Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Shinkansen, or bullet train


Me in front of the Golden Pavilion


Kyoto Tower at night


Funny!


Delicious sand?! Yum!


Kiyomizudera Temple. Please notice the large number of people standing on the wooden terrace. Wouldn't it make you nervous too?






HUGE torii gate outside the Kyoto Museum of Modern Art. If you look closely, you can see Zach standing at the bottom of it on the left.


Zach---which way should we go?! This is near the beginning of the path of torii gates at the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine.








I think we had been hiking for about an hour at this point.


Cute kid dressed up in her kimono


The cousins, Zach and Jarrod


Yoko and Seiko


Those dots are surfers! View near Yoko's house


Hello! Zach and I had a terrific weekend in Kyoto, and we ended up with some fun photos to share. We took our first bullet train or Shinkansen ride to get there, and it was FAST! Up to 186 miles per hour fast! Plus, we did not dawdle when getting on and off the train. I think we had maybe two minutes to get on the train. It started moving before we were in our seats.

While in Kyoto, we managed to see quite a bit, although there were many more things to do that we couldn't fit in. We arrived in the afternoon on Friday, and by the time we got our bus passes and made our way across the city to the Golden Pavilion, it was almost dusk. I was in awe at how beautiful it was and just couldn't believe that I was finally seeing it in person.

On Saturday, we walked and walked, and then we walked some more! We visited the Kiyomizudera Temple, or water temple, with its gigantic outdoor terrace that freaked me out. I kept looking at all the people standing on it, and my imagination got the best of me. The view was stunning, but I was happy when we made our way across to the other side.

We ended up with gorgeous weather. The leaves were also beginnning to turn, and I think in another week they will be even more beautiful. We also visited the Kyoto Handicraft Center on Saturday, which turned out to be not quite what I thought. I was under the impression that there would be many artisans there demonstrating their crafts, but it was more of a place to buy locally made gifts. That was okay for me, but Zach got a bit restless, as most husbands would when faced with a five-story building filled with trinkets! Afterward, we walked along the Philosopher's Path that follows a canal through the city. It was getting quite dark and I think it would have been better earlier in the day.

On Sunday, we went to the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, which involved a two-hour hike along a path lined with thousands of torii gates. I thought we would just take a look at the beginning of the path, but Zach wanted to do the entire hike, so we did, and I'm so glad we did. It was an incredible walk through the forest, and along the way were little restaurants selling fried tofu and noodles. We were watching the clock because we had a train to catch in the afternoon so we didn't stop to eat, but I've heard that it is a pretty tasty dish. Maybe next time. :-)

I wish we had more time to spend in Kyoto, but I'm thankful that we made it there. Living near Tokyo is great, but sometimes it's nice to get out of the big city and see some of the countryside.

We also had some company visiting last week. Zach's cousin Jarrod came to visit. He's in the army and stationed in Germany, and it had been a while since Zach had seen him. We had a fun time showing him around Kamakura and went to afternoon brunch at the New Sanno Hotel. We also went to Sunshine City, an enormous shopping area that I was unfamiliar with and a bit frightened of. I love to shop, but this place tested my patience.

I also spent time with Seiko last week and met her sister Yoko for the first time. Yoko has two children, a girl and a boy, who are absolutely adorable. Yoko and her husband live near the water, so we went for a walk along the waterfront. The weather was fantastic, and the view was great.

Well, I think that brings things a bit more up to date from here. Enjoy the photos!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Signs on the street indicating that we are in "Fabric Town"


This store called Tomato had six floors of fabrics!

Ack! Has it really been three months since my last post?! Yikes. Well, I have to admit that things have been a bit crazy these past few months but this is ridiculous! We had some stuff going on that led to my posting negligence, but hopefully I can get back into a little bit better routine. Maybe many of my faithful followers have left me already, and all I can say is, "Gomenasai" or "I'm sorry."

