The Rains Have Come

The classroom is silent except for the sound of little hands writing. As I gaze out the window from my third floor classroom atop a hill I see a vast expanse of rice paddies-only recently planted so they appear to be flooded fields tinged with green. From my vantage point cars look like toys, teetering between rice paddies on dangerously narrow roads. As two cars pass each other in opposite directions they slow to a near stop-there seems to be just shy of enough room for both to pass.

It has been raining for the past three days. The air is heavy with humidity. Everything feels damp and nothing seems to dry. But today we are granted a reprieve in this season of rain

In the distance I see a shadow of the shaggy green mountains that flank one side of my town. Today they are enshrouded in a humid fog. I listen to the sounds outside my silent classroom. A myriad of birds are vocalizing their content now that the rain has finally stopped. I hear a train and look to see it quickly cutting through the green tinged fields, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. I hear frogs croaking. They must like the recently flooded rice fields because only in the last few weeks have I begun to hear a symphony of croaking frogs.

The smells of Shikoku's summer have returned and take me back to my first few weeks in Japan. It is a very strange, surreal sensation. This time warp, de ja vue feeling lasts only for a moment before disappearing. My brain shifts back to the present as one of my more enthusiastic twelve year old students yells "I'M FINISHED!" as he slams his pencil down on the desk and does a little victory pose. We have a mutually understood silent giggle as the rest of the students continue to work.

In my first season of rain life is good.

Tsukiji Fish Market

My mom came to visit in April and our plan was a 5 day road trip around my island. Our road trip was preceded by three days in Tokyo, the highlight being Tsukiji Fish Market. Tsukiji is the world's largest fish market and occurs six days a week. One of the main attractions of the market is the tuna auction, in which hundreds of massive tuna are auctioned at rapid fire speed. The tuna auction was our first stop in the market as it starts at 5:30 AM. Before the auction officially starts all the authorized buyers meander through the warehouse sizing up the selection. Each buyer seemed to have his own method of evaluating the tuna. Some poked with pick-axes, some rubbed the flesh, some tore off chunks and tasted it, all the while taking meticulous notes of their findings. There was such an eerie feel about the room. The hundreds of bulging tuna were laid out in neat little rows and their frozen bodies were enshrouded in foggy haze. There was hushed chattering and the mood was serious.

After the tuna have all been auctioned off they are hauled out of the warehouse to the authorized wholesale dealers in other parts of the market. Here the tuna are butchered and sold to restaurateurs.

But tuna isn't the only kind of fish sold at the market. Thousands of different kinds of fish and seafood can be found. Seeing row after row, and stall after stall with overflowing buckets of seafood I had to wonder; how can our oceans support this? Simply put, they can't. But I see no sign of Japan's populace slowing down or reducing their consumption levels. This market has been around for hundreds of years, and I imagine it will continue to operate until there are literally no fish left in the sea.





After touring the market we had a sushi breakfast at a famous sushi reatuarant just outside the gates of the market. It was a tiny little establishment that held no more than twenty people. Despite it's small size it had quite a reputation and there was a line outside the restaurant before 9 AM. It definitely stood up to its reputation. It was the most delicious sushi I've ever had.