Lake Yogo with deep snow.

Shiga and the Japan Sea Coast (especially Niigata Prefecture) got a heavy dump of snow during Feb. 2 and 3, 2012. Nagahama and Imazu (Takashima) in northern Shiga have gotten over 70 cm of snow. On Feb. 3, some 160 troops from the Ground Self-Defense Forces were dispatched to Imazu to help remove snow. The last time they dispatched military personnel for snow removal was 31 years ago in Jan. 1981.

On the morning of Feb. 3, people in central Nagahama, such as in Kurokabe Square, were busy shoveling snow. Maibara and Hikone also got a good amount of snow. Some 35 kindergartens and elementary and junior high schools in Nagahama and Maibara canceled classes on Feb. 3 due to hazardous roads. Meanwhile, 105 schools either delayed the start of classes or canceled afternoon classes.

Snowy and icy roads are also causing car accidents. During Feb. 2-3, about 300 accidents occurred mainly due to road slippage. Twenty-two people were injured. Higashi-Omi, Hikone, and Omi-Hachiman saw the most car accidents with 76, 63, and 50 accidents respectively.

People are also getting injured while shoveling snow off their rooftops or falling into roadside gutters hidden by the snow. Some agricultural greenhouses also collapsed under the snow, even as south as Kora town.

The snowfall’s peak is passing, but shinkansen trains are being delayed between Nagoya and Kyoto on Feb. 4.

Take extra precautions when traveling to or in Shiga. Be very careful when walking on icy surfaces. Beware of cars that cannot stop due to road slippage. And don’t forget about the Hong Kong flu that’s going around. A very high number of cases have been reported in neighboring Gifu, so take precautions especially for the kids and elderly. Stay safe this winter.

Ogre dancers at Taga Taisha Setsubun. Click image to see more photos.

February 3 is the Setsubun Festival at many temples and shrines in Japan. It marks the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. They yell, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (鬼は外! 福は内!) while they throw beans at ogre to eliminate the evil (oni) of the previous year and bring in good fortune (fuku).

In Shiga Prefecture, the most impressive Setsubun festival is held at Taga Taisha Shrine in Taga town. They have impressive ogre (called oni in Japanese) dancers from Shimane Prefecture to act as the demons to chase away during the festival. The bean-throwing is called mame-maki. They will hold two mame-maki sessions on Feb. 3, at 11 am and 2 pm. Expect a large crowd.

It starts with a ceremony in the shrine’s worship hall. Then a dramatic performance by the ogre on stage where they are chased away by priests throwing beans at them. The main event is when over a hundred people born in the year of the dragon begin to throw soybeans and mochi to the crowd. The soybeans are thrown in little paper bags, so you can still pick them up and eat them even if they fall to the ground. But the mochi are hard as a rock, so watch out. The bean-throwing is fun, but potentially dangerous with beans or mochi hitting your face/head and people pushing you around. Taking pictures is pretty risky as well. One mochi even hit my camera lens. Fortunately, no damage. You should always look up and see where the mochi and beans are flying.

Taga Taisha is near Taga Taisha-mae Station on the Ohmi Railways Taga Line. Google Map here.

Mame-maki at Taga Taisha.

Taga Taisha Setsubun official Website: http://www.tagataisya.or.jp/info/setubun/index2.html
More photos: http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=727

Otsu Mayor-elect Naomi Koshi.

Otsu’s mayoral election was held on January 22, 2012 with Naomi Koshi (越 直美) defeating two-term (8 years) incumbent Mayor Makoto Mekata (目片信) by almost 10,000 votes.

The 36-year-old Koshi Naomi, a lawyer by trade, is Japan’s youngest woman mayor ever to be elected. She is Shiga’s first female mayor. And it is the first time in Japan to have a woman prefectural governor (Yukiko Kada) as well as a woman mayor of the prefectural capital. She is the third woman mayor of a prefectural capital (the other two are in Sendai and Yokohama). There are currently only 14 female city mayors in Japan.

Ms. Koshi ran as an independent, but was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party, and Taiwa-no-Kai (対話の会) which also backs Shiga Governor Yukiko Kada. The 70-year-old incumbent Mayor Mekata, also an independent, was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and numerous corporate organizations. It is amazing to see such a newcomer defeating a well-entrenched and experienced incumbent.

Ms. Koshi vowed to reform Otsu, especially social services such as childcare and elderly support,  tourism promotion, and financial reforms. She also supports foreign language education in schools. Her youth and symbol of change have appealed to voters who also have high expectations for her and the governor to work together. (The incumbent mayor was not on very good terms with the governor.)

Ms. Koshi received 51,735 votes, Mayor Mekata got 42,232 votes, and the third candidate Masako Higashi (東 昌子) won 22,712 votes. Some 44.15% of eligible voters went to the polls. This is 1.84% higher than the last election.

Governor Yukiko Kada, who congratulated Ms. Koshi at her campaign headquarters, commented that the citizens of Otsu wanted change and that having a woman in office brings the woman’s point of view which is rare in politics and business. She added that there will be a good synergy by having the city and prefecture working together for child care, elderly support, tourism, and other areas. Ms. Koshi does intend to work in tandem with the governor better than her predecessor did. She hopes that by changing Otsu, she can change Shiga, and then Japan. She’s young yet, and if she does well in Otsu, I think she could very well run for governor someday.

