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My host family pick me up at the hotel. They are (from left to right) Yuri, age 3, Yukitaka, Saya, age 6, myself, and Marika. Both parents are Junior High teachers. |
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This is a side view of their home. It is very modern and spacious. They said it is about 3 years old. |
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This is the front gable of an historic traditional Japanese house (Matanoso) that was open for visitors. It demonstrates how Japanese have traditionally lived for many years. |
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This is the center fire place. Tea is made here and meals are prepared here. It is also a source of warmth. Note the hanging hook for the tea pot. |
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The inside of the roof with its tied thatch or straw. This house was moved from 12 hours away and carefully reconstructed by experienced artisans. |
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Of the several traditional squat toilets to be seen in Japan, this is probably one of the loveliest. |
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Next we go shopping at a small corner market. Here Yuri inspects the produce. Niihama is noted for its Mandarin Oranges which were in season. Delicious! |
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Saya checks out the fish selection. The red bowl holds the sea cucumber which we tried. It is a delicacy and an acquired taste. I acquired it that night. |
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Later at the supermarket where the family does most of its grocery shopping, Yukitaka assembles the cart. |
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After lunch, we went to the mountains where there was a tram and temples. Mt. Ishizuchi is the second highest mountain in Japan. |
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The tram was an amazing experience! You can see how high it goes up, and the surrounding scenery was fantastic! You could see the ocean. It was getting late in the afternoon so we didn't hike to the temple. |
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We have our picture taken at the observation point. It was unseasonably cold for this part of Japan, but we made the most of every daylight minute. We took the tram back down in the dark with the last run which carried the workers. |
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Back at their lovely home, we prepared tempura. Marika's mother is a teacher of cooking and they are both accomplished cooks. Indeed, you'd have to be to make sea cumber edible! . . .and it was delicious. |
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It was a feast! I was reminded of American Thanksgiving which was just two days earlier. There were numerous traditional dishes and always more coming. We ate in the tatami room at the traditional table kneeling on cushions. I'll never forget it! |
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