Kyoto

Last weekend, we met Mary's parents in Kyoto. Unfortunately, we left our camera's battery pack at home. Therefore, all we have are pictures from previous visits to Kyoto (2002 & 2004). The picture on the left shows the Imperial Villa gardens, and on the right, part of the Imperial Palace. It was great to re-visit one of our favorite cities in Japan.

Our hotel provided us with a map of the neighborhood, which let Russ find the local Sento, or public bath. This traditional form of bathing dates back to the times when people didn't have a bath or shower in their house and headed down to the Sento for washing, a soak, a smoke and a beer. The tradition lives on in Kyoto, as does the tradition of the "electric bath" which Russ stuck his foot into briefly. The low voltage was enough to deter further exploration, though it certainly makes one forget one's troubles (in the face of imminent electrocution).

Sumo!

Russ went to a sumo match today after work. Picture 1 shows a mural outside the sumo stadium; there are also several nearby nabe restaurants (the stew-like dish that sumo wrestlers eat in training). Pictures 2&3 show a sumo match and entrance ceremony. Each level of sumo has an entrance ceremony, followed by quick matches.The available seats this late in the tournament were close to the ceiling - approximately the altitude on top of Mt. Fuji. The stadium is more than half empty most of the day, when lesser-known sumos compete. It fills around 4 pm when the heavy hitters arrive to wrestle. The seats on the main level are boxes for four spectators - most people purchase an immense picnic lunch for their box to graze on during the matches. However, both the lunch and the people need to fit inside the box, so it can be a challenge.

Picture 4 illustrates the sumo shrine outside the stadium.

Disneysea!

Paradoxically, there is really nothing more Japanese than going to the Disney resort outside Tokyo. All the students at Kyoritsu ask about it, and the two parks (Disneyland and DisneySea) are meccas for children, families, older adults, dating teenagers, etc. It is only a 15 minute train ride from Tokyo - so it is not a long trip.
DisneySea, the newer and less crowded of the two parks, lived up to expectations. The kids' rides were great, the characters were photogenic, the shows were excellent, and the food was pretty good (admittedly, not great), but fairly priced. As you might guess, the theme is water, so there are a number of world (real and imaginary) based in that idea. Also, as with any Disney park, there are a number of characters strolling around for kids.

On entering the park, after a quick picture with the small world (photo 1), we met Goofy, who took his picture with Laurea and even picked flowers with her (photo 2). Later in the day we had an audience with Ariel, the little mermaid, who chatted with Laurea for five minutes and then took a royal photo with us (photo 3). Laurea was quite nervous during the event, chewing on her necklace the whole time, but afterwards she chatted about it constantly.

We enjoyed the representations of the U.S. waterfront: Cape Cod and Manhattan (pictures 4 and 5). (Does Manhattan have a real Tower of Terror in the background?)

After an encounter with some terrifying rides (photo 6) near "Mysterious Island," in the center of a volcano, we encountered Alladin's world (photo 7). We finished the day at the Primavera festival, an oddly-named event that included jugglers, singers, Disney characters, music and ended with a volcanic eruption - it even had its own song and hand signals, which most of the audience seemed to already know by heart.

Fast Food

Having discussed the finer points of life, we now turn to fast food in Japan. So far, we've seen many McDonald's, which appear to have basically the same menu in the U.S. except for the Ebi (shrimp) Burger, and the Tamago (Egg) Big Mac. Up top you will see a photo of the Tamago Big Mac, which really is an over-the-top combination of egg, bacon and burger. The other image, of a Japanese hip-hop Ronald McDonald, defies characterization.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is also quite big, although we've never eaten there. People have told us that KFC is quite popular for families to eat on Christmas and that it even has a "Christmas Bucket." Pizza can be quite expensive. We received a flyer for a Domino's meal that was $40!

Our favorite, however, is Mos Burger, a Japanese chain. Russ's favorite is, of course, the "Mos Burger." It's like a U.S. burger except there is a sauce on top that is somewhat curry-like. (This is making Russ hungry just typing it. I pasted a picture above, which captures some of the beauty of this delectable treat.) However, Mary likes the "kinpira rice burger," which is served on a bun of two rice patties and contains seaweed, fried burdock and carrot. Since you can have it served with ice tea and a salad, it's quite a healthy meal. Oishi (delicious)!

Log cabin in Japan

Earlier this week, Mary's parents were visiting in Tokyo, so we spent some time sightseeing with them. They were staying in the Asakusa area, which was close to this neat clock (Picture 1). At the hour, the clock slides up and these festival dancers emerge, accompanied by music. We also spent busy days taking a ferry up and down the Sumida River, the Hama Rikyu Garden, the Tokyo Edo Museum, the National Museum, and to various department stores around Tokyo. Laurea was quite worn out by the end and fell asleep on the subway ride home.

Today, Laurea and Russ visited one of Yokohama's "log cabins." Every area, around Tokyo at least, seems to have these free play spaces for small children. Tokyo's Metropolitan Children's Hall is a quite large, modern building. In Yokohama, they look like log cabins. We have read that they are made from cedar shipped from Montana.

First, the kids go in and take off their shoes (picture #2). There is an attendant booth near the front - we can't quire figure out what the attendant does, but she's quite nice anyhow (picture #3). There are also a couple of games and a library up front. Then (picture #4), there are activities that would make an American personal injury lawyer go crazy: fire poles up to the ceiling, trampolines, rope bridges, ladders, even a maze in the crawl space under the floor. It's a model that Russ would like to bring to the U.S.

