September 22, 2016
Well....we're on our way. I'm sitting on a plane to Taipei as I type this and it is currently 5:15 pm in Sapporo.
Our bus was at the hotel to pick us up at 10:00 this morning and we were at New Chitose Airport by 11:15. Our gate didn't open till 12:30 but given the distance and the traffic the bus line wanted us to leave the hotel by 10:00 knowing that we had a 3:00 pm flight to catch.
China Air allowed us to do a group check in at this airport which is so much simpler (and quicker) than what we had to go through in Vancouver so we were through and on to security in no time. Security was also quick and easy so we all had time for lunch upstairs in the airport right near our gate. Everyone made a point of spending all their coin as it adds up fast when there are 500 yen coins ($5 USD) included in the mix. You can change your paper money back into Canadian but the coins would just be souvenirs if you went home with them.
It's crazy when you think about the fact that our plane left Sapporo at 3 pm on the 22nd and that we'll arrive in Vancouver at 6:45 pm on the 22nd. The crazy bit is that somehow during those 3 hours and 45 minutes we will have spent more than 22 hours in transit!
Sooooo.....sayonara for the final time as we must be out of Japanese air space by now. I'm not sure what the word for good bye is in Taiwan but I know that the next time I type anything on this blog I will be back in Canada.
Till then,
Darlene and Lorrie
Thursday, September 22, 2016
September 21, 2016
September 21, 2016
Well....I told you I was looking forward to a slower day today and that's exactly what it was.
This morning was a leisurely buffet breakfast in the lobby of our hotel where the choices included both western and Japanese and the only thing we had to do was be finished by 10:00.
Everyone had gone their own way today so Darlene and I made our way down to the 100 yen store (our very favourite shopping place) and believe it or not managed to make quite a dent in our wallets at a dollar store! They have so many cute little gadgets here and the selection is enormous and the quality is really very good and yes....items really are just 100 yen (= $1 USD). The last time I was here either the yen was lower or the CAD dollar was higher but either way it worked out to be about 100 yen = $1 CAD so the deals at the 100 yen shop weren't quite as good as last trip but they're still good enough to get excited about. :-)
After we'd pretty much blown our budget at the 100 yen shop Darlene and I hauled our purchases back to the hotel and put our feet up for an hour or so before we headed out again. This time we were off to Odori Park and the Autumn Festival where there are about 10 blocks of food stalls and vendors displaying the harvest of Hokkaido. We wandered the festival from one end to the other and stopped often to sit and people watch along the way. It was just us and about 100,000 of our new best friends in that park....what a busy place! We also managed to find something that caught our fancy for dinner so enjoyed a flaky pastry that was wrapped around ham, cheese and onion along with a glass of Sapporo beer. TASTY!
By the time we'd made it back to our hotel I was done for and so it was a pretty early night knowing that the next day would be a long one.....so long in fact that it would last for almost 48 hours!
Till tomorrow....sayonara for the last time from Sapporo,
Lorrie and Darlene
Well....I told you I was looking forward to a slower day today and that's exactly what it was.
This morning was a leisurely buffet breakfast in the lobby of our hotel where the choices included both western and Japanese and the only thing we had to do was be finished by 10:00.
Everyone had gone their own way today so Darlene and I made our way down to the 100 yen store (our very favourite shopping place) and believe it or not managed to make quite a dent in our wallets at a dollar store! They have so many cute little gadgets here and the selection is enormous and the quality is really very good and yes....items really are just 100 yen (= $1 USD). The last time I was here either the yen was lower or the CAD dollar was higher but either way it worked out to be about 100 yen = $1 CAD so the deals at the 100 yen shop weren't quite as good as last trip but they're still good enough to get excited about. :-)
After we'd pretty much blown our budget at the 100 yen shop Darlene and I hauled our purchases back to the hotel and put our feet up for an hour or so before we headed out again. This time we were off to Odori Park and the Autumn Festival where there are about 10 blocks of food stalls and vendors displaying the harvest of Hokkaido. We wandered the festival from one end to the other and stopped often to sit and people watch along the way. It was just us and about 100,000 of our new best friends in that park....what a busy place! We also managed to find something that caught our fancy for dinner so enjoyed a flaky pastry that was wrapped around ham, cheese and onion along with a glass of Sapporo beer. TASTY!
By the time we'd made it back to our hotel I was done for and so it was a pretty early night knowing that the next day would be a long one.....so long in fact that it would last for almost 48 hours!
Till tomorrow....sayonara for the last time from Sapporo,
Lorrie and Darlene
September 20, 2016
September 20, 2016
Last night Darlene and I located something I haven't had for about ten years. We used to get it at breakfast in Toyokoro but haven't seen it anywhere other than that. It is whipped peanut butter and honey and it is so YUMMY I can't even tell you!!! We brought a little tub of it back to our hotel room along with some bread from the grocery store so for breakfast this morning we had P.B. & Honey buns with coffee at a very expensive price tag of about $3/person for breakfast. Not bad heh?!
Father Manfred and Makoto San arrived to pick us up at our hotel lobby right on schedule at 10 a.m. And now that we've all absorbed enough of the Japanese culture everyone was not only on time but even a few minutes early! Could it be that we'll all go home with new habits? It will be interesting to see just how long those new habits last. :-)
We all climbed aboard Father's little van....well....it just seems little now compared to the big one we had in Toyokoro. On Father's van we even have to use the jump seats that run down the middle aisle of the van so it is a bit like a human puzzle when we load and unload.
With the sun shining down on us and a forecast of 23 degrees we knew we were destined for a great day! We headed northward toward the town of Otaru where we had a couple of museum stops planned and then it would be free time with the option of returning to Sapporo with Father on the van or pushing the envelope a little and taking the opportunity to join the masses of commuters and make our way back to the big city by train or bus later in the afternoon or evening. Darlene and I had already decided that we wanted to do the train so there was no discussion required for us on that front.
Otaru is a city filled with history and it's old district is ribboned with canals that lead out to the Sea of Japan. These canals were used by the fishermen and traders of old as they used ships and waterways to move their goods. Our first stop was at the city museum where we learned a little more about the ways of the First People who lived in this region as well as the animals native to the area. We practiced making fire with bow drills and pump drills and hand drills. Bottom line....none of us were able to get the stick spinning fast enough to make fire! We would be a hungry bunch or happy to shift to a raw food diet. The second museum stop was at an historic fisher mans co-op. More than 120 men would sleep on the first floor (on tatami mats) getting up to fish all day, come back to sleep and then do it all over again the next day. Another reminder of how lucky we are! The view from this second stop was really lovely....gardens around the house and a million dollar view over the Sea of Japan and the fish plants along the shoreline. We could also see an area where sea lions and dolphins are known to play but unfortunately they were not up to their antics during our visit today so we missed out on seeing their show this time round.
Many of us decided to stay in Otaru to catch the train back and so when we said good bye to Father and Makoto we knew this would be the last time we'd see them too. It was another bitter sweet moment as we said good bye to these new friends recognizing once again how quickly they'd found their way into our hearts. Isao, Makoto's son is coming to Vancouver for a year beginning the end of this month and so the invitations for him to come visit were coming at him thick and fast.
Once we were dropped off in Otaru city proper we broke into smaller groups and in our "foursome" was Hannah, Carmen, Darlene and I. We lunched at Victoria Station where the corn soup was AMAZING, we sat on the shopping street waiting for the steam clock to strike the hour so we could watch it chime and whistle, we listened to the clock tower strike the hour right behind the steam clock, and all the while we munched on chocolate covered freeze dried strawberries....another sweet memory from this land of very good food.
Shopping along this shopping street is endless and there is something for everyone. From Hello Kitty to Snoopy and from kimonos to samurai supplies there was no shortage of 'stuff' to see. In the end, I settled on some Green Tea Kit Kat and grape soda mentos as new taste sensations to bring home to the kids. Hannah treated us all to a green tea confection that we're still not too sure about. It was some kind of marshmallow (I think) and it was thickly coated with Matcha tea. Hannah was the first to give it a try and she convinced me to go for it too. Darlene and Carmen got lucky and were allowed to just try a half piece. The only thing I'll say about that particular confection is that I'm hoping it's good for you (matcha is supposed to be) as that is about all it has going for it!
We found our way to the train station in time to catch the 5:40 train which would put us back in Sapporo at the JR station at 6:20 pm. The train was very comfortable and just 700 yen (less than $10) as well as being a new experience to add to the list for this trip. Once we were underway we wished we'd left about an hour earlier as the tracks run right along the water's edge so it would have been a gorgeous trip had we had a little more daylight. Dusk and dark come early here (as does dawn) so it's a little hard to figure out what time it is based on the amount of light in the sky.
Everyone made it home from Otaru with stories to tell and a new sense of confidence and success that comes from having stretched the comfort zone just a little and lived to tell the tale. It was another great day and we're all really starting to feel tired. Not just tired from the quick pace we've been keeping but also from the constant stimulation and the emotional roller coaster we've been on for the past several days.
It was a pretty early night for everybody tonight as tomorrow is our final day in Sapporo and it is a free day for everyone to do as they please. I know I'm looking forward to a relaxed pace for tomorrow and I suspect there are a few others who share that sentiment.
Till next time....sayonara from Sapporo,
Lorrie and Darlene
Last night Darlene and I located something I haven't had for about ten years. We used to get it at breakfast in Toyokoro but haven't seen it anywhere other than that. It is whipped peanut butter and honey and it is so YUMMY I can't even tell you!!! We brought a little tub of it back to our hotel room along with some bread from the grocery store so for breakfast this morning we had P.B. & Honey buns with coffee at a very expensive price tag of about $3/person for breakfast. Not bad heh?!
Father Manfred and Makoto San arrived to pick us up at our hotel lobby right on schedule at 10 a.m. And now that we've all absorbed enough of the Japanese culture everyone was not only on time but even a few minutes early! Could it be that we'll all go home with new habits? It will be interesting to see just how long those new habits last. :-)
We all climbed aboard Father's little van....well....it just seems little now compared to the big one we had in Toyokoro. On Father's van we even have to use the jump seats that run down the middle aisle of the van so it is a bit like a human puzzle when we load and unload.
With the sun shining down on us and a forecast of 23 degrees we knew we were destined for a great day! We headed northward toward the town of Otaru where we had a couple of museum stops planned and then it would be free time with the option of returning to Sapporo with Father on the van or pushing the envelope a little and taking the opportunity to join the masses of commuters and make our way back to the big city by train or bus later in the afternoon or evening. Darlene and I had already decided that we wanted to do the train so there was no discussion required for us on that front.
Otaru is a city filled with history and it's old district is ribboned with canals that lead out to the Sea of Japan. These canals were used by the fishermen and traders of old as they used ships and waterways to move their goods. Our first stop was at the city museum where we learned a little more about the ways of the First People who lived in this region as well as the animals native to the area. We practiced making fire with bow drills and pump drills and hand drills. Bottom line....none of us were able to get the stick spinning fast enough to make fire! We would be a hungry bunch or happy to shift to a raw food diet. The second museum stop was at an historic fisher mans co-op. More than 120 men would sleep on the first floor (on tatami mats) getting up to fish all day, come back to sleep and then do it all over again the next day. Another reminder of how lucky we are! The view from this second stop was really lovely....gardens around the house and a million dollar view over the Sea of Japan and the fish plants along the shoreline. We could also see an area where sea lions and dolphins are known to play but unfortunately they were not up to their antics during our visit today so we missed out on seeing their show this time round.
Many of us decided to stay in Otaru to catch the train back and so when we said good bye to Father and Makoto we knew this would be the last time we'd see them too. It was another bitter sweet moment as we said good bye to these new friends recognizing once again how quickly they'd found their way into our hearts. Isao, Makoto's son is coming to Vancouver for a year beginning the end of this month and so the invitations for him to come visit were coming at him thick and fast.
Once we were dropped off in Otaru city proper we broke into smaller groups and in our "foursome" was Hannah, Carmen, Darlene and I. We lunched at Victoria Station where the corn soup was AMAZING, we sat on the shopping street waiting for the steam clock to strike the hour so we could watch it chime and whistle, we listened to the clock tower strike the hour right behind the steam clock, and all the while we munched on chocolate covered freeze dried strawberries....another sweet memory from this land of very good food.
Shopping along this shopping street is endless and there is something for everyone. From Hello Kitty to Snoopy and from kimonos to samurai supplies there was no shortage of 'stuff' to see. In the end, I settled on some Green Tea Kit Kat and grape soda mentos as new taste sensations to bring home to the kids. Hannah treated us all to a green tea confection that we're still not too sure about. It was some kind of marshmallow (I think) and it was thickly coated with Matcha tea. Hannah was the first to give it a try and she convinced me to go for it too. Darlene and Carmen got lucky and were allowed to just try a half piece. The only thing I'll say about that particular confection is that I'm hoping it's good for you (matcha is supposed to be) as that is about all it has going for it!
