Japan - Muroran

My second full day in Muroran started with a visit to the international community office, where Mari Nakamura works. She was very glad to see me and happy to sit down for a chat. I think she has had a bad year as her father died and she is in charge of the house. She also said that since Betsy and I left Muroran she has no foreign froiends and so no opportunity to use her English. I didn't know what to say.I never considered the effect my leaving would have on the people I left behind, not that it would have changed my decision. I may not have learned much in my life but I do know that you cannot live your life for other people, regardless of how much you love them or how much they love you. I was disturbed at the way Mari's life appears to be going, she doesn't seem to be happy. The one bright spot in her life is her daughter Nina, but she is growing up and will eventually leave. It's a reminder to have as happy a life as you can, not at the expense of other people.While I was in the office Mari called Tsurugasaki school for me, I was hoping to catch up with another English teacher, Dempo Sensei. He was in and said that he would come and pick me up from the office. Mari and I would have dinner together at Chikako's house the following evening.
Dempo Sensei appeared not to have changed when he picked me up. We went back to the school and as soon as I walked into the staff room I was handed a cake, just like old times. We had coffee and then he took me to a local soba house for lunch. We talked about school, the new AET teachers, Muroran, just general stuff. After lunch he asked me if there was anything I wanted to do, I said that I wanted to go to the Bolta shop which is in Wanishi. Muroran is a big steel town and a few years ago this company started making these small character out of bolts. I didn't buy one before I left, so I did now. Afterwards we went to take a look at my old house in Gozensui, but it wasn't there. I had lived at the end of a row of four houses, all of the houses have been demolished and it's now a parking area for the local temple. I was very sad, another door closed on me. I hadn't seriously thought that I could return to Muroran but now I knew that it really wasn't an option. Things have changed too much and you can never really go back.We then went to Chikkyu Misaki and took a look at the lighthouse, it was beautiful but we didn't stay long as it was so cold. He dropped me off at the hotel, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the internet cafe. When I was done there I walked over to the shopping centre and tried to buy some t-shirts, no joy. I did manage to pick up a few other things that I wanted at the 100 yen store. I had dinner at Wasabi, an upmarket Choice, the sushi was great. I finished the evening with a bath, my first private bath in months.
I woke up the next morning to a world covered in white and it was still snowing. It crossed my mind that it might be an issue getting to Noboribetsu but I went to the train station anyway. The trains were running and so were the buses into the onsen area. Again it was strange going to these places by public transport where as before I would just get into my car and drive there. It was why I wasn't going snowboarding on this trip. The ski slopes close to Muroran weren't open yet and I had no way to get to Niseko, public transport isn't really an option. And it was a short trip this time. When I had thought about going to Noboribetsu I hadn't been sure which onsen I would go to, the Grand hotel or Dai Ichi Takimoto. In the end I went to Dai Ichi and had a great time, it was almost empty and I had the outdoor bath to myself for a while so I took a photo. I got back to Muroran earlier than I had anticipated and went back to the internet cafe. I seem to have to be sat at a desk before I can do any amount of typing, I am struggling with this now,but I do want to get my blog up to date and I am so close!
My last night in Muroran and I had dinner at Chikako's house. Mari picked me up from the hotel and we drove to Chikako's place. It was good to see Chikako, her husband Takeshi and her youngest son Kenichi. I taught Kenichi at GEOS when I first arrived in Muroran and then when he was a first year at junior high school. He is now in high school and taller than me. We had sukiyaki for dinner, which is meat and vegetables cooked in soy sauce and then dipped in raw egg. Chikako remembered it was one of my favourites and it was so good.
The trip to Muroran has been a mixture of sadness and joy. Sadness as it is different, there is a realisation that it is not the place, but the people that are important. My experience in Japan wouldn't have been as great as it was and I wouldn't have stayed so long without the people who were in my life. Joy because I got to see old friends and some new things that I hadn't seen in Muroran before. Chikako told me that the 2010 Jazz cruise was the last one, another thing that has ended in Muroran. Several schools are closing, including Tsuru Chu, it's an uncertain time for the city. I am not sure that I would have been able to deal with the changes with a bulk of my friends,Western and Japanese gone. Satoru now lives in Hiroshima, Kana will move there with him this year, little Keiko is married and lives in Sapporo and big Keiko is pregnant. As expected people have moved on.
My last morning was spent shopping at Morue. As I was so close I walked up the hill to Meghan's old house, it was empty. No one lives there anymore, very symbolic of my visit. I had lunch in Choice for one last time and then caught the train to Sapporo.