On our first full day in Japan we joined the International Ladies Club (ILC) women from Japan and the USA on a trip out. We were guests of our host.
First I want to tell you that I woke to the most amazing bird song. I was so disappointed that my Merlin app does not work well here, anyway Tatjana was on it and it was the song of the Japanese Bush Warbler. Look it up on YouTube!
Moving on the ILC is open to the women of the area and the US Fleet who are stationed there. We were made very welcome, although we were most definitely under dressed for the outing. We soon got chatting to our hosts.
We were taken by coach to various places. We played bingo on the bus and other games!
First stop the Karatsu Hikiyama Exhibition Hall, that showcased the extraordinary floats that during a special historic festival are hauled by people around the town. A short film showed the crowds and the emotions of the people taking part, it looks quite an event and we would like to be back here to see it! This festival and the floats date back into the 1700’s. Apparently although the tradition of returning to your family for the New Year is dying out, nearly all the youths return for this festival. It’s just as well because the floats are really heavy!
Also we were shown around the former Takatori Residence. The group was divided into Japanese speakers and English speakers (Tatjana flitted between the two as she is fluent in both) and then we were guided around the various rooms. The house was built in the early 1900’s and was state of art at that time. It was very different to European houses of the same Era, being spacious and open. The paintings on the sliding doors were very beautiful, especially the Willow with the Fireflies. The house even had a stage for Noh plays (a traditional play). It also had a lovely garden.
A packed lunch was provided with a salmon and cream cheese bagel and bagel chips which we ate in the Karatsu Castle grounds in the shade of a tree and overlooking a bay. Since we were on a tight schedule it was not possible to visit the Castle.
We were all given a gift of special Karatsu sweets by one of the ladies who is from the town.
After the outing Masumi took us to a vantage point look at the ’99 Islands’ and pointed out to us where she grew up, although that island was obscured. The name is a bit misleading as there are over 200 islands in that group, most uninhabited.
Then we had a bit of a treat, one of the ladies from the ILC had invited us for a Japanese Tea Ceremony.
The Ceremony is a ritualised and stylised way of making Matcha (green tea). It is an art form in which everyone plays a part including the guests. The teishu (host) can spend years learning and perfecting the art and our teishu regularly attends classes.
Usually everyone is sat on the tatami (rush mats typical in Japanese homes) but, on this occasion both host and guests were sat more comfortably on seats. I’m not sure I could sit kneeling for as long as the ceremony took. Our parts in the ceremony were explained. There is something quite beautiful and deliberate about the process. From the choice of flowers in the vase of the room, seasonal sweets to be eaten and the decor on the porcelain (matching the season) to the shape of the measured dry Matcha (the shape of the cone of mount Fuji).
After a busy day we visited an Onsen , a volcanically heated public bath! That in itself is also something of a ritual as you wash and clean yourself thoroughly, probably more than you would normally before getting into the heated pool.
Many people also have a deep bath in their homes which can be kept hot and it is treated like an Onsen. You wash thoroughly as before however the bath is taken one at a time and the water is kept hot and is shared with the next person. We’ve done this a few times now it’s very warming and relaxing!
The evening meal was also special when we both had a go at making little dumplings, the folding was a bit tricky. When cooked and removed from the pan had a sort of glazed icy look. They were delicious!
On the last day with Masumi and Tsuyoshi. I was up early enough to join the daily Radio Taiso exercises. This is a National phenomenon that has been running for nearly 100 years. Young and old can do them and they are used as a warm up in schools. Masumi’s mum joined in too!
Then they completed their Buddhist and Shinto prayers at their very lovely home shrines. No chanting or bells here, just a couple of claps and lit candles.
After this we wandered around the neighbours and our hosts gardens and helped lift a few of the onions for drying. The gardens are very much further ahead than ours although they also have a temperate climate.
Then before we caught our next train we went to a local restaurant to try the regional dish Champong, a very wholesome soup dish!
Next an explosive moment!
The Travelling Bee 