The Gucciones in Aizu-Wakamatsu

In the morning we went to breakfast, and had the interesting choice between these two signs to hang on the door:  “Please Do Not Disturb” and “Please Let A Room Alone” (we whimsically chose the latter).  We lucked into the first nice day in weeks.  You could even see Lake Inawashiro in the distance.  We went back to the pool for a quick (and relaxing) dip, then decided to see more of the grounds before we had to leave.  There were goats, chickens, totem poles, and a great trail with a rushing stream and a bamboo treehouse.

Next door there was also this ski jump practice pool.  People would ski down the slope, often doing flips and spins in the air, then land in the pool.  I managed to get 5 quick shots of a skier doing a run (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).   There was also this great sign outside of the Izyakaya (bar).  At hot spring resorts (onsen) you can wear your yakuta and slippers around the hotel.  But it seems they are forbidden in the bar in Inawashiro.

Once we got home, Sarah and her friend Elitia demonstrated their unicycling skills.  I also made a fun video of them.

We decided to get out of Aizu-Wakamatsu for the weekend and went for a visit to a resort in Inawashiro.  Inawashiro is about a half an hour by train to the east on the north shore of Lake Inawashiro.  We spent one night at the Listel hotel, which is a ski resort in the winter but has a great indoor / outdoor pool complex.  We were surprised at how much there was to do on the grounds of the hotel.  It was pretty isoated, but there was a huge garden with these giant wooden carved statues.  There was also a petting zoo with goats, pigs, chickens and even rabbits you can walk on a leash.  Swimming with dozens of Japanese families was a trip, though the pools were excellent.  Many were heated to 40C (like  hot tub).  Dinner was a massive buffet unlike anything I would have expected in Japan.  I was surprised to see how folks here eat when on vacation.  Maybe a few hundred folks in a large, well-lit dining hall eating huge plates of just about everything you can imagine, from Japanese specialties like sushi and sashimi to roast beef, salads, etc.  Then we lucked into a big fireworks show and went for a walk in the garden, which is lit up at night like some sort of display you might see in the US at Christmas time.

And for the product names file:  Body Love tea by the Coca-Cola company.

Every summer the university rents out a ballroom at the Washington Hotel and sponsors a summer party.  The food and drink was excellent and everyone seemed to have a great time.  There was some entertainment by some singing faculty (see video) and some more traditional Japanese music.  The kids seems to have the best time of all.

A few pics from our food shopping (mis-) adventures.  The sashimi is cheap and good, even at the local convenience store.  It is our dinner lots of nights.  Oddly, sushi is more expensive, since rice seems to cost more than fish here.  We’ve also taken a liking to these little rice things called onigiri.  They always have some small bit of fish or something in the middle.  It is usually a surprise for us, since we don’t read Japanese.  We’ll have to make these back home, maybe with a Texas twist (BBQ Onigiri?).  I tried to make hamburger sushi for Zach, but he said it wasn’t as good as at the conveyer-belt sushi restaurant.  And some very hot snack stuff that Mike recommneded.  Not sure what to make of these.  I can’t tell if they are potatoes, corn or maybe rice.  But they sure are … well … hot.  And some coffee that we have bought twice thinking it was chocolate milk for Sarah.  It is brown and has a cow on it.  We can pretty much read the Katakana for coffee now, though.  Lastly, some drinkable yougurt that Diane bought and made pasta carbonara.  It was only the next day when I went to make pancakes that I realized it wasn’t milk (or even bad milk) but drinkable yogurt.  The look of that cow should have been a tip-off.  Odd, because the yogurt we did find was in the smallest containers.  Lastly the famous sake in a box.

Friday afternoon we all went out to lunch with our friend Professor Jerry Dehart.  He took us to one of these sushi places with a conveyer belt that goes around the restaurant, snaking around past each table.  You take what you want and pay 100 yen (about $1) for each empty plate at the end.  Zach especially liked the hamburger sushi.  Then we took a drive through the nearby mountains and saw the local lake and dam.  We even stopped and got some water from a spring in the mountainside.

