ゴオルデン・ウイイクと佐渡島 Golden Week and Sado ga Shima

Here are some pictures from our recent excursion to Sado ga Shima, an Island in the Sea of Japan. The rugged coastline with small fishing villages and traditional architecture was the way I had hoped Japan would be. We met some real nice people and got to ride a "jet foil." Beth goes on to detail the process by which we arrived there and the ensuing adventures below.









GOLDEN WEEK: A national holiday when EVERYONE (almost) gets five days of vacation time. This means - bumper to bumper traffic, standing room only on the trains and hotel after booked hotel, but at least I can pick Thomas out in a crowd.

I wanted to go hiking in the mountains and explore Yamanashi-ken since we just moved here. After all, if we’re in the mountains we just have to pitch a tent and voila! We can pack our own food, speak in English and get some exercise – no surprises, no funny stuff.

Thomas wanted to head north to the Sea of Japan. “Let’s go on a real adventure”, he says. O.K., O.K. I consulted the map and located the Sea of Japan. “If you want the Sea of Japan, there’s an island called Sado ga Shima”, I said. Thus, it was decided.

With no reservations, we caught a train to Nagano through the ear poppingly scenic sights of the 1998(?) Olympics.

We decided to stop and check out an onsen (Japanese hotspring) and stay the night in Ueda. Here are some pictures taken in the small mountain hamlet.


In Ueda we stopped at the tourist information booth to ask about accommodations. After about eight phone calls, we found out that there were no vacancies. (hmmmmm….) Then a mysterious man just showed up behind us and said, “They can stay in my room. Follow me.” I must admit I was a little weirded-out by this and felt really uncomfortable. But, you must step out of your comfort zone to experience the things you won’t see in your comfortable day-to-day. Right? His name was Ken; he was an excellent cook and took us all around the city to see some sights. Here is a picture of him cooking dinner for us.

Every area in Japan is touted for one thing or another. Yamanashi (where we live now) is known for wine – I think it tastes like rice wine vinegar, but that doesn’t stop me from drinking it. Sado ga Shima, our vacation destination, has a unique place in Japanese history. In the 18th century, a number of people were banished from the mainland for various reasons. The common thread being individual thought that did not coincide with the Emperor's views. Among the exiled were Nichiren; a Buddhist monk that started his own sect, Noh theatre actors, and the homeless. The homeless were forced to mine for gold. Roughly 80 tons of gold and over 2,000 tons of silver were mined under slave labor.
Here is a picture of Nichiren and the spot where he prayed every day.



Here is some crazy seafood we had at our favorite hostel on Sado. Yes, that is raw shrimp in the top center. A few months back I decided I am not going to eat that anymore due to its super slimy texture. Pictured at the top left side is a kind of squid (whole), the head had something really crunchy which I think were the eyeballs. Add another food to the don't eat list.