Day 1 一日 Morning Kōhii

Waking up in the morning in Japan, for the first time!

It gets light very early. Japan extends from the latitude of Portland in the north down to that of the Bahamas in the south. Nagoya is at about the same latitude as Bakersfield, California. There is no Daylight Savings Time. The sun rises, the sun sets. We took to the rhythms of day and night very quickly.

Waking up about 4:30 a.m., the sky was beginning to lighten.
By 5 a.m. it seemed to be full daylight. I got up quietly to peer out the window. We weren't facing in the right direction to actually see the sunrise, but on another morning Taka, Brock and I went for an early morning walk along the Shinkawa 新川 River. There we saw the Japanese sun rising through the mist, a deep vermilion sphere hanging in a pale off-white sky. The Japanese flag! What could be more obvious, or simple? And we got to see it several times during our stay.
The sky looked a pale blue overhead and pale pink toward the east, and the breeze blowing in the windows of our room was still cool. At night we slumbered under thick futon quilts. It felt good to throw them off and get ready for the day. Somewhere in the distance a cock was crowing. We would soon see the neighborhood by day, a patchwork of clustered houses, rice fields, orchards and gardens, criss-crossed by narrow lanes.

One by one we showered and bathed for the first time in typical Japanese fashion. I will describe the Japanese bathing customs later in this blog, but for now, let's just say we had to learn how to be clean all over again. We quite liked it. Again, it all made sense, in every way.

The Japanese genius is to know how to make a little go a long way, without feeling the least bit impoverished. In fact, the actual feeling is one of abundance, and a willingness to share. Everything we saw made the best use of what was available, with grace, modesty, wisdom and courtesy—everything was infused with art and genuine feeling. It's hard to describe.

Taka was the perfect host. With us he planned out our first day. Breakfast, then a visit to the Koshō-ji Temple, then Nagoya Castle. But first, breakfast, which means morning kōhii コーヒー (coffee) at a local coffeehouse, which became my personal favorite, the Aladdin.
Don't forget to click the pictures to zoom them!

I've tried my hardest to figure out how the kanji on the coffeehouse's sign can be read "Aladdin." I know, of course, that in Japanese this would be pronounced Arajin and should be spelled using katakana like this アラジン. I had to ask Taka several times if I was hearing him right. "Yes," he said, "Arajin." You look at the sign and see if you can figure it out, 'cause I can't!

The Aladdin is a modern replica of an early Japanese inn. It's on the main drag and so has a parking lot out in front, but it was still beautifully landscaped. Inside, the building has a rustic, old world feel, almost European. The high, dark cathedral ceiling was braced with heavy beams like an old church.

The side of the coffeehouse where we sat this first morning and every time thereafter was in one of those sunny windows you can see in the picture behind Brock and me. Against the wall, the seats were a bench, on the other side of the tables they were chairs. The tables were grouped in twos with pony walls between them. Easy listening classical music, like Vivaldi's Four Seasons, gently wafted through the room. As is the case everywhere in Japan, smoking is allowed. This coffeehouse wasn't too bad, though.

When you go out in the morning for kōhii コーヒー, what they bring you is a cup of coffee, and a plate with pan パン and one other item. I couldn't find out how to get just a cup of coffee alone, and I didn't see anyone having it that way. At the Aladdin what came with your coffee was the pan and a small bowl of Greek-style yogurt with a dollop of fresh fruit.

Here's some more details.
When the waiter first came to our table to take our order, he must've looked us over pretty well. When he brought our coffee in elegant china cups and saucers, all different patterns, the colors of the china borders always seemed to match the colors of the clothes we were wearing. Honestly! This happened every time.

Another detail, pan is a very thick (about inch and a quarter) slice of fine-grained, softish white bread with a crust, that has some kind of topping on it, that has been lightly broiled, or toasted. I can't remember what the topping was this first morning, but one of the toppings I remember having was like a very thin layer of scrambled eggs with a squiggle of teriyaki sauce over it. Another type was a little bit like pizza. Every day it was different, sort of pan de jour. The yogurt was absolutely delicious.

When you finished having your kōhii, you were ready to face the day. Although they didn't do this every day, Taka sometimes came here on the way to work with his crew. The four Filipino interns that work for him also live at his house (in separate living quarters around the courtyard), and they all drive to work together in his van. We never got to experience that, because Taka took off the two weeks we were there, to show us his Japan, all his favorite places. That's why this blog is called Takaaki no Nihon 貴章の日本,
Taka's Japan.

So that's how we started Day 1, or in Japanese, tsuitachi 一日.
Next stop, Koshō-ji Temple.