Ninja Cheese (image intensive)

Having no classes to go to all of a sudden has left a gaping hole in my schedule, and I can only make so many crochet lace doileys sitting at home with nothing else to do. I had originally wanted to go to Hokkaido for the summer, since everyone was telling me that this was the season to go, but one look at the price tag on the tour package gave my bank account spasms, so I had to look for an alternative, and quick.

I finally settled on Nikko, a town in Tochigi Prefecture just a couple of hours' drive away dotted with shrines and temples, and one of the more spectacular tourist destinations outside of Kyoto and Osaka. I had planned to go to the area around Lake Chuzenji for the cultural experience, but after a quick discussion with my sempai, was convinced to try out another area about half an hour north of the lake, an Edo era theme park where visitors could dress up and wander around a 16th century Japanese village. Call it serendipity, because this place isn't mentioned in most travel guides or even the Lonely Planet, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

It was funny when I bought my ticket and the lady at the window immediately gave me a guidemap in Japanese, then did a double take when I asked for an English version instead. I get that a lot. ^^ The first clue I found that suggested this place didn't take itself too seriously was the in-house radio station located at the entrance:

I was in for a fun ride. First up was a live acrobatic performance by ninja, who gamely posed for pics with the audience after the show. I would have liked to take pics of the actual performance since it was allowed and even encouraged, but I'd have to plow more money into my photographic apparatus first.


I liked this guy better though. Ninja air guitar!

The ninja house of horrors and a water performance were nice to look at, and the airconditioning in these areas was most welcome. The ninja maze was fun to walk around in but not too much of a challenge. I tried my hand at archery, but totally sucked, and even had my picture taken with the theme park's mascot, Nyan-mage.

It's a cat with a samurai hairdo, just in case you're wondering.

The park has a topsy-turvy house for visitors to walk around in. Fighting against instinct to stay perpendicular to the floor while gravity is pulling you sideways is not for the faint hearted, or those suffering from vertigo. As for me, I only managed less than 5 minutes inside before nausea made me step out for some air. Yes, I know I'm weak, you don't have to rub it in.

They really pack in the shows in the theme park, and on the way out of the crooked house, we came upon an omikoshi parade, where visitors were encouraged to throw buckets of water at the portable shrine, and by extension, the people carrying it. There was this one sopping wet kid who had the most wicked expression on his face as he gleefully splashed the shrine, but privacy laws prevent me from posting the pic. Gotta love this country.

One of the more spectacular performances was the stage show depicting how shogun of old were entertained by oiran, or high-class geisha. Personally, if I had to lapse into falsetto every third syllable like they did I'd put myself out of my misery pretty quick. What the show didn't elaborate on was that oiran were more courtesans than entertainers, and that their obi were tied in front for easy access to more than just tea and biscuits. Sempai got roped into the performance as a guest of the shogun, but that's another story. ^^

Just in case you thought she was just a pretty face, she was pretty good with a monk's staff (no pun intended) in subduing an armed intruder and saving the shogun from a sticky end.

PWNED!

I'm not sure if it's historically accurate to say that women had such kickass roles in the real Edo period, but it sure was fun to watch. The last open air performance we saw involved bumbling lawmen on the trail of an Edo style Robin Hood called The Mouse. I reckon she was quite cute, actually.

Of course, it wouldn't be true Edo intrigue without a clever ruse involving an impostor. The real Mouse showed up to set the record straight, and gain himself a female sidekick in the process.

It was all terribly cheesy, but it was a well aged, tasty cheddar. It was really refreshing to go someplace where formality and protocol could be jettisoned for a jolly good time. We rounded out the day by making a pit stop at Utsunomiya for its famous gyoza. There was a whole boatload of places serving them, but we settled on this one. Maybe it was because the mascot looked like it was on some kind of hallucinogenic high...

I had the sampler plate of 12 gyoza, each with a different filling:

They mostly tasted similar, but there were a few that I might order again if I go there, such as the cheese, extra-spicy, shiitake and stamina gyoza. The shop also has a delivery service for its frozen gyoza, sent by refrigerated courier anywhere in the country for free. Might give them a call if I ever throw a gyoza party. Lucky I kept their business card. ^^

Mountain Barbie

I think I'm getting into this summer vacation business a little too deeply, which would explain why I've been too lazy to write anything for the last month. Since there hasn't been a real need to go to school for actual lessons, there hasn't been big blocks of free time in the afternoons where I usually write stuff. I've been bludging at home instead ^^

The kids aren't so slack though. Most of them still go to school everyday for club activities, or go to cram schools to mug for upcoming tests. It's almost like not having a break at all.

The lot of us at the Carrot had it good though. Our section head brought us to a nice family-run restaurant in the Naganuma neighbourhood for a summer lunch. I thought it was just a regular restaurant, albeit one with a genuine wood-fired pizza oven. I wasn't expecting it to look more like a cozy open air campsite.