We found our way to the train station in time to catch the 5:40 train which would put us back in Sapporo at the JR station at 6:20 pm. The train was very comfortable and just 700 yen (less than $10) as well as being a new experience to add to the list for this trip. Once we were underway we wished we'd left about an hour earlier as the tracks run right along the water's edge so it would have been a gorgeous trip had we had a little more daylight. Dusk and dark come early here (as does dawn) so it's a little hard to figure out what time it is based on the amount of light in the sky.
Everyone made it home from Otaru with stories to tell and a new sense of confidence and success that comes from having stretched the comfort zone just a little and lived to tell the tale. It was another great day and we're all really starting to feel tired. Not just tired from the quick pace we've been keeping but also from the constant stimulation and the emotional roller coaster we've been on for the past several days.
It was a pretty early night for everybody tonight as tomorrow is our final day in Sapporo and it is a free day for everyone to do as they please. I know I'm looking forward to a relaxed pace for tomorrow and I suspect there are a few others who share that sentiment.
Till next time....sayonara from Sapporo,
Lorrie and Darlene
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
September 19, 2016
September 19, 2016
Headed down for our last breakfast in Toyokoro a little early this morning so we wouldn't have to feel rushed to be back in time to have our luggage all ready to load on the bus by 8:30. Was reminded of the challenge in being able to simply receive a gift when Sharon was faced with a couple of Snoopy themed gifts from the ladies in the kitchen this morning. Watching Sharon struggle with simply saying thank you and knowing she couldn't do anything to reciprocate was such a powerful reminder for me. I've been faced with this learning myself on so many occasions and each time I know I get a little better but always I'm reminded at how much of a challenge it can be to simply stay present and say "thank you" and let go of the feeling of indebtedness or the need to somehow pay it back. It is these moments of opportunity for learning and personal growth that are the core of my addiction to travel.
The other part of my addiction to travel is the people you meet and the friends you make while "on the road". The friends we're saying good bye to this morning are some of the most special people I've ever had the good fortune to know and I thank my lucky stars that I'm getting to have this experience yet again!
Before we knew it the time had come....the bus arrived and our luggage was loaded onto the bus and into the vehicle that would carry the overflow of baggage back to Sapporo for us. In addition to the busses arrival....there seemed to be half the city out to bid us farewell too! The mayor and his wife, Josh (former AET at Toyokoro who is now posted at the northern most town on Hokkaido), Janet (current AET), people from the town hall, sooo many people from the Sister City Committee, Takai, Anda, Koji, Mrs Sato, the home stay families, Masumi, Shima, Tanaka (always taking photos), Hirose, Masato, and so many more. There were tears all around....tears that were half happy and half sad. People who' d never even met a few days before were now saying good bye to dear friends. Young people who' d been living with host families were now saying good bye to their Japanese "mom and dad". Darlene and I were saying good bye to friends we've made over the past 20+ years for perhaps the final time....yes....it was an emotional scene as we smiled through our tears. I was again reminded of the ability of these people and this culture to be so very very present and in the moment. That presence really is a gift and one of the life lessons that I have as my "take away" from this visit.
We waved out the windows and our Toyokoro hosts waved from the parking lot until our bus was completely out of sight. Masato and Shima San came with us all the way to Sapporo only to have to turn around and make the trek back to Toyokoro the same day. The fellow driving the bus and the one driving the extra luggage vehicle must have been so tired! The trip takes about four hours each way but the roads are really good so that makes it a little easier to take I'm sure. A couple of interesting things from along the way between Toyokoro and Sapporo include: There are tunnels....loooonnnnggggg tunnels and lots of them! It really is a puzzle for me as the hills they're going through aren't all that high...there is no reason the road couldn't go over the hill rather than spend whatever exorbitant amount it would have cost to build that 4 km tunnel through it. There are signs warning of "fox crossing"....can't say I've ever seen those before! We passed a couple of amazing looking ski resorts along the way. They sure know how to do ice cream here! Today this clever country is celebrating a national holiday that is called Seniors Day....yep.....they're celebrating every person who is a senior!
Once we'd arrived back at the Mercure Hotel in Sapporo the whole group of us stood on the sidewalk out front waving like madmen until the bus and the last of our Toyokoro friends were completely out of sight. Now our transition in the direction of home begins as we shift from the cozy embrace of our Sister City into the hustle and bustle of Sapporo. Just three more sleeps and we'll be on our way back to Summerland. But...that's still three sleeps away and that's plenty of time for more adventure so....till next time....sayonara,
Lorrie and Darlene
Headed down for our last breakfast in Toyokoro a little early this morning so we wouldn't have to feel rushed to be back in time to have our luggage all ready to load on the bus by 8:30. Was reminded of the challenge in being able to simply receive a gift when Sharon was faced with a couple of Snoopy themed gifts from the ladies in the kitchen this morning. Watching Sharon struggle with simply saying thank you and knowing she couldn't do anything to reciprocate was such a powerful reminder for me. I've been faced with this learning myself on so many occasions and each time I know I get a little better but always I'm reminded at how much of a challenge it can be to simply stay present and say "thank you" and let go of the feeling of indebtedness or the need to somehow pay it back. It is these moments of opportunity for learning and personal growth that are the core of my addiction to travel.
The other part of my addiction to travel is the people you meet and the friends you make while "on the road". The friends we're saying good bye to this morning are some of the most special people I've ever had the good fortune to know and I thank my lucky stars that I'm getting to have this experience yet again!
Before we knew it the time had come....the bus arrived and our luggage was loaded onto the bus and into the vehicle that would carry the overflow of baggage back to Sapporo for us. In addition to the busses arrival....there seemed to be half the city out to bid us farewell too! The mayor and his wife, Josh (former AET at Toyokoro who is now posted at the northern most town on Hokkaido), Janet (current AET), people from the town hall, sooo many people from the Sister City Committee, Takai, Anda, Koji, Mrs Sato, the home stay families, Masumi, Shima, Tanaka (always taking photos), Hirose, Masato, and so many more. There were tears all around....tears that were half happy and half sad. People who' d never even met a few days before were now saying good bye to dear friends. Young people who' d been living with host families were now saying good bye to their Japanese "mom and dad". Darlene and I were saying good bye to friends we've made over the past 20+ years for perhaps the final time....yes....it was an emotional scene as we smiled through our tears. I was again reminded of the ability of these people and this culture to be so very very present and in the moment. That presence really is a gift and one of the life lessons that I have as my "take away" from this visit.
We waved out the windows and our Toyokoro hosts waved from the parking lot until our bus was completely out of sight. Masato and Shima San came with us all the way to Sapporo only to have to turn around and make the trek back to Toyokoro the same day. The fellow driving the bus and the one driving the extra luggage vehicle must have been so tired! The trip takes about four hours each way but the roads are really good so that makes it a little easier to take I'm sure. A couple of interesting things from along the way between Toyokoro and Sapporo include: There are tunnels....loooonnnnggggg tunnels and lots of them! It really is a puzzle for me as the hills they're going through aren't all that high...there is no reason the road couldn't go over the hill rather than spend whatever exorbitant amount it would have cost to build that 4 km tunnel through it. There are signs warning of "fox crossing"....can't say I've ever seen those before! We passed a couple of amazing looking ski resorts along the way. They sure know how to do ice cream here! Today this clever country is celebrating a national holiday that is called Seniors Day....yep.....they're celebrating every person who is a senior!
Once we'd arrived back at the Mercure Hotel in Sapporo the whole group of us stood on the sidewalk out front waving like madmen until the bus and the last of our Toyokoro friends were completely out of sight. Now our transition in the direction of home begins as we shift from the cozy embrace of our Sister City into the hustle and bustle of Sapporo. Just three more sleeps and we'll be on our way back to Summerland. But...that's still three sleeps away and that's plenty of time for more adventure so....till next time....sayonara,
Lorrie and Darlene
September 18, 2016
September 18, 2016
Toyokoro is crying today as it is our last day here! :-(. Well.....for the first time since our arrival we're facing a day of drizzle so I'm gonna go with the crying concept.
Our day started with a walk (in the rain) over to the lodge where as always our breakfast was served by the two lovely ladies in the kitchen. Each day they manage to make the buffet look beautiful and today it was made even lovelier by a gorgeous bouquet in the middle of the table. One of the women had picked the flowers from her garden and honestly the arrangement looked like it had come straight out of a magazine! As always our breakfast included a wide array of choices from eggs and bacon or sausage to fruits and salad. The toast and endless supply of coffee were popular options as well. The peanut butter came in tiny jars that were branded "Snoopy" which happens to be Sharon's absolute favourite character and so those little jars were washed out each time another one was emptied. By the end of our visit Sharon will have quite a little pile of them! It will be interesting to hear how she decides to use them back home. :-)
After breakfast it was a full morning of cooking and our collective results turned out to be delicious as the plan was that we'd enjoy the fruits of our labour for lunch. We made pork patties simmered in a light gravy, tofu donuts, tofu wrapped in bacon and fried till crispy and golden then wrapped in a lettuce leaf and drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce, and of course there was the ever present rice and nori so we could custom make our own sushi at the table. (I will add here that the tofu donuts were amazing! They consisted of tofu, pancake mix, a beaten egg and enough milk to make a dough that could be rolled into balls and deep fried to a golden hue then rolled in sugar while still warm.)
Once we were all sufficiently stuffed it was off to a ceremonial tree planting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of our Sister City connection. It was literally "all umbrellas at the ready" and the ceremony managed to come off with barely a drop of rain making it through the ceiling of umbrellas that covered the area.
Today was another full agenda and so the students hurried off with their home stay families and five of the women in our group joined Mrs Sato and were treated to the experience of a formal traditional dressing in the kimono. At the same time as they were being "dressed" Masumi (librarian) entertained them with a samurai sword demonstration! Masumi is a tiny little bit of a thing and that sword is almost as big as she but she sure could wield it! In the end, all five of the women looked amazing in their kimonos! The kimonos had been selected especially for them...to compliment their colouring.
Park Golf had been in the plans but due to the drizzle that had to be cancelled so some folks went to the library where there is wifi access, others headed off to the gym, and a couple of us took the opportunity to put our feet up for a couple of hours before the Sayonara Party tonight. Three guesses who might have gone to put their feet up and the first two don't count. :-)
Sayonara Party tonight was amazing as always! Carmen had decided she'd like to keep her kimono on for the party and so she arrived in full traditional Japanese dress. She was gorgeous and all of the Japanese men simply uttered "WOW" when they caught first sight of her. The price she paid for wearing the kimono was that all she felt confident enough to eat was two grapes for dinner! Fear of food slipping from her chopsticks and falling onto the silk dress was just too great....but.....it was worth it and she carried off that kimono like she'd worn one all her life! :-). As well, her decorative obi meant that there was no learning back on the chair and the rigid brace round her mid-section meant there was no slouching either. Aggghhhh the cost of beauty! :-). At one point Carmen's obi started to unravel but Mrs Sato was at the ready and had it repaired in a flash so all was well in the world of kimono catastrophes.
The Taiko drum team opened the evening and took my breath away as they always do. It's hard to believe that this little town can have such an amazingly talented taiko group. They performed a piece that tells the story of a family watching fireworks in the sky. Each section of the taiko group tells a different part of the story and by the time they're approaching the end of the piece all the drums are playing together. When the number ends and the drums all stop in unison the vacant space that is left as the sound ceases is as loud as any drum beat had been prior. It is that kind of manipulation of the beats and the spaces between the beats that gives me goosebumps every time! That....and the fact that there are so many drums playing in a relatively small space is actually beyond description that does it justice. Included in the taiko team tonight were the seven junior players as well as the adults. It is great to see that the next generation is keeping up this tradition and doing their town proud!
Later in the performances tonight all six of the youth in our delegation joined those seven junior taiko players to surprise us with a performance they'd worked on since our arrival. It was great to see and actually very good too! :-)
Other entertainment for the evening included: a young woman with a karate demonstration, the four Summerland Royalty performing a dance, Summerland Princess Kush doing a traditional Indian dance, Hannah playing the piano and singing Hallelujah, the Toyokoro ukulele troupe, and the ceremonial exchange of gifts between the town representatives and the sister city committee chairs. Dinner at the Sayonara party was delicious and was topped off by the official cutting of the Sayonara cake that we all managed to make short work of once it had been cut.
As is always the case....the party was over right on time as planned and we were loaded back onto the bus for the return trip to our lodge. Of course....as is also always the case there was the 2nd party to look forward to and in short order most of our group and many of our Toyokoro friends had gathered in a room at our lodge for some less formal fun and laughter. It was during this 2nd party that somehow a bag of something that looked like dried bugs but that they tell me were baby squid found its way into my hands. Supposedly these things are very expensive and a great delicacy. No one else in my group wanted to try them so of course I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I tore open the bag and discovered that while the flavour was at best "interesting" the texture wasn't half bad. Much like beef jerky actually. Once I'd broken the ice, Carmen was next in line to give them a try (yeah! The Forde girls kicked butt on this one!) and then once she'd survived too....a few more decided to give the baby squid a go before the bag made its way to Koji's end of the table where it stayed till it was empty.
