Yoga in Kurahashi

Back in Minnesota I had done yoga several times but never had gone consistently. Fortunately there is an informal yoga class not far from my apartment every Friday night that I attend.

Morimoto-sensei invited me to attend yoga with his family members and some of his employees. I was very excited and even though I enjoyed doing yoga back in the states, I had never paid for any yoga sessions (just did a free week of core-power and participated in other free classes). Lucky for me, these yoga classes do not cost any money.

The class begins at 7:15pm and is just a little over a mile away from my apartment. Usually bike and occasionally jog there.

I’ve noticed just about everything in Japan is very structured and routine.

Upon arrival at approx. 7pm, the instructor Idehata-san is there.  Two Morimoto-Sensei employees Kanda-san and Honjo-san usually show up next and we make small talk about how frigid it is, despite it not being frigid at all. Hah.

Then Morimoto-sensei’s wife comes with her daughter Miho and they get their mats situated. They being some soft flowing music that we listen to everytime and that usually get my mind set for yoga. Thing of the ring right now makes me want to do yoga!

We (6 females and me) start out by sitting cross-legged and doing some arm movements that lead to prayers style hands into a bow while saying “Onegaishimasu” (literally means “please” but I kind of translate it as “let’s enjoy this yoga session together”).

This is followed by warming up our cold feet and stretching out the toes. Despite not understanding 100% what she is saying, a lot can be understand by watching her and the gestures the instructor makes.

Idehata-san leads us in many stretches and puts lots of emphasis in having a straight back and firm stomach. It’s funny because she will often slap my lower stomach and tell me to keep that feeling in my conscious. She also will tilt my head back, push my chin in and pulls me upwards by the hair on the top of my head (I have pretty bad posture).

It’s nice because after demonstrating a move, Idehata-san will go through the room and assist people in their movements, usually tending to my sloppy form first. It’s interesting being the only guy at the yoga class and it is very clear that Japanese women are much more flexible than American men. Although that is a broad generalization, generally speaking, Japanese people seem to be more flexible than americans with them being very comfortable sitting cross-legged on the ground, and any of their bodies carrying less weight and being more compact than our American counterparts. I feel like an uncoordinated monster in the class sometimes but have learned to embrace that goofy feeling.  Idehata-san is currently trying to help me with my “Nekizei” (cat-back) because I have a hunch in my back.

Class tends to go through close the to the same procedure every time with few variations thrown in for whatever the specific focus is of that day (knees, back, liver, constipation, insomnia).

Many times, I find myself struggling to get through the stretches and am often limited in properly doing the exercises because my knees are so stiff and I can’t comfortably sit cross-legged (yet). I’ve noticed that I have become much more comfortable with sitting cross-legged since arriving here though.

At about 8:50pm we are finished with the yoga and split into pairs for partner Shiatsu. This is my favorite part. The first couple classes attended I was with the instructor and just she did Shiatsu to me. Then that transitioned to me doing the Shiatsu to her and then now if there is an even number of yoga participants, I will be paired up with Kanda-san who is very nice (despite not having the strongest hands). It feels so good to have Shiatsu done one us after a difficult yoga session and after the couple minutes of receiving the shiatsu is finished, I usually become very sleepy and relaxed. Wished we would do 1 hour of shiatsu and massage! Am interested in taking massage classes when I get back to the states.

After we finish the Shiatsu we gather our yoga mats and arrange the doctor office a little bit for the next day. Occasionally someone will bring treats or something to pass out after class and we slowly make our way out the door saying goodbye to everyone.

I always feel very relaxed and comfortable after yoga lessons and notice I can get to sleep very quickly on Friday nights because of how relaxed I become. I make it a priority to make it to yoga every week and feel a nice since of community and friendship with the others.

Consistently doing yoga for the last few months have got me more in touch with my body and has helped me be more aware of my posture.  I feel like I have better body balance and definitely feel it has improved my running.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do yoga in Kurahashi every week and I look forward to continuing doing it!

Yoga words-
Nobiru-to stretch, to lengthen

Sesuji-muscles along spine

Hipparu- to pull tight

Haite-exhale

Sutte-inhale

Kanzou-Liver

Benpi-constipation

Fuminshou-Insomnia

Yoga Members:
Instructor Idehata-san

Morimoto-san

Kanda-san shiatsu partner

Honjo-san

Sayaka-Morimoto Sensei’s daughter

Miho-Morimoto Sensei’s daughter

Wrote this back in December but haven't posted in until now! :(

Sumo in Hiroshima City

This weekend I had the opportunity to go watch Sumo with Setsuko and her family.

Setsuko has helped me with many many things here in Kurahashi ranging from helping me send money back to the U.S.,  to helping me obtain a skirt for a Halloween costume. She graciously invited me to attend a Sumo event in Hiroshima city.

