2005-12-02 - 2:34 p.m.

First, I want to write about my trip to Japan. Sometime last spring Dean's brother Jay decided to go to Japan since he was taking Japanese in school and had a friend living in Tokyo. Dean wanted to join Jay on his trip and Dean's parents offered to send me along with them as well - So we all went to Japan for 2 weeks. (Thank you, Dean's Wonderful Parents!)

Japan was AMAZING. It's hard even to reflect on this journey now that I'm back, I don't know where to begin. From the moment we got off the plane I was blown away - I've never seen a city like Tokyo and I'm sure there isn't anyplace else like it in the world. There are people everywhere, signs everywhere, tiny restaurants everywhere tucked under and inside buildings. There are enterances to restaurants and shops not just on the streets but in the alleys - A person could live in Tokyo and never get bored, there would always be more alleys to explore . . .

While in Japan we mainly stayed in Tokyo exploring the different districts - Akihibara, the electronics district/ Shibuya, the fashion and shopping district/ Ginza, a restaurant and entertainment district/ Oidaba, where there were museums and malls/ Shinjuku, the red light district - and my favorite Asakusa, an older neighoborhood in Tokyo with an amazing temple surrounded by souvenier shops. We also visited Ueno, the central park of Tokyo and went to the art, history, and science museums there. And we visited the Imperial Palace grounds and the Tsukiji Fish Market, where all the restaurants buy their fish each morning.

We went on two other excursions outside tokyo. One day we went to Kamikura, which is along the coast just South of Tokyo (do I have my directions right?). I would describe Kamikura as the Santa Cruz of Japan - a surfing and fishing village that also had a contemporary art museum and all kinds of funky restaurants and shops - surrounded on all sides by the most amazing temples. One temple sported a 40 foot Buddha made of copper - we saw it! Imagine, 40 foot tall sitting Buddha - It was completely inspirational.

Our other excursion was to Kyoto - the ancient capital of Japan that also has more ancient temples than any other city in Japan. In Kyoto we found a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel, where we stayed overnight. On our way back from Kyoto we went to the World's Fair which was being held this year in Aichi, just outside of Nagoya!

It was a completely jam-packed trip. So exciting! It was so fun to eat exotic foods at every meal, to try things I'd never even heard of before, to be in someplace totally unfamiliar, to not be able to read the signs around me but to navigate based on intellect and instinct, to be surrounded by symbols and temples of a religion and mythology totally mysterious to me, to have every day be an adventure and navigate japan like a dreamscape - It was an incredible trip.

It was also a very emotional time for me - halfway through the trip Dean suffered a blackout while we were on a train. Blackout doesn't really describe it - He died for a second, and Jay and I watched him die, and we panicked, and then suddenly, mysteriously, Dean came back to us. This has happened to Dean before, there is a mental trigger for him and on the train he was reading a comic book that dealt with his trigger subject, which caused him/his body to react. Since then he has seen doctors and psychologists and he seems to be the picture of health, so I'm crossing my fingers that this blackout in Japan was the final episode he'll ever have. But for me and Jay to witness this, it was intense. There was nothing we could do for him, or at least nothing we knew how to do for him. He was out for at least a minute, maybe two, and during that time his lungs collapsed into his chest and his diaphram was soft and his eyes were rolled back into his head and he wasn't breathing, he was turning blue, and then he wasn't even blue anymore he was gray, and then, finally, just as I was starting to cry and think "oh my God the love of my life may be dead in Japan this can't be happening" Dean woke up. He woke up and he was allright. THANK GOD. I've never been so happy, so joyous, in my life as that moment when Dean took a breath and opened his eyes - what a MIRACLE.

All the while this was happening the Japanese ladies on the train were incredible - One lady ran in either direction on the train to get a doctor, to tell the conductor and within a couple of minutes, just as Dean regained consciousness, the train stopped and the conductor sent a medic from the train station to take Dean out on a stretcher -but by that time he could walk, THANK GOD. And one lady who must have been a nurse or trained in medicine came over and had me lay Dean down and she massaged his chest with a handheld massager and she told me in Japanese to be quiet and be calm and not to panic and I was so grateful she was there.

Which reminds me, the Japanese people are the most kind, thoughtful, respectful, helpful, and gracious people on the planet. Everywhere we went we were greeted so pleasantly and we witnessed people being respectful of one another. For example, on the trains, even when they were full of people no one spoke too loudly or pushed or shoved anyone else - I was bowled over by the kindness of the Japanese people and I only wish that we could encourage Americans to be more kind and respectful of one another.

The other thing I really appreciated about Japan was how their religious/spiritual life was so well integrated with their city life. There were temples in so many places throughout Tokyo, and incredible temples all over Japan, and at all of these temples the public was invited to drop in at anytime, free of charge. How different from our own Christian churches where there are set times when it is acceptable to attend a service, but at all other times the church is locked! We saw tourists from within and without Japan at the temples we visited, but we also saw what appeared to be locals stop by the temple to say a prayer on their way to or from work - and I understand that most people have personal altars in their own homes, too. I think if I lived in Japan I would visit the local temple all the time -- And my response in my own life has been to create an altar in my own home, where I can go to light a candle and meditate or pray at anytime. Now that I've been to Japan I understand better the practice of having a personal altar, and the importance of having reverence for the miraculous world around you and making a place in your life for that reverence.

Thank you, Japan, for sending Dean back to me on that train. And Thank you Dean's family for sending Dean and I to Japan so that we could ride those trains. It was all amazing . . .