Spitting Yarn

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I wanted to share one or two pictures with you from our travels in Japan.  Apologies to those who trawled through the hundreds we have uploaded onto Flickr, but my guess is that is relatively few of you (and who’d blame you!). 

In between our 4 days in Kyoto and one night in Osaka, we spent a day in Nara.  Nara, like several places in Japan, had the honour of being capital of the country for a time, and as a result, it is rich in temples and shrines.  The sites of interest are conveniently grouped together for tourists (well, probably not for tourists, but it’s handy nonetheless!).  Unfortunately, by this stage DB and I were Templed Out (a recognised affliction) and managed to make it to only one temple, but it was a good one.

The best thing about Nara though, is the tame deer.  There are seemingly hundreds of them roaming about the town and parks.  The vendors selling ‘deer biscuits’ (which look like oatcakes) are a likely explanation for the deer’s lack of fear of people.

On the whole, we didn’t get up close and personal with the deer.  Some of them looked a bit mangy and my legs were already festooned with mosquito bites following a vicious attack the previous night.  No need to add Lyme Disease or flea bites to the mix.  The were lovely to watch, though.  Elegant creatures, except when they were ganging up on some poor soul playing a bit fast and loose with their biscuits.

I saw the dark side of the animals when we were mercilessly set upon: they swiped our map of Nara from DB’s pocket!

We made a doomed attempt to retrieve the map, but the deer got a bit tetchy, so we left him with it.

After a brief stint in Osaka, where we ate okonomiyaki and got our first glimpse of what Tokyo might be like, we headed to the peace and tranquility of Hakone National Park.  We stayed in our third ryokan (or Japanese inn) which was accessible only via a short funicular ride.

Continuing the unusual modes of transport theme, we set off the following day for a trip via cable car to Owakudani, a site of volcanic activity and sulphurous gases.  We also hoped to catch our first glimpse of Mount Fuji, but it was not to be.  Check out the view from the cable car…

It was actually a little eerie.  Hanging from a wire over a volcanic trench, muffled by gas and mist.

Having never seen a volcanic landscape before, Owakudani was an interesting place.  Vegetation was sparse, and only those plants that could withstand the nutrient-poor, volcanic earth grew and even they looked angsty and gnarled.  Streams milky with ash and minerals flowed this way and that, and swathes of gas crept across the rocks.  It was quite dramatic.  However, the Japanese tourists were mainly bent on getting their eggs. 

The Owakudani economy is boosted by a small hut selling eggs boiled in volcanic springs.  These blackened eggs apparently postpone one’s longevity, which to my ears means death is hastened, but this is no doubt a mistranslation.  Speaking of which, the terms under which the eggs were sold, were somewhat confusing for an English speaker (click for a larger image):

DB and I are still puzzling over number 3, but is seems to have an environmental message?

And so on to knitting matters.

I spent Sunday at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, helping out at the Knitterati Glitterati area.  I was offered a complimentary pass to the show in exchange for knitting all day and chatting with nice knitters.  What a hardship! 

I’m on a strict yarn diet, so I had the desperate experience of being assailed by yarn on all sides and not being able to indulge.  I did pick up a few other bits, though.  An A2 cutting board for the bargin price of GBP 9.99, some pre-cut and folded cards and envelopes to Gocco on, and some cotton post cards to print on.  I also picked up a Christmas present for someone (I really need to get cracking on Christmas).

I’m ashamed to say I failed to take any pictures (except one of the knitted ferrari for the family petrolheads).  I’m a bad blogger.  I was delighted to meet Alice from Flossie Knits.  I had the pleasure of accosting her before she knew who I was, such is the fun of the interweb.  It was also lovely to meet Kate, with whom I have corresponded from time to time. I also, finally and briefly, met Kerrie in person.  I’d given up setting eyes on her after passing by HipKnits stall a couple of times and not seeing her.  I picked up my copy of Yarn Forward, Kerrie’s new magazine from the stall.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I’m looking forward to seeing what future editions will hold.

On Saturday I spent some time with my Mum, and we had a nice time wandering around the Farnham Craft Fair and doing a little bit of shopping.  I also managed to check out the Interknit Cafe in Farnham (no website yet).  Once again, I failed to pull my camera out of the bag.  I can tell you that the Cafe element is rather token (as I think it is in many of the knit cafes in the States).  There are tables and it is possible to buy an inexpensive cup of tea or coffee, but the refreshments don’t go much beyond that.  However, the main draw is the yarn.  The shop is a decent size and contains pretty much all of the main brands and many of the rarer, luxury brands of yarn (including Hip Knits) in good quantities.  They also sell a good selection of kits and books, and some knitting notions.  Their newsletter indicates that they run a healthy knitting class schedule to boot.  All in all, this is a wonderful neighbourhood yarn store which is well worth a visit if you’re in the area.  Certainly, it is a massive leap in Farnham’s yarn fortunes, having had access to only the somewhat depressing yarn and haberdashery section of Elphicks department store in the past.

There has been some knitting, but I’ll report another time.

If you’re reading in the UK on 17 October, have you posted to the History Matters ‘One Day in History’ blog?  If not, go *here*.