Christmas and travels in Shimane

Merry Christmas to everyone back in Vancouver. I just got back from Shimane prefecture, which is the prefecture directly above Hiroshima. So I’ve just had my first Christmas in Japan. In a way it really didn’t feel a lot like Christmas because it isn’t that big of a holiday over here. I spent Christmas Eve eating dinner in Kure with some other JETs at an Indian restaurant. As some of you might know, I really don’t eat spicy food at all and this was only the second time I’ve been to an Indian restaurant. The food was alright since I got some mild chicken for dinner, but Indian for Christmas eve dinner sums up the not-really-Christmas atmosphere. It sure doesn’t beat the huge potluck family dinners I get back home. Since my dad has 9 siblings that all live in greater Vancouver, Wong family dinners are always packed full of people and good food and Indian won’t beat that. As for Christmas dinner, Asuka and I met Aki in Hiroshima and we just ate at a nice café.

Overall, it was a pretty uneventful Christmas, except that I finally got a “Keitai denwa”- or cell phone. I had delayed the inevitable for about 4 months now, but after frequent..umm lets say missed trains and various delays, I concluded I really needed a phone. So Asuka and I picked up a family plan and got identical new phones from vodaphone. It has an mp3 player built into it, which I doubt I will use, and a pretty nice camera. It was tough to decide which one to get, as there was this one phone that came with a 3.2 mega pixel camera. But in the end after much deliberation, we decided on the one above. (Picture below: Asuka's family)

Well on Boxing Day Asuka and I took a bus to Matsui-shi, the main city in Shimane where Asuka’s grandma’s house is. Both Asuka’s parents, who came from England and Asuka’s sister who came from Queens arrived the day before we did. Asuka’s grandma’s house is traditional Japanese house, so it was neat staying a few nights there (traditional also meaning really really cold). The first night in Matsui, we made our way to an onsen and spent the night at the ryokan there- which is a Japanese inn. In most ryokans you get served breakfast and dinner. So after a relaxing soak in the onsen, we had a nice set dinner. I’ve been meaning to go to a ryokan for awhile, but haven’t had the chance yet till now. The food was pretty good and it was fun just relaxing with Asuka’s family. (Picture below: View of Matsue Castle)

The next day we made our way around Matsui city and visited the local castle there. I’ve actually been pretty pumped to see Matuse for awhile even though Asuka has told me numerous times that there is absolutely nothing to do there and that Mastue is very inaka- or countryside. The castle was neat, as I always enjoy seeing Japanese armour and exploring castles. We took in a few more of the local sights that day, seeing a famous samurai house and a museum of a famous Caucasian author who lived and married in Japan. We also visited a famous Shrine called Izumo Taisha which is the oldest shrine in Japan. As legend has it, every October all the gods meet at Izumo Taisha. It is also a shrine for marriage and many couples visit the temple for good luck during married life. (Picture below: Main building at Izumo Taisha)

At night we had a big dinner at a sushi restaurant with all of Asuka’s dad’s cousins. The food once again, was great as I managed to drink and eat a lot. It was a lot of fun actually because some of the relatives were getting quite tipsy and me being a foreigner, they got into asking me questions about how I like Japan and how work is. Even after dinner, all the men made there way to a bar, where an old lady in a kimono kept on pouring us drinks and everyone kept on asking me questions. (Picture below: Set dinner at the Ryokan)

The following evening was my last day in Shimane and we had a big dinner for Asuka’s uncle who just got his PhD. Dinner was a feast again and I met Asuka’s two uncles. Interestingly, Asuka’s uncle is a teacher too and now works for the Board of Education. Asuka’s other two aunts are also elementary school teachers and one of her dad’s cousins is a principal. So everyone knew the JET programme and we spent a lot of time chatting about the education system in Japan and the pros and cons of the program. All too complicated to get into here, but it was a fun discussion that left my head sore after the night ended. It was enjoyable to get the other side of the coin and see the teachers perspective of having JETs in their classrooms. (Picture below: Samurai helmets from Matsue Castle)

The following day I made my way back home by bus, while Asuka flew with her family to Tokyo to spend New Years with her mothers side of the family. All in all the trip was a lot of fun and Asuka’s grandma was a really sweet old lady. I tried to converse as best I could with her in Japanese and we had a lot of funny moments in Shimane as Asuka’s grandma’s memory comes and goes sometimes. But she is still one healthy lady who works on her farm every morning. (This small heater/aircon in one tries really hard to heat up my room)

Well as for Japanese factoid #14. It has to do with heating. As I mentioned I stayed at a traditional Japanese house, which really translates to, its really freakin cold. Actually, all houses are really freaking cold here because central heating doesn’t really exist in Japan. So how cold it is on the outside, is indicative of how cold it is inside. My electric bill this month has just skyrocked because I have to keep my heater going all the time just to stay warm. What’s worse is the schools have no heat too. Well my elementary schools do but not my junior high. So when I’m teaching I really have to layer or I will freeze. Luckily, my supervisor brought me a pretty neat heater that's a heater and humidifier in one.