Wakayama Prefecture

Our last day in Japan was spent touring Wakayama Prefecture with our home stay family Mr. and Mrs. Arai. On the way, we stopped to see the area that was excavated to provide the foundation for the Kansai Airport. They literally moved a mountain to create an island in the Pacific to serve as the Osaka airport. The next stop was Wakayama Castle. The Castle was constructed in 1585 by Hidenaga Toyotomi. He had been ordered by his brother, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, to construct it. The inside of the castle contains a museum of implements used to protect it. This included armor, swords, and long bows used by the samurai and uniforms warn by the ninja warriors (unfortunately photography was not permitted in this area). The top level of Wakayama Castle provides panoramic views of Wakayama City.
On our way out of Wakayama Castle we walked through the Momijidani Telen Garden, which has a beautiful tea room and garden. Our host family said that we could not leave Japan without seeing at least one statue of Buddha so on the way to our last stop we visited a temple where there was a massive copper bust of Buddha. Our final destination in Wakayama Prefecture was the Minato Estate and garden. This residence was used as a second home for the feudal lords of the Kishu area. Though the residence has burned to the ground several times, the current structure was built in 1834. The structure is built of beautiful cedar beams and decorated with doors painted by the Kano sect of painters. The ceilings are constructed with paper so that in the event of an attack, ninja soldiers could come through the ceiling to protect the Shogun. The tour guide at this residence was especially animated and gave us access to all parts of the residence. Leaving Minato, we returned to our hotel where we ate a Japanese dinner and discussed the events of the last few days with the special people who made it happen. This was trip was truly one that Becky and I will never forget. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Izumi City and in particular to Ms. Tamura, Mr. Shimizu, and Mr. and Mrs. Arai with whom so much of this trip was spent.

Marathon Day

Race day started with an early breakfast at the hotel and then a ride to the starting venue. There the other sister city runners met again and talk about our home stay experiences. It was clear that all of us had learned a great deal about Japanese culture in our short stay. The start of the marathon brought us great race conditions – not too warm, not too cold, very little wind (maybe a little too sunny). The race experience was different than most American races – no one talked at all. The crowds were encouraging but subdued, except for the children who yelled, “Go for it” in Japanese very loudly. The race for me went ok. I hit the halfway point right on schedule, but I slowed during the second half with some stomach trouble and four fairly steep climbs over two bridges that had to be repeated. Though I lost nearly 13 minutes in the second half, overall I enjoyed the race. Post race festivities included a bowl of soup and an interview with a Japanese newspaper. Then, it was off to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Marathon Course Tour and Party

On the third day we left our host family to tour the Marathon course and check-in to our hotel. The course is for the most part a straight line with two short out-and-backs. The only real hills are the two bridges that you must cross twice. After touring the course we went to the IEON shopping mall. The mall looks very much like any mall you would go to in the United States. We ate lunch at a restaurant where you choose the meat and vegetables that you want and then you boil them at the table. Our guides said that this was very traditional. I really enjoyed it but my chopstick technique was not refined enough to remove the food from the pots so I was given Snoopy spoons and forks.

After lunch we checked into the marathon hotel near the finish of the race. There was a runners meeting where the invited runners were given instructions on the start area guidelines, racecourse procedures, and the finish line area. After the runners’ meeting, we attended a formal marathon eve party where we met city officials, members of the military and other sister city runners. When this party was over, it was off to bed to get a good rest before the race.

Kyoto

Our second day of sightseeing was even busier than the first. We started out by making the two-hour drive to Kyoto. Kyoto is inland and north of Izumi City and was colder. Our first stop was Rukuon-ji’ (The Golden Pavilion Temple). This temple was originally built in the 1220’s and improved in 1397 when Yoshimitsu, the 3^rd Shogun of Ashikaga, abdicated the throne and retreated to the villa. Upon his death it was made into a Zen temple and has been enjoyed by many for hundreds of years.

