Seriously, more fish?

Here is a quick shot of me trying crispy fish at a traditional Japanese dinner party. With this delicacy, one eats the whole fish, head to tail. Actually, it tasted pretty yummy-crispy and fishy. Imagine that!

We spent the evening at a ryokan, a Japanese hot spring inn. Because the whole point of this activity is to relax, guests are expected to wear their traditional robe and jacket for the entire spa experience.

Wow!

I just retured from a weekend with a volunteer host family. My family spoke little English, so we mostly spoke through smiles, gestures, and music. During the last 48 hours I have:
1. experienced a tea ceremony(see photo with tea instructor laughing at my attempts to follow the ettiquette)
2. been dressed up in a gorgeous kimono by a professional
3. been serenaded by a 12 piece string orchestra (my host "pop" is the conductor)
4. sung "Amazing Grace" while the conductor (my host "pop") played the tune on his violin
5. seen the mountains in the area
6. eaten more fish than I've ever seen
7. taken a private lesson on the koto (Japanese traditional string instrument)
8. taken my first traditional Japanese bath

It was a wonderful experience! Tomorrow we are off to a traditional hot spring inn called a ryoken. I am looking forward to a slower pace.

Torii Gate

Fourth graders, ask and you shall receive! This is a picture of me near a torii gate. The gates lead to temples. Sometimes the torii are made of wood and painted red while some are made of stone or metal. This one is made of metal.

Feelin' Groovy

Today was a blast. We spent the day with students at an elementary school in Eniwa, Hokkaido. Being with these warm, vibrant students reminded me of my own fantastic students back in MN. I think both groups of kids would like each other alot. This was the class and teacher that ate lunch with me today. We communicated alot through smiles and gestures.

Anyhoo, a couple of interesting facts:


FYI #1: Elementary classroom teachers teach all subjects including music and art in Japan. The classes were preparing for an upcoming concert, and the classroom teachers worked together to make music happen. The students played marimba (think large xylophone), a keyboard that attaches to a hose that you blow into to make the instrument work, the accordian (S. Brown, you would have loved it), and the old favorite, the recorder. It was fun to watch the students in action.

FYI #2: Children choose their recess activities and just go and do them. There is little if any supervision as the children play instruments or read inside or as they play soccer or ride unicycles (of which they have a shedful)! Wow!

Remember Junior High?

I do. Today we lived the life of a Japanese junior high school student. I watched seventh, eighth, and ninth graders chop (as in cooking class), paint (as in traditional calligraphy), and catch (as in softball) their way through the day.

We were allowed to travel in and out of classrooms all day, but we were assigned to eat with a specific class. I have come to the decision that seventh grade boys are the same in any culture or language-silly, awkward, self-conscious, and often endearing. One student told me his name was Johnny Depp. The only other English word he knew was "milk." FYI, Japanese students eat lunch in their classrooms everyday with their teacher. Students do all the jobs, including the food and cleaning up afterward. Everyone waits to begin eating until all the children have been served. It was quite a sight. On the menu today: "milk," steamed fish, cucumber salad, and soup with squid and potato. Dessert is almost always fruit, like today's persimmon.

FYI #2: The last part of the school day is dedicated to cleaning the school. The P.A. system plays relaxing piano music while the students do their assigned jobs, which can include sweeping, wiping down the floors, etc. Because the students do this work, the school has no janitorial staff. The school also stays mighty clean. Who wants to make a mess you know you'll have to clean up later?

Anyone for Eniwa?

We arrived in Eniwa, Hokkaido yesterday. Hokkaido is Japan's largest island, but this island has the smallest population in the country. The weather is about 10 degrees cooler here than in Tokyo. We spent the day visiting a beverage factory in Sopporo (the large city nearby-friends, please refrain from any comments regarding this company. My students are also reading this.), meeting a blacksmith, and taking lessons in Koto (the instrument I am playing above), calligraphy, and origami. In the evening, we found a cafe filled with crazy trinkets. The owner and his wife spent some time talking with us. They love Elvis, the Beatles, and Eric Clapton. My nephew Sam will be glad to know that they will be going to see Eric Clapton in Sopporo next month. Next, the owner played a bunch of tunes by the artists mentioned above while we sang along. What fun! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Kamakura

Another leg on my Saturday "jam-packed" tour was a trip to Kamakura, a city known for it's giant Buddha. We traveled about an hourish by train to this small town which boasts 65 temples and 19 shrines. Since the recent typhoon slid past Tokyo Bay, most of us had been running around seeing the sights from under an umbrella. Saturday was our first bright and beautiful day in Japan, and Kamakura's beauty only added to the warmth. The Daibatsu (Great Buddha) was such an impressive sight at 37 feet tall! There was so much to see, but I made sure to eat my first sweet potato ice cream while in this town.

