Trips

Fri., 10/21 - Hakone, via Ashigara Village

This morning we had to prepare our big suitcases to be shipped to Kanazawa and a small bag to take with us for two nights in Hakone. (There are two reasons for this inconvenient procedure: first, the bullet trains can’t accommodate large suitcases; and second it is probably to get us to travel more like the Japanese do - especially when they go for short stays to the hot springs resorts. Everything they need is at the hotel - slippers, toiletries, kimonos or pajama-like outfits, and washing machines to wash what they wore to the hotel. So they don't really need a large suitcase. This is not very convenient for those of us traveling for more than 40 days at a time.)

After breakfast, we began our bus ride to Ashigara Village for our "Day in the Life" experience in a small, rural village. Because of a traffic accident on the highway, it took 3 1/2 hours to get there, instead of the usual two hours “max.” our bus just crept along with all the rest of the traffic. No one honked horns or changed lanes or drove on the shoulder. So unlike the US!

The red triangle on glass windows and doors in buildings is to indicate that glass is of a special "breakout" type that will give easy access to rescue units, should they need to get in. It is actually a great idea!	Windows marked for rescues
Christian church	Another one of those busy signs
Mt. Fuji through the windshield	Since we arrived late at the village, we had only a brief tour of the outside of the Seto community house - a property that had been donated to the community by the Setos, a Samurai family who had helped lead and protect the village for over 300 years. There is a water wheel that was used to pound the bran off of the rice and to grind rice into rice powder and a 50-foot deep well used for drinking water. We took off our shoes properly and toured the 300-year-old house. The house has a deep thatched roof made from bundled rice stems. Roofs are replaced every 10 years and the whole community helps. There is a zen garden of pebbles in the ocean waves pattern out front. Every room has an alcove with a flower arrangements or a wall hanging. Our tour included seeing the sheds where old machinery and tools were kept as well as children's games and toys.
Shocks of rice	Seto's house
Seto's house	Zen garden
Mill wheel	Rice stalks
Water wheel for grinding	Pumping water from the well
Lily pond	Lily pads
Sprinkler rainbow over the pond	Flower arrangement
Flower arrangement	Rafter decorations
Game	Game
Tool	Playground
Tool	??? - looks like a decoration
After the tour, the group gathered in the large room that had once been used to store rice. The village ladies prepared sticky rice to which we added some carrots, mushrooms, and sesame seeds. This was then mixed in a bowl, patted it into rice balls, and stuffed into tofu pockets. These were then cooked by the local ladies.
Ladies preparing the sticky rice and the rest of the lunch	Tables ready for our cooking lesson
Mixing up the ingredients	Mixing up the ingredients
Making the rice balls	Stuffing the rice balls into tofu pockets
Rice boats all cooked and ready to eat	Appetizers
Serving the soup	Luncheon
After lunch, we were taken along some of the village lanes to see various gardens and orchards and to look at rice fields, especially one growing special rice for sake. Our walk ended at a soft ice cream store and we each had a cone.	Rice
Persimmon tree and fruit	Oranges
Spider and moth-1	Spider and moth-2
A treat	Yummy!
Back on the bus, we rode for an hour over a narrow winding mountain road to Hakone and our Hotel ReCove and hot spring. We dressed in our Kimonos and vests for dinner and ate a nice Japanese meal in the hotel. After dinner, Howie then entertained us performing in costume with a bamboo sun shade (Nankin Tamasudare), challenging us with a ball and cup toy (Ken-dama), and then made an origami folding of Mt. Fuji. It was a fun event.
The latest in fashion	Howie demonstrating the Nanjing Sunshade dance
Nanjing Sunshade dance	Nanjing Sunshade dance
Nanjing Sunshade dance	Ken-dama ball - Pretty fancy
Ken-dama ball - Start	Ken-dama ball - Finish
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