#joetsu

Last weekend I went birdwatching for the first time in Matsunoyama, about an hour from #joetsu in the city of #tokamachi. Cold rain was unexpected but our group of nine didn’t let it bother us. More than bird watching, it was bird *listening* as many species were heard and not seen. These birders can hear a fragment of a chirp and tell you exactly what creature made it. Where I see a grey blob darting across the sky, they say, “red headed finch!” Great to see the beginnings is spring when it is further along down where we live. The sprouts you see next to the snow are called “Fuki-no-toh” and is a tempura treat…#joetsu #visitjoetsu #springvegetables #tokamachi #matsunoyama #springinjapan #birds #birdwatching (at 十日町市立里山科学館 越後松之山「森の学校」キョロロ)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9hAHuDCmX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cbs1vjqrqdp

Had a chance last week to go to the farthest reaches of Joetsu while researching for a summer camp spot. Shobu Kougen (Iris Heights) is up where the snow remains in Oshima Ward.
Another undiscovered (by me) Resort area in Joetsu. The 3-4 gentlemen who were at the lodge clearing the roads and preparing for the Golden Week holidays were friendly and inviting as the reminisced about the boom days when live music was played on the outdoor stage and people sang around the campfire….#joetsu #visitjoetsu #Oshima #shoubukougen #springinjapan #springsnow
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5tQbTDRYh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17v2eitgendv4

I was back in Shozenji for Easter egg hunting and decorating on a beautiful Japanese spring day. The statue is of Kinjiro Ninomiya, a boy who studied every waking moment, even as he walked to school. His statue is usually somewhere on most elementary school grounds. The little cherry blossom tree is now a teenager blooming brightly, just like son Yuto whose birth was commemorated with the tree’s planting 14 years ago.I also loved the ornaments sewn to the blowing flag commemorating a spring Shinto festival at the shrine. #joetsu #visit Joetsu #shozenji #easter #springinjapan (at Npo法人　食の工房ネットワーク)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwmTglHD9hK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tjc96rbiu86d

#joetsu (at 雁木通りプラザ)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv6WgdSDlr9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=samksmetlui2

Joetsu-Myoko Station is likely to be the first place you see when you arrive in town. Opened exactly 4 years ago on March 14, 2015, it is a big change to the transportation infrastructure. Now we are a mere 2 hours from Tokyo, and Osaka and the Kansai region is closer than ever. Son Yuto had a chance to ride the Shinkansen bullet train to Osaka earlier this week on the 8th grade school trip.
On the day I visited, the sky was clear, the station uncrowded and friendly, and there were even some high school rockers offering live entertainment. Welcome to Joetsu!
#visitjoetsu #joetsu #joetsumyoko #shinkansen #highschoolrock #welcome #welcomehome (at 北陸新幹線 上越妙高駅)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvBEllAjvmT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zcz7m6t8oo93

There’s usually something going on in town if you can change out of your pajamas and pull yourself away from Netflix. “Furosatto” is a group of shops and restaurants just behind the Jōetsu Myoko Station all housed in remodeled freight containers. Last weekend there was a small festival there featuring a “Toki” character, a bird once nearly extinct and now making a comeback on the neighboring island of Sado. I also ran into some friends selling bakery goods, fried chicken and beer. So nice to enjoy friends and food and warm sun on the weekend! #joetsu #visitjoetsu #beergarden #furosatto #friends #localfestival #toki (at 上越妙高駅)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu_AE_Yj2pP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h7ji749pwnmz

Well right when we thought spring had sprung, the weather in Joetsu retuned to winter-❄️ like, cold rain and wind and sleet and snow. It made me want to get out in the spring sunshine, enjoying the outdoors.
Today I am sharing photos from the Shin-Etsu Trail, which I have explored a bit in seasons past. The entire trail runs some 80 or so kilometers (50 miles) along the border of Niigata and neighboring Nagano prefecture. The trail runs along the ridge of the Sekida Range, at an elevation of about 1000 meters (3280 feet) through the Itakura, Oshima, Kiyosato Yasuzuka areas of Joetsu City. The trail, which has been used both for war and trade, is lined with the cooling beech trees you see here and is a popular trek from spring through fall.
Now come on spring!
#joetsu #visitjoetsu #spring #shinetsutrail #hikinginjapan #mountaintrail #enjoynature (at Joetsu-shi, Niigata, Japan)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu86bO9DzAa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4j4ltg1c9k22

