Off to Hokkaido – I am skipping the last two days of training in Hombu, because I believe there is more non-kenshis reading this… I will however point out that Hombu summer camp is always a good idea.

I learned a lot in those days, specially talking to the Japanese young university students… They technically train Kempo for a year and become shodans, by the time they leave university, they are perhaps even sandans… But then the reality hits them and many of them told me that they will have to stop training because of the demanding life of working in Japan. Finns are so lucky: We are not expected to do 12 hour days at the office (or stay at home with kids), where there is no room for hobbies… Sadly enough, many of these kenshis I will never see again. How different is your life if you are born to Jyväskylä than to Tokyo… You may think the level of living is similar, but I couldn’t help but to think that living around the clock working life like that is like living in a modern prison. I know it can be like that in Helsinki or London as well, I’m just glad that’s not my life.

On Saturday morning I woke up at 6am after lovely three and a half hours of sleep on the futons. This day is what I call a Gasshuku hangover. Yes, I also had a real hangover, too much biiru, desu ne. But what is evident when ever one has dealt with something so intensive as a Shorinji Kempo camp – there is always the Gasshuku hangover. It means you are in vain trying to find your schedule sheet and check when the Chinkon Gyo starts, you are doing Gassho at all the doorsteps, including the bathroom’s and even the traffic lights are looking like they are standing in Kesshu gamae.

This week in Tadotsu was indeed one of the best weeks of my life. I met awesome people, my Japanese communication has really picked up: I can say “Move your leg there”, “Let’s try one more time”, “Well done! You are very good”, “Let’s take it slow”, “Punch me to the head with your right hook” and other very useful phrases that you should know when on a martial arts camp with mainly non-English speaking kenshis.

We eventually went out to Yokota’s every night, and as always, the sessions turned into Seiho parties (meaning that everyone massages everyone at the tatamis). Yokota’s best dish in my opinion, is not the Doshin So Chiken btw, but the Kimchi rice. That is to die for. On the last night we had some of the senseis come out as well, specially helpful was Mika sensei, who can speak english. The whole day was mixed feelings of goodbyes. I was specially unhappy to say goodbye to some of the new friends that I’m unlikely to see again. Eerik the Swede-Japanese and Cedric the German-English I am confident that I can see again back in Europe. Evandro however, I don’t see popping into Brazil anytime soon. It is so precious to meet so many great people in so little time…

What I feel most lucky about is that I have family who can come with me to experience something like this. Kirsi, Timo and I made a five year pact to come back and try to take also the two other training members of our family with us.

RTW day 6/63

Second training day.

We started our morning with the usual coffee from the machine in front of Hotel Toyota. I know that people might say this hotel is crap, but at the moment it provides me with everything I could possibly want: Futons to sleep on, washing machine on the roof to was my dirty dogi with 2,25euros/7kg wash, and a very low internet connection from somewhere near by. I am currently trying to cheat the internet into loading some pictures up to facebook for me. We shall see if I succeed.

Morning camp rituals also include buying at least three bottles of Pocari Sweat, which I consume before lunch. It’s the best tasting energy drink there is. There is nothing wrong with just water, except that it uses up your body’s salt levels. Then we take a taxi (780yen = 5 euros) to Hombu. You *could* walk there. I am sure Panu would if he’d be here. However, it’s hot, and uphill and about 1,5euros per head. So what’s the point in using energy? There is plenty of chances for that in Hombu.

In the morning we really get into the Goho. This means kicking and punching. I paired up with some of the smallish 2nd dans, who are immenently scared of me, and have clearly only practised technique from both sides. They are mildly better than the first dans, but only a little. Here in Japan, it takes a year of training to be a shodan, a black belt. In Finland it takes more like five years. This is why we the foreigners are immenently better at our technique than they are. I learned some more tricks that I didn’t know before, good practise.

Arai sensei, the head secretariat, gave a lecture on how to treat the drug problem of Japan, and after that, the lunch. People who think that there is no way of sleeping in Hombu, are dead wrong. I recommend the comfy sofas by the cafeteria. In the afternoon Mika sensei approached us and said that she’s got some news: One entire university of kenshis have gone home because one of them was suspected to have the swine flu. This probably means that if he had it, everyone at the camp will have it by the end of next week. At least it didn’t interfere with training…

On the afternoon we took some hokei pictures in Hondo, the main hall. After which we got back to Rensei the upper hall and its tatamis. It was time for some more Juho. Nakayasu sensei was one of the happiest senseis that I have ever seen and also spoke some bits and pieces of ENglish every once in a while, so attracted the WSKO kenshis attention well. We did unjoho, randori and tried to look into some pointers on where to attack, how to block, how to buy time when you are in juho randori. Valuable pieces of advice. Afternoon group work carried onto Samu and today I cleaned some cup boards, the Hondo floor is cool, but my knee is quite busted, so I thought skipping it will be for my own benefit.

