A week or so back I was walking down the path at Tokiwa park, on the back side, near the playing fields and I saw something start to cross the road. It was too big to be one of the numerous feral cats that find their homes at the park. It was too big to be a raccoon, tanuki or some other such beast. Covered in shaggry brown fur and walking with a curious loping gate the animal crossed a median and moved into the parking lot. I realized then as I saw its pink face that I was indeed watching a wild monkey. He picked up speed, raced up a hill and across another street and into the woods. I was too dumbstruck to get a picture but I felt suffused with that pleasant feeling of satisfaction. That satisfaction that creeps over one after witnessing something strange and wonderful.
On the note of strange and wonderful we can move to the topic of food, something which, in Japan, is full to the brim of both "strange" and "wonderful." I was cycling randomly near the main train station in town recently when a powerful hunger crept over me. A hunger for food.
Desiring to put my stomach to rest I walked into a sushi bar as it had been awhile since I had eaten such. As it happened it was an excellent desicion. The owner and his wife were exceedingly friendly and I chatted with them and, after their arrival, their daughters. The fish was excellent and, in my hunger, I finished quickly. While I was sipping on a glass of nihonshu after dinner, the conversation turned to both my hometown and to sports. Mentioning that I had tried my hand at kayaking, we discussed the origin of kayaks. Canada, we concluded. I pointed out that in times previous they had been used for whale hunting. The obligitory comments on the hazards involved in Such a Hunt having passed, I mentioned to the master that I had always wanted to try whale. His reply a quick point and a comment along the lines of "We have it, it's right here next to the eel." To say I was excited would have been putting it on the nose as the nose has not had itself put upon since that immortal line in Moby Dick when Ishmael nudged Queequeg and said, "Hey, you suppose Ahab's a bit off or what?"
He placed a plate in front of me with five slices of tongue and five slices of bacon (made from the blubber I believe), some mustard and what adorned the sides. The tongue is fishy and little stringy. I do not reccommend it. The bacon however has a pleasant flavor and texture, a touch on the smokey side and is complemented quite nicely by the mustard. I stayed and chatted for a while longer and enjoyed a cup of tea and an ice cream bar in the process. Realizing the night finished, I rose and paid my bill only to find the whale was gratis. Or, as the Japanese say, "Saabisu" or "Service."
I went home, again suffused with a satisfaction borne in part from the nihonshu, but a greater part from the whale. I struck the number one entry off my mental "Foods I Intend to Eat" list and started contemplating numbers two and three. Dog and Monkey respectively.
I will wait by the soccer field. I shall catch him.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Friday, May 05, 2006
Saga of Saga-ken
Apologies for the title, but I couldn't resist the pun. Last week, I went to Saga prefecture with my friends Hiroki and Kiyoka. Hiroki is the monk who cuts my hair, and Kiyoka is his wife. They invited me down to Saga for a temple ceremony. I had to wake up at some miserable hour to catch the 7:11 train to Asa. As it happened, I was excited about the trip to the point of waking up at five and finding myself with nothing to do and too much coffee in my brain.
Arriving in Asa we piled into their Daihatsu and rolled off down to Kyushu, stopping for breakfast at a truck stop. I took pictures to document that there are indeed truck stops in Japan, with mini-semis. After a two hour drive we found ourselves in Saga, checked in at the temple and after a short while split up. Hiroki would go to the temple to pray for an hour while Kiyoka would walk around the grounds with me to ensure that I wasn't bored to death.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Kiyoka may be trying to convert me: "I hope that you will get caught up with the statue of the Buddha."; "Are your grandparents well? No sickness?"; "Have you ever experienced any miracles?" But she is such a sweet person, and accepting of anyone, that I pay it no mind. We look at the pagada ("one of Buddha's bones is in the spire"), the statue of the founder of this branch of Buddhism, and head up to the topmost mountain in the temple complex. On the top of the mountain (read: hill) Kiyoka finds something that surprises both of us. Where we stand is the former home of the oldest known castle in Japan; the marker says it was built around 660, smack in the middle of the Nara period. No mention of the date of its destruction however.
Soon after this, the ceremony finishes and we mosey down the hill to meet Hiroki and listen to some ceremony ending Shamisen music. She and I arrive in the main plaza to hear the melodic strains of Dick Dale. An entrancing concert. After leaving the temple, we head to a shrine nearby with some wonderful Edo period prints on the walls as well as a Noh stage of the same age.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the day occurs on our return to Ube. Hiroki takes us to the shop of his mechanic where he his having a custom muffler made for his ATV. In conversation with mechanic's mother we are able to see some of the family treasures. Edo-period ceramic ash trays in the original box of the some 150-year-old tobacco company, pictures of her grandfather, the samurai, with his sword, rice ration tickets from the sixties! and perhaps most amazing of all, an actual samurai hat, worn by her grandfather. I was allowed to wear this hat, and had my picture taken next to its owner's granddaughter.
A wonderful day. I have not been so happy in a long while. I may also add that I spoke perhaps three sentences of English all day.
Arriving in Asa we piled into their Daihatsu and rolled off down to Kyushu, stopping for breakfast at a truck stop. I took pictures to document that there are indeed truck stops in Japan, with mini-semis. After a two hour drive we found ourselves in Saga, checked in at the temple and after a short while split up. Hiroki would go to the temple to pray for an hour while Kiyoka would walk around the grounds with me to ensure that I wasn't bored to death.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Kiyoka may be trying to convert me: "I hope that you will get caught up with the statue of the Buddha."; "Are your grandparents well? No sickness?"; "Have you ever experienced any miracles?" But she is such a sweet person, and accepting of anyone, that I pay it no mind. We look at the pagada ("one of Buddha's bones is in the spire"), the statue of the founder of this branch of Buddhism, and head up to the topmost mountain in the temple complex. On the top of the mountain (read: hill) Kiyoka finds something that surprises both of us. Where we stand is the former home of the oldest known castle in Japan; the marker says it was built around 660, smack in the middle of the Nara period. No mention of the date of its destruction however.
Soon after this, the ceremony finishes and we mosey down the hill to meet Hiroki and listen to some ceremony ending Shamisen music. She and I arrive in the main plaza to hear the melodic strains of Dick Dale. An entrancing concert. After leaving the temple, we head to a shrine nearby with some wonderful Edo period prints on the walls as well as a Noh stage of the same age.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the day occurs on our return to Ube. Hiroki takes us to the shop of his mechanic where he his having a custom muffler made for his ATV. In conversation with mechanic's mother we are able to see some of the family treasures. Edo-period ceramic ash trays in the original box of the some 150-year-old tobacco company, pictures of her grandfather, the samurai, with his sword, rice ration tickets from the sixties! and perhaps most amazing of all, an actual samurai hat, worn by her grandfather. I was allowed to wear this hat, and had my picture taken next to its owner's granddaughter.
A wonderful day. I have not been so happy in a long while. I may also add that I spoke perhaps three sentences of English all day.
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