Aomori

Big Buddah, Big Buddah!
26 June 2009

One of the best parts about living in Japan is experiencing the beautiful countryside. The religious and cultural history awaits us right outside our door. With the guys gone to Alaska, a group of girls made a day of sightseeing and "junking"- or antique shopping. Our invaluable tourguide, Emiko, showed us around. Emiko is an older Japanese woman who developed a friendship with many of the wives in the squadron when she enrolled in an art class on base. For the last couple of years, she has happily wined, dined, shopped, and educated us on local customs and traditions.

Aomori, which means blue or green forest, is a town famous for the Nebuta festival, ruins, museums, mountains, and natural hot spas. The town is located about a hour drive west from Misawa. Although you can take highways and tolls, we opted to take the scenic route through the mountains. Aside from fighting off carsickness, the drive was amazing! The mountainsides of Japan are covered in trees, all beautiful shades of variying green. The sun was shining (a first in recent weeks!) and the weather was warm...absolutely perfect for a mountain drive!

One thing that Aomori is famous for is what Americans refer to as "Big Buddha." The Buddah is one of the largest religious monuments in all of Japan. As you can see from the picture above, we look tiny standing in front of the statue! Visitors can enter the bottom portion of the monument and walk around the circular hallway. Japanese pictures and proverbs are displayed along the walls, and the center of the building has a shrine and area where you can buy a prayer. Emiko shared with us that many students will come to the Buddah during exams and purchase prayers for success on their tests.

In addition the the Buddah, other temples and shrines were speckled throughout the garden. Emiko took us inside a temple, where she showed us how to light a candle and say a prayer to the Buddah shrine. We also each lit a piece of incense, which is a longstanding part of tradition and ritual. After we each took a turn and paid our respect for the customs and rituals, we enjoyed green tea together as Emiko answered some of our questions about the religion. It was a really interesting experience, and one that opened my eyes to the value of life that the Japanese culture has for themselves and family members.

After we finshed walking around at gardens, Emiko took us further into Aomori for a delicious lunch. The restaurant is known for it's delicious bread and rolls. Some of the interesting flavors included: green tea, rice, carrot, onion, tomatoe, wheat, grain, sweet rolls, and more! They were amazing- made fresh and hot out of the oven! We each ordered the chicken dish, which had veggies and an interesting sauce. I'm not exactly sure of what we were eating, but that comes with the teritory of living and dining in another country! The only minor mishap of the meal came at the end, when we were getting ready to leave. We had each taken several pieces of bread from the buffet, because we wanted to sample them all. After the meal, we were sufficiently stuffed and left several pieces of bread on our plates. As we each took a turn in the bathroom, we realized that Emiko was stuffing herself with our leftover bread. Apparently, unknown to us, it is considered rude in Japan to take more from a buffet that you are able to eat. So, to keep us from being disrespectful, Emiko was cleaning up after us. We all felt terrible once we realized what was going on...just another among the many ways Japanese and Americans are different.

After lunch, we were off to shop! Emiko knows where all of the second-hand stores are located thoughout the area. Many of these consignment shops hold undiscovered treasures! Everything from traditional Japanese dishes to furniture to gently used Loui Vuittons! It was awesome! We spent the afternoon digging our way through five different stores, "junking," or digging for treasures. There were several beautiful pieces of handmade furniture that caught my eye, but most of the pricetags were out of my range. I did, however, find an equisite hand-blown glass vase for 800 Yen (about $8). Northern Japan is known for this handblown glassware, which usually sells for anywhere between 5000 - 20000 Yen (about $50 - $200). I also found a beautiful handcarved mirror, which includes detailed flower woodwork. I paid 4000 Yen (about $40). Needless to say, I was thrilled! I walked away with two very unique pieces to add to our home!

Overall, it was a great day with friends. I was able to visit new places I had never seen before, learn a little about Japanese culture and history, enjoy a delicious lunch, and acquire authentic Japanese pieces. Check out my photo albulm to the left, which has more pictures from the day!

Sumo Wrestling in Tokyo

So, one of the coolest things we have done so far since being in Japan is taking a trip down to Tokyo for a Sumo Tournament. Tokyo is about an 8 hour drive south from Misawa, so we rented a van and made the trip with several other couples from the squadron.

Here is Wikipedia's definition of Sumo wrestling:

Sumo (相撲, sumō) is a competitive contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. The Japanese consider sumo a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though the sport has a history spanning many centuries. The sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Professional sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

The rituals and practices of the sport were unreal- it was amazing how much time it took from start to finish once the wrestler's entered the ring. First, the announcer "sang" or chanted the wrestlers names and were they were from. Then, there were specific stretches and stances performed by the wrestlers. Next, the wrestlers were given a drink of water from a traditional Japanese ladle, followed by throwing salt into the ring to "purify" it. The wrestlers would get into position several times to "fight" before actually charging, because lots of rearranging and re-positioning occurred. The longer the build-up, the more hype for the match, and sometimes it took anywhere between five and ten minutes for the guys to actually go at it. All of these steps were seen in the professional matches, which were the big events of the day.

The majority of our pictures are from the amateur matches, which were held earlier in the day. We were able to sit up close and see the action from only a few feet away. Following the amateur round was the semi-professional round followed by professional round, where we had to sit in our nose-bleed seats up on the top level. With each bump up in grade, more and more tradition and customs were added the the event.

We took a lunch break to head out to a traditional sumo meal, chankonabe which consists of a simmering stew cooked at table which contains various fish, meat, and vegetables. It was pretty tasty, but not exactly the type of diet I would want to live by! The owner of the restaurant where we ate was the owner of a sumo stable, or heya (部屋) (Japanese for "room"), which literally translates into "stable." The stables are where the wrestlers train and live. All wrestlers must belong to a stable, which they join around the age of 15 or 16, and remain there until the end of their career. Tokyo is the traditional heartland of sumo wrestlting, so the majority of the stables are located in and around the city. We were able to enter a stable and look around. It consisted of a dirt sumo ring, which we were not allowed to enter. There was also exercise equipment, shrines, and other symbolic elements to the space. It was super cool to see first-hand.

All in all, Sumo was a really cool experience. After the initail shock of fat men in tiny thongs, it was incredibly interesting and 100% worth seeing again! Check out some more pictures in the photo album to the left.

June in Japan

So far, June has been a rainy month here in Northern Japan! Keith has escaped the downpour by flying to Alaska for a Green Flag exercise. He and the rest of the Samurai will be fighting friendly forces as they exercise and practice tactics, combative missions, and live drops. It should be a fun TDY for the 14th!

Here in Misawa, I am trying to keep myself occupied. Work does a good job of keeping me busy, so I am fortunate to have my job- even if I don't love getting up for work every day. Such is life as an adult, I suppose! Besides work, dance has kept me busy. The end of the year dance recital was this past weekend, and despite the sequined spandex costumes, it was a lot of fun! I will be taking over several of the classes for next year, including: 3-4 year old ballet, 7 and up tap and jazz, and adult ballet and tap! It should be a fun way to stay in shape and keep busy. Mom- all those years of dancing paid off! Thanks! :)

Now that dance is on hold for the summer, I have been spending more time with the Lady Samurai. Lots of dinner parties, movies nights, and social outings have been planned to pass the time while the boys are away. I have to say that my favorite part about the military lifestyle is the new friends that are made with each assignment. As we move from base to base, the Air Force gets smaller and smaller, as you meet friends of friends. I feel truly blessed to have such a great group of girls everywhere I go!