Monday, October 9, 2006
Today ended up being a very good day. Much more interesting and exciting than I had originally anticipated. My day started in an interesting way, though. I had no hot water in my bathroom this morning. So, at 6:20 a.m., I walked down to the front desk with my little translator book and tried to explain to the desk clerk (who did not speak English) what the problem was. Finally, I just had to bring him up and show him. It took about twenty minutes, but finally, he got it working. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to take a cold shower. But, nothing to fear.

Next, we were off to visit to the Soka City Sports Day Festival. Today is a national holiday in Japan, so many people were off work and kids were out of school. The festival was like a big field day. It was really fun. I even participated in some of the events, such as the ring toss, basketball shoot, blow darts, and soccer ball kick. When I was waiting in line for the soccer ball kick, there were some boys in front of us who were practicing their English on us. They said things like, "I'm hungry," and "I'm sleepy." When it was my turn to kick the ball, I actually got it into one of the goal areas and they all yelled, "Bravo!" It was cool. It was fun to walk around and watch everything that was going on. People were curious about us, but very nice. The language barrier didn't seem to be a problem at all.

After that, we had lunch at the Soka City Cultural Center. I ate some things that I'm not quite sure what they were. Of course, rice is always safe. :) Soka City is known for several things: leather, rice crackers, and kimonos. After lunch we had a chance to purchase some products that are made from local Soka products. I bought a small purse with a leather handle and a larger tote bag with some leather accents. Both are very well made and I'm so excited about those purchases.

Our next few stops were several Buddhist temples and shrines in Soka. These were smaller than what we had seen before, but equally as interesting and intriguing. We walked around to several that were all close to each other.

The next stop was for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This was so neat. The ladies performing the ceremony explained everything to us, and then we got to participate. The way you pick up the bowl and hold it is very important. Also, you have to drink all the tea (green tea) within three to five swallows. I actually was able to do it! My tea was very hot and it was bright green. Down the hatch! Many of you who are aware of my finicky eating habits are probably reading this in disbelief, but I have actually managed to consume a lot of green tea while I've been here. Not that it's my drink of choice, but I can drink it, if needed. I like it better than brown tea, actually. Anyway, the ladies who did the tea ceremony were so sweet and they were just tickled pink to do this for us. It was a great experience.

After this, we went back to the hotel (still very small) and some of us decided to head out to the train station. We are planning to go to Tokyo on Tuesday for a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. This will be an experience, I'm sure. The train station proved to be a little challenging because NOTHING was in English (unlike Tokyo) and no one spoke English. I was writing Japanese characters from my guide book and trying to match them to signs posted. What a nightmare! Finally, we saw some black gentlemen, and we figured that maybe they spoke English. We were right! They helped us figure out the route to Tokyo, so we think we'll be set for tomorrow.

After that, we headed across the street to the mall. Yes, the mall. It's eight floors tall and the 8th floor has restaurants. We ate at a Chinese place (go figure). Towards the end of our meal, two Japanese men from a nearby table came over to talk to us and they bought us all drinks. Then they sat down for a few minutes and "talked" to us. One of them spoke a little English and we had our language translator book. It was fun and what an experience! They were so tickled to interact with us, and we felt the same. This was truly a cross-cultural experience.

We did some more shopping on the way back to the hotel. Tomorrow we have a very official day. We're meeting the mayor of Soka City.

Some Observations
1. Soka is very close to Tokyo but it's like another world. Tokyo was easy for the English speaker, but not here. I've had to use my translator book a lot in just two days.
2. More people stare at us here in Soka than they did in Tokyo.
3. I have yet to see a Japanese woman as tall as me or taller.
4. My sister and brother-in-law will be excited to know that there is a Harley Davidson store here in Soka City.