August 15, 2009
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Japan (Day 4-6): my second (or third?) hometown
After Tokyo, my next stop was Kasugai and Nagoya, to see my host family from 2004 while I was at Nanzan University.
Date: June 30th
Location: Kasugai/Nagoya
Brought to you by JRBack to Nagoya. I’ve always considered this place like my second (or third?) hometown, from having come here my first time studying abroad in high school (1999) and again to Nanzan University in college (2004). Admittedly, it’s not a city that’s geared towards tourism, but it’s a great city to live in, and it remains my favorite city in the country. This part of the trip, I was going to Kasugai (just north of the city) to spend time with my host family from 2004.
Since I had a JR Rail Pass, and unlimited use of all JR lines (except Shinkansen-Nozomi), I took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya, and then made my way back to the same train station that I used to commute from 5 years ago. Surprisingly, I still remembered the way exactly.
Visiting my host family was my main purpose for this part of the trip. And, it was really great getting to see everyone again.
The only negative… Last year my host father passed away. It was a bit different with him not being around. There was a butsudan for him in one of the rooms, and we talked a bit about him, though not much.
Anyway, besides that… Their two grandkids, who were 1 and 5 the last time I saw them, are now 6 and 10. The older one is as energetic as ever, while it took a bit to get used to his little brother already being in school and talking a lot. (If I visit again in another 3-5 years, I wonder how much will change by then?)
Lastly, they’d done some work on the house and added another room, my two past host sisters had sort of exchanged places (one was living in a separate apartment while the other was living at home; before it was the reverse), and, well, some things were different and some things were just the same as always.
Their generosity and kindness was one of the things that’s remained unchanged.
Date: July 1st
Location: Kasugai/Nagoya
Brought to you by Oasis 21I took the first day in Nagoya to rest. The second day, I decided to go down to the city and see what’s new.
My first stop was the Sakae area and Oasis 21. This’d been a popular place to go the last time I was here, particularly since Oasis 21 had just recently opened. It was… mostly the same, I think. There were tanabata decorations all around for the upcoming holiday. And there was a set of musical performances being put on by the Japan Self-Defense Force.
The roof also has this great view. It’s always cloudy when I go here, though; I don’t have any photos of this place with clear skies.
Anyway, besides Oasis 21, the entire Sakae area is pretty good. I did a bit of shopping (for me, that means bookstores, electronics, and games, although I only bought a couple of books), and had lunch: cold zarusoba, which I hadn’t had (done properly) in ages.
There was one place in particular I was looking for, but couldn’t find: a calligraphy store called “Kyowa”. I’d gone there several times back when I was at Nanzan (on the recommendation of our calligraphy teacher), and vaguely recalled where it was, but since it was a small store on the second floor of some building, I couldn’t find it.
After my (past) host sister picked me up from the train station that afternoon, I mentioned this to her:
K: Wait, Kyowa? I know that store!
Me: Really?
K: Yes. Our uncle gets his supplies from there. I’m surprised you know about it.
Me: Ah! I should’ve asked about it before I left!No big deal, though. She was able to get me some directions to there that evening.
Date: July 2nd
Location: Kasugai/Nagoya
Brought to you by Toyota Jidosha, Drive Your DreamsThe second day I decided to go to the Nagoya Station area. Now, this area had changed a ton since the last time I’d been: three new buildings were on the skyline, one of them bigger than the landmark JR Towers which, until then, had been the tallest buildings in Aichi.
Incidentally, that’s one of the things I really like about Nagoya: it’s always changing. Between 1999 and 2004, the building I used to go to every day was torn down to make room for the Toyota Towers. Between 2004 and 2009, the Toyota Towers, the Spiral Tower, and the Lexington Tower had all been added to the Nagoya skyline. Plus, they’d finaly completed the Meijo-line loop (that would’ve been ridiculously convenient five years ago).
Here are the JR towers, plus those three landmark buildings I mentioned (from left to right, the Spiral Tower, the Lexington Tower [I think that's the name], and the Toyota Tower):
Otherwise, I did some more looking around the area. This part of the city was extremely nostalgic, since I still remember what it looked like 5 and 10 years ago.
And lunch that day was none other than kishimen, the Nagoya specialty. That afternoon, naturally, I stopped by Kyowa in Sakae to pick up some art supplies.
That evening, since it was my last night in Kasugai, we had chirashi.
I really can’t describe how good this was. Nor how good it was to spend time with my host family after so long.
I know I need to come back here again, and sooner than 5 years…
The next day, I just spent at home, since it was my last day in Kasugai and I was going to Kyoto that evening. I did stop by the Book-Off in the area to browse around (and I still remembered how to get there, interestingly).
That afternoon, I said my farewells at the train station, and headed to my next stop: Kyoto. KF