On Saturday we drove from Kurahashi Island to Hiroshima City which is around an hour car ride. Setsuko and I met her family at her brothers office and headed to an Okonomiyaki (fried batter w/ veggies and sauce) shop. Lately the weather has started to cool down so it was very comfortable in the small shop with the cool breeze coming from outside matched by the warm heat off the large Okonomiyaki cook-top.

Out of curiousity, I asked if the option I chose was large which turned into the table assuming I wanted a large meal so they “gratiously” ordered me a 1.5 order of the Deluxe Okonomiyaki option. It was gigantic.

 After appropriately feeling like a sumo wrestler now, we headed over to the building where the sumo was held. It was very exciting seeing some of the sumo wrestlers only wearing shorts standing outside. Once we walked in, I peaked in the gym and got a glimpse some guys doing sumo in real life. We walked past the gym and into the changing and preparation room where Setsuko’s family member would be getting dressed to be the judge for the sumo matches.

It was unreal seeing so many giant guys in a one room and it was oodly quite. We were informed that it was “nap time” for many of them because many had just eaten and they try to sleep after eating to gain weight. 

It was funny how strikingly opposite the Sumo wrestlers were from you typical Japanese person. Instead of a short and super skinny person, they were mostly all taller than me and quite a bit larger J

lots of naked sumo dudes

As we quietly sat in the room, Setsuko and I we all looking around excitingly watching the Sumo wrestlers. 

Many were sleeping on their stomachs and some were on their cellphones. It was kind of ironic to see the traditional Sumo guys on their using a cellphone.  Quite the interesting clash of traditional Japanese sport and modern technology.

We were sitting on tatami mats and a very large man was napping next to us. Snapped a few photos of him.

Setsuko's family let me hold the judge stick that they use during the sumo matches!

 After watching Setsuko’s family member dress up in his formal judge Kimono, we went to the sumo auditorium where they were actually wrestling. It was fun to see such big bodies slap into each other and every time before this would happen my adrenaline would rush before they collided. 

Since Setsuko’s family was a traveling judge for Sumo, he knew many of the guys and introduced us and let us take pictures w/ many of them. How lucky we were!

 After watching the wrestling for a few hours and taking more pics with some of the champions, we got to watch them pack up their belongings quickly and carry their big ancient looking suitcases to a semi that would transport their luggage to the next location. Watched them all load up on the bus and as they pulled away on 4-5 coach buses, the Sumo wrestlers were waving out the windows to us. Pretty funny to think about  now. 

I’m very grateful for this special opportunity and want to try Sumo’ing sometime! 

First Hair-cut in Japan-Miyanishi

First haircut in Japan

With school canceled today (oct 25th) again due to typhoon advisories, decided to get the hair cut after attending public services duties at the Board of Education in Kure city.

Held off getting hair cut for probably too long but happy to have it cut and short now.

Went to a place called Miyanishi in Kure city based on Setsuko’s recommendation. Walked into the place and was surprised at how nice it was on the inside. 

Started out with around a 15-minute hair wash and massage by a cuter girl and I was surprised by how long it was. Felt almost more like a Spa than a place to get your hair cut. Spoke a little bit during it but just mostly relaxed and enjoyed the good feeling, maybe too good. 

Next was introduced to the hair dresser Takashi Kurihara.

 He was rocking a simple hair style and was a bit taller than me. (Later found out that his sister is a 2x Olympian Volleyball player from Etajima, Japan  Megumi Kurihara. Takashi also talked about volleyball and how he plays in Etajima on Mondays. Thankfully I didn’t ask to play with him!

Haircut took around 40 minutes and it was pretty similar to cuts back home but it was fun conversing in half English and Japanese. He said I was his 4^th foreigner’s hair to cut and first foreigner dude. He said our hair is much softer than Japanese hair. I remember asking him if it
was going to be difficult to cut my hair with it being different than Japanese hair and he cooly and confidently said "Daijoubu". 

The haircut was followed up with another wash and massage but this time from Takashi w/ much stronger hands.

He styled the hair up again and that completed the first cut it Japan.

Definitely will go back here next time the hair becomes long.

Haircut ￥3700

JET Placement: Hiroshima Prefecture, Kure City, Kurahashi Island

Time to share where I am living and "working" in Japan:

Here is a picture of the country Japan:

As you can see, the country spans latitudinally and has climates varying from that similar to Hawaii (Okinawa) ranging to that of Northern Minnesota (Northern Hokkaido).

Fun facts:

Japan is about the same size as the state of California.

Over ½ of Japan is uninhabitable because of how mountainous it is.

Japan has about half the population of the U.S.

So you can infer: Half the # of people that live in the U.S., live in an area half the size of California….Crazy

For the JET program, we do not get to chose where we were placed, however we did get to put 3 requests. I put: 

Hokkaido (cool temps similar to MN)

Nagano (snowboarding+relatively near Mount Fuji)

After already committing to the JET Program and only 1 month prior to departure we were notified of our placement location.

