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Fresh water, handy innovation
Mrs. Ogasawara and I stand in front of her continously flowing 'water faucet'. 99.10.25/ Temperature: 10C/ Weather: Partly cloudy/ Wind Direction: E
Start: Aomori City / Latitude: 40 49 44 N / Longitude: 140 44 13E
Destination: Hanaoka Park, Namioka/Latitude: 40 42 46 N / Longitude: 140 34 23 E
Distance Traveled: 27kmThe sun rose over the mountains to the east as I began my first walking day in Aomori, Honshu (the main island of Japan). Aomori proved to have many kind and clever citizens. Of most interest was a handy and cheery woman I approached in Tagawa.
As I left the docks this morning, several men cast fishing lines out into the ocean. Several people relaxed in the seashore park. Aomori station sits only a few hundred meters from the sea. Wood crates of local Aomori apples line storefronts, narrow streets twist and wind through the coastal town. Making my way through town I was soon out toward the outskirts of town. Distinctive bright blue roofs shone bright in the morning light.
Entering Tagawa one cannot help notice the continuous flow of water in front of almost every house near the road. For the entire journey, flowing water has been confined to the banks of rivers, small creeks, and springs. Today water gushed out of pipes into concrete containers. I approached a women out sweeping her driveway to find out why.
Homemade dustpan and Japanese broom The women wore an apron-like, long sleeve, flowery shirt, blue jeans and rubber boots. A white towel was wrapped around her head. Her plants were all placed in the house's entryway or under larger bushes for the winter soon to come. "Our village doesn't have plumbing," she said revealing one answer. "If you walk another hundred or so meters you will find no water flowing like this. The villages to either side of us have plumbing, but we get our water from under the ground. We pump it up and the water flows here year round." Mrs. Ogasawara landed just in the right spot for good water.
Having a quick taste of the water "delicious," I thought to myself. Drinking mainly plumbing water during this trip, the natural taste of water was refreshing. "Drinking such fresh and delicious water here, I can't drink plumbing water," the women told me. We must have similar taste buds.
The more I spoke with Mrs. Ogasawara the more I discovered about her handy work. A uniquely shaped dustpan rested where Mrs. Ogasawara had set it down. Looking closely at it, I realized that it was hand made. "I made it out of an old oil canand some wood," she said. It was just the right size for her, the wooden handle smoothed over its years of use, and the edges of the can were dulled to prevent getting cut. She also showed me the edging she had made for her flower garden.
"Living like this is fun. You can make almost anything. If you have money you can buy anything. Making things yourself doesn't cost anything, and look this dust pan is great," said Mrs. Ogasawara in a shy and honest manner. I was impressed by the way she enjoyed her own innovations as well as her creativity.
I'm sure if all of you look you will find such innovation. Good luck.
With the mystery of Tagawa's running water solved and a new eye for innovation I made my way out of Aomori and into Namioka.
Greg
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