この世界の片隅に "In This Corner of the World"

Sometimes, in the case of historical or traumatic events, our feelings of discomfort and sorrow might prevent us from seeking out further information. The merit of the knowledge we can gain from such information is invaluable. Perhaps this is especially true of wartime events in Japan in 1945.  Every so often, there is a movie or other media which chronicles these events, such as in Grave of the Fireflies or Barefoot Gen. However, many storylines are told from a military point of view, or focus on the victims in Hiroshima city, who suffered the most. These shocking recollections and horrific tales should certainly be read or watched by all, but it takes a lot of inner strength to sit down and do it.

Also, could it be that something is lost when we only look at the violent and horrific acts? What of the people living elsewhere in Japan? What of the civilians who went about their daily lives? What struggles did they endure and what did they take pride in? How did they make a living and how did they entertain themselves? What did they value most?

I did not expect to learn so much when I watched In This Corner of the World (この世界の片隅に), an animated feature which was released in Japanese theatres on November 12th, 2016, and is based on the graphic novel series of the same name. It is a beautiful rendition of everyday life in wartime Japan. The film starts in the 1930s in Japan, with a Japanese girl named Suzu, who lives with her family in Hiroshima city. She grows up, marries a man named Shusaku, and moves to a nearby town called Kure, where she will live with his family, help with the farming, housework, and look after Harumi, her sister-in-law's daughter.

Throughout the film, military themes are present as Kure was a military base for the Imperial Japanese Navy. At one point, there is a fire raid on Kure and several times the family has to take cover in a bomb shelter under their vegetable fields. However, unlike other movies in wartime settings, the plot does focus a lot on the day-to-day experience of an average person. Furthermore, unlike other movies that are set in Hiroshima in 1945, there is nearly no gore or graphic imagery. In the scenes where attacks and raids are depicted, nothing was overly shocking or upsetting, and nothing made me cry. Certainly, however, these parts are sad. I feel like they are necessary to paint a wholesome picture of young Suzu's life. She is happy, she is perplexed, she mourns, she is frustrated, she is content. This is her experience as a woman in 1945. Thus we can connect with her and we can learn from this.

There are even amusing and heartwarming plot points--for instance, at one point in the summer, Harumi finds a line of ants leading to the house and Suzu discovers that the ants have gotten into the sugar pot. Her attempts to purify the sugar fail so she goes into town to buy more, which is expensive due to rationing. After buying some, she gets lost in the maze of buildings, but is saved when she meets a wealthy young lady (Edit: Sorry, I made a mistake. The woman who helped Suzu was a brothel worker.) who tells her the way. Small details such as these, plus the authentic tone and old timey language use gave me a feel for the setting in 1945. In fact, I feel as if I probably missed a few references due to a cultural "generation gap," if you will.

On the subject of the language used in the film, it was not only quite old-fashioned but also I felt like I was listening to a genuine, bonafide "Hiroshima dialect." A lot of people know that the Hiroshima dialect uses turns of phrase such as "ja ke." This and other regional phrases and words were often used in the film, but I also felt the tone, the rise and fall of the characters' voices, was also very indicative of Hiroshima, yet sounded very natural and not overdone. Some people might think this would mean that the movie is difficult to understand because the dialect is so strong, but this is not so. I found that the characters spoke slowly and clearly enough that I could catch most of the words. I know almost nothing of the Hiroshima dialect, but after watching this movie I feel like I have a better understanding of what it is like.

In This Corner of the World goes beyond being a movie about wartime Japan. It is a movie about love, how we define family, loss, and new beginnings. These themes are depicted with beautiful art and the creative use of different mediums. It has won three awards so far, and is nominated for a fourth. Personally I cannot recommend it enough!

Here are a few links for those interested.
Wikipedia
IMDB
Anime News Network

Golden Week 2015: Shikoku, Chugoku and Kansai cycling tour

In Japan, Golden Week is a week of 3 or 4 consecutive national holidays and is a popular time to travel for Japanese people.

This year I decided to see Shikoku which is the only main island I hadn't been to in Japan. I went by bicycle and carried my tent and sleeping bag with me. The only other tour I have done with the tent was around Lake Biwako and that was only 3 nights or 400 km!

You know what another goal of this tour was? To visit 29 prefectures before I turn 29. So now I have visited 29 prefectures!

