I am stretched out on my bed in the Sunrise Coach train, rocking gently as we move along the northern coast of southwestern Japan – we went through Osaka in the middle of the night, and are now heading toward Yonago (where I picked watermelons on a farm as a college student) and Matsue before arriving at our final destination. It is good to see green fields and wooded mountains, and to be able to show my students more of the variety that constitutes Japan . …Although I am not sure they are yet awake. It's certainly possible as the announcement chimes began ringing at 6:10am but I expect most of them have rolled back over, and although they might be missing interesting scenery, I think they were pretty tired from all we have accomplished in just 4 days.
Our first morning in Tokyo , we wandered the myriad stalls of the Tsukiji fish market, a critical location in Japan as all the major fish wholesalers have done business here for generations. Every kind of seafood one could ever desire is on display, as fresh as can possibly be given that they are no longer swimming freely in the ocean. Huge slabs of deep red tuna being cut with knives two inches wide by 3-4 feet in length catch the eye. Ears are perked by the sounds of carcases of frozen tuna being cut with ban saws on one side; frozen slabs being trimmed with traditional axes (blades probably 8x8 inches square) across the aisle. Long, slippery-appearing eels are writhing in buckets, raw and uncooked shrimp are laid out neatly on beds of crushed ice. Shellfish of every kind are on display on the half shell. Throughout the huge warehouse/barn structure, men (and a few women) stride about in the their rubber boots, torsos covered with long rubber aprons, engaging in the business of providing the best and freshest for their customers. Ted Bestor describes buyers wearing baseball caps (identifying them as official) searching for the best deal; if one looks sharply they are to be seen in animated discussions with the vendors. And as one walks, one has to be alert to the presence of scooter truck/forklift/conveyances zipping about moving boxes of seafood from place to place.
After Tsukiji, a temple, sushi for breakfast at a nearby restaurant, and on to Asakusa temple with its street of vendors and booths selling trinkets, traditional Japanese clothing, toys and freshly made rice crackers (sembe), rice balls on a stick (dango) and cakes with bean filling. We also strolled around the Imperial Palace , appreciating the huge stones which make up its walls and the park-like grounds set squarely in the middle of a busy business district of Tokyo.
Our second day was magical. We met Midori-san, a host mother for American students attending Waseda University for many years. Both she and her husband have degrees in food and agriculture, and he teaches in this area. She was taken with the idea of American students being interested in these topics, and together with several friends, shared their knowledge of traditional Japan with us. We started by meeting her at her station and walking through her neighborhood to her local temple. This is an unusual temple in that the priest keeps all the buildings open to the people who wish to come so that the students were able to walk through areas I doubt they will ever be able to see again. Impressions of glowing alters with gold and silk, wide-planked wood floors, glistening lacquered woods, and ancient, moss-covered trees remain with me. Midori-san introduced us to her local butcher, fish cake shop, tea shop and a sweets shop, noting that with the opening of grocery stores many of the local shops had closed. But students were able to get a glimpse of how neighborhood “food life” works/ed.
On to her home (an unusual opportunity) and into the kitchen. Students assisted with chopping vegetables and making tempura, deep fried vegetables which were then set on top of cold noodles, a traditional summer dish. The ladies were quite amazed that several of the men in our group are cooks at home, and that everyone wanted to take part in the cooking. After lunch many of us were dressed in yutata (summer traditional dress) and a wide variety of groupings were captured on film. As the afternoon wore on, people watched baseball on tv, participated in a very informal version of Japanese tea ceremony (made standing at the western-style dining table) and folded paper to make cranes and samurai hats. As one student pointed out to me, we made a transition from a collection of individuals to a group, and perhaps a family. I had been at a bit of a loss as to how to accomplish this without a ropes course or rock climbing wall, but this day worked beautifully. Most of us headed back to where we were staying at the end of the day but four went on to a baseball game, the ____ vs the ____ and were treated to a wonderful time, with stands packed with cheering and loyal fans.
Day three we were finally able to gather to begin class formally, where I presented the foundations for the course and we discussed the readings and food experiences to date. On to exploring Tokyo with Waseda students for the rest of that day and the next. Groups wandered all over Tokyo , in and out of student haunts like Harajuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku and Ueno. Although the nonstudents amongst us may have wished for a museum, or temple or two to balance out the glittering high-tech, the students seemed to enjoy themselves mightily. We complied a list of all the types of foods and food purchasing opportunities they have had, and the variety was impressive – from traditional noodle, rice bowl, okonomiyaki (“cabbage pancakes”) and sushi shops to contemporary fast foods like Moss Burger and McDonalds (with wasabi flavorings and McPork sandwiches) to bar snack food to ice cream sundaes. These were eaten in a variety of types of restaurants, food courts and on the street from vendors. It has taken time to be introduced to the foods and eateries themselves; now I am hoping the students can begin to observe what is actually occurring in the restaurants, although I think that may be a tall order (excuse the pun) given the very short remainder of our time in Japan .
So the train ride continues, through hilly country alternating with farm fields and small towns. I see birds out the window and kick myself for packing the field guide in the luggage to be delivered – between the computer, first aid kit and binoculars, my overnight bag was quite heavy and I had forgotten how much one could see from a vehicle moving through fields and over rivers. But I hope there will be plenty of birds in Shimane. Everyone seems happy and well. More later.