It was sometime in summer, 2007. I was finally going to do it. Tomorrow was the day I would fly to Japan. I had been up all night packing my bags and was determined not to sleep in hopes I would be able to sleep better on the plane.
That didn’t work. I apparently have a problem with sleeping on planes unless I’m loaded on a handful of motion sickness pills. By the way, I don’t recommend doing that. Take just one of those things and your sleep will be filled with the void and darkness and uncomfortable nightmares… And worst of all, you have a good chance of sleeping through dinner. Best to just stay awake and be frustrated with the awkwardly edited Rated-R films that are missing all the good parts and the headphones that are either too loud or too loud.
I recommend taking a Chinese airline and just drink free beer the whole way and pass out after you arrive. Helps with motion sickness, but not neccesarily with hangovers.
I had saved up all my money (and begged family members for contributions to support my wanderlust) and had finally landed in Fukuoka City in southern Japan for a summer of Japanese language study at a language school.
I remember walking out to get my luggage and there was my host family with a sign that said “DEREK!”
The father was a short, slender fellow with long, straight, blonde hair, and a Metallica t-shirt. Looked like he walked straight out of the 80’s. His wife was dressed economically, much taller than her husband, with stern features, a no-nonsense haircut, strong jaw, and a lovely, huge smile. Their daughter, maybe 10, was what Japanese people call “pocchari,” which is a cute way of saying “she’s a little on the heavy side.” She had a look of distrust as she sized me up.
The family took me to a temple in Sasaguri first thing. I was exhausted from my trip, but was so excited to just be in Japan that my exhaustion was quickly forgotten. The temple had what they claimed to be “THE BIGGEST BUDDHA IN THE WORLD!”. I’m not sure how true that is, but it was BIG. Especially the feet. Just LOOK at those toes. There was no stank, thankfully…
That night we ate a big dinner together. The mom cooked a FEAST. The dad handed me what Japanese people call “happoshu,” which is basically knock-off beer. I had always hated beer, and this tasted like a cheap version of Natty Light. But he was excited to drink with me, and when in Japan, right? I think I drank two, and for some reason the second one tasted a little better than the first.
After dinner, I was given the honor of having the first bath. Families in Japan always use the same bath water, and I’ve heard it’s traditionally the father who takes the first bath. Tonight was my turn, though later in my stay I was usually last. That’s for another post. However, this night, never has a bath felt so relaxing.
The little girl slept with her mom, the dad slept in a mystery room upstairs by himself every night, and I got the bed in what was usually the little girl’s room. Pokemon posters, manga, study guides for math, and even a view of the rice fields that surrounded this little country home.
I cracked the window to let in a cool breeze, lay there listening to the thousands of chirping frogs that filled the valley, and slept better than I think I ever had in my life.
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Here’s a few more pictures from that first day at the temple in Sasaguri. A great place, and I went many times afterwards. The turtles were the best.
Until next time!
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