Dip in Beppu

by Aditha Dissanayake

He bends low. I bend low. Thud! Our heads bang. I feel the kind of pain Mr. Brown would have felt when he continuously banged his head against Mr. Sato in Mind Your Language.

But unlike Mr. Sato who says "Aaah so" in the comedy, the gentleman with whom I had the opportunity of banging heads with, grins apologetically, takes a step back and bows again. I do the same. Take a step back and bend my head. No banging this time...aaah! I have done it. Finally become a member of the Ando household.

Ando san, his wife Yukiko and his daughter Steffi , are hosting me for dinner at their three storied house on Kamegawa Chuo-machi, in Beppu City.

Having landed at the Fukuoka airport the previous day and tasted only a meagre Western style buffet breakfast and a canteen lunch, I'm more than happy to be given the chance to enjoy a home-cooked Japanese dinner. But, as in most things in life, the unexpected happens. Yukiko san places in front of me a plate of rice topped with dhal.

They are happy to see the look of amazement on my face. "You like Sri Lankan food?" asks Ando san. "We ask Sri Lankan students to come make Sri Lankan food". He then ushers in Sumudu and Kalani, two Sri Lankan students studying at a nearby University.
"She is our Okasan now" says Sumudu hugging Yukiko san (Okasan means mother). "When she heard you were coming for dinner she asked us to help her make a Sri Lankan meal".

Touched by their concern, seated with my legs tucked under me on a tatami mat I try to pick lumps of rice with two chopsticks and soon realize while it might be ok to do in Rome what the Romans do, its not that easy to do what the Japanese do, when in Japan.

Specially if you are hungry and if your chopsticks refuse to obey your commands. I am grateful to Steffi when she realizes my discomfort and offers me a spoon to eat the rice with. I make this the opportunity to ask her about her foreign sounding name.

"We called her Steffi because its an international name" explains Ando san. "We both like tennis so we named her after Steffi Graff". Ando san says he would love to come to Sri Lanka (he already knows Piliyandala, Gampaha, Karawanalla...and says baila (here he apologizes for pronouncing the word as baira "I'm a Japanese I can't pronounce el" he explains) is his favourite form of music, but cannot do so just yet because he cannot afford to keep his beauty salon closed for more than a day or two.

"If I close it for a week I might lose all my customers, so I can think of visiting Sri Lanka only after I retire".

Back in my hotel room I try to calculate how old Ando san might be and how many years more he would have to work to reach the age of retirement. But as with all the other Japanese I had met till now, I realize he could be any where between thirty to seventy.

When I treat them as though they are in their early twenties and ask them if they go to night clubs they say "I'm not so young..." and when I treat them as if they are very old and say "you must feel young when you are driving such a superb car" they say 'I'm not so old..".

Young or old, what every Japanese in Beppu seem to enjoy every evening is an onsen (hot spring) bath. Dating back to more than 1000 years hot spring bathing still remains an extremely popular custom for people of all walks of life.

The onsens come in all shapes and sizes; some are more like health spas, and can provide a variety of healthy activities in addition to their healing waters. Others are simple, no-frills establishments that cater to locals who stop by after work for a scrub and a soak.

Even though my colleagues tell me that there may not be more of a quintessential Japanese experience than sitting outside under the stars with a group of strangers soaking in an onsen (hot spring) I decline their invitation of getting into one, after reading about Onsen Etiquette i.e Do not wear clothes in the bath, do not bring your large towel into the bath, please use the small "humility" towel we provide if you feel the need to cover yourself..." etc.

Even though I do not get to ride in a bullet train, I do get many opportunities to ride in buses and local trains and find myself marvelling at their speed and perfect timing. If a bus is said to reach a bus halt at 9.17 am it will be there on the dot.

No flagging the buses down in between bus halts the way we do in Sri Lanka. If its a long journey there will be a TV with a film being shown. On my way to Fukuoka I got a chance to watch Harry Potter dubbed in Japanese. It was quite strange to hear Harry say "Arigatho" arigatho" all the time.

It wasn't long before I discovered that a short walk from most subways and rail stations brings you to a plethora of eating and drinking places offering you authentic Japanese meals. Many of them display in their show window realistic plastic replicas of dishes which are served in the restaurant as well as the prices of each dish.

I discover buying a Teishoku (fixed plate) is best because it contains one main dish, a bowl of rice, a soup and occasionally side dishes, a salad or dessert. Even though my colleagues give me ample instructions about using chopsticks "hold them with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger as though holding two pencils.

Then let the middle finger come between the two sticks. Let one finger rest nicely between the forefinger and middle finger etc... I never master this form of eating and feel embarrassed when it comes to noodle slurping.

Though I do sip some Sake, once , served hot in a pottery flask from which it is poured into a tiny ceramic cup, I prefer O-Cha or green tea, to the fermented liquor made from rice and hailed as Japan's national drink.

Window shopping in most of the cities I visit, I realize all too well why everyone considers Japan as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world. Even the most simple handbag costs yen 29,000.00. Yet, there are also "hyaku yen" (100 yen) stores where you might come across bargain sales.

Having traversed through some of the least visited cities in Japan, last November, when the temperatures were pleasant, and the autumn colours in the countryside were fantastic, ending up taking photos of a "typical Japanese meal", singing Karaoke with a Japanese who might have been old enough to be my father or young enough to be my nephew, musing in a Zen temple, I realize Lonely Planet's guideline is so true - "its best to come with an open mind and be prepared to be surprised" when you are in Japan.

"Somewhere between the elegant formality of Japanese manners and the candid, sometimes boisterous exchanges that take place over a few drinks, between the sanitized shopping malls and the unexpected rural festivals, everyone finds their own vision of Japan." I found mine on a side walk listening to a teenager strumming a guitar and singing John Lennon's "Imagine".

At the end of the song I bent low and said "Arigatho gasaimasu" (thank you). To which he replied "Do ithashimashithe".

If you too should come across him, on your next trip to Beppu, give him my regards.

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