Yamanashi Prefecture: Day One.
Jul. 14th, 2008 02:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19At long last, I take up my pasokon to narrate the events of the class trip to Yamanashi-ken.
A couple of weeks ago, before the regular summer term began, the intrepid students of the KCP summer short term program set out (with a half-dozen teachers in tow) for the nearby prefecture of Yamanashi, known as Kai in the Sengoku period, the home of the famous warlord Takeda Shingen. (Those of you who are familiar with the Kurosawa Akira film, Kagemusha, or with the recent NHK taiga drama, Furinkazan, probably know all about Shingen.)
Our first stop on day one was the neighboring Odawara castle, the headquarters of the Hōjō family--one of Shingen’s rivals. The castle is well known for its having withstood attacks from both Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin (the warlord of Echigo). The Hōjō family held out until the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who destroyed the clan after they crossed him. The castle itself stood until the beginning of the Meiji era, when it was leveled (along with many other castles) in an effort to break the power of the warrior class. The remains were destroyed in the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, and the structure we visited is a replica built in 1960 from original blueprints.
The grounds surround the castle have been turned into a kind of free-for-all park that is open to visitors from the surrounding city of Odawara (and elsewhere, of course). Strangely, the park has a cage full of monkeys and an animal pen that contains an extremely elderly elephant. I couldn’t fathom why they had a single elephant in a pen on the grounds of Odawara castle, but had it they did. The poor thing seemed rather lonely and restrained. The pen itself was small and did not contain any kind of interesting rock formations or vegetation for the poor beast.
Inside the castle was a museum, mainly of architectural documents and fragments from the castle’s original structure and samurai armor and weapons. There was one absolutely delightful scroll painting, of One Hundred Horses. Though photography inside the castle was technically not permitted, I was very bad and took a quick (non-flash) snap of this adorable treasure. In another life I’ll study Asian paintings of horses.
Next on our itinerary was Owakudani, a volcanic area within the region of Hakone. Last year, the rest of the Hakone Four and I flew over Owakudani in a funicular during our class-end trip. This time, I arrived by bus and was able to take the short (though arduous) walk up to the boiling sulfur pools. The views were absolutely stunning, but the smell was what you’d expect. Owakudani is famous for their kuroi tamago (black eggs) that are hard boiled in the sulfur pools. Supposedly, the eating of a single egg will extend one’s life by seven years.
Of course, I hate eggs. (And I always have, as we all know.) To compromise, I bought a kuro-tamago-chan decoration for my cell phone--a little ceramic black egg with a smiling face and bow-shaped barrette painted on the surface. I doubt it will extend my life remarkably, but somehow just looking at the absurd little thing makes me ridiculously happy. And it was a lot less expensive than a bag of black eggs. (Not any easier for me to eat, though.)
We ate lunch at Owakudani, although those of us with sense got back on the bus so as not to breathe sulfur fumes while doing so. With that break completed, we headed toward the Fuji of the Pines area, and stopped over at Lake Kawaguchi, one of the many large lakes that lies at the base of Mount Fuji. It was very hazy, however, so our views of Mount Fuji were not that fabulous. Amusingly, however, we could see Fuji-san at every single intersection--as the signal lights were decorated with the image of Fuji in scrolling metal-work design.
The lake itself was supremely gorgeous, and we happened to be there during a flower exhibition. I walked up and down, taking photos of lavender, hydrangea, and plenty of other beauties that I could not identify--despite the fact that I worked in a flower shop for over two years.
We arrived at the hotel in the evening, and everyone was divided into rooms. There was time for a short stroll before dinner, and I enjoyed the quietude after such a long day of social participation. The hotel was nestled in the heart of a beautifully green mountain wilderness, and it had an onsen (hot springs bath).
Dinner was palatable, though not outstanding, but the chance to meet some of the other folks in the program and engage in intriguing (and oft-times hilarious) conversation was awesome. Perhaps the best conversation at the table revolved around an imaginary production of Top Gun: The Musical and the fact that a few of the folks participating in said discussion didn’t realize the production was imaginary.
After dinner I indulged in a long, lovely dip in the onsen. I emerged red as a lobster and then joined the teachers in the common room for a study session. Those of us in the higher level Japanese group found ourselves the unexpected recipients of homework that evening, so several hours were devoted to the review pages. The pressure is never off at KCP--not even during a sightseeing trip.
We finished our study and review around 10:30, and I--for one--went straight to bed. Day one took a lot out of me, and I knew that day two would only be more of the same. With breakfast at 7:30 and departure at 9, I needed all the sleep I could get.
