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Kawaii.
Originally uploaded by Tavie

My über-Japanese day began with lolling around in bed for a full 8 hours watching Dr Who and surfing the inter-not. Then I met K. at a 7-11 (I know, right?) down the street and she took me to her school, Hisumi. It was her last day there and she wanted to show me around to the kids. The kids, the cutest little moppets imaginable, unreal in their cuteness, like cartoons come to life. Pushing, reaching, suddenly shy, begging me for my "autograph", or to draw cartoon characters in their exercise books. K. was amazing with them. She blew my mind. Everywhere she went, she introduced her "neesan" [big sister] and I protested, "futago, [twin] not neesan!" At the end of the afternoon - exhausted, sweating, smiling, nodding, speaking slowly, straining to understand, sipping iced tea, smiling, nodding - the kids performed an elaborate ceremony, with flags and an insanely precocious marching band.

After that, it was sushi with K's friend Sandy, one of the most adorable (yet deadpan - a strange mix, you must meet her!) people I've ever met. Then karaoke. Are you keeping track? Japanese schoolchildren, sushi, karaoke.

Then... well, before I begin this section of the travelogue, I know that you may not be able to help but try and picture the stories that you read here. It's part of reading, you make up little pictures in your mind to accompany the text. To help keep your breakfast down, the part of Tavie is going to be played in the following paragraph by your choice of the following: Drew Barrymore, Liv Tyler or a young Isabella Rosselini. Picture them in your mind. Got it? OK.

K. took me to an onsen. I had sworn up and down I would never go to such a place, where it is required that you be completely naked with total strangers - of the same gender, sure, but so what? My best friends have never seen me naked, and I intend to keep it that way. I would not wish my Jabbaesque* nudity on anyone. But K. swore up and down that no one cares, that everyone's naked, that it's perfectly normal.

I dunno what made me agree - jetlag, lack of reason, too much ikura and green tea, my aching hip - but, okay, so I did that. It was kind of... not at all bad. Seriously, if the middle-aged ladies were sneaking peeks at my bodacious booty, they had the courtesy to do it when I was looking elsewhere. That's all I ask, really. And the bubbling hot springs were unspeakably refreshing.

So I've done that.

I will now resume playing myself. If you need a reminder, I am the Jew-y man-looking girl making a face in the picture below.

*I can make up a nu werd?

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:23 AM | shower me with attention