Day 1: April 29th, 2015

I left Nagoya late, at 11:30 am. oops. I took the Shinkansen to Okayama and transferred to a local line going to Shikoku. I got to Kagawa Prefecture, at Sakaide station (you can take the train across to Shikoku, by bridge) and rode for about 3 hours before finding a place to camp.
Kagawa is Japan's smallest prefecture, at a whopping 1876.73 square km. (2nd smallest: Osaka; 3rd: Tokyo; 4th: Okinawa)

Tent Sweet Tent.

 Day 2: April 30th, 2015

On my second day I went from Kagawa to Tokushima Prefecture. The weather was perfect. Originally I had planned to go to the coast, but I decided to cut down on time and go inland, across the north area of the prefecture. I found this to be an easy and pleasant day.

By the way this is what my setup looks like. (very minimalist!)

I found a castle there... Kawashima Castle

I think it was around 5 pm I found a spot to camp on a trail in Miyoshi city, Oboke Gorge (literally in the middle of nowhere). The area is famous for rafting tours and I went to an onsen there in the evening! Unfortunately I didn't go rafting!
This is near the site and I took these photos in the morning.

 Day 3: May 1st, 2015

Next I went from Tokushima to Kochi Prefecture. This was a very difficult day because there were two large hillclimbs, one halfway in and one when I was almost finished! But it was also a very enjoyable day because there was beautiful weather and very little traffic. In fact, it is the 3rd least populous prefecture in Japan!

Also, I had a scary discovery in the morning as I went to pump my front tire. The tire had a weak spot and was bulging out, and I had a spare tube but not a spare tire. This means if I hit a rock, or inflated it further and the weak spot broke, I could get a flat. I did not inflate it and hoped I could hold out until I got to Ehime.

I came across this nice temple and got a sticker for my bike

on the final hillclimb... almost at the top

Day 4: May 2nd, 2015

On the fourth day I went from Kochi to Ehime Prefecture. This was a very pleasant day, except for the first 10 or so minutes going from Kochi to Ehime. There was a 5 km long tunnel that was all downhill and I did it all the way going 40-50 km/h. I've done that before but not with a sketchy front tire and carrying camping equipment. Oh well safety 2nd!

Ehime is the prefecture that is connected to Hiroshima Prefecture via the Shimanami Kaido. I planned to set out on the Shimanami Kaido but I had already ridden 50 km from Kochi to Imabari, the north tip of Ehime. Also, around noon I took the opportunity to get my tire changed at Banff Cycle shop (a good Canadian name). I also did laundry (phew) and went to see the castle (just looked at the outside). The Shimanami Kaido is over 70 km long so I wasn't sure if I could do it. However, lo and behold I got to Onomichi, Hiroshima before 8 pm. 

Ehime is very cyclist friendly. This is a regular convenience store that caters to cyclists. The sign says "Conbini cycle oasis: air pump, water, washroom, rest area, info"

In Imabari I took the opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing.

In front of the entrance to Imabari Castle

Imabari Castle

I started out on the Shimanami Kaido around 3:30 pm

The Shimanami Kaido connects 9 islands with Shikoku and Honshu. It is like a 70 km long Seawall!

Some of the bridges are about 1 km in length

Day 5: May 3rd, 2015

Day Five was a bit difficult. I was going from Onomichi, in eastern Hiroshima prefecture to Okayama Prefecture. I guess I was just frustrated with the bad state of the roads and the drivers. To top it all off, it started raining around 3 or 4 pm so I decided to get to Okayama city quickly to find a place to camp. After I got my tent all set up I went to Arashi no Yu which is an onsen and ganbanyoku. Ganbanyoku is like a hot sauna where the floor is warm stones, and you just lie and relax.

Before I got to Okayama city I passed through Kurashiki which is a city with a famous historical district. It is also famous for Bizen pottery.

 Day 6: May 4th, 2015

According to my iPhone, it was going to rain on this day too, so I put my camping equipment in a large Air Canada bag before packing on my bike rack. However, the weather was quite fine and by noon I stopped and took everything out to dry. I continued on from Okayama in to Hyogo Prefecture (home of Himeji Castle, Kobe city, and the Hanshin Tigers).

In Himeji I considered skipping the castle to save on time, but I figured why not since it is a world heritage site and literally only hundreds of metres from where I was riding by. I decided not to go in, but just take a picture because the crowds were insane (that's Golden Week for you).

