A Day at the Theatre, A Snake in a Bottle and the Chalet....

Sunday October 9

Kita-Hiroshima: 24 and sunny

Ahhhhh…..the day we depart HIC and head off to our homestay. How the hell did I get stuck with Mel???

First we headed off to see kagura, a type of theatrical performance that is quite similar to noh. Basically it is tied to the agricultural calendar and performers tell their stories on stage with cool costumes and singing….

Obviously it is quite a serious art form and I went in to the performance with the appropriate serious attitude….

Prior to the performance, it was an opportunity to eat some real food that did not come in the form of curry. Hand up who is over the food at HIC??? So I pigged out. Why not, it’s on Uncle Ted’s dime after all….

Before we walked into the restaurant, I contemplated the delicious looking meat dish….that tuned out to be kujira….what you would know as whale meat!!

Then it was a wander off to the stage to watch the performance. I had a vague idea what was going on, but was happy just to drift off and create my own story. The taiko drummers and the singing were fantastic and so were the costumes!!!

A short drive away and we were nervously awaiting our host families to arrive. Thankfully, the lovely looking lady with the great smile turned out to be our host mother, Yoko Taniide. After some gloriously crap introductions (how long have I been speaking Japanese??? How can all the language I have disappear out of my head??? Oh yeah, nerves and the pressure to speak ‘polite’ Japanese….), we headed off to our digs for the nite. That’s right people: to our Chalet!!! Here is Mel outside our Chalet:

After a little bit of awkwardness, we went for a walk. The area is a ski area and becomes quite busy in winter. However, over the last few years, the number of customers coming to the area has decreased. It’s a beautiful place and Yoko and her family rent out their land to grow feed for cows. Yoko said that it was far too labour intensive for her family to try and grow rice.

Cute little local shrine:

Cute Mel and Kristy:

We then ran into Robyn, Diana and their host family. And a strange man who went up the mountain to find us a snake. And put the snake in a bottle of water. And told us a story about how we could make great alcohol from the snake if we first left it in the water to clean it up and then add shochu (distilled rice wine….a bit different to sake). And then you can drink it. Never mind the poisonous snake….This drink has a real bite (geddit???)!!!

We continued on our walk….saw some cows…..

…..And some more nice scenery…..

Sue had introduced us early on in the trip to the “Shrine Book” (as it became to be known). Basically at any shrine that you visit, you can get one of the monks to ‘sign’ the book and put the shrine’s stamp in it. It then can be displayed in a fan type fashion. Seven and a half years in Japan and I’ve never heard of it!! What a shame, as I would have been able to fill one three or four times over. Mel bought one on the trip and when she found there was a temple in the area, she wondered if she could get it signed.

So off to the temple we went…..(the Shrine Book could be signed by monks from temples)…..

Being a small town where everyone knows each other, the head monk at the local temple was happy to show us around. We were fortunate to be able to take photos of the fusuma or sliding doors that decorate the inside of the temple. They depict the four seasons.

Inside the temple there were some beautiful prints with inspirational quotes. I particularly liked this one that says (and I’m paraphrasing the Japanese): “I am happy that I am alive. I am also alive today.”

We made arrangements to come back in the morning for Mel to have her Shrine Book signed by the very lovely monk.

Yoko’s husband Kazuo came and picked us up from the temple and we returned to the chalet. Mel and I then sat about shooting the shit in our rooms until we went downstairs for dinner. We each had separate rooms. Thank god, as Mel is apparently a snorer!!

Before futon....

After futon....

Dinner was one of the best we have had this trip: miso soup, sukiyaki, sushi, rice, pickles and all washed down very nicely with a beer or three!!

And this is without the sukiyaki and other goodies!!!

It was really nice to sit and have a chat with Yoko and Kazuo. He is a quiet man who works for a construction company and works on both roads and on buildings. Yoko is the one who runs the chalet and maintains the house. They can have up to 10 guests at a time and she doesn’t have a dishwasher. We tried to convince Kazuo that would be a suitable present for his wife!! Yoko was hilarious! We talked about the winter season and the number of people that come to ski. She hates the cold and she hates skiing. She told us that she couldn’t understand why people come to such a cold place. When asked why she chose to marry Kazuo and live here she replied that they were married in October and by the time winter came, it was all too late.

I really enjoyed Yoko’s company. She is one of the few Japanese people I’ve met who finds the idea of public bathing and onsets (hot springs) disgusting. The idea of bathing in water that others have been in was, in her words, kimochii warui. Basically the most disgusting thing she could think of. I like this lady!!!

Now conversation wasn’t strained, but it is hard to talk to people for an extended period of time in another language when you know you are more than likely never to see them again. And even harder for Mel…..I felt like a bit of a git translating stuff but I didn’t want to exclude her from the conversation. Overall, we both managed quite well.

After dinner, we headed off to bed. It has been just so bloody busy that it was nice to go to bed at about 9.30. And to watch Die Hard dubbed in Japanese. “Yippy kai yay motherfucker” really doesn’t translate that well!!