Me: Oh my god! How
much do I owe? That’s ridiculous! How is anyone expected to pay that much for
water? I don’t have that much! No way! Ahh shit, I’m gunna have to get money
off the parents and I wanted to do this all alone and now I’m gunna look like I
can’t manage and they’ll get worried. How is it that much? Seriously! I hate
this country!
Annie: That’s your
account number.
And thus began my
week.
See the problem with
Japan is they have too many holidays. I end up forgetting that I am here to
work, that I have bills to pay, that I must take the rubbish out, buy food…
hell even eat food (a couple of days ago I was that consumed in thoughts about
my new life I literally forgot to eat…all day! Until about 7 at night when I
felt a giant belly pang). So I have spent the last two weeks in unorganised
bliss. I climbed a mountain in my hometown last Wednesday. I casually dangled
my legs off the top for the camera- I mean you have to get a picture of that
right?- but I was crying with fear on the inside and praying that an earthquake
didn’t fancy erupting! It was a pretty amazing day as all the trees were
beginning to turn and so naturally I was in hippie mode, stick in hand,
breathing deep and feeling at one with the world! At the top the party had a
big picnic. And boy I can tell you- the British think they have the monopoly on
picnicing- no way! The Japanese are prepared…unless I was with the equivalent
of Mary Poppins and say, Dumbledore, and thus judging my observation on some
elite magical group of people…then I think it’s safe to say that these guys
have the casual-culinary gold star! They had little stoves, cups, utensils, tin
openers, loads of food, including desert and obviously lots of bin bags to
separate their rubbish…I took a drink, no rucksack and only wore the clothes
upon my back. (How very Dick Whittington of me!) But it was only a two-hour
climb! Afterwards we had an indoor BBQ where I once again had to face my eating
demons as a full-blown head to tail fish was plonked on my plate next to some
lovely looking sea urchin goo. Fish- amazing. Sea urchin goo- not so much.
Then it was the week
of golden-ness and despite my lack of spondoolicks and the ubiquitous
I-just-moved-to-another-country-and-I’m-super-tired headache I was still dying
to have a mini adventure…and oh I love how I always get my adventures! The
first was a quest for pizza. It took my friend and I north on many a
mountainous road through valleys wild and across gushing rivers. Along the way
we stopped at the statue of liberty (yes) and Jesus’ grave (still not lying),
oh and also the ‘pyramids’ (ok, these jagged rocks were a little bit of an
exaggeration…but after seeing a convincing statue and a compelling tale of
Jesus’ love of Japan that was spurned when he went travelling; you know, the
well known book of Travis…where the disciple dudes go surfing in Oz then spend
winter boarding in Japan…well yeah, he went back after he did all his spreading
of the word apparently and died at the ripe age of 106- dude on the cross?- His
brother. So who was I to not think they had pyramids too? It’s very possible!).
Pizza was found and needless to say it was amazing. I am actually salivating at
the memory…
Next, some friends and
I went on a little road trip to kakunodate, an old samurai town a prefecture
away. Despite the crowds it was a beautiful little place bursting with
character. By this point the weather was beautiful, the sunglasses had come out
…and the insects to join them! I couldn’t help but notice how quiet, calm and
clean the place was regardless of the amount of people passing through and
still how classy it was despite its touristy status. It’s funny, sometimes
being in Japan is like looking onto one of those weird mirrors at a fairground-
you recognise the image, but it’s distorted. In so many ways the town was
similar to an English tourist spot, families, ice–cream, gift shops, good
parking-spot quests, but the difference was the families were older as well,
not just young kids been dragged around reluctantly, the ice cream was
green-tea and sakura flavour, the gift shops didn’t smell like your ugly
over-bearing aunt’s house and our parking spot was given to us by some old man
who had a free driveway. So I was pretty much in love with Japan this day.
But alas! Back to the
real world I must trudge…my garbage is pilled high, I have no food, and what I do
have is stale/moulding/turned to goo, and yes, I have bills to pay…and after
that week who can blame me for thinking the seven digit number was my charge-
this is Japan…if Jesus is buried here anything is possible!
