The Country House

The cottage is an open floor plan down stairs and a bedroom up in the peak of the A frame for Ken and Hiroko. It is all in a light oak timber, polished floors and white walls with a modern feel. Not a traditional Japanese build more of a western style A frame with a slight modern mountain chalet feel.

There is still the step down tiled area at the entrance to deposit shoes prior to donning your house slippers.

On the ground floor to the right end is a very large room for Ken's mum which has windows that open to the view of Mt Fiji and in the middle of her room is a table where she plays traditional tile games and reads her ancient Japanese poetry.

This table is about the size of a dining table with a dooner that covers it and touches to the floor, on top of this is a piece of glass and under the table well is a bit like an electric blanket. Saw one of these 10 year ago as a coffee table in the middle of a lounge room in a house and you all sit around it eat dinner and the blankets keeps you warm. As temperatures in winter in this area get way way below freezing its a good option I'm sure.

Our sleeping area is at the left hand end of the house via 3 large sliding panels doors for privacy, there is a piano in this area and a walkin robe where our bedding is kept by day. By day this area is just an open space.

Our space is also very large and opens on to the timber deck and that amazing view, I'm in heaven again. In the middle of the cottage is the lounge dining and and the kitchen at the back. 

Off to the back of the cottage and far right is the long bathroom and this is where the tradition kicks back in. I LOVE Japan baths they are so relaxing.

It is a very long narrow room with the toilet at one end, and yes its got all the bells, whistles and water buttons that I have come to now require from a 

toilet !! 

A laundry in the middle of the space and at the other far end is the bathroom. It's a step down into the bathroom and with a bifold frosted glass door to keep in the heat and steam. Before you step down into the bathroom there is a area with a curtain that closes this space from the laundry and this is the dressing area. Steeping down into the bathroom there is a small plastic seat sitting on the floor about as big and as high as a upturned  bucket with beautiful soft edges. Here is where you sit and do the whole soapy washy thing with a plastic dipper that you fill with hot water from the pre filled bath or use the low shower 

head that is attached to the wall at sitting height.

Next it's into the hot " very hot " plunge bath. It about 800 mm deep and about 1500 x 1000. One sits and basically stews at 43 deg supplied by the temperature controlled panel displayed on the wall. The bath water is for the whole family to use as you are clean when you get in and on the next morning it is piped into the washing machine to do they daily cloths wash or garden watering, very water wise indeed.  The large window off to the side of the bath gives a lovely view of the pine tree that surround the cottage.

So sit back stew and enjoy ...

Mt Fuji

We arrive to the country house and wow wow wow I'm sooooo gobsmacked by the view.

The location is truly beautiful,  the A framed cottage sitting on 500m / 2 of land and is bordered on 3 sides by tall pine trees and its oh so peaceful. The smell in the air is sweet and moist. We are on the edge of a little farming community and town as well as in an area for Japanese retirees to have little places in the country to escape the 20 + million people of Tokyo and the hectic city life 250 km down the hill. Life up here is at a very slow pace, and the temperature is a good 15 deg cooler and as it was 39 deg on the freeway in Yokahama it is a relief to be  back to 24 degs here and it will get down to 16 over night.

We make our way from the car to the front timber deck and turn around to see the view " spectacular " and it is one of the best locations  in this area to see Mt Fuji, she looks like a postcard all in haze of pastel pinks and soft blue. We can see her sitting ever so proud over the small paddock of spring veggies that are growing  just across the little lane in front of the cottage. It may be summer in the city's below but it is certainly still spring up here.

Mt Fuji looks like it is cut in 1/2 as it is so high that the top 1/3 sticks out above the band of cloud cover. So all those misty pastel pictures of the mount that I have seen are actually true to how she really does looks and we will be waking up to that view every morning while we are up here.

Sooooo cool is all I can say! !! And how privilege we are to be here.

Car Treats

Like an excited kid I yell out look it's Mt Fuji ... After about 2 hours of driving we start to see glimpse of the majestic Mountain, it so cool to see and so huge standing high above the rest of the mountains.

Ken says its a great view from here but wait till we get to the country house as the view from there is better. 

We pull over for a doggie stop and some refreshments, what's a car trip without goodies I say... but wait...  Hiroko wants to treat us to a special road trip treat but Japanese style of course, well after all we are now in the so called sticks and the road house has a very Japanese feel, a bit like a big supermarket but they only sell treats Hmmmm they must get a lot of passing traffic as this place it's fairly big and stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

Japanese love little cuties stuff and sweet and sour treats and this place was full of it you feel like you are 8, its all so kiddish there food culture is so refined but the treats are so childlike.

