Suizenji Jojuen Garden

My first impression of the park is Wow! Traditional Japanese ponds are surrounded by meticulously manicured mounds. The mounds are key because they separate you from the noise and greyness of the city. Suizenji is in the middle of the city yet it feels peaceful like the countryside.

The garden reproduces the 53 post stations of the Tokaido, the important road, which connected Edo with Kyoto during the Edo Period, in miniature form, including a small Mt. Fuji.

Beautiful arched bridges. Motionless cranes waiting to catch fish. Gold, white and brown koi everywhere. A Shinto shrine with red gates at the entrance. What a beautiful park.

Basashi and Heisenberg's uncertainty cheese

So I sat down at a quiet table at the end of the shopping arcade to do some writing and catch up on my journal. Some people from the clothing store came outside and started chatting with me... Nori, Miyuki and Rie.

I learned the local specialty of Kumamoto is Basashi, a type of horse meat sashimi. So of course I had to eat it! Yup, raw horse meat.

Rie walked me to the best place nearby where her friend worked. As we walked in, everyone in the restaurant stopped talking, turned their heads and stared. Even the restaurant chefs stopped what they were doing to stare for a second. Instantly, I felt like a zoo animal, "Hi, I'm the gaijin here to eat basashi, don't mind me."

The basashi was sliced thin and served room temperature; fattier than I guessed it would be. The fun part was the mix your own dipping sauces. Mashed garlic, ginger and chives were given in small piles to mix into soy sauce. As recommended, I tried a dipping sauce of garlic, wasabi and chives and another one with ginger, wasabi and chives. Those familiar with sushi and mixing wasabi and soy sauce understand the need for a personalized process.

The basashi was quite tasty. Reminiscent of delicious steak tartare back in my France days... Served with tategami, a sort of gelatinous whiteness from the mane of the horse. Yes, the mane. The tategami was a little more, well, interesting. It has a mild flavor with a consistency of cheese, but the more you chew it the gooey and stringier it gets. A sort of Heisenberg's uncertainty cheese - the more you try and chew it, the more it gets gooey and slips away from you...

All in all, good fun. I enjoyed goofing with the chefs at the restaurant. And thanks to Nori, Miyuki and Rie for hooking me up with a delicious meal!

Kumamoto Castle

I visited the third best castle in Japan today! There is no doubt that Japan is a hierarchical society... Every tourist site I visit has multiple ratings and they rate everything. One of the top 100 views in all of Japan! Third largest lion lantern in Kyushu! What cracks me up is that everyone seems to know them all and quote them to each other.

Kumamoto Castle is a beautiful six story castle surrounded by an imposing complex of stone walls, moats and turrets - the whole complex is stuck in the middle of downtown Kumamoto. It was built back in the 1600s when I imagine there were a lot less buildings; now it is completely surrounded by skyscrapers and modern life. The stone walls and multi-story turrets create an authoritative complex. You were not getting into this castle unless they wanted you inside. I can imagine how serious the battles here must have been but I cannot help but think about rock-climbing... What a beautiful rock wall with perfect hand holds... Do you think I would get in trouble? I don't even think the ignorant gaijin trick would get me out of that one...

The grand hall next to the castle had an exhibition of traditional traditional Noh theatre. On display were a bunch of antique masks used in traditional Noh theatre and artisans carving wood for tourists to watch. Apparently, Noh actors and musicians don't rehearse together, they study under a master independently. So the final performance is always a bit unscripted. I have yet to see a Noh or Kabuki show, I figured it would be more enjoyable when I can understand Japanese a little better, but its on my top 100 list of things to do in Japan.