Nagano report.
Nagano was an experience of Olympic magnitude. God I hate myself sometimes. Anywho the first day was started off on a bus which met outside the Sumitomo building in Makuhari. Seth and I were fast aboard to claim the back for the A-Team. It was quickly recognized by our whole program the position the A-Team holds. There was a lot of driving some stopping at a lake, my addiction to FF Tactics was started, and not much else really went on. Until that is we made it to the drum workshop.
We stopped at a taiko drum workshop, run by apparently famous taiko drummers one of which had a handlebar moustache. We saw them make some drums, and then they lead us to the basement where there were fifty something drums all set up. It was awesome the drums varied in size and tone. Even though most people on our trip are rhythmically illiterate it was still awesome the sound that reverberated in that room, it felt like a wall of pulsating sound, almost as if sitting inside of a bass drum while it flaps around. After that we were given a demonstration on a monstrous drum by a guy who has played in London for the Queen of England. His playing was a visual and aural masterpiece. It was amazing the beats that he had but also to see the style with which he slammed his mallets you could really see the power and come to understand how these drums developed out use in battle.
More driving…. And we arrive at Shukubo an actual Buddhist temple which we stayed in for the first night. Next day we arose bright and early, Shin san put Seth in a headlock after he told him that he got an emailing telling him to sleep in. We all made it to the front of the temple. We got tea bagged by the head monk lady by her beads, and then went off to listen to some chanting. It’s good to know Buddhist services are as boring as the ones I go to at home. After that off the Nagano City Museum, not much to report there, besides I found a room with a moose. Later that day we went apple harvesting. It was more us either giving up after five minutes of leaf pulling and apple turning, and then eating the apples, or us doing more harm then good accidentally ripping off apples, well besides Anthony who probably turned 50 or so apples. We at least got to eat two of the apples which tasted awesome. Gigantic Fuji apples are the way to go. We drove ten feet after that to make MOCHI. Mochi are pounded rice and we pounded the hell out of some rice, Pretty damn nummy if I say so myself.
More driving, this time we hit our final destination which was the Ryokan hotel, the place we stayed for three nights. Ryokan was awesome the best Washoku I have ever eaten, plus it is surrounded by 10 onsens (hot spring baths) which we were given the key to. We got to wear Yukatas, Geta shoes, and our room alone had these bad ass blue robes. I felt like a Jedi and a samurai at the same time. Next day soba noodle making, pottery making, and a ninja theme park. YES that’s right a ninja theme park. There was a sweet museum with all kinds of ninja weapons and pictures, plus a ninja house with hidden doors everywhere, a slanted room, and ninja’s. Outside was more ninja goodness, I played a shuriken throwing game and won a shinobi fan and there was a spring board I was jumping on and spilled pretty hard off of. My ninja skill and grace impressed everyone there I am pretty sure.
That night more Onsens, plus we watched an amazing movie named Cassern which Anthony had copied from a DVD rental store. Next day went to an underground ex army base which felt more like a mine shaft, some old house, some other cultural center named Rokumon and then off to Obuse. Obuse is a small tourist village known for its chestnuts I think. We got to go to the Hokusai museum, which had some incredibly beautiful art, one of the best museums I have visited in Japan. Then came the guest speech.
Ms. Sarah Cummings, I think, gave us an inspirational speech on moving to Japan and dedicating her life to improving the town of Obuse and preserving the things she finds beautiful about the Japanese culture. The only thing was she was being assisted by a DVD made all about her. It was the cheesiest goddamn thing I have ever seen, the 80’s music was there in force, with spinning transitions and all that. Plus she kept making awful puns, for example, she made a monthly gathering to bring the community together know as Obusessions, which is obsession with an extra U because U make it happen. Yup, you make it happen….
That night was insanity, pure utter chaos and drama but those sort of things are not appropriate to be read by the naked eye. Suffice it to say we all went to bed around 3 or 4 am too drunk and half of us were throwing up, and then had to wake up at 7am to get back on the bus and head home. But first before the drive home, we were driven to a MONKEY ONSEN. We got some hints of monkey on our 10 minute walk out there but when we arrived there was just a swarm of monkeys, swimming in the onsen, picking bugs off of each other, and just basically being monkeys. I took about 100 pictures of monkeys alone I think. I also accidentally kicked a monkey when I turned around to walk and a monkey was running by my feet. I am sorry monkey. After that life changing experience we headed off to Matsumoto castle, the oldest castle in Japan. It was amazing but no monkey. Then the long ride home made bearable by FF tactics.
