A Hot Spring Inn in Izu

The Izu Peninsula located Sth West of Tokyo is a wild and beautiful place. The climate is milder than further North and being surrounded by ocean it stays quite a bit warmer all year round. You see palm trees and citrus growing there.









One of the new friends I made there.

With the host family Naomi, Tomono and I went and stayed in a fantastically built inn deep in the mountains. There are seven waterfalls there and the autumn colours were in full flight. The inn is very luxurious with fantistc hot pools right down by the river and food of unsurpassed quality. There is a picture of each of the dinner dishes below, breakfast was almost as good.

The Children's Day Celebration

It was our cousin's 5 year old son's shichigosan celebration. This is where the 5 th birthday of boys and the 3rd and 7 th of girls is celebrated in grand style. Everyone does it in November regardless of the birthday date.





The women of the family often dress in beautiful kimonos and the child in question is done up in much traditional gear.

Tomono and Naomi spent most of the morning getting dressed and coiffed at the cousin's hairdresser. Then it was off to the temple for the benediction of the rug rats.

A perfect example of old and new Japan.

Then of course an enormous meal in an excellent restaurant. A lovely day all round and mildly exhausting.

The Mechanical Instrument Museum

The Orugoru no Chiisana Hakubutsukan is a wonderful, magical place. In a specially designed museum building it houses an enormous private collection of mechanical musical instruments, music boxes and automata.

Mr Yoshihito Namura's collection would have to rate as one of the finest in the world. It runs to hundreds of rare and ancient things. All the pieces have been lovingly restored and there is a special concert performance where they demonstrate the working and music of about 20 choice pieces.

Not only that, but to quote the brochure there is:

The Bench of Bodily Sensation

You will have a rare experience that your body will feel the vibration of the sound of the music box directly.

 How could you resist an offer like that?

This is a music box,about 2M tall that has three voices,thus complex harmony etc .

A remarkable early Jukebox using wax cylinders, 3 M tall.

Sadly the museum will close in May next year as the owner is getting very elderly. One would hope that instead of wasting money on the next Olympic bid the Tokyo government could find the funds to keep it open.

Another day, another winetasting party.

Winetasting party mark II for the host family and their friends.

We had about twelve different wines from Australia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Germany and even bloody New Zealand. Japan is a paradise for the dedicated imbiber. Low taxes and goodies from around the globe. Wine and spirits are about 1/2 the  price they are in Australia.

I made all the food apart from the cold meat and cheese.

Cheese biscuits and Madeira

                                          Karasumi, cured fish roe, I made in Australia

Humous.

                                                         Panzanella

Egyptian lemon chicken with chickpeas and okra.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                        A prune Clafoutis.

The Bamboo Temple (for Martin).

Tucked away in the hills of Kamakura is the Bamboo Temple, Houkokuji. Kamakura is the  ancient capital of Japan, just south of Tokyo. The region is a dimpled surface of little hills and thankfully little or no building has gone on on those hills. So you have an series of connected urban areas separated by green mounds and little mountains.

The Houmokuji temple was built in 1334 and is a most special place. Not only are the buildings old and graceful but behind them is a bamboo forest of prodigious age. Away from the noise and heat of the urban area it is cool, green and incredibly beautiful.

The bamboos are astonishingly large. Probably 40-50 ft high and most as thick as your your leg. Quite a few are thigh thickness.




You can wander through and admire the steep hills behind and then stop at a little spot and have a cup of green teas while sitting on a little platform and looking at a waterfall.

All of this in the middle of greater Tokyo, an agglomeration of some 33 million people. Yet another marvellous and astonishing thing about Japan, these quiet serene and ancient places amongst the mayhem.