Lunch in a Small Mountain Farming Hamlet in Japan

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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31mm — 1/500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1250 —
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The Lower Quarter

the lower ¼ of the hamlet of Hata (Takashima City, Shiga, Japan)




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In my previous post, I wrote how I spent a wonderful afternoon making tofu in
japan with an 80-year-old farmer's wife. This post is about the rest of
the visit, the experience that would normally be part of a
tour one can take on a day trip out of Kyoto.

The tofu/meal part of the tour takes place in the hamlet of Hata (畑,
literally “field”) tucked in the mountains of north-western Shiga
prefecture. The terraced rice paddies, tended by hand for generations,
can be quite photogenic, though my visit, two or three weeks before
the planting, found them at perhaps their least photogenic.

Still, I was there, so I took some photos amidst a drizzle. The president of the tour company was my
photography assistant.

iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at an effective 70mm — 1/240 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32 —
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Taking the Panorama Above

photo by Emi Yoshida








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Irregular Shape

these terraces have not been modernized for heavy equipment








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Another of Me and My Assistant

just because I can

photo by Emi Yoshida








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Photo I Was Taking Above








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Robust Farm House

At the end of the tofu
story I mentioned that the left over “soy pulp” is normally discarded
because it has such a short shelf life, but that we made a dessert with it.
Doughnuts!

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Adding a bit of Pancake Mix

perhaps 1 part pancake mix to three parts soy pulp

おから¾、ホットケーキミックス¼、卵一個








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Mixing with Digital Technology

after having added an egg







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Raw Doughnut Holes

ready for frying

The main dish for lunch was going to be tenpura, an
assortment of light batter-fried veggies. The tour-company staff asked
whether such-and-such a vegetable would be included, and the answer was
essentially "wasn't planning on it, but there's plenty growing outside
anywhere you look... go grab some". So we did.

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Foraging for Lunch









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Found Some!

tour-company executive getting her hands dirty

(whatever it was looked like weeds to me, but it turned out quite tasty)

Much farther up the hill than the outside shots I'd taken before, I took the opportunity for more pictures...

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Flooding the Paddies

In preparation for early-May planting, the paddies are slowly being
flooded. It appears that water is diverted from mountain streams to fill
the top paddy in any section; when it overflows, it starts to fill the one
below, and so on.

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Back of the House

in a spot carved out of the hill








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in Front of the House

small little garden area

Back inside, the veggies we brought in were washed...

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Pre-Prepared Veggies

including eggplant, bamboo sprouts, mushrooms, some giant beans, etc.








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Batter Up!








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 —
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Deep Fry

in a shallow pan








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/50 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 —
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Ingenious

you learn some tricks over 60 years

I loved how she made more space in her tiny kitchen. She put a glass pot lid upside down
over a gas-stove burner... it fit perfectly. On top of that a metal rack, and on top of that
whatever had just come out of the fryer to drip and cool.

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Assembly Line








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Beans and Shrimp

glopped in all at once, the combo fused together in frying








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 —
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Bean and Shrimp Combo








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Savory Garnish

adding a savory miso-based garnish she made herself, to the tofu she made herself








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Meal

prior to rice and soup being added








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Receiving Rice








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First Taste of Our Tofu

it was delicious, and could stand on its own without garnish

As I mentioned before, I was asked to join on this adventure to take
photos for the tour company, but in the past I'd been on a variety of other tours with
the same company as a “test customer”, to provide feedback on how to make
their tours a better experience for their target audience (English-speaking
tourists looking for something more than the popular tourist spots). For example,
as part of one tour I visited
this gargoyle-tile workshop. I've had some amazing experiences
with them.

Anyway, along the lines of offering feedback, I suggested that the
foreign tourist might want the option to sample some saké with such
a fine meal, and somehow this lead to the lady bringing out some of her
home-made spirits for us to sample.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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In High Spirits








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Very Home Made

the “label” says that it dates from 2000, 15 years old

These kind of things are fairly simple to make... you fill a jar with
something to provide flavor, say, plums, then top it off with some kind of
spirit... perhaps vodka, shochu, or wine.
Then wait enough years for the flavor to transfer, and voilà, you've
got “plum wine” or the like.

Based on how one goes about doing it, the results can vary wildly. It's always fun to order “plum wine” at a restaurant without knowing the
specific maker because the flavor can range from as sweet as Kool-Aid to as
bitter as orange juice just after brushing your teeth, and the alcoholic
strength can range from “essentially water” to “this will not only grow
hair on your chest, but will simultaneously burn it off”.

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Receiving a Glass








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Bottom's Up

It turns out that this was at the extreme end of both, and it was too strong/bitter for
me to enjoy. I have photos of the two tour-company ladies giving it a try, with their
face scrunched up in an “oh my gosh this is horrible” anguished cringe. They looked
like shar pei dogs. I will hold these
photos for possible blackmail at a later date.

As a side note, I've (finally) discovered a way to get better photos
when asking random folks to take a photo of me with my camera. Most folks are
intimidated by a big SLR, and are not used to a viewfinder (they're used to
looking at the back of their phone). In the past I'd set everything
up, pre-set the focus point to some easy-to-notice location in the scene such as my eye, then tell them
to place the little red square on my eye and press the button. Results have
been very mixed, with most photos completely out of focus.

This time I had the bright idea to put my camera in live-view mode (a
mode that I personally don't care for... I can't see the screen that close
without my glasses) and focus in face-recognition mode. Then all they have
to do is point and press, and hopefully it works out. It seems to have in the photo
above.

To say that lunch was filling would be quit the understatement,
so it was with some dread that we realized we'd still not had the
doughnuts.

At least in my case, hot coffee does wonders to settle a full tummy...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 —
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Always the Gracious Host








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 —
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Homemade Doughnuts

The doughnuts were slightly sweet, but not overly so, so Americans used to really sweet stuff would
likely want to have these with honey, powered sugar, or perhaps marmalade. Personally, I liked them just
as they were.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4500 —
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Warm Doughnuts, Warm Conversation

All in all it was a wonderful experience, just as all those I've had the
pleasure to enjoy with Tour du Lac Biwa. On this photo-taking visit there was no one to translate (which is fine,
since I can speak Japanese well enough), but on the full tour,
English-speaking staff is there to explain and translate. Highly
recommended.