On Friday 28th August I got on a night bus in Honjo and 9 hours later I got off in Tokyo. I met up with another ALT who works in Akita city. We hung around for a bit waiting for restaurants and toilets to open. Strangely many of the toilets in Tokyo station close for the night!
We were on our way to Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, standing at 3,776m (12,388 ft).
We got a bus to the 5th station, which is at an altitude of 2,305m (higher than Mt. Chōkai). After a few preparations and a light stretch we were more that ready to head off, unprepared up Mt. Fuji. It about 14:30 when we set off and the weather was a little cloudy.
There were way more people on the mountain that I expected, even though every website we had read beforehand warned of human traffic. After about a half an hour or so we could see the lines of people climbing the mountain in stop-start motion. About the same time we noticed a different path that only had people descending on it. So we decided to try that trail!
As it turned out there are 2 main routes on the side we took (Yoshida trail; 吉田ルート), one for going up and one for coming down. So we were going up the down route. And luckily for us it had no traffic what-so-ever. There were plenty of people coming down but they did not interfere with our assent nor did we interfere with their descent. It was a more difficult route however, as the trail was all loose stones.
We hiked for up and up, gradually taking breaks more regularly. We were lucky enough to only encounter one rain shower on the way up, and even that only lasted about 10 minutes.
We were making really good time. Too good in fact, as we reached the 8th station at about 6pm. Our plan was to get to the top in time to watch the sun rise. But we really hadn't researched it very well at all. We were able to buy pot noodles at the 8th station which was a welcome change to the many onigiris we were eating!
I asked in the cabins if there was space, so that we could sleep for a few hours before continuing to the top. But all the cabins were completely booked up. So we resorted to buying some hot sake, putting on all our warm clothes and trying to sleep outside one of the cabins!
We were not the only one to have not reserved a cabin. We also met a French couple who were in the same boat as ourselves. We all huddles together, kinda like emperor penguins, to try conserve body heat. But with no blankets, and lying on the cold clay, we were fighting a loosing battle. We resorted to taking regular trips to the toilets, which were surprisingly heated! We would have slept there if there wasn't a horrible stench.
At about 12:30am we gave up on trying to get sleep and decided to head for the top; as we knew climbing would warm us up. So with our headlamps on, we slowly hiked the remaining 900m to the top. Along the way people were randomly sleeping along the path, and although they were smart enough to bring sleeping pads and blankets, they still did not look warm!
By 2:30am we had reached the top of the mountain, and traversed the ridge to the summit at the opposite side of the mountain! This is us standing on the highest point of Japan!
We now had to wait another 2 and a half hours before sunrise! So we found a sheltered area and tried to sleep again. I didn't get any sleep! But looking up at the night sky from the top of Mt. Fuji is quite the sight. There was no clouds above us so we could see the stars which were amazingly bright. I also got to see many shooting stars!
Eventually the sky lost it's grip on complete darkness, and one by one the stars faded. We could then see that there was a sea of clouds (雲海) beneath us. As one part of the horizon was becoming lighter we knew where the sun was going to rise. And the crowds began to arrive. We all awaited the sunrise.
One cloud on the horizon was slightly obscuring the sunrise, but it was very impressive none the less!
The one rather strange thing that happened over this weekend was that I never actually got to see Mt. Fuji! I mean I never got to see it from a distance which was kinda strange! I will have to go again sometime.
During school summer holidays, on 18th August, one of the teachers from Iwaya elementary school, Kishi sensei, decided to have a Soba workshop. He often makes soba at home and really enjoys it. So he wanted to teach his co workers how to make them!
We started out by mixing 400g of buckwheat flour (そば粉) with 100g of all-purpose flour (つなぎ or 中力粉), and measuring 4 cups of water with precise amounts of 168ml, 21ml, 15ml and 6ml. We also used uchiko flour (打ち粉) for dusting, though buckwheat flour can also be used. This makes enough for 5 people.
First we gradually added the water to the flour. The flour first became clumpy, then it formed ball. These were rolled over the smaller pieces to blend them together. And for the bits that wouldn't stick the remaining water was added. When one large ball was formed it was kneaded 100 times; turning slightly and pushing into the centre of the ball. Then to close the hole we rolled it into a snout, and then rolled that snout back into the ball, to form an almost perfect ball!
