Last Moments and Memories

Here I am, back in Colorado, trying to pick up the pieces of my life in Japan and sort of digest and understand what it meant to me. The last post will be an extended post about my five days volunteering in Onagawa, which was the best thing I did in two years in Japan. 

First, though, I'd like to just post a few pictures from my last few weeks. It was a hectic time, trying to arrange to hand over my apartment, closing my accounts and bills, and saying goodbye to everyone who had become so important to me.

My wall of memories, photos, and scraps of paper.

My friend Max, my sensei Hayami, and I after Max and I tested up to get our karate brown belts. I probably learned more in my karate class than anywhere else in Japan. Wonderful feeling to have that accomplishment.

For two years I tried to go to this next place once a week. It's called Big Pink, and it's a western-style bar/restaurant. The owner speaks great English and has an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and blues. I was able to play a small show there, and the owner joined in on acoustic blues solos.

Close to a final lunch with my dear friends Maggie and Yoko

With the owner of my favorite downtown restaurant. When he heard it was my last dinner there he gave me an apron and that comically large bottle of sake.

Masa, one of the members of my Saturday adult English Conversation Club, holding up a 300-year old book. He's an art collector in retirement and an incredibly interesting man.

Coordinating schedules was difficult, so a beach party was organized where I was able to do a lot of my goodbyes. Extremely hard to leave some of these people.

My contract ended on July 26th, and I left Japan on July 28th. I went to stay with Max while my successor, Cathy from Ireland, moved into my apartment. I also then found out that my predecessor Simon was going to be in town from near Tokyo.

So my last dinner in Japan was at Big Pink with my predecessor, successor, and our combined supervisor--the inimitable Mr. Kondo. Three generations of JETs in the same job in one place, pretty cool stuff.

Kondo, Creighton, Cathy, Simon

The morning of July 28th I cancelled my cellphone and grabbed my enormous bags. I said goodbye to Max and boarded the train to Osaka and Kansai Airport. On the way I snapped a picture of my alien registration card for a souvenir, as I'd have to be turning that in at the gate.

Two years later and I was heading home--though that word "home" had become a much more fluid concept. While I knew for a long time I wouldn't be staying in Japan, I felt much more like I was leaving my home than going to it, and it was about as untethered as I've ever felt.

Stay tuned for pictures and stories from Onagawa.