"Wakare Wa"
Friday, 19th October. Day 85. Weather Fine.
This is our last day at Kanoya.
This evening at 7-45 pm we leave Kyushu from Shibushi on the ferry, "Satsuma Sunflower". We return to Osaka to spend a few days at the Ryokan Takeyaso near Deyashiki Station.
We did not get up till 9-30 am or even later, though Toshiharu had been at work at Takao's shed since quite early.
Toshiharu drove Colin into the hills behind Kanoya to show him an immense recreational establishment set up by the city of Kanoya for the benefit of the populace in general.
There was an environmental study centre, camping area, hiking trails, and accommodation for handicapped people.
Also, high in the hills, Takao and Toshiharu owned residential blocks of land where they intended to make themselves houses, some day. Their views from these blocks were simply immense, right across Kagoshima Bay, and away to the north and to the south.
We ate delicious party left-overs about midday, and later an afternoon tea of crackers and cheese and bean buns.
We said goodbye to Takao. Kayoko was at work.
At 5-00 pm we set off in the car for Shibushi, via the shopping centre where Shouko has her boutique. Satomi came out to say goodbye. She had a huge hangover from the party and could remember nothing of the night before.
Then onwards, stopping at a Lawsons (convenience store like Seven Eleven) to buy food for our journey. We had supposed that we would buy food on the ferry (assuming we ever wanted to eat again), but Shouko presented us with a bag containing two rice cakes each, a packet of two cheese sticks, some dried squid, rice crisps, oolong tea, green tea, and two cans of Asahi beer.
At the ferry terminal Colin and Ritsuko bought the tickets, and Ritsuko helped us to fill in the forms which the ferry required of us before we could board. Kiriko and her husband Youji arrived to farewell us, too.
There was quite an exchange of alcohol as we received presents of shouchuu and gave some too.
It is polite and customary in Japan to show great sorrow when guests depart, so presently everyone in our hosts' party was in tears, the women in absolute floods, even Toshiharu and Youji had wet cheeks.
Guests too should make a demonstration of grief at parting, but although we were sad our longed for visit was about to end, we were too imbued with the culture of the stiff upper lip to show emotion in public, let alone shed tears. We instead were begging our hosts to bear up and to crack hardy, as custom requires us to treat a display of sadness.
Colin thinks that the Japanese are much more openly emotional than we are. Fortunately, foreigners are generally forgiven their bad manners and ignorant ways in Japan.
We boarded at the very last opportunity. Toshiharu and Youji helped us to bear our bags into the dormitory. Then we went onto the upper deck. As the ferry began to move, the music of "Auld Lang Syne" came through the ship's speakers. Hearing this tune and waving to the tiny figures barely discernible in the darkness on the quay below, our Anglo-Saxon reserve finally cracked.