Akita

I saw these carp in a pond in Akita and I thought they were so cool, but now when I look at the picture...oh man! They're monstrous! Ugly. Why am I starting with this?

Here, this is better. This is a cute little girl about to demonstrate a somersault in a tumbling demonstration put on by her school. Pink is a very common color for little girls in Japan, just like it is here in the US.

Funky country train ride, with a view of mountains and rice paddies.

I should explain that I am taking you on a whirlwind tour of some of the dozens of sites we visited in Akita Prefecture in northern Japan.

John's collaboration with Akita International University involves issues surrounding declining rural communities. It would appear that rural communities in Oregon face some of the identical problems.

This is fellow-collaborator Kate, standing next to a giant paper mache explosive in a tiny fireworks shop.

So we spent a lot of time touring communities and visiting cottage industries and other points of revitalization.

These are ladies at a community center; they meet to share recipes and write a cookbook together.

Where are all the young people? The aging population is left with the problems of a sagging health care system, decreasing family support, and isolation. Not what you think of when you think of Japan.

These guys are hunted by the locals. All body parts have uses, but the gall bladder is especially prized as a cure for hangovers. Apparently just a little dab will do.

They have bears in Akita prefecture! Another thing I didn't visualize! A bear ran through campus one morning, but of course I didn't see it.

Hillside cemeteries were a common sight.

Gorgeous (and expensive) thin wooden kitchen implements are made from Akita cedar.

We went to a small sake brewery & I was taken by some tools on the wall.

Workers must remove their shoes and wear slippers in this part of the brewery. The thing with shoe removal is somewhat complicated in Japan.

We visited a rural museum celebrating the tradition of the Namehage: young men who dress up in costumes once a year and terrify the children into behaving themselves! A fantastic parental aid.

Actually the kids seemed pretty well-behaved. Look at these packs lined up so neatly in a day care center for small children.

We visited an agricultural co-op. This worker is 70 years old.

Fava beans, ready to be shipped, at my feet. So tidy.

At a hillside Shinto shrine in the countryside

Every bundle is a thousand cranes.

Also at the shrine

Shintoism is the indigenous religion of Japan. It honors elements of the natural world, so you may see prayers and pictures left on carefully-arranged rocks.

Stone sculptures honoring the dead

Shrines and temples in Japan are just so beautiful. It was hard to stop photographing them.

I will leave you with this image of a manhole cover in Odate, Akita Prefecture. This town is the birthplace of Hatchiko, the dog whose traits of patience and loyalty have made him an icon of the Japanese identity. I think that's enough for now, more on Hatchiko later?