japan diaries - vol. 1

I'm here. Japan.

We arrived without much fanfare. The flight was long and somewhat cramped, but it would have been useless to assume it wouldn't be. Instead of listening to music or playing on the iPod, however, I read. A lot. I started with The Road by Cormac McCarthy and found it nearly impossible to put it down. In three hours, I had finished it. Beautiful, haunting, visceral. This immediately catapulted into one of my favorite books of all time. Thanks, Martin.

Back to Japan. After waiting in line with all of the other foreigners, we exited and picked up our bags. No problems. Before exiting, we swung by a Customs officer and he asked what was in the golf case. "A pair of golf clubs," I responded in Japanese. He freaked out. That wasn't the first time that happened, and it wouldnt be the last. That day.

In the car ride back to Sakurai from the airport, we talked about Toyota, eco-friendly marketing, and golf. I immediately took a liking to Maki's dad and it appeared he to me.

After dropping off the bags at home and getting a quick tour of the house, M's dad made a reservation at a restaurant located close by. As we intended to celebrate, i.e., drink scores of alcohol, we opted to walk. At 78 degrees, the walk was wonderful. Despite a higher level of humidity, nothing can compare to the oppressiveness of a Texas summer.

15 minutes later, we were at the restaurant. I dont remember the name, but it would take little for me to recall how wonderful the food was. Service is not an issue in Japan. Its always good. I made one of the waitress literally fall to the floor when I spoke Japanese. Although the overreactions are good for a laugh every now and again, it can get pretty old.

We had sashimi (sushi without the rice), grilled fish, squid, sea urchin, miso soup with crab, and several rounds of large beers. And sho-chu. All of it was beautiful and tasted better than anything I have had in the states. Which is why I dont go for a sushi/Japanese food when in America. No. Scratch that. San Antonio.

The walk back was filled with laughs, dim side streets lit by the lights spilling from house windows or a vending machine, and the sounds of a host of animals residing in the rice fields. I was drunk. And I couldn't be happier.

Upon return, we retired to the computer/TV room and began watching golf. M's dad and I began to critique the swings of the Japanese women on TV. It wasnt very difficult. There were some odd looking ones. He had me sit in his automatic massage chair and after playing with the settings, I passed out. Literally. My finger was still on the button that read, 'lower back.

I woke up the next morning to a gray light filling the room. I must have slept in, I thought. I turned to M. She was looking back at me through sleepy eyes, but looked mostly awake. I asked if she could show me around the neighborhood and take some pictures. She agreed. Within minutes, I was stretching in front of the house and playing with the dog, Jin. She got the motorbike ready and secured the camera. The dogs a bit shy, but warms up well and rarely barks. Really more like a string of gruffs. Odd.

We started with some flat sections around the house and near the library. The hills were nominal. Whats great about Japan is that the sidewalks are made of blacktop as well. I didnt have to run on concrete in order to avoid the cars. Still, most of the roads are not much larger than a one-way alley in America, so I found myself in the middle of most streets. During the run, I discovered that it was only 5:20am. Still, the streets had enough people and cars that it felt more along the lines of late morning. Sun rises in the East. Dont forget, I told myself. After around 1.5 miles into the run, M brought me to a large, long hill. At this point, I was beginning to lower the pace and decided to attack. I passed a group of young guys sitting at a park eating breakfast it seemed. They stared. One pointed. And we got a picture of it.

After M took me back to the house, I decided to keep going and went alone. I took a lot of side streets and alleyways. I ran under the awnings of houses that looked hundreds of years old and near temples that were definitely so. At every turn, I studied the surrounding area in order to avoid getting lost. Tanuki-sama, right. Biwa temple, left. Construction guys under the bridge, straight.

When I decided to turn back, I saw a huge toori gate towering over the horizon of roofs. I followed more small streets in an attempt to form as straight a line as possible, and it worked. I arrived under the gate and run through it. Nearly 100 feet tall, it was a great point to make the return home.

I was clicking off 7:20 splits at this point and it felt as easy as a jog. A lot of this has to do with the lower temperatures, but I have to assume other factors were at work. Oh..I was also a bit hungover as well.

I plan to open the blinds and read in front of the garden. Later we are scheduled to visit M's grandpa and watch some Sumo. Perhaps driving range later in the evening. Perfect.