I'd Rather Be...In Japan

Keep Your Eye On The Sword Pt. II

There's a nearby town where they make samurai swords. There aren't any samurai any more, but there are guys who slice bamboo and rolled up mats with a solemn pride that would make any warlord proud. They use kitanas, and if you've got a long piece of bamboo, they'll cut it's belly open quicker than you can say 'banzai.'

The martial art is called iaido, and I'd never heard of it before we visited Seki, to see katanas made by hand. The real show were the guys using hot coals and hammers to pound steel into blades as they've done for hundreds of years. But the sideshow were these guys in kimonos and eyeglasses stalking stands of bamboo with blood in their eyes.

It was fun to watch, and fun to shoot. I submit these photos for your pleasure:

From Japan '08

A couple of swordsman before the kill.

From Japan '08

A row of mats about to get the ginsu.

From Japan '08

One stroke!

From Japan '08

From Japan '08

Two strokes!

From Japan '08

A little off the top!

From Japan '08

A bit off the sides.

The Totoro Express...

From Japan '08

Our local train is called the Nagaragawa railway. It's a one-car operation, on a single track. It takes forever to get anywhere, but the ride is literally gorgeous. The mountains and rivers are amazing, and one of the stations along the way is actually a hot spring where you can take a natural hot bath.

I can't wait to take this ride in the winter. I'll bet it's beautiful. The train has a cute whistle that blows when it rounds the bends of the mountains. It even has it's own wiki page.

From Japan '08

Here is some video we took of our ride. The music is the aptly titled "30 Minutes Night Flight" by Maaya Sakamoto (no relation).

Our Town

Gujo Hachiman is famous for its clear, pure water that flows down from the mountains. Pretty much everywhere you go in town, you can hear the bubbling water flowing nearby. The place is riddled with rivers. Downtown there are several places where tourists can scoop water from pools. There are supposedly 100 of these designated clean water points throughout Japan.

Some other sights nearby are the river.

The narrow streets with mountains in the background make a stroll through downtown a great way to spend and afternoon.

I like the mountains behind street.

I took a short bike ride through a long, creepy tunnel and left the town. The views were gorgeous.

There's a nice park nearby for Kazu to climb in. That's my friend, Matt next to me on the bench.

Here is a view from the city center.

Over Noriko's shoulder is a nice hike along one of the rivers that run through town.