Karma … as in kismet? serendipity? payback? the orange soap from LUSH? May 26, 2010

“Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.  Keep your words positive, because your words become your behaviors.  Keep your behaviors positive, because your behaviors become your habits.  Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values.  Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny. ” -Gandhi

~

Saturday night my girlfriend and I indulged in a delicious dinner at Town restaurant in Kaimuki.  At some point I excused myself to go to the ladies room, and as I washed, dried my hands and prepared to leave the bathroom, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a small sign located right below the doorknob.  It simply read “karma.”  I couldn’t help myself – I turned around as if on autopilot and surveyed the bathroom.  Instead of using the paper towel I held in my hand to open the door as I had planned, I used it to pick up the three or so paper towels that littered the floor, pushed them down into the wastebasket, and headed back out to our table.

A bit bewildered, I sat down and relayed to Lesley what had just happened – she laughed at me and blamed it on my OCDs.  But much later that night and over the course of the next few days, the word on that little sign stayed with me.  Karma is such an interesting concept, with so many possible meanings – all of which I truly believe in I might add.  In fact, just two days later I found myself stranded at a gas station in Kailua with a dead car battery, waiting for an unbelievably nice stranger who didn’t hesitate to jump in her car and run home to get her jumper cables to help me – I couldn’t help but hope she gets her kindness back tenfold.

According to Hindu beliefs (as relayed by Wikipedia), we produce Karma in four different ways:

• through thoughts
• through words
• through actions that we perform ourselves
• through actions others do under our instructions

If life is so simple that in order to get good in return you must do good, be good, how is it that more people don’t operate on that most basic premise.  I posted the word, Karma, on Facebook as food for thought for those who may not find themselves  in the ladies restroom at Town anytime soon.  In response, a very dear friend posed the question: “Karma as in kismet? serendipity? payback? the orange soap from LUSH?” Right now, at this moment of my life, I am going to go with, and hope for, all of the above.

I’m Sorry, My Bum is Bigger Than That Hand Towel… January 27, 2010

The first cherry blossoms of the season...what a lucky girl I am.

After my mom left on Sunday, I came stay the remainder of my trip with her cousin Tomoko, her husband Susumu and their daughters Minna and Junna (who are a little younger than me) who live on the other side of Yokohama from where our hotel was.  Tomoko and I spent Monday shopping (bad, bad idea…) and then yesterday (Tuesday) after paying a brief visit to Minna at work, we were off to Atami to stay in a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) which had an outdoor onsen (hot spring baths – most of which are communal) that was supposed to be wonderful.  In theory I’ve always wanted to visit an onsen, but in real life, the thought of lounging around naked with a bunch of strangers is sort of terrifying.  Even more so is the thought of being there with someone I know.  But, with the reservations made and train tickets purchased, we were going.

Tomoko and I walking along the waterfront in Atami near our hotel at sunset.

We arrived in the later part of the afternoon and we hadn’t even left the train station before I spotted a fluffy pink tree.  Told that we wouldn’t even see the plum trees in bloom (of which there are many in Atami apparently) because it was too early, here, right before my eyes, was a cherry tree (they bloom even later than plums) in all its glory.  I almost fell over I was so happy.  During the short drive down to our hotel by the seashore I saw several more trees and my excitement helped to ease my nerves about the whole nude in public deal…at least for the time being.

After we arrived and checked in (everything is so small here and the door to our room was especially mini – quite Alice In Wonderland-esq) they took us to our room which was basically one big tatami mat with a small table and two chairs/cushions on the floor, two regular chairs and a small table, and lastly, a t.v.  So weird.  Anyway, the hostess came in shortly after to give us the rundown of bath times/locations etc. (boys and girls switches at a certain time apparently) serve tea and sweets and then left us alone so that I could have my internal anxiety attack in silence.  We sat there for a few minutes before Tomoko suggested we either take a walk or a bath.  I leaped up and pulled my coat on faster than you could blink and so walk it was.

In cherry blossom heaven...

Good thing too.  We wandered up along the sea and came across a lovely little park that was full of blooming cherry trees.  Never before have I ever been so happy.  I was just lamenting the other day to Tomoko how I always miss them when I am here…she was just plain amazed but chocked it up to how much warmer (I was the most cold I have been on this trip at that moment) Atami is than Yokohama etc. (being hot spring city and about 2 hours south).  We took dozens of pictures and on our way back caught the coastline at sunset.  It really was so beautiful – reminded me a lot of the European coastlines actually.  Freezing and memory card bursting at the seams with pictures of the ocean it was time to face the facts: bath time was next.

I should preface this by saying that when I was 13 and first came to Japan, my grandmother, Kay and I stayed in a ryokan and I did the whole communal bath thing as there was no other option.  This was only after I demanded that they both stay in the room (I would rather have stank than been scared for life) and to be completely honest it wasn’t so bad after all was said and done.  If you’ve never participated in the act of communal bathing in Japan let me give you a little sneak peak of what you are missing:  You go in, strip down, grab a bucket and a stool, pick an empty spot (there are shower heads all along the wall at about waist level), sit on your stool and bath yourself, and then when you are done you join everyone else for a soak in the most gigantic, scalding hot bathtub you’ve ever seen.  And you are butt-ass naked the entire time.

The funniest part about this whole experience was the preparation leading up to it.  First we undressed and put on kimono-like robes tied first

It doesn't help that she took this from a low angel, but it gives you a good idea of how big I am in relation to that small room...and also, that towel there in my hand, that is the BIG one of the two...I know what you are thinking, I look SUPER sexy in this get-up...

with one small wrap, and then over that with a larger sash.  After grabbing our bath towels (to dry off with) and our hand towels (to cover yourself with), and our little plastic bag with a toothbrush etc., we headed up to the 6th floor where the rooftop baths were.  Wracked with anxiety I undressed (again) and, standing against a wall, did my best to be as modest as possible with what I had to work with (something about 1×3 feet large – which if you are Japanese and tiny might be okay, but hello, my butt is WAY bigger than theirs!) until Tomoko was ready.  All I can say is THANK GOODNESS she only made me rinse (WITH towel still in place) instead of sitting there and bathing, and then into the indoor tub we went.