But beware of anything that looks too colourfull and pretty in very expensive decorative boxes as you may well be shocked. These are made from red beans and look pretty and sweet but hmmmm are more like a gluey paste with no sweetness and taste of beans. Bit disappointing considering how beautiful they look, perhaps an acquired taste. Oh and the other sweet to beware of is sweets that taste like salt or the strongest lemon flavour that sucks every last drop of moisture from your mouth. 

So Hiroko assure us that she has a western sweet tooth so it will be OK.

So its back into the car and our treat is revealed, " Pokos " it is a small chocolate coated vanilla ice cream .... yep you may ask ... what's different or special about that, well the taste firstly it was so creamy, they are about the size of a marshmallow and come in a tray like a box of chocolates and with no stick... Well hmmmm how do we eat them ... at the end of the box is several little plastic prongs that you push into the top of them, so it was like eating a box of creamy chocolate coated milky frozen treats on a little prongs and was all so delicate and oh so beautifully Japanese.

I do I do I do I do I do

So after a great breakfast it's into the car all 5 of us and Choco the dog as Ken wants to be on the road by 8.30am sharp. Any earlier and it is the peak hours of the morning workers with huge traffic delays coming into the city and 1/2 an hour later it the peak hours of the local moving around the busy city of Yohahama. 

As it is it still takes us about an hour to get out of the city traffic and hit the open roads for the country. We only traveled about 15km in the first hour and  even though Ken said it is that 1/2 hour window where the traffic is OK to us it is still so intense and busy, not thinking that I will be moving to Yohahama any time soon. The traffic is just so heavy and we are heading away from it. 

So we hit the open road well freeways 4 and 5 lanes at first then down to 2 way by mid morning.

Ken puts on a CD to entertain the troops and I think to stop from me asking too many questions that he would have to think and translate in his head before an answer is given so I think he was wanting to concentrate on the traffic and not my hundred and one questions. He did say last night that he has not spoken to a English speaking person for the past 4 years now he is retired so he is a bit rusty, but truth be know he is just a bit shy. Well give me a week and we will be talking ten to the dozen!!!

The CD  is the extended version of ABBA's greatest hits ... Japanese love them and as I too am still a big fan .... yes tragic ... REAL tragic I know but I,m  sooooo impressed with the music choice. But as I can see Sandy in the back seat, yep sorry it was boys in the front, Hiroko would have it no other way, men in the front talking men business so the girls and the dog could chat in the back.... Sorry Sands .... Hmmm as I look over my shoulder to give a sneaky smile to Sandy ... as she ... well is not such a ABBA fan and the only ABBA record she had was the Norman Gunston rip out of them......

But Sandy being Sandy with her wicked sense of humour and her huge big smile tell them all that Pete Loves ABBA .. yep ... I do I do I do I do I do ... but then she goes just that one step further and tell them that I love to sing karaoke to ABBA... go on Pete sing for everyone ... go on Pete you know you want too.... She's a bad woman and I think it was a pay back for me sitting in the front !!

So What's For Breakfast.

Well it's a beautiful humid hot day and today we are off to Hiroko and Ken's country house which is  200 km west of  Yokohama to escape city life and the summer heatwave for the next 4 days. 

Breakfast this morning was a traditional Japanese breakfast, sort of the same as yesterdays lunch and dinner but with out the raw fish and the beer. But I'm sure if I wanted beer it would have been there as Hiriko would bend over backwards for the Neill family after all that they did for her when she was a exchange student in Australia back in 1968.

Mind you it is still a bit embarrassing at times as we just can't pay for anything, the cab driver was discretely  payed when we arrived yesterday, no money seamed to changed hands so not sure how that all happened...and if you know me I don't like to not pay my fair share ... BUT I will just have to deal with that and see what I can do to help out someway as the week progresses.

Well back to breakfast and I did say there was no raw fish for breakfast but there were little fish about 1/2 the length  of a match with 2 big black spots

 " eyes " looking at you and floating by the 100's in the hot, salty and strangely fishy breakfast soup, Hmmmm .... Interesting and at breakfast.... but that's different cultures for you and I'm loving all the different flavours and foods... Well mostly that is ... The fishy soup and could take or leave and the fermented soybeans are just as awful, smelly and slimy as they were 10 years ago so that's a big NO thanks at breakfast. Theres something strange about eating something that really looks and smells off that is a bit of a challenge....

