I went to Oyama Afuri Shrine in Kanagawa. The nearest railway station is Isehara ( Odakyu Line ). Since it’s not far from the Tokyo area, many people visit it for worshiping the Oyama temple and Oyama Afuri Shirine. This shrine is said to be founded around B.C.97.

It also has nice trekking courses. I saw many young people going hiking with relatively comprehensive mountain climbing gear. We reached to the top by cable car. Only 6 minutes’ ride brings us to the top. We could see Sagami Bay and Enoshima from the top.

During the Edo era, people climbed this mountain to worship just like climbing Mt. Fuji. Some groups of people stayed at inns at the foot of the mountain.

Spiritual or religious leaders called Sendoushi worked as guides and teachers. Nowadays trains or cars enable us to make day trips and people don’t always stay at inns so some inns closed down ( too bad ! ).

 We stayed at an inn called “ Asada”. This is one of a few inns which is still providing accommodation for tourists. This inn is amazing. The room we stayed in was very nice. Tofu dishes are famous in Oyama and this inn also serves Tofu Kaiseki and Tofu breakfast. The food was all incredibly delicious.

They served many different kinds but let me show you three of them.

Here is the some served as relish. I really like the style and setting. We use this tray to serve offerings to gods. In Shinto, after offering food to gods, we share the food with gods. All tofu is fantastic but this soy milk and tofu was out of the world. We can make our own yuba or boiled soymilk skim as you drink hot sake. Tofu gratin and yuba rolls are worth trying, too.

 Good water from the mountain makes sake, tofu and konnyaku (devil’s tongue) great. Next time I’d like to visit here in autumn to view colored leaves. I also miss the tofu I enjoyed. I also have to pay a visit to  Oyama temple on the way to Oyama Afuri Shrine.

My family asked me to make the fruit tea with Benifuuki.

I tried to make something similar to what I had before at my friend’s house.

I put in some apple, orange, strawberries and kiwi and some very tiny mint leaves from my garden. My family members like it very much but the tea I made was a little too strong. To enjoy the flavor of the fruit, weaker tea can be better. However, we could distinguish the flavor of each fruit in the tea. After drinking the tea. We ate the fruit inside of the pot. It also had an interesting taste. We usually eat fresh fruit rather than warmed or cooked ones like this. Next time I am going to add a little brandy to it.

I have tried both benifuuki green tea and benifuuki black tea. I thought both of them are good for hay fever but I heard only the green one is effective. Also for some people just one cup of tea makes a difference but for others nothing happens. And some people finally get an effect after continuing to have benifuuki for a long time.

In the last few weeks, it is said that a lot of pollen is spreading in the air.Fortunately, I don’t have the allergy. May be that’s because I always have a lot of tea . 

I also had a chance to see two businessmen from Seattle who took part in the tour organized by JETRO. They are from Choice Organic Teas. This tea company deals with only organic teas. They sell many different kinds of tea all over the world. Choice Organic Teas also seems to be a quite active concern. It was the second day in Shizuoka for them and they had already experienced a tea factory tour, tea ceremony and lectures about green tea in Shizuoka. They must have been really tired after going through their schedule but they were very energetic and eager to learn about Japan and Japanese tea. I was happy to hear how amazed they were to see beautiful Mt. Fuji. The person from Argo told me that he got a splendid view of the mountain from the plane while flying in from Kagoshima, too. Many tourists visit Shizuoka in Summer or late Spring can’t see Mt. Fuji because of the cloudy conditions so they are often disappointed and so am I. I strongly recommend that tourists visit Shizuoka in the cold and dry season so that they are more likely to see the peak. Shizuoka’s winter is not as cold as other areas in Japan and we have a lot of hot spring spas to get warm.

We went to an Izakaya or Japanese style pub for dinner. We were all eating, drinking and talking. The TV was on but I didn’t pay much attention. Suddenly, our guests who were facing the TV got excited to see the TV program. “ Holy cow ! “ I thought. The people sitting in front of us are on TV !

