On February 19th, we had a full day with our host family. We did a lot of things!
In the morning, we made origami for about an hour, before we headed out to Minami-sanriku, a town that was completely destroyed by the tsunami in 2011. We got to witness the resilience of the Japanese people first hand, seeing the town being completely rebuilt.
In Minami-sanriku, we first saw the sea side from the artificial beach, then walked a bridge to the torii (gate) of Arahato shrine. We couldn’t go into the shrine because it is only open at specific times during the year, however seeing the gate was already something. Near the new gate, it is possible to see the pillars of the old torii that got destroyed by the tsunami.
Then, we went to visit a shopping street made after the tsunami, by Kengo Kuma, the same man that made the Tokyo Stadium.
After going to the market (and trying a lot of seafood samples), we drove away from the town, heading somewhere else to visit an elementary school and a samurai house made in the Meiji era.
Eventually, we went back home and made norimaki as well as inari, two types of sushi. We ate them as we drank sake and laughed a lot.
The evening ended with learning how to make furoshiki and wearing yukata, my favorite activities during the homestay.
Furoshiki are very convenient if you know how to make them and I’m currently trying to find some to buy, so I can use them back home in Canada. As for wearing yukata, it feels oddly comfortable, regulating your breathing and naturally strengthening your posture, because of the obi (thick belt of the yukata). A lot of rules imbued of culture surround the furoshiki and yukata, so perhaps that is why I enjoyed it so much.
Either way, after such a full day, sleeping in the comfy futon felt like a taste of paradise.
Once Upon A Bridge 