Hot, hot, hot!

Whoosh!

Today was a special day that no regular tourists get to experience.  Hiromi suggested that we might want to spend the day with a friend of hers, Mr Yokoyama, who is a glass artist.  We knew of him as Matt had done some translations for a brochure for him and we have a number of his pieces at home. He specialises in hand blown items full of little bubbles.  We like his glasses very much and use them all the time.

A glass being created

We travelled out on a local line to see him - he lives in an old coal mining town which was looking rather down on its luck.  We went through the ticket barriers and saw someone dressed very casually with long hair, we all knew immediately that it was him.  He drove us to his house and workshop.  He lives in a traditional wooden Japanese house - 120 years old.  It was beautiful.  We had drinks (including some fantastic coffee - Matt) and then Mr Yokoyama invited us into his workshop to see him at work.

Blowing hard - but not quite hard enough

Tom got to stand in front of the furnace - it was 1200ºC  - I don't think Tom could quite believe it!  Mr Yokoyama then showed us how he makes his glass.  He started off by adding a rod which had been dipped in a mixture of oil and water - this is what adds the tiny bubbles to the glass.  It was quite theatrical as a flame jumped out of the furnace as he did it.  He then proceeded to blow a glass which Kyoko had ordered for her cafe.  Everything was done by touch and feel, there were no thermometers, just his expert eye.  He made it look very easy but most masters of craft do!

With the Yokoyamas

He then asked Tom if he wanted a go at blowing some glass, but he went all shy and said no to start with, so Matt had a go.  He got off to a good start but then blew too hard and the glass shattered!  Tom was then up for a go, he blew and blew but couldn't get the glass any bigger.  Tom then forced me to have a go, at first I couldn't get the glass any bigger, then I blew hard and 'pop' it burst just like Matt's.  Apparently it takes 3 years of practise to learn how to blow the glass properly.  Mr Yokoyama has been doing it for 39 years!

Stringy!

Anyway it was a great experience, but very very hot!  We retired back to their house for some cold water before heading back to the train station.  Tom got a present of a special blue glass - lucky boy!

We got the Sonic (limited express train) back to Hakata and then headed to the okonomiyaki restaurant for tea.  The restaurant was empty (it was only just gone 5.00pm), so we got to sit on the seats next to the teppan to watch it being made.  Fantastic.  We had one deluxe (full of sea food) and one with mochi and cheese which was really yummy too.

All in all another good day.