A Place Where They Made Sugar And Drink Tea

is exhibited in Shikoku Mura. Have you read my two previous posts on the exhibitis of this museum? If you haven't, you can read it here and here.

Sugarmaking became a specialty of the Sanuki region (present day Kagawa Prefecture) during the late Edo period (1600-1867).

While the Satsuma region in southern Kyushu had previously been known for its brown sugar, the white sugar produced in the Sanuki region soon became known as the finest in Japan.

As sugar cane cultivation spread throught Sanuki region, sugar mills or presses became widespread in the area. Only two such round sugar-presses from that era remains. Inside, there are three stone mortars driven by oxen pullling a long crossbeam (udegi); constantly walking round and round the inner circumference of the building. That's why the buildings are round - it's to accomodate the circular movement  of the oxen.

In buildings known as Kamaya, the natural syrup was boiled to remove impurities and refine the sugar. Very few such kamaya refineries remain in existence.

After sugar, we have a tea place. Pity we only got to view the place instead of being able to enjoy a cup or two. ^^

A tea hall (chado), part temple, part resting area, part meeting place. Small structures like this containing a Buddhist image were often built on main roads just outside a town to keep away wandering evil spirits and as a resting place for pilgrims.

This particular hut was from Ryukaido, a main thoroughfare between Tosa and Iyo (present day Kochi and Ehime prefectures) which was heavily travelled by pilgrims (benro) visiting the 88 temples.

The Bribe - More Game!

or should we rephrase it? It's reward time. For a boy who didn't complain (much) when his parents  dragged him when they were in Japan or how long the "dragging" took.

Rewards came in form of :

1. Sugar (in form of Kamen Rider/Ultraman can drinks)
2. Game (in form of Nintendo 3DS)
3. and also this :

the deal is : one game per city/day. Gaming time would be accorded just before we made our way to our hotel room before we go out again for dinner. Or maybe after dinner, with Mommy if Daddy wants to venture out alone. It's a great bribe errr reward for Mommy to give to him because then he'd be more willing tagging along withMommy when Mommy was shoe shopping! ;p

Call it irresponsible parenting but only in Japan would I leave him at the game centre (and providing him with more coins than what was agreed with Daddy) while I went shoe browsing at the floor below. (p.s. I'm cheap enough to just limit my shopping at ROX) ^^

Our Hail Storm Colorado Springs CO June 6, 2012

Our back yard.

We were at a little League game.  Weather prediction was 10% chance of rain.  The games were put on hold because of lightening.  At the very same time I received a weather alert that there was a severe thunderstorm for the whole county, it started hailing.  


We had to drive the 7 miles home in the rain in hail after pausing a few minutes under an overpass.  


It hailed the whole way home and the water  was running hard, fast and wide.  Had we delayed any longer we may have been stuck in  the fast moving water.  News said it was a 100 year storm and 4" fell in 2 hours with some baseball sized hail (thank goodness we didn't see any of that!!)

Here are some photos I took last night and this morning

The yard is blanketed with shredded maple leaves

Our pot of pansies devastated

Parsley and Chives without leaves and blooms and hail still there at 10AM this morning.

Yarrow crushed and a hole in St. Francis' bird bath

Water rushing in our gutter, sidewalk and driveway. The street is 5 lanes and the water was from curb to curb.

The mall near us.  These piles are the way there were, not plowed.

The drainage is so bad the hail piled up.  The roadway was cleared but it was solid last night. 12 cars had to be pulled out.

See the 2 workers on top of the pile.  An opening was plowed so cars could pass through.

Our grass and swing.  It will be amazing if our garden survives.

We are very lucky, little damage and a few dents in the car but our neighbors and many people have water in their basement. Heard on the police radio a blind woman called 911 because she felt water on her feet and thought her house may be flooding.  Can you imagine that fear? 

Family Homes Of Olden Time

exhibited in the open-air museum; Shikoku Mura provided us insights on how Japanese people (Shikoku people specifically) lived long ago.

The first home was posted in my previous post. A home donated by Yamashita family.

This one is the Kono family home.

The house was built in early 18th century deep in the mountains of Ehime Prefecture, this farm dwelling measures 39 feet long and 21 feet deep. (By the way, it's funny that when it comes to house sizes, I am more comfortable using square feets instead of square metres despite us using the metric system for everything else. Houses area are usually advertised is sq ft instead of sq mtr here too. Why is that, I wonder?)

Two thirds of the house are devoted to two living/sleeping rooms, each with their own hearth (irori no ma). Coarse straw mats provide comfortable seating comfort on the bamboo floors around the hearth. The other one-third of the home is clay-floored work/storage area and entrance way.