A couple of weeks ago, before the regular summer term began, the intrepid students of the KCP summer short term program set out (with a half-dozen teachers in tow) for the nearby prefecture of Yamanashi, known as Kai in the Sengoku period, the home of the famous warlord Takeda Shingen. (Those of you who are familiar with the Kurosawa Akira film, Kagemusha, or with the recent NHK taiga drama, Furinkazan, probably know all about Shingen.)
Our first stop on day one was the neighboring Odawara castle, the headquarters of the Hōjō family--one of Shingen’s rivals. The castle is well known for its having withstood attacks from both Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin (the warlord of Echigo). The Hōjō family held out until the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who destroyed the clan after they crossed him. The castle itself stood until the beginning of the Meiji era, when it was leveled (along with many other castles) in an effort to break the power of the warrior class. The remains were destroyed in the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, and the structure we visited is a replica built in 1960 from original blueprints.
The grounds surround the castle have been turned into a kind of free-for-all park that is open to visitors from the surrounding city of Odawara (and elsewhere, of course). Strangely, the park has a cage full of monkeys and an animal pen that contains an extremely elderly elephant. I couldn’t fathom why they had a single elephant in a pen on the grounds of Odawara castle, but had it they did. The poor thing seemed rather lonely and restrained. The pen itself was small and did not contain any kind of interesting rock formations or vegetation for the poor beast.
Inside the castle was a museum, mainly of architectural documents and fragments from the castle’s original structure and samurai armor and weapons. There was one absolutely delightful scroll painting, of One Hundred Horses. Though photography inside the castle was technically not permitted, I was very bad and took a quick (non-flash) snap of this adorable treasure. In another life I’ll study Asian paintings of horses.
Next on our itinerary was Owakudani, a volcanic area within the region of Hakone. Last year, the rest of the Hakone Four and I flew over Owakudani in a funicular during our class-end trip. This time, I arrived by bus and was able to take the short (though arduous) walk up to the boiling sulfur pools. The views were absolutely stunning, but the smell was what you’d expect. Owakudani is famous for their kuroi tamago (black eggs) that are hard boiled in the sulfur pools. Supposedly, the eating of a single egg will extend one’s life by seven years.
Of course, I hate eggs. (And I always have, as we all know.) To compromise, I bought a kuro-tamago-chan decoration for my cell phone--a little ceramic black egg with a smiling face and bow-shaped barrette painted on the surface. I doubt it will extend my life remarkably, but somehow just looking at the absurd little thing makes me ridiculously happy. And it was a lot less expensive than a bag of black eggs. (Not any easier for me to eat, though.)
We ate lunch at Owakudani, although those of us with sense got back on the bus so as not to breathe sulfur fumes while doing so. With that break completed, we headed toward the Fuji of the Pines area, and stopped over at Lake Kawaguchi, one of the many large lakes that lies at the base of Mount Fuji. It was very hazy, however, so our views of Mount Fuji were not that fabulous. Amusingly, however, we could see Fuji-san at every single intersection--as the signal lights were decorated with the image of Fuji in scrolling metal-work design.
The lake itself was supremely gorgeous, and we happened to be there during a flower exhibition. I walked up and down, taking photos of lavender, hydrangea, and plenty of other beauties that I could not identify--despite the fact that I worked in a flower shop for over two years.
We arrived at the hotel in the evening, and everyone was divided into rooms. There was time for a short stroll before dinner, and I enjoyed the quietude after such a long day of social participation. The hotel was nestled in the heart of a beautifully green mountain wilderness, and it had an onsen (hot springs bath).
Dinner was palatable, though not outstanding, but the chance to meet some of the other folks in the program and engage in intriguing (and oft-times hilarious) conversation was awesome. Perhaps the best conversation at the table revolved around an imaginary production of Top Gun: The Musical and the fact that a few of the folks participating in said discussion didn’t realize the production was imaginary.
After dinner I indulged in a long, lovely dip in the onsen. I emerged red as a lobster and then joined the teachers in the common room for a study session. Those of us in the higher level Japanese group found ourselves the unexpected recipients of homework that evening, so several hours were devoted to the review pages. The pressure is never off at KCP--not even during a sightseeing trip.
We finished our study and review around 10:30, and I--for one--went straight to bed. Day one took a lot out of me, and I knew that day two would only be more of the same. With breakfast at 7:30 and departure at 9, I needed all the sleep I could get.
