Day Trip to Tochigi Prefecture

          Forty members of the bi-cultural social club boarded a coach headed north to Tochigi Prefecture on a steamy Tuesday. First stop Ashikaga Koen (park) famed for yellow fujii no hana (wisteria), second stop the Kurita Museum known for Imari exportware. No stop at the outlets, which are also located in the area. With take off scheduled for 8:15AM , we four co-leaders rendezvoused at 7:45 "or else."  Around 7:30 the lower lobby of the Hotel Okura was deserted, since the earlybird members decided to perch at the coffee shop. Arriving like clockwork, handing over envelopes of money with two hands in exchange for name tags, except for the American straggler. "I shouldn't have stopped at Starbucks," said she, breaking two rules (punctuality and public eating).

        By 10:30 our fine ladies invaded the 20 acre park, admiring the ancient yellow wisteria, the ike (pond) with its bullfrogs and fields of giant clematis. With the sun beating down, some opened parasols. Is 11:15  too early to find a shady spot in which to devour her o-bento (boxed lunch)? Oishii! Back in the bus for the hop to Mr. Kurita's museum down the road. With the information tags only in nihongo how lucky for me to follow behind a siruba (silver) member who now teaches Western cooking. Raised in New York and London, she was shipped back to Nihon with her mother when World War II broke out.  "How can I forget March 10, 1945," she suddenly said, recalling the firebombing of Tokyo. "Mother Superior sent me to fetch some classmates. I couldn't eat for a week." Her diplomat dad stayed in Europe to work on a peace agreement.  When the family reunited they were pleasantly surprised by his big belly, she confided, testimony that he had been well looked after by all parties.
    
      Imari is the port from which the red white and blue porcelain made its way overseas and into palace drawing rooms. A Korean potter named Yi Sam-pyong invented porcelain clay and Queen Victoria ended up with boatloads, as witnessed by the displays at the V & A (Victoria and Albert Museum). Imari ware is miles away from chakai (the Way of Tea) with its simple elegance and unique chakan (tea bowls) prized for imperfections. The tea scoop, or chashaku, a sliver of bamboo, may carry the same price tag as a set of china. "The Empress called for a cookie recipe but she said it didn't turn out right," the siruba member told me. Sure enough, it was the butter: HIH (Her Imperial Highness) melted it on the stovetop instead of letting it soften on the counter. Do sumo wrestlers care for cookies? Thursday evening only a baker's dozen in the audience have signed up to listen to our sumo expert at the Tokyo American Club.