Hello Japan, part 2

I promised it wouldn't be another month before the next post, and here it is!

After the wonderful stay at the onsen, we made our way south to Geibikei. Geibikei is located on the outskirts of Ichinoseki city. It is a beautiful spot on a river where you take a boat ride to enjoy the scenery and listen to the history and songs of the area. We were a little early in the season to enjoy the fall foliage, but it was still very beautiful.

A passing boat -- the man standing in the rear uses a long pole to steer and push the boat along the river.

Beautiful rock faces.

A small shrine tucked into a cave among the rock cliffs.

Beautiful blue sky.

Stopping half-way to get out and take some pictures.

After a beautiful morning on the river, we headed back north to Hiraizumi, a city with a rich and long history. We visited the temple and shrines there; but unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures of the golden shrine which is spectacular! We saw many other old shrines and very old trees. The city is trying to become a World Heritage Site. Click here to go to the English home page and see some beautiful pictures.

A beautiful bamboo grove.

When the wind blew, you could hear the leaves and the creaking of the bamboo.

An old stone monument.

After Hiraizumi, we headed back to Ichinoseki to visit another beautiful river and Genbikei Gorge. It is another beautiful rock faced river with very bold and square rocks all along it shore.

The rocks here were amazing, too.

A very popular tourist spot. On this day, there were lots of Chinese tourists here.

After a full day of sightseeing, we were hungry; so we went to a yaki-niku restaurant near my house. A yaki-niku restaurant is actually a Korean tradition, but it is very popular here in Japan. At the restaurant, there is a grill at the table, and you grill meat, chicken, vegetables, and sometimes even different seafoods right at the table yourself. It is very delicious and fun to cook it yourself.

A beautiful plate of different kids of beef.

The grill  off to the left and some sauces to dip your grilled meat into in the forefront.

Lettuce leaves and a sauce, you wrap your meat up in one of the leaves with a little bit of sauce.

Meat and vegetables grilling away.

Mom was quite the barbecuer!

On Tuesday morning, the 19th, we went to one of the elementary schools that I teach English at. Mom wanted to see the kids and see what I do. I was a bit nervous for both her and the students, but they both enjoyed it a lot.

Me at my desk in the teaher's room, waiting for the students to come get me for class.

Two girls arrived to escort us to class.

A 5th grade class.

They looked so studious here.

The homeroom teacher -- we team-teach the English classes together.

The 6th grade class with the homeroom teacher. They were nervous because they were giving a speech in English on this day!

The outside of the school and the ground where the children play during recess, with the gym in the back.

It was a fun morning, and I think mom enjoyed it a lot! The next week when I went back to the school, all of the students kept saying that my mom was so beautiful and young. I know she likes that!

The schools that I teach at are about 40 minutes north of Hanamaki. We decided to keep going north and visit Hachimantai in the afternoon. Hachimantai is a city, but it is also home to a beautiful national park. The area is full of nature and has many different onsen. In the winter, it is also an area for skiing and snowboarding, having several different ski areas. Again, we were too early for some spectacular fall colors, but it was still a nice drive and look around the mountain.

All the way up the mountain are these tunnels that are built to protect the road from the snow during the winter months.

Some color near the foot of the mountain.

Another beautiful day with a blue sky.

This is one the many trails through out the park.

The large mountain in the background is Mt. Iwate -- the highest point in Iwate, about 6,686 feet.

More fall colors.

The beautiful blue sky and some fall colors.

That night, we went to eat Okonomiyaki (you can see a previous post about that here). We met my friend Sachiko and had a very good time laughing, eating, and cooking.

Outisde the restaurant with Sachiko and the mascot.

Three types of onion okonomiyaki.

Fried-rice.

Gyoza -- fried dumplings.

What's in there? I can't wait to eat this!!

One side grilling, almost time to flip it. . .

It helps to hold your mouth just right when flipping.

Sachiko mixing up the fried-rice.

She also did a great job with the gyoza.

All of the food was very delicious, and we were very full afterwards.


On Wednesday, the 20th, we went to my ikebana teacher's house for an ikebana lesson. I wanted mom to experience ikebana, and many of the ladies that I take classes with wanted to meet my mom. I taught mom the very basic form, the rising form, and she did a wonderful job.

Working hard and making sure there is a balance to her work.

The finished work -- very good for a first time!

Some of the other student's works.

In the afternoon, we all headed to another student's house, Naoko, for lunch. Naoko has a beautiful house and likes to cook and have people over. She always has simple yet delicious food, so I was looking forward to the lunch.

The table was prepared.

One of the student's made her DELICIOUS seki-han, which is beans and rice.

