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Farewell to a captivating land of culture

Alisa Choin / Community Correspondent

(Updated: Friday, August 27, 2010, 12:59 PM)

Our final day in Kagoshima was devoted to visiting Shiroyama, a hill overlooking the city, with observatory points that allow a majestic view of the city at its volcano in the bay.

Shiroyama also provides several walkways through its extensive nature scenery and signs on the side of the pathways warned us not to feed the wild foxes. The hill was the site of the final battle of Satsuma in the late 1800s, Japan's last civil dispute and the base still holds caves from where the general of the army hid, the cave now turned into a museum dedicated to its history.

From Kagoshima, the travel back to Tokyo by the bullet train was approximately nine hours on three trains. Although we were supposed to spend two days in Yakushima, the ferry to the island was far too expensive and our funds for the month were running short.

Debating on our course of actions, we decided to bypass Kobe and spend two days in the Shinagawa area of Tokyo, the early return ensuring that our railpass would still be functioning and be able to cover the near three hundred dollar train ticket from Kagoshima.

We spent the extra afternoons trying to gather up the gifts and purchases we had desired at the beginning of the month but held off on purchasing, not wanting to drag extra bags around Kyushu with us.

Virginie was excited about the purchase of a ball-jointed doll shaped after a favorite anime character of hers and I forced her to aid me in finding the original Baby, the Stars Shine Bright store in Ebisu -- we failed due to misprinted directions.

We returned to Minami-senju for the last leg of my stay and I spent the days wandering Tokyo on my own as Virginie refused to face the heat. I made my best attempts to make her regret not coming with me, bringing back photos from Shibuya of gigantic advertisements featuring our favorite musician and his new single.

During an afternoon in Harajuku, I accidentally stumbled upon an independent store, A Little Village, favored by Japanese celebrities and spent half an hour speaking with the owner, the conversation half in Japanese, half in English. He proudly showed me magazines where popular icons had worn his clothing and thanked me graciously when I purchased a beautifully rumpled vest for a price I would normally never pay but was worth simply for his hospitality and eager service.

My final full day in Japan, we met with Sabrina and once again headed to karaoke, where I enjoyed my companions' singing and graciously refused, not wishing to harm their ears again. Virginie had told me after the last session, "Before you, I never believed anyone could sing that badly." I agree fully without offense. Just facts.

That night, dressed in my yukata, I stared out the seventh story window of the hotel. The nightscape in Shinagawa had been breathtaking, the buildings and roads and trains lighting up the black night in a view I knew I could live for, but Minami-senju was softer and quieter, the perfect sort of melancholy appearance to match the mood that had settled over me.

Japan was beautiful. While I know I may have noticed flaws, I cannot distinguish them now, overshadowed by the respect and delicacy of the nation. The manners, culture, food... the metro, immense green mountains, strange commercials, the fashion of the Shibuya and Harajuku girls and the tatami mats of the ryokans all managed to captivate me far more than I had imagined.

Friday morning, June 30, I waved good-bye to Virginie at the station, she was going to Shiki to stay with Sabrina for a week before continuing on her six-month exploration of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, and I would wait for my train to the airport.

My plane left at 4 p.m., yet arrived in San Francisco at 9 a.m. the same day. Sitting in my seat by the window on a United 747 , I prepared myself for the nine hour flight home and required black tea from the stewardess in Japanese, clinging to the remains of my experience. And as the wheels lifted from the runaway, I set my watch to California time.

Editor's note: This the last of a five part series by Yosemite High School graduate Alisa Choin, who spent a month traveling in China.