Life...The Vivere

JAPAN...Land of the Rising Sun

March 2, 2019

The proud Japanese flags...

The art of ORIGAMI, usually associated with the Japanese culture

Kon' nichiwa (Hello, in Japanese.) I hope all is well for you, dear ones. Here in Upstate New York, we have large doses of snow and cold... but Japan had infinitely more of both! Japan in winter is mysterious, not only because of its picture-perfect snowy landscapes, but also for its plethora of winter festivals, events...and relaxing natural hot springs. For most of February, we explored the Winter Wonderland that is Japan.

Deep in Hell Valley...a 30 minute hike into the mountains where the natural hot springs flow... lives the famous Japanese  Snow Monkey, the country's iconic animal. 

Hot and cold snack machines were found everywhere...even in the most remote spots

It's also where our traditional Japanese ryokan, our home for a few days, was situated. A 200 year old wooden hotel that's still run by the same family, we slept on comfortable futons flat on the floor...just as the people have for generations. It was beautiful, with forest and hot springs all around us...the natural beauty was impressively majestic...the sound of snow monkeys on the roof playing at all hours of the day and night, entertaining!

The wild Macaques always come down from the mountains to bathe in the hot springs after the first snow falls. We certainly enjoyed our up close and personal visits with them, both wet and dry. 

As well, our traditional Japanese meals were quite an adventure. My favorites were crispy, deep fried grasshoppers (that tasted like chocolate,) and deep fried, salted 6-inch trout that were beyond wonderful!! I devoured two of them from head to tail! Generally, though, Michael enjoyed the Japanese food more than I did.

A quick stopover in Tokyo, (in the beginning and end of our journey)...appeared to be like any big city anywhere...in a quite highly developed country... construction, runners, park areas, tall buildings and old buildings, temple complexes, shops, locals and of course, an Imperial Palace.

An interesting way to cover closed store-fronts...with art!

On to the largest annual festival in Japan, the Snow Festival in Sapporo. Hundreds of complicated, well-planned snow statues and ice sculptures lined Odori Park and the main street in Susukino. Mixed with audience participation places, entertainment and sooo many food and drink places, this festival turned Sapporo into a winter dreamland of crystal-like ice and white snow...an altogether magical carnival!

The most natural-looking ice sculpture

The festival at night from a nearby tower was enchanting...especially for the ice sculptures

Most of these festivals celebrate the Lunar New Year and are meant to purify its celebrants, ridding them of evil spirits. And... the magic continued as we traveled by train through sun, clouds, mist and snow...to our next stop.

...the less-traveled northern part of Honshu Island where we enjoyed several more picturesque festivals involving lanterns and  fire. 
The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival was a photographer's dream. A small harbor city that was lovely during the day, but the nighttime canal images were positively dreamlike! 

The city of Akita hosts the Hiburi Kamakura Festival that has a unique element involving fire. Participants set a bale of straw, attached to one long rope, on fire... and twirl it around themselves after the priest blesses the event and the people. It's a purification ritual said to banish bad fortune. It was astounding to see that even youngsters participated in this ritual.

Yokote's snow festival has a 450 year old history. We were treated to the spectacle of many igloo-like snow huts called kamakura, built around the city...a city originally built around a castle! Within each kamakura, there's a snow altar dedicated to the water deity to whom people pray for ample water. A charcoal burner is set up in each, to provide warmth and to grill rice cakes. In the evenings, festival visitors are invited by hosts into the kamakura, where they're offered rice cakes and warm, sweet rice wine in return for an offering to the water god at the altar. It's a beautiful, snow-filled and joyous time...

At long last, after almost 3 weeks, our last stop before returning to Tokyo for our journey home, was to the hot springs town of Zao Onsen. On the slopes of the volcanic Mount Zao, it serves as one of Japan's leading ski resorts in winter. In addition, it's one of the few places in Japan where "juhyo" or "ice trees" can be seen. Also known as "snow monsters," the trees take on curious shapes as they're blanketed with heaving snowfall and freezing, driving winds. We took a mountain gondola to get to the top for what we thought would be a wonderful, close up view of the monsters. Unfortunately, the snow was blowing so hard that not only were the trees difficult to see but it was difficult to stand and not be blown aside in the TRULY freezing wind!! It was even too cold for me! Here's what the scene looked like...

In the town...as the taxi drove us to our hotel...

At the gondola list up the mountain...note the ice all around the inside of the gondola barn

...and the view of the town below

I've got to say we loved the extreme beauty of Winter in Japan, the people were polite and welcoming, our hotels and restaurants were good. I had some trouble with the always fishy foods, but I did try some new things...like raw tuna sushi that was delicious! Thanks to our entertaining, caring guide, Keren, who's a master photographer as well... webmaster@chinaspan.com ...and thanks to you readers who made it through this looooong trip report. I hope you enjoyed the journey and the eye candy...

Big Hugs...till the next,
abbyj