Aomori, Japan

Monday, 28 March – The capital of the Amori Prefecture in northern Japan, Aomori is famous for its apple orchards (home of the Fuji apple) and the Nebuta Festival, an elaborate yearly event in which participants illuminate giant paper representations of samurai warriors, animals and popular cartoon characters and parade them through the streets.

Snow was still on the ground in places as we made our way to the Tsugaru Kanayama Kiln. It is the end of winter but we have had great weather in Japan; today the temperature was about 8-11degC. We were warm enough in just t-shirts and jackets, but of course, the coach and all the shops are heated. It was a nice trip, through forests of beech, cedar and red pine.

Incidentally, we found out why so many people wear masks in Japan. I thought it was to avoid germs or pollution – but no – it is because many people apparently suffer from hay fever caused by pollen from the red cedar trees.

Arriving at the kiln, we discovered that Aomori is also well known for unglazed copper-coloured pottery and we had an interesting tour and spoke to some apprentices as well as the owner. Although this pottery was founded in 1985 it draws its inspiration from unglazed pottery made around 250 to 538AD. I liked that they source the clay from the local reservoir and fire the kiln with local Japanese red pine wood. We bought a small vase as a memento and enjoyed some of the local apple juice.

Aomori (2)

Our next stop was to Tachineputa no Yakata – “The Hall of the Standing Neputa” we took the elevator to view the 3 floats on display. They stand as tall as a 6-storey building and weigh 19 tonnes. We also visited the workshop and our tour guide interpreted for the owner to explain how the floats are made.

Float construction

From what I remember, they start with just a drawing – not plans – and fix a metal pole into a base. 32 modules are formed using timber framing and wires which are tied together and then screwed in around the pole. Paper is pasted over the wires and waterproof paints are applied. All this work is done by volunteers. They are absolutely amazing to see and the painting is a work of art from all angles. They are lit internally powered by generators and when the huge doors open for the parade, 6 men pull them along with ropes. They are quite a sight to see.

Floats Floats (5) Floats (4) Floats (3) Floats (2)

Kanazawa, Japan

What a lovely town, set in between two rivers. Saturday, 26 March and we were off again on another adventure! This time to Kenrokuen Gardens, and the Samurai and Geisha districts.

Such a pretty drive with snow on the majestic Japan Alps. We passed through small villages consisting of several houses close together surrounded by some land. There were a lot of townhouses as well.

We started our excursion by walking through some winding streets with beautifully restored residences known as Nagamachi Samurai House Row. After removing our shoes, we walked through The Terashima Samurai House, circa 1770, for a closer look at how a middle class warrior lived. Every sliding thick-paper door had a picture of a landscape drawn on it. The gardens were very skilfully laid out, with a waterfall, streams, a bridge and various kinds of garden lanterns arranged here and there.

Kanazawa (2)

The Higashichaya Machi district was the next stop, established in 1820, it is the home of the geisha. Kanazawa is one of the few cities were traditional geisha still exist. We did see the building where the girls train for 5 years from the age of 15 years, but it is very difficult to actually see them. There seemed to be only one teahouse that offered performances to visitors – at a price!

We did see lots of girls in kimonos, however, and even a couple who were having their wedding photos taken. They were very surprised to be suddenly surrounded by about 20 people with cameras, but they graciously posed for us.

Our final stop was to the lovely Kenrokuen Gardens, of the celebrated “Great Gardens of Japan”. This 25-acre landscaped garden was opened to the public over 135 years ago and we spent an enjoyable time wandering the paths to see Japan’s oldest fountain, a teahouse dating back to 1774, winding streams and a pagoda donated by a warlord as well as all the beautiful trees.

Kanazawa (10) Kanazawa (12) Kanazawa (11) Kanazawa (13)

Modern as well as traditional, we though Kanazawa has a lot to offer, and we enjoyed our day – especially the cherry blossom ice cream!

Maizuru, Japan

Konnichi wa! We were all off to an early start with our passports and forms in hand, to meet with customs officials to be fingerprinted before heading off on our excursion to Kyoto this morning, Friday 25 March.

Maizuru Photo1

Just a short ride through town and we joined the highway, one lane each way, for the trip to Kyoto. No more “concrete jungles”, just sparse housing and rice paddy fields. As we made our way up the mountain, we passed through 15-20 tunnels of varying lengths – I lost count!

We took many photos today, not only of the places we visited but of the food as the packaging is a work of art in itself. We had no idea what the products were, but they looked amazing. Also the vending machines were interesting – I don’t think there is much that you cannot buy in a machine.

We explored the Ryoanji Temple with its famous Zen rock garden featuring 15 rocks set in meticulously raked white gravel and the beautiful Golden Pavilion considered a premier example of the Muromachi Era (1337-1573) design. The pond is the centre of this garden and you could spend a lot of time here, just admiring the beauty of it all. We thought we saw some cherry blossoms in bloom but they turned out to be flowering plums. Still beautiful.

Next was an authentic Japanese lunch at the Harvest Club, a hotel and restaurant. The food was beautifully presented, not only delicious to eat but also pleasing to the eye. We had no idea what most of it was but we ate everything and we were full for the rest of the day.

Our final stop was for shopping in the town and to see the bamboo forest. Many interesting little shops to explore and a very enjoyable introduction to Japan.