April 10, 2009

• April 11, 2009 Yanagawa

  Today's "go somewhere" was the town of Yanagawa, located just south of Saga.  You can go to the following website to read more about the city.  http://www.yanagawa-net.com/eng/traffic.html

  

  

  Yanagawan Manhole cover...

   

  Here are some of the local products on display at Yanagawa Station. 

  

  This is an iron rendition of a mud skipper or "mutsugoro."  One of these came home with me.

  

  Yanagawa offers boat rides throught the canals that are part of the former castle moat.

  

  Let's cross the bridge and go for a ride.

  

  We will be in the boat for about an hour, so we can rent a hat for $1 that will provide shade from the sun.

  

  We're off!  Please remove your shoes in the boat.

  

  A narrow passageway - keep your hands inside the boat here.

  

  Low Bridge

  

  We pass a shop where a lady is selling ice cream and other treats.

  

  Ice cream purchased, the journey continues.

  

  Hey, lookie there!!

  

  It's a wedding party with the bride's boat first, and the other relatives in boats following.

  

  Everybody looks happy!

  

  

  The boat reaches the pier, and those waiting on the bridge offer their congratulations.

  

  This boat is following in the bridal train, although I am not sure what it's all about...

  

  Here come some more guests.  The bride is apparently a teacher, because her students have gathered on the left pier yelling, "Teacher, teacher!!"  Sniff.

  

  Our journey through the canals continues, and our gondolier makes a stop at another refreshment stand.  It's tempting, but I am not coordinated enough to eat ice cream and take pictures at the same time.

  

  We pass another boat.  I should have snapped the shutter a second earlier.  I really like that house with all of the flowers.

  

  

  We are nearing the end of the cruise, and our gondolier tells us that the bridge under which we have just passed is a picturesque spot that often appears on TV.

  

  Here is the end of the line.  Three boatloads of landlubbers are ready to start their cruise of Yanagawa's canals.

  

  These are a local product called "sagemon" or "hanging things" that were on display at a tourist guide center.  They are put out as decorations for the March Girl's Festival.  I imagine that in Yanagawa they are hung out all year 'round.  More about these next time.

  

  Hubby checks out info for our next stop.

  These are a few pictures taken alongside the canal where our boat ride ended.

  

  

  There are several restaurants specializing in a local dish, grilled eel.  The eels are done up in sweetened soy sauce and are quite a delicacy!

  

  This is the former home of one of Japan's famous poets, Kitahara Hakusho

  

  Hubby is itching to keep on schedule, but I do manage to have a look in one souvenir shop.

  

  This fishy had such an adorable smile I had to take its picture.

   

  Hubby was itching to get to the destination, a garden next to one of the canals called "Ohana" that is the former residence of a local prestigious family.  The residence has several buildings that are both Western and Japanese style.  Above is an aireal photo of the residence.

   

  Here is a building done in Western style that connects to a Japanese style building to the left.

  

  The rooms inside were just about void of any furnishings, but I did like the contrast of the Japanese style roof seen through the Western style windowpanes.

  

  Here is the garden.

  

  There was also a small museum that displayed some of the family treasures.  I thought these miniature kitchen utensils were very nicely done.

  

  The wife puts on her make-up while her husband practices singing.

  

  This is a large set of small dolls for the Girls' Festival on March 3rd.

  We are still at Onaha, and in one of the rooms there is a super sagemon display.  The annual doll festival is held on March 3rd, but these decorations are left on display all year.  The hanging ornaments are an important local product, so I think this is an advertisement as much as a display.

  

   

  

  There are so many - it reminds me of Christmas!

  

  A side view - the designs on the balls are made of wound thread, and the other hanging objects are auspicious animals (12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac, sea bream, etc.), babies, you name it!

  

  We have exited the magical room into a connecting hallway, but let's turn around for a last look.  Some dolls are enjoying the sunlight.

  

  Here is another hallway in the Japanese style portion of the Ohana residence.  A row of helmets decorates one of the beams.

  

  This is an shop in a local chain of eel restaurants, located on the canal.outside of the Ohana residence.  We will be going to their main shop for supper.

  

  This is a variation of sagemon, with small balls and rabbits hanging off of a miniature paper umbrella.  Although lovely to look at in the shops, the price tags are quite hefty!  The larger umbrella cost about $90, and I did not bring the analog version home.  I did get a single string of five small bunnies for $20.  Extravagent, but I figured that we would not ever be coming this way again, and I did not want a case of shopper's regret!

  

  We took a bus back to the place where we originally boarded for the canal boat ride.  There was a shrine across the bridge, so we decided to do a bit of rubbernecking.

  

  The sun's angle was not right, so this picture appears darker than it actually was.  This shrine building is new because the former building had suffered a fire. 

  

  This is a "facility" that I thought was interesting because the squat toilets installed in the floor are clearly visible.  Yes, there are stall doors that you can close inside.  My knees don't really like this type of facility anymore.

  

  The day is about over, and so are the boat rides.

  

  Here is our eel restaurant, and the smoky aroma of grilling fills the air.

  

  Appetizers while awaiting our order include crunchy salted fried eel spines.  Don't knock them if you haven't tried them.

   

  The main course has arrived!  I have eel grilled and smothered in sweetened soy sauce, and hubby has steamed eel over rice.  He decided mine looks better and suggests sharing.  It's all good, so I don't mind if I do.

  

  Wisteria was blooming outside the shop.

  

  We have arrived back at Yanagawa train station to catch our ride home.

  • 22:14
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