Fun Pics from Japan

Hope you like them....

Yokohama Daze and the start of Golden Week

I left the house with Sho this morning (him on his way to school) to head out on the Shinkansen bullet train for a day's adventure in Yokohama. I Loveeee riding the Shinkansen and my 7 day purchased pass (about $350) has gotten its worth for sure!!!! It took about 90 minutes to ride to Yokohama and on a clear day you can apparently see Mt. Fuji when you got past the area. It was a gorrrrrgeous day out but I may have either slept past the sighting or it was not clear enough....since I didn't see it (Luckily, I'll have another chance to try and spot it on the way to Tokyo tomorrow!).

Yokohoma is only another 20 minutes on the bullet train to Tokyo but I was only doing a day's trip. I didn't realize the city is located right along the water. It is a huge port for economy, business and also an international ferry terminal (mainly for Korea). It is home of the world's largest ferris wheel and also the biggest Chinatown in Japan and all of Asia. I had a great time walking around and it is very easy to get around on foot. There is a big amusement park right along the water in the city (Cosmo World) and this is the home of the giant ferris wheel.

Chinatown has 10 main entry gates and was filled with people of all ages. There are literally hundreds of Chinese restaurants to eat in and side street vendors selling the popular Chinese steamed buns and treats. I got home around 5pm.

Today also marks the start of "Golden Week" in Japan. It is named this because of a string of marked special holidays on the Japanese calendar including the Emperor's Birthday (April 29), Constitutional Memorial Day (May 3), "Greenery Day"(May 4) and "Children's Day" (May 5). Sho has a whole week off school and this is the case for all schools. It is the busiest traveling time in the year with families celebrating in various places around the country.

I know it will be a different experience going to Tokyo at this time of tragedy for the country. I hear that things are slowly getting back to "normal" with the blackouts reduced and train lines getting back on schedule. I am still excited however to experience this well known city with lots to do. One last stop on this Australasian Adventure for me......

Noritake Nagoya...!

After an early 5:45am start with Professor Mehring yesterday, I retired early to bed last night and got to sleep in with no schedule today. Since Jeff's wife Tamiyo had the day off, we got to enjoy the day together. We headed out to Nagoya city and planned to have the well known "morning set" from Nagoya. This is a coffee or tea drink with a piece of toast and egg on top. Now it sounds simple and all (and it is!) but its the thing to do before 12 noon and lunchtime. Coffee shops are so competitive now that they have a little flashing siren (no sound) in front of their shop that they turn on and light up to indicate that they are open. Also, I should note that the bread loaves in Japan and pretty much all white bread...and they are super super thick sliced. We are talking 5 slices in one loaf! Thick and fluffy and the perfect type of slice to make french bread.

After our morning set we walked to the NORITAKE MUSEUM which is the well known famous brand of china porcelain. Tamiyo said the outlet prices there were fantastic compared to the department store prices. We then headed back on the train to meet Sho (8th grade) at the Nagoya International School. He had an early release today and I got to quickly tour the campus before he got out. The school is very small with only about 15 kids in his 8th grade class. The school is kind of in the country but the facilities were terrific and the school is set on a bit of a hill so has a fantastic view. It was really fun picking out the many "hapa" kids at school including him!

We got the public bus back home and this was a really cool experience because at a point on the journey, the bus driver lets everyone know that the bus is about to go on "autopilot". Basically, two arms come out of the bus that are rollers and get on the track. The driver does not need to steer and only has to control the speed...It's genius....this track is on its own lane and causeway. Jeff said that Honolulu was looking at this or getting the train and they chose the train.

By the time we walked home, it started pelting down with rain. We ate at the local Taiwanese restaurant around the corner which was delicious and then had fun running back home in the rain. I will head out of the house with Sho tomorrow morning at 7:30am for the train to get on the shinkansen bullet train to Yokohama. I am excited to visit the biggest Chinatown in Japan and all of Asia!!!!! I hope the rain stops!!!

PS. Japanese tv is thoroughly amusing me. Right now, I am watching a show that is following a 2 year 9 month old going to a supermarket who has to try and remember certain things to buy....seriously I am cracking up and I wish you all could see this!!! :)

Just another day in Japan...!

I made myself go to sleep before 10am last night because I was setting my alarm for 5:45am to be out the door with Jeff by 6:20am for the 6:30am train (Jeff's daily routine!). It wasn't as cold as I thought it was outside and I guess since the summer is coming, there was a good amount of light out...I was thinking it was going to be pitch black!

At that early hour, there are still people on the train to work but Jeff does avoid the crazy rush hour with school students and work folks. The all girls private university Jeff works at has about 3000 girls attending. It is about 1 hour for him to work and once you get on campus its a beautiful serene setting with many cherry blossom trees that flower during the season. Students start showing up around 8:30am for the 9:00am first period class.

