Kakunodate, Akita Prefecture,Japan

Thursday, 29 August 2013

What luxury to awake on a clear,sunny day and take a spa before breakfast in such an exotic place as Tazawako.
Breakfast was exotic too with a poached egg cooked in the spa and served with an assortment of pickles,vegetables,rice and  a dish which had soy beans chopped up and mixed with soya sauce. Lots of flavours and tastes to saviour. The presentation of food here is so attractive,we can learn much from Japanese food and the preparation they go to to make it attractive to the diner.

After breakfast we set off to visit Kakunodate also known as 'Little Kyoto' , maybe because in early times the princess who lived in Kyoto was married to the local royal and remained here for the rest of her life.There was a castle overlooking the town but it was burned to the ground in a catastrophic event.
The town is famous for its blossom displays in spring and as a historical site where the Samurai, known as Bukeyashiki, settled  in the 16th Century because of their allegiance to Lord Ashina of Hitach who was moved here in 1603 by his overlord shogun.There are still descendants of those families living here today. who are descended from those feudal times.
 We took a walk along the river which has cherry trees bordering a walkway, today the colours are just beginning to turn so I expect the autumn is colourful here too as many maples are evident in the area.
The street where the samurai lived was  very picturesque with lots of maples and cherry trees,one  three hundred years old and still flowering.Samurai made their money from the  polished cherry wood tree carvings, financial expertise and medical knowledge
We had a ride around this area on a rickshaw which was fun and the rickshaw driver gave us a commentary on the area as we went past the homes of the famous samurai.

We had a tour of the Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum because John knew the owner's wife who works with him in Akita so we were privileged to have a look at the treasures the family had collected over their glory days as the premier family or chief of the Nanbu-area boundary guards for several centuries of importance. Today they are a tourist attraction.
The gates of this home are important indicators of importance in this society and how high your fence is and how you enter the home all point to your importance. You enter  the manor though the Yakui Mon gate built in 1860  to show their status and various doors indicate your staus as a visitor-women  and children occupy the lowest status and enter the  middle or back door as do the servants.

This family had a great collection of amoury built up during the Edo period as well as clothing,books,wooden dolls and toys enjoyed by the family. Other displays showed scrolls and art works, drawings and cherry wood carvings. One of the ancestors was famous for his anatomical drawings in 1773 and published books which lead to the science and career of doctors in this area.
we saw very thick garments worn to bed by samurai -must be very cold here in winter.There was an indoor fire in a pit and lots of large cooking utensils on display. There were very thick doors too which probably indicated their wealth and position. The safe was  well protected.

 

There was also a collection of western antiques and record players,cameras and music boxes  all collected before the gates closed and Japan retreated from the world's influence.John really enjoyed the gardens,they were so peaceful and full of texture and form from the ancient trees.

The garden in this manor house was lovely and peaceful and featured moss,water,trees and garden ornaments. We enjoyed walking around the  walks through the  trees and  over the bridges which surrounded the manor house. We even came upon an old fire engine and a travelling puppet show all set up on a trailer theatre ready for a performance.

We could have spent much more time exploring this place,so much history and items of curiosity to a western eye. I was fascinated by the history and charm of the manor house,what stories lay behind these walls.I am so lucky to be able to share this with family. John and Kasumi have shared a very special place with me.So much fun to be with family.

We ate in a little cafe  where I had a toasted sandwich Japanese style and then explored the shopping! Kasumi is a shopper so we had a lovely time Lots of little boutiques  selling local crafts such as polished cherry wood art works,  fabric and paper items,traditional dolls and artifacts.

We also went to Ando Jozo, a brewery founded in 1853 which sold traditional soya sauce and miso soup and was one of the oldest in the area. We tasted some of their brews and tried some of the pickle samples and Kasumi bought some to take home to her parents as a treat.

Later we went to the railway station and bought my train tickets to Tokyo for the following day before we headed back to the car for the drive to Akita.
John was a novelty on the roads-seeing a European driving  a car here attracted lots of attention and people waved and smiled at us as we drove through the town.I did not see any other Europeans in this part of Japan so we were a bit special.

 

Homeward bound. I have had a wonderful visit but NZ beckons.

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Japanese Adventure - from Tokyo to Akita and return......

Travelling home  to New Zealand was a long haul option  until I opted for a stop over in Japan with my nephew and his wife.
What a lovely adventure that was. They live  and work in the northern prefecture of Akita, a four hour trip from Tokyo by shinkansen or bullet train so I had to navigate the train system from Narita Airport via the express train to Tokyo Railway Station (about an hour trip at speed) and then explore  the bewildering array of suburban trains lines,underground trains and a metro system before I located the shinkansen train platform.  The system does not allow for lateness,trains arrive and depart on time and with speed. The platform is marked with your carriage number so you stand in position ready to board smartly-two minutes and it is gone:a snake-like  move- smooth and sinuous  completely unlike anything experienced on NZ Rail!