And just like that, you no longer have the only thing standing between you and total nakeyness because that towel now becomes a hat – yes, you heard me, a hat.  It was the most uncomfortable relaxing place I have ever been in my entire life.  Oy vey.  Now, there are no bubbles (not a hot tub, just a bath mind

This is what it looks like in real life...pretty spectacular, and I guess, I GUESS it was worth the stairs... (picture was from the website btw...heck no did they let you have a camera in there)

you) so that’s that – there are bare butts everywhere and no one seems to care on iota.  It sort of surprises me that a society like Japan’s who seems to conservative on the outside, actually pays money to cruise around naked with each other.  I mean really, we don’t even do that in America (in mainstream society that is…).  This is why they invented bathing suits people!!!  But no it didn’t stop there…after warming up we had to go and check out the outside bath which meant hat off, try to cover up, and scurry outside and into the next tub as quickly as humanly possible.

Finally we  were done boiling ourselves and it was time to go in for dinner.  Not your ordinary dinner, this multi-course seafood extravaganza is served to you in your room by

Sashimi...

the hostess.  It was to die for (save for the small snail creature who I had to yank out of its shell before choking down very quickly) and the pictures prove it.  Mmmmmm…..yes, now I bet you wish you had come with us…Stuffed to the gills (no pun intended) Tomoko insisted that it was bath time again as they had switched the men’s and women’s sides and we had to see the view from the other bath.  I was a bit more relaxed this

Unknown contents but it was all real amazing

time around and sneaked in the bath early with the excuse that it was too cold to wait for Tomoko to undress.  Again we started in the indoor one and then after 10 or so minutes went to find the outdoor one.  Big mistake.

The first time we had “dipped” in the onsen the outdoor bath had been just on the other side of the indoor one.  Not the case this time.  I was out the door first and thought I would just die of mortification as I had to run (anything to get it over with faster) up not one, not two, but THREE flights of stairs with nothing but a scrap of fabric to cover my front.  I practically dove into the pool, scalding myself in the process, wishing I could

Mmm seafood nabe so oishii

just crawl in a hole and die.  I scooted to the far end of the pool and did my best to enjoy the view (it was about 9:30 p.m. and seeing the city all lit up from there was breathtaking) before we were done for the night.  I made Tomoko go first down the stairs this time and got dressed faster than you can even believe.

Back up in the room I showered in the comfort of our own private bathroom and pondered the whole ordeal.  It’s sort of interesting to me that in America we have such huge houses but such very small bathtubs/showers yet in Japan they have the smallest homes but huge

In a ryokan someone comes to your room in the evening and pulls these lovely futon and feather comforters out of these little closests...it's quite nice!

rooms (almost the size of their bedrooms no joke) dedicated to bathing…because in Japan bathing is not just to wash off the dust of the day, it is an entire experience.  Finally relaxed I got into bed and politely declined Tomoko’s invitation to come with her at the butt-crack of dawn before breakfast.  Twice was more than enough thank you.

I slept wonderfully on the futon they had laid out for us and woke up bright and early to the phone ringing and the hostess loudly requesting, in Japanese and then broken English, that I unlock our door so that she could serve us.  I let her in and after coming back from washing my face found quite the spread…much of which violently goes against my food rules and brought with it all new waves of anxiety.  I sat down (Tomoko had just returned) to begin eating and literally didn’t know where to start.

In case you were wondering, this is not breakfast. This is scary.

I mean honestly, after all of that all I wanted was a strong cup of coffee and a piece of toast.  Instead I ate the following : ham salad (weird), tofu in ponzu sauce (good), pickles and rice (good), miso soup with creepy grey wrinkled balls of fish meat supposedly (tasty but super weird looking), a few polite pieces of an entire fish being grilled right in front of my eyes (things with eyes still attached freak me out), and lastly and the most wrong, a poached egg in some sweet/tangy soup.  After that I was done and couldn’t bring myself to eat the pressed miso, slimy seaweed and a few other choice things that were way creepy.  I tried my best, what can I say.

Finally it was time to check out and we took a bus up to Baien Park which is full of plum and cherry trees, some over 100 years old (the garden itself was begun in 1886).  Earlier than usual, a good majority of the trees had already begun to bloom and as we wandered along the paths I couldn’t help

Baien Park

but think it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen (and also how jealous my mom will be when I show her what she missed 😦 )Words can’t even describe the beauty of the fluffy pink, chartreuse, white and yellow blossoms, and I dare say that my pictures don’t even do them one iota of justice.  They literally are one of those things that you just have to see in person.  And as beautiful as they were, I can only begin to imagine what that place looks like when they are all at their peak…something to look forward to for sure.

Supposedly if you walk around this baby you get an extra year of life...I circled it a few just for good measure.

After tons and tons of pictures we walked to a nearby shrine which boasts a 2,000+ year old tree.  We spent a few minutes checking the whole thing out and then took another bus back to the train station.  There, we had some time to kill so we had a cup of coffee and spent some time perusing the gift shops.  Fun fact: did you know at Atami is known as the horseradish place?  Completely pointless, but you do indeed learn something new every day neh?

We are back in Yokohama safe and sound and the courier just came to pick up my very over-packed suitcase and as I sit here writing this (eating wayyyy too many Milky’s) Tomoko is in the kitchen cooking what I am sure will be delicious curry for dinner.  Tomorrow is my last day and we are planing to have lunch one last time with Kay and Kato-san at Kay’s favorite European place Scandia.  From there they will put me on the train for a two hour ride to the airport, and then home, finally.  It has been the most wonderful visit, but I am very ready to go home to my real life.

Potty Time: An In Depth Look at the art of Japanese Bathrooms January 25, 2010

Anyone who knows me and my mother, or has spent any length of time with us (a half hour would suffice), knows that we have the smallest bladders ever to exist.  Sometimes a curse (on a long drive in the Mexican dessert where there are no bushes or trees to be found, in China, Egypt, and all Hawaii beach restrooms etc. etc.) it is a cause of much delight and intrigue here in Japan. Masters of efficiency and technology, the Japanese leave no stone unturned…and yes, this includes their bathrooms.  While there is a whole lot to talk about in regards to this subject, what fascinates me most are their toilets – and of course all of the fun and fancy features and functions that accompany them.  During the past week my mom and I have spent careful (ample) time researching these Disney Land-like W.C.’s and I have put together a case study for your convenience.

…

Pick Your Potty

The first thing to know is that there are two styles of toilet here in Japan, both used in a very mainstream way.  Exhibit one, Western and Trough.

Sit in comfort...

Or squat in fear...

