Snow and Onsen

Or you could say, very cold and very hot. Nagano is famous for its mountains and onsen (hot springs) and the 1998 Winter Olympics. In winter most of us make our way to one of the many ski resorts that Nagano offers, we're spoilt for choice. The most popular resorts are in Hakuba and Shigakogen.








A group of us went snow boarding last weekend to Shigakogen, famous for onsens and for snow monkeys. The condititins on the slopes wasn't great, quite icy. I fell a few times, and the last fall my broke my bindings :( I think I'll go back to skis for a while till my knees feel better.
The 7 of us stayed in a ryokan (bed and breakfast) and had an onsen that night to ease our aching muscles. The next day we hiked (small hike) up a snowy mountain to see the snow monkeys in the natural hot springs.

Yokohama

Those of us leaving the JET programme made our way to Yokohama from all over Japan. A conference was held for the 'returners'. So, the 3 British girls from Nagano, Alice, Lucy and myself, took a little trip not far from Tokyo, to Yokohama.








This was a conference we actually wanted to be at. I saw a few old faces from the summer holiday in Hokkaido. The conference was to prepare us about what to expect when we return home. Things to do before we leave Japan, and things to do when we're home. I learnt a few things about reverse culture-shock. I've also to lose my Japanese habits, such as locking my front door, not carrying 500 pounds on me, not to leave my bags unattended in starbucks, not bowing when I say thank you, not to shout 'sumimasen' (excuse me) when I'm ready to order...
I also realised that I shouldn't be upset when I return home to find that everything is pretty much the same, and I'm the one who has changed. It'll be difficult to answer the predictable question "How was Japan?", but most would just want to hear "It was great" and if I were to sum up a 2 year experience even in a minute, most eyes would glaze over half way through.
As with most of the JETs, while in Yokohama, Alice, Lucy, Paul and I went to Chinatown. I was pretty much brought up in a Chinatown in Penang. But anyhow... I'm with different company, and we happy and we had nice food (except food with pork, which i didnt eat).

Zenkoji Toumyo

As a memorial for the Nagano Olympics, Zenkoji temple was lit up using the 5 coulours of the Olympic rings. The festival lasted a week, and the street up to the temple was lined with decorated lanterns. They were very fancy lanterns.









There were smaller temples on the side open for the public to experience traditional temple meals. My friend Mayumi reserved 6 places for her friends and for Colleen and I. The meal we small dishes and very simple. I wasn't sure if this meal would be enough. But once we started these delicate foods it was very nice, and suprisingly we were full afterwards. And Mayumi's cheeks were a little rosy from the little sake that she had. I had so much fun. It was great seeing the Japanese girls I used to do yoga with. They've stopped going because its too cold. It is cold though, but I still go occasionally. That night it started snowing, so we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the Spring, during cherry blossom season, when we'd have picnics under cherry trees and drink sake, and enjoy the beautiful pink flowers - hanami (cherry blossom viewing)

Setsubun Mamemaki

Each February 3rd in Japan is known as setsubun. The word setsubun literally means a division of the seasons, since it is traditionally held that this time of year marks the beginning of the "eve of Spring."

So I decided to go to Zenkoji temple, conveniently next to my school, to experience the ceremony. Crowds starting to gather from about 12.30pm and the beans were thrown at 1.50pm. By 2.15pm I was ready to leave, it was cold snowing, and i was loosing the feelings in my toes.

On the day of setsubun, the most common and visible custom is for people of all ages to throw beans (usually dried soybeans), while chanting oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi! (Basically, "Out with demons, in with good luck!") Traditional beliefs held that the throwing of the beans (mamemaki) and chanting would drive away demons of misfortune and thus allow prosperity to enter one’s life and family. People (particularly children) are also sometimes seen wearing masks representing these bad-luck demons or cherubs of good fortune. They might act out the parts of demons being driven away and good fortune taking its place. This ritual of renewal has the same undertones as cleaning one’s house and paying obligations prior to the New Year in Japan, and has parallels in the feelings of renewal behind New Year’s resolutions and Spring Cleaning in Western countries.

Another custom at the time of setsubun is to eat the number of beans corresponding to your age. News broadcasts and other television shows on February 3rd carry footage of Japanese sumo wrestlers and other celebrities who are 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, or even 72 years old standing outside well-known shrines throwing and/or eating dried soybeans. These celebrities were born under the same sign of the Asian zodiac (this year is the year of the dog) as the current year, and thus this year’s setsubun festival is especially auspicious for them.