Do you know about the “Made in Joetsu” label?
More than 100 manufactured goods and products have been certified with the “Made in Joetsu” brand, from underwater speakers and ground covering systems to the Strawberry vinegar and spicy miso paste pictured here. These products enjoy some city sponsored subsidies as well as cross promotion support as part of the city’s local revitalization efforts. Although I haven’t tried ordering from abroad, there is also an online sales site (in Japanese): https://www.joetsu-tokusan.jp/madeinjoetsu/.
#visitjoetsu #joetsu #madeinjoetsu #miso #strawberryvinegar #localfoods #revitalization (at Joetsu-shi, Niigata, Japan)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu26LMBj-fv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1w7wo4sp97tux

Strawberry picking! I met Mr Takahashi, a young entrepreneur, a few years ago when we first visited his strawberry farm about 5 years ago with #freeschoolican. WE tried to make it a springtime event, but the slots for all-you-can-eat strawberry picking usually sell out by February (!) in addition to the all-you-can-eat strawberries , of course he has some plants specially for local restaurants as well as for supermarkets. This time he showed me strawberry honey (which I had on French toast this morning, dried strawberries with tea, and even a strawberry vinegar which he got registered as a “Made in Joetsu “ official product. Perfect for salad dressing. You might not think of strawberries as especially Japanese, but the berries at “Ichigo no Hanakotoba” are worth the trip to Ogata if you’re in Joetsu. #visitjoetsu #joetsu #strawberry #ichigogari #madeinjoetsu #strawberrylover #strawberrytea #strawberryvinegar (at 苺の花ことば)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu0vKBnjUUW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11y98ciinyymk

Happy Doll Festival Day!
March 3rd is the day for Hina Matsuri, or “doll festival.” It is traditionally a day to celebrate and pray/wish for the health and happiness of girls in the family. The dolls displayed here are at the ground floor of Asutopia Joetsu, a large building of apartments or ”condominiums” as they are called here. Upstairs is the Musee’ Yuki Komachi, which is a community center of sorts, a study area with rooms to rent for your group meeting or exhibition. I enjoyed the selection of books by local authors, but really liked the stained glass at the coffee bar and beautiful view of Joetsu on a spring day! Happy Doll Festival Day!#visitjoetsu #joetsu #hinamatsuri #asutopia #spring #musee #yuki #komachi (at あすとぴあ高田)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BujDhJBDDKC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ryxnf8p6grkb

Yesterday we visited the museum build on the birthplace of one of Joetsu ‘s favorite sons, Hisoka Maejima. At the age of 8months, his father passed away, and he became an orphan, and was eventually adopted by the Maejima family. He loved nothing more than to study, and went to Tokyo to learn about The Netherlands (one of the first countries to have trade relations with Japan) as well as medicine and English. He was a”Westernizer” when that was still rare. He is known as the “father of the Japanese postal system” and was also a railroad man (building the railway from Joetsu to Niigata city), a newspaper man (founding what is now the Yomiuri Shimbun) and also an original founder of Waseda University.
The Memorial Hall in his name features (thankfully) an audio explanation of his life and letters and awards from his past. And lots of postage stamps!
I include here pictures of a statue of Maejima, some of his “Inkan” (personal seals), and 3 “shakuhachi” bamboo flutes that he was proficient in. As a side note, Maejima is respected by learners of Japanese because he once campaigned for the end of kanji (Chinese characters) in favor of the phonetic hiragana and katakana. Fortunately or unfortunately, a writing system using all three scripts is now the standard.
I include the Wikipedia link here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maejima_Hisoka.
#joetsu #maejimahisoka #localhistory #japanpost #waseda #stamps (at 前島記念館)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuaE5JHDR2G/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hveezv5qvu24