But as for the rest of the tastes so far big winners...

So now humming to a great 80's tune ...

I think I'm turning Japenese, I think I'm turning Japenese I really think so......dar da da da da

How Polite " Japanese Polite "

Everybody DOES stand to the left on the escalators.

One waits in line at a train station behind each other while waiting for the train.

No mobile phone on the bus as to not disturb your neighbour.

Smoking rooms out the front of the airport in the open air spaces.

All so polite, even the road works signs people had a soft large red flag to warn you to slow and stop and with a bow and a white flag you are off again.

Some signs we encountered as you are in the road works area

Slow like a turtle,  NOT fast like a bunny 

Slow like a turtle,  NOT fast like a bunny

All done like a set from a Walt Disney cartoon and oh so colourful. 

And once you are leaving there was a cartoon cutout waving you a goodby.

Cocho the dog is a true Japanese house dog and Hiroko after he has gone outside for a walk comes back in and his paws are wiped with wet-ones

" Ita ducky muss " are the words that you say as you sit at the table with your head bowed and your hands clasped for prey and even Cocho is made to clasps his paws as Hiroko says his prays for him before he eats ...

JAL business book-in you wait in a carpeted screened area and when the next assistant is ready then one of the girls comes over to collect you and take you personally to the checkin counter. Non of this " next please " as that would not be polite, well not Japanese Polite.

Your Sooooo Terrible Muriel

Now this is an experience ... Is it a toilet? Or is it a some sort of computerised flying machine ...

From the minute you see it it looks complicated with a series of buttons on a wall panel next to you once seated. All the instruction and in Japanese ( well Pete what do you expect you are in Japan ) and some pictures ... so that's  helpful. 

When you flush the water that goes to refill the cistern it is via a tap over the cistern for you to wash your hands so that the water to refill for the next flush is recycled, cool recycle of water idea could use these on Aus that for sure.

The seat is warm ... how nice ... and a fan comes on when you sit but it speeds up when you get off hmmmm not so good for your selfasteam as it almost sounds a bit too relieved .

Now for the other buttons ... how much fun ... there are blue and pink bottoms !!! and buttons !!!  ... So what's the point of having all these buttons if you can't press them just to see what they do ! So I did.

Well lets just say that I'm now clean front, middle and back ...

But I don't think I was supposed to enjoy it that much !!!! 

But with a smile from ear to ear can't wait for tomorrow... 

Your sooooo terrible  Muriel 

First Traditional Japanese Lunch

We are now settled very comfortably into our beautiful traditional room and lunch in on the table and waiting for us. Out of our cool air-condition room and into the humid heat of the corridor and then back into the cool of the main centre of the house through a very very narrow and very very low door, with my hight and my broad shoulders and my little slip-on scuffs clinging to my toes and stooping and bowing not to knock any bark of my head it doesn't take long before I look very humble indeed bowing and shuffling around, I am walking,  well shuffling like a ... true ... Japanese ...

The lunch table just looked amazing, all the food is laid out in the traditional family way in the centre of the large table, a western style table and with several little bowls of various shapes and sizes all in Japanese patterns and colours and carefully arranged on a blue fabric placemat on front of each of the five of us. Hmmmm which bowl is to go with hmmmm which food ... now that a question !! At least with western cutlery one works from the outside and in, but with several bowls and only 1 pair of chopsticks ... tricky ... Kens mum who speaks no english is now 89 and still being the head of the family starts first ...  I sit back, watch and follower her lead. She is so fit and looks a good 20 to 30 years younger than she is, come to think of it they all do Japanese people are quite ageless and smooth skinned so sometimes very hard to pick an age.

Mum is concerned that she and  I don't have a beer poured as yet and grabs a can of Ashi from the centre of the table and pours it into both of the cut crystal tumbler sitting in front of her and I .

This is the start of a beautiful relationship, she smiles and bows her head at me and hand gestures to drink up, so with me bowing my head back at her we both drink up ... 

With in seconds and after the first couple of sips of our beers she is again pouring more beer more she smiles and bows her head again, then again gestures to drink up so who am I to disappoint.

With much Japanese talking to and at her 65 year old son and looking back at me I recon she said to him something along the words like  " well we don't want the man to dehydrate do we" ...

