New Year's and Beppu

Tues 1/1/05 Happy New Year! We had a beautiful New Year’s feast again at Ingrid & Jim’s. They’re such wonderful hosts. For those who don’t know, this is the year of the rooster, so she even set the table with rooster china & décor that she just "happened" to have. We were all teasing her about having a set of dishes for every animal of each year! We had another yummy meal, good company, and lots of black-eyed peas for good luck! If this is any indication of the rest of our year, it’s going to be a great one!


Stan went back to school the next day and his supervisor Lori, came down from Tokyo. Iwakuni is just one of the schools she supervises. Stan said they had a great week of meetings and sharing ideas. One night, the 3 of us went to Brad & Vanessa’s for dinner. Brad is the ET (educational technologist – what Stan does at the HS) for the elementary school & he & Stan share an office. Brad and his family live off-base and this was my first time in a Japanese house, although I’m sure it’s much different inside from one where Japanese live. From the street, you enter a gate into a beautiful private garden and walk up to the front door. Once inside, you remove your shoes and step up into the chilly entry hall. As we slid open the door into the family room, we found it warm and cozy inside. Brad’s sister Pam was visiting from the U S, and together they had cooked us a fabulous meal that we enjoyed sharing with their 3 precious little girls, MaLeah, Scarlet, & Isabel. They have a large dining room with a huge wood table they have bought since they arrived in Japan, so we were all 9 seated comfortably. Before dinner, we toured their home, which has lots of exquisite wood ceilings and floors, and a balcony off the master BR. There were many floor-to-ceiling built-in cabinets, and everything was very compact and space was well-used. Each room is heated separately, so you only heat the rooms you are using. The most interesting thing to me was the futon closet, off the master bedroom, which is very large and deep (used to store your extra futon bedding) with sliding doors. The two older girls were using it as bunk beds while their aunt was visiting! They thought it was very cool, and couldn’t wait to show it to us. I’d imagine that Vanessa probably had trouble getting them back into their beds after Pam left.

Wed 1/12 HHG arrived! We got the call Tuesday that our household goods were here, and we made arrangements to have them delivered at 8:30 Wednesday morning. What a relief to know the boat had not sunk! So, sure enough, right at 8:30 they arrived to remove all of our loaner furniture. I’ve never seen so many movers in my life! Then they began opening crates out on the lawn below and bringing up the furniture first. I’ve never had a move go so smoothly before. Japanese workers always remove their shoes each time they enter the door, so lots of mess was prevented. They never walk – they run everywhere when they’re working, and never stop until break time. They had all our stuff uncrated, and all furniture and boxes in our apartment by noon, and they were beginning to put together beds and mirrors /dressers. They broke for lunch and were back before an hour was up; we were completely unpacked by 3 PM. The only thing we didn’t have them unpack was books because we couldn’t find the little metal brads that hold up the shelves. I pretty much knew where I wanted everything to go, but the big old school desk that we use for the computer was a problem, and it was moved into 3 places before we found the right location for it! They were extremely patient, careful, and thorough and insisted on helping us move it each time we changed our minds. By that night, the kitchen was done and the water bed filled & made, so we could sleep, which we did!