You did it again, Joetsu. Just when I thought we had run out of interesting places, you reveal another historical treasure, just around the corner. Kubiki Rail Park houses eight narrow-gage train cars, shipped from Germany more than 100 years ago. Since 1914, these diesel and steam locomotives carried rice as well as people from the rice fields of Uragawara through ten stations to the sea at Kuroi. Both of these towns are now part of Joetsu City, which speaks for the area of the city.
When I arrived at dusk this evening, the “rail park” was closed, but a notice on the wall directed me to Mr. Nishiyama, caretaker and head of the “Preserving Treasures of Kubiki” NPO.
Mr. Nishiyama rushed right over to open the museum and give me a bit of a history lesson. When operations ceased in 1971, a locomotive enthusiast preserved the train cars in a tunnel in Kobe. In 2004 the cars were discovered and donated to the Rail Park in Kubiki. Transporting the rail cars and locomotives across the country was apparently quite an undertaking. These days, the train cars and locomotives have been restored to their original appearance, and actually run on tracks around the park once a month starting in spring. All this was about a 2 minute car drive from where my son plays soccer. Thank you Mr. Nishiyama, thank you Joetsu! #visitjoetsu #joetsu #train #locomotive #kubiki #kubikirailpark #localhistory (at くびきのお宝のこす会)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuVz5aUjsnk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=90jsckq3tf6q

Winter ❄️ Wonderland in Joetsu! We’ve had a pretty mild winter but usually mid-February is the deepest, darkest time of the season. Last night, @chiemi_tako , @eli_stratton , @yakisoba18 and I set off at about 5:00 to check out the “Corridor of Lights” taking place in the farthest, snowiest districts in the city. We caught a shuttle bus in Oshima which took us to the opening ceremonies, deep in the mountains. Got to see my old friends from the Kenshin Welcoming troupe, costumed ed in their wartime attire. Shook hands with the mayor. Are some tonjiru (pork & vegi soup) and yakitori.
Then we were back on the shuttle bus to the Oshima train station, with its towering mountain of candles, and next to the “hometown of fireflies” where that was literally spelled out in candles. We all enjoyed hot udon and soba noodles in the giant igloo. By the time we got back to our car, we were too late for the closing fireworks at Cupid Valley Ski Resort, so we raced through another candle-lit road to arrive at another beautifully illuminated scene with background music at a former elementary school, just when they started giving out the remaining yakisoba noodles. There were some 40 sites throughout the city last night, all organized by local residents. That means we’ve still got about 35 more places to check out next snow season.#VisitJoetsu #joetsu #oshima #灯の回廊 #candles #安塚 #大島区 #snowcandles (at Joetsu-shi, Niigata, Japan)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuQIeh_D62c/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=yr8aczymn2zm

This is a candy store that is more than twice as old as the US. “Awa Ame” is made from a grain (awa)and sweetens naturally. Mr. Takahashi is the 14th generation proprietor of this shop once frequented by samurai and written up in classic literature. Mr. Takahashi has his shop dressed up for Hina Matsuri (doll festival) which is celebrated on March 3rd. #ame #takada #traditionalSweets #joetsu #japanesecandy #history (at 高橋孫左衛門商店)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuL0Jg8D3SQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kn8r811ceqc

Made it both yesterday and today for the Lerch Festival!
Last night there were fireworks and a lantern launch. Today I went back for a demonstration of the one-pole skiing that Major Lerch taught, high school rockers, and plenty of food served up by friends and acquaintances!
I even bought myself a Lerch “hat,” to keep my ears warm.
Thank you #lerch , thank you Major Lerch, thank you Joetsu!#joetsu #lerch #レルヒさん #skihistory #スキー発祥の地 #金谷山 (at 金谷山)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtahXpfDbEg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1s8fhfzxa0zlj

Finally we got just what we want! Just what we need!
The Joetsu Snow Shuttle runs from the ski slopes in Myoko/Akakura right down to our town. Ride and get on and off all day for ¥1000. Next time the weather on the mountain gets lousy or you’d just like a break to see our little town. Perfect for the middle of your ski-stay.#joetsu #snowtown #shuttlebus #myoko #akakura #japanexperience
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtS3gu9n6FZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zc0zu6v4d7ta

