2018/11/14 The merry-go-round

Kohei, look at that roller coaster. It's so fast. I’m just looking at it, and I’m afraid.

Hinano, your face just became really white. Are you okay?

Yeah. I’m fine.

Maybe coming to the amusement park wasn’t such a good idea.

No. I like amusement parks.

You do?

 But we haven’t gone on any rides yet. And you are so scared.

I know. I have a good imagination. I look at a ride, and it feels like I’m on it. I just can't stop imagining.

Well, there are no scary rides in that area over there. We should go check it out.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of amusement parks. I’m afraid of roller coasters and other exciting rides. Kohei said he liked roller coasters, so I wanted to go on a ride with him. But if I do that, I might feel sick and cause him trouble. Oh, what should I do?

How about that ride?

You mean the merry-go-round?

Yeah. It's not fast, and it's safe.

Okay. We can go on that. Whan I was a child, I used to ride merry-go-rounds a lot.

Great.

But wait. Are you sure you want to ride one? Merry-go-rounds aren’t as exciting as roller coasters.

Actually, merry-go-rounds are very exciting. I promise you your heart will beat very quickly.

You are joking, right?

No, I’m not. Come on.

Excuse me. One ticket for the merry-go-round, please.

One ticket? What about you?

I’m not going on it. I'll wait for you here.

What? Why?

You'll see. Just go.

I do as he says and sit on one of the horses on the merry-go-round. The merry-go-round slowly starts to move. I can see Kohei waving his hand at me.

I wave back, but the merry-go-round speeds up, and he disappears. Then, I see hi again.

Hinano, look.

I look and see Kohei making a funny face. The next time I see him, he is jumping up and down and waving his hands. He makes me laugh.

How do you like it?

It's fun but also a little embarrassing.

Kohei always does things to make me laugh. It makes me happy. I wonder what he's going to do next. But then.

Kohei? Where are you?

Suddenly, Kohei is gone. Is this one of his tricks? I keep looking for him, but I don't see him. Finally, the merry-go-round stops, and I quickly get off. But I still don't see him. Maybe he didn’t want to wait and left without me. I suddenly feel like crying, and my heart is beating fast. And then.

Surprise.

Whan I turn aroud, I see Kohei holding two ice-cream cones.

 So did you like the Kohei-style merry-go-round ride?

Yes. I loved it.

2018/11/13 Sleepy Taro who slept three year

Once upon a time, a poor woman and her son lived on a farm. Her son’s name was Taro. They worked hard,but they didn’t have much food. There was never enough rain in that area.

One year, there was almost no rain, so they had almost no food. Taro’s mother worked harder and harder. She worked too hard and died.

Taro, now alone, was so sad that he cried 24 hours a day for days and days. Then, Taro finally fell asleep.

Taro kept on sleeping. He slept and slept. His friends worried about him. They came to see him, but he was always asleep. They sometimes brought him food, but he ate it without waking up.

The village leaders came to Taro’s house and talked to him, but he would not wake up. Some children made a lot of noise to wake him up, but he continued to sleep.

After three years, the fields of Taro’s farm didn’t look like a farm. The fields were full of grass that was as tall as a man.

Then, early one morning, Taro suddenly woke up.

I have a good idea.

He went out into the fields.

He cut down the grass, and then dug up the fields. The people saw him and were amazed.

Sleepy Taro isn't sleeping.

Now the fields were ready for new rice plants. But there was still not much rain in the area.

Taro started to walk towards the river with his shovel over his shoulder. One of the men from the village asked him, Hey, what will you do at the river?

Taro answered, I’m building a waterway.

The river is too far. You'll never be able to dig a waterway with a single shovel.

Everyone laughed. But Taro kept walking to the river.

Some children heard about Taro’s plan.

I’ll help Taro. The children followed Taro one after another. They all walked and walked, and they came to the river.

Taro started digging with his shovel. He dug and dug, and the children dug hard too.

The parents of the children were worried, so they went to find their children. The parents were very surprised. Taro and their children were working so hard. So they decided to help, too.

The sun started setting in the west. At last. The waterway reached the rice fields. The river water came through the waterway, and finally, the fields had enough water.

We’ve done it.

Everybody shouted and thanked Taro.

Since that day, even when there was not much rain, the fields had enough water. So they grew a lot of rice. The village became rich. Taro and the villagers lived happily ever after.

2018/11/12 A&B @ Shirakawa-go

So this suttate-nabe is the best in Japan?

Well, it won the first place in the 2014 nabe competition.

I didn’t even know there was a hot pot competition. So, what's so special about this hot pot?

The soup is made from soy beans. It's mixed with miso and soy sauce.

Mmm, that’s why it tastes so good. But just because you're buying me this great lunch, it doesn't mean I’m not mad at you anymore.

You are still mad?

Of course. We were going to Nagoya. How many times do I have to explain? The driver that picked up us when we were hitchhiking told us to come here because it's a World Heritage Site. He was so kind to us. I couldn’t say no.

Then, why didn’t you talk to me before telling him yes?

I tried to, but you were sleeping in the back seat.  I didn’t want to wake you up.

I don't think so. You didn’t wake me up because you wanted to make the decision yourself.

Akito. Don't be so mad.

I’m Ben. Right now, Akito and I are in Shirakawa-go. Akito is angry because we didn’t go to Nagoya, but I really wanted to come here. We are now eating a local hot pot.

