Tsugaru Dirt, Sand, and Glass

Now that I've finished taking the JLPT test, I finally have time to write about my most recent adventure deep into the Tsugaru area.
日本語能力試験が終わったので、やっと最近の津軽遠足のことに書けるようになりました！

We started our day in our very own Aomori City. We headed west, crossing Bay Bridge and pulling up to a factory beneath an overpass. Inside, we were introduced to something called "Tsugaru Vidro." Tsugaru Vidro is a local glass-making craft. I didn't know it at the time, but "vidro" is actually Portuguese for "glass."
最初、わが青森のガラス工房に見学しました。ショールームに入って「津軽ビードロ」のことに紹介されました。知らなかったけど、ポルトガル語でガラスは「ビードロ」と呼ぶんだよ！

Inside the showroom

A unique feature of Tsugaru Vidro is the incorporation of color into their works. They start out with a solid color base material, and then apply shards of colored glass to create patterns. The result is mesmerizing to say the least.
津軽ビードロの独特は色です。ベースのガラスに色のガラス破片をつけてパターンができます。その結果はマジですごい！

An example of Tsugaru Vidro, inspired by Hirosaki cherry blossoms.

This company's glass didn't start out beautiful and artistic. Hokuyo Glass (known as Double-F Glass internationally) used to make glass fishing buoys out of the sand out west in Ajigasawa. The glass was tinted a light green from the various impurities usually found in natural sand. After plastic buoys began to replace these glass ones, the company started making household glassware.
ずっとこんなアートのガラスを作ったわけではない。北洋硝子は最初から漁業のガラス品を作る会社でした。鯵ヶ沢の砂を使ってすごし緑色のガラスを作っていた。だが、ガラス品の代わりにプラスチックの品物を使ってきてから、この会社が日用品のガラスを作ることになりました。

Notice the making for Hoku (北) in the center. Flipped upside-down, the marking looks like the letter "F" mirrored

.

We took a tour though the workshop. Workers were blowing, molding, grinding, sanding, and tempering away. It was near freezing temperature outside, but the inside was toasty like a summer day.
工房の見学をしました。外は零度に近いですが、奥のほうはまるで夏のようだ。職人たちの手早い動きを見たら、「ガラスを作るのはたいしたもんじゃない」 と思っちゃいますが、それは大間違いです。

After the tour, they let us try to make some glass tumblers ourselves. They were trying to demonstrate how difficult it is to make a good piece of glass, so naturally they didn't explain what we needed to do. We flailed about following the very cursory instructions of the craftsman. 
ツアーが終わってから、自分もガラスを作らせてくれたのです。特に説明してくれなかったから失敗することは当たり前なんですけど、やはり得意な職人しか良いガラス品を作れないのわかりました。

Thumbs up for "acceptable!"

Once we finished, we were hungry. We rode a bus deep southwest to the small town of Oowani Onsen, tucked just underneath Hirosaki City. Oowani, which means "big crocodile," is famous for its hot springs and ski resort. Strangely enough, there are no crocs here, save for this one:
ガラス工房をでて、おなかがすいてきました。西南のほうにバスに乗って、弘前市に南側の大鰐温泉に着きました。大鰐町の名物は温泉とスキー場なんだけど、鰐でないのは不思議だにゃ～。

Kristin holding her Oowani.

Apparently, Oowani Onsen is also famous for growing something called Oowani Onsen Moyashi. These bean sprouts are long, skinny, and supple in texture. Its attributes are most accentuated when used to make their popular "Umaka-don," which can be found at the main tourist building, "Wani-come."
名物は他にあると始めて知りました。大鰐温泉もやしと言うもやしが長くて細くて感触も違う。大鰐温泉もやしが使われている料理と考えれば、一番目立つのは「ウマカ丼」です。鰐Comeの中のレストランに食べられます。

Umaka-doooooon!

We ate up our delicious meal and went out to see how the main ingredient was grown, which is the same way it's been grown since the Edo period 400 years ago. We all stepped into a long shed. Long trenches were dug into the ground, and pipes running hot spring water passed through them. This spring water keeps the ground warm and is what causes the bean sprouts' amazing growth.
ご馳走してから、その温泉もやしをどうやってそんな形で植えるか見に行きました。４００年前の江戸時代と同じように植えていたそうです。光がない温室に溝があり、温水のパイプも地下にあります。温水の熱のおかげで冬でも土の温度が高くて、もやしがのびのび伸びる！

After the soybeans or buckwheat grains are planted, the trenches are covered with bales of rice straw to keep in the heat and absorb excess moisture. After only a week, the bean sprouts reach 40-50 cm in height!
植えた大豆、またはそば、の上に稲わらをいっぱい重ねます。熱を囲むため、そして水蒸気を吸い込むために必要だといわれます。たっだ一週間後、もう４０－５０ｃｍ伸びます！

Bales and bales of rice straw.

Here they come! These are still a day away from harvest.

 Once they've reached desired length, the growers harvest through a technique best described as "hugging it out." Since moyashi doesn't keep very long, the crop is then ready for sale at markets the very same morning.

その長さでもう刈り入れタイムだ。長いもやしを出す技は簡単に言うと「抱っこ」に似てるでしょうね。そやしはもやしなので、長く持たないからすぐ当日の朝に市販する。

Our day ended early, so we headed back to Wani-come to soak in the hot springs for a bit. The outdoor bath was really nice, especially in the cold rain. The close proximity to the women's bath means you can hear your travel companions talking over the fence. I joked to the other boys that several well placed benches along the fence line could allow us a peek. They didn't seem to have the same sense of humor as me.

旅がもう終わっている所だったので、鰐Comeに戻ってお風呂に入りました。寒い雨天に露天風呂が最高でした。女性の風呂が女子の仲間の声を聞こえるくらいに近くて、男性のメンバーに「あのベンチに立てばちらっと見えるだろうな」と冗談を申した。僕の皮肉を聞き取れなかったみたいんで、「君、最悪」と返事してくれました。以上。

That's all for this time! I'll be traveling during winter break, so maybe I'll have a post up about it next month. However, I haven't even managed to post about last winter break yet, so we'll see how that goes.