Well today wound up being a day of good feels! I slept in a little, stopped and got some coffee, then hopped on a train to Hikone. Hikone is where I lived for 4 months in 2001, and 10 months in 2003/2004 the last time I was here. It’s the home of the Japan Center for Michigan Universities, and I have a lot of great memories of this area. One of my favorite castles, and one of the most original of the remaining castles, is Hikone Castle and both the castle itself and the area where it’s located are pretty cool. Personally, I think it’s fabulous in the spring with the hundreds of cherry trees lined up along all of the canals and inside, they even have a separate plum blossom garden which I think is underrated. But it’s still pretty in the autumn too! I walked all around the castle and went inside, I forgot how scary the stairs are but in a funny way. They’re basically more like a ladder than stairs, you have to be careful. Then I made my way through the tree gardens down the back side exit over to the actual castle gardens and private residences for the old royalty.
My original plan was, at this point, to go back to the station and head to Nagahama but since I was here anyway I decided to walk over to Lake Biwa and say hello. After enjoying Lake Biwa for a while, I wondered if my favorite udon shop was still around and looked for it out of memory on Google Maps and hallelujah it was still there! They make this thing called oyako udon, and they use the regular thick udon noodles but with a chicken stock broth (instead of the usual miso or pork base) with egg and chicken and I swear this was the only thing I could tolerate for weeks until I got a taste for Japanese food when I first came here and I have had so many dreams of eating it again…so, despite being a little over a mile away I said screw it and walked along the lake shore to get to the restaurant. Unfortunately just as I walked up they were closing for cleaning and would reopen at 5pm. So that left 2 hours to kill.
I wasn’t planning on going to JCMU today, after all it was Saturday and I didn’t think anyone would be there plus I was pretty sure everyone I knew there had retired or left. At least I didn’t recognize anyone in the pictures they’ve posted to social media these past few years. But it was nearby, so I went over thinking I could get a couple photos out front at least. As I walked up, I noticed some people walking inside so I went in to take a look. I met a lovely woman named Mai who worked in the main office so I introduced myself and told her how I used to study here and asked her if any of my old teachers were still around. Turns out they aren’t only still around, they still work here! Well, dang, if I had known that I would have come here sooner! I asked if she could give me a tour (they don’t allow guests to just roam around, of course). I swear y’all this place has barely changed! The carpet is the same, the fixtures are the same, the flags still hang off the railing, the classrooms are all the same, the garden, the tea room, even the smell…the only major thing that’s changed is they reduced the size of the computer room (because who really needs it anymore?) and turned it into a school for kids under 12 years old. Mai said they have nearly 100 kids learning English here, and it started up around 2012-2014 and that is just fantastic! Mai took a picture of me out front, and we went back inside to try and figure out how I could meet up with my old teachers. I was supposed to take the bullet train back to Tokyo on Monday, but I haven’t actually booked anything yet so I gave her all of my details and asked if she could possibly please email them to see if they’d like to meet. I still had an hour left before I could go eat, so I walked behind the school to the water break wall and walked along the waterfront then sat and watched the sunset for an hour.
Once the udon place was open again, I went over and ate the oyako udon of my dreeeeeams. That stuff is so delicious, and I have never been able to find any other place that makes it like that in any country I’ve visited. It’s also one of the few places where I actually like their tea. I’m so happy Tsurutsuru (お食事処 つるつる) is still around! After eating and warming up, I put on my warm jacket, gloves and hat and hiked the near 2 miles back to the train station and hopped on an express train back to Kyoto. Once I had a moment to sit down I checked my phone and already had an email from Mai that she heard back from my teachers and they could meet on Monday, HUZZAH! As soon as I got to my hotel I extended my stay there until Tuesday and practically skipped up to my room!
