Memories of Japan

By Kevin Coxe

My first memory of our trip to Japan is the 14 exciting hours of our plane ride. I will never forget the way I felt when the plane took off. Once in the air I had a chance to look at the earth like I have never done before. Once we landed in Japan we had to rush to get to our train. There were so many people in the train station that it was unbelievable.

Once we got to Muryama we put our stuff in our rooms and went to the spas. I will never forget the spas. They were so relaxing. I have never felt anything like it before. The next day we went to city hall. We received a standing ovation when we stepped into the room. I felt so important. Every day we had something new and exciting planned for us. My favorite memory was the Zazen temple, where we did this really cool meditation. The shrine inside was so beautiful, made of gold and black marble. When I walked down the hall, I was again breathtaken by the beauty of the Japanese garden.

There are so many wonderful memories it is hard to pick out the ones to write about. I think everyone will say something about the Tokunai festival. From the moment Gypsi and I got atop our float, the fun began. It was really different to stand there and wave and have the crowd go ecstatic. Once the sun set and all was getting dark the music of the Tokunai still raged on. I loved standing on my float and listening to the two Japanese singers beside me screaming out words to go along with the music. It would have been nice to know what they were saying, but hey, I got the jist of it. Unfortunately I was sick for the festival, and because of that I missed out on the dancing in the sports hall the night before. It was a real disappointment.

But because of my good luck, I did get bronchitis, and I got to see what the Japanese medical care system was like. It was very different, we had to put on slippers when we entered the office, and for some reason instead of a fish tank, they had a little TV show of fish swimming.
I did not really understand it. You think it would be cheaper to have fish instead of a TV, but hey that's Japan for you. After the festival we all had a nice rest back at the hotel. Again I enjoyed the spas. Well that's about it for my memories of Japan. There are more, like Tokyo.......but hey, that's a different story.