This ball was then flattened onto a floured board to a thickness of 8 CDs. Using a rolling pin we rolled it, then rotated it 45 deg, then rolled it again, until we got it to a thickness of 4 CDs. We then put flour on top of the dough with extra flour on the vertical axis of the circle. Then the dough was wrapped around the rolling pin (or pipe in this case!), and rolled 4 times. Next it was unwrapped, flour was put on the other axis and the procedure was repeated again. This process happened twice. After which we just used the rolling pin to roll the dough into a squarish shape, with a thickness of about 1 CD.
When the thickness of just 1 CD was reached, half the dough was covered in flour, and the dough was folder over itself. Then half of that was floured and again folded over itself. Then one last time!
It was now ready to be cut! So with a menkiri bocho (麺切り包丁）or soba knife we cut the noodles into strips about 1～2mm thick. Some people found this to be very difficult. Personally I though it was quite easy, it just took a bit of time.
This was my end product. It was really tasty!
Kishi sensei had made sauce beforehand which he gave to all of us. After you cook the soba in boiling water, you save the water. And after eating the noodles you take the remaining sauce and add it to the soba water and drink it. It's so good!
Kishi sensei get all his ingredients online from Takayama Seihun.
Every summer the top sumo division tour around northern Japan and perform exhibitions. Last year I went for the first time and was lucky enough to meet yokozuna Asashōryū (one of the greatest yokozunas ever; from Mongolia) and Baruto (from Estonia).
This years exhibition was on August 13th and although I didn't meet either yokozuna this time we did meet Baruto again! He was in the konbini getting some snacks!
The Shōbu Carnival (菖蒲カーニバル) is the first summer festival in Honjo every year. It's a small street festival where people of all ages dance to a single song, the Shōbu song I believe, played over and over again. And it draws huge local crowds every year. And there are lots of stalls selling festival food!
We went to the park to indulge in some yakisoba and beer and found that there was a band playing there. The band, Bronze, were an interesting bunch. They had bass, sax, drums and guitar/koto. Koto is a traditional Japanese instrument and usually played with the fingers and small small picks attached to your fingers. This band was using sticks to play it! I took this video.
The next day, 1st August, I met Akagawa-san to climb Mt. Gassan. He's a 56 year old guy I went hiking with last year, I think he's the head of a hiking group in Yokote city. Mt. Gassan (月山) is the highest of the three holy mountains in Dewa Sanzan, a 2 and a half hour drive south from where I live.
It was a little bit cloudy during our hike but pretty good conditions otherwise. The hike itself was not that difficult for me. But I was really surprised with the age of some people who were climbing it. There was definitely men and women over 70 years of age climbing it! And on the way up with found an old woman lying down, barely able to talk. She had decided to climb on her own, and obviously wasn't able for it. Some guys called the rescue crew to get her!
This is a statue that you can pray to for long life.
When we arrived at the summit we paid 500 yen to have a priest to say a prayer over us, and Akagawa-san was there to pray for his daughter to pass her entrance exam into high school.
We made good time coming down, and went for an onsen before we headed back home.
That sunburned evening I went to the second summer festival in Honjo, the Honjo Fireworks River Festival (本荘川まつり花火大会). Fireworks are really popular in Japan, and a lot more impressive than the shows we get at home.
The next day I headed to Amori prefecture to see the Nebuta Festival. It was a 4 hour drive north to Hirosaki where our hostel was, and then another train journey to Aomori city. Nebuta is a large scale lantern festival. Unfortunately when we were there it was lightly raining so all the floats had plastic sheets protecting them. It was very impressive none the less! In the picture you can see all the people under the float pushing it around.
The next day, Monday, we went to see rice field artistry! I had only discovered this place actually existed the week before. I had seen pictures on the Internet a long time ago but assumed that it was created using computers. The tambo art is in a place called Inakadate, close to Hirosaki city. You can climb up a castle and look down on the fields. It was really amazing!
They had a free outdoor foot onsen right beside the fields too, which was a nice little addition.
