Japan, Nagano and Honourable Mother in Law

Compensation is a very strange idea when you get to think about it. Essentially it is about an idea of one thing which gets replaced by something else and thereby satisfies a sense of loss. For example, my house burns down and the whole of my extensive collection of 20th century antique toothpicks, some hardly used, are destroyed. After a certain amount of strife and argument with the insurance company, who fail to understand the value to history of my collection, I am given a lump of cash, not a big lump, more of a bump actually, but it is my compensation for my loss. The toothpicks were my idea of an important historic collection and they were replaced by an electronic transfer to my bank account and thereby one idea is replaced by something else and I am compensated. Hmmmm.

We have just returned from the very, very best ryokan onsen  I know of. Yep, I have provided a link there but it is only to distract the unworthy. In order to get to this ryokan, just north of Nagano, you can go by train, a very good choice, or you can drive from Tokyo. I have the privilege and honour of being able to drive Honourable Mother in Law (HMiL) and on this occasion was fortunate enough to be joined by her brother, Honourable Uncle in Law (HUiL). This addition to the entourage was very welcome for two reasons, firstly that I was driving his car rather than hiring one and secondly because he served as a distraction for HMiL. This latter point is actually crucial.

You see, my wonderful wife, for all her superb qualities, couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag. HMiL also has a certain difficulty with geographic location. My wife has a habit of lacking to plan ahead when she sits in the passenger seat and directs as an acre of map is tussled with. What this means in practice is that I can arrive in the right hand lane at a set of traffic lights, the first car on the grid so to speak, and as we are sitting waiting for the lights to change she will say, "We need to turn left here.". I have sort of got used to this over the years and so don't even bother to stress when faced with such dilemmas. Well that is not always true because my wife has one other problem, when she says left she can actually mean right and vice versa. She does tend to confuse these two complex philosophical notions.

I put this down to the fact that being Japanese she has no real concept of left such as "left field" or "left wing" or, in the case of food, "left overs". Japanese people really tend to like things that are right, both in fact and in nature. Everything else to them is really wrong and that just wont do, so when my wife says left she probably means right, but not always. Consequently, driving in rush hour Tokyo can prove somewhat challenging.

The challenge is enhanced when HMil is in the car as well. As mother and daughter the pair of them disagree as a matter of course. The reason for this disagreement is that in reality it is only the ability to conflict which separates them from each other, any worthy study of character and behaviour may well conclude that they are the same person disconnected by some weird temporal flux. Obviously they disagree in Japanese, they disagree with rising voices and they can even start to get really snappy with each other. Honourable wife will tell me to turn right when she means left, HMiL will disagree and say I need to turn left when she means right and the map will be waving around across the windscreen as lorries and buses are thundering either side of me down a three carriageway road.

Sometimes I find this a bit stressful. But there are compensations!

The picture above shows you exactly where I was at 09.30 this morning. High up in the mountains north of Nagano, in an old a venerable ryokan, a Japanese style hotel, and sitting in one of the outside onsen baths, a stone lined pool of volcanic hot water filled with minerals which soften the skin and mellow the soul. I am going to guide you around this little piece of heaven and tell you all about it from my own perspective. If ever you are in Japan, if you are a traveller who seeks culture rather than familiarity, then this is one of humanity's special places and a visit is strongly advised.

Understanding Japan and Japanese people is in itself an art form for us from our grubby western "civilisations". Remember what Gandhi said when asked what he thought about western civilisation. He responded that he thought it would be a good idea.  The picture you see above is the starting point for breakfast in the Sekiya Ryokan, a study of this picture (you can click on it to enlarge) will reveal a standard of presentation which is crafted from within a deep love of food. The chef at this Ryokan supplemented his Japanese cuisine by also training in Italy and so the table at this heavenly palace has the most subtle undertones of a European style but only as a brush stroke of mastery rather than a palette.

Perhaps we need to look at our own standard offering, the Full English, as a comparison to begin to understand where it is we are slacking somewhat!

You can of course also click on this picture to enlarge it but I would suggest that it is probably best not to. These two images begin to demonstrate the gulf in not only our understanding of food but our appreciation of it and before any of you food lovely middle class neo gourmets start tossing off a few radishes in my direction I have a culinary tip for you: get stuffed. Maybe the Full English as shown is the lowest common denominator and there are Japanese equivalents of junk food but the point is that food in England is a business, at all levels, whereas in Japan it is a cultural obsession. That is something an English foodie wouldn't understand unless they read it in an article in a quality newspaper's lifestyle magazine right next to the adverts for very expensive restaurants. No, in Japan food ranks equally with Buddhism,  Shintoism and money as being an essential element of a healthy cultural life.