The trip took me through the urban suburbs of Tokyo and cities such as Sendai,home of the devastating earthquake and tsunami two years ago. Try as I might I could not identify the iconic landmarks we saw night after night  on our televisions - victim of the floods and carnage unleashed that day. The city is huge and from where I sat much repair work had been done to get the city back to life but for the people their lives will never be the same again.
John told how his sister-in-law had to climb out of the top of the train carriage to escape from the wreckage of the suburban train as she was making her way home after work and how she and her brother sheltered together in a local shelter that night fearful of the toll the earthquake had taken that day.

The train continued up the coast for about two and a half hours before it  turned inland and crossed over the mountains and inland plains reminiscent of the Southern Alps.

Clear rivers and water falls were prominent as heavy rain had been experienced in recent days(it is the rainy season so entirely expected). The trees were beautiful,conifers of rich green hue and lots of towering trunks close to the train.I did see two little bears chasing each other across the grass as we passed.

.It was still raining as we travelled north towards Lake Tazawako, the deepest lake in Japan and home to Tatsuko ,the dragon lady and by the time I alighted at the station thunder was brewing and heavy clouds signaled a downpour ahead.
 I was exhausted by the time I arrived as too scared to sleep on the train in case I did not wake at the lake stop station so kept walking around the area to keep myself awake. It was a public holiday so little was open for the traveler,especially one who did not speak Japanese.
I was meeting John and Kazumi at the station and from there we were going to stay at a spa hotel nearby in the mountains. What a treat that was.
We explored the lakefront until the rain drove us back to the car. A beautiful walkway offered but it was too wet to contemplate so back to the car and a stop for refreshments at a local cafe before heading off to find the hotel-no mean feat as it is a mountainous area a little like Murchison and little hideaway places snug in the bush sites. In winter this was a ski resort and the whole area would be covered in deep snow.

That night we had a traditional Japanese meal  served in the dining room with an array of dishes, both hot and cold, raw and cooked, eaten with chopsticks and served in cooking pots with rice and meat, the meat simmering away in a pot like a fondue. A delicious thinly sliced pork which you cook yourself in the pot. Fish  vegetables,pickles and salads  were served in a variety of bowls to tempt your appetite and served with plum wine,beer and green tea. Fresh fruit was served at the end of the meal.
John told the story of locals heading into the outdoors  fossicking for mountain vegetables and being attacked by bears -in some cases killed as they harvested the prized items. Scary....
Later that evening we had a spa in the hotel. This is a traditional holiday treat for Japanese and a range of rituals are associated with the spa.
A dressing gown is supplied to you  and women tie it right side over and belted with a tie. A small towel is provided for modesty as you enter the pool and a larger one to dry off on. You wash and shower before entering the pool area in a special area with seats and toiletries arranged for your use.Pristine conditions at your service.
I have to say it was an exhausted traveller who fell into bed that night many hours after arriving in Japan that day.

Hertfordshire Tour:July 10

Hertfordshire Tour:July 10

Today we set off in sunshine again from St Johns' Tube station on the Jubilee line, duely found with help from my friends and all kitted out for a day of garden delights.My kind of day.
We transferred to a bus and st out for Hertfordshire.The first garden we visited was in St Albans where the owners had created a delightful oasis on a small site resplendent in the colours of the Cross of st Albans.

Not that you can see that from the pictures but it was a lovely setting and many treasures evident in the garden walks.

Our next garden was at Hitchen-not far from my friends,Wendy and Rod so familiar territory.Here we visited a pastoral garden with very natural plantings,amazing topiary and a wild flower meadow to capture the butterflies and insects vital to the countryside. It took them two days to trim all the hedges once a year,they only did them once so they did not disturb the birds and insects. Some very special spaces to relax and enjoy the garden.

The philosophy of this garden interested meas it closely mirrored the life cycle of the garden inhabitants which brought benefits through insect control and natural seedings of plants to replenish the garden each year.Life was in balance here

Lunch was at The Brocket Arms in Welwyn and infamous because of the fraudulent dealings of the local lord and master-still in jail it seems.Never mind we enjoyed his ale and vitals.

Alongside the pub was a quintessentia lEnglish cottage and garden known as Ruins 1 because of the church nearby.

It was lovely so we were given a quick peck before moving on to Benington where we visited another lovely cottage garden notable for the garden art made by the owner.

Hampton Court Garden Show

Hampton Court Garden Show

It was a beautiful day when Brad and I  set off for Hampton Court.We met up with Sue, a friend of Brads from her days teaching in the UK and we spent hours exploring the floral pavilion and the gardens arranged around the spectacular site. This show is huge...words to describe it -an extravaganza of gardening know how spread across a huge site supported by stalls and food delights, pavilions and displays to tempt the gardening fraternity.