So, what are we going to do after we eat?

We're going to the village with the gassho-style houses.

Do you even know what gassho means?

No. Can you tell me?

Well, when Japanese people pray, they put their hands together. This gesture is called gassho.

Really?

A gassho-style house has a roof that looks like two hands put together.

I see. But why did they make the roofs so steep?

Because in winter, there's lots of heavy snow here. The gassho shape keeps the snow off the roofs.

Wow. You know a lot.

I think most Japanese people know this.

Really? Hey. What's that book in your back?

This. Nothing.

Let me see it.

Hey. Ben. Don't touch my bag.

It's a book on shirakawa-go. You wanted to come here, too.

Maybe I was a little interested.

After eating, Akito and I go to another restaurant. From here, we can see the whole village.

What a great view.

Your guidebook says a man from a Germany first told the world about Shirakawa-go.

I know. I read that already. His name was Bruno Taut, and he was an architect.

Mr. Taut said this area doesn't look like Japan at all. I agree with him.

What do you mean? I think Shirakawa-go is very Japanese.

Well, it doesn't look like the other Japanese villages I've seen before.

You may be right.

So are you still mad?

Mad? At what?

Oh, nothing.

Akito never stays angry for long. He is a great guy.

2018/11/09 The nose / Episode one

A long time ago in a place called Uji, there was an important monk named Naigu. Everyone knew him. Well, everyone knew his nose. His nose was so long that it went down to his chin. It looked like a long thin sausage hanging from the middle of Naigu’s face.

Naigu was a little over fifty years old, and he had hated his nose for a long, long time. He tried to look as if he didn't care, but he did care. He didn’t even want to here the word nose.

There were two reasons why he didn’t like his nose. First, it gave him trouble. It was hard for him to eat because of his nose. A young monk had to hold his nose up with a long board while he was eating. This was not an easy job. Once a young monk sneezed while Naigu was eating, and Naigu’s nose dropped into a bowl of hot rice porridge. People heard this story all the way in Kyoto.

Another reason Naigu didn’t like his nose was his pride. Everyone in town talked about his nose.

They said,

No one will marry Naigu because of his nose.

I know. I heard that is why he became a monk.

Monks can't marry, so Naigu didn’t have to worry about finding a wife. But Naigu felt unhappy that people talked about his nose. So Naigu was always trying to find a way to make his nose look shorter.

Alone he would sit in front of a mirror and do experiments. He would turn his head to the left, then to the right. He wanted to know which side of his face would make the nose look shorter. It always looked the same on both sides. Next, Naigu would try using his hands to cover his chin. That didn’t work, either. He also tried looking into the mirror for a long time hoping his nose would look shorter. But of course, it never did. So every time, Naigu would put away the mirror and start to pray. He was a monk after all.

Monks aren’t supposed to care about how they look on the outside, but Naigu cared. He looked at other people’s noses a lot. Naigu wanted to find someone with the same nose.

He wanted to feel that he wasn’t alone. He saw some strange noses, but never another long one. He looked at Buddhist books from other countries. But even foreigners didn’t have noses like his. Some had long ears, but no long noses.

Looking into mirrors didn’t change anything, and there was no one to share his pain. So he tried to make his nose shorter. He tried everything. He took herbal medicines and put mouse pee on his nose. But no matter what he did, his nose did not get shorter.

Then, one autumn, a young monk came back from Kyoto with good news. A doctor had taught  him how to make a long nose short.

2018/11/08 Iceland

Good day to you all. I am the Republic of Iceland. I’m famous for glaciers and volcanoes. My country’s population is about 340 thousand, and around 80 percent of my people are Christians. My capital is Reykjavik, and it means bay of smoke. It was named by Norwegian Vikings, you know.

My country is a little bigger than Hokkaido, and you can find me between Greenland and Norway. I am located in a special area called the aurora belt, so you can see the aurora borealis, or northaern lights, anywhere in my land if the weather is right.

My country’s language is very special, too. It has not changed since ninth or tenth century.

There are many volcanoes here, around 130. And there is a big eruption about every five years. People tell me that there are more than 800 natural hot springs. People make good use of this hot water. They make electricity, heat there homes, and even sit and relax in it.

I am especially proud of the world’s largest hot spring called the Blue Lagoon. It is as big as 30 volleyball courts. Big, isn't it? The tempreture of the water is about 37 to 40 degrees Celsius, so it's very comfortable. The Blue Lagoon has become so popular that the number of visitors is higher than my population.

Do you know what a gja is? Imagine a land pulling apart. That’s a gja. Do you understand? I am still growing in size. Well, it's only a few centimeters per year, but my land is growing bigger east to west. There is one gja that is wide enough for walking. It's a wonderful place to hike. You can feel how powerful nature is.

By the way, you may sometimes see a big rock in the middle of a road here. Do you know why we don't move it? Well, you see, elves might become angry if we did.

An elf is a type of fairy you read about in folklore stories. Eleves of Iceland are spirits of stones and rocks. When they get angry, there will be trouble.

More than 50 percent of people believe in eleves in my country. There is even a school to learn about eleves, and there is a law that protects them and their land. Elves are part of our culture.

Don't make fun of us for believing in elves. When you come to Iceland, you will see how powerful nature is and the mysteries it holds. It may make you want to believe, too.