My Japanese summer

Washington state or Mie Prefecture?

It's been an amazing summer, traveling across the United States (and making a brief incursion into Canada) and reconnecting with family and friends, a litany of experiences and impressions that we'll be taking with us to China next month, negative COVID-19 tests willing. One of the more unusual stops on our lengthy itinerary was at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America アメリカ椿大神社, the first Shintō shrine 神社 to be built in the mainland U.S. following the end of the Second World War. Originally located in Stockton, California, the shrine was relocated to its present location in Granite Falls, Washington in 1986. While I've come across several Buddhist temples in this country, it still came as a surprise to drive up to a genuine torii 鳥居 gate in a rural city in Snohomish County:

The American jinja is a branch of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine 椿大神社 in Suzuka City 鈴鹿市, Mie Prefecture 三重県, a shrine which I never visited despite living in neighboring Yokkaichi 四日市. The Washington version is laid out in the manner of many jinja in Japan, beginning with the temizuya 手水舎, where I rinsed my hands and mouth in a ritual purification rite:

The honden 本殿, where the main kami 神 is enshrined: 

My daughter makes a request of the kami in the proper manner:

Shimenawa 注連縄 and gohei 御幣:

A pair of komainu 狛犬. The one on the right has its mouth open pronouncing "a", the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, representing the beginning of all things...:

…while the shape of the mouth of the one on the left was of an "um", the last Sanskrit letter, symbolizing the end of all things. Whoa:

Ema 絵馬 votive tablets. Unlike in Japan, visitors to this shrine are asked not to read the various wishes:

The girls gaze at the Pilchuck River, which flows behind the shrine buildings:

The decision to locate the jinja in the Pacific Northwest was the correct one. It's difficult to imagine Stockton providing the appropriate atmosphere:

Various small sub-shrines dot the grounds:

Just as in Japan, we couldn't leave without purchasing some omamori お守り talismans. Mine is on the left, beseeching the kami to keep me healthy; Shu-E's is in the middle, for prosperity in business; while Amber's on the left is for success in her studies:

Visiting the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America wasn't the only Japan-themed experience we've had during Home Leave (see this earlier post which includes our stop in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district). There was the afternoon spent at the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington, where I was bitterly disappointed to discover that a shop called Box Lunch didn't sell bentō 弁当; instead, it was a Gen Z version of Hot Topic or Spencer's:

This store was just sad - is this what a "Japanese lifestyle" means to a lot of people?:

Things greatly improved upon discovering there was a Daisō ダイソー outlet in the vicinity of the shopping mall:

Also close to the mall (and a local branch of H Mart) is a Katsu Burger. My daughter and I debated over the meaning of "Japanese-style burger". Amber took it to mean hamburgers with Japanese-type ingredients, while I argued the term should be applied to what you find on the menus at Japanese burger joints like MOS Burger モスバーガー or Lotteria ロッテリア. We're both right:

No trip to the Seattle area is complete without a visit to the Uwajimaya 宇和島屋 grocery store (for my wife) and the Kinokuniya 紀伊國屋書店 bookstore (for my daughter and me):

So many books, so little luggage space for them. In the end I bought one of the titles pictured below:

Amber's small purchase:

And, of course, reconnecting with America doesn't mean abstaining from Japanese food. One night at our Airbnb our daughter made us okonomiyaki お好み焼き for dinner, using a starter kit she picked up at Daiso:

We went out as a family for dinner to celebrate 20 years of marriage to Shu-E:

The spoon belongs to my wife, while the chopsticks are being wielded by my daughter as they both attempt to seize part of my omurice オムライス while eating out in the food court at H Mart:

And, finally, many a day has been concluded with a Japanese craft beer 地ビール or two, purchased from various Asian grocery stores:

The purpose of Home Leave is to reacclimate one to life in the U.S. With a Taiwanese family, roots in the British Isles and Canada, and an (unhealthy) obsession with Japan, the program is struggling to have the desired effect. Still, it's been a great summer, though I do miss the sounds of the cicadas:

Home Left

If the weather were better, you would be looking at a stunning photo of Mt. Rainier on the other side of Delano Bay

You know you've been a.) out of the country too long; b.) out of the state too long; and c.) in Asia for too long when you see a sign on the road for a business called Fillabong and your first thought is that it must be an advertisement for a Filipino restaurant. Speaking of which, you can purchase hemp IPA beers at the local supermarkets, but I'm reluctant to try one for fear of an unannounced drug test when I resume work. Speaking of which...

