Matsue, early '60s (part 2), Learning Japanese

As I said in the first part of this post, we had a lot of Snow in Matsue... this photo was taken around 1962-3 with my younger brother and sister playing in the snow.

We lived a bit away from the center of town. There were lots of rice paddies around us.

Most of our friends were Japanese. We spoke English with our parents, and Japanese with our housekeeper and with the other kids in the neighborhood.

We had a TV... black and white, of course, and all of the programs were in Japanese. I still remember my favorite TV shows from this period... a puppet show called "Chirorinmura," and an animated show about a boy robot superhero, "Tetsuwan Atomu" (Astro Boy).

People sometimes ask me "how did you learn to speak Japanese so well?" I'm tempted to ask back, "so, how did you learn to speak English so well?" But, I usually swallow that urge (you know, you try it a couple of times and see the blank expressions on faces, and know they don't comprehend?), and say... "...well, I grew up in Japan." Which starts the dreaded "wow, how long did you live there" thread, in which I tell my life story about going to Japan at the age of 6, no, my parents weren't Mercenaries, they were Missionaries, and so on.

So learning Japanese, (at least the spoken language) for me, wasn't something I did. It just happened, from necessity. From hearing it spoken before I could utter a word, from playing with the neighbors, watching TV, from sharing a japanese-english language with my siblings that nobody else could understand, ...from living. I didn't learn Japanese... I lived Japanese, and it became part of my fabric that remains to this day, so that, after months or years of not speaking, I can slip back into it as if I were still there, using it every day.

I don't remember a lot about Matsue, except for the snow, for the sea, running around the yard with other kids (we had the biggest yard, and an actual lawn!), rice paddies and frogs filling summer nights with noise, riding trains, endless Sundays at church, dirt roads and gravel roads, and people always staring at me. Of course, I thought all this was normal. And it was.

See my Japan map.

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Matsue... Early 1960s

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The earliest memories I have were of being a kid in Matsue, on the coast of Shimane Prefecture near the Sea of Japan. The winters were cold there, and I remember walking down our sidewalk with the snowbanks over my head.

I had the unique experience of growing up in Japan. I went over when I was six months old, and, with the exception of a Norwegian family, we were the only westerners for many miles.

As a young boy, I had blonde hair (it eventually turned brown, and, nuch later, grey). The barber used to collect our hair after he cut it because it was so unusual to him. For some reason, in those days in Japan, a haircut meant "a haircut and a shave" even for 4-5 year old kids. I remember sitting in the barber chair, listening to the slick-slack of the barber sharpening the straight razor on a well-worn leather strap, the gurgling sound as he poured steaming water from the urn in the corner into the cup (I think he used some kind of powdered soap), and the swishy sound the brush made as he worked up a good lather, and then the hot sticky-ticky wetness as he brushed the lather onto my face, and the scrape scrape of the sharp razor removing nothing but lather. Finally, the steaming hot towel to wipe everything away, and the customary chop-chop-chop massage on my shoulders.

"They don't need to be shaved. They're too young," my dad would say. The barber would smile, and agree... then take advantage of my father's attention being elsewhere and shave me anyway.

I remember coming to a barber shop the first time I was back in the states, having my hair cut with electric clippers instead of various types of scissors, and not having a shave. It was a really strange feeling, entirely unfulfilling. "Aren't you going to shave me?," I asked the barber... he laughed. "How old are you, son?" "Six." He would shake his head and grin to himself.

Japan in the early sixties was still poor, especially outside the large cities, compared to the modern Tech Giant it has become. I remember all of the dirt and gravel roads we'd have to drive over. It was much faster to travel distances by train, and I remember the trains well. At that time, there were still quite a few steam locomotives, and there's nothing quite like the sound that a steam engine makes as it is just getting underway... and the smell of the coal fire. In the train, ladies would make their ways down the aisles pushing carts laden with tea, snacks, lunch... various treasures that I was always curious about things like whisky and beer, but soon learned that it was best not to mention those to my parents or their group of peers.

See my Japan map.

Cheeseburger in Paradise... NOT!

You know the saying W. has trouble with? That's right... "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on (??)..." OK, so we were feeling very foolish indeed for being suckered in once more to Cheesburger in Paradise, located at 2500 Kalakaua Ave. on Waikiki.

From the outside it looked nice... and even on the inside, it was inviting. The menu looked good, and the waitstaff, wearing grass skirts for some reason, looked interesting. We were seated for breakfast. We waited... and waited... and waited... and finally got our menus. We waited some more... and waited yet again... and were finally brought coffee. I turned to Nancy and said, "This reminds me of last time we were here." She agreed with me. The last time we were here, in 2006, we had come late in the evening for dinner (with our two college/high-school age kids) -- what else, cheesburgers of course -- which were pretty good -- once we got them, but the service was Oh So Slow... We thought we'd give it a second chance. But even for being on Hawaiian time, Cheeseburger In Paradise was slow to the point of really being irritating. By the time we got our food it was almost time for the next meal. And then, the worst part of the wait, waiting for the check so we could leave and go lay out on the beach... now, that was the worst and longest wait of all (it seemed).

CBIP needs to take a lesson on waitstaff teamwork. They still subscribe to the "every waitperson for hisself/herself" tradition, and the service suffers for it. (There were several staff milling around doing nothing we could see while our waitress waited on way too many tables).

So: Location - good; Decor - cool; Food - normal; Prices - a bit on the high side but not bad for the location. Service - polite but REALLY SLOW. Don't eat here unless you are really really patient and have a lot of time to kill.

Snorkeling Sharks Cove

Move over Hanauma Bay! One of our memorable experiences during our visit to Hawaii this time was snorkeling in Sharks Cove, at Pupukea Beach Park on the North Shore of Oahu.

