Friendship Force of Sacramento: Gifu

Outbound to Gufu + Tokyo Japan, Day 9 of 19, October 12, 2017

Gifu Farewell, Off on a Bus Tour

Farewell Gifu, start Kyoto/Nara tour. Depart by bus for Shirakawago and Kanazawa. Din on our own.
Thursday October 12 Farewell to our hosts!

Group 1:

By: Pat G and Johanna B

Saying goodbye is always an emotional time in Friendship Force. Our bus was waiting for us at 9 am and an English speaking guide provided by Japan Travel Bureau to help us explore Kanazawa. But first we had to hug, say thank you, cry, and repeat it over and over again. In fact as I am writing this I have tears in my eyes😢. I truly never thought I would make it to Japan let alone have the experience of staying in a Japanese home and living their life for a week.

Before we arrived at the 🚌 we took the children to preschool. Mai, our 5 years old , went into her preschool crying, telling her teacher she was crying because Jo and Pat were leaving!

Our bus left and headed to Shirakawa-go Village, a designated UNESCO site as of 1995.

This is a village of large A-frame homes with steeped peaked thatched roofs. The roofs last 50-100 years. The homes themselves last 250 years.

The income from this village was generated from the production of silk worms to silk. This village was never bombed during WWII because it did not have major industry, just the silk worm industry .

We drove through multiple tunnels on our way through mountainous regions to this village, including one tunnel that was 6 miles in total length!

After lunch, a view of the entire village from above,

we headed to Kanazawa, close to the Sea of Japan. Hotel is the Holiday Inn, lovely accommodations and we are headed to dinner.

**********

Group 2:

By Roz W.

Goodbye to our Hosts and Japanese Home

Today is sad for us as we say goodbye to our wonderful new friends, Kiyoko-san and Hiro-san. They have both been hospitable, gracious, and have taken excellent care of us. We are not alone in our appreciation of the unique, and well planned, experience that the Friendship Force Gifu Club has provided for us as a group and as individuals in their homes.

Kiyoko-san and Hiro-san have shared their home, prepared meals for us, helped us with the laundry, laughed with us, answered numerous questions for us, played games with us; and today they were the first friends with whom we shared the joyful news we received of our fourth grandchild being born!

We are simultaneously happy and sad. Happy, happy for news that all is well with mommy and baby. Sad, sad, to say goodbye to our friends here in Gifu.

Happy, happy that our Gifu friends will be coming to Sacramento next fall. Anxious, anxious to return home to be with family and welcome our newest family member and hug all of the rest, but that will have to wait until we return home in 12 days.

Today, we are off again with our Sacramento journey group in a chartered tour bus to Kanazawa, via Shirakawa-go, UNESCO World Heritage Site of a Traditional Village, Shirakawa-go

Two Friendship Force leaders from the Gifu club are accompanying our group. We have a big bus in which we are all luxuriously spread out and have an English speaking tour guide, Miwa-sun.

It is drippy, misty today as we begin to climb the mountains. We are a little over 3,000 feet elevation in the valley of Shirakawa-go. The mountains continue climb upward. Several meters of snow carpet the village every year.

Today there is no snow and the trees are displaying their fall colors.

We arrived around 11:45, and spent a couple of hours wandering through the picturesque village and having lunch at a local restaurant. Enjoy the photos below:

In Friendship and Peace

Outbound to Gufu + Tokyo Japan, Day 8 of 19, October 11, 2017 Judy M, Helen F, Roz W

Go with the Flow, Visit to Elementary School, Japanese Culture, Farewell Dinners

Group 1: AM: visit elementary school, lunch at school. PM: sightseeing in Gifu

By: Judy M
I was looking forward to visiting the elementary school on our schedule and contributing to our blog, but our host had other plans when he and a friend picked up Kathy and me in Takayama. They took us off on a scenic mountain tour. So we went with the flow.

We spent the night in a small hotel called U - Me near a ski resort somewhere in the mountains.

