Japan - Day 8: Ichinoseki to Kyoto

On our last morning in Ichinoseki we got to see a semi-normal routine for my Uncle Shinobu and his family.  Shinobu got dressed for work and read the paper while Konomi watched a show. 

I showed Aunt Akemi how to make french toast for breakfast.  They wondered why American breakfasts are so sugary.  It was also neat to me that Aunt Akemi had to search through her cupboard to find plates and forks. Someday I need a lesson on all kinds of Japanese dishes and what to use them for.

Uncle Shinobu, Aunt Akemi and Konomi were so kind to us on our visit.  Even with a language barrier I really enjoyed talking with them and spending time with them.  They are good, good people. My parents both tell me how wonderful they are, but it's another thing to experience it first hand.  I hope to make my visits more frequent than 28 years apart so I can get to know them and everyone better.

The Ichinoseki train station sign.

From Ichinoseki, our next destination was Kyoto which means we had to change bullet trains in Tokyo and had just enough time to meet up with Blake's coworker Daisuke from PGP for lunch.  We hadn't had a true ramen bowl yet in our whole trip and so we found place where we could find a proper bowl of ramen and had a good chat.

This was taken solely for my American gamer cousins. ;)

Back at the shinkansen station for our ride to Kyoto.  

 We got into Kyoto, checked into our hotel, and many shops were already closing due to the late evening hour.  We went in search of an eel restaurant that highly rated by our guide book.

I don't remember what this soup was made of, but I seem to remember this was an animal organ that has never been on my plate before and that I did not actually eat this time, either. 

Unfortunately, the restaurant was smoky and there was a lot of sake going on so it wasn't quite the vibe we're comfortable in.  With full bellies we turned in for the night to get rested for another full day of being tourists.

Japan - Day 7, Part 3: Visiting Chuson-ji Shrine & Eating Okonomiyaki

Next we headed back to Ichinoseki to pick up cousin Konomi from her after school club and then out to another shrine.  By this point we had already seen many shrines (and would see many more on this Japan trip) but Shinobu thought he should take us here.

We walked around and saw the sights and were particularly impressed with the paid entry museum-like display cases of artifacts and the gold plated shrine inside (where we were not allowed to take any pictures).  Displayed were hair combs inlaid with shell and precious metals, writings, dishes, weapons, and even a few stone pillows.  I knew my samurai ancestors would have used things like these and so I was a little more interested here than I usually am at museums.

This image shows what I couldn't photograph from www.japantimes.co.jp

There were beautiful trails on the grounds as well.

At this portion of the trail, the tree roots are exposed and act like natural stairs up the hill.

Aunt Akemi stayed with Blake and I while Cousin Konomi and Uncle Shinobu walked ahead together and talked.  The trees in Japan are so cleanly beautiful.  I love this canopy of Japanese maple trees with their tiny leaves above.

This is zoomed in to the leaves directly above us.

I think the bib here shows this statue is dedicated to children who die young.

Here is a point in the trail that looks out over the whole area.

At the last minute on our way out of the temple grounds Shinobu found the brochure in English.  As I was reading it in the car on our way out, I realized that our Fujiwara clan ancestors founded the shrine.  There are even some of the Fujiwara leaders mummified there.  Read more about it on the Wiki page. It's a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Japanese National Treasure.  I asked Shinobu if I understood that right and he confirmed.  If only I had known these were actually artifacts from my ancestors (or, at the very least, their close relatives) I would have paused even longer looking at everything.  If we go back to Ichinoseki again with my children or my siblings I want to take them back here to learn more.

Although it was time for dinner, none of us were hungry after all the food we ate at Harumizu's home.  It was a unanimous decision that we would have a very late dinner instead.  We went back to Shinobu's house and relaxed for a little bit.  I think the Olympics were on and there were some friendly questions about which country I should be cheering for. 

Shinobu and Akemi decided to take us out for dinner that night.  I had only recently discovered Okonomiyaki (a Japanese vegetable and meat pancake) on a food blog back home and loved it.  So when they told us there are restaurants for Okonomiyaki I was surprised.  The fact of the matter is that my dad doesn't like Okonomiyaki and so he never introduced it to us growing up.  It's a shame because it's GOOD.

At the restaurant, the first thing we did was put our shoes into these lockers. 