The secret is knowing that in almost every public restroom where the trough style seems to dominate, there is usually a western style one toward the back.  The aim of the trough I gather is for matters of cleanliness (cause with 30 million bums in Tokyo alone I guess the whole sit on the seat thing could seem rather gross), however, I have observed that unlike in the Western stalls, the floor of the trough stalls is always wet…hmmm…gross? yes, I think most definitely.  Further, in a dress these puppies would be a breeze (and for boys most of the time I would suspect), however, when you are wearing several layers (tights, jeans, coat etc. etc.) the whole ordeal of peeling it off and getting yourself down there, doing the deed and getting back up unscathed can be quite a challenge to say the least.  Which brings me to my third and final point, how many people do you think FALL in those things each day??? Just sayin’…

Features & Functions

From the very basic (porcelain and a flush handle) to the very lavish (so many buttons you could be in there for days trying them all out) what you get depends largely on the type of establishment you are in.

*Gender specific porcelin: Blue for boys, pink for girls, as it should be.

*The auto-flushing SOUND: Yes, you heard me, when you get into 80% of these bathrooms a flushing sound automatically starts to play, allowing you to take care of business with the comfort of knowing no one can hear you….or something like that.  Personally I think it’s bizarre, but they take it very seriously.  There are full on directions for how to turn on said sound for a repeat, how long it will last etc. etc.

Need to know how long you've been in there for? No worries, they've got you covered with a digital clock!

*The squirter: Most of the western toilets have a remote control that comes with them, either attached to the armrest or on the wall.  This enables you to decide if you want a little post-potty bath via the front, or the back, how strong you want the water pressure and whether you want a straight shot or something more massage like.  After much testing I feel as though the whole squirt feature is a moot point as the warm water just makes you want to pee again…

*Toasty bum: Cause what it worse than sitting on a cold toilet seat?  There is no more genius invention on these toilets than the seat warmer, ensuring a toasty bum potty experience year round.

The most interesting part of this whole ordeal is that knowing whether or not there is going to be toilet paper is a total gamble.  IF you get some, no doubt it will be the most nonabsorbent, thin, pointless thing ever to exist on this earth.  I mean really, you’d be better off using a leaf.

Tips & Tricks

1. When using the Western ones, never EVER stand up and then push a button.  Undoubtedly you, and the entire room, will be soaked in potty water (just ask my mom, she has first hand experience in this faux pas)

2. Do not attempt to master the trough while holding anything in your hands…this will cause you to loose balance and possibly (I wouldn’t know but I would assume) topple over.  Also, make sure that you are properly prepared before going….you don’t want to walk around with wet pants and or shoes for the rest of the day now do you?

3. When on the train DO NOT opt for the trough….how on earth anyone is able to get what needs to be done done over just a hole in the ground, in that sort of unstable situation, is beyond me.

4. Bring your own hand towel to dry your hands with afterward because they literally don’t do the whole paper towel thing.

5. Take tissues.  Because the toilet paper situation is spotty and not so great if and when you get it.

Conclusions

In the potty contest there was a clear winner and looser in my mind.  The best potty we came across was undoubtedly the western one in Nikko…not the most amenity-full bathroom I’ve come across, this one wins for its very warm seat in the middle of a forest on a very cold afternoon.  The looser was most definitely the one in our hotel room.  Why you ask?  Let me count the ways…First of all, when you sat on it a literal torential flood of water would rush into the toilet there by announcing that you were now on the toilet, as well as scaring you so badly that you couldn’t even remember why you were there in the first place.  And then when you flushed, a force of water even more violent than the first would come rushing through, enough to take with it a large cat I’m sure.  This in addition to its close proximity to the shelf above it which proved to be the perfect place to put your things IF you wanted to later fish them out of the toilet after they had fallen in.  I tell you…

Lotus Touts

I got this in an email this morning (they are from Anthony Robbins apparently) and the super huge dork in me thinks these are sorta right on…if only more people lived their lives this way no?

…

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it.

FIVE. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Just some food for thought…

Tokyo & Fuji-san! January 24, 2010

Can you see Fuji-san in the distance!? Apparently it is very rare and therefore very lucky to see it...

Yesterday (Saturday) Tomoko (my mom’s first cousin) treated me, my mom and Kay to a day tour of Tokyo.  For all the times we’ve been and all the time my mom lived here, neither of us had really seen many of the sites in Tokyo, or at least not in a way that we had any clue as to what we were looking at.  Excited but daunted by the eight our schedule that took us from one side of the city to the other and everywhere in between, we arrived at the designated train station and boarded the bus promptly at 9 a.m.  It was immediately apparent that our guide’s English was less than stellar, but after learning (after much ear straining and guessing here and there) that he taught himself English using the English Japanese Public Radio shows, I just gave up and got out of it what I could for the remainder of the day.

Our first stop was Tokyo Tower which is shaped somewhat like the Eiffel Tower.  We were ushered straight off the bus and into an elevator where we were whisked up to some very high place to enjoy the view.  It was a beautiful day and to our surprise we could see Mt. Fuji (which the Japanese all lovingly call Fuji-san, like it’s their first born child or something) way off in the distance.  For being almost 100 kilometers away from where we were, our photos aren’t half bad either.  It was rather interesting to walk around and check everything out, especially because they had screens set up all around the observation deck where you could see what was where in any number of languages.  We were able to find Aoyama cemetary where we had been, the U.S. Embassy where Kay used to work etc. which was fun.

Our next stop was a beautiful Japanese garden where we attended a traditional (although very casual

I would love to witness a real, very thorough tea ceremony one day...It was a little hard to really enjoy and appreciate this one with 20 other people crammed in the room.

according to Tomoko) tea ceremony and had a chance to stroll the garden grounds.  There were several weddings going on that day and all of the couples were beautifully dressed in their kimono.  The guests were flooding in as we went to leave dressed to impress in everything from opulent cocktail dresses and fur coats to traditional kimono…so much fun to watch!  While there we came across a particularly funny parking sign adorned with some rather interesting Japanese-English translations.

Third on the agenda was lunch at a Japanese BBQ restaurant located at the Four Seasons hotel in Tokyo.  We walked through a beautiful garden from the hotel’s lobby to get there, and sat around tempenyaki grills with fellow members of our group to enjoy a delicious lunch.  The restaurant itself was in a very traditional style building and surrounded by the most beautiful grounds, making for a lovely lunch atmosphere.  Talk about a small world, the two women sitting with us were from the American Consulate in D.C. and struck up quite the conversation with Kay about mutual friends they had through work.  When we had sat down we were talking with Tomoko about weddings and a bit later when we first struck up conversation withthe two ladies at our table, one began by saying to me “so you mentioned you were getting married,” and when I shook my head in surprise she said “hmm well I see

We saw several brides that day, but this one was the most beautiful of them all. Her hair was particularly gorgeous with the flowers, not to mention her gorgeous kimono. Makes you wonder why Japanese girls opt for a western style wedding/dress instead.

you getting married before the end of the year…sometimes I see into the future and usually when I make a blunder like that and just blurt something out I am pretty right on about it.”  Shocked to say the least, I told my mom later I was attending a few weddings this year and had every intention of leaving it at that.  Yeah, don’t worry Daddy, no wedding to pay for in 2010 I promise!

After lunch we drove for about 35 minutes before we reached the very center of Tokyo where the Emperor and Empress live.  On the way there I learned a few things: 1) There are about 127 million people living in Japan of which 30 million live in Tokyo which is so small that there are something like

Me, Mom & Tomoko in front of one of the main entrances to the Imperial compound. Apparently this is a very famous spot that they call "two bridges"

14,000 people to each square kilometer in the city.  2) The Emperor and Empress live on some 200+ acres with a moat and everything which no one is ever allowed to go in save for two days out of the year.  3) Despite having all of this pomp and circumstance, the Emperor doesn’t actually have any political power but instead is merely a symbol of Japan, thought to be the descendent of the gods and in his day to day life, an ambassador of his country.  4) Daily, over 1,000 people enter into the royal compound to service just those two people living there.  A beautiful area, it was a bit crazy to think of the juxtaposition of the whole thing.  Our guide seemed peeved by the fact that HIS tax dollars paid for such lavish living and noted more than once that “they (the Emperor and Empress) don’t even ever come out to say thank you.”  Talking with Tomoko about it later she said that this irritation was not shared by the majority of the people of Japan who think that it is completely normal and wonderful that they live the way they do.  So there.  Personally I think living in the middle of such an amazing city with only one other person and no where to go would get real boring real fast.  To each his own I guess.

Our next activity was a river cruise under some 17 bridges or so, ending at Asakusa temple.  As we were getting off the boat Kay was scolding me

The ceilings on this boat were sooo low that save for Kay (who we are convinced is shrinking by the moment), we all had to duck just to get in and out!

(playfully of course) for wandering off (which I really wasn’t doing, but can easily seem like the case when there are millions of people standing right where you are and she says to me “if you get lost what are you going to do?  You know what? We should just leave you somewhere and see what happens, see where you end up!” after which she laughed heartily and whacked me a good one on the butt.  Do you see what I put up with?!?

Kay, Me, Tomoko and the madness of Asakusa temple

It’s a good thing both my mom and I had been to Asakusa temple before seeing as though we only briefly saw it this time around (as we were rushing to get to the bus in time) due to the excessive eating and shopping we were instead taking part in.  SO crowded but such a good place for omiyage buying we went to town and by the time we hit the bus we were all dead tired.  A short drive and very uplifting talk (or not) about the suicide rate in Japan by our tour guide later, we were finally on our way home.  Stuffed from lunch we opted out of a sit-down dinner with Kay and instead raided the convenience store next to our hotel for soba, salad, fruit, last minute omiyage and of course dessert.  What a day I tell you.  We both slept in until 8 a.m. this morning which, if you know my mom who wakes up habitually at 5 a.m. every

This is as close to the temple as we actually got lol

day, was quite a feat and a direct correlation to our complete and total exhaustion.

After packing our bags (all of which weigh about 8 tons each) we walked around Chinatown for a bit before meeting about 12 members of our family for a very lavish Chinese lunch.  It was so fun to see everyone, especially the little ones that we had never met before (I swear when kids are little everything they do is adorable!).  Afterward we sent my mom off to the airport with Koichi and I headed home with Tomoko where I will be staying until I leave to go home Thursday.  On the agenda for the next few days is the following: shopping, eating, shopping, overnight at an onsen somewhere in the countryside, lunch with Kay at some fancy European place she loves and I’m sure more eating and shopping.

Goodnight for now! xoxo, erin

Mom, Kay and me beneath Tokyo Tower

Ocha!

One of the wedding parties at the garden....traditional I guess, she looks like she's being inducted into the KKK to me...

Much better in my opinion 🙂 All of the weddings going on made for a very happy atmosphere.

All of the trees in the background are cherry trees...can you even imagine how beautiful this place must be in the spring when they bloom???

Red plum blossoms...the first of the season

What to buy, what to buy...I'm going to start cruising around in a kimono I think...they all look so elegant in theirs

On the street in Chinatown - These are the largest manapua I've ever seen in my entire life...soo yum I bet!

Lunch with the fam in Chinatown...the restaurant was like 4 stories high and very, very beautiful

Koichi's son Hiro is two and was very excited about the trucks my mom brought him...so excited in fact that he opened and played with all 12 of them at once!

Eriko and her daughter Sayaka

MY cars is what I imagine he was saying to his brother as he horded them all on his side of the table...

Mmmm shumai

Keeping little Hiro busy with books between courses...such cute kids

Mmmm and some mango jelatin thing for dessert, which lasted for about .5 seconds on my plate before being in my belly 🙂

Kay-san

Ladies Lunching

When we got back from Nikko my mom called Kay to ask what time we should be by her house for lunch the next day.  She told us noonish and then called back to make us promise not to eat a big breakfast, that she was taking us to a special Japanese lunch, the location of which, when I asked, she mysteriously refused to disclose.

I could eat this every single day...

We got a late start after sleeping in and stopped by the post office to get some more yen and to mail a few postcards.  From there (just a few blocks form our hotel) we walked to Kay’s (got a little lost, not gonna lie) and promptly left for lunch with her and Kato-san in tow.  A short cab ride later we were back near our hotel and at a beautiful little Japanese restaurant owned by a family that Kay has known since the current proprietor was a small girl.  Over lunch – the most beautiful and oishii bentos you’ve ever seen – Kay told us a

Sesame ice cream...despite looking like gray sludge, it was very delicious and I'm not the hugest sesame fan...

little bit about her family history which is just as fascinating as my grandmothers.

…

Kay’s mother went to China after running away from a marriage in Japan.  Her father had left Oasaka where he was from and went to China to work in the import and export business.  Kay lived in China when she was small and went to the British school with my grandmother for just one year, but they were friends for life afterward.

Kay and her mother - I believe she was about 6 in this photo

Kay’s family first moved back to Japan when she was 7 and then back to China when she was 10.  They left for Japan the last time when Kay was 16 because the war broke out, just as my grandmothers family had to do.  When Kay first got back to Japan they were living in Yokohama where she was a housekeeper for a number of years.  Afterward, with the English she had learned in China, Kay went to work at the American Consulate and then at the American Embassy.

