Fujika, our Japanese daughter, and her family invited us for the weekend to Shizuoka.
It’s a small city but it’s set in a fabulous location. Fujisan, Mount Fuji, is by far the most outstanding backdrop any city could ever hope for.
Fujika met us at the train station and took us on a tour of this great city. We took a bus up to Nihondaira. This is a park/tourist spot where there is a fabulous, photo opportunity view of Mt. Fuji. There are wonderful trails to hike around on and fantastic shots. It would be a great place to go year-round and get pictures of the mountain during all seasons. There’s also a shrine there that is only accessible by cable car…we saved that for another trip. Next we traveled back down to Shizuoka and went upstairs in a large office building. Believe it or not, they have dedicated on whole floor to tourists – you have a fabulous view of the entire city up on the 14th floor (or thereabouts). It was a great way to see the entire city - as well as Mt Fuji. We went down to Sumpu Park, where there once was a great castle, though all that now remains is the gateway. They have a fabulous garden there as well as many walkways and places for the children to play – great for just relaxing. It is so well cared for that, believe it or not, the gardeners were carefully pruning the tree to give it the Japanese bonsai look. We were probably there for an hour and they (3 men) were still working on the one tree.
Fujika kept telling us about the lights we could see at night and oh my gosh – I was not prepared for them. The city has lit up a few city blocks – the entire length of a mid-city park and a number of streets around it. It is so reminiscent of the zoo. Every tree, every light pole, everything available was a cascade of colors. The large building at the end of the park area had a huge tree displayed on it, making you think of Rockefeller Center. It was really spectacular! The streets are closed to cars on the weekends so shoppers were combing the streets for special deals. Every story was playing Christmas carols. It really was a walk down Disneyland Main Street at Christmas – only this time it was in Japan!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Friday, November 19, 2004
Pictures on line - Finally!!!
I have started posting some pictures on my yahoo site at:
http://www.geocities.com/zooguide2002/
It's a work in progress so come back whenever you can.
http://www.geocities.com/zooguide2002/
It's a work in progress so come back whenever you can.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Shirakawa
We have just returned from a true time warp – a weekend wrapped in 18th Century Japan. Shirakawa is famous for Gassho-style thatched-roof houses. You can check out some pretty good pictures at: http://www3.kiy.jp/~tourj/hida/shira-1.html
They are called "gassho-zukuri" type of houses and are located primarily in Shirakawago – especially since they’ve built a dam that covers most of the other areas where the buildings were once found. They did move many of the buildings to Shirakawa to create an open air museum where they show the homes, crafts and other activities from the 18th Century.
This style of traditional Japanese architecture means "praying hands." It comes from the shape of the roof which is thought to resemble two hands clasped in Buddhist prayer. The VERY steep roof is designed to prevent snow piling up on the roof, and it also keeps the inside relatively cool in summer. Absolutely no pegs or nails were used in their construction. The homes had an "irori" (Japanese hearths) in the main central area. They are small squares filled with sand where the people did their cooking and found warmth in the houses. The smoke from these hearths permeated throughout the gassho-zukuri, darkening the walls and wood over the years. Traditionally, the smoke was used to keep the silkworms warm (families used to raise silkworms in frames in the upper levels of the building). The smoke from the fires was essential to provide a protective coating for the pine and chestnut pillars and beams against insects. It also kept the thatching dry and insect free, meaning that the roofs were replaced every 40-45 years. Now they have to replace them every 20-25 years because they don’t last as long. So much for modernizing things….
Staying there was really an experience. The rooms are clean but very traditional. Tatami mats are on the floor everywhere and all of the walls were shoji screens with rice paper. They have hallways on the outside of the rooms – meaning that when the doors are all closed, there is trapped air and thus more warmth inside (warmth being relative, of course). They had the irori in the middle of the main room where we ate. They had a modern kitchen too cook in but they did have a small wood burning stove that kept the room quite toasty – well…at lest the half of you facing the stove. We ate a fabulous selection of traditional Japanese foods – things most of us had absolutely no idea what they were. Fortunately (for me) everyone else was a carnivore so they took the fish for me.
The beds were the traditional futons on the floor with warm, fluffy quilts pile up to keep you warm. We slept very well – even with the pillows filled with something along the lines of beans – rice husks maybe? The woman told us quite a bit about the house – with simple words and lots of pantomiming and acting out. The house was over 300 years old, though it has been added onto over the years. At one time the barn was attached to the house and they kept cows (mooing and horns told us this). Rooms were filled about 6 inches deep with straw – that made the bedding. They climbed up the ladders with milk on their backs – never did figure out why. She came to the house when she married…she hummed the wedding march. The family still lives in the house – the son and grandchildren on one side, grandma over nearer the kitchens. A very different lifestyle even today.
They are called "gassho-zukuri" type of houses and are located primarily in Shirakawago – especially since they’ve built a dam that covers most of the other areas where the buildings were once found. They did move many of the buildings to Shirakawa to create an open air museum where they show the homes, crafts and other activities from the 18th Century.
