Bungotakada Farmstay

My program had a farm stay visit for this weekend and this was by far the best part of my trip here so far. We were split into groups of 2-4 for boys and girls and also depending on what level Japanese class. I was paired with a girl from my Japanese class and another girl from the A class. We had no clue what we were getting into since the only directions they gave us was to bring a bag of overnight clothes and a pair of clothes that we don't mind getting dirty since we would be working on the farm. We all packed onto a small bus that took us up to the top of Kyushu island about an hour away to the city of Bungotakada. We climbed off the bus mid afternoon on Saturday and walked into a small office building that was begging to be renovated. We walked up flight after flight of stairs until we came to an empty room with people sitting on the side of the room. They called out our names and told us where to sit- which was in a row next to our farm stay family members.
A Bungotakada resident tried his hand a speaking English to welcome us to their city and one of our students gave a speech as well. The family members then all stood up and introduced themselves to everyone. After that we all got up and left with our family members. We had a cute little man wearing a suit for our family member. We were so nervous and confused with everything that we just got into the car and just nodded our heads to everything he said. I for some reason didn't think that we would be completely on our own with these families but I was wrong. We drove a few miles down the road and through town until we came to a dirt road which was surrounded by rice fields. We had to drive slowly down the streets since the roads were so narrow and we could have easily fallen into the water filled rice fields.
We arrived at the house after about a 20 minute drive from the meeting place and walked inside the gates of the house. Waiting to greet us was their dog "Ryoo" which means dragon in Japanese- he was the cutest dog though and didn't look anywhere near scary enough to have a name like that. Mrs. Wakatake came and invited us in to put out things down in the tetami matted room and sit around the table in the room. We all sat down and introduced ourselves one by one. They said my name was the easiest which was awesome because it was the one they always remembered and said out of the three of us. They told us that they were the Wakatake family that has a plum farm in the backyard. They also said that they didn't speak any English so this would really be a test on how much we had learned since we could not communicate with them in any way but speaking Japanese.
They then showed us around the house and then told us that lunch was ready. I have never had such an extravagant meal and okaasan (which is what we called her) had been making it all day. There was all different kinds of food and everything was so delicious. We finished eating and were fully stuffed. They told us that for the day we would go to the ofuro, the Japanese public bath, and also go and meet some of their good friends. We went on a walk down the street and ended up at their friends house. The friend's house looked like something out of a book- it was so pretty and the inside looked like a museum with all of the beautiful artwork. They showed us around the house in the garden and then we went inside for a makeshift tea ceremony. Normally tea ceremonies are very serious but we were just practicing. The family that lived in the house had lived there for a long time and were a cute old couple. They showed us how to do everything in a tea ceremony and asked us questions about ourselves before we left.
We went back into the house to get our things to go to the ofuro but before we left, one of their neighbors came over. There must be a whole community that takes in different people all year for farmstays because the neighbor also had some students from my program staying with them. Them three and all of us went into the backyard to explore the farm. We walked up a small but steep hill before finding ourselves in a grove. The fruits they were growing tasted like they were a cross between plums and peaches but they were small like plums. We then walked by the plum trees. They use the plums to make plumed plums- which are very famous and liked here. They use some of the plums to make plum wine which I've tired and did not like very much since it is very bitter and what I think is an acquired taste. If they do not use them for wine, they use the other ones for making plum jam. We had a little during lunch and it was the best jam I have ever had. The taste is something that I have never tasted before where it is a little bitter yet sweet at the same time. They can and label their own jars of jam and plums before selling them. They gave us a jar each to take home with us which I was grateful for since I was planning on buying some if they hadn't. We then walked further into the garden/small farm where we tried blueberries, tomatoes, and some other fruits. The cherry tomatoes were the best I have ever had before. They were not too tangy like they are in America yet they were sweet which was a great surprise.