It was another great day and fun filled evening where great memories were created and friendships formed or deepened. Hard to believe we'll be leaving here in the morning. Our time here has flown by and I will miss these people and this great little town.
Till next time,
Lorrie and Darlene
Toyokoro is crying today as it is our last day here! :-(. Well.....for the first time since our arrival we're facing a day of drizzle so I'm gonna go with the crying concept.
Our day started with a walk (in the rain) over to the lodge where as always our breakfast was served by the two lovely ladies in the kitchen. Each day they manage to make the buffet look beautiful and today it was made even lovelier by a gorgeous bouquet in the middle of the table. One of the women had picked the flowers from her garden and honestly the arrangement looked like it had come straight out of a magazine! As always our breakfast included a wide array of choices from eggs and bacon or sausage to fruits and salad. The toast and endless supply of coffee were popular options as well. The peanut butter came in tiny jars that were branded "Snoopy" which happens to be Sharon's absolute favourite character and so those little jars were washed out each time another one was emptied. By the end of our visit Sharon will have quite a little pile of them! It will be interesting to hear how she decides to use them back home. :-)
After breakfast it was a full morning of cooking and our collective results turned out to be delicious as the plan was that we'd enjoy the fruits of our labour for lunch. We made pork patties simmered in a light gravy, tofu donuts, tofu wrapped in bacon and fried till crispy and golden then wrapped in a lettuce leaf and drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce, and of course there was the ever present rice and nori so we could custom make our own sushi at the table. (I will add here that the tofu donuts were amazing! They consisted of tofu, pancake mix, a beaten egg and enough milk to make a dough that could be rolled into balls and deep fried to a golden hue then rolled in sugar while still warm.)
Once we were all sufficiently stuffed it was off to a ceremonial tree planting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of our Sister City connection. It was literally "all umbrellas at the ready" and the ceremony managed to come off with barely a drop of rain making it through the ceiling of umbrellas that covered the area.
Today was another full agenda and so the students hurried off with their home stay families and five of the women in our group joined Mrs Sato and were treated to the experience of a formal traditional dressing in the kimono. At the same time as they were being "dressed" Masumi (librarian) entertained them with a samurai sword demonstration! Masumi is a tiny little bit of a thing and that sword is almost as big as she but she sure could wield it! In the end, all five of the women looked amazing in their kimonos! The kimonos had been selected especially for them...to compliment their colouring.
Park Golf had been in the plans but due to the drizzle that had to be cancelled so some folks went to the library where there is wifi access, others headed off to the gym, and a couple of us took the opportunity to put our feet up for a couple of hours before the Sayonara Party tonight. Three guesses who might have gone to put their feet up and the first two don't count. :-)
Sayonara Party tonight was amazing as always! Carmen had decided she'd like to keep her kimono on for the party and so she arrived in full traditional Japanese dress. She was gorgeous and all of the Japanese men simply uttered "WOW" when they caught first sight of her. The price she paid for wearing the kimono was that all she felt confident enough to eat was two grapes for dinner! Fear of food slipping from her chopsticks and falling onto the silk dress was just too great....but.....it was worth it and she carried off that kimono like she'd worn one all her life! :-). As well, her decorative obi meant that there was no learning back on the chair and the rigid brace round her mid-section meant there was no slouching either. Aggghhhh the cost of beauty! :-). At one point Carmen's obi started to unravel but Mrs Sato was at the ready and had it repaired in a flash so all was well in the world of kimono catastrophes.
The Taiko drum team opened the evening and took my breath away as they always do. It's hard to believe that this little town can have such an amazingly talented taiko group. They performed a piece that tells the story of a family watching fireworks in the sky. Each section of the taiko group tells a different part of the story and by the time they're approaching the end of the piece all the drums are playing together. When the number ends and the drums all stop in unison the vacant space that is left as the sound ceases is as loud as any drum beat had been prior. It is that kind of manipulation of the beats and the spaces between the beats that gives me goosebumps every time! That....and the fact that there are so many drums playing in a relatively small space is actually beyond description that does it justice. Included in the taiko team tonight were the seven junior players as well as the adults. It is great to see that the next generation is keeping up this tradition and doing their town proud!
Later in the performances tonight all six of the youth in our delegation joined those seven junior taiko players to surprise us with a performance they'd worked on since our arrival. It was great to see and actually very good too! :-)
Other entertainment for the evening included: a young woman with a karate demonstration, the four Summerland Royalty performing a dance, Summerland Princess Kush doing a traditional Indian dance, Hannah playing the piano and singing Hallelujah, the Toyokoro ukulele troupe, and the ceremonial exchange of gifts between the town representatives and the sister city committee chairs. Dinner at the Sayonara party was delicious and was topped off by the official cutting of the Sayonara cake that we all managed to make short work of once it had been cut.
As is always the case....the party was over right on time as planned and we were loaded back onto the bus for the return trip to our lodge. Of course....as is also always the case there was the 2nd party to look forward to and in short order most of our group and many of our Toyokoro friends had gathered in a room at our lodge for some less formal fun and laughter. It was during this 2nd party that somehow a bag of something that looked like dried bugs but that they tell me were baby squid found its way into my hands. Supposedly these things are very expensive and a great delicacy. No one else in my group wanted to try them so of course I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I tore open the bag and discovered that while the flavour was at best "interesting" the texture wasn't half bad. Much like beef jerky actually. Once I'd broken the ice, Carmen was next in line to give them a try (yeah! The Forde girls kicked butt on this one!) and then once she'd survived too....a few more decided to give the baby squid a go before the bag made its way to Koji's end of the table where it stayed till it was empty.
It was another great day and fun filled evening where great memories were created and friendships formed or deepened. Hard to believe we'll be leaving here in the morning. Our time here has flown by and I will miss these people and this great little town.
Till next time,
Lorrie and Darlene
Monday, September 19, 2016
September 17, 2016
September 17, 2016
This post will be much shorter than the last! Today we spent the day in Obihiro where shopping took priority and resulted in new rubber boots for some, new shoes for others, some damn fine whiskey for a few more, and lots and lots of little knick knacks for most of us from the 100 yen store.
The 100 Yen store is like a really good dollar store. Made in Japan product means high quality and there are lots of Japanese products in the 100 yen shop.
Lunch and dinner in Obihiro today were both served in traditional Japanese style restaurants which means sitting on the floor. The good news is that both places had holes under the table for our feet - whew! Lunch was good but dinner was really fun as it was a smorg that included everything you can imagine and there was a grill in the middle of every table so you could cook whatever you wanted to eat. It was basically an all you can eat in 90 minutes deal and everyone had lots of fun trying things they had never seen before. Add to that the fact that all signs are in Japanese....there was no way even to try to read what it was you were choosing. It was all good though and we left there well sated!
In between lunch and dinner we made a stop at the horse races where the fourth race had been named the Summerland Cup. We all placed our bets (based on pure science I'm sure) and then it was time for the horses to take the post. Now....I should tell you that this is like no other horse race. These are Percheron Draft horses and they're pulling a sled weighing up to one ton. They have to pull that sled over two hills and along the track to win. First horse that has their sled completely across the line is the winner. Tonight horse number 6 came in first followed very closely by number 4 and number 9 not far behind that. The really exciting news is that Carmen had bet on those 3 to place so her 500 yen bet yielded her 7100 yen! Not a bad payoff!! After the race Janet, Leanne, and the royalty ambassadors presented the prizes to the horses owner and the winning jockey. Everyone posed for photos and again....much fun was had by all.
Tonight I was back in my room just after 8:30 and here it is already 10:00 so I'm going to sign off and take advantage of an early night. Until next time....sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
This post will be much shorter than the last! Today we spent the day in Obihiro where shopping took priority and resulted in new rubber boots for some, new shoes for others, some damn fine whiskey for a few more, and lots and lots of little knick knacks for most of us from the 100 yen store.
The 100 Yen store is like a really good dollar store. Made in Japan product means high quality and there are lots of Japanese products in the 100 yen shop.
Lunch and dinner in Obihiro today were both served in traditional Japanese style restaurants which means sitting on the floor. The good news is that both places had holes under the table for our feet - whew! Lunch was good but dinner was really fun as it was a smorg that included everything you can imagine and there was a grill in the middle of every table so you could cook whatever you wanted to eat. It was basically an all you can eat in 90 minutes deal and everyone had lots of fun trying things they had never seen before. Add to that the fact that all signs are in Japanese....there was no way even to try to read what it was you were choosing. It was all good though and we left there well sated!
In between lunch and dinner we made a stop at the horse races where the fourth race had been named the Summerland Cup. We all placed our bets (based on pure science I'm sure) and then it was time for the horses to take the post. Now....I should tell you that this is like no other horse race. These are Percheron Draft horses and they're pulling a sled weighing up to one ton. They have to pull that sled over two hills and along the track to win. First horse that has their sled completely across the line is the winner. Tonight horse number 6 came in first followed very closely by number 4 and number 9 not far behind that. The really exciting news is that Carmen had bet on those 3 to place so her 500 yen bet yielded her 7100 yen! Not a bad payoff!! After the race Janet, Leanne, and the royalty ambassadors presented the prizes to the horses owner and the winning jockey. Everyone posed for photos and again....much fun was had by all.
Tonight I was back in my room just after 8:30 and here it is already 10:00 so I'm going to sign off and take advantage of an early night. Until next time....sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
Sunday, September 18, 2016
September 16, 2016
September 16, 2016
Well....I knew it would likely be days before I'd be able to post online to this blog again but I sure didn't plan on it taking this much time for me to be able to get back to writing my notes! The last couple of days have literally flown by and by the time you finally get to read this you'll understand what I'm talking about.
I guess I should begin by telling you that the island of Hokkaido was hit by several typhoons over the past few weeks and the worst of those was on August 31 and centred in the Tokachi District - right where we're headed! The good news is that no one was injured and the bad news is that there is extensive damage (wind and flooding). Consequences of that flooding are many and one that will affect us and our trip is that the train tracks we planned to travel on have been washed away in places which means we have an opportunity to embrace the adventure of travel and "roll" with a change in plans. Our friends in Toyokoro jumped to our rescue and sent a bus to Sapporo to pick us up at out hotel so we were not long without a plan and on the morning of the 14th we made our way down from our rooms and found our bus waiting for us ahead of our 10:00 a.m. scheduled time. Not only had they sent a bus to rescue all of us but they'd also sent an additional vehicle to transport the overflow of our luggage! Those vehicles had left Toyokoro at 5 in the morning and here we were turning around to drive right back across the same roads again. Now those are some mighty GOOD friends!
The drive from Sapporo to Toyokoro across the island (west to east) was both beautiful and sad in the spots where we could see the damage caused by the extreme weather. We stopped along the way to stretch our legs and snap a few photos and before we knew it we were rolling into Toyokoro town and City Hall where everyone was lined up to meet and greet us. I cannot describe the feeling of seeing all of those men and women in business suits lined up to meet us....I'm thinking it might be the closest any of us will ever come to being celebrities. Well....in Toyokoro I guess we kind of are celebrities for this week anyway!
In addition to a tour of city hall facilities, our welcome reception included an official tea ceremony. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that one of our friends in Sapporo has only ever experienced the tea ceremony once in his life and here we are all being treated with that ancient art and the honour that goes with it. As part of the ceremony we each had a beautiful little sweet bean cake that was of a design created just for this 20th anniversary and our visit! When it was our turn to receive a bowl of tea we learned how to receive it in our left hand and turn it with our right. When the bowl of tea is presented to us the tea maker has determined the most beautiful part of the design on the bowl and she turns the bowl until that beautiful part of the design is facing us and then once we've appreciated the design it is our job to turn the bowl so the design is again pointing away from us so others can appreciate it too. Like so many traditional customs the world over, the tea ceremony is filled with subtle symbolic elements that are too complex for us to understand without spending the years of study required to learn them.
From the traditions of our ceremonial reception we were off to our accommodation at Aisin Lodge. The lodge is right in the heart of this tiny town (population just over 3000) and is owned by Toyota, who also has a fairly large testing facility nearby. The lodge is used to house the Toyota employees when they are working here and luckily Toyota and Toyokoro are able to make arrangements for us to stay here too. Our rooms are compact but comfortable and as they have only single sized beds in them each of us has our own room, even the married couples. For many of us (perhaps especially the couples) the novelty of a room to ourselves is a welcome surprise. :-)
Our Toyokoro hosts have kept us busy and as usual everyone is enjoying themselves far more than they'd anticipated. From tie-dying activities to town tours and Daikon processing to the autumn salmon harvest in Otsu harbour there hasn't been a dull moment! Touring the schools was another highlight. There are only 5 kids in the elementary school in Otsu and there are just 26 at the pre-school (ages 1-5). The elementary school in town and the Junior High boast much higher populations but still there is opportunity for individual learning support. One example of that is the Assistant English Teacher that Toyokoro employs from Summerland. At present Janet Jory has just begun her two year term as AET working with kids ranging from pre-school to Jr High. She also teaches adult classes for community residents and is kept busy in any spare time she has from all of that working on her own Japanese.
