What happens when you drag your tired self out on a Friday night?
Short answer: 2 am jam session in an izakaya.
The long answer:
You discover a neigborhood that (like so many) you didn’t know existed, with a pulsing late-night bright-light beat.
You learn that the bar you are going to is run by a Minnesotan, has live music every night, and feels like a concert in your living room.
You hear great live music from some fellow teachers.
You ride the train home packed in like sardines, holding on for dear life as the crush of people sways as one.
You stop for a bite to eat near the station and discover delicious food…
And as the talk turns to music, the guitars come out, playing and singing commence, with neighboring young people joining in, waitresses listening, and the rest of the patrons staring at you as you make your way out into the moonlit streets.
************
Kichijoji is an area of town a mere three train stations away, and this Saturday I spend a few hours exploring, from the bustling shopping area of Sun Road....
To the peace and quiet of Inokashira park.
My wander through the park reveals the usual (walkers, joggers, nappers, readers, paddle-boats that look like swans), the weekend attractions (the puppet show, the man making balloon animals), the performance artists (the poet reading his works aloud, walking in circles as he shares his wisdom, the man playing the electric keyboards). …
Today is a matsuri - a festival day where the people of the nearby areas parade through the streets with their mikoshi, portable shinto shrines. I leave the park just in time to one the shrine procession take off - heaving the shrine onto their shoulders using long wooden planks, surrounded by others all wearing the name of their area, moving through the streets as the policemen clear the way. They chant, bobbing and moving in rhythm in their cloven white shoes. I follow shamelessly in tourist mode, clicking away.
(This next one might be my favorite from the day!)
Back again, and into a maze of tight alleys full of restaurants, popping out into the bright sun and girls with microphones trying to entice me into their electronics stores, then down below to a whole world beneath the train station - delicious air conditioning, gourmet treats, clothes....
Sunday brings an excursion to a shrine a bit farther afield...
..and a great shrine sale, a great place to browse and photograph....
It was a good weekend full of explorations, adventures, and getting to know my new people and my new city. Has the transition been perfect? Of course not. This is new territory for me, this packing up and leaving a life behind, and trying to carve out a new one here is not without its challenges. My past adventures have begun because of the inevitable and expected end of a phase in my life, but this was a choice. It was easy to be so sure from the comfort of summer vacation, but there are moments where I do miss the life I left behind...and usually those moments are the challenging ones, when I miss the security of knowing and being known. Being at a new school is hard work; collaborating closely with others who teach the same course is something I deeply appreciate but am having to shift my mind and my habits into. I love the connections I am forging here already, but of course I miss my friends and colleagues who have been in my life for the past 5 years....
...and I still can't translate my microwave!
These challenges are also opportunities for growth. I'm content to take them on in exchange for the rest of it, and as I coast through a shaded section of park each morning, I am so thankful to be here.
Shrine from Erin Wick on Vimeo.