This style of traditional Japanese architecture means "praying hands." It comes from the shape of the roof which is thought to resemble two hands clasped in Buddhist prayer. The VERY steep roof is designed to prevent snow piling up on the roof, and it also keeps the inside relatively cool in summer. Absolutely no pegs or nails were used in their construction. The homes had an "irori" (Japanese hearths) in the main central area. They are small squares filled with sand where the people did their cooking and found warmth in the houses. The smoke from these hearths permeated throughout the gassho-zukuri, darkening the walls and wood over the years. Traditionally, the smoke was used to keep the silkworms warm (families used to raise silkworms in frames in the upper levels of the building). The smoke from the fires was essential to provide a protective coating for the pine and chestnut pillars and beams against insects. It also kept the thatching dry and insect free, meaning that the roofs were replaced every 40-45 years. Now they have to replace them every 20-25 years because they don’t last as long. So much for modernizing things….
Staying there was really an experience. The rooms are clean but very traditional. Tatami mats are on the floor everywhere and all of the walls were shoji screens with rice paper. They have hallways on the outside of the rooms – meaning that when the doors are all closed, there is trapped air and thus more warmth inside (warmth being relative, of course). They had the irori in the middle of the main room where we ate. They had a modern kitchen too cook in but they did have a small wood burning stove that kept the room quite toasty – well…at lest the half of you facing the stove. We ate a fabulous selection of traditional Japanese foods – things most of us had absolutely no idea what they were. Fortunately (for me) everyone else was a carnivore so they took the fish for me.
The beds were the traditional futons on the floor with warm, fluffy quilts pile up to keep you warm. We slept very well – even with the pillows filled with something along the lines of beans – rice husks maybe? The woman told us quite a bit about the house – with simple words and lots of pantomiming and acting out. The house was over 300 years old, though it has been added onto over the years. At one time the barn was attached to the house and they kept cows (mooing and horns told us this). Rooms were filled about 6 inches deep with straw – that made the bedding. They climbed up the ladders with milk on their backs – never did figure out why. She came to the house when she married…she hummed the wedding march. The family still lives in the house – the son and grandchildren on one side, grandma over nearer the kitchens. A very different lifestyle even today.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Site of Reversible Destiny
Wow – if you want to go to a strange place, this is it. There’s juts no telling what you’re going to run into – quit literally. It’s actually a children’s park (how many guesses do you need for who really wanted to go?) and it’s a VERY active place. There are numerous strangely shaped buildings with multiple entrances and then again, maybe only one entrance…and the same exit! There are sofas, beds, TVs and much more placed on the floor and on the ceiling. We walked all around a top walkway that goes through a VERY narrow path, varying from aabout shoulder high to over your head….only to come to the end – requiring you to walk all the way back. We’re talking plaster yourself against the wall while the other people plaster themselves against the wall everyone sumimasen’s themselves past the others. Crazy. There’s a curved field down below with very unusual shapes and sinks and chairs and mushroom buildings growing up all over. A child’s paradise, that’s for sure.
Shi-Go-San Day
Quite by accident, we stumbled onto a Japanese matsuri, or festival. Our trip started quite innocently. We went to Atsuta-jingo (shrine) in downtown Nagoya. The shrine is a very old, Shinto shrine from the 3rd century. Get this, it’s open 24 hours a day (so far, they all seem to be). Anyway. It is one of the most famous ones in the area and is supposed to house a very special sword handed down to the imperial family by a goddess. Of course, no one can see, but…it’s there. Anyway…the setting is lovely and the buildings are fabulous and the grounds are extensive – a very large Japanese garden with many wonderful paths to explore.
Back to the story. We had had entered the shrine area and purified ourselves by washing our hands at the fountain – there are cups to pour the water over your hands always present. We noticed literally dozens of small children dressed in kimonos (both boys and girls though the styles are different). They were absolutely precious! There were so many of them we figured there had to be something going on. That’s when we found out about 7-5-3 day. Turns out that infant mortality at one time was quite high so when a child reached 3, parents celebrated the milestone (boys and girls). At the age of 5, they celebrated boys and at 7 it was girls again. The children are very serious. They go to the shrine, generally ring a bell, and the family will pray. There are also young girls dressed up who will ring bells around the child to attract the gods and then they’ll pray for health and long life for the child.
We also got to see 2 gorgeous brides all dressed up for their wedding. They were in very traditional kimonos with headpieces and geta shoes. The wedding parties were quite large and everything was very elaborate – and quite difficult since it was pouring rain outside!!! The shrine is a very popular area for weddings also and there are some gorgeous wedding shots to be had around the gardens – when it isn’t raining, of course.
Back to the story. We had had entered the shrine area and purified ourselves by washing our hands at the fountain – there are cups to pour the water over your hands always present. We noticed literally dozens of small children dressed in kimonos (both boys and girls though the styles are different). They were absolutely precious! There were so many of them we figured there had to be something going on. That’s when we found out about 7-5-3 day. Turns out that infant mortality at one time was quite high so when a child reached 3, parents celebrated the milestone (boys and girls). At the age of 5, they celebrated boys and at 7 it was girls again. The children are very serious. They go to the shrine, generally ring a bell, and the family will pray. There are also young girls dressed up who will ring bells around the child to attract the gods and then they’ll pray for health and long life for the child.
We also got to see 2 gorgeous brides all dressed up for their wedding. They were in very traditional kimonos with headpieces and geta shoes. The wedding parties were quite large and everything was very elaborate – and quite difficult since it was pouring rain outside!!! The shrine is a very popular area for weddings also and there are some gorgeous wedding shots to be had around the gardens – when it isn’t raining, of course.
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