Nagano Winter Vacation

This year we decided to stay inside Japan for our winter vacation. We looked in to traveling to some of the neighboring countries, but since everyone else in Japan is traveling it was very expensive. We talked a little about the different options and finally decided to go to Nagano prefecture by car. Since we have the ETC in the car we can travel relatively cheaply and quickly by driving the toll roads around Japan. On our first travel day we were able to get moving by around 9:45am. It took a little over 4 hours to get to our first destination. It was Jigokudani Yaenkoen near Shiga Kogen. This is the park famous for "snow monkeys" These monkeys are the northernmost living primates other than humans in the world. The way they are able to survive is by spending a good part of their day in the Japanese Onsens (hot springs). When we arrived in the town I was able to stumble onto a parking area with a shuttle that took us to the park. We were driven up an extremely winding road and dropped off at a small turn around. From there we walked. Immediately we were greeted by a small pack of monkeys on the walking path. It was a little startling and we were not sure how safe the monkeys were so we were a little uneasy. Not all of the monkeys looked friendly as you can see below.

Eventually we stumbled upon an Onsen that the monkeys were enjoying. In the park there were monkeys everywhere. Kate said they looked like ants climbing up through the mountains. In the Onsen there was a variety of different ages of monkeys. There was one that looked to be very old that really appeared to be enjoying the water. He had one eye open and one shut and his mouth was half open. From the time we arrived to the time we left he was the only one that was not getting in and out of the spring. I have to say he looks very comfortable.

Most entered to warm up, would stroll around and the eventually leave the spring.

There were also many baby monkeys in and around the spring, they are very cute and fun to watch.

You could also witness many of the monkeys grooming each other.

Kate took a short video to give a better feel for what it is like. The video also contains the older monkey that was really enjoying the spring.

These monkeys are wild and so there are a number of rules that need to be followed. There is no feeding the monkeys and you are not to bring food or drink into the park as the monkeys can sense it and may attack you to get it. Also it is considered a threat to stare at them so you are not to stare. When we were leaving we got stuck on the walkway with a couple of monkeys. I told the kids to just keep walking and not to stare. A couple of times the monkeys looked at us like "you following us?", but they left us alone.

This activity turned out to be really fun and was one of the highlights of the trip. Kate said she could have sat for hours just watching the monkeys. I could not have sat for hours because it was freezing cold, I can understand the monkeys motivation to get into the hot water.

When we finished at the monkey park we went straight to our Ryokan. A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese hotel. There are no beds, instead there are futons. Included in the fee is a formal dinner and breakfast as well as the opportunity to use the public as well as private Onsen. Below is the main lobby of the Ryokan.

The view from our room was amazing. There are mountains all around and all of the roofs had snow on them.

The street in front of the the hotel was very quaint.

Upon arrival we were taken to our room and given Yukata (Kimono that can be worn throughout the hotel.) We put them on both children and then put ours on, then headed for dinner.

Dinner was multiple courses and the presentation is amazing. I am really glad that we could experience this type of hotel and meal at least once.

This area appeared to be famous for apples so one of our dishes included a hollowed out apple filled with shrimp and a number of other things.

During our meal we were informed that we were not wearing our Yukata correctly. Kate and I had on a part of the children's and none of ours, we were given the ones that we should have worn. It was funny because I thought mine was a little revealing so I left my clothing on under it. That all made sense when we found out we were wearing them incorrectly. After that we put all the parts on and then found out the order was wrong, so we tried one more time and finally got it correctly. I think the one below was after it was correct, but the children's may be in the incorrect order...I am not sure.

While we were at dinner the hotel staff rearranged the room and laid out the futons for us to sleep on. I would have slept fine except for the fact the the pillows were rock hard and too tall for me, as a result I woke up with a really stiff neck.

That night both Kate, the children, and I used the public Onsen. It was my first time so a bit awkward, but Liam really wanted to do it so I figured I should be the adult and go with him. In the end it was pretty straight forward and actually very enjoyable.

The next morning we had breakfast first and then had the opportunity to use the hotels private Onsen. The private Onsen is reserved in 40 min blocks. There is a locker room when you enter an Onsen usually with baskets for you to put your clothing and belongings in. Next you pass through a door and there are showers for you to wash off before entering the Onsen. Once clean then you can enjoy the hot water of the Onsen. Typically the Onsen is enjoyed without a swimming suit. Below is the private Onsen, the showers and Onsen are both visible. Since this one was reserved we were the only people inside so I could take a couple of pictures. I am only including a picture without us in it for privacy sake.

