Over the past several years “Nambu Ironware” has become increasingly popular with women concerned about their health. Much of it’s popularity owes to the 2007 NHK drama series, “Dondo Hare”, in which one of the main characters was a “Nanbu Ironware” craftsman.

It is said that water boiled in “Nambu Ironware” is rich in iron, due to iron dissolving from the kettle into the water. The iron makes the taste milder and increase the iron content of the water we drink. The type of iron which dissolves into the water is easily-absorbable ferrous iron (Fe 2+), which has been noted for it’s health benefits. This makes “Nambu Ironware” and ideal vessel for boiling coffe, tea, green tea and milk for babies. The modern diet leaves people with an iron deficiency. This is especially true of women and children who should proactively try to ingest sufficient amounts of iron. For this reason I would like to suggest you supplement your iron intake by enjoying tea and other beverages made from water boiled in Nambu iron kettles, one of Japan’s traditional crafts.

Just two years ago, I went Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture to see Mr. Miya in the ‘Kamasada’ factory one of the most traditional workshops of Nambu Ironware.
Iwate Prefecture is an old and historical area well known for its famous local products and historic places including; Wanko-soba, Morioka-cold noodles, Chuson-ji temple, as well as Nambu Ironwere. It is also famous as the hometown of Kenji Miyazawa who is one of the most popular authors in Japan.

I still remember the moment I first caught a glance of the Northeastern area of the city as I pulled into Morioka Station. I immediately felt the dignified and venerable atmosphere lingering from the days Morioka used to be a castle town.

We can see the signboard over the entrance.
It displays the name  ‘KAMASADA’, in Roman letters. Now that’s cool!

Kamasada produces not only the kettles and other ironware for the tea ceremonies, but also other iron goods routinely used, such as vases, ash trays, rice kettles, nabes, and pans.

The speciality of Mr. Miya’s iron-works are they’re simple and homely yet modern and fresh reflecting his personality, which attracts lots of people from all over the world.

Fortunately I had the chance to see the workshop up close from the rear of the building, not visible fromthe front door.  It was quite large, dim.
The first thing I noticed was the sand covered floor of the workshop. In the corner of the workshop, there was a furnace, and dozens of molds piled up against the wall. Next to them, there remained plenty of ironwares on their way to being finished as well.

Glimpsing theis scene, I really felt this building was a sanctuary for the craftsmen.

Kamasada’s Nambu Ironware needs over 40 operations to complete, and each product is entirely handcrafted.
Each piece is the result of a fight between the craftsman and the iron, acarefully-prepared work of Mr.Miya, himself.
As you come to appreciate the fact that they are not merely black but and elegant black, homely but still modern.., I feels a strong sense of what a wonderful traditional craft they are.
I hope this great craftsmanship that can create these heartwarming goods out of iron, sand, and fire can be duly handed down in posterity.
Next time, I would like to check and introduce how to use and maintain the Ironware so that we can enjoy them as long as possible.

In the shop there is a special corner to display many high-class tea kettles which we can rarely purchase or have the opportunity to use.

・Henryo Gama

・Tate-Suji Gama

・Shiho-Kiriawase

(that is a collaboration between Mr.Miya and Mr.Shigeru Uchida, designer.)

Originally Iron-kettle comes from luxury ironpots used for tea ceremony.
In the Edo Era, it was modified for daily use  And was reduced in size and sports the addition of a handle and a spout. After which their popularity took off.

■Feature of Iron Kettle

(1) It helps us to take supplemental iron.

(2) It can remove the smell of chlorine from tap water.

(3) It can maintain the temperatureof the water.

‘Iron return to the soil’.
That means iron is slow to tarnish, decomposed after long periods of time, and eventually vasnishes, which is a completely natural circle of life. Of course, we can use them for hundreds of years if we can care for them properly.
For this reason, I think ironware is good for the ecology.

Kamasada’s Ironware is made of iron that is blended by their original compounding technique.
They are rust-proof for each iron kettle so as to fire them over charcoal during the finishing operation, instead of using anticorrosive paint. In truth there is no iron which does not rust. So it is better to keep using ironware without concerning yourself over a little rust.

Now I’m very pleased to introduce how to deal with and care for ironware for to help preserve it for long term use.