If you are wondering, things are going okay here. I passed by my two-year mark in Japan, which just shocks me. I can't believe that it's been that long. We're supposed to be here until February of next year, but I'm learning with the navy that anything can change and it does. We also made it through the typhoon that passed by us yesterday. It rained a lot and the wind was strong, but thankfully nothing was damaged at our house. The entire base was closed as a precaution though.

I'm still going to my craft classes and volunteering my time to the baby blanket project on base. We haven't been doing much in the way of sightseeing, but earlier this week Seiko changed that when she took me on a trek to Nippori, an area of Tokyo that is known as "Fabric Town." (Here I must tell my Martingale friends to breathe deeply and not freak out too much. Yes, it was pretty darn cool.) I posted a few photos so you can get an idea of what the area looks like. I didn't go too crazy with my shopping. The majority of shops were small and sold really fancy fabrics, like kimono silks, wool, and stunning evening-gown polyesters---fabrics I would never dare to sew with because of my lack of experience. We did find a fair number of shops with fabrics that didn't intimidate me, and I bought a few cottons, including an adorable Hello Kitty sailor print. I have no idea what I will make with my fabric treasures, but after working for several years with women who have amazing fabric stashes, I've learned that you don't always have to have a project in mind to buy a piece of fabric.

After our fabric excursion, we had lunch at a Persian/Turkish restaurant that Seiko had seen advertised on t.v. The food was awesome and really inexpensive. We were so full by the end of our meal. The only thing that we weren't too crazy about was the Turkish Delight. Seiko said it looked like soap, and after she said that I couldn't get it out of my head!

Since this was a outing with Seiko, who is famous for her never-ending energy levels and awesome ability to pack in loads of stuff in a trip, we continued on after lunch to Ueno, which has a zoo, lots of great museums, and cool shopping. We went for the shopping district, a strange mix of food and clothing vendors all side by side. One booth would have seafood on ice, and the next one racks of funky shirts. We headed home after that with all of our loot, tired but happy.

So, I'll try to be better about posting. Really. :-) I hope you enjoyed this one.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Another great Japanese sign. Who knew that water could be cute?!


This turned out to be milk tea, not chocolate milk. Sigh.



Hello! I hope everyone is doing well. I'm slugging through another hot and muggy day here. I finally couldn't take it anymore and turned on the air conditioning. As someone from the northwest, I'm still not used to the concept of AC in your house. It seems like a big luxury to turn it on, but here in Japan, it is a necessity. So, AC all the way! Until the electric bill arrives, right?

We've been doing okay here. I had sushi with Seiko this week, which was fun. I've still been attending my craft classes and recently volunteered to crochet baby blankets for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. I've made two blankets so far, and I'm working on a third. Summertime isn't the best time for working on a blanket, but it is for a good cause and it keeps me busy.

I added a few more photos to the blog that I hope makes you laugh. The "water under construction" sign was just too weird to pass up, and the Hello Kitty drink was calling my name at the convenience store down the street. I should have known that it was a milk tea drink by the fact that Hello Kitty is sitting in a teacup, but for some reason I convinced myself it was chocolate milk. Sigh. There's nothing wrong with milk tea, but when you're expecting chocolate milk, it was a bit of a disappointment. On the bright side, though, I now have this adorable milk carton to make something crafty with!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

"Hydrangea" in English, "ajisai" in Japanese


Seiko and me
















Seiko and Satsuki







Hello! Wow, two posts in less than a week. What's going on? I have more photos to share. Yesterday, I went with Seiko and her friend Satsuki to one of my favorite places, Kamakura. Our goal was to see the hydrangeas, which are in full bloom right now. They grow really well in this area of Japan, and the Japanese name for them is "ajisai." We went to two different shrines to see them, and also stopped by a popular money shrine that promises good fortune if you wash your money in the water there. Is it just me, or does "money washing" sound a bit like "money laundering"? Hmmmm. We washed our money and now I'm waiting to see what happens with it. Unfortunately, my photos of our money washing didn't turn out because I had my camera on a weird setting. However, I was really happy with my flower photos and I hope you will be too.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

That's really me in front of Tokyo Disneyland!


