Ishigaki-jima

December 26, 2014

                Our flight from Osaka to Ishigaki departed at 7:30 am on Friday morning.  We arrived in Ishigaki around 10:30 am and headed for our accommodations.  We took the bus into the city and got off at our stop.  After leaving the bus stop and trying to follow our printed google map, we discovered just how hard it is to find a place in a country that doesn’t have street names or house numbers.  We asked a couple local people who live in the neighborhood, but they couldn’t help us.  One gentleman was extremely kind, took the map in hand, and searched with us.  He also couldn’t find it, so he called the lady we were renting from for us!  After that brief phone call, we see this lady running towards us waving her arms.  We couldn’t have done it without him.  First off, we didn’t have a phone and even if we did, we couldn’t have communicated with her since she only speaks Japanese. 

                The lady we were renting from was very kind, we managed to communicate with the little English she knew and the little Japanese we know.  She owns two apartments, lives in one and rents out the other.  Basically our apartment was one room and a bathroom.  It was nice though since it had a fridge, stove, and balcony. 

                After settling in we decided to find the church and then go to the beach.  The beach we went to was at a resort and was the only beach within walking distance from where we were staying.  The city is connected to the port with is basically a bunch of industrial looking things on the ocean.  The weather was fairly cool and cloudy and the beach wasn’t that nice, so we didn’t go swimming.  The resort was nice though.  We walked along the beach and then into town to the tourist information. 

This actually wasn't a bookstore at all.

 December 27, 2014

                The weather was cloudy again, but we still bought ourselves a pair of snorkeling gear.  We took the bus to Kabira Bay which is a really famous “sight” because of the beautifully coloured water.  It was really beautiful too, the disappointing part was that if you walk a little down the beach it’s covered with garbage.  We found garbage on a lot of the beaches. I think part of the problem is that Japan doesn’t have many garbage cans.  People are expected to keep their garbage with them. 

                

Kabira Bay

Kabira Bay

After a short picnic lunch at Kabira Bay, we headed off to Yonehara beach to snorkel.  Our plan was to walk there as the buses run infrequently around the island.  We thought it was about 5km.  I’m not sure how far it was, but it was far.  In some ways, it was a really pretty walk.  We could see the ocean along the highway and subtropical vegetation.  As I was getting tired and it started to rain, this lady yells out her car window to ask where we’re going.  She ended up driving us the rest of the way to the beach!  As it was cold and rainy, neither of us ended up venturing into the water, but we did walk along the beach a little.

Our walk to Yonehara Beach

Yonehara Beach

December 28, 2014

                We got up and headed for church.  We went to the church we had found when we arrived.  It was open, but there was no one else there and while it looked like a church, there was something missing- it didn’t have an altar.  A man greeted us and asked us if we were going to attend church and something with the word “Christian”, he seemed very glad to see us.  I managed to ask if it was a Catholic church, which was when we found out it was Seventh Day Adventist!  This kind man (who I think was the pastor, he also only spoke Japanese) drove us to the Catholic Church!  This church was obviously Catholic with a big statue of Mary on the outside. 

                The rest of the day it rained, so we headed to Ishigaki Limestone cave.  I’ve never been in a cave before so it was a cool experience.

Heading into the cave

Apparently there's bats and large insects that live in the cave.  We only saw
one spider.

December 29, 2014

                We packed our snorkelling gear again and headed to Taketomi Island for the day.  The ferry runs every half an hour and it only takes 15 minutes to get there, which is a good thing because I don’t think either of our stomachs could have handled much more.  The ferry was a fairly small boat and the day was windy big waves.    

                Taketomi Island has a circumference of less than 10km, so we were able to easily walk everywhere.  In fact, Adam renamed the island Take-tiny. :)  On arriving, we went to Kondoi beach.  The beach was beautiful and we tried to go snorkelling- by tried I mean we both were in our bathing suits and walked out to about our knees.  The fact that the wind was blowing against us just made it feel too cold to go further.  We walked a little further down the beach and came to the star sand beach (Kaiji Beach) where we saw all these people collecting star sand.  My understanding is that star sand is actually a dead star shaped crustacean.  This star sand supposedly brings much happiness to young couples.  One lady we know reassured me that Adam and I would have much happiness now ;).  We spent time relaxing on the beach, eating lunch, and reading.  We walked to the third beach on the island and then took the ferry back.  This time the ferry was a bigger boat and we had a smoother ride.

