Wednesday, March 12th, 2025
Today, we were on our own and Dodi suggested that we walk down the street and visit the Fukuhara Memorial Museum. The entry fee was 600 Yen/person and what a deal that turned out to be. I am still marvelling at how such a small community can house a remarkable selection of artwork. The size and architectural design of the building was impressive and the surrounding grounds housed many statues. The museum was mainly built and pieces were provided by philanthropist, Mr. Jihei Fukuhara. We enjoyed the better part of an afternoon wandering through the galleries and marvelling at this private collection.
“This museum features the collection of Mr. Jihei Fukuhara, the founder of the Fukuhara Supermarket chain which operates in the Tokachi and Kushiro regions of Hokkaido. The wide variety of artworks on display include those by artists representative of Japan and by those closely associated with the Tokachi region.” – Fukuhara Memorial Museum Website
Thursday, March 13th, 2025
We returned to the Fukuhara Museum, today to have lunch. There is a warm and decadent atmosphere in the restaurant. One wall has floor to ceiling windows that give you a great view of the museum grounds. The food and service were excellent and cost us about $20.00 (total). As our leisurely lunch ended, we started talking to a young man named, Daigo. He introduced himself as the director of the museum. After some basic attempts at dialogue, Daigo pulled out his phone and enlarged a photo with his two fingers. It turns out that he is the friend of one our guests from our first SS House Potluck party. Daigo had a picture of us posing with the group at SS House.
In the evening, we headed over to our second English Class at Choumin Hall. Mel Li is one of two ATLs (assistant language teacher) currently living and working in Shikaoi. Mel was this evening’s teacher and she used the topic of vegetables to generate dialogue and discussion between attendees. My group included Kayoko and a junior high school student. We worked together at deciphering a list of almost 100 fruits and vegetables. There were four columns. Each row represented three different written forms for the same vegetable. We had to write the English name in the fourth column. I wasn’t much help with most of the lesson except for providing a few spelling changes. We were able to share with each other our preferences for many of the items, though, as we worked through the list.
Friday, March 14th, 2025
Our morning began with an invitation to attend the Urimaku Junior High School Graduation. We dressed in business/formal and joined parents, staff, dignitaries and all the students in the gymnasium. The procedures and protocols were interesting to experience – nothing like what you would see in an Alberta junior high school grade nine celebration. The event lasted about two hours. Each of the eleven graduating student was individually recognized and there were many speeches to work through. The best part of the ceremony was that each student gave a speech near the conclusion. Without really knowing exactly what was said, the emotion from each student was so vivid. Lots of tears, head nods, and laughter was shared by all. It was a very touching event. Ten days prior, we had the opportunity to engage with these students during Ms. Monica’s English class, providing us with a general understanding of their individual personalities.
After the graduation ceremony, Glen drove us to visit both Uramaki Elementary School and Tsumei Elementary School. We were graciously welcomed by the administration and staff at each facility. We also were privileged to be invited into some classrooms and interact with the kids.
In the evening, we hosted our second Potluck at SS House. The weather was pretty ugly today, with high gusts of wind and a mixture of snow and rain. It may have affected the number of people who came tonight. The three guests who did attend certainly made up for the crappy weather by bringing lots of tasty food and great conversation. The smaller group dynamic seemed to change the nature and depth of our discussions. I judge that it was a very good opportunity for our guests to strengthen their English skills. Kayoko’s car wouldn’t start as we were saying our goodbyes. I was happy to be able to help out with attaching the booster cables to the car batteries and getting her on her way.
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
We were invited to join Kazumi and Tomoko (our house guests from their 2018 visit to Stony Plain) for the day in Otofuke and Obihiro. Glen was gracious in picking us up taking us back home at the end of our reunion. This day a treat for us as we were able to reconnect with two terrific people. Today, we were honoured to visit both Kazumi’s and Tomoko’s homes where we were introduced to their children. Tomoko and Kazumi each have two school-aged sons. Then we were off to tour Kazumi’s school and classroom. There is a kindred spirit between the four of us as we all share in the experiences of being in the teaching profession. Glen’s background has a pretty solid grounding in the classroom, as well. He does have a personal connection with both Kazumi and Tomoko and certainly seemed to feel at home with everyone.
The Hokkaido Hotel was the next destination, where we were treated to what was called a ‘Spring Lunch”. It was a set meal served in traditional Japanese style and presented with lots of selections and more modest servings than we expect in Canada. The food presentation, textures, flavour and variety were great – sensory overload in the best way! The number of dishes more than makes up for the smaller portions.
We finished the afternoon with a visit to the Obihiro Racetrack.
“Banei Horse Racing is the only race of its kind in the world. Large draft horses, weighing about 1 ton, race on a separate course in a 200 m straight line, going over two separate inclines, while pulling an iron sled that weighs up to 1 ton.” – Google
The experience was so much fun. There was aa big crowd with lots of noise, both in the betting area and along the length of the track, once the starting gate flew open. Without any reasonable knowledge, we placed bets in two races. No luck in the first race, but Dodi placed 500 Yen for her horse of choice (the horse looked nice) to ‘show’ in the next race.
It won and Dodi walked away with 2000 Yen in her pocket.
Glen Shimbo has been so kind and generous to us. He has a lot to ensure that we are being taken care of, including chauffeuring us around, answering a million questions, and constantly translating. We are grateful.
Sunday, March 16th, 2025
We were invited by Takanori and Taeko to join them for a senior’s monthly luncheon. There were over twenty people there. Seven ladies prepared, served everyone, and then sat at their own table to eat a traditional meal. They also did all the clean-up afterwards. The meal included sticky rice, miso soup, tempura pork and vegetables, a salad, pickled vegetables, beans, burdock, and a couple of other dishes that I don’t know the names for. After a tasty lunch, we played a couple of group games – Jenga and a team relay using beans, chopsticks and two bowls that required you to transfer the beans from one to the other using the chopsticks.
We had some great conversations with different individuals. Taeko and Takanori served as our interpreters. I can only guess that our two newfound friends must be exhausted taking on this role. Translating must challenge them at becoming more proficient in mastering English. We are grateful for their companionship and willingness to help us out in any way they can.
Stony Plain in Shikaoi 