Year of the Horse

1st Calligraphy of the new year at Ijira Elementary (4th graders)

Happy New Year to all.  Charly and I had yet another interesting Christmas and New Year's adventure. Christmas is celebrated by some in Japan, but it is not a recognized holiday, so on Christmas morning Charly and I found ourselves at a pre-school with about 60 two, three, four, and five year olds. They sang for us and did a little Christmas program.  We presented them with small treat bags of candy and stickers which was our way of making it feel a little more like Christmas.  In the afternoon Charly & I went to our favorite soba restaurant in Ijira for a very nice dinner.  We did get to skype with Caitlin & Zane that day, which always makes us happy.  The Christmas tree Charly drew was decorated with old photos of past Christmas cards, which made me smile when I looked at it.

I hated to take it down.

Our next adventure was a much anticipated trip to explore more of Japan with our old dear friend Marsha.  After her short two day rest from jet-lag, we boarded the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama prefecture and our first destination - Shiraishi International Villa.  Most of our Japanese friends had never heard of this island in the Seto Sea, but thanks to our dear BCF friends Vicki & Ian, we were turned on to this great set of international villas, made for foreign tourists.  Japanese people can only go to these villas with foreigners.  We had this marvelous place overlooking the sea all to ourselves.  It is a small mountainous island with many hiking trails, shrines and temples, and large beach area.  Charly was happy that he finally had a beach to use his metal detector.  While Marsha and I hiked and explored the temples, Charly spent his first full day in a hard cold wind looking for treasure.  He found lots of coins, so even though he hurt his back staying our too long, he was pleased with his bounty.  Marsha & I tried to spend New Year's Eve at the Buddhist temple to bring in the new year.  We were not sure about the ceremonial conventions and with little Japanese to help us communicate we did our own version of meditation, lighting candles & incense, and prayer.  After four days on this traditional small island we boarded the ferry back to   the big city of Hiroshima.

Shiraishi Island

Our first day in Hiroshima was spent at the Hiroshima Peace Park.  This was a sobering experience for us, but one we felt we needed to shed a few tears and pray for an end to nuclear weapons.  After this emotional experience, we accidentally walked into a delightful Christmas Light Display on 6 blocks of downtown Hiroshima.  It was an uplifting experience topped off with wonderful Hiroshima Okonomiyaki (delicious).  This was also recommended to us by Vicki & Ian.  They are Japan experts.

Atomic Bomb Memorial 

Downtown Hiroshima

On Saturday the last weekend of the winter vacation we took a ferry with thousands of others to Miyajima Island near Hiroshima.  This is a World Heritage Site with incredible hikes to the top of Mt. Misen, pagodas, temples, and the large red tori in the picture below.  Our pictures from the top of the island don't do it justice, as it was a bit cloudy that day.  We shopped a bit in the craft stores and bought some Japanese door hangings and ate delicious smoked oysters.  Even though there were massive crowds of people, it was a very good day.

On Sunday we got on the bullet train once again and traveled up to Kyoto.  Our wonderful friend & interpreter Ayako arranged to meet us with two of my adult English students there for a tour of the main attractions.  Our first stop was Gingkakuji Temple, (Silver Temple), where we enjoyed the beautiful zen gardens and vowed to return again in the spring.  We then took a walk along the Philosopher's Path, where Charly and Marsha found a local artist who does remarkable pencil drawings of the area.  After lunch we visited the fascinating Nijo Castle.  The history and restoration of this 16th century castle is full of lavish Edo period carvings and paintings.  Our final stop of the day was the Kinkakuji (gold) Temple.  This was also spectacular in its beauty and gardens.  Having Japanese tour guides to explain the history and meaning of these historic places, made the experience much more meaningful.  It was a wonderful day.

Our final day in Kyoto was spent visiting the Traditional Japanese Crafts Museum.  This is a wonderful museum which shows traditional weaving, pottery, lacquer ware, metal work, bamboo fencing, kimonos, umbrellas, fans, and much more.  We returned to Ijira tired, but very happy to have been able to experience more of Japan.  

Marsha's final week with us in Ijira was jammed packed with two school visits, helping teach the English workshop, a trip to Mino to see the paper lanterns, Ijira Lake & Temple, and a good-bye luncheon with new Japanese friends.  It was wonderful to be able to share our generous and friendly Japanese friends with Marsha.  

At local temple in Ijira