One new building we visited this trip is the Hidamari Cafe (council of social welfare for the town operates this space). It is a great space where anyone and everyone can make use of the facility and where special programs link the very young with the very old and where their cute little coffee counter is always serving (well....at least during their hours of operation).
We also visited the town pool (adjacent to the Jr high school), the farmers market, and the fire hall where we learned that their emergency response team is called out at least once daily on average. That seems a lot for a small town but....I'm sure they know their stats and if they're called out that often then it's a good thing they're here at the ready! Takai San was used as a demo dummy on the ambulance stretcher and in short order was ensconced in the back of the ambulance and ready for transport to the hospital had that been needed. A moment after Takai was off the stretcher Hannah took a turn to try it out too and everyone had a good laugh when the emergency team went to tighter her straps on the gurney only to be instructed (quite aggressively I might add) not to tighter her chest straps!! Now it's not that Hannah did anything wrong at all....it's just that those straps went right over her bust and in classic Japanese conservatism they chose to err on the side of caution...much to Hannah's relief I'm sure. :-)
Darlene and I have had a couple of extra special treats this trip too. While the rest of our group was enjoying a fantastic lunch hosted by the Toyokoro Lions club, we were being hosted at the home of Mr and Mrs Hirose. Our private lunch was in celebration of the original people who are still involved after 20 years of sister city activities so included: Hirose and his wife, Kanagawa san, Anda san, Darlene and I, and then Shima san joined us for dessert. It was a really lovely couple of hours and one thing I will always remember from that day was the friendship that bridges communication gaps and the gorgeous driveway leading to Hirose's home. That drive is long and straight and lined on both sides by countless white birch trees that are like natures version of an honour guard for any who should pass that way.
The second special treat we enjoyed was dinner with Mayor Myaguchi and his wife, Takai San, Yoshida San, and Kaori (Kato San). This dinner was like nothing I've ever experienced before! We went into Obihiro to a fancy restaurant that only the mayor had visited previously. We were seated in a private dining room and then the courses started to arrive. Each one was an elaborate work of art on the plate and the only thing I regret from this whole trip is that I didn't have a camera to capture the progression of plates that arrived at my seat. The first was an array of exotic appetizers ranging from squid with uni to tiny tempura fish and sesame tofu with crab to a seaweed something or other. There were other little bites on that first plate and I ate them all and they were all really quite delicious. They were also all absolutely brand new to my palate. They were setting a stage for the dinner that was to follow and there was not a single bite that I'd ever tasted or seen before. The second plate was actually more like an upside down triangle bowl that was filled with ice and topped with sashimi. There was eel tail, white fish, tuna that had just been flown in from Tokyo, and a prawn that was standing up looking at us. Again, it was all delicious and a perfect example of the Japanese intention that we should eat with our eyes before we put anything in our mouths. The eel tail had an interesting story attached to it. The belief is that the tail represents the progression of anything moving forward as the eel goes from skinniest at its tail to widest at its head. Our third course was paper thin slices of Hokkaido beef that is so marbled it is barley pink in colour. Also on that plate were several vegetables. We were also given a bowl of water over a very hot flame that we were to place all the veggies into to cook. While those veggies were cooking we would take the beef piece by piece and swish it in the water to lightly cook it and say shabu shabu in imitation of the sound it makes as it hits the boiling water. That beef literally melted in my mouth! There were two sauces to choose from. A sesame cream sauce and another that was soya and citrus. Both were delicious but at the end of that course I could see that my bowl of sesame sauce was almost empty so I think it was my favourite. The next course was another work of art in the form of oysters wrapped in pastry topped with foi grois and slivers of crispy burdock. I'm pretty sure this was my favourite course....it was unbelievable! That is all I can say about it! The next course was sushi....yes.....now we were on to sushi! We were all sooooo full but we did our best to chow down on perfect mounds of sushi rice covered with all the same fish we had in our sashimi course. There were also a couple of gorgeous rounds of avocado roll on that plate. This course was followed by a bowl of delicious miso soup and our final course to end the meal was a perfect ball of black bean ice cream that was again as beautiful to look at as it was to eat. The entire meal was absolute perfection....I honestly can't do it justice with any description I might provide so I'll just leave you with this.....I will NEVER forget this dinner!
I know it seems like there is a lot of talk about food in this blog post but I guess that is because they feed us a lot of really great food. From the ladies in the kitchen who serve us breakfast every morning at our accommodation to the Yakatori house we went to in the park tonight...food is a common theme. I wish Summerland had a Yakatori house - what a great way for people to connect in a new and unique way! Everyone sits around a long brick BBQ and cooks their food and eats their food and drinks their drinks and visits while they cook and eat and drink. The Yakatori house is screened in to keep the mosquitos at bay and I can attest to the fact that the place was rocking with fun and laughter tonight! After dinner we played Bingo and there were prizes enough for everyone to win so we all went home winners in every way.
Tonight after the Yakatori house it was back to Aisin where 2nd party was soon underway and the laughter and fun continued. There is almost always a 2nd party in Japan. There will be slightly fewer people at 2nd party than there were at the first one but there is no shortage of fun and laughter at either.
Some of my observations this trip already include:
Shoes come off and slippers are donned inside every building; even city hall, schools, and other public spaces.
The people and this culture could not be any more welcoming.
Cars drive on the left hand side of the road.
Most cars are white in colour.
Toyokoro crops include: sugar beets, daikon radish, potatoes, corn, soy beans, and carrots. In addition there are several dairy farms in the district.
The sun has been shining since our arrival even though the forecast was for rain before we got here!
Cranes are black and white and HUGE! When you're lucky enough to see one it will bring you good luck.
The Toyokoro bakery has the best cream filled donuts in the world!!! In fact, everyone I know who has ever visited here talks about those donuts long after they return home and I for one look forward to enjoying them again at every return visit.
It gets dark here by 6:30 pm and is completely light by 5:30 am. This seems strange as its only the middle of September and the latitude here is actually south of Summerland.
School is in session Mon-Fri full days and 1/2 day on Saturday. School is closed for 25 days winter break and 25 days for summer break in this region. All students are required to participate in one club activity outside school hours. Club activities range from sports to choir. Almost all janitorial work in the schools is done by the students themselves (beginning right from kindergarten). They believe that by caring for their schools in this way the students will feel more ownership and that coordination of the jobs to be done fosters cooperation and leadership. (I tend to agree with them and can tell you that their schools and their community in general is spotless)
There is no vandalism and crime is quite rare.
Shrines are Shinto and Temples are Buddhist (usually). Shrines are for celebrations only (weddings, births, etc). Temples, churches, mosques, etc are accessed for those same celebrations and also are where people go for funerals.
Okay....that's enough for tonight....I am dead tired and tomorrow is another full day.
Sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
Well....I knew it would likely be days before I'd be able to post online to this blog again but I sure didn't plan on it taking this much time for me to be able to get back to writing my notes! The last couple of days have literally flown by and by the time you finally get to read this you'll understand what I'm talking about.
I guess I should begin by telling you that the island of Hokkaido was hit by several typhoons over the past few weeks and the worst of those was on August 31 and centred in the Tokachi District - right where we're headed! The good news is that no one was injured and the bad news is that there is extensive damage (wind and flooding). Consequences of that flooding are many and one that will affect us and our trip is that the train tracks we planned to travel on have been washed away in places which means we have an opportunity to embrace the adventure of travel and "roll" with a change in plans. Our friends in Toyokoro jumped to our rescue and sent a bus to Sapporo to pick us up at out hotel so we were not long without a plan and on the morning of the 14th we made our way down from our rooms and found our bus waiting for us ahead of our 10:00 a.m. scheduled time. Not only had they sent a bus to rescue all of us but they'd also sent an additional vehicle to transport the overflow of our luggage! Those vehicles had left Toyokoro at 5 in the morning and here we were turning around to drive right back across the same roads again. Now those are some mighty GOOD friends!
The drive from Sapporo to Toyokoro across the island (west to east) was both beautiful and sad in the spots where we could see the damage caused by the extreme weather. We stopped along the way to stretch our legs and snap a few photos and before we knew it we were rolling into Toyokoro town and City Hall where everyone was lined up to meet and greet us. I cannot describe the feeling of seeing all of those men and women in business suits lined up to meet us....I'm thinking it might be the closest any of us will ever come to being celebrities. Well....in Toyokoro I guess we kind of are celebrities for this week anyway!
In addition to a tour of city hall facilities, our welcome reception included an official tea ceremony. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that one of our friends in Sapporo has only ever experienced the tea ceremony once in his life and here we are all being treated with that ancient art and the honour that goes with it. As part of the ceremony we each had a beautiful little sweet bean cake that was of a design created just for this 20th anniversary and our visit! When it was our turn to receive a bowl of tea we learned how to receive it in our left hand and turn it with our right. When the bowl of tea is presented to us the tea maker has determined the most beautiful part of the design on the bowl and she turns the bowl until that beautiful part of the design is facing us and then once we've appreciated the design it is our job to turn the bowl so the design is again pointing away from us so others can appreciate it too. Like so many traditional customs the world over, the tea ceremony is filled with subtle symbolic elements that are too complex for us to understand without spending the years of study required to learn them.
From the traditions of our ceremonial reception we were off to our accommodation at Aisin Lodge. The lodge is right in the heart of this tiny town (population just over 3000) and is owned by Toyota, who also has a fairly large testing facility nearby. The lodge is used to house the Toyota employees when they are working here and luckily Toyota and Toyokoro are able to make arrangements for us to stay here too. Our rooms are compact but comfortable and as they have only single sized beds in them each of us has our own room, even the married couples. For many of us (perhaps especially the couples) the novelty of a room to ourselves is a welcome surprise. :-)
Our Toyokoro hosts have kept us busy and as usual everyone is enjoying themselves far more than they'd anticipated. From tie-dying activities to town tours and Daikon processing to the autumn salmon harvest in Otsu harbour there hasn't been a dull moment! Touring the schools was another highlight. There are only 5 kids in the elementary school in Otsu and there are just 26 at the pre-school (ages 1-5). The elementary school in town and the Junior High boast much higher populations but still there is opportunity for individual learning support. One example of that is the Assistant English Teacher that Toyokoro employs from Summerland. At present Janet Jory has just begun her two year term as AET working with kids ranging from pre-school to Jr High. She also teaches adult classes for community residents and is kept busy in any spare time she has from all of that working on her own Japanese.
One new building we visited this trip is the Hidamari Cafe (council of social welfare for the town operates this space). It is a great space where anyone and everyone can make use of the facility and where special programs link the very young with the very old and where their cute little coffee counter is always serving (well....at least during their hours of operation).
We also visited the town pool (adjacent to the Jr high school), the farmers market, and the fire hall where we learned that their emergency response team is called out at least once daily on average. That seems a lot for a small town but....I'm sure they know their stats and if they're called out that often then it's a good thing they're here at the ready! Takai San was used as a demo dummy on the ambulance stretcher and in short order was ensconced in the back of the ambulance and ready for transport to the hospital had that been needed. A moment after Takai was off the stretcher Hannah took a turn to try it out too and everyone had a good laugh when the emergency team went to tighter her straps on the gurney only to be instructed (quite aggressively I might add) not to tighter her chest straps!! Now it's not that Hannah did anything wrong at all....it's just that those straps went right over her bust and in classic Japanese conservatism they chose to err on the side of caution...much to Hannah's relief I'm sure. :-)
Darlene and I have had a couple of extra special treats this trip too. While the rest of our group was enjoying a fantastic lunch hosted by the Toyokoro Lions club, we were being hosted at the home of Mr and Mrs Hirose. Our private lunch was in celebration of the original people who are still involved after 20 years of sister city activities so included: Hirose and his wife, Kanagawa san, Anda san, Darlene and I, and then Shima san joined us for dessert. It was a really lovely couple of hours and one thing I will always remember from that day was the friendship that bridges communication gaps and the gorgeous driveway leading to Hirose's home. That drive is long and straight and lined on both sides by countless white birch trees that are like natures version of an honour guard for any who should pass that way.
