story time,

Today’s post is an excerpt from an email that I writ to family back home. The contents consist of a brief walkabout that I had this weekend. Not edited for clarity, not really, but raw, finger-to-keys email that I wrote right after plopping down at home after this Sunday walk. Meant purely for your enjoyment. As follows,

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I walked past our town, beyond where most old shops and packed-together houses lay, and I moved along the highway. Safely to the side of the roadway, I went up as far
as our pachinko parlour that lays on the outskirts of town. Out there I turned and walked past that entertainment building, and down a long, long road. In the distance I could see the evening sun shining furiously off of the ocean.

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Once I met up with the ocean and saw mounds of concrete blocks and shapes that
are piled up there to break the waves, I stared out at the sea.
After a significant time trying my best to focus on nothing but the crushing seafoam before me, I turned south and headed back toward town. My route was oceanside. About one hundred feet of earth and blocks of dirty, melting snow separated me from the sea of Japan to my right.

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As I kept on passing building after old building -warehouses and shipping yards, barns or sheds that probably looked far better when they were first built- I found it. I found the fishing yards of my town.
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I have seen many building here in town, some old and some new. But in addition to the fantastic structures that look as if they had been built only last year, this fishing yard amazed me. The long, low structure set with gaping garage-openings wharf-side looked just like something you would find in a fantastic fishing space near say, Granville Island in Vancouver. All of these small town fishing
yards lay open, waiting for tomorrow’s work; and the settling sun was painting golden all of that clean, new concrete. Ships were resting coolly against the dockside parallel to the awesome fishing stacks. Tako/octopus traps, or plain wooden boxes; and fishing nets, some laid out in a straight orderly fashion, and other net-cages were stacked in even blocks. I have never seen this ‘fishing’ side of my town before.

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Then I marked my way past all of these buildings, finding structures and other industrial-looking buildings some new and some old all squashed together in this corner of town fitted squarely at the oceanside and Embetsu river’s corner. After hitting the river-side, still more buildings and some squat houses before me -more ocean and fishing docks stretching out into the ocean to my right. I turned west and headed along beside the river with the ocean at my back.
I picked up an apple tea when I reached our larger of two convenience stores. Then turning south again I walked across the bridge dividing our river, the bridge feeding the highway that runs forever along the ocean. I stopped to admire the sunset, breathing deeply. I was lost there for a while, the sun setting against my face.

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A few hundred more yards along the highway again and I came to our highway rest stop, famous for being one of the many larger more ornate buildings highway-side here in Hokkaido. Weaving my way between some resting semi trucks I climbed the
crackled stairs up the hill to the church-like building at the top, Tongarikan. This place both a restaurant and tourist stop. I sorted through the shelves inside keeping the restaurant to my back and found a postcard and some rice-topping fish flakes seasoned with roasted black sesame seeds and chill peppers. After paying for my prize I exited the room and stepped back outside facing the ocean again. I looked down at all that water far across the highway, past the odd buildings and few homes
across the open space. I knew I had to get home soon. With my hands half in my pocket and half outside in the cool Springtime evening air, I walked home.

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I found some parts of town that I have never seen today. New buildings, new places. Something about this walk really opened me up to my experience of being here in Japan anew. I felt like I was really in Japan again. Not just work and workplace schedules. I found a way outside all of my normal habits and circles today. Today I broke free and walked somewhere new. Seeing places I have not known existed while I have been teaching and complaining my way through the last eight months has healed me. I look forward to each following warm, sunset day from here on.
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The end, for now(?)

Next Monday, more tellings to follow. A fine weeke to everyone!

Ciao,