The owner makes everything from scratch, including his own pizza dough, and puts it all together on the spot. Sure, the toppings were typical of pizzas in Japan, but it was really nice to have freshly made thin-crust pizzas straight out of the oven. None of that thick crust pan pizza business here.


Just because this is Japan after all, the pizza was accompanied by kakiage (tempura battered vegetables and seafood) and flash-fried french beans with garlic and soy sauce. All the vegetables were either grown in the neighbourhood or in the owners own vegetable patch, because people are hardcore like that here, ya know.

No summer camp would be complete without meat sizzling on the barbecue, and sure enough, the charcoal was soon alight and the smell of grilled beef filled the camp. A couple of cold beers on the side really hit the spot.

The guy manning the grill was the same one I mentioned a few posts back in the town mascot suit. He's not too bad with a pair of tongs too. ^^

A hike around the hillside in between courses took us through a bamboo grove where I had sudden mental images of ninja showdowns, a shady forest filled with wild lilies, and a field filled with buckwheat plants, which I'm told bursts into flower in the fall. More total hardcore-ness followed because we were all treated to soba hand made from buckwheat grown in that very field as a finishing touch to our meal.

There really is a difference between store-bought, machine made dried soba. Or maybe it was the cold dipping sauce on a hot day that made the noodles seem extra tasty. It was here that I also found the answer to the perplexing question of what to do with the pot of hot water I was presented with in that soba restaurant back in Nagano. It's actually the water that the noodles have been boiled in, which apparently contains all the nutrients that were leached out of the noodles during cooking. This "soba-yu" is meant to be mixed with whatever dipping sauce is left in your cup, then drunk to improve circulation and lower blood pressure. And it's true!

Before we could explode from the food, it was time to go. I had no doubt I would have been able to roll down the hillside for all the good food I'd had, but of course I took the more comfortable option of going home by car. I really should have used the GPS function on my phone to pinpoint our actual location so I can find my way back here the next time, but alas, too much beef, beer and buckwheat sadly dulled my reason and I'll have to rely on the kindness of less directionally challenged friends the next time I feel like hillside dining.

Cool as a kyuri

This town seems to be famous for a lot of things. Burning haystacks, peonies, fireworks, and now, cucumbers. I have them in my daily breakfast sandwich, and I've gotta say, them's good eating! The locals are right proud of their produce, and each year, they organize a summer street festival in honour of the cucumber god to wish for good health and a bountiful harvest.

The custom in these part is that you bring two cucumbers to the festival and present them to the shrine, where upon you make a wish and get one cucumber back in return. Makes you wonder what happens to all those cucumbers the shrine collects from everyone at the end of the day. Anyway, I was told that you're supposed to eat the cucumber you get back so that you stay healthy for the rest of the year. Hmm, this might just keep me from getting sick on my next few rotations at elementary schools, so I decided to go to the festival decked out in my yukata and armed with two cool curcurbits.

It seemed the whole town had turned up for the festivities, no doubt encouraged by the lack of rain which usually accompanies summer festivals in Sukagawa. The entire main street up until the dodgy part of town (where all the hostess bars are) was flanked by food and game stalls, and every other female I could see was dressed in yukata, including many of my students. In fact it took an inordinately long time to navigate my way to the shrine at the opposite end of the street because I kept getting stopped every few metres by shouts of "Aa! Eigo no sensei da!" This was despite the fact that I'd pulled a Superman and switched out my glasses for my contact lenses and was wearing something entirely out of character. It was actually a little embarrassing, since I couldn't remember who the students were without the handy name tag they have sewn to their school uniforms. ^^;

It seems like people here take the cucumber exchange seriously, because the queue extended a couple of blocks from the shrine itself. Sure, it wasn't the iPhone launch, but it was still impressive for what it was.

That's me ringing the bell and making a wish after getting my cucumber back. Actually, I might have wished for a nicer cucumber since the one I got back was slightly limp from all that manhandling by its previous owner. Well, At least I won't be short of sandwich fillings for the next day or two.

Speaking of food, no street festival would be complete without delectable treats from the many stalls set up for the occasion. In lieu of the tastes and aromas of the evening, here are a few pics of the more interesting offerings:

The Japanese take on the Mexican favourite with a pancake instead of a flour tortilla.


Mmmm, charcoal grilled seafood.

I do so love okonomiyaki, and this batch was fresh off the griddle.

These newcomers were pretty special. They're basically spiral cut potatoes threaded onto skewers and deep fried, then sprinkled with stuff like powdered cheese, salt and pepper, green tea powder and the curiously named "ebi shio", which apparently is prawn flavoured salt. I'm told it does taste a little like prawns. So Japan does have an answer to chicken salt after all. ^^ Judging by the queue at the stall, I reckon this item will make a comeback at the Obon and fireworks festivals later next month. I might give it a whirl (pun!) then too, if I don't get tempted by the grilled squid and fried noodles first.