COOKING LESSON IN JAPAN

Hi Everyone!

I feel pretty rested today. So I will share with you the fabulous cooking class we had in Japan. In the Glass Village there is a restaurant.( Oh before I forget, in front of every eating establishment there is a window display of fake food. We all got a kick out of it. It is the exact replica of the food you get in the restaurants only it is made of resin. It looks very appetizing and you really do get exactly what the fake food looks like.) Soooo we stepped into the restaurant to find it empty. I think they closed it just for us. We were escorted to a large room with long tables. One table had a gas grill for each of us and all the ingredients set up for us to make Japanese Pizza. Our instructor, a happy lady, demonstrated first then it was our turn. Oh what fun and the jokes went flying around the room. Ann's was perfect, she definitely won the cooking award. My fire was too low so it was a mess. Iwao, the head guy of Toho, came over and cooked mine for me. He is a fun guy to be around. Afterwords, we got to eat our meal with beer of course.




Our cooking instructor

cooking stove and ingredients



Everything is very presice


Kaoru overlooking and making jokes the whole time


Iwao fixing my mess. It was so much fun


Ann with her perfect Japanes Pizza


Good friends, good food, and good beer!

Ahhh fake food. Interesting how I got a photo of myself.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

SHARING THE DEALS

Hi Everyone!

You know me I love sharing about deals that are going on. One of my favorite places is having 10% off and free shipping to the US with only $1.00 to Canada! All you need to do is go to Artbeads.com shop and then type this code into appropriate space. It is good until the end of the year. SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424. How easy is that? Have fun shopping.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

VENDING MACHINES IN JAPAN

Hi Everyone!
There are vending machines every where in Japan. The drinks have every thing from juice to beer and saki. When asked about the teens buying the hard drinks out of the vending machines it was explained that it would never happen. That it was such a dishonor for them to do that. The same with the cigarettes machines. What a difference from the US.

A typical vending machine with recycle bins. They recycle everything!

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

GARASU NO SATO THE GLASS VILLAGE

Hi Everyone!
Today I have photos of the Grarsu No Sato "The Glass Village". A beautiful walkway from the Toho factory leads into The Glass Village. It is an amazing display of glass sculpture, glass art, and... things you would not see any place else. Located around all the glass are the Toho Memorial hall, where there is every bead Toho has ever made. The display of beads is a seed beaders delight. There is bead work that boggles the mind as well. The Bead Museum is a collection of beadwork from around the world. I was impressed with the different types of African and Native American work they had gathered. I have been to a lot of bead museums, this is one of the best. The Glass museum was breath taking. Some pieces collect from 600 AD. The glass collection BC is some of the most sophisticated old glass I have ever seen. The Stain Glass Pavilion was another incredible display. There is one building to watch a young man blowing glass. Also in the same building there was a young couple with their baby getting her feet set in a sand cast mold. Later they came out with a beautiful piece of glass of their daughter's feet. Kind of like our Bronzing of baby's first shoes. Oh, and let us not forget the fun house. Charmain and I were laughing so hard we were crying. Another way to show how fun loving the Japanese people are. There is a retail store as well where you can purchase anything glass and a small bead store. While we were there we had a cooking lesson in the restaurant and made our own lunch. It is called Japanese Pizza. All of us are going to make it here at home.
Here is just a bit of the inside of The Glass Village.
More photos later today.

Ann, Charmain, me, and Ayako

Be sure to click on the photos to see them better.

This is all glass, except for the hose of course.

There are motes around most of the sculptures.

This is the Glass Castle

Now, long before Toho contests and even the idea of going to Japan, I knew about and had seen photos of the Glass Clock. The is a working clock that all the flowers, each petal, leaf, and stem is made of glass. As I walked up to it I thought we were in the wrong place. All of us thought the flowers were real. It is stunning!!!!

Bead with Honor and Integrity

Nicole/Beadwright

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE TOILETS

Hi Everyone!

OK OK OK! Since I have been home from Japan I have to date exactly 22 emails asking me about the traditional Japanese toilets. So here it is! All the toilets are in enclosed stalls. The doors go all the way to the floor. Hey, it is just like when you pee in the woods. Soooo, that might be a bit graphic but you asked.

