So it's back at the Kencho for me. I took the entire week off last week in order to be able to spend time with the parental units. I think they are having a good time. We've had a nice mix of lazy days and busy days and I think they've got a nice taste of life in Yamanashi (minus the teaching).
I'm not sure how many of you are aware of the importance of the sakura (cherry blossom) season over here but it is a big deal. The trees bloom for only a week or ten days each spring and the Japanese, for the most part, seem to love it. I've been told that the Japanese view the sakura as they do the samurai warriors of the past. Both have/had a brief but beautiful life. I doubt too many of them think of samurai when they see the trees but this is what I've been told, so take it as you want.
And speaking of all this, my parents nailed the sakura season here in southern Japan perfectly. When they arrived the trees were starting to bloom, and by the time they leave the flowers will be falling off the trees to make way for the new leaves. Anyway, my part of Japan has emerged from the winter and the land is quite colorful in places.

On Friday my parents and I rode the train to Shinjuku and then down to Yokosuka to visit a couple we have known since we first lived in Japan back in the 80s, the Davidsons. He is an American and she is South Korean and my brother and I used to play with their daughters way back when. They also lived in Ridgecrest for a few years when my family was there (my parents still are) and so we've kept in touch with them for all these years.
It was a nice visit and since they live on the Navy base down there I got to spend about 24 hours in a little America. We ate at the Officer's Club and went to the Exchange and drove around the base and my childhood came rushing back to me like a troop of Marines storming a beach. It was strange and I have to say that in those 24 hours I missed Japan more than I have missed America in the eight months I've been here. I think moving back to the States is going to be a much bigger shock to me than moving here was.
But it was fun to experience for a day what used to be an everyday part of my life. The military buildings with their coded signs which I never could figure out (e.g. "NAS-4 Headquarters" and such), the ships at the docks, the soldiers in uniforms and the families in the parks. If you've never been on a military installation for any length of time you can't know how different it is from the outside world. I was never actually in the military, but I was raised on bases and the differences that exist on the other side of the gate are sometimes subtle and many times not. I'm not knocking it all, I am just saying that there are differences. I'm sure a whole book could be written about it.
Alright, enough of all that. Anyway, we had a good time. It was great to see our friends.

Coming back was fun. Kind of. Dad wondered if we could take a different route home from the one we had taken to get there. So I checked a few maps and, sure enough, it looked like it was possible. So we took a route that went along the coast and then turned north a little south-west of Fuji. We had to change trains three times and for a while were not exactly sure what we were doing but it all worked out. I at least knew we were going in the right direction, but with local trains it takes some figuring to find out how far a train will actually take you. And I didn't have maps with me, I had only looked and studied a map that Mr. Davidson had brought out. So I wasn't sure of the names of stations other than the ones where we needed to change train lines. Overall the trip was about two hours longer and a little more expensive than the other route but now I know a part of Japan I hadn't previously.

Of course there is more to say about their trip but I should get back to my Japanese studies. I have a session tonight and need to finish my homework so that I can show up Amy.