I was privileged to do something in this travel I have never done before and also a chance to eat some of the best sweets I have eaten thus far in the land of the rising sun. We will be voyaging out again to the huge area of Nanto City once again, this time though to the sweet little village of Jōhana. It is a small town but has a nice atmosphere. It's heavily decorated with wood art that Nanto is so famous for. It's quite peaceful and refreshing.
I think it is the perfect place to raise a family and enjoy some peace and quiet in a hectic world. The town is full of cute small shops and just a wonderful place for a walk and to absorb all the small town vibe. To get there, please go to Takaoka Station, from there take the Jōhana line to Jōhana Station. From there there are maps in around the station.
The town isn't so big so I feel walking will be appropriate for this little adventure.
Never had I thought I would be trying to make textiles before. When informed I would actually be doing this I had mixed emotions because the only memory I had of the word textiles was back in history class in Junior and Senior high school. I have always been a guy who has been up for trying new things and working with textiles and visiting a textile museum in small town Jōhana was really new so of course I was up for it. The name of the place we were heading to was Jōhana Oriyakata. It is a charming three story brick building. The staff was very welcoming and greeting at the front door. I decided to do a trial for textiles making a coaster from fine green fabric.
Sure enough upon walking up the stairs in the building to the second floor it was like taking a little walk into the past. There were various weaving a spinning machines from many years past. It really did remind me of my history books and the pictures of London and the woman on the spinning and weaving machines. I had never actually though about the process though. The lady sat me down in the old wooden machine and took my hands and showed me a rather complicated patter of taking the piece of fabric pressing it up against another going in and out with my hands and stomping the pedals of the machine. I can't remember the exact pattern but at first I was frustrated. To my surprise, suddenly it became second nature and without thinking about it my speed greatly increased. I was really happy and found myself weaving like a boss on my simplistic coaster. I finished in no time once I got the hang of it. The whole experience really made me appreciate the way things were made back in the day and the ladies who did it all day. I really enjoyed the process for 30 minutes but doing it every day for years and years might prove tedious. After I finished the coaster we looked at all the other intricate pieces of work, such as clothing, blankets, table cloths. I have a lot more appreciation for how things are made now. Also the green coaster I made is my favorite one having made it myself. I think everyone should try this out to get a better understanding of how tedious textiles can be. There was a charming cafe and gift shop down stairs. I was surprised to have had such a wonderful time doing something I knew nothing about.
After my little weaving experience we were on to the next leg of our little adventure. If you have been to or seen Japan you very well might know the huge snack and sweet business. These aren't mass produced corporation cookies and treats, by any means. There are many small stores that specialize in hand crafted high quality treats that value presentation and the beauty of the snack as much as they do the taste. From the packaging to the shape to the taste it's all beautiful. I really like this much more than just getting a big bag of candy from the grocery store. These candies and snacks are sweet beautiful and fun to look at. Once again, I had never thought about as how to these little treats were made. We headed to a sweets museum named Kigata-Kan. It is a current and successful sweets store and cafe with a small museum of the business located next door.
The owner of the store who was as sweet as the sweets he sold was joyful and very informative. It was a small little museum but had an outrageous amount of history inside. The museum showcased all of the classic molds of Japanese sweets. Molten sugar is poured in different layers to create color schemes and allowed to cool to make beautiful sweets that could be as small as a flower petal to as big as a giant red fish. Some were metal and some were wood. Some were old some were not so old. Some were animals and some were plants. I was taken away by the variety and the fact all of these molds and sweets tools were used at some point. I am sure at some point a literal mountain of sugar was used in this place. Japanese sweets from these little shops tend to be a little expensive after seeing the effort and craftsmanship it takes to make them, I can understand quite well why. The charm of it all and beauty really made this little museum a great place to visit.
We then headed to the actual store. Downstairs was a large array of sweets and cakes all made in house. They had sweets and cakes of all colors. The price was not so expensive and the way I say it, the best shop for sweets in Toyama. Everything in there tasted fantastic. We went to the second floor cafe and were shocked to find a really great interior design. The room appeared to be outside on the inside. There was literally an outside building with a tatami mat constructed inside the cafe. There was also outdoor summer nature sound playing. I felt all the comforts of outside without the mosquitos. We were treated with snow white powder cake made from rice powder and just a little cream and a cup of coffee. That was the best cake I've ever eaten. It was fluffy and light with a very neutral taste. It was not so sweet but in combination with the beautiful plate and room it was the best cake I've ever had. I ate it with pure ecstasy as I was swept away into the land of fluffy white rice powder cake. I will never forget that cake. It wasn't me either my colleagues also thoroughly enjoyed there piece of powder cake heaven. Fans of cake must come to this store and try it out. I had a really great time in Jōhana. It's a step away from busy Japan, everyone seemed happy and relaxed. I hope others too can make it out to Jōhana to enjoy all of it small town charm. There is even an anime based in the town, form the posters I saw.