The second special treat we enjoyed was dinner with Mayor Myaguchi and his wife, Takai San, Yoshida San, and Kaori (Kato San). This dinner was like nothing I've ever experienced before! We went into Obihiro to a fancy restaurant that only the mayor had visited previously. We were seated in a private dining room and then the courses started to arrive. Each one was an elaborate work of art on the plate and the only thing I regret from this whole trip is that I didn't have a camera to capture the progression of plates that arrived at my seat. The first was an array of exotic appetizers ranging from squid with uni to tiny tempura fish and sesame tofu with crab to a seaweed something or other. There were other little bites on that first plate and I ate them all and they were all really quite delicious. They were also all absolutely brand new to my palate. They were setting a stage for the dinner that was to follow and there was not a single bite that I'd ever tasted or seen before. The second plate was actually more like an upside down triangle bowl that was filled with ice and topped with sashimi. There was eel tail, white fish, tuna that had just been flown in from Tokyo, and a prawn that was standing up looking at us. Again, it was all delicious and a perfect example of the Japanese intention that we should eat with our eyes before we put anything in our mouths. The eel tail had an interesting story attached to it. The belief is that the tail represents the progression of anything moving forward as the eel goes from skinniest at its tail to widest at its head. Our third course was paper thin slices of Hokkaido beef that is so marbled it is barley pink in colour. Also on that plate were several vegetables. We were also given a bowl of water over a very hot flame that we were to place all the veggies into to cook. While those veggies were cooking we would take the beef piece by piece and swish it in the water to lightly cook it and say shabu shabu in imitation of the sound it makes as it hits the boiling water. That beef literally melted in my mouth! There were two sauces to choose from. A sesame cream sauce and another that was soya and citrus. Both were delicious but at the end of that course I could see that my bowl of sesame sauce was almost empty so I think it was my favourite. The next course was another work of art in the form of oysters wrapped in pastry topped with foi grois and slivers of crispy burdock. I'm pretty sure this was my favourite course....it was unbelievable! That is all I can say about it! The next course was sushi....yes.....now we were on to sushi! We were all sooooo full but we did our best to chow down on perfect mounds of sushi rice covered with all the same fish we had in our sashimi course. There were also a couple of gorgeous rounds of avocado roll on that plate. This course was followed by a bowl of delicious miso soup and our final course to end the meal was a perfect ball of black bean ice cream that was again as beautiful to look at as it was to eat. The entire meal was absolute perfection....I honestly can't do it justice with any description I might provide so I'll just leave you with this.....I will NEVER forget this dinner!
I know it seems like there is a lot of talk about food in this blog post but I guess that is because they feed us a lot of really great food. From the ladies in the kitchen who serve us breakfast every morning at our accommodation to the Yakatori house we went to in the park tonight...food is a common theme. I wish Summerland had a Yakatori house - what a great way for people to connect in a new and unique way! Everyone sits around a long brick BBQ and cooks their food and eats their food and drinks their drinks and visits while they cook and eat and drink. The Yakatori house is screened in to keep the mosquitos at bay and I can attest to the fact that the place was rocking with fun and laughter tonight! After dinner we played Bingo and there were prizes enough for everyone to win so we all went home winners in every way.
Tonight after the Yakatori house it was back to Aisin where 2nd party was soon underway and the laughter and fun continued. There is almost always a 2nd party in Japan. There will be slightly fewer people at 2nd party than there were at the first one but there is no shortage of fun and laughter at either.
Some of my observations this trip already include:
Shoes come off and slippers are donned inside every building; even city hall, schools, and other public spaces.
The people and this culture could not be any more welcoming.
Cars drive on the left hand side of the road.
Most cars are white in colour.
Toyokoro crops include: sugar beets, daikon radish, potatoes, corn, soy beans, and carrots. In addition there are several dairy farms in the district.
The sun has been shining since our arrival even though the forecast was for rain before we got here!
Cranes are black and white and HUGE! When you're lucky enough to see one it will bring you good luck.
The Toyokoro bakery has the best cream filled donuts in the world!!! In fact, everyone I know who has ever visited here talks about those donuts long after they return home and I for one look forward to enjoying them again at every return visit.
It gets dark here by 6:30 pm and is completely light by 5:30 am. This seems strange as its only the middle of September and the latitude here is actually south of Summerland.
School is in session Mon-Fri full days and 1/2 day on Saturday. School is closed for 25 days winter break and 25 days for summer break in this region. All students are required to participate in one club activity outside school hours. Club activities range from sports to choir. Almost all janitorial work in the schools is done by the students themselves (beginning right from kindergarten). They believe that by caring for their schools in this way the students will feel more ownership and that coordination of the jobs to be done fosters cooperation and leadership. (I tend to agree with them and can tell you that their schools and their community in general is spotless)
There is no vandalism and crime is quite rare.
Shrines are Shinto and Temples are Buddhist (usually). Shrines are for celebrations only (weddings, births, etc). Temples, churches, mosques, etc are accessed for those same celebrations and also are where people go for funerals.
Okay....that's enough for tonight....I am dead tired and tomorrow is another full day.
Sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
September 13, 2016
September 13, 2016
Our crew was all abuzz this morning when we met downstairs at 9 a.m. They were still reeling from the full day yesterday and the overwhelm everyone was feeling that is simply a reality for those who visit this amazing country when there are special connections with the people here.
From the sweet young woman who greeted us at the hotel reception counter at our arrival to our guide/friends we've spent the past two days with there is no way to explain to others who haven't been here to experience it for themselves just how special you feel with the treatment of these kind and gentle people as your hosts. And the kicker is that we're not even in Toyokoro yet! Once we get there....the whole business of feeling special and honoured will all go up a notch too.
Perhaps I should begin by saying that you know you've been in a place long enough to feel like a resident when you hear your friend (Darlene) say that she is going to contact the city of Sapporo to complain about the fact that they moved our favourite bench. Yes....that's right folks....some well intentioned civil servant messed up our plans! The red brick government house is a great museum but we've seen it before (a few times) and so we'd planned to stay outside in the surrounding gardens while the rest of our group was on the tour. We knew we wanted to do this as that is where we have had breakfast on many a morning in Sapporo since one of the hotels we've stayed at often is right across the street. When we looked for our bench....it was gone! Yes....gone! The spot was still there and the water was still there and the water lilies were still there and the Ducks were still there but our bench was missing! Sad as we were to have that change of plan....we located another bench in the same general area and although it didn't have as nice a view...it was still pretty darn sweet. When the rest of our group returned to the garden area after touring the building Barb and Sharon located a sign that was meant just for me and so photo opps were in order. The sign warned of the danger of birds pooping on you and so given my recent "luck" in that department they decided the sign was meant for me.
Another of our stops today was at the market where I located the gigantic seedless grapes that taste exactly like you just drank an entire bottle of welshes grape juice and a package of 5 Japanese oranges that are so fragile the skin virtually falls off all on its own! Those two items set me back about $35 CAD and there weren't many grapes on the bunch....just enough for everybody to try one with a few extras left over for me. Sure makes me appreciate how affordable and plentiful our fruit is! In addition to the fruit at the market there were fish vendors with product of every shape and size available for purchase. Even though the smell isn't wonderful the experience is well worth it as most of our group had never seen anything like a Japanese market before.
During our lunch stop today...I had to rescind my comment about the ramen being so delicious the other night in ramen alley. What we had today made that pale by comparison! This miso ramen was absolutely perfect! About 1/2 of our group had to sit at tables on the floor but I was one of the lucky ones who opted for a stool at the counter. I am 100% confident that I would not have gotten down to the floor let alone stayed down and even if by some miracle I had managed to survive that...I guarantee I would NOT have gotten up!
Nature played a big part in our day today as we visited the dam that protects Sapporo from flooding and the Ainu Museum that has both an inside and an outside section. I always enjoy this Ainu museum as it really drives home the similarities between the indigenous people here on Hokkaido and the First Nations and Inuit in Canada. That idea about a land bridge at some point in time is a certainty in my mind. The Ainu music and song imitates the sound of animals and is sung to the beat of a drum so it too sounds much like the music of our First Nations. Some of the traditional Ainu clothing we saw in the museum was even made out of salmon skin! Amazing! Salmon was a mainstay for their diet - again much like the indigenous people of western Canada. The Ainu lived in villages of up to 100-150 people because once they got to be that large they would break off and start a new village. Their houses were made of a reed like grass and quite large. They even had outdoor bathrooms - one for the men and another for the women. The natural beauty that surrounded the Ainu museum was mirrored in the majestic beauty we enjoyed at the damn. From the drive up to the site to the views from our vantage at the highest point....everyone appreciated the view and commented on how lush the landscape is and how like the Fraser Valley it all looks. Where our bus dropped us off at the dam we caught an electric bus to go the rest of the way. That electric bus only has to be charged every couple of weeks as it recharges itself when it's driving and the batteries are good for about 6 years.
Our final stop of the day was at the Sapporo Beer Factory where our tour guide (who studied English in Canada) gave us an entertaining tour. From learning about the history of beer in Japan to the tasting room we had a great time. The tasting room was a highlight and when Richard agreed to go up to the front to taste test the difference between beer straight from the can versus one that has been properly poured our group gave him a resounding applause. We learned that there are 3 stages to properly pouring a beer. Stage one is to pour it from a great height so there are lots of big bubbles as well as small bubbles in the glass. Once that has reduced to about 50/50 beer to bubbles you pour from a medium height till you're back up to 60% bubbles and 40% beer. Once that has again gone down to 50/50 it is time for stage three which is to gently pour from a very low height so no more bubbles are formed and the foam on top of the glass is not damaged. The reason for all of this is to ensure the beer doesn't sit with oxygen on it. The foam acts as a protective barrier and so even when you're drinking the beer it is important that you suck the beer through the foam versus drinking the foam off the top.
Yes.....school was in at the Sapporo Beer Factory today and much was learned by all. :-)
Tonight Sharon, Larry, Kelly, Darlene, and I found a nice little restaurant in the pedestrian mall that is just a couple blocks from our hotel and enjoyed another great meal. The only downside to the restaurants here is that they all allow smoking so as Carmen suggested last night....maybe we should just throw our water on adjacent tables that are smoking under the assumption that they must be on fire! :-)
Tomorrow morning we're off to Toyokoro so till next time....sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
Our crew was all abuzz this morning when we met downstairs at 9 a.m. They were still reeling from the full day yesterday and the overwhelm everyone was feeling that is simply a reality for those who visit this amazing country when there are special connections with the people here.
From the sweet young woman who greeted us at the hotel reception counter at our arrival to our guide/friends we've spent the past two days with there is no way to explain to others who haven't been here to experience it for themselves just how special you feel with the treatment of these kind and gentle people as your hosts. And the kicker is that we're not even in Toyokoro yet! Once we get there....the whole business of feeling special and honoured will all go up a notch too.
Perhaps I should begin by saying that you know you've been in a place long enough to feel like a resident when you hear your friend (Darlene) say that she is going to contact the city of Sapporo to complain about the fact that they moved our favourite bench. Yes....that's right folks....some well intentioned civil servant messed up our plans! The red brick government house is a great museum but we've seen it before (a few times) and so we'd planned to stay outside in the surrounding gardens while the rest of our group was on the tour. We knew we wanted to do this as that is where we have had breakfast on many a morning in Sapporo since one of the hotels we've stayed at often is right across the street. When we looked for our bench....it was gone! Yes....gone! The spot was still there and the water was still there and the water lilies were still there and the Ducks were still there but our bench was missing! Sad as we were to have that change of plan....we located another bench in the same general area and although it didn't have as nice a view...it was still pretty darn sweet. When the rest of our group returned to the garden area after touring the building Barb and Sharon located a sign that was meant just for me and so photo opps were in order. The sign warned of the danger of birds pooping on you and so given my recent "luck" in that department they decided the sign was meant for me.
Another of our stops today was at the market where I located the gigantic seedless grapes that taste exactly like you just drank an entire bottle of welshes grape juice and a package of 5 Japanese oranges that are so fragile the skin virtually falls off all on its own! Those two items set me back about $35 CAD and there weren't many grapes on the bunch....just enough for everybody to try one with a few extras left over for me. Sure makes me appreciate how affordable and plentiful our fruit is! In addition to the fruit at the market there were fish vendors with product of every shape and size available for purchase. Even though the smell isn't wonderful the experience is well worth it as most of our group had never seen anything like a Japanese market before.
During our lunch stop today...I had to rescind my comment about the ramen being so delicious the other night in ramen alley. What we had today made that pale by comparison! This miso ramen was absolutely perfect! About 1/2 of our group had to sit at tables on the floor but I was one of the lucky ones who opted for a stool at the counter. I am 100% confident that I would not have gotten down to the floor let alone stayed down and even if by some miracle I had managed to survive that...I guarantee I would NOT have gotten up!
