So, our Food Culture class has at last completed the first of two excursions in our schedule. This particular event was a trip to a Sake Factory!
Guess what fills these crates
We were led around the factory, which did not at all seem like the type of place that would be producing something you would later put in your mouth, by a Japanese guide. Our teacher translated, sort of. For several minutes the guide would talk about the machines and rooms we occupied, but our teacher would give us a single sentence in response... So, needless to say, I really did not learn much about how Sake is made, but it was still rather interesting to see the factory. We were shown the rice used for making Sake. It happens to be a rather small rice that after 100 hours of polishing turns out as this little white bead. It is not rice for eating, only for drinking. That was the extent of what I learned.
Most of my time was spent having fun taking pictures with other students. Later we were given the chance to try two different sake. One was a lot more strong than the other. The second we had tasted seriously like alcoholic water. If it weren't for the burn after you swallow, I would have thought it would adequately quench my thirst.
It was not long before we were right back on the bus and headed back home. The excursion took up our normal class period as well as the period after it. Despite the little I actually learned in the whole ordeal, I really did have fun. Next week we are going to a Miso Factory. Stay tuned!
Early May 25th, us Ryuugakusei gathered for the much anticipated overnight trip to Wajima. For the whole thing we only paid 10,000 yen and had to attend an hour long orientation a week before going. It was somewhat daunting going in, since it appeared we had a very tight schedule we had to adhere to or suffer being left behind. Thankfully, not a single student got lost. :]
Our trip started Friday morning on the bus. We drove for two and a half hours before reaching Shirakawa Village. First, I would like to point out we watched Totoro on the way and it was super cute. Shirakawa is home to old fashioned Japanese homes with heavily thatched roofs. Even after seeing the homes in Hida, it is simply surprising, after all that I've heard about the tiny homes of Japan, that these houses were so big! Going through them felt like going back in time to visit the home of a rather large family. Only an hour and a half later we had to be back on the bus, in which we would spend another half hour before making it to Suganuma Village. The experience was about the same, just several miles further.
We left Suganuma at 2:45 to head out for the last two and a half hours to Wajima. Our hotel worked very much like a Ryokan, only it was much more fancy than any that I have been to before. Upon arrival we were given tea and a sweet, that I neglected to take a picture of, as well as instructions on how to use the room - even though all of the people in my room were already aware. Our rooms overlooked the shore which was really just a hop and a skip away from the building. The only thing separating us from the shore was a several meter wide concrete block barrier (and, well, 4 floors).
Dining Hall!
We did not have long in our rooms before we had to head down the banquet hall on the second floor for dinner. We were going to be treated with a traditional Japanese dinner. We each had our own tray, sitting on cushions on the floor, that were covered in various bowls of different dishes. To begin with, there was a lot of food on our trays, but as the dinner went on servers brought different things to us. It was quite daunting. There was nothing I truly recognized except a dish of crab. I excitedly exclaimed 'CRAB!' when I saw it. I was so proud I knew at least one thing I was eating. As I later found out, there was more hiding
The initial layout
around our tables that I knew. There was a covered dish that was propped up on the left corner that contained pork belly, a single carrot, a single green bean, and a hearty slice of onion. Why was it covered and propped up? Because it was going to cook at our very tables! Another thing that cooked at our seats was a small pot of rice. The servers came around and lit a strange tea-light sized object underneath the two cookers and we were told not to open them until after the flame had gone out. I'm not going to explain everything we had, but I do have a ton of pictures at the bottom of the page... There are a lot of things we ate that I did not take pictures of, so I'll briefly list those. They are... Sashimi, Plum Wine, Radish Bun, Fried shrimp (was next to the fried sandfish below), pickled cucumber and Japanese radish, and strawberry pudding desert.
During dinner we were treated to a Gojinjou-daiko performance. Basically, a bunch of guys in really creepy masked hop around stage and beat on a single dream in the most creepy way possible. This form of taiko was developed as a form of defense against enemies, intending to scare them away essentially. It would totally work on me.
And, let me tell you this, there was enough food served there for five of me...and yet I tried my best to eat whatever I could possibly fit in my mouth. Big mistake! After dinner, I was so full I felt like my stomach was leaking into the rest of my body. Everything ached like I was about to explode! We rested in our rooms for about an hour or two, changed into yukata, then made our way to the public baths downstairs. The public baths were very much like an onsen. We had to wash after entering and before getting into the bath. I was so conflicted, because it felt so good on my back but so terrible on my stomach. I spent a good amount of time sitting on the edge with just my legs in, which felt so good after the bus rides.