So with glasses up and a " Camp-pie " ... yep yep more of my bad spelling but you get the gist, then we all clasped our hands and its a "  I ta daki ma su " which is sort of a thank you to the chef, the people who have grown the food and the creator of the food.

The food on the table was like a big buffet, with miso but instead of tofu it was made with little clams in their shells, rice and several different pickled radish, cucumber and greens.  A Yumo pumpkin dish like I have never tasted before, so how do you make that Hiroko? 

Its from a small dark green skined hard pumpkin ebesu type, about the size of a small rockmelon.

Cut into bit sized bits and semi skin so leave about 50% of the green skin on for looks and texture. ( The shin was soft and added to the texture perfectly ) Put in a pot and just cover with water some sake, sugar, mirin and bonito

 ( fish ) flakes, cook all together no lid for 3 mins then add salt and soy sauce, turn down heat and pop on lid cook another 8 mins. Serve hot or cold. Today it was served cold and the flavour was devine, so different and the fish and the sweet of the soy really came through. A real winner for me so will try that when I get home but will have to experiment with quantities as it was a bit hard to get that from her.

We also had several different types of raw fishes, squid and prawns ... hmmm love the tuna and salmon but as for the squid and some of the white fish ... well a bit to sticky, firm on the tooth and in your mouth a bit to long. 

Mind you I will give anything a try but I think I'm still a cooked prawn on the barbie sort of a guy. 

The table was full of so many different foods, the fresh pickle young ginger, amazing and the ginger had  a bite but was sort of sweet too. Sandy loved this so it was her turn to ask ... so how do we do this Hiriko.

Well it looks like you two after lunch and for the next week need to help with lunch and dinner so you can learn some traditional Japanese cooking, yes please ...

So the ginger is easy ... Need fresh ginger with green stems ( hmmmm not something that we have seen in our green grocers back home ) leave about 100 mm of  the green top on for a handle as you only eat the bulb bit, scape clean and slice down if to thick. Blanch for 1 min and make a mix of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Sit in soy mix and leave to marinate for a few hours. Simple but oh so tasty.

Another simple one, Beans with Sesame just cook the green beans and toss in soy sauce and a bit of sugar then toss in crushed and toasted sesame seeds.

Pickled plums ... now these suckers are salty and sour, but a great side dish for Japanese food. 

Get some Red plum not to ripe. Put in glass bottle with salt. This will draw the water out of plums.

Then remove the plums and dry in the sun for a few days. Put back in the jar with salt and the drawn juice, get some Shiso leaves ( the one Pete loves ) which I  have now learnt is a type of Japanese mint, but this time it is a red one, add these to the jar and a very little vinegar, store for a month or so to mature the flavour, but beware they are salty and sour.

Japanese food is all about many different little dishes of many different flavours to mix and match I'm in food heaven ...

The food at lunch was all so fresh, light and good for you ... great this week may help loose a couple of the Italian pasta KG's !!!!

Tatami Floor

It was like coming  home to this traditional Japanese home, nothing has changed over the 10 year since we were there last. The amazingly red pine that lays so proud and pruned horizontal over the steps that leads us up the 10 steps from the street to the front tiny Japanese garden, the warm many bowing greetings, Japanese Style of course. 

We again are staying in the down stairs room with it's Tatami floor, how special, and how traditional is this Japanese house. It has a little front entrance foyer in tiles and a small step up to the beautiful timber floors. 

At this point it's off with the outside shoes and into our little and I mean little Japanese scuffs ,  me looking more like a Sumo with them on !! But how sweet that they though I may have shrunk in my old age...

We enter our room via a sliding timber and paper inserted door and is another small step up to the left and on to the Tatami floor, this is a total bare foot room " I'm so confused " shoes on, shoes off, scuff on, scuff off ... The Tatami floor is of panels 1800 x 900 and out of a woven reed that is so beautiful to walk on and sit on.  Our beds are rolled up in the corner so tonight we are sleeping the traditional Japanese way.

Our room is the prey room and where the traditional Japanese tea ceremony is preformed. There is a large cane birdcage looking light hanging in the centre of the room that hangs very low. One of the walls being totally of sliding panels of timber panelling with the white tissue inserts it is all so traditional,  the natural light streaming in from the garden. The room is void of any furniture except for a timber wardrobe and a shrine for quite time.... + some scatter cushions and a low coffee table for the tea ceremony.