Laying low in Toyama

For the last week we've spent most of our days simply relaxing and spending time with Hana's parents at their home in Toyama. While not the most invigorating of vacation experiences, it has been absolutely wonderful to simply lay back and relax. We have not done anything here that even remotely resembles the "go-go-go" experiences that we have pursued in Japan in the past. We both really needed this vacation and Toyama has proven to be a perfect place to simply let go.

Other than visiting with family and friends, we've spent a lot of time at a leisure centre in Toyama. It is by far the best leisure centre that I have ever seen - an indoor track, tons of fitness machines (some of which I have never seen the likes of), a meditation centre including rooms to practice zazen, an incredible pool complex, and a life sciences centre. On top of that, it is incredibly clean - which is quite extraordinary for a public facility. No lewd writing on the washroom walls, no piss all over the toilets, no mud / dirt on the change room floors. You would have to go to a private club in Canada in order to experience this. The Japanese have a different view towards public facilities - it is not their god-given right to do whatever they please and be as filthy as humanly possible in such places, it is their civic and group responsibility to honour such places by keeping them clean and behaving in as civilized a manner as possible. For this reason alone I love this country.

Today we spent some time wandering around downtown Toyama and came across a beautiful park (Kosui Koen) that surrounds a canal that eventually winds up in the Sea of Japan. The park was not busy at all today except for lots of soccer moms out walking with their small children. The park contains numerous beautiful buildings and a man-made waterfall / fountain. The highlight though was a very nice Starbucks outlet located right in the middle of the park. This is the kind of thing that Wascana Park in Regina needs.  It was great just to sit down with all of the soccer moms at Starbucks, relax and enjoy the incredible view and the sunny day. What incredible weather Toyama has been experiencing over the past few days - no snow, lots of sun, and an average temperature of around 7C. Truly wonderful when considering that Regina's average temperature of the past while has been in the sub -20's!  

The funniest thing that I've seen yet on this trip was in downtown Toyama and really helps to illustrate the difference in attitude towards civic responsibility in Japan and North America. At a street corner there was a box containing a couple of shovels with wording on it inciting citizens to help out and shovel to keep the city streets free of snow! Luckily there was no snow in Toyama that day but if there had been a blizzard, I would have been tempted to join in and help. My only thoughts were, "How extraordinary... people would actually help out shovelling in the downtown. If this were in Canada, no one would help out but they would certainly steal the shovels!" I guess that is a bit cynical on my part but I'm certain that a set up like this would not last at home - the shovels would undoubtedly be stolen and the box vandalized.

Our time in Toyama is slowly winding down.  After a brief trip to an onsen this weekend, we will be making our way back to Tokyo for our last few days.