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.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Look at how big this kite is and how many people are working to get it flying!


Whoa!


There it goes!




Fish kites


They had three of these giant kites flying at the same time!


Here's a group flying one out in the rice fields. Notice that it is tethered to the truck!


Another funny Japanese sign that I assume is telling you not to litter.

Hello! Wow, it's been forever since I posted here. Craziness! We're doing fine here in Japan. The weather is gorgeous today, which is a nice change because just yesterday we had a river going down our street from all the rain.

This week has been good and I have some fun stuff to show you. On Monday, I went to the big kite festival that they have every year near our house. The kites are HUGE and they require several people---like maybe 20---to lift them. The kites are tethered to a bulldozer or large vehicle to make sure they don't blow away. I guess a few years ago one of the kites came loose and hurt some of the people watching the event, but of course I found out about this after I went. That's okay, though. If I had known, I might have stayed home. Tuesday was Children's Day, and in honor of that day Japanese families fly kites in the shape of fish. They had several of those kites flying at the festival as well.

Yesterday I got brave and took the train (okay, a few trains---the Tokyo transit system is not to be taken lightly) into Tokyo to attend the annual Hobby Show at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. What a day! I think I spent close to five hours there just wandering around and checking out all the cool crafts. One of the big features of the show is that you can pay a small fee and do make-and-take projects at the different vendors' booths. I only did two make-and-take projects (painting a picture with these awesome watercolor pencils, and making a yarn lei with novelty yarn), but I watched lots of people working on several different kinds of crafts. Beading was very popular, as well as scrapbooking, needlepunched felt food, and plastic food made with soft modeling clay. I unfortunately was not allowed to take photos, so you'll have to use your imagination I guess.

Okay, that's about it from here!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

View of cherry blossoms at Camp Zama golf course





Seiko and the girls


Say "cheese!"


Take a close look at this tree---it has both pink and white cherry blossoms!


Our completed ring holders. My oshie teacher, Yumiko, is seated next to me.


Close up of the ring holder


After our craft class and lunch, we went outside to see some cherry blossoms.


Shrine near Yumiko's house


Cleansing hands before entering the shrine


Here's a poster that shows you what you're suppose to do before entering the shrine.


Hello! The cherry blossoms are in full swing here, and just like last year, they are gorgeous! Everyone is out and about enjoying them while they last, which isn't very long. Some of the blossoms are already starting to fall, and it creates a beautiful snowstorm-like effect.

We had a very busy weekend. On Saturday, I helped Zach and the First Class Association that he belongs to serve hot dogs and hamburgers at the Kamiseya Cherry Blossom Festival. (Kamiseya is another local base.) I spoke with one of the festival organizers, and she expected close to 30,000 people to attend. I think they did, because we sold out of food at least three hours before the festival was scheduled to end! On Sunday, we took our friend Seiko, her daughter Neiro, and Neiro's friend to Camp Zama Army Base for the brunch buffet. Afterward, we went for a walk on the golf course, which was open to everyone for a few hours to view the cherry blossoms. The weather was so great, and I got some nice photos.

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day with my oshie teacher, Yumiko, and three of her friends at her house near the town of Shonandai. Yumiko helped us make ring holders out of kimono fabric. And then she fed us a wonderful lunch. She lives near a beautiful shrine and a large number of cherry trees, so after lunch we headed outside for a walk and some more photo opportunities. I thought I'd share a few of them on this post, so enjoy!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Hello! Well, we had a rather interesting Sunday this past week with our friends Ali, Kevin, and Andi at the Tagata Fertility Festival near Nagoya. Yes, you read that right---a fertility festival. We went with a base tour group, with no one under the age of 18 allowed. Why the age restriction? Well, let's just say that I don't dare put up photos for fear that Blogger will kick me off. Wait, it wasn't THAT bad. I mean, don't let your imagination take off too far on this one. It just wasn't what many Americans would consider appropriate for the younger crowd. That said, it was kind of refreshing to see a different culture's view on this topic and relative easygoing attitude. I think I've given you enough information that you can do some googling on this topic if you are so inclined. But you have been warned, and the photos out there are pretty crazy, so I wouldn't recommend doing "research" on a work computer unless you really don't like your job anymore. I spent a lot of the day laughing and absolutely amazed at what was being sold by food vendors. You would never, ever, ever see anything like this in the U.S., and I think that's the main reason why this festival is so popular with the American crowd over here. Apparently Kawasaki has it's own version that is even more entertaining, but I think one fertility festival is enough for me.

I only had one rather embarrassing incident during the day, when a funny Kodak moment next to a wooden statue of a male body part (you can figure it out) went seriously wrong. Some old Japanese man decided it would be a better photo if my head were closer to this statue, and I didn't agree. He came right up to me and started pushing my head closer to the statue!!! All of this was recorded on camera by our friend Kevin, along with a large group of Japanese photography nuts who saw what was going on and thought they should also take part. I laughed it off, but I felt kind of grossed out after the fact. Yuck. May you all learn a lesson from my experience. :-) And no, Ali, you can't have a copy. No one can. :-)

Japan is just filled with so many different things to experience. This was one that we won't forget---ever!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Ha! Ha! Ha! There aren't a lot of words needed for this post. I can't begin to describe how happy I was when I discovered this game the other day at our local secondhand shop for 350 yen, or around $3.50. Hello Kitty Twister?! Japan is amazing.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Mt. Rainier. The Mountain. It's as familiar to me as the back of my hand, and I spent my whole life living in its shadow. I consider it one of my favorite destinations on Earth, and I have even talked about climbing it one day. (We'll see if that really comes true, but it's a nice thought in the meantime.) Whenever I see it, I know I am home. So imagine how surprised and perplexed I was when I first came across Mt. Rainier Coffee in the refrigerator section at a convenience store here in Japan. This is not a new find; I've known about it for a while but just didn't get around to sharing it with you. So am I the only one who thinks it is weird that this coffee exists in Japan but not Washington State, or at least not that I am aware of? And notice the strong resemblance to another Washington institution---ahem, can anyone say "Starbucks"? I did a bit of googling, and apparently there have been some discussions about logo copyright infringements (big surprise!), but I don't think anything has come of it yet.

I can't end this post without also offering links to a few Mt. Rainier Coffee commercials. The first is a catchy little musical number that was fun the first couple of times I saw it, but now it is REALLY getting on my nerves: http://www.mt-rainier-cl.com/index.html#/Top/0 I never knew that coffee made so many people want to dance!

The second is one from YouTube with Scarlett Johansson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mHWYKKFuzo&feature=related She also has a winter one where she's sitting in front of a fireplace drinking the coffee, but you'll have to find that on your own. It's not unusual to see American celebrities occasionally doing advertising spots over here. Tommy Lee Jones is often see on ads for Boss Coffee (another Japanese coffee brand), and I recently saw Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking Japanese in an ad promoting California tourism. Go Arnold.

So, go enjoy a latte! I will enjoy my Mt. Rainier one. And yes, they taste pretty darn good.