Big Japan Adventure #3 – Mount Fuji and Eggs!

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Previously, we had seen Nara Park and enjoyed a tea ceremony among other things. Our 3rd day was centered around Mount Fuji, but first we explored the Fuji-Hokone-Izu National park. We started out our day on Lake Ashi riding on a pirate ship. WITH CANONS. Well, they may have been fake, but still.

While we were on the ship, we were interviewed by elementary students who were practicing their English skills. They wanted to know some general things like where we were visiting from and what our favorite Japanese food was. We wrote down answers for them, although we wondered afterward if they were supposed to write the answers themselves after we had talked to them…

We took a ropeway car up to see Owakudani, an area with hot springs and sulfurous fumes due to being around an active volcano zone. It’s a popular area for people to visit to walk around and see steaming craters and great views of Mount Fuji.

One of the most unique things about the area were the eggs available to purchase. The eggs are cooked in the naturally hot water in the bubbling pits, and as a result have their shells blackened from the sulfur. Eating one of these eggs is said to prolong one’s life by seven years. They’re also TASTY and frequently on objects of the souvenir variety in the gift shop. There was one additional blackened snack to get – black ash ice cream. Which really, tasted like whichever flavor you got (either Vanilla or Strawberry Milk), but looked black.

We were able to see Mount Fuji very clearly from this area, although later in the day when we were at the museum for Fuji, it did get a bit cloudy around the mountain and was hidden from view. Such a shy and fickle mountain!

We headed for Tokyo, which would include two days of exploration. But I’ll pick that up later. 🙂

Big Japan Adventure #2 – Tea, Kimonos and Secret Ninja Things

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It’s time for another installment of the Big Japan Adventure! When I last left off, we’d seen a super-tall Buddha and were hassled by deer. After we caught lunch and a quick tour of a Sake brewery (which you shouldn’t drink until you’re of the right age in your country, kids! *insert The More You Know music here*), we headed off to see a traditional Tea Ceremony and explore the gardens around it.

Typically, a traditional tea ceremony involves the guests sitting up on the floor with no chair, just on your knees. Which can kinda hurt after a while if you’re not used to it, so the Tea Master was nice enough to provide small chairs for us to sit on instead. (We’d actually been practicing sitting like this before we left for our trip specifically for this tour spot, but it was nice to not have to worry about feet falling asleep during the ceremony)

The Tea Master was very studious and careful with her tea-making process.

The Tea Master was very studious and careful with her tea-making process.

Our ceremony was a shorter version compared to the full tea ceremony. We were presented with a small Japanese sweet as the Tea Master prepared traditional green tea, which was made with powder whisked many times with hot water, resulting in green tea much thicker than what I’ve been used to at the States (but still, quite delicious!). Our tea was served in very lovely bowls, and as part of the ceremony we had to be sure to rotate the bowl and not drink from the decorated portion. After we’d all had our sweet and tea, our guide mentioned that there would be two guests allowed to make tea and I ended up being picked as one of them. I’m not sure my whisking was up to par, but the tea seemed like it turned out okay when I served it to James…

I'm pretty sure I was upsetting her with my poor whisking skills.

I’m pretty sure I was upsetting her with my poor whisking skills.

After exploring the gardens around the tea house, we wandered down nearby streets in Kyoto and then crashed for the night. The next day was packed with a visit to the Kinkakuji Templae, also known as the Golden Pavillion. The area was super-packed with visiting elementary and middle schoolers (as well as other tour peoples like us).

We squeezed in a Kimono Fashion show at the Nishijin Textile Center. There were lots of people there as well, and for good reason – the kimonos were very beautiful and elegant. After the show was over, James and I had a surprise interview from a Japanese TV company, who wanted to know if we enjoyed the show. I they understood us when we said we liked it, because they nodded a couple times. (We didn’t actually see this on TV, so it’s possible they were just wandering around with a big camera)

After kimonos, we had some time at Nijo Castle, which was the residence of the first shogun of the Edo period. Because of the castle’s importance/sensitive interiors, we couldn’t take any photos once we were inside and we had to enter without our shoes. So you’ll have to trust me when I say the murals on the screens were very lovely. 🙂

After Nijo castle, our last stop of the day was a Ninja museum that was LITERALLY HIDDEN IN THE MOUNTAINS. Our champion of a bus driver took us up windy pretty-much-one-lane roads until we reached the park that contained the museum, including an actual ninja residence. A ninja guide took us through the residence and displayed many hidden compartments, revolving doors and escape hatches that ninjas would use when they were under attack. After seeing several ninja-artifacts, we were treated to a ninja show with a super-rad display of the use of ninja weapons like swords, throwing stars and scythes. Plus, some fake ribbon blood tossed at the crowd to scare ’em.

When the show was over, we took a bullet train to our next hotel for a traditional Japanese dinner and much needed rest.