Winter field trip

January is one of my favorite months in Japan. (well, ok, I pretty much love it here Sept. - May) In January it's sunny every day and the temperatures average around 50 degrees. This is bliss compared to what we're used to; gray, rainy days in Seattle or snowstorms in the Midwest.

Ian and I met up with our former Japanese teacher to take a morning trip to a local park. The park has a trail for bird watching, but unfortunately it's closed in the winter months. However, there were plenty of ducks and carp to admire. Ian also enjoyed running around the park carrying sticks and poking them into any holes and crevices he could find. It doesn't take much to excite him...especially when we're outdoors.

Here he is peeking into a window to check out some ducks. He thought this was the best thing ever. I think it's win win for the ducks as well.


Here's the view he saw. It's a little hard to tell, but there were about 10 ducks hanging out.


Here is Ian and Sato-san. Now that we're no longer taking Japanese lessons, we plan to hang out more with Sato-san during the day. She is Ian's pinch-hitter obaasan since his Grandma and Oma can't be with him as often as we'd like. (she has a 1 year old grandson of her own who lives in Yokohama)

Visitors!

We were so excited that Ryan's cousin Nathan and his wife Kerry could fly out and visit last week. They spent most of their time skiing (look for a future post), but we did have a few days to explore in our area.

While in Tokyo, they had the chance to try takoyaki. For those of you with Danish heritage, it's similar to ebelskiver. They pour dough and chunks of octopus in the griddle and then slowly turn it to form a ball. They're pretty good.



They're typically topped with mayo (of course!), some sort of thick soy sauce-type sauce, and bonito (dried fish flakes).


Mmmm, mmmm, good!



We somehow managed to see two monkeys in one day while in Tokyo. One monkey was on a random street corner. He was drinking from a bottle with his owner. The second monkey was actually a kiddy act near the Tokyo tower. We missed the act, but did manage to watch the monkey pick tasty treats out of his fur.



It's actually pretty ironic that we spotted the monkeys. The day before our trip to Tokyo, Ryan read online about a bar/restaurant near Tokyo where they have a monkey who serves you your drinks. We wanted to go, but it's unfortunately 1.5 hours North of Tokyo. (and we're 1-1.5 hours South of Tokyo) You can find a clip on Utube if you want to check it out.

On their last full day in Japan, we ate outside in 50 degree weather, basking in the sun. Bliss!

Sankeien

Last weekend we checked out a park near Yokohama. (about a 25-30 min. drive from us) It definitely reminded us of Kyoto. We didn't quite time it right for the fall colors (we're just starting to see leaves turn), but it was still beautiful.

Here we're either people or fish watching. Between the koi in the pond and the people walking across the bridge there was never a dull moment.



You can see a ton of maples in the background. We'll have to visit again in about a month.

The park has a pagoda and 10-15 buildings that have been restored. Many of the buildings have been moved from other places (Kyoto, etc.) to be displayed in the park. Most of the buildings have a thatched roof.


Of course we needed a picture on the red bridge.


Ryan tried to pose Ian by this old fence door...and apparently this is what Ian thought about posing.


Ian was pretty much moving non-stop.

In one part of the park they had a flower display. Here is a man dead-heading with a pair of chopsticks.



I believe they're mostly chrysanthemums?


This is one of those places that you can go year-round and be guaranteed to see something new. (i.e. fall colors, flower displays, cherry blossoms, iris, etc.)

Day Hike to Mt. Kuratake

A week and a half ago I went hiking West of Tokyo with a couple of Ryan's coworkers. All three of us were supposed to go, but Ian started getting sick the day before the hike. While Ryan stayed at home cuddling our feverish boy (thanks, Ryan!), I headed out into the country. It was about a 2.5 hour train ride from our house. The best part about the hike was that it was a loop. We started at one train station and ended at another.

Here is a torii gate near the entrance of the hike:



This is the view from the top. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to see some views. On clear days you can see Fuji at the top. Surprise, surprise...she alluded me this time. (it's actually pretty hard to see Fuji, especially this time of year) I guess that's reason to return.



There were about 15-20 people at the top. If you look closely, you'll see that this guy actually brought his cook stove with him in his day pack. He used it to make cup 0' noodles. I couldn't believe he trekked up with his cook stove in his day pack...all for noodles! The Japanese do love their gear.




It was great to get a taste for the hillside. Now I'm working on finding a time for us to head to the Japanese Alps.

Day at the Beach

Earlier this month we finally made our way down to the end of our peninsula for a day at the beach. (about a 25-45 min. drive depending on traffic) In July and August the beaches are crowded during official beach season. They actually set up temporary buildings right on the beach that serve food. Depending on the location, some beaches have quite the scene of young, good looking people dancing to music.

When Japanese people go to the beach they bring everything but the kitchen sink. Most families will have a tent to provide shade from the sun, a large vinyl sheet to sit on, their own BBQ, and a cooler to store food and drinks. When we went to the beach we brought an umbrella (for shade), towels, and a bucket and rake for Ian. We have a lot to learn from the Japanese.

We made our trip after the official beach season, so it was definitely more low key.

Here Ian and Ryan are checking out the waves:



As they got closer to the water Ian wasn't so sure he wanted to actually get in the water.


