We’re not in Kansas anymore!

We’re a few days into field work here in Japan, but first I want to congratulate America on two special days while we’ve been away; Happy Independence Day and Congrats on winning the Women’s Soccer Final (against Japan). We caught the introductions to the game just before we left for the field, so naturally we sang along to the National Anthem and had all the Japanese students in the lounge giving us funny looks!

We’ve had a few jam-packed days here in Akita Prefecture! We started off our fieldwork in Japan by travelling to Mt. Takao and practicing our observational techniques. This is similar to what we did on the first day of class when we discussed the view from Fitton Green Natural Area. From the mountain we could see the surrounding landscape which consisted of many rice fields, some small villages, and the Omono River. We also looked around and found an old Sumo ring and further up the hill the entrance to a deep shrine. We walked part of the way up to the shrine, but due to time constraints couldn’t go all the way to the top.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0168.
Map at Mt. Takao
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0167.
Forest
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0166.
Little offering shrine at the top of the stairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0164.
People put coins on the shrine as an offering.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0162.
Sugi Cedar Trees
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0161.
Stairs leading up to the shrine.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0158.
One of the guardians (there is one on each side) that represent the beginning and the end.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0156.
Holly cleaning her hands in the spring.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0155.
The stairs leading up to the shrine
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0153.
Cedar Forest.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0120.
Sumo ring in the middle of a field.

 

 

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0119.
There were these large rocks that had poems by famous poets and a biography on the back.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0117.
There was this little covered lookout on one of the little hills.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0116.
View of the valley.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0115.
Another Picture of the valley.

 

 

 

 

 

Following our trip up Mt. Takao, we went to a local farmer’s restaurant. For about $10 we each got a huge tray full of food produced from the owner’s garden. She even had a factory downstairs where she made her own noodles! It was really good and a great business opportunity for her to utilize her skills and help the local economy.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0169.
Tons of food.
farmersrestaurant
She also sold some packaged goods
meal
Holly’s meal

ryokoatfarmersrestaurant

Following our meal, the owner invited us back to her house (next door to the restaurant) and told us her story. She explained to us about how she came to create the restaurant and some of the challenges that she had to overcome in the process. She also served us a fresh watermelon out of her garden that was very juicy and sweet! 🙂

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0173.
Her house was really nice! This is a little garden outside her window.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0172.
Decorations.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0171.
A collection of dolls.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0170.
They had shrines inside the house to honor their dead ancestors.
table
We all sat around this table and listened to her tell us about how she started her business

 

Following lunch we also visited a couple more villages, Arawa and Kayagasawa. Here we met with the community leaders at their community centers. In Arawa we also walked along the streets and compared the current shops with a map from the past. There were a lot of shops that had closed down or changed and homes that had been abandoned and torn down. We did get to go into a shop where they were making tatami mats which was really interesting and cool to see.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0175.
Arawa.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0177.
Making Tatami.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0178.
Tatami weaving.

At the end of the village, we went into a shrine where we got to talk with the priestess.

purifying
We had to wash our hands and mouth with water before we could go up to the shrine.
waterpurifyplace
The Priestess next to the water basin.
priestess
On our way up to the shrine
inshrine
Inside the shrine

 

Lastly in Kayagasawa we talked to the village leader and looked around a little before heading back to Akita International University for the night.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *