Fresh Green Tea, Spring Water and Japanese Dinner

Today was a day that I won't forget. We got to spent the day with two local women. First on the agenda was a market that has been held for 400 years. One of the women told us that the smells in the market would be very "Japanese" and she was right. The aromas ranged from fresh tea leaves to fish/whale to sweet potato desserts.

Our guide tours for the day, Hiroko and Yumiko, couldn't help themselves in showering us with souvenirs. We found some curious things to bring or send back home. They would not let us pay for anything so I finally had to almost make a scene in order for them to let me pay for my last few souvenirs. I bought some unique bottles, ear wax removers....these are very unique and cute souvenirs and also some chop sticks.

As we were leaving the market, there was a fortune teller booth. Hiroko asked if I was brave enough to do it and I agreed as long as she translated it for me. I was happy with my fortune reading, everything was good and I got some good advice. It turns out this year and next year are my lucky years so I should try new things.....I think I am doing good so far! He also gave us some marriage advice and told us that next year would be a lucky year to have a baby, which we laughed about. After a little convincing from the fortune teller, Hiroko and Yumiko also had their fortunes read. It was their first time also so we had a lot of fun with it.

After the market, we headed towards two spots where natural spring water comes out of the ground. Curiously enough one spot is said to have "feminine" water because the water is "soft". The other spot has "masculine" water because it has a "crisper" taste. The "feminine" water spot was inside a Shinto Shrine and it was a beautiful place. It felt like a rainforest because of all the moisture in the area.

At the bottom of the shrine is where you can fill up containers with the natural spring water that comes up from 3 meters below.

When you go up the stairs towards the actual shrine there's a water fountain with the same spring water where you are supposed to wash your mouth and hands to cleanse yourself before entering the shrine.



After a quick prayer, we left to go to the "masculine" water spot. On the way up the mountain there were beautiful views of rocky sides of mountains where rice is grown.

At the top of the mountain next to a tea plantation we found the "masculine" water shrine.

There was no shrine really just a small spot for offerings and the water spout. The "feminine" shrine was much better!!:) However, there were lots of people waiting to fill up their water containers with the "masculine" water so I think this one may be more popular.
I had a taste of both waters and I really couldn't tell the difference but they both had a really good crisp fresh taste.

After the water excursion, we were all hungry so Hiroko invited us to her home for a small dinner. She apologized for not having a fancier dinner prepared because it was so short noticed but as you can see it was a full table.

Dinner consisted of salad, sesame tofu, regular tofu with soy sauce, fish soup, tempura fish and vegetables, white rice with green peas and green tea. It was all very good. It was very neat to be inside a traditional Japanese house. It had such beautiful details inside. Here's a couple of pictures so you can sort of get the feeling.


They both really went out of their way to please us and make us feel like family. At dinner I happen to mention that I recognized one of the patterns in the China from the Pottery/China Festival we went to a couple of weeks ago and Hiroko said "do you want it?". She was getting ready to hand over her china to me. After dinner I noticed she was looking through her cupboard and I couldn't believe she was setting aside dishes for me to take! She ended up giving me a choice of 4 tea sets. I ended up choosing one and taking it because she said they had so many they would just end up donating it anyway. I am now the proud owner of a china tea set, even better an old china Japanese tea set with a history. It will definitely be an heirloom in our family.

Hiroko and her mother's hospitality reminded me a lot of my grandmothers who never stop offering food and never stop working when a guest is at their home. We will never forget how good they were to us and we hope that one day we can return the favor.