DAY 3

Friday 30th April

Kubota

A leisurely lie-in until 11:00 a.m. Emma was at the school, and so Paul and myself decide to do a spot of local exploration, and head out onto the streets of Kubota.

Kubota appears to be a small town, though very widely spaced. In between the rambling roads lie small fields in which we can see onions growing (alright, not literally growing before our eyes, but in the process of growing). Small shrines and statues lie dotted around the back streets. Every single house and shop is different, without apparent order, as if the town has been continually growing and evolving over a long period of time. Small buckets on street corners contain flags that schoolchildren hold aloft while crossing roads.

Our first task is to buy lunch from the local shop. Starting as we mean to go on, we peruse the selection of Bento boxes in the chiller cabinet.

Bento boxes are essentially pre-made lunchboxes, containing tasty (but mostly unidentifiable) foodstuffs, multifarious in colours, taste, smell and texture. Rice often forms the bulk of the meal, but you can find meat, fish, seafood, seaweed and pickled vegetables of all shapes and sizes. Prices vary from 200 to 600 yen (around £1-£3), with most around the 400-yen mark. In England you'd be lucky to get a scotch egg for these prices. I am so going to miss the good old reliable Bento box- cheap, convenient and healthy! (Incidentally, I saw freshly made bento boxes being sold in London's biggest Japanese supermarket, 'Oriental City'. The average price was nine pounds.) A moment of confusion almost scuppers us at the first hurdle when we're asked a question that we don't understand. However, the answer is soon provided when the cashiers gesticulate toward the microwave. Lunch bought, we leave the shop contented that we'd already learnt something that will be valuable in the future.

On our travels towards a deserted shrine that Emma had suggested we try to find, we find ourselves heading unavoidably towards a veritable army of school kids. They were wearing green and orange shirts and appeared to be heading back from the massive baseball stadium nearby, so we assume they'd been out on a P.E. lesson or something. We let the bulk of them pass in front and, continuing our journey, encounter a group of schoolgirls straggling at the back. We shuffle by grinning our best 'English gent abroad' grin. As we pass, the group surrounds us and shouts (in English):

'Helloooo!'
'Uh, hello.'
'How are you?'
'Fine, thank you.' (I return the question in Japanese.) 'O-genki desu ka?' 
The girls shriek in unison: 'Haaaai! Genki desu!'
One girl steps forwards excitably, and asks in English:
'Where are you from? Doko doko (where where)?'
'Igirisu.... Igirisujin desu.'

Clearly this was the RIGHT answer as they explode into fits of giggles, hopping and clapping, which kind of takes Paul and myself by surprise. 'KAKOII!' ('cool'!) This was our first (and not last) encounter with Japanese school kids and we continue on our way amused, but wondering what the heck that was all about. Well, so it wasn't the most thrilling of conversations, but it was fun all the same.

We find the deserted shrine after jumping a few 'warning' signs and take a look around. It does indeed appear deserted, but flowers have been left at the base of a small stone statue, so it's evident people still visit it. We sit down and picnic with our Bento boxes. The warm breeze and shade of the trees make it a tranquil moment. Dinner finished, we wander for a bit before returning to Emma's house to while away some time before the evening meal.

That evening, we meet another of Emma's Japanese friends, Yoko. I believe they had met a few times while supporting their local football team, Sagantosu, and had remained in contact since. Yoko is a friendly girl with an easy-going demeanour, which gives me the courage to try out some Japanese during the evening without worrying I'd make a complete arse of myself. She drives us to a restaurant in Saga which specialises in Okonomiyaki. An Okonomiyaki can be best described as a savoury omelette, and come in two styles: Hiroshima-style (with noodles) and Osaka-style (with rice). Each style contains vegetables, bean sprouts and the like. The owners observed us Gaijin (foreigners) with slight trepidation as we babbled away in English, but eventually we come to a decision about our meals. I chose an Osaka-style dish, 'Mochi-chizu'. Mochi is pounded rice, which looks like a small white square of rubber, and tastes not entirely unlike it either. Chizu is 'cheese', unless you don't put enough length on the 'i', in which case it means 'map'. I make it a point not to get lost anywhere- to avoid asking at an information desk for a local cheese.

Anyway, the Okonomiyaki was tasty and filling, and tests those chopstick skills to the maximum- this is no task for the chopstick beginner. For the second time in as many days the meal is bought for us, as Yoko sneakily gets to the till first. We leave satisfied, but somewhat frustrated that we couldn't persuade her to take any money.