June 24, 2001

 Sapporo Guest House

There are 3 types of Japanese Gardens – the landscape garden, the rock or stone garden, and the tea-house garden.  The Guest House had a landscape garden, which like a tea-house garden incorporates 5 main elements of nature…the mountain, the river, the sea, the forest, and the field.  In all the categories and varieties of Japanese gardens, the essence of appreciation is not on the visual but the spiritual and psychological.  They reflect a theme of Japanese thinking in which form is as important as function and where mood and spirit add to an appreciation of beauty.

The Guest House was approximately 15 miles from Miyanomori Junior High, our partner school.  It would have taken me at least a 10 minute walk down these steps, a 45 minute subway ride, a 30 minute bus ride, then a 15 minute walk to get to school.  Instead, I was very fortunate to have either Mrs. Yamada or Yoshi come every morning and pick me up and drive me to school.  Of course, I was totally at their mercy as far as when we left, when we ate dinner, etc., but at least 30 minutes each way beat 1.5 hours!

Something I forgot to mention about dinner with Yoshi, her brother, and sister-in-law.... people in Japan do not travel and visit their family as we do. Yoshi had not seen her brother since her grandmother died in February, so to join them for dinner was a very special treat. Her brother called Yoshi later and insisted that she take me to his favorite ramen noodle place here in Sapporo and also to visit their parents, who both described as very `unusual` and funny, not traditional Japanese people.


So, on Saturday, Yoshi and I met her husband, Shigeru, at the recommended ramen noodle restaurant for lunch. He is a track coach at one of the local high schools in Sapporo - they finished 4th in the nation and will be competing for a national title in a couple of weeks. Yoshi and I then went to the Education and Cultural Building to watch some of her students and their father (who teaches it) perform traditional Japanese dancing. It was very interesting and I had something special happen while there. It is very rare for an audience member to be allowed backstage at this type of an event, but Yoshi explained that I was an American sensei (teacher) visiting the school of some of the dancers (and their father), and we were allowed to go back stage and see the dancers, have my picture taken with a few, watch them put on their makeup, and stand in the wings while the father did his performance. (Some of the other women dancers were in their 80`s) We returned to our seats and watched the rest of the performance. When it ended, audience members take some of the flowers from the arrangements (lots of big, beautiful ones) for good luck.... the lady who allowed us backstage gathered a nice arrangement for me and sent it home with me. Saturday and Sunday is a weekend of good luck in Japan, and many things were happening to demonstrate that...needless to say, all the things that happened at the dance was quite an honor.

View of Sapporo at Traditional Dance

Cherry Blossom Dance

Father and Daughter and I.  Daughter will be a student at my school.

One of the dancers applying makeup before performance.

The Director of the program, a dancer and myself.

The have beautiful costumes, don't they?

It is rare to get the opportunity to meet traditional dancers, yet that was what happened to me.  Yoshi mentioned to one of the host that I was an American Sensei here to observe, and immediately I was taken backstage to meet the dancers and watch for a while from the wings.  At the end of the exhibition, the audience takes flowers from the many large sprays that have been sent for good luck to the dancers, as a remembrance and to carry the good luck home with them. When we left, the host had gathered a large bouquet for me from some of the best flowers.  Great way to begin my stay!

My luggage finally arrived from Tokyo (at last, clean clothes!), so we went to the school to pick them up. Yoshi then dropped me off and a very kind night watchman helped us get them upstairs (there is no elevator) to my room, so it took a while to get unpacked.

We later met at 6:30 at the Century Hotel, where Ms. Yamada and Mr. Koda joined us. Ms. Yamada`s son-in-law is the head chef, and prepared us a traditional Japanese dinner. Now, I must confess here that I had the doctor put on my health form that I was allergic to some types of fish, which is true to a degree. So when the first course came with raw tuna, cod, and octopus, I passed that on to Mr. Koda. They did, however, order special food for me...a pan-broiled piece of sirloin, which was pretty good and, I’m sure, very expensive for them. The next course consisted of a noodle soup dish, followed by tempura asparagus (not bad and I don’t like asparagus). Along with that came another cup of fish, mostly raw, and a piece of shrimp.... which I didn’t realize was also raw until I had it in my mouth (Mark...you owe me big time!!!!) which I managed to swallow without an international incident. This was then followed by a fried Japanese eggplant and a baked American eggplant with a spicy topping.

