Trip to the Past
I've officially lost my mind. It's the middle of the 3-day weekend and because of the typhoon passing by, the water was a bit on the rough side for snorkeling, so I decided to go to an open-air museum a couple of cities down . . . in blazing hot 90-degree weather. Mind you, this area didn't used to get temps this high until about a decade ago. Up until then, mid-80s was considered as super hot.
Armed with a thermos of DIY electrolyte drink, bottled water, hat, and sunscreen, I headed out for the open-air museum that displayed preserved old houses from various areas of Japan. The open-air museum opened in 1967 with the aim of preserving these houses for the future. There are 25 buildings divided up in sectors (inn, homes from villages in Shinetsu, Kanto, Kanagawa, and Tohoku) including a watermill, a boatman's hut, a storehouse, and a kabuki stage. These buildings have been designated as cultural properties and some are from the 17th century.
There were homes of farmers, silk producers, businesses, and samurais. Most houses had thatched roofs, but some had boards weighted down with rocks or clay shingles. These houses were basically homes of town leaders, business owners, and land owners since they were big and roomy. The edge of the thatched roof on one of the houses came down so low that even I had to duck to get inside. While some of these houses had a stable off to the side under the same roof, one thing I noticed is that none of the houses had indoor baths. Some did have indoor toilets, but I was wondering, where are the bath tubs? Each house had a sign with a floor plan, but I didn't see anything that indicated a bath room. So, where did they bathe? But then, running water wasn't a thing back then in Japan. I saw that there were huge clay pots in the kitchen where they put the water they gathered from the well.
There was even a kabuki theater where it appears they do put on shows but they board it up when they're not using the theater. There was a revolving stage and you could see underneath where workers manually made the stage revolve.
Although it was hot out and I was sweating like there's no tomorrow, there was a nice breeze flowing through. The breeze felt especially good in the shade. There were benches placed here and there throughout the museum in shady areas and I commandeered a bench from time to time to lay down, close my eyes, and enjoy the breeze. It was probably because it was so hot out, there were few people out and about. All the more, it felt pretty peaceful.
There was also a shop where people can experience tie dying with indigo dye. I must admit, as pretty as things dyed with indigo is, the smell of the dye is not pleasant. There were lovely scarves for sale, but they were too short for my taste. Besides, I bought myself a lovely silk snood not too long ago.
I felt I should treat myself with good food after being out and about in that heat, so I stopped by my favorite pub. The special was aligot, a rich, stretchy, smooth, and silky French mashed potato and cheese dish that was served with pork in red wine sauce. Man, was it good!
How was your weekend?
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