“Hands in Prayer” – Japanese style

Thatched-roofed houses at Ainokura

Despite being such a culturally rich country, it is an understatement to say that Japan is not a place well-understood by people from the world outside. There are people who would love to savor every bit of fascinating Japan they can, but are only hampered by a single problem - language. Having said that, sometimes it’s the Japanese that prefer to keep their treasures a secret (until modernization forces them to find a way to preserve these treasures through an internationally recognized movement).

Therefore it is not surprising to find that the two sites of the Ainokura village at Gokayama* (in Toyama prefecture) and Shirakawa-go (in Gifu prefecture) in the Chubu region, with traditional houses of more than 300 years old boasting architecture and thatched roofs that can be found no other place in Japan, were only designated the Unesco World Cultural Heritage Sites in 1995. At the same time, it is also amazing that the locals have managed to keep the villages, the houses and the way of life the same now as several generations ago, oblivious to the rapid changes that Japan as a nation is going through.

Aerial view of Ainokura village, a Unesco World Cultural Heritage Site

Ainokura village is the most remote destination on my entire trip itinerary, but also the one I looked forward to most. It is nestled deep in steep mountains and faces the most snowfall in Japan during winter. It used to be extremely difficult to reach this place due to the harsh winters, but now it is possible to access by car or bus. Geographically, it is located nearer to central Ishikawa prefecture but due to the surrounding alpine mountains and valleys, there was no easy way to get there except to make a detour trip up to northern Ishikawa by train from Kanazawa and then a bus down to the village. Because the Ainokura village is so remotely located in the mountains, the houses themselves had to be able to withstand the heavy snowfall and the penetrating cold in winter (I guess because there was no electricity 300 years ago…??) yet also be able to allow the air within to be cool in the summer. This brings us to the amazing feature of houses in Ainokura village.

Check out the "Hands-in-Prayer" style roof of the house

There are only 23 houses in the remote Ainokura village (although there are more in nearby Shirakawa-go), most of which were built between the end of the Edo period (about 300 years ago) and the end of the Meiji period. The oldest house is dated back to the 17th century. These houses are built in “Gassho-Zukuri” (or “hands-in-prayer”) style, so called because of the shape of the roof, which are at 60 degrees in an inverted V-shape to prevent snow from building up on them. The thatched roofs are made with straw from crops and can withstand 3 m of snow. Constructing these thick straw roofs is an art in itself, and an extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming affair. Layers of the straws must be tied and bound onto the roof, and the process repeated 5 times by skilled craftsmen all within a day or two to prevent decay of the straws. In general, these houses require 20 x 4 tons truck loads of straws to rethatch but once constructed, the roofs are so durable that re-thatching is done only once in every 15 - 20 years! (Also, despite the size of these houses, there are no nails used at all in their construction.)

And it's just straw and ropes and beams...no nails

So it was great timing I thought, to find that the 300 yr-old minshuku (i.e. traditional Japanese house) I would be staying at in Ainokura village was undergoing its first day of re-thatching after 15 years. Nakaya Minshuku (http://www1.tst.ne.jp/snakaya/index.html) was featured in Japan Hour in December 2008** and the owner, Nakatani-san and his wife, were delighted to have me visit them from Singapore :)

The owners of Nakaya Minshuku, Nakatani-san and his wife :)

Rethatching of the roof at Nakaya, the 300 yrs old minshuku I was staying in

Ainokura village is small, but stepping into it was like walking straight into a storybook “Once upon a time…” place in the mountains, Japanese style. Again, like the snow monkeys I visited, Ainokura would be extremely beautiful to visit in winter time from December – February. The picturesque scenery would be any photographer’s dream, and well-worth travelling the road for. The lack of accessibility to the village in earlier times meant that the village was largely self-sufficient, and had developed its own unique traditions in folk music and dance. The locals would have happily kept this remote and unique village a secret, even from other Japanese, if not for the fact that several of the Gassho-zukuri houses were being torn down due to dam construction and housing modernization. Only then did the locals realize that they had to start a movement to protect the heritage of the village. And only then were Ainokura village, together with Shirakawa-go, really revealed to the outside world and finally added to the list of Unesco World Cultural Heritage Sites in 1995.

In the cold of about 5 degrees at night, sitting by the irori (i.e. sunken fireplace) and having a home-cooked kaiseki dinner at Nakaya was definitely the perfect way to stay warm!

Having my dinner in front of the Irori (sunken fireplace) in my room

Chatting with the wife of Nakatani-san about the village and the heritage of this 300 years old house brought as much wonder to me as I brought to her with my tale of travels alone in search of authentic Japan. As I took a hot ofuro bath and settled in the comfortable futon laid out for me, I could only place my “hands-in-prayer” and hope that people would learn about this place and visit it before it loses itself in time that always erodes.