Friday 1/14 I had previously made plans to join six of my new girlfriends to begin a chigerie (sounds like “chig-a-dee”) class, which is paper tearing art. It sounded intriguing, and although I knew I should probably have stayed home and worked on arranging the house, I decided not to cancel. I will attend 2 Friday afternoons a month. I’m so glad I went! First, we went to lunch. This group finds a different restaurant each time, and we had a delicious French-style lunch at the Bluebird Restaurant in downtown Iwakuni. Then after lunch, we drove to our class in the Iwakuni Community Center, a little ways outside the gate of the base. Upon entering the building, we removed our shoes and there were cubbies with slippers provided to use. As in many buildings, it was very cold in the entry hall and up the stairs to where our class was held. Most of the girls brought their own slippers, and I vowed to get some before my next class because the slippers that were provided were loose and floppy, and I could picture myself slipping and rolling down the stairs. When we entered the large room upstairs, there were probably 10-12 Japanese women, and one young Japanese man already there putting up tables and chairs, and the room was toasty. We were warmly greeted and I was introduced into our instructor, or sensei. Most of the Japanese women did not speak English, but they all bowed and smiled a lot, as we did. Our instructor spoke enough to explain how to do the art, and we managed to communicate as she showed me how to begin. I and the young man were there for the first time. He was practicing his English, so he talked with us a lot. He is in school and wants to attend law school in the U S. The artwork consists of a small board onto which you trace a pattern and then in a paint-by-number fashion, tear small pieces of colored tissue and carefully glue it into the pattern, brushing and smoothing the paper with a paintbrush wet with water. It was really fun and the time went quickly. Promptly at 3 PM, the Japanese women began to set up for tea time, and we were provided with steaming cups of green tea and a huge pile of all kinds of little packages of tea cakes and goodies. I love the Japanese sweets! They are not like sweets in the U S, as they use very little sugar, so that makes me feel less guilty. After about 20 minutes of socializing and exchanging sweets with each other, we all cleaned up, put those tables & chairs away and got back to our work. Four o’clock arrived very quickly, and it was time to go. When completed, these art pieces look very much like a water-color painting. The piece I’m doing is a bright red flower with brown stems & green leaves. There are many shades of the reds, browns & greens and even yellow for the stamen of the flower. I can’t wait to frame my first masterpiece!

After class, and a short stop at a local market full of fascinating items, Ingrid and I decided to meet our husbands at the Officer’s Club for drinks and hor d’oerves. We had a few drinks and then decided we should play darts. We weren’t sure how to score, but finally seemed to get the hang of it, and we actually ended up not killing or even maiming anyone. It always amazes me that they have very sharp pointy things in a place where people drink . . . Stan & Jim were enjoying each other’s company and were amused watching us. Then we noticed a bunch of young pilots playing what looked like shuffleboard, only it was on a very long table, so we decided we needed to learn how to play, and we were able to con two very polite young men to teach us. We decided to play guys against the girls, so they probably figured they had it made. Although Ingrid and I were partners, we each stood at opposite ends of the long table with one of the pilots. I’m sure we reminded them of their moms and I had a great time giving advice to Mike about raising his 3 little girls. Both men were helicopter pilots, stationed in Hawaii, but were here TDY for 7 months. They were both good at teaching us the techniques of sliding the puck to score and knocking off your opponent’s puck. They were extremely good sports and very patient with our mistakes and gave us all kinds of advice. I wasn’t very good at scoring (I always slid too hard) for the puck to stay on the table, but I was pretty good at knocking off the other team’s puck & Ingrid was good at scoring, so we made a great team. Good enough to finally beat them soundly! I wonder what they thought about being bested by two old fun-loving grannies . . .

Sat 1/15 – The next afternoon, we had signed up for a Sake tasting tour, so again needing to stay home & get settled, off we went to the Kintai Bridge area to a little shop where they made all the sake they sold. It was very interesting and I didn’t know there were so many varieties. One of the women, who worked there, said her beautiful smooth skin was a result of drinking a glass of sake every night. Of course, she was very young and probably had naturally beautiful skin, but . . . we ended up buying a small bottle of sweet sake and sparkling sake for me, and Stan chose the stronger sake – voted #1 in Japan – for himself! It was fun, especially since it was such a cold, icy day. Sake has a nice warming effect and on the way home we decided to stop for dinner at the Bluebird Restaurant where I had eaten lunch with friends. The dinner was fabulous and included six delicious courses!