We then left Aomori and headed back to Akita city for my fourth festival in as many days, Kanto festival (竿燈まつり). This is a really cool festival where glowing lanternsin the shape of rice ears, are balanced on peoples hands, hips and heads (like the guy in this photo!).
This is a cool video I took at the end of the festival, when the guys really didn't care about damaging their lanterns!
I recently started learning Honjo Oiwake on the shamisen. It's quite a difficult song to play, but it's known to be one of the most difficult songs to sing! And there is a National competition every year in Honjo. Myself and Paul, one of the new ALTs went to check it out. I was unsure of exactly what kind of competition it was.
We arrived at 9am just in time for the start, which opened with about 10 shamisen players playing some really cool song. And after the opening ceremony was finished the competition started.
A short version of the song was played, by the musicians who opened the ceremony, and singers came out with their numbers on and sang the song. Then the next person came out and sang, then the next...
By 11:30 we had seen nearly 70 versions of the exact same song!! We decided to leave early. The competition actually continued until 5:30. Perhaps next year I'll go to the second half of the competition and see if anything exciting happens near the end!
It seemed quite strange to have a competition with only one song. I don't think that would happen in other countries, I imagine people wouldn't have patience to sit in a room for a whole day listening to the same song.
I recently started learning this song; Honjo Oiwake (本荘追分). It's one of my favourite shamisen songs, and I’ve been looking forward to my teacher showing me how to play it for a long time.
There is a reason he didn't show me earlier though; it's quite a difficult song! He said it usually takes people about a year or so to learn! So it's just as well I like it!
Sunday July 12th was the 5th annual Akita International Sumo Basho (秋田国際相撲大会). It took place at the Kenritsu Budokan (県立武道館) in Akita city. This charity event is in aid of Room to Read.
After arriving at 8am and meeting up with other ALTs in the prefecture that we rarely see, we got our mawashis put on. I had bought my own last year so that we could practice. Though unfortunately we didn't get any practice in this year before the competition, mostly due to my trip back home in June.
We had plenty of time (hours in fact) to practice and warm up before the competition began. I wanted to get in an much practice as possible, without wearing myself out! We began with stretches then some light practice, slowly building ourselves up. I challenged as many people as I could. Often a bout (fight) will only last a few seconds, though sometimes it can last a few minutes, and they are the ones that really tire you out.
As the various rikishi (wrestlers) practiced on the ring outside, I was looking on trying to see who the stronger people were. One fight I watched had a guy fall slightly awkwardly and he didn't get up quickly. I looked down to see what the problem was and I noticed that his left toe was pointing in the wrong direction! He was taken to hospital; luckily it had only been dislocated. But unfortunately for him he could not take part in the tournament.
I was delighted to be there though, and anxious to try to best my ranking from the previous year (joint 5th). There were going to be only 22 men competing this year, down from 32 last year. We were divided into 4 groups, and after a round-robin system the top 2 rikishi would progress into the semifinals. The draws for the groups had been announced the previous day. I was in group B which had 5 people. Unfortunately group B also had by far the biggest rikishi in the competition, James Jones. There was also another guy that was into various martial arts, and although he was smaller that me appeared a lot more muscular and fit than I!
After a 4 hour wait, and about 3 of those in a mawashi, it was time to start the proceedings. After having all the rikishi introduced to the audience, Noshiro Berabo-daiko gave an amazing taiko performance. And finally, at about 1pm, we were ready to begin sumo!
My first bout was the 4th bout of the day, and it was against the big man, Jones. I was well aware that I could not beat him head on, so I had devised a strategy to beat him. I had been watching him practice earlier and noted that he always put his right leg forward first, so my plan was simple: kick his leg from under his body, and when he is off balance push him over. That was the plan. What I had not factored into this plan, was that his legs were like that of an elephant, and with plenty of weight on his leg to keep it in position I didn't kick at all hard enough to take the leg from under him. I think I just pissed him off a bit. I went ahead with the next step in my plan anyway, which was to follow through and push him off balance. I pushed him back a few feet before he regained himself, got a hold of me, and flung me around like a rag doll out of the dohyō (ring). Landing on my left hip did me no favours and that hurt quite badly. That was one loss for me.
