Meeting Totoro part II I Wish I Could Stay Forever page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I also realized that I should buy something for my head teacher. I wouldn’t have made it that day if it weren’t for her, so I owed her. As she helped me buy my ticket, she confessed a love for the catbus, so I settled on a catbus cellphone mascot and a catbus postcard so I could jot down a thank you note. Pumping Water And that was it. It was now getting late in the day. I stood in the courtyard, in front of the restaurant. My eyes were fixated on the exit, leading out into Mitaka Park. This was it. Odds are, I’d never be back in my lifetime. Was I truly done? Had I seen it all? I really wanted to stay longer. I so completely fell in love with that place. But, all good things, they must end. I closed my eyes, and stepped across the point of no return. I had left the museum. Outside the Gates I burned off my roll of film by wandering around the building and seeing what I had missed in my mad dash to make my entrance time. I eventually found the “false entrance.” The main entrance to the museum is actually tucked off to the side of the building. This “false entrance” was designed to look like the front of the building, and in the box office is a life-sized Totoro, welcoming you to the museum. Of course, this tends to baffle visitors until they see the sign that says, “The real entrance is over there.” There was a young Japanese couple there, also admiring the life-sized Totoro. They handed me their camera and asked if I would take their picture next to Totoro. Naturally, I obliged. When we were finished, I handed them my camera and said, “OK, now my turn!” and they took my picture. Me & Totoro I got back on the bus and headed back to Mitaka station. Because I knew my Tokyo Free pass wouldn’t get me home from Mitaka, I simply bought a ticket to Shinjuku. I wanted to stop over in Tokyo anyway and check out my favourite English bookstores…and have supper at Wendy’s. I returned to Kumagaya station at around 8 that night. I ran into one of my students at the station, and naturally, she wanted to hear all about my adventures. Either that, or I just couldn’t wait to tell someone about what a cool day it had been.   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 <<Previous Page | Next Page>> Return to the Columns Page © Mark Sladen Cappis, 2005