Ota. The restaurant looked more like a private residence. Minoru knew the owners. We didn't even look at menus. We sat down and minutes later food arrived. We had miso soup with some sort of tiny clams in it, succulent pieces of sushi (squid, tuna, fatty tuna, egg, mackeral, rolls), and tiny custard-y dessert topped with sesame sauce and raspberry jam. Oishii!!
I'm so glad there are incredible, generous people like Minoru and his wife in the world. They are making my time in Japan wonderful.