* Gokayama means five valleys in Japanese, and Ainokura is surrounded by these five valleys of Akao-dani, Kami-Nashi-dani, Shimo-Nashi-dani, Otani, and Toga-dani along the Sho-gawa River.

** Refer to the last section of the Japan Hour episode found at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/japanhour/highlights_dec27.htm

Onsen - truly a Japanese way of life

Little toddler I met yesterday at Kawarayu Onsen, soaking his feet in an outdoor hotspring :)

I think Japanese people deserve to have as many onsens and ofuros in their lives as possible. They work too hard for their own good. There is a term in Japan called ‘karoshi’, meaning ‘death from overwork’. That is the extreme of course, but a few Japanese colleagues of mine in the past had actually been clinically diagnosed with depression from work. The great thing about it is that an MC or resignation due to depression from work is actually accepted with much sympathy in Japan. Show such an MC to a boss in Singapore, and it would probably be thrown out of the window.

To release stress for better sleep, every family has an ofuro, or tub, at home in Japan. Unlike those we have in hotels or homes, these bathtubs are smaller (so that less water is used and it fills up faster), plasticky, and they are made in such a way that the water can be maintained at a desired temperature. I recalled my first experience of an ofuro the first time I was in Japan at 16. Because the water was 42deg and steaming, I remembered asking myself.... ‘do I REALLY have to do this???’. This was of course followed by a resignation to fate, and I thought an attempt to kill myself by hot water. I had inched in very (and I mean, very) slowly into the tub. It took me like 20 minutes to get one leg in. By then, the meaning of having a hot bath to keep myself warm in the 15 deg weather didn't make much sense. I never made it to get in totally that first time, because I figured the dinner (and maybe supper) would be over and lights off by the time I actually do. Subsequently I had gotten so used to ofuro and hotsprings, I can get in faster than any Japanese.

The Takadaya Ryokan at Kawarayu Onsen at Gunma* which I visited, a pioneer in hot sand bath

I have gone to quite a lot of ofuros (and hotsprings) mostly outdoors. I already cannot recall the first time I did it, but man, how I do recall the time I brought my 2 aunts & mum to an onsen at a beautiful ryokan called Yamatoya built in the Edo period at Hakone. Although they had spent 2 weeks in Japan then, this onsen thing was the highlight of their trip and they talk about it even until today. I shall use it as an illustration of what to do/not to do at an onsen. It's really fun once you get used to it.

What to expect (6 key points):

1. Someone at the reception or in your room explaining everything to you in Japanese. Yes, that is not very helpful...that's why this blog helps.

2. A tour to show you the ofuro for the guys and girls are. Still, the Japanese have created a system to confuse you by switching the ofuros at certain timings in the day..but unless you don't read Chinese or Kanjiu, it is still obvious which is which.

3. People changing in front of you and walking around with a towel enough to cover just the vital parts. Get over it. Some of them are 80 yrs old and all wrinkled and they don't look at you.

4. Hot spring (indoors or outdoors). I mean, really hot. But once you are inside, you will love it.

5. If you booked yourself in a ryokan, expect a full spread of Japanese kaiseki in your room by the time you reach it. Again, explanation of the delicacies are in Japanese, but heck they are all delicious!

6. A nice futon all set up after the dinner for you to fall asleep in after a hard day at the ofuro...nice :)

The kaiseki that Akane and I had at Takadaya Ryokan

What to do (6 key points):

1. Wear the ryokan's yukata (simple version of the kimono) to the ofuro. It's nicer to change into the yukata after your bath than to squeeze back into your jeans. Everything about you would have expanded.

2. The small stool at each open cubicle in the common bathing area is for you to sit on to shower before and after you jump into any hotspring. Don't stand. Don't spray your showerhead at your neighbour also. I'm serious, my mum always does that at 3 m radius.

3. Use only your small towel in the bathing area, not the king-size one. Really, nobody will look at your backside.

4. Keep your towel out of the hotspring. It's a hotspring, not a bathtub.

5. Keep a low profile in the ofuro, even if you have a great figure!

6. Dry yourself before stepping into the dry area after your bath, unless you intend to make the kind 80 yrs old grandmother slip and fall.

What not to do (6 key points):

1. Don't compete with each other who to take off the yukata first! hahah (sounds familiar, Ah Yi??) It ain't gonna make a difference in the end!

2. Don't laugh at each other...c'mon we all have tummies. Just use your small little towel cleverly and nobody is going to notice it.

