Glass-Blowing and Owani Onsen

This time, on "Adventures around the Prefecture" with the Aomori International Relations Division, we got to experience glass-blowing in Aomori and explore an area called Owani Onsen.

今回の探検は青森市でガラスを作る体験をして大鰐温泉に行ってきました。

Our journey began at a glass factory on the west side of Aomori, where we learned about how glass products are made. We visited the main shop area where many products are sold, and then we went to the factory on the second floor. It was really big room and there were many workers at various stations. There was one large furnace in the center of the room and many smaller ones around it. Each worker was creating something different at each station. It was all very complicated and dangerous-looking...

最初は西青森の津軽Vidroのカラスを作る会社にいきました。そこで、ガラスの作り方について勉強になりました。一階はガラス商品を売る場所でした。二階は工場でした。工場はとても大きかったです。たくさんな大きい高炉がそこにありました。いろいろな工場の工員はあちこち別なガラスを作っていました。とてもカッコウ良かったが、とても難しくて危なかったそうでした。

Later, we were brought back to the shop and asked to draw a cup and make a design. Cool, looks like we get to make a cup today!

売り場所に戻して、店員さんは「コップを作りたいですか？」と聞いて、コップとデザインをそこで作りました。よし！今日、コップを作ろう～～～と思いました。

Our designs: Ryan chose a green and white-spotted design and I chose a "Japan samurai blue" and white-spotted design.
私たちのデザイン：ラインは緑と白いのを選んで、私は日本の侍ブルーと白いのを選んで書きました。

We were really stoked to have the opportunity at first, but the anxiousness set in after hearing gems like these:

"All right, so today, we're going let you blow glass! Be very careful, because the furnace gets heated up to about 1,000 C. It doesn't just burn if you touch it, it's extremely painful!"

"Oh, but don't worry, we'll help you. Besides, the youngest person that's done this was a 4 year old. I'm sure that you'll be fine!"

最初聞いた時、とてもワクワクしていたが、不安になってしまいました。特に、このことを聞いた後で：

「ヨッシャ～今日、グラスを作ろう！でも、触らないでね！１０００Ｃの暑さなので、触ったら焦げるだけでなくとてもとても痛いですよ！」　

「でも、大丈夫だよ！手伝うよ。４歳の客様ができたので、君たちはきっと大丈夫だよ！」

Even after watching Ryan the first time, I still wasn't too sure how well I could pull it off. It was really difficult! Blowing through the long tube was harder than I thought and making sure that it wasn't lopsided was very tedious. It required constant attention! I have a lot of respect for glass-makers...they make it look so easy!

ライエンは先にやりました。ライエンのガラス作り体験を見ましたのに、まだ心配していました。パイプを回るのは思ったより難しかった。集中してない時は変な形になってしまいます。今、ガラスの工員たちに尊敬しています！難しい仕事を楽にするのはかっこういいです！

We finished up by putting our glasses in the cooling machine (a conveyor belt) and returned to the shop just in time to see ourselves on TV (!!!).  Turns out that the camera crew that was following us around wasn't actually someone from our group, but rather a group of people from NHK news! We had just finished....and they had already gone back to the news station, made a report, and gotten it on the air! That's crazy fast!!!

終わってから、売り場所に戻したところはテレビで私たちのことを見た！朝のとき、テレビカメラを見ましたが私たちのグループだと思いました。ＮＨＫでした！すごく早かったです！！！

"Smile! You're on candid camera~"

Our next destination was Owani Onsen!

次の行方は大鰐温泉の鰐カム！

Owani Onsen is 大鰐温泉, the one with the star next to it

Here, we ate lunch which showcased the local specialty: Owani Onsen Moyashi (bean sprouts). These bean sprouts are a lot thinner than normal bean sprouts, but somehow a lot more firm. They felt a little bit like really thin carrot sticks, although not quite that crunchy. This dish in particular is called Umaka-don.

大鰐の特別な温泉もやしを食べました。普通のより、このもやしの方が細くて、すこし硬いです。少しだけにんじんぽっかったです。下にある写真は「うまかどん」という料理です。

Delicious Umaka-don: rice topped with the cooked bean sprouts and an onsen egg, which is kind of like a creamy hard-boiled egg...

By chance, we had Umaka-don at a Agricultural/Fishery/Food Exhibition showcasing the local specialties of various cities across the prefecture. The one we had in Owani Onsen was much better than the one at the expo!

偶然だけど、一ヶ月前、青森市の産業祭りでうまかどんを食べました。祭りより、今回のうまかどんの方がうまかったです！大鰐で食べたことがあってよかったです！

After, we went to the facility where the bean sprouts are grown! Bean sprouts are normally pretty small...

その後、育ている場所に行きました。普通のもやしはちょっと小さいですが…

But these bean sprouts in particular are very long! They're grown in pits that are pretty deep, and then covered by rice straw. They grow upwards searching for light!

このもやしは長かったです。下にある写真のピットで植えている。温泉水だけを使います！すごい！このこのピットは被れて、下にあるもやしは日の目を探して上にのびのびする。結構長くなります。

Later, we went back to where we ate lunch (Wani Come), took a bath at the onsen and lastly, bought cheap veggies/fruits and left.

It was an awesome day!! I still can't believe that they let us mess around with such dangerous materials earlier in the day haha Anyways, I'm looking forward to the next adventure!!

最後に、鰐カムに戻って、温泉に入ったり商品を買ったりしました。とても楽しかった日でした！今までそんなに危ない経験をすることができて信じられないんだけど（笑）、できてとても嬉しいです！！次の探検を楽しみにしています！