People trying to find star sand.

Adam picked up a handful of sand and found a star sand!

This is about how far we got in to the water.

 December 30 and 31, 2014

                Ah sunny warm days, so we went to Yonehara beach to go snorkelling.  This was my second time snorkelling (the first was on our honeymoon in Florida) and it was amazing.  You’d just be getting into the water and put your face in and see fish everywhere.  The reef started really close to shore and I always stayed close to shore.  I think it was better for me to be in shallower, and thereby closer to the fish, since I’m pretty blind without my glasses.  The water was actually a good temperature, but getting out of the water and into the wind was pretty cold. 

                

I'm all geared up and ready to snorkel.

By the beach there were these shops displaying and selling
island art peaces.

You can buy these little handmade clay statues.

This was outside of the store.

Behind the story they had this whole field of different art statues.

 On the evening of December 31^st, we attended vigil Mass at the parish.  At the end, Father blessed a bunch of wine and these little cardboard plate things with a scripture verse on them.  They drink the wine and they hang the scripture verse in their homes for the next year.  We were given one in English and Japanese and a bottle of wine which Father told us to drink at the birth of our first child J.

January 1^st, 2015

                We attended 10am Mass at the parish.  At the end of Mass, Father went into the parking lot with holy water and blessed everyone’s vehicles.  It was interesting to see how the New Years’ traditions are different. 

                For the afternoon, we went to Fusaki beach and ended up walking back into town along the ocean.  It was really beautiful.  We came by a temple and saw everyone lined up waiting their turn to ring the bell.  New Years is a big deal in Japan, and it’s one of the only days they go to the temple. 

Fusaki Beach

A wee bit windy

This is a tomb that was built to commemorate a shipwreck by Ishigaki
that had many Chinese laborers on it.

Food vendors at the temple.

The line-up to ring the bell and pray

People buy their fortunes and then tie them on the ropes around the Temple.

Walk along the coast

Interesting flowers

 On our way walking home, we stopped to eat at a Japanese restaurant.  We ordered eel (my first time trying it), soba noodles (which is traditionally what Japanese eat on New Years and which I’ve decided are delicious- I made them for lunch today), and the famous Ishigaki beef with some vegetables.

Eel

Soba noodles

Ishigaki beef

Since Ishigaki beef is famous, we wanted to buy some at the grocery store, but this is all we found.

January 2^nd, 2015

                First, we thought about kayaking and took the bus to the mangrove forest, but finding many kayaks, but no one to rent them to us, we took the bus back and went to Yaima Village.  It’s similar to the Heritage Park of Calgary, but smaller.  We got to observe mochi pounding and eat it after.  Mochi is rice all mushed up.  We had tried it before and hadn’t really liked it, but having it fresh was really good.  There was a house where you could do calligraphy, dress up in kimonos, have tea, etc.  They also had a squirrel monkey park of which I wasn’t particularly fond.  Two monkeys jumped on Adam, without him doing anything to cause this behaviour, so I was a little uneasy about the place. 

Mochi pounding

Fresh mochi

Interesting flowers

Farm equipment for grinding sugar cane

The first monkey that jumped on Adam.

Waiting for the bus home.

Christmas

January 4, 2015

                I’d like to start by sharing about our Christmas celebration here in Japan.  Leading up to Christmas, Adam and I attended Simbang Gabi which is a Filipino tradition.  They have a novena (9 days) of Masses leading up to Christmas.  In the Philippines, the Masses are held very early in the morning, but at Ogaki parish,, which operates on Filipino time, they were set to start at 7:30 pm, according to Father's after Mass announcement, which really meant to come for 8:00 pm because Mass starts at 8:30 pm ;-) Needless to say, we were always the first ones to arrive each night. That said, we were warmly welcomed into the Filipino community and Father even started doing his homilies in English for us.  After Mass, people bring food to share.  It was a really great way to prepare for Christmas. 

