Arrival

Turns out I have internet access after all. Nice.

Anyways. There are nine of us Japan Study students here. Michiyo and Gilberto are also around for the next week or so, I believe.

The eleven of us arrived today. We took the Sunrise Izumo from Tokyo station at 10 PM last night and arrived at about 10 AM this morning. Interesting experience. We each had a solo cabin, which is effectively a bed, a door, and a square foot or so of floor space. The upper cabins were a bit larger, but I had one of the lower ones; they're stacked two high, and the staircase for the upper cuts into the lower. No dining car or anything, though we did have a small lounge area (a couple tables and some chairs) at the end of our car. Sleeping was... less than effective. Imagine trying to fall asleep during, and then sleep through, a mild earthquake. Now imagine that earthquake is eight hours long. And noisy. Tyler was apparently the only one to get any sleep.

So, hit Izumoshi station at about 10 AM. They had a bus waiting for us, so everyone stowed luggage and got on. First stop was Izumo-taisha, one of the most important of the Shinto shrines. After Izumo-taisha, we hit the shop at Shimane Winery. Wine and omiyage for sale, plus free wine samples. Not the best wine I've had, but not terrible. Outside was a soft-serve ice cream vendor. In addition to the usual vanilla, they had grape, wine, and soba flavored soft serve. I opted for the soba flavor. The three or so other Japan Study folks who tried it didn't like it, but I was a fan.

Back on the bus. Last destination with everyone was the Unnan community center (or something along those lines) for opening ceremonies. It's an annual event out here, with news coverage and people from the local government in attendance. We were introduced to everyone and went to sit with our host families. My host mother and host sister-in-law came; we talked for a bit in between ceremonies. After the usual speeches (and a good one from Tue; nice job, Tue), we got to watch a kagura purification ritual by the kagura club from one of the local elementary (middle?) schools. Definitely interesting. After that and a few more speeches (IIRC), we left with our host families for our new homes.

Before we arrived in Shimane, all I knew about my host family is that I had a host mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law. And a dog. Well, turns out that there were some interesting details not included on that sheet. Like the fact that my host father apparently runs a small Buddhist temple. Did I mention I'm going to be living in a temple for the next month? Granted, it's technically the house attached the the temple, but it's difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends. I got a tour of the house and main temple room (本堂, or hondou).

So, yeah. Traditional style indeed. I have an 8-mat (12 ft x 12 ft) washitsu  (Japanese-style room). Sliding door walls; the walls are literally made of paper. Which means that my room matches outside air temperature. And the house is on a hill, so it's relatively cold. And by "relatively cold" I mean frigid. Fortunately, I have 6 or 8 inches of blankets on my futon. And an electric kotatsu, which I'm currently sitting under. I also have an electric floor mat and kerosene (propane?) heater if need be, though the electronic ignition's broken so I get to light it with a match.

Was sitting at the kotatsu in the family room with my host father before dinner, showing him some pictures on my computer. There's some sort of PA system the city uses for news updates and the like. I was more than a little surprised when the thing switched on and I heard the news of my homestay being announced.

Dinner was with my host family and a neighboring (I think) family. It was delicious, and everyone was extremely nice. It sounds like I might be going with everyone to an onsen on Thursday. There was also mention of fishing and milking cows. Dunno about those two. Could be interesting.

After everyone left, I took the most frigid shower of my life. The air in the bathroom was cold enough for me to see my breath, and the tile temperature matched. Fun stuff. After that, dove under the kotatsu, checked email, and called home.

Anyways, it's late and I'm tired, so bed. Will probably post a bit more tomorrow with some first impressions.

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Headed out the door for my month-long cultural practicum in Shimane, a rural prefecture. I may or may not have internet access on my computer, though I should get cell phone reception and thus should at least be able to check email from my phone.

For anyone who's been depending on this blog for updates (how silly!), quite a few new pictures have been uploaded since I last posted. Updates should start somewhere in Part 2. I have another 800 images sitting on my computer I need to go through, but I won't be able to upload them for a month if I don't have a full internet connection.