Snorkeling with Yokai

Snorkelling with the Yokai

By Kim Bartos and

Brooke Dalgleish

Ever heard of the Japanese old wives’ tale that warns against swimming during obon? Well we heard about it after the fact… Supposedly, if you go swimming during the week of obon, certain Japanese ghosts and monsters, otherwise known as yokai, might try to grab you and pull you deep underwater! There are various ideas as to why this superstition came about, but one of the most popular comes from warning children not to interfere with the floating lanterns in the water. These lanterns are said to represent deceased family members’ souls transitioning back to the spirit world. So, if children were to disturb these lanterns by swimming in the water, their spirits might get taken right along with them! This tale then transformed into the superstition we heard about after our day trip. Another theory comes from Japan’s very own typhoon season. Although we swam in a lake, swimming in the ocean during typhoon season can be quite dangerous. So many parents often tell their children to stay away from bodies of water during this time. Regardless of where this tale comes from, we were lucky to make it out of our swimming adventure intact!

Speaking of scary stories and bodies of water, have you heard any ghost stories from Akita’s very own Lake Towada? After learning about the “do not swim during Obon” tale, Kim very excitedly told her coworkers that she did just that! A surprised coworker added to the excitement with this spine-chilling local tale about Lake Towada:

Istock, D-Keine

Around Towada there are a couple campgrounds where you can rent a space, set up a tent, and enjoy a nice evening under the beautiful stars. However, this beautiful night comes with a word of warning. Big bodies of water act as easy conduits for pesky spirits! Many are harmless, but others...might not be so keen on visitors coming to the lake. It is said that during the night--around midnight to be exact--hundreds of sinister, ghostly hands will rise from the water and slither their way to the campgrounds. These hands will reach into your tents, grab you by the ankles, and tug you out! If you aren’t fast enough to escape this initial scare, those hands will drag you across the ground straight for, you guessed it, the dark depths of the lake!! Dragging folks underwater seems to be a theme here... Are there any local ghost stories that you’ve heard? Summer is the time to ask about them!

Wait. Was this an article about ghosts or about swimming? Let’s get back on track!

Over summer vacation on a work day we took off, a small group of us decided to go to Lake Tazawa on a whim. Since it was a monday, there weren’t a lot of people at the lake. It was like we had the swimming area all to ourselves at some points! Although it was slightly on the chilly side, we were all willing to fight the cold in order to enjoy swimming in a lake at least once this summer. One of us had a few sets of snorkel gear, so we were able to go under the water. That might sound strange, snorkeling in a lake, but Lake Tazawa is very

SNORKELLING WITH THE YOKAI clear and has an abundant amount of fish to look for! Thanks to the lack of people kicking up sand, the water was very visible. You could see quite far into the water, past the floating buoys of the roped off swimming area. We were able to take loads of silly underwater pictures and videos to remember this fun, spontaneous day trip.

When you ask your students what they did this summer, did any of them say they went swimming? It’s not such a common answer as it is back home in America for us. One of the major differences we noticed about swimming at lakes in The U.S. vs. swimming in Japan is the way people enjoy their time at the lake. In America, it’s not uncommon to see plenty of people splashing around and diving under the water to feel refreshed. In Japan, however, we noticed that most people are fine with going until the water just hits their knees (unless they are under the age of 13, it seems). We barely saw anyone in swimsuits either! Asking a Japanese friend about this, she said that most people prefer swimming in the ocean rather than in lakes. Some even think lakes are dirtier than oceans, so they simply enjoy the view rather than swim in it!

Another lake day given in The U.S. is the food! Although we’re sure people were eating at this lake beach area too, it seems like our group was the only one that really had it all laid out on a Something that came as a bit of a shock were the public bathrooms and showers. Normally you’d expect to just waltz into the tiny cement buildings at a public beach and tiptoe your way around the facilities (avoiding spiders and whatnot). However, these facilities cost a fee! Of course it was only 300 yen, but the fact that there was any price to pay at all felt like a little bit of a culture shock!

On the other hand we did notice a lot of similarities! We saw many people using SUP boards, water floaties, watching the sunset, and a few people were even skipping rocks. It just goes to show that when there is a lake around, we may utilize it differently, but we can all enjoy a day at the lake!

Photos courtesy of Kim and Brooke

AJISAI IN AKITA Ajisai in Akita

Ajisai in Akita

Photo credits

First page:

Andrea Danko, top-left, Multi-coloured ajisai

Brooke Dalgleish, right, Heart-shaped ajisai , bottom right, Magenta ajisai Second page:

Andrea Danko, top-left, Dragon fly and ajisai

Brooke Dalgleish, bottom left, pink ajisai, bottom center, ajisai path, bottom right, crisp ajisai, top right, bamboo forest and flowers tope center, pristine ajisai.

Oga’s Unshoji temple

If you are looking to see some Hyndrangeas or ajisai in Japanese. Oga’s Unshoji temple is a very good spot. This temple hosts an event every year around the beginning of July.

The temple grounds are stunning with loads of hydrangeas and some bamboo spattered around the area. At night the grounds are lit up highlighting the beautiful blue of the hydrangeas. Definitly a must for people living in Akita.