Sun & Mon 1/15 & 16 Onsen trip to Beppu – This is a trip we had planned for some time, so although we should have stayed home and worked on the house (again!), we didn’t. Our tour bus left at 7 AM and we stopped about every hour and a half to “rest.” Rest stops in Japan on the Sanyo (expressway) are fabulous! Each one has HUGE restrooms, so you seldom have to wait even if there are several tour buses stopped. The bad part is of course that these toires are not heated, and the water you wash with is icy cold. And no towels of course, but they had hand dryers! Unfortunately, the air was also ice cold. Of course, this gets everyone in and out very fast, which may be why there is no waiting. There are always at least 2 Western potties, although they are not heated. The really good part of these rest areas is that there are several kinds of restaurants and gift shops at each stop and it is always cozy and warm inside. Although Beppu is south of us on another island, we had to go through the mountains and it snowed off and on all day. The wind was icy and we were all beginning to really look forward to the hot steam baths! The snow was beautiful – falling lightly, and then in huge flakes and we wound through the mountain passes, and we all talked about the last time we had seen or been in snow. Those long bus rides are a great time to get to really know people. It was about a 5 hour trip, including the rest stops and lunch stop. Our tour guide was very helpful when it came time to order food or answer questions about some of the snack items for sale. One of our favorites was the vendor who was selling bulk dried fruit and he was giving away samples, so we could buy our favorite. Of course, we all bought something different and shared. The road mostly followed along the coast of the Inland Sea and when I was finally able to see a map, I figured out that Beppu (I think) is directly southeast of Iwakuni across the sea – but too far to see across. When we asked our guide, he told us that there is a “speed boat” that crosses the sea and we could take that & arrive in only about 2 hours, so we suggested that a trip be planned like that – in the summer, of course!

When we arrived in Beppu, the town was beautiful as we drove down toward the sea, and you could see steam rising all over town. Beppu is covered with natural steam and mineral water outlets. Our first stop in Beppu was at the Hell’s tour, which were really beautiful gardens planted around steaming pools with beautiful rock formations, bridges and walkways. It was very cold that day, snowing off and on, but the azaleas and camellia bushes, and many bedding plants were all blooming from the warmth of the steam. It reminded me a little of Yellowstone Park, but instead of remaining wild and natural, the Japanese have controlled all the steam outlets and bubbling springs by piping and building rock formations around them and everything is contained. It’s truly amazing! You could smell the different types of minerals in the steam.

We then proceeded to our hotel, which turned out to be beautiful and very upscale. All our rooms were on the 7th floor and overlooked the sea. The rooms were huge, and on one side there was a raised room with rice-paper sliding doors where the low table and cushions were located, along with the TV, a second large clothes closet and a deep futon closet with a spare bed in case there are more than 2 people in the room. Typically, the Japanese homes have the TV in the dining room where the family watches together after a meal. The clothes closet held the yakata, which are the starched cotton robes, silk sashes and over-robe that was to be worn everywhere within the hotel, along with provided slippers. We were told that we were being provided with the larger sizes since we were American. (Huh!) The raised rooms always have the floor covered with woven tatami mats and shoes must be removed to enter. The rice-paper sliding doors could be open or completely enclose the room, and although we did not take our meals here, we were provided with several packages of teacakes and a tray & cups for teatime. Near the bathroom, was a small fridge, and on top was a large electric pot that was filled with steaming water and packages of different kinds of tea were provided. We have found that green tea is usually the only drink provided free in Japan. In restaurants you can get water if you ask for it, but hot green tea is always brought first. I’ve never yet seen a water fountain (except on base), but the machines that contain hot & cold bottled drinks -- that I have mentioned before -- are everywhere for when you get thirsty. We’re learning to like green tea . . . and it is very healthy and beneficial. Why argue with thousands of years of experience . . .

