With ingredients that fresh, even a novice can dazzle in the kitchen, and I've tried my hand at everything from atsuyaki-tomago to zaru soba and have become a fanatic soybeaniste. Japanese take cuisine seriously - fifty percent of all television programs concern food. The Center's Hayashi-san is our resident expert, and he promises to teach us the fine art of tempura. Hokkaido's unpopulated stretches of natural beauty offer superb hiking possibilities, although the first mountain I climbed was within Sapporo's city limits. And, everywhere, there are sulphuric hot springs, with facilities for a customary Japanese scrub and a long, mellow soak out of doors in water that Mother Nature has heated to about 100 degrees fahrenheit.
Traditional arts are harder to explore, but worth the effort.
After viewing an exhibition on kimono design during the Tokugawa era, I became convinced it was the most beautiful garment ever crafted. Happily, the best-priced antique kimono store in Japan is located in Sapporo, and the owner will let you browse for hours. In Kyoto, the castles, shrines, and temples are as spectacular as everyone says, but the gardens are edenic. Other less spiritual things astound the visitor from New York. However, I will gladly say sayonara to the ubiquitous crows that caw at me from above or the gnat-like cyclists who swipe at me from every direction as I walk to and from the Center.