We found "western" toilets everywhere and they do everything but fly. Heated seats, bidets with any kind of water spray you like, some even had driers. In some of the public bathrooms you could move your hand across a small black window on the wall and the sound of a babbling brook sang out. It is for privacy. That was interesting. As in every thing else in Japan the toilets were not an issue. LOL!!!

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

Japan Toho Bead Factory

Hi Everyone!
I am hoping to post several times today with photos of inside of the Toho Factory and the Glass Village which includes the Bead Museum.

This is Mr. Kaoru Yamanaka one of the family owners of Toho. He is the warmest gentleman you would want to know. He also has the best sense of humor ever. We laughed so much with his happy ways and joking manner. A wonderful man. Ayako our translator and the young man is a reporter and editor of Japanese beading books.

More of the Toho grounds

Ahh secrets in this building. It is where the Aiko beads are manufactured!

Getting ready to make purple transparent bugles. A glass stringer is pulled across the very hot tray and put into the machine in the next photo. Beads are set to diameter and cut for the next step.

Glass stringers come off of this machine then off to the cutting room for length size.

The green computer keeps everything to the right dimensions. The use of old and new technology is amazing and the entire process is down to perfection.

A keen eye to check for color and dimensions and the glass is off to the cutting room.

Sorry no photos were allowed there.

Bead with Honor and Integrity.

Nicole/Beadwright

Toho Factory Japan

Hi Everyone!

Here is the beginning of what you have been waiting for. These photos are of the Toho Bead Factory as we arrived.

Tomorrow I will have photos of inside. We were restricted to some of the buildings but you will see how things are done for making those little beads we love so much.

This is Ayako our translator for the time we were in Hiroshima. One of the nicest people ever.

We never did see the actual front of Toho. We always drove inside the fenced area.

One of the factory workers. Every business, every shop, the workers wear uniforms. Everything is extremely clean. The people, the cities, the towns.

This is the door way into the offices.

I am going through photos each day so stay with me. More to come tomorrow.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

Japan Question

Hi Everyone!
I was asked if signage in Japan was in English and Japanese. In airports, and rail stations we found English under the Japanese. A lot of restaurants have signs out front stating they have English menus. It was not difficult at all to go places and do things because of language. A lot of people speak a little to very good English. And yes, we had people wanting to practice English with us. The school kids, who travel in groups, will shout out "Hello" and get all excited and giggly when you speak to them in English. Once they hear you speak English then they all start at once saying, "Good morning", "How are you?" They all have to keep moving in the group. It is so nice to hear their laughter and to see the joy on their faces as you stop and bow and speak to them. I truly love the Japanese people and the culture.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

JAPAN

Hi Everyone!
The photos today are of us arriving at the Japanese airport and getting our rail pass. OK so I didn't know what a rail pass is either. You can purchase a 1, 3, 5, or 7 day pass to ride the express trains, the bullet trains, ferries, and gondolas. It may cover other transportation but that is what we road. If you don't have a pass you buy tickets and either way it is very expensive.


Here are my travel mates. From left to right
Charmain, me, Kimsan, (Kimsan is what she is referred to in Japan and it worked having two Kims on the trip.) Ann, and Kim
Kimsan is the owner of Tambrook Beads in Boring OR. Kim is the manager of US Bead Warehouse here in Florence and Ann is Kim's mom. Ann is so awesome!!!!


Lot's of paper work to fill out for traveling abroad. Always at all times keep your passport and rail pass with you. We are in Canada here.


We made it. We are in Japan!!!!! Well the Narita airport anyway.


OK so the cute German guy focused in on my photo, however, this is a typical place to buy your rail passes. The Japanese people are so accommodating and speak English, French, German, and more to help you on your travels. PS. Had a nice conversation with the German guy.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

WINNER OF COMMENT CONTEST

Hi Everyone!
Congratulations to Shaiha of http://lifeonashst.blogspot.com/, the winner of this months comment contest. Be sure to visit her website.
Also a reminder, make as many comments as you like on any post of Beadwright's blog. Your name will be placed in our cyber hat. At the end of the month one name is drawn and that person wins free beads!!! So the more comments you make the better chance of winning.

Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright