Huis ten bosch

November 9 we went to Huis ten bosch and stayed the night at Den Haag.

The entire park is a bit surreal, carefully planned and beautifully designed to resemble a village in the Netherlands. All of the buildings are brick, there are windmills, canals, open city squares, draw bridges, cobblestone roads, and tall ships. The cars and buses used to transport guests between the entrance and the various hotels are all designed to be circa early 20th century. The roof lines of the buildings are all unique, making the entire park feel on the surface like one is walking around Amsterdam or Leiden.

Of course, upon closer inspection there are some things that are not quite right. As is the case with all theme parks there is a cleanliness that is unusual compared to a non-theme park. Also, what would be store fronts or the front doors of homes and businesses were merely closed doors that remained always closed, having tourist shops on the other side of them.

Some highlights of the trip included the leaves changing colors in front of the museum, which is an exact replica of the home of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

This Japanese restaurant also caught my attention. It offers a nice mix of ideas - Japanese restaurant in a Dutch village, in Japan.

The highlight was by far was kayaking at night. Each night there are fireworks at 8:45, after which most people return to their hotels or walk around to view the lights on all the buildings. The water taxis stop, though, leaving the canals empty. So, each night at 9:15 a guide takes groups around the waterways on kayaks.

If I ever return to Huis ten bosch, I will be sure to do this again. I was not only the highlight of the trip but one of the highlights of my year. Imagine a labyrinth of canals lit with beautiful lights, completely peaceful and all to yourself. We slowly made a large loop of the waterways, turning what was supposed to be a 45-minute trip into 90 minutes of pure pleasure.

The guide led us and two other couples around the park. We stopped for awhile to look for falling stars. We also rowed into the center of the Hotel Europe, which is built on water, offering a unique experience of being inside the hotel, yet on water. Some guests waved at us from their rooms. I'm sure they were surprised to see kayakers out their windows. It was a truly beautiful experience.

Kumamoto Castle - Celebrating 400 years

Kumamoto Castle, built under the leadership of Kato Kiyomasa, was completed 400 years ago, in 1607. Most of it was destroyed by fire in the Seinan Civil War of 1877, but the main and secondary towers were rebuilt in the 1960s.

The castle is truly one of the highlights of the city, and this year there are numerous festivities to help celebrate its long history. Among the programs are concerts of taiko, dance, koto, shamisen, and others. There was a palanquin race and a beautiful display of candles along the approach to the castle and in the river and the long wall.

Having purchased an annual pass, I've made a habit of visiting the castle every month or so, to see it in different light and in different seasons. Hisako and Yukari just finished a two-month long course to become official volunteer tour guides of the castle, and I was fortunate enough to be given their first tour. They did a wonderful job.

Open house!

One of my hobbies, which I nowadays have very little time for, is to visit homes or apartments that are for sale and open for viewing. I always have to apologize up front to the staff showing the house that I have no intention of purchasing and that I would rather not give my address, because I'll soon be moving and I don't want to receive a lot of direct mail. However, once this is cleared up, I'm allowed to walk around freely.

I especially like open houses because it gives me an idea of what needs developers think that today's home buyers have. I am also able to talk with people who sell houses for a living and thus meet with home buyers on a daily basis. They say that most buyers are young families, usually with one or two children under the age of 4. Sellers say that young families have been saving up money by renting or living with family and that they want to buy a home before their children start school, so that they can stay in one school for the duration of their elementary education.

The house sellers are always fun to talk with. I find myself asking off-the-wall questions, like whether I can add another patio door in the back or what the loan rates are like (30 or 35 year loans at around 2 or 3 percent are common). They have to answer hundreds of similar questions each day, so I don't think that I'm bothering them too much.

I also enjoy just imagining life in this pristine spaces. They radiate with promise, sunny windowsills waiting to fill with houseplants, open counter space just waiting for a basket of fresh fruit, a balcony that could just fit a small table or a bbq set. The decorations tend to be black, white, beige, or grey - less warm and comfy than the open houses I've visited in the United States, which are colorful and sometimes overfilled with details.

Minamata

October 8, 2007
On the last day of the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Geography Association (Nihon chiri gakkai), there was a fieldtrip to Minamata. The first thing on the agenda was a visit with a man who he spoke of the impacts of the mercury poisoning from the Chisso plant in the 1950s on both his family, which had to stop fishing for a living, and the larger community, which was afflicted with deaths, birth defects, and community disintegration. This was especially evident following the legal settlements with the company, which caused huge wealth differentials among households. Such immediate and seemingly random affluence tore the community apart, in his mind.

Later in the day we enjoyed lunch at a village that has turned to ecotourism, serving meals and giving short tours to visitors. All of the food is locally grown or collected, and it is all chemical-free. The town itself is undergoing depopulation and an aging of the population, but it is hoped that this latest effort will curb some of these problems.

At the end of the day we also visited the Minamata disease memorial museum, which features striking photos and stories of the people affected by the disease. It seems remarkable that the Chisso factory continues to operate in this town, and that it has not changed its name following what is one of the worst industrial accidents in Japan's history. The company still makes chemicals and still employs a large number of local residents.