3. Even if you don't mean to, don't attempt to make conversation with the 80 yr old grandmotherand then giggle at the realization that she ACTUALLY doesn't understand you(reference: my mum)

4. Don't make big actions in the bath. In particular, don't do your morning exercises in the bath with your splits and leg stretchings (reference: my mum again). It's already very hard to do that at normal temperature.

5. Don't talk to your companions loudly while in the bath. In Japan, there is a term called 'maa-naa mou-do' (that is, if you haven't figured it out, Manner Mode..) and you are not supposed to disturb others while in the bath.

6. Lastly, don't let the dos and don'ts stop you from visiting an onsen. Bathing in the ofuro and staying over at a ryokan is an experience by itself. If you visit Japan and not do this, you are missing out on a big part of the Japanese life!

(*Takadaya Ryokan is located at Kawahayu Onsen at Gunma Prefecture. It is more than 100 years old from the Daiwa era and is a pioneer in hot sand bath which Akane and I tried (almost burnt my butt in the first 10 min). Accessible by JR bus from Shinjuku, Tokyo, this onsen area will disappear soon due to construction of a dam.)

Kawazu Nanadaru - Outdoor hotspring under a waterfall

Talk about co-existence of extremes in Japan.

How would you react if you are faced with a half naked guy having a towel only small enough to cover either his frontal or backside in a co-ed hotspring (i.e. onsen), who suddenly realises he is not alone, and actually bows to you in the steamy cave and politely says 'sumimasen'?? Am I supposed to say 'hajime mashite...' (i.e. 'it's nice to meet you for the first time...')?

Onsen in these 7 tubs, where we experienced the above mentioned with another gentleman...

Of course that was not the highlight of our 2 days 1 night trip to verify an itinerary featured in Japan Hour*. Actually Naomi and I had just arrived at Kawazu Nanadaru area at Kawazu town, Shizuoka prefecture. Nana in Japanese means 7, and Odaru means waterfall. The Kawazu river tumbles down from Mt. Amagi and branches into 7 waterfalls in this town, eventually running down to deep sea, hence the name.

The river at Kawazu Nanadaru..

It had taken us about 2.5 hours to get here from Tokyo. We took a 45min bullet train (i.e. shinkansen) ride to Atami, an express train to Kawazu and then a mini-van pickup to the Odaru Onsen. Without the JR pass for foreigners, the transportation itself would cost as much as Yen12,000 (~S$190) 2-ways. With the JR pass that allows unlimited travel on bullet trains, the transportation 2-ways is about Yen6,000 (~S$100). I really think foreigners travel much cheaper in Japan than the locals and we should make full use of our advantage in this wondrous country.

Anyway, the purpose of this trip was to dig out 2 really authentic onsens, not easily known to foreigners. Even Naomi didn't know about them until we did our research. Japan Hour had recommended a green tea (i.e. macha) onsen at a traditional inn (i.e. ryokan) called Tsurabashi Ryokan. We were surely going to do that (and did it on the 2nd day), but we had found an even more special outdoor onsen. That is the Odaru Onsen.

Outdoor hotspring while overlooking a huge waterfall

Outdoor onsen overlooking the Odaru waterfall

The Odaru Onsen overlooks the largest of the 7 waterfalls at Kawazu Nanadaru and has various types of hotspring baths within the onsen itself. This includes a hotspring for people who want to have babies, and even hotsprings in a cave with tunnels that was really very fascinating (only thing was the hotspring water wasn't that hot). Our favorite though, was still the outdoor onsen overlooking the Odaru waterfall. The entire atmosphere was like having a bath in the forest, only better, because you have the river and the birds that come to feed...and in autumn, probably a blast of red and orange colors from the trees.

Imagine when the trees are full of autumn leaves...

The onsens are located down in a valley while the inn is at the top alongside the mountain. The water sprouting from underground is about 40 - 42 ℃. This may seem really hot but when the outside temperature is so cool at about 10 ℃, you just want to jump in asap. That is, until you realise that some half naked guy already submerged in the water is staring at you with dagger eyes...in which case you just hop onto another adjacent pool until he scrambles off after deciding that his backside is not as worth covering than his front. (Not to put off guys who are considering coming to this place. Just bring a swimming trunk and you won't ever be caught in this awkward position.) That little hiccup aside, which to me is really more amusing than a deterrent, Odaru Onsen is a beautiful beautiful place. As you close your eyes, soaked in the heat of the water with the cold air brushing your face, you can hear the waterfall gushing down the heights and the rushing flow of the river....all this time you would be thanking God for such wonderful nature created for man to enjoy.

