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Published: November 3rd 2017
Adorable Lady
Second Hand Store, ShizuokaHello my fellow travellers!
I think that today was the most leisure day of my entire trip as I spent the whole day together with Junko and Bárbara in Fujieda and Shizuoka. The only plans that we had was to go and eat and a lovely dinner at a nice restaurant, shop for kimonos and attend a tea ceremony (
chanoyu). It was essentially the repetition of a day that I had last year except that Junko and me was joined by Bárbara. It felt good though to not have any grand plans for the day, sometimes it's quite nice to just slow down the pace and relax.
We all slept in, getting some much needed rest to regain our strength after two days of celebration in the autumn festivals of Kakegawa and Fukuroi, not to mention mine and Barbara's trip back and forth to Takayama which entailed some seven or eight hours spent just travelling.
After breakfast we met up with Yasuyo and then all four of us went to this wonderful restaurant that Junko loves. The restaurant is called Tonkatsu Unno and she took me there last year as well. The food there is really amazing and
the portions are very generous. Just like last year we traded some things between us with me trading away my vegetables to Bárbara and receiving some tempura and miso soup in return. I also received some tempura from Junko. I didn't trade away my cabbage this year though, I've come to quite appreciate soy drenched cabbage here in Japan.
After dinner we went to the same second hand store we went last year, but this time we had a different person waiting for us there. This year it was an elderly lady who was so sweet and lovely. The primary objective was to find a kimono for Bárbara but she actually turned out to not be all that interested which was a bit of a letdown to be honest. She did buy one anyway, but that was mostly just for the sake of Junko and me. Instead, I ended up being the one that dove right into the fray and became a human mannequin doll once more. I loved every second of it!
This time I found a really beautiful silk kimono of top quality that was sold at a really good price, last year I bought seven
Gift of Geta!
Second Hand Store, Shizuoka different kimono but only kept two myself and gave the rest away as gifts. Both of those that I kept was made of cotton. Both of them was three set kimonos though, with both kimono,
juban (inner kimono) and
haori (jacket) pieces. This one was a single piece one but I figured that I can combine it with the juban and haori that I already have at home since most men's kimono go in the same kind of colour scales.
While trying on the kimono though I remembered that I still need proper
hakama (trousers). I couldn't find any last year and the only ones your can order in Sweden are the ones used for aikido training which isn't what I'm after.
I asked the lady if they had any hakama this year but she didn't know so she called someone else to inquire about it and it turned out they had a single pair! She rummaged though the shop and managed to find them and they were perfect, the right size and a colour that fit excellently with the kimono I had already chosen!
None of us knew how to tie it together properly though, because
Together With Lovely Ladies
Second Hand Store, Shizuoka the the formal way to tie them is pretty difficult so the lady made another phone call and after a while another, even older and even more adorable lady, came. Both me and Bárbara fell in love with her right away, her voice was so amazing that you could just fall asleep in eternal happiness from listening to it and we both wanted to keep her.
She tied the whole thing together for me, the kimono and the hakama according to proper etiquette and it was such a wonderful experience. Once I was fully adorned I figured I'd take some pictures in their garden and then it struck me that some
geta (wooden sandals), would really top it all of. So I asked if they had any and the first lady scrambled to find some and returned after a while with a worn couple that actually fit me pretty well. It felt kind of weird that the heel is supposed to protrude from the back of the geta but after a little while I began to get accustomed to it.
The entire ensemble came together pretty nicely in my opinion, only thing sticking out was my regular shirt
Delicious Meal
Restaurant Tonkatsu Unno, Shizuoka underneath it since I didn't have a juban this time. While they were wrapping up the kimono and the hakama I asked if I could buy the geta as well, because finding them in Sweden is pretty much impossible, and in the shops here I only seem to find more modern versions. They told me that they would give them to me for free which is so sweet of them! Then it turned out that they actually belonged to her husband and I said that I couldn't take them but by then it was already decided so I walked out of that store with her husband's geta.
Bárbara, while not to interested in the kimonos, did however find a lovely cat made out of wood that she fell for and asked what it cost. It turned out that it wasn't actually for sale but because we were valued guests here she sold it to her anyway for ¥2,500, a genuine bargain as it was truly splendid, a one of a kind.
As a token of my appreciation I also bough a ring each for Junko and Yasuyo because hey have both been so absolutely amazing, both this year
Group Photo
Restaurant Tonkatsu Unno, Shizuoka and last year. I really look forward to them visiting me in Sweden so that I can repay at least a little bit of all the kindness they have shown me.
With everything tallied up, the kimono, hakama, the rings and her husband's geta, I ended up at ¥9,000, such an incredible bargain. I finally have my hakama! I can't begin to tell you the happiness I felt, on this trip I have already found my
ofuda (household amulet), my
hamaya (demon breaking arrow), a beautiful
ema (prayer plaque), a beautiful
omamori (protective amulet) and now this beautiful hakama, silk kimono and even traditional geta.
The fun thing is that I never shop on my trips otherwise, but both last year and this year I return home laden with stuff from Japan. This is literally the only country where I bring something home with me other than pictures and memories.
