Kyoto, June 26th, Day One of Three

At about 4:15am Zeb and I sleepily woke-up gathered our things and headed to the train station. We were an hour early for our train, but I figure it's better than being an hour late.

Our trip to Kyoto included a ride on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen which reaches speeds of each speeds of 270 km/h and gets you from Toyko to Kyoto in about 160 minutes. It's pretty neat for the first little while, and then the train was so comfy that it put me to sleep. Luckily the hotel was very close to the train station, so we didn't have to carry our bags very far after the trip and we were close to the easy to use bus transportation in the city!

Shinkansen Train

Kyoto Tower by the train station

On the first day in Kyoto we saw the beautiful Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). Where we also took pictures with a Korean woman wearing a kimono (she had also studied for a year at UC Davis; she said it was "Beautiful, but very boring.") Too funny! 

A cloudy day at the Golden Pavilion (I loved the reflection in the water)

Zeb and I at the Golden Pavilion 

Me at the Golden Pavilion

Beautiful kimono

For lunch we walked down the road and found ourselves at a noodle place that didn't look like it had been renovated since maybe the 50's. Inside were little tables that had little Teppanyaki type grills, each were very seasoned and had their own set of tools. The little old Japanese lady that came to serve us couldn't figure out what we wanted, but decided that it probably wasn't a good idea for us to be cook on our own, even though she was ready with her lighter to start up the grill. The food was interesting to say the least. I'm glad that Zeb was a big fan, because he ended up finishing my noodles for me. I liked the miso soup and the rice, but the rest was just too sweet/tangy for my taste. It was funny to watch Japanese daytime television on the TV over the bar, and although I couldn't figure out what the show was about completely I did understand that the couple won a holiday trip to some tropical place! Oooo ahhh! As a thank you I gave the lady a little paper crane I had received earlier on my trip... it was a "presento". We paid the woman as well... don't worry. I know you were a bit worried there for a second. I swear I'm not a completely crazy American!

She's making lunch for Zeb and me

What a meal! (I'm not too fond of the after taste of the noodles though)

Where we ate lunch

After becoming slightly lost on the bus we finally made our way to the gardens around the imperial place. They were nothing particularly amazing, but the information at their conservation center was interesting and the park was nice. Zeb and I had some fun seeing how high we could make the water from a drinking fountain go. Sometimes it's good to act like a little kid... even if you do end up with a few scraps and bruises. I'll have to watch out for the short concrete blocks next time.

I believe we got lost on the bus once more before we made our way back to the hotel. 

After we checked into the hotel we relaxed and got settled before asking the concierge where we could find some sushi. We chose the place closer to the hotel. There was a bit of wait to be seated, but it was worth it. There were a lot of things that were either too expensive or looked too weird for me to eat, like the little tiny fish (like 30 of them) wrapped in a bite-size piece of seaweed.

How the plates were priced

Zeb eating sushi

Octopus on the sushi train

I can't believe I'm about to eat this

After dinner we went to the grocery store to find drinks and deserts. Japanese put a whole new meaning to playing with your food... and there were tons of amazing cookwares. I wish I had taken a picture of the hot dog cutters that turn hot dogs into funny shapes... like the shape of a crab... hahaha...  enjoy these shopping pictures!

Got to love the Smile Bargain!

It's Cool-ish... not really that cool... ;)

Coke and pizza ice cream

Pig sponges

At a school in Katakura

Early this morning I woke-up and got ready to head to the school where my friend Yasu works, only to find that I wasn't fully prepared, and I really wanted to get the students something that was very American.

Can you think of anything American that isn't food? I sure couldn't, but to make matters worse, the only place open on base when I wanted to leave was the convenience store. There wasn't much there that wasn't food. Emily and I finally decided on  peanut butter crackers. It seems like every American kid has had peanut butter crackers as snacks! Thanks Emily for buying the snacks. I'm sure that if they are approved by the principal of the school, that the kids will really enjoy the snacks! :) 

Yasu has about 24 students in her second grade class. It was a very small class compared to other schools in the area and in Tokyo.

One thing I found amazing is that the classrooms are very low tech. With all the technology in Tokyo just a few hours away, this school didn't even have white boards, no less computers.

Yasu told me that because of a lack of funding, they're not able to get new books in their library. They're asking people to donate books. They have a few books in English for English lessons, but it sounded like not too many.

We learned about centimeters during math hour. It was good. :)

After math, the two second grade classes were put together to introduce me. Yasu was my translator, but I could tell the kids wanted to talk with me. I wish I spoke Japanese.

