Our guide and driver in front of van
Fileting of tuna
The wedding party
The feeding of the pigeons
Rice ready to harvestMoving southward, our next port of call was on Honshu Island, Japan’s largest island and home to our final three of that country’s ports. Sendai, 180 miles north of Tokyo, is Japan’s third largest fishing port and is also called the City of Trees, just like our home town of Woodinville is. Cypress, pine and juniper were prevalent everywhere you looked.
We rented a private vehicle with driver (TakahashiSan) and English speaking guide (HamaSan), and began our trip at 7:50 am. Originally, Cliff and Leslyn Ashdown were to be our companions for the day…but, they were both struggling with illness so they sent their friends, Tina and Theo Coronis with us in their place. Both couples were Australians, so the replacements fit right in. We had a great morning with the Tina and Theo.
Our first stop of the day was a huge enclosed fresh fish market which opens for business at 3:00 a.m. with an auction. By the time we arrived (shortly after 8:00), everyone had settled down to dealing with much smaller quantities of fish. The individual stalls were spotless, with no fish smell anywhere! We found no flies, and the marketers were all smiles as they each hawked their “best catch” of the day. With three-foot long razor sharp knives, the artisans carefully carved their huge tuna sides into smaller, delicate rectangles ready to be sold for sushi and sashimi in the town’s restaurants. The fish in Sendai differ from those we found in Hakodate, where we saw and ate squid, hairy and king crab, salmon, and tuna. Sendai’s catches included octopus, scallops, salmon, tuna, eels, and clams. Interestingly enough, Japan can no longer catch enough fish to feed its population. As you all know, this country eats lots of seafood. Much of Japan’s tuna is now farm raised in Croatia. China is also fishing the western waters of Japan extensively, which decreases the number of fish available to Japanese fleets. Eating so much fish is certainly good for the nation’s long-term health. The average age of Japanese women to live is 86 years old (the best in the world). Men live 80 years (also among the world’s best). There are currently over 36,000 Japanese over the age of 100! Perhaps more fish and rice for us of all?
Heading to the outskirts of Sendai, we were off to see some of the 260 small pine treed islands. Stops in the small coastal village of Matsushima provided some fabulous treasures for us. There were wonderfully groomed parks, bonsai trees everywhere (including one Juniper over 700 years old), and Zuiganji (a Buddhist Zen temple circa 828 AD) where thousands of people used to live in caves that are still visible along the entrance walks.
We drove up to another Zen Temple, from the 1600s, where we met a young Japanese couple on their wedding day. They were posing for photographs, and asked us to take a photo with them. Our driver fed a hoard of pigeons…we felt as if we were in the cast of “The Birds” movie. Additionally we saw a 30 day old baby being brought in for dedication, observed men at work bonsai-ing a huge tree, and learned about the water purification ceremony.
HamaSan also told us that 80% of the Japanese belong to both Buddhism and Shintoism. She said Buddism covers the after life and Shintoism covers the present, so the Japanese see no conflict in being part of both sects at the same time. Interestingly though, most young people want a “Christian” wedding complete with the cross…without embracing the faith, but still using the ceremony.
Rice fields are golden here at this time of year and have their “heads” bending low ready for harvest. We were very surprised to see how yellow and dry they were…not at all what we had seen in the floating rice paddies of Bali and Viet Nam on previous trips. The “heads” are heavy with the ripe rice and are bending low. This is a sign of respect to the Japanese and also represents maturity to them.
Onto Yokohama for another overnight beginning tomorrow!
We rented a private vehicle with driver (TakahashiSan) and English speaking guide (HamaSan), and began our trip at 7:50 am. Originally, Cliff and Leslyn Ashdown were to be our companions for the day…but, they were both struggling with illness so they sent their friends, Tina and Theo Coronis with us in their place. Both couples were Australians, so the replacements fit right in. We had a great morning with the Tina and Theo.
Our first stop of the day was a huge enclosed fresh fish market which opens for business at 3:00 a.m. with an auction. By the time we arrived (shortly after 8:00), everyone had settled down to dealing with much smaller quantities of fish. The individual stalls were spotless, with no fish smell anywhere! We found no flies, and the marketers were all smiles as they each hawked their “best catch” of the day. With three-foot long razor sharp knives, the artisans carefully carved their huge tuna sides into smaller, delicate rectangles ready to be sold for sushi and sashimi in the town’s restaurants. The fish in Sendai differ from those we found in Hakodate, where we saw and ate squid, hairy and king crab, salmon, and tuna. Sendai’s catches included octopus, scallops, salmon, tuna, eels, and clams. Interestingly enough, Japan can no longer catch enough fish to feed its population. As you all know, this country eats lots of seafood. Much of Japan’s tuna is now farm raised in Croatia. China is also fishing the western waters of Japan extensively, which decreases the number of fish available to Japanese fleets. Eating so much fish is certainly good for the nation’s long-term health. The average age of Japanese women to live is 86 years old (the best in the world). Men live 80 years (also among the world’s best). There are currently over 36,000 Japanese over the age of 100! Perhaps more fish and rice for us of all?
Heading to the outskirts of Sendai, we were off to see some of the 260 small pine treed islands. Stops in the small coastal village of Matsushima provided some fabulous treasures for us. There were wonderfully groomed parks, bonsai trees everywhere (including one Juniper over 700 years old), and Zuiganji (a Buddhist Zen temple circa 828 AD) where thousands of people used to live in caves that are still visible along the entrance walks.
We drove up to another Zen Temple, from the 1600s, where we met a young Japanese couple on their wedding day. They were posing for photographs, and asked us to take a photo with them. Our driver fed a hoard of pigeons…we felt as if we were in the cast of “The Birds” movie. Additionally we saw a 30 day old baby being brought in for dedication, observed men at work bonsai-ing a huge tree, and learned about the water purification ceremony.
HamaSan also told us that 80% of the Japanese belong to both Buddhism and Shintoism. She said Buddism covers the after life and Shintoism covers the present, so the Japanese see no conflict in being part of both sects at the same time. Interestingly though, most young people want a “Christian” wedding complete with the cross…without embracing the faith, but still using the ceremony.
Rice fields are golden here at this time of year and have their “heads” bending low ready for harvest. We were very surprised to see how yellow and dry they were…not at all what we had seen in the floating rice paddies of Bali and Viet Nam on previous trips. The “heads” are heavy with the ripe rice and are bending low. This is a sign of respect to the Japanese and also represents maturity to them.
Onto Yokohama for another overnight beginning tomorrow!
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