NHK news program covered the tour they had on that day. The camera moved quickly to show many people in the group so it was very difficult to take photos off the TV screen. However, the camera fixed on one of our guests for a relatively long time. He was having matcha green tea. He looked very serious, but in fact he is a very friendly and funny person. I couldn’t capture the photo of another guest, a friendly and gentle person. All of us laughed a lot and felt excited to see the TV program. It was a great timing. I heard they were on TV in Kagoshima,too.

While talking about tea, I was surprised to know that they know about Benifuuki tea. Benifuuki is said to be good for people who are suffering from hay fever. Many people in the US might want to try it. Benifuuki tastes like black tea and its taste is nostalgic to me because it tastes like the black tea grown in Japan long time ago.

When I was a child I had the same taste black tea. It’s a black tea but it tastes very different from English or Indian black tea. I think benifuuki tastes more straight, milder and simpler than other black tea. It’s hard to put, though. One of my friends served me fruit tea made with with benifuuki. She prepared a glass pot so we can see what’s inside. She put some slices of orange, apple, kiwi, and strawberries in the pot and poured hot benifuuki tea over it. A pair of fresh mint leaves were placed in our tea cups. The tea has a good taste and also a wonderful flavor. I also enjoyed eating the fruits in the pot, too. It was very luxurious tea.

I was very lucky to get to know the people from Choice Organic Teas and Argo tea.

Thank you for coming. I hope more people visit Japan to share wonderful tea and experiences. I also felt like traveling abroad, too.

I had a chance to see a businessman who works for an American tea enterprise called argo tea.

He took part in a tour organized by JETRO to know more about Japanese tea. Before arriving in Shizuoka, he visited Kagoshima which is also famous for its green tea. He managed to visit some tea factory in Shizuoka. He tried tea tasting in the factory’s blending room. I saw that when the blenders taste tea, they pour boiling water over it so that tea reveals its faults. However when we make tea, we have to adhere to the ideal temperature to make delicious tea. In this factory only contracted farmers bring their “ Aracha” or unfinished tea and the blender chooses the Aracha carefully and depending on their customers’ preference and ideal prices, they blend Aracha. Then in the factory, they refine the tea and blend it. After that, they pack the tea and send it to their customers. They also have a huge fridge to store the tea in perfect condition.

Argo tea operates many cafes all over the USA selling many kinds of tea such as Indian tea, Chinese tea and, of course, Japanese green tea. I was happy to know that Japanese green tea is getting popular. I was also surprised to know that some people put a little sugar in green tea. I haven’t tried that and can’t imagine what the taste is like. I usually don’t add any sugar when I drink black tea or coffee either. But when I stayed in Istanbul, I felt like adding some sugar. I wonder if it was because of the Turkish climate or the food I ate there.

Although I don’t add any sugar, I often eat something sweet along with tea just like we do at a tea ceremony. I also heard that green tea has substances called catechins that prevent our teeth from being decayed. I believe that the sugar I took before or during my tea time can be washed down by tea as it refreshes my mouth and prevents bad teeth.

Japanese people eat a lot of rice and that means our diet has a lot of carbohydrate: does that naturally make us stop taking sugar in our tea ?

Anyway even the same tea can be enjoyed in different ways to make people happy. We were all happy to see the business man from Agro tea and share wonderful time. Thank you for coming and hope see you soon !

We made some small dishes for Hinamatsuri, or the Doll Festival celebrated on March 3. For this festival, peach blossoms are featured so we used pink items for cooking such as pink radish, pink flower-shaped fu, or wheat gluten, and red rice for sushi rolls. Peaches are said to drive evil spirits away.

People display hina dolls along with peach blossoms. The dolls represent members of the ancient imperial court. Originally people prepared doll-shaped white paper and touch the surface of their bodies with the paper to remove bad things. Then the white paper was to thrown into the river. March is the month when people start the year’s agricultural work and people wished for a good harvest for the year.