The other day I posted about the Goze Museum which is curated by Mr. Zenji Ogawa. His home and kimono shop are 3 doors from the museum, and a place worth visiting for the Machiya (townhouse)architecture as well as for the small Japanese trinkets (“Komono”) which he and his wife have on sale and on display in their beautiful home. Don’t think you’ll have to buy an entire kimono when you visit his store. Just last week some Australian visitors came down from the ski slopes to wander around Joetsu. When they arrived at Mr O’Hara’s shop, they were treated to a “trying on” of kimono, a bit of a cultural experience and photos to show friends. The small trinkets also make wonderful and appreciated gifts for those at home. Mr. Ogawa is a bit of a local historian, and is brushing up his English. Why don’t you stop by for a chat? #joetsu #takada #machiya #japaneseculture #kimono (at きものの小川)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtLx1Ljjtj7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=z2aeevqcx2o4

Have you ever heard of “Goze?”(“go-zay“)
Long before tv or even before radio was common, this performers would travel through town and give singing performances accompanied by the 3-string shamisen. In those days, if a little girl was blind, she had basically 2 career options: to be a masseuse or to be a goze singer.
In Joetsu, groups of goze lived together in a house run by a strict house mother, who trained the women and took care of finances. In some cases, she took on the young girls and raised them for this kind of performing, traveling life. On the road, the goze would sing for rice and lodging. The last living goze house mother in Japan, Sugimoto Kikue, was proclaimed a living cultural artifact in 1970 before she passed away in 1989.
When you visit Joetsu, make sure to visit the Goze Museum, set in a traditional “Machiya”(literally “townhouse”) which is carefully curated by Mr. Ogawa, who is also preserving Japanese culture through the kimono store he runs in a similar traditional structure three doors away. Enjoy the art, dioramas, video and recorded music from this special time in Joetsu history. #joetsu #goze #takada #machiya #art #japan #japanesehistory #shamisen (at きものの小川)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtGRh6AjpWX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1smucc4d2rk7k

Is “Futsal” a thing outside of Japan?
I got a chance to watch my son play this “mini soccer” game at Region Plaza Joetsu, the big multi-sport venue in town. Futsal is 5 on 5 soccer played on a basketball court with soccer goals at the end. Much faster and trickier? Than field soccer.
Region Plaza has a battery of basketball courts, a pool and a skating rink, conveniently attached to the science museum. There is also a big stage for dance or other performances. This is where you come to watch your kid play sports, take swimming lessons or the English teacher assistant musical. I’ve also seen local pro basketball and a pro sumo exhibition here. Definitely one of the “hubs” of our town! #joetsu #regionplaza #sportscenters #futsal (at リージョンプラザ上越)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs5VBtcj-AB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kxn9rou5liem

Happy New Year!
This is one of the last places we visited with Freeschool #I CAN.
I had visited Eshini Hall before, and @toddstafford has visited here before, but the Eshin no Sato Memorial Hall was a nice place to get a cup of coffee while enjoying a beautiful view.
The cut-outs on display were created by an eighty year old artist and represent the 12 animal zodiac signs of each year. 2019 is the year of the boar.
Eshin, the Buddhist nun and wife of Shinran, has some writings and letters displayed here, but photos are not allowed. There are meeting rooms and a large multi purpose room also for rent. #joetsu #itakura #enishi #coffee #shinran
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOV0ENnHhf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=59s3azk5iscj

My last stop in Joetsu this year was quite “natsukashii” (nostalgic) for me.
Attached to Region Plaza, the regional sports center, is the science museum, where I have spent many an hour with I CAN kids, my kids, and friends.
Check out the animatronic dinosaur! Hands-on exhibits about the human body and what it means to be human. A new section was dedicated to liquid natural gas and energy, probably due to the relatively new lng power plant nearby. The park outside is closed for winter, but crazy bikes and”scientific” jungle gyms have always been a hit!
#joetsu #science #museum #regionplaza
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsBRc4LHrqw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uz9woa7uty1m

In keeping with the sake (“nihon-shu”) theme, I stopped by Yoshikawa Touji no Sato (“master-brewer’s home”) before leaving town. The Touji was a regional master brewer who traveled to breweries in the area to instruct and help with the making of the sake. In Yoshikawa, this is the name of the rest stop along the local thoroughfare. While most of the rest stop had closed for winter, the brewery hall was open, featuring several local brews as well as other products like the traditional candy pictured here. The young local guy in charge of the shop that day happily explained the nuances of what a master brewer actually does. Yoshikawa district was also once home to one of the only “sake brewing” high schools in the country, which eventually stopped its program in 2003. Across the street from the rest stop, the onsen (hot springs) “”Yuttari no Sato” is a good place to soak your body as you soak up local culture.#joetsu #sake #touji #yoshikawa #reststop
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br_EqspnXfa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1eu5wx9les9r8

