TTT2019: Day 36--Return to My Roots...Utashinai

I've had numerous postings on my roots searches for Kenjiro's grandmother, rumored to have been a female samurai somewhere around the mid-1800's.  I have unofficially passed on future searches to Mateo Takahashi, for he is the last male Takahashi to be born.

However, this could well be my final visit to Hokkaido, so I decided to again take that arduous trip to Utashinai, where Kenjiro Takahashi left at least 120 years ago to educate himself in America.  I have a well-documented official copy signed by the Secretary of the Territory of Hawaii describing him coming to Hawaii, and how he was a supervisor for the construction of the Wainiha Hydropowerplant in 1906.

In case you were wondering what that colorful symbol is above, I took my family mon (kamon, crest) and played around with it on my computer and ended up with what you see.  What it means is that for the world to attain universal peace, we all need to take the high road to cooperation, and Takahashi means high bridge.  I then felt compelled to advance peace, so my very first Huffington Post article was a 10% solution.

You, of course see that colorful emblem on the cover of two of my three recent books.  Below, SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR PLANET EARTH.

With that backdrop, this morning we caught the Lilac from Sapporo to Takikawa.  My snack was a breakfast burger from Lotteria, with a Coke:

What did we see?  SNOW....SNOW SNOW.  Here, with May soon to come, there are snowbanks all around:

See that arrow?  It snows more than 30 feet/year in Utashinai, and that sign points out the end of the road when covered with snow.

From Takikawa Station, it was a one hour bus ride to Utashinai.  We dropped off at Yumetsumugi Museum, which opened in 1997:

We were met by a staffer who gave me his card, but it was in Japanese, so I thought his name was Yumetsu Mugi.  Apparently, not, but here he is pointing out where Kenjiro might have begun:

He said they have a complete set of archives and, if he finds anything, he will send it to me.  Otherwise, the museum exhibited artifacts from the past, including a Subaru:

Tennessee Ernie Ford's 16 Tons is shown in a display:

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I hauled Sixteen Tons of number 9 coal
And the store boss said, "Well, bless my soul"

Anyone know what #9 coal is?  Well, just click on this.

Sorachi Coal Mine opened in 1890, around when Kenjiro's parents moved to Utashinai.  Japan Railway stopped coming here in the later 1980's, and the coal company which was the whole economy, closed down inn 1995.  There is still a lot of coal, but it is cheaper to import from Australia:

In 1948 Utashinai had a population of 46,000.  Today, 3500 and declining.  It is already Japan's smallest city.  The town has tried to re-build itself with a Swiss theme, featuring skiing and onsens.

Our personal guide spent two hours with us and even walked us to the bus stop, which was just outside the door:

Yes, that's snow.

Back in Takikawa we had a hot soba lunch with water:

Walking back to the train station, it actually began to snow.

Sometimes I wonder how close I was to oblivion, for Utashinai lost its coal industry and sugar disappeared from Naalehu, my first job.  If Pearl had a child there, I would have stayed in the sugar industry, and might still be in Kau.  If, somehow I was born in Utashinai, I might have been handling the touring assignment for that museum.  No hydrogen economy...no blue revolution.

So, back in Sapporo, we had an excellent pork tonkatsu dinner.  All those sauces, where you suribachi your own sesame seeds.  What an experience:

There is something soul-satisfying about returning to your roots.  However, glad to live in Honolulu, for the weather last night in Utashinai  showed 30 F and snow flurries.  Tomorrow, on to Morioka and more cherry blossoms.

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