Yamanashi Prefecture: Day Two.
Jul. 14th, 2008 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19Breakfast was, as dinner had been, a mixed bag. It was filling but otherwise unremarkable. We lit out of the hotel almost immediately after breakfast, and I had barely enough time to pack up and take a few pictures (including one of a restaurant signpost that announced “With Dog” on the door… still not sure about what that one might mean).
Our first stop was the adorable and quaint Iyashi no Sato Nenba, a reconstructed turn-of-the-century thatched-roof village on the shores of Lake Sai, another of the great lakes surrounding Mount Fuji. The village itself is very cute, with a tranquil and authentic atmosphere. Each of the thatched-roof buildings is devoted to a different craft, among them pottery, paper making, and silk and cloth, or to a museum or historical center.
In one “house,” as they’re referred to in the catalogue, I found a wonderful collection of little paintings, done by locals, which were some of the most delightful examples of art brut I’ve ever seen. I took photo upon photo of them, and would have taken a shot of everything had time not been so limited. As it was, I spent a third of the allotted time in that little building, taking snap after snap.
In the house of paper crafts, I browsed through a number of absolutely art-worthy sheaves of handmade paper and postcards. One small postcard I discovered had a little girl in traditional Japanese dress standing in front of a hydrangea bush with Mount Fuji in the distance. It was absolutely gorgeous, each fragment of the collective picture cut from handmade paper and arranged to perfection in creation of the image. I took it to the saleswoman and inquired about the price, as it wasn’t package or marked. I felt that if it were not too extravagant that I would buy it. However, the saleswoman looked it over and handed it back to me, explaining that it was a gift. I demurred immediately, trying to explain that it was far too fine a thing to give away, but she insisted--pressing it into my hands again, saying, “Take it.” So I did, but the unexpected kindness made me feel that I might cry a little.
Our next stop, Takeda Jinja, the shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Takeda Shingen, was quite a distance away from Iyashi no Sato Nenba. To combat the boredom, the teachers had arranged a quiz for us about the life of Takeda Shingen. Ten questions in all, each one about Takeda Shingen or the monuments that extol his virtues. I’m happy to report that my team won the quiz, with a final score of nine correct answers. Our prize was Kabuki Senbei, a particularly delicious type of senbei rice crackers.
At Takeda Jinja, we were lucky enough to see a Noh practice taking place. The master and his student were training together, going over the steps to a dance. At one point, the master stood up and danced the steps while his student followed along in nearly perfect synchronicity. So far, I have not seen Noh performed live--much to my dismay--so this brief glimpse was a welcome addition to the sights.
We lunched in Koufu City, and I had the opportunity to try a regional Yamanashi dish called Houtou. Houtou is an udon (noodle) dish that is distinctive for its yam-based broth. It’s chock-full of a variety of seasonal vegetables (our bowls all had yam, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, and other goodies) and good thick udon noodles. It was really, really, really yummy. Some folks on the trip opted for more standard fare like sushi or curry rice, and a few really cautious folks elected to eat Italian (seriously, who does that?), but I’m so glad I went for the regional dish.
After lunch we jaunted over to Erinji, the family temple of the Takeda clan, and the location of Takeda Shingen’s grave. According to the stories, after Shingen’s death his clan was defeated by Oda Nobunaga and a number of the Takeda warriors fled to Erinji for sanctuary. Nobunaga pursued them there and demanded they be turned over to him. The head priest of the temple, Kaisen, refused the order and in retaliation Nobunaga locked him and the other temple priests in the front gate and burned the temple down. Supposedly, as he and his fellows burned, Kaisen wrote the phrase “Suppress one’s self and even fire is cool” in the ashes. I would have screamed my damn head off.
The temple itself was much like any other temple, with pagoda and honden and gardens. The garden at Erinji was especially fine, however, and one of the buildings had an intriguing architectural feature--a nightingale corridor designed to creak whenever it is walked on and therefore prevent trespassing. The real treat at Erinji, for me, was the kyouhou ice cream, made from a particular type of grape common to Yamanashi-ken. (I really am eating my way across Japan, ne?) It was tremendously good; up there on the list of best ice creams ever, although it doesn’t quite trump the cassis ice cream in Paris.
Continuing the grape theme, our final stop was the winery Chateau Katsunuma. A good portion of Koufu City and its suburbs was swathed in vineyards, but I’d never quite seen vineyards like this. Instead of rows of grape vines, most of these were single vines whose grape growths were stretched over netting, forming a canopy of grapes and greenery. Very peculiar.
I wish I could say I enjoyed the wine at Chateau Katsunuma, and that I bought bottles upon bottles as souvenirs for friends, but I can’t say that. The stuff was swill. Seriously. The kind of stuff I wouldn’t serve to an enemy. Reminiscent of a house red I once had at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Really. I’m too much of a wine snob to settle for the well-intentioned attempts of Japanese vintners, I suppose.
After we finished at the Chateau, everyone piled back onto the bus for the trip home. The ride back took less time than expected. (As did all of our travel, I might add. I suspect that our program coordinators seriously over-estimated. Either that or our driver was a speed demon. Or both.)
I was back in the dorm by 6:30, and I presented my dorm managers with a little house-protection charm from Takeda Jinja. They were extremely touched by the gesture, which made me very happy. My dorm mother even thanked me the following day, saying she’d been so touched that she cried a little. The Nakamuras have made me feel so welcome here, though, that I wanted to express a little of my thanks to them. I’m glad that they were warmed by my small effort.
