My Next Door Neighbor

My next door neighbor is .......a Temple!!
YES!! A Temple! It`s called  Niioson, named for the two temple guards housed in the two gate houses in front of the temple.
Japan is an interesting mire of Buddist temples and Shinto shrines with a few Christian churches interspersed.
The basic way to tell the temples and shrines apart is..... the shrines have to red "torii" at the entrance and the shrines have two large temple gates usually housing the temple guard statues.

Today`s pictures are of the temple next door to "Our House".

 

Michi-no-Eki

According to Wikipedia....Michi-no-Eki is a roadside rest area found along highways in Japan. In addition to providing rest areas for travelers, they are also intended to promote local tourism and trade. You can often find shops selling local produce, snacks, souvenirs, and other goods. According to government figures, there are around 900 Michi-no-Eki around the country.

Couldn`t have said it better myself!!

There are three Michi-no-Eki within comfortable driving time from my home. I like to visit and buy local produce and products. There are usually decent Food Court areas selling fast food and local menus.

Yesterday, Teru-chan, a good friend, and I went to a newly opened Michi-no-Eki in Sawara City. I am sorry to say that this is the first Michi-no-Eki that I was disappointed in. Maybe it will get better....

Anyway, we had a nice drive and lunch and on the way home we stopped in at a produce store and got fresh veggies!

All is well that ends well,Yes?

Have a nice day!!

Planting the Rice Paddies

This is the time of the year to plant the rice paddies(ta ue, in Japanese) here in our area. By the time Golden Week is finished, most of the rice paddies are planted.

First of all, the paddy is plowed and the enbankments between the paddies are repaired and fortified. Next, the paddy is filled with water and plowed again .Then the paddy is planted with the seedlings that have been grown in a much smaller area.

My explanation makes it sound very easy, but , as all farmers know~it ain`t! Much time and sweat goes into the paddies.

I love to watch the process from preparation to planting to harvest( ine kari, in Japanese).

Have a nice day!!

Okinawa R&R

Took a "Girl Trip" to Okinawa! The ultimate R&R! Don`t want to knock trips with my husband, but Girl Trips are really fun! Non stop giggling, and talking! True " Rest and Relaxation"!! My travel Buddy was Teru.... we travel well together....hehehe!!

I`ve been in Japan for over 40 years, and this was my first trip to Okinawa.

Okinawa is part of Japan, but it`s like going to another country. Even the Okinawans consider themselves Okinawans first and Japanese second!

We came with a tour group for two nights and three days. The good thing about tours is that everything is all set up for you so. No fuss!

The first day, upon arriving at Ishigaki Island, we stopped on the way to the Hotel to visit some beautiful caves!

The second day we left the Hotel early and took a trip to a nearby island, Iriomote Island, where we took a "Jungle Cruise" through the mongroves. Talk about breathtaking! Mother Nature surely outdid herself when she created the mongroves!

Then we took a short ride on a water buffalo cart to a smaller island that is a botanical garden. Lovely!

After returning to the Hotel, Teru and I took a walk to a nearby Super Market. What better way to get to know a place than to go to the market? Real "Girl Country"! If I were many years younger, I would probably say that the bars are the place to go to get to know the people, but I`m a Granny so cut me some slack, OK?

The third day was spent on Ishigaki Island. We took a ride on a glass bottom boat. WOW! I now understand why Okinawa is a scuba diver`s paridise! The beautiful tropical fish, the coral, the unpolluted ocean water, these are all God`s gift to the Okinawan people, and they are taking very good care of these gifts.

In between seeing all of these attractions there was alot of shopping. This is the only problem I have with tour groups. So much shopping time! I`m not that big of a shopper! Oh well, just use that as "Chill" time!

We had a great time ! Three days of "talkin` story" and still things to say! Girls! Let`s do it again soon, Teru! And for those of you who visist my blog.....I highly recommend Okinawa to add to your "Wanna GO""Wanna SEE" lists! My rating is Five Star PLUS!!

Cherry Willow

This is a Cherry Willow in full bloom and majesty! The flowers are a deeper pink than regular Cherry blossoms and have a longer tree life.

It`s on the grounds of the Shrine next door to our place. It looks like it`s been pruned and shaped, almost like a Bonsai tree. This is " au natural"! It is just soooo beautiful, I had to share it with whoever visits my blog!