My next fight was against an Indian, Harsh. He is taller than me, but not as aggressive. At the tachi-ai (start of the fight) I went straight for him. I think I made contact with him before his forward motion kicked in. I pushed him back to the straw ring and over without too much effort.
In the same round James Jones took on the smallest rikishi in our group; Matt Kuehl. It was definitely one of the more funny fights of the tournament!
After getting a short rest while the other fights continued, I was called up for my next encounter. This time I was facing a Hawaiian by the name of Nakashima. Although he was a little shorter than me he was a lot more muscular! I knew that this was a really important fight for me, as the winner of it would more than likely be the one, along with Jones, to make it to the next round. So again at the tachi-ai I made sure to attack him as fast and as powerfully as I could. My initial charge stood him up and had him moving backwards! I pushed him back as far as the straw. And it was easy from there to push him over the straw for my second, but all important win!
My last fight in the opening round was against the smallest guy in the group who was still chasing his first win. I didn't charge at him as I had done in the previous two fights for two reasons. The first being that I expected him to jump of of the way, and the second being that I didn't want to hurt him either. I took my time and easily pushed him out for my 3rd win.
I didn't have to fight in the last round, but just got to watch the Jones vs Nakashima fight. This was a very important bout for me, because Jones was undefeated and Nakashima had only 1 loss, the same as me. If Nakashima won, the 3 of us would have had to had a 3-way play-off. Luckily for me, Jones destroyed his opposition. Flinging him across the dohyō in a way that had Nakashima spinning around 360 degrees before falling over!
I was through to the semi-finals!
After the men's 1st round was finished, the ladies took to the ring. This was the first year we had a women's tournament, 10 women took part. Two women from my city took part; Abby and Jez. The women's tournament was divided into 2 groups of 5 people, with the winner of each group going into the final. Unfortunately neither of two women made it to the final, they both put in a fine effort.
Next was the semi-finals of the men's division. I had though we were going to draw straws to decide who was fighting who, like last year. But a different system was in place this year. At the time I had no idea who I was going to be fighting. But I was called up first, and I was fighting Dan.
As we squared up behind our respective white lines, I stared at his forehead just between his eyes. Apparently this is a good place to look to make someone feel uneasy. An indeed he did feel uneasy, to the point where he though he'd lighten the mood by winking at me! And everyone behind me saw him doing that and started to laugh, and then I could no longer hold my straight face either. I laughed for a bit, composed myself and put my fists on the clay.
I decided to keep with my winning strategy of hitting hard and fast. And with adrenaline pumping a lot of what happens seems to happen almost automatically. About one second into the fight I was pushing Dan backwards, my right hand on his throat and my left hand on his right shoulder with my fingers under his armpit. I kept pushing and had him over the straw with more ease than I had expected. One down, two more to go.
My next fight was against Phil, the only other guy from my city to take part again this year. Out of all the people I had practiced with, I definitely practiced with Phil the most. Unfortunately my tract record was far from perfect. He had the weight advantage over me and also he wasn't shy about fighting. So I decided to change my strategy and go for a tachi-ai henka, basically jump out of the way and then try push him from the side. So I jumped diagonally forward to my left and tried to get a grip on the back of his mawashi to continue his forward motion. Unfortunately for me his right arm caught enough of me to prevent my plan from materialising and he was able to push me out for an easy enough win. I should have used this much simpler technique!
My last fight was against a guy called Chris Parkins. I decided that I would one again return to my tried and trusted winning technique, which has an official name of oshidashi. I executed it as I had done before. But this time as I pushed him to the straw and we both started falling towards the ground he resisted putting his foot out or his hand down to break the fall. And because of that I also could not do it, or I would have lost. So I braced as the two of us fell towards the ground, both of us fighting against the instinctual urge to put a hand out to break the fall. Looking back at the video now I see that I did put my hand out at the last moment, which made it pretty close. But I won!
Phil had won all his fights in the group, so he progressed to the final. In the other group the winner was a guy called Doug Heller, who is big into judo. Doug went on to with the final, with a fine oshidashi move. So the winner was Doug and runner up was Phil. James mountain Jones and myself tied for 3rd place. And considering my size and weight I am very proud of coming 3rd.