Nature played a big part in our day today as we visited the dam that protects Sapporo from flooding and the Ainu Museum that has both an inside and an outside section. I always enjoy this Ainu museum as it really drives home the similarities between the indigenous people here on Hokkaido and the First Nations and Inuit in Canada. That idea about a land bridge at some point in time is a certainty in my mind. The Ainu music and song imitates the sound of animals and is sung to the beat of a drum so it too sounds much like the music of our First Nations. Some of the traditional Ainu clothing we saw in the museum was even made out of salmon skin! Amazing! Salmon was a mainstay for their diet - again much like the indigenous people of western Canada. The Ainu lived in villages of up to 100-150 people because once they got to be that large they would break off and start a new village. Their houses were made of a reed like grass and quite large. They even had outdoor bathrooms - one for the men and another for the women. The natural beauty that surrounded the Ainu museum was mirrored in the majestic beauty we enjoyed at the damn. From the drive up to the site to the views from our vantage at the highest point....everyone appreciated the view and commented on how lush the landscape is and how like the Fraser Valley it all looks. Where our bus dropped us off at the dam we caught an electric bus to go the rest of the way. That electric bus only has to be charged every couple of weeks as it recharges itself when it's driving and the batteries are good for about 6 years.
Our final stop of the day was at the Sapporo Beer Factory where our tour guide (who studied English in Canada) gave us an entertaining tour. From learning about the history of beer in Japan to the tasting room we had a great time. The tasting room was a highlight and when Richard agreed to go up to the front to taste test the difference between beer straight from the can versus one that has been properly poured our group gave him a resounding applause. We learned that there are 3 stages to properly pouring a beer. Stage one is to pour it from a great height so there are lots of big bubbles as well as small bubbles in the glass. Once that has reduced to about 50/50 beer to bubbles you pour from a medium height till you're back up to 60% bubbles and 40% beer. Once that has again gone down to 50/50 it is time for stage three which is to gently pour from a very low height so no more bubbles are formed and the foam on top of the glass is not damaged. The reason for all of this is to ensure the beer doesn't sit with oxygen on it. The foam acts as a protective barrier and so even when you're drinking the beer it is important that you suck the beer through the foam versus drinking the foam off the top.
Yes.....school was in at the Sapporo Beer Factory today and much was learned by all. :-)
Tonight Sharon, Larry, Kelly, Darlene, and I found a nice little restaurant in the pedestrian mall that is just a couple blocks from our hotel and enjoyed another great meal. The only downside to the restaurants here is that they all allow smoking so as Carmen suggested last night....maybe we should just throw our water on adjacent tables that are smoking under the assumption that they must be on fire! :-)
Tomorrow morning we're off to Toyokoro so till next time....sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
Monday, September 12, 2016
September 12, 2016
September 12, 2016
Thought I'd forgotten about you all and this blog didn't you? Well....I didn't.....it's just that it takes a REALLY long time to get here and then last night it was all I could do to fall into bed and then today we've been out and busy and really....it's only the 11th for you....bottom line....I'm back. :-)
Just got in from an amazing day and found some chocolate that Darlene and I purchased on Granville Island in Vancouver so decided a couple bites of that would keep me awake long enough to catch you up on what we've been up to since I last wrote.
Our first flight from Vancouver was not the best flight I've ever been on but we made it here just fine so I really can't complain. The most challenging part was that Darlene and I were seated in row 59 which is supposed to be better than some of the other seats but in truth...it was so crowded! The seats were on a bit of an angle and so the leg room was crazy tight! On the upside the second plane (Taipei to Sapporo) we were seated in a normal row and so had much more leg room. First flight was 12 hours long. Then we had a 3 1/2 hour wait in Taipei before we climbed aboard flight number two for the final leg of just under four hours to Sapporo. Everyone made it through immigration and customs with no trouble at all. All of our luggage arrived unscathed and when we walked through the doors into the arrival lounge Darlene and I were sooooo relieved to see our bus driver standing there with a big sign that said FORDE as there is always that little bit of worry that something will have been lost in translation. We climbed aboard and the bus driver had us safe and sound at the Mercure Sapporo Hotel in about 1 1/2 hours and the registration staff at the hotel had us checked into our rooms in a flash. They'd been waiting for us to arrive and had all of our room keys ready with corresponding names on a list....it was soooo appreciated as we were badly in need of a shower and a reclining position to take the edge off.
A little less than two hours later our group was all at the ready once again and off we went in search of something for dinner. I had my heart set on finding Ramen Alley and this time decided to get a map with directions rather than just wandering around trying to find it. Happily we walked right to it and found a couple of little shops that could accommodate our group. I ordered the butter corn miso ramen and yes....it was as good as I'd remembered. Yummy!
By the time we came home last night we were done for though and it was a short fall to the bed. In truth I'm not sure I even remembered to take my mascara off! It was only 8 pm local time when we hit the hay and it was 12 hours later before we rose from the "dead" ready to take on the adventures that this new day would hold for us.
This morning everyone was on their own for breakfast and two of our group, Barb and Wendy, managed to make themselves memorable to some of the local residents. While they were having breakfast at a nearby restaurant the owner of the place was doing his best to make conversation with them. He asked where they were staying and without missing a beat Barb replied that they were from the street. Yes.....she told him they were street people. According to Wendy....He didn't know what to say....and neither did she!
Our driver, Manfred and our guide, Makoto, were there to pick us up right on schedule so by 10:00 we were loaded into the van and ready to begin our day. The van itself was an adventure for many of our group because every row of seats has a jump seat in the aisle so you can sit 4 people across a row. Makoto had brought two of his adult kids along with him and Father Manfred had brought one of the sisters with him so by the time all 21 of us were packed into that little Van....it was tight and cozy. We all had a laugh when we shared the story from last time we were here 2 years ago when Manfred and Makoto picked us up from the train station (on our return from Toyokoro) in the pouring rain. We packed our bodies into the van and then had to find a way to pack all of our suitcases in there too! There was a random stranger on the street helping us out and he just kept passing cases in and we just kept piling cases on top of ourselves. It was a memory in the making but we were sure glad it was just a short drive to the hotel!
This year was spacious in comparison to that memory!
Our stops today were many and varied and some of the things we learned and saw were not even at stops...but just things we saw out the windows or heard as stories were shared and customs explained by Manfred and Makoto. For example, we drove by a statue of a boy who is working (carrying a bundle of wood on his back) and at the same time he is reading a book. This statue is culturally important and demonstrates the importance of learning....even while you're working at something else.
One of our stops this morning was at a Japanese Garden/Park that is next to the Emperors palace (now a museum). The zen was palpable in that gorgeous park! We just wandered the trails and appreciated the nature and the history that was apparent in a quaint little tea house that sits inside that park. In fact that tea house offered up a little learning for us too. Makoto explained that in his whole life he's only every participated in one tea ceremony which really drove home just how lucky we all are knowing that Toyokoro will be welcoming us to the town with a beautiful tea ceremony that we will all have the opportunity to participate in. We learned that the reason for the turning of the bowl (cup) in the ceremony is in large part to be intentional about appreciating the pottery that the tea has been served in. It is also an opportunity to consider the beauty of all that is in that moment....the gift that the ceremony is....the surroundings.....the scents, the space and time, and perhaps most of all to appreciate that we have the gift of that moment in time to do just what we are doing. We thought about all of the tea ceremonies that would have taken place in that special little tea house in that beautiful Japanese garden and recognized again just how lucky we all are to be here and doing what we're doing and learning what we're learning.
On the other end of the spectrum, this afternoon we stopped at the chocolate factory which is anything but zen! Having said that it was a great stop and as was obvious by the sheer number of visitors...it is a very popular tourist attraction. The tour is great and there is loads to learn and to see. We watched the assembly lines created perfect little square chocolate filled cookies that we were also given a sample of. We oooohed and ahhhhhed at the wedding cakes that need to be seen to be believed. And we laughed like children as we rode the little train around the grounds and popped our heads up through a hole in the ground for a special photo opp. As we knew it would be....we had loads of sweeeet fun and the chocolate factory.
We also visited a Shinto Shrine where many of us received our fortune (a Japanese custom) and others of us made wishes and gave thanks for things that are important to us. All of us participated in the traditional custom of washing hands and mouth in pure water as hands and mouth are considered to be areas that humans have some history of doing bad things with. While on the Shrine grounds Darlene and I met two women and a baby who was just learning to walk. When that baby saw the two of us, she was so afraid as we look so different from any others she's ever seen. Interesting how we each bring our own perspective to every situation regardless of how much life experience we have.
Our final stop of the day was the one that really drove home how lucky we are for all of us though. This stop was Makoto's home which is also his church (he is a Tenrikio priest) where we would be treated to a lesson in origami followed by a performance of members from his church who play ancient instruments in the traditional way. To top off the show, Makoto played Oh Canada on one of those most ancient instruments and it was so beautiful. In fact there were not many dry eyes in the place by the time he had finished. The performance included traditional dancing and singing too and all of it was very moving. At the end of our time with Makoto's family his mom honoured us even further by gifting many of the women in our group with kimonos, obi's (a wide belt that could be used as a table runner), and traditional shoes. Everyone couldn't believe this amazing gift and it left us all overwhelmed and feeling unbelievable special.
Once back at the hotel tonight Darlene, Carmen, Hannah and I made our way through this section of the susokino district to find the Ferris wheel that is on top of one of the high rises (our hotel is right in the middle of the nightlife district of Sapporo). We found our destination and climbed aboard for views of the city that were breathtaking! This was a whole different view than the one we'd had from the ski jump today. Yep....we're seeing this city from all angles.
Well folks....I think it is time for me to sign off for now. Bed is calling and the alarm will be going off bright and early as we have another busy day planned so till next time....sayonara.
Darlene and Lorrie
Thought I'd forgotten about you all and this blog didn't you? Well....I didn't.....it's just that it takes a REALLY long time to get here and then last night it was all I could do to fall into bed and then today we've been out and busy and really....it's only the 11th for you....bottom line....I'm back. :-)
Just got in from an amazing day and found some chocolate that Darlene and I purchased on Granville Island in Vancouver so decided a couple bites of that would keep me awake long enough to catch you up on what we've been up to since I last wrote.
Our first flight from Vancouver was not the best flight I've ever been on but we made it here just fine so I really can't complain. The most challenging part was that Darlene and I were seated in row 59 which is supposed to be better than some of the other seats but in truth...it was so crowded! The seats were on a bit of an angle and so the leg room was crazy tight! On the upside the second plane (Taipei to Sapporo) we were seated in a normal row and so had much more leg room. First flight was 12 hours long. Then we had a 3 1/2 hour wait in Taipei before we climbed aboard flight number two for the final leg of just under four hours to Sapporo. Everyone made it through immigration and customs with no trouble at all. All of our luggage arrived unscathed and when we walked through the doors into the arrival lounge Darlene and I were sooooo relieved to see our bus driver standing there with a big sign that said FORDE as there is always that little bit of worry that something will have been lost in translation. We climbed aboard and the bus driver had us safe and sound at the Mercure Sapporo Hotel in about 1 1/2 hours and the registration staff at the hotel had us checked into our rooms in a flash. They'd been waiting for us to arrive and had all of our room keys ready with corresponding names on a list....it was soooo appreciated as we were badly in need of a shower and a reclining position to take the edge off.
A little less than two hours later our group was all at the ready once again and off we went in search of something for dinner. I had my heart set on finding Ramen Alley and this time decided to get a map with directions rather than just wandering around trying to find it. Happily we walked right to it and found a couple of little shops that could accommodate our group. I ordered the butter corn miso ramen and yes....it was as good as I'd remembered. Yummy!
By the time we came home last night we were done for though and it was a short fall to the bed. In truth I'm not sure I even remembered to take my mascara off! It was only 8 pm local time when we hit the hay and it was 12 hours later before we rose from the "dead" ready to take on the adventures that this new day would hold for us.
This morning everyone was on their own for breakfast and two of our group, Barb and Wendy, managed to make themselves memorable to some of the local residents. While they were having breakfast at a nearby restaurant the owner of the place was doing his best to make conversation with them. He asked where they were staying and without missing a beat Barb replied that they were from the street. Yes.....she told him they were street people. According to Wendy....He didn't know what to say....and neither did she!
Our driver, Manfred and our guide, Makoto, were there to pick us up right on schedule so by 10:00 we were loaded into the van and ready to begin our day. The van itself was an adventure for many of our group because every row of seats has a jump seat in the aisle so you can sit 4 people across a row. Makoto had brought two of his adult kids along with him and Father Manfred had brought one of the sisters with him so by the time all 21 of us were packed into that little Van....it was tight and cozy. We all had a laugh when we shared the story from last time we were here 2 years ago when Manfred and Makoto picked us up from the train station (on our return from Toyokoro) in the pouring rain. We packed our bodies into the van and then had to find a way to pack all of our suitcases in there too! There was a random stranger on the street helping us out and he just kept passing cases in and we just kept piling cases on top of ourselves. It was a memory in the making but we were sure glad it was just a short drive to the hotel!
This year was spacious in comparison to that memory!
Our stops today were many and varied and some of the things we learned and saw were not even at stops...but just things we saw out the windows or heard as stories were shared and customs explained by Manfred and Makoto. For example, we drove by a statue of a boy who is working (carrying a bundle of wood on his back) and at the same time he is reading a book. This statue is culturally important and demonstrates the importance of learning....even while you're working at something else.
