Asamushi Facebook Reporting Event

A few weeks ago, we had a chance to revisit the Yu~sa building in Asamushi Onsen with a few other JETs and a bunch of exchange students through another prefectural-sponsored FB reporting event! 日本語の翻訳は下にあります！The building is home to a souvenir shop on the 1^st floor, some meeting rooms on the 4^th floor, and a small onsen (Sky Spa) on the 5^th floor!

The Yu-Sa Building! (not my picture)

We gathered in the 4^th floor conference room of the building to learn about the day’s main activities: snow-trekking and traditional basket-weaving.

Since the activities of the day were very time-consuming, our group was split into two. One would try “ski-trekking” and the other would give basket-weaving a shot. When the groups finished their respective activity, they’d then switch areas and experience the other one.

Ryan and I were assigned to go with the snow-trekking group first! Our group was taken to a nearby shrine at the foot of a hill. There, we put on our skis and followed our tour guides up the hill. Yes, UP the hill on skis! We quickly learned that snow-trekking is a really fun and interesting sport that combines cross-country skiing, skiing, and snow-shoeing. 

Thanks to the directional grip on the bottom of the skis (the blue strip on the bottom of the ski above), we could not only climb snowy mountains, but also slowly ski down the same path we took up!

This guy was super excited to ski from the get-go!

 Ryan and I had a lot of fun trekking up the hill. We even found some rabbit and deer footprints along the way!  I’m really, really glad that we were at the front of the pack and were able to progress at the pace that we did because the (dare I say) less athletic foreign exchange students had a lot more difficulty progressing. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top of the hill, but it took the rest of the group about 20 more minutes just to catch up to us. The photographer/ski-trekking expert from Hokkaido (who spoke English with an Aussie accent) expressed his annoyance at how slow Asian girls (in general) tend to be at snow sports…

Thanks to the slow pace of the group, the guides decided to take Group 2 to another place (which I’m told resembled a track-and-field track). I’m so glad I was in Group 1!

Ryan in action!

We were rewarded with a beautiful view at the top of the mountain! On a clear day, you can see Hokkaido from here.

A group photo (me, an ALT from Sannohe, our photographer, Ryan, an ALT from Towada, and a Korean CIR)

Next, basket-weaving proved to be quite difficult at first. In fact, I had a lot of trouble trying to start my basket and the ladies came over and started it for me without bothering to explain how I could do it myself. Although the beginning was a bit stressful, after a while of bending and weaving the wooden strings together, it became an almost rhythmic activity which was very soothing and meditative.

The beginning of a hand-woven basket

It’s a beautiful, but dying art. When you can easily skip the entire process and buy the end product for ￥100 at Daiso, it’s hard to convince the younger generation to learn the art.

After we finished our baskets, we got into groups and exchanged opinions about the entire experience. Finally, we got to go into the onsen and rinse off all the sweat we worked up after ski-trekking. I was excited to relax in the onsen, but didn’t realize how crowded the small bath would get after all the mostly female tour group filed into the room. Having to wait to shower for the first time in an onsen was an experience that made me appreciate all the other times I’ve gotten an entire onsen to enjoy by myself. I was envious the 3 guys in the group, who must have been enjoying a quiet, relaxing soak in the water on their side of the onsen…

That’s all for today! Until next time!

先月、国際交流のプログラムのおかげで、他のJETと留学生と浅虫温泉のゆ～さビルに戻るチャンスがありました。このビルはとても高い。一階でおみやげショップあるし、４階で会議室もあるし、５階で小さい温泉（Sky Spa）もあります！

メインアクティビティを習うために４階の会議室で皆さんが集まりました。「スキートレッキング」と「バスケット・ウィービング」をやってきました！

すごい時間かかるアクティビティなので皆で二つのグループを作りました。グループ①はスキートレッキングをやりながら、グループ②はバスケット・ウィービングをするつもりでした。グループ①を戻った後で、スウィッチをして、ぎゃっくなアクティビティを経験します。

最初、私とライエンはスキートレッキングのグループ①と近い坂がある神社を連れてきました。あそこでスキーを履いて、坂を登ってみました。難しかったのに、スキートレッキングはとても面白くてクロスカントリー・スキーとクラシック・スキーとスノーシューみたいスポーツです。

私とライエンは坂を登るのがとても楽しかったと思います!ウサギと鹿の足元を見ました!グループの前にいてとてもよかったです。坂の登りスピードはとても速かった！でも、他の留学生は少し遅かった。クロスカントリー・スキーやったことありますから、思ったより優しかったですが、初心者として、難しすぎました。
グループの登りスピードは遅すぎたから、次のグループ（②）を他の坂がない場所に連れてきました。グループ①とあの神社に行ってよかったです!ラッキー～

昼ごはん食べた後で、次のアクティビティをやりました。最初からバスケットの作り方は難しかったです。説明しずに、バスケット・ウィービングの先生は私のバスケットを作ってくれました。最初後で、作り方はとても優しかったです。手の動きリズムのおかげでリラックスできました。＾＾

バスケット・ウィービングは美しのに、亡くなっている。ダイソでそのバスケットを１００円で買えるから、なぜその作り方を習うか？ちょっと悲しくて残念と思います。

バスケットを作った後で、感想の発表を聞きまして、温泉に行きました！スキートレッキングのためにたくさんあせがあって、温泉に行くのがすごく楽しみにしていました。「リラックスできます」と思ったが、このツアーでたくさん女性がいましたから、シャワーを使うために待たないとダメでした。時間かかった後で、シャワーを浴びて温泉に入りました。ちょっとにぎやかだったのにとてもいい感じでした。他の温泉に行った時、女子の温泉に私だけでした。あの時、今感謝しています！（笑）

じゃ、以上です。読んでくれてありがとう！