Anpan Man Museum

Today, Russ needed some time to prep his classes, so Mary took Laurea to the new Yokohama Anpan Man Museum. Anpan Man is a character that started his appearance on bakery products, then became a full-fledged kids' cartoon character (somewhat like Tony the Tiger, I suppose?). His friends include toast and a bun, while his enemy is a bacteria man. For the whole gang, see picture #1.

The museum was OK, much more appealing to Laurea than Mary. However, to its credit, it did have a couple of interesting spots. One was a block of several stores where kids could pretend to sell items like ice cream, donburi (rice bowls), and sushi. Here's Laurea at the sushi store. (Sushi is actually one of her favorite foods.)

Behind the sushi store, there was another game where you could find the fish that ends up on top of the sushi rice. Perhaps a little morbid, but interesting and fun for Laurea.

Kamakura

Kamakura - The home of temples, and one very big Buddha!

Yesterday we went to Kamakura, which is a short trip about 30 minutes south of Yokohama (an hour from Tokyo). Kamakura used to be the capital of Japan in the 12th century, when the shogun took power. It has a number of important Shinto shrines and Buddhist sites, as well as, Russ notes, the “soft ice cream pilgrimage trail.” There were lots of school groups on the day we visited, all of whom seemed to have soft ice cream cones.

Our first stop was Tsurugaokahaachimingu, a shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of war. This didn’t stop a couple from having their wedding there at the time we visited (picture #1).

The second picture shows Russ and Laurea following the shrine protocol: wash your right hand with your left, wash your left hand with your right, then wash your mouth. (There’s more afterwards, of course, but this starts things off nicely for you.)

Next was the Daibutsu, a giant Buddha set in the middle of trees. Apparently, there used to be a house over the Buddha, but it was washed away in a tidal wave. We thought it was even more striking in the open air, as most Buddhas we have seen are in dark temples.

Our last stop was Hase Kannon Temple, a temple for Kannon, the goddess of mercy, represented by a giant statue made of camphor wood. Hasedera was home to lovely gardens (picture #4), a book wheel (turn this and you will absorb all the knowledge of the books housed there – picture #5), a cave with smaller shrines, offerings to Jizo, the guardian of children, and views of the sea. A very interesting place to visit. (EMU/UM students would like the book wheel idea, I’m sure!)

There are many other temples and shrines in Kamakura, but as we were with Laurea, we called it a day after a delicious tofu and soba noodle lunch.

Atsui desu!

Yes, the weather is quite warm, so we are wondering what it will be like when it's summer! Luckily, we are on a hilly area, so the breezes are nice.

I tried uploading a photo today, but the system doesn't seem to want to. So, an "auditory blog" instead...

At 8 a.m., we hear the school children walk to the elementary school across the street. (Many of even the littlest children walk themselves to school.) Then, we often hear the music from their outdoor gym class, which sounds a little like someone fooling around with a Casio. Around 10, there are churchbells, and then, for even more multicultural flavor, we hear the temple gongs around 5 p.m. At night, it is great to also hear the ship horns in the distance. Not a quiet place, but quite nice nonetheless!

Laurea got invited to her first birthday party today. She is quite thrilled!

China, Part 2

Continued from Previous Post



During our second Hong Kong day, we took advantage of the museum free day and saw the Hong Kong Museum of History (excellent, picture #1), the Museum of Science (not as good from R & M’s point of view, but more to Laurea’s liking), and the art museum. The weather was quite hot and humid, so it was great to cross between Kowloon and Hong Kong on the ferry (costing just pennies!) Even so, the pollution got to us a bit.

Our last day was Laurea’s choice, and she wanted to go to an aquarium. We went to Ocean Park, which is a cross between an aquarium and an amusement park (and a place to eat fish as well, I suppose – Picture #2). Our favorite part, however, was the tram that bridged two separate areas of the park (Pictures #3&4). The ride was long and peaceful, and the views of the South China Sea were beautiful. It was a nice break from all of the crowds.

After a noneventful flight, we arrived back in Japan on Friday, just in time for Saturday's Kodomo no Hi, or Children's Day. This national holiday used to be "Boy's Day," but it was renamed some time ago -- not sure why. In any case, the main event seemed to be carp kites that were flying out over many homes. For more about the holiday, and a picture of the kites, click here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_hi).

That's all for now!

China, Part 1

We’re back! Last week, we took advantage of the week off to see a bit of China.

Last Friday, we arrived very late at night in Hong Kong. We spent the night at the Disneyland Hotel, chosen specifically because it was near the airport. (We didn’t even go to Disneyland!) However, the hotel turned out to be very nice, and Laurea liked it enough that she wants to go back to the Disneyland Hotel, rather than go to Disney.

The next day, she got to release several ladybugs as part of a natural pest management program. She even got a certificate and was very proud of herself. Above, you can see her posing with “Dr. L. Bug.” (She's holding on to her box of ladybugs.)

That day, we took a ferry to Macau, or actually, to two islands off of Macau. Macau is quite the gamblers’ paradise, and building more casinos each day, so we were glad that we stayed in a pretty isolated place. Picture #2 shows “Hac Sa” Beach (“Black Sand” Beach).

Our favorite part was walking about 10 minutes down the beach to an excellent Portuguese restaurant named Fernando’s. Russ also found his ancestral coffee shop (picture #3).

After staying three nights, we took the ferry back to Hong Kong. (Turns out there was a riot in Macau the day we left, which we didn’t witness a bit, but we were glad to have left in the morning.) The first day, we were like most tourists and went up “The Peak,” which is a very steep funicular that carries with it spectacular views. (Picture #4) However, it was quite crowded, as it seemed that all of the other tourists had similar ideas.

At night (and every night that we were in Hong Kong), we went to a fireworks/light show that the city held over the harbor. We have never seen anything like it – all of the buildings in the skyline were lit up to music and fireworks.

To be continued