Jason | 04.30 Uji

During the May Day Golden Week in Japan, schools were closed for ten days. One day before the holiday, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Kuroda, said to me, "Mr. Chen, your last study day has been changed from June 8 to June 20."

So I rode my bike out for fun, planning to take a ride and if I had enough time I would ride to Liu’s new home which was 250 kilometers away.

I sent him a message, saying that I might go over, but he was a little hesitant: "Actually, we are busy with repairs, house renovations, and farming, so we are not very likely to receive you. If that's okay, then yes [covering face] But our home is in the mountains, are you considering staying?"

We were not familiar with each other, so it was normal. I said, "No need to greet you, I have a bicycle tent and a sleeping bag. I often sleep outdoors. I am afraid to disturb you. I will talk to you when I pass by, I won't come here specially~".

He replied, "Okay 👌 but I don't have a house so I won't pass by~ [covering face][laughing] I'll send you a location."

At 3pm, I rode my bike out to Uji first, where three of my language school classmates took the train today.

When riding along the Kamo River, there was a very quiet section, where a small family was having a picnic, the stream was flowing, and the sandbar was covered with green grass, which was very beautiful. I also sat there for a while, opened Duolingo to do Japanese exercises, did two or three sections, and reminded myself not to get addicted to it, and had to leave.

On the way, we passed Inari Taisha Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. There were so many people that I really didn't want to go in, no matter how beautiful the buildings were. Many people wore kimonos, but you can tell the difference between foreigners and Japanese at a glance. It's easy to feel awkward if you wear them occasionally, and your walking posture is very different.

When we got to the Uji River, there were not many people around, so we rode along the river. It was sunny in the evening, and we felt free.

When we arrived in Uji, the sun had almost set, which was the most beautiful time. If we went there during the day the next day, it would not be as good as it was.

I met my classmates briefly at the bridge head. They watched the sunset from the mountain and were going to take the train back. I went to stay at the "Happy Club". After unlocking this Internet cafe, I became much freer and didn't need to bring a tent or sleeping bag.

This morning, I still wanted to go to Byodoin Temple, but when I got to the entrance, I gave up because there were so many tourists. I felt like going in, so I gave up. I had some matcha, but the nearby matcha shops were full of tourists, so I walked to the other side of the river to take a walk.

On the other side of the Uji River in Byodoin, I found a traditional simple restaurant called Sabo Kunugi (tea house). You can walk across the bridge. It is quiet, you can eat, drink matcha food, and look at the Uji River by the river. It should dilute a lot of the "hot spot atmosphere" I just experienced in the Byodoin area. (I didn't go in myself, I wasn't hungry. This is the only one I felt was good nearby after walking around, and it's not expensive. A set meal + drinks should be 50-100 per person)

I opened the map and searched for "coffee shop" and found this Matcha roastery (抹茶ロースタリー) a little way from the scenic spot, a very local matcha coffee shop in the alley. There are desserts, I ordered matcha latte and yokan (50 yuan in total). There is a traditional small courtyard.

Here, everyone who speaks is Japanese. My neighbor is an old lady, thin, probably in her seventies. When I was taking pictures in the courtyard, she said something to me in Japanese. I thought something was wrong, so I asked her. When she heard that I was not Japanese, she smiled and said, "Sorry, I thought you were Japanese." She asked me in English, "Where are you from?" I said, "From China." She said, "You look like an Asian, so I didn't tell. I'm just here to have fun, from Kyoto."

I asked her: "You can speak English, why, for work?"

She replied, "A little bit. When I was very young, I went to the United States and lived there for a year as a homestay. But it has been so many years that I have forgotten my English.

"Studying? Why would you stay here for a year?"

"It wasn't about studying. When I was a child, I wanted to go to the United States, so I lived there for a year."

I wanted to know how she got there, and asked her if it was an exchange program, but she didn't seem to understand and didn't specifically find out what it meant to live there for a year.

"Later we wrote Christmas cards. They wrote to me and I wrote to them."

I told her in Japanese that I came here from Kyoto by bike, lived in Saga Arashiyama, studied at a language school for two months, and could only speak a little Japanese. She was also surprised. We chatted for a long time in English and Japanese.

I asked her, “Are you traveling here alone?”

She said: "Although my home is in Kyoto, it is relatively close to Uji. I sometimes come here to drink tea. The tea in Uji is very good, and I also like the courtyard. This is also my first time to come to this cafe."

After a while, she stood up and said goodbye, smiling and saying "take care" to me.

I left Uji and rode my bike to Kobe. I calculated the time when the old lady was young. It was around the mid-to-late 1960s. Japan's economy was developing rapidly and became the world's second largest economy, similar to China today. The economy doubled in seven years. Young people began to yearn for the outside world. They also had the financial means to travel abroad, and even went overseas to work with large companies. The outside world was wonderful, and we didn't know it yet.

I listened to a podcast a few days ago, Japan Floating, where the two hosts studied undergraduate and graduate degrees at Japanese universities. Speaking of schools that strongly encourage Japanese college students to study abroad, but it seems that college students are not very willing, the host said: His Japanese friend (a doctoral student at Tokyo Ochanomizu University) "has a sad face when it comes to studying abroad", although his destinations are Switzerland and the United States. Compared with China, which is still very active in studying abroad in developed countries, there is a big difference.

From 1990 to 2023, Japan’s average wage has not increased for 30 years. Taking inflation into account, purchasing power has declined a bit (roughly 2,580 US dollars/month). In 1990, China’s urban population had an average monthly wage of only 178 RMB (equivalent to 37 US dollars), excluding farmers.

So you can imagine the difficulties faced by Chinese students studying abroad at that time. Their parents' monthly salary could buy about 12 bowls of ramen (equivalent to 5933 yen, 500 ramen per bowl).