Harborside Fountain Park, Bremerton

Home Leave is drawing to a close, as we leave Washington state for the other Washington on the opposite side of the continent this Labor Day Monday. According to the Foreign Affairs Manual, the purpose of this extended period of leave is to ensure that someone like myself who lived abroad for an extended period (two years in Lithuania in my case) can be reoriented and re-exposed to the United States. The results so far have been mixed. Yes, I have been re-exposed to the U.S., but I don't feel that I've been "reoriented" yet. That isn't to say I feel like an alien here (I don't), but at the same time I haven't had the sense of being "home". That's due in part to the fact that although it's my legal address, I didn't grow up in Bremerton (let alone in Washington), and the only reason I'm a WA resident is that my parents retired to this area while I was still living and working in Japan, with my sister moving to the state in the years following. On the other hand, the area where I did spend a significant number of my formative years (the Sacramento, CA region) has changed to the point that much of it was unrecognizable during our visit there in July (which is what happens when you don't stop by for periods of about twenty years). Add in all those years spent living and working in Japan and Taiwan before joining the State Department, and the idea of "home" becomes wherever I happen to be residing at a particular moment in time. Which will be Falls Church, Virginia starting next week.

Harbor seals basking in the sun near the Orchard Rock Conservation Area

Home Leave has also presented its own set of challenges for my daughter. When she was asked by one of the fishmongers at the Pike Place Market where she was from, Amber took her time mulling things over before answering "Taiwan". Not Bremerton, WA - her address of record - nor Falls Church, VA - where she attended 1st and 4th grades, and will soon be starting 7th. Clearly, it's going to take a lot more than just Home Leave to Americanize my daughter. It isn't for lack of trying. For example, I took Amber on a Saturday afternoon to the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede, where Americana was on full display:

Amber was very interested in this can-crushing machine:

Prize-winning produce proudly displayed:

A woodturning demonstration:

Being a county fair, there were lots of critters being shown off. I irked my daughter by pointing out to her that I've eaten nearly all the animals that were being displayed at the fairgrounds. Including rabbit:

Yes, I've eaten horse:

I've never had llama, much to Amber's relief:

We went on a couple of rides (a rollercoaster and a Ferris wheel). A few days after we visited, several children were hurt on a Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Murica...:

Eats:

The day after the fair, I met up with two old friends from my college days, who traveled from Edmonds to see us in Bremerton. We had lunch at the Boat Shed restaurant, in the shadow of the Manette Bridge:

The cover shot for Lisa and Rob's next album:

Last Monday was my wife's birthday, an occasion celebrated by going out for dinner at Anthony's at Sinclair Inlet:

A glass of Amber ale. When my daughter was younger, she always insisted I order her namesake. Now she gets annoyed when I do so. A harbinger of the teenage years on the horizon?:

Rockfish:

The ferry from Seattle pulling in:

The ferry from Seattle going out:

It seems like we've been going out to eat a lot this past week. On Tuesday Amber and I took the ferry to Seattle to meet up for lunch with my sister. The three of us went out to Hamanasu, one of those "Japanese-style steakhouses" you only find in the U.S.:

Then there was the evening we went out with my father to the local Outback. And, yes, that's an Amber ale he's holding:

Perhaps in response to all the food we've been eating at restaurants (think American-sized portions, something I still can't get used to), my daughter and I went hiking on Friday morning at Penrose Point State Park in Lakebay. The signboard at the trailhead pointed out the local wildlife, including Sasquatch (lower right):

Walking through an alder and maple forest:

A lagoon next to Mayo Cove:

Taking advantage of the tide being out to look for skipping stones:

Posing on the shore of Delano Bay. If the weather had been clearer, we might've been able to have seen Mt. Rainier across the water:

Imitating the way her father runs:

After 1¾ hours of walking, we found ourselves back at Mayo Cove:

Catching sight of a deer as we were leaving Penrose Point:

For a final slice of American pie, Amber and I (along with her auntie) checked out the Bremerton Blackberry Festival on the Saturday before Labor Day. Some classic Mustangs were lined up on 4th Street:

Playing her old man in air hockey. It was a close contest, but Dad ultimately prevailed 7-4:

My daughter and her Aunt Karen down by the waterfront. Lots of blueberry-based snacks were naturally available for purchase at the festival (as well as the berries of the hour), but we didn't get any due to a combination of being too close to dinner time and the fact we're leaving Bremerton the next day:

The steamroller below was being used to imprint an ink design onto a white T-shirt. A bit extreme, but it worked:

And so Home Leave draws to a close. Labor Day will see us flying into Dulles Airport and hopefully unpacking our bags in our Falls Church residence. I start language training (Amharic) on Tuesday, the next step in what is turning out to be an actual career.

Mt. Rainier as seen from the Central Link light rail platform at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Due to a combination of typical Pacific Northwest cloud cover combined with smoke from Canadian wildfires, we didn't get to see much of the majestic mountain on this visit

Now, regarding that Americanization process. I still favor universal health care, strict gun control and a reduction in spending on defense, so there's still a long way to go...