My one day-off a week began yesterday as we pulled the blinds down at the shop. The entire crew set off for a night at the local Izakaya. I had spoken often of wanting to go, and the Izaki family made the trip particularly special. The food was interesting, ranging from rare meats to fried balls of mashed potatoes. I ate what I could, and smiled politely at what I couldn't. The main course was nabemono, in which we plopped in tofu, chicken, and an array of tasty veggies.
The atmosphere was particularly exciting as there was only enough room for two large parties, ours and another, and four seats at the small "bar." Our Honey group is always lively, usually with Hidenori's presence. Whoever said the Japanese are reserved are liars. Conversation ranged from the story of how I met Dave to the proper uses of the word "fuck" and what a "happy trail" is. English was used most of the night to keep me included (thank you), but usually in experimentation of obviously broken english, thus keeping us in constant giggles and question marks. The night ended with a surprise dimming of the lights and a macha crepe with a candle atop, matched with a precious bouquet of pink roses. Another "Welcome, we love you" present from the crew. So sweet.
Today was spent winding through the countryside and rolling mountains of Kyushu with a girl named Yuka and her english speaking friend. We traveled a few hours outside of Fukuoka to make a special and much needed journey to a traditional japanese onsen. It was part of a larger beautiful ryokan, and I was stunned with its architecture. Of course, I forgot my camera. We were the only ones there, and heavenly might be the only way to describe it. Water rolled over the stones surrounding the edges of the large bath, and steam filled the room. The water was hot enough to make me doubt my existence, but quickly I found my body completely relaxed.
Just through the windows we could see the forest-covered volcanic mountains, laced with steam. It was cold, but we decided to go outside for the nicer view and enjoy the bath of the rotenburo. Again, heaven. These baths are lined with stones, set in the ground, and somehow created the perfect setting for me to become friends with these two people. Bathing like this is special to me, and I felt fortunate to meet others that felt the same.
On the way back we stopped at a roadside traditional japanese restaurant to eat handmade soba. for dessert, omochi and real wasabi root cooked in soy sauce. So delicious, filled me up to make me sleep the whole ride home. zzzz.. When we returned to the apartments, no one was home. Yuka and I decided to go shopping as I expressed an interest in Japanese textiles and she knew "just the place." It was a little kitchy, but the socks collection was pretty amazing. A sweet old man owned the place and tried out his english on me.
Old man: Where are you from?
Me: Atlanta. USA. You know?
Old man: ooooh! The Braves!! Go Braves!
really? I go halfway around the world and I can still hear someone say "go braves." Amazing. Yuka gave him a brief rundown of what I was interested, that I like to sew and I enjoy vintage goods. He pulled out a stack of vintage kimonos and together we sorted through them. Beautiful and in great shape. I found one with a pattern I liked, tried it on, and it fit like magic (at least thats what I thought). I smiled and said thankyou, not even thinking to ask what the price was knowing that kimono prices are in the thousands. But yuka asked, and youll never believe it, but it was about twenty bucks. I never thought I would ever own a kimono, none the less buy one on this trip, but things seemed to fall perfectly into place. The sweet old man even gave me a hankerchief with all of the yearly animals on it. Funny, considering just last night I learned what they all were and which one I am (the ox).
We returned home, and my evening ended with me asking Izaki of how he first came into coffee. It was difficult to get a clear answer as to what first intrigued him. The earliest I could reach was him reading many books on coffee and feeling that they were incorrect. I kept asking, but why were you reading books on coffee? What was your first inspiration to make you want to know more? I couldnt get an answer. He pointed me to a book on his bookshelf, and Ive been leafing through it since. Coffee, a Celebration of Diversity. It will probably take me the rest of my time here to get through it. The content is dense and thourough. I just wish it was easier to ask Izaki about his knowledge of coffee and get a good answer. Mmm language barriers.
Izaki and Hide disappeared from the house about two hours ago. Who knows where they went. They didnt say. Yuko sits on the floor watching a special on Ichiro the baseball player, and Yasuhide went to bed early (I think he may be getting sick). The holiday is over and it is back to work. At least the attitude is usually like this:
love always, your almost japanese friend, danielle.
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