My harmony land

Once again, thanks to the Japanese government, I was blessed with a long weekend. However, I was not blessed with the funds to take advantage of it and explore some distant part of Japan. Instead I invited my South African friend Ann to visit and explore my home prefecture instead.

Initially when I invited her to come and stay and she asked me what there was to do around here, I drew a blank. Asides from Harmony Land I thought that it was rather unfair of me to ask her to give up a long weekend and come to Oita.

The guidebooks aren’t very helpful, and in fact, the Eyewitness only lists 4 attractions in Oita – (gaudy) Beppu, Yufuin, Usa and Usuki. The first two due to the hot spring attractions and the second for their religious history, Shinto and Buddhist respectively. This is still pretty impressive for a guidebook, as most don’t make it past Beppu.

However, after much thought I actually came up with a list of things to do and we didn’t get to all of them and managed to stay within relatively small area of Oita.

Day 1
Ann arrived at Kitsuki station at 14:30. The plan was to head to Ajumi and then to Usa. I was aware of the possibility of getting a bit lost and sure enough we ended up making a bit of a detour to get there. But at least getting lost in Japan always adds to the adventure.

Ajimu was holding a wine festival at its winery, with tastings of their products. I was unable to partake due to my status as designated driver, but the atmosphere was great – even with Michael Jackson’s greatest hits blaring in the background. From what Ann could tell me the wine was a bit on the juicy side – not much alcohol content and from what I could see it was rather light and without any legs.

We then treated ourselves to crepes – which is quite a common festival food in Japan. They also happen to be really good. From there we headed on to Usa, which is just over the hill to the famous Usa shrine.

The Usa shrine is an 8th century, Nara period, Shinto shrine. It I considered to e the centre from which over 40 000 other shrines originated. Due to its history the shrine has been the recipient of imperial patronage and is second only to the Ise Shrine located in Ise in Mie prefecture (where I spent my silver week). The shrine covers a large area and as it was getting dark we weren’t able to fully explore the grounds. Though we did get to pass through some towering Shinto gates and I saw some ducks, who were surround by koi that were twice their size.


Day 2
On day 2 we headed on to Oita Aquarium and Mt. Takasaki National Wildlife Park and Macaque reserve.

This area is one of the most common attractions of Oita. The aquarium and monkey park are right opposite each other and makes for an entire day of family entertainment.

Mount Takasaki National Park is on the side of the hill over looking the bay and is home to a large, really large troop of Macaque monkeys. In Nara I eventually got tired of tripping over deer and I had the same problem here, but only with monkeys. We took the scenic cable car route to the top and of course as soon as I had stepped out of the car, I was in violation of some monkey code. This also explained the weird “what not to do sign” at the bottom which, as Freda said, looked like “do not give angry monkeys tissues”. The tissue I think was in fact paper and I had to hide all the pamphlets I was given for fear of attack.

While they were quite cute (for monkeys) I still have my well entrenched African respect for wild animals, which caused me to jump every time one of them decide to chase their neighbour past my legs. Unfortunately we could not understand the speech that was going on though I am sure the woman said “wife” a couple of times. I am not sure if this group are the same species but they are certainly related to the Japanese Macaque that National Geographic love to show bathing in the hot springs in the middle of winter on Honshu.

We then headed down the mountain and over to Umitamago Aquarium, or in English “sea egg”. I think as I a gaijin I am without the knowledge as to why a egg is the logo of an aquarium (and it is a chicken egg). It would be like having a whale as the logo for the Johannesburg Zoo. But anywho, one just smiles and nods. Umitamago is, allegibly, the 3rd best aquarium in Japan, after Okinawa and I think possibly Osaka, and well worth the visit.

One thing I really appreciate about Japan is how easy they make it to navigate such places. There is one path and you follow it, so you get to see everything without having to constantly refer to a map so you aren’t missing out on anything. This can however lead to the horrendous queue hell that I experienced at Himeji Castle in Kobe.

My only disappointment was not getting to see the horseshoe crab. There seemed to be only one and he was hiding at the time. I would have thought with Kitsuki over the hill that they would have had more though I think their effort was dedicated rather to decorating the smaller tanks with dollhouse furniture. No really. Some of the tanks had small playground equipment for the fish, others had a nursery – I expect as part of some breeding programme. Though my personal favourite was the shrimp’s tank that had been fitted with a gas stove.

Other things we saw:
1. The world’s largest amphibia (no, this is the correct spelling apparently)
2. Piranha
3. Dolphins
4. Sea lions
5. Various seals
6. Otters
7. Sloths
8. And my personal favourites – the walruses (or lolrus as is their meme term)

Though it seems that it is true and that in Japan you slowly start to look at everything as lunch and soon Ann and I were imagining some of the exhibits in an aquarium of lemon butter with a side of fries.

We were lucky enough to catch both shows that afternoon. The first one was the dolphin performance. The audience right in the front were thoughtfully given towels for the performance, not that it helped. All I can say is now I want to be a dolphin trainer.

