Shimizumachi

Today our minds were on the typhoon that was bearing down on Taiwan and what possible side effects that will have for us when we visit Taiwan on Nov 5th, not to mention what the seas would be like for our next few days.
Today is the second time we visited the city of Shimizu. In addition to the shrine we were about to visit, Shimizu is known for its green tea, but even more notably it is known for its tuna which we would learn all about at a lunch following the visit to the shrine. There were 37 of us on the bus making it the largest bus tour we’ve been on so far. Our guide today was Mr. Yuki. It took us 50 minutes to reach the shrine and on the way, he showed a terrific video about Mount Fuji on a large screen at the front of the bus. We wish more of our guides would have shown videos along the way.
The first of two stops was at the Fujisan Honshu Takaha Shrine, on Mount Fuji, which is 3736 m high. Fuji means the equivalent of long life being made up of two words that mean something like "no death". The most severe earthquake was in the 12th century, but the most recent one was 300 years ago. The mountain has significant importance in the art of Japan. The painting "Great Wave off Kanagawa" also sometimes referred to as  "Under the Wave off Kanagawa" was originally a woodblock print by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai, created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The print depicts three boats moving through a storm-tossed sea, with a large, cresting wave forming a spiral over the boats with Mount Fuji visible in the background. Kanagawa is a prefecture (state) just north of Tokyo. There are tons of prints of this in art shops everywhere and it is featured on many souvenirs such as t-shirts and coffee mugs.
Today, some 400,000 pilgrims climb Mount Fuji every year, and many of them stop at the shrine first to pray for a safe climb. The shrine celebrated the 1200th anniversary of its foundation in 2006. The shrine was built during a period of intense volcanic activity on Mount Fuji, and was intended to appease the kami of the mountain. It is the largest of five shrines on the mountain, and has long been considered a guardian deity that prevents natural disasters and insures childbirth ( once again, I didn’t make up that childbirth thing. It’s actually in the write up for the excursion.) There are more than 500 cherry trees in the surrounding gardens that provide a wonderfully scenic setting, but unfortunately, at this time of year there were no blossoms.
We learned that the straw entwined rope hanging over the entrance to the shrine is called Shimenawa. It represents the boundary between the secular and the sacred world. By marking the limits of a space, it signifies purity and serves to ward off negative or impure influences. The braiding of the ropes, often made from rice straw, is also a symbolic act. It represents unity and strength.
We wandered the grounds which were very picturesque and particularly enjoyable because there were no crowds. There is a pond, fed by melting snow and ice from Mount Fuji, and it was remarkably crystal clear. Some of the pictures that we took were of the wooden wish/prayer boards, called Ema. They are small wooden plaques, common to Japan, on which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes and then hang on a special rack. There were also fortune telling forms that people buy and if they like the fortune they get, they clip them on strings on different racks. The interesting thing is that if they didn't like their fortune, they would then hang those papers on a "not so good fortune rack". These are burned later in the hopes that their hope for a better fortune would be carried up to the gods and finally granted. Sort of like a second chance, I guess. We also saw an impressive statue of Minamoto no Yoritomo riding a horse. He was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.
Yuki told us that there were only about 30% of the days in a year where you can see Mount Fuji clearly and today, even while it started cloudy and rainy, by the time we arrived, the sun had come out and we could at least see part of the mountain from the shrine.
After the shrine, we went to a sushi restaurant where a Master Chef and assistant demonstrated how to dismantle an entire 5ft long tuna by meticulously cutting out the premium pieces. It is quite an art form that requires a long apprenticeship, especially for chefs that are interested to cut up a tuna that may cost more than a million dollars!
There are six types of tuna used for sushi toppings: Pacific bluefin tuna, Atlantic bluefin tuna, Southern bluefin tuna, Bigeye Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, and Albacore. The taste differs depending on the type.
There are also several different grades of tuna, each denoting a specific level of quality and characteristics. A tuna grading chart can vary slightly depending on the region or market; however, some common grades include:
• # 1 grade: This is typically the highest grade available for tuna. It represents superior quality with vibrant coloration, high fat content, exceptional flavor, and a buttery texture.
• # 2 grade: Falling slightly below the top grade, #2 grade tuna still maintains good color and flavor but may have less fat marbling or a slightly less desirable texture
• Sushi/Sashimi grade: Tuna specifically labeled for raw consumption due to its freshness and careful handling
• Canning/Loins grade: This grade denotes tuna intended for canning or processing into loins. While still of decent quality, it may have lower fat content and might not exhibit the same attributes as higher-grade options when consumed.
Before we sat down for lunch the chef and his assistant wearing a goofy tuna hat, completely dismantled the tuna starting with cutting off the head. After cutting the fish in half lengthwise the centre bone was skillfully removed and each half was then cut in half again. Each time the quarter section was available, a helper would run that big piece of tuna into the kitchen. They ran these four sections to the kitchen, but left the head so that at the end of our lunch, people could go up and have their picture taken with the assistant while holding the head, which Lee and I both did.
For lunch, we were served a pre-delivered selection of four pieces of tuna, after which we went up to the extensive sushi buffet and made our own selections, consisting of other fish including eel, and octopus. And yes, we did.
One of the interesting things that we learned about sushi had to do with the wasabi. You are supposed to put the wasabi between the sushi meat and the rice before dipping in the soy sauce, and then eat. You’re not supposed to put the wasabi on top of the meat. Who knew!
After lunch, we wandered through an extensive array of shops and bought a few souvenirs.
Back on the ship, we attended a lecture at 3:15 pm by Adam Tanner about how the Japanese people justified the attack on Pearl Harbour. It’s very complicated but basically had to do with their desire for geographical expansion in the world and the west applying increasingly crippling embargoes on them which limited the resources they needed to do this.
Adam spent much of his career as a foreign correspondent and now is an associate and fellow at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science.
Today we were again encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness and at 6 o’clock, there was the captain's welcome reception, which gave us all a chance to do this.Read more