Day 42: (28 km) Uchinada - Nonoichi
(09/09/06)

Kanazawa is good place--a small city, cosmopolitan and historic. Old samurai houses mingle with trendy restaurants and department stores, traditional izakaya nuzzle next to hip design and fashion boutiques. Other than Kobe, it is the only Japanese city I've been to that is a real café city.

But there is something sad about being in a café city without a close friend, a lover, someone close to you. Every cozy coffee house, restaurant, tea shop designed as the perfest space for intimate looks, heated discussion, human connection. I could have spent the afternoon yesterday with Amy and Mary at Kenrokuen--one of Japan's three famous gardens--but being in Kanazawa again brought me back to winter, when I was here with E. It was a good trip, full of food, snow, and even a few laughs. Revisiting a cafe city without the person who made it special the first time is doubly sad.

Finding a hint of Peace at the Izakaya

But Japan is welcoming place for people on their own. Before long, I found a comfortable izakaya on a quiet canal-lined street. Sitting outside with a beer, some yaki-mochi, and my notebook, I settled on a happy sort of solitude.

Tonight, a mournful jazz tune wafts out of the Medicina Café, a solo trumpet's story of sweetness and loss. It's a little much to take, this sad trumpet talking to me as I sit here alone, surrounded by dusk. I remember someone who should be here beside me, and a city more conducive to jazz. It was a sad city too.

* * * * *

This morning we were scheduled to help with a tree planting in Uchinada. "Planting" may have been a bit of an exaggeration since all we did was toss some dirt over the already set trees and save a few of the women from caterpillars.

Tree Planting Gets Exciting

Lunch was at a macrobiotic restaurant. Though tasty, it left me no clearer as to what "macrobiotic" food actually is. Then a few people went off to a hippie-fest that I avoided. Feeling another bout of loneliness coming on, I didn't want to be reminded of all the good times at festivals my first year, with friends who have long since departed Japan.