This particular home even has a bark steamer for papermaking. How cool is that?

After seeing these homes, I am so thankful for modern day living and homes with provide plenty of privacy!

OLA: Waking up in a City That Never Sleeps

Bill and Carol at a lovely dinner in Ai Fiori (among flowers) on Fifth Avenue, NYC

Progress! One World Center now at 100 floors
the Transportation Hub emerges!

That seems like a contradiction! But Bill and I wanted to go back to New York City to live it up! Joe and Dottie let us park our RV at their home in Middletown, New York, 45 minutes from the campground. That gave us the chance to revisit Lower, Middle, and Upper Manhattan one day at a time. Let me tell you what happened!

Lower Manhattan

work at left and throngs at right, view from our hotel room

the new 9/11 Memorial wall at the Visitors Center NYC

Our room at the World Center Hotel was spacious, clean, and well-equipped but it is the location that is enviable. It is right next to the 9/11 National Memorial and our room had a view of the site so we could see the work going on, the endless queues from 9 am to 6 pm, and the 100^thfloor, at 1,368 feet, of One World Trade Center which, with its spire, will tower to 1,776. Even now it is again the tallest building in Manhattan. The complex will be a multifaceted Transportation Hub, connecting the World Trade Center and the World Financial Center. What a successful renewal!

Bill at the grounds of the Chapel of St. Paul with its unwavering spirit

Alexander Hamilton's tomb at Trinity Church's burial grounds

Just across the southwest side (our hotel is at the northeast side) is the little Chapel of St Paul (Catholic) which survived the fire of 1776 and the terrorist attack on 9/11. An engraved bell at the burial grounds commemorates its unwavering spirit!. Inside this chapel built in 1772, one will see the very pew that George Washington used when the nearby Trinity Church (Episcopalian), where he regularly went for service, was destroyed by fire.  At the grounds of the restored Trinity Church we found the tomb of Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father, a framer of the US Constitution, and first Secretary of the Treasury of the US.

Bill in front of the New York Stock Exchange

Bill with the Bowling Green Bull, for bullish trading

Facing Trinity Church is Wall Street where we found the New York Stock Exchange across which a big George Washington stands in front of the Federal Reserve Building seeming to ensure that every financial transaction at that Financial District is above board. About a block towards Battery Park is the charming little Bowling Green Park and its Bull! Of course, at Battery Park we got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, now doubly meaningful to me, a naturalized US citizen after migrating here 8 years ago!

Immigrants' Memorial in Battery Park with Ellis Island at the background

Upper Manhattan

Cathedral of St. John at Upper Manhattan, NYC

In Upper Manhattan, way up on 123^rd street is the Cathedral of St. John, largest handcrafted cathedral in the world! It is an exquisite work of art, inside and out. Several blocks from this cathedral is the Grant National Memorial, considered one of the top 10 mausoleums in the world. It was so cool inside, despite no air-conditioning. Three floors of marbled walls and floors surround the tombs of General and Mrs. Grant at the lower level. A huge dome tops the beautiful mausoleum, surrounded by tall elms.

the Grant National Memorial in upper Manhattan, NYC

Bethesda Fountain and lake at Central Park, NYC

Although it is considered central in Manhattan, hence the name Central Park, let me include it in this section. The few times I had been to New York I never got the opportunity to experience the Park. This time, Bill and I walked a small loop that included the Carousel, the Literary Walk, the Bethesda Fountain, boathouse and the lake. All along the Mall were artists: acrobats, jugglers, musicians, magicians, jokers, etc. competing for the public’s attention and dollars, performing under 150-year old elm trees.  

150-year old elms provide the natural canopy
for strollers at Central Park, NYC

Columbus Circle and the familiar Central Park horse-drawn carriage

At the end of the small loop we came upon a group that was singing some old familiar Beatles tunes and, of course, I stopped and sang with them! Little did we know that they were there because that was right across the John Lennon Memorial, a circular mosaic that had the word IMAGINE at the center. And about a hundred yards from the memorial, across the Park on Central Park West and 72^nd St, is the Dakota Apartments at whose gate John was gunned down by Chapman at 10:50 PM of Dec. 8, 1980.

the John Lennon Memorial at Strawberry Fields Forever, Central Park New York City

Middle Manhattan

Bill inside the Empire State Building

On Central Park’s southeast side is the Maine Monument and just across is the roundabout called Columbus Circle (a statue of Columbus stands at the center). The Circle is the actual center of Manhattan and every place is measured in distance from it. Middle Manhattan is where you will find the Rockefeller Center (although the skating rink has become a flurry of stores) and the Empire State Building (which still runs tours up to 10 PM). St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a few blocks from the Rockefeller Center and we were so lucky to have made it to the Sunday 10:15 AM mass when the choir sings.