Mayor-elect Koshi Naomi was born on July 5, 1975. She grew up in Otsu and attended public schools including Zeze High School. She earned her undergraduate and graduate law degrees at Hokkaido University. In June 2009, she graduated from Harvard Law School in the U.S. This means she speaks English. (Now you know why I’m writing about her.) From 2002 to Nov. 2011, she practiced law for a Tokyo-based law firm and in New York. She specialized in corporate law. Her hobbies are swimming and yoga.
Official Website: http://www.koshinaomi.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/koshinaomi

Congratulations to her and I look forward to her policies on promoting tourism.

Official poster for the Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato Expo. Click image to see the pdf pamphlet in Japanese.

Riding on the coattails of last year’s NHK Taiga Drama Go and the Azai Sisters, the city of Nagahama is following up on their successful Go and Azai Sisters Expo by holding another feudal history expo this year called Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato-haku (長浜・戦国大河ふるさと博) from March 24 to Dec. 2, 2012.

It can be translated as Nagahama Warring States Hometown Expo. I’m told that as of this writing, they have no plans to provide any foreign language information for this expo (none for last year’s expo either). So I’ll voluntarily provide essential information in English. (My Go and Azai Sisters post (and Go Expo photos) was last year’s most popular Shiga News post receiving several hundred hits.)

Last year’s expo was limited to places in northern Shiga related to Go and the Azai sisters. But for this year’s expo, they are expanding the theme by including major sengoku (warring states) sites. The expo thus covers a larger area than last year, which means you might not be able to see all the expo sites in one day.

Like last year’s expo, Odani Castle is included as one of the expo sites and a shuttle bus will be provided to go up the mountain. A guide will be on hand to conduct tours (in Japanese only). There’s also Mt. Shizugatake (guide provided), Chikubushima island, a pavilion in Kinomoto, the Azai Folk History Museum, and a small pavilion in central Nagahama. First-time visitors should not miss Odani Castle, Mt. Shizugatake (splendid views of Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo), and Chikubushima (Lake Biwa’s most famous and historic island).

Sengoku history fans also should note that Nagahama also has the Ishida Mitsunari Birthplace and the Battle of Anegawa Site, both of which surprisingly are not included in the expo, but accessible by local bus routes. Nagahama Castle is not part of the expo either. It is readily accessible and probably doesn’t need the extra publicity.

Expo admission will be charged. As of this writing, it doesn’t look like they will have a passport-type pass (like last year) to all the expo sites. The sites have been grouped into three areas: Odani-Azai Area, Chikubushima-Nagahama Area, and Shizugatake-Kinomoto Area. Each attraction is charging its own admission. Admission to the pavilions is 300 yen, while going to Chikubushima will cost 2,980 yen for the round-trip boat ride from Nagahama Port plus 400 yen to enter the site. Mt. Shizugatake has a round-trip chair lift costing 760 yen (hiking up/down for free is also possible). There are discounts for junior high school and younger kids. Admission is free for infants younger than elementary school age.

A shuttle bus costing 500 yen will run to all the expo sites. However, the shuttle bus will not run during June 1 to July 22 (rainy season) and the entire month of September (typhoon season perhaps).

After the expo starts and I visit the expo this spring, I will update this page with more details and photos. Till then, make plans to visit Nagahama this year if you haven’t visited yet.

Omi-shonin merchant die-cut postcard issued in 2011.

If you’ve been to a post office in Shiga, you probably noticed those unique-shaped, die-cut postcards featuring one of Shiga’s symbols like the Shigaraki tanuki raccoon dog, Hikone Castle, and an Omi shonin merchant. The Japan Post Office has been issuing these charming postcards since 2009. One die-cut postcard per year has been issued for each prefecture. So each prefecture now has three die-cut postcards. Shiga’s three die-cut cards are shown here. In Japanese, they call it gotochi form cards (ご当地フォルムカード).

Each prefecture’s die-cut cards are sold only in that prefecture’s post offices. Each card costs 180 yen and requires a 120 yen stamp for domestic mail. Some cards have sold out, but they will be reissued soon.

If you are a postcard collector like me, you may wonder what the other die-cut postcards in other prefectures look like. Well, there is a Web site where you can see the postcard designs for each prefecture. Just click on a prefecture to see the three cards so far. You can then see the prefecture’s unique symbols and attractions: http://postacollect.com/gotochi/index.html

Map of Shiga pamphlet in English. Previous version on left, and latest one on right.

Did you know that the Biwako Visitors Bureau publishes a Map of Shiga in English? Most likely not, as it is never displayed on any tourist pamphlet rack. You have to ask for it. But not only that, it’s normally available only at the tourist info office at Otsu Station. It’s not even distributed to other tourist info offices in other cities/towns in Shiga. I asked them why, but got no straight answer.

The latest edition is A4 size (folds out to A1 size) instead of the compact size of the previous edition (left in above photo). It has all the train lines/stations so it can be useful for first-time visitors. Unfortunately, the English is not so good, and it has not been improved at all from the previous edition(s).

One side of the sheet has the map in English, and the reverse side has listings of sightseeing attractions and hotels. I think the reverse side should have more detailed maps of the major cities. But instead we see embarrassingly short introductions of a woefully inadequate list of attractions  (see photo below). Lake Biwa is mentioned here and there (on the cover even), but not explained anywhere as an attraction. Chikubushima and Omi-Maiko are not even mentioned. The map is slanted toward Otsu and there are cities/towns which are not even mentioned (such as Takashima) in the attractions. No festivals either.