Crocs!

Crocs, the company from Niwot, Colorado, makes shoes that are now becoming quite popular in Japan. As a thank you gift to all of my friends in Oguni, I decided to buy everyone Crocs. They are all different colors, which made it feel like opening a bag of brightly-colored candy when I opened the box. A box of Crocs.

Mom's Birthday

For Mom's birthday, we ate Chinese food at Shu-Ho, near Hikari no Mori. The food was delicious and abundant. The restaurant also has some mascots, some pet chipmunks that live in its interior garden. It was a nice birthday, even though Mom doesn't want to get any older.

Boshita

Every September in Kumamoto City, Fujisaki Shrine holds a festival marking a military victory against Korea that took place around 400 years ago. In the morning, a procession leaves the shrine, as if going to war. And in the afternoon and evening all of the groups in the procession return, dancing and chanting, with drums and cymbals. The focus for many people is the horse that leads all of the groups. This year there were 48 separate groups, all brought together based on some commonality, such as being graduates of a particular school, living in a particular neighborhood, belonging to a particular business organization, or working in the same company. Each of the groups has a horse that wears a costume and is pulled through the city. Upon entering the main gate to the shrine, the handlers do their best to incite the horse to kick and run in circles. Essentially the men are teasing the horse to get it excited. This year I even saw some young men throwing small snapping fireworks at their horse to annoy it. The horses resist, of course, and in doing so, excite the men to torture the horses even more. It's not always easy to watch this, but there are huge crowds that brave the heat, and this year the rain, to watch their friends in the parade and witness horses being treated very poorly.

Someday I would like to research this festival and see how it fits into a larger story about how Japanese relate to horses. They are pets for riders, but also eaten raw as a delicacy. Horses have a long and complicated relationship with people in Japan, one which I think would make for a fascinating book.

Visit to Amakusa

Last week Hisako and I took what is probably our last trip to the beach. We took the day off and drove to Mogushi beach in Amakusa. The water was incredibly warm, almost too warm, and we had the beach all to ourselves. We relaxed in the water for a few hours and then drove to Hondo for dinner.

We went to Amakusa-mura, an izakaya that I used to frequent with Kellie and Mark from my old JET days. Unfortunately, the owner was on holiday that day. I took a photo, but it wasn't the same as the old memories we had there.

New Apartment

At the end of August, we moved into this new apartment in Kumamoto City. From now, Hisako will be working at an office downtown, and I will be writing at Kumamoto University.

This day was great because Hisako's parents and Chigusa came to help clean the apartment. It's a little noisy here, and it's warmer here than Oguni, but it's a great location.

A few days later we had our first party at our new apartment. Hopefully, it won't be our last party here.

Farewell to Oguni

In the last few weeks of August we had to say goodbye to Oguni and move to Kumamoto City. We spent some of the time packing, but we also took the time to visit some places we'd never been and spend time with friends that we will definitely miss.

One place we went was Manma, an izakaya in Oguni that is excellent. One thing we especially like about it is that the countertop is covered with the dishes of the day, making it feel like a Spanish tapas bar. The beer was cold and delicious and the food was incredible. Thank you for inviting us, Kiku.

We also had a goodbye dinner with Watanabe and Mika in Manganji. The restaurant was an addition tacked on between a home and its storage shed, as one of the interior walls was the outside of the shed. The owner is energetic and talkative, and a few days later we saw him on television, bathing in the local onsen when some celebrities arrived.

We also traveled around the area to say farewell to our friends at different ryokan. We'll definitely return someday.

Yuusuikyo

Thursday night Chigusa and Yukari were able to visit from Kumamoto City and stay the night with us. We had a great dinner, made by Hisako, then played Settlers of Catan. It was the first time for both of them to play, and I think they really enjoyed it.

The next day, Friday the 17th, Hisako made a huge picnic lunch and we all four went to Yuusuikyo, an outdoor park of sorts. It is a river-based camp area and park. The riverbed itself is unique in that it is a slab of rock. In other words, it is not rocks, pebbles, or mud, but one large slab of rock on which people can walk. The river flows fast but is only 2 or 3 inches deep. This means people can walk the length of the river, against the flow if you want. It's quite a unique experience and is different from any other river I've been to.

The most fascinating thing about this place is that if one thinks about it too much, it could be seen as very dangerous. Small children are free to run around on a gently sloping riverbed in water that is fast and a surface that is slippery in places. This means kids often fall, sometimes hitting their heads. If I were a parent, I would like to think that I would relax and let my children run wild. However, I can imagine a parent wanting to constantly watch, as if waiting for a train wreck, constantly yelling, "Don't run, don't push, be careful, don't walk over there, look out!" But here, kids play in what some would consider a high risk place, and parents sit back and let them play. There are no lifeguards, no safety precautions, no rules. It was wonderfully refreshing, both the cold water on my feet and watching kids play like kids. I told the others that this place would be shut down in minutes in the U.S.