The next course was a bean gelatin dish with crab (which I discovered was also raw), two pieces of cooked duck, another piece of raw fish, and a green noodle/bean stalk dish. Dessert was a sherbet made from a small fruit similar to an orange that grows in this area. During dinner, they discussed taking me to Otora (spelling may be wrong) to see the ocean, a trip to the active volcano in the area, the nearby national park, and a baseball game.... I think I’m going to be busy!

Yoshi and I were both tired, so we decided to hold off on the karaoke until another time. She did, however, drive me down Susinko, which is the nighttime entertainment area...neon lights, bars, music, and pachinko (pinball) arcades. Surprisingly enough, this area is rated as one of the safest in Japan.

This afternoon, Ms. Yamada picked me up and we visited a nearby park to see, what I thought, was a great view of Sapporo. We then went to a temple and happened to catch the ending and the beginning of two wedding ceremonies.... and all the beautiful kimonos. (Sorry...didn’t have the digital cameras with me today) We then went to the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium...sight of the 1972 Winter Olympics...and Robert, you would never have believed I would have done it nor made it yourself. We rode the ski lift up the mountain to the very top, @ 147.2 meters above the bottom of the stadium. Now, here’s a view!! (Lots of pictures with normal camera later on!) From here, I could see the Sea of Japan, @ 35 km away, the mountains in the middle of Hokkaido (spelling may be wrong again. sorry!) which was @ 70 km away, and some local villages hidden in the mountains. Breathtaking views!

Mrs. Yamada and I with Sapporo in background

Asahiyama Memorial Park

Mrs. Yamada and I also visited a local temple, Hokkaido-Jingu,  and happened upon a Shinto wedding.  The weekend we were doing this sightseeing was a weekend of good luck, so there were many wedding ceremonies being preformed.  In fact, when the pictures were completed for this one, another wedding party was waiting in the wings to begin their ceremony!

The water area in the picture on the upper left is a purification area before you enter the temple.  You wash your hands, face, and take a small drink before entering to cleans your body, spirit, and soul.

Water purification at temple

One of the Shinto weddings we witnessed

Gardens of the temple

Inside the temple where Mrs. Yamada's parents are kept

The temple at the Gardens we visited

Gate to the Garden and Temple

View from ski jump

Sapporo view from ski jump

Sapporo from ski jump

Okurayami is site of the 1972 Olympic ski jump competition.  In fact, it is still used.  The area contains a museum of sports for that period of time, and a spectacular view of Sapporo, the Sea of Japan, and the mountains in the background are of the Furano ski and lavender area.

Another view of Sapporo from ski jump

Olympic ski jump from ground

Scoreboard and lift to ski jump

Ski jump

Called this 'pucker factor' as I can't imagine jumping off of this!

The mountains surrounding Sapporo

Medal area for Olympics

Once we gathered our bravery and headed down the ski slope, we went back into the city and stopped at a temple where Ms. Yamada`s parents are buried (cremated). Then we went to the shopping district of the town and checked out the bookstore and office supply places. We stopped to eat dinner at a small Chinese place that was very good and did all they could to make us feel welcome. (Food was wonderful!) Now, I’m exhausted but have had a thrilling weekend, and looking forward to meeting the rest of the staff and students tomorrow.

Now, before anyone says once again that all I seem to do is shop and eat, to some degree you are right. I am amazed at the quantity of food given to you for a meal, but most of it they use up because of the amount of walking one has to do in the cities. While most of them are no bigger than a size 7, they keep their figures by walking at least 2 miles to a subway station, ride the subway, then walk another 2 miles to their location...and that is a short trip. Add to that the fact that most of these walking trips are up inclines of 70 degrees or more - what I’ll be doing as I go down from the Guest House to the road to the subway, to the bus, to the school. If my knees and my heart make it, I ought to be in great shape when I leave!