On the lower left there are two kinds of sushi rolls. They are called hosomaki, or thin rolls. To make thin ones we used half-sized laver. We use full-size laver to make futomaki, or thick rolls.

On the right down, this is a dressed food called aemono. Boiled Brussels sprouts and boiled squid are mixed with miso, sugar, vinegar, soy source and mustard. I like the plate with Hina dolls on.

In the middle, you can see marinated red radish with kelp and yuzu.

On the upper left you see grilled salmon. Before grilling it, the salmon was marinated in sake lees for a day. Using sake lees for cooking is getting very popular recently. Sake lees make meat and fish tender and tasty.

On the upper right are wild vegetables called fuki, rolled with fried bean curd ones and simmered Shitake mushrooms.

Here is a cup-steamed egg custard decorated with flower-shaped fu. Just before serving, thick starchy sauce seasoned with ginger juice was added.

Kaiseki dishes always makes me aware of the change of seasons.

Itadakimasu !

On our way to Hatsugama, or the first tea gathering of the year, we saw a bunch of local people who had got together and stopped over at this place.

This festival is called “ Donto Yaki “. People bring New Year’s decorations, wooden daruma dolls or the first calligraphy of the year to burn them.

 In Japanese, “Yaki“ means burn and “ Donto “ sounds like “ don’t “ in English. However we burn many things.

Here you can see some red dolls called “ daruma “. This doll represents Bodhidharma, the Zen founder born in India in 6^th century. It is said that he sat in silent meditation for nine years, facing the wall of a room at the Shorinji Temple in China to attain enlightenment !

 Some people buy these daruma dolls. When they buy them, the dolls’ eyes aren’t painted but when the doll owner’s wishes came true, they paint in the eyes. In Fuji city, we have a daruma festival in the beginning of February called “ Bishamon festival “. At that festival, many kinds of daruma dolls are available. Every year some people buy new daruma dolls for their New Year’s resolution. To give thanks and to wish for another successful year, they burn the previous year’s dolls.

We have the proverb, “ If you fall down seven times, get up eight “ in Japanese “ nanakorobi yaoki”. That means never give up.

 Some people burn the first calligraphy of the year. If the calligraphy goes up

carried by the wind, the person’s calligraphy might improve.

A happy New Year !  I wish all of you health and happiness this year!

This year 2012 is a year of the dragon. This dragon comes from the Chinese zodiac. According to this zodiac, each year a different animal plays a role as a symbol of the year. Last year, a rabbit was the symbol. According to my father, rabbit years often bring big changes or upheavals I remember my father mumbled this on New Year’s Day and we had a big disaster last year. My father isn’t a fortune teller but he simply said what he had heard from his parents or grandparents.

 I think it’s very important to listen to older people or learn from history or folk tales. I also believe Japanese old belief that what you say will occur.

For example, if you keep telling good things these lucky incidents are sure to happen and if you keep telling negative things these unlucky things may occur.

 Now this year’s symbol, the dragon, is an imaginary animal as you know.

It is said that this animal brings us the blessing of water. Water is very important for us but we sometimes miss giving thanks for it. Japanese have considered nature as a group of gods but these days we sometime forget about it.

 I sometimes visit this shrine deep in the mountain. Some people say this place is a so-called power spot. I know some people train themselves under the icy waterfalls. (not for me though . I heard an interesting story from a person who takes care of this shrine. We are supposed not to catch and eat the fish in the river since it belongs to gods of this place. But someone caught a fish and ate it. Then he had a terrible stomachache. He apologized for his wrong doing many times, then the pain went away. This waterfall and river is such a mysterious place.

 Even on hot summer days, this place is very cool. But in winter it’s not as cold as I expected. This area is surrounded by mountains and looks like being protected by them. In fact, even after a typhoon passed by this area wasn’t messed up much.