It seems that they are trying to have the Map of Shiga double as Shiga’s tourist pamphlet in English. This obviously won’t work since there’s simply not enough space for Shiga’s many attractions. They need to make a separate foreign-language pamphlet introducing Shiga’s tourist spots and improve the map to show our National Treasures and other important things that they have neglected to emphasize.

But why am I telling you this? I should be telling this to Biwako Visitors Bureau. Well, that’s what I’m doing right now on their Facebook page in Japanese.

Sightseeing and hotel listings in the Map of Shiga English pamphlet. Click on the image to enlarge.

左が旧版、右が最新版の英文Map of Shiga。

社団法人びわこビジターズビューローが発行したMap of Shigaの英文地図のパンフレットを拝見しました。旧版と比べると英文が全然改善されてない。形だけが変わっていて中身がそのまま。

旧版のMap of Shigaのよくない英語をそのまま流用されている。むしろスペルミスや間違っている文法が増えている。Native speakerによるcheckがやっていない。

地図には近江八景と琵琶湖八景が強調しているけど、これらは観光の目玉にならない。残念ながら、広重が見た詩的な近江はもうありません。琵琶湖八景を当てにする観光客も少ないと思います。県庁の英文観光ページにも同じです：http://www.pref.shiga.jp/multilingual/english/about/attractions.html

地図（と県庁のHP）に強調して欲しいのはまず国宝。寺院と神社は勿論、高槻の国宝の観音さんもいかが？そして戦国時代の史跡。特に大河ドラマに登場した場所。広重が好きなら宿場町もハイライトしよう。あとは各市町の観光案内所(電話番も)、自転車が借りれる駅（載れる道も）、道の駅（物産センター含む）。なぜJTBやKinki Nippon Touristのofficeがあるけど自分の案内所と物産センターが載ってないのか？

地図の裏面(下の写真)は滋賀の観光スポットを簡単に紹介しているけど、とても物足りない。滋賀の魅力が十分に伝わってこないし、全市町の名所が載せていない。高島市、米原市、日野町などが全然載ってない。お祭りの紹介もゼロ。英語もずさん。”Biwako Hana Funsui”にある”ajutages”っていったい何？

そしてなんと琵琶湖も全然紹介してない。どういう湖とか、基本的な説明なし。近江舞子も竹生島も全く紹介なし。Biwako Visitors Bureauの名称にも地図の表紙にも「ビワコ」があるのに紹介してない。あんだけ「Biwako, Biwako, Biwako」ばかり言っているのに。

しかし、滋賀は琵琶湖だけじゃない。県民も「琵琶湖」より「滋賀」の名称が圧倒的に好んでいます。Shiga Lakestarsのプロバスケチームの名前も投票で決まったけど、Biwako Lakestarsは全くダメだった。琵琶湖は国立公園にもなっていないし、摩周湖や十和田湖のように「美しい湖」というイメージが全国的にありません。滋賀県すら聞いたことない外国人にBiwakoと言ってもピントこない。Ninja, samurai, National Treasuresの方がずっと通じやすい。

滋賀の総合的な観光案内パンフを作りたい場合、別紙にするべき。地図は地図だけにして裏面には主な市街の拡大地図が望ましい。

Map of ShigaはやはりBVBのHP/FBと同じ性質である。形だけで中身が不十分。企画と実行がよく考えていない。せっかく奇麗に印刷したのに、もったいない。

この他の指摘と意見は下記にまとまりました。今度の改訂版に参考になればと思います。

表紙

• Map of Shigaの名称をMap of Shiga Prefectureに。なぜかというと、信州の志賀高原とよく間違われる。
• Lake Biwa JapanをLake Biwa, Japanに。
• 相応しい滋賀の観光キャッチコピーがあったらいい。
• 滋賀は日本のどこにあるか分かるように日本の地図に滋賀がマークされた小さい地図もあるといい。

裏表紙

• “Access Map”の”Access”は和製英語です。正しい英語は英文ガイドブックなど参考してください。
• By Train, etc.の見出しですが、etc.は見出しに使わない。アクセスの説明も不十分。新幹線駅の利便性や京都からの電車乗車時間などもっと優しく説明しよう。
• Tourist SectionをTourist Information Officesに。県内にある全ての観光案内所を掲載してください。文字をもっと小さくしたら入ると思う。なぜ高島市が載っていないのか。あんなでっかい市の観光案内所の案内が何でない？
• 英文住所にある”City”や”Town”は不要。でもShigaが必要。
• コロン（：）の後に必ず一個のスペースを入れる。Tel: Address: など。

表面（地図）

• ローマ字やスペルミスが多数。よくチェックしてください。
• 県内と県外の部分が両方緑色となっているため、県境が見にくい。旧版の地図の方が見やすい（県外が白い）。市町の境も非常に見にくい。
• 強調している近江八景はローマ字で英語になっていない。Karasaki no Yauの意味は分かる訳ない。分からないものを載せても意味がない。
• サイクリングロードも色付きで表示するとより使い物になる。（この他の指摘は上記。）

裏面（下の写真を参考）

多数言い回しが悪い英語がある。たとえば：

• “Hikone Castle”にある”350,000 koku”と言ってもkokuの説明が必要。”Hikone Castle is considered”もおかし。2007年の400年祭（開催中）のこともまだ載っている。
• Enryakujiに”registered as a world inheritance”はWorld Heritage Site。
•  Sightseeing Guidance of Shiga PrefectureとMajor Tourist Sightsの違いが分かりません。同じことですよ。

