Tuesday 10 December 2019

The best destinations for snow hunters in Japan

The best destinations for snow hunters in Japan
Winter in Japan is also a wonderful opportunity to venture out beyond the urban sprawl and experience the country, its customs, and cuisine like a local. Below are the best destinations for who want to explore Japan in winter, especially, for the snow hunters.

Abashiri Drift Ice, Hokkaido

Abashiri Drift Ice, Hokkaido
Head right up north to the Sea of Okhotsk along the coast of Hokkaido, and you would be forgiven for thinking that you are in fact in the middle of the Antarctic. Here massive plates of drift ice known as ryuhyo float atop the ocean surface.

Drift ice season may not be Japan’s most well-known winter vacation opportunity, but it is definitely one of the country’s more unique experiences. Emerging in around mid-January and gone by March, there is a little time to check it out if you do want to see it in action. Occasionally from land you can spot drift ice floating along the coast, but to really explore the area at its peak, it is recommended you hop aboard one of the Aurora Sightseeing Boats. The tour boats depart from Abashiri Port in Hokkaido’s northeastern corner a couple of times daily, and a tour costs around 3,000 yen (£20) per person.

Otaru, Hokkaido

Otaru, Hokkaido
When it comes to winter in Japan, the heaviest snow falls in Hokkaido, where you can enjoy the annual Sapporo Snow Festival. But, take a 45 minute train ride, and you will be whisked away to the port city of Otaru, a city pivotal to the development of Japan’s northernmost island. Brick warehouses and Victorian style street lamps line Otaru Canal, giving it a distinctly European feel. Visit at night and be charmed by Otaru’s Snow Light Path, an event held in February where the streets of Otaru are decorated with snowmen and candlelight.

Shirakawa-go, Gifu

Shirakawa-go, Gifu
Looking like an idyllic painting come to life, Shirakawa-go is a small traditional village in the heart of Gifu that is stunning year-round. Nonetheless, winter is when it is at its most beautiful. The area is best known for being the home of Japan’s unique ‘gasshou’ houses, a style of old-world traditional Japanese architecture.

Some of the houses here are over 250 years old. The name ‘gasshou’ translates to ‘praying hands’ in English. It was so named because their sharply steep roofs clasped together resemble the two hands of the Buddha in prayer.

See more: 10 best places to go skiing in Japan

Zao Snow Monsters

Zao Snow Monsters
The best place to see snow monsters is at Zao Onsen, a well-known hot spring and ski resort in the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture. These "monsters" are formed by heavy snow deposited on trees and frozen into shape by chilling winds. The Snow Monsters form around the peak of the Zao Ski Resort and are usually most spectacular around mid-February.

Ouchi Juku, Fukushima

Ouchi Juku, Fukushima
Walk in the footsteps of samurai in the village of Ouchi Juku, a former post town on Aizu-Nishi Kaido that which connected Aizu, Fukushima with Nikko, Tochigi during the Edo Period. Ouchi-juku feels like a living museum, as the town has been restored to its former glory. Traditional thatched buildings, a trademark of post towns, line the unpaved main street, where you will find plenty of quaint shops, restaurants, and Japanese inns.

Warm up with a local specialty - fish grilled at an iriori, or sunken hearth - then head to Ouchi-juku Town Pavilion to explore more of this historic village.

Source Internet

Thursday 4 July 2019

Hiburi Kamakura: The festival of Fire and Snow

Surrounded by a ring of spectators, a hiburi dancer takes hold of his weapon – a fiery bale of hay and charcoal. Their enemy is not one that can be seen or heard. But to the locals of Kakunodate it’s a threat that cannot be ignored.

Zen Buddhists have a saying about enlightenment: “To burn Mount Sumeru with the light of a firefly.” In other words, to try to reach enlightenment through logic or common sense is futile; like trying to light up a mountain with the glow of an insect. But that hasn’t stopped the locals of Kakunodate from trying.