We stopped at a taiko drum workshop, run by apparently famous taiko drummers one of which had a handlebar moustache. We saw them make some drums, and then they lead us to the basement where there were fifty something drums all set up. It was awesome the drums varied in size and tone. Even though most people on our trip are rhythmically illiterate it was still awesome the sound that reverberated in that room, it felt like a wall of pulsating sound, almost as if sitting inside of a bass drum while it flaps around. After that we were given a demonstration on a monstrous drum by a guy who has played in London for the Queen of England. His playing was a visual and aural masterpiece. It was amazing the beats that he had but also to see the style with which he slammed his mallets you could really see the power and come to understand how these drums developed out use in battle.
More driving…. And we arrive at Shukubo an actual Buddhist temple which we stayed in for the first night. Next day we arose bright and early, Shin san put Seth in a headlock after he told him that he got an emailing telling him to sleep in. We all made it to the front of the temple. We got tea bagged by the head monk lady by her beads, and then went off to listen to some chanting. It’s good to know Buddhist services are as boring as the ones I go to at home. After that off the Nagano City Museum, not much to report there, besides I found a room with a moose. Later that day we went apple harvesting. It was more us either giving up after five minutes of leaf pulling and apple turning, and then eating the apples, or us doing more harm then good accidentally ripping off apples, well besides Anthony who probably turned 50 or so apples. We at least got to eat two of the apples which tasted awesome. Gigantic Fuji apples are the way to go. We drove ten feet after that to make MOCHI. Mochi are pounded rice and we pounded the hell out of some rice, Pretty damn nummy if I say so myself.
More driving, this time we hit our final destination which was the Ryokan hotel, the place we stayed for three nights. Ryokan was awesome the best Washoku I have ever eaten, plus it is surrounded by 10 onsens (hot spring baths) which we were given the key to. We got to wear Yukatas, Geta shoes, and our room alone had these bad ass blue robes. I felt like a Jedi and a samurai at the same time. Next day soba noodle making, pottery making, and a ninja theme park. YES that’s right a ninja theme park. There was a sweet museum with all kinds of ninja weapons and pictures, plus a ninja house with hidden doors everywhere, a slanted room, and ninja’s. Outside was more ninja goodness, I played a shuriken throwing game and won a shinobi fan and there was a spring board I was jumping on and spilled pretty hard off of. My ninja skill and grace impressed everyone there I am pretty sure.
That night more Onsens, plus we watched an amazing movie named Cassern which Anthony had copied from a DVD rental store. Next day went to an underground ex army base which felt more like a mine shaft, some old house, some other cultural center named Rokumon and then off to Obuse. Obuse is a small tourist village known for its chestnuts I think. We got to go to the Hokusai museum, which had some incredibly beautiful art, one of the best museums I have visited in Japan. Then came the guest speech.
Ms. Sarah Cummings, I think, gave us an inspirational speech on moving to Japan and dedicating her life to improving the town of Obuse and preserving the things she finds beautiful about the Japanese culture. The only thing was she was being assisted by a DVD made all about her. It was the cheesiest goddamn thing I have ever seen, the 80’s music was there in force, with spinning transitions and all that. Plus she kept making awful puns, for example, she made a monthly gathering to bring the community together know as Obusessions, which is obsession with an extra U because U make it happen. Yup, you make it happen….
That night was insanity, pure utter chaos and drama but those sort of things are not appropriate to be read by the naked eye. Suffice it to say we all went to bed around 3 or 4 am too drunk and half of us were throwing up, and then had to wake up at 7am to get back on the bus and head home. But first before the drive home, we were driven to a MONKEY ONSEN. We got some hints of monkey on our 10 minute walk out there but when we arrived there was just a swarm of monkeys, swimming in the onsen, picking bugs off of each other, and just basically being monkeys. I took about 100 pictures of monkeys alone I think. I also accidentally kicked a monkey when I turned around to walk and a monkey was running by my feet. I am sorry monkey. After that life changing experience we headed off to Matsumoto castle, the oldest castle in Japan. It was amazing but no monkey. Then the long ride home made bearable by FF tactics.
