Takayama Green Hotel

We spent the night at Takayama Green Hotel so that we have a short distance to travel to Hida-Takayama.  This hotel is amazing!  I don't think I've ever been in a hotel this nice.  It has two onsens (hot springs) and everything looks so nice.  Dinner was a buffet of many different foods, so I tried all of them.  Well, actually just most of them since there were so many.  After dinner, we went to a karaoke room (in the hotel).  I didn't sing anything by myself, but I sang "Imagine" by John Lennon with my host dad and did the sign language to "Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake" ("The One and Only Flower in the World") by SMAP which we learned on the bus on the way back from the Toyota tour.  It was really fun.  Our hotel room is a traditional style and we all slept on futons on the tatami mat floor.  It was actually really comfortable and I enjoyed it.

the welcome sign in front of the hotel

lights in the lobby

we got free tea and cookies when we went inside

a map of the hotel

a display of a model festival float

the entrance to one of the onsens

The hotel provided yukatas and tea.

Taiga

all the girls right after going to the onsen

dinner

me with a giant sarubobo

all of us with the sarubobo

dessert

futons in our room

Taiga doing karaoke

Shirakawa-go (白川郷)

We spent most of the day at Shirakawa-go, a historic Japanese village.  There is a lot of snow in the winter there, so the houses are built in the gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り) or "prayer-hands construction" style.  It is called that because the roofs are slanted at a very steep angle and look like two hands praying.  The houses had to be built in this style because otherwise the weight of the snow in the winter would break the roof.  With the slanted roofs, the snow does not accumulate very much on top of the houses.  At the gift shop I bought a sarubobo, a human-shaped doll traditionally made by grandmothers for their grandchildren.  The word sarubobo translates to "baby monkey"- the faces are traditionally red like a monkey's and a monkey's childbirth is easy. These dolls are considered to be good luck charms. 

Taiga and me at a rest stop on the way to Shirakawa-go

at the rest stop- The scenery was incredible.

the information center at Shirakawa-go

some of the houses

in front of a temple

lunch- soba

There were a lot of small streams everywhere.

My whole host family (including the children's grandmother) and me

sarubobo dolls

overlooking the whole city

Breakfast (Day 2)

Today's breakfast: onigiri (rice balls), red miso soup, eggs, and tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette)

I really liked the eggs, tamagoyaki, and onigiri.  I also had umeboshi (pickled plum), which I liked.  Overall, this breakfast was very good and I enjoyed it.

Going on a trip!

Today and tomorrow my host family and I will be on a trip to Shirakawa-go and Hida-Takayama, two historic Japanese villages.  I don't know if I'll have internet or be able to update this blog, so there might be no posts for the next day or so.  Don't worry; it just means that I'm out being busy and having fun!

Origami

 After dinner I made origami with the children in my host family.  Sara, the oldest, taught me how to make a paper balloon.  I taught her how to make a winged heart.  It was really fun and even the younger siblings, Nene and Taiga, joined in!

Nene looks particularly thrilled in this one

Suiyaki

 My host mother prepared sukiyaki for dinner tonight.  Sukiyaki is beef, udon noodles, and vegetables (including bamboo shoots) all cooked in soy sauce.  We also dipped everything in raw egg before eating it.  This dish is typically not eaten in the summer since it is served hot and the weather is so warm, but it is a traditional Japanese food and my family thought I should try it.  I'm glad I had that opportunity.

After dinner we had sweets from a shop about five minutes from this home.  I tried some chou creme (bread filled with matcha and vanilla cream), dorayaki (a pancake sandwich filled with anko), and ayu (a fish-shaped pancake filled with mochi). 

Toyota Factory and Museum

We met nine local high school students this morning and they went with us on the tour of the Toyota factory and museum.  Each student from America had a group of three Handa students and a volunteer interpreter.  Things were kind of awkward at the beginning since nobody really knew what to say, but we did introductions and everyone was much more talkative after that. 

The tour of the Toyota factory was actually very interesting.  I enjoyed learning about how the Toyota cars are made.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the factory.  Personally, I liked the museum even more than the factory tour.  I got to see all the new technology being put into cars and personal vehicles (such as the I-Unit) and some of the finished cars on display in the showroom.  I’m so glad that I got to visit Toyota with other high school students.  It was great to meet all of them.

me with my group

welcome desk in the Toyota museum

a robot that played the trumpet (really well)

me sitting in the I-Unit

Toyota showroom

Breakfast at the Saito Home

 

I had my first breakfast with the Saito family today.  My host mother prepared eggs with ham and made her own raisin bread.  We also had a box of donuts.  The bread was very good and so was everything else.  There were some donuts that looked like our danishes, so I decided to try one.  It turned out to be a hot dog in a donut.  It was definitely not what I was expecting, but it still tasted okay.  I am looking forward to the rest of my week here!

Okashi (Snacks)

 Anpan- anko-filled bread  I got this at the Meiji Mura Museum, so it was made in a traditional way (or so my host family told me).  It was a little dry, but I still liked it.

 Bisco (vanilla)- basically a cream-filled cracker sandwich
Good, but not rare or very special.  I'm sure we have something like this in America.

Blueberry Kuzu Mochi- blueberry-flavored mochi with a clear outer layer
It was very good.

Arrival and Dinner at the Saito Home

I have officially moved in with my second host family!  It was sad to leave the Shirakawa family, but I am glad to experience Japan in a different way with a new family.  The Saito family has a clarinet which I am free to use and an electronic organ which I may play as well.  The clarinet is a Buffet (which is what I have at home) and has a very good sound.  I like it a lot.  Playing an organ instead of a piano was a little odd at first, but it worked out okay and I played a couple songs for my family: Für Elise (Beethoven) and The Storm (Bergmüller).  For dinner we had sushi that we rolled ourselves.  I made many tamago (egg) sushi rolls.  I also tried some squid and crab wrapped in mint leaves.  It mostly just tasted like mint, so those were okay.

Buffet Crampon E13 (clarinet)

me playing the electronic organ

dinner

eating dinner with the Saito family