We stayed over 1 night at Amagisou (http://www.amagisou.jp/) where the Odaru onsen was located. There are several types of rooms at this ryokan. Some of them have private onsens within the room, and balcony with seats overlooking the mountainous greens and sakura trees. We took the standard room without the bath nor the balcony since we were happy with the outdoor onsens, and it was too chilly to sit at the balcony. The room cost us Yen14,600 (~S$220)per person, and includes kaiseki dinner and breakfast. If you didn't bring a swimming costume/ trunk or towel, they can be rented at Yen300 (~S$5) and Yen200 (~S$3.50) respectively too.

Kaiseki dinner at Amagisou (this is only part of the entire course)


(I will be writing on how one should behave for an onsen soon so that whoever visits it one day will not find it such a cultural shock, but would enjoy it as the locals do :))

A feast for the eyes with beautiful sceneries

As if being here in this hotspring is not already worthwhile making this trip, there are also so many things to explore in this little town of Kawazu Nanadaru that will feast the tastebuds and eyes. The great thing is that all these are near enough to be explored on foot on a leisurely pace.

The unique thing about Kawazu is that it is probably one of the first places where sakuras bloom in Japan as the climate here is warmer. In Tokyo and Kyoto, for e.g., sakuras bloom in late March/ early April. At Kawazu however, they bloom by late February. If we had been 3 weeks earlier, we would not only have rows of sakuras lining the streets, but also outside our room. We still count our lucky stars that we saw a few remaining sakura trees along the way.

Sakura at Kawazu Nanadaru

On top of that, there were so many orange (i.e. mikan) trees too as Shizuoka is a place for producing them. Naomi and I bought a mikan each for Yen50, and I must say that...well, they were quite sour but still a good treat!

Mikan tree against a backdrop of sakuras...

We walked along the river meant for exploring the 7 waterfalls which are famous here. The weather is really cool and the walk was so refreshing. We didn't think we needed to see all the waterfalls but we had to go to this one.....

Shokei-daru waterfall


...the reason being that there is a picturesque statue of the famous dancing girl of Izu (i.e. Izu no Odoriko) who is the main character of a novel written by Kawabata Yasunari. In the story, a Tokyo student goes hiking in Izu, where he meets a young dancer. Though lonely and depressed, he begins to change after getting to know the girl and her family. Part of the setting of the story was along this river where they walked together. The novel was made into film 6 times, and Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972) later won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese person to do so. 　

Wasabi Tororo Soba....and just about Wasabi everything!

Another really special thing we tried was Wasabi Tororo Soba, which we so fell in love that we had it over 2 days for lunch! Kawazu Town is famous as a producer of Japanese "wasabi" radish, carnations and irises, etc. If you love wasabi (and I know Singaporeans do. Admit it, you are a wasabi fanatic if you plonk chunks of the green stuff into your saucer dish for all your sushi and sashimi...), you are in heaven here.

Wasabi sold at S$6 - $10 each

The Wasabi Tororo Soba is really using lightly wasabi-flavored soba dipped into a light sauce (i.e. tsuyu) that has a plonk of grated yam in it. The secret lies in this grated yam dip and the fresh wasabi that you grate by yourself, and the fact that the soba is cold. It's so smooth! I can imagine eating this in summer or in hot & humid Singapore to cool down...if only I can have it everyday!!

My favorite Wasabi Tororo Soba at a shop called Kadoya near to Amagisou


Oh, and how can we forget the wasabi soft cream?! Hard to imagine (the packaging of stuff like wasabi chocolate reads.."could it be sweet?? could it be hot?? try it to know!")...and guess what, it was really oishi!! :)

Green tea onsen

We ended our trip with the much publicized macha green tea onsen at Tsurabashi Onsen (http://www.tsuribashiso.com/), which was just a 10min walk away from Odaru Onsen. It was a specially prepared bath made from green tea for us in a private hut. For Yen2,800 (~S$45) for a single time, we had thought that the onsen would be prepared in some really traditional way. In fact, Naomi and I imagined some lady in kimono pouring large wooden spoonfuls of green tea powder in a human sized tea cup and stirring it like how you do with normal tea...hahah...:) but it was not anything near to being so traditional! The process turned out real simple with green tea leaves being put into those white filter bag and immersed in hot spring water. It was still a great experience because the smell was so nice...and while you bathe, you can also see the water flowing in the river below.

The green tea onsen

The private hut we had

After dipping in 2 times in the Odaru Onsen and 1 time at the green tea onsen over 2 days, I actually think we had an overdose of onsens!! No doubt I would want to go back again though...maybe in November during autumn. Anybody interested? :)

Thanks Naomi for being my model in these photos!

* Refer to last section of the Japan Hour episode found at www.channelnewsasia.com/japanhour/highlights_jan17_2009.htm