While she was working at the Embassy a friend of my grandparents went to register their newly born daughter (he was in the military with my grandfather).  Kay happened to help him and when he asked her where she had learned her excellent English she told him about attending British school in Shang Hai.  Knowing my grandmothers history and wondering if by some chance they knew each other, our

I know it's hard to see, but this is my great grandmother (left) and Kay's mother (right)...amazing to see the history of our families

friend asked Kay if she knew Elizabeth Huseman.  Kay told him no as she only knew my grandmother as Betty Cody (she often went by Betty and Huseman was her married name) and had not been in touch with her since they had both left China.

Our friend got her name anyway, went home and asked my great grandmother if they knew a Kay Chuma.  Kay had never gotten married and my great grandmother recognized her name immediately.  They all wondered if it was possible that she was the same Kay my grandmother had been best friends with all those years ago.  They contacted Kay and indeed it was…back in touch my grandmother and Kay were best friends ever after and I have grown up with Kay being like another grandmother.

During my two previous trips to Japan with my grandmother, we would spend a few days visiting with our relatives and exploring the city and then Kay would join us and the three of us would run off to Kyoto, Hakone, and a number of other places on wild adventures.  It was with the two of them that I survived my first communal bathing experience, was dressed up as a maiko at their request, ate more

A photo of a photo this one isn't great either, but I love it....my grandmother (left) and Kay (right) ridding my grandmother's horses when they were 6 and 5 respectively

amazing meals than I can count (the most exciting part of which was watching to see which one trumped the other and was able to pay for it), attempted to sleep while the two of them snored like trains in a shoebox of a hotel room, and watched the two of them fight over who was going to pay for bedroom slippers in a major department store.  Those experiences are ones that of all the grandchildren, I alone have had the good fortune to have had with them, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for all the word.

Sick with stage four stomach cancer, seeing Kay is the entire reason that we are here right now.  Other than looking a bit more tired than usual and needing a bit more rest in between

Kay cleaning out her cabinets (i.e. making my suitcase VERY heavy) while my mom scolds her not to fall and Kay scolds her for taking pictures in return...pure comedy I tell you!

adventurous days, she is the very same old Kay I have always known and loved.  We are so very lucky that she is feeling so good despite the treatment she is on and that we have had this opportunity to spend such quality time with her.

She spent the evening climbing all around in closets and in her dish cabinet handing my mother and I the most beautiful and special things saying “do you want this? Here, take it…”  In the process she unearthed photos of her old boyfriends (“I liked them tall and very handsome you know…”)…she cracks me up.  Meanwhile Kato-san was in the kitchen cooking up the most amazing sushi dinner you can even imagine…although not the most eventful of all of our days, it was indeed one of the most special.

As we walked home that evening I couldn’t help but think how very small the world is nei?

How crazy small is her kitchen (I am standing outside the entryway taking this photo)? Although her apartment is small, this is the typical size of their kitchens here regardless of how big their homes are. It's amazing the wonderful food Kato-san was turning out of this thing!

This is what happens when you say you are cold at an 80 year olds apartment...my dear mother, obasan in training 🙂

A little sumo before dinner of course. After watching this for a few days we've started to get into it and there was quite a bit of yelling and discussion about the "sassy mongolian" who beat this tank of a man to win the title of the first tournament of 2010

Kato-san made us the MOST beautiful and oishii sushi rice for dinner...it was so good my mom and I spent a good part of dinner trying to convince the two of them to come and visit us in Hawaii...soon!

Nikko

Three hours north of Yokohama, Nikko is a small town nestled at the base of the mountains and home to the most lavish tribute ever created for one of Japan’s shogun.  And let me tell you it is ah-mazing.  The series of shrines, temples and tori gates built in a dense forest of age-old cedar trees, were built in honor of shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa who had managed to unite waring Japan in 1600.  Although he only ruled for 16 years before his death, the system he set up during his reign would ensure peace in Japan for the next 250 years under the control of the Tokugawa family.

In his will Ieyasu had set aside Nikko as his final resting place, where a religious center had been established eight centuries earlier.  In 1634 Iemitsu, the third shogun and Ieyasu’s grandson, decided to erect a proper memorial for his grandfather.  The dynasty he left behind was enormously wealthy and as the shogunate itself was still rather new, Ieyasu’s tomb and the structures surrounding it were done with such excess and grandeur (it took two years, 15,000 artisans, 37 tons of red lacquer and 2.5 million sheets of gold leafing to finish the job) for sentimental reasons as well as political ones: to inspire awe and manifest the power of the Tokugawa family in the eyes of their subjects.  In essence, Ieyasu’s legacy was a very public statement of his family’s right to rule.  Called Tosho-gu, the area encompasses three UNESCO World Heritage Sights and rightly so.

…

We arrived in Nikko via a local train to a small, sleepy mountain town that reminded both of us of somewhere like Breckenridge, Colorado.  The town consists mainly of a mile long road that leads up to the Shogun’s mausoleum which we took our time walking up, stopping here and there into stores, sweet shops (where we discovered the most amazing fresh mochi), restaurants and all the rest which flank each side of the street.  At the top of the street you are greeted first by the famous red lacquer bridge which in the past was only used by shoguns and imperial convoys.  Today you can pay to walk over it, we opted for photos from the normal bridge instead.

A short climb up from the main road we reached a clearing in the forest where the largest temple sits.  We were able to purchase discounted tickets to all of the main temples/shrines and with the help of a map and clearly marked paths began to weave our way through the compound.  I could regergitate all of the historical facts for you, but in all honesty the photos are so magnificent you need to see them to really appreciate it all.  So, without further ado…

My eyes are closed but this is right outside of the Nikko train station looking up the main avenue where we were headed

It must really be off season because almost every restaurant and shop along the way was closed. We finally came across a temppanyaki and sukiyaki place that looked good and when we walked inside we were amazed...all of the walls (and the ceiling for that matter) were covered in photos, business cards, airline ticket stubs you name it...very cool to check out. My mom added and Island School business card as our legacy in Nikko.

We also had gyoza which we later found out is a Nikko specialty...it was soo oishii!

The sacred bridge at the main entrance to Tosho-gu

The first temple you see is the Rinnoji which was originally built in AD 766 and then rebuilt in the 1600's as part of Iemitsu's grand plan. It houses three massive (magnificent - talk about faith, whoever made these things was a true believer) guilt Buddhist images which date back to the early part of the 17th century.

