Creating a Border

Over the past few years I have tried to do something a little out of the ordinary at the end of each six month teaching term. Each term consists of working with the same group of students, covering the same (or similar) material in class, and is punctuated with the same sorts of evaluations and tests. I talk mainly with the same twelve to twenty people twice a week for the entire six months.

As the term ends and I get ready to start another, it seems like a good time to completely break the routine. Otherwise, it is hard to know when one term ends and another begins. By doing something a little different it creates a mental border for me, and it helps to turn the page to the next term.

Yesterday I took a day off and went hiking. I got up with Kuniko (which means almost two hours of extra sleep for me) and then I took the train with her, getting off at Sannomiya while she continued on to work in Osaka. It was interesting to walk to our train station in the daylight, and to see all the activity that I normally miss during my early morning commute.

From Sannomiya I walked up to Shin-Kobe station. It is the station for the bullet train, built into the side of a green mountain with part of the station extending into a tunnel. I walked under the station and up the mountain behind it, until I reached Nunobiki waterfall.

It has been years since I had been up here. This waterfall was one of the first hikes I ever did in Japan and it still packs a lot of bang for the buck. Just a few minutes past the train station and you are in nature enjoying a pretty dramatic waterfall with almost nobody around. I have a lot of good memories here.

From there I walked alone at a deliberate pace through the hills of Mt. Rokko, taking turns at random without using the maps or GPS. After a few hours I ended up deep in the woods, and then I started taking a look at the maps to figure out how to get back.

I was surprised to discover that I happened to be close to the hillside that plays host to the giant Kobe city logo that lights up every night above Sannomiya. I figured it would be fun to go check it out, and I was able to get there and enjoy a great view of the city from the hilltop. The logo was formed by a big green topiary, fenced off to keep the hooligans away. Again, nobody was around, the road was quiet with an unnatural lack of cars, and I had the place to myself. I took off my sweaty shirt and laid on a stone bench at the top of the hill, to dry off the sweat and provide a chubby counterpoint to the otherwise beautiful scenery.

After hiking most of the morning I descended the mountain (with my shirt on) and decided to find a good bowl of udon. I ended up at a place called “Marugame” (though significantly, it was not “Marugame Seimen” – a popular udon chain). I enjoyed some cold “tanuki” udon noodles, and then stopped at a local Chinese restaurant to buy some nikuman buns.

Finally, I walked back to Hyogo station and then took a train ride home. After a long, cool shower I relaxed and played some video games, prepped some veggies for grilling and made a cilantro and tomato salad. I hadn’t grilled in a while, so it was nice to stand outside and barbecue in the perfect weather.

Kuniko and I enjoyed the vegetarian dinner when she got home, and had a quiet evening afterwards sipping cognac and thinking about upcoming travel plans.

So, it was a great day that I could spend at my own pace. I’ve got a few more easy days at work before things get intense – the next six months will be as busy as I have ever been at my company. I have a feeling it’ll be nice to look back and remember this particular stress free day.


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