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2011年5月26日木曜日

Okura Village Volunteer Guide part 2



Early in the morning, a public announcement from the village speaker woke me up.  "A mother bear and two baby bears found in Asahidai"


Asahida is a highland of Hijiori where were were planning to visit for a Volunteer Gude training... For a second I thought maybe today's training would be canceled but it didn't take long for me to realize that people around here don't plan things around bears. 


This is a veiw sopt of Hijiori. Hijiori is a caldera created by the volcanic explosion about 10,000years ago. The caldera had been filled with water so the whole place was like a huge lake...


This is Hijiori's famous "power spot" Jizogura. The legend says that about 1,200years ago, an pilgrim got lost in the mountains in Hijiori, and met a guy (some say a young monk) who was an embodiment of Buddhist bodhisattva. The monk said that when he was suffering from broken elbow (Hiji-Ori) he soaked himself in the hot spring he found, and was cured immediately  The monk asked the pilgrim to stay in this place and spread the word about this miraculous hot spring.  



It is said that the embodiment of Bodhisattva was living in Jizogura. Later, the convince pilgrim decided to dwell in the same spot. That is the start of Hijiori(Elbow Broken)Onsen.


Jizogura is located on the steep cliff and it's a bit hard to get there,but it is absolutely worth it!!! The view from Jizogura is magnificent, Many people come here to pray for safe baby birth, and for a good match making.



After lunch, we kept walking and walking. now we are on our way to the ruin of Okura coal mine.


I absolutely fell in love with this spot. Old coal mine factory is still there, The walls crumbling down. The greenish blue color of the bricks must be due to chemicals. 



The mine was closed in 1959 but there were times when about 3,000 people lived here. There were houses, shops, schools, bars. There was a life here. Hijiori Onsen was also quite busy at the time, many mine workers and their families visited Hijiori. 

This is Asahidai, Bears' favorite play ground. We used megaphones to make siren noise to keep away bears. Luckily,we didn't encounter bears, but instead, we encountered Mr. Chonan,who reported the village office about the bears in that morning. He said he was picking mountain vegetables, and when he got out of the forest, he found 3 bears playing under a wooden chair!


He said proudly. "I was the first person to spot the bears 4  years in a row."


This time of the year, all the Oji-chans and Oba-chans look so happy and energetic because after a long long winter, finally they get to go into the mountains and pick wild vegetables. Later they sell them and get good money. 


Of course everybody is scared of bears, but nothing can stop them from going into the spring mountains... a real gold mine !



2011年5月20日金曜日

Okura Village Volunteer Guides

On May 16, 10 volunteer guides from Hijiori area participated in the guide training. This day, we walked around Hijiori Onsen, and also went to Shikamura area which is famous for "Tanada"(棚田) or rice paddies shaped like stairs.



Hijiori Onsen is a small hot spring town inside the caldera of a volcano. The volcano erupted about 10,000years ago, and people started living here about 1,200years ago, seeking the good quality hot spring.



Since then, people have lived in this small caldera town. Everything here goes around Onsen. We worship the god of Onsen for giving us this wonderful natural gift. 


Usually, this time of the year is quite busy. Snow is melting, flowers blooming, yummy wild vegetables are waiting to be picked :-). But this year, we have less than half of the guests in this beautiful town... After the earthquake, people stopped traveling.  


So in order to attract more tourists, Hijiori Volunteer Guides are organizing walking tours almost every Sunday.




Since I grew up here, I can guide people around and tell them a bit about my hometown. My biggest challenge is the name of flowers and wild vegetables!! Our "teacher", Kakizaki-san could spot about every flower and wild vegetables. I was writing a note and taking pictures but i got totally confused, and couldn't match my note and the pictures :-( in the end.  that would be my homework!



After taking a walk in Hijiori, we moved on to Shikamura-area which is about 15 min ride by car from Hijiori. This is another mountain community. They don't have an Onsen, but they are blessed with beautiful "Tanada" rice paddies and lovely swamps. An open air c
oncert would be held on August 6th in their "Tanada" this year. The rice paddies would be decorated with candle light. it'll be just lovely!!



Shikamura has many swamps, and this is one of them called "Naga-numa". I  don't know if "swamp" is the right word to describe them. They are kind of big ponds. we saw lots of fish swimming. The swamp is surrounded by gorgeous "Buna"or beech forests.