その他

• 旧版の地図と比べるとA4版は不便。例えばサイクリングしているとき。
• 地図には観光スポット、ホテルなどの紹介は大津に片寄っている。湖北の方が湖が奇麗のにあまり強調されていない。大津に関しては大津市観光協会の英文パンフで十分。
• 英文地図や外国語パンフは県内の全ての観光案内所へ配布するべき。大津駅の観光案内所だけに置くことは不公平と不便。
• 観光案内所に外国語でEnglish map availableのような標識も置くか外国語パンフレットを誰でも見えるところに置く。

Map of Shigaの裏面。クリックすると拡大できます。

上記のアドバイスは別に素晴らしいアイデアではなく、ごく当たり前の常識事項です。僕はなぜここまで気にしているというと、滋賀へ訪れる外国人の友人にこんな英文パンフレットを上げると恥ずかしいからです。滋賀ってしっかりしていない印象がする。悪いイメージに繋がる。例えば、変な日本語の観光パンフレットを日本人の友人に上げたいと思いますか？

The paper article in The Daily Yomiuri is more impressive than the online version. Click to enlarge.

A short article about Lake Biwa titled, Japan’s blue pearl / Views of Lake Biwa is in today’s The Daily Yomiuri English newspaper (Jan. 15, 2012 issue). It was written by Christal Whelan in her monthly column called KANSAI CULTURESCAPES. She is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D) living in Kyoto.

She writes mainly about Biwa pearls which are ironically obscure now, but quite famous outside Shiga among pearl fans. During New Year’s, I met with Christal when she visited Nagahama and Chikubushima for the first time. She visited Shiga a few times to research this article and has seen many more places (such as Harie in Takashima) than she writes about. She told me that she enjoyed Shiga and would definitely come back and visit again.

Thanks to Christal and The Daily Yomiuri for the article.

Her article is online, but as of this writing, the five photos in the newspaper article are not included in the online article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/T120109001338.htm

Another Internet TV channel is called Konbanwa Shiga (Good Evening Shiga), a local TV news program broadcast in Shiga Prefecture by the Biwako Broadcasting Co. (BBC) on Thursdays from 8:55 pm to 9 pm. Also rebroadcast on Saturdays from 6:35 pm to 6:40 pm. The 5-min. program is in Portuguese hosted by a Brazilian who works at Shiga Prefecture’s International Affairs Office.

They also upload each edition to YouTube in multiple languages. They have a separate YouTube channel for each language besides Portuguese (click on the link to go to the respective channel): English, Tagalog, Chinese, and Spanish. I’ve embedded one of their vids below. It is about an American well integrated in Hino town working to preserve and improve the town’s traditional architecture and townscape.

The problem with both the shigakoho and Konbanwa Shiga channels is that they fail to provide a description of each video uploaded. So you don’t know what the video is about unless you start watching it. This makes it impossible for us to decide which video we would be interested in. But at least they are doing something to reach out to us. Even for a 5-min. program, translating and narrating all that in multiple languages is a major undertaking. Hope it continues.

Katsube Shrine Fire Festival. Click image to see more photos.

Katsube Shrine (勝部神社) and Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社) in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture will hold their annual Hi-matsuri fire festivals (火まつり) on the evening of Jan. 14, 2012. Saturday.

The twin fire festivals are related to each other and held at the same time. You can only see one of them, but I recommend Katsube Shrine’s fire festival because they burn more torches.

The festival starts with a Shinto ceremony at the shrine at 6 pm. Then they march around the neighborhood while beating a taiko drum. You can see the giant torches made of straw at the shrine. The climax is when they light the giant torches at 8:30 pm. These half naked men then dance around in front of the fire. The torches are doused with kerosene so they light up and burn out very quickly. It gets very hot so don’t go too close.

According to legend, a dragon was finally slain during the Kamakura Period, and Emperor Tsuchikado then recovered from his illness. When the dragon was burned, the body fell on Katsube Shrine while the head fell on Sumiyoshi Shrine. Unfortunately, you cannot see the festival at both shrines since they are held around the same time. Katsube Shrine’s fire festival is bigger with more torches, twelve of them. While Sumiyoshi Shrine’s fire festival is smaller with only six torches which represent the head of the slain dragon.

And remember, this is the year of the dragon, so the festival might be more special this year.

Both shrines are a short walk from JR Moriyama Station. Katsube Shrine is easy to find on the west side of the train station and Sumiyoshi Shrine is on the east side. Map here.

Giant torches at Sumiyoshi Shrine for the Fire Festival. Click on image to see more photos.

Go and Azai sisters goods at half price at Heiwado in Nagahama.

The year-long NHK Taiga Drama “Go” broadcast in 2011 ended along with the Go and Azai Sisters Expo (江・浅井三姉妹博覧会) held in Nagahama until Dec. 4, 2011.

When such an event ends, the value of and demand for related merchandise plummets. So I see that Heiwado in front of Nagahama Station has a corner selling Go and Azai sisters merchandise at a 50 percent discount. Yep, half price for Go, Chacha, and Hatsu dolls, note pads, pens, hand towels, mugs, key chains, stickers, etc., etc.

It’s a bargain, so if you’re a fan, good deals are to be had.

Go and Azai sisters dolls, large and small. also at half price.

Wishing everyone in Shiga a Happy New Year.

Praying for a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2012.

明けましておめでとうございます。

(Dragon photo was shot at Taga Taisha Shrine’s lantern festival in Aug.)

Taga Taisha on New Year's Day.

