Festa weekend

This weekend was a nonstop “festa” of fun. I’m not sure what festa means, but Japan likes to use it, maybe they mean fiesta.
Friday I went to Nabari for a friend’s birthday party/dinner. Much eating, drinking, dancing, conversing, and noise making was had by all. I introduced a bunch of people to Ohio’s beloved candy, the Buckeye. Of course, they fell in love. I slept on the floor with 3 other people that night.
Saturday morning I hung out some (I intended to go to Tsu for an international "festa" but appearently it really sucked), did a little shopping and eating, then went back to Ed’s in the afternoon to clean up and to rest a bit before another extravaganza was had. It was another birthday get together at a restaurant for two people I had never met in Iga-Ueno. Many people came and it was a gathering of cultures, new and old friends, and a buffet of food.


Note: I could not eat any of this, but some other tasties were prepared for me later.

After filling ourselves, everyone departed and decided to go to Jazz Bar in the cold, wet rain. Ed and I, having not slept much the night prior, headed over to a friends house to get some sleep before another busy day. And a good thing too, as everyone that went to the bar then went to karaoke and didn’t get in until 3 hours before they had to wake up. I was glad to sleep.

Sunday morning came rolling around and it was the big day for the “big tea”. Practically everyone but Ed and I were a bit worse-for-their-wear having barely slept. All 10 off us hopped a couple trains to get on a big bus for our tour. Before this, no one had any clue what was going on. Turns out it was a guided tour, and for 2,000 yen (about $18) we got an hour bus ride to Nara, into 3 temples, lunch, and the big tea cup, along with some other various activities and free time before the ride back. What a deal! It was almost worth it, but the tour lady would not SHUT UP the entire time, the speaker on the bus was so loud, everyone was being loud to talk over her, and it was 8:30 in the morning and people just wanted to rest and imagine the hunger away from no one having breakfast or being able to eat for another few hours.

I took a video of a normal smaller town in Japan as the bus rolled on if you’re interested.


Here is some pictures from the first temple, Yakushi-ji.






Taking an illegal picture =p

Then we went to the second temple, Saidai-ji where we would have lunch and tea.



The most interesting part was I believe our whole lunch was vegan, to my utmost surprise. I was ignoring things I was pretty sure I couldn’t eat and just picking out what I could. Luckily, the supervisor of this meal was 1 person away from me, so I would ask if things had milk in it or fish. And he would just say “No, not meat,” or “not fish”. I then learned NOTHING was meat of fish, all tofu. Then he said “Looks like fish, but tofu. Look like egg, but tofu.” So I had a giant delicious lunch of tempura, chestnut candies, tofu meat, tofu “froth”, creamy tofu, rice and beans, yam jelly-like things, persimmons, mochi and miso sauce, broth with seaweed and tofu skin, potatoes, lotus root, something chewy, and a fried tofu veggie ball with unlimited hot green tea. This sounds like a lot, but it was all on one tray in tiny portions. And it was freezing out so it was nice to eat and have hot tea (the rooms weren’t any warmer, just drier). I wish I had taken a picture!
Then we had to go around and introduce ourselves. I’m sure the Japanese people in the tour group were surprised to see us all sitting on the bus, but they seemed happy! One little old lady (maybe about 70ish with red sparkly barrettes in her gray hair!) said in her best English that she was so happy there were foreigners she could talk with and thanked us for teaching English in their schools. It was really sweet.

Then, on to the tea!
This ritual is performed twice a year at this temple. When you are at a tea ceremony, you sit with your knees tucked under you as long as you can (which is really hard to do for a lot of people, and really hurts after a few minutes for the people who can), you are given a pretty paper to put in front of you and some sort of sweet is given to you. Ours was pressed sugar with red sweet beans in the middle (mm!).



You have the sweet to eat because traditional Japanese green tea is thick, foamy, and bitter, so the sugar offsets the bitterness. Also at a tea ceremony when you are given the cup, every time you take a sip you must turn the cup to drink from a different spot. In this case, we have to pass the cup down the line and you turn it so you don’t drink from where other people did (you can wipe it off with your sweets paper too).

Here they are making the giant tea.

Stirring



Then the drinking!!

Thassa big tea!


Gulp!


Going in or coming out?


We love tea!


A dedication to Hachiman Shrine, where the tea ceremony began 700 years ago

NOTE: The tea "cup" is 21cm tall, 36cm across, and 107cm around.



The third temple, Gango-ji Temple, was small, but another World Heritage Site. Since it was cold and rainy and small, not many people were there and we were allowed to walk around at our leisure as well as having shopping time in the area. I got in the temple and took pictures before I could get yelled at. It may have been allowed, but everywhere else it was a NO-NO.



After that the group went to get coffee or something and while that sounded quite nice, I really wanted to look around this area I had never been to. Ed found a used toy store and there was all sorts of toys from my childhood! The little plastic Gloworm toys, Ren and Stimpy Christmas VHS box sets, Ernest P World toys… it was pretty awesome. The owner was very nice too, maybe just because he was using easy Japanese and was very amused when I spoke in a Kansai-dialect.
Ed was pleased to find next door an English Pub that served beans on toast and fish and chips and all that other weird English food. He proclaimed we would return another time.

Then we got back on the bus, and they lady still yapped ¾ of the time, and then I went home to a cold messy apartment (I was in a rush to leave Friday).

This Thursday is also a holiday in Japan, so I get the day off, yay! I also have very few classes this week at the junior high, double yay! I am constantly working at the elementary, its nice to have a bit of time to think and relax. Thursday my supervisor is taking my up the ropeway on the mountain to see the Kamoshika (Antelope/deer) Center before it closes. Then this weekend is a mandatory LAZY weekend as there has been no time to relax and sleep in while taking in all the culture and fun the past few weeks. I will also prepare a GIANT feast including trying to make a tofu-turkey. I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving (insane slaughter of people and animals? No thanks) but I am a sucker for giant yummy meals. I will take Angeline’s hint and say it’s a late “Thankful Thursday”. Thank you for having cheap tofu Japan!