In the afternoon Kirsi and I scouted for some supermarkets for chili-cheese and sushi, while walking home. There would have been a lecture on Kongo-zen, but unfortunately we had no translator, which made it very pointless for us. Today at Arai Sensei’s lecture I wrote down all the words that I understood, but even with whole A5 filled with words, I didn’t get the message right. Uncle Timo stayed in hombu for 11,5 hours today, bless his heart, and learned 2/3 of his 5th dan techniques. I am sure it was well worth it.

We had another drop at Yokota’s, where the incredibly touched SK restaurant owner had put the Finnish flag that Timo gave him, right at the top of his terebi, television. Some of the WSKO guys joined us for the okonomiyaki and Ramen, it was the last day of the Japanese-Spannish kenshi from Las Palmas, so he bought a big bottle of something like Sake but taste like Raki. Sayonara to him. This week goes by so quick, only one full day to go. Days that seemed they’d never end…

RTW day 5/63

First Hombu day. I was expecting a sudden death from what most people tell me about training in Hombu. This week apparently, it is not as bad. Who knows. I did get thrown onto my head and legs feel like two lumpy creatures that I am dragging along, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

So Hombu is the headquarters, the shrine, the very first place in the world, where Shorinji Kempo, my martial arts first started and still now lives on very strong. Hombu organises summer and spring camps every year, six in total, I think – and we decided to go and train on camp C, the last of this year’s summer camps. This decision was based on the fact that September is relatively less hot than the other two weeks, so avoiding sudden death is actually easier. (Told you so – my relatives who went last year to train in July-August and now are complaining that my time here is too easy…).

Perhaps some things have changed. We had been pardoned to do Chinkon on the wooden floor of the Hondo main hall, which means a 15 minute sweaty sitting in ‘anza’ legs crossed. We Chinkon Gyod in Rensei the tatami hall instead. And we only did cleaning (samu) in the evening. In the Nidan group (2nd dan, that would be me) had quite a good morning with around five techniques, none that I had not seen before, but never the less some tricks that I didn’t know. I am the only ‘WSKO’ kenshi in my group, WSKO kenshi means non-japanese technically… We have nine this year, Four of us from Finland, One guy from Stockholm(halfly Japanese), one from UK (hidden German), one Brazillian Branch Master and two guys who are Japanese immigrated to other countries (Las Palmas/US-Phenix). So quite an international bunch.

We were pardoned from philosophy (only in Japanese – our translating capacity is very limited) and got to practise our own techniques during that hour. That was when Timo started to get a bit excited. If he doesn’t really hurt someone this week, I’ll eat my pants. No, really.  I suppose the rest of the day deserves to be mentioned on a blog: if you are a female kenshi, do not wash your armpits in the male toilet – senseis will eventually walk in. (Was not me!)

After practise I went back to Osaki shop and bought another Gi (pyjama) for myself with the actual emrbroidery that I wanted. This is something you don’t get right by ordering how ever much you try…   We had quite an exciting evening in the Yokota’s restaurant aka the Kempo restaurant where we and some of the WSKO kenshis decided to spend our time with okonomiyaki and beer. You’ll understand only if you’ve been there, what does a Kempo restaurant mean. The decorations take the whole thing to another level. We even ran into a very desperate American who is a teacher in Tadotsu and doesn’t get to speak english like ever in his life… And I believe living in here might actually be worse than living in Pihtiputaa as a foreigner. Who knows. At least back in Pihtiputaa you’ve got like trees and lakes and trees and lakes and snow.

Time to sleep I think.

I am typing for you from Shinkansen, the bullet train from Kyoto to Okayama. From there we’ll change to a lesser train (I assume) to Tadotsu in Shikoku. On our third day in Japan, we’ve already visited the Kyoto tower, which we got free tickets to since staying at the hotel on the base of the tower. The view of the city tells you a lot, there is sightseeing at only one of the directions. Kyoto tower and station are based on the very bottom of Kyoto.

Shinkansen never stops to amaze me. Not just the speed, but also the huge leg space, the extremely clean toilets and smooth service. We are in Okayama in no time at all and then pass onto the fast, but not so incredible speed train to Tadotsu.

When we first reach the long lost city of my dreams, it’s about 38celsius outdoors and in the hotel reception, whose receptionist lady has gone for a siesta expecting no one to turn up. Our japanese speaker saves us again by calling her and we get our rooms. There was only one western style room available (perhaps it’s the only one in the whole hotel – last year Kirsi and Timo stayed in the same one! – Keep in mind that Tadotsu only has this *one* hotel. My husband and I stay at a Japanese style room, which is actually very comfortable. I don’t mind sleeping on futons.

Speaking Japanese has its advantages, we find out that there is a washing room on the roof for 300 yen (2,3euros) per machine. We also managed a first trip to ‘hombu’, the headquarters for Shorinji Kempo. From there we find a huge box of Gis, Shorinji Kempo gear, which has been posted for us by Osaki shop, which we repost to Finland in smaller boxes. This operation takes about an hour or two. To be honest, you might think there is not much to do in Tadotsu. You might be right. But for a kenshi (Shorinji Kempo practiser) it’s got all you need. There’s the occasional restaurants, if you can read enough kanjis and hirakanas to understand where they are, and you can also check out the sunset from a mountain. This concludes the activities.  We are here to train and finding almost working wireless internet in our room – there’s not really much other things that a treesom of Finns companied by an english writer would want.

We go out to eat in a sea food restaurant in a shipping area of the harbor. Timo and Kirsi have been there last year and you can imagine the stunned herd of waitresses when we ask for a shit loads of sushi, Chicken by barbarians (kentuky fried chicken) and some aubergines with cheese on top… Then I take very pictures of the food of course with a camera that most of the waitresses don’t come across in their lives. Perhaps they thought we were from the Times or something. Restaurant owner seems touched when he realises that these are the same Finns as last year, and that they have recommended this place to all of us. They certainly didn’t think too much about the restaurant themselves!

Tomorrow it’s the real thing. Visiting Hidemi san, one of the WSKO secreteriat women, gave  us the details: 99 kenshis, nine of which are foreign. One of them is a brazillian Branch Master who is there for the third week and overly eager to train all the time. There is one Engish kenshi from Mayfair, and one Swedish one. It should be an interesting bunch of sessions though. I have prepared myself to death. Everything less would be a bonus.

Kyoto, day 2/63.

On our second adventure day in the old capital of Japan, my family and I headed for the imperial palace. None of us besides my husband who used to live in Kyoto, have ever been there, so it seemed like a great way to spend a morning. I woke up 7:15am, (1:15finnish am) and immediately felt a lot better than yesterday. Lucky for me, I am easy when it comes to rythms, no need for sleeping pills or so.

Pretty much like in Crete, the main functions of keeping your body live is drinking, salt, toilets and sun cream. I came well prepared and had no trouble at all. we have mostly non-breakfast-included hotels in Japan, but this is a conscious choise: We know the seven elevens are everywhere. What is better than some ice coffee, onegiri (rice cake with sea weed and fillings) or perhaps a hamu-sando (ham sandwich) for breakfast: yam!

We are staying at the Kyoto tower hotel, which also makes us like five metres from the subway’s main line. Kyoto’s railservices sometimes seem stupidly complicated: What’s the point in having different metro lines that need different kinds of tickets? I suppose corporations are the answer to that. However, buying a ticket is not as complicated as one might think – the signs have got roman letters on and even the machine speaks english. You figure out how much the price is and buy one. 250/210 yen mainly for 2-5 stops (one way), which we made today.

I find myself instantly improving in my japanese. I am still hopeless of course, but I can read most hirakanas and simple kanjis. Also I can pick up words that I recognise in conversations, such as the ones that my husband has with people. Pretty simple japanese – straightforward and easy. I studied it 2 years in the university night classes, but unfortunately that amount does not make you fluent. Japanese is number one on my list of languages to learn fluently, even if it’s not the most useful one concerning my work. It would be just very handy to have a translator in the SK camps whenever needed. My husband spent eight months living in Kyoto… I wonder if we’ll sometime move into Japan for a couple of years. I would not say no to a challenge like that.

After pissing about through the gardens where Jonathan tells my family members so interesting stories that I have time to take about a zillion pictures, we head back to Teramatchi, the shopping arcade. I’ve had serious second thoughts about the lens of my dreams and I feel that I will have to have it. 560euros for something that is more like 1300euros when new in Finland… I find that as a bargain that I don’t want to be crying over at home when missing.

My relatives are getting worried – even now that they’ve eaten and gone to exactly their will, it’s been mainly thanks to the 24 hour translating. Next week the tour guide/translator will vanish to Hokkaido with me, which means that they’ll be left alone with their problems. We have been looking for a book that would show Japanese food to morons, which would then allow them to skip their burger-king-worlds and visit actual japanese restaurant without having to worry that they’ll get something nasty from the miscommunication. There’s a great book idea there in order to put both pictures and humour together – something I’d like to do as a project with my spouse.

In the evening we have a dinner invitation from an old Japanese Shorinji Kempo family, whose son visited Finland when I was nine years old. He’s now the father of three and his father, the big sensei of Rakuto-doin, their practising hall, is an old dear friend to us. Their house is incredible. There’s a whole training area which is technically the living room and the Kempo room at the same time. There’s a full size Japanese garden and shrine for Zen Buddhism, where SK takes its roots. Actually now a days, SK is not allowed to teach Kongo Zen philosophy anywhere outside Japan, in order to keep SK out of religious wars I imagine.

We have home made sushi, okonomiyaki, salad, sausages, beer… A huge buffet indeed, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I always think the way to experience travelling the best way, is to meet friends and locals (natives, if you like) and spend time with them. They’ll show you the customs, the styles, the food, the living conditions. And as I’ve been to Japanese homes before, so I can agree with our fellow kenshi from Helsinki: “it was nice to visit a japanese home that was huge”, normally Japanese live in very small places, as living is very expensive. Having said that, so far all the meals we’ve had have been about 7,5 euros/person including beer and whatnot – this means certainly that it’s less than an average lunch in Jyväskylä, my hometown in Finland… 8,6euros is it now? And this is also dinners here…

Tomorrow it’s bye-bye Kyoto and hello to Tadotsu. I feel teary when thinking about the places I am visiting and how I would love for my father to be with us.