The Shiga Prefectural Police Department has estimated that 1.31 million people will pray at shrines and temples in Shiga during the first three days of 2012. This is more than New Year’s in 2011. Going to pray at a shrine or temple during New Year’s is called hatsumode (初詣).

Shiga’s most popular shrines during New Year’s and the estimated number of worshippers during the first three days of the 2012 have been announced as follows:

1. Taga Taisha Shrine (多賀大社) in Taga, next to Hikone, 470,000 worshippers
2. Nagahama Hachimangu Shrine (長浜八幡宮) in Nagahama, 150,000 worshippers
3. Omi Jingu Shrine (近江神宮) in Otsu, 140,000 worshippers
4. Tarobo Shrine (太郎坊宮) in Higashi-Omi, 120,000 worshippers
5. Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine (日吉大社) in western Otsu, 100,000 worshippers

As usual, Taga Taisha will see the lion’s share of worshippers. No doubt, the shrine’s auspicious name is a major draw. “Taga” means many felicitations. Perfect for new year’s prayers.

And on New Year’s Eve, Buddhist temples will be ringing in the new year at around midnight. At Hikone Castle, there is the Time-Keeping Bell or Jiho-sho (時報鐘) which the public can ring from 11:30 pm. The bell is on the way to the tenshu castle tower. The castle gate will be open from 11 pm.

日本語

Updated: Our group photo exhibition in Kyoto went very well. It was great meeting people and explaining about our pictures and work. Thank you to all who came to see us.

Photos of the exhibition here:
http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=833

Exhibition details:
I organized a group photo exhibition in Kyoto held on Nov. 16-20, 2011 at the Kyoto International Community House in Kyoto, near Keage Station (5 min. by Tozai Line subway from Yamashina Station). The exhibition room was open from noon to 7 pm (till 5:30 pm on the 20th). We had a gathering on Nov. 19 (Sat.) at 5 pm – 7 pm and on Nov. 20 (Sun.) at 4 pm – 5:30 pm when the public was invited to meet the artists. Free admission.

The theme was “Home Sweet Hometown.” Many of us foreigners in Japan have lived here for so long that Japan has become our second hometown. We love our hometowns in Japan so much that we often photograph it. We shall now share some images of our beloved hometown. I showed photos based on the Lake Biwa Rowing Song (Biwako Shuko no Uta). I have shown these pictures at various places in Shiga, but this was the first time for me to show them in Kyoto.

Also, Bruce Osborn showed Maibara Oyako (Parent-Child) Portraits. They come from the exhibition he is currently having at Maibara Station until March 2012.

Most of the other artists are based in Kyoto showed mainly Kyoto.

Featured Artists
Micah Gampel: “My Furukiyoki” self-portraits with friends in Kyoto. Very amusing collection of prints.
Peter Macintosh: Huge mural of Kyoto geisha photos taken over the past 10 years.
Motoyasu Matsutani: Pretty pictures of Kyoto.
Peter Miller: Copperplate photogravures of furusato scenes in Japan such as Shirakawa-go and Kamakura.
Philbert Ono: Introduction of Shiga’s hometown song, Lake Biwa Rowing Song. (Biwako Shuko no Uta) created by Kyoto University Rowing Club members in 1917.
Bruce Osborn: Maibara (Shiga Prefecture) Oyako (Parent-child) portraits taken in the four seasons.
John Wells: Mixed media (oil painting, sumie painting, etc.) of Kyoto scenes/objects.

The Japan Times inserted a nice announcement for our show in the Nov. 13, 2011 issue:

The Japan Times, Nov. 13, 2011, page 2 (National News)

Menturm Medicated Stick by Omi Brotherhood, packaged by Matsumoto Kiyoshi.

The drier air of autumn is here and it’s time to take out our lip balm or chap sticks. Did you know that one of Japan’s leading makers of lip balm is right here in Shiga?

Omi Kyodaisha (近江兄弟社 Omi Brotherhood), a pharmaceutical company based in Omi-Hachiman, sells a lip balm called “Menturm Medicated Stick.” It is their flagship product and you can see it in stores nationwide.

However, it looks very similar to another chap stick called ”Mentholatum Medicated Stick” made by a different company in Osaka. The dark green design is very similar and you have to look carefully to tell them apart. What can I say, buy the one from Shiga. Look for “Omi Brotherhood” on it.

Omi Brotherhood was founded by the architect and missionary William Vories. In 1920, the company had a license with The Mentholatum Company, Inc. in the US to import and sell menthol-based products under its own brand called “Menturm.” However, The Mentholatum Company was bought by a Japanese pharmaceutical company in 1988 which subsequently started selling the ”Mentholatum Medicated Stick.” Omi Brotherhood uses a slightly different formula in its Menturm products which still contain menthol.

The photo above shows the Omi Brotherhood Menturm stick I bought from Matsumoto Kiyoshi, a major drugstore chain in Japan. The drugstore created its own packaging, but got the English wrong. It’s obviously not “lip stick.”

Oyako photo exhibition in Maibara Station.

My friend Bruce Osborn, an American pro photographer based in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, is now having a grand photo exhibition inside Maibara Station on the Tokaido/Hokuriku Lines in northern Shiga Prefecture. The theme is Oyako (parent and child 親子) portraits. The city of Maibara set up and opened the new Maibara Station Oyako Gallery (米原駅Oyakoギャラリー) on July 16, 2011, and Bruce’s 60+ oyako portraits are the first to be displayed. The exhibition is titled, Kakegae-no-nai-mono (Irreplaceable Things) (かけがえのないもの).

