
The main industries are fishery (eel, nori-seaweed, sole, shell fish), agriculture (grapes, egg plant, rice), tourism (canals), and they manufacture sake(rice drink) and miso soup (fermented soy bean). They also produce handcrafts, the Yanagawa kites, and pottery: Kamachi.
Yanagawa was a castle town. The canals were built for self defense. The junior high school was built on a castle site. Meg told us that we were going to a small town where traditions are still alive and well. She hoped we would enjoy the beautiful Japanese gardens, our visit to a History museum, tickets courtesy of the hotel, and try grilled eel, a delicacy of the region.
My first impressions of Yanagawa: "A poor, rural city." After a few minutes of a walking tour, I loved its charm and the fact that in such a small place you could find every modern convenience except Internet availability for hire. We went to eat to a restaurant that did not give me a very good first impression. The food was wonderful and Meg became waiter, cashier, and food advisor. She is amazing. She is with us 24 hours a day with a great smile.



Everything had worked without complications and the group was beginning to bound. I did not know Stacey, Buffy and Sheila well, but I liked their positive outlook to everything so far. I wanted to know all my group members better but especially, the woman with whom I got lost at the airport, Ann. I knew that by the end of our stay in Yanagawa I would have learned to appreciate every person in my group for the particular talents and passion they brought with them.



My room had a very small bathroom (Western style toilet-thanks God, and a tub/shower). I had a small area to hang my clothes, no real closet. The closet space had several futtons. The TV had only Japanese channels. The only decorations were a beautiful Ikebana arrangement and a Sumi-e painting. My windows overlooked a beautiful Japanese garden, but the hotel and the town smelled like fish, very much like my native town of Lima, Peru early on a fall morning, but the difference was that it was night time.
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