I really enjoyed sitting in on Jeff's first period class which was a listening class. The classes are 90 minutes long and after that he gave me a little tour of the small campus. The area is actually quite historical in terms of battles that were fought in Nagoya. We had lunch in the dining room which was really good...miso soup, fish, vegetables, and rice! After lunch, I was introduced to a big class of his students and more personally introduced again to a group of his students which I had skyped with last year to talk about their upcoming school trip to Australia. It was so great to know that they remembered our conversation on the computer!

I left the university after that and walked the town admiring the adorable traditional Japanese homes and stopping at cute little Japanese stores that are known in the area for their special tie dying prints. Rain was threatening to come all day but held off fortunately and hopefully will continue to do so during the rest of my stay in Japan.

Day 1 in Nagoya

Well rested from a great and comfortable night's sleep at the Mehring hale :) I woke feeling good and ready to explore the city of Nagoya. I headed out with Tamiyo to catch the train with her in the morning around 8:30am. She was going on the same line as I and just stopped earlier for her work. I stopped at the City Hall station for the Nagoya Castle. Last night Jeff told me that I would spend about 2-3 hours at the Nagoya Castle. I thought in my head that was wayyy too long for a castle visit. But, I really did have a great experience at my first castle in Japan. The place was easy to find and was so informative as I got to view exhibits of the history of the area and castle itself, as well as a 3-D movie feature. I took a lot of photos of flowers and gardens today since the castle area flourishes in both.

I got there nice and early at 9am but was suddenly hit with heavy rain from a lightning and thunder storm for about 20 minutes. Luckily, the rest of the day was quite sunny and clear. I walked the streets and observed something really interesting. It was about lunch time and some well dressed business people were on the street picking up trash! I thought to myself that they must be on some sort of community service for getting trouble, but then I kept walking and there were more business people doing the same thing?! I learned tonight that each building or company has a particular day where they are in charge of cleaning their local area and picking up trash! Wow! Can you imagine implementing that in Australia or the USA. And trust me, I was observing them and they do a thorough job looking in drains and behind trees during the clean up!

Another funny photo today was going into a "7 Eleven" type store (which there are many of in Japan) and sooo many people standing there reading the magazines....I guess its OK to do too! I saw the "TV Tower" inspired by the Eiffel Tower with the surrounding ground area named Central Park after NYC's park. There was so much shopping of course around. Underground shopping is soooo huge and you can easily get lost in the underground shopping malls and arcades. There are many many exits and the exit numbers help so you can remember where you came in or out of! (for example one shopping mall underground had exits numbered up to 20).

I got home using the train (and feeling like a local) at around 4pm pretty exhausted, with tired feet, but very happy from another great day in Japan. Dinner made by Tamiyo was delicious again with traditional soba noodles, meat and vegetables. I am looking forward to going to work (early at 6:30am) tomorrow to visit the university where he teaches at.....

Hai...Arigato!!!

Sunday April 24, 2011

Hai…Arigato!

Happy Easter….I have searched in many MANY stores to try to find chocolate Easter eggs to give to Adam and his family but have unfortunately failed and had to resort to giving Japanese chocolate and real eggs (which I wrote the letters of “Happy Easter” on each egg with the “E” and “R” having to be written on the same egg since they only sell eggs by the 10 pack and not 12 here!). I packed up my bag and headed out to the main Shin Osaka station (where I will board to head to Nagoya) to meet my dear cousin in front of the McDonald’s there for lunch.

My cousin has lived in Japan for 6 years and recently married a Japanese woman. He is very busy teaching English during the week so only had the chance to meet me now which I was so excited about! We got to catch up on life as I was treated to my first Japanese style rice, egg and curry…its a dark gravy sauce from a beef type broth that has a sweet taste to it, with egg and scrambled egg and spinach!

The bullet train was a quick 1 hour to Nagoya. I was happily met at the station by Jeff and his son Sho. It was so great to see them and I was excited to talk to them about my experiences in Japan so far including the toilets, people and food. I appear to look like a Japanese person I guess and so when I go into a store or shop….people start talking TALKING to me and I just keep saying “hai” (yes), nodding my head, and “Arigato” (thank you). Its hilarious and I am secretly laughing at myself. In fact, I even catch myself saying “grazie” which is thank you in Italian and other languages because I guess I am confused…soo weird! Hahaha

As I was waiting for Jeff and Sho to meet me at the train station, I realized why people watching is so fun here….apart from everybody being adorable, the women dress in a way that is just sooo funky…I mean they could be wearing a leopard skin hat, with a pink velvet dress and knee high green boots…but still make that look good!!!!

Anyway, we got home and its sooo nice to be welcomed into a home. Jeff’s wife cooked a delicious rice, egg and chicken dish for dinner with miso soup after I went for a walk with their son around the neighborhood. Sho helped explain many of the food items in the store which I had been wondering about and I picked up some dessert for us at the local supermarket. They said they live in “the country” for Japan’s standards but its still well populated I think and nice and quiet, only about 20 minutes on the train outside the Nagoya main station. I’m planning a full day of exploration tomorrow in Nagoya city!

I’ll end tonight’s blog with what I have seen in regards to the nation’s dealing with the Fukushima tragedies:

1) In the supermarket, large bottles of water are not sold since they have sent them all to the disaster areas in need

2) Famous Japanese soccer stars playing in European leagues are on tv ads expressing their support for the victims, this is also the case for other famous people too

3) The news updates the earthquakes across the screen….just an hour ago was a 3.7 earthquake

4) TV ads asking for donations are continuously run…..

Tonight, I also learned a lot about the Japanese schooling system. On the subway yesterday (Saturday), I noticed many MANY school children dressed in uniform….It was SATURDAY!!! But I guess there is something called “cram” school where kids learn and study more…it is where the intense studying happens for entrance exams….exams that get you into the best kindergarten, elementary, high school and university…! Kids as young as 3 and 4 years old attend cram school. Saturdays and Sundays also have club sports and activities and students must wear their school uniform when on public transportation! Wow!

Phew….all caught up on the blogs! Enjoy the photosJ

A blast of the past in Hiroshima!

Saturday April 23, 2011

A blast of the past in Hiroshima!

Fortunately, I felt better this morning with the body aches minimal and I woke the earliest I have in Japan at 7:15am to get out the door by 7:45am on the subway station to the main train station where I would get on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Many of us know that this Hiroshima is the first place in history where an atomic bomb was detonated killing about 200,000 people in the area back in 1941.

Anyway, I am so happy with my purchase of a Japan Rail Pass. This type of pass can only be purchased outside of the country by foreigners. You can buy 7, 14 and 21 day passes and I bought a 7 day pass for about $360. This is a lot of money but many people told me it was worth it for both the experience and price! The train itself is so sleek looking and pulls up like a quiet snake. It then travels over 200 miles an hour to get to your destination with local stops in between at major cities. Simply amazing…and I wonder if the USA or Australia ever initiated a building of such a transportation feat-what would it do to the country??!! You can reserve a seat however if there are no more spots in the reserved seat there are non-reserved seats where it’s a first come first served basis. The trains have food cart services, telephones, restrooms, ample baggage storage, comfortable recline chairs and electric sockets at each seat! Price wise, I learned that one point to point ticket from Osaka to Hiroshima is about $120 alone so I guess the ticket pays itself off with just a few trips I am planning to take.

Hiroshima, like Kyoto, appeared to be a very well visited place by tourists and locals since the maps and information booths were very well facilitated. I walked to the “A bomb Dome” site which is where the bomb detonated right above this building and left some of the walls still standing incredibly….around this site is Peace Memorial Park – so quite, peaceful and reflective with a number of memorials and a wonderful free museum you can visit too. A tram runs through the town and I got on that to get to the ferry port to arrive to get to MIYAJIMA, an island 10 minutes on a boat that is typical in Japanese small town community and culture.

Again, many families here. I was amused by the free reigning deer all over the place. They are wild and eat everything including paper so there were warnings about keeping your tickets and passport close by. A beautiful shrine protudes from the water that welcomes you into the little island and you can take a small row boat out to the shrine itself. There are many temples and more shrines as well as a gondola to the top peak of the mountain at around 500 meters high. I ended up just walking around and enjoying the scenery, people and stores. The island is known for making manju here filled with all kinds of flavors but the popular one being smooth red bean paste. I also tried my first Japanese pizza/pancake. Its hard to explain…but I’ll try: OKONOMIYAKI is a crepe base, topped with heaps of cabbage, 2 slices of bacon, noodles (this was the special added item in this area and every region has a different twist to their okonomiyaki) and then a cracked cooked egg on top…Lastly drizzled with this sweet soya sauce and topped with sprinkles of red crunchy ginger seasoning….wow! how’s that?!!!!! Very interesting combination tastes that’s for sure!!!!!

Anyway, I left the island around 4pm and then Hiroshima at 6:15pm on the Shinkansen after checking out some of the shops in the area including the 100 yen shop! I got home back to the house around 9pm after picking up some food from the supermarket. At home, I was greeted to a farewell dinner party by my friend since it was my last night in Osaka …. Hahaha just kidding! My friend Adam had some friends over and it was really fun to talk to them in English. All of them were Japanese men and I was so impressed with how eager and willing they were to speak to me and learn more English! I hear that the people in Osaka are known to be very friendly indeed and louder or should I say more voiced than people in other parts of Japan. I have had a great time in Osaka and am grateful to have stayed with friends and have such a local experience there. I also feel like such a local now as well at the local grocery store and feeling comfortable with a lot of the train lines in Osaka….But tomorrow…I’m Nagoya bound!