Day 12: Himeji Castle and our return back to Tokyo

This morning was an early morning as we rose, rolled up our futons and packed to leave Matsuyama. It was very difficult saying good-bye this morning to the Sumidas and Akiko shimai.  We have had such a wonderful stay and we will take with us many beautiful memories.  Thank-you Sumida shimai for the delicious pancakes and fruit this morning! and for the bento lunch that kept us from starving this afternoon :)

Saying good-bye at the train station to our new friends.  My heart is so full of gratitude for their kindness and love for our family.

Bevan shimai with Sumida kaicho and shimai

Akiko shimai and Bevan shimai - a tearful farewell

Bruce enjoyed shooting a few pictures of the beautiful scenery as we left the island of Shikoku and headed across the sea to Okayama.

One of the many bridges that connects the island of Shikoku to Honshu

Seto Inland Sea dotted with islands

We arrived after lunch to the city of Himeji where we disembarked from the Shinkansen to walk up to this amazing castle.  Himeji City is most famous for its well preserved feudal castle - Himeji jo.  Himeji Castle has never been destroyed by earthquake, fire or war - it is one of the most magnificent castles in Japan.  Its shape was likened to a white heron spreading its wings, so the castle is also known as the White Heron or White Egret Castle. The castle has three separate moats and various gates that lead to dead ends where enemy troops would have boiling oil or water poured over them as they were trying to scale the walls.

The middle moat

Katie and Sarah standing outside the entrance to the castle

Interior of the West Wing of the castle.  The main interior of the castle is still closed off to the public for renovation.  We had to remove our shoes at the entrance and put on slippers to walk on the interior wood floors.  The craftsmanship of the woodwork was awe inspiring

Another interior view of the hallway. There were various
 types of exhibits displayed in the rooms off both sides of
the main hallway.

View from base of the castle - this was as close as we could get today!

Detail of the family crest on the roofwork

It was getting close to sunset as we headed back to the station to board the Shinkansen for Tokyo. We stopped at a convenie on the way to the train and loaded up on Japanese snacks for the four  hour trip north.  We pulled into Gotanda station about 9:00pm that night.  It was very crowded with commuters heading home to work.  We found our new apartment, checked in with the owner and then headed out to find a quick bite to eat.  We found a noodle place not too far from the station that had delicious ramen.

Bruce snapped a photo of his dinner - a rice bowl with egg and chicken and a bowl of ramen with soba noodles - so delicious! (Oishii!!)

Day 11: Tour of Elder Aoba's studio in Ehime, Matsuyama-jo and Dogo Onsen

Last night our hosts, the Sumidas, called Elder Aoba, an area authority for the church in Japan (click here to read more about Elder Aoba's life and conversion to the church) as well as a local potter, to ask if we could come tour his studio!  We were so excited when he said, YES! They were excited to introduce Trevor to Elder Aoba after Trevor had brought the Sumidas one of his pieces as a gift for letting us stay with them. 

So thanks to our drivers, Sumida shimai and Akiko shimai, we set off north to the inaka or countryside of Japan on Shikoku.  The scenery was so beautiful as we made our way to a small valley that contained the Aoba home in Ehime. Their home sits between beautiful rice paddy fields on one side with a small river on the other.  It is so peaceful here.  Elder Aoba was excited to give us a tour of his studio and show us his kilns and his work.  

The photo above is part of Elder Aoba's noborigama kiln. It contains five separate chambers that he built from recycled brick. He fires the kiln 3-4 times a year. Each time he fires the kiln, people come from all over Matsuyama to watch the firing and enjoy the warmth of the kiln and excellent cooking of his wife, Matsumi.  Elder Aoba puts out pieces for sale and the community enjoys one another's company during the 72 hours that the kiln is fired up. Elder Aoba does not sleep during that time as he has to monitor the temperature of the kiln and his pieces very carefully.

Elder Aoba explaining to us his process.

While we were outside getting a tour and being instructed in the art of Japanese pottery, inside the house Sumida shimai, Akiko shimai, and Aoba shimai prepared the 5 Gaijin a fabulous lunch! Never mind that we had just had a huge breakfast at the Sumidas a few hours earlier, it was time to now enjoy another fabulous meal!

Omurice is an omelet type dish where the egg is cooked thin like a crepe, filled with rice and vegetables, and then wrapped up and topped with a tomato based sauce - like ketchup! Each omelet had a different word on it such as love, hope, and faith. Bruce and I had Japan and America! Inside the bread basket there were the most fabulous rolls I've ever had. It was a yeast dough wrapped around a filling of mashed apple and yam with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar on the outside - oishii! We also had delicious kiwi, Matsuyama oranges, and a green salad with a Japanese type of persimmon.  Akiko shimai had baked us a banana cake for dessert.  There is a perception in Japan that Americans eat a lot of food, and so they cooked us a feast! Unfortunately, lol, we did not fail their expectations!

After lunch we took a group photo: Aoba chorro, Aoba shimai, Tanigochi shimai, Sumida shimai, Bevan shimai,
 Trevor, Katie, Bruce and I.

View of the tallest peak on Matsuyama - it is lightly dusted with snow
although it is hard to see in this photograph.

We drove back to Matsyama as fast as we legally could so that we could visit Matsuyama-jo before it closed. Unfortunately, we didn't make the 4pm closing time, but we were still allowed to go up and walk around the grounds.  Here are some photos of the chair lift we took up the mountainside.

There are no seat belts on this ride - so we had to hold on! We made it up to the top of the mountainside and quickly ran around the castle taking photos before the sun set! Matsuyama-jo or castle was built in 1603 on Mount Katsuyama. The main building or tenshu is five stories tall. Of course, like most of the buildings in Japan, it has been rebuilt a couple of time due to fire from lightning strikes and destruction during WWII. Today there are over 200 cherry trees planted in the gardens around the castle making it a beautiful spot to visit in the spring during sakura.

