Yasato (2)

Hello again!!

Tamaki Hiroshi fans couldn’t be happier with the great news about the new NHK morning Drama! (>艸<｡) Hard to wait until September but it’s totally worth it XD So let’s just wish him luck with the tough filming schedule he will have from next month!!

♡♡(´p・ω・q｀)ｶﾞﾝﾊﾞ♪♡♡

OK! Back to Yasato with Tamaki san and the filming crew…

and the kids enjoying the fresh fruits!

Tamaki san approaches a group of kids sitting on a bench!

The kids become excited of course…

but the teacher’s reaction is the best XD

Tamaki san asks them:

“Did you eat lots of mikan?”

“We did!” They reply.

“Were they tasty?” He asks.

“They were!” The kids answer.

“How many did you eat?” Tamaki san asks XD

The girls all say: “4”!

But one of the boys says 5 and the other one says 6!!

“6?! You’re eating a lot!! Well it’s because you are a boy!”

Tamaki san says!!

Then suddenly Tamaki san becomes interested in their akashirobo,

the red/white hats they are wearing.

These hats are used in Japanese elementary and middle schools

during the sports even or sometimes for other occasions.

Tamaki san says that the style has changed

(probably from when he was small)

and is mumbling to himself why it’s like this while

touching the hat of one of the little girls…

and the little girl gathers all her courage and says

that they can separate into red team and white team like this XD

I think Tamaki san already knew about that XD

But he doesn’t show anything and goes with the flow:

“White team and red team!!… 

so are you competing for which team gets more mikan?”

“No we are not!!” they reply! XD

hehehehe

Tamaki san walks to the garden with Uchida san.

Depending on which season you visit the garden,

you can enjoy picking other fruits like

strawberries, cucumbers, grapes etc.

They get close to one of the trees and

Uchida san points to a one of the branches and says that

the mikans here are ready to be picked!

Tamaki san takes off his right hand’s glove

and reaches for the branch.

Picks a mikan and starts peeling it!

saying that the orange color is very nice.

Uchida san explains that this type of mikan

is called miyakawawase (宮川早生温州みかん).

Somehow Tamaki san doesn’t get it right and

asks :“Minakawa?”

But Uchida san corrects him,

writing the word with his finger on the air. XD

He eats a bite and the juice splashes out (〃ﾉωﾉ)

Tamaki san says that normally,

the juice doesn’t come out like this when you eat a mikan!

He really likes the taste ^^

Then as he starts wondering around again…

and finds a group of kids in the garden.

getting closer to them,

he asks with a cute tone: “Mikan… Are you eating?”

The kids all says hello and then Tamaki san

notices that they look older than the other kids he just talked to,

and then asks them how old they are and they say 6, 5…

“So this year you will be in elementary school?”

Tamaki san says.

Yes they answer and one of the boys says that

he has even been to the Medical examination!

Tamaki san is listening to him with a curious face,

but somehow can’t hold it back and laughs (･ω･`;)

Don’t laugh at the kids!!! They will dislike you!!щ(ﾟﾛﾟщ)

Well I think he just couldn’t resist because they are very cute!

Then he says: “You’ve already been to the Medical examination!”

And tries to be cool again…

Then the pinkish red color of one of the girls hat gets his attention,

“Is it OK not to wear the red one and have this pink hat?”

says while touching the girl’s hat.

The kids insist that it’s a Red/White hat but

he says that this one is Pink/White! XD

The kids all laugh at his idea and say that

nothing like that even exists XD

Guess he is trying to warm up the atmosphere again

after what he did a few seconds ago! （；^ω^）

Then he points to the back of the hat and asks them why

the shape is like this, is it because it’s cold?

But one of boys says that it’s to prevent the heat…

No idea which one of them is right…

probably both wrong?! XD

Then Tamaki san tells him that when he was small,

they used these hats to imitate ultraman!

Asks them if they know how to do it and they say no!

So he hands the branch of mikan

(which probably Uchida san cut for him)

to the little girl and asks her to hold it for him.

Then borrows one of their hats and makes this shape!

Put it on the boy’s head

and wow…

he is ultraman!! XD XD

hehehehe

But they are the new era’s

PS and Smartphone generation kids!!

The other boy says “aaa… Interesting!” 

But it’s obvious they are not that interested XD

Tamaki san says “aaa… interesting?!

You don’t look interested at all!”

while pointing his finger toward him in a very cute way XD

Somehow he has become one of them XD

The kids all laugh with him.

“Are you already full? It’s gonna be lunch time soon…

You won’t be able to eat lunch anymore!”

Tamaki san says while laughing.

Then they decide to go back and join the others!

☆

As they go back, Uchida san takes him to a special spot,

where he can see a panoramic view of the town from there.

A sea of clouds covering the area.

Tamaki san says that a view like this is really fantastic.

Uchida san says that

seeing a view like this is not possible in Tokyo.

Tamaki san agrees and says that

the buildings will always get on the way no matter what!

Everyone coming up here,

 can really enjoy the view!

And Tamaki san adds taking a memorable photo

and eating a lot of tasty fruits to the plan ^^

The sea of clouds which

Tamaki san was able to see here totally by chance,

is chosen as the

kokoro no hikyo #10

by Tamaki Hiroshi!

ヽ(・∀・)ノ

☆

Tamaki san goes back on the road!

Then he makes a stop at a workshop…

There are two men working inside…

one in the yard and one in the tatami room.

He greets them and gets inside.

Then asks the young man in the yard what they do.

He explains that they make bamboo shafts (Takeya) here,

which are used for kyuudou (Modern Japanese martial art of archery).

