culture

Storming the Castle

Posted June 25, 2008 - 12:15am by Jeff
It looks close, but the winding path is quite long
Mariam, Kasey, and Ben at the Castle’s base
Golden ornaments adorn the roof corners
Osaka from above
Yeah, I conquered Osaka castle
Lions guard the temple
Casey and I chill on some traditional sake casks
A great place to meditate

Only four ancient castles remain standing from the imperial eras of Japanese history.

On our first day in Osaka, we visited one of these castles. The first thing to know about any good castle is that it’s built on the highest available elevation. The purpose was to see enemies coming from afar, and the castle itself can be seen during almost the entire climb toward its base.

Osaka Castle is now a glorified museum, which closes in the evening. We were literally running late as we sprinted two miles uphill to make the admission time. Winded, we got to the castle only to climb up eight stories of stairs to the very top.

Despite the climb, the view from the top is magnificent. Golden statues adorn the top corners and the entirety of the city can be seen below.

Unfortunately, the interior has been redone and made in to a museum, complete with holographs and HD video screens. Although this was interesting, I would have preferred a more authentic castle.

The surrounding area and shrines are beautiful and peaceful. As always, huge stone statues guard the entrances and monumentalize the area. Seeing a real castle is a cool experience. As an American, I feel like we don’t really have any truly historic buildings like these. After all, our country is only a few hundred years old, while Japanese society has essentially been in place for thousands of years.

Zen in the Sky

Posted May 11, 2008 - 12:31am by Jeff
a crane flies so high, over land of rising sun, momentary peace
Yokohama is strangely reminiscent of Katamary Damacy
The Landing Tower is the tallest building in Japan
Giant beetle!
Yokohama from above
Totally zen
Emiko, Hannah, Ben and Bob kneeling for the tea ceremony
Nic, Anthony, and Mike learn about the tea ceremony from our hostess
I don't know what this is, but it tasted pretty good
The traditional style of tea drinking
Traditional Japanese tea tastes like broccoli water
Dr. Coursaris makes a fresh batch of tea
Our study abroad group in the tea ceremony room

On Wednesday afternoon we traveled to Yokohama for a traditional tea ceremony.

The first thing I noticed when we exited the train station in Yokohama was a gigantic ferris wheel set against the city’s skyline. It reminded me of the cover of Katamari Damacy, a Japanese video game that got popular in the United States.

We proceeded toward the Landmark Tower, which is the tallest building in Japan. Although it may not seem very high by American standards, its important to keep in mind that Japan is a very seismically active area. There have actually been three earthquakes since we’ve arrived, although I actually slept through all of them.

Once inside, we took the elevator up 65 floors to the Zen garden. Although this seems like a strange place to have a tea ceremony, the view was incredible.

The area we were in was incredibly calming and peaceful. There was a path of large stepping stones through a river of pebbles. A trickling fountain added to the ambiance.

The room in which the ceremony was held was done in traditional Japanese home style. The floor was a group of straw mats, rice paper covered the windows, and an ikebana (simple flower arrangement) display gave a distinct Japanese feel.

Our ceremony leaders were dressed in a traditional Japanese outfit called a kimono. There are several aspects to the outfit including the inner robe, outer robe, sash, handkerchief, socks, and small wooden sandals.

To begin the tea ceremony, took off our shoes and knelt around the perimeter of the room. Our ceremony leader described the origins and purpose of the tea ceremony. Basically, tea began being imported to Japan in about 600 B.C., and has been part of the culture ever since. The purpose of the tea ceremony is to focus the mind and cleanse the body, helping to achieve inner peace and wisdom (also known as Zen).

We were served a couple of Japanese candies. There was a purple leaf-shaped treat that was filled with firm gelatin and a pink cookie that tasted like a very sugary wafer. We were then served something that may have been a tea rice ball; I honestly have no idea what it was. It tasted slightly sweet and a little like bitter tea or seaweed.

Our hostess then prepared the actual tea from powdered green tea leaves and boiling water. There is an intricate process to the preparation that involves whisking the tea and water to gether to make it just slightly frothy.
As the tea is served, you bow to the cup. You pick it up with your left hand, and use your right hand to rotate the cup once to display it’s pattern. You then bring both hands to your mouth and drink the tea. It’s flavor is unlike any other tea I have tasted, both bitter and strong.

When the ceremony was complete, we got to learn how to make the tea.

While we learned the art of making traditional Japanese tea, I felt very calm and relaxed. Not sleepy, just very peaceful. I’ll have to figure out where to get the powdered tea leaves once I get back home.

Takoyaki

Posted May 9, 2008 - 3:13am by Jeff
Sashimi is a raw form of sushi traditionally served without rice
Pickled string beans and carrots
Edemame are salted baby soybeans
The seafood salad had a weird texture due to raw fish
Egg cake with a sweet grain sauce
Takoyaki, or fried octopus in dough
Fried pork, "American" style
Rare steak with bean sprouts and green onions
Our group from MSU at a restaurant during our first night in Japan

The food was obviously very different, but so were the customs while eating. We had to take off our shoes to go in the dining room, where four low tables were sunk in to the floor. Blowing your nose is not allowed in the dining room, and sneezing in general is frowned upon. Of course, everything is eaten with chop sticks. It is considered rude to gesture with your chop sticks, and you are not supposed to use them to stab your food.

The menu was completely in Japanese. Fortunately, our group member Emiko was able to tell us what most things were. Everybody ordered a beer, but after that no one could decide what to get, so we had Emiko order an assortment of local cuisine.

As with most Japanese restaurants, many small portions of different foods are split among everybody.

We started off with a small bowl of carrots and string beans in vinegar. My goal for this trip is to try a little bit of everything no matter how strange it looks, so I tried the dish. It wasn’t bad! My friend Riki from Ann Arbor taught me the basics of taking close-up photos of food, which helps to show off all of the subtle details.

Next, we had salted pea pods. To eat them, you bite the pod and suck the pea out. These were really good – they tasted a lot like edamame (which is what they probably are).

The seafood salad was also pretty good. It had raw tuna, shrimp, roe (fish eggs) and assorted vegetables. Many Japanese foods have a lot of complex, subtle flavors as opposed to American foods with a few bold flavors.

The egg cake with grain sauce had a very strange texture and taste; I couldn’t decide whether I liked it or not.

If there was one thing I was scared to try, it was octopus. Little did I know, these delicious dumplings pictured below actually contained octopus meat and sauce. I tried one, and really liked it. After eating several more, I asked Emiko what they were; lo and behold, I found out they were yakitori, or octopus dumplings.

I assumed these small, fried bits were popcorn shrimp. I tried one, and it was strangely crunchy but tasted pretty good. Apparently, they were chicken bites.

Pieces of fried pork were also delicious. These tasted like something that an Asian restaurant in the United States would serve.

Next came the sashimi sushi plate containing tuna, salmon, shrimp, yellowtail, and of course wasabai. Interestingly, wasabai is not served for its flavor; rather, it helps kill bacteria so raw fish can be eaten safely.

We finished up with some steak, which was undercooked by American standards but delicious nonetheless.

Between the beer and all the plates we shared, my portion of the dinner cost about 1200 yen ($12). Not bad for a night on the town! My fellow traveler Mariam summed it up pretty well by saying, “Live like a king right now, because you’ll be rich with experiences when you get back.”

After dinner we returned to the hotel, ready for sleep after being up for almost twenty-four hours. Kom ban wa!

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