Advertisement
Published: August 15th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Toyota
I took this picture from the train station. It's nothing special but for a Japanese city it is relatively pretty. 06/8/12
I woke up this morning at 6:30, despite not having gotten to sleep until 5:00, with the intention of going to a small village called Obara at the edge of Aichi Prefecture. I hit the snooze button twice, but the thunder woke me up again at 6:45, which made me think to myself: If the weather is bad, should I go? And I'm tired... But, I got up anyway, ate, cleaned well enough for a 3 day absence, walked to the station, and caught my train by 7:50. I had to different buses to take to Obara after the train, so I though to maximize my time at Obara I would catch an early bus. I should have let myself sleep. The first didn't leave until an hour after I arrived at the station. I forgot that it was a holiday. Sheepish. I used the time wisely, though. Coffee and a cinnamon doughnut. It was the only doughnut I've ever actively liked! Also, I checked the return schedule so I wouldn't end up stranded there or something. It's one thing to be stranded in a city (*cough*Morioka*cough*), but a small village might be difficult to find lodging in. Anyway,
Obara Museum Paper Monument
This thing reminded me of a longhouse. It's outside of the Paper Art Museum in Obara. the bus rides totalled one hour and took into the mountains. So cool (both visually and temperatura-ally)! It was trhen that I realized how hot and humid Okazaki is; topped only by Kyoto. Anyway, Obara was really rural. I went to a little museum and craft center in the middle of nowhere to make Japanese paper (washi). I turned out pretty damn well, if I do say so myself--and I do. Three colors, inlaid leaves, and gold and silver flakes. It was amazing luck!
The museum was fascinating. All of the art was made of paper. There was a paper canoe (Seaworthy, mind you, seaworthy), traditional images of temples and nature, abstract images, 3-D images, a 3-D depiction of life on a cellular level, and one piece that incorporated (inlaid?) metal tools. Very much more creative than I expected.
Also, I met Ai-chan today for the first time. She's the daughter that I hadn't yet met, and very cute!! She told me in English that her name was Ai, but she had to think really hard to remember. It was charming. They're all so different (Chiho, Ai, Akihiro, and Sumie) that sometimes it's hard to believe they were
Obara Museum Paper Monument Interior
How cool are these fans? Every artist who helped make the monument has their own special one. raised in the same family. Akihiro was acting almost like a real brother tonight! I was interested in a book he was reading, only to find out that it was the second book in the series, at which point he offered to get the first one. And ran to get it!! I think he was pleased that I was talking to him. I haven't done it much because I usually find him hard to understand. He and Sumie both. But anway, we sort of bonded over that, and later when there was a bug around that was creeping me out, he valiantly caught it for me.
06/8/13
Wow, I love my host family. I think they've all reallt accepted me now. Ojiisan even occasionally speaks to me now. And they are, after all, letting me take part in a family holiday. My second o-bon, awwww. I know a little better what's going on this time. 😊 We all gathered in front of the house temple today for the blessing and prayer. The temple is awe inspiring--the height of the room, all gold and with a little buddha inside. There are offerings of food set out for the ancestors,
Washi!!!
Self explanatory, I think. incense is burned periodically, and chants and rituals performed. Finally, a lantern is hung near the temple to guide the spirits back to Earth during o-bon. I had a hunch last summer that the family was very Buddhist, but now I know. They do also have a small Shinto altar/shrine, but I think it's there mostly for appearance.
Finally, as with any true Japanese holiday, the night brought with it the serenade of fireworks going off. I'm going to miss Aichi, despite its uber industrialism.
Oh, random side-note. Chrissy, did you get your birthday gift?
06/8/14
Today, I made aburage sushi (my favorite type), anko mochi, and a shizo and miso treat that's just delightful. Miso, goma, gomako, salt, and tuna water, wrapped in shizo leaves. Yum!! I worked hard, yo.
I discovered something interesting about Ai-chan. She lives in Tokyo and is currently studying to become a teacher of Japanese as a second language!! Oy, I keep wanting to put little Japanese exclamations at the end of my sentences. ii ne, yo, ne, to ka... I tried to teach her how to say fireworks, but the rk sound is difficult for her, so it
O-bon Lantern
You can't really see the lantern well, but it's gorgeous. And the shrine in the picture is the one I shouldn't have pointed my feet towards... turned out to be firewoks. Cute!! I love my host family.
We watched an old Japanese soap opera called GTO on TV today! Natsukashii (nostalgic). I watched it originally in America with Jenna, Aparna, and Aparna's sister.
I actually went with my host family to the graveyard this year after o-bon dinner. It was really interesting to watch them pray. Not only do they pray, but they put fresh flowers, light more incense, and pour water over the grave stones (and they pour more or less depending on the heat, so I think it was more a comfort the spirits gesture than a cleanse the stones gesture.) I didn't ask for clarification though, because between my lack of Japanese, lack of religious savvy, and the fact that I didn't want to interrupt the celebration of a holiday, I thought that not only would the nuance of meaning be lost on me but also that it would be a bother. I had already found out the hard way not to sit with my feet pointing even remotely towards the temple. Let's just hope I haven't wreacked havoc on their family for generations, eh?
Oh! Ai-chan's boyfriend is a twin! AND Japanese, which is really rare.
06/8/15
3rd Japanese Boy Encounter. Yamamoto-kun, enter stage left. I was at the train station coming home today when I ran into another Japanese boy who took some sort of interest in me. I notice a pattern here--train stations are the hotspot to meet guys, it would see. Happily, this one wasn't creepy. I think he was hoping for my number or something, but instead I just told him 'yoroshiku onegai shimasu', which means roughly 'remember me well' and in this situation also meant good bye, because he had only carried my luggage up the stairs and walked to the bus with me. And told me I was wearing a cute skirt. At some point for a brief moment we held hands--and I really have no idea how that happened. It certainly wasn't my idea.
And, the decision I've made is that I am coming home. There was a death in the family, and besides wanting to be able to be there for my family I think this may be the final sign that I should come home. I don't really believe in signs, but it is convenient sometimes to use that expression. This is all assuming of course I that I can find an available seat. Damn holiday season.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0443s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb