2 Days of Tradition

The last couple days have been full of tradition. I was told that I was very lucky to have had the experience I did yesterday.
Mathew's friend, Taichi Oda, invited us over for a New Years party. He met us and the 3 other guests, Katsuji, Dennis & Maiko, at the train station and walked with us back to his home. None of these friends had ever been to his home before and were surprised to find that it was a traditional Japanese home. Built some 200 + years ago, it was amazingly beautiful and very large in comparison to most homes here in Japan.

Oda-san's home

Much of the woodwork was hand carved and some of the artifacts dated back to the Edo Period (1700's). The doors which double as walls (all of the walls of the homes in Japan are built this way), were hand painted by a famous artist.... all 20 of them. Below is a photo of the children and Oda-san's wife, Tomoko in front of some of these doors.

Beautiful people and hand painted doors

This is the alter at which you pray...

I love to eat, so please excuse my excitement over the food here. Japanese food is sooooo good! And on this day it was especially good. There were many courses to the meal. The first served was sushi, homemade chicken nuggets and french fries! 

After about an hour, Tomoko, brought out Sukiyaki in an iron skillet which she set on a burner on the table where we cooked, ate, and cooked some more. With this, we drank wine from southern Spain and when that was gone, Oda brought out the Sake.. the best Sake I have ever had! 

After a few hours of eating and drinking, big plates of fresh fruit were brought out.. then almond cake and more fruit in a sweet sauce.....and more Sake. How do Japanese people stay so slim???

What a marvelous Sunday day it was. Domo arigato Oda-san for your generosity! 

Monday was a holiday, coming of age day. Matthew had the day off from work and we all went to a traditional Japanese mineral bath. The mineral bath house was built above the natural springs many years ago. It is separated, men's and women's. Kazuyo forgot that there are no tattoos allowed, due to old tradition when the only people who had them were gang members. So, I had to be extra sneaky and throw a hand towel over my shoulder and make sure no one saw my tattoo. It wasn't very difficult and no one did...phew! As we entered the building, we took off our shoes, placed them in their own shoe locker by the front door, locked it, and brought the key to the front desk where they took those keys and gave us new ones for our clothing lockers. As we walked into the locker room I noticed that all of the lockers were made of birds eye maple.... fancy place. 

After undressing, we walked through sliding glass doors into a dimly lit bath area where first you must shower. At these showers you sit at your own tile vanity, close to the ground. There are a bunch in rows with little walls between for privacy. On the vanity is shampoo, conditioner, soap and a bowl to put water in and pour over your body. There was a regular spout and also a shower head wand. After washing, we sat in one of the indoor tubs with the baby then went outside and sat in a tub in the light rain. It was beautiful, with plants surrounding, water falls, and a woven bamboo cover over some spots. It wasn't too large of and area and quite an intimate space. When Kazuyo went in to get the baby ready, I went into the salt sauna. It's like a regular sauna but there is a 3 foot tall wooden bucket of salt which you rub all over your body. It tingles and afterwards your skins is soooooo smooth! I will start doing this in the sauna back home when I return!! 

I could not take photos of the bathhouse but was permitted to in the restaurant we ate lunch at in the same building... traditional style... sitting on cushions on the floor. You pay for the whole thing before you leave the building. It cost a total of 2000 yen a piece. That's about $25 for lunch and mineral bath. Amazingly inexpensive! 

Upon returning home, I watched the children while Matt and Kazuyo went to look at possible land to purchase and build their home on. They are hopeful it will work out but much of it is steep and so, they will have to wait to talk to their architect about possibilities. 

That evening, Kazuyo taught me how to make nabe. She is a wonderful cook and I am eager to learn from her and share my knowledge with friends and family back home.

I big THANK YOU goes out to my family and their wonderful friends for making this trip so special! More to come in a few days :)