He was much more content to play in the sand. (and reach for the camera with his sand-filled hands)

Playing at the sculpture park

The weekend before Ian and I flew to MN we went to Hakone, which is an area near Mt. Fuji. It was great to get up into the mountain and lakes region. During our time there we stopped at a sculpture park that is definitely one of the top 3 museums we've ever seen. The sculptures and landscaping were wonderful...but on top of that they also had some fun places for kids to play. You have to be under 12 to play on the pieces, so we had to live vicariously through Ian.

This piece was done by a Canadian artist. It was essentially a huge, colorful hammock that kids could play in. They could hang and swing on the giant balls and also climb up high into the main hammock.


Ian wasn't quite sure what to think.


He did ok when we placed him in the ring...


...but was freaked out when we placed him in the hole. Tears erupted right after I took this photo.


We also went to one other museum in the area that is also in our top 3 museums. This museum displayed the work of Itchiku Kubota, an artist who designed and created kimonos as art. His artwork is incredible and they way they designed the museum was spectacular. Unfortunately, the pictures we took don't really capture the landscaping and you can't photograph the kimonos. These museums are reasons #145 and #146 why you need to come visit us.

Iris Garden

A week ago our Japanese teacher mentioned she visited an iris garden nearby. This garden is popular in the area, but we had never heard about it. On a Friday afternoon we headed out to Shobuen. We lucked out - there weren't many people there and the flowers were blooming!

Here are some women dead-heading the irises.


I love the combo of the beautiful outfits with the matching boots! Only in Japan would you find the gardening staff dressed in such beautiful outfits.


The irises were gorgeous!



Ian loved the park...mostly because he could crawl around in it. We tried to get pictures of him with the iris in the background and he figured out how to lunge for the camera. We love this picture below:


As you can see, there are just rows and rows of irises.



Ian did take a moment to ponder the flowers...or ponder something...

Geisha

During our time in Kyoto we managed to spot some Geisha. Most of them were likely Maiko, which is an apprentice geisha. However, it's also a little tricky because tourists can pay to get dressed up like Maiko. Usually you know you've spotted a real maiko when you see a photographer with them (to pose for promotional pictures), but you can also tell by the quality of the hair/make-up.

We joked with my parents that my mom and I should have paid to get dressed up like Maiko. I'm sure the Japanese would never guess that our 5'10 and 6'0 frames were not actual maikos!

Kappabashi Dori

On Sat. we took the train up to Tokyo with our friends Todd and Mary. (Todd is one of Ryan's coworkers from Bremerton. He is here for 2.5 months for work) We went to Kappabashi Dori, which is a street in Japan that's dedicated entirely to restaurant supplies. Anything you need for opening a restaurant...they have it. (i.e. stores with display cases, chairs, cashier registers, you name it)

They have some great pottery stores with super reasonable prices. (note Ryan is currently rocking some stylish 80's hair)

Here, you'll find signs for your restaurant...and a big, fat Italian man to lure in the crowds.

There are a 'couple' choices here for knives.

Ryan decided it would be fun to pose Ian next to knives that are almost as big as he is.

After we had our fill of shopping, we found a small restaurant that serves okonomiyaki. This is a Japanese version of a savory pancake. They bring out the batter, you stir it to get the egg mixed in, and then you pour it on the griddle on your table. I was hoping they would run the batter out yelling 'okonomiyaki' (just like they do at pannekuchen), but no such luck. The okonomiyaki was excellent. Here are Todd and Mary mixing the batter:

Although Ian's bib is on and he would probably be more than happy to try some, we brought with some pureed food for him. Soon, his okonomiyaki days will come.

Another great day in Tokyo.

Sushi

This past weekend was rainy and windy. We were planning to check out the plum blossoms at a local park, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. So, we took the train to Yokohama and Ryan finally got to return to his favorite sushi restaurant. When he was in Japan last Feb. he ate there ~3 times per week. We've eaten at other sushi places in our area, but this place is the best Ryan has found so far. I can't believe it took us 3.5 months to head up there!

Here was Ryan's sushi plate:

I chose a bowl with just tuna. (and the yellow square is a sweet omelet) The wasabi here is actually real wasabi and is the strongest stuff I've tried. Good for clearing out your sinus...

Asakusa

Last Sunday we took a day trip up to the Asakusa (pronounced ah-sock-sa) neighborhood in Tokyo. As you can see, it was a 'little' crowded. It's hard to tell from the picture, but Ryan and I were a head taller than most of the people there. Ian had a lot of attention, of course, including people asking to take his picture.

Here is the temple Senso-ji.

I paid 100 yen (about $1.00) to get a fortune at the temple. Apparently it's pretty rare to get a decent fortune. A friend told me she's only kept 1 fortune out of the many she has bought in past years. You have to shake a stick out of the silver box and then pull a fortune out of the corresponding numbered box.

Here is my fortune, which was labeled as a medium fortune. It's a bit hard to read, but it said, "Your request is not granted. The patient will not recover soon. The lost article will be hard to find. [more bad stuff that I'm too lazy to type]...Marriage and employment should be stopped."

Needless to say, not a great fortune. Not to worry, though...as long as I tied the fortune on the rack it won't come true. Although I suppose typing about it doesn't help. Here's hoping the rack took care of things! If this is a medium fortune, I'd hate to see what a bad fortune looks like.

Asakusa also has the 2nd largest pagoda in Japan. It's pretty crazy that this is located in the middle of the city.

As we walked through the neighborhood we spotted this guy biking while balancing a tray with a bowl on it. He turned from our street into this alley, all the while keeping the tray upright. Impressive!

Before we headed home, we stopped to get some gelato. It was the perfect end to our day!