Hiburi Kamakura: The festival of Fire and Snow
Every lunar new year, around mid-February, a snowy corner of Akita Prefecture hosts the Hiburi Kamakura, the festival of fire and snow. The rituals mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring, but they also invite the positive energy of good spirits, or ‘kami’.

Alongside the frozen Kinokinai River near a cluster of sleeping cherry blossom trees, locals construct little igloos called kamakura – shrines for the Shinto water god, Sui Jin. Children rush from one kamakura to the next, respectfully making offerings in return for good health and fortune. Like all animist gods, Sui Jin is partial to a bribe of mochi balls and sake.

Hiburi Kamakura: The festival of Fire and Snow
Sui Jin is one of the ‘good’ spirits and is mainly in charge of protecting fishermen. But in the landlocked town of Kakunodate, he is called upon to protect rice fields and to prevent failed harvests. Harvesting rice is a tricky trade and, since many people in this region still make a living through agriculture, nobody is taking their chances. Especially given the threat of Yuki-Onna, or the ‘Snow Woman’.

In some stories, Yuki-Onna is depicted as a complex woman whose bitterness was borne from a life of tragedy. But many believe she was plain evil from the very start. In some parts of Japan, those who don’t acknowledge her shrill cries are punished and shoved into a valley to their death. Children in Akita are told early on that if they’re not careful, the snow woman will come to eat their souls.

Hiburi Kamakura: The festival of Fire and Snow
In Japanese animism, all spirits must be appeased, no matter how uncooperative they might be. During the first part of the Hiburi Kamakura festival, a shrine is constructed in their honor, decorated with offerings and good luck charms. Shinto priests, or kannushi, lead the worship. Dressed in thin silk robes, these figures of pink, red and blue punctuate the snow-covered landscape. They recite prayers in calm, measured tones, defying the elements with their equanimity. Before them is a group of men with their heads bowed in reverence, stoically standing their ground against the evil spirits of winter.

As the night goes on, a bonfire is lit and bales of hay and charcoal are tied up with lengths of straw rope. Locals participating in the Hiburi dance prepare by wrapping their hair in headscarves and slipping their hands into protective gloves, to stop them from getting singed. The stage for the battle against Yuki Onna is set.

A dancer takes hold of one end of the rope as the attached bale is set on fire. Slowly, the bale picks up momentum and forms a protective halo. A rush of wind feeds oxygen to the flame and the fire roars to life as it swings faster and faster. The heat melts the falling snow into rain. Tendrils of fire curl magnetically around the dancer’s body.

Hiburi Kamakura: The festival of Fire and Snow
Hiburi Kamakura in Kakunodate
The fire illuminates the faces of the crowd like the backlit frames of a reel of film; expressions suspended in delight, awe and wonder. The hiburi dancers transport the audience to a spiritual realm; a world where ghosts and spirits rule; where logic and common sense fall short; a place where the mystical properties of fire might be the only thing humans can use to defend themselves against misfortune.

The hiburi dancers must withstand intense heat and dense clouds of smoke until they’ve forced out the evil spirits of winter. Eventually, when the flames are flickering just inches away from the hands, the bale is swung into the direction of a bonfire. Is Yuki-Onna gone for good? Only time will tell. Have they done enough to summon Sui Jin? The livelihoods of locals in Kakunodate may depend on it.

It’s no coincidence that there’s a symmetry in the kanji for fire (火) and human (人); the curved legs of these two kanji represent the potential for both good and bad. Fire can bring death and destruction, but can also create warmth, light and energy. Similarly, according to Buddhist conceptions of good and bad, humans at their worst can exist in a purely physical world where all that exists is what can be seen, heard and felt. But, if they choose to fulfill their potential for good, they can live in the spiritual world. And in doing so, they can reach the mythical Mount Sumeru and experience enlightenment.

It might look like the locals of Kakunodate are just swinging balls of flaming hay around their bodies. But if you look a little deeper, you might be lucky enough to see Mount Sumeru, on fire with the light of Hiburi Kamakura.

Read more: Top favorite summer dishes in Japan

Source Siukei Cheung/ The Culture Trip