This last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Kansai area and the Hippo families there. It was so cold, but I had a lot of fun. While there I stayed with three different host families, each one in a different part of the kansai area. I also attended many different hippo families and various workshops. If I were to make a brief summary it would be : met amazing people and ate lots of takoyaki!
My first host family was in Osaka. Their apartment was next to the river and you could see the city center of Osaka from the top stories. My host family was extremely kind. They have been hosting people from all over the world for years. My host father is also a world traveler and has been a part of Hippo for twenty years. He still has all the cassette tapes! My host father and mother actually met though Hippo activities. It was amazing to see a host father so involved in the Hippo program. My host siblings were also super adorable. My host brother was a middle school student and two host sisters were in elementary school. Every evening, the girls and I would braid friendship bracelets at the kitchen table. I told them they had to practice while I was gone, so the next time we meet I can teach them a new pattern.
On my second day, my host mother held an Ommakai (mother’s meeting) at the apartment. Some hippo fellows came over and made Kimbap (a ‘sushi’ roll made with pickled radish, crab, fish sausage, carrots, spinach, fish cake, and kimchi). It was delicious! Then for dinner that night we made takoyaki (like an octopus fritter)! It was so much fun! The following day I visited the girls’ school and gave a presentation. Sadly, I wasn’t able to do it for their classes. In the third grade classroom, the entire class wanted my signature. I must have spent almost 10 minutes signing folders, pencil pouches, and workbooks. After leaving the school, we went to have lunch at the most amazing curry restaurant. The interior was designed to look like an old Japanese style home (the exterior also looks just like a regular old style house). They had an old TV, radio, sewing machine, and pictures for decorations. The tables were all kotatsu (a low table covered by a thick blanket with a heater underneath). After lunch, my host father took me to Dotonburi (a huge shopping area in central Osaka). There are many famous signs in this area including the Glico running man, a giant moving crab, and a drumming clown. Many of the signs are three dimensional and moving to attract passerby shoppers. Some I find to be a little scary and others just odd.That evening, I visited My host family's Hippo family. I was surprised and happy to see that a large number of men attended (my hippo family in Tokyo does have any men attendees). I had a lot of fun with them and taught them the intern SADA (I should upload a video of the dance so everyone can see it).
On Thursday, I went with a hippo fellow and member to Osaka Castle and Tenjinbashi-suji (the longest covered shopping street in Japan, stretching 2.6 km! ). Osaka Castle has a really beautiful view of the city. The interior had been rebuilt to become a museum. Legend has it that the builder of the castle, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, was born to a poor farming family (sorry history geek have to talk about this). He began working for the Lord of Osaka as a page boy, but found favor and quickly he worked his way up the ranks. When his master died, Hideyoshi claimed his position and became the lord of the castle. He is famous for popularizing the tea ceremony in the upper class and for creating a tea room made entirely of gold. What was also neat about the visit was hearing the many different languages spoken by the visitors at Osaka Castle. That evening I went to their Hippo family and they taught me the Osaka SADA. The following day I traveled to Kyoto.Watch the Osaka SADA here!
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