After enjoying the private Onsen we loaded into the car and headed toward our next Ryokan. On the way we passed Zenko-Ji, a famous temple in Nagano. The temple was originally built in the 7th century.

There are a number of different buildings and structures throughout the complex and it is enjoyable to stroll around and take it all in. The picture below is the main temple on the grounds.

I liked this picture, it is of an incense burner. The smoke from the burner is wafted on the temple patrons for good health and fortune. The smoke in the picture above is from this same burner.

At the end of the temple complex we stumbled onto a tiny Yaki Imo truck. Everyone was hungry so we bought two and split them. We also discovered that pigeons are also big fans of Yaki Imo and it didn't take long for us to be overrun by them. We enjoyed feeding them some of our scraps. It was funny watching as they would pick up a big piece and try swallowing it as they ran from the others that were trying to peck it out of their beaks.

Next back in the car and off back on our way to the next Ryokan. From Utsunomiya (our home) to our first Ryokan we were amazed by the scenery change, but when we headed farther west into the mountains it was amazing to see the abrupt change as it became even more mountainous. The video below shows a little what it was like for us. We went through a tunnel and when we came out on the other side everything was covered in snow and the mountains were steeper.

The next Ryokan was much smaller than the first, but also very nice. The pillows equally hard my neck did not get any better. This Ryokan also had a private Onsen that the family could enjoy as well as 2 public. Dinner was amazing, I didn't bring the camera because I figured you can only take so many pictures of food (sorry Generosa). I wish I would have taken it as this was the first time I have ever eaten raw deer meat. I have long since gotten over the shock of eating raw things, but I did hesitate for an instant before digging in. Actually it was very tasty and melted in my mouth.

We arrived fairly late and so we did not have much opportunity to see our surroundings until the next day. As we drove in I thought I saw a ski jump behind our Ryokan. The next morning before heading off to ski I drove about 0.5 miles to the base of the 1998 Olympic ski jump venue. I have to say that it would be pretty scary to actually go off of this thing.

All of the mountains around were covered with snow and at any moment it was possible to see at least 3 ski resorts. This area reminded me of what it feels like to be truly cold. Of course it gets cold at our home, but nothing like this.

About ten minutes from our Ryokan was a ski resort that we could get a discount on from our Ryokan. We had talked about taking the children skiing for the first time and finally decided this would should just do it. Since we got a discount we figured this was our best choice. The name of the resort was Hakuba 47. After getting the lift tickets and skis on everyone and a short trial run around the flat area at the base we headed for the ski lift. We successfully loaded everyone onto the lift, but once at the top our luck changed a little, both Liam and Colleen bailed at the top and ended up taking 1 of the next 2 loads of people down as well. Once we got that under our belt from then on we could ride the lift with no trouble.

Both Liam and Colleen did great for their first time on skis. Both had some struggles in the beginning, but after a couple of times down they had marked improvements.

Liam even felt comfortable enough that he went down at least one time on his own.

Just so there is proof that I was there I figured I should include at least one picture with me in it and on skis so here you go.

Kate and Colleen enjoyed playing in the snow.

I took this video of Liam going down the slope on his third time down. I think it would only take a few more times for him to really feel comfortable. Since going he has asked to get skis a number of times. I had to explain that there is no reason to buy skis if we don't have an opportunity to use them.

After a long day of skiing we hit up the Subway inside the ski lodge. With full bellies we headed on to Matsusmoto, our last stop. I have shown pictures of manholes from other cities in previous posts. The ones in Matsumoto are very colorful. I told Kate I should put all the different pictures into a book and name it "The Japanese Manhole." Sounds like a hit to me...Kate said she is not convinced it is a good idea.

Matsumoto is famous for the second oldest castle in Japan. It is one of the few original castles remaining. This castle was made in 1590 and is currently privately owned.

The castle is beautiful. I still have a lot of difficulty with Japanese, especially signs, but I was able to read that the castle was closed for the new year and so we were not able to go in and see the inside.

We were able to walk around the grounds on the outside. You can almost feel the history as you walk around. There was a wisteria vine on the grounds that was as thick as a tree. I have never seen anything like it. The moat on the outside of the castle was stocked with huge coy and there were swans swimming about. We took about an hour and walked around the grounds taking it in.