Himeji-jo Castle, a world heritage site which was restored last year

Me outside Himeji Castle

Day 6: May 5th, 2015
CINCO DE MAYO!!!!! Just kidding, this is the last stretch of the trip so I rode over 200 km! I could have split it and got home on the 6th but decided to push myself.
So in the morning I started from my campsite in Miki, Hyogo and went through Ibaraki, Osaka; Kyoto, Kyoto; Otsu, Shiga; Inabe, Mie; and Aisai, Aichi (just to name a few of the cities I passed through).
To date, this is the only double century I've ridden with a tent and gear. It's also the first time I've cycled 6 prefectures in one day!
I didn't do much on this day except eat rice at convenience stores and try to figure out how much longer it would be.

Next Tour

I am hoping to possibly do another tour in August, of Tohoku.

A Public Service Announcement from Emma

When you are a bicycle tourist, or simply meandering around the countryside in Japan, always take your garbage with you! Since there are convenience stores everywhere, you're never likely to be more than 10 km away from a garbage can. So DON'T throw it even if there are other pieces of trash lying around. That trash has been thrown by some stupid Yanki kids. (Perhaps I will make a blog post ranting about them later)

On this trip I threw every little bit of my garbage away. (except for the time I forgot my bike bag in Kagawa... oh and my hammer in Okayama...) And now I'm really cool and you can be too by throwing your garbage in the proper receptacle. 

Love the earth and the earth loves you too!

Granfondo Yatsugatake 2014: My first cycling race

Hi everyone, after a long but unintended hiatus I am back to blog. I thought I would tell you about my bike race this past weekend. I went to Yamanashi prefecture, Hokuto city - Kiyosato, at Mount Yatsugatake for a 108 km bike race: Granfondo Yatsugatake. Just my luck it was not just rainy, but pouring buckets (a veritable typhoon!) for the entire day! However, I did have so much fun. I got to Hokuto the day before for registration. Kiyosato is a really beautiful part of town and so quaint. It is actually more countryside than Wakayama.

Kiyosato red bridge.

One of the best things about Kiyosato is the beautiful scenery. It is just the beginning of autumn now, and the leaves haven't started to change in Nagoya yet, but in Kiyosato, Yamanashi I saw the first changing leaves of the year! It's exciting!

Food tickets for the aid station, and my race number.

Another thing they pride themselves on is the local delicacies and vegetables! Interestingly enough, there were a lot of European restaurants (Italian, Swedish, etc.) scattered throughout the tiny town. However, I didn't eat there and got  tofu, pickles, and apples at the konbini instead. 

During the bike race, there were 7 aid stations giving out various foods like soba soup, salad, cucumbers with miso dip, oranges, grapefruit, apples, corn on the cob, sweet beans, salt candies, and rice balls. (There were also non-vegan foods like pork broth,  cookies, soft ice cream, apple pie, and chocolates.) That's what the tickets in the above picture were for. However, on the race day it was pouring rain, so they said to me, you don't need to give a ticket. They even let us have seconds and thirds of the food! I think some people must not have shown up due to the weather.

So every 20 km or so I could have a light meal! It was really nice. Usually on my long rides (more than 100 km) I'll only stop once or twice at a konbini to get tea and sometimes a snack. It was also heartwarming to see the old men's and ladies' smiling faces when they gave you a snack. 

There's me after the race!
I did it in 5 hours 40 minutes.

The last 30 - 40 km of the race were pretty tough because it was almost all uphill from there. I didn't walk my bike up the hills but I passed a couple of people having trouble. Finally, I got to the finish. I was glad it was only 108 km because after the race I had to ride back to the train station (maybe 12 km), still in the pouring rain. about 3 km from the station, I went to an onsen to have a shower and relax. Actually, I was very lucky because I met a pro cyclist there who noticed all my clothes were soaking wet, and she gave me a brand new cycling kit from her sponsor to wear home, so I didn't have to sit in my stinky wet bike shorts! By the way, I am so, so grateful to have a new pair of cycling tights and a jersey.. those are expensive!

From Yamanashi I had to go to Tokyo so I could transfer to the night bus going home. In Tokyo it was still pouring rain. I had 4 hours between the train getting in and the bus leaving so I went to a coin laundry to wash all my stuff, because not a single thing in my backpack was dry. Even the money in my wallet was completely soaked. I got on the bus at midnight and actually got a decent 5 hours of deep sleep! 