If you go out of the ticket wicket, you will immediately see his large portrait panels mounted on the large window in the main corridor. There are more portraits decorating the corridor toward the east exit. The portraits are all black and white and show one or two parents together with his or her child. Most of the portraits are of Japanese celebrities such as Kayama Yuzo and Yokoo Tadanori. They mainly come from Bruce’s longtime Oyako photo series published in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. Bruce has been shooting oyako portraits since 1982 and it’s his life work. He has been widely published and even has a few oyako books published. He has photographed over 3,000 oyako and even calls the fourth Sunday of July “Oyako Day” when he shoots oyako portraits assisted by his Japanese wife Yoshiko.

But the main interest for us in Shiga are the Oyako portraits of local people in Maibara shown in four large panels. The four panels represent the four seasons. Each seasonal panel has a number of portraits of ordinary Maibara folk posed as parent and child(ren) taken outdoors in Maibara. They all show a hometown background in Maibara. Bruce tells me that he went through an awful lot to make some of these portraits of 20 oyako in Maibara. For portraits in winter, he and his crew spent a freezing time in Oku-Ibuki, a ski ground. I thought he was crazy to lug heavy lighting equipment up snowy Mt. Ibuki in winter. It took him two years to complete the Maibara Oyako series during which he visited Maibara a few times in the four seasons.

I dropped by Maibara Station a few days before the opening on July 16, 2011 when he and his crew were setting up the exhibition on the corridor walls. He used giant inkjet printers to print out the photos and they had set up a wood shop inside the train station to make the wooden frames and panels. Took them a few days to finish the job.

Maibara Oyako portraits.

Maibara oyako in winter.

Another great thing is that the captions are in Japanese and English. And they include interesting quotes about child-rearing from the parent. The exhibition will run until March 31, 2012. You can see the exhibition while Maibara Station is open from early morning until late night when the last train leaves. Free admission, but  you have to give your train ticket and go outside the wicket to see the photos in the corridor. Too bad that most people transferring trains at Maibara Station won’t see the oyako portraits because of this. Thus, the portraits will be mainly seen by people who live and work near Maibara Station. I wish they also put a few portraits on the walls inside the station where we can see them when changing trains. Maibara Station certainly has lots of wall space everywhere.

Maibara Station has finally completed its major renovation and the large, new corridor connecting the west and east sides has remained empty and white these past few years. Finally, there is something nice decorating its walls. Initially, there were plans to have famous artist Hiro Yamagata, a Maibara native, to paint those huge white walls in a psychedelic motif. But it was apparently too expensive and it never happened. Bruce’s oyako portraits is a great alternative, a lot cheaper, and they fit in with Maibara’s current slogan of Kizuna (human bonds) and furusato (hometown).

Photos of Maibara Station and Oyako Gallery: http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=149
Bruce Osborn’s Oyako web site: http://www.oyako.org/en/oyakonohi/
Maibara’s Oyako page

Long lines at Shiga's 1st B-kyu Gourmet Battle in Otsu.

Shiga’s 1st B-class Gourmet Battle (第1回 滋賀B級グルメバトル) was held in Otsu on July 30-31, 2011 on the Hama-Otsu lakefront from 3 pm to 9 pm. B-class gourmet (B-kyu in Japanese) is food that is cheap and aimed at the working class. It also includes good ‘ol home cooking. The event had food booths serving cheap food using homegrown ingredient(s) from Shiga such as Omi-gyu beef, red konyaku (devil’s tongue), and fish from Lake Biwa. It was a “battle” or contest where the food booths would receive popular votes from customers. The food festival turned out to be wildly popular with a total of 120,000 people attending over the two-day period.

Long lines extended way back toward the hotel.

They had 60 food booths lined up along the lakefront at Hama-Otsu near the port. The official Web site listed and explained all the food booths and I had already picked out my must-try list of food. I went on the second day in late afternoon, but already numerous food booths had sold out. That was heart-breaking. Not only that, many of the food booths which were still open had very long lines. So I had throw out my favorites list and just try whatever I could. People who came during dinner time had very slim pickings.

Yaki-udon fried noodles.

There was hardly any crowd control and it was haphazard to break through the long lines to access the food booths further down the lakefront. But I did manage to find some food booths which were still open with short lines. I was delighted that even the less popular booths (or those which had plenty to serve) had some great-tasting food. Most of what I tried had a unique taste, something very original. Cheap and tasty. The food was priced from 100 to 500 yen, and we had to buy 100-yen tickets to buy any food. The food was cheap, and I wanted to try as much as my stomach could handle. I ended up using 2,000 yen worth of food tickets. Normally, I would never spend that much for a meal, but I thought it was well worth it.

As far as I can tell, all of the food vendors did not come from any established restaurant. They were local non-profit groups who happened to have a local recipe. Too bad because I would love to know where I can eat the stuff I missed. We could also vote for our favorite food booth (it was a gourmet contest) by throwing the wooden chopsticks into the trash bin for that booth. They would weigh the bag of chopsticks and the heaviest one wins.

