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!