Standing in the middle of the forests of fresh green was so refreshing. I would love to share this beautiful place with more people!


June 12the would be my debut as a volunteer guide :-) Gambaruzo!


Rimiko
http://www.mogami-genki.net/touji-lab/en/index.html

2011年5月17日火曜日

Taking a walk with my nephew :-)


Yesterday I took a walk with my 6 year old nephew around my hometown Hijiori Onsen. This is my favorite time of a year to take a walk in the mountains! 
Because A. The scenery of fresh green leaves and white snow is incredible! B. There are plenty of eatable wild vegetables C. There is no bear threat :-)


There is no bear threat now since there is plenty of food to eat in the mountains for the sleepy eyed bears. But instead, we met 2 long snakes drying their bodies in the warm sun :-)

I don't hate snakes but they always give me a jump. In Yamagata, there are some poisonous snakes but they live deeper in the mountains. 
This is one of the wild plants called "Warabi". It cannot be eaten as it is. It's got to be soaked in water with soda and ash for one night to take away bitterness. 

We have so many variety of dishes made of this "Warabi". It's enough to boil it and wash it with cold water and eat it with soy sauce. It's also great as Tempura. My grand-pa's favorite is to smash it (it gets really sticky like Natto) and mix with miso and eat it with hot rice :-)




When I was a child, we had "Warabi Picking Competition"(!) every year around this time. All the kids go into the mountains super early in the morning and collect Warabi. The one who picked most Warabi get a prize. It was a huge honor :-) I was so bad at it so I hated the event :-(                                                                    My mother felt sorry for me so she would buy some Warabi from the morning market and add some for my portion, so that I wouldn't get embarrassed at school (lol)
After the event, we would walk around the town to sell Warabi to the locals and guests stayin in Ryokan :-) 

We also found lots of baby bamboos. Yum! 



 This is my nephew trying to crawl into the natural snow tunnel. Unfortunately, his endeavor was interrupted by his aunt's yell "Dame!" :-)



 This is my beautiful hometown, Hijiori, in Yamagata prefecture~~~~



2011年5月14日土曜日

Lovely Sakata Tour!

酒田の地図Without my knowledge, I had become a member of "Hijiori Volunteer Guides" :-)  ha ha ha that happens a lot around here. But that is OK. I'm gonna love my new mission. 


This week, 3 Hijiorian volunteer guides and I attended the general assembly of "Yamagata Volunteer Guides Association" in Sakata city. 


This beautiful historical city is only 90min away from my hometown, Hijiori by car. But I never really had an opportunity to explore this city. What a shame! This trip made me a new fan of Sakata city!
Sakata is a coastal city of Yamagata (Japan sea side, not Pacific where Tsunami hit) with the population of 110,000. It had been developed as one of the most important port towns of Japan along with "Sakai"(current Osaka). 


Great thing about exploring Sakata is that a lot of the  main tourist attractions are in walking distance from Sakata train station. This day, we toured around the city on foot with a lot of Oji-chans and Oba-chans who are super energetic professional guides! We had only 3 hours and it was not at all enough to take in all these beautiful sceneries and intriguing history!


The first we stopped at these lovely temples. Sakata has a lot of magnificent temples of different Buddhist sects. In one of the temples "Kaiko-ji", lie two self-mummied monks. These self-mummied monks are called "Sokushin butsu". To make onself a mummy, is probably (or without a doubt) the most severe training of Buddhist monks to reach the enlightenment. Just thinking about it gives me shiver.
About "Sokushinbutsu"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
We didn't get to see those monks but if you are interested, come to Sakata!


Our next stop was the old resident of famous "Honma Family". Honma family had been one of the biggest landlords in Japan. The huge ceder tree in the picture is about 400 years old! Honma family has contributed a lot to develop Sakata city, and Sakata's history cannot be written without mentioning "Honma-sama"... 




Our last stop was "Sankyo Soko" wich is a set of old rice storehouses by the port. These black buildings are still used to store rice. The whole place has been re-modified recently to cater to tourists. They have done a great job, I'd say. Attached to the warehouses are museum of local art, and atmospheric sourvenior shops. 




You can take a dinner  boat cruise! The pink round thing on my palm is Sakata's speciality, Sakata Dagashi, Anko sweets.  Yum!




