If you know anything at all about Japan, you probably know that it's not historically Catholic. Japan has been and probably always will be an interesting mix of two religions--Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the traditional Japanese religion, formed even before the Chinese writing system was introduced to Japan. The basic idea of Shinto is that the world around us is populated by a limitless number of natural gods, and we need to show them the appropriate amount of respect or we will feel the force of their displeasure. After Buddhism entered Japan in the form of Buddhist texts, Buddhism and Shinto combined rather nicely to form a way of religious observance that still rules today. The practical side of this is that Christmas is celebrated very differently here.
The big end-of-the-year family holiday in Japan is actually New Years. Christmas is a couples' holiday, celebrated by eating KFC and going on dates. Since I'm interested in neither chicken nor dates, I had to find something else to fill my time on December 24th and 25th.
I'll admit--I've been a little depressed lately. The constantly rainy weather combined with the fact that most of my JET friends are either home for the holidays or traveling in some awesome distant land hasn't made me feel all that fabulous and proactive. That's why I woke up yesterday morning with the determination to get out of the house and do something to make me feel better. As Cailey likes to say: "You live in Japan. Go on a damn adventure."
The first stop on my adventure? The beach.
The big end-of-the-year family holiday in Japan is actually New Years. Christmas is a couples' holiday, celebrated by eating KFC and going on dates. Since I'm interested in neither chicken nor dates, I had to find something else to fill my time on December 24th and 25th.
I'll admit--I've been a little depressed lately. The constantly rainy weather combined with the fact that most of my JET friends are either home for the holidays or traveling in some awesome distant land hasn't made me feel all that fabulous and proactive. That's why I woke up yesterday morning with the determination to get out of the house and do something to make me feel better. As Cailey likes to say: "You live in Japan. Go on a damn adventure."
The first stop on my adventure? The beach.
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There's something about the beach in winter. It has some special quality--a certain austerity that seems very unique and one that I find quite lovely. The cold breeze off the water, the emptiness of the beach, the brown, brittle plants dotting the sand...it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's certainly mine. It might seem like an odd way to banish my loneliness, but all it really took was a reminder that there's a beautiful world right outside my door.
The weird thing about the beach is that I usually forget it's there. It may seem odd to forget about something as huge as the ocean, but I honestly do. During the summer I went there all the time, but since the start of the school year this is only my second visit. You can't forget about the mountains. They're there every morning when I wake up, they're in my rearview mirror on my way to school, they're there every time I look outside the window during class. The ocean, despite being more massive than anything else on the plant, is sneaky. It can hide itself behind trees and you'd never know it was there. I need to make a better effort to visit it more often.
After the beach, I did a little shopping and headed over to my friend Melody's house for a Christmas Eve sleepover and a Christmas Brunch. One of the things I love about my community in Japan is that there are always other English-speakers within easy reach. A nice, calming walk followed by an evening out with some lovely friends was just what the doctor ordered.
The weird thing about the beach is that I usually forget it's there. It may seem odd to forget about something as huge as the ocean, but I honestly do. During the summer I went there all the time, but since the start of the school year this is only my second visit. You can't forget about the mountains. They're there every morning when I wake up, they're in my rearview mirror on my way to school, they're there every time I look outside the window during class. The ocean, despite being more massive than anything else on the plant, is sneaky. It can hide itself behind trees and you'd never know it was there. I need to make a better effort to visit it more often.
After the beach, I did a little shopping and headed over to my friend Melody's house for a Christmas Eve sleepover and a Christmas Brunch. One of the things I love about my community in Japan is that there are always other English-speakers within easy reach. A nice, calming walk followed by an evening out with some lovely friends was just what the doctor ordered.
Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful--a rare sight in Toyama, when it's either raining or snowing most of the time. The drive home from Melody's house takes me right along the mountains, and it was so pretty today that I decided to do a little exploring in the foothills with the rest of my day. I put on a pair of hiking boots (just in case) and headed up into the mountains, well-aware of the fact that it's soon going to be too snowy for an easy mountain drive. As it was, I hit a few patches of road that looked a little questionable, but Peggy (my Suzuki WagonR) took them like a trooper. I drove around randomly for awhile and then headed with a little more purpose towards Unazuki--the onsen town you might recognize from the train trip I wrote about a few weeks ago. It was a little chilly and virtually deserted, but it ws so worth it. The Japanese Alps are an intimidating mountain range, but they're as beautiful as they are wild.
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A little side note: that cat up there? He was sitting in the middle of the street and forced me to drive around him because he was too damn lazy to move. He's only moving in this picture because I was on foot and he assumed that I had returned for revenge. I got a new camera for my birthday (thanks, Pops!) and I went a little crazy with it today since this was essentially its maiden voyage. I'm still getting used to it--most of my pictures were slightly crooked, so I need to work on that--but I think some of them turned out pretty well! When you go somewhere with the explicit intention of taking pictures, it's amazing how many visually engaging things there are to find.
The day ended with me investing in a new memory card for my camera (the two 512 MB cards from my old camera just weren't cutting it) and four volumes of Japanese manga that I am very much looking forward to reading as soon as I finish up with this! It may not have been a very traditional Christmas, but I had a good time. I'm missing my family and friends, I'm a little lonely in my teeny tiny Japanese apartment, and tomorrow will probably bring yet another bout of precipitation, but I'm happy for right now. I guess that's what happens when you get out of bed and go on a damn adventure! Happy holidays, everyone. Have a glass of soymilk eggnog for me.
The day ended with me investing in a new memory card for my camera (the two 512 MB cards from my old camera just weren't cutting it) and four volumes of Japanese manga that I am very much looking forward to reading as soon as I finish up with this! It may not have been a very traditional Christmas, but I had a good time. I'm missing my family and friends, I'm a little lonely in my teeny tiny Japanese apartment, and tomorrow will probably bring yet another bout of precipitation, but I'm happy for right now. I guess that's what happens when you get out of bed and go on a damn adventure! Happy holidays, everyone. Have a glass of soymilk eggnog for me.
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