From the outlandish, 'Tip of the Iceberg' recycling display garden to the splendour of the floral display  there was something to tempt, tantalize and delight the visitor.

Enjoy....

Want one?

Dream on..... a special place

And a flower for you...

Gardening,British style

I was lucky to join a number of garden events while visiting the UK this year. This image was taken at Fenton House in Hampstead, a National trust property and an example of a smaller stately house with a traditional design, occupied until recent years by a lady of means who furnished it with examples of  her musical interests and her love of craft work.

The garden is  small and quite formal  in layout, it is enclosed by high brick walls in the traditional manner and it features a significant collection of fruit trees in an orchard at the bottom of the garden.They have cider making events here in the autumn.

The vegetable garden was quite special too. The gardener met us and talked about how the garden had changed and the aspirations he had to restore it to glory. The rose garden was lovely and featured a wonderful example of Tuscany superb along with some scotch roses in the borders.

The day was superb ,hot and sunny and hats and sunscreen were  needed in plenty. We enjoyed our lunch in an historic old pub, HollyBush Inn the oldest hotel in the area. This area was known by boatmen on the Thames for its snow capped heights-it was the white laundry spread out to dry  by the laundry maids which caught the eye.
This was one of Janine Wookey's tours and well worthwhile so looking forward to the next day when I join her group again for another trip.We also toured the Hampstead village and looked at historic  buildings, visited the old cemetery associated with an historic church and found the burial sites of famous people such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Daphne Du Maurier,Constable and many other notables.It was a snobby place to live and die!

Capturing the castle....and living to tell the tale

The morning dawned clear and sunny. What a treat. The sun was shining all day and it was warm...Just what we ordered for our adventure.
We had a walk in a lovely arboretum within walking distance of the hotel after a very large breakfast,not only do they party well,they eat well too. We needed to walk off a few calories before heading away in our panda car.

We passed a local church-very beautiful and well preserved and then entered the arboretum.
Such a lovely place it was-Ardkinglas Woodland garden, famous for its mature champion trees including the tallest tree in Britain and the mightiest conifer in Europe. It was said to have red squirrels but we did not sight them.we did see some lovely rhodos and enjoyed the walks through towering trees and spectacular landscapes visible through the trees.

Time to go so we loaded up and drove down the Cowell Peninsula towards the Strath Lachlan family seat. This was new territory for us both so very exciting as we passed through St Catherines (my grandmother's name-coincidence?or not!) , a small town on the edge of the loch and a holiday destination for locals.True!

After that settlement we came a bit further along the loch until we entered the valley signposted  as Strath Lachlan. The first sign of our destination came with a church and then a hall,the road got smaller and smaller and windier-Lou did a great job driving us safely around. It was very narrow in places and limited passing bays but made it we did.

The unexpected happens and in this case it was coming upon the Chapel  containing the remains of the chiefs and  the burial ground of the McLaughlan clan.

We could not believe our luck as we had no idea such a place existed. The original site had been restored and conserved and a lady putting flowers on her husband's grave was happy to talk to us about the place.

We even found a headstone with our spelling! We had a great time exploring the historic site and imagining times of the Jacobites and all the famous Scottish history associated with the clansmen swirling around our ancestral site. How boring are we!

Next stop was the end of the road.We came across Inver Cottage, a cafe for lunch as it transpired and run by the McLaughlan trust so naturally we had our lunch there after  braving the cold water to cross over to the ruins of the castle.

We could see the ruins from the cottage but did not spot the scaffolding until we arrived at the site. We could also see the new castle from there but signs on the track indicated the colonials were not welcome. we did not feel we could risk arest by satisfying our curiosity so another time.

The best attempts are being made to conserve this historic site but there were no barriers to us exploring the site,inside or out. We found our way inside after some tricky manoeuvrings and stood where the clansmen would eat and sleep,where they would  meet their grisly end at the hands of the Campbell clan so many years ago.The castle remains as it was raided so many years ago.Just as well some escaped-where would we be?

The old and the new.....
It is a lovely area and we were able to visit on a beautiful day which all added to the enjoyment of the day.

After our exploration of the castle we had to paddle back to the other side of the river.The bridge had been washed out during winter storms so it may be a long time before it is restored. We finished our visit with lunch at Iver Cottage, sitting in the sun and enjoying the day.Very special.

Lou and I made our way back to Glasgow that evening via Balloch, a town at the foot of Ben Lomond. We were hoping to see the final of Andy Murray's tennis match at  Wimbledon but TV reception was too slow so we walked in the grounds of a magnificent public park

and then enjoyed a drink at the hotel by the water before heading back to stay at a glamorous hotel right on the railway site. It had just been done up and restored,including some amazing lighting effects, to its previous best so we had a elegant end to our trip.

 Monday was for shopping and exploring the town. we packed a lot into our four days away even if the locals thought it was a 'heatwave'.