Laying Sod in Chikuda

Coming into Japan is time for seeing friends, and a comfortable stop over before heading back home in Michigan.  Paulo offered to pick me up at Narita Airport on his day off...it warmed the heart to see a familiar face on the other side of the arrival door.   And after a long day of travel, it was great to have someone who knows the trains and subways to navigate it all for the three hours it took to finally get to Linda and Joe's apartment in Setagaya (a bit outside of Tokyo). Linda had a lovely dinner complete with champagne ready for us when we arrived.  Joe had already headed out to Chikuda, so it was the three of us and a friend of Linda's from school for dinner.

I know Linda and Joe from home in Michigan.  They have been in Japan for about 13 years teaching at a boy's school named St. Mary's.   They always are kind in opening up their second bedroom  for my use whenever I come (plus the computer and TV and stereo) and it is a nice place to call home till I get to my home in Michigan.  I met Paulo in Thailand on my first trip four years ago.  We have become good friends and done some traveling together and always spend some time together in Tokyo, too.  

On Friday Linda and I headed out on the bus to David and Yoshiko's Green Discovery bike hostel/nature camp to lay sod in their huge yard.  The hostel consists of one large building for adults only upstairs with a kitchen, dining area and sitting area (kid are is downstairs).   The sleeping bunks/toilets/showers are to the side in another building.  Though the hostel is in a small city along the ocean coast popular with surfers, it feels like it is in the country as it is surrounded with bamboo forest swaying with the wind and populated with birds singing in the morning. When Yoshiko was showing us the sleeping quarters,  I was reminded of one wonderful invention of Japan when she said to "use the toilets on the right side because the HEATED seats are working properly in those two".   And I can tell you, that a heated toilet seat is a wonderful thing (especially in the middle of the cool night when I have to walk a bit outside to the toilet... I should mention there WAS a full moon when we were there, lighting the way!!)

We arrived about three in the afternoon and got on our work clothes and started in laying sod in the huge yard.  Yoshiko, David and Joe had been working all day and gotten about one quarter done.   Another couple would be arriving the next day, and with Linda and I that would be four extra pairs of hands.  But!! first things first!!  At six o'clock we had a dinner reservation at a Japanese restaurant.  David ordered all the food and it was delicious... asparagus wrapped in ham, various types of meat on skewers, shitake mushrooms cooked in butter and garlic, cabbage and large shrimp cooked with a hot sauce, small little shrimp deep fried and cooked with garlic.  It was all tasty and David just kept ordering till we all said we could eat no more!   All were up and having a breakfast of pancakes by 8:00 and then out starting to lay sod in the yard.  We all worked until about 9;30 until there were no more pieces of sod left.  The next load would not be delivered until noon, so Linda, Joe, Angela (she is the granddaughter of the couple that Yoshiko lived with when she went to high school for her senior year and college in the States.  Angela lives in Salt Lake City, is trying to decide on whether to major in criminology or marine biology and works at a haunted house extravaganza called Castle of Chaos when she is back home), and I headed out for a drive.   We drove till the end of the peninsula because we wanted the best view of Mt. Fuji.   Linda said that it was rare to get a view of it, and Saturday it was beautiful.  We also got a treat in seeing all the flowers growing in rice fields (soon to be replaced by rice plantings)... this area is known for its flower plantings and it was truly feeling like a first day of spring looking at all of them!

After a quick sandwich, we were all back on the sodding job and worked until David said we should quit for the day.  A shower, relax and a little wine later, David had fixed (and this is after a long day... his energy amazed me... but he said he loves to cook!) a beautiful array of cut veggies-onion, pumpkin, eggplant, mushrooms-and meats-shrimp. beef, chicken and tofu.  They were cooked on a hot plate in the middle of the table with him telling us when they were cooked enough and to enjoy some.   With rice on the side, it was a tasty meal.  I managed to stay up until 9, and then fell into bed with sleep quick to come.  

Sunday we really only had a little left to do and were done by about 10 in the morning.  David said that the Japanese men who brought in the sod, dirt and directed the project did not think we could get it all done in a weekend, so David and Yoshiko were very happy and all of us workers were giving ourselves a pat on the back!! Now let's hope that all that sod is coming in green and looking lovely in short order!

Linda, Joe and I decided to take a bit of the town in and walked through some of the back streets and then headed down to the beach.  Lots of surfers were there in their wetsuits riding the waves on the sunny day.   We found a nice space in the sand and enjoyed the sound the the waves and sun, before finally giving in to getting ready to head back to the city on the bus.