Hikone ~ Part 2

We are now settled at the hostel in Tokyo and went out shopping already! Internet is free here so I may have time to finish this entry. I left off after the castle in Hikone.
Dasi had planned to have an "interesting conversation" from 7 to 9 with some other people who want to speak with foreigners last night. We left our suitcase in a locker in Hikone and trained one stop to where she lived in South Hikone. We then walked about 45 minutes stopping at a grocery store along the way to pick up dinner. By this time I was ready to bag this whole encounter as I was SOOOO tired and my feet and knees hurt. But we plodded on. She said her friend Mr. Uno would cook miso soup and rice but we should pick up stuff to finish the meal. We then walked MORE and finally arrived at his lovely home. He was delightful, very energetic and we spread out the food to supplement his rice and soup. His English is sparse but we managed with Dasi to translate. She had told us, and he later told us, that he was an elementary teacher, 5th grade, and when he was 25 he got a disease in his eyes and is now blind. He has now become Christian (he left later that evening for church which he attends on Sunday and Weds. ) He also has learned to play the saxophone and played 3 beautiful numbers for us, Amazing Grace, White Christmas and Silent Night - beautiful! after dinner. He also has learned massage and acupuncture and promised to massage our weary legs after he returned from Church. We should shower and then soak in his deep tub and then he would massage us.
3 women arrived for conversation - one a friend of Dasis who lives on a farm, about 90 minutes away - she drove - with her parents and one of her children still in high school (two are at university - she is a widow, going to start a Farm Visit business for tourists. ) She spoke a little English and was charming. then two young girls, in their 20s, I think, arrived. Dasi had found them on some listserv, I think. They also drove even further to attend this conversation! We felt a bit intimidated. But they were all delightful and we asked and answered questions about Japan and America, the environment, politics, marriage, courting, divorce in both places, lawsuits, etc. We all hugged (American) and bowed (Japanese) and exchanging e-mail addresses at 9+30 when Mr. Uno returned.
Mr. Uno showed us where to bring down the futons and blankets from upstairs to set up for the 3 of us (Dasi was staying the night as well after she bicycled home to feed the rabbit) to help with translating.
Betty quickly showered and soaked and then she had a wonderful pressure point massage. Then I did the same! Wonderful!!!! His house in the living room and dining room is usual in that it has radiant heat in the flooring. So we were toasty and comfortable all night.
Mr. Uno prepared a wonderful breakfast of stir fried veggies, leftover rice and chicken and the miso soup before he headed off to work (he teaches at a blind school). He set us up on the internet in his bedroom (where I was writing before ) before he left. We told Dasi he would make a charming co-host of a small inn like she wants to set up and they could help each other.
BTW, Japan has all over the sidewalks and in buildings like rail stations, etc., these yellow strips with bumps and dots. I thought they were for dividing the walkers, bikers, whatever. No, they are for blind people!! They can follow them with their canes! It reminded me of the Freedom Trail in Boston except these are painted yellow rather than the red in Boston. Talk about consideration for a minority group of people!!
Mr. Uno is now 47, he told us. He maneuvers and manages in his house, and the world, I suspect, just fine. He was telling Betty-san and Susan-san that he couldn't really tell our voices apart but he could tell I was taller as my voice was coming from a higher place! He was just so friendly and charming! and Dasi was so incredibly helpful to us. She walked with us back to the station where we hopped the train for Hikone, grabbed our suitcases and got an earlier train to Maibara and then the Bullet train to Tokyo. We made one mistake when we got here and took a metro the WRONG direction. When we tried to put the ticket in on exiting, the railway guys called us over and told us the right way to go and reimbursed our ticket back the right way. The hostel is in a great location, not too far from Narita airport where we will stay our last, Weds. night before flying out. We will be here over the weekend, then train or bus to Mt. Fuji area for 2 nights and possibly meet up with Sr. Trai Nghiem's friends (she is in Doug's Buddhist community and she stayed in Wellfleet for the 4 days when Doug was there in October). Then we will spend one day in Kamakura, another former capital, and big Buddhist site before returning to Tokyo for a final night. I'll be really glad to see home!! But it's been amazing!