 I can get very good water from this shrine. The quality of the water is very good so I can make delicious tea or coffee. I also can cook tasty rice or miso soup with this water. Another good thing is that this water doesn’t go bad for a long time. So I keep this water in the tank for emergency.

 Of course I always make sure to thank the gods at this shrine. This year I specially begged the gods to protect us from natural disasters.

December 22^nd is the winter solstice. Traditionally, we eat a dish called

“ toji kabocha “, simmered pumpkin and azuki beans. Both of the ingredients are very healthy and its combination is said to be perfect.

Pumpkin is a summer vegetable but we can preserve it for some time it as long it is uncut. Its rich carotene prevents us from paralysis caused by strokes. Azuki beans are also good for many things. We have many drinking parties in this time of the year but azuki beans work as an antidote.

 We take a bath with yuzu so that our body stays warm. It is said if you do that you don’t catch a cold.

 I found these Japanese sweets at a store in Fuji City. They said this set is for the winter solstice. One dumpling with a small green cup is yuzu. Another yellow one topped with azuki bean means “ toji kabocha “.  They are beautiful and taste good.

 Since it was very cold we enjoyed hojicha. In winter, we drink hojicha more often because we would like to drink it hot. In the case of sencha, we don’t use water that is less than piping hot. After eating a rather fatty meal, hojicha refreshes your mouth. I heard it’s very good for the people who had surgical operation because it can heal a damaged vascular system.

 I have a feeling that this winter in Japan is going to be very cold. I have to take good food and drink not to catch a cold. I am almost in winter sleep mode.

I took a British person to my favorite enzyme bath in Fuji city.

One American said that by his experience, Japanese people like to make people from foreign culture surprised or even scared. If they are not surprised, Japanese people become very disappointed.

It may be right. In fact, I wanted to show him something unusual.

Enzyme bath consists of rice bran, fermentation agent and water. All of the ingredients are from nature. These things produce heat. We soak our body in the rice bran which is from 45C to more than 60C. We can’t take a bath in water as hot as 50 degrees but in the case of an enzyme bath, it’s not a problem. We can choose the temperature depending on our preference.

 This bath is good for the people who are fatigued without any serious health problems and even for people who have cancer. The owner of this bath told me that her client who has three tumors kept taking this bath. Then to their surprise, three tumors are united one and made the operation easier, then the operation went well and the person became healthy.

 My friend works hard and travels a lot, also he had a slight cold on that day.

Usually the one who tries it for the first time takes a bath around 15 minutes, but he said he would like to stay longer and ended up taking it for 25 minutes. After taking the bath, he looked very exhausted and sleepy but after that he looked refreshed. I hope more people experience this magical bath. Even babies who have skin problems can try. I heard it’s much better than taking medicine. I guess babies can be given something wrong from their mothers but since they are young , it’s easier to get rid of it.

For senior citizens, it helps them to rejuvenate by adding more enzymes.

I went to the tea gathering at Kobayashi En in Fuji City the other day with my friends. We all felt grateful for the generous and warm hospitality with which they served homemade sweet and delicious tea. We could also learn lot of things about tea ceremony.

Learning about tea ceremony is learning Japanese culture. Since tea ceremony comprises literature, philosophy, architecture, pottery, kimono, flower arrangement, cooking and tea of course. Tea ceremony is not simply drinking tea.

 Our everyday lives are hectic and it’s not easy to have a chance to enjoy tea in such special circumstances. This moment is very important for me.

After tea ceremony, we took a walk in the garden. It was sunny and warm for December. I discovered my favorite flower called “ wabisuke “. It’s a kind of camellia. (Green tea is also camellia, as I’m sure you know.) Camellia blossoms stand out in the winter garden with their glossy leaves and cute blossoms. Whenever I see these kinds, I feel like they are giving me energy.

The first tea ceremony in 2012 at Kobayashi En is on January 8^th from 10:00.

Admission per person is \500.