Taiko Heaven

Saturday was our only free day on this travel experience, so I packed a whole lot of fun into this day. The first, and most important, stop of the day was at the Miyamoto Drum Museum and Store in Tokyo. I stared in awe at the gorgeous (almost as much as a car) drums, and I purchased several pair of bachi (taiko drum sticks). It was like a dream to be in that store!

More Squishy Fishies

Yummy Yummy!?






Eggs anyone?

Fish Market

Somehow I got up at 4 a.m. today so that I could experience the Tokyo fish market. The pictures included are especially for my nephews, Sam, Theo, and Finnegan, and for the CVE students because there is nothing cooler that squishy, gross stuff or giant frozen tuna. We dodged carts as the workers zoomed through the market, preparing for the day's activities. Each of the tuna was sliced near the tail to check for quality before it was auctioned off around
5:30 a.m.

Big City Lights

Today was also our first adventure out on the subway. A group of four teachers took the subway to a district in Tokyo called Shinjuku. Once there, we wandered past the dizzying array of lights looking for a sushi joint. Unfortunately, none of my techie friends are here to show me how to rotate this photo of the city lights, so you'll have to look at it lying on your side. Think of it as Jet Lag art. I was able to rotate it in iphoto, but it changes upon placement in here. We found a sushi restaurant, and we feasted on tuna, shrimp, and white fish sushi. The waitstaff, who spoke several English words to add to our group vocabulary of about 20 Japanese words, graciously helped us order.

Lucky for us, we found one of my favorite things in the subway station-a photo booth!-to capture the occassion. Some of you may know that besides fireworks, parades, and bubble machines, I really love group photos in the old fashioned photo booth.

Got Fish?

What did you eat for breakfast today? I had eggs, fish eggs that is, along with rice, smoked salmon, eggplant, miso soup, some yummy vegetables that I couldn't identify, and some tea. This is quite a change from my normal cereal and milk. This photo shows the breakfast before I started digging in. When was the last time you used chopsticks to eat your breakfast?

Wow! Today has been filled with a Japanese garden (actually part of the hotel grounds), several speakers on topics such as education and theater, and a demonstration of Kyogen and Kabuki theater styles. We watched this woman apply her traditional make-up before doing this dance. Of course you know I loved every minute of it. You'll all be proud to know that I didn't hop up on stage to try and dance with her. Whew!

Speaking of my minutes and how they will be spent, here is my itinerary for the time I have left in Japan:

Today-Fri., 10-6: Tokyo sightseeing and visits to government offices
Saturday, 10-7: Travel to Kamakura (a nearby city) or more Tokyo fun
Sun.-Fri., 10-13: 20 of the 200 participants will travel to Eniwa, Hokkaido
Sat., 14-Sun., 15th: Home stay with music teaching couple in Eniwa
Mon., 10-16: Travel to a ryokan (hot spring inn)
Tues., 10-17-Thurs., 10-19: Return to Tokyo for more activities.
Thursday, 10-19: Return to MN to bore you with photos and stories

We have arrived! After 10 and a half hours in flight, three movies, and an hour and a half bus ride, we are in Tokyo central. It would be around 4 a.m. MN time, and we have just checked into the most fabulous hotel. Without stopping for a break, we are on our way out to dinner with former Japanese Fulbright students who studied in the United States. We're all pretty exhausted, but we can't wait to see the town. Yipee, we made it!

I'm sitting in the San Francisco airport staring at the outside of the biggest airplane I've ever seen. We'll be boarding soon, around 11 a.m. West Coast time. The most mind boggling thing is that we'll arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday. Try wrapping your brain around that one. I can't wait to send you pictures of our arrival in Japan.