The tori gate at the entrance to the first temple

These stone lanterns are all over Nikko and are donated by families to the temples to bring good blessings upon the families.

The gods enjoy whiskey I take it?

Beautiful all on their own, these buildings are even more breathtaking because of where they are located in the midst of all these Japanese Cedar trees

Check out the detail on these things....

The original "Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" monkeys were part of a series of carvings made to teach children good life lessons

It's really amazing that this small and somewhat unimpressive carving has become so international and mainstream

Me and Mumsy

Even the doors were beautiful

Mommy at the entrance to the last temple where the mausoleum is.

The water runs straight from the mountainside into this pool where you cleanse yourself before entering the temple.

These lanterns are so beautiful and each one is different. My mom wondered if anyone has ever counted how many there are in all of Nikko....hundreds at least. Apparently they light them sometimes, I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to see in person.

The main (my favorite) temple, in back of which the shogun is entombed

Trespassing to get a good picture for my mother...despite there still being snow on the ground it wasn't too chilly until the end of our day.

Fresh, delicious mochi and my mom's favorite vending machine hot milky tea while we waited for our train to go home...the perfect end to a most wonderful day.

Survival Of The Fittest – Japanese Commuter Style January 22, 2010

This crowd is mere childs play...multiply by about 1,000 and you may be getting close...

Many years ago when I was in Pamplona, Spain, a few friends and I accidentally slept through our one chance at seeing the Running of The Bulls due to an acute overdose of Sangria the night before.  I have always regretted missing it and have often thought that I will have to go back again someday to make up for it; however, after living (barely) through rush hour in a Japanese train station I’m good on the whole almost getting trampled to death experience thing.  And all of this because we wanted to go to Nikko…

…

You see, my Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Greg had gone to Nikko a few years ago and raved about it so much to my mom that she was itching to go this trip.  She asked Kay if she wanted to go with us overnight, but after some research and consideration Kay said no thank you, that it would be far too cold and too much walking for her.  Wanting to get out to the countryside at least once I suggested we go on our own for the day, which after much tedious planning and anxiety on our family’s part, they begrudgingly allowed us to do (only because it freaks them out to no end to let us travel on our own…even a few train stops is a big deal!).

We had reserved seats on a train from Asakusa to Nikko and in order to make sure we got there on time we left our hotel on the early side and grabbed Starbucks along the way for breakfast (love the Japanese version so much more than ours btw).  First things first we chose the wrong platform and had to walk up and down several flights of stairs before we had it right (maybe the relatives are on to something neh?).  It was a little bit rainy and lot big muggy and as a result we were downright hot in all of our layers (extra cause  Nikko is three hours north of Yokohama and the weather report said “30% chance of frozen mix(whatever that is?!), windy, cool etc. with a high of 43 degrees F.”).

The ride from Kanai to Yokohama Station where we needed to change trains is a mere 10 minutes and 2 stops long, but by the time we got there I was a hot mess (literally) and announced to my mom that I wasn’t going one more step without taking off my long sleeved undershirt.  She rolled her eyes but waited for me to change like the loving (& patient) mommy she is.  Little did I know, removing that one layer was very possibly the best life choice I’ve ever made. Ever.  Out of the madness (sort of – Yokohama Station is a major transportation hub and during rush hour is crazy town for sure), we managed to easily transfer to the Kiyuku line which we would use to get to Asakusa, about an hour away from Yokohama.  As we waited up on the platform for the express train, I watched as seas of people got on and off, hopeful that ours wouldn’t be too overly crowded because we were going so far.  Fat chance.

As soon as our train arrived literal mobs of business people politely rushed the cars and piled in like cattle.  By sheer force my mom and I were swept in completely opposite directions and by the time the doors were physically shut by the conductors (who have sharp metal rods for poking non compliant passengers I might add) I was halfway down the train car with at least eight people pressed up against me so close I could have stuck out my tongue and licked them.  My purse was stuck sideways between the mob but my only concern was how to dislodge my arm enough to hold on to something other than a human being.  With my elbow in some mans face I finally got hold of a handle and as the train started moving, swayed uncomfortably to and fro with the masses.

It was deathly hot and with every stop (which were few and far in between because it was an express train) I prayed that the number of people getting off would be higher than that getting on, but as more and more people got on (how this was even humanly possible I do not know) and I got pushed closer and closer to my new friends, I realized that if I didn’t hold on real tight, death by the Japanese working class wasn’t totally an impossible scenario.  We endured this commuter torture for thirty minutes during which I was calmed by the sight of my moms white knuckles gripping a handle bar about 20 feet away from me.  At one point the doors opened and enough people got out at once that I was able to make my way toward my mom…and also to the holy land, i.e. the one open (cracked about two inches) window in the entire car.

By the time we had positioned ourselves in front of the window we were both positively dripping with sweat.  I had to tie my hair up(which was now disgustingly wet) just so that I could breathe, and my mom took the stance of both hands up on the luggage racks so that she could air her armpits out lol.  Oh my goodness at that point all we could do was laugh real hard about the whole thing and wish we had gotten a picture of the wide eyes of terror I had shot my mom when the crowd had parted at one point.  In all of the times either of us has ever been here, we’ve never ever tried to go anywhere at rush hour….now we know why.

By the end of that particular leg the train was nearly empty and we finally had a chance to sit down.  Looking battered and beaten we sat there in total disbelief that 1) it wasn’t even 9 a.m. and we felt as though we had been sat on by a pile of sumo in a sauna and 2) that despite the whole

What train heaven looks like...

situation being scary as hell, Japanese commuter rush hour is the MOST polite and quiet mosh pit you will ever experience.  No joke, not one person muttered one word (i.e. sorry, excuse me, ouch, please get your hand off of my ass etc.) nor made eye contact with anyone the entire time we were on the train.  Had the same situation happened anywhere else in the world I am pretty sure it would have ended in death and destruction at the very least.

We had a short walk between stations once we arrived at Asakusa and wandered around a bit before we had to be on our next train.  Of course when we finally did get on it was the total and complete opposite of the hell we had just been through.  Plush seats that reclined, tray tables, food service, doilies on the headrest – the contrast was so grave we almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves.  The R&R was just what we needed and about 2 hours and a short local train ride later we arrived in Nikko to snow capped mountains and a beautiful little town.  The day there was nothing short of amazing, so much so that I will go ahead and admit that the entire ordeal of getting there was very, very worth it (cause goodness knows it could have gone the other way and been a repeat Royal Papeete experience).

