Three visits...almost

I was really excited for our day on Thursday.  Our agenda had us starting at Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum, then a visit with David Satterwhite at Fulbright Japan, and ending with a visit to the Ghibli Museum.  The day started off well with sunny skies and a cool breeze.  We arrived at Yasukuni and walked up to the shrine, only to find out that the museum that is always open was closed.  So, we'll be going back to Yasukuni on Monday, and I'll talk about it more then.

To fill our time, we went to a garden near our next appointment.



May be the largest thistle I've ever seen



And who doesn't go to a garden to smell cigarette smoke?



This garden was in the middle of an upscale neighborhood with hotels and shops just across the street.

 



Our visit with David Satterwhite provided us with some information about Fulbright Japan's activities in Japan over the last 61 years.  Having lived 43 years of his life in Japan, Dr. Satterwhite was able to give us a better understanding of how Japan's economic and political circumstances in the last 20 years has affected education.  The biggest change that he has seen recently in education is a push for greater internationalization or globalization in the schools as a way to address Japan's domestic needs and its international relations.  After our talk, we went for an obento lunch with Dr. Satterwhite, but it was not an ordinary obento lunch.

Our lunches were set out in preparation for our arrival.  Note the stocking feet as we are standing on a tatami mat.  While we were sitting on the floor.  There is a well under the table for our feet, so it was more like sitting in a chair.  This was my second meal in a row sitting on the floor.

My dining companions.  Dr. Satterwhite is standing in the background.

This was our delicious obento lunch.  Starting in the lower left corner and going counter-clockwise, a bowl of rice, soy sauce for the sashimi, soy sauce for the tempura, a savory custard, and miso soup.  In the box itself, beginning in the upper right courner and going clockwise, tempura (foods dipped in a batter and fried--this lunch included shrimp, a leaf, a piece of squash tempura), pickles, sashimi (raw fish and very delicious), some tofu and vegetables, and hamburger patty with spinach, cucuber, and tomato.  I did not find anything I did not like.

After a good lunch with excellent conversation, we departed for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.  We traveled by subway, train, and bus to one of the most whimsical places that I have been in a long while.

It is not too hard to figure out which bus to get on.

 

The entrance to the museum.  Keep in mind if you are planning to visit, you can't just show up and get a ticket.  You have to buy in advance and arrive at your scheduled time.  The statue at top is part of the rooftop garden.

View of the museum from the rooftop garden.  No pictures could be taken inside, only on the outside.

The statue on the roof.  Everyone seemed to want their picture with him.

The circular stairway to the rooftop garden.  Inside the museum is another circular stairway, but it seemed only half as wide.

 The museum seemed more like an idyllic childhood playhouse than a museum.  A couple of the rooms had exhibits providing some insight into what Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli do.  The paintings in the workshop exhibit were beautiful as is so much of Miyazaki's movies.  The visit also included a short film made specifically for the museum, and it was a wonderful example of Miyazaki's anime.  The gift shop was a total crush, and I passed up the stuffed Totoro for a picture book that showed the story of the short film we saw.  The blackcurrant cone in the museum cafe was literally icing on the cake of a great day.

One of the streets we passed on our bus ride back to the train station.  What do you notice is missing?  Did you answer trash?

 For dinner, several of us went out for sushi, and for reasons I do not completely understand, we opted to sit on the floor.  This time there was no foot well and I was in a narrow knee-length skirt.  It was an interesting way to sit through dinner.  A couple people ordered sashimi as well as sushi, and below is their order.

 

On the road again...to Japan

Every summer I spend one or more weeks on professional development.  This year I am spending four weeks on a study tour in Japan.  This study tour will be building on a course we all took last fall entitled "Cultural Encounters of Japan" which focused on Japan's history in the context of world history.  The program is jointly funded by the National Consortium for Teaching Asia (NCTA) and Fulbright-Hays Group Study Tour.  The Program for Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado-Boulder organized the course and the study tour.  I have worked with TEA for over ten years, and I was very excited to be able to participate in this program with them.

We arrived Tokyo yesterday, after two rather long days of travel for me.  Our first day has included several orientation elements, including different food styles and good meal etiquette, so my first comments are about food.

Flying into a country, the airplane meals always seem to reflect that country's cuisine, but it is still airplane food.  So, for example, our first meal on the plane included an option for miso chicken, but it came with an American style salad and dinner roll.  For the second meal, dumplings were one of the options.  The dumplings were served with noodles and another dinner roll.  I just find it odd that culturally appropriate entres are added to typical American-style elements.  And I have always wondered why the airlines do this.  Is it intended to be a reminder of home for those people who are returning home or as taste of what is to come for those people traveling to that country?  I can't imagine these strange hybrid meals succeed, whatever their purpose.  Or at least, they have never worked for me in either of those ways.

 

After checking into our hotel yesterday evening, we went out for a meal.  We ended up at a noodle place, and this was my meal.  On the left is tempura chicken and mushroom on rice, and on the right are the noodles.  These were hot noodles served in a broth with green onions, seaweed, and another condiment that I did not recognize.  It was delicious and far better than what we got on the plane.  The most interesting part of this meal was the ordering process.

 



Outside the door was this machine where we ordered.  After inserting the money, the diner selects whichever meal he/she wants and pushes that button.  The machine issues a ticket and the change.  Then the ticket is turned in to the kitchen.  It was a pretty slick system.

Tonight, our small groups used the information from orientation to select a style of restuarant to try.  All three groups selected yakitori, a style in which the food is placed on skewers and grilled on a charcoal fire.  The food was very good at the restaurant my group selected, although the seating arrangement was interesting.

 

Note that we are seated on the floor and the height of the ceiling.  The waiter who drew us into the restaurant was not completely sure we could handle this seating arrangement, but it worked out fine.