What's That I Smell?

Today was another amazing day! We were invited to an incense ceremony and lunch at the former Akishima city mayor’s house. This kind of experience is very rare. In fact, many Japanese people have never even participated in an incense ceremony!
The incense ceremony was a fun game. The former mayor’s wife and daughter taught us how to play. Five pieces of incense are passed around the circle. You make special marks to show which pieces smell the same. There are about 60 different combinations. Only one person answered correctly! It was very difficult, but very enjoyable.

For lunch, the former mayor brought in sushi chefs. The food was incredible! We sat at a very low table. Underneath the table, the floor is cut out and you put your legs inside. It is even heated! There was also a heated blanket under the table. It was very cozy and comfortable.

As we left, we were told that we could take home the dishes as a gift! We couldn’t believe it.

Next, we visited a wooden top maker. The trade of making wooden tops from the Edo time period died out and this man was asked to restore the tradition. He has been making wooden tops for 35 years but does not have an apprentice. He is the only wooden Edo top maker left! He showed us how he makes the tops and he demonstrated different games and balancing tricks. It was a lot of fun.
When we left city hall, all of the employees went out to see us off.
From there, we left to go to a ryokan – a traditional Japanese style inn. It was about a one hour bus ride. Our ryokan was in a more rural village by the mountains. The village is known for their yuzu (a lemon-like fruit).
Dinner was a 15 course Japanese meal. The most interesting part of the meal was the fish – fully cooked, but whole - head, eyes, skin, tail and everything! It was delicious.

We all wore yukatas (similar to a robe). Several of the women tried on kimonos. We danced to Japanese music.

I slept in a room with three other women from my group. We slept on tatami mats and futons. Our room had a great view of the river.