Then Tamaki san asks him about what he is doing now and

which stage of the process of making the shaft

is he busy with right now…

The young man (Koike san)

says that he is using sand and a hard stone to

make the bamboo as slippery as he can.

They let the bamboo dry outside for 3 or 4 months,

and then use them to make the shafts.

It’s a long and sensitive process.

Then Tamaki san heads toward the room,

where the old man who is Koiike san’s father is.

He says hello and then stands outside and waits for him to let him in,

Koiike san notices that and tells him: “Please come in!”

Tamaki san takes off his shoes and steps inside.

Sits down somewhere not too far from him.

Then asks him about what he is doing,

Koike san explains that this is the first stage of the process.

He uses the heat to make the bamboos soft,

then uses a wooden tool which is called tamegi to straighten them!!

Tamaki san says: “The bamboo sticks are already straight…

but despite that,

you use this technique to fix even the slightest curves on them?”

But Koike san smiles in a very wise way

and says that they are all curved!

And all these years he has worked in this field,

he has never been able to find a single bamboo stick

which can be called straight!

Sorry sensei （；^ω^）no offense!

Then, to make it more clear for Tamaki san,

Koike san hands him a curved stick which he has not worked on yet!

Tamaki san keeps it in his hand and looks at it!

It’s curved…

Then he hands him a straight one he has worked on!

Completely different!

Straight!

You can see the difference better here in this scene:

Then Tamaki san asks him how long he has been doing this job.

Koike san says that he is the fifth generation…

Tamaki san turns his head toward the young man

and asks if they are father and son…

And Koike san says yes.

Then Tamaki san asks the young Koike san when he started this job ^^

He gets close and sits beside Tamaki san and joins the conversation.

Saying that he was 22 when he started for the first time.

Then Tamaki san asks him how old he is now and he says 32!

The young Koike san is going to take the business after his father

and become the 6th generation!

Tamaki san asks the father:

“Your relationship is not just a father and son relationship,

you also have a master and disciple relationship…

So I think you should also be strict with him sometimes!”

But Koike san says that he is not that strict and he let him

experience it on his own.

Also says: “My own father used to work even after he became 80.

Even at that time, I felt his presence standing behind me!

and it was like at any moment,

he might say something from my back and correct me.”

Then Tamaki san asks the son if he also feels like that.

He says that he hasn’t been told anything like that while working,

but of course he feels the existence of his father as his teacher

standing behind him all the time. ^^

Somehow Tamaki san is really enjoying this talk…

which makes the atmosphere become very friendly and nice.

☆

Tamaki san goes back to the road…

it’s time to eat something delicious!! XD

The name of the restaurant is Hourokuya!

And they have shishi (Wild boar) nabe!!

Tamaki san tried another inoshishi nabe in

Kumamoto as well, remember? XD

Let’s see how this one tastes like.

Tamaki san gets inside and greets the owner.

Then asks him about the famous shishi nabe they have here.

And he strongly recommends him to give it a try.

Then the owner guides us to a very nice corner

with wooden furniture and an old style fire place in the center!

Tamaki san likes the place and says that the meal will become

even tastier if it’s eaten in an environment like this!

Here comes the nabe!!

It’s full of meat and fresh vegetables harvested in this area.

As expected from Tamaki Hiroshi,

he starts with the meat!! (^_^;

He says that it’s very rich!

The owner says that the more you chew the meat,

the more the taste of it will spread inside your mouth.

Tamaki san also says that there is no unnecessary fat in it.

Then asks the owner if people around this area

have been eating inoshishi meat since the old days.

The owner says that there were lots of them in the mountain before.

They were called “Yamakujira”

which means the “Whale of the mountain”.

He also says that being able to live in this place,

being surrounded by the nature

and having this fresh meals every day,

has made him feel like he’s really happy living here.

Tamaki san agrees with him and says that the food that we eat

everyday actually plays an important role in our life and when

the wealthy and fresh type of food is available to eat,

people’s hearts will also become rich and

they will turn out to be gentle and calm.

☆

Tamaki san is already in Tsukuba,

very close to where Mount Tsukuba is.

in order to go to the peak of Mount Tsukuba (800meters),

we need to get on the cable car!

It will only take 8 minutes to go all the way up!

Tamaki san gets inside and here we go…

Watching the view from the windows of the cable car,

Tamaki san is heading to the top!

☆

He gets off the cable car…

it’s raining outside and as he says,

it’s gotten really cold!

It might be true that the rain makes the situation hard

for our filming crew…

but who would have exchanged the comfort with such a wonderful view!

Tamaki san says that the clouds are all gathering down there,

and there is not a slightest movement you can see in them!

“The nature of the locality of this valley,

I feel like the passage of time is really slow and relaxing here…

.

And they all want to keep what they have right now

for the future generation as well,

The craftsman who makes the bamboo shafts or the old man

who talked about this area with so much pride…

it’s obvious they all love this place.

I never thought that this could be a town

holding so many good things of Japan inside of it!”

☆

and another journey ends here…

But as always…

the best shot by Tamaki Hiroshi!

ヽ(・∀・)ノ

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Next time…

Tamaki san visits Katsuura in Chiba prefecture

Riding a boat by himslef?!

Cooking…

and many many good moments to come!!

Please stay tuned!

ﾖﾛ───ヽ(○｀･v･)人(･v･´●)ﾉ───ｼｸ♪

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Thank you so much for being with me until the end.

And please let me know if you had any thing you wanted to share with me,

or everyone else reading the blog and following the show (´・ω・)ﾉ★

See you soon！

☆☆☆

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玉木宏の秘境ふれあい紀行

is being aired on BS Asahi,

Every Thursday at 23:00

Please visit the official pages here:

Official Homepage: http://www.bs-asahi.co.jp/tamaki-hiroshi/
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