Vegetable Peeler Japanese Style

I mentioned last week on my blog that I was on a hike between the towns of Magome and Tsumago in the Kiso Valley. Traditionally these steep hillside villages did not have a mains water supply like most large towns and cities and so they relied on water from rivers channelled along the side of the main village footpath.

I noticed this in the water channel and waited to see what it was for...

Then along came this lovely lady with a big grin on her face watching me watching her! She smiled then turned around and removed the device from the water and opened up a flap on the side. Out popped loads of small peeled potatoes. What a great idea! Fantastic no more peeling, let the water do it for you!

These channels have been used to supply water for everything in the village from the filling of outside kitchen sinks, laundry & washing, water storage for fire fighting for the timber houses as well as some novel uses like the Japanese potato peeler!

Have fun.

No Shoe Policy in Japan :: The Benefits of Leaving Your Shoes at the Front Door

Did you know that shoes are not worn in Japanese homes? 

When I first arrived in Japan one of my first cultural experiences was to remove my shoes in the entrance hallway (called a Genkan), place my shoes on a storage shelf and then put on some complimentary slippers before stepping up into the house.

A Japanese Genkan - notice the lower entrance area and cupboard for storage of shoes.
image via housenary

Japanese house slippers available for guests to use

Typical Ryokan (Japanese Guest House) entrance
image via you in japan

Whilst I thought this was a great idea as it prevents dirt being brought into the home or damage to floor finishes it is also a very important expectation of social etiquette and cleanliness in Japan. 

There are quite a few house design principles that are present in older Japanese homes that are generally not seen in Australian homes. Some of these are:

• Tatami mats (made from rice straw) for the floor finish in the main living, dining and sleeping areas.
• With a tatami floor you sit on cushions on the floor and NOT on chairs (no lounges or sofas).
• Similarly with sleeping, you sleep on futon mattresses spread out on the tatami flooring and NOT in a western style bed.

I will highlight some of these differences in more detail in future posts.

A Japanese dining room with tatami flooring
image via blimi

Futon mattresses spread out on tatami flooring. When you wake the matresses are stored in the surrounding built-in wardrobes 
image via marumura

When you are spending a lot of time on the floor it is so important to keep the floor clean and a "no shoe policy" does just this as well as protecting the delicate tatami flooring. Also when mattresses, pillows and cushions are stored away a room takes on a minimalist feeling of calm with everything hidden from view when not used.

Most of us have a natural flooring of some sort whether it be timber, an expensive wool rug or natural stone. If we could implement this policy in our homes there would be so many benefits:

• Less washing, vacuuming and cleaning of floors, rugs and carpets
• Less damage to timber floors, carpets & rugs from heals, dirty shoes and stains
• Less dust in the house for allergy sufferers
• Less noise for our neighbours
• Cleaner floors for children to play on

Personally I would like to implement a "no shoes policy" when I return. As this is not the cultural norm in Australia I will let you know how this goes with my friends and family!

In the meantime I would love to hear of your stories if you have tried to implement this in your home.

Have fun.

Traditional Housing & Longhouses :: Sabah & Brunei, Borneo

It's been a busy month with travelling around Sabah, Borneo then a quick trip to the UK for my sister-in-law's wedding - and now I am on a week stopover in Dubai before continuing on our travels to the Philippines.


Travelling around Borneo was great fun and interesting to see other house styles in this tropical climate. There is a actually bit of a mix between timber stilt housing (similar to the Australian Queenslanders), new terraced and townhouse developments and traditional and new community 'Longhouses'. 

A traditional 'Longhouse' literally means a large wooden communal structure, raised on stilts (in the case of the modern ones there is parking beneath) and the home and communal dwelling to one indigenous community or extended family.

In Northern Sabah there still remains the traditional timber Longhouses, this one belongs to the Rungus community and was originally 90 doors long with each dwelling being 3 meters in width, making a 270m longhouse! 

A traditional timber longhouse

The timber and bamboo construction allows for shade all day long in the private family rooms and the communal covered area.

Massive open plan communal living areas with open wall construction to allow for cooler air flow

It is designed with slanted side walls to allow the occupants to sit comfortably without the need for modern furniture! This is quite important as the Rungus women are renown for their skills as bead weavers and sit with their legs stretched out in order to produce their handicrafts.

Slated walls for leaning against, sleeping areas and all with minimal furniture

I was also invited to a more modern Longhouse in Brunei which was similar in layout but constructed in modern materials and with car parking spaces below.

Some communal furniture

Room below for car parking

Nowadays communities favour the modern town housing developments which are still similar in layout to the traditional longhouse community, thus still allowing for extended family living.

I wonder how we would all fair if we all lived so close to our extended families? 

Have fun.

Village Life & Trekking in the Annapurna Region

Beautiful brass flower pots at doorways.

I am now finished trekking in Nepal and so will soon be flying to Mumbai, India.

It's been an interesting few weeks trekking through these extremely remote villages high up in the Himalayas and witnessing first hand how sustainably local people live. 

In years past some of these villages were on well established trading routes with China and Tibet. Nowadays a lot of their income comes from trekkers like me staying in local tea house style accommodation whilst trekking from village to village. 

Most of these lodges spend the trekking season attending to guests but when the season finishes they turn their attentions to growing produce for the next season either locally or lower down in the foothills.

Hot water for trekkers is mainly solar powered with the odd gas system in the more luxurious lodges. However the locals use the local river or village water supply to wash everything, including themselves… Bear in mind this local water supply is extremely cold. In a few of the village you can also find hot springs which the locals take advantage of... Who can blame them!

The local village water supply and washing day!

Food is either grown locally or carried in by porters, donkeys or depending where the village is by aircraft. Needless to say in this cold and harsh climate food variety is limited and if it can be stored it will be, normally in a dry shed at the back of the property or hung out in the sun.

When it comes to waste there is still a massive issue with disposing of it however I did notice some great examples of recycling waste with beer bottles being used as edges to flower beds and old food and paint tins being used as flower pots. 

There is also no such thing as electric appliances! Dishes are washed in the local water supply and then left out in the sun to dry. Most stoves are still fuelled by wood which is a problem as it is leading to local deforestation but kerosene stoves are being promoted as a more sustainable alternative.

A typical, well ordered, lodge kitchen.

Blankets, rugs and woollen products are provided by the unlucky local Yaks. It is quite a weird experience to sit on a Yak skin!

A small retail display of local antiques and Yak products! 

Even Monks have tea breaks! They also offered us a cuppa at 3900m above sea level!

Carved timber window and door frames.

Prayer wheels, stones carved with prayers and prayer flags.

This trek is a great experience and it is so nice to see that behind this basic and remote living style the villages still express individuality, creativity and take great pride with decorating their entrances, lodges, monasteries and messages to their Gods!

I am now off to the tiny laneways in Kathmandu to haggle for homewares items to send home.

Have fun.