Welcome 2014 and Mr. Apple!

A Happy New Year!
We took Mr. Apple to the Experience Museum Chiba Prefectural Boso-no-Mura.
Boso-no-mura is a facility that reproduces a Japanese scenery of 150 years ago at the Boso area (including the Narita Airport area) which were old samurai residences, and farmhouses, and other buildings. Here, you can experience first-hand various types of Japanese culture such as traditional crafts and events that have been passed down through the generations.

Mr. Apple rides in a palanquin.

The New Year's decorative pine trees, KADOMATSU

KADOMATSU means an ornament rendered mainly on pine trees set up in front of the house during a new year's season.

In old days, it was believed that god rests on the branches of the trees, therefore KADOMATSU had a meaning as a spiritual proxy which invites the year's god into the house.

KOTO

The koto is a string instrument that originated in China and came to Japan in the 7th-8th century. The Japanese koto is a large instrument, about six feet long, consisting of a hollow body made from Paulownia wood (kiri).

OCHA-SEKI
Tea Ceremony

↑Mr. Apple is bowing.

The ceremony itself consists of many rituals that have to be learned by heart.
Almost each hand movement is prescribed.
Basically, the tea is first prepared by the host,
and then drunken by the guests.
The tea is bitter matcha green tea made of powdered tea leaves.





CHINDON-YA

Traditional Japanese band of sandwich board advertisers

EDO-ITO-AYATSURI-NINGYO
Japanese puppet

TENPURA-SOBA

a bowl of buckwheat noodles with fried shrimps in soup

OJIZO-SAN

Ojizousan is the stone statue of a child of buddha,
which is the ancient guardian deity of block of the town.

ZORI

Japanese sandals

cotton candy

Shrine

The gate of Samurai residence

a small shrine in the yard of Samurai residence

Tea break