Classes carried on as usual in the aftermath of the trip, so I naturally made it an early evening so that I could head out in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever.
And so it went.
PS: Happy Bastille Day!
Our first stop was the adorable and quaint Iyashi no Sato Nenba, a reconstructed turn-of-the-century thatched-roof village on the shores of Lake Sai, another of the great lakes surrounding Mount Fuji. The village itself is very cute, with a tranquil and authentic atmosphere. Each of the thatched-roof buildings is devoted to a different craft, among them pottery, paper making, and silk and cloth, or to a museum or historical center.
In one “house,” as they’re referred to in the catalogue, I found a wonderful collection of little paintings, done by locals, which were some of the most delightful examples of art brut I’ve ever seen. I took photo upon photo of them, and would have taken a shot of everything had time not been so limited. As it was, I spent a third of the allotted time in that little building, taking snap after snap.
In the house of paper crafts, I browsed through a number of absolutely art-worthy sheaves of handmade paper and postcards. One small postcard I discovered had a little girl in traditional Japanese dress standing in front of a hydrangea bush with Mount Fuji in the distance. It was absolutely gorgeous, each fragment of the collective picture cut from handmade paper and arranged to perfection in creation of the image. I took it to the saleswoman and inquired about the price, as it wasn’t package or marked. I felt that if it were not too extravagant that I would buy it. However, the saleswoman looked it over and handed it back to me, explaining that it was a gift. I demurred immediately, trying to explain that it was far too fine a thing to give away, but she insisted--pressing it into my hands again, saying, “Take it.” So I did, but the unexpected kindness made me feel that I might cry a little.
Our next stop, Takeda Jinja, the shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Takeda Shingen, was quite a distance away from Iyashi no Sato Nenba. To combat the boredom, the teachers had arranged a quiz for us about the life of Takeda Shingen. Ten questions in all, each one about Takeda Shingen or the monuments that extol his virtues. I’m happy to report that my team won the quiz, with a final score of nine correct answers. Our prize was Kabuki Senbei, a particularly delicious type of senbei rice crackers.
At Takeda Jinja, we were lucky enough to see a Noh practice taking place. The master and his student were training together, going over the steps to a dance. At one point, the master stood up and danced the steps while his student followed along in nearly perfect synchronicity. So far, I have not seen Noh performed live--much to my dismay--so this brief glimpse was a welcome addition to the sights.
We lunched in Koufu City, and I had the opportunity to try a regional Yamanashi dish called Houtou. Houtou is an udon (noodle) dish that is distinctive for its yam-based broth. It’s chock-full of a variety of seasonal vegetables (our bowls all had yam, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, and other goodies) and good thick udon noodles. It was really, really, really yummy. Some folks on the trip opted for more standard fare like sushi or curry rice, and a few really cautious folks elected to eat Italian (seriously, who does that?), but I’m so glad I went for the regional dish.
After lunch we jaunted over to Erinji, the family temple of the Takeda clan, and the location of Takeda Shingen’s grave. According to the stories, after Shingen’s death his clan was defeated by Oda Nobunaga and a number of the Takeda warriors fled to Erinji for sanctuary. Nobunaga pursued them there and demanded they be turned over to him. The head priest of the temple, Kaisen, refused the order and in retaliation Nobunaga locked him and the other temple priests in the front gate and burned the temple down. Supposedly, as he and his fellows burned, Kaisen wrote the phrase “Suppress one’s self and even fire is cool” in the ashes. I would have screamed my damn head off.
The temple itself was much like any other temple, with pagoda and honden and gardens. The garden at Erinji was especially fine, however, and one of the buildings had an intriguing architectural feature--a nightingale corridor designed to creak whenever it is walked on and therefore prevent trespassing. The real treat at Erinji, for me, was the kyouhou ice cream, made from a particular type of grape common to Yamanashi-ken. (I really am eating my way across Japan, ne?) It was tremendously good; up there on the list of best ice creams ever, although it doesn’t quite trump the cassis ice cream in Paris.
Continuing the grape theme, our final stop was the winery Chateau Katsunuma. A good portion of Koufu City and its suburbs was swathed in vineyards, but I’d never quite seen vineyards like this. Instead of rows of grape vines, most of these were single vines whose grape growths were stretched over netting, forming a canopy of grapes and greenery. Very peculiar.
I wish I could say I enjoyed the wine at Chateau Katsunuma, and that I bought bottles upon bottles as souvenirs for friends, but I can’t say that. The stuff was swill. Seriously. The kind of stuff I wouldn’t serve to an enemy. Reminiscent of a house red I once had at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Really. I’m too much of a wine snob to settle for the well-intentioned attempts of Japanese vintners, I suppose.
After we finished at the Chateau, everyone piled back onto the bus for the trip home. The ride back took less time than expected. (As did all of our travel, I might add. I suspect that our program coordinators seriously over-estimated. Either that or our driver was a speed demon. Or both.)
I was back in the dorm by 6:30, and I presented my dorm managers with a little house-protection charm from Takeda Jinja. They were extremely touched by the gesture, which made me very happy. My dorm mother even thanked me the following day, saying she’d been so touched that she cried a little. The Nakamuras have made me feel so welcome here, though, that I wanted to express a little of my thanks to them. I’m glad that they were warmed by my small effort.
Classes carried on as usual in the aftermath of the trip, so I naturally made it an early evening so that I could head out in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever.
And so it went.
PS: Happy Bastille Day!
