Day 7 Gifu Homestay, WTRD 38 of 49, October 11, 2017

Our Hosts - Two not pictured

Saved the Best for Last

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 a pretzel on the floor.

At 10:30 we drove to the lovely home of the Noriko and Osamu Kurokawa 

Entrance Hall Atrium

for a day of cultural immersion with help of Noriko’s friends Masako, - Ikebana,  Umiko - Kimono, and Massyo - After dinner Hula.  

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.  

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 drinking 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.  Then we practiced a few character and finally wrote our names in Katakana.  

After cleaning up our work area, our hosts filled the dinning table with a variety of Japanese food for a farewell dinner.  

A special treat was a Hula performance by Masayo who has studied Hawaiian dance.  

We all enjoyed an evening of conversation and singing and then had to say goodbye to all of our new friends.

All is Well With the Worrall Travel Rs with Friends

Day 6 Gifu Homestay, WTRD 37 October 10, 2017

Takayama Fall Festival

This morning we awoke at 5:30 and left our hosts’ home after just a quick cup of coffee at 6:20.  We caught the 6:44 train to Gifu, and boarded a charter bus at 8:00 pm with all of the Sacramento Ambassadors, their hosts and many day hosts.  Our homestay hosts provided breakfast in a bag with egg, juice, dumpling, breakfast bar, and a banana to eat on the bus which we did around 8:30.  

We also received bottle water and a bag full of snacks for our bus ride.  One hour later and about 20 miles from Takayama, the bus stopped in a commercial rest area where we could use the toilets and by a snack if we wished.  But lunch was also passed out to us at 9:45 and we were encouraged to eat it before we reach Takayama.  It was two meals and snacks within 2 hours!  No one can ever say we didn't get enough food on this journey.

The women’s restroom was a modern, clean, and a busy place, but traffic in and out moved efficiently, perhaps because each of the numerous stalls were mapped on an electronic board that showed whether the stall was busy or free and visitors did not have to walk around looking for a free toilet.  Great concept.

Our hosts, Friendship Force of Gifu indicated that there would be crowds of people at the festival. We are 35 Friends traveling together were divided into smaller groups to more adeptly move through crowded streets.   Kiyoko Watanabe was our leader and Toshiko and Fumio, the round up leaders.  Each leader has a flag and a route to follow.  The roundup volunteers tried to keep us from straggling to far from the group. I wore a bright pink shirt, so that I stand out in a crowd, and if I got lost, at least I could be found.

After having a group photograph taken, 

our group's first stop for the day was a post box along the route we were taking.  We knew there was a geocache placed nearby.  Russ quickly found the geocache along our walking route under the post box.  We shared and explained the experience to  our Japanese leaders and our Sacramento Ambassadors in our small group.

After that we, leisurely walked around, visiting the morning market, looking in shops, stopping for coffee or tea.

The day was warm and sunny and the streets were alive with activity, markets, and open shops.

One of the main attractions of the harvest festival is displaying the beautifully decorated  yatai, portable Shinto shrines from regional areas.  The main procession was yesterday when the yatai paraded through town.  Today the yatai were stationery by the Sakurayam Kikkokan Temple.

We also enjoyed shopping and people or dog watching.

A unique and intricate marionette show was the final event of the festival.  The puppeteers are hidden inside the yatai pulling strings and poles.

The day progressed far too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to leave.  At 3:30 we boarded our bus for the trip home. The driver and our hosts passed out coffee and tea and even more snacks before we got under way.  

As we rolled down the mountain road video screens dropped down from the ceiling 

and bingo cards were passed out and all enjoyed several bingo games with prizes to help pass the time in the bus. 

Everyone had an enjoyable day!  Thank you Gifu Club for such a great day to visit Takayama.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's