For everyones information after listening to "Worlds oldest woman part II) I was reminded that the famous pearls from Japan are called Mikimoto….Mikimoto is famous becaues they are actually the ones who pioneered the method Pearl cultivation. That is where they stick sand and grit into some clams that they farm which increaseses the probability of them producing a pearl instead of just diving for pearls from clams in the “wild”.
In the comment Liz mentioned a museum she visited. I think this is in Toba-shi Mie-Ken close to Ise. They have things like a replica of the LIberty Bell all made from pearls and other cool stuff.
The only reason I know this is that I lived in Mie for two years. Mie is a really great place to visit if you have the chance. There is a famous shrine in Ise which is right around the corner from Toba and there used to be a pretty cool amusement park there called Spain Mura (don’t know if it’s still open or not). There is also a cool aquarium in Toba and if you have the chance visited Matsusaka for some Matsusaka-gyu (Matsusaka beef...similar to Kobe beef but better).
