i am sitting on a kotatsu (ein niedriger tisch, an dem man auf dem boden sitzt, der von einer dicken decke bedeckt ist, auf der eine tischplatte liegt, und der unter der decke (und der zweiten tischplatte) eine wärmelampe hat) in an old traditional house in a small, remote, rural village in the southernmost province of kyushu. it is late in the afternoon, but i didn't eat lunch yet, because i had breakfast really late, and i am too lazy to cook for myself. i spent the day sleeping in and then looking around the village, by bicycle and on foot. it's really quiet, consisting mainly of two roads, houses left and right, some paddy fields and lots of forest and hills around. i arrived here yesterday, after leaving shinmeizan early in the morning and spending most of the day in kumamoto, which is a city near shinmeizan, and has a rather well-known castle and a park. well, the park was a disappointment to me - i love japanese gardens and parks, but at some point they just get too perfect, every branch, every flower, every piece of gravel just exactly where it is supposed to be. in some gardens, the atmosphere is still that of something natural, just very perfect nature (the best example i have yet seen was kenrokuen in kanazawa), while in others, i feel i am standing in fake nature. and kumamoto's garden gave me the strongest 'this is so fake' - feeling ever.
well, anyway. despite all my worrying before, the following tour to kagoshima went smoothly. no problem at all. and so here i am now, sitting in the house of an old friend and her husband.
after the monastery, where i always felt i had to behave as good as possible while not really konwing what was expected of me, it is truly relaxing to be here. after all, mitsumi and i shared one room for almost one year, so she knows all my faults, there is no point in pretending. and, even more, she and her husband welcomed me so warmly, friendly that all my worries about imposing my presence upon them melted away quickly. even those things she warned me of - they have a cat, and i am allergic to cats, and the house is very cold, she said - are actually no big problem. my allergy is not as bad as i thougth it would be; actually today it only botheres me here, on the kotatsu. plus, they put the cat into a small extra house today, the poor thing... i feel sorry for her, but for me it is easier that way. and while the house really doesn't keep much warmth, it gets really worm if you start the heater, and they have a nice fireplace.
so, the only remaining downside is that there really is nothing to do here, except for walking in the woods. but, well, for today that's fair enough, and from tomorrow on, will see how i can get around. i wanted to go to the nearby mountains, but it's not as easy as i expected, since there seems to be quite some snow up there. so, let's see if i can do some hiking... anyway, tonight i'll do some planning with mitsumi, and then i'll know how long i will stay and what i will do. there is so much to see down here... only, most of it is somwhat further away, so i might not be able to stay soo long here, especially if i want to go even further south. well, after all the traveling up to here was so easy, i feel more adventurous now. i might even take a ferry from kagoshima to yakushima, a island four hours south by boat, with subtropical plants (mangroves!) and a volcanoe in the middle. plus, som 2.000-years-old trees. sounds good, doesn't it?
well, let's see. i guess i really should cook something now. i'll keep you updated on where i am! for now, just some pictures:
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