This is a covered version of Main St. USA and it's called World Bazaar.


Zach enjoying his popsicle---maybe a little too much?



Splash Mountain










Zach with his Mickey bucket of caramel corn.


This was delicious!


These bakers had 10 Mickey-shaped waffle irons going at once.




Cute! And tasty!




Inside the Enoshima Aquarium


Zach found a friend.


Cool jellyfish


Creepy and scary Japanese Giant Crab


They had a whale/dolphin/sea lion show in the afternoon that we watched. It was pretty good.






We stopped at McDonald's on our way home and tried this Shaka Shaka chicken. The instructions are on the bag, and it basically tasted like a McNugget covered with the powdered cheese you get in a Kraft Mac&Cheese box.


Zach saw these on the menu and was so excited to try one. They were good, but not good for you. Japan's McDs still deep fry their pies (I think they are baked in the U.S.), and this potato version is the same as the fruit ones.

Konnichiwa! Okay, so it has been a while since I've been back here and if some of you are annoyed, I apologize. I do think about my blog, if that means anything. I just haven't been good about writing. Anyhoo, I have some fun stuff to share, and if anyone is still checking this thing, I hope you enjoy it.

We've been enjoying a small vacation this past week. It was kind of a last-minute decision, so we stayed close to home. There is so much to do in Tokyo that we haven't done yet, and one of them was a trip to Tokyo Disneyland. We've been talking about it for a long time, and we finally went yesterday!!!! The park is quite similar to Disneyland, but it has its differences too. It was pretty crowded, but we didn't have too much trouble waiting in lines. The longest we stood was 70 minutes for their brand-new Monsters Inc. ride, which was a disappointing ride to us but probably quite fun for really little kids. We didn't have any problems with Pirates or Small World, two rides that always seem to have long lines in California. Most of the narration on the rides was in Japanese, of course, which gave them a new twist. In fact, I think it made the Pirates ride more scary. I was bummed that the Enchanted Tiki Room was closed for repairs because they have their own special Lilo and Stitch performance in Japanese that is supposed to be really fun, but Zach was thanking his lucky stars because he strongly dislikes the Tiki Room. I don't know why. ;-) "In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki room..."

Headband ears were incredibly popular, and they had so many different kinds---Mickey and Minnie, Dumbo, Bambi, Goofy. I got myself some cute Minnie Mouse ears on a headband and wore them proudly. Earlier in the day I bought some cheaper barrette-style ears but they didn't feel like they wanted to stay on, so I splurged and upgraded and was happy I did. ;-) I've been wearing them around the house today and Zach just keeps shaking his head.

We ate our fair share of tasty treats as all good Disneyland visitors do. Churros, a Mickey-shaped popsicle, Japanese curry rice (this was really weird to eat at the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Westernland a.k.a. Frontierland), a slice of Mickey-shaped pizza, caramel corn in a Mickey Mouse refillable bucket (I mocked Zach when he said he was going to get it but realized that I was foolish---the bucket is cool and the caramel corn was yummy), and a Mickey-shaped waffle to end the day. Zach's friend told him that they sold turkey legs somewhere in Westernland, and he had his heart set on eating one, but we never found them and wonder if it is a seasonal thing.

Now that we've made it to Tokyo Disneyland, I'm hoping that there will be a future trip to Tokyo DisneySea, a second amusement park next to Disneyland. Apparently it's the only one like it in the world, and we've heard lots of positive things about it.

We also made it to the Enoshima Aquarium this week. It was a bit pricey for what they had, but the weather was cooperative (the rainy season is almost here) and it was fun to see and smell the ocean. They had a pretty cool jellyfish exhibit and giant Japanese crabs that freaked me out. It's been nice having Zach home from work, and I'm glad we got out and saw a few more Tokyo sights. There's just so much to see and do here.