British invasion - Part 3

So after lunch and tea ceremony, Tomoko took us round to her friend's ceramic workshop, which was pretty much a shed made of corrugated iron by the side of the road. However, she had a massive kiln in there and several wheels, obviously a secret hive of activity. Even though she didn't speak English, and mum can't speak Japanese, they managed to have a chat about firings - it's amazing how shared skills and passions can transcend language.
From there Tomoko took us to a small gallery that was in a traditional farmer's house, and from there she took us to the sea, as we weren't far from it by that point.
Mum and I have now to been to the Pacific from two sides of the world...


It was pretty blustery there that day so the kite-surfers were taking advantage...


On Sunday, mum, Jack and I took a trip to the countryside to meet up with one of my school managers and her husband Chris, who is a British ex-pat and a ceramicist no less. We had to get a crazy little train there, consisting of only to carriages, which chugged heavily through rice-paddies and small rural towns. The stations were like tiny garden sheds, and very sweet, most of them had excellent selections of flowers growing around them and hanging baskets.

Jack particularly liked this station as it had an amateurly painted Totoro ( a well-known character from Ghilbli films)...
It was a great day out, Noko and Chris were excellent hosts and took us for lunch at a great soba restaurant. In the afternoon we had our first experience of an onsen (hot springs). The one we went to had radium, which slightly alarmed us as we thought it sounded a bit radioactive! It was lovely though, very relaxing and you felt extremely calm afterwards.
Jack was particularly pleased to see some wild monkeys in the Clark's garden, they were tormenting the dog and generally being cheeky monkeys.


Enjoying the sakura in the park...


Kyoto trip:
Mum and I had to get up at insane o'clock to get to Tokyo station for the 6:30am Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to Kyoto. It wasn't so bad being up early, mainly because we were going on an adventure. The train to Tokyo was surprisingly busy for 5 o'clock in the morning, but the thing that put a dampener on it was a couple of girls who were clearly getting the train after having been out all night drinking, and throwing up between stations!

That was easily forgotten when we got to the station though and went through to the Shinkansen terminal.




The two-seaters had handles on the side which meant you could flip the around to face the other way and make a cosy four.


The new Kyoto station



Kyoto tower


The Shoji Hamada exhibition at the Asahi Beer Art Gallery Villa in Oyamazaki, a lovely little area 15 minutes outside of Kyoto

There was a beautiful Japanese garden there



Mum and I tucking into our 'Happy Cups' - seven scoops of Haagan-Daz (including flavours such as green tea latte), all for 500yen

The cherry-tree lined rivers



This street is famous for geisha and apprentice geisha, who still operate at the private tea houses in this area - we did see a couple dashing between appointments



One of the interesting dishes we had at dinner - aubergine filled with sweet miso.

We found it quite difficult to find a restaurant that would serve tourists that wasn't some horrendous tourist spot, but eventually we found a nice little place that was by a little river and perfect for people-watching

More Kyoto sights...
Sakura



Silver Temple - this building was being restored


It's the silver sand that gives the temple it's name


Views from the temple's grounds


Dinner at an izakaya

The centre of Kyoto was incredibly busy with tourists with it being sakura season, so we decided to get away from the crowds and hop on a local bus to Ohara, an hour's drive north of the city. It was a beautiful haven.


Mum drawing in her journal





On Sunday, we had a trip booked to Mount Fuji which included a boat ride across a lake in the foothills and a ride in a cable car. However, our train was held up by an 'accident', and we missed our coach. I was very disappointed.

Instead, we went to Harajuku and saw the rockabilly dancers in the park and then went on to Hamamatsucho for a baot ride across the river to see the sun set


It was a fantastic trip and I hope mum enjoyed her visit as much as I did!

British invasion - Part 2

On the 2nd of April mum arrived! She was with us for 12 days, and I'm sure that it was a 12 days unlike any other. Her flight arrived at Narita airport in the morning, and she seemed fresh-faced and extremely with it for someone who had just endured over 16 hours of flying. In an attempt not to let the jet lag get the better of her, once we dropped off her luggage (one modestly light suitcase) we whisked her down to Chiba for a ramen lunch and a wander to Chiba castle. As it was sakura (cherry blossom season), the castle grounds had flags and food stalls set up, it looked great. We had some tea at the tea house there, but when I ordered what I thought should be green tea, I actually ordered 'matcha' (powdered green tea) which comes frothy in a bowl and with a set of fruit salad and some mochi (sweet, gooey rice balls) covered in sweet beans. Mum made an excellent attempt at all of the things, I was impressed, I cannot express how strange those things are to a western palette, I've certainly never come across any of the flavours or textures, and probably never will again outside of Japan.

After that baptism of fire, we headed out to our local okonomiyaki place for some more strange-looking but tasty food. It involves a hotplate at your table where you mix together your ingredients and cook them to your preference.

This is how it arrives...



The cooking process...


After a good amount of sleep, mum and I headed to Motoyawata to have lunch with one of my favourite groups of students - my Wednesday afternoon class. They are all into their 60s and over and are incredibly friendly, kind and funny! We went to a place called Tofu-un, which means 'Windy Cottage'. This was our starter - the bowl on the left was sashimi (raw tuna and squid), the next bowl was a green salad with a delicious dressing, and the nearest bowl was a ball of creamy tofu which you sprinkled some powdered green tea and salt over. Again, mum ate with gusto (and bravery - it was her first time to try raw fish, and with an audience!).
After this, the main course was served in individual rice pots which contained scorched rice and cooked sea-bream with was incredibly tasty, and some pickled vegetables and miso soup on the side.
Here's the gang (l-r omitting mum and I); Etsuko, Yoko, Keiko, Norie, Hisako and Kenichi. At the end of the meal, everyone wrote in mum's journal and also gave her some gifts (a Japanese printed cloth and some Japanese paper placemats).


We spent the afternoon at the Mingekan - the Japanese folk crafts museum, a few stops away from Shibuya. Again - it was mum's first time to visit the centre of town or travel on the trains, which are always hectic and busy. The area where the museum was was quiet and peaceful, so that made a nice change to the assault of noise and advertisements that is Tokyo.

Saturday, and there was no let up. We got up and headed to Tomoko's house for lunch (she is the student that I have cooking lessons with, again, a lovely and generous woman). We arrived at 11am and by 11:30am we were sat down with a glass of white wine and a starter that involved raw baby squid. Not even I had had that before, and I am sure mum was screaming inside as much as I was, but we dived in, and it was actually ok. Tomoko had also made what I can only describe as a Japanese hummus as it had a similar texture and was blended with sesame paste, but uses tofu instead of chickpeas. It was enlightening to me as you cannot get hummus here for love nor money, so I am definitely going to learn how to make this and have it as the Japanese alternative. Also on the menu, was an absolutely delicious spring dish of chunks of raw bonito (a popular fish here, especially in spring) with shredded salad leaves and lemon peel, with a lemon-type dressing. It was so fresh and delicate, absolutely perfect, we both could have eaten more if there wasn't more food to come. Other dishes included beef and burdock, thick seaweed soup, bamboo rice and a pudding of black sesame mouse (made with out dairy, but soya instead, and bizarrely moorish).




After luch, Tomoko talked us through tea ceremony and what we had to do (various movements and turning of bowls etc). We were both nervous as we didn't want to make any mistakes or inadvertantly do anything that would offend Tomoko. However, it was fine and a special experience - almost meditative.

All aspects are considered in tea ceremony, including the crockery you choose and the decorations in the room.

Part three to follow soon...