Part 1 of my "Journey to fulfill a promise"

 

My Mom, Kinuko Abe Montague

 

This journey began at the bedside of my mom, with a promise.  Before my Mom passed away I promised her I would visit her hometown, Kagoshima, Japan. She didn’t believe I would do it, but here I am, happy that I came.  No one, except my oldest brother who was my mother’s first son, ever visited her hometown, so this was big.
 

Unfortunately, for our family, we had no contacts with any of her family members after my mom passed away.  We didn’t know the status of any of her 10 siblings.  Over the last 15 years I have asked family members for any birth certificates, marriage license or anything that could give an indication of my mom’s hometown.  Simply, a place to start.  I did receive my oldest brother’s reconstructed birth certificate that had his place of birth, but the location listed still was Kagoshima. 
 

Before I tell you about this incredible journey I must first start by telling you a little about my mom, Kinuko Abe Montague (Abe was her maiden name).  Die hard Japanese who never became an American citizen, but now that I am here, in her corner of the world, I understand that decision.  The most important thing you need to know about her, to understand the story of my journey, is that she was mystical.   Yes, strange occurrences and super natural things swirled around her.  There are many stories, but you need to know this before you hear my story about coming to her hometown because mystical events have happened over and over.  Here is a sample of her mystical ways in a story that many of my friends and family know about.  In June 1984, I was at home, freshly graduated from college and heading off to the military schooling in Indiana.  As I drove across the country alone, I began to get lonely because of the quietness and boredom of driving so many miles.  Arrived in Minneapolis, MN and called my mom from a pay phone (remember those), crying like a baby and expressed I was lonely and sad.  My mom said to me, “You will meet someone, don’t worry."  I asked when and she said again, "You will meet someone!"  We hung up the phone (yes, in the old days you really hung up the phone) and I walked through an outdoor mall where I spotted a mink coat in the window.  My mom always wanted a mink coat and since I was a newly appointed officer, with a little cash, I wanted to see how much the coat cost, so I tried to enter the store.  It was a large door which opened from the center and had a left and right handled door.  I grabbed the right handle (my right) and the door wouldn’t open.  I then noticed a sign on the right door with an arrow pointing to my left and the sign read, "Please use the other door."  It meant use the other handle, but I thought it meant the doorway 10 feet to my left.  So, I walked into the other doorway and saw a woman standing in a beautiful dress, with a sash around her that read:  Miss Teen Minnesota.  Turns out I walked into a wedding store and this young lady loaned herself out to the store to model wedding dresses.  After a short conversation I walked out of the store and turned left to go back to the mink coat store.  As my hand released the door handle I heard someone yell my name.  I looked around and didn’t see anyone so I kept walking and immediately, a woman burst out of the wedding store and yelled my name.  I turned around and there was a young lady, Laura, who was a member of my unit at a military advanced camp the year before.  She worked at the wedding store.  After she told her boss the incredible story of how I just happened to walk into her store, her boss gave her the day off.  She lived with her sister and they both showed me Minneapolis, helping me reenergize my spirit.  Incredible story, but one example of my mom’s mystical ways.  Well, wait until you hear the story of my journey to Japan. 
Folks, I talk with my mom every day.  Her and my fav brother, Yoshi, have long passed but I always converse with them and over the past years it has helped me get through all the family drama. 

My plan for this trip to Japan; simply allow events to unfold.  No plans and didn't want to  influence the moment in the usual "Michi fashion”  by making sh!t happen.  No, I needed to allow things to flow and swirl around me.  I tried but couldn’t find any salient information on the web to use other than my brother’s birth certificate.  I didn’t book my hotel until 2 days before my trip, just trying to think where I should stay that would allow me the ability to travel in the Kagoshima region with ease.  My mom’s obituary says she was born in Kagoshima, Japan.  Instead of staying in the city of Kagoshima I chose to stay in a city 40 minutes north of Kagoshima.  This would allow me to travel all through the Kagoshima Prefecture (like a state) and not be bogged down with traffic.  Yes, the city and the Prefecture (or state) is named the same; Kagoshima.  Just showed up and have been allowing things to unfold.
 