*And, just for the record, if anyone thinks I am being overly dramatic about this (which I know is usually a totally safe bet) you should know that when we told Aunt Kay about our mis-adventure she scolded us and said that she used to do that commute every morning for work and broke her wrist twice and her sternum once in all the crazyness!

Revisiting the Past January 21, 2010

My grandmother always told me that this boulevard which flanks the cemetery is the most beautiful sight to see during cherry blossom season...I still have yet to see it like that. Hopefully someday soon...

When my great grandmother graduated from high school in Japan (she was full Japanese), she took a trip to China with her sister, met my great grandfather and decided to stay and get married.  He was in the Navy and stationed in Shang Hai at the time, and when he got out they stayed on in China, he working in the import/export business, she raising my grandmother and my great uncle.  They moved from China when my grandmother was 16 as life had become quite difficult when the Japanese invaded and took over power, and then impossible when the communists moved in and forced all foreigners to leave.   My great grandparents moved to Tokyo and my grandmother was shipped off to New York to live with relatives and finish school, my great uncle to San Francisco.

My grandmother finished school and joined the Navy where she met my grandfather.  The two were married after only a few short weeks of dating (a wonderful marriage that lasted 56 years I might add),

Ready to start our day - at the train station with Yoichi and Yoko-san

and they spent a good number of years living in Japan and raising their own family while my Grandfather was stationed in Yokohama.  They moved to the United States for good when my grandfather retired from the Navy – my mom, born and raised in Japan, was in the 10th grade.  For the remainder of their lives they lived in Colorado, but they often went back to Japan to visit our family, as well as play host to any Japanese relative or friend who decided to drop in to their neck of the woods.

When you really think about it, it’s amazing that our family, four generations later (I’m only an 1/8th Japanese), has remained as close to our Japanese roots and family as we have…and more than anything we have my grandmother to thank for it.  A an amazing woman who knew no stranger, if she liked you it meant you were family, which basically meant you were stuck with her (something no one ever complained about).  In between visits she kept in

Cleaning up the family plot

touch with diligent correspondence and phone calls, and when she did come back to Japan she brought either my mom or myself (I was lucky enough to come twice with her) along, thereby continuing on the relationships she had worked so hard to maintain.

In 1951 my great grandfather died and our family purchased a burial plot in Aoyama Cemetery which is almost smack dab in the middle of Tokyo.  Flanked by a long avenue lined on both sides with cherry trees, when my grandmother brought me 13 years ago for my first time to Japan, she told me what an amazing sight the cemetery when the trees bloomed and it snowed pink blossoms all over the ancient grave sites.  With my grandparents in the U.S., After my great grandmother passed away we transferred ownership of the grave plot to my grandmother’s first cousin Yoichi and his family with the understanding that they would look after it for us.  His parents are now buried there as will he and his wife be eventually.  He told us yesterday that they have already passed along ownership of it to their

Paying our respects

son Koichi, who has two young sons that will look after things for generations to come.

Every trip since, this one being no exception, we have come to this place to pay our respects to our ancestors.  Yoichi and Yoko-san, his wife, traveled about an hour to meet us at our hotel early in the morning on Wednesday (they don’t trust that we can get far on our own).  The came bearing omiyage (Yoko is a master calligrapher) and all of the things we would need for our visit to the cemetery.  We went by train from Kanai to Yokohama Station and then took a taxi the rest of the way.  As we pulled up onto the cherry lined boulevard, I immediately missed my grandmother and wished more than ever this trip for her to be there.  Yoichi filled up the buckets he had brought with water at the entrance, and then led us along to where our plot

Momma and Me

is. Normally very freaked out by cemeteries (which is weird because I grew up playing in one) this one is so peaceful and beautiful I found myself very at ease.

In Japan they take great pride in taking care of their ancestors and as such we first weeded around the plants in our plot, swept the dust, dirt and leaves from the grave stones and then washed them with the water.  Yoichi and my mom placed the flowers they had brought in front of each memorial and then Yoko did the same with lit incense.  We all took turns pouring a ladle full of water over each tombstone and then stepped back to say a prayer.  After a few more moments we picked up our things and headed off to lunch and an afternoon at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno.

We had lunch at the restaurant in the Ueno Performance Theater where one of my uncles, a very talented French chef, used to work and then walked across the promenade (similar in feel to Balboa park as there is a zoo and a few other things right in that area) to the museum.  The museum building itself is breathtaking, surrounded by fountains and small lakes, huge pine trees

In front of the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno

and cherry trees galore.  Beautiful in the winter, I can only imagine what it would be like in the spring or the fall.  According to Yoichi, this area is one of the most famous places in Japan to see the cherry blossoms if you are lucky enough to catch them.

The museum was beautifully laid out by type of artifact and we learned a great deal about samurai swords, pottery, metal work, Buddhist statutes, wood block prints and so much more.  It is amazing to think that so much of what was there dated back to the 13th and 14th centuries when people in Hawaii were still banging rocks together (no offense or judgment, that’s what happens when you are so isolated).  There was one exhibit of glass pieces from the Mediterranean of which there were pieces from thousands of years B.C.  Much like the Cairo museum I don’t feel as though we really did it justice (there was an entire upstairs that we didn’t see at all) but when you are with your 80 year old aunt and uncle there is only so much you can do in one day.  It’s okay, there is always next time.

Along Moto-machi-cho...the photos my mother makes me pose for, I tell you...

Worn out from yet another full day we convinced Yoichi and Yoko-san that we were capable of getting home on our own.  We all got on the same train together at Ueno which would take us all the way back to Kanai where our hotel is.  Yoichi and Yoko got off first, but not before Yoko repeated about 30 times that we were to get off at KANAI!  Needless to say we made it back in one piece.  After changing shoes at the hotel and unloading some of our goods we ventured out in the chilly night to walk the shopping street of Moto-machi-cho, a sort of upper end area with beautiful shops of all kinds.  Afterward we wandered home, stopping briefly at a udon restaurant that makes all of their noodles in-house.  The soup was warm and delicious and we ended our meal with the most amazing annin (silky almond flavored) tofu I have ever had; absolutely perfect after a long winter day.

We’ve only been here for four days but it seems like so much longer than that.  After coming so many times we find ourselves quickly falling into the familiar rhythm of family, food and sights to see.  I went to bed thinking that the most amazing part of all of this is that because of our strong ties to this wonderful place, it is one that we will continue to come back to over and over and over during the course of our lives.  How lucky are we?

Kamakura & Sogo January 20, 2010

Amida Buddha, Kamakura - Cast in 1292, 3 centuries before Europeans reached Japan, the Daibutsu stands 37 feet tall.

