Hattoji

This weekend, Natalie and I (and 9 other people) made the trek all the way out to an international villa tucked away in a little place called Hattoji. An international villa is basically a place set out by the Japanese government specifically designated for foreigners to rent out and be able to experience Japanese culture. To be honest, before going to Hattoji, I had no idea where and what we were going to. I thought that it was just going to be a bunch of being drinking in a villa, but honestly it ended up being more than that.

Hattoji is a really nice area. The villa is way up in the mountains and nestled in a valley. There is not a store in sight. Every house is traditional, and it's all very rural. It's extremely quiet and free of pollution. The villa itself was a highlight. It was a like a house straight out of a Samurai movie set. The place had tatami mats, screen doors, and even a hearth in the middle of the house to cook food on. It was really special and as soon as we got there, everyone knew that we were going to be in a for a good weekend. Besides just staying in the place, we went out and explored a bit of the surroundings. There was a small festival going on and like all other Japanese festivals I've been to, I had no idea what it was for but that didn't stop me from enjoying what turned out to be one of the stranger things I've seen in Japan (and that's saying a lot). Having lived in Texas for a long time, it was a pleasure to see Japan representing Texas. At the festival, there was a group of about 20 elderly women (in their 60's I'd day) dressed in jeans, cowboy hats, red cowboy shirts, cowboy boots, and other awesome cowcessories doing their best country dance number to a techno version of John Denver's "Take me Home". It was quite a sight to see. They  were the least smiley group of Cowgirls I've ever seen, but seemed to love it anyways. Either way, it was strange to see especially considering that we were in the middle of nowhere and the festival was sparsely attended. And so, that was the festival in a nut shell. I also got to enjoy some roasted squid, sweet potato fries, and some very icey Ice cream. Japan sure is fun.

Throughout the day, we got to explore more of the surroundings such as a nearby Temple hidden in a quite forest. It was creepy but it is nice to enjoy those types of places as usually they are filled with tourists. We also observed a skilled wood carver at work, which was impressive. Otherwise, it was just nice to spend the day with a really fun, funny, and nice group of people. Everyone was super friendly and easy to get along with. It always makes for a memorable trip. We ate Nabe (Japanese stew) for the first time and played a lot of fun drinking games. I ended up playing one of the most fun games of King's Cup that I''ve had the pleasure of playing in a long time. Some of the rules that were added were things like no pronouns, no pointing, and prohibiting the use of the word drink. By the end of the game, we resorted to cave man English such as "English is the becoming hardness" and "man there imbibe now". We listened to some good music and even had an awesome guitar player to listen to at one point. It was all in the name of fun.

On the second day, things were a little more lax. We hiked up a small mountain and explored more of the considerably beautiful surroundings. We were all a little tired but it didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of our time there. In the end, Hattoji is a place I'd really like to go back to. It was really beautiful, peaceful, and even mysterious at times. Just being able to breath in some fresh air and to be free of noise pollution is a treat in and of itself. I'm hoping to find other hidden gems with Natalie so that we can escape the bustle and noise of the city.