All in all, it was an amazing experience and I had so much fun! I'm hoping to maybe do another race soon, either cycling or running.

summer break #1

so at my school we get quite a few breaks throughout the year, for a total of about 6 weeks over the year. one of our breaks was in july from the 13th to the 21st. I decided to take a bike trip to Shizuoka prefecture and I stayed in a town called Omaezaki.

here is the map of where Omaezaki is. the route I took on the way back went through Hamamatsu, Shinjiro, Toyota, Miyoshi, and Nisshin. (going there I went through Okazaki, Toyokawa, Toyohashi, and Hamamatsu)

I spent July 16th riding, and I stayed in a hotel that night. 

the next day I headed over to the youth hostel.

 On the 17th I did a bit of exploring around Omaezaki, went swimming at the beach...

The beach has a giant slide near it, so I went on that. super funn!!

Omaezaki is right on the pacific ocean, with no islands obstructing the view. I've rarely seen views like this--living in places like Wakayama, Vancouver, and Nagoya the ocean always has a coast on the other side or some islands obstructing the view. That night I stayed in the hostel in Omaezaki. It was really peaceful and the owners were really kind.

So on my second day, I did something I've wanted to do for a long time. I went surfing! I just found a little shop called Morey Surf where I could rent a surfboard and wetsuit... and the owner taught me a surfing lesson too! it was really fun! I didn't get to stand up on the board but am hoping to go back soon and try it out again :) I have found a couple places along the Chita peninsula (south of nagoya)

after my surf lesson I was all salty and sandy so I really wanted to go to an Onsen. but the only onsen was about 19 km away. although that was nothing to what I had ridden two days before, so why not go to it? the Onsen was called Ko-umare and it was one of the nicest I've been to. they even have a scented oil bath which changes every month. I was really surprised to find the price was cheap--only 500 yen for 3 hours.

these pictures were taken on the way to the onsen!

the very next day, I left the hostel before 7 am and had breakfast of a rice ball, block of tofu, and oolong tea in front of a convenience store. then I headed about 40 km to Hamamatsu city. There is nothing to see there but I wanted to send my heavy backpack back home by express delivery. Which only cost about 1000 yen.

Inland sea in Hamamatsu

then I headed up into the mountains which I would cross over into Aichi prefecture and back home. the mountain going up was really high, and I finished off my bottle of tea just going up! thankfully at the top there were a couple of vending machines waiting for me. After the top I thought I would have a really long downhill ride. but it was more like a plateau, going straight across and through most of Toyota city (yes, the car company started from there). then, I had a really fantastic ride down into Toyota's city centre. after that it was a hour or two on the highway back home to Nagoya city.

This was the longest trip I've done so far; I probably rode over 350 km in 4 days.

the plateau part of Toyota

now here are all the prefectures I've been to... not counting the ones I've only passed through: 

Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Tochigi, Hyogo, Osaka, Nara, Wakayama, Gifu, Nagano, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Niigata, Aichi, Mie, Fukui, Shizuoka, and Shiga 

(just went to Shiga on August 13th, but that's a story for another post) 

That makes 19 in total! there are 47 in all, so I only have 28 left to visit.

two rides to Koyasan

A Bike Trip to Koyasan

I wrote this article for a job application as an online journalist/translator, I didn't get the job but why not post it!

If there’s one thing every foreigner praises Japan for, without fail, it would be the speed, the  efficiency - of transportation, customer service, and almost anything that requires a plan or schedule. Personally, I’ve had nothing but good experiences in this aspect of Japan.

In Kimino town on the way to Koya

On the other hand, sometimes it’s more than worth your while to go slow, and sort of meander about, without a set plan or strict schedule to adhere to. You never know who you will meet or what interesting things you will see; plus, it’s always refreshing to stop and smell the roses (or in my case on March 24th, take a picture of the cherry blossoms).

On Sunday, I set out on my road bicycle like I always do: with the intention of going somewhere interesting and getting my weekly adrenaline fix. Little did I know I would be in for a big adrenaline rush, and a great adventure.

In Kimino town on the way to Koya

Kimino town on the way to Koya

I started out from my home in Wakayama city, and headed east on a familiar road leading to the countryside. I had always thought about riding to Mount Koyasan, one of Wakayama’s famous tourist destinations, but when I left that day, it was already noon. Could I make it nearly 50 kilometres to the ancient valley town, 800 metres up in the mountains? Nevertheless, I decided to ride along any road that looked nice. Soon I ended up in Kimino town, south of Wakayama and Koya. Even though it is inland, trees in bloom were already dotting the hills. I came to a crossroads; one way leading to Koya, and the other leading back to Wakayama. Well, since I had come this far, why not go for it? So I continued on my way to the mysterious mountain town.