Jerry drove us even further out into the countryside and brought us to this amazing temple complex.  The entrance was guarded by two statues, one of whch bore a strange resemblence to my Dad (according to Zach and Sarah).  Inside were dozens of small carved statues and Japanese lanterns.  At the top of the stairs was a large eloborate temple, more like the ones we saw in Nikko than what we found locally.  There was the row of large carved statues flanking the stairs, each of them filled with details.  Just as we got into the temple, the rain started.  But it was filled with more statues, carvings and paintings.  When the rain let up we walked down the stairs to see the museum.  What was wild was the museum was filled with original signed prints by Miro, Picasso, Warhol and others.  Plus all sorts of other stuff.  Really amazing all this stuff in the countryside 20 minutes into the hills outside of Aizu-Wakamatsu.  On top of all this there was also a large Buddhist library and art gallery and also a place dedicated to pets.  On the way home we made a quick stop at the onsen spas just on the edge of town at Higashiyama.  It turned out to be a very long lunch, but one of the best I’ve ever had.

Some other random pics of Pocky Men’s Bitter Chocolate and this doorway curtain that I bought for $10 that I later realized had a passing resemblence like the Cmpware logo.

In the morning people came in to our hotel room to put our futons away and to bring us this huge breakfast.  Diane and I were adventureous got the Japanese breakfast, though the American breakfast was only slightly less unusual.  After eating, we went back to the Nikko temples, in the rain.  But it was ok.  The busloads of Tokyo tourists hadn’t arrived yet and we seemed to have the place all to ourselves.  Again, more temples and statues (this page has over 150 pics on it).  Then it was time to take the trains back to Aizu Wakamatsu.  We shared an eki-ben on the way back and were home in time for dinner.

We took a weekend trip to Nikko, which is about halfway between here and Tokyo.  It was a beautiful place full of temples.  So be warned:  there are almost 200 pictures on this post, and more tomorrow.

We had to take three different trains to get to Nikko, including a ride of the Shinkansen ‘bullet train’.  We even went native and ate those little rice balls they sell everywhere.  Nikko was amazing.  We saw the famous Shinkyo bridge and more temples and statues and carvings than I could begin to describe.

Then we checked in to our hotel, which was perhaps the most amazing place I have ever stayed.  We had the Japanese style room (which basically means you sleep on the floor).  But this was an ‘onsen’ spa hotel, so they outfit you with a kimono or yakuta (robe) and slippers.  People actually wear these the entire stay, roaming around the hotel dressed like this.

After touring Nikko, we decided to go for it and have at the spa.  There are very elaborate customs associated with these onsens, and I have also heard that some are not friendly to foreigners.  Oh, and did I mention that no clothes are permitted?  But there are two sections, one for men and one for women.  Luckily no one else was there, and Zach and I went to the indoor spa (like a big hot tub) and briefly to the outside one.  It was too hot for Zach, so we didn’t stay long.  Di and Sarah had a similar experience.  (Sorry no, photos).  I would do this again any time.

After a relaxing soak in the spa we went out in search of dinner.  Little did we know that Nikko is a town packed with tourist from Tokyo by day, and all but deserted by night.  Not a single restaurant was open.  I believe most hotel guests have dinner served to them I their rooms.  Quite and elaborate affair that we didn’t think we would be up for.  We had no idea that it was our only option after 5:00 p.m. in Nikko.  But it was too late to even book dinner in our room.  So we trudged through the rain to a 7-11 and bought a bag of food for our dinner, which we were actually happy to have by that point.

Just a few photos from a Friday around Matsunaga.  Waiting for the bus.  Eating lunch at Gnocchi Gnocchi.  Watching the Yakatori Man set up.  And the return of The Lizard, this time on the screen door in the back.  And Diane loved the wide range of hair colors available here.  That’s about all the excitement you can find on a Friday in Matsuinaga.

This Sunday, with the prospect of a week of rain ahead, we decided to go to the university and swim.  I was originally told this would be no problem, but then later that we might not be able to use the pool at all.  But i looked at the posted rules, and there was nothing about lifeguards, hours or even horseplay.  But you are required to wear a bathing cap at all times.  Luckily we had bought bathing caps just for this sort of occasion.  It turned out to be great fun, with the rain coming down outside.

On the way to campus we stopped at yet another little temple.  It is smaller than the other ones and seems to have been recently rebuilt.  And yet another of my favorite Japanese product names:  Hope cigarettes.

Continuing in the tradition of broken stuff in our apartment, our DSL went down Friday.  Sorry for the lack of postings and email.  But they are working on it right now.  But the weather is supposed to be rain for the rest of the week, so wish us luck.