5.11.23
My fiftieth post comes with two months left of my time here. How in the holy moly of cheese. And Japan doesn’t even have real cheese to begin with.
When preparing to arrive in Yakage, it was my mom’s suggestion I keep a long term project around this year abroad because a) it would assure my parents I’m alive and b) it would be a good resume supplement as I’d have solid evidence showing what came out of stop-drop-and-roll over to teach English in middle of nowhere Japan. Considering my history of failed diaries and journaling attempts, I didn’t think I’d actually be successful in the endeavor...especially to the extent of reaching post 50.
But here I am, number 50! A milestone! An achievement! And how to celebrate? By simply writing what I love about Yakage. Without further ado, here they be (though few out of too many):
1. I love the seasons. They are so vivid, they are so clear, they are so present. When the vegetable garden's daikon pokes flowers out and the cabbages are finally all harvested, I know it's the start of spring. When the swallows start to frequent the rice paddies and sails through the skies in their perfect ways, I know it's almost summer. When the summer cucumber supply switches over to the sunset orange persimmons, I know it's autumn. And when I see the hunks of white cabbages lightly frosted with morning snow and glow, I know it's winter. Yakage's year is truly an everchanging art piece.
2. I love the quiet. Waking up to a morning with only the sound of the 7AM town tune, my neighbors' car rolling away, and an occasional birdcall depending on the season...I feel like I can just breathe so deeply and so fully with no rush nor stress.
3. I love the "gatchan gatchan, gatchan gatchan" of the Ibara train both heard in the early morning and late night. What's more, I love the Ibara train chime that lets us know the one-car-train has arrived. It's so familiar now that when coming home from a long trip, I instantly start to feel loose when I hear her from afar, pulling into Kiyone Station to take me home.
4. I love the gentle mountains that surround me whole. How amazing is it that I can just walk onto a mountain trail and take myself on the most lovely of hikes at a moment's whim?
5. I love the guarantee I'll see and receive a wholesome wave from someone I've gotten to know at one point of the day.
6. I love running past regular dog-walkers and bird-watchers on my evening runs; in the valley with rushing waters, sakura tunnels, shiitake stocks, hanging onions, temple daikons, settled rice paddies, scattered farmhouses, and of course, far off broccoli slopes, there are now familiar faces (both humans and dogs) I love greeting as I jog by.
7. I love the hideously amazing English on tshirts sold at Plaza.
8. I love Plaza's discount vegetables and most random on-sale items that are scattered in cardboard boxes throughout the store. The garishly yellow signs that indicate all the discounts get me way more excited than I'd like to admit.
9. I love the buzz of summer critters croaking and crying into the night. It is the perfect white noise to keep me company throughout my alone-nights, of which I've so come to love.
10. I love Kirari and the fresh vegetables they sell from 9AM. To walk around and gape at how my neighbors literally make the most beautiful, fluffy lettuce I've ever seen...what a gift. AND WE CAN'T NOT MENTION THE KIRARI YAKI-IMO SEASON. Those roasted sweet potatoes on Saturday mornings, 9 AM, made by the guy with the flannel shirt and denim apron...mmm, I will never forget the eternal joy received from the sweet potato goodness.
11. I love the sakura tree and sakura snow that falls right at the corner of the Yakuba. It brought me such jubileeee being greeting by simple majesty on my bike ride to work.
12. I love the routine Yakuba smokers at 8:15 who gather to get their last cigarette in across the street from the actual Yakuba before heading over for the taiso.
13. I love the Honjin and the dark contrast of light and dark that permeates throughout its rooms. The view that looks out into the nakaniwa, enclosed by darker fusuma doors...I will cherish that perfect aesthetic for a long time.
14. I love all the river fowl that catch my eye on my runs around town...the white cranes, the constantly fishing ducks, the one glorious koi, the lil weasel groundhog dudes, the real life versions of Yurtle the Turtle...they all help make Yakage that much more alive, yet still and quiet.
