Voyage Junkie

It has been some time since my last post.  Matt and I are frantically cleaning and packing, getting rid of things and making seemingly endless runs to the post office.  It hardly seems like it's been nearly two years since we first laid eyes on our temporary home, yet here we are, at the end of our run as ALTs.  I won't miss the job, but I will miss the friends we made here.  Japan affected me deeply and I am grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and travel in this incredible country.  There will be time for reflective essays later, when we have toured Europe and are again in the ranks of America's unemployed youth... for now we must continue packing and cleaning. To keep you busy as you wait for the thrilling conclusion of our world travels (did I mention we have quite the itinerary planned?), here are some shots from this year's plum blossom festival in Bairin Koen.  We visited on March 11, 2012, which you may know was the first anniversary of t...

We went to the Mino Lantern Festival for the second time last weekend.  Matt and I went with two teachers from my school.  First stop: a very beige dinner at a beautiful traditional restaurant.  It was all very delicious and I didn't get sick off of it, which was a nice change.  Still, I don't really like it when all my food is beige and soft.  Something about that just doesn't sit right.  There was, however, a great rice soup with special rice made in a traditional stove, and kaki  for dessert.  The kaki , or persimmon, were crunchy and bright orange, so I ended the dinner with some color and texture, at least.  After dinner, we headed to the lanterns!  They were beautiful, and very different from last year's .  The only down side?  It rained a ton that day, so there were rain smudges all over the lantern cases. The streets this year were very quiet.  We ran into a few other pedestrians, but nothing compared to last y...

  Last year Matt and I spent some time watching these dancers, and I was lucky enough to see them this year, back on the same street!  They are called Awa Odori  dancers, and while I can't find much information in English that makes sense, there is a lot on various Japanese pages.  From what I can garner, there's a big festival each August in Tokushima.  It's 400 years old, and the dances celebrate the famous Awaodori forest.  Luckily for me, they bring the show on the road to Gifu every year, too.  For each group there's a video, as well as a picture, if you don't have a lot of time.  First up, subtle dancers in blue/green, that appear to be the trees as they wave in the wind. Next, here are some absolutely adorable men, mostly older, dancing a ridiculous-looking dance.  We saw the same men last year, which is where this picture came from.  I can see the growth of the forest as they move from crouching to standing,  an...

Matt and I attended our second annual Nobunaga Festival, or matsuri , on October 2nd.  Rather,  I attended and Matt performed!  He was approached by one of our friends who works at City Hall about taking the role of Luis Frois, a Portuguese missionary who befriended Nobunaga in 1569.  He wrote histories of Japan while he was traveling and meeting with various Shoguns.  Matt jumped at the chance to be a part of the community in such a meaningful way, and he got to ride a horse! To the left is a wonderful picture of Matt with two of his new friends.  On the right is this year's Nobunaga, and on the left is the right-hand military man. Below is a video of Matt riding a horse that's pretty entertaining.  Evidently all the little old Japanese ladies positively fainted over him throughout the parade as he waved and smiled at little kids, waved to everyone, tipped his hat, and overall was the perfect (Jewish) Catholic. Pretty soon af...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of performing in a Full Moon Festival in Hashima, a small town just outside of Gifu.  Modern Dance You Co. performed a small, relaxed dance that featured a kid's number to a song about onigiri (rice balls), Sachiko as the princess from the moon, and the rest of us as kunoichi , or female ninjas.  This is the year of the rabbit by the Chinese zodiac, so the two little girls were dressed as rabbits, and had a very important role in taking the princess back to her home on the moon.  It was adorable, and quite a lot of fun. Rie teaches me how to take tea. We spent the day at the cultural center getting ready for the performance.  We were able to take a break before the show started, and we went upstairs to take part in the tea ceremony.  There were manju  decorated like rabbits and delicious bowls of macha , otherwise known as green tea.  I couldn't eat the manju , because although some people will swear it contains no wh...

Yuko sensei sitting with many obi . The holiday Obon  is a traditional Buddhist celebration honoring deceased relatives.  It is customary to return to your hometown and pay tribute to ancestor's grave sites, as the spirits are said to return during Obon .  It is celebrated for three days around August 15th, though the specific dates differ across Japan.  In Gifu prefecture, Obon  was celebrated August 13-15, and we took part in the festivities. Obon  is attributed to a Buddhist monk who learned his mother was suffering in a realm of hungry ghosts.  He began a series of sacrifices to free her, and as he did so, he realized all her selflessness and sacrifice to him during her lifetime.  When she was finally freed, he danced for joy. Close to Gifu, there is a large city named Gujo, famous for its summertime all-night dance festivals.  During  Obon , there are special dances performed to welcome and honor the spirits, in the tra...

Takeshima, at low tide. Every year, on the last day of July, a big fireworks festival is held in Gamagori, Japan.  Fireworks are very big in Japan, with each major city priding itself on its particular display, and swearing up and down to anyone who will listen that their fireworks are the best in the nation.  Gifu's displays were canceled this year because of the earthquake, so we took the opportunity to travel a little more than an hour by express train to Gamagori.  It's a cute little town, not far from Okazaki, with a famous island that is entirely shrine space (seen in the picture to the right). It was a wonderful, if long, day.  Four of us set out from Gifu and picked two more friends up on the way to the island.  We arrived early, perhaps too early, but we did miss the worst of the afternoon sun as we wandered around the island.  Even though I was very diligent about my SPF 50 sunblock, I still managed to get burned on both shoulders before the...

About two days ago, an 8.9 earthquake struck 80 miles off the coast of Japan, causing a tsunami to strike the northeast coast.  Gifu is very far away from this event, and as yet has seen none of the suffering.  There of course is concern over the nuclear power plants and their possible meltdown; if this comes to pass Matt and I might be faced with the daunting task of leaving.  So far, people are calm and going about their daily lives.  Stores are stocked, there are no shortages of food, water, essentials, or gas.  Our water, electricity, and gas are fully functioning.  I imagine this country will do a good job responding to the tragedy and that response will contain the suffering to those directly affected.  Matt and I are, of course, keeping ourselves tuned to all news we can get.  At the earliest warning signal, we are prepared to do whatever is necessary.  Otherwise, we will continue to live just like everyone else.  One exceptio...

A few months ago I went to Mino for a Lantern Festival. Mino is famous in Japan for its lanterns, and it's clear why. They are absolutely gorgeous, all hand-crafted right there. This post took awhile to create because I had to choose the best pictures from quite a few! I headed to Mino with Matt, our friend Rachael, and Ai, the teacher from my school who went with me to the Oda Nobunaga festival. To the left you can see us in a fantastic lantern store holding some hand-made lanterns. I'll get Matt to translate what they say: Abby's: Goyou (Imperial Business - pre-modern police) Matt's: (probably) Kamiuchi (a place) Ai's: Mino (the name of the town) Rachael's: Kanamori Nagachika (another place) This lantern store was unbelievable. We went into two that night and this was by far my favorite. It is very small, and one woman runs it. Where we are standing is a small walking area where most of the ready-to-purchase lanterns are displayed and...