Carol at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC on Memorial Day

Memorial Day Mass at St, Patrick's Cathedral in NYC
with representatives from the Navy

We were not able to get a glimpse of the Chrysler Building and the United Nations complex but we chanced upon the Flatiron Building near the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, a national historic site. It is his home in Long Island, however, that most people know. But the busiest part (besides the subways) is Times Square and the Theater District beside it. I (not Bill) had so much fun having my picture taken with the Marines, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, NYPD, and, of course, The Naked Cowboy  who were all around the Square for Memorial Day celebrations.

Teddy Roosevelt National Historic Site in Middle Manhattan, NYC

nobody seems to care...with The Naked Cowboy
 at Times Square, NYC

Then Bill and I had the time of our lives at The Times Square Visitor center for a photo op with the New Year’s Eve Ball ($8M worth) and post our prayers at the Hopes and Dreams board. Then, just a couple of buildings away we went to the American Eagle Outfitters. It took me quite a while to find an item that is not too expensive but pretty enough. I finally found a $12 top (everything was 40% off) which gave us the chance to have our 15-seconds of fame on a giant Times Square screen in front of the store!

our 15 seconds of fame at Times square, NYC!

Hopes and Dreams at Times Square Visitors' Center, NYC

Finally it was time to see Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre on 45^th and Broadway.  I couldn’t help but sing Hakuna Matata and ‘Can’t you feel the love tonight’ with the cast.  I had been to several Broadway plays in New York before but this was indeed a spectacle! Next we dined at Ai Fiori (meaning among flowers) on Fifth Avenue, a gift from my daughters Trisha, Claudine and April. Never could I have spent this kind of money. But, they were right! Even if our meals at Europa Café, TGIF, and Koko’s were also good, this Ai Fiore dinner was truly the meal of a lifetime! Thank you, my girls!

Carol, before the Lion King performance
at the Minskoff Theatre off Broadway, NYC

riding a romantic tricycle in Times Square, NYC

The three Manhattans gave us everything…the best of food, theater, history, celebrations, architecture, churches, memorials, parks, and people!  Waking up to a city that never sleeps, although literally quite contradictory, is a shot of adrenalin for another eventful 24 hours each and every day!  And I was so tired i slumped on the floor of Grand Central Station, waiting for the train that would take us to Upstate New York again to get our RV and resume cruising! 

waiting for the Metro-North train at Grand Central

Encounter The Traditional Face of Japan

Well, that's what you'd read in Shikoku Mura's pamphlet. 

Immediately upon entering the open-air museum, the first showcase is the vine bridge of Iya Valley.

One of these vine bridges is still in use in the Iya Valley and was named as an Important Ethnic Cultural Property. The bridge is rebuilt with fresh vines every three years; a practice that's been followed until now.

The one you see in Shikoku Mura is however installed with steel cables but it was designed and built by the vine bridge builders of Iya Valley to ensure that the bridge is as authentic as possible as the one that can be found in the Valley.

then it's the Shodoshima Farmers' Kabuki Theater.

The kabuki theater is from Obu Village on Shodoshima. Farmers' Kabuki Theater were common throughout Shikoku and during festivals villagers could take a break and watched kabuki performances.

The theater is reed thatched, hipped ridge roof (kayabuki yosemune) with a section of light tiles (sangawara) over the stage area. The stage is 39 feet wide in the front area and 26 feet in the back. The revolving stage is 15 feet in diameter. On the right stage-front area are over and under spaces for singers and musicians.

After that, we saw several homes. First one is the Yamashita family home.

The home is a typical farmer's dwelling in the eastern area of Sanuki region (modern-day Kagawa Prefecture) during Edo period (1600-1867). The interior space is divided equally into work-storage space area and living-sleeping area. This style of house was once so common that its rough dimension became its name and it's called a "gururi bachiken" or around 48 feet around.

You know I can be crazy about a few stuff when in Japan. They are trains, manhole covers and toilets (among others). So... wanna guess what that photo above might be? heh heh

By the way, I checked. No, its not in working condition. Bwahaha

p.s. What did people of yesteryears wipe their behinds with, before the advent of tissue papers? We, the jungle people solve it by just making a dump at the river. Free-flowing supply of water. Kakaka

Anyways, three exhibits down. 30 more to go! Well, actually I might not do all 33, but brace for more posts on the exhibits of Shikoku Mura. I'm long winded, me. ^^