Yamagata is almost the northernmost prefecture on the main island...so it was COLD.
I left from Tokyo station and since I got there early I lined up on the platform so I could get a seat (I cheaped out and got an unreserved ticket). Well, apparently the trains up to Yamagata actually start with 2 trains connected and then they separate halfway through the trip because the big trains can't get through the mountain tunnels. Not knowing this I almost boarded the wrong one. But thankfully I was paying attention and when the train arrived I didn't think it looked right. All I had to do was ask the guy next to me and then go running down the platform (all 14 train cars) to get to the very last car. Thankfully no one goes to Yamagata, so I got a seat. Coincidentally, the guy I sat next to on the first day of the CIR conference lives in Yamagata and we sat together.
It was great to see Chris again. Nick also came up to stay with us. The three of us were basically inseparable at orientation in Tokyo but have not really been able to stay as close with the distance and with how busy our lives get here. Plus everyone in JET lives in a different kind of area, so getting to see how your friends live is really eye opening. It can also make you feel a lot better about your own situation.
Chris lives in a very very very small town called Nagai. The great thing about it though is that it is surrounded by mountains. Now, Kameoka is also surrounded by mountains, but ours are small and tree covered. Chris' mountains are rocky and huge and snow covered. I have never seen mountains like that before. It was pretty amazing. The sheer beauty of it makes up for the fact that it is the middle of nowhere.
On Friday night Chris drove us into the mountains and we got to stand out and look out over the whole city of Yamagata (about an hour from where Chris lives). It was really amazing. There wasn't much light so we could see so many stars. We stayed up there shivering and enjoying the quiet view of Japan at night until some weird animal started making sounds like it was dying and we ran away......
The next day Chris took us to see a 1300 year old tree. The poor thing looked like it was dying. It was wrapped in some kind of sheet made from bamboo and propped up by a bunch of poles. But it was amazing to see a tree that has been around for so long. I mean, that area has had that tree for over a thousand years. It's mind boggling. It was also really incredible to see the lengths the Japanese go through in order to protect things like that.
We also went to a recycle shop where they had all kinds of vintage clothes. It was so weird to see Kansas City Chiefs sweatshirts from like 1999 selling for $40. We even found a shirt that I think came from Kalaidescope in Kansas City. I couldn't believe it. Apparently our old stuff really is cool in Japan. But how did it get here? Kalaidescope is kind of obscure so I'd been interested to find out how a t-shirt from there got to Yamagata, Japan of all places.
Then we went to the train station to watch Chris's friends perform. It was really cool to just hang out with people playing music.
On Sunday I headed back to Kameoka. I had been out of town for a week so I was ready to get back home.
The first 2 hours of the train was through the snow. It was so beautiful. There was heavy snow falling onto the HUGE pine trees. It's like what you see in movies. Then we went through a tunnel and it was suddenly clear. That's what mountains do I guess.
I had a 2 hour layover in Tokyo station so I grabbed a coffee, bought some omiyage, and then found a place to sit and people watch. I left Yamagata at 1 and got back to Kameoka at about 9:30.
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