After we ordered, the waiters brought us our bowls filled with the ingredients for us to mix ourselves.  One of our orders included tako (octopus).  Generally octopus is pretty chewy, but it totally worked in this.

After mixing up the batter, we cooked our pancakes on the grill in the middle of our table.

We have some fun videos of us flipping our own pancakes over.  I'm proud to say that I was the only one who flipped it without breaking it.  We topped it with sauce and bonito fish flakes and other toppings.  Delicious!  They also ordered for me my favorite childhood dish: yakisoba.  We were so full of okonomiyaki by then that we could barely eat the yakisoba.  It was a fun night.


When we came home this little fellow was on the wall of the house next to the car.  Kawaii (cute)!

Japan - Day 7, Part 2: Meeting Sumiko and Harumizu

We continued on to meet more relatives.  As we drove up to this home, I couldn't help but notice the bonsai pots growing around.  Either bonsai trees are a common hobby in Japan or it's simply common in our family.

 We were welcomed into Aunt Sumiko's home by her daughter-in-law Akiko.  When I saw Aunt Sumiko I started to tear up.  She looks so much like my grandmother.  I felt like I got to see and touch and hear a piece of her as I got to see and touch and hear her sister.  She is my grandmother's youngest sister and everyone affirmed to me that they look the most like each other.  I love the series of photos that Blake took of us trying to talk to each other.

 I don't remember what she said to me, but she slapped me on the knee and laughed.

Akiko, Janet, Sumiko & Youichi.  Youichi is Sumiko's son (my dad's cousin) and Akiko is his wife.  He had been working outside and came in when we arrived.  He and Shinobu chatted while we were sitting with Aunt Sumiko.

I remember thinking that I needed to bring my kids back to meet Sumiko again.  In fact, I even think she asked me to visit again and bring my kids back with me next time.

Next we headed even deeper into the country side to visit my dad's Uncle Harumizu.  As we drove past rice paddies, raised beds, and country homes it seemed to me that I was seeing in real life what the animators so accurately depicted in My Neighbor Totoro.  The details were amazing - the people walking in sun hats, the raised dirt barriers by the rice paddies, the wooded hills shooting up from the flat rice paddies, even the ice and water signs at the entrance to small streets and driveways.  As much as the big city had lots of things to look at, I was taking in all the details of the countryside.

My uncle Shinobu hadn't been to Harumizu's home in a long time and pretty soon he pulled over to call Harumizu to get directions.  That gave me time to step out of the car and look up close at the rice neatly planted rows of rice in the paddy.

Harumizu drove his little white truck out to find us and we followed him back to his home.  The detail on his roof looked nearly as detailed as some of the temples we had seen earlier.

He had married a woman who's family had no sons to inherit the family home, so he took her last name and they continue the legacy of her family.

My dad grew up calling Harumizu "Hakko Onchan", meaning Uncle Hakko.  He was the youngest uncle, a teenager when my dad was little, and Hakko Onchan was his favorite.  When they spent the night at his grandparents home, my dad always wanted to be next to Hakko Onchan for the night.

When I saw Harumizu for the first time, I was shocked.  He looked more like my dad than my grandmother or my grandfather.  It was like I was looking at my dad 15 years in the future.  His body shape, his posture, his head, his hair, his walk, everything seemed the same as my own dad.  While our other relatives maybe had a family resemblance, my dad was the spitting image of Harumizu.  Blake recognized it, too.  I mentioned this to the group and they all told me that they always said he and my dad had the same face.

Again we sat and showed pictures.  They were shocked that my parents both have grey hair and look like grandparents.  And again they brought out, one at a time, every kind of snack and treat we could have imagined.  They even brought out hot face towels to refresh us.  Look at that spread!  I was particularly amused by the ice-cream cup.  The grape flavored swirl was in the design of a happy face.  I expected it to get less distinctive as I ate, but it stayed a perfect smile straight down to the bottom of the cup.  The salt pickled cucumbers were a treat, too.  They had even brought us mugicha, a barley drink, since we don't drink tea.  For not having a formal meal our tummies were full!

I loved these flowers next to the house.  They looked like paper folded up, and then when blossomed it still looks like a delicate tissue paper star.

Aunt Akemi, Uncle Harumizu with his wife, daughter (in law?) & granddaughter, and me.

I barely rested my hand on Harumizu's back as we posed for the picture and I was again shocked that his back even felt like my dad's.  I wonder how similar their personalities are as well.