Christmas this year was really different for me.  For one, we weren’t around family and we were in Japan.  The biggest difference though was being in a non-Christian country.  Christmas here is a regular work day.  It’s true that stores put up Christmas trees and everyone “knows” who Santa Claus is, but no one really celebrates Christmas.  In Canada, I think most people, whether raised Christian or not, at least have some awareness that Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus.  Here, people don’t know that Christmas is a religious holiday.  Adam was giving presentations on Christmas in the classrooms and was wondering how he could incorporate the origins of the holiday.  It was interesting to see how difficult it was for us to try and think of how to introduce the Christian story.  Jesus coming as a Savior- as God become flesh- isn’t just the nativity story.  To have the full effect you need to know how the Jewish people were waiting for hundreds of years for a savior and how Jesus came to die for us.  But there’s so so so so much more that you can get into.  So, how do you begin to explain at least some of the Nativity story to ESL students.  To be in a “world” where Christ is basically unknown was a very different experience for us this Christmas season. 

                Despite the different experience, I found that I prepared better for Christmas spiritually this year.  I think that, in the past, Advent got put in second place behind exams and end of semester papers, buying gifts, travelling, spending time with family, etc.  This year we didn’t have any of those things that can act as distractions. 

                We attended Christmas Eve Mass at Ogaki parish.  The Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Japanese, and English (us) communities gathered together to celebrate Mass.  Living in Japan has helped me appreciate the universality of the Catholic Church.  It’s such a blessing to attend Mass and to follow the scripture readings, the prayers, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist with our English translations.

                It is really incredible to think that all over the world Mass is being offered.  That every day Jesus is becoming the bread in the consecration and that the faithful are receiving Him.  That He is physically becoming a part of us, all throughout the world.  Not just figuratively making us into one body, but physically.  This is wonderful and amazing and so so good.  I’ve been thinking about hope and how much good there is in the world.  I know that it may seem that there’s more evil than good in the world.  I recently finished reading I believe in Love by Father Jean D’Elbee.  In this book, he writes, “Evil displays itself; good remains unknown.”  I think this is true.  After all, if someone goes around telling everyone about the good deed s/he did, s/he is seen as prideful.  I’ve been reflecting on all the “hidden” good in the world: the kindness and warm welcome shown to Adam and me, people giving up their seats on the train, priests offering their lives to serve the Church.  Finally, since Christ has come into the world and conquered evil, how could I believe, despite how much evil may manifest itself, that there is more evil?  

So there you have it- how we spent our Christmas and my personal reflections. :)

Staying Warm

This past Saturday, Adam and I were invited to a Christmas dinner with the other Canadians we know in the area.  We had a lovely time eating ham, mashed potatoes, and apple pie.  We contributed some homemade bread rolls, banana chocolate cake, and cookies to the dinner.

On Sunday, we woke up to more snow!  We decided that it could be dangerous (and difficult) biking to church so we took the train.  However, on the way home, we decided to walk.  It only took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to go from Ogaki church to our home.  Seeing as in Canada we always like to go for walks on Sunday, this was a great way to admire the snow and enjoy the early afternoon.  I think one of my favourite "pictures" was seeing an orange tree with ripe oranges and all it's leaves still on with snow all around.  Today, we woke up to snow and it's been snowing all day.

Here are some pictures of the snow.

Sunrise outside our window this morning.

Outside out front step

They have these mirrors at most intersections to help people see who's coming
with all the blind corners.

Orange tree in someone's yard.

There's still flowers on trees.

I think this is a temple- it's close to our house.

So you may be asking yourself how do you stay warm without central heating?  Do you just eat soup and drink tea all day?  While we certainly do drink our fair share of tea and eat soup, we have other ways of heating our house. First off let me say that I think Japanese people are tougher than Canadians in terms of the cold.  In Canada, we have it good.  We get into a warm car and then into a warm building and you really don't have to spend that much time outside.  In Japan, if you go out, you turn off all the heat so when you come home it's the same temperature inside as outside and the houses aren't well insulated.  At our adult English class this past week, we were talking about the weather.  Two ladies asked me if I had ever gotten frostbite.  I talked about how in Canada winters are very cold, so when you're outside you can get frostbite and you have to be careful.  Well, I was sure surprised when they shared with me about how they get frostbite on their toes in their homes!  One lady said, "Because my home is so old and it's so windy even with the windows closed the curtains blow."  

