A Very Big House in the Country

As if we couldn't get rural enough here in Okayama, a group of us spent the night in a remote farmhouse nestled in a valley on top of a mountain in Hattoji. It came complete with thatched roof, tatami mats, irori fire place, and plumbing.There was a Japanese journalist present early on in the evening who interviewed and took pictures. While I was unpacking the reasonably healthy snacks I'd bought (rice crackers, unsalted popcorn, saltine crackers, and the one tube of Pringles) I looked up to find him poised to take a photo. He looks over the camera and grins at me, saying "Junk!", then click...

There was eating and drinking, reminicing over some classic tunes (among other things I recall hearing Def Lep and Color Me Badd), fire-starting, fire-fanning, and general hilarity (do I recall some wrestling, or am I imagining things?). For me, it was a brilliant night.

For further information and pictures about Hattoji, go here: http://www.harenet.ne.jp/villa/news/newsletter39.htm

And here's a little something I saw on the way home.

Near Naked Men

whether you want to see near naked men, or be near naked men.....

Okayama Prefectures main claim to fame is the yearly Saidai-ji Eyo or Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Man Festival). According to this very informative website: http://www.outdoorjapan.com/columns/tales-5.html , this festival dates back to somewhere in the 1500's when the priests of Saidai-ji Shrine started distributing paper amulets for good fortune. These amulets became so popular that crouds swarmed the temple every year and the priests decided it would be better to climb into the rafters of the temple and throw two wooden batons called shingi into the croud, redeemable for one year of good fortune.

This all makes perfect sense. However, somewhere in the course of history, someone thought it would be better if the men fought over the sticks while dressed in nothing but a fundoshi jammed up their crack (you'll see what I mean) and tabi socks. This just fails to compute.

So off I went to Saidai-ji Shrine in a convoy of three bus loads of tanked up gaijin to see what it was all about. The anticipation of the event was like electricity in the air. Taiko drums played while near naked Brazilians carnivaled it up. Up in the spectators stands gaijin tottered around with plastic bags full of booze dangling Japanese-style from their arms, and snogged next to the unisex portaloo. Before the shingi were even dropped at 12 am there was carnage and casualties as the hundreds of wet naked men jostled for a spot at the top of some very precarious shrine steps. The lights went out, a roar went up, and shortly after, it was all over. Two Japanese men earned good fortune for the year, the ambulances departed, the naked men stood in steaming hot paddling pools, and the rest of us tried to work out how to get back to the bus.

The temple grounds resembled a police parade ground on arrival.
There's always time for taiyaki.
Yes, I lit a love candle - as did most of the other girls I might add.

The naked man dip.
Dry man in, wet man out.
The end.

Rabu Rabu Aishiteru

Valentines Day was brought to Japan in the 1950's by a chocolate company executive and of course it became a day where women only were expected to give a gift of chocolate to the men in their lives. These days, there are two types of gifts - giri-choco, or "obligation chocolate", and honmei-choco or "true chocolate". Giri-choco is given not only to all male colleagues and superiors at work, but also to males in the social circle of the woman. Honmei-choco is the gift given to the true love, or Valentine, of the woman. Apart from chocolates, cookies, and small personal gifts are given.

In the 1980's, the chocolate companies thought they'd cash in again by creating "White Day" on March 14th - a day where men can reciprocate the chocolate giving. However most of the chocolate given to women on White Day is honmei-choco rather than giri-choco.

As for me, I didn't give any chocolates to anyone. I was lazy and sent e-valentines to a few people. I did receive the best Valentine postcard ever, a small packet of homemade cookies from a female student, a text message from a female Japanese friend, an e-valentine from a Japanese man I don't know asking me "Won't you accept my hugs and kisses?" (I'm begining to suspect this is a bad joke of someones), and a serenade from a Japanese guy who had gone to all the trouble of shaving his legs and wearing a cheong sam, wig, and high heels! I'm happy with my haul....

Snowed In

Spring, my arse.
Even the statues were cold.
Just getting off the train was a mission.
Locating the whereabouts of the school was a tad difficult.
Getting into the gym was a feat of gymnastic ability.
And looking out the window was damn near impossible.

Hitting the Slopes

A real benefit of living in the mountains is the number of ski slopes nearby. Just half an hour away by car (without snow or ice) is Shingo Dai-ichi Slope. There's another half an hour away in Chiyoda that offers floodlit night-time skiing too. And even in the worst conditions, Mt Daisen (the second tallest mountain in Japan) is only two hours away.

And so this weekend I went to Shingo Dai-ichi to try my hand at skiing and snowboarding. The last time I did this was 14 years ago, so I covertly watched the beginners classes until I got the hang of it, and pretty soon I was soaring down the slope completely out of control. I must have looked alright though because everyone was complimenting me on how well I was doing - or maybe they were just being polite.

The locals here learn how to ski and board from a very young age - there was even a man with a child that looked about two years old on a leash going down the mountainside. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Spring has Sprung

You'd be forgiven for thinking that it might possibly still be winter, what with all the snow and below zero temperatures, but no. According to the lunar calendar, today is setsubun, the last day of winter. Tomorrow will be risshun, the first day of spring.

The news featured articles on leaves and flowers that had sprouted today - not really reporting on the fact that these plants are blooming under controlled circumstances such as under uv lights and in hot houses. Spring cleaning is happening, stores are changing their clothing and instead of winter warmth items, we are now seeing back to school items, student bedroom furniture, and the inevitable "spring coat" going on sale.

There are many traditional activities that take place at this time, all aimed at driving out evil, sickness, and misfortune, and inviting the goodstuff to come on over.

Today, along with my kyuushoku (school lunch) I was presented with a little bag of roasted beans. I was told to eat a bean for every year of my age in order to pray for good luck. I was going to until I noticed that there wasn't enough beans in the bag!! They are now sitting in my cupboard until I can find a spot of soil to plant them in the hopes that something magical will happen to bring me all the luck I need....

For more information on Setsubun and fun things to do with beans, go here: http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/setsubun.htm