The oldest dojo I've been to, believe it or not, is smack dab in the middle of Kumamoto City. I'll definitely go and take some pictures of that place when I get the chance. It looks like a run-down haunted house sitting alongside of a shrine, with tall buildings surrounding on all sides. Furu-san took me there the day of the hanami cherry blossom party in the city. That reminds me: I do have a picture from the hanami I'd like to share. This is O-san doing "Thriller" under the cherry trees. (Well, it was some Japanese form of "Thriller," but it didn't actually have the same words or the same tune. But in my mind, it was "Thriller.") We actually did go and sing real karaoke with a real banana for a mic after this pic was taken.
Today I was 10 minutes early. I'm still working on the waking up part.
Matthew--genki desu yo. I feel pretty lucky to have been able to come over and learn all the things I'm learning. I think I got lucky in one particular regard by originally being placed way out here in the boonies. I live in a kind of suburb, which is even more forgotten than the countryside, I think. I have a lot of chances to experience the Japanese lifestyle I don't think I could have if I was say, close to Tokyo or Osaka. It can feel isolating at times, but I'm grateful to have the chance to be here. Thanks for the thoughts and for reading.
Total minutes early: 175
3 comments:
konbanwa.where you are sounds, totemo kirei desu ne.Out in the sticks you may feel, but it sounds like complete heaven to me.I would love to live out there and train...long life dream of mine.Stick with the aikido.x
Jetblossom: Too bad you didn't get any pictures. I have never been to Japan before so always look for people to post pictures to see what it is like in a different country than mine. Oh well...maybe next time. Glad you had a good time despite the weather.
Matthew, nihongo no benkyou wa shiteimasuka? hiragana wa yomemasuka?
Like I said, I live in the suburbs, so there are lots of ugly buildings and 5 o'clock traffic jams. But the pace of life is pretty slow and that's nice. I get a lot of vegetables from my neighbors, and in the fall there's nothing like fresh rice.
Aikido training is good too, of course. But I think you can get good Japanese martial arts training outside of Japan these days too. Don't you think so?
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