The end of the journey

The exciting journey has come to an end. It was a great vacation. One of the best I have ever had.

In Hiroshima I really wanted to go back home to Oita, because I had become sick of travelling so much. So after visiting the shrine on Miyajima Island we immediately headed back to Oita and came back late in the evening.

I had been longing to back to my room and enjoy the peace and quiet. I had been looking forward to finally having time to contemplate all the experiences that I had made on that journey. But the minute I stepped into my room, I wanted to leave again. I have been back in Kaikan for 6 days now and all the time I feel uncomfortable and somehow sad to be here. Weird. Now it feels like the first weeks in Oita, when everything seemed so confined, small, sad, dark, and depressing. Had I only been happy in Oita before because I had gotten used to all its negative sides? Do I really like Oita? Is Oita a good place to live?

We have been celebrating New Year's Eve in the Kaikan with all the people who have stayed here. It was comfortable and consoling to have so many people around. It was not the most exciting New Year's Eve I have ever had, but it was nice that all the Kaikan people spent it together.

So how do Japanese celebrate New Year's Eve? In Germany, the New Year is celebrated with friends at parties. In Japan, it is like Christmas in Germany - New Year's Eve is a family day. In Germany, at midnight it becomes extremely loud. There is a countdown, and at 00:00 everybody loudly wishes (screams) a happy new year and the fireworks are set of. The new year starts with a bang. In Japan it is not quite so. When we went outside shortly before midnight, the streets were deserted. It was totally quiet. You could hear a pin drop. We went to a shrine near the Kaikan. There already a line of people had formed. At midnight all the families leave home and go to a shrine in order to pray. There was also a huge fire going on. At the shrine people buy arrows to which a small wooden signboard is attached. They throw it into the fire, so that the burned wishes can ascend to the gods.

The transition from old to new year had been so oddly quiet that I had even missed the moment. Some people in white gowns had rang a bell. I only realized that it was past midnight, when Andora said to me "Happy new year". ^^ In Germany that would never happen. Haha. But see for yourselves:




Here you see the people lining up to pray and the fire:

Happy New Year!

明けましておめでとうございます!