Though our trip was near the end of the Winter season, when North Shore beaches are mostly rough with big waves, we took a chance to visit this area on a day when the surf was relatively calm.

Pupukea has a section of sandy/rocky beach on the left, a fairly protected system of coral and lava rock in the middle, and a more exposed, deeper area on the right. For this trip, we snorkeled in the center area, a network of coral heads and lava rocks with deep holes, teeming with colorful tropical fish. On this day there were maybe a handful of people visiting the park, and it was nice to have a relatively uncrowded snorkeling experience. We saw many triggerfish, Parrotfish, a few grouper, hundreds of sea urchins, tangs, jackfish, clownfish, and other varieties. The number and variety rivaled that of the protected Hanauma Bay on the southeast point of Oahu, a favorite of tourists.

If you have a day on the North Shore, and the waves aren't crashing over the lava wall, I highly recommend you take a dip in Sharks Cove... (no sharks!!)

Ramen and Gyoza in Waikiki

1. Ramen Ezogiku, 2146 Kalakaua Avenue

There was a queue to get in, and the clientele mostly Japanese. Well worth the wait. The specialty here is Sapporo style ramen. I got the Miso Ramen, and Nancy got the Yakisoba (fried noodles). We both got the set that came with four Gyoza and a small Fried Rice. Everything was as good as in Japan. The miso broth had a nice "zing" to it. Our second visit.

2. Ramen Nakamura, 2141 Kalakaua Avenue

Their specialty is Tonkotsu Ramen (made from pork broth), and Oxtail Ramen. Almost across the street from Ezogiku, the shop is smaller, and like Ezogiku, consists of a counter with stools. (Ezogiku also has tables)

The ramen here was also excellent, and I got a set with three Gyoza and a small Fried Rice. The Gyoza were a bit plumper than Ezogiku's, but the miso broth didn't have that "zing." The shop is decorated with the signatures of many Japanese celebreties who have sampled Nakamura's cuisine. We would return here also.

Spinner Dolphins, Whales, Sea Turtles, and More

5:45 AM is early for a pickup... especially in Hawaii, when everything is supposed to be on "Hawaiian Time," but we sat bleary-eyed at our pickup point waiting for our van... which arrived mostly on-time to whisk us out to the Leeward coast of Oahu, just in time to rendezvous with the modified Zodiac in Waianae Boat Harbor.

The boat is fast and small, and soon we are bouncing on the waves to arrive at a point just offshore where spinner dolphins have been spotted earlier in the morning. Spinners are active nocturnally, and come inshore to rest during the day. Soon, we have spotted several pods, and we don mask and fin to swim amongst the dolphins. The water is cold and clear, the visibility excellent, and we soon forget the coldness and the earlyness of the hour and float, taking in the wonder of these marvelous creatures swimming lazily around and under us. In the distance a playful duo break the surface and whirl into the air, playful marine dervishes spinning. I wonder to myself if they get dizzy. We enjoy sights of several large groups swimming among us -- close enough, but not too close. Among the pod are several babies wedged between their mothers and other members of the group, no doubt for protection from this intrusion of strange land creatures.

After a period we climb back aboard our rubberized platform to speed off in search of whales, who come to the Hawaiian Islands during the winter months to mate and calf. During a high-speed transit to a potential viewing location, we catch sight of a pod of bottlenose dolphins, a larger seagoing species which is more often found farther to sea and in the middle of oceans. The captain maneuvers the boat in a tight, high-speed circle, and soon we glimpse a pair of dolphins surfing the wake of our boat. The dolphins stay with us as someone catches sight of a Humpback whale and her calf. We slow down to drink in this awesome sight... The whales are bigger than our boat, and could easily capsize us if they so desired! The dolphins mix and frolic for awhile with the pair of Humpbacks, and too soon it is time for us to depart.

Our final destination is a snorkeling stop just off Makaha Beach Park, where we anchor just oceanside of the surfers. The snorkling here is good, with coral heads dotting up here and there from a sandy bottom, and, again, visibility is excellent. We catch sight of dozens of species of colorful tropical fish, and a Green Sea Turtle glides lazily below, gracefully flapping her flippers as if flying through air.

Too quickly our time is over, and we climb aboard the boat, tired but happy to have had the experience of swimming with dolphins, and of spotting whales, turtles, and other sea creatures. This is time and money well spent, and will probably be my favorite excursion in the Hawaiian Islands.

(Web site: http://www.dolphinexcursions.com/ )

Hawaii March 2008

Seeking great week of well deserved vacation in March of 2008, we once again visited the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

For the second time in about a year, we took advantage of our timeshare and stayed at the Wyndham Waikiki Beachwalk, conveniently located a block back from the the heart of Waikiki, behind the Halekulani and Imperial hotels. The photo at the left shows the view looking out from our window towards Diamond Head.

This facility is a real gem -- very close to the beach, and in the middle of the newly renovated "Beach Walk" and convenient to many new restaurants and shops. For this stay, we booked a one bedroom deluxe unit. Though smaller than the two bedroom unit we stayed in during our visit in December of 2006, it was comfortable, new, clean, well furnished, and more than adequate for the two of us. The suite included a roomy master bedroom with a king bed and a flat panel TV, a living area with a larger flat panel TV and sleep sofa, two very small lanai (balconies), a kitchen with medium fridge, range/oven, microwave, dishwasher, hotpot, ricecooker, etc, a washer/dryer combo, and of course, a roomy bathroom. The only regret we had was that there is still no outdoor spa -- something that is advertised, and which we were looking forward to.

We used the Wyndham as a base for our various activities on Oahu... I'll cover these in subsequent postings.