The exuberant owner instructed us on using the Japanese bath & soaking tub we had heard so much about before. Then downstairs to a multi-course dinner.

There was another multi-course breakfast the following morning, but I was growing concerned about getting back to the elementary school tour. It was looking like we would still be going with the flow.

We waved goodbye to the owner and drove off on more scenic tour. We enjoyed a stop in Hida where their museum displayed floats similar to the ones in the parade in Takayama. They showed a 3-D movie.

As we wandered the streets, we saw a lot of Koi.

We accidentally came upon a tour group entering a sake factory and somehow managed to attach our foursome to it.

Overall we enjoyed seeing the villages and beautiful countryside, and had a lovely dinner out (our treat) when we got back, but I missed the elementary school visit.

I hope someone else who went on the elementary school tour will share.

**********

Group 1 - Visit to elementary school

By: Helen F

We were invited to visit the Souden Elementary School, a real treat. Four of us went to each classroom.

In the sixth grade classroom, after singing a welcome song, the children invited Helen, Donna, Barbara, and Nancy to sit with them.

Each child introduced himself in English and told us one thing about himself, such as “I play soccer” or “I like mathematics.” They showed us their textbooks and then got out origami papers and began to instruct us, step by step, in making origami creations.

Lunch was the most interesting demonstration of how the children learn to serve and clean up. Each classroom received pots of rice, vegetables, and fish, milk cartons, and little packages of soy nuts, and the children whose turn it was to serve put on white gowns, face masks, and rubber gloves and served each plate.

Each child has his own placemat, cup, chopsticks, and toothbrush brought from home. We ate with the children, and for most of us it was more food than we could eat.

Before they can go out to recess, each of them brushes their teeth. The boys played a game of Rock, Scissors, Paper to determine who would wash the dishes. Then the children cleaned up everything and carried the pots and utensils back to the kitchen.

Two of the sixth grade boys took us on a tour of the school, showing us the computer room, art room, etc. Helen was most impressed when one of the sixth grade boys stopped to explain the periodic table of the elements ― in English!

After the school, we went to the Great Buddha Hall of Shobo-Ji Temple, a wooden structure 45 feet high, built in late 19th century. Around the Buddha are maybe 60 or more carved statues of the elders.

In the evening, ambassadors took their hosts to dinner. Helen and Donna took Kyoko to Bronco Billy’s, a western steak place.

**********

Group 2: Japanese Cultural Day and Farewell Dinner

By: Roz W

Our Home Hosts - Two not pictured

Today was our last full day with our Gifu hosts. We had a great day all day with our new friends. We are now family and it is with both joy and sadness that we are in our last day.

After breakfast we had a mahjong lesson from our host Hiro-san in his tea room. The “low” table in the tea room had a foot well with a foot warmer in the floor so we did not have to sit like pretzels on the floor.

At 10:30 am we drove to the lovely home of the Noriko and Osamu Kurokawa for a day of cultural immersion with help of Noriko’s friends Masako, - Ikebana, Umiko - Kimono, and Massyo - After dinner Hula.

Entrance Hall Atrium

A table full of cut flowers and greenery was laid out on the dinning room table. Masako taught us first lesson of Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arranging. We were all guided through the process of creating our own arrangements.

Andy has a knack for arranging learned from his mom.

We are pleased with our creations, skillfully guided by our teachers.

Up next was traditional Japanese dress. Umiko directed the process of dressing in a Kimono. It was quite involved and required a half hour and three assistants to dress Roz.

For the men the process was a little faster or perhaps it just seemed shorter as they were in fine spirits as they had been drinking something?? while the women were being dressed. Our Japanese Hosts were busily preparing a beautiful lunch.

Group 2 Homestay Hosts

After lunch we returned to “class” to practice calligraphy. We were each given a traditional brush and black ink and instructed on brush stroke techniques. Not as easy as our hosts made it look! We practiced a few characters and finally wrote our names in Katakana.