The seals and walruses, all of which were incredibly cute, followed. The difference being that, unlike Eini, Mienie, Miny and Moe (of my EL childhood days) these seals were brought out the enclosure and performed in front of the audience. There were also I couple of acts with audience participation, where the children got to interact with the seals and one little girl received a sardiney kiss.

Though without a doubt I enjoyed the walruses. They were adorable and I think it was due to the fact that the audience got to touch them and was lucky enough to have I received a rather fishy kiss from the one of them. It was too cute. Though admittedly it took a lot of washing to get rid of the fishy smell from my hand but it’s not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.


Day 3
Harmony Land!

Firstly I needed to explain something. Hello Kitty is an institution in Japan. It is almost worshipped. Where ever you go you will find Hello Kitty souvenirs of whichever tourist attraction you may be at. Even some of my male teenage students have Hello Kitty pencil cases. So it is not uncommon for even adults to indulge in the kawaii world of Hello Kitty.

That said, Harmony Land is still considered to be a small kids attraction. But this did not stop Ann and I from indulging our own child-like desires and spending the day in the presence of Hello Kitty and friends.

Harmony Land is about 5 minutes drive from Kitsuki station. So it is really easy to get to and there are busses running between the station and the park. The decision to go was an easy one. How can one come to Japan and not got to a crazy theme park. I had also been sent a link to the worlds 10 weirdest theme parks and Harmony Land inclusion made it a must see (out of interest my next one on the list in Communism Park in Estonia). Besides I needed a wanted a new profile pic with Kitty and me.
We got to Harmony Land as it opened – along with all the other happy families and their small children – and it is quite something to behold. The cute is completely overwhelming and I have a feeling that all the employees go home and watch slasher horrors just to return to normal. Everything is pink and cute and happy. While the park is still a bit old it still has a happy magic about it. None of the rides are high tec – this is after all for small children and it panders to that childhood wonder you lose as you are forced to get older. In fact it reminded me a bit of Marina Glen, so even those most prone to motion sickness will enjoy it. Though I would suggest taking it easy on the spinning teacups - it was a while before I was able to eat.

One of the more technical rides was the 3D theatre. They change the show every few months and we got to watch a ride based on a Japanese anime show called GeGeGe no Kitaro. It was one of those 3D rides where the chairs move and they spray smells into the air. It was great but also the only ride in the park where they had English instructions – so we were strictly informed not to undo our seatbelts. The movie was about a race and got pretty bumpy at times when there was crashing and dodging and falling.

Over all the whole kitty experience was a complete jol and I left rather happy and full of good feelings to the world, even though my shopping needs had not be completely indulged.

<3 Pics are here!

My Kyudo Club

So I have mentioned before that I have joined the school Kyudo club and I thought it was time to explain.

Kyudo, which means “way of the bow” is Japanese archery and a form of martial art. There are many different schools of practice that descend from different areas of practice. These include military shooting, ceremonial and contemplative. The different schools place emphasis on different areas. Some see it efficiency as the most important goal, others aesthetics and some use it for meditation.

As far as I can gather at my school they believe that in shooting correctly and perfecting the form will result in hitting the target. i.e. “true shooting, certain hitting” or seisha hitchu. The goal does not seem to be accuracy but hitting the target with the correct form.

According to the Nippon Kyudo Federation the goal is to ascertain the state of shin-zen-bi, which translated basically means “truth-goodness-beauty”. So when the archers shoot correctly, or truthfully, with “virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things which relate to Kyudo (goodness)” then beautiful shooting is realised naturally.

The dojo, where we practice, consists of a shooting building that opens up onto a grassy area. The targets are placed on the opposite end, 28m from the shooting area. The dojo building itself is pretty nice with wooden floors – unlike the tin cow shack favoured by Rhodes.

I am currently a beginner so I am practising with a gomuyumi, which is basically a rubber band with a plastic hilt. This is to get my movements, or hassetsu, correct. This sport is all about aesthetics. Once my students have decided I am good enough I will move onto a bow. I don’t think this will be any time soon though. My T-rex arms have enough trouble with the elastic band. It is incredibly embarrassing to watch these tiny Japanese girls handle the bows with no trouble at all while I struggle not to have my arms shake when stretching the elastic.

These bows are not the high tech archery ones that they use in the rest of the world, that are carbon fibre, super balanced with pulleys and bolts made from meteor rock. They are old school wooden bows with some string. Okay well slightly more specific but the point is that the sport retains it historical roots.

My students are pretty amazing to watch. Three weeks ago they held an interschool competition at Kunisaki High. We walked away with all of the prizes – best school, male competitor and female competitor. Next weekend 6 of them will go to the main Oita competition for 2 days that is held in Oita city.

PS I forgot to mention that the uniforms are pretty nice – though this is almost entirely based on the ease to which I perceive they can be turned into Bleach Cosplay.

