New Zealand is located opposite Japan in the southern hemisphere, meaning that the seasons are exactly reversed and currently heading from fall into winter. The nights in Taupo have been getting down to around 1ºC, though when the sun comes out during the daytime, it’s strong enough to feel somewhat warm out—and bright enough that I need to wear sunglasses to see. There are four seasons here just like Japan, and the leaves turning orange definitely creates an autumn feel.
My friend’s kid is three years old now. Instead of going to nursery school or preschool as they would in Japan, they go to a place called Playcentre two or three times a week. Anyone can sign up for Playcentre, which for kids is a fun place to play and for parents a wonderful community. I’ve been there with her several times now, and have already been able to make friends and fall into easy conversation with the people there.
To give the kids space and freedom to play, Playcentre has an open outdoor area, playground equipment, and toys for them to use. They can eat lunch if they want, the parents might make pancakes, or they can make and drink coffee if they want—it’s totally up to them. They can come anytime and leave when they like. The adults all seem to chip in to keep things clean and put away. It’s a very relaxed place.
My friend mentioned to everyone that I work as a calligrapher, and the other parents said that they wanted to see some Japanese calligraphy. Most of them were familiar with Japan of course, but they didn’t know about our native calligraphy traditions. I decided to create a little calligraphy experience for them with the idea of just having fun with it rather than really studying or learning anything. At any rate, the kids ranged from babies to five years old, so they couldn’t even sit in chairs and write yet. We didn’t need to use special brushes, so we got the facility to lend us some painting supplies, colored paints, and drawing paper and just let the kids create whatever they wanted. The adults were fascinated with the characters I was writing. I did a calligraphy demonstration writing the Chinese characters we use for New Zealand. They had never even seen them before, and for most it was the first time they had ever used a brush to write—making the experience fun and fresh for them. They absolutely loved it when I wrote the kids’ names in katakana. It was wonderful to see everyone having such a great time.
I’ve been amazed at how delicious the butter, vegetables, beef, honey, and ice cream are here in New Zealand. The milk is rich and sweet, and even the vegetables are sweet and easy to eat (I guess that’s how they’re actually supposed to taste). Maybe it’s just the overflowing magic of nature, or getting to enjoy food while surrounded by such beautiful scenery. Of course, things are more expensive here than they are in Japan, maybe two or three times as much. Eating out is particularly expensive, with a single hamburger costing more than 1,500 yen. It’s the same in Australia. But the portions are so big that if you’re smart about it, you can sometimes get two meals out of one.
Taupo is a popular resort area among New Zealanders with many attractions, including beautiful lakes, a famous ice-blue waterfall called Hukafalls, and fancy cafés. Considering that you can enjoy the gorgeous scenery for free, I guess it makes sense that the food here is expensive.
It’s also famous for hot springs, so I was able to visit a spa the other day as well. Unlike Japan, hot springs here are less like public baths and more like public pools, with people wearing bathing suits strolling around the wide-open space or just relaxing. They even have a water slide for the kids so that families can enjoy it as well. The outside temperatures are around 8–12ºC right now, so people get in the hot spring to warm up and then sit in the outside air to cool down. There are lounge chairs available for anyone to use, so people lie in those and relax as well. The hot spring is all natural, bubbling up plentifully from underground. It’s rare that I’ve gotten a chance to soak in a tub in Australia or New Zealand, so being able to soak in a huge hot spring was absolutely wonderful.
