Shirataka means white hawk.

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  Shirataka, Yamagata, Japan
Thursday, November 12, 2009

There were two foreigners in this town, me included.  We were celebrities. I had arrived in Shirataka, a rural non touristy village in the Northern part of the Honshu Island of Japan. It was the fall, and most leaves had not fallen yet. The first thing I did when I arrived in the modern apartment overlooking rice fields and temples was to have a warm breakfast. A typical breakfast in Japan is miso, a soy bean based soup with sea weed, and rice. Unaccustomed to these flavors, I absolutely appreciated the warmth, lightness and filling aspect of this breakfast. The room in the apartment smelled like hay. The traditional tatami mats were still green. When I went to the toilet for the first time in Japan, I thought I was taking off to the moon on a space shuttle. The seat was pre-heated, and a panel of buttons and lights blinking were at my disposition on both sides. I was curious but cautious because the symbols were incomprehensible. There were lots of images of water fountains.  So  it was a bidet, and I am fine with that. I grew up with a bidet . But what was interesting was all the other functions I had no idea what they could be used for. A topic to be studied definitely here. 

The next day I decided to explore the surroundings. I borrowed a bike, bundled up with many layers of clothes, the air was brutally cold. I went for a couple of miles out of the village. Riding was much easier than anticipated, there were no traffic, and everybody was polite on the road. I followed a river and saw many rice fields and traditional japanese homes with amazingly trimmed gardens. There were trees everywhere. I also a cement factory, which surprised me.  I rode until I saw a wooden bridge, and crossed the river. On the other side there were many stone statues lined up with tiny thatched roof houses. I soaked in the sun, in the middle of the bridge, and simply enjoyed the peaceful moment. 

Shirataka means white hawk in Japanese. I saw many that day by the river. 

My stomach was growling so I decided I would try the local supermarket. I rode back to the village. This was a bigger adventure than anticipated. I could not say a word in Japanese, I just smiled and bowed to every one. I could not even say “I don’t understand”. I needed to learn fast if I wanted to do anything. The local supermarket was as big as a supermarket in Europe, but inside is another world. I was very hungry, and  could not recognize any of the brands or anything that was written on the packaging. The fresh produce was extensive but all looked exotic to me. How to buy something if I don’t even know if it is suppose to be cooked, steamed, eaten raw...

There were a lot of fish, and a lot of raw meats. I was told Japanese eat raw horse and finding whale meat was not uncommon. The shopping was overwhelming, and I decided to wait for my friend before buying anything. 

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