Beautiful view of the sunset over the Seto Inland Sea

Matusuyama with the Seto Inland Sea in the background - looking west

Matsuyama with the mountains as a backdrop looking east

View of the castle as you climb up the hill

Castle lit up at night

Sarah with Akiko shimai on the right and Sumida shimai on the left!

After we walked down the mountainside Akiko and Sumida shimai drove us to the Dogo onsen.  I was so excited to experience my first public bath in Japan!  The other 4 Gaijin weren't so excited, but they humored me and accompanied me to this famous bathhouse. We entered the bathhouse and the boys went to the left and the girls to the right. There was a large locker room where you remove everything! and then you walk into the bath area with nothing but a small cloth to cover your nether parts -lol!  Around the communal bath (water supplied by a hot spring) there are bathing stations. It is very important to bath and clean yourself first before you get into the communal bath. The bath itself was lovely. The temperature was just right for a long soak. All my tired muscles and aches and pains just melted away. It felt so good! After you soak for awhile you are supposed to get out and go back to a bathing station and this time you soap yourself down, shampoo your hair and rinse before you get back into the pool a second time.

Dogo Onsen is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan. There are records of use of its healing properties for over 1,000 years.  It's not uncommon to see many people on the streets around the onsen in their yukata - or bathrobe kimono - as they travel from their hotel room to the onsen and back. We opted for the cheapest package which was 400 yen just for the bath due to how late it was.  There are higher priced menu options that include the use of a yukata and refreshments or tea service after your bath. It is a beautiful wood building with tatami mats in the dressing area and dark wood floors in the main areas. There are no shoes allowed, everyone must remove their shoes and place them in an outer locker before entering the facility.  

As a thank you to our wonderful hosts we took them to dinner at Sushiro - a local inexpensive  conveyor belt type sushi restaurant. Unfortunately, because we were a large party we couldn't sit together - so we split up into English and Japanese groups! and we lost our translator to the Japanese table. Sarah had a wonderful time with her friends and all enjoyed a delicious dinner. Unfortunately, the 4 Gaijin at the English table were not well acquainted with the whole ordering process, so we ended up accidentally grabbing and eating other customer's special orders that came down the belt because they looked good! and we didn't realize that red bowls meant special order and black bowls meant anyone can eat this! Oh well, those Americans, you can't take them anywhere! 

Day 10 - Travel to Matsuyama

This morning I was feeling a little sad at the thought of leaving Kyoto. The last few days have been amazing here. The only good thing about leaving  today is that we are heading to Matsuyama to spend time on the island of Shikoku where Sarah lived the last 8 months of her mission.  I had Bruce snap a few pictures of the home we have been staying in this week on our way out the door this morning.  We were in a rush as always to get to the train station on time. We are taking the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Okayama and then a JR train down to Matsuyama - total travel time about six hours today.

This is the dining room where we hung out most
 of the time while we were home.  We left our umbrellas
here for future guests during their stay.  They are
too big for us to fit in our suitcases, and I'm hoping
someone else will benefit from them.

These are the crazy stairs up to the second story where we slept at night.
We went up and down very carefully!

This is the kitchen with a small sitting room towards the back.
  Stove on the left, fridge in the front left corner of the photo.
We had a three burner stove which was pretty awesome!  

This is the main street we walked up and down to get
to our home in Kyoto. I never saw one street sign here nor
on any of the smaller streets going off of this one!  

We caught the bullet train on time and we are off to Matsuyama!

View of the Seto Inland Sea as we leave Okayama and head to the island of Shikoku. We crossed several bridges as we left one island and headed for another. The scenery was beautiful - lots of small islands sticking up out of the sparkling water reflecting the late afternoon sun. We arrive in Matsuyama about 4:15pm and Sumida kaicho (the branch president) and his wife are there to pick us up along with another ward member, Akiko shimai, as we needed two cars to carry us and our luggage!

We were in for a treat tonight. Sumida shimai and Akiko shimai prepared sukiyaki for dinner! Let me just say this not only smells amazing but it tasted amazing! Sumida shimai below is using a portable stove to cook the food on the table. To make sukiyaki you braise the meat and vegetables together along with udon and/or rice noodles. To eat it you pull out some meat and vegetables and noodles with your chop sticks dip them in raw egg and enjoy! Oishii!!

Akiko shimai cooking at the second table

Sumida kaicho watching Sarah break open the eggs

We were so excited to have the sister missionaries join us for dinner!  Sarah had a wonderful reunion with her last companion Bowman shimai!  We had great conversation in Japanese and English. Lots of translating and laughter and some great missionary stories!

Sarah opening a birthday gift from Akiko shimai. She made Sarah a photo album filled with lots of photos of Sarah and her companions in Matsuyama. Sarah and her companion would go to Akiko's house once a week to teach Akiko shimai's mother a gospel discussion. Her mother is 86 years old and doesn't remember much of what is taught, but she loves the missionaries and Akiko would always feed the sisters dinner after their lesson! 

Here we are with the sister missionaries, the Sumidas and Akiko. Ichi, Ni, San - Hai!

After dinner we drove over to Dogo Onsen to look at the Christmas light display. One side of the building was decorated with lanterns flashing in different light colors and patterns.

Dogo Onsen - one of the oldest bath houses in Japan. It's design was used for the bath house in the movie "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki

I know this photo is kind of hard to figure out - but this is the clock near Dogo onsen.  Every half hour the clock opens up and has these moving figures from the bath house running around - it was pretty entertaining watching these little figures move back and forth.