One of our stops this morning was at a Japanese Garden/Park that is next to the Emperors palace (now a museum). The zen was palpable in that gorgeous park! We just wandered the trails and appreciated the nature and the history that was apparent in a quaint little tea house that sits inside that park. In fact that tea house offered up a little learning for us too. Makoto explained that in his whole life he's only every participated in one tea ceremony which really drove home just how lucky we all are knowing that Toyokoro will be welcoming us to the town with a beautiful tea ceremony that we will all have the opportunity to participate in. We learned that the reason for the turning of the bowl (cup) in the ceremony is in large part to be intentional about appreciating the pottery that the tea has been served in. It is also an opportunity to consider the beauty of all that is in that moment....the gift that the ceremony is....the surroundings.....the scents, the space and time, and perhaps most of all to appreciate that we have the gift of that moment in time to do just what we are doing. We thought about all of the tea ceremonies that would have taken place in that special little tea house in that beautiful Japanese garden and recognized again just how lucky we all are to be here and doing what we're doing and learning what we're learning.
On the other end of the spectrum, this afternoon we stopped at the chocolate factory which is anything but zen! Having said that it was a great stop and as was obvious by the sheer number of visitors...it is a very popular tourist attraction. The tour is great and there is loads to learn and to see. We watched the assembly lines created perfect little square chocolate filled cookies that we were also given a sample of. We oooohed and ahhhhhed at the wedding cakes that need to be seen to be believed. And we laughed like children as we rode the little train around the grounds and popped our heads up through a hole in the ground for a special photo opp. As we knew it would be....we had loads of sweeeet fun and the chocolate factory.
We also visited a Shinto Shrine where many of us received our fortune (a Japanese custom) and others of us made wishes and gave thanks for things that are important to us. All of us participated in the traditional custom of washing hands and mouth in pure water as hands and mouth are considered to be areas that humans have some history of doing bad things with. While on the Shrine grounds Darlene and I met two women and a baby who was just learning to walk. When that baby saw the two of us, she was so afraid as we look so different from any others she's ever seen. Interesting how we each bring our own perspective to every situation regardless of how much life experience we have.
Our final stop of the day was the one that really drove home how lucky we are for all of us though. This stop was Makoto's home which is also his church (he is a Tenrikio priest) where we would be treated to a lesson in origami followed by a performance of members from his church who play ancient instruments in the traditional way. To top off the show, Makoto played Oh Canada on one of those most ancient instruments and it was so beautiful. In fact there were not many dry eyes in the place by the time he had finished. The performance included traditional dancing and singing too and all of it was very moving. At the end of our time with Makoto's family his mom honoured us even further by gifting many of the women in our group with kimonos, obi's (a wide belt that could be used as a table runner), and traditional shoes. Everyone couldn't believe this amazing gift and it left us all overwhelmed and feeling unbelievable special.
Once back at the hotel tonight Darlene, Carmen, Hannah and I made our way through this section of the susokino district to find the Ferris wheel that is on top of one of the high rises (our hotel is right in the middle of the nightlife district of Sapporo). We found our destination and climbed aboard for views of the city that were breathtaking! This was a whole different view than the one we'd had from the ski jump today. Yep....we're seeing this city from all angles.
Well folks....I think it is time for me to sign off for now. Bed is calling and the alarm will be going off bright and early as we have another busy day planned so till next time....sayonara.
Darlene and Lorrie
Thursday, September 8, 2016
September 8, 2016
September 8, 2016
Thank you Vancouver! What a day we had....relaxation....and then a little more relaxation.....and then still a little more of the same.
It all started with a leisurely morning at our B and B where Frieda served up some amazing pancakes that were so big they hung over the edges of the plate! They were as delicious as they were massive! There was an endless supply of coffee or tea, freshly baked bread with meats and cheeses as well as home made preserves and some great new friends in the form of the other four guests at Peter and Frieda's B & B. All four of them (plus our two hosts) are from Germany so by the end of breakfast Darlene and I had shifted into fluent German. LOL. Well....it might not have been quite fluent but we did understand when they said Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain so that's almost fluent right?!
Our first stop once we were out and about in the big city was Granville Island Market. Dad was smiling down on us and so of course we had a perfect parking spot that also happened to be in a "free" area. Yep....that parking spot set the tone for the rest of our day. We wandered and listened to the musicians, we tasted samples of everything from chocolate and lemon squares to freshly baked sourdough bread and honey. Yep....a girl could get used to it here! After a little wandering we made our way to the water side seating where we looked out over False Creek sipping our lattes and listening to a variety of music that changed about every 20 minutes as the buskers "shift" was done. We stayed there long enough to go back into the market to purchase some delicious beet salad for lunch and some almond croissants for dessert and then because we could....we topped it all off with iced salted Carmel frappes. Yummy!!! By the time this was all consumed we knew we'd better move or risk bodily harm from either the flock of rabid pigeons (well...maybe not rabid....just pesky) or the people who were waiting to sit down.
Next stop was Stanley Park where I travelled down memory lane as our horse drawn carriage toured us around this magnificent patch of nature. I must digress here just a little to assure Lynda Green that this horse drawn buggy was different that the last one we rode in. Where the last one in the Philippines had a horse the size of a large dog...this one had two Percherons that each weighed more than 2000 pounds so....no risk of me lifting them off the ground! For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about...you'll have to go and read the blog lorrieinphilippines.blogspot.com and check out our time in the city of Vigan.
Now....back to today..... Our horses were named Matlock and Andy. Mat has been working this gig for more than 4 years and Andy is pretty new to the game. Our driver was Matti (yes...same name as one of the horses) and she is originally from Chilliwack. She did a great one hour tour and it was worth every penny of the admission. The weather could not have been any more perfect nor the scenery any more beautiful. The ride was right in line with our theme of relaxation and as I mentioned earlier....it was a ride down memory lane for me as I remember clearly the many times my family and I visited the park to see the animals in the zoo (yes...there was a zoo there then), ride the miniature train, and drive through the "tunnel" of trees that were the canopy for most of the way around Stanley Park Drive. At one of our carriage stops Matti told the story about the statue of the woman (that people often think is a mermaid) who is out on the Rock she explained how the artist would come every year on the anniversary of the statue's creation to clean her from head to toe and to serve birthday cake to everyone who was there. Listening to the story, I had a vivid memory of the year that my family happened to visit the park that same day and were treated to a piece of that birthday cake....it was one of those moments of nostalgia that are even sweeter since they come as a complete surprise.
Another sweet surprise on that carriage ride was meeting a lady from Toronto who sat right behind me and who was visiting her son in Vancouver. We had a really nice visit and I'm thinking she might be reading this blog right now as she has always had a visit to Japan on her "bucket list". Unfortunately that isn't going to work out for her but I promised her she could join us virtually by way of this blog so....you know who you are....enjoy the adventure!
During our tour we also learned about the sulphur that comes into Burrard inlet to wait for the ships that will take it to Asia and other points on the far side of the world. We learned that Western Red Cedar trees are used by the First Nations people in the carving of their totem poles and that they'll last for up to 100 years after they've been carved. We learned that they're nicknamed umbrella trees because the branches keep the ground under the tree completely dry and we had evidence of this last night as we made our trek to dinner and part of our hike took us under a row of these umbrella trees. This bit of info and seeing all the cedars in the park reminded me of another time and place. That time and place was in Ireland where my brother Rob literally tripped over a fallen western red cedar that our great grandfather had planted in front of the old family farmhouse in Derrygooney, County Monaghan about 100 years earlier. That same tree eventually became ill and died. It was then cut down and lay out near the barn waiting to be turned into firewood but.....that tree was not destined for the fireplace....there was another plan for that old cedar. When Rob tripped over the tree in Ireland and our cousin Eric explained that no one knew what type of tree it was as there was not another tree of the same type in the entire country as far as they could see, Rob explained that it was from BC and that it is the type of tree that he used for the chain saw carvings he used to do. As seems to be a theme with the Forde family....lady luck was again smiling down on this scene and Eric had a couple of freshly sharpened saws Rob could use and so use them he did. Over the next 3 days he worked almost round the clock....through rain and shine....and by the time he was done there was a new 10 foot carving of a tree with an eagle resting in it's branches. The carving was moved to that same place our great grandfather had planted the seedling he'd brought home to the farm all those years ago and that is where it will stand in it's new form for another 100 years. Again....this memory was prompted by the scenery in the park....bonus bonus bonus. :)
Speaking of scenery....how does one describe sunshine on water, old growth trees, children laughing as they splash in the waterpark, vast green fields for cricket matches, ancient totem poles peeking out from behind the forest, lapping waters along the shoreline, snowy white seagulls drifting on the breeze, and the scent of late summer hanging in the air. .....just a few of the memories we'll carry away from this carriage ride.
When the time finally arrived to say good bye to Lord Stanley and all his pet geese (well....not sure if they were pets of his but there are a LOT of them in the park) we climbed back in the car to make one final loop around the park...it was too beautiful to leave just yet. This time round there was an added bonus of a couple of gorgeous hunks of men on bikes riding beside our car for part of the way so the scenery was even richer. (We might be old but we're not THAT old! LOL)
Once we'd made our way out of the park we were off to Gastown and all the adventure that lies hidden in its alleyways and old buildings. We found our way into Gaolers Mews where a cute little restaurant named Meet called out for us to sit down so we did. It was an amazing place in that the food comes out of the kitchen faster than the drinks can come from the bar! Actually...it was amazing on all fronts. My margarita was delicious. Darlenes basil infused cocktail was just as yummy. The beer battered sweet and spicy cauliflower was unforgettable and the chili fries were none to shabby either. Yep....dinner was delish! From there we had to wander a little longer to wear off the margarita and burn up a little more time as we sure didn't want to not use some of the time that was on our meter in the parkade. Well....I guess we did leave a little time on the meter in the end since it was good until 6:00 am and we were not about to stay out that late! We knew it was time to head for the car when the steam clock whistled, when dusk had fallen, and when the streets started to look a little sketchy. Given the fact that Darlene is carrying about a million yen in her purse we decided it was time to vacate the area! Our timing was right on as en route back to the car we were accosted by no less than 5 "interesting" fellows looking for a little financial contribution.
Thanks to Google maps (dubbed as Ms Know It All by us for this journey) we managed to find our way back to Frieda's B & B in Richmond. In keeping with our great day....there was our parking spot waiting for us right in front of Frieda's place again. Yep....it's been a great day and there's more on the agenda for tomorrow as we don't have to be to the airport till evening.
Feeling very lucky right now....till next time,
Darlene and Lorrie
Thank you Vancouver! What a day we had....relaxation....and then a little more relaxation.....and then still a little more of the same.
It all started with a leisurely morning at our B and B where Frieda served up some amazing pancakes that were so big they hung over the edges of the plate! They were as delicious as they were massive! There was an endless supply of coffee or tea, freshly baked bread with meats and cheeses as well as home made preserves and some great new friends in the form of the other four guests at Peter and Frieda's B & B. All four of them (plus our two hosts) are from Germany so by the end of breakfast Darlene and I had shifted into fluent German. LOL. Well....it might not have been quite fluent but we did understand when they said Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain so that's almost fluent right?!
Our first stop once we were out and about in the big city was Granville Island Market. Dad was smiling down on us and so of course we had a perfect parking spot that also happened to be in a "free" area. Yep....that parking spot set the tone for the rest of our day. We wandered and listened to the musicians, we tasted samples of everything from chocolate and lemon squares to freshly baked sourdough bread and honey. Yep....a girl could get used to it here! After a little wandering we made our way to the water side seating where we looked out over False Creek sipping our lattes and listening to a variety of music that changed about every 20 minutes as the buskers "shift" was done. We stayed there long enough to go back into the market to purchase some delicious beet salad for lunch and some almond croissants for dessert and then because we could....we topped it all off with iced salted Carmel frappes. Yummy!!! By the time this was all consumed we knew we'd better move or risk bodily harm from either the flock of rabid pigeons (well...maybe not rabid....just pesky) or the people who were waiting to sit down.
Next stop was Stanley Park where I travelled down memory lane as our horse drawn carriage toured us around this magnificent patch of nature. I must digress here just a little to assure Lynda Green that this horse drawn buggy was different that the last one we rode in. Where the last one in the Philippines had a horse the size of a large dog...this one had two Percherons that each weighed more than 2000 pounds so....no risk of me lifting them off the ground! For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about...you'll have to go and read the blog lorrieinphilippines.blogspot.com and check out our time in the city of Vigan.
