Narita, Japan

When I was 13, my new Junior-high teacher had just returned from teaching in Japan.  I spent the next two years learning about Japanese culture and language.  My family even invited a teenage exchange student to live with us for a summer.  She was a few years older than me, but I spent as much time as possible learning about life in Japan.  I soaked in the culture.  I loved it.  Everything about the Asian culture, from the high level of public respect to the fashion to eating with chopsticks.  I knew, one day, I would find my way to Japan.

Over time, my curiosity drew over to europe, but the want to see Japan never left.  When I chose my position to go to Asia, I secretly hoped I could find something in Japan.  However, positions here--through my program, are few and not cost-friendly.  Cost of living in this country almost beats the States at times, and I knew that a relatively small income would not suffice when I would also be spend more than that on repaying Student Loans alone.  I had to suffice with another country I had also been a little interested in.

This current trip back to the States gave an accidental invitation to see Japan, and not just the airport.  :-)

Narita.  It's not Tokyo, which I was dying to see, but much more convenient.  My layover ended up being for 12 hours!!  More than enough time to freshen up, get out of customs, locate a tourist info desk and grab a 10 minute train to a cute destination.

Narita is small.  The town that supports the name of the airport.  I, honestly, don't know much more about it than that.  I will spend a bit of time, after this post, looking up more of Narita.  After locating a bookstore right outside the tram station with a good JP-Eng. phrasebook, I was directed to a street where I would find the local temple.  I don't know how long the walk is supposed to take, as I kept stopping along the way.  Even at 9am, shops are starting to open up, restaurants inviting passers-by in.  I wandered down the small, winding road, until I felt it was time to stop for a brunch.  The cute, little local-style restaurant was cold at first, but slowly warmed up as the small room heaters turned a glowing red.  There is no central heating here, at least not in the smaller shops.  The owners/servers were very warm and friendly--very 'Asian' style.  With only about 7 items on the menu, including eel, eel deluxe and eel super deluxe, I finally decided on just eel.  The eel came in a rice box, with a side of spice I could add to my own discretion.  A spice of something like rosemary mixed with black pepper.  Along with a bowl of some version of Miso and steaming hot cups of tea, it was not too long before my fingers were thawed and very warm.  I did learn one more new thing at that diner.  In HCMC, I had run across some 'Japanese-style' toilets.  These particular toilets actually warm the seat area-making for a warm sit-down.  I had always been unsure as to why the Japanese thought it so important to create such a heating device, until now.  With no central heat, and the small room heaters located in the dining area of the restaurant, the bathrooms are actually quite chilly.  Walking into a cold room can make you seriously rethink your need for the need.  But, have no fear!  Warm toilet seats are here!

After wandering back out into the frigid air, I stayed on the street (only stopping to look into a few shops) until I reached the temple.  This temple is not a temple, it is a religious ground, an area for several temples, trails, burial plots, etc.  Visitors (mostly Japanese and very few Westerners) come here to listen to sermons, pay their respects to buddha (and some sort of monetary giving, that I still have to wiki about), and take in the solace of nature as they stroll along forest trails and around half-frozen ponds and a couple waterfalls.  If I wasn't so cold and my feet didn't hurt from not-so-great sneakers, I would have wandered the trails more--and possibly more slowly.  There was a sign for their calligraphy museum on the premise, but what I think I located seemed quite closed (possibly for the season?).

On my way back up the winding, windy street-straight into the still rising sun, I was stopped by a young Japanese lady who asked where I was from.  She said she also was the States, had only moved back a few years ago.  She prompted me into her family's restaurant (even though my stomach was still full) to try a bowl of their famous Oden soup to warm me up and make me pretty and a skewer of an eel's heart, just to say I had eaten one.  Because they're very rare!  The Oden soup was okay--not nearly as good as Miso.  I think this may have been partially due to the fact that I was unsure about the origins of some of the items in the soup, and was fearfully anticipating the coming kebob.  I learned that the contents of the soup were some sort of fish meat, a type of Japanese radish, a type of squash (?) and some sort of (I think it may have been a seafood)...thing...that is said to make your skin pretty and help you lose weight.  So I ate it...who wouldn't.  The skewered heart...didn't really look like a heart...well, until you stripped away some of the meaty part and found some vessels...  On top of already being overly stuffed, my brain was having a hard time pushing aside the idea of this delicacy.  I tried a couple bites--with a bit of Japanese mustard as well.  I had to quickly put it down.  The meaty part I could almost handle.  The rest...  I ended up with a doggy bag of eel heart...which eventually found its way to the garbage.  Sorry, Japan...that's just one thing I can't do.

To be cont'd...