After we were all done with our shopping we returned to Junko's home because Yasuyo would be going home and we had all been using her car. So we said our goodbyes for this year and she returned to Fukuroi while the rest of us switched to
Tea Ceremony
Hyogetsutei Tea House, Fujieda Junko's car and went to Fujieda to attend the tea ceremony there. Since it was already starting to get a bit late Junko called ahead and made reservations for us which they confirmed.
The tea ceremony was held in the Hyogetsutei Tea House (
Hyogetsu-tei). The name literally means "Gourd Moon Tea House" and is apt since it has carvings of gourds in the walls and it's
shōji (sliding doors) resemble the moon in it's different stages as it travels across the night sky. This place is so unbelievably beautiful as it sits by the side of the Asahina River (
Asahinagawa), surrounded by lush green hills. The area is known as
Gyokuro no Sato (Gyokuro Village) and is one of only three regions in Japan that produce the high quality light green tea known as
gyokuro (lit. "jade egg").
Once we arrived though they said they couldn't do the ceremony for us because they had a big group booked, we bought tickets anyway to just enter the grounds and to walk around a bit. However, they were thankfully kind enough to let us in and then did a bit of a condensed tea ceremony for us which was very
kind of them.
There are many different sorts of tea ceremonies and I think that the one we did is the simplest one of them, the
obon temae, but I'm not sure. Me and Barbara got to make our own
usucha (light tea), under the supervision of the host who showed us how to do it properly. As you can imagine there is a correct etiquette for preparing and drinking tea. For starters the room, which is called a
chashitsu (team room) is arranged in a certain order.
There is an entrance for the guests, outside of which there is a
tsukubai (washbasin), and another entrance for the host. Inside the chashitsu there is one tatami mat for the first and second guest (occupied by Bárbara and myself), one for the third guest (occupied by Junko) and one for the host. There is also a smaller central tatami mat specifically for the hearth. To the side of the tatami mat specified for the first and second guest is a
tokonoma (alcove) where a hanging scroll and flower arrangement are presented to enhance the appreciation.
Even though it was a bit more hastened than when I did it
Bowing to the Moon
Hyogetsutei Tea House, Fujieda last year it was still such a lovely experience. There are so many rules concerning a tea ceremony
that of course we got so much wrong, from the bows and movements to just how to sit on the tatami mats. Even so the host was polite and complimented us on our etiquette.
The gyokuro tea is an organic green tea that is locally grown in Okabe and only a very limited quantity is produced and it is graded as the highest quality in Japan. Shizuoka region is famous for this tea and it's easy to see why as it is really tasty.
The tea was served with the traditional
wagashi (sweet) and what you are supposed to do is that you drink a little bit of the tea, then you eat the sweet and then you drink some more tea. The slight bitterness of the gyokuro matches perfectly with the sweetness of the wagashi and really opens up your taste buds to a world of delight. Next year I will strive to come back here dressed in formal wear and with plenty of time to my disposal to enjoy this experiences at an even higher level.
After
the tea ceremony we relaxed for a while and watched the
koi (brocaded carp) that were swimming in the small pond. Meanwhile the lady told us about the history of the tea house. As they closed for the day we walked around the garden and watched all the spiders sitting in impressive webs everywhere, this is the most of them I've seen so far here in Japan! We also saw more praying mantises, a couple of them had been overrun by cars but one was alive, this one I didn't pick up though so no more bites for me, I'm learning!
With that we decided to call it a day and we returned to Junko's home where we spent the evening laughing at the funny pictures taken by Junko during the day and exchanging some good movie tips. I also took the time to pack everything since I will leave for Matsumoto tomorrow and won't come back here again on this trip.
Bárbara will also leave tomorrow, for Kyoto and then Hiroshima, but she will return to Junko after a few days and then Junko will take her to see Mount Fuji (
Fujisan) and the Shiraito Falls (
Shiraito-no-taki).
Me, Junko, Anzu and Takae went to those places together last year and it's such a lovely experience and I'm happy that Bárbara will be able to see them as well.
With all the things I've bought and all the gifts I've received on this trip I had to leave some of my old stuff behind since I didn't want to upgrade to a larger suitcase. I prefer to keep it to my backpack, though I did have to add a small handheld bag on the side. Luckily, I guess, I've worn out all my socks except for like two pairs so I could just toss those along with a couple of underwear, I also decided to leave my towel and a sweater behind.
Junko was shocked when I told her that I managed to squeeze everything else into the bag. My new things includes a beautiful doll I got from her, all the new clothes and geta, one more pair of sandals, five sets of
hashi (chopsticks), everything I've bought for my
kamidana (god-shelf), several beautiful cloths, a "paint your own dinosaur" that I got from Takae, a box full of origami and even some Japanese food
Cool Spider
Hyogetsutei Tea House, Fujieda packs to cook when I come home.
In Matsumoto my main goal is of course the famous Mastumoto Castle (
Matsumoto-jô), one of only five castles that are designate National Treasures in Japan. After Matsumoto I will go to Suzaka outside of Nagano where I will be staying with Tran whom I met in Tokyo last year together with Ryosuke, I look forward to meeting him again as we all had an absolute blast together last year.
Until tomorrow I wish you all peace and happy travels!
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Chado
There used to be a Japanese teahouse here and I witnessed a few tea ceremonies, but it would be so amazing to learn the intricacies involved in it. What a totally cultural immersive day this was... and that hakama were clearly meant to be yours :)