Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Yamagata onsen

Ahhhh... Yamagata...
On our third day in Yamagata, we woke up early (here is where the jetlag still pays off -- can't help but wake up early! Except now, back in NY it is totally kicking my butt... I thought it was still 6AM but in fact it was already 10.30AM -- late for work!!) and drove to Zao to go up a mountain. Our destination was to view the "Okama" which confused me, because the word okama means rice pot, but also means gay (as in homosexual) so I was like, why do we have to go see the gay community in Yamagata? In fact, the okama we were aiming to visit was a body of rainwater that had collected in the crated of an extinct volcano, though I'm still not quite sure why it is called an okama...

I order to reach the okama, we had to drive 30 minutes out of Yamagata (and into Miyagi Prefecture), up a winding mountain road to a parking lot where there was a lift.

We got on the single-chair lift and rode up to a higher plateau.
Then, a five-minute hike...
took us to this amazing view.
Apparently the water in the okama is too rich in mineral or acid to support any life. It was a bright unreal blue-green color.

After a takoyaki snack at the base of the lift, we met Ryo's mom and grandma at Konnyaku Bansho, this elegantly situated restaurant/gift shop specializing in... konnyaku.

Konnyaku is this kind of strachy food derived from a vegetable. It's most notable trait is its jello-like rubbery consistency -- and lack of flavor. Japanese people have tooted konnyaku as a great diet food because it has little to no calories. It's most commonly served in grey blocks with black speckles, in stews like oden. If you've never had konnyaku, it's really hard to aptly describe what it is like... I realize now that I'd been describing it as a kind of potato, but in fact it is more corn-like. Anyway this restaurant specialized in all things konnyaku -- as in konnyaku made to look and taste like chicken, noodles, sashimi, fruit jelly, seaweed, you name it.

It's a hell of a lot fancier than Garlic World in Gilroy, but the idea behind it is the same -- except with konnyaku!Three generations of women!

Irwin could barely get through the konnyaku meal. Honestly I thought he might throw up in the middle. The thing about konnyaku is that you can infuse it with almost any kind of flavor, but it's really hard to change or mask its rubbery texture. I said earlier that konnyaku was a popular diet food in Japan, but because of several cases in which old people and children had choked on the food and suffocated, there are now warnings on konnyaku packages about consumption.

After lunch, we went to Ryo's mom, Ewiko-san's traditional Japanese dance teacher's place.I had mistakenly thought we were in for some kind of dance class or demonstration, but what actually followed was a big dress-up party. All of us got dressed in the yukata that Wakayagi sensei and Eiko-san had prepared for us. Dressing and learning to tie a simple obi took maybe an hour of more. After we were properly attired, we had a quick lesson in etiquette (bowing, walking, fanning) and then we were off to the onsen!

We went to the Sanshuyu Ryokan in the Akayu Onsen area. Ryo had been there before, and we thought it would be the best bet for our money. It was amazing! We had a suite to ourselves, complete with a sleeping room, a dining room, and living room, a dressing area and shower, and our own private outdoor onsen tub in our own provate garden. There were also the big common tubs (indoor and outdoor) down the hall, but because each room/suite has its own private tub, you rarely saw anyone outside. We spent the first hour there taking photographs of ourselves in our outfits...But then we all got out of our formal wear and into the ryokan-provided outfits (choices of prisoner-like comfy sweats, yuakata robes or heavy hooded bathrobes, pictures on Mari and me here:)We had an evening of pure luxury and relaxation -- kaiseki dinner served in our room, bathing, napping and playing beanie!

I leave you with Mari in her yukata -- the epitome of Japanese beauty! lol

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