When we came back to our rooms our beds (futon) were already set out for us, so we were able to just crawl in bed and go off to lala land until morning. I slept so comfortably it should be illegal!
In the morning we were offered another traditional Japanese meal. After the previous night, most of it I was not at all willing to put in my mouth. My sense of adventure died away with tummy aches, so I was very wary of what I was eating.
Random Beheaded Angel in Morning Market
After breakfast, we went to the morning market. Along the street there was booth after booth of fresh fish, crabs, etc just sitting out in the sun. The smell of fishy death was heavy in the air! Ah, but that was not all that was offered. Much to my wallet's dismay, there were innumerable amounts of gift shops that I had a hard time resisting. At the end of the hour I had several bags that made it awkward when I had to run back to the bus, but I'm proud to say I did not spend more than $100 this entire trip. Amidst all the rather expensive items Wajima has to offer, there are also a lot of rather cheap but still pretty things to choose from. I was rather proud of my purchases.
Kiriko (Best picture I got)
Since the morning market trip was optional, we had to return to the hotel to pick up the others that did not go before heading to a Kiriko Kaikan! That is, a paper lantern museum. These lanterns are not the small hand held ones you might be thinking of. Well, they're hand held, yes, but they require many hands to hold them up. Most of them are huge and require large bands of people to carry them during festivals. Basically, they are like our floats during parades, but they are not supported by machinery. Instead, they are supported by pure man power. At the museum we were treated to another type of taiko performance. This one was much more upbeat. The drummers were adorable, cute, and handsome all at once. I just wanted to hug them all. The show started off with a group of them lined up along the back of the stage while people took turns drumming and dancing around. Then... masked people came out that made all of us giggle. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
After wandering the museum a little, we were taken next door to a lacquer-ware museum. Wajima is famous for its lacquer-ware. There we were given a short tour during which we were given the run-down of how they are made, then were ushered into a room full of extremely expensive lacquer-ware. This marked the end of our trip. We were now due to sit on the bus for a good six hours with a few stops along the way.
Some sort of Octopus, I think - Didn't like
Pickled Something - Delicious
Pickled Shrimp, I think - Okay
CRAB! Loved it
Iced Seaweed Noodles - Loved it
Fixin's for the noodles - good touch
Cooking Pork Belly
Tofu, I believe - Hated
Fried fish carcass (Sandfish) - Didn't dare
Rice cooked with fish - Okayish
Breakfast:
Not sure, not sure, Umeboshi - Didn't try
Fish cooked at our station - Very good
Much welcomed plain rice, and not so welcome strange egg
Okay, so I've delayed long enough. Golden week is the first week of may. Most schools got the entire week off, but we were only given Thursday and Friday off. Still, it was enough time for many students to escape Nagoya for the weekend. A good portion of the students at I-House went to Osaka, but Jessica and I decided to go elsewhere. So, we went to Takayama. In other words, high mountain. In even more words, whoa homygosh I've never seen the ground be so un-flat in mah life!!!
I saw a swimming anteater...
Originally, we were supposed to stay in a cabin up in the mountains, but something got lost in translation. When we arrived, we were ushered to a room in a ryoukan. Despite the confusion, our stay was nice enough. Our window overlooked a small lake that crowds with people during the day. The first night we were there, we were given tea. Jessica and I had fun trying to decipher shapes from our tea leaves after we drank our first cups. The next day we strolled around the pond, taking dozens of pictures, then decided to follow roads toward town. Just as we were wandering away from the camp grounds we discovered a path covered in leaves and shrubbery that lead down into the trees. We were planning on trailing originally, so...why not? We descended upon the path with cameras in hand. The path led down and around hills through the forest following a creek. There was beauty in every step taken. Our cameras were exploding with photos! The path ended at a residential part of town with a small shrine. We wandered around quite a while. This town we were staying in appeared to be one where everyone seemed to be a farmer. Every little house was preceded by at least one small crop. There were a great number of yards full of vibrant tulips. We saw many people in tractors tilling up land that was covered in a few inches of water. I can only assume it was for rice, but it is hard to tell when none of it is growing yet.
The only evidence I have left of our trail on Friday
Shout Out to Area Code 361!