Here is the webpage for Yuusuikyo: (in Japanese) http://www.yado.co.jp/camp/kumamoto/yuusuikyo/

Here are some photos of the river and our lunch.

Heat wave

As the temperature nears 100 in Kumamoto City, it is time to escape to Oguni. Thursday our friend Yukari came to visit us. Later in the evening Chigusa came as well. Along the way we stopped at Kitayama, overlooking the Mt. Aso caldera. Everyone enjoyed some freshly grilled corn and the magnificent view. After we returned home, we went to lunch at an all-organic restaurant nearby. I had the fried rice, which was made with brown rice, garlic, and onions. Hisako's curry had a unique flavor and was composed of 20 spices.

It was hot in Oguni, too, but not nearly as terrible as Kumamoto City, so we were all glad for the relief.

Oguni farmers market

Each Saturday morning there is a small farmers market in Oguni, just 10 minutes from our home. Here, one can find fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables, and fresh-made sweets.

On the way home I stopped to observe the rice growing in the fields. It will be harvested in about 2 months and makes for a beautiful landscape of green to enjoy while we're here.

A new apartment

After a year of happily living in Oguni, we're moving to Kumamoto City. This will put Chris closer to a library and a quiet place to write and Hisako closer to job opportunities that suit her experience. After looking at a few places and working with several agencies with our limitations (only 4 months), we think we found a place that will suit us downtown.

It's about 20 years old, and no one has lived in it for at least a year, enabling us to make a deal with the owner. This boring wall will hold a large map of Kumamoto and some other colorful objects to make it less bland. The kitchen is small but manageable and clean. The view from our small balcony is of a large tree and a school beyond. The apartment has some traffic noise, but is located in a nice neighborhood with some small parks. It will be a short bike ride to school and just within walking distance to downtown if we go out late at night.

On the way home we stopped to enjoy the view of the Aso caldera in the late afternoon sun. Simply beautiful.

Fun with tea!

On Thursday night we were invited to experience tea ceremony at the home of our friend Mayumi. It was a lot of fun to dress up in our yukata and spend time with friends. After arriving we were taught how to enter the room, walk, and sit properly. There were so many rules that we messed everything up, of course. But it was interesting to experience it for an evening. Mayumi's sister Noriko (one of 5 girls in the family!), who owns and operates a cake shop in Kurokawa, made most of the tea for us. However, Mayumi taught Hisako how to make tea once. After a while our legs fell asleep while waiting for tea and sweets, but it was very fun.

After tea, we sat down for a huge meal with Mayumi's new husband and parents. Her parents were so interesting - her mom loving 60s music and her father regaling us with hilarious stories of raising five daughters. It was a great evening that we will never forget.

Dinner at Sano's

Since we'll be leaving in a few weeks, we are doing our best to see all of our friends before the end of the month. On Tuesday we were invited over to Sano's home for dinner. We've been close to them for around 6 years now, as they were instrumental in helping me when I first started studying in the area.

The Sanos' eldest daughter (not pictured here) recently married a local boy, but moved to Osaka in March. The Sanos will visit her next week.

Gochiso! Sano-san made a lot of food this night. This is not unusual for a dinner at a Japanese home, but tonight's food was especially good. In addition to sushi, there were great vegetables of all sorts, as well as proscuitto ham and cheese rolls. Thank you to the Sanos!!

Suwa Lake and Katakurakan

On our last night in Nagano we stayed at a ryokan near Suwa Lake, Aburaya Ryokan - http://www.aburaya-ryokan.co.jp/. The sunset from the outdoor bath was stunning, the food good, and the water itself the perfect temperature. It was a small treat for us. It wasn't the best ryokan I've ever been to, but I would definitely recommend it for anyone in the area.

The next morning we went for a long walk alongside the sizeable lake. We think that it would take 3-4 hours to walk around the entire outside, if one were inclined to do so. We weren't. We walked for awhile, running into this small herd of sculptured sheep along the way. They made for a picturesque photo setting.

Before leaving Suwa we were sure to stop at Katakurakan - http://www.katakurakan.or.jp/. This is a fascinating public bath modeled after a Czech hot springs resort that the builder/owner visited on a long trip to Europe in 1923-24. He was so moved by the resort, Carlsburg, that upon returning home he purchased land next to Lake Suwa and had Katakurakan built, in 1928. The interior is truly original for a Japanese public bath. I was too shy to take photos while inside. In the bath with me included a professional body builder and a man with a large tatoo, both incredibly rare sights at a public bath. I decided that it would be too strange to take photos, but the building can be seen at its website.

Hiking in Nagano

The highlight of our trip to Nagano was a long trek around Kurumayama. After taking two ski lifts to the peak of what is a popular ski area in the winter, we hiked through the hundreds of others at the top, took a quick photo at the summit, then started on the long way downhill. We passed a lot of beautiful flowers, and some hikers, too. The trails were narrow, surrounded by tall green grasses. We were even able to see Mt Fuji from atop this mountain. The hike down to the parking lot took 3+ hours, but it was incredibly worth it. I wish we did this sort of thing every day.