Because it has been years (13 for me, way longer for my mom and Kay) since any of us had been to Kamakura to see the giant Amida Buddha, we decided it would definitely be worth going.  My mom and I were up early as usual, did the double breakfast thing as usual, and headed off to the post office to mail a few postcards before meeting up with Kay at the Kanai train station near our hotel.  After much debate we got our tickets and were off.

Love, love, love the beautiful pottery here...which I would expect seeing as though the practice of making it in Japan started in 10,000 B.C...

We arrived in Kamakura after one train change and were in awe at how perfectly beautiful the day was.  A bit warmer than it has been since we’ve arrived and not a cloud in the sky, we were finally able to take off our gloves – much better for shopping you see 🙂  And shop we did…what should have been a 10 minute walk turned into almost two hours of perusing quaint little pottery, silk, and lacquer (red, unique to Kamakura apparently) shops with a few stops along the way for important things like chocolate/banana crepes and hot, milky, sweet sake (to which my 80 year old aunt had one comment: “this is way too weak…” cause if you’re gonna drink at 10 a.m. you should do it right…).  If all of this stuff didn’t weigh/cost so much I would need about 5 additional suitcases to bring it all back in…oh sigh, I suppose I will just have to come back again…

The first temple we arrived at was called Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu.  We left Aunt Kay at the bottom as she wasn’t so inclined to climb the very steep steps that led up to the main part of the temple, and wandered in, cameras in hand, like true tourists.  The thing about Japan is that everything for the most part, especially all of the temples and historic sites, is all very well preserved and maintained, making for a wonderful experience (and fantastic pictures) every where you go.   First we purified ourselves before entering by washing our hands (which you do at every temple you go to) and spent some time wandering around the

To cleanse yourself before you enter the temples in Japan you first splash this water onto both hands, and then wash your mouth out with it. In the summer it's refreshing, but in the winter it is chilly!!!

bottom area where there was a huge display of giant sake barrels that were there as an offering to the gods, a smaller first temple, and an area where people could get their temple books (journals where they can record which ones they’ve been to) written in by a calligrapher.  Of course this is all one big fat assumption seeing as though neither of us can read a lick of Japanese

The art of caligraphy here is so very beautiful...

and we were without our guide…

At the top of the stairs we found the main temple (what a view as you walk up steps) and dozens of people buying wooden plaques decorated for the year of the Tiger which they were writing their New Year’s wishes on and then hanging in front of the temple.  That all seemed a little ambitious so I decided to instead pay 100 yen (about a dollar) to draw my fortune out of a box.  As I was doing this my mother, always one to document, was posed to take a picture of me and promptly got scolded by the man (she got one anyway lol).  I drew my stick and he handed me a sheet of rice paper with my fortune in Kanji on it…and of course, because the Japanese are prepared for anything, handed me an English translation of it as well.  Quite pleased with my little sheet of paper, I kept the

The main temple with everyone's wishes for the New Year

translation and tied the other to the fence so that it will come true.

We headed back down and wandered to the left where there were a few smaller structures as well as a peony garden and a small lake.  Content with our coverage of that area we rounded up Kay and decided lunch was next on the agenda.  Kay was hungry for soba (fresh buckwheat noodles) and we searched every single display of pretty plastic food all the way back to the train station and found nada.  Kay made like it was okay, but my stomach was rumbling (although

Ha-la Mama-san!

I kept this to myself because if the 80 year old you are with doesn’t complain neither do you!) and I prayed something would come along soon.  We took another short train ride to where the Daibutsu is and got lucky with a soba place before we had even went a block.

In about ten silent minutes (save for some much necessary slurping) our noodles were gone, and after a fun trip to the bathroom (their fancy-shmancy toilets make bathroom time like going to Disneyland), we were out the door and on our way again.  Walking through Kamakura (or any of the smaller cities for that matter) is so picturesque because all of of the neighborhoods are so much older and not so modern yet.  We got to the Amida Buddha just as a crowd was leaving and before the next one arrived, giving us a few moments of calm to enjoy how enormous

Mmmm soba...

and beautiful the bronze statue is.

We elected to take a bus back to the Kamakura station as Kay was getting tired (not gonna lie I was exhausted myself), and after a 20 minute train ride or so found ourselves back at Yokohama station.  I was completely drained and ready for bed, but Kay decided we needed to cement our plans for our Thursday trip to Nikko, and so she dragged us into a travel office where we stayed for about 45 painful minutes.  Finally, with tickets in hand, it was dinner time and so we went to one of my very very favorite places in all of Japan, Sogo department store.

Up to the 10th floor we went and were ushered into a tempura restaurant where we were seated at a bar and had bibs (bibau!) tied on us by the hostess.  In front of us was a deep tempura vat and the most beautiful array of seafood and vegetables you have ever seen, ready to be dipped in batter and fried to a beautiful crisp before ending up in my belly!  Without our consent Kay ordered what ended up being a $70 per person, 11 course meal.  By the end of it I was almost sick but from what I can remember we had the following: shrimp heads, shrimp bodies, shrimp stuffed mushrooms,

Oishi nei!

asparagus, a deliciously flaky white fish, a single whole fish (which my mom and I couldn’t bring ourselves to eat due to the BONES in our teeth…), gingko nuts and sugar peas, eel, baby shrimp clusters and oysters, all finished off with the most ripe and sweet strawberries you’ve ever had.  Oishi for sure…and what a cool experience to have it all done for you right then and there!

We waddled out of there (why I didn’t bring my fat pants is beyond me…) and against Kay’s better judgment were allowed to take the train home all by ourselves (cause we are BIG girls don’t you know!).  So tired at the end of it all (it was about 8:30 p.m.) we poured ourselves into bed and both had the most wild Japan related dreams all night long…who needs mind altering drugs when you can just O.D. on tempura?

Here are a few more photos from the day that are worth sharing….hope you enjoy. xo, E&J

Temple Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu

We took this one for you Daddy, but in doing so we found Sarah's future husband...what a deal.

Sake barrels

Hanging my fortune on the fence in hopes that it will come true.

New apple blossoms

One of my all-time favorite flowers, the peonies were breathtaking

If the shoe fits...

Taking style tips from the Japanese youth...Kay claims that it was the Beattles who began the downfall of society...

Literally a picture-perfect day...the Buddha and his offerings

Incense (sp?) offering for Amida Buddha

Me, Aunt Kay and our Bibiau!

Our private tempura chef...c'est fancy!