To ring in the new year we decided to go to one of the temples in Matsumoto. In Japan many people head to the temple to make the first prayer of the new year. As a result many shops are open late to serve food to people walking by. I had Tako Yaki and a crepe, Kate decided she wanted soup. While she drank the soup we sat buy a small fire the shop owner had going outside to keep warm.

When we first arrived at the temple there were only a couple of people there but about 30 min. before the new year hundreds showed up. After the countdown to the new year the crowd pressed forward and the bells at the temple started ringing as the prayers started.

The next morning I took this picture from our hotel window. This time we stayed in a typical hotel, but the pillows still stunk.

As we were getting up and moving we stumbled onto the Magic Bullet advertisement in Japanese. I caught a little on tape to play for your enjoyment. The actors are the same as in the US, but the voices are dubbed over. It was fun to watch a commercial for a product that we had previously seen in the US, but for the Japanese market.

In keeping with the Monkey theme of this post I found a little monkey to sit on for a photo op.

Then Kate photo bombed this picture of a super cub as I was taking it.

When we went to the castle the day before there was a lot of activity going on. We could see cameras being set up so I asked one of the people what was going on. I could understand about 80% of the conversation and I could understand that some show was going on at 9:00 am the next day. We got up early and walked to the castle (about 15 min on foot) and sure enough there was something going on. Turns out there was a show being put on for a Japanese TV show. We got there early and so ended up at the front of the crowd. Actually we looked around and I think we were the only foreigners in the crowd. As we stood in the crowd we could hear and see the show going on in another studio. The guy next to us explained that there would a portion of the show he was watching that was going to be filmed from the castle.

When it was time the girls were cued and the show started. We were standing at the front of the crowd so it is likely that we briefly made it onto a nationally televised Japanese TV show. Below is the show taped from my vantage point. Not quite the game show I was hoping to get on but it will probably have to do.

The finished product including the castle in the background.

When the show finished we were all freezing so we hurried back to the hotel to warm up and then check out and head for home. There was a big snow storm on the way home. In Japan when the road conditions become severe from snow there are checkpoints you have to pass before getting onto the roadway. At the checkpoint the cars are inspected to make sure that they either have snow chains or stud less snow tires. If you don't have them you are forced to pull over and apply chains or you can not enter the roadway. Fortunately our car came with a set of stud less tires so we could drive on through. I like this idea because it guarantees that the cars on the road are properly equipped for the road conditions.

Hope everyone had a great holiday and new year...

Liam's Marathon, Christmas, Tako Yaki (at home)

Two weeks ago was Colleen's marathon, this week was Liam's. I think his was about 1 km. He also had nice weather for his, but a bit cold.

He gave it a good effort and in the end was able to finish 16th.

There are many KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurants in Japan, actually I think it may be more popular here than in the US. In front of each store is a statue of Kernel Sanders. (photo courtesy of Wikipedia). I will get one later with our family.

You can always tell it is Christmas time when the Kernel gets dressed up in his Santa Suit. It seems that every store has this outfit and so every KFC you pass has Santa out front. (photo from the internet)

The day after Christmas our family loaded into the car to get a family photo with the Kernel, I mean Santa. Unfortunately like everything else in Japan the Santa suit is removed exactly on schedule and so the day after Christmas is no longer Christmas and therefore does not warrant a Santa costume on the Kernel. It was already gone by 10:00 am. I was a little bummed because it is likely that we will not be in Japan next Christmas so I missed the opportunity for the family photo.

I found this song on Youtube. We laughed a little at a number of the things that are mentioned in the song so here is a link on here for you to enjoy.

Christmas in Japan song

I did end up working on Christmas day, as a result we had the children wait until after school to open gifts.

This year we scaled back on the gifts. We want to teach the children that life is not as much about having stuff as it is experiences. We got a number of the gifts from a recycle store in town. We go there once in a while to find fun or interesting Japanese things and the children always want to buy from there so we just picked out things they always ask about. They were very excited about what they got. We were also very proud of the children for deciding to forgo their presents from grandma and grandpa this year in order to donate money to help needy children.