Finally, after a long ride through Kimino’s beautiful wilderness, I came to another crossroads. The road to Koya was a steep grade. Well, I guess this is it, I thought. I stopped to get a bottle of tea at the first vending machine I’d seen in nearly two hours, and met a friendly old man. He asked me in Japanese, in the strongest country accent I’ve ever heard, “Are ya goin’ to Koya, then? On that thing? Yer a real trucker, aren’cha!” Yes! I was going to do it (hopefully). 

the sign says:
"altitude 634 metres:
this point is the same height as Tokyo SkyTree
[the tallest tower in the world]
Danger of forest fire
Koyasan, 1200 year anniversary"
Koyasan mountain is about 800 metres high!

So, I geared down, and started my ascent. Every few seconds I wondered when I would reach the top. One of my triumphant moments was when I came to a commemorative sign that said “634 metres: The same height as Tokyo Sky Tree.” Wait--I rode my bike as high as the Tokyo Sky Tree? Now, that was something to be excited about. As a nature lover, I was also in awe of the fact that even Japan’s tallest tower could be dwarfed by the power of the everlasting earth. It may seem obvious on paper, but sometimes you have to be in the thick of it to understand.

A few more grueling minutes, and I was finally in Koya town! I cruised down an easy hill and was greeted by an enormous orange gate. However... there was only one problem. Since I left home at noon, and took the long, scenic route, it was now five in the evening! I hardly had the chance to set foot in one temple before they started to close for the day.

part of the famous temple in Koya

Since it was about to get dark, I decided to go straight home, the way I came, twisting and turning down that mountain road. But somewhere, I took a wrong turn and ended up on another winding mountain road, this time in Kudoyama town. Having never heard of Kudoyama, I wasn’t quite sure what prefecture I was in, but since I was essentially in the woods with no one else around, I decided to press on. Eventually I came to Hashimoto (still in Wakayama prefecture--phew!), found a quaint little restaurant, and had a satisfying meal of green pea rice and natto (among other things). Luckily, from Hashimoto, I was able to get on the highway for a speedy return home (sparing enough time to go to bathe in the local hot spring)!

When I think about it, I could have easily ridden along the straight, smooth highway that goes from Wakayama to Hashimoto, and gone to Koyasan from there. It certainly would have been quicker, and I would have been able to see the temple, and get another Traffic Safety sticker for my bike, to boot! What’s done is done, however--and I feel that not only I accomplished something fantastic that day, I also felt refreshed and relaxed by my ride through the country (even though I had to climb over 634 metres on my bicycle). With that in mind, everyone should be able to enjoy what Japan has to offer at their own pace, at least once in a while! 

 Again

So obviously I wasn't satisfied with my trip to Koya, since I didn't even get to see the town properly. So on April 4th I went again. This time I managed to leave at 10:00... I still should have gone earlier though! oh well. By that time, I was staying at the Egawas in Aridagawa, so first I biked up to Kainan city, then through Kimino and Katsuragi towns, and finally arriving at Koyasan. Kimino is a tough ride going east, because it's long and narrow, and there is a slight incline all the way. and at the end there is an 800 metre mountain to ride up. I got to Koyasan around 3 or 4 pm, I think. 

I stayed until around 5 and then left by a road that looked like it hadn't seen a car in months. there was also a rest stop/"picnic area" that was completely deserted and looked abandoned, as the water in the washroom didn't work! It was also a very steep road. luckily I was going down but I actually got off and walked my bike part of the way to save my brakes. 

so to go home I went through Shimizu, which is the easternmost (inland) part of Aridagawa. it's very countryside. it's hard to get cell reception in some places and there is no train that goes out there. I think there might be a bus of some sort. Luckily the road home was mostly downhill, an easy grade.

wild sakura trees in Kimino

wild sakura trees in Kimino

this is where I stopped for lunch, by a river

I don't think you can see them, but the wind was blowing the petals everywhere, it looked like it was snowing!

at Kongobuji Temple in Koya

At Kongobuji Temple in Koya

at Kongobuji Temple in Koya

another temple that had a cute statue

me at Kongobuji Temple, pretending to be a first grader

on the road home... nothing, nothing and more nothing for as far as the eye can see!