We arrived in Matsubase, a small town near Kumamoto where Rika's grandmother lives. We took a cab from the station to Oba-chan's (grandmother's) house. Matsubase town is so small that all the cab driver needed to know was Rika's family name, to take us to the right place!
When we arrived Junko-san (Rika's aunt) and Grandmother were preparing Shabu-Shabu for dinner.
This traditional Japanese dish...
...is made with thinly sliced fresh vegetables...
..and beef...
...cooked over a fire pit at the center of the table.
The dish is prepared by submerging meat or vegetables in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) and swishing it back and forth several times. The swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".
After dinner we watched Oba-chan's favorite Japanese soap opera, "Wataru Seken Ni Oni Wa Nashi ."
In the room where we slept, there was a portrait of Rika's grandfather next to three banpeiyu. The banpeiyu were grown in the family's orchard, just outside the house.
The next morning Rika's aunt Satoko-san, and dog Ku-chan, visited during breakfast.
Oba-chan's house is nearly 100 years old.
Rika's father and four other siblings were raised here.
Later, we took a day trip to nearby Kumamoto Castle, one of the three most famous fortress-castles in the country. Built by Kato Kiyomasa in 1607, the un-scalable J-shaped stone walls and wooden overhangs, designed to repel the ninja (secret assassins of feudal Japan), made the castle virtually impenetrable .
During Japan’s last civil war in 1877, however, when an army of former samurai unsuccessfully rose up against the new Meiji government, large parts of the castle were destroyed. Today, most of the castle’s buildings, including the towers, were reconstructed in the 1960’s.
View from the top - not bad.
The man who took this photo was part of a large group of young Japanese travelers, all of whom thought the idea of this photo was *very* funny.
(The castles exterior wall and moat)
By the way - You may have seen this historic site in Kurosawa's famous movie "Ran," as he was granted special permission to shoot at Kumamoto Castle.
The next day we went to a street festival in down town Matsubase.
...and enjoyed local pastries (this one is called "taiyaki," which is a pancake-like crust filled with custard - yumm!)...
...games...
...and crafts.
Afterward, we said goodbye to Oba-chan and the orchard surrounding her house.
Then, Rika's aunts took us to the train station and waited outside until we boarded the train...
...bound for Kyoto!
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