After leaving The Golden Pavilion Temple we enjoyed a traditional Japanese lunch at a local restaurant, and then were off to experience a tea ceremony and Classical Japanese Dance. Both Becky and I were under the impression that we would be watching others perform. Instead we were outfitted in Kimono’s and learned the dance. When the dance was over we watched the tea ceremony and prepared green tea.

From the tea ceremony, we continued on to the Ginkaku-ji’ Temple (The Silver Pavilion Temple). This temple was as humble in its appearance as the Golden Pavilion Temple is dramatic. It is nonetheless impressive with ornate rock gardens, waterfalls and manicured trees that were several hundred years old.

By the time we arrived back in Izumi City, it had been a long day of touring, but we were happy to see our host family. We spent several hours talking with them about their lives in Izumi City and our lives in Minnesota. We were even treated to a “magic show” by Mr. Arai.

Our first look at Japan

On the first morning we enjoyed breakfast with out host family, which consisted of bread, fried eggs, potato salad and fresh fruit. Mr. Arai has several orange trees in his backyard, which produce enough oranges to keep them supplied through out the year. They all produce oranges at different times of the year. The ones that are ripe currently are very large and very sweet. After breakfast we toured his garden and then left for Izumi City offices. After arriving at the city offices we met the mayor in a formal meeting room. Mayor Tsuji is new to the office and has run 5 marathons. After meeting the Mayor, we drove to the top Taiko studio in Izumi. The class played several songs and then taught us about the various drums and techniques used to perform Taiko. We were then given a lesson on how to drum and performed with the class (we need more practice). In the afternoon, we visited a Saori Weaving Workshop where we made scarves using hand-weaving looms. Becky was very good at it and I survived. We were able to produce 5ft of scarf in about 1 hour. Many of the people who were weaving on that day were producing very large items at much faster pace. When were finished, we needed to tie the ends of our scarves to finish them off. The mother of the man who ran the store helped us by tying one end of each of our scarves. She completed both of ours in the time it took us to each do our own and she was 96 years old. After departing from Saori Weaving, we drove to the Athletic Club where we met Mr. Sakaguchi, the Izumi City runner who ran in the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon. He led me through a park on an 8 mile run where I saw elementary, middle, and high schools, Japanese homes, and gardens. The day ended with a celebration and dinner at a local restaurant, the Rouge Tomato.

Getting to Izumi City

I don’t think it matters how smoothly a trip goes, travelling nearly 7,000 miles in less than 24 hours is a disorientating experience. Becky and I left Chicago on Tuesday February 16 at 10:35 am central standard time and flew to Tokyo Japan arriving 12 hours later where it was mid afternoon. The hospitality onboard Japan Airlines was outstanding, nevertheless we were tired by the time we arrived. The final leg of our trip was a 1 hour flight to Kansai Airport in Osaka Japan. After clearing immigration and retrieving our baggage, we met officials from Izumi City, Ms. Miki Tamura and Mr. Shimizu Kazuo who then took us to meet our host family Mr. and Mrs. Arai. The drive from Kansai to Izumi City is about 40 minutes. At about 8:30 pm local time on Wednesday, February 17. Even though it was early morning to our bodies, our brains and enthusiasm for finally arriving kept us awake for nearly two more hours getting to know our terrific hosts Mr. and Mrs. Arai. We toured their lovely home and we learned about cultural norms of life in a Japanese home. We finished the evening with a light supper before finally collapsing to sleep nearly 24 hours after having left Chicago.

Three Weeks to Go

With a little more than three weeks left until our departure, Becky and I are getting very excited for our adventure to Japan. This will be the first trip to Japan for both of us and after yesterday's orientation we are anxious to leave. During our meeting the Sister City representatives gave us a primer on the cultural traditions and differences that will help make our trip a successful one. We practiced some rudimentary Japanese phrases and walked through the itinerary. We will leave from Chicago on February 16th and will spend five days touring the Osaka area with our host family and one day running the Shensu International Marathon. My plan is to try and update this blog with pictures and my thoughts along the way depending on access to the internet. For now, I hope to get through the last three weeks of training without injury and finish preparation for the trip.