■Break-in

First in preparation for daily use, we have to keep boiling water according to the following procedure everyday for two or three weeks so that ample ‘Yuaka’  attach itself on to the insde surface of the ironware.
‘Yuaka’ is kind of film made of minerals attached to the inside surface of the kettle. It is said that it can provide protection against rust and make the taste of water milder.

(1) Rinse with plenty of water once or twice to remove any dust which may have settled inside.

(2) After rinsing, fill the  water in the kettle up to about 60% of its capacity.
Then bring the water to a boil.

(3) After boiling, pour off the boiled water. Then dry up the kettle over a low heat.
Repeat steps  (1) to (3) every day for 2 or three weeks.

(4)  Never tourch, nor scrub it with a brush.
Or the ‘Yuaka’ is come off.

After a time you can see some bronzed splotches or markings in the kettle. Please do not be concerned about these patch  asthey are a signs that ‘Yuaka’ is properly adhered.

■Precaution for daily use .

(1) Be sure to boil water at a low heat

(2) When some water settles on the outside the kettle, dry it gentlly with a soft towel.

(3) Be sure to dry the inside by putting the kettle over a low heat.

(4) When washed, be sure not to use a a detergent and brush.

(5) Be sure to store it in a well-ventilated place, and use it at least once a month.

■What to do at times like below…

(1) In case you forgot to pour out the excess water.
—> Start again from the ‘break-in’ phase

(2) In case you let the kettel boil dry.

—> Start again from the ‘break-in’ phase as mentioned above.
If the water is contaminated, it needs repair. Then you have to request the factory to fix it.

(3) When the handle becomes unclasped, when it has worn thin at the bottom, or when it gets a hole.
—> It needs repair. Then you have to request the factory to fix it.

Noｗ you can enjoy wonderfully delicious water with Nanbu Ironware.

Wajima-Nuri is chic and shiny with a delicate and velvety color, so it looks delicate and fragile. On the other hand, it is very durable. So we can say Wajima-Nuri is, in reality and in name, the best lacquerware.

Wajima-Nuri is coated with lacquer mixed with a powder called ‘Jinoko’ two or three times so that its wooden base can be more durable.
‘Jinoko’ is the powder made from ‘Keisoh-do’, the clay of Wajima originally made of dead phytoplankton accumulated on sea floor or the bottom of a lake or bog. ‘Jinoko’ can be generated by firing and grinding ‘Keiso-do’ into powder.
Keisoh-do which is well known as the material of charcoal brazier, is fire-safe, adiathermic, and water-absorbing. It is also often used as material for making walls.
Recently, this natural material has gotten a lot of attention, taking advantage of the current echo boom .
It is very surprising and wonderful that our ancestors discovered this feature of this material and utilize it for Wajima-nuri.

Not ‘Formal’ but ‘Casual’ works.
‘Wajima Kirimoto’ is a brand produced by a famous Lacquerware producer, Mr.Taiichi Kirimoto.
Mr. Kirimoto who once belonged to one of the biggest stationery and furniture manufacturer in Japan, ‘Kokuyo’, resigned from the company in 1987 to become a Wajima-nuri craftman.
Right now he is very busy not only with daily producition work and product development at his factory, but also for giving sminars or participating in exhibitions all over Japan. For example, at the end of 2007, he gave a seminar and displayed works at ‘Toraya’ in Tokyo Midtown, which turned out to be extremely successful.
Mr. Kirimoto sometimes produces special order works for some luxury brands.
He has actually designed and produced the Wajima-nuri accessory pouches with gold-relief for Louis Vuitton, which was arranged by a famous women’s magazine.

Wajima-Nuri traditionist.  Mr.Krimoto
Normally Wajima-lacquer works needs more than 124 processes to complete.
So the production system of Wajima-lacquerware is based on a division of labor, divided into 8 or 10 stages of work. At each stage, a specialist completes a part of the work.
However, Mr.Kirimoto does not adopt such as system instead striving to produce and complete the works thoroughly from beginning to end.
Growing up as the son of a Wajima-nuri wooden base manufacture would later enable him to find and adapt the methods as described above.

‘Sugi-wan’ takes a perfect polish and shines as if it was a pearl.

It is soft to the touch, which makes it feel soft to our lips.

The surface of Wajima-Nuri is very fresh and moist because the lacquers hardens by taking in the moisture from the air, instead of drying up. So we can feel and the moisture so soon as we touch it.

Wajima-Nuri is a living, growing item. It can take on and retain the moisture to when used every day, rather than storing them in a cupboard.

