Back from Nagano

I arrived back in Kyoto yesterday morning, on a very tired, rainy overnight bus. It was easier coming back on the bus then going, but I may seek a different form of transportation when I head up to the Tokyo area again. The bus leaves one station at about 11:30 p.m., and the idea is that you can get some sleep in before the bus arrives at its destination seven hours later. However, the bus stops every two hours, which is good and convenient if you're doing anything but sleeping. It's not quite torture until you realize that all of the Japanese people around you are sleeping soundly for most of the seven hours, through the rest stops and all. Either way, I arrived back home in Kyoto very sleepy, exhausted, with full bags and a wonderful trip to the Kanto region seven hours behind me. There's so much to say, I don't know if I'll be able to get it all in. After all, I do have homework tonight and school tomorrow!
The meat of the trip was going to Nagano with my friend's family to visit her grandparents, and a few other family members. It was a three hour car ride northwest of Tokyo into the mountains, and actually in a smaller city called Komoro, which is in Nagano prefecture. The area is famous for apples, as well as a certain kind of pickled leaves, which we ate in most of our meals. The meals were all very delicious, well-rounded, and a nice change from the eating habits I have developed over here. I just had soba noodles and kimchee for dinner (not together), so I guess it's back to the old routine.
We ate all of our meals in the living room around the family table, which stood about a foot and a half above the room's tatami floor. We sat on cushions, had rice and miso soup with every meal, and drank tea afterwards almost every time. It was a nice experience of traditional Japan that I hadn't had before, especially living on my own in an apartment. However, I think I might start changing a few personal eating customs from now on...
My friend's family was incredibly kind to me, and I am very grateful for that. I was really happy that they invited me along for the trip, which was very different than anything I had done here until then. She and her family lived in Ohio a long time ago, so my friend and her younger sister speak pretty much perfect English, and their parents understand quite a bit too. However, I tried had to practice my Japanese ofcourse. They were really nice and fun, and we had some pretty good conversations. The grandparents were also really nice, but were a little bit more reserved and spoke in a thick dialect, so it was sometimes hard for me to understand them. They have a small grocery store, which is attached to the house, and also a small garden a few blocks away. We woke up around 6 a.m. the first morning to go help out at the garden, which was bitterly cold, but, like everything else, a new and interesting experience. My friend's aunt and cousin live across the street, and came over quite a bit. We went with them to a hot spring bath house (onsen) about 45 minutes away, which is a lot of fun. Onsens are really popular in Japan, they have somewhat of a resort kind of feeling. More on that later though. Basically, it was really great spending time in a place as traditional as her grandparents' house is, I don't get to see that very often. Though I am living in Japan, I can't just walk into random peoples' houses and observe what they're doing and take notes, and expect that to be what Japanese families are like. They'd probably call the cops.
I spent the last day and a half of the trip back in the Tokyo area. My friend's family lives in Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo, so I stayed with them one more night. I spent most of the next day exploring Tokyo, making stops in Hachioji, Harajuku, and Shinjuku, which is where I caught my bus. I had actually been to Harajuku before, but wanted to see it again. It was a national holiday, and despite the rain, the streets were still very crowded with people from all over. I can only imagine what it would have been like had it been sunny. I bought a sweet Beethoven shirt (no, not the dog) in Harajuku at a store called Santa Monica, and had a conversation with the sales girl there. It started off with me mentioning that I'm from a place pretty close to Santa Monica, and then eventually found out this full-Japanese girl was actually born in Israel, and speaks fluent Hebrew! The conversation went full-circle when I told her that my Israeli-American friend lives in Santa Monica, and that it's a very fun place.
I figured it'd be a good idea to get over to my bus area a few hours early and scout the place to make sure I knew where to be and everything. I was kinda worn out from walking in the rain with heavy bags, and took a coffee break at the world's most popular coffee chain. It was there that, to my surprise, bewilderment, and worry, I realized I had misplaced my return ticket home! I ran through possible options I had in my head, in the event that for some very strict and technical reason they wouldn't let me ride. After all, they did have my name and information, but I also recalled the guy at the ticket office telling me to always hold on to the ticket. The best one would probably be the UC system's education abroad office, because it's in Tokyo, and they would be able to atleast find me a place to stay for the night and get me home the next morning. I also have a few other contacts in Tokyo, or the area, if needed. However, none were necessary! First things first, I went to the office of the bus company and they told me the ticket wasn't needed, since, after all, they had my name and information. Second, when I sat down at Peace Coffee near Shinjuku Station a little later and had some hot cakes and coffee (no wonder I couldn't sleep, two coffees!) I found my ticket safely hidden in my notebook. I took my time on my hot cakes, made my way to my bus with time to spare, and began the seven hour ride that ended on a rainy early morning in Kyoto with heavy bags, and a very tired Eric.