<<Yasmin's Experience Report>>
I’m so grateful for this absolutely gorgeous, traditional experience offered by our host, Junko Iba. She was a very graceful host and offered us attentive service and flawless translation during our meal and calligraphy session.
When we first arrived we were warmly greatly and were guided upstairs to the second floor of the beautiful Japanese architecture to the room where our calligraphy teacher awaited.
She presented us with an inkstick and an inkstone. Each had a beautiful design. We were told about how they were made from compacted charcoal and then showed the process of making ink with them. These days many people prefer the convenience of bottled ink as it is fast and cheap. The inkstick and inkstone are expensive items and not many people have the opportunity to use them since they are a serious investment. It was such a treat to experience the traditional method. I found it very relaxing and might have spent a lot longer than my friends on this part of the process.
We were taught how to hold the brush and the stroke order of each kanji to our names. It was a trial and error process getting used to the brush and writing the kanji correctly but luckily we had a lot of support and guidance from our talented (and patient!) teacher.
Once we were confident in our calligraphy skills, we were given a large banner to write onto. It was rewarding to see our final piece completed with all our names in our Japanese calligraphy.
Afterwards our teachers shared her works with us. There were stunning songs and poems written flawlessly by her on the most extravagant papers.
Following the calligraphy we were seated and treated to an absolutely delicious seven course meal. The presentation was beautiful! It was based around an autumn theme and you could tell a lot of thought had gone into each individual item on the menu.
We were served pickles, sashimi, grilled and marinated fish, vegetable tempura, winter comfort “ochazuke” and more! Everything tasted divine. There were items I wouldn’t ordinarily order, like the raw squid, but since everything looked and tasted so wonderful I gave them a go and wasn’t let down.
I highly recommend you make a booking. It’s such a great way to enjoy some authentic Japanese cuisine and participate in a traditional Japanese art in Chiba.
I was so curious about how the interior of a Samurai style dojo would look. What relics would lie within? What type of instructor would guide us? Would the swords be heavy and intimidating to handle or would it come naturally with the help of a bit of training?Well, my imagination, fueled by movies and dramatic books, didn’t quite match the reality of the experience…
After making acquaintance with one another, you are guided to a area to begin putting on the traditional samurai clothing and armor. Be prepared to be heavily clothed as all the clothing is very warm and heavy. So I would recommend not wearing a long sleeved shirt and multiple layers! Yoshinori and the assistant basically dress you layer after layer until finally they attach the armor to you and hand you a katana for the first photos. Yoshinori then will guide you over about one hour of doing various poses with the katana, helmet on and off. It gets very tiring having to make many squatting poses, even for me who regularly is active playing sports. It is like going to the gym! SO be ready for a light work out. 
We select a soy sauce pot from his workbench and watch as he demonstrates the diamond tipped drilling. One by one, we are brought to the press and asked to drill out the bottle neck to allow the stopper to fit. We test the fit by pouring water from the spout. The uniquely designed stopper is tight enough to keep the lid on without any assistance but also allow a steady stream at the same time.
The Calligraphy and Japanese cuisine dinner is something you might want to check out. Over 3 hours, you will spend time learning how to write Calligraphy in Japanese and then will follow a huge Japanese lunch that is something that should not be overlooked!
When we arrived to the class we were greeted by the classmates and Sensei Miyauchi with warm words. We immediately were thrust in to the program, right after being split up into a less experienced group so that we could have the opportunity to observe the more talented class and get some pointers, not to mention, were really able to appreciate the technique and skill of those who have been under the tutelage for Sensei Miyauchi for a longer period of time. And for a 1.5 hour long class, you really get a great workout! Be prepared with some comfortable clothing as well as one or two water bottles to stay hydrated! In your first lesson you will learn basic poses, how to strike the drum as well as some very basic beats that any person with little to no music or rythmatic experience can handle and still enjoy!
