So what I neglected to mention is that last Thursday, on our last full day in Kyoto, Irwin asked me to marry him. We had been discussing this amongst our many future plans, but I had no idea that this would be coming to me in this way at this moment. My brain exploded a little bit when he presented me with the ring, and when Chie came home from work, she immediately sensed something was up. It took me a couple hours to feel more grounded.
On Friday, we had ambitious plans to wake up very early and go to a special festival. The Mitarashi Festival at Shimogamo Shrine involves walking through the river to purify yourself.
Later we went to a GIGANTIC flea market at Kitano TenMangu Shrine, where every month on the 25th, everything and anything you could possibly want to buy, or didn't even know you wanted to buy is put on display. The photo below doesn't really capture the density and variety of wares, nor the oppressive heat of the morning.
We met with Chie for lunch before getting on the shinkansen -- also met with Naoto Moriyama, who is on the faculty at Kyoto University of Arts & Design. This was Chie's way of planting the seeds of the idea of touring oph3lia to Kyoto -- how amazing would that be?!
And then we were off! Our plan was to meet up with Ryo at Tokyo station and then continue on to Yamagata. Ryo is a friend of mine from work -- her cubicle is right behind mine. She works in the film program and has, over the years become one of the people I adore the most. So I was really looking forward to seeing her hometown, and her home.I have to confess that, though I was super super excited about this plan of ours to meet up and hang out in Japan together, I was also extremely paranoid and worried that somehow my Japanese friends would be "different" in Japan (i.e. a different context than NYC, America) and that they would like be mean to me in Japan. These kinds of things happened to me a lot as a kid I guess, where you thought you were friends with someone, but then in a different context, they are too cool to be your friend or whatever. And being in Japan is always some key into my childhood psyche.
But all told my fears were completely unfounded, and visiting Yamagata with Ryo was one of the most awesome legs of this trip. Here we've just arrived at Yamagata station.
We walked just a few blocks down the main drag -- during which Ryo ran into a family friend. This night Ryo's parents' theater had just had a special screening of Godzilla, followed by a talkback with a Godzilla expert (?!?!). We walked by their movie theater Forum (named in honor of Film Forum, I think!)
And the posters of upcoming movies.
Next door was L'atelier de Charlotte, a little bistro run by a couple who were huge movie freaks and fans of Charlotte Gainsbourg. The cute place was chock-full of everything Charlotte. This was the setting for the post-Godzilla dinner celebration.
We were joined by Ryo's brother Jun, who had recently come back to Yamagata to start learning the family business to eventually take it over. He had spent 8 years in the boondocks as a music teacher in a middle school. He was a very serious guy!
After several nice appetizers, the owner of the restaurant put on a great show with crepe suzette -- pouring blazing Grand Marnier down a spiral of orange peel. Ryo and her Mom look on.
After dinner we walked another few blocks to their apartment. We were staying in her grandmother's apartment, which is on the same floor as her parents' unit -- in fact they were connected by a wraparound balcony with a great view of Yamagata -- mountains all around. Ryo stayed in the room with her grandfather's shrine.
Her grandmother was staying with her parents while we were visiting! So gracious. Grandma has a 19 year-old cat named Tono who yowled a lot but was generally a cuddle slut. Apparently he and Grandma are inseparable. Ryo and her mom joked that her grandfather's spirit has inhabited the cat, and that is why the cat will not leave her alone.
The view from the balcony before going to sleep.
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