Isn`t it breathtaking!?!

Cherry Blossom Experience

Spring in Japan is Cherry Blossom Time!

The country becomes completely tied up with Cherry Blossoms.
The News even broadcasts the Cherry Blossom Forecast!

There are other flowering trees in Japan, but none has the devotion and love that is given to the Cherry Blossom(Sakura). The Sakura is truly God`s gift to Japan. The lovely, fragile, short lived blossoms captured the hearts and souls of the Japanese people centuries ago and has remained number one. The Sakura has been the theme of poems, stories, art, and legends. Special Tours are planned by Tour Companies to take us to the more famous and beautiful locations. There is Sakura flovored gum, tea, dumplings, candy, ice cream, even cocktails.

A common greeting in the Spring is "Have you been to "Hanami"?( "Hanami" roughly translated is "Cherry Blossom Viewing") Hanami is basically a picnic under the cherry tree when it is in full bloom. There are Company`s Hanami, Organization`s Hanami, Club`s Hanami, group`s Hanami,
family`s Hanami , formal, informal, day and night when the cherry trees are lit up with floodlights. Daytime Hanami is more for families and other groups. Companies and Organizations go more for late afternoon and lasting into the night. These usually include drinking "sake" or beer, "karaoke" and general boisterousness. The formal Hanami will include the "tea ceremony" and "kaiseki",which is a traditional Japanese style meal.

Spring and Hanami!!
Don`t you just love it?!

You can even plan your trip to Japan around the Sakura and create your own "Cherry Blossom Experience"!!

Have a Nice Day!!

OBON

This is OBON season in Japan.

OBON is a Buddhist festival to honor one`s ancestors. Because the festival includes visiting and cleaning of ancestor`s gravesites, it has also become a family reunion time. In different areas of Japan OBON is celebrated at different times. Tokyo, Yokohama, and the Tohoku areas celebrate in July, but for other areas , the more common time is August.
OBON is a three day festival. It`s believed that family ancestor`s spirits come "home" during the three day celebretion.
OBON IRI is the first day....ancestors are welcomed into the home where the altar is maintained. The way of welcoming the spirits is different in defferent areas. The family might go to the gravesite with a CHOCHIN, a lamp, to guide the spirits home. Some areas burn small fires at the entrance to the home to welcome the spirits. The home will usually have an altar prepared for the ancestor`s spirits with offerings of food, fruit, and MANJU, a pastry made of rice flour with sweet red bean past inside. Lovely CHOCHIN are also set up to light the altar area. Here for three days the ancestor`s spirits are treated to food and prayers.
On the last day, usually late in the day or even after dark, the spirits are sent back to the gravesite, either on foot with a CHOCHIN to light the way or another small fire at the home entrance.
Although this is not a national holiday, many businesses close during the period or give their employees the days off.
Although I`m not a Buddhist, I think it`s lovely, and the heart of the festival is warm and loving.

Castle Town

Yes, Sakura City is a " Castle Town". In the days of warlords and samurai there was a Sakura Castle.

The central government in "Edo", now Tokyo, sent their officials out to the various areas. In order to insure these official`s loyalty to the Edo government, their familes remained in Edo, hostages? To show how important the officials were , there were very large entourages. Always included in the entourages were "intellectuals". "Intellectuals" in this period were priests. Officials took good care of their priests. Where ever they were stationed the officials built the priests temples or shrines as dwellings.

Another way that Edo insured their official`s loyalty was to move them around. This insured that the officials never became to close or chummy with the locals. When the officials were transferred their entourages went with them. The shrines and temples were left without priests.

If they were kept up, it was by the hands of the locals. Some, of course, fell to ruin.

Here in our small district of less than 70 households, there are two shrines and one temple.The residents have taken care of these over the years. There is a separate roster for each, and when your name comes up on the roster, your group, usually 3 or4 households, is expected to take care of that shrine or temple for that month. This means raking and sweeping the area and making it presentable for anyone who may come to pay their respects to the shrine.

Pictured today is the smallest of the three. Our group of 4 households was responsible for this shrine last month. We went in on the first and the fifteenth to clean up. I think that you can see by the picture that the shrine is well taken care of and loved.

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Thanks for stopping by!
Have a nice day!!