三ぱく四日

This is the post people - I guess I can say 'around the world' - have been waiting for. Four days and three nights is all it took to feel at home. This post will cover a rough chronology of my visit to Koriyama.

Arriving Wednesday was a thrill. I felt shaky not knowing what to expect. Being Golden Week in Japan(something I will need to address elsewhere), Chitose Airport was a zoo (picture topped). It was the typical Japanese cacophony of "Irrashaimasen!" everywhere to get to my plane from the train. I don't mind though because I love - or at the very least, grown to love - Japanese culture; crowds being one aspect. I made it through and everything went well meeting Yukipapa and Kumama at the Fukushima airport.


That night, at my request, we had Chinese food. The above picture of the Tsuchiya clan was taken by Yukipapa. It may seem strange that I would have to return to Koriyama to eat good Chinese food, but I did; much to the chagrin of the owner of the restaurant (another Rotarian). The Tsuchiya's were surprised to learn we don't eat much Chinese food in Shikaoi. I mean, we have the basics; gyoza, ramen, shrimp-something-or-other. And in Obihiro there are Chinese restaurants, it just seems I never make it to them. Why have Chinese food at all in Japan? Because it's good. Better than home in my humble opinion. My Mom will be happy to hear there were lots of vegetables served. The shark fin soup was excellent and the fried rice was unbelievably good.

On a whim it was decided that the next day we should go to Nikkou; an area South of Fukushima known for it's shrines and long history. I will cover that trip in detail in the next post. Nikkou is home to the tomb of Tokugawa (Ieyasu) whom ruthlessly unified Japan under the Emperor during the 17th century. He tomb North of Edo (Tokyo) spawned numerous temples.

My second full day in Koriyama was filled with shopping and meeting old friends. The shopping part is because there aren't many stores in Tokachi worth visiting. I will also admit to stopping at a Starbucks near Koriyama Station. The coffee was excellent but I felt guilty because I never drank the stuff while I lived in Calgary. It is very hard to find a good cup of coffee in Japan but Starbucks - on an international level - is amazingly consistent. Coffee is not something I drink everyday but it was a great treat.


Shikaoi-cho soba-men is excellent. But for six years I have been craving Okawara-san's soba. He is a kid trapped in a - now grandfather's - body. He is also a snowboard shop owner (pictured above) trapped in a soba restaurant's owners body. It was great to see his snowboard shop again, touch base with him and his brother, and, of course, eat some of his excellent soba until I about burst. (pictured right) I was happy to learn that he has recently open a soba-ya (soba store) near Koriyama-eki (Koriyama station). I also met one of my old host families the Tanaba's but was unable to meet their son Ken-kun, who I was hoping to meet again. I am sure he is amazing at English by now.

My last day before I departed in the evening included a little bit more shopping and coffee, but truly focused on spending time with the Okoshi's; the absolute nicest couple in the world. Mr. Okoshi speaks no English. And I don't expect him too. I freely take it upon myself to learn Japanese so I can communicate and learn from people like the Okoshi's. I had a really good time showing them my pictures from Shikaoi and introducing them to my life and Shikaoi. It is times like these that I am happy to be living in Japan again because I don't feel so far from them.

The trip home was actually pretty low key; I had a lot to think about and not many travelers choose to return home on the Saturday (instead preferring Sunday). My schedule was very tight, returning home Saturday, and could have ended badly. However, all whet smoothly and I was able to get home at 11:00 PM tired but content. The image below is of Tsuchiya's garden path; something I remember very well.



Note: I apologize. I had wanted to leave something to read on the blog while I was away in Koriyama but the link was broken. I fixed the link to the peak oil article below.