A Day In Kobe

Yesterday, I visited my friend Yoko in her hometown of Kobe. With her detailed directions in hand, and a few notes from Tim, I set off just before 10am. The trains here are of three types: local, semi-express, and limited express, with the limited being the fastest. I caught a semi-express Hankyuu train, which wound up being quite slow. This worked in my favor, as I had more study time. I managed to put to memory the rest of my script for this next week of classes, so it was time well spent.

I arrived at Myodani station about 40 minutes past our twelve noon meeting time, but Yoko was waiting patiently, and she greeted me with a smile and a big hug. We walked about 15 minutes to her parent’s house, where her mother awaited us. On the way I learned some more Osaka-ben (bochi bochi, which means “so-so”), and a little bit about her husband. He is a multi-talented jazz musician who plays four different instruments, including alto saxophone and piano.

Her parent’s house is quite nice, and her mother, Haruko, greeted me warmly. She and Yoko laid out a fantastic array of delicious food, including rice, green & red leaf lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers, celery, shiso (a Japanese herb related to the mint leaf, grown by Haruko), some tempura potato slices, nori (both Japanese and Korean, which is slightly saltier in taste and smaller in size), corn, avocado, tuna with mayo, six types of fish including maguro (blue fin tuna), ika (squid), and shake (salmon), and a wonderful miso soup containing several varieties of kinoko (mushrooms), negi (small onions), and tofu. They showed me how to build little tasty combinations using the nori and lettuce as a wrap to enfold whatever you wanted to put together. There was also a lovely ryokucha (green tea). As Yoko poured the tea, she told me that the last few drops, called the “tears”, held the most robust flavor, so it was essential to make sure they were added to each cup. We had a leisurely feast, and the conversation was delightful. After eating, Haruko showed me photos from her recent vacation she, her husband, and Yoko’s younger sister took to Switzerland. As I perused the photos, Haruko whisked up some matcha, served with some little Japanese sugar confections and Swiss chocolate. A perfect ending to our meal.

The lovely hostesses...

...and our spectacular feast!

Yoko and I then went to her and her husband’s apartment. Her space is very warm and inviting. We sat out on her balcony, high above the city, with a wonderful view of the surrounding area. As we sipped chamomile tea, we chatted about life, teaching, and yoga (which are really all the same). She has many different plants arrayed on her balcony, inspired by a favorite book of hers, Tasha’s Garden. Tasha Tudor is a children’s book author and gardening aficionado who lives on a 250-acre plot of land in Vermont. The book is full of amazing photographs of Tasha making her way around her extraordinarily verdant land, as well as close-ups of many of the wonderful flowers, trees, and other plants she has cultivated. Yoko told me she views the book before sleeping, because it brings her sweet dreams and good rest. She wanted to try to capture some of that beauty and serenity in her space by creating a modest garden of her own. I believe she has succeeded. I felt very restive and relaxed in her space.

There are a handful of people I have met over the past three years who I have had an instant heart connection with. It is something that is intrinsic, that has no bearing on any outer experience of the other person. It is a divine recognition of a familiar and kindred spirit that fills me with love and respect for that being instantaneously. Yoko is one of these people. Her name means "child who brings light and sunshine to others", and I believe it fits her perfectly.

As the twilight dissolved into a deep blue-black, I felt the elasticity of time, as if the day had both crept along and passed in the blink of an eye.

 
We parted at the station with another big hug, and a standing offer from her to return again for another visit. I am looking forward to it.