Our home is really drafty, but probably not as bad as hers.  We got our old kerosene heater up and running which heats up our whole house pretty quickly.  I guess people who lived in our house in the past didn't use it because it lets off CO.  We just got ourselves a CO detector, and crack the window open every once and a while.  Since our home is older and drafty, I don't think we have to worry too much about it even with the windows closed.  We also have two air conditioners that have heat settings.  These take much longer than the kerosene heater to warm up and are pretty expensive.  Then, we have the kotatsu which is a low table with a heater underneath that you cover with a heavy blanket (or in our case a heavy rug, I found in the closet).  Finally, we have a heated toilet seat.  I was never a big fan of heated toilet seats, but in the middle of the night when your house gets really cold and you got to go, it's really nice to have.  :)

Now, I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  Adam and I will be leaving on our trip to Ishigaki next week, so my next post will be all about that trip.

Sushi Restaurant and Much Much More

Welcome back to Janelle's blog.  On today's blog, we (well mostly just your host, Janelle) will be discussing three topics: a Sushi Restaurant, "How old are you?," and being part of a visible minority.

Sushi Restaurant
This past Saturday, Adam and I woke up to snow!  It all melted that day, but it was really beautiful to see it on the mountains.  We also had our first experience going to a sushi restaurant.  I haven't eaten enough sushi in Canada to know if it's similar, so I'll write about the experience anyways.  We went with a guy we met at the Tarui pia festival.  He's Japanese, but grew up in the U.S.A..  On entering the sushi restaurant there's a screen in English where you can select how many people are in your party.  The host gives you a number and that's the table number that you go to.  At the table is a touch screen that has an English option (yay!).  You order your food by going through the menu on the screen and selecting what you want.  There's a conveyor belt that passes by all the tables.  There's sushi on there that anyone can just take without ordering it.  When you order sushi, it comes on a little bowl like plate on the conveyor belt (so you know not to take other people's ordered food).  When it arrives by your table your screen makes a sound to alert you that your food is there.  The plates are about 100 yen each (about $1) and there's two pieces of sushi on them.  When you're done your meal, you press a button on the screen and a waitress comes and counts up how many plates you have and then gives you your bill.  I liked this since it didn't involve having many difficult Japanese conversations and we knew what we were ordering.  I really liked the sushi we had too.


How old are you?
I went through my blog to see if I'd already written about this, but I don't think I have.

When Japanese people meet for the first time or are introducing themselves it's common for them to ask, "How old are you?" Or to just go ahead and tell you how old they are.  When Adam and I first arrived here many people asked us our ages, including the mayor!  It's a good thing that we're fine with telling people.  At the Suitopia centre, where we took Japanese classes, our instructors would give a mini self-introduction at the beginning of class which usually included something like: "I'm Sarah, I'm 31 years old."  I'm not sure why in Canada asking someone's age is so rude.  What's the big deal after all?  I can understand in some work situations that you might not want people to know your age if you're young so that you're taken seriously.  From what I understand about Japan is that you always have to ask an older person for "permission" before making decisions in a company.  Maybe that's why they want to know your age.

Being Part of a Visible Minority
It's interesting for me to experience being part of a visible minority.  You know how on different forms one question will often be, "Are you part of a visible minority?"  I always checked "no."  So now, it's interesting to experience being so visibly different.  I can understand why sometimes people stare.  I've started to stare at foreigners too because it's surprising to see them.  I've never really noticed people's race before- maybe because in Canada you really do get a mix of everything, maybe it's a gift, or maybe it's because I'm a fairly unobservant person.  But now, everything has changed!  I see a "white" person and my eyes get stuck as I wonder, "Does s/he speak English?"  Often, s/he is looking back at me in surprise.  I wonder how going back to Canada will be with this "foreigner" radar and being able to communicate easily.

Thanks for joining me again on Janelle's blog.  Stay tuned next week for news on a Christmas party.