Okuiya, Tokushima (1)

Hello my friends!
Forgive me for my long absence again… hmmm I tried to stay away from the blog so that I can focus more on work and school but somehow… I came here because I needed to stay away from all that for a few hours XD So I will write as much as I can…

This time I will be writing about Tamaki san’s journey in Tokushima prefecture.

He starts his trip from a small town call ikeda machi.

Let’s follow him around!! ^^

While walking in the streets of the town, he finds a place called “Udatsu no bi”!

Let’s get inside…

He enters the place and after greeting the man inside, asks him if this is a shop…

The man tells him that the town was flourished by tobacco making industry since the old days.

So as makers remaining in the town, they have decided to run a place and exhibit the documents and information related to this industry.

Then the panel in front of the man gets Tamaki san’s attention “Smoking area… it says!” he says while laughing…

Then the man says that he can try smoking pipe tobacco here if he wants to… The kind of tobacco that people used to smoke in the old days and hardly do it nowadays…

Tamaki san accepts the offer and sits down by the counter…

The Japanese style pipe is called kiseru which is taken from the English word “kicell”

Then while preparing the pipe for Tamaki san, the man asks him if he had ever smoked this kind of tobacco and he says yes, in historical drama series/ movies.

But he also says that for these historical plays, they just take out the tobacco leaves inside the normal cigarettes and put them inside the pipe.

The man prepares the pipe for him and then hands it over to Tamaki san…

Well… the way he holds the pipe in his hand… makes it obvious this is not his first time XD

The man lights the leaves for him…

And he starts smoking…

There’s just a very few amount of leaves in the pipe… so the smoking time is very limited!

Tamaki san says that it’s like an adult luxurious experience…

Then he says that the word “ippuku”, probably has its origin in the era when they used to smoke like this. (in Japan, when they say ippuku, it means taking a break and having a smoke)

Then he continues saying that this is the real meaning of ippuku, not smoking one cigarette like they do nowadays.

The man agrees with him on that, saying that the real meaning of ippuku is this… just letting the smoke inside your mouth 2-3 times and then it’s over!

When they get out of the place and start walking in the streets again,

Tamaki san explains for us that in historical plays, there are actors who are originally smokers but of course there are actors who don’t smoke.

For those who cannot smoke, they use a kind of tobacco called “yakuyou tabako” (薬用タバコ) which means medicinal cigarettes!

Tamaki san says that the actors who do not smoke, can use this kind of special cigarettes… but even so, seems like it’s hard for them to smoke it in after all.

And also the way they keep it in their hand… the old fashioned pipe right now is a different story but when it comes to normal cigarettes, he says that the way they hold it in their hand makes it obvious they are not everyday smokers… XD

Smoking may not be good for your health, but I guess it becomes handy for an actor!!

★

walking in a shopping district with shops lining on both sides…

Tamaki san finds an interesting place…

It’s a shop selling handmade toys!!!

What a nostalgic place…

Tamaki san is very interested and gets inside the shop…

After greeting the owner (ooyama san) and getting permission to take his time, he asks him about the shop.

Seems like the shop is separated into two sections, the workshop and the exhibition area.

Then taking a look at the toys made by blocks of wood, Tamaki san says that making toys, actually needs a lot of calculations to do, so that one part matches another and all work perfectly!

Ooyama san confirms this and then take him to one of his complicated toys and tells him that even 1 millimeter can be important!!

He puts the tiny marble on top…

and the wooden birds guide it all the way down to the square shaped box placed on the lowest part… XD

Tamaki san tries it as well…

And follows the marble with his eyes all the way down…

Then laughs lightly like a little boy (o´艸`)

Ooyama san explains for him that kids won’t accept a toy as a real one, unless it’s big enough to get their attention!

Then he shows us the small kitchen with the cute stove…

and Tamaki san says that it looks like it can be really used as a real one!!

Then while standing beside Ooyama san and looking at the toys, Tamaki san says that wood is wonderful after all…

it makes you calm somehow!

★

Walking in the streets again…

Tamaki san hears the sound of taiko (Japanese drum)

It’s coming from here… the park in front of the station…

Tamaki san heads to the origin of the sound with no hesitation…

After entering the park, he finds a group of men and women dancing all together…

They are practicing the movements for the famous avaodori (Ava dance) in Tokushima!!! It is said that they practice it even at school during the PE lessons!! Interesting…

Tamaki san keeps watching them until they stop…

Then he says: “This is tough!” ← Especially for someone we know who’s never been good at dancing XD

Tamaki san gets closer to the stage and greets the group leader, Kinoshita san! (In the background, you can clearly see the ladies panic and hear them scream as quietly as they can XD )

Kinoshita san explains that the main dance is going to be held on August 14th, 15th and 16th.

Tamaki san says that the dance looks very delicate but it has some extreme movements as well… there are many expressions in it he says!

The leader agrees with him and also says that it depends on the dance they are doing as well.

Then when Tamaki san asks him about the number of people dancing in the group, Kinoshita san says that many couldn’t come today based on their working days and also the kids who usually participate in their practices, are not around since it’s a weekday and they have school!

But including all the kids… there are around 100 members!!!

Tamaki san is amazed by the fact that all the 100 members of the group can match with one another and dance like this.

Then he says: “For human beings, keeping your hands lower than your height is a normal thing, but keeping it higher in the air all the time… it must be really tiring!!”

Well said!! Kinoshita san totally agrees with him and says that they start the practice from an early age, so they can get used to it as they grow up.

In the end, Kinoshita san asks Tamaki san to go see the main dance in August…

And Tamaki san of course says: “Sure!” with a bright smile…

but well… he knew he couldn’t do that based on his tough schedule in Osaka ヽ(´Д`；)ﾉ

He thanks the leader and then thanks the dancers on the stage while taking a bow… the ladies are still excited XD

★

Heading to the station…

Tamaki san is about to go to his next destination by train…

He gets inside the station he’s never been to,

looks for his train and then gets on it!

from awaikeda to ooboke station!!

He finds his seat…

and looks outside the window, enjoying the beautiful scenery…

the music in the background is a soft theme and he looks very handsome looking outside the window with a serious face…

but just when everything is like a classical, romantic scene in a movie… during their stop in one of the stations, he says:

 “If you want a make a shelter, why don’t you make it a little big larger?”  XD

and when you are tossed out of that romantic scene and still wondering what he is talking about…

the camera moves and shows us the tiny shelter on the other side of the platform!

Then he continues his harsh comment: “A useless shelter it is!”

hahahahahahaha!! (；´Д`A

Finally, Tamaki san arrives at his destination…

thanks the train staff and gets off.

Ooboke Station!

There’s still a lot of exciting meetings waiting for Tamaki san…

But let’s stop here and leave the rest for the next part…

Thank you all and see you soon!!!

( ´・ω・｀)ﾉ~ﾊﾞｲﾊﾞｲ

★★★

---

End of part 1

---