After being introduced in Japanese,I introduced myself in English. I told them that I was born in California, but really enjoyed the outdoors, so I moved to Alaska. "I also like to travel, see new places, meet new people, and learn about different cultures. That is why I am here."

I then thanked them for having me and asked if they had any questions. The questions, which were translated by Yasu, included;

What job did you have in Alaska?

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite food?

How do people in Alaska get around?

What is your favorite animal?

What is your favorite insect?

What is your favorite sport? (They loved that I answered baseball!) :)

How many countries have you been to?

What was your most exciting experience in Alaska?

I told them a bear story for the last question. They were also amazed that some students took a plane to school every day.I got the biggest response when I told them that I had worked with bears, near volcanoes and near a glacier.

Because they didn't know what a moose was when I told them that it was my favorite animal, I showed them a picture after the question and answer session. They seemed pretty excited about it. :)

The last thing they did was sing the song "BINGO" to me in English and Japanese. I didn't understand all of the English words but it was still pretty good. I enjoyed hearing it in Japanese. Too cute!

By noon it was time to do origami. The kids helped me make a cat face. Hehe... It was very cute!

After origami, it was time for lunch, but since I didn't bring one and they weren't all too prepared to have me, it was time for me to head out. I really did enjoy being there and it was very interesting.. I hope it was for them too.

I spent the rest of the day doing a little bit of gift shopping and relaxing. It was nice to hang-out with Emily for a little while.

It was a nice day.

A day with Yasu and Taki

Yasu, me, and Taki @ the Green Holiday Village Center bath house

While Zeb and Amanda climbed Fuji, I took the chance to go out to the countryside with my friend and old classmate Yasu and her husband Taki. It was a BEUATIFUL day!!

I got to the station where we were meeting way too early, and thought about going to the Hello Kitty Land I found out about by talking to an American military family that was on the train with me, but nah. I took the chance to wonder around the shopping centers by the train station instead. I was however once again overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF there was there. Incredible.

When it was time to meet up I has found that Yasu and Taki had rented a car to take me out to the countryside. They hadn't been there in a while either, so they were keen to go! It was very green and lush! They explained that it wasn't always that way however. Durring and after the war the Japanese government cut down a lot of trees because of the need for lumber. Too many homes and businesses had been destroyed during that time. The simi comical part of the story however is that the government then decided to reforest with cedar tree which grow fairly quickly without realizing that most Japanese are allergic to the pollen that comes off the cones of the trees. I can only imagine that during that time that there are a lot of Japanese wearing face masks!! They really only wear the masks when they're sick.

We had lunch by a beautiful river which had a camping area and a Japanese hot spring/bath. The area just happened to be hosting the country's 3rd most important marathon as well! Over 3,000 people were running, and some for longer than 16 hours. At least that's what I understood. Amazing.

The runners were getting a free bath at the end of the race. It was probably a good thing too.

Following lunch we took a walk by the river and continued to chat about all sorts of things; too many to list here. It was very enjoyable. One of the things we did talk about was going to the Japanese bath. To my surprise they were prepared to take me to the Japanese bath. When I was asked if I wanted to go, I figured when in Japan do as the Japanese do. Yasu and Taki thought I wad very brave. I can only wonder what the other women in the bath were thinking... "Crazy American tourist!!" Yasu thinks they were actually thinking how cool it was I that I was taking such an interest in their culture. I do hope so. It was a good experience.

I thank Yasu and Taki for showing me a great time, introducing me to new things, and being wonderful friends!!


The website for where I was.. through google translate that is:  :)   Green Holiday Village Center

Around Fussa and the US Air Force Base 4th of July celebration 02_07_11

The first day my good friend Amanda was in Japan we mostly relaxed and tried to plan. Seeing as the US Air Base wasn't having their 4th July celebrations until 4pm though, Zeb. Amanda, and I decided to go into Fussa (the city the base is by). Zeb's dad drove us to the river, we walked along the river, and then made our way to one of the local temples/shrines. Acording to the Fussa map there are at least three, if not more. We thankfully only went to one. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to get "shrined-out". There is so much of everything here!! It's completely overwhelming!!

Speaking of overwhelming... I once thought that you could find everything is Califonia. I now know that truely you can find everything in Japan!! The majority of the culture here is conumer culture. You can buy anything in any size, shape, and color. They even have stores dedicated to, believe it or not, socks!! It's wild in my opinion.

After Amanda, Zeb, and I took a look in a shop called the Daiso it was good to get back on base and back to the strange bubble that is the US in Japan.