The cultural experience of Japan is what the Ryokan is all about, it is a traditional Japanese hotel wherein there is precious little accommodation, if any, for European standards. If such provision is made then it would usually cost a hefty premium and really underlines how stupid such people are that would search out the genuine Japanese experience and then ask for it to be adapted to their needs. The picture above is of the "cleaning stations" where you sit on your stool and thoroughly clean yourself before you enter the pool of volcanic hot spring water. There is something really strange about this practice when you come to it as a European. Bizarre if you are English and used to soaking in your own dirt and calling it a "bath". Personally I find this process of cleaning almost akin to spiritual cleansing. Sitting on that small stool, all the necessary soaps, shampoos, conditioners etc., at arms reach, hot water pumping out of the shower, do you know, getting really clean is just such a pleasure before you have the luxury of bathing.

 

This picture is of one of the indoor onsen pools. That water is beautifully hot and the minerals it brings forth from the earth as it bubbles up directly into the Ryokan makes the skin soft and warm. On the wall you will find a notice advising that it is very dangerous to enter the onsen if drunk. The problem here is that if you spend more than fifteen minutes in the water you can actually start to loose consciousness. The rest I can leave for you to work out. There is something in the onsen experience which is deeply spiritual, it is a moment of calm in the rush of life, and this point being understood then it is natural for the Japanese to ensure detail in the experience:

One of the two outside terrace onsen pools at  Sekiya Ryokan and is that not just a picture of delight.

The above picture is of the tub, one of my favourites, as it looks out over the mountain side. Laying back in this really does make you think that it is possible to feel at one with the world and leave all the little troubles of life behind.

But should you feel the need for a more completely private moment then you can always slip into your own private onsen bath set just against the verandah of your room. Now really, isn't that just a peach?

And, of course, the rooms in the Ryokan are rich in the simplicity, an oxymoron I know but when you experience it you will know what I mean, of the traditional Japanese architecture. Here, Honourable Uncle in Law, Jiro-san, takes a cup of green tea as we sit enjoying being there.

Futons on a tatami mat floor, if you have never slept this way then you are missing something special. On the right are the cupboards in which the sleeping equipment is stored. In the evening, you go to dinner and when you come back your futons are all laid out and the tables moved into the ante room. When you go to breakfast you return to your room to find the futons all packed away and the tables back in place. There is a quiet magic in the way it all works, it is so easy, so seamless and you, as the honoured guest, are undisturbed by the necessities of the day, for you there is only the purpose of relaxation and comfort. Should you have any stress whatsoever then the massage chair is there for you to sit in and enjoy a thorough and detailed massage. But now I am going to return to the subject of food.

We are called to dinner and shown to our own private dining room. Each of the Ryokan's rooms has its own private dining room, this is just the standard set by Sekiya Ryokan and it is not a standard which rests solely with architecture. Most impressive is the absolute courtesy, good manners and genuine politeness of all of the staff, they make you feel as though you are in a space where you are the centre of all attention. This is of course a great skill but they exceed because you are left in no doubt that their concern for your well being is absolutely genuine. These are people with a gift in hospitality.

So sit tight whilst I take you through the evening meal. Our Japanese friends who read this blog will not enjoy what is to follow. Currently most of them are trapped in a land where the concept of "fresh fish" is not known and food is presented as a slosh on a plate by surly staff. For them the pictures which follow are torture. For us, they are a memory of the last two days and for some of you they are a future you have yet to meet.

Parma Ham, smoked salmon and a selection of vegetables.

Sashumi of an unknown river fish

Seafood soup

Red Mullet with vegetables

A croquette of prawn with lentils and a wasabi mooni mash

Two scallops with a raddish and potato mash

Oh yes and the dishes keep coming and can't you just see that genuine hospitality

A fishcake and vegetable clear soup, rice and pickled vegetables

This desert was just bliss, a pear mousse with a peach ice cream 

And here we see the example of what hospitality means in Japanese. I am not showing you anything particular to this Ryokan just an artefact of culture, an artefact of generosity. You see, to fill a glass properly, without skimping, so that your good nature and spirit of hospitality is plain to see, you need to fill it to the brim. And just so there is absolutely no doubt it is only right and proper to place the glass in a small wooden box which can then catch the overflow of your hospitality and bear witness to the honour you do your guest. This allows the guest to fill his glass again from the surplus in the box. Tell me, where else in the world is the bounty of the host manifested in such an artefact.

As I said at the start of this article, there are compensations. On the way home this afternoon we managed to get lost in the Tokyo traffic. Mother said left, My Honourable wife said right, the traffic thundered by but I remained calm, at ease and slowly brought us home. After all, what exactly was there to stress about?