I flew out of Kagoshima on the first flight to Haneda Airport on the 24th of July. That Friday was the beginning of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme’s (JET’s) 2010 Tokyo Orientation. After applying to participate as an assistant for the orientation a few months prior, I was offered the position and accepted at once to step up to this unique opportunity. This year an expected 700 Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and Coordinators of International Relations (CIRs) were to commence their training for the upcoming year (and for some years) in Japan. The orientation is hosted at Keio Plaza Hotel, which is in the center of Shinjuku ward, known to have some of the busiest human traffic in the world. It had been nearly six months since the last time I visited Tokyo; it still lives up to its gigantic reputation, on all levels.
My roommate for the Orientation, Galileo
Unforgettable tiramisu cake from the Italian restaurant in the basement of Keio Plaza
For the next four days I was buzzed around Keio Plaza in a suit, toting a map of the hotel’s labyrinth of corridors, guiding new JETs to presentation rooms, internet and hospitality centers and answering any questions I could about living in Japan. A few months before the orientation I was asked to present along side two other orientation assistants about food, dining and cooking in Japan. I was thrilled at the opportunity to put together an approachable perspective on cooking with Japanese ingredients at home. The looks of the faces of my two presentation partners was priceless when the moment of truth came; the venue was packed with more than 200 people in chairs and even more standing.
The audience for "Food, Eating and Dining in Japan"
Needless to say, I was glad to have had the chance to participate in this year’s Tokyo Orientation. Not only was I able to interact with the new JETs from all around the world, but I also had the pleasure of sharing the company of other current JETs representing all of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Hours after concluding the orientation I was on a direct flight to Seattle; family and friends were waiting.
Family
I had not smelled the crisp northwest air, gazed at the Seattle skyline or sat in my dining room in exactly 368 days. In all honest truth, I expected it to be a much longer time before I was once again surrounded by all of these things, before I came back home. Maybe it was the fact that it had been almost exactly a year, or perhaps it was the presence of Grama Selma, Chloe, Yehuda and nearly twenty other family members. Either way, something made me feel a heightened sense of homecoming. I knew it was something special. I knew I had to soak it up. Luckily, the first seven days of my visit were string of unparalleled dinners, parties and family get-togethers that I will not soon forget.
Grama and her girls
The big new family
Birthday on the “Fun-der-barge”, Funderbirthday
Cousins
Falafel night
Out of all the family members who came to Seattle I was the last one to leave, and yet I still felt rushed. Just when my body had adjusted to the abnormally cool Seattle summer climate I was on a plane again to face to the crippling heat and humidity of Akune. Fortunately, school was still out of session and I could spend the remaining weeks of summer vacation in the air-conditioned city hall as opposed to the open-air school staff room.
Herbage
Goya, Nigauri, Sour melon
When it is 33 degrees centigrade outside and 35 in my apartment, all I want to do is swim in the ocean. To my great disappointment, though, I cannot swim. The reason, of course, is that we are in the middle of jellyfish season and as a result the ocean shores have been closed off.
“I need to swim. Where can I swim?” I asked Captain Matsunaga, dreading the potential of spending the rest of the summer without as much as a dip in the ocean.
“Well, we have to go to Koshiki-jima, of course”, said the Captain, nodding as if knowing all the answers, “Are you free on Sunday? Let’s go on Sunday. I’m going to show you the real color of the ocean.”
I woke up on Sunday and it was still pitch black. I drove to A-Z (a store similar to Costco or Sam’s Club) to meet the Captain and shop for the essentials we would need that day: water; sauce for the noodles the Captain had prepared the night before; and peanuts. Before heading to Akasegawa port where Captain Matsunaga’s boat is moored, we stopped at Harmonican, roused Juno (the Captain daughter) from sleep and raided the icebox. While the ocean was still calm, we loaded up the Kamome-maru (the yacht) with our gear, rigged jib and raised the main sail. Seconds later the sun rose.
The Kamome-maru and crew
Captain
Second mate
The round trip journey to Koshiki-jima was eight hours, plenty of time to troll for fish, eat peanuts and soak up some PTRs (prime time rays). After we passed Akune Oshima we let out the trolling rig and waited anxiously for a catch; I waited for the color of the ocean to change. In a few hours with the help of a trusty motor and slight northwestern wind we were cruising over an indescribably navy blue ocean; the sun penetrated meters down into the warm summer sea. When we approached a floating pile of garbage and wood Enokida-san, one of our crew, said, “There are fish under there, watch.” As soon as the trolling rig passed the drift, the slack rubber band snapped taut. I grabbed the line and slowly reeled in our catch. I gazed into the ocean and saw a flash of vibrant blue and yellow, and another; we had just hooked two shiira, or mahi mahi. I pulled them up on top the stern of the boat. The blue color of the fish was so alive. I noticed that one of the fish had been hooked in the cheek and was losing a lot of blood. The fish convulsed with astounding strength, showering the deck and its crew with thick mahi mahi blood. We all roared with laughter and bewilderment. Moments later I had my first taste of mahi mahi, my first sashimi breakfast.
Shiira
Destination Koshiki-jima
At the moment I thought I could not take anymore of the rocking boat we dropped anchor at Koshiki-jima; it was time to swim. The visibility in the water was amazing and the colors of the fish were so vivid. Before I knew it I had been swimming for two hours and it was time for lunch. Under the shade of the main sail our crew of three shared a lunch of somen (thin noodles) in ice water, mahi mahi sashimi and fresh picked plum tomatoes from the Captains garden. After a post-lunch dip, we raised the main sail again and headed back for Akune. We would catch five more fish on our way home and that night I ate like a king.
Shiira salted and drying
I would like to leave you with a proverb that is appropriate for the nearly 14-hour journey to Koshiki-jima:
早起きは三文の得
The early bird gets the worm.