Red devil's tongue with beefy gravy bread 400 yen. Very good. すじこんカップ

Fried fish and sweet beans on rice, 300 yen. 淡海あゆカツ丼

Omi Italian sausage with a mixture of Omi beef and pork, 400 yen. Surprisingly good. 淡海イタリアンソーセージ

Cold udon noodles with Omi beef, 400 yen. 近江牛うどん（冷）

And for dessert, matcha shaved ice, 400 yen. Uses tea from Koka. This won third place. あさみや金時

I’m sure this B-class food fest will be an annual thing. And it would be great if other areas in Shiga would hold their own B-class food festivals. Like in Hikone, Nagahama, and Takashima. I’m sure it would be very popular. I just wish it wasn’t held in summer. It’s just too hot to stand in line and be in a large crowd. Autumn would be the best time.

Better yet, they should build a restaurant complex or food court exclusively for Shiga’s B-class food vendors and open year round. It would be a sure bet. I mean at a B-class food festival, we can only try a very limited variety of food because of limited room in our stomachs. But if there were a place where we could eat B-class food on a regular basis, we would be able to try everything and have it more often.

It reminds of me of the Ramen Museum near Shin-Yokohama Station in Yokohama. It has a bunch of ramen shops from all over Japan in one building decorated in a vintage motif from the year 1958. A B-class Gourmet Food complex in Shiga having a unique Shiga decor and cheap food would be a major hit. It would be a great place to promote Shiga and its products. Imagine if there were B-class food booths in lonely Otsu Station. Or how about at local matsuri and events? Instead of the same and boring food booths we always see, B-class food booths would be cheaper and more healthy. Food for thought…

More photos of the B-class food festival.

Pictures of all the food served at the festival here.

I recently found a great way to stay cool: Waterfalls. Did you know that there are numerous waterfalls in Shiga? Hardly anyone knows about waterfalls in Shiga since none are exceptionally famous. But a book about waterfalls in Shiga (ISBN 978-4-88325-165-0) was published last year and I was surprised to find over 45 waterfalls in Shiga listed. Actually, Shiga should have many waterfalls since we do have many mountains and streams/rivers flowing into Lake Biwa.

But I was shocked to realize that I had never seen a waterfall in Shiga. I had never even thought about seeing waterfalls in Shiga until a woodblock print artist in Michigan asked me about it. So I bought the waterfall book and did some reading. As usual, Japan has a list of 100 Most Famous Waterfalls and one of them is in Shiga, called Yatsubuchi-no-taki (Yatsubuchi Falls) in Takashima. It is a series of eight waterfalls. (See detailed description below.)

Some waterfalls are far or hazardous to reach, and a few are easy to get to like the first waterfall I ever visited in Shiga which was the Fudo-no-taki Waterfall in the city of Konan (see video above). It is a short taxi ride south of Mikumo Station on the JR Kusatsu Line. The waterfall is a short walk from the road. The place is a small river gorge lush with trees and greenery and very cool. Waterfalls are a great place to cool off during the hot summer. This waterfall is also a religious spot for pilgrims. You may see a pilgrim bathing to purify him/herself.

I have started including locations of waterfalls in my Google maps of Shiga cities and towns. I describe only two waterfalls in Shiga below. If anybody else has visited a waterfall in Shiga, you are welcome to send me links to any photos/videos you have and I’ll post them here. Hope you all stay cool this summer.

Mikumo Fudo-no-taki Waterfall 三雲 不動の滝

Fudo is the name of a god and many waterfalls are named Fudo-no-taki. About 5 meters high. Next to the falls is an altar for the Fudo Myo-o god. (See video above.)

Directions: JR Mikumo Station (JR Kusatsu Line) is the closest station. From the train station, it’s about 1.4 km by car or 700 meters south from the Mikumo intersection. There’s a roadside stone marker for the waterfall and when you enter the path and walk toward the river, you will see the falls. It’s very near the road.

Google Map here.

Yatsubuchi-no-taki (Yatsubuchi Falls) 八淵の滝

Located in Takashima, one of Japan’s 100 Most Famous Waterfalls and Shiga’s most acclaimed waterfalls. It is a series of eight waterfalls along a river. Each waterfall has a name and they come in a great variety.

The problem is, most of the falls require a steep trail to access. You will need to grab chains while climbing rockfaces or go up a ladder set on rock. If you’re afraid of heights, better not to try and see the more difficult falls. You need to cross the river so shoes will get wet. If it had rained, the water level will rise, making it dangerous to cross the river or waterfall.

Only two of the waterfalls (Osuribachi and Kosuribachi) are accessible by a normal hiking trail taking about 30 min. from the Gulliver Village parking lot. Osuribachi empties into a small basin and it is popular among hikers to rest and have lunch. To see the rest of the eight falls, you will have to take the steep trails. Have to be very careful.

Directions: JR Omi-Takashima is the nearest train station. Bus is available to Gulliver Village. From Gulliver Village the waterfall/mountain trail starts. Parking is also available at Gulliver Village.

Google Map here.

Photos and online reference in English:

http://archives.kansaiscene.com/2008_07/html/feature.shtml
http://www.english-japan.com/node/2590
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48oe6YVSZpw&feature=related

Photos and online reference in Japanese:

http://www.city.takashima.shiga.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=content&ContentID=1140788531540&SiteID=0
http://kitayamawa.exblog.jp/8332708/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_gaVZkCLt8&feature=related

Odani Castle Honmaru wall. Click photo to see more photos.

As you may know, the Go and Azai Sisters Expo is in full swing in Nagahama. Their visitor count has exceeded expectations, thanks to the popularity of the current NHK Taiga Drama, Go–Himetachi no Sengoku.