Kanna (a kind of plane) are the tool used for creating the wooden basis.

As well as Wajima-Nuri, Wajima city is famous for the ‘morning bazaar’ which has been held every day for more than a thousand years. Actually not only Takayama Market in Gifu, and Katsura Market in Chiba, Wajima Morning Market is well known as one of three biggest morning markets in Japan.
Every morning, ‘Asaichi Street’ a street running a length of about 360 meters is crowded with the local people and lots of tourists.
When I visited last September, there were hundreds of shops, Wajima-Nuri shops, seafood shops or other shops lining the street. I could hear the brisk voices of the sales clerk of each shop here and there.

To be continued…

(3) Magemono:
Used for the cylindrical goods like tea caddies.

(4) Hoh-kiji:
Made of Hoh, a kind of magnolia, used for the intricately-designed goods like wooden vases or the legs of tables and stools.

‘Hoh’ is the tree from which we get ‘Hoh leaves’ which is well known as the material of ‘Hoh leaf miso’ the local cuisine in Takayama, which often appears in the animated TV show, ‘Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi’.

The parent organization of Wajima Kirimoto is Kirimoto Carpentry Shop, which is a ‘Hoh-Kiji’ producer, that specializes in wooden molds made of magnolia. So they have great skill and know-how in creating the intricately-designed lacquered furniture and stationery.

Plenty of wooden bases (at Kirimoto Carpentry shop)

The first step to produce the ‘wooden base’ is to select the lumber.
Only the lumber which has passed the strict screening process will be dried naturally for 3 years so that it will not swell up nor shrink. After the drying, they should be aged in storage for 5 or 6 years. Then these aged lumbers will be hewn to rough wooden molds. Furthermore these molds have to be smoked for a month, and after smoking, aged another year. Finally they are trimmed to be the ‘wooden base’ for lacquer-ware.
How much time and effort it takes for just the first stage !
When I went to Wajima city, I visited Mr. Kancho’s factory in Wajima Kirimoto who produces the wooden bases for their ‘Sugi-wan’ series.
Before entering the factory, we noticed a the spicy scented smoke coming from the wooden molds.

Mr.Kancho (left)  Mr.Kirimoto (right)

The wall in fumigation room is gleaming black.

The fumigated molds are tiered like building-bricks.

The lathe which is used when they hew the rough molds.

The planes

They kindly gave me a smoked wooden mold as a keepsake.
Now I can enjoy the spicy flavour in my own room.
Next time I would like to introduce the lacquer-coated inn.

Lacquer is waterproofed and antibacterial. So it has been utilized as the coating compositions for building materials since early times. In Wajima, they paint lacquer onto not only exterior wall but also the walls, floor, and interior pillars. It looks so fine and beautiful as if the whole city is a traditional craft.

This time, I would like to introduce the inn named ‘Fukasan’ where I stayed during my visit to Wajima, The entire building is coated with Lacquer.

The whole building is finished with wipe-lacquer, which adds to its appeal.

‘Wipe-lacquer’ is a traditional technique to rub lacquer into lumber that is repeated several times to ensure a nice coating which can highlight the natural woodgrain pattern.

All of the wooden materials in this inn including the walls, floor, and pillars, are finished with wipe-lacquer. They have a silky smooth touch.

The bath and ceilings are finished with wipe-laquer as well.
The bath is a natural hot spring. Each window in the bath is very large and offers a expansive view, which make you feel comfortable and able to relax as if we were enjoying an open-air spa.

Seafood and seasonal vegetables arranged on Wajima-nuri lacquerware. I enjoyed dry Sake, named ‘Noto-Hirosue’ which is made by Nakajima-Syuzo Breweries.

Breakfast.
Tsurumo (a kind of local seaweed) was in the miso soup. It is a gooey and delicious healthy food containing plenty of fucoidan.During my stay in Wajima, I was not only able to find good lacquer wares but also learned how to enjoy and use these traditional goods.
This inn is family owned and-operated. I was really satisfied with their cordial service and carefully-prepared food, which left me feeling as if I stayed a five star hotel.
===================================
Inn ‘Fukasan’
[Adress]
4-4 Kawai-cho, Wajima-city, Ishikawa, Japan
Tel : 81-768-22-9933
[Rate per night]
\7500～　(Including breakfast and dinner)
===================================

At the next day of the event, I and my friends went to Noboribetsu  by using a gorgeous bus served by Cool star corp. It took for about 90 min to go to Noboribetsu area from Sapporo by bus.

