“Inner Japan” – The traditional side of Japanese life that few outsiders get to see.
Noto Peninsula is on the country’s western coast. It’s a place where hair is allowed to go gray, people still carry their belongings in knotted scarves, and everyone wears sensible shoes. We’re going to Wajima. The end of the line. Literally.
Time moves more slowly here. People still value handmade crafts, and the effort and devotion that goes into them. The old ways are worth more than they might earn in the marketplace.
The nearby Noto market opens at the crack of dawn, and most vendors arrive under their own steam. Vegetables are sold fresh from the earth, and sometimes, gathered wild from the forest. These are the kind of comfort foods that urban Japanese get homesick for:
– Pickled vegetables.
– Dried seafood – including sea anemones.
– Fermented squid.
– and…other things. All made by hand in someone’s living room.
But it’s more than just the food. There’s a real sense of community here. They call it “giri” — a code of mutual obligation and concern for others. Basically, they’re just very good neighbors. The occasional city folk really stand out. But the village life is not an easy one – and it shows. The lean years after the war weakened bones, and many farmers still work their fields by hand.
But there’s another way to make a living in Wajima. It is, after all, on the coast. Though the men are in charge of the fishing boats, once the fish is brought to shore, it’s the women who run the show. Even there, though they’re just as efficient as their urban counterparts, there’s a feeling of camaraderie. Once the auction’s over, almost nothing goes to waste.
Though most Japanese prefer the modern conveniences of city life, they still cherish the traditions, the values, and the good old fashioned home-cooking of their childhoods — particularly once they’ve moved away.
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Category: Travel
Alo Japan.