My Typhoon

I have heard rumours since last week about the possibility of a typhoon hitting Japan. Since then I have been in a mild state of panic, wondering if my windows are covered in plastic film and whether or not I will have to venture into the undergrowth of my jungle garden to try and turn off the gas (which considering the bug potential is far more terrifying than the actually promise of a tropical storm).

Every time I have asked my teachers about it they seem to laugh at my concern and tell me not to worry. That said I have still scoped out my various evacuation centres even if I don’t have enough water to last me 3 days. I do however have the recommended Skippy peanut butter and 2 tins of fruit.

I have been watching the news, and despite my lack of Japanese I, like George Bush and Julius Malema, can at least understand the pictures. At the moment the typhoon will not hit Oita directly but the outer edges will pass over my prefecture as it heads to Honshu. The bad news is that it looks like it will pass directly over central Japan. So a lot of people are rather scared about the situation. According to Itai-sensei, Japan has not seen a typhoon in 2 years. Still my biggest concern is the potential invitation broken windows would be to the population of 8/100-legged critters that are squatting in my garden.

Here is my blow-by-blow account of my first typhoon (not super exciting but I would rather not be typing from a shelter explaining how my roof collapsed):

6:40
Went to be and all was quite on the Eastern Front. This morning it was raining when I woke up for the 5th time (I hit the snooze a lot). Rain not heavy just continuous and no heavy wind.

7:52 First Typhoon related injury
Slipped on the pavement as I was taking out my burnables in front of one of my neighbours who kept, I think, asking me if I was okay. Not serious harm, asides from my pride, luckily my neighbors recycling cans broke my fall.

8:21
あめはふります。
No change. Rain continues to fall.

10:52
Still raining. Wind is starting to pickup; I can hear it starting to whistle. The typhoon is predicted to hit Honshu at midnight tonight. I have never been happier to be placed in the backwaters of Kyushu.

12:40
Rain has stopped briefly over lunchtime but it is cold and it is miserable.

13:48
The wind is picking up and it is getting gloomy. I keep wondering when it is going to start to get really miserable. It’s a bit disappointing actually.

16:30
The rain stopped about lunchtime but now the wind has started up. It is also getting rather cold, and since I am cold blooded and can’t rely on my body to keep me warm. I don’t think I will be practicing Kyudo this afternoon.

18:25
Kyudo finished early. I am not surprised the wind is howling – but not quite Cape Doctor strength but bad enough.

20:40
The wind has started again and it is hitting all of my windows. It is really ghastly outside. My main concern is what I am going to wake up to tomorrow. Regardless I will still have to go to school.
私はちょうとこわいです。


The Aftermath
So I woke up this morning to nothing. No rain. No wind. Just cold. In fact it was a beautiful sunny day outside. The air is fresh and everything just feels clean. This is apparently typical of typhoons – they wreak havoc and leave you with nice sunny weather for you to clean up in.

It seems that the typhoon altered course a bit and moved further away from Oita, so considering we were only feeling the edges its effects where reduced even further. That said we have been the lucky ones. The typhoon has wreaked havoc on Honshu. From what I have read in the news, 2 people have died and about 50 have been injured. This doesn’t sound like much but when you see the damage it has caused (pics here) you can see it was a pretty nasty storm at the centre. They keep showing images on the news of collapsed bridges, cars that are completely wrecked – covered in mud or floating in water – schools that have lost their roofs. It is a good thing SA doesn’t get them. We can barely handle flooding.

I was a little bit disappointed not to have experienced the full force of Typhoon Melor and I no my students feel as they have been cheated of a day off school but I am glad I was not in the middle.

My Kimono

This Saturday I attended the full moon viewing festival in Kitsuki. Kitsuki is an samurai town north-west of Kunisaki. Mostly it is famous for 2 things, its castle and two hills – which people walk up the one side and then up the other. The castle (Kitsuki-jo), was built in 1394 by Lord Kitsuki Yorinao. Other attractions include the Samurai house.

Hundreds of bamboo candles were set up all over Kitsuki for the festival and the teahouses were open to visitors wanting to experience a traditional tea ceremony. I skipped this as I had the chance to attended one at my school Cultural Festival where I was served by my students.

The highlight of my evening however, was getting to rent a Kimono for the evening. I knew that they were complicated but I had no idea until it took 15 minutes to strap me in.

Kimono’s are full length, t-shaped robes that are wrapped over the body (left over right). They seem to be one standard size and are fitted to the wearer (with multiple sashes, belts and ropes). The main securing sash is called an obi and our outfit included zori (traditional straw sandals). I had to buy some tabi (split toe socks).

It was quite an experience being dressed – and there is no way I could have dressed myself. The little old lady dressing me also had to have been pretty strong what with all the tugging and tying and pulling going on. It seemed to take ages and in the end I was well aware of what a corset must have felt like. I have also uncovered the reason for the style of walking – it’s all in the shoes. I suppose it didn’t help that biggest size they had were still too small for my giant flipper feet.

For all my pics from the evening click here