Our tour started from 9:30 at Shin Sapporo.

1.Let’s riding a buggy at Noboribetsu Off-road Park( 11:15)

2.Genghis Khan pan (13:00)

3.Noboribetsu hot spring (Noboribetsu Grand Hotel) (14:00)

I only have this photo at the grand hotel… Many kinds of caramel are popular in Hokkaido as a souvenir. Let’s try Genghis Khan caramel,,, That’s too stink!!

4.Oyu Numagawa Natural footbath(大湯沼川天然足湯）(15:00)

It was first time for me to take natural footbath and I was so relaxed. At the upstream of Numagawa footbath, we can take a bath, my friend said so.  Of course swim ware is needed.

5.Lake Kuttara in Shikotsu Toya National park (16:00)

It was first time to ride a buggy. Fantatic!  The water quality of Noboribetsu hot spring is the best to make skin smooth. There are many places to visit in Noboribetsu area. In addition to information above, people can visit to Bear park, Jigokudani and more. I am not good at drinking alcohol but I drunk blue beer a lot during this tour.

This Blue Beer is called “Ryu-hyo Draft”.

More travel info about Noboribetsu : http://noboribetsuspa.dip.jp/nobo/e/spot-info.aspx

http://www.japancycling.org/v2/inter/ridewith/

(Pics:Curry bread(Catlea) /Minoya/Monburan1/Monburan Cheese humburger dish/Seiryu-en/Tanshio/Rib)

Many people don’t know where there is “Morishita” in Tokyo, even among me.

A town located near Ryogoku and near Akihabara but not famous is the explanation of Morishita where I used to live for two years.

Tourists who get to know Tokyo more deeply might want to go there and maybe not.

In terms of touristic things, here is nada(oh ! espaniol)  not many things.

But there are many shops and restaurants which make you satisfied, I believe so.

I added all places which I mentioned at this posts in easy posts on Japan-hopper by using Morishita tag.

Those shops and restaurants below are my recommendations.

• Catlea - The baker -

The origin of “Curry bread” in Japan was from Catlea opened in 1877.

If you want to get Curry Bread, it’s better to reserve them even for one.

Otherwise it’s hard to get a curry bread.　[Hours ] 7:00-19:00

[Close] Sunday  [Tel] 03-3635-1564 for reservation.

• Yamariki - Tavern- (山利喜）

Motsunikomi here is famous. Many people make long lines at night.

Located on Shin ohashi street near Morishita crossing.(A4 exit)

• Minoya - Nabe - (みの家）

“Sakura nabe” ( the horsemeat nabe) cost 1,800 yen.

Horsemeat sashimi is also 1,800 yen.

It’s located on Shin Ohashi street and near Yamariki .

• Monburan -Humburger- (モンブラン）

Six kinds tastes humburgers are good for lunch. My favorite one is called “Holland.” (Cheese burger)

This restaurant has Asakusa branch. [Address] 2-19-9, Morishita , Koto-ku,

[Tel] 03-3632-7077 [Hours] 11：00〜14：30　17：00〜22：00

• Seiryu en - Yankiniku( Korean BBQ)- (静龍苑）

Gyutan Shio (Cow tongue) is great!   Rib also.  It costs 5,000yen~ /person. 

[Phone]03-3632-2348 [Address] 2-14-5,Morishita, Koto-ku

[Hours] 17:30-21:00 [Close] Wednesday

Normally without reservation, we cannot get in. Reservation preffered.

Let's go to Morishita to get curry breads or something

[Access]  Morishita station (Toei Shinjuku line  [S-11] or Toei Oedo line [E-13] )

-13min from Shinjuku station by Toei shijuku line

-20min from Roppongi station by Toei Oedo line

URL: http://www.gvhakuba.com/

Enjoy your ski resort holidays at our reasonable accommodation Hakuba in Japan!

Enjoy your ski resort holidays at our reasonable accommodation Hakuba in Japan!

OHARUKANOYU is the most suitable hotel for skiing. exploring Hakuba and North Alps trekking. You can also experience our famous hot springs, Hakuba Shionomichi Hot Spring, with its salty brown water, has plentiful good effects. The Fosa Magna has been giving the air and water unique quality for the last 25 million years.