Translator: Tetsuto Kawai Reviewer: Maki Hasumi
"There is nothing to do here."
This is the first word the local people told me when I came to this town.
3 years ago, I came to this strange land, Hamamatsu
and now I work for the PR
of local communities at the tourist association.
Hamamatsu, the place I came without knowing anything,
people told me there is nothing to do.
When I was little, my mother taught me
"do what others do not do", and she rarely bought me toys.
So, I learned to make chairs in wood,
or played with near-at-hand things.
I'm often scolded to draw graffiti on the wall with a stone,
I made the chair that I couldn't seat and got injured,
I ate wild grasses nearby and had a stomach ache,
and I cut the leaflets of toys to pretend to get the toys
because my mom didn't give me toys.
For me, having had spent such childhood,
this area, everyone says "There is nothing to do",
actually have many things to do.
This is a very good playground.
Actually, in this area,
there are many interesting things.
However, I want not just to introduce these things,
but to tell them to someone, to everyone.
I came up to think like that.
Today, I will introduce one of them,
“a journey to make Tamago kake gohan " (egg sauce and soy sauce over rice)
I love Tamago kake gohan.
I want to make and eat a delicious one
with ingredients around me.
This thought motivated me to start this journey.
Tamago kake gohan requires 3 ingredients.
“Rice” “Egg” “Soy sauce”. It’s simple, isn’t it?
Ingredients are simple, but they have particularity.
I planned the tour
that the participants visit producers of these ingredients by themselves
to make and eat one bowl of tamago kake gohan.
Then, here we go!
First, "Soy sauce".
We visited a long-established brewery lasting for 140 years from Meiji era.
In a warehouse surrounded by the scent of soy sauce,
we listened to the owner-brewer story.
“This is not a tourist facility.”
He said like that.
Though he said so,
he talked about particularities, difficulties
and “passions” of brewing soy sauce with enthusiasm.
Craftsmen often would be stubborn.
But when I first met this owner,
I saw these red glasses, these fashionable glasses.
And seeing them, I thought this guy was not stubborn.
And actually he was not.
We get the soy sauce the owner is particular about.
The next one, “Egg”.
We visited the poultry farm where chickens are grown.
Why did I choose this farm?
When I was looking for the eggs for Tamago kake gohan,
I met a lady from that farm at the expo I visited on business.
Because she was good-looking, I talked to her.
According to her, she actually breeds 20,000 chickens of 5 kinds.
And moreover, she is my neighbor.
“Please come see us someday!”
I swallowed this words, and we actually went to visit the farm.
When I talked to farmers at the farm,
they say like “I am not good at speaking.”
and “I won’t talk about anything.”
But when I asked questions of them,
they explain clearly and lively
because they have their particularity.
And we got the eggs from Nagoya Cochin,
which matches Tamago kake gohan very much.
The last, “Rice”.
There are lots of rice fields in my neighborhood.
Having lots of rice fields means there must be a delicious rice.
Speaking of delicious rice, it should be brand-name rice.
I started research for the brand-name rice.
Then I interviewed to the president who owns a pig farm
and a farmer’s restaurant in my neighborhood.
And then, he said “Yeah we grow them.”
So I visited a farmer’s restaurant
and asked him cook rice with Hagama, a Japanese old-fasioned rice cooker.
But this president,
he likes talking a bit much.
He said “we will steam rice for 15 minutes.
So I am going to talk about rice.” and kept talking about 15 minutes.
When I assumed it takes 15 minutes,
he said "I am going to talk about a pig”.
So we couldn't easily eat rice.
We shut off his talk and opened the cover of Hagama.
Then a soft rice meal and a flavor of scorched rice came out.
We finished steaming a delicious brand-name rice
3 ingredients we collected ourselves;
the rice steamed by Hagama,
putting an egg of Nagoya Cochin,
and pouring soy sauce which has 140 years history.
Making one bowl of Tamago kake gohan and eating it.
When I ate it, It was so delicious that I could not have any words.
It was delicious. Thank you for the food.
After that, we visit the temple finally,
taking a rest and viewing the garden which was made in Edo era.
Spend the luxury time without any noise,
and looking back the journey today.
How does it sound like?
We did not go to any tourist facilities
such as leisure facilities or amusement parks.
But it seems interesting, doesn't it?
Everyone, do you think it is only a tourist facility that people visit to?
Don't you overlook these nearby spots which have lots of interesting things?
The place even local people do not know.
Even you know the places, no one knows how to play.
This is one of the tourism, too.
I assume there is such places around you.
You might think “well, there is not.” but actually I think there is.
Or even if you know the place, but are you aware of the real how-to-play there?
I changed the point of view of sightseeing tour
in terms of “visiting around nearby”.
there was a delicious rice, interesting places,
and chances to meet wonderful people there.
Making a bowl of Tamago kake gohan.
In order to do this, I made the tour
that we visited the facilities which make familiar ingredients for us.
How is it, everyone?
On one of the consecutive holidays,
On unexpected a day off,
Or on a day in five times you usually use for going far away,
how about using such a day to take a walk near you?
Probably there will be interesting places,
people who have their particularities,
and it may be an interesting tour or play.
Not thinking there is nothing around here,
how about beginning with the place near you?
Of course, it is a good thing to see far from you.
However, there should be something near you that you haven't been aware yet.
What would you say if your friends come to your place
and ask you for some interesting places,
or ask you for the way to play around this area?
“Well, there is nothing to do here”
Now you will not think like that or say such a thing, won’t you?
If you have such an opportunity,
Why don’t you take them around
this lovely,
and familiar neighborhood by your favorite way?
(Applause)