If you like the TV series or like Japanese castles, be sure to take advantage of the guided tours of Odani Castle being offered during the expo period until Dec. 4, 2011. The easiest way to get to Odani Castle (if you don’t have a car) is to buy a 1,000 ticket for the expo and shuttle bus at Nagahama Station on the west side. For 1,000 yen, you can ride the shuttle bus round trip and enter all three expo pavilions. Or if you don’t have time to enter the pavilions, just pay 500 yen for the roundtrip shuttle bus ticket.

From Nagahama Station, take the shuttle bus to the Odani pavilion (Go no Furusato-no-Yakata) taking about 35 min. with a few stops along the way. The bus leaves twice an hour between 9:20 am and 5:10 pm. (Bus schedule in Japanese here.) From the Odani pavilion, there’s a shuttle bus going up to Odani Castle, one of Japan’s five most famous mountain castles. This shuttle bus costs 500 yen roundtrip and it includes a 60-min. guided tour. The Odani pavilion has a bus ticket booth nearby.

You can also hike up to Odani Castle on the paved road for free, but taking the shuttle bus halfway up (to the Bansho) saves you a lot of time and sweat. When the expo ends on Dec. 4, the shuttle bus service going up to Odani Castle will end I’m told. This means that getting to Odani Castle will be a lot more troublesome via public transportation since you will have to take the train to Kawake Station (JR Hokuriku Line) and then rent a bicycle or walk to Odani Castle (20-30 min. to the foot of Mt. Odani). I don’t know why they won’t provide better public transportation to such a major sight in Shiga.

Shuttle bus from Odani pavilion to Odani Castle leaves every half hour from 9 am to 3:30 pm. 10-min. ride, 500 yen roundtrip.

In early May 2011, I took the shuttle bus from the Odani pavilion to Odani Castle and went on the guided tour. The bus goes up to the Bansho area which is pretty high up. The tour guide uses a megaphone to explain the points of interest (no English), and the guided tour takes about 60 min. The castle trail is not strenuous, so young and old can enjoy the tour. But it is a dirt trail and a little rocky, so wear shoes and avoid rainy days. High heels is not good, and wheelchairs won’t work unless you have people who can carry it on some rocky slopes/steps. Lots of flying insects in the warmer months too, so a paper fan to fan them away would be handy. Note that the shuttle buses to the castle might not run during rough or snowy weather.

The tour takes you all the way to the Honmaru which is the focal point of the castle and where the main castle tower (tenshukaku) stood. Then they take you back to the bus. The main points of interest are indeed between where you get off the shuttle bus at the Bansho (guard house site) and the Honmaru, but the castle ruins go well beyond the Honmaru along the mountain ridge. It was my second visit to Odani Castle, and I wanted to go beyond the Honmaru so I left my tour group and went on my own. I had never gone beyond the Honmaru.

It turned out to be an easy walk all the way to the Sannomaru which is on the edge of the main castle grounds before it goes down and up to the peak of Mt. Odani. I turned back at Sannomaru. There are a number of “maru” castle baileys or enclosures beyond the Honmaru and each have an explanatory sign (but no English). There are also remains of a sword-washing pond and a large stone wall. If you have the time, I recommend going all the way to Sannomaru. It won’t take long.

You can also visit the place where Azai Nagamasa committed seppuku at the Akao-yashiki residence near the Honmaru. The guided tour does not take you there. I have now revamped my Odani Castle photo gallery with new photos and English explanations of the points of interest.

Spot where Azai Nagamasa slit his belly while under siege by Oda Nobunaga in 1573. The guided tour does not take you here.

For my return trip on the shuttle bus back to the Odani pavilion, I joined a later tour group and asked if they had room on the bus. They did, so I showed my bus ticket and got on the bus. You can do this too. You can return with a later tour group and take a later shuttle bus back to the Odani pavilion. But make sure the later tour group has room for you. They won’t allow you to stand in the bus. Only 25 people can sit in the bus. And the last shuttle bus leaves the castle at 4:45 pm. If you miss the last bus or if they don’t have enough room for you, you will have to walk back down (which isn’t so bad since you are going down and there are a few scenic lookouts along the way). It’s too bad that they don’t have buses going from the Odani pavilion to Sugatani Onsen, a noted hot spring near Odani. It was Ichi’s (Nagamasa’s wife and mother of the three Azai sisters) favorite spa while she lived in Odani Castle. The hot spring waters is a muddy brown color.

One thing you have to understand about Odani Castle is that, the castle atop the mountain was mainly for military purposes. Most people did not normally live atop the mountain. They normally lived in the adjacent Shimizu Valley on flat land where it was more convenient logistically. Hauling up water to the mountain top must’ve been tough. The Azai family (sisters included) normally lived in Shimizu Valley below. There are now stone markers indicating the location of the palace or Oyashiki residence where Nagamasa, Ichi, and Azai sisters lived and the location of the residence of Azai’s samurai retainers. If the shuttle bus tour to the castle is canceled due to bad weather, they will offer an alternate bus tour to the Shimizu Valley area. (They call it the “B Course,” while the castle tour is the “A Course.”) I haven’t seen the places in Shimizu Valley yet. Perhaps next time.

Panel showing an illustration of Odani Castle.

Go and Azai Sisters official site (no English): http://www.azai-go.jp/
Tourist map related to Azai sisters in Shiga: http://www.azai-go.jp/pdf/sengokumap.pdf
Tourist map of Nagahama: http://www.azai-go.jp/pdf/eria_map.pdf
Tourist map of central Nagahama: http://www.azai-go.jp/pdf/town_map.pdf