Do I blend in?

I crouched down on the floor in the caboose of the Shinkansen and began to read my book. I hadn't been that tired in a very very long time - too tired to walk back through the isles looking for a proper seat. I was actually happy to have the space to myself; it was a little like being in the kitchen on a commercial flight. My knees panged as if I had just climbed down a mountain and the muscles in my feet were tender, but I don't think anyone could've wiped away my smile. I was coming home from a fantastic weekend of swing dancing at the base of Mt. Fuji. I haven't danced (with a partner) in over a year and really, this was just what I needed. Every month, I get an email with all of the swing happenings around Japan but I can never make it. Either I'm working or I just can't seem to justify spending $80.00 for 1-2 hours of dance. When I saw this: http://www.impetus.ne.jp/lindyhop/events/20050312onsen/ I decided to reschedule my classes, buy some shoes, packing tape and go! I'm really glad I did. It was fantastic.

After working through several logistical knots, I got up around 6:00 am and met Simone (from Germany), her partner Stephen (from Belgium) and Yuri (from Kyoto) in Tokyo. We rented a car and drove down through Gotemba to Lake Kawaguchi. I hadn't been down to Gotemba in many moons and it was nice to recognize my old bus route there from when I used to visit Frank. (Francois is now in France by the way. I've really been enjoying our ever evolving friendship, though now the time difference is truly a pain.) Once we got to the hotel and had a small bite to eat at Gusto's, we headed straight into a workshop. There were about 16 of us and a young teacher from Seattle. I put strips of tape on the bottom of my shoes so i could bypass the tread and spin spin spin! Perplexed glances soon turned into..."Hey, could I try that?" I loved that there were so many people in their 40's and 50's there. They were vibrant, young and reminded me that you never really have to get old if you love what you do everyday. Plus, they were good dancers!! I think my favorite bit was practicing slow lindy moves to Eva Cassidy's "Wade in the Water". I've since downloaded everything I can find by her. Her voice is simply flawless, especially her live performances. If you're into blues or swing, don't waste any time. But I digress.

After about 4 hours of choreography, new moves, introductions and a few sips of water, we all headed out for a rest before dinner. After some fried pink fish (I have no idea, but it wasn't salmon), rice, miso soup, salad and many beers, somebody found the kareoke machine. We butchered the likes of "Let it be, The Sounds of Silence, and Hotel California" plus a few Japanese songs I still don't know the names off. Then we were back in our shoes and off to the evening dance. After about an hour, Simone and I skirted to the onsen with one minute to spare before they closed it up. We quickly stripped and soaked in a natural onsen for about an hour while getting to know each other and some of the other Japanese women there. The swing scene is really a small world, no matter where you go. Keiko, one of our instructors, used to dance with Rich. Now, I don't know Rich very well, but I *remember* dancing with him at the Hiball Lounge in San Francisco. He's a great dancer and quite the looker. We were dancing one night to Peggy Lee's "Fever", when he told me that night was actually his going away party; that he was going to Japan. Apparently he spent several years here, married and is now expecting his first child back in the States. Pretty Amazing.

After we were sufficiently pruned, we went back to the very large room where the 8 of us girls were to sleep for the night. Before dinner, we had prepared all of the futons, not wanting to think about it when were too tired to drag them around. I remember the experience just because...we all just...did it. We helped each other with sheets and pillows. Nobody claimed a bed or put their things on top. I'm not sure why I noticed this, it was just a different - sort of quiet - uniform - energy that was in the air. Nobody seemed concerned with wanting the bed closest to the heater or the one near the TV. It just didn't seem to matter. Being a westerner, I did put my bag near a bed and figured it would be my choice spot, but soon realized it was a moot point. We walked in with fresh rosy faces and wet hair to find everyone watching Ray. It was a chinese dvd that often skipped and stopped in places and seemed to have several cuts of a few scenes, but most of it was there. It was a great movie, and what a group to watch it with! I would, however, like to see it again, without so many interruptions. I finally fell asleep around 2 am or so. It had been a looooong day.

Simone woke me up around 7:30 for breakfast: miso soup, green tea, rice (which I ate), fish, "some sort of meat" dumpling and natto (which I left). Needless to say, I was on a hunt for some coffee. Walker-san and her husband could see that I wasn't at all awake and relentlessly poked fun at me all morning. I really like them, they are from Yokohama and go swing dancing all over the world. Fantastic couple. I was so amazed and grateful when she went out to her car and brought back 5 packages of instant coffee to share with the group. I'm glad I wasn't the only one yearning for ground black bits of caffine pleasure. After breakfast and a few quick snapshots of a very clear Fuji, I was off to the gym for more workshops. It's true, I was a slow mover that day. I was so excited the day before and there were so many good dancers there, I think I just over-did it. My knees were screaming, I was a little hung over and honestly, I was awake before my time. But I still loved it. The music really does get under my skin and takes me to a place where I can push myself just a little bit further. It's like the music is begging to be danced to, and to refuse is such an act of complete rejection that my heart just can't do it. I was grateful for lunch. We all caravaned to a tiny noodle house for Soba, gathered around small tables on tatami mats. It was lovely. From there we went to a park full of dead grass to dance for Fuji. We couldn't see the mountain, but we still had a good bounce around.

After we said our goodbyes, Simone, Stephen, Yuri and I returned to Tokyo. I mailed my friend Jay and we met for a malaysian dinner in Okubo. It's always good to see Jay. We met when we both lived in Koriyama. It's fun to see him and miss Kori together. He's been here close to 3 years now. I remember laughing with him about our deteriorating social skills and blaming it on too much time in Japan. This time around, he threw me for a loop. He was talking about forgetting that he was, in fact, not Japanese. He honestly asks himself why people look at him (a phenomenon we have all learned to deal with or block out). He went tanning one day, just because he had the time and the desire. The next day he actually asked his Japanese manager "Do I blend in?" to which she responded...ummm No. Given that Japanese people always say Maybe and never say No, I thought this was especially funny. After our coffee and waffles (I love that breakfast food in America is dessert in Japan), he walked me to the train. On the way, we laughed at huge ashtrays on the sidewalk with signs posted on them that read "no smoking". And what was with the elephant? (See pictures). It still baffles me that it's illegal to smoke outside.

I was grateful to hop on an express to Omiya where I caught the next Shinkansen back to Utsunomiya. It was a Sunday evening and rather crowded, especially in the non-reserved, non-smoking cars. I was hunting for 2 seats together, so that I could put my backpack next to me. I just kept walking towards the back until I realized I was in the very back of the caboose. I didn't feel much like retracing my steps and there was plenty of room for my little self and my backpack. So, I crouched onto the clean floor and took out my book. Utsunomiya was only 30 minutes away.

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