It started raining while we wandered and as it got harder we had to take refuge in a stranger's garage. Jessica had lost her umbrella and mine was small, so fighting the rain and protecting our cameras was quite a task. It was awkward enough with no one there. There was a door to the house inside the garage that was left open. The wind caused it to continuously bang shut and swing back open. Eventually, someone came home and the awkwardness level rose! After a while, the rain seemed to lighten up a bit, but the awkwardness did not. So, we wandered down the street further. When finally we came across another pedestrian, we asked if there was anywhere to eat nearby. The only thing they were able to tell us was a small cafe further down the street that they weren't sure would be open or not. Never the less, we headed that way, only stopping to take shelter at a bus stop to read and let the rain die down. When it finally stopped, we continued and came across a cute little cafe that was in fact open. Good thing, too, because it was delicious!! Jessica got Curry Rice and I got Spaghetti. Sure, I'm in Japan and should be eating Japanese food. But, hey! This spaghetti is not the same. I have really taken a liking to it.
Sakura were still in Bloom!
Afterwards, we wound our way back up to the camp by way of road that went back and forth up the side of a hill. That night we went to an Onsen. It was a first time for both of us. Fortunately, we went with a Japanese woman from Nisshin that could show us the way. First step is declothing, of course. Yes, completely disrobe. No, you may not wear a swimsuit. On our way to the Onsen I certainly felt very nervous about the whole situation, but shortly after entering the locker room the awkwardness just melted away. It was the moment that we were all completely unclothed that the nervousness was completely gone. Second step is washing. Instead of getting into shared baths all dirty, you have to take a shower at a line of shower booths. They are not closed off, they are public. The only seperation you get is a very small wall in between them.There is body wash, facial wash (which actually wasn't at the booth I chose for some reason), shampoo and conditioner provided. Finally, you head to the baths! Which are, by the way, really really hot... We sat in the inside bath for a short while before going outside where the water seemed even more hot in contrast to the cold air. As far as how long we were there, I have no clue. It was fun and certainly an interesting experience.
Snow!!
The next day Jessica was determined to go to Kamikochi, which is high up in the mountains. We spent 5,000 Yen on a round trip, arriving around 1:30pm. First thing I noticed, and could not pass up, was SNOW. It really wasn't that cold, but there were stacks of snow on the sides of the road and parking lots. It was amazing to me. I was already in shock of all the hills and mountains, but snow in this quantity?!
Macaque!
Unfortunately, the last bus was at 5pm, so we did not have time to go on more than one trail. So, we chose one that lead to a pond further up in the mountains. Most of the trail was set out in wood, to lead the travelers up away from the wet path below, because it mostly followed a riverbed around the hills. Soon after we set out, we came across a monkey. A Macaque! It wasn't far into the trees and I was able to zoom in and get a decent picture with my small camera. Then, it walked across the very path we were walking on. And then! There was another monkey that passed in front of us as well. We followed them a few yards down the path before we turned to our right to see a field full of them! This was by far my favorite part of the day. It certainly made up for the loss of all of my pictures of the previous day (Oh yeah, btw... had a great start to this day with the accidental wiping of all of my photos from my canon). Alas, we continued down the trail seeing many a pretty sight and all the way seriously contemplating the idea of staying the night in the mountains. Meaning, roughing it with what little we had. The whole way we were pointing out good spots and ways we could stay warm and dry for the night. Somehow, this conversation made our walk all the more enjoyable. It took us a good hour and a half to get to the end, where we realized we only had an hour until the last bus back to Takayama. So, we booked it back, making it with 20 minutes to spare.
Macaque Video of Splendor
Hida
Our last day, Jessica and I walked up the street to the old Hida village. When we finally arrived, I already had another issue with my camera. Somehow, my lens cap had gotten jammed into my lens. So, all of my photos of the village are taken with my smaller camera. Basically, it was a large outdoors museum. We walked around for a while. There were many houses you were allowed to enter. Naturally, you had to first take off your shoes. There was a lot of omiyage (souvenirs) and several workshops where you can participate in making your own omiyage. Unfortunately, we did not have the time nor the energy. Our bus back home was at 3pm. And thus, we headed home and studying for quizzes Monday had to finally commence.
I found this peaceful.
From what I could tell, the majority of the products sold in the village were handmade by the people working there. These are spoons they were selling. There is clearly enough on the stand and I noticed he started up on the one he is working on in this video when we came around the corner, as if he was only working for show. I thought it was cute and was tempted to say he could stop, but had no clue how to say that and not sound rude.
