A Visit to the Town of Tokoname
Last Saturday Coz and his wife, Hatsumi, took us to the nearby city of Takanme for our first Japanese sightseeing experience. Takanme is an old town famous for the production of tiles.
We went to several museums and they treated us for tea and dessert. Corn tea with ice is my newest discovery. Oishi (delicious).
Neither of our hosts speak very good English, so that was a special challenge to the day. Also, Coz is not only the director of the marching band, he also has some sort of huge religious standing. Junt, the drum major, said that he is comparable to The Pope. I don’t know how many of my Christian friends have been driven around by the Pope…so maybe this is some sort of slight exaggeration. Maybe not? We’re not sure…so we’re also not exactly sure how to act around him. We know we’re supposed to bow to him the first time we see him everyday…but we generally just bow to him every time to be safe.
Anyways, here are some pictures! More sightseeing adventures to follow shortly.
A gigantic doorway at the entrance of the museum. That's me down there...and I'm considered tall in Japan (well...at least above average).
Coz, Chris, and one of the oldest and most famous kilns in Tokoname.
Some of the statues made in the kilns...along with me charming Hatsumi with my stupid, American antics.
A sample of some of the tiles in one of the museums. The green grouping, while not the most complicated, was my favorite. A little too much yen for my blood, though.
An example of some Japanese toilets. Fortunately, I've been able to enjoy the Western version anytime the need has presented itself.
We went to several museums and they treated us for tea and dessert. Corn tea with ice is my newest discovery. Oishi (delicious).
Neither of our hosts speak very good English, so that was a special challenge to the day. Also, Coz is not only the director of the marching band, he also has some sort of huge religious standing. Junt, the drum major, said that he is comparable to The Pope. I don’t know how many of my Christian friends have been driven around by the Pope…so maybe this is some sort of slight exaggeration. Maybe not? We’re not sure…so we’re also not exactly sure how to act around him. We know we’re supposed to bow to him the first time we see him everyday…but we generally just bow to him every time to be safe.
Anyways, here are some pictures! More sightseeing adventures to follow shortly.
A gigantic doorway at the entrance of the museum. That's me down there...and I'm considered tall in Japan (well...at least above average).
Coz, Chris, and one of the oldest and most famous kilns in Tokoname.
Some of the statues made in the kilns...along with me charming Hatsumi with my stupid, American antics.
A sample of some of the tiles in one of the museums. The green grouping, while not the most complicated, was my favorite. A little too much yen for my blood, though.
An example of some Japanese toilets. Fortunately, I've been able to enjoy the Western version anytime the need has presented itself.
posted by Matt at 8:50 PM
2 Comments:
I'm a funny guy. Hey, you know what I find amusing...kicking the snot out of you in racquetball! BOO-YAH!
Ok...well practice up.
Rosetta Stone has been incredibly handy by the way. I use it to learn Japanese, the Japanese use it to learn English, the Thai use it to learn everything...nobody is really learning Thai...but we could if we wanted to! Thanks.
Hey! Is this Christina Lear?? Welcome to my blog!! If that does in fact happen...I'll...errr...take some pictures?? :)
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