(from top-left clockwise) gobo salad, pork, bell peppers with almonds, and baby chrysanthemum leaves and ham

Blue cheese past with mushrooms -- very DELICIOUS!!

The ladies with mom.

They also bought a cake to celebrate the occasion.

My teacher, Hiroko, saying goodbye.

Wednesday was a full day of food, friends, laughter, and lots of fun.

The next morning, on Thrusday, the 21st, we went to the private English conversation school that I teach at to visit some of my classes. All of the students had a good time chatting with mom and learning all about her. (Sorry, I don't have any pictures from this point on. But it's probably better, because this post is long enough as is!)

After the classes, we were off to Tokyo. We took the shinkansen back to Tokyo and stayed the night.

On Friday morning, we took it easy and did a little sightseeing around Tokyo. And in the afternoon, we took a tour on the Hato Bus, a great way for a foreigner to see Tokyo. It was guided by an English speaking Japanese woman, and I even learned a few things about Tokyo and Japan that I hadn't known. That evening, we went to another okonomiyaki restaurant near the hotel and called it an early evening.

We got up early on Saturday, the 23rd, and headed to the airport. Mom had an 11 am flight, so we had to be there around 9 am. We got her all checked in, changed some money, and said our goodbyes.

It was a vacation of a lifetime for me, and I know it was the same for mom. I was glad that she could experience what I had only talked to her about before. I think she understands why I like Japan so much and have been living here for 12 years. I hope she will be able to come back and visit again someday.

But, I promise not to make it such a busy trip for her!

Hello Japan, part 1

Well, it's been over a month since my last post. Sorry! October was a busy month with work, ikebana, and. . .

a visit from my mom!

After 12 years of living here, she finally made the trip across the ocean to see me. She would be here for 10 days, so I had a lot of planning to do to make sure we could fit in as much as possible, without her getting too tired along the way. It was a great trip for her and for me.


She arrived on the 14th in Tokyo, so I went down on Thursday morning to meet her at the airport. It was so good to see her coming out of the arrivals gate, and I know she was happy to see me, too. From Narita Airport, we took the Narita Express back to Tokyo Station (the airport is about an hours train ride from Tokyo). We checked into our hotel for the night and then went out to get something to eat. After her long day of travel, we went back to the hotel and rested up for the trip ahead.

on the Narita Express back to Tokyo

The next morning, Friday, we got up and around and made our way to Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station is HUGE and is in constant construction. Signs are posted everywhere in English, but there is so much going on around you, it is hard to pick out the signs and know where you need to be going. I'm sure that if I hadn't gone to Tokyo to meet mom, she might still be there trying to find her way to Hanamaki!

We arrived a bit early for the shinkansen (bullet train), so we made ourselves comfortable and people watched for a while.

mom with her shoes off waiting for the shinkansen

And then we were off to Iwate and Hanamaki.

getting ready to board the shinkansen

a treat for the 3 hour ride back to Hanamaki

are we there, yet?

finally arrived in Hanamaki

After arriving in Hanamaki, we went back to my apartment to put the bags away and rest a bit. I had made plans to go to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, but jet lag was starting to set in, so we went out for a cup of coffee.

the caffeine had kicked in

Friday night we went to Tsubame Shokudo for dinner. Hamburger patties are a popular food here in Japan, but most often than not, they are mixed with pork, creating a very moist and soft patty. This restaurant has the best hamburger patties and delicious food.

curry hamburger patty -- delicious!

the cook and mom

hamburger patty with cheese

The meal was the perfect way to end the first day in Hamanaki.

On Saturday, it was mom's birthday. This was the first time we had been together for her birthday in almost 15 years, so I wanted to make it special for her. We went to Kitakami, the neighboring town to the south of Hanamaki for lunch and birthday cake.

tuna pizza and a cream sauce pasta with salty baccon

For birthday cake, we went to a very delicious cake shop, Boule De Neige. It was a beautiful day out, so we decided to eat out on the pattio to enjoy the nice weather.

delicious, beautiful cakes and coffee

the birthday girl!

After lunch, we did a little shopping and looking around the countryside. It was a little too early for the fall foliage, but there were still some golden rice fields waiting to be harvested.

That evening, we went out with a friend of mine for birthday dinner. And after dinner -- karaoke! It was moms first experience for karaoke, and I think she had a good time. We had planned to stay only an hour, but ended up staying two because we were having so much fun.

in our own private room singing

singing a duet

mom sang "Hey Good Lookin'"

my friend, hideki, and mom singing a duet

On Sunday, I had to go to Morioka for my monthly ikebana test, so mom came along to see what I do. I think she enjoyed meeting some of the other people who do ikebana, and the other students also enjoyed meeting her, too. In the afternoon, we went to a handworks village where they make traditional Japanese handicrafts. And after that, we headed back to Hanamaki to stay the night at a hot spring.

