The Trip to Nagoya and Beyond

So I spent a four day weekend and went to Nagoya to do a bit of 観光 (that's sightseeing for you English types). I took a night bus there and back, because they're so much cheaper than the Shinkansen, and just winged the whole trip. I didn't make any hotel reservations at all, because I wasn't sure what I planed on doing! When I got to Nagoya I found a Business Hotel and stayed the night, but decided to go to 関市、岐阜県 (Seki, Gifu) which has been famous for making swords since the 1200's and is now famous for making some of the best chef knives in the world. The place was awesome, so many little shops and knife smiths, and I didn't see one other foreigner during the two days that I was there. When I first got to Seki it was afternoon so I looked for a hotel, during which I got a bit lost (as in very, street signs basically don't exist here) so I stopped in a random shop that looked interesting to ask for directions and boy did I surprise the owner! She had probably never had a foreigner go into her shop and she was so happy to see one that she was just super nice! We talked for a bit and after she had explained how to get to the hotel, when I was on my way out, she stopped me and said to wait a bit. She went into the back and returned with a bag of candies and crackers for me (she wouldn't take no for an answer, but I have to admit I didn't try too hard to refuse, it's actually rude to refuse but it's expected to at least try). I got to the hotel, which had huge tatami mat rooms and a decent Sento, dropped off my bags and went out to hit the town! I found some of the great little shops and a cool main place that sells a bunch of the Seki-made cutlery. After perusing the sweet knives I headed for the neighboring "Seki Sword Smith Tradition Museum" (I know, it's a mouthful). At first I was thinking about going to grab a bite and just checking out the museum the next day, but I figured since I was there already, why not (I'm glad I went that day). The museum was open a bit later than normal because there was a big group of businessmen there so I wasn't rushed out the door after just a bit, but more than that, when I was leaving they were starting a demonstration (which they apparently never do except for really special occasions) and the businessmen, seeing my interest, invited me to watch. The workers were dressed in traditional sword-making-clothes and proceeded to make a Katana from a block of ore. once the demonstration was finished they took out a couple of swords from the Edo Period (~1600 to mid 1800's) and then they passed them around. The businessmen were pretty excited to hold the swords, but not nearly as excited as they seemed to be when they decided to let the foreigner hold it (even the museum people took a couple pictures of me holding the Katana)! The next day I just walked around and saw more of the shops and temples of the area, it was a lot of fun, but the first day was definitely better.

From there I returned to Nagoya and did more sightseeing. I spent two days in Nagoya and on the first day I headed over to Nagoya Castle, stopping by the Nagoya Noh Theatre on the way. Now, despite the repeated attempts by one of my college professors, I have to admit that I don't like Noh plays. Don't get me wrong, I understand the structure and the importance of the simplicity of the costumes and the props, but they just don't interest me. I will confess to liking the kimonos that were worn, the masks and I even enjoy the simplicity of the structure, but I can't watch them without falling asleep (but there wasn't any Noh plays being preformed during the two days I was there). I'm not sure how to describe the castle, but it was so amazing! I have never seen anything like it and really want to see more now. Even though the castle was all but destroyed during WWII, it was rebuilt basically exactly how it used to be, save for the materials used, but they look the same. I took a walk around the grounds, taking pictures of the castle from all angles, then I crossed the moat (probably at least thirty feet down from the outside and fifty feet down from the inside). On the main castle grounds I first went into one of the guard posts/towers and looked around there, even though there wasn't much to see besides the structure it's self, but on the third floor you could look out and see the castle from a better angle as well as the rest of the grounds.

As I entered the castle I was surrounded by all kinds of different artifacts including: folding screens, hanging wall scrolls, weapons, models and pottery. One of the coolest things was that we were allowed to take pictures of pretty much everything (we couldn't take pictures of the most precious and authentic pieces that were on a separate floor, but I did buy a couple of picture books with all of that stuff and more). I was surprised to learn/remember (I'm not sure if I knew this before) that the castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu for his son. Ieyasu was one of the three main people attributed with the modernization of Japan and the beginning of two-hundred some odd years of peace (fairly important fellow there). I really don't know what else to say about the castle, I think that the pictures describe the place quite well.

That night I stayed at a capsule hotel, and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. For those of you who don't know what a capsule hotel is check it out online (or the movie The Fifth Element, shows something like it on the plane), but basically it's a room that is about one meter wide, two meters deep , and one meter tall, just enough room to sleep and they are usually men only. Although the rooms are a small hole to sleep in, the hotel had four floors reserved solely for relaxation. One of the Floors was a Sento with eight different baths (one of which can only be described as a swimming pool) most filled with varying sizes of waterfalls and two saunas. the next floor was just for massages. Then there was a floor with their own restaurant. The last floor was full of recliners (about 150-200) each with their own TV with speakers in the headrest.

After a night of comfort (seeing as how I had been walking at least ten miles each day while carrying my two bags) I spent my last day at the Tokugawa Art Museum. This place was amazing. The Tokugawa Period is one of my favorite eras of Japanese history and this place had a ton of original works, but no cameras were allowed seeing as how all of the stuff was at least two hundred years old and sensitive to light and all that. i did buy another picture book that has a lot of the pieces in it. After the Museum I took a stroll around the garden, which I did get pictures of. The building and garden of the Tokugawa Art Museum used to belong to a powerful family from the olden days and you can see the history preserved throughout the grounds. (http://www.tokugawa-art-museum.jp/english/index.html)

Overall the trip was well worth it, although I did spend more money than I planed on, and the bus to and from were small for the Japanese people (and absolutely tiny for me).