fall broken

So my fall break trip to Kyuushuu was a mild disaster. It was fun, parts of it, but other parts were by turns stressful, uncomfortable, awkward.... I was led to believe that it was well planned and organized. Had I known beforehand that the trip leaders had in fact no idea what they were doing, I would not have gone. Anyway, I went, and saw some cool things, and spent entirely too much money, bonded a lot with Lindsay, and felt incredibly homesick. One question that came up was, what was I homesick for? Kyoto? Bay area? Walla Walla? Not Los Angeles, but I thought a lot about people in Los Angeles (as I always do). And on this note, in homage to The Flying Squirrel and to plagiarize my brother, here are the top 10 moments of my Kyuushuu trip. 

10. Spectacles Bridge, Sunday afternoon

Japan has some weird tourist sites. This is the oldest arched bridge in Japan, or something like that. It's in Nagasaki. I thought it was just a regular bridge, but I guess saying something is special makes it special, even if it's ordinary. 

9. Site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan

6 Christian Missionaries and 20 Japanese Christians were killed on this spot in Nagasaki. On Saturday night, we walked there after just arriving in Nagasaki. It was a really nice night out, and the hill had a pretty view of the harbor. 

8. Urakami Cathedral

Just after going to the Nagasaki Peace Park, we went to the Urakami Cathedral. It was the oldest church in Japan until it was destroyed in the a-bomb. I sat alone inside for a little bit and thought about the old churches I visited in Europe, the bomb, and religion. The church had really pretty stained glass windows. 

7. Nagasaki Peace Park, Sunday morning

The one in Hiroshima was definitely more powerful, but this one was really interesting. It had a lot of statues symbolizing peace. This is the big, famous one; the right arm points to the threat of nuclear weapons and the left arm signifies a peaceful future (?). Fun fact: my host mom's best friend's uncle designed it! 

6. Karaoke in Kagoshima, Monday and Tuesday nights

By the time we got to Kagoshima, after being in Fukuoka and then Nagasaki, we were fed up and exhausted. Lindsay's all-purpose solution: Karaoke! This was actually only the second (and third) times I have been to karaoke in Japan, and as a result of this trip I am going to start going more, it's definitely a great way to spend some time and relieve some stress. 

5. Dinosaur Park

On Tuesday, we took a ferry from Kagoshima across the bay to Sakurajima. This was our first stop. Why there are giant dinosaurs is beyond me. But it was some more grass we got to lie on. 

4. Arriving at the hotel in Kagoshima

We arrived in Kagoshima around 2 on Monday but didn't leave the station until 345 or so. This was the moment when our trip really fell apart. Earlier that morning I had decided I wanted to come home early, and dealing with ticket stuff and planning for the remainder of the week was really stressful and annoying. Lindsay and I could only laugh when we saw our tiny hotel room. 

3. Furusato Onsen

The main reason we went to Sakurajima was to go to this onsen (bath house). It was absolutely beautiful, probably the most amazing onsen I will ever go to. There is this giant, old, crazy tree next to a shrine. Sitting in the hot water underneath the tree's roots was like being in a mermaid's grotto. The bath is pretty much on the ocean, so it looks like the water in the bath extends out into the ocean. When I got too hot, I cooled off in the cold ocean water before getting back into the hot water. We timed our arrival really well with sunset, and the view was so breathtaking. 

2. Sangen'en, Tuesday morning

This was a famous villa back in the day, with an amazing garden. When I entered the garden I realized that this was why I had gone all the way to Kyuushuu. Back in the day, poets would sit along the banks of the stream. Cups of sake on boards of wood would float down the stream towards them, and they would have to write a poem before the sake reached them. Upon finishing the poem they would drink the sake. 

1. Returning to Kyoto

There's no place like home. As a result of this trip, I am sort of disillusioned by travel. Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima were all nice cities, but more and more I understand that cities are more or less all sort of the same, and not necessarily worth traveling to. I am glad that the next trip I take will be with my mom (there's that homesick thing again). 

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In other news, today is Thursday, making it Thanksgiving. I spent all day today decompressing from my trip. I cooked my own breakfast, read, watched some movies, colored, took a little nap... I am very thankful for being able to be in Japan, I am very thankful for my host parents, I am very thankful that there are people far away in other parts of the world who are maybe reading these words and thinking about me, and I am thankful that I am able to think about them.