It then started to rain so ojiisan (Mr. Wakatake) drove us to the ofuro and dropped us off. I had never been to a real ofuro yet so it was definitely a great experience. Ofuros are designed so that you strip down in the locker room and then go into the bathing area. In the bathing area, there is a shower area where you must scrub yourself well-taking off all makeup and jewelry, and wash your hair if you want, and then you may enter the baths. There were about 4 baths in the whole area so we went into the big one first. The water is so hot that it gives you goosebumps but it feels so good to just be able to soak. We then moved outside where there was a nice rock bath with an open roof so we could feel the raindrops as we sat in the water.
After a while we left the baths, got dressed, and got picked back up by ojiisan. Dinner was being prepared before we had left so preparation was just being finished when we got back. Dinner was tempura. Now I've had tempura before in America but it tasted nothing like this tempura. Okaasan made her own batter and dipped all of the shrimp, fish, and vegetables into it before placing them into the vat of oil. The tempura just tasted so fresh and there were so many different kinds of vegetables that I've never had before. My favorite was the sardines and the carrots. The carrots were almost shredded and they were just delicious. They gave us so many other things like cucumber soup and tofu for dinner as well. We were absolutely stuff after dinner since it was all so delicious and we couldn't stop eating. We sat around the table after clean up was over and okaasan brought out a bunch of different kinds of desserts while conversing. We had a couple types of plums- one kind was frozen and absolutely amazing. They did not look very appetizing but they were a sweet taste that I've never had before that was really good. We also had some peaches and some jello- the jello in Japan is really hard and a weird texture but not too bad. After dinner we gave them some thank you gifts for allowing us to stay in their house- since in Japan it is custom to bring a small present when visiting someones house.
After all of that, we all rested since we were so full from dinner and dessert. Ojiisan taught us how to play what looked like a guitar and piano combined. He played some songs before the other two girls tried it also. I tried it for a little but then realized how musically retarded I am so I just took pictures instead. We stayed up until around 11:30 before going to bed. Our beds were just makeshift futons on the ground which is the traditional sleeping arrangements in Japan. I have already gotten used to the feeling of sleeping on such hard surfaces due to my bed back at campus. We all got in bed and fell asleep pretty quickly after a long day of hard thinking- for translations and understanding each other.
In the morning we got up to the sweet smell of salmon for breakfast. Breakfast was almost as big a dinner which was amazing. By that time we were just stuffed with rich and delicious foods that we felt like we couldn't eat anymore but we did anyways. The specialty in Bungotakada is suika aka watermelon so we had some for breakfast. Near my school in Beppu, the prices of watermelon is almost $25 for one which was four times as much as they are in Bungotakada! After breakfast we got all of our things together and packed up the car to head to the meeting place. We stopped by a few shrines on the way to the elementary school which is where we were supposed to meet everyone for the closing ceremony. One of the shrines we stopped at had a huge bell that we got to ring. We then hopped back into the car and headed to the school. We arrived at an outside area where we were supposed to play some taiko drums but it started to rain so we went to the elementary school. Our host families and all of us students piled in and took our choice of a drum we wanted to play once they were all set up. I got to play on one of the medium drums that made a large booming sound. Taiko is a tradition kind of drum that the Japanese play which we all got to try. They taught us different verses of a song and then after about 20 minutes everyone had it figured out and we performed in front of everyone. It sounded really cool once it was all done. After we were done, the owners of the taiko company did a performance for everyone. They dressed up and played a bunch of different instruments for us.
After it was all over, we went back to the first place where were supposed to play. This was where we had to say goodbye to our host families. It was very sad because they were such a nice couple to us and I had such a great time while learning so many new things. They both said that they were happy to have us since they didn't know what to expect. We took some pictures and they gave us their information before leaving. After saying goodbye to our host families, all of the students got to have a huge lunch. It was catered by a group of old and adorable Japanese women that made traditional Bungotakada food. It all looked so delicious so I tried at least one of everything. I realized that I had had so much food in that one weekend that it was probably as much as I had eaten the two weeks before. We all hung out after eating for a little before getting back onto the bus to go to Beppu. We arrived in Beppu just in time to do our homework and get ready for the next week to come.