Sayounara

November 12, 2006

Today was the day we had scheduled for the three of us to go to Tokyo for a shopping trip. But it is Sunday here and the stores are closed. Actually, we all felt like we needed a day to rest and organize ourselves to fly home. The good part of our trip home is that it will be 8 1/2 hours rather than 10. We leave Japan tomorrow afternoon and get home early in the morning the same day. We leave Japan with lots of fun memories. Thanks again, Jana!

Sayounara,
Jan and Pat

Today was the bullet train experience. We got up at 4:00 am and took the tour bus to the bullet train station in Tokyo. Our train was scheduled at 8:13 and it pulled in front of us at exactly 8:13 and took off exactly one minute later. The train travels at 210 K per hour. We were on the train only 55 minutes but in that time we traveled into Central Japan. We picked up another tour bus and visited a famous Japanese castle,(Kakegawa Castle). It was incredibly beautiful.

When we left there we stopped for lunch. Eating Japanese is becoming a struggle. We all had a bowl of soup with some tofu in it, a piece of ham (we think), and some other brown stuff which I thought was chicken (but we decided it wasn't chicken.) We ate the noodles and the fried rice.

After that we went to a fish market. It had every conceivable kind of fish BUT no fish market can compare to Pike's Place.

It was a long day. We arrived back on base at 8:30.

Tour to Sankeien Gardens and Chinatown

Today we went on another tour provided by the Yokosuka Military Base. We continue to be so impressed with the military's ability to plan tours for the military personnel and their guests.

We went to the Sankeien Gardens in Yokahama today. The buildings were the most impressive. The trees looked like really big bonsai trees. The fall colors have not yet arrived.

We then went to Chinatown in Yokohama. It is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Mostly it was a typical Chinatown except that we had lunch at a Chinese food go-around. We picked up the food we wanted as it rolled past.

Our tour also included a tour of the Kiren Beer Factory. The tour included free beer. Patricia and Danielle had juice.

November 9, 2006

Today was supposed to be a down day because this weekend will be wild and busy. First Jana suggested that I call Ernie. I told her that I have a calling card with a 1-800 number. She said that they get charged for that so JUST CALL HIM. I know both Ernie and I appreciated being able to talk. Thank you, Jana.

We girls all went for a really long walk today. (About 6 miles). We went to a wonderful park to have lunch. Then to a store that is like Home Depot to see what the Japanese have available for appliances and furniture. They had a NO CAMERA sign but Jana dared to take pictures so we could show all of you what the Japanese can buy. The most interesting was the ovens which are so tiny. We also took a picture of a Japanese table. You need to sit on your knees to fit at this table. We sat this way at lunch the other day.

On our way home we saw a housing development that was beautiful. We peeked in the windows. These homes were huge for Japanese standards. About 1800 Sq Ft and the cost about $239,000. There were no yards.

Another picture especially for Kaija who wants to see strange things about Japan. Today on our walk we saw a Praying Mantis. I have never seen one but we had a book in Reading Recovery that featured a Praying Mantis. I knew immediately what it was.
It turned out to be an exhausting day.

Japanese boxes

Today we went out to shop a bit both at the Navy Exchange and downtown Yokosuka. Our goal for the day was to finish our Japanese boxes. Even Matthew got in the act as he helped Danielle after his school was over.

The weather here is fantastic. I expected weather like the Northwest but it is much warmer. Both Pat and I brought long pants and sweaters along with jackets. It is warmer than that. Yesterday it was very windy but when we went outside it turned out to be a warm wind. (Like the kind you used to love to run in when you were a kid.) Today turned out sunny and warm. The leaves on the trees haven't even really turned yet. I'm sure they have mostly fallen in the NW and in Minnesota the leaves fell about a month ago.

Food and Toilets

Funny how the two go together. We are eexperiencing some really different foods. Am I proud of myself for trying these new things. We went downtown Yokosuka, which is where Jana lives, to have lunch. All of you will probably be surprised to hear that my choice was a vegetable tempora bowl which included 2 string beans, egg plant, lotus root, sweet potato, mushroom and of course rice. (Or thank goodness, rice.) Pat and Jana had fish temporal bowls which featured, shrimp, squid, pumpkin and green beans. In the past two days we have tried wasabi (horseradish) and yam ice cream cones.

Now about the toilets. I'm including a picture of the Japanese toilets that we most often have to use when we are out and about. The day at the waterfall, I got really grossed out because most women can't seem to hit the spot. I saw things I really don't want to think about. I decided to just make a practice of "holding it." They are also often tissueless and they don't have paper towels. When I chose not to use a toilet because it had no tissue, a Japanese lady opened her purse and gave me some tissue. We now take kleenex where ever we go. Also Jana has given each of us a little towel to carry in our purses to dry out hands.

There is another side to those toilets. Twice we have found regular toilets with toilet paper and in addition the seats are heated.

Tonight we have a craft project. We are making Japanese boxes.

Temples and Shrines

November 6, 2006
We were exhausted last night and in bed by 9:00. That meant that we were ready for a fresh start this morning. We caught a train AND we changed trains. WOW! Though I do admit that we had help at the station. Almost immediately a station employee must have seen the confused looks on our faces and came to ask if we needed help.

We visited another shrine. (Ernie, the Japanese are as big on shrines as the Romans are on ruins. ) At this Hase Dere temple, Jana does a circle walk honoring children.

But the big attraction today was the Great Buddah. It was another fascinating day.

November 5, 2006

Today we went to Tokyo and the Yasukuni Shrine. Our Japanese guide found us and taught Pat and I how to wash our hands and rinse our mouth and then to pay our respects at the Hall of Worship. This shrine was built to honor those who have died in battle for Japan. We saw many women dressed in kimonos. Today there was a ceremony for 3 year old girls and boys, and 5 and 7 year old girls. These darling little girls were part of the ceremony today dressed in the traditional kimonos.

Nov 4, 2006

We are in Japan. We had a pretty uneventful plane trip, other than it took 10 hours. Jana was at the airport to pick us up and we all caught the bus to Yokosuka Naval Base. We settled in a bit, went to bed and then at 3:00 this morning we got up to take a trip to Izu Peninsula to the Joren Waterfalls. I will post a picture tomorrow afternoon because today was an 18 hour day and we are all too sleepy.

November 1, 2006

Pat and I are ready to leave on our trip to Japan. Today I was trying to get out of the house to go to the airport to pick up Pat. I picked up my suitcase and noticed it was a bit heavy. I took it out to the car and could not lift it into the trunk of my car. I even tried a running start but it was to big and heavy to go in the trunk. I weighed it. It was over the allowed limit. When I was at the airport, I visited the airline desk to see what the limit really was. I was still over. Kristen came to the rescue by giving me another suitcase so I could divide my larger suitcase in two.