Now....back to today..... Our horses were named Matlock and Andy. Mat has been working this gig for more than 4 years and Andy is pretty new to the game. Our driver was Matti (yes...same name as one of the horses) and she is originally from Chilliwack. She did a great one hour tour and it was worth every penny of the admission. The weather could not have been any more perfect nor the scenery any more beautiful. The ride was right in line with our theme of relaxation and as I mentioned earlier....it was a ride down memory lane for me as I remember clearly the many times my family and I visited the park to see the animals in the zoo (yes...there was a zoo there then), ride the miniature train, and drive through the "tunnel" of trees that were the canopy for most of the way around Stanley Park Drive. At one of our carriage stops Matti told the story about the statue of the woman (that people often think is a mermaid) who is out on the Rock she explained how the artist would come every year on the anniversary of the statue's creation to clean her from head to toe and to serve birthday cake to everyone who was there. Listening to the story, I had a vivid memory of the year that my family happened to visit the park that same day and were treated to a piece of that birthday cake....it was one of those moments of nostalgia that are even sweeter since they come as a complete surprise.
Another sweet surprise on that carriage ride was meeting a lady from Toronto who sat right behind me and who was visiting her son in Vancouver. We had a really nice visit and I'm thinking she might be reading this blog right now as she has always had a visit to Japan on her "bucket list". Unfortunately that isn't going to work out for her but I promised her she could join us virtually by way of this blog so....you know who you are....enjoy the adventure!
During our tour we also learned about the sulphur that comes into Burrard inlet to wait for the ships that will take it to Asia and other points on the far side of the world. We learned that Western Red Cedar trees are used by the First Nations people in the carving of their totem poles and that they'll last for up to 100 years after they've been carved. We learned that they're nicknamed umbrella trees because the branches keep the ground under the tree completely dry and we had evidence of this last night as we made our trek to dinner and part of our hike took us under a row of these umbrella trees. This bit of info and seeing all the cedars in the park reminded me of another time and place. That time and place was in Ireland where my brother Rob literally tripped over a fallen western red cedar that our great grandfather had planted in front of the old family farmhouse in Derrygooney, County Monaghan about 100 years earlier. That same tree eventually became ill and died. It was then cut down and lay out near the barn waiting to be turned into firewood but.....that tree was not destined for the fireplace....there was another plan for that old cedar. When Rob tripped over the tree in Ireland and our cousin Eric explained that no one knew what type of tree it was as there was not another tree of the same type in the entire country as far as they could see, Rob explained that it was from BC and that it is the type of tree that he used for the chain saw carvings he used to do. As seems to be a theme with the Forde family....lady luck was again smiling down on this scene and Eric had a couple of freshly sharpened saws Rob could use and so use them he did. Over the next 3 days he worked almost round the clock....through rain and shine....and by the time he was done there was a new 10 foot carving of a tree with an eagle resting in it's branches. The carving was moved to that same place our great grandfather had planted the seedling he'd brought home to the farm all those years ago and that is where it will stand in it's new form for another 100 years. Again....this memory was prompted by the scenery in the park....bonus bonus bonus. :)
Speaking of scenery....how does one describe sunshine on water, old growth trees, children laughing as they splash in the waterpark, vast green fields for cricket matches, ancient totem poles peeking out from behind the forest, lapping waters along the shoreline, snowy white seagulls drifting on the breeze, and the scent of late summer hanging in the air. .....just a few of the memories we'll carry away from this carriage ride.
When the time finally arrived to say good bye to Lord Stanley and all his pet geese (well....not sure if they were pets of his but there are a LOT of them in the park) we climbed back in the car to make one final loop around the park...it was too beautiful to leave just yet. This time round there was an added bonus of a couple of gorgeous hunks of men on bikes riding beside our car for part of the way so the scenery was even richer. (We might be old but we're not THAT old! LOL)
Once we'd made our way out of the park we were off to Gastown and all the adventure that lies hidden in its alleyways and old buildings. We found our way into Gaolers Mews where a cute little restaurant named Meet called out for us to sit down so we did. It was an amazing place in that the food comes out of the kitchen faster than the drinks can come from the bar! Actually...it was amazing on all fronts. My margarita was delicious. Darlenes basil infused cocktail was just as yummy. The beer battered sweet and spicy cauliflower was unforgettable and the chili fries were none to shabby either. Yep....dinner was delish! From there we had to wander a little longer to wear off the margarita and burn up a little more time as we sure didn't want to not use some of the time that was on our meter in the parkade. Well....I guess we did leave a little time on the meter in the end since it was good until 6:00 am and we were not about to stay out that late! We knew it was time to head for the car when the steam clock whistled, when dusk had fallen, and when the streets started to look a little sketchy. Given the fact that Darlene is carrying about a million yen in her purse we decided it was time to vacate the area! Our timing was right on as en route back to the car we were accosted by no less than 5 "interesting" fellows looking for a little financial contribution.
Thanks to Google maps (dubbed as Ms Know It All by us for this journey) we managed to find our way back to Frieda's B & B in Richmond. In keeping with our great day....there was our parking spot waiting for us right in front of Frieda's place again. Yep....it's been a great day and there's more on the agenda for tomorrow as we don't have to be to the airport till evening.
Feeling very lucky right now....till next time,
Darlene and Lorrie
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
September 7, 2016
September 7, 2016
It's Day one for Darlene and I but T minus 2 and counting for the rest of the group.
It was a great and sunny start to our day as we rolled out of Summerland with Timmys in hand at 7:30 a.m. The Coquihalla was quiet and we made good time in getting to Agassiz for a visit with mom.
From there it was a short hop to Chilliwack and the Yellow Deli where we met Darlene's cousin, Jan for lunch. And....that is really where this story starts to get interesting! Darlene asked our server if the meat in their sandwiches was deli meat or if it was a real chunk of turkey and the server replied that they slice all their own meat and it is not deli meat. I confirmed that there would be no MSG in it as my friend has an allergy and the girl again nodded confirmation that we had nothing to worry about. Well.....let me tell you folks.....that is not the case! Now I'm sure there are some really great people who work at the Yellow Deli and although that sandwich today was nothing to write home about...I suspect there are other things on the menu that are much better. But the one thing that is NOT good about that place is an irresponsible young woman who it would seem could care less about the people she is serving.
I'm guessing you've guessed where this is all going so I'll just cut to the evening and leave it by saying that once Darlene had "moved" beyond the MSG we were off on an adventure that left us virtually rolling on the street with laughter!
I googled where we could get something for dinner and Mr Google informed us that we were just a short 100 meters from a restaurant that looked amazing. It had a massive menu with something for every taste. And really.....100 meters.....that's nothing. Hmmmmm....how long does it take you to walk 100 meters? Well....it took us almost 1/2 hour! Why you ask? Well because stupid Mr Google forgot to mention that he was looking at how the crow flies...not how people can walk. Truth be told we can virtually see the restaurant from our B and B but because it is on the other side of a busy highway we had to walk around the entire neighbourhood and then over an overpass before we could come back to the restaurant that we could see before we even left!
On the upside....dinner was delish and there was no MSG in Darlene's salad so all is good on that front. As well we were lucky enough to be there on wing Wednesday so wings were $4.99/lb and probably some of the best wings I've ever had! Oh ya....and the drinks were good too!! :).
We made the trek back over the highway and around the neighbourhood and through the park to our cozy little B and B where we managed to climb up the stairs to our home away from home here in Richmond.
It may not sound like we had a busy day but let me tell you we are both done for tonight so will sign off and be asleep before the clock strikes 12.
Till tomorrow,
Lorrie and Darlene
It's Day one for Darlene and I but T minus 2 and counting for the rest of the group.
It was a great and sunny start to our day as we rolled out of Summerland with Timmys in hand at 7:30 a.m. The Coquihalla was quiet and we made good time in getting to Agassiz for a visit with mom.
From there it was a short hop to Chilliwack and the Yellow Deli where we met Darlene's cousin, Jan for lunch. And....that is really where this story starts to get interesting! Darlene asked our server if the meat in their sandwiches was deli meat or if it was a real chunk of turkey and the server replied that they slice all their own meat and it is not deli meat. I confirmed that there would be no MSG in it as my friend has an allergy and the girl again nodded confirmation that we had nothing to worry about. Well.....let me tell you folks.....that is not the case! Now I'm sure there are some really great people who work at the Yellow Deli and although that sandwich today was nothing to write home about...I suspect there are other things on the menu that are much better. But the one thing that is NOT good about that place is an irresponsible young woman who it would seem could care less about the people she is serving.
I'm guessing you've guessed where this is all going so I'll just cut to the evening and leave it by saying that once Darlene had "moved" beyond the MSG we were off on an adventure that left us virtually rolling on the street with laughter!
I googled where we could get something for dinner and Mr Google informed us that we were just a short 100 meters from a restaurant that looked amazing. It had a massive menu with something for every taste. And really.....100 meters.....that's nothing. Hmmmmm....how long does it take you to walk 100 meters? Well....it took us almost 1/2 hour! Why you ask? Well because stupid Mr Google forgot to mention that he was looking at how the crow flies...not how people can walk. Truth be told we can virtually see the restaurant from our B and B but because it is on the other side of a busy highway we had to walk around the entire neighbourhood and then over an overpass before we could come back to the restaurant that we could see before we even left!
On the upside....dinner was delish and there was no MSG in Darlene's salad so all is good on that front. As well we were lucky enough to be there on wing Wednesday so wings were $4.99/lb and probably some of the best wings I've ever had! Oh ya....and the drinks were good too!! :).
We made the trek back over the highway and around the neighbourhood and through the park to our cozy little B and B where we managed to climb up the stairs to our home away from home here in Richmond.
It may not sound like we had a busy day but let me tell you we are both done for tonight so will sign off and be asleep before the clock strikes 12.
Till tomorrow,
Lorrie and Darlene
Sunday, September 4, 2016
September 4, 2016
September 4, 2016
Just 3 sleeps left till I leave for my 9th trip to Japan! Wow! When I type that I'm amazed at how fortunate I've been to be able to visit such a special and interesting country and culture so many times!! Each visit has been unique and this one will be no different. There are 21 of us going in our delegation and I am confident our friends in Toyokoro (Summerland's Sister City) will be getting as excited about our upcoming arrival as we are about our rapidly approaching departure.
Toyokoro and Summerland are celebrating their 20th anniversary as Sister Cities and so our visit will mark that milestone and the festivities in Toyokoro will reflect the significance of this special relationship. Each year our hosts treat us to an amazing itinerary but this one will be extra special for me as I've stepped back from my 20 year role on the executive of Sister City to make room for others to step forward. I'm not the only one who has stepped back on the committee.....Darlene, who has been chair of the committee for more than 25 years, has also stepped back and so for the two of us it will be a nostalgic trip as we say hello and eventually good bye to our Toyokoro family from this new, slightly more distant, vantage.
Darlene and I will depart Summerland en route to Vancouver a couple of days ahead of the rest of the pack and plan to make the most of our free time in the city. Neither of us have spent much time there in the past several years and so we're planning to paint the town red...well....at least a light shade of pink. :)
For those of you who've followed my blogs before you might be surprised to know that this will be the first time I've ever blogged from Japan! Not sure how it happened that way but this time will be different and I've promised myself I won't let the opportunity pass me by. I want to hold on to the memories that are captured when I blog so I'll do my best to write as often as I can during our 12 days in Japan. I love revisiting the experience, sometimes years later, as this blog will live on somewhere out in the Ethernet forever. I also love that I'm able to share the experience with all of you so until the next time....sayonara.
Lorrie
Just 3 sleeps left till I leave for my 9th trip to Japan! Wow! When I type that I'm amazed at how fortunate I've been to be able to visit such a special and interesting country and culture so many times!! Each visit has been unique and this one will be no different. There are 21 of us going in our delegation and I am confident our friends in Toyokoro (Summerland's Sister City) will be getting as excited about our upcoming arrival as we are about our rapidly approaching departure.
Toyokoro and Summerland are celebrating their 20th anniversary as Sister Cities and so our visit will mark that milestone and the festivities in Toyokoro will reflect the significance of this special relationship. Each year our hosts treat us to an amazing itinerary but this one will be extra special for me as I've stepped back from my 20 year role on the executive of Sister City to make room for others to step forward. I'm not the only one who has stepped back on the committee.....Darlene, who has been chair of the committee for more than 25 years, has also stepped back and so for the two of us it will be a nostalgic trip as we say hello and eventually good bye to our Toyokoro family from this new, slightly more distant, vantage.
Darlene and I will depart Summerland en route to Vancouver a couple of days ahead of the rest of the pack and plan to make the most of our free time in the city. Neither of us have spent much time there in the past several years and so we're planning to paint the town red...well....at least a light shade of pink. :)
For those of you who've followed my blogs before you might be surprised to know that this will be the first time I've ever blogged from Japan! Not sure how it happened that way but this time will be different and I've promised myself I won't let the opportunity pass me by. I want to hold on to the memories that are captured when I blog so I'll do my best to write as often as I can during our 12 days in Japan. I love revisiting the experience, sometimes years later, as this blog will live on somewhere out in the Ethernet forever. I also love that I'm able to share the experience with all of you so until the next time....sayonara.
Lorrie
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