15. I love the hooookekyo of the warblers here.
16. I love the random only-in-inaka everyday happenings...the tofu truck jingle, the police cars asking elderly drivers to pull aside, the 80 year old grandmas crossing large intersections on their basket-motor-bikes. Where will I ever witness such golden clips of time?
17. I love passing these Oda grans meeting for their weekly polo game, then revving away in their speedy basket-motor-bikes.
And I love the people I've gotten to know here. MaChan, Tomoko san, Ken san, Kaori san, Hei san, Yamoto san, Yasuko san, Kaho san, Tomoko Taga san, Nick, Shoko, Sam, Brenda, Manki, James, Yuki, Minami, Izumi, Miki, Sakamoto-babasan, Kishino-san, Akazawa san, KaiKun, Mimura san, Satousan, Matsuyama Sensei, Izumi Sensei, Kashihara sensei, Hashimoto Sensei, Yoshimura sensei, Nagamori sensei, so many senseis, Hagino Sensei, Fuuta and Genta kun, Miko chan, Yamabe san, the sweet potato guy, the Plaza cashier, Hiromi san from the Koryukan, Harumi san from the Koryukan, Kawakami san from Honjin, Kawakami san from work, Norichan, Otosan, Toshikun, Nanachan, Kyoko san, Fukuda san, Watanabe san, Kasumi chan, Souma kun, Erina san...the list goes on and on and on and on. I'm so blessed to have all these faces AND MORE in my life.
This list of things I love could truly go on and on and on, but ones eyes probably have gotten tired even to here. So I leave with just one more bit of writing, one about one of the most important lessons I've learned from my cherished Yakage (previously authored for the PiA report.)
Giving: Yakage’s Superpower
The doorbell rings as I am about to take my first sip of miso soup. At this hour? Whomst would DARE disturb the euphoria of indulging in my daily dinner routine?
I open the door and see…a head of broccoli. and cauliflower. and then a head that apparently lives above me pokes out behind the head of broccoli. “Hey! Sorry for disturbing you! I grow broccoli, and I live upstairs. There were extra today, so I brought some for you. Welcome to Yakage!”
As I start typing on my computer, Yuki turns from his desk and says, “I think your light is broken. You should get a new one.” I reply with the standard, “yeah, it’s annoying but I’ll live.”
The next day. Yuki turns from his desk and says, “I brought this lamp we never use at home. Are you free after work so I can install it for you?” I reply with a “wait what? You’d do that for me?”
That evening, I have a non-flickering lamp in my room, which creates the most subtle calm in the space. All thanks to Yuki.
The Monday after meeting and working my first volunteer shift with Kyoko-san, a 70 year old powerhouse of a lady, I find a small plastic container filled with black bean miso sitting on my desk. “For Kai-chan! You should know why it’s my favorite miso” reads the post-it note taped to the lid.
Later when I called Kyoko-san her to convey thanks and apologies for the trouble she probably went through to hand-deliver a sample of her favorite miso paste, she scolded me before accepting my gratitude. “Kai-chan,” she said. “Something I believe in is that giving, sharing, is an act of joy. When I am giving something to someone, it’s because I want the person I care about to enjoy something as much as I have. I wouldn’t give something I don’t like just to act according to another’s expectations…giving shouldn’t be a burden, so please don’t apologize and just wholeheartedly say thank you.”
What first struck me, and continues to strike me again, again, again, and again, is just how willing the Yakage community is to share. And not just the incredible produce typically grown in their front yards, but also their time, their hands, their resources, their homes, their stories, their culture. It’s a power that characterizes this little corner of the world. Further, the Yakage community is willing to share so freely and so happily. There is no ulterior motive to their caring for one another. It’s just a way of life. They have seen and attended to my needs before I’ve even noticed them myself! Being a recipient of such care has left me speechless many a times, as my experience in the US has been more a “you get what you deserve…this is mine, that is yours, under discussed guidelines, we may share” way of mind.
Perhaps with all of this writing and babbling, you can start to understand why I fawn over this place so much. Thanks for tuning into my raves about town. Until next time, see you!
