Jun 10, 2013 - Success

I just wanted to write a quick update saying I passed the Japanese driving test. I am now am the proud owner of a Japanese license. :) It was a grueling process that took months, but now it's finally over and I'm so happy! On another note, I'll add an amusing short story that happened to me this evening. I was taking the garbage out to my car to go throw it away and when I opened my apartment door I felt something brush my leg. My neighbor has three cats and I saw the white one standing nearby, so I thought she was the one who had brushed...

Jun 2, 2013 - Fuji-Q Highland

I've really fallen behind in my journal entries, so I wanted to post a short entry about my trip to Fuji-Q Highland. Fuji-Q Highland is an amusement park close to Mt. Fuji. Since I had a three day weekend at the end of March, I decided I'd take a trip out there. It was a long trip, but I had a good time. Fuji-Q is actually pretty difficult to access if you don't like close to the area. From Shin Fuji station, the only way to get there is by a bus that takes about two hours. The only good thing about it was the bus terminal had a discount...

May 26, 2013 - Homeward bound

We got up early this morning to visit Meijijingu (Meiji Shrine). We did well for going early as it was fairly quiet still when we arrived with just a few joggers. We also saw 2 couples having their wedding photos taken there before their ceremonies - really impressive to see the bride in full wedding kimonos. By the time we had our fill of taking photos, the crowds started to arrive. We walked from there to Omotesando Street to grab some breakfast and to wait for the Oriental Bazaar to open: this is tourist trap/souvenir central… you can...

May 25, 2013 - Back to Tokyo

Today is our last full day in Japan. I started the day by getting up early to walk around the outside of the onsen hotel to take a few more photolos. As I was heading back to the waterfalls, I ran into an old man who started chatting with me when he realized that I am a foreigner. He was eager to show me some edible plant that grows on the steep bank of the river… he climbed down to pick one for me and it was actually something that we had at dinner last night. Since I could not have brought it home, I gave it to Nami. After the walk, I...

May 24, 2013 - Kaikake Onsen

We started today with a lazy morning: Dan slept In while I spent time reading and catching up with journal writing. In the late morning, we packed the VW and all piled into the camper and headed further northwest to the Kaikake Onsen near the Yuzawa ski area. This is about two and a half hours away from Tokigawa and we had a brief stop at a rest area for lunch. We arrived at the onsen around 3pm and what a traditional and amazing looking establishment. We were shown to a very traditional room, complete with shoji doors, tatami mats, futons...

May 23, 2013 - Tokigawa and Surrounding Area

We had an extremely full day today and saw/experienced a lot that most visitors don't get to see. We started the day with accompanying Kibo to take the boys to daycare/kindergarten. On our way home, we stopped by Kibo's friend's who is a retired architect from Tokyo. He designed and built his house along the river; 3 exterior walls of the house are entirely glass and instead of having "real walls" inside, rooms were formed by partitions that do not go all the way up to the ceiling, so it was a true open concept home. Dan took the photos, so...

May 22, 2013 - Tokyo to Tokigawa

Our morning was spent packing, doing laundry and checking out the enormous electronic store, Yodobashi, in Akihabara, the electronic district. We had ramen & guozas for lunch and then headed back to the hotel in time to watch some sumo Tokyo tournament on TV and Kibo doing his weekly ikebana. We then got in the car and headed northwest, out of the city. After about an hour, we arrived at Tokigawa and Kibo took us to a traditional onsen, Tokogawa Shikisai Hall. This was my first time going to a traditional Japanese bath house and I was a bit...

May 21, 2013 - A Very Full Day in Tokyo

We have done so much today! The day started at about 7:30a.m. because I wanted to see for myself the crazy Tokyo rush hour, so we rolled out of bed… or in this case, futon… grabbed out camera and headed to the Ikebukuro station. It is the second biggest station in Tokyo and we were expecting super packed crowds but even though it was busy, it was really not crazy at all. So we decided to take the train to Shinjuku, the number one busiest station in Tokyo, just to see. Once again, it was busy but not the sardine situation I was anticipating....

May 20, 2013 - A day of seeing old friends

The sky opened up this morning but it did not slow us down… much. Dan's karate friend, Yamaguchi, came to pick us up and his student, Masa, was our chauffer for the day. They took us to Sensou-ji (temple) in Asakusa and of course the first thing we had to do at such an iconic Tokyo location was to take a photo with our Sounders FC scarves in front of the giant lantern! We then went to the market place in Ueno, Akihabura which is the electronic district and Jinbocho, the used books district. They drove us back to the hotel where I finally...

May 19, 2013 - Back to Tokyo - Ikebukuro, Shibuya & Harajuku

We flew back to Tokyo this morning and took the airport shuttle to Ikebukuro where our hotel is located. We are staying at Kimi Ryokan which was where Dan stayed at when he came to Japan for the first time in 1989. He befriended the owner, Kibo, who ended up taking Dan under his wing. Kibo was not at the hotel when we checked in, but the clerk told us that he has called 3 times today checking to see if we have arrived. Even as we were filling out the check-in form, he got Kibo on the phone so that Dan can chat with him and make plans to...

May 18, 2013 - Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, Gyokusendo Cave and Dojo Dinner

We woke up to an overcast but dry day and took a walk down Kokusai-dori, the main street that is lined with boutiques, craft stores and big department stores like Mitsukoshi. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks (always a safe backup when more local and authentic options are not available) and went back to meet the guys for another day of sightseeing. We drove to the southern tip of the island and visited the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park with monuments dedicated to over 260000 military and civilian lives lost as a result of the Battle of Okinawa...

May 17, 2013 - Shuri Castle, Heiwa-dori Market, Tsuboya & Ryukyu Mura

First of all, throwing my retractable umbrella into my duffel bag at the last minute was probably the best thing I could have done! It is monsoon season and my little umbrella served me well today! We would be going sightseeing with 4 of Dan's students from home in the next couple of days (Rashid, Dan T., Jerry and Panos). We had breakfast at the hotel and I really liked the rice/pickled turnips/grilled fish/miso soup combo! I would definitely try to have that at home in the future! We then took the Monorail to Shuri Castle. It was pouring...