Day 8 - Climbing Mount Fuji....sort of
In the morning we made our way to Fuchu Dai-ichi Elementary School to watch math instruction and have a cultural exchange and lunch with students.
Every walk we take is fun because you never know what you will find around any corner or on the street. Even this little boy waiting for the bus was perfect. In Japan, when students go to school (starting in grade 1) they are expected to make their way there and back on their own. You see little peanuts like this riding the bus or walking to school each day.
The school is the largest elementary school in Tokyo with over 1000 students in 30 classrooms. Think about that for a minute. Elementary is grade 1-6 so that means they average over 30 students per classroom. Since 1964, when Tokyo hosted the Olympics, this school has had a marching band. All 6th graders participate and they performed for us while we were there. They were really good, especially since the school year started 2 months ago in April.
We were invited into the 6th grade classrooms to meet the students and they taught us this fun competitive card game called Karuta. This is one of the most popular games in Japan is based on 200 poem cards split into two sets. One set has the poem (or idiom) and the other set has pictures. Basically you spread the picture cards on the floor and one person reads the other card (giving one hint at a time) and you have to be the first to grab the correct card. This game is even played competitively at the national level.
The game is played in schools to teach listening skills, to learnwritten characters, to practice reading and to learn about idioms and historical characters. It was a lot of fun. Of course I couldn't understand any of it but I was sitting next to the kid reading the cards and I could recognize the written characters to look for on the matching card. I ended up winning 7 cards.
We watched a division with decimals lesson and unexpectedly finished early for the day. It was an unexpected treat for us so a fellow teacher, Katerina, and I decided to head to a new area to explore before meeting some people for dinner.
We took the train to Sendagaya and wandered around the town for about 3 hours. We headed to Hatonomore Hachiman Shrine which was founded in the 8th century and has a fuji-zuka. As a practicing Shinto, you can make a pilgrimage to climb Mt. Fuji but if that isn't possible, they built a small version of the mountain from actual Mt. Fuji rocks that you can climb instead. This one was built in 1789.
Of course Katerina and I both climbed the mountain and made an offering at the top.
We wandered out the other end and saw this little staircase going up toward a cemetery. Huge ravens were calling overhead and we had to see what was at the top.
This little area was just outside the cemetery so we slid the door open and walked inside to wander around the tombs with dozens of ravens swooping around us and cawing at our invasion. I'm not totally sure but I believe this was the Senju-in cemetery and I wouldn't be surprised if it was haunted. The huge ravens followed us around and cawed at us until we left the grounds.
If you look closely you'll see the ravens.
The flat wooden slats with Chinese characters are called sotoba and it is customary to have these erected along with the tombs to mourn the passing of a loved one.
It's a tiny place on the second floor of a building down a little side street. It would not have been easy to find on our own.
Apparently Tetsuro is a sake expert and put together the selection at the restaurant. I'm not sure how many we tried but they were all so different and delicious.
No joke, this oyster was about 6 inches in length. It was served over a mound of shredded cucumber and sliced into 3 pieces. I love oysters but wasn't sure what to expect. It was tender and delicate in taste unlike the briny oysters of the northeast. Delicious!
Every walk we take is fun because you never know what you will find around any corner or on the street. Even this little boy waiting for the bus was perfect. In Japan, when students go to school (starting in grade 1) they are expected to make their way there and back on their own. You see little peanuts like this riding the bus or walking to school each day.
The school is the largest elementary school in Tokyo with over 1000 students in 30 classrooms. Think about that for a minute. Elementary is grade 1-6 so that means they average over 30 students per classroom. Since 1964, when Tokyo hosted the Olympics, this school has had a marching band. All 6th graders participate and they performed for us while we were there. They were really good, especially since the school year started 2 months ago in April.
We were invited into the 6th grade classrooms to meet the students and they taught us this fun competitive card game called Karuta. This is one of the most popular games in Japan is based on 200 poem cards split into two sets. One set has the poem (or idiom) and the other set has pictures. Basically you spread the picture cards on the floor and one person reads the other card (giving one hint at a time) and you have to be the first to grab the correct card. This game is even played competitively at the national level.
We took the train to Sendagaya and wandered around the town for about 3 hours. We headed to Hatonomore Hachiman Shrine which was founded in the 8th century and has a fuji-zuka. As a practicing Shinto, you can make a pilgrimage to climb Mt. Fuji but if that isn't possible, they built a small version of the mountain from actual Mt. Fuji rocks that you can climb instead. This one was built in 1789.
Of course Katerina and I both climbed the mountain and made an offering at the top.
The shrines are so beautiful and calming. Of course I went through the purification ritual. Might as well cover all the bases while I'm here.
This little area was just outside the cemetery so we slid the door open and walked inside to wander around the tombs with dozens of ravens swooping around us and cawing at our invasion. I'm not totally sure but I believe this was the Senju-in cemetery and I wouldn't be surprised if it was haunted. The huge ravens followed us around and cawed at us until we left the grounds.
If you look closely you'll see the ravens.
We made our way out of the cemetery at the insistence of the ravens and meandered around the neighborhood before meeting Tetsuro and Makiko for dinner at a sushi place called Umami Yu.
No joke, this oyster was about 6 inches in length. It was served over a mound of shredded cucumber and sliced into 3 pieces. I love oysters but wasn't sure what to expect. It was tender and delicate in taste unlike the briny oysters of the northeast. Delicious!
The whole fried fish is a house specialty and I absolutely loved it!
I have had some amazing evenings here in Japan but this was definitely one of my favorite things I have done so far. The food was incredible but the company made it even better. Thank you Katerina, Tetsuro and Makiko for the memorable night!
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