Touring Sawara

The afternoon was spent touring sites in Sawara. This is a small town with buildings that date back to the 1700s. It was amazing to see the old buildings and to think about what the town was like 200 years ago. The town was built along the Ono-gawa canal that conneted to the Tone-gawa river. It was a port town that traded with Edo, now Tokyo. There are many buildings in Sawara that were built with the same building styles of Edo.

The first stop was the Toukun Shuzo Sake Brewery. The brewery reminded me of the winery tours in the states. There were very large holding tanks were the sake fermented. When you first walked in the brewery there was a very strong smell of fermenting rice. We were told the most important part of the process is to use artesian water that was very clear and fresh. The length of time of fermentation determines the proof of the finished alcohol.


The next tour was of a paper mache` mask and doll maker, Miuraya, Sawara-Hariko Handicraft. This man is the third generation of his family to make tradictional masks and dolls. During the zodiac year of the rabbit his doll was selected as the mascot. It was also printed on postage stamps. He was very proud to bring fame to Sawara through his work. He did not talk about his own fame. He made a statement that was very powerful..."because I do gentle and warm hearted work I am happy". I think we can all take lessons from this man who lives a very simple, yet fulfilling life.

After getting sweet potato ice cream,it was time to board the bus for our hotel. Yes, sweet potato ice cream! It was soft serve, a soft purple color, and very good.


We arrived at Kashima 40 minutes later. This would be our home until Saturday. The hotel is very nice, but the food expensive in the restuarant. After checking in, we head out looking for a place to eat dinner. We found a restaurant that had plastic models of food that we all thought we would like.


We were seated at two tables because our group was large. The waiter did not speak any English, but tried very hard to help us with our food selections. After eating a wonderful meal with my new "best friends" it was time to return "home" to get some sleep. The hardest part of the restuarant experience is that you cannot tip wait staff that has gone above and beyond to make your dining experience wonderful. No tipping is a costum in Japan. In fact tipping is considered rude because what you have already paid for the service covers the staff. A very hard rule for Americans to follow.


Another full day exploring life in Japan.