So, after unpacking, we each donned our yakata to head for the public baths. Stan had to try on 3 (there were 4 in our room) before he found one he liked. What we didn’t know was how far we had to walk to get to the baths! The hotel was built across a hillside and consisted of 3 connecting buildings. We were staying in the building on the far right, and the private baths (appointment only) were in the basement, as well as the restaurant where we ate our meals. The public baths, however, were all the way across in the far left, and to get there, we just kept following signs: down elevators, up escalators, up stairways, around hallways, through several gift shops, and Stan was beginning to feel very uncomfortable and conspicuous in our “costumes.” Only the hotel guests were wearing the yakata, and there were lots of people around the public areas that were not staying at the hotel. We finally found the entrance to the baths, and separated – he into the men’s and me into the women’s side. We agreed to meet in an hour or so. When I went in, it was similar to the bath we had tried before, but on a much grander scale! The dressing room was huge and there were dressing tables with hairdryers. I kept walking until I found the cubbies to place my clothes in and picked up a fluffy towel and the small wash rag. This place was truly elegant and the wood floors and ceramic tile everywhere was absolutely artistic! I went through the bathing routine to soap up and rinse off before entering the baths. I then realized that I had forgotten to bring a band-aid to cover my small dolphin tattoo. (Japanese are offended by tattoos because it signifies the mafia or gangs, although I think they are more tolerant of Americans.) After I stepped out of the open shower, there was a beautiful rock water fountain with a large wooden cup. The water was extremely hot, and this was to be slowly poured over your body to get used to the heat of the bath before you enter. There was a huge hot pool in the inside room, so I started here. I tried to walk so people would not see the outside of my right ankle and I slipped into the hot bubbly water. Through the solid glass wall, I could see the view of the city and the sea below. There were also LOTS of outside pools and tubs, and women and small children were strolling around from pool to pool. Now, you have to understand that it was really FREEZING by this time of the afternoon and the wind on the hillside was blowing a gale! I could actually see whitecaps on the small wooden hot tubs! The inside bath was steaming and extremely hot. It felt wonderful, but after a few minutes I was warmed up, and had to rise up and cool off. I actually began thinking about going outside. We had been told that it’s invigorating to sit in the hot water outside on a cold day, and a must-do, so I felt I had to try it. While I was getting up my courage, two of my tour mates, Vicky and Alice, joined me and we all decided to streak outside together. We passed through the glass doors into the freezing wind, and I quickly eased into the closest hot water I could find. Needless to say, I was no longer too hot. Apparently, my tattoo had offended no one, because they remained in the tub when I entered. The other two headed for the steam room, but that did not interest me. Well, “they” were right – it was fabulous to be outside in the cold air, in hot water! I couldn’t imagine getting out of the pool outside in that icy wind, but amazingly enough, it only took just a few minutes to get too warm again, and so I began to move from pool to pool just like the others.

What really impressed me is the completely unconscious way that the Japanese regard their bodies. No one is self-conscious, trying to cover up, or holding their breath to look better. (Well, I probably was a little. I have to admit that I tend to feel a little too “Rubenesque” around the tiny Japanese women.) And the little children (small boys and girls) are just completely comfortable and unaware of their nakedness. (Reminded me of Adam & Eve in the garden before the serpent intervened.) I’m not sure at what age the boys join the men in their baths, but I didn’t see any little boys over about 6 or 7 years of age. As I got braver, I worked my way down the different baths toward the edge of the hill. The view just got better and better. The baths had “infinity” edges, so one bath flowed into another below which you couldn’t see until you moved down, and the views were just spectacular. I stayed in at least an hour, and when I felt relaxed enough, I got out, bathed again and dressed back into my yakata. Stan was waiting for me, and we were both very relaxed and looking forward to a nap (recommended after bathing.)

On the way back to our rooms, a very friendly Japanese woman stopped me, and removed my sash and re-tied it the proper way, and it was much more flattering the way she did it. I had just pulled it around my waist and tied a square knot, but the sash is very long, and I had to be careful not to step on it. She wrapped it around me twice, much higher than my waist – just under my bust line, and then tied a bow off center. I bowed and thanked her, and she bowed, smiled and walked on. Later that evening after a fabulous buffet dinner, Stan and I had a private bath reserved. The only mistake we made was in choosing an outside bath. We entered a private dressing room, but the showers were outside near the rock hot tub. Of course it was dark by now and the wind was still whipping a gale around the building and into the area where our bath was located. We decided we were clean enough, and jumped into our private bath! The city lights were beautiful and the stars bright and twinkling, so it was all worth it. Getting out was a bummer, though, and we quickly dashed back into the dressing room. According to our tour brochure, the mineral water is said to cure all kinds of illness and conditions. I believe that hot water could certain boil out whatever ails you!

The next day we walked around downtown Beppu and shopped, and then found a great restaurant with the friendliest workers and the most delicious food. See the pictures of us with the workers. Of course, we ended up “talking” and pulling out pictures of our children and grandchildren. We had a great bus trip back, all exhausted, but rested, warm and refreshed!