Merry Christmas everyone!
In keeping with the sake theme of last week, I’m posting new photos from another fine brewery in Joetsu. Musashino Brewery has a 100+ year history, now under new ownership. A bit of local history can be seen in the Rakusui-tei “clubhouse” where the founder used to drink sake and discuss brewing techniques with Kinichiro Sakaguchi, the famed microbiologist (and sometime poet).
The new owners are reviving some of the old brands of this classic brewer. Tours available!
#sake #musashino #history #takada #joetsu
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br01gBNjvQx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=d5t4by5u2tfa

It’s alive!
Last minute Christmas shopping and mini brewery tour at Takeda Shuzo! My friend Mr. Takeda is in the busiest part of the brewing season. This bubbling brew here is soon to be squeezed and filtered into and finally bottled.
The motto of our neighborhood sake brewer is “small brewery, big dreams.“ Small tours are available!
The “Katafune” sake made here is winning awards in London and Is served at some of the finest restaurants in San Francisco. AND those on my Christmas list are gonna get some!
#sake #nihonshu #takedashuzo #ogata #joetsu
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brsr-G_HZ7R/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1htfocl08ob8s

Welcome！

It’s been a few years since I visited the Joetsu Archaeological Center at the foot of the Kasugayama Castle site.
Look who was my personal tour guide!
Local medieval war hero Uesugi Kenshin, himself.
Tables full of ancient pottery artifacts, even today still being unearthed, is the archeological science that takes place here. I’ve carved out and sanded an ancient medalist replica out of sandstone here with I CAN kids more than a few times. But since the last time I was here, the curators have upped the entertainment with the Omotenashi Butai (welcoming brigade?) from Kenshin’s era, and more user-friendly exhibits, including a 3-D virtual reality experience of the Battle of Kawanakajima (as enacted up the street during the highlight of the Kenshin Festival in August).
So happy that the friendly hosts were there to give me a personal tour! #joetsu #kenshin #kasugayama #maizo #bunka #omotenashi
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brfb13wjr9y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l9rlfltt91py

The historic soba (buckwheat) noodle shop as well as my favorite gelato place were closed on Tuesday. Undaunted, I went in search of a local hero who I was just recently introduced to by @yamazakimieko. What’s the connection between this part of snowy Joetsu and the tropical seas of Okinawa?
In fact, one of the residents from here set off to find his fortune…in black pearls…on the tiny island of Miyakojima, far from the main island of Okinawa, closer in fact to Taiwan.
What he found there was a devistating, suicide-inducing TAX system enforced by the local leaders of the island. The burden was so great—women in particular spend days in near-slavery in dark warehouses weaving garments to be used as payment, the men often opted to lop off an arm to get some relief from the enforced tool.
This Joetsu hero, Nakamura Juusaku, took it upon himself to work to reform the draconian “nintouzei” tax system that he accidentally discovered.
At the corner museum I found, there were photos of Juusaku and his brother and others who helped reform the system, as well as more recent photos of children from Itakura and Miyakojima who continue an exchange program to this day. Though revered almost as a god on the island of Miyakojima, he was hardly known in his hometown. Until his death in 1943, he never told anyone back home about what he had accomplished.
#joetsu #juusaku #itakura #localhistory #friendship
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqzDWduDzDH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6hcy6qvyjsaq

last weekend I had a chance to visit Naoetsu with some high schoolers visiting Japan from Germany and the U.S. through #rotary. We had a lunch and some birthday cake to celebrate @johnskendzel ’s birthday and then visited the aquarium. The visitors from Gunma prefecture had to get back on the bus to return to their host families, but John and I made a brief stop at Naoetsu Peace Memorial Park. As some may know, Naoetsu was the site of a POW camp during WWII. You can see the hideous conditions depicted in the movie #unbrokenmovie many years later, with help from the local government and the citizens of Joetsu, the site was turned into this Peace Memorial Park in 1995. The statues are of #peace and #friendship.#joetsu #peacememorialpark (at 平和記念公園)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqmNYbJjQvC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18npbhoep0gqj