Yep, I’ll just follow him: Japan

 I’ll admit it.

I have no sense of direction so, if forced to travel solo,

Which I am not, in this foreign country with three alphabets, densely populated, with train stations that could 

Contain small cities, this country of Japan,

I would have resorted to lengthy study of physical maps, the ones you can’t even buy anymore,  to imprint the concept of the place into my mind. 

I would have marked every landmark in yellow, and 

Traced my routes in red.  In this day of Google Maps 

And YouTube,  I instead studied videos of people buying 

Tickets to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station,  to get an idea of the terrain, and quickly recognized that I would

Have to trust in my abilities once on the ground. 

Yet, once here, I relinquished my agency to my companion, he being so more confident, even in his mistakes, that I often followed him like child, feeling rather pathetic, 

 But also liberated from the task of navigation. 

Instead I could take in the view, the chaotic blur of 

Constant movement, or the peaceful Zen of the gardens.

Finding peace in Kyoto. Wake early.

Finding peace in Kyoto.  Wake early. 

It’s what the French tourist in the packed restaurant advised me, over the hubbub of voices, the Australians

And the English, the Koreans and the Americans,

The sun rises early. Get up.

The empty bus and quiet streets greeted us, 

Instead of teeming hordes of tourists in the temple,

Monks hurried past us, their slippers shuffling along 

The polished wooden flooring. 

Only the birds chattered in treetops, 

Rocks carefully arranged in moss and raked gravel

Tell stories of a mother tiger and her cubs 

Playing alongside a stream.

You will be glad you did.

 

They dress better in Kyoto but what did the Emperor do all day?

She looked refreshingly elegant in her long skirt, jacket and boots as we exited the train station.

They dress better in Kyoto, we have left the drab utilitarianism of Hiroshima behind us.

Our host told me that people in Hiroshima after the war were viewed with suspicion,

The fear they carried radiation on their bodies; some 80 years later has this fear settled 

Into the clothing choices of the people that live there.

I have to wonder, it is so striking.

I detest Trump, and his plans for ballrooms and arches, but

 I do admire the extravagant palaces that the Emperors built in Japan,

Impossible to understand the need for so many empty rooms for hosting messengers, visiting dignitaries,

Royal families, and who knows who else, ridiculous even, but impressive.

We just don't build this sort of structure anymore; the public would be outraged.

Paintings of tigers, eagles, chrysanthemums and all manner of flora and fauna adorn the walls,

Tatami mats cover the floors, but I miss the glitter and extravagance of Versailles, 

The mirrors and furniture which tell me what may have gone on there, and besides,

The movies that we can watch about Louis XIV and his court.  

What did the Emperor and his ilk do all day in those beautiful, but empty, spaces?

Maybe we can never really know.  Like most things in life. 

 

 

Smiling buddhas on an Island near Hiroshima

 

A second day in Hiroshima, 

a short boat ride to a nearby island where

Hundreds of red-capped Buddhas smiled at us.

the jostling crowds in

Nearby shops and restaurants attest to the 

Urgency of life, regardless of past losses,

Of ice cream cones and sushi, glittering souvenirs,

I can’t help but smile at the three dads sitting together,

Each sporting a sleepy baby in a Snugli, 

Laughing together, young fathers having enjoyed 

Their day in the sunshine. Returning to

downtown Hiroshima, the vibe is business, the cityscape 

Cement and glass skyscrapers, the people rushing by,

On their way to the future

That awaits us all. 

Hiroshima

We, the hordes of visitors in the Museum at Hiroshima. 

know that the faces gazing back at us from the screen, 

were burned beyond recognition

In that terrible moment.  

We see the gnarled remains of a tricycle, the helmet which still held the skull of

A child who seconds before was perhaps laughing with joy,

We see the shadow on the cement stoop where a body had been vaporized,

The shredded clothing that hung from oozing bodies.

Huge panoramas of Hiroshima, a city buzzing with life, before

This terrible moment,

And after, a flat, grey landscape of destruction

Punctuated by the skeletal remains of the Prefecture, a magnificent dome,

Still beautiful in its austerity, its insistence on our attention. 

The gentle patter of the raindrops on our raised umbrellas,

As if tears from heaven were joining the ones 

Streaming down our cheeks. 

 

おはようございます - Good morning!

 Yes, I was worried alright.

The "Learning Japanese the Easy Way" book did not ease my fears.

The introductory language videos start with introducing the three sets of characters;

Some 300+ Chinese type symbols and two other sets....

I was discouraged from even getting past the first 10 minutes.

But we learned that

おはようございます "good morning" with a smile did wonders, as did

美味しかった "That was delicious" after a wonderful meal!

we muddle through, with the Japanese providing English on some signs,

And its amazing how much you can converse with Google Translate

(And yes, I tell our new friends that we detest Trump),

In the rare cases where someone speaks some English, we learn

About them and their children (all in big towns or abroad, one daughter

Working for Google in Tokyo), (none of their children wanting to

Take over the family business),

Little by little we learn a word or two, a character or two,

Like "Exit" or the name of the bus so we get on the right one

(Just look for the bus that arrives at the correct time, we are advised).

The greatest thrill is when the quiet Japanese person sitting next to you

At the counter turns to you, smiles and says, or write, Where you from?"

And we go from there.

Following the blue line to arrive at Imabari, Japan

Let there be no doubt that Japan is a world-class ship building nation,

Finally recognizing that those cranes are not for unloading ships, but for building them.

Let there be no doubt that Japan is a manufacturing nation, having decided after WWII

That they will win on the economic stage, that they will create a nation that moves,

On bullet trains, buses, bikes, and walking, leaving small spaces for tiny cars

(So cute!)

Let there be no doubt that Japan can build bridges, longer than I have ever seen,

That when there is a will, there is a way, yes, to build winding paths that allow

Recreational cyclists to climb to the entrances of these bridges, 

Let there be no doubt that America has much to learn from Japan, 

Although we provided the funds after WWII to rebuild (after destroying her),

She made the wise decisions to become what she is today,

A formidable and beautiful country, an admirable people,

And the blue line?

We followed it on our bikes for three days, from island to island,

Across bridges, along peaceful coastlines, through ship building zones,

Passing shrines, and countless 7-Elevens, to arrive here

At Imabari, where we will take a bus and train to Hiroshima.

Up next!