Kasama and Mito

My supervisor (Takane-san) and his wife took me on a day trip to Kasama and Mito and surrounding areas in Ibaraki prefecture.

Around Kasama and Mito are places known for their pottery and tons of stone decoration things. In Kasama we went to a shrine which had some special connection to foxes. I do not remember if the deity was a fox, or if the fox was just a protector or what exactly. It was a quaint town with not much happening.

We then went to the coast to where they had a fish market. Here we ate sushi, my first time while being in Japan! Needless to say, it was the best sushi I have ever eaten. Also the wasabi was actually good, since I normally shy away from it in the states. It tastes different though, like fresher and somehow more real, if that makes sense. Or maybe it was just the sushi was better, I don’t know. Also since being in Japan I have realized that there are many flavors or rice, white rice. The company daily lunch rice is not the greatest, but this sushi rice was very delicious, even by itself. I have probably eaten rice at 80% of all my meals.

After that delicious sushi we went to a park in Mito (the capital of Ibaraki prefecture), Kairakuen. Here there were beautiful plum (ume) trees in full blossom. There were also many booths and vendors with tasty-smelling food and drinks. Amidst the crowds, this place had a very tranquil and joyful ambience, from the bamboo forest to the natural spring rumored to cure ocular ailments to the spectacular views of the ponds and spring colors. Many people were enjoying the weekend with their friends and loved ones, either for a casual walk in the park or for the more festive hanami. My boss, who grew up in Mito, was telling me how he would go to this park as a child with his mother and together they would pick plums and chuck them at the trains. Apparently these plums are toxic and should not be eaten raw. They must be pickled or treated somehow to make them safe. But, he added, raw plums are great for throwing.

The park was built by the feudal lord Tokugawa Nariaki, and it was intended for him and his circle as much as it was for the commoners. The name of the park itself (偕楽園) means ‘park for the pleasure of the people,’ or something similar. On the park grounds there is also a three story house for the nobility and their guests, in case they needed some relaxation time away from their castle I suppose. The building (Kobuntei) is amazing – traditional Japanese architecture to the max. My lack of a fine arts degree limits my ability to express the grandiosity of this place, so it is a shame that I cannot post pictures at the moment, but trust me if this place were on sale I would take out a million dollar loan just to place a bid on it. OK so I also don’t have a finance or economics degree and I still don’t understand the whole reason why we are in a recession and what exactly that means cuz I don’t even understand how money and stock market/global economy actually work, but I digress…The point is that the space is very simplistic, no nails were used in construction, great gardens and views of the park, ornate walls and doors (and everything actually), just wow.

After walking around the park and absolutely falling in love with Japanese parks/architecture some more, we went to our last stop of the day, my boss’ parent’s house. His father worked as a teacher for most of his life and he was trying to explain to me many things about his house, Japanese culture, and other tidbits. He was particularly happy about his garden and the fresh vegetables, which we later ate. Only later did I overhear from my boss’ mother complaining that she does most of the garden work, hehe. Their house was mostly traditional style, which I loved, but my boss and his wife said that it was too cold for them (I though the temperature was fine, but many people have been known to disagree with me on matters of external temperature). They served a feast and a half, and it was all delicious; my first home-cooked meal in Japan. As expected by Japanese interactions with guests, the more I said “no thanks, I am full” the more food they served me. The trick is to simply not touch your food and they will stop filling your plate, which I may have done only after expanding my stomach nine-fold. Sooo full and so delicious.

The mother also really likes kimonos and is a certified ebi knotter, hmm I do not know the technical term in English or Japanese. So when people wear kimonos, though primarily women, there are different types of knots or arrangements one can tie their ebi/belt. However, the average Japanese person does not wear or even own a kimono, maybe because they cost thousands and thousands of dollars (many hyakuman and hyakuman-en) and only does so for their twentieth birthday celebration (like quinceañeras) or maybe their weddings. Because most women do not own kimonos they do not know all of the knots, so they must pay a certified person to tie them up. Apparently it costs hundreds of dollars for a one time tie-up by a specialist. So the mother went to her kimono drawer and showed me most of her collection, which was very impressive. She even modeled and showed me how she puts it on. Furthermore, she dressed me up and we had a kimono photo-shoot in her dining room. It was phenomenal.

So that concluded one very busy and awesome-filled day.