Homestay/Ryokan
Timothy Dobbins
The last few days consisted entirely of authentic, Japanese culture
and customs. I had the great honor of spending one night and two days
with the Toma family of Hitachiota Japan. Tooma-san, his wife Senai
and two children, Kota (8yr old boy) and Yuko (11yr old girl) were the
most wonderful people! They opened their home to me and extended that
famous Japanese hospitality the entire weekend!
The overnight stay started with Toma-san picking me up (with Kota in
tow) at the International Life Long Learning Center in Hitachiota. I
recognized them immediately because I had a picture that was waiting
for me when I first arrived in Tokyo! Smiles all around and some
broken Japanese/English got us on our way. The first few hours were
spent at a beautiful park because Yuko had a soccer tournament. Some
might think that I would have been disappointed in this activity, but
it was great! I really got a glimpse of true Japanese life. Turns out
it's very similar to our own weekend afternoons! The parents were
cheering, the kids were playing hard, and even though Yuko's team
lost, we could all see that she really loved playing! We then went to
a traditional soba noodle shop for lunch, which was fantastic!
Next we were off to the Toma home, which was planned by Toma-san
(family name and usually the father or older members of the family are
called by the family - last - name. I was invited to call them all by
their first names, though, but here I will refer to at least the
father in this manner. It would make him very pleased!). It was not
the traditional Japanese house you are probably picturing, but a very
modern affair. They did have a tatami (mat) room where the family
slept, though, with shoji screens and all. I slept in the playroom
upstairs on a futon with one of the small rolled pillows. Very
comfortable!
Senai-san had prepared an incredible, traditional Japanese meal
consisting of sashimi, rice, and many other fine food which I still
have no idea as to their identity. Being a good guest, though, I ate
everything, including the tuna and a fish called tei (I am still
unsure of what fish this was exactly - they couldn't translate this
one). I have come to the conclusion that almost anything with wasabe
on it is palatable. We all had a good meal and talked for a long time
into the evening over sake and beer (except the children of course!).
The next morning I found I did not need an alarm clock at all! The
crowing of roosters at 4:00 AM woke me straight up and kept me up
until the agreed on 6:00 AM wake-up time. The Toma house is located on
a few acres of land in the low foothills of Hitachiota. It really is
in a rural area, and the crowing chickens confirmed this for me.
Another good thing, though, was that breakfast included fresh eggs
from the chickens! Very tasty. Toma-san and I then took a short walk
into the forest to visit the local shinto shrine. Apparently, this was
a very famous shrine in the area, and was well looked after. Very calm
morning.
The family then took me to a beautiful area called Seizan-so, which
actually I had been to before! The good thing, though, was that most
of it was closed on our previous visit, so I was really able to see
the perfect gardens and the actual historic villa where the brother of
Tokugawa came to write a histor of Japan. Very famous. While here, we
were able to enjoy a concert of the shimasen, a traditional Japanese
stringed instrument! Incredible sounds and very Japanese. When the
musicians broke into a well know Japanese song from our prefecture,
the entire crowd (I was the only non-Japanese there except for another
teacher from the program!!) clapped and laughed along.
Ice cream and lunch at the villa ended the afternoon and my wonderful
family returned me to the Center to rejoin the group. Mama-san was
crying the entire time!! Before we left for the return trip, I was
able to give the family the gifts I had brought for them and they were
so pleased (I was pleased too - I was a little worried about that
part, heh). In return, they gave me gifts - even one for my daughter!
I promised to keep them wrapped until I returned to my wife and
daughter so that we could open them together! I will post as to what
they are then.
The next evening was spent at a traditional Japansese inn called a
Ryokan. This is a hotel of sorts built alongside an onsen, which is a
hot spring. Japanese baths are present here, and we got to partake in
those before being served a very traditional meal that evening, with
all of us in Yukatas (cotton robes - again very traditional and worn
the entire time at the ryokan) and in a large tatami lined room (so no
shoes, slippers or even socks in there!). The meal was beautiful to
look at, and I tried at least one bite of everything they had to
offer. Well, except the natto (famous in the region) which I and
everyone else passed on that evening. We ended up breaking into song
(think karaoke without the music) and were joined by some Japanese
gentlemen for a few notes that were eating in the next room! I guess
we were a little louder than I thought, but they loved it!
After dinner we went back to the hot baths. The men and women are
separated, but we were able to talk around the walls and keep the
conversation flowing (baths are outside and inside - think large
spas). A wonderful evening after a great weekend!
The next morning we were back on the bus (very common over the last
few weeks) and back to Tokyo. Just a few more days here until we are
home!
That's all for now! See everyone soon!