Here was my placement:

Hiroshima

I was quite surprised at how far south I was placed and worried about how the temperature was going to be, being a Minnesotan who <3s cool weather. 

I was also worried about how close it was to the Iwakuni Marine base and almost decided to decline the ALT position even after already formally accepting it. Seeing Hiroshima as the placement, I was also worried about how the local people would view American's with the WWII history.

However, I am very happy after choosing to accept now seeing where I live. 

More specifically the city within Hiroshima prefecture I am in is Kure city. 

By chance, it is actually the same city my Japanese teacher at the University of Minnesota Matsumoto-Sensei is from. 

Within Kure city, I am the furthest south on an island called Kurahashi. 

Kurahashi Island (my apartment is at the "A")

I spent much time on the computer back in the U.S. Google mapping Kurahashi and surveying the landscape. The island is 50km around and I was excited to try and run around it sometime.

After arriving in Kure city before going to Kurahashi, I asked my predecessor Ollie if there were any Starbucks there. He gave me a sly smile that made me nervous and made me realize there would be no Starbucks in Kurahashi. With the mornings not feeling like 120 degrees anymore, can finally brew own coffee and boy is that a treat with oatmeal in the mornings.

The rural village within Kurahashi I live in is named Uwagi. Always wondering what it would be like to live in a rural area, I think this is a good opportunity for me to see some of the unique benefits of living the inaka (rural) life.

Pros:
Get to see the same people often

Kind people

Save money

Lots of introspective time

Views

Cons:

No people that run (being here 2 months I have seen 1 woman running near the bridge connecting Kure city to Kurahashi Island)

No stores

Far and expensive to get to town

Not so exciting for friends/family to visit

Burning garbage

No young people

No girls in apartment (Board of Education Rules) {neighbors shouldn't be able to see girls come into my apartment is how I interpreted the rule}

Here are pictures of near the apartment:

 apartment is just to the right of the grave

bus stop

view from bus stop

path leading from ocean to near the apartment

Pics of the apartment:

view when walk in

living room  (view out this window in pic below)

living room screen view

extra bedroom for visitors

kitchen

It is much more spacious than I was anticipating and is only 1 year old so it has modern features such as:

when someone rings the doorbell a monitor in the living room displays a video of whoever is outside

can fill the bathtub and control the temperature of the water from inside the kitchen..

and some other fun features:

 largest shoe rack ever. except shoes don't fit 

trap door in kitchen to hide treats from myself

I am very grateful for a modern spacious nice apartment and look forward to making it more homey.

What is convenient about my apartment is that there is a Fuji-san grocery store only a few minute walk away and I visit there nearly everyday. Whenever I am bored or need human contact I find myself going there to just look around. There is a very nice cashier there named Hiraki-san and we always have silly small-talk.

After 4pm, the daily produce (sushi, sashimi, and other prepared foods) go on sale and at around 8pm you can find many foods for 50% off. It is unreal to be able to get 8 pieces of sushi for 2 dollars or 6 pieces of Daifuku for less than a dollar (back home 1 piece is almost 2 dollars at United Noodles.

Will talk about some of the foods I cook in another blog.

My apartment is about a 15 minute bike ride to one of my schools and a 10 minute bike to another.  It’s kind of funny how surprised my co-workers are when I tell them I bike to work. Biking does not seem to be as popular as it is back in hipster Minneapolis.

Despite it being October 10th,  today is 82 degrees and it is still super humid. Have became accustomed to the heat (doesn’t mean I like it) but am eagerly, eagerly, eagerly awaiting winter here. Kind of scared for the first winter without snow but plan on making a trip up to Hokkaido to experience a real winter. 

The views here are unreal. Am still taken by surprise everyday at how beautiful the mountains/sea look.
It takes me about 3 minutes to jog to the sea and want to try swimming and diving of some large concrete docks that they have.

not too far from apartment
Another thing I love about the apartment's location is that it is right next to the mini-mountain Hiyama. 
Here is a Garmin data post from one of the runs up it:

this was a 90'F day w/ 65% humidity. heart and lungs pounding!

Trying to see how many times I can get up it and am shooting for at least 100 before heading back to the U.S.  Average once or so a week but will be starting to do it more often with the temperature becoming bearable. Excited to do it 10x someday. With the days starting to be less humid, the views are becoming more and more beautiful being able to see more of the surrounding islands. 

super hazy day. yesterday was the clearest day yet but usually don't go up w/ a camera
1,200ish ft

It's been tough to blog since I only get internet at one of the schools I am at and the internet is streaming from my cellphone to my laptop so it's not the quickest. 

Will post more!

Haven't ran with GPS for over 3 weeks. Jogged once in a while but legs feel broken.