The 4th of July celebration on base was good. They had go-carts, all sorts of games, music, and free food. Before the great fireworks I presented Zeb's parents with a gift for their 30th wedding anniversary. It was two bowls. One was white and the other was red and both had bird designs on them. They represented good luck and congratulations for the relationship. At least that's what Momo told me when I bought it.

While Zeb and Amanda prepared for their Sunday climb up Mt. Fuji, I checked the final details for my trip out to the countryside to meet up with a girl I went to Griffith University with.

All in all in was a good day.

Fireworks on base!

July 1st.. a day with Momo

Today while Zeb worked on his Abstract for a conference he will be presenting at, I took the chance to meet up with my new friend Momo. It's very convenient that she speaks Japanese and nearly perfect English.

The train on the way to meet her was late and therefore completely full. This was the first time that I had been REALLY sardined into a train, and by myself no less. It was an experience moving and getting pushed by the crowd. It was true that anything you let go of wouldn't touch the ground, due to it being supported by the people shoved in around you. In the end, I was nearly half an hour late to meet Momo. Luckily she was late too, so it all worked out. She said that she had heard some panic in my voice when I answered the phone on the train, but I was really trying to be quiet because you're not supported to talk on the phone while in the train. It's a good idea really... I can't imagine if everyone was on their phone in the train. You wouldn't be able to hear yourself think! Anyhow maybe she's right about the panic being me worried about how crowd it was. ;) (Now I feel that I'm just rambling)


The first thing we did was find some shade at the Meiji Shrine. It was beautiful to walk the gardens and see the blooming irises and lilies! The shrine itself was also interesting. Momo helped me find some answers to questions that hadn't been answered by English signs. For example, "What are those white zig-zags hanging from everything in a shrine?" She explained to me, after asking someone at the shrine, that they represent a marking for something that is holy. It made sense. She also advised me that stepping on a door frame is like stepping on your father's head. How that makes sense I may never know, but now I know.


I also asked her what a few signs said. She laughed at one I was asking her about in the garden; "Don't take pictures on the bridge"... after I had taken pictures on the bridge. Opps.. how was I suppose to know; there was no sign showing a camera with a red line through it. Oh well... must have been directions to Japanese people only. Hehe...


By this time we found that we were a bit peckish, so we headed to lunch at a place that served lamb. It's a very popular/traditional dish in Japan, according to Momo at least. It looks very strange, so I hadn't eaten it up until that point. It wasn't as bad as it looked. It was actually quite good. It really is a shame that my stomach didn't completely agree with it later in the day... but after a few hours it settled. I think I'd have the dish again... now that my tummy knows what it is.


Following lunch Momo helped me find a gift for Zeb's parents, who are having their 30th wedding anniversary on the 4th of July, and then we found desert. The Japanese really love their sweet red bean paste. I wouldn't want to eat it all the time myself, but it is fairly good. They have the most interesting traditional deserts... green tea and red bean paste is normally involved in this endeavor.


By the time we had done desert and shopping we had just enough time to visit the Edo-Toyko Museum. It was highly fascinating. I learned quite a bit, and Momo convinced a few Japanese guys to get into a photo. It was fun to pretend like I was being carried like royalty in a .. little box thing... (I've forgotten the name of the thing. Oops).


We weren't tired or hungry after the museum, so we decided to wander around Akihabara. After only about a half an hour Momo and I had had enough. It was all just overwhelming. So many people, noises, things to buy, girls in weird maid and "little girl" outfits,... and everything! We then decided this was our chance to go somewhere quieter, Koenji.


Dinner was in Momo's city(where she lives, that is), Koenji, right after she was so sweet and bought me some books with Japanese kid's stories in them. They're in English so that I can understand them... mostly. Momo and I read a few of them before dinner at her favorite cafe, and she had to explain a few things and I got to explain a few things to her. It was good fun.


I really had a great day by the end, but at 10pm, it was time to meet Amanda at the base and start thinking about what to do next!

Thank you Momo for such a wonderful day!

Tea Ceremony

For a few days we relaxed and recovered from Kyoto. One of those days, Zeb and I attended a "Guide to a Traditional Tea Ceremony" class. It was run on base by a very sweet old Japanese lady. It was very fascinating and a lot more difficult than I thought it might be.

With this blog I've included a video that shows some of the things I learned. It was a nice experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tt7NBIVeMY

The tea ceremony is used to clear the mind and live in the moment. Simple yet complicated and over all beautiful.