For mom's birthday, I wanted to treat her to a night at an onsen or hot spring. One of the things I love most about where I live is the abundance of onsen. There is nothing like a soak in a hot bath to relax and rejuvenate your body.

We stayed at Shidate Onsen. Each room has it's own private outdoor bath to realx and enjoy the views of nature. It was an absolutely gorgeous onsen, and the food was amazing, too.

a split level room -- view from below

view from above

small sitting area on a green tatami floor

the room's private outdoor bath

the view from the bath

After getting ourselves acquainted with the room, we changed into our yukata and headed down to dinner. We were seated in a small, private dining room where each dish was brought out to us. We had an amazing dinner with 14 different dishes, each one of them more delicious than the one before.

a beautiful basket full of seasonal foods

a wonderful soup with matsutake mushroom and shrimp

crab legs

a beautiful plate of tempura -- all delicious!

the main course, platinum pork on a hot rock

one of my students sent this beautiful fruit plate as a gift to my mom and i -- so sweet!

the dessert

When we had eaten till we couldn't eat anymore, we headed back to the room and then to the bath. Mom used the private bath in the room, and I went to the larger onsen that all the hotel guests could use. I was in the bath for about an hour, and it was so relaxing and peaceful. It was a cool, crisp night and the sky was beautiful.

The next morning, Monday, we woke up to a beautiful day. We went out on the balcony to enjoy the view of the hillside and get ready for the day. We both decided to take another bath to refresh ourselves and then we went down to breakfast. We were treated to another amazing meal.

breakfast -- breads, fish, vegetables, an omelet, baccon, salad, soup, all for one

getting ready to have a delicious breakfast

the coffee perked me up!

The onsen was an amazing experience. Mom had said it was the best birthday present she ever got. I'm glad she liked it.

I think this post has gone on long enough, so I guess I will make this part 1 and post about the rest of the trip later. But I promise it won't be another month before I post again!

Zokei Exhibition -- More than flowers

This past weekend, I took part in a Zokei exhibition. Zokei is a highly advanced form of ikebana, that when looked at one may think, "That's ikebana?"

Anything can be used as a material, anything, and you don't even have to use flowers. Each work is a piece of art, a sculpture. Form and shape are the main themes of zokei. The materials used in each piece should transcend their original form or meaning and be transformed into something new. It is a process of trial and error and trying to make your idea come to life.

This was my third time to take part in the event. It has been held for the past 19 years, and every year, I am amazed at some of the beautiful and new things I see.

This year, I wanted to create a large work that had not only impact and visual appeal, but also textural appeal. In ikebana, one always uses flowers and branches and leaves as the material -- things that grow above the ground. I wanted to show the beauty of what is beneath these things, the material that helps all of the beautiful things we see above the ground grow and bloom. I wanted to showcase "dirt". I love the smell of the ground after it has been freshly tilled, and the range of colors is also amazing -- from light brown to red to yellow to black. It's something that is ever present under our feet, but something that we rarely think about. I had given myself quite the challenge!

After a couple of weeks of working on the piece, I had something that I had never seen before and definitely had impact. It was about 2 meters tall and 80cm wide. I was proud of the piece but wasn't sure how it would be received. I was nervous but at the same time excited by what I had created.

Upon arriving at the exhibition, most of the pieces were already on display. And like the previous years, I was amazed at what I was seeing.



Small shells layered into an interesting shape




Small balloon shaped pods en mass



Dried corn husks and the silk from the corn

Dandelion flowers gone to seed

Over 20,000 pieces of felt rolled by hand

Rope that has been deconstructed and bleached

Dried lotus leaves arranged in a flowing line

Moss

I began to set my piece up, and several people stopped to look at it and ask questions. It seemed that people liked what they were seeing, and it was something new and different.

In the afternoon, the judging began. A top teacher from the Ohara School of Ikebana along with the 4th Headmaster's widow (up until this year, she had been acing as the Head of the school) went around to each work and looked at them carefully. This year, there were a total of 46 pieces, and they were all different and unique in their own way.

I was very surprised at the results of the judging. My piece got the top prize, the Riji-cho award! This award was chosen by the Headmaster's widow, so I was very honored. She said it was something different and new, and the copper wire was just the right touch to add a sense of delicacy to the large and heavy weight of the soil.

Soil and copper wire

Zokei. Another reason I like ikebana.