A Zen Thanksgiving

It turns out that Americans are not the only ones who give thanks in November. Thursday, November 23^rd (which just happened to coincide with our own Thanksgiving Day this year), is the Japanese, “Labor Thanksgiving Day”. That’s a more modern name for an ancient harvest festival known as Niiname-sai.

In the spirit of sharing our day of Thanksgiving, Derek and I had the honor of spending Thanksgiving afternoon at a beautiful, 200-year-old, traditional Buddhist Temple with around twenty other expats from different countries. This was a truly special event as it was the first-time expats had been invited to enjoy this harvest celebration there.

Here is a link to the video Derek created of our afternoon!! https://youtu.be/SFwOWZL-2t0

The front entrance to the temple

Entry way

Even the hallways are beautiful

Huge windows reveal the beautiful gardens

Derek might have had some difficulty with the doorways

The temple is nothing short of a miracle. An all wooden building that has survived earthquakes and bombings and is still standing intact and undamaged.

It was everything I had expected upon moving to Japan (and had secretly hoped that our apartment might be). Rich, aged wooden hallways led to large open rooms covered in tatami mats. Shoji screens divided the rooms and beautiful, huge paned picture windows lent stunning views of the gardens outside.

Our meal was served sitting on the tatami covered floor with red lacquered trays holding our food, though I hang my head in shame and admit that I finally begged for mercy and was giving a short stool to sit on. My knees just aren’t what they used to be. I felt better when several others did the same.

Buddhist Monks served our meal

Some of the Japanese guests came in full traditional attire.

That's my stool next to Derek and an improvised raised tray:-)

In Japan each meal is begun by clapping your hands together and saying "Itadakimasu". It is viewed by some as a prayer of thanks for the food and by others and a simple, “let’s eat”, but however you perceive it, it’s used throughout the country.

Our entire lunch was vegan, all made from the fresh vegetables and fruits grown at a temple in Odawara and prepared and served by the monks themselves. The menu is listed below.

Rice cooked with gingko nuts

Miso soup with taro root

Steamed ball of lotus root

Kaki (Japanese persimmon and Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) dressed with walnut paste

Sesami Tofu

Simmered fried tofu roll and autumn red carrots

Nama-fu (gluten cakes) coated with rich miso glaze

Roasted chestnuts

Simmered winter shitake mushrooms in sweetened soy sauce

Jellied sweet potato and apple paste

It might not be the Thanksgiving menu Americans are used to, but everything was interesting and delicious! I’m not quite ready to give up burgers yet, but it opened my eyes to how could vegan cuisine can be!

After our meal, we moved to another room where an enchanting woman taught us about traditional Japanese dance. She is the heir to the largest Japanese dance school/theater in the country.

Japanese dance is very precise and deliberate; very controlled and is such contrast to her bubbly and vibrant personality.

She went through many of the motions and their means and even showed us how to use the fan as a prop to tell stories in traditional dance. Really, you just haven’t lived until you’ve seen Derek dancing with his fan! He’s very graceful;-)

After our dance workshop we wandered the grounds and took in a beautiful fall afternoon. It was an amazing experience that we feel blessed to have shared here in Japan.

 

In the evening we had American friends over and indulged in a good old-fashioned turkey dinner!

The whole day was an amazing experience and we were thankful for the opportunity!

Second tree to the right and straight up the mountain

Should anyone want to view the full gallery of pictures the URL is as follows: http://www.dandlphotography.biz/p84353413

I went on an awesome adventure with several friends yesterday!! We hiked Mt. Takao and then went to an amazing tea garden restaurant. It is a most especially triumphant adventure because I survived to tell the tale. I only mention this because the fabulous (and I truly do love her) person who set this up said that is was a very pleasant moderate hike. I now suspect that she would consider K2 slightly challenging.

There's no better time for hiking in Japan than in the fall. We were just a tad early for the really spectacular fall colors but it was not too hot and not to cold and the leaves are already turning, so...perfect in my book. I should have suspected things were not as I anticipated when we got on a cable car to go half way up and it ascended nearly vertically up the mountain. When we arrived where we were picking up the trail we hit a fork that separated into two paths. One was labeled the "men's trail"and the other the "ladies trail". All you feminists out there just settle down, you're in Japan now. Besides, now that I've taken the ladies trail I'm quite certain the point is that it's much harder than the men's!

I would like to say that I struggled because I was trying to keep up with much younger and more fit women, but one of them was 70 so that escuse doesn't really hold water.

I kept telling myself that it was good to push a little, but after I while I was concerned that it would be emergency medical personnel pushing me on a stretcher before the end of the hike. It wouldn't have been so bad, but every time we came to a bend in the road there seemed to be more mountain, and as if the mountain wasn't enough of a challenge we reached the shrines and temples.

Do you know what the Japanese really like to do with their shrines and temples?? They like to put them at the top of massive flights of stairs. I was determined to succeed and make it to the summit, but I lost count after the first 40,000 steps because my brain was oxygen deprived. This was not from the staggering altitude as the summit was a mere 1,995 odd feet. It was because my lungs and heart had finally burst.

I was just mentally running through my last will and testament, when reached the summit where an apologetic Sally told me she had forgotten about all the stairs. That's odd, because I am positive I will NEVER forget those stairs!

After doing a week kneed victory dance (we were especially excited because you could see Mt. Fuji) and taking a few pictures we headed back down the mountain. Sally had mentioned that we would be taking a different trail back down; a lovely rustic trail that encouraged you to commune with nature. It was everything she promised. It was beautiful! A splendid forest which we descended through over perilously sloping paths covered with gnarled roots that threatened to grab your ankles and throw you over the edge.

My knees did not enjoy this hike as much as I did, but I feel certain that after a few weeks they will speak to me again. After crossing a very cool suspension bridge, I vowed to go home, throw out any left over Halloween candy away, and start going to the gym six or seven times a day until I could tackle Mt. Takao without dying.

The reward for our efforts was a sumptuous meal in a stunning tea house restaurant. The concept behind this is that based on the number in your party you are assigned a private tea house where you are served a stunning traditional meal cooked at your table over two small grills. I have no quips, no complaints, no sarcastic remarks other than to say that the women in our group have clearly gotten to know me well enough by now to be reluctant to let me near the hot coals.

Our meal took longer than expected and we ended up making a mad dash back to the train station to catch the train in time to get back for family obligations.

I find myself incredibly grateful that I have amazing friends who are willing to drag me up mountain trails that I have no business being on, encouraging me all the way. We headed back to Tokyo as the last light slid beyond the horizon. I will definitely be going back again...eventually.