Departed DC with a 4 hr layover in Toronto, Canada, then flew to Tokyo, with another 4 hour layover.  Needless to say, like in 1984, I was a bit lonely and isolated because I didn’t have phone service and everyone was speaking Japanese.  In the Tokyo airport I stopped in the only American coffee shop, SBC (for non-WA State folks, that is Seattle’s Best Coffee) relaxing, drinking my coffee, then a SBC employee approached me and asked in perfect English, “Is everything ok?"  I looked up, shocked that someone was speaking English to me, and said, "Great!"  We struck up a conversation and turns out this young lady went to college at the University of Idaho, 7 miles from where I went to college, Washington State University.  Heck, every Coug knows about Moscow, Idaho because back in the day, Moscow was the only place that had a mall and franchise eating establishments.  She said she rarely told people where she went to college because no one knew where Moscow, Idaho was located so she was thrilled that we both had Palouse blood coursing through our veins (Pullman/Moscow joke:).  After I left her I thought to myself, my mom’s at it again, helping me along the way. 

Coug and a Vandal
 

Inspired and invigorated I jumped on the airport internet and started mapping my way to the hotel in Kirishima, Japan.  I used Google Maps and got the street view so I could literally travel down the roads.  You know, where you see the actual streets like you were already there.  All roads except the last road to the hotel had a number sign I could read.  What would tell me to turn once I got to the street my hotel was on?  As I was looking at the street view in Google Maps, lo and behold, right on the corner I was to turn is a friggin’ barber pole.  Guess what folks, my mom was a barber.  She owned her own barber shop in Tillicum, WA.  Ok, this was getting weird.

Here is the barber pole on the corner I needed to turn left.  See the white car turning left?  Great landmark, right?
 

Traveling from Tokyo to Kagoshima, late night Friday, was a rough 90 minute flight.  The entire plane was Japanese except me and I sat in the last aisle alone.  As I looked out the window I began crying hard because I felt a weight lifted from my shoulder; I was fulfilling my promise to my mom!  15 years after she passed, I carried this promise around telling my friends and family I was going to Japan someday.  As I sat quietly crying the flight attendant approached and asked if everything was good.  Explained my story and why I was crying, then she began to cry too.  She departed and soon more flight attendants showed up with presents expressing they heard my story and they began crying with me.  Needless to say, I had a cry fest with a bunch of strangers, but it felt nice that the Japanese people were accepting me. 

Welcome sign at Kagoshima Airport
 

Got to my hotel and all is good.  Checked in and then showed my WA State driver’s license to one of the two hotel clerks who speak English.  Turns out she lived in Renton, WA and went to Kentridge, HS for 1 year.  That is about 30 min from where I went to high school.  C'mon….what’s going on.  On my 2rd day in the hotel, I asked the other English speaking hotel clerk, who had been awesomely helpful, her name.  (Ok, here is where it gets really weird.  One of my fav aunts was my mom’s brother’s wife.  We lived in Yokohama, Japan for one year in the late 60s.  My mom’s relatives visited us and we met most if not all her brothers, sisters and parents (It was the only time we ever met them). The clerk’s name was Shoko, the same as one of my fav aunts.  Ok, I just stared at her and got watery eyes thinking….what is going on here!?!  So, with these two hotel staff, my stay at this obscure hotel has been absolutely glorious.  But there is more.
 

The next morning, Saturday, I ventured out.  On the way back I noticed a sign that read in English:  English classes.  Heck, my thoughts were, whoever is teaching English classes might be able to teach me Japanese.  The classes are taught next door to my hotel.  I walked to the office to inquire about Japanese classes and the room was dark.  As I departed I noticed a sign with a woman’s name on it that gave the English classes….bamm, I would Google her and get her info.  So, got back to my room, found her contact info and emailed her.  Crazily she responded and told me to meet her on Monday at noon.  Please keep in mind, I landed at 10 pm Friday, saw her sign Sat, she emailed me Sat night and Monday I would meet her.  Let's just say, this woman, who I never met, meets me Monday and Tue night she is talking to my aunt.  Wait until you hear the forces at hand....crazy!!!  Part 2 shortly.....but here are some pics of my trip so far.....

 Breakfast:  top plate is pickled cucumbers, radish, squid and Satsuma-age (fried fish cake).  Yes, we grew up eating all this:)

 These are views from my hotel room.

 My hotel has a church in it...c'mon...a church!  First time in my life I've been in a hotel with a church.

The pride of Kagoshima is the volcano, Sakurajima, which is smack in the middle of the bay.  It spewed ash over 200 days last year.  It has spewed ash 75% of the time since arriving.