it's bus tour time!!

For any of you who enjoyed reading about the previous episodes (ie. cherry blossom viewing and all-you-can-eat-cherry-picking), we are on the road again. Sit back, relax in the comfort of your seat, and join the adventures of (l-r) Kimie, Kazuko and I. . . on a "marathon" to experience the culinary pleasures of Ise (city about 2 hours from here). Japan is famous for having special local foods pretty much anywhere -- they're good at creating (using fresh foods from the area -- mountains, sea, etc.), induldging in and making conversation surrounding these "meibutsu" (special foods).
7:05 -- leave my house 7:40 -- tour leaves from near Toyota station
1st stop 9:10 (ie. breakfast) -- sushi -- the fish, and the other is a salted leaf with sushi rice and sesame inside (the pink stuff is pickled ginger -- I've given up on Japanese pickles, though :-s )
2nd stop 10:10 (ie. morning snack) -- we "boarded" this ship and sat down for. . .
these delectable shells -- couldn't tell you the names, but quite the display, eh?
Spotted these plum blossoms at the 2nd place -- it's lovely to have flowers in February (though it is much earlier than usual this year!!) Everyone is already in "spring mode" here. . . I can live with that! ;-)

3rd stop 11:15 (ie. lunch) top l clockwise -- raw tuna fish on sushi rice / shells, shrimp and vegetables in broth (heated from below) / Ise noodles (homemade -- fat and really good in winter!)
We visited the Ise Shrine -- the "top" shrine in all of Japan, and therefore a huge tourist attraction. At the top of these stairs, there is an area where people can stand before another gate, drop some moeny into a box, clap their hands together, and send up a wish or "prayer" for health, safety or any other personal desire.
This week in class, one of my students said that what most Japanese claim as "religion" isn't the same as a "faith" like mine. . . she said it's almost like feeling they must recognize their "responsibility" to honour their anscestors by carrying on the family traditions and participating in the rituals of Buddhism. Something that's common for the majority of Japanese people, I believe.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. . . He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. . . . God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:24,5,7
The God of the Bible doesn' t live in places on this earth that we honour and worship, He lives in human hearts, in us!! Please pray for the freedom of God's truth to break through like a wave over the country of Japan. . . and that the Japanese would know the true purpose and meaning of their lives!
4th stop 2:30 (ie. afternoon snack) "All-you-can-eat-strawberry-picking" (not like we really needed the "all-you-can-eat" part today, but you gotta get your money's worth ;-s) Anyways, we took bets on how many we could eat before leaving the bus -- the other two thought "at least 30", and I was betting on 40-50. The results? (l-r) Kazuko -- 32 (mostly small, so she could make it to 30!), Kimie -- 40, and me -- 42 (I couldn't lose to Kimie ;-), and the 41st wasn't very sweet, so. . . after 20, though, you start feeling your stomach!!)

5th stop 3:15 (ie. supper?!?) BBQ with meat, cabbage, and eggplant Considering that this was a mere 1/2 an hour after I'd eaten my 42nd strawberry, it was basically not so much a "oh, that looks good" as a "well, we've only got 1/2 an hour, so better get on with the grilling" (which you do in the middle of your table) How do you like the "bibs"?!
6th (and thankfully LAST) stop 4:15 Rice topped with small shells and seaweed -- over which you pour a broth, and eat kind of like soup. It was good, I think. . . ;-)
So, I am officially an "expert" on the foods of Ise, I guess. I am definitely full, but it was all really good, actually, and nice to spend time with Kimie and Kazuko. They have both been coming to classes since I started here almost 2 years ago, and I have appreciated each of them a great deal. So, maybe I can organize a tour of Boissevain for Spring 2008?! (Better get working on those "meibutsu". . . ;-)