Finally last week I explained a little about Nabe, and the portable gas stove we bought to make it. Well there are also a number of attachments for the gas stove to make other things. One of those attachments is for making Tako Yaki. Tako Yaki is a little like a pancake ball with octopus and spice center. Typically they are found at festivals. I have wanted to learn how to make them for a while now, but without the pan it is not so easy. My main reason is that I want to be able to make them in the US when we return and have work barbecues or family parties. Tonight was my second attempt and the result was pretty good. The first attempt was a miserable failure. The directions on the back are in Japanese, but I could basically figure out the ingredients. Powder mix, 2 eggs, and 3 1/2 cups water. No problem......well I found out that a Japanese cup is not the same as the US cup, it is smaller. The mix I made was too watery and would not form. I had to give up and throw it away. In tonight's attempt I was able to correct that mistake (Kate already knew that information for the record) and we successfully pulled it off. I think next time the only change I will make is bigger pieces of octopus for the centers. All the ingredients are available in the states so everyone should be prepared to try these when we get home.....Now I am working on my one handed yaki ball spin technique for when I retire and start my Tako Yaki Imo stand.

Hope everyone has a good week....Merry Christmas and Happy New year.

Nabe, Mochi, etc..

Nabe (Nah-Bay) is a Japanese dish that is popular in the colder seasons. Last week we were able to purchase a Nabe pot and portable gas stove for our table so that we could make it at home. The dish consists of a broth, in our case it was soy sauce based, and then meat and different vegetables are mixed in. The vegetables that take the longest to cook are started in the pot first. Pictured below is mainly daikon and carrots in the broth.

When those items are cooked to a satisfactory level thin slices of meat are added. For ours we also added some kind of seafood ball. Finally the vegetables are piled on in two main stages. The ones that take a little longer to cook are added first and then last are the ones that cook quickly. Here are some of the vegetables we used.

Kate took this picture when it was almost finished. You can see the portable cooker. It helps to make a nice environment for socializing as the food is cooking in front of everyone. Once it is finished each person can take the things they like from the pot to customize their own soup.

This is what our finished product looked like. It was very good, especially when you consider this was the first time we made it. I think it will only get better from now. We have already made a kim-chi based Nabe pot since and it was also tasty.

Last week Liam did a presentation for his school about recycling and garbage. He worked with 3 other boys to prepare and deliver his presentation. Part of the presentation was on garbage disposal, when Liam was in America he and Kate were able to take pictures of how the garbage was handled in our old neighborhood. At the time of our return they already knew he would be making this presentation so they knew what pictures they wanted. He used those pictures to explain how it worked. Below is his story board on American trash.

Each of the 4 boys had their own speaking parts. We have a tape of Liam, but it is 7 min long and so until I can find time to edit it I will have to settle for the picture of him presenting it on the blog.

This is Liam and the 3 other classmates that did the presentation with him.

They all did a great job.

Today we made Mochi with the Takanezawa community center. Mochi is a rice based product that is typically pretty chewy. It comes in a number of forms, another is like a brick that you toast before eating. Mochi is very popular around the new year, but it is recommended that children and elderly be very careful when eating it because it is easy to choke on. It is made by pounding a special rice in a wooden bowl with a wooden hammer. When the Mochi is placed into the bowl it is still quite warm. Today was cold and so you can see there was a fair amount of steam rising from the rice.

The first step is to walk around the bowl pushing the rice down with the hammer to start breaking it down.

Each family got their own rice to make into Mochi, here are Liam and I working on ours.

After the rice starts to break down from the pushing you start hammering the rice with the mallet to break it down even more. The video below shows a little of that.

Colleen was also able to give the hammering a go. Both children were able to swing the mallet and help out. I don't have video, but Kate would jump in and turn the Mochi by hand every so often to help the Mochi break down evenly. With Kate turning the Mochi and me and the children pounding it there was no one left to take pictures. As a result Kate is not in any of the Mochi making photo's.

The finished product is very gooey and sticky. We broke it into smaller bits with our hands so that we could take them home and freeze them. There was also bean paste and Kinako (a soy based powder) to give the Mochi extra flavor, we ate what we could at the time and then we were allowed to take the rest home to eat at a later date. I was able to freeze most of it to eat at a later date.

Sunday evening we went to a party on the 5th floor of an apartment complex. It was a potluck style dinner as well as some fun games. While we were at the party Colleen was able to sit and make traditional green tea. This tea is made from a powder and mixed with a whisk. It is a very thick tea (almost creamy) and has a very distinct flavor. The strong green tea flavor has grown on me since we have lived here, I even like the green tea flavored ice cream now.

The entire family was able to have a good time hanging out and socializing. I think Liam liked dressing up a little and I know he enjoyed the food.

This is a group photo of everyone from the party.

Hope everyone has a good week....