d-Wizz Hankuk Travel Diary [2005]
Day 33 (2005-08-28) / Day 34 (2005-08-29) / Day 35 (2005-08-30) 
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Day 34: 2005-08-29 (Monday)
I had to wake up early for breakfast, as Tsuyako would travel with me to Fuji so I could meet her family. We had organised to catch the train leaving from Misedani at 0702, which would see us arriving at Fuji around lunchtime. Before leaving Odai, I took a few photos with my now recharged camera.
Tsuyako’s sister met us at Fuji station and drove us about 10 minutes to Tsyuako’s parents’ home. Tsyuako’s mother was home, but her father was at a religious meeting.
We went to a nearby restaurant for a late lunch. The meal was Western-style, but the Japanese influence was definitely there. It was mid-afternoon, and the restaurant was almost empty. Tsuyako’s mother asked me some questions about myself with Tsyuako interpreting most of the time. Tsyuako’s mother understood some English, but not a lot. My hand gestures and body language helped her to understand what I was saying as Tsuyako interpreted into Japanese.
Tsuyako had planned to prepare sukiyaki (a traditional Japanese meal) for dinner, but she needed to go shopping to buy some of the ingredients. She asked me if I would like to come with her, and I agreed. We used bicycles to get to the supermarket, which was called “The Potato”. Inside, under the bright white fluorescent lights, everything was neatly packaged, including the fruit, vegetables and meats which filled the shelves on the wall. It really looked very artificial and sterile.
There was a grey water drain right beside Tsyuako’s parents’ home. I noticed many other grey water drains, of varying sizes, all over the neighbourhood as we rode our bikes to and from the Potato. I mentioned to Tsyuoko similar thoughts to what I had said to Chi-Ung in Asan, and she confirmed that these drains were indeed similar to those I had seen there. It appears though, that the smaller grey water drains in Korea are underground, and only the main ones are open-cut, while in Japan, grey water leaves each house above ground and runs along bigger and bigger open-cut drains until it reaches the river or ocean. As Fuji is near the coast, it’s probably a correct assumption that the grey water flows straight into the ocean.
Tsyuoko pointed and asked me to look very hard for Fuji-san – Japan’s famous highest peak. There was too much cloud to see it, but I could see the shape very faintly as I concentrated. I had seen pictures of Mt. Fuji of course, so I had a general idea of the shape I was looking for. Tsyuoko said that it was often difficult to see the mountain because it was usually covered by cloud, but on maybe a dozen days each year, there was a clear view. Today was obviously one of the 353 other days.
When we returned to the house, I went with Tsyuoko, her mother and her niece to a nearby park, where they went jogging around a concrete path which circumnavigated the park. The path was about 2km long. As I was not in the mood for jogging, I walked about half the lap and then cut across the centre to meet them again at the starting point. The jog took about 15 minutes, and it was getting dark, so we went back home, and Tsyuoko began to prepare dinner. I went and took a rest.
Tsyuoko called me down when the sukiyaki was ready, and her father, Iwao had arrived back home. We exchanged greetings and sat down at the table for dinner.
A feature of the meal was the raw egg, which was used as a dipping sauce for the cooked meat. It was an interesting flavour. The meal looked similar to a Korean dish in many ways, with the notable absence of chillies, a fact mentioned by Tsyuoko. The main difference between Japanese and Korean cuisine is definitely the chilli. And also the kim-chee. Apart from those (rather stark) differences, the meals of both cultures appear very similar.
When dinner was over, I invited Tsyuoko and her parents to listen as I played my snare drum for them. I used a large box to support the snare drum, again ensuring that the snares were not choked. I played simple things to begin with, then I gradually increased the rhythmic complexity.
I played for about ten minutes, then I began to explain to Tsyuoko and Iwao how I started playing the drums. This led to discussion about some of the technical details about the construction of my snare drum and different methods of playing it (rudiments) and also basic drum kit technique (8-beat and 16-beat). Tsyuoko translated for her father, who listened with interest as I continued to explain some of my musical philosophy as a drummer. The session lasted about one hour, and I think it was enjoyable for everybody. Iwao’s English knowledge was comparable to that of his wife, but he did know how to say “thank you” to me with a big grin, probably with a hint of embarrassment.
We all went to bed shortly afterwards.
Day 33 (2005-08-28) / Day 34 (2005-08-29) / Day 35 (2005-08-30)
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