Cloudy morning in Kagoshima today. I can only see half of the magnificently scary Sakurajima volcano.

Mainland again, I`m in kyushu now, in a really nice part of it. The athmosphere is very relaxed (they call kagoshima the Naples of Japan) and the history of the place is quite fascinating. One for all Saigo Takamori, this local/Japanese hero…(and maybe a little villain too) who contributed to the modernization of Japan just over 100 years ago during the famous Meji restoration period…he is considered the last of the samurai whom, of course, ended his life by arakiri…..but there is much more to it than this!

Anyway, back to some stories:the  first day in Kagoshima was spent walking around to get an idea of the city. I haven`t seen the volcano in all its glory yet since the clouds aren`t helping but it is huge, active and a constante presence whereever you go. Only in 1914 an eruption made the island into a little peninsula and apparently you can feel at least 3 mini earthquakes every day…I haven`t felt any yet, and I`m not disappointed.You can see the black dust in the puddles though, oh yes I forgot to say, you can see smoke coming from the volcano.

After seeing Saigo`s cave, Saigo`s place of death and all the Saigo`s  statues around town it was time to leave our Hero alone for a while and go for a little snack. In a localplace which had a very strong smell of pork broth(base for a ramen)I tried the local Goyza, steamed dumplings made with pork and veg…extra good and cheap! (my lunch today will feature the same)I have to admit I had to be by Niall to enter the shop. It was so small, and it always feels risky and way too personal(ok, no judgement, we all have our paranoias right!?):you sit at the counter facing your cook; but I have to say it was great, the serious cook ended up being so nice to explain to me with gestures how to eat the dumplings and to tell me with a warm smile which sauce to put on them.Very good!

Very satisfied with the experience we were heading back to the hotel when a little woman shouted at us in a really angry way:GAijin! something …something Gaijn!!!

Well, needless to say that made me very happy since that means :”foreigner foreigner!” and beeing pointed at in that way it`s something very rare nowadays. I learnt that word from a book I`m reading by Alan Booth and he got the same Gaijn shout by some kids around Japan who would giggle after shouting at the alien. So I thought :”cool, I`m finally a real alien…actually today I only saw 1 westerner face.”

Anyway, the woman who was shouting at us didn`t stop not even when we passed her. Her voice was very angry, maybe she was angry at foreigners, maybe the americans, or maybe she was just a little crazy. I think she was a little crazy.

She kept shouting for a while and then she run after us. She was just a small woman, in her 40s I`d say. She grabbed my arm and I turned around, she looked shocked, looking at her hand as if she touched a saint or an alien or something strange….her  eyes were wide open as surprised, she seemed concerned now, certainly less aggressive. She said a few more words I did not understand of course…maybe explaining, who knows…grabbed my arms a few more times then let go and we parted.

I wish I could speak a few more words, I could not tell her anything but despite that I still consider the experience as a communication with the locals, even if a quite dramatic one!

…and ok, I`ll admit that the theory on my previous post doesn`t work anymore…after all I clearly  don`t look that Japanese.

Well, He wasn`t exactly from okinawa but I met him there, actually It was Takashiki Island where I met him…but lest`s start from the beginning.

12 hours flight, oh yes 12 hours. I never left Europe before you see. But with the help of some magic pills (from my doc, all legal here) I made it.

I landed in Tokyo and stayed there a few days . GreAt city Tokyo, I was there for Cherry blossom season and the experience was fantastic. The elegant women wearing kimonos while walking and chatting under the pink petals`rain made it even better. On the othe hand, all the young people were having boozey pic nics under the trees too, and I instantly felt at home. I went to the most famous places, Ueno park and the park in Shinjuku…but what I enjoyed the most was the Aoyama cemetery, were the pink rain and the shinto graves just did the trick and made indulged in my still amateur appreciation for the wabi sabi idea.

But Tokyo it`s all a different story, I now want to talk about this man I met here a few days ago.

At the moment I`m in Tokashiki, Okinawa, just a short boat trip from Naha. No fancy resorts here just one pc, 2 restaurants where the local fresh fish tempura is just great and 2 or 3 pensions…but it isn`t high season yet and they aren`t all open.

So PARADISE!! If this Pc wasn`t running on coal I would add some pictures but I`ll have to wait a few more days to do so…

Sandy beaches, Aharen beach, a great deal of solitude and relax, nature and silence….I even celebrated my Birthday here two days ago…no cakes, just yummy stir fries.

ANyway the only people here are divers and only a handfull of them…my quite snorkeling must look childish to them but I`m loving the “Finding Nemo” experience

One of this Japanese people stopped by us while we were having a beer ….my “fellow traveller” being Irish, beer it`s a must ….and he started to talk to us, approaching  with the same curiosity as I noticed in the colorful fish I swan with.

Well this man is a sake rice farmer from Osaka (sake rive he tells me is 140 cm tall very different from normal rice, last year, just 2 days before the harvest a typhoon distoyed all….thankfully the government helps them a bit when that happens), actually from a small place near Kobe and he travelled a lot during his life so his english it`s very good. He says that “time is given, we only have a certain amount of it”, He is 58 married with no children, and “money is something we can make if we work harder”..so He likes to make the most of his time and see new places and mete new people.

He got married late, at 38, and his wife is 12 years younger than him, he tells us with pride: “Fisrst have fun then get married”, which is ,according to a book I`m reading “Inland sea” by Richie, is a famous Japanese saying. I offer him a beer and he sits down…you see , Japanese people from the islands are friendlier than the ones on the mainland (well, I actually only read about it in books, but it seems true)…he doesn`t pretend to refuse the beer with the international little dance of politness he just takes it.nice.

He tells us about differences in Japanese people from Hokkaido and People in Kiushu, tells me that driving in Rome it was a scary experience for him, but fun and that we Italians are crazy…great to see how the stereotypes follow you …and then when speaking about people in the north of Japan he says it! He says that they look like me, with my eyes!!! Yes! finally! I knew it. My mother was often told she has something oriental about her eyes, I got the same remark a few times but hearing it from this man, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean drinking cold Kirin beer just made my day.

Anyway he then left to go diving and I stayed knowing to be a bit more Japanese even if just for a moment.

p.s I will not read my post, no time, not that it would make a big difference anyway;-): enjoy my personal take on the english grammar!

So it seems I’m really going. Yes, Japan for a couple of months…in 2 days time…what do I expect from the experience? Well I wouldn’t charge with expectations one of the places I’ve always wanted to go to so I’ll keep it simple. First on the list is  finding Riyoko Ikeda anime artist behind  my childhood’s favourite cartoon : lady Oscar

Lady Oscar