Japan ‘23 Day 8: Nagano
Today started with a beautiful Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Nagano. Through the train window, the landscape changed from city buildings to suburbs to farms to mountains. My good friend Mariko met me at the train station. It was another 5 year reunion. Of my 3 friends here, I probably talk to Mariko the most – an hour skype session every week.
We were both hungry and it was past lunch time so Mariko took me to a soba restaurant. We both ordered tempura soba. Buckwheat noodles with a dipping sauce and condiments to add to it: wasabi, daikon radish, and scallions. The vegetable and shrimp tempura had it’s own sauce, also delicious. The server also brought a pot with broth from the soba noodles. After we finished eating the noodles, we poured the broth into what was left of the dipping sauce, to make a soup.
After lunch, we went to Zenkoji Temple at the center of Nagano. Entering the temple area, we passed through a gate guarded by two Nio statues, Agyo and Ungyo. They are muscular, fierce-looking creatures meant to protect the temple from evil spirits and demons.
We stopped to see a set of six statues called the Rokujizo. They are bodhisattvas who save people in six realms: gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell denizens. To the left of them is a larger statue of Nure Botoke, a seated bodhisattva meant to protect the temple from fire.
Inside the main hall entrance is wooden status called “Binzuru Sonja” that is supposed heal those who touch it in the same spot as their ailments. Its face has been worn almost smooth from those seeking healing. Pictures are not allowed but there are stock photos on the internet. While searching for one to share here, I came across this news article. Apparently, earlier this year, the statue was stolen and subsequently returned. https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/crime-courts/20230406-101912/
We walked around the grounds, enjoying the cool weather and peaceful atmosphere. There were a few trees just starting to turn color (back at home in New Hampshire I left almost peak fall leaves) and I could imagine how beautiful the park must look with the leaves fully turned (Kouyou – 紅葉 – in Japanese).
After stopping at Mariko’s house for tea with her daughter, the three of us ventured to the supermarket for dinner ingredients. Seafood okonomiyaki was on the menu! I helped with the food prep under Mariko’s guidance: chopped cabbage, grated sticky potato (this was a new one for me!!), mixed seafood (ebi/shrimp and kai/shellfish), egg, tempura bits, flour, dashi, and soy sauce. Mariko’s brother arrived to join us, and Mariko’s husband returned from work and did the actual cooking of the okonomiyaki pancakes. We set up a griddle on the dining table so we could eat and drink and talk while the pancakes cooked. The pancakes are topped with aonori (seaweed), bonito, okonomiyaki sauce, and kewpie mayo. It was absolutely some of the best okonomiyaki I’ve ever had. Totemo oishikatta!!
Mariko’s husband and I drank sake together. He gave me a special tin sake cup to use that is supposed to make the sake taste better. We all sat around the table drinking and eating and talking. I got a lot of Japanese practice, both speaking and listening, though Mariko frequently had to help translate when I couldn’t understand the conversation. There was a lot of laughter and the evening flew by. It was almost midnight before I finally went to sleep. I slept through the night for the first time since I’ve been in Japan! Maybe the sake helped a bit…
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