Sakata is such a picturesque city. I have to come back here sometime soon to visit all the museums and eat at the local restaurants~~~!
More Information About Sakata City
http://www.sakata-kankou.gr.jp/cgi/kf/kfinfo.cgi













2011年5月7日土曜日

Tsunami Relief Volunteer Life in Ishinomaki

My team, "Volunteer Center Support Group Yamagata" is currently recruiting individual volunteers to work with us in Ishinomaki. If any of you are interested in working with us, please let me know!


So today I write about a life of volunteers. 
If you come to Ishinomaki to do volunteer work, the first place you should go is Ishinomaki Volunteer Center in Ishinomaki Senshu University. 


All the volunteers register themselves here every morning at 8:00, and they go to work. There is a a small prefabricated house by the volunteer center with all the necessary tools so if you forgot to bring something, you could borrow it here. 


Also this is a place to go to get information. The billboard here is full of posters. Some recruiting people with certain skills such as hair cutting, acupuncture, and Cairo practice. Others got info about shower(!) available for volunteers. Some Ryokans in nearby hot spring town was offering a free tour to take Onsen!!


Senshu University campus is packed with colorful tents tents tents!! There are volunteers from all over Japan and from some foreign countries. Although there are huge numbers of people living here, the place is amazingly organized. There are few cases of theft, and I've never heard of any big fight or disturbance. 


There are clean toilets for volunteers. Amazingly enough, there is a national NGO called "A Group to learn from cleaning", and they clean all the toilets everyday!! Arigato!! 


There is no shower on campus. But as I've mentioned, it is available in some places. Japanese Self De fence Force is also offering showers during certain time of a day. 


There are some big supermarkets and pubs in the walking distance. Having a car would be convenient, but it's totally OK not to have a car. Our group has 2 bicycles. 


For the moment, we are pitching 3 tents in the camp site. But if somebody wants to work with our team, there is another wonderful option to stay in the small community center of my colleague from Ishinomaki. 


Her community is called "Shinohata", about 20 min by car from the university. It's a lovely little place in front of a shrine. It's got a kitchen, a toilet, and 2 big rooms. Most of our volunteers are staying here now since it's more comfortable. We get to cook together!


One of the neighbors are offering us to take a bath at her house every night! She is such a lovely "Obachan"!


I slept one night here at the community center, and another night at the tent. Community center is a lot more comfortable, needless to say, but if you stay in the tent, you get to meet other volunteers, which is fun as well... 









2011年5月3日火曜日

Ishinomaki Volunteering Report

I got back from Ishinomaki yesterday. I was there with my team, "Volunteer Center Support Group Yamagata" for 3 days. 


I took a video on the way. We were driving the road along the coast. You can see the devastation of Tsunami...


There is so much to write about, so today, I just focus on the work of Volunteers. I was actually surprised to see so many foreign volunteers working. 


I saw bunch of non-Japanese people working with Peaceboat, < <http://www.peaceboat.org/index_j.shtml >, many JET teachers. (I met a group that came all the way from Kumamoto!!), and there was a Brazilian team as well. 
at 8:00, all the volunteers meet in front of Ishinomaki Volunteer Center which is located in Ishinomaki SENSHU University. 


Everybody registers, and volunteer leaders take their team to the designated site. 


This day, (May 1st) we worked in a place called "Okaido Minami" which is about 600-700away from the coast. I could see that Tsunami was higher than my hight. Guessing from the dirt lines on the walls and  houses, Tsunami was as high as 2m. 


In this district, tools such as shovels, wheelbarrows, and bags for putting mud are collected in front of one house where the water is running. Most of the district don't have water supply yet, but this house has a well!


We were a team of about 30 from all over Japan. Our job was to clean around one house. There were a lot of mud piled up, we dug  the mud, put it in the sandbags, and carried the sandbags to an open space. 


It was a hard work for a person like me who don't work out regularly :-)  but it felt good to work like that.    


It was quite tiring so we took a break almost every hour. 


After clearing the mud, we cleaned all the garbage from an apartment building that people abandoned. It was sad to see everyday stuff like clothes, pictures, stuffed animals, book shelves, etc thrown away.  


The whole place stank. Mud was not clean mud. It's mixed with all the dirty stuff, excrement, even with heavy fuel oil, and after a day of work, you are not in a condition to go out on a date...


After work, we brought back our tools to the house, and cleaned ourselves with jet water!


I really liked the work. It felt good to clean the dirt with all the cool people from all over Japan and other countries.    






Rimiko