Flowers & Rest Stops
While the process of getting my license may have sucked, I did find some bright spots. Turns out Japanese rest stops on the highway are head and shoulders above the ones back home. I also got to celebrate getting my license by finally going to Hitachi Seaside Park! So, let me tell you my tale of Flowers And Rest Stops.
Since I had to make the trip to the licensing center in Mito on three separate occasions, I got rather used to stopping by the rest stop either on my way there, or to fuel up on the way back. Now I’ve been to a handful of rest stops in the states and in Canada, but mostly they just consist of a rather dirty washroom. If you want to stop for food or a more dedicated break, usually you have to pull off the highway for those kinds of areas.
In Japan, the highways are tolled, so getting on and off could be a bit more cumbersome. Presumably, with this in mind they built their rest stops along the highway, well marked with signs so you can pull off in the left lane. They have smaller ones just for gas and using the restroom, similar to what I expect from a basic rest stop. Every once in a while though, they have a bigger rest stop with restaurants, coffee shops, and even shopping.
Stopping at the bigger rest stop after finishing, or failing to finish, whatever task I was doing at the license center became the saving grace of my trio of trips. This rest stop had a Starbucks, something missing in my small town life, and I was always glad to grab a nice hot mocha. At this Starbucks they even offered me a small espresso shot with my drink, at least that’s what I imagine it was. I took it once, but refused the next time, since I burnt my tongue pretty badly the first time.
Sidebar, but I’ve never felt more seen than learning the Japanese word Nekojita, (literally cat tongue), which is the word for someone who can’t handle hot temperatures or burns their tongue easily. That, and Kuchisabishii (lonely mouth) capture such specific experiences that English just doesn’t describe as well, or eloquently. Japanese is a very cool language, anyways.
Starbucks aside, the food at rest stops is actually pretty good. This is slightly speculation on my part, but rather than having individual restaurants provide their own food services, they seem to have more of a joint cafeteria approach. You get a food ticket from a machine, then watch the display to see when your order number is ready. Depending on the kind of dish you got, vegetable, meat, noodle, etc, you go to a different counter and grab your food.
I got food at this particular rest stop twice, a bowl of ramen and some curry. The ramen wasn’t bad, but wasn’t anything to shout about. The curry however was really quite good, though maybe it was just nice and satisfying after all that frustrating bureaucracy. I got my food pretty quickly each time, so if you needed a bite but were still in a rush this would be perfect.
My main reason for stopping though, aside from an excuse to stretch my legs, is usually to have a cigarette. Maybe because my mouth is lonely (Kuchisabishii) or maybe because I don’t like driving much longer than 30 minutes, but I always like a good break , and these rest stops are perfect for that. I may have mentioned before, but in Japan you can only smoke in designated areas, which rest stops typically have. People do smoke in their cars, but I haven’t seen it on the highways at all.
So, between good food, coffee, and a cigarette, I’m a happy camper. If I need to I’ll also use the washroom, which normally I would dread, since public washrooms tend to be on the dirty side. Here in Japan though, the rest stop bathrooms are sometimes in better shape than the ones at my schools. They have both Japanese and Western toilets available, along with some rather funny signs showing you how not to use a western toilet. And in a small but genius move, the latch to close the door is like a little tray to put things like your wallet or keys on.
Don’t laugh, you would need instructions for a Japanese toilet right? :P
As delightful as these rest stops were, by themselves they would have made this whole license process more bearable, but they wouldn’t have really changed my mind about the whole endeavor. Thankfully, before my third and final trip to Mito, my supervisor mentioned how close the licensing center was to Hitachi Seaside park, somewhere I’ve been meaning to go.
Hitachi Seaside park kind of seems like the place to see here in Ibaraki. During the spring there’s around 4.5 million blooming Nemophila (baby blue eyes) flowers and 170 varieties of Tulips. I’d seen photos of the flowers online, and even some on instagram, now seemed like the perfect time to go, it was only 20 minutes from the licensing center after all.
After getting a little turned around trying to navigate to the park, I ended up at the south parking lot. Between parking and my ticket, it was less than 15$, which seemed pretty cheap. It was a Tuesday afternoon, but the park was still fairly busy, even at 9:30 when the park was just opening. I knew about the flowers of course, but when I entered the park I was surprised to be greeted by a ferris wheel and carnival rides.
I walked through the still fairgrounds as I tried to find my way around the park. As I left the rides behind it started to transform into a more familiar park scene. It didn’t take long before I found beautiful patches of Tulips(?) of all different colors and varieties. They had small patches with a card telling you the name of each flower, then bigger flower patches mixing the colors and types into beautiful patterns.
A simple realization struck me, as it has many times over the years, but nature is truly beautiful. We take so much for granted, but seeing something as simple as flowers arranged into spectacular sights really hammers it home. I could feel the tension and frustration of getting my license leave my shoulders and exit with my breath. When you’re surrounded by nature you quickly remember how grounded and connected it can make you feel.
Though, I was about to get a bit more nature than I bargained for. As I walked around I saw signs for a forest, so I decided to walk through it. figured it would be a small forest I could pass through on my way to the main attraction, the blue Nephilia flowers. As I began to walk, I quickly realized that this forest was much bigger than I had expected. After about 30 minutes I began looking for an exit, and started to realize I had gotten lost.
Of course, whatever signs I found were in Japanese, so those weren’t of much help. Even with the aid of Google translate, I couldn’t find a way through the forest. Getting hot and tired, I resolved to simply go back the way I came. I spent about an hour in the forest, and while it was a nice walk in nature, I had planned on a light stroll, not a mild hike. Once I was free I grabbed a park map and zeroed in on my prize, no more distractions, I was seeing those flowers.
Finally, I found myself in front of a patch of beautiful yellow Rapeseed flowers, with rolling hills of blue behind them. It was quite the sight to behold, and also tremendously busy. There were people everywhere taking pictures of the flowers and strolling along the pathways. This was the main attraction of the park after all, I guess it made sense for it to be the busiest as well.
It’s a hard sight to describe, and while pictures may be worth a thousand words, I’m not sure my pictures will do them justice either. Each flower is quite tiny, maybe around the size of a butter cup. The hills could be easily mistaken for a painting dotted with blue on a hillside, but as you got closer, you could see the subtle beauty in each individual flower. It was truly remarkable.
I wandered the paths along the hillside in a daze. Between the brilliant views and the crowds it was quite a lot to take in. There were people waiting in line for a photo with staff photographers, complete with flower crowns, people trying to get their own perfect selfie, and even someone in cosplay doing a photoshoot. Everyone was trying to snap the perfect picture, and I was no different. Though after trying to get some good photos I put my phone away, and tried to simply be present in the moment.
After doing my best to take in the scenery and burn the views into my brain, I took one last look and headed back to the parking lot. Going to Hitachi Seaside park had been exactly what I needed, and made taking the day off school feel worthwhile rather than a waste. When I look back on this time, I hope the frustrating process of getting my license fades into the background and I remember only the breathtaking sights.
Between the flowers and the rest stops, there were some hidden highlights buried in this difficult process. It’s easy to get bogged down in the bad, but taking time to appreciate something as silly as a rest stop, or the natural beauty of some flowers can really go a long way to change up your mindset. Japan has been filled with moments both big and small, and I hope that I can continue to appreciate them all the same.
