Category: Japan Page 41 of 52

Kannonzaki Park is located southeast of Yokosuka Naval base. The park is actually on the Kannonzaki Cape, which juts out of the Miura Peninsula into Tokyo Bay. I drove from our house in Ikego to Kannonzaki Park here was my route via the toll road. 

It took me about 30 minutes. Another thing to note, there was lots of parking and at least today – it was free!

 My research told me Kannonzaki is where Godzilla came out of the ocean to terrorize Tokyo. Fortunately, I had the place pretty much to myself and definitely not giant lizards.

 

I started my trek along the beach and slowly began my climb up the many and I must stress many, flights of stairs. I think Kannonzaki Park should translate to “Park with many stairs.” Up, up and away I stepped!

 

One of the main highlights of the park is the Kannonzaki Lighthouse. Seeing the Lighthouse was actually my main goal for going to the park. It was beautiful and the views of Tokyo Bay were spectacular.

 

Here is the current Kannonzaki Lighthouse. It was built in 1925 after the original lighthouse was destroyed in 1922 by an earthquake. The original Kannonzaki Lighthouse was built in 1867 by French engineer, Leonce Verny, right at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. It was the first Western style lighthouse to be built in Japan.

Check out how short the door was! And of course the giant light. 

 The park features a large network of trails to explore. I didn’t worry about getting lost, because there were maps boards located throughout the park as well as signs with distances. The only challenge was they were not written in English. I wouldn’t say I was ever “lost” maybe just “turned around.” I did have to double back once or twice and climb the stairs I just came down. I just chalked it up to getting a good quad workout today.

 

In the park there is a war memorial. There is both a statue and a large structure designed to look like the sail of a ship.

 

In the middle of the park is a large grassy field dotted with flower gardens and an orchard. I am sure this will look amazing in the spring and summer.  There were only a few flowers around. Rumor has it, that on a clear day… you can see Mount Fuji from this area.

After walking around the picnic area, I had to make the decision to either head back to my car or continue walking towards the children’s playground. I decided to head towards the playground. I was super excited when I came across this amazing 150m slide! I watched a Japanese mom take her two daughters down. The sound you hear is the not me farting. It is the piece of cardboard I am sitting on going over the rollers on the slide. When I got to the end, the mom was there with her daughters and she laughed with me! It was pretty funny. Totally worth walking around the entire park to ride!!

​​
After my slide, I walked back up and down many more stairs until I found my car!! 

My Friday started pretty great and only continued to get better. Mt Fuji was visible on my run with Dina today! 

After that, I went to meet my future Ja-pa-nees (how the Japanese prounouce Japanese) employer. I am happy to report, I’m officially employed. All it took was an introduction and a handshake. My “working” hours currently consist of 12:30-2:00 on Friday. With a train commute, add about 30 minutes to each end. I will be teaching conversational English one day week to a group of 4-5 Japanese women. I like to think of it as spending time with 4-5 of my Japanese grandmothers. It’s a pretty sweet deal. I only wish I could have a couple classes! 

I accompanied Meghann to the class today. My only job today was to meet Yasuko (the class leader). I put on my biggest smile and my flattest shoes. She still commented on how tall I am. “You have very long legs.” Was the exact comment. So, funny. Trust me when I tell you, the table and chairs we sat around were not designed for my 32 inch inseam that’s for sure! In fact, my feet kept falling asleep. I must have looked like I had ants in my pants I was shifting so much. Plus, I kept hitting the table every time I shifted. Awkwardly, hilarious. And I attempted several times to slide the chair back. But wouldn’t scoot. Ugh. My legs were achy when I finally stood. 

Back to the class. They asked all about me. I answered with my standard responses: I moved here from Chicago. I have a stepson (he’s grown) and we two grand boys. In America, I was a Science teacher. Oh! A sensei (teacher in Japanese)!?! Direct quote, “you have pretty smile and smart.” Haha. At this point, my face is bright red. Yasuko continues with “you smile so happy.” Best compliment ever. Yes, she probably meant “your smile” but, I’m taking the other interpretation and ignoring the fact I know the Japanese can’t pronounce “r”. 

Since this was Meghann’s last class, they had a surprise lunch for her. Bento box! My favorite!! 

There is something that’s meant to be when I’m served tiramisu for dessert… 

Best I’ve had since I’ve been in Japan! I can’t wait to share more about my experiences. Kanpie! 

The December meeting of Ikebana was held at the Kamakura Prince Hotel. The hotel is right on the water and talk about an amazing view. Unfortunately, the morning was rainy which did stop mid morning, but the clouds remained. Because on a clear day, you can see Mt.Fuji. 

At the luncheon, there was a display of an American Christmas table setting and a Japanese New Year table setting. I only photographed the Japanese setting. We all know what Americans eat! 

The feature “entertainment” was a Chinese Mask changing show. It was performed by Ryu Ken, a Peking opera actor. She has been studying the Classical Chinese opera since age 11. She is a highly reputable and renowned performer worldwide. She and her husband established a performing art institute here in Japan dedicated to promoting and teaching traditional Chinese “drama” and mask changing. In her performance today, she changed her mask 17 times. A lucky number for 2017. The secret to “how” the mask changes is part of the cultural heritage. Here are a few pictures from her performance. Please notice the different masks! 

At the end, she reveals her face. 

Here is a short video of her performance. 

​​
After her performance, she changed out of her costume and spoke to us about Chinese Mask changing. She then performed a song from her opera. 

I took a quick video of her speaking Japanese. 

​​
And then a video of her singing opera. Her voice was completely unexpected. 
​​
It was impressive to say the least. After her performance, we had the opportunity to create our own floral arrangement. We were given materials and no instructions. 

I think mine was as lovely. Next up, lunch. 

Pumpkin soup (amazing)

Fish, potato & crunchy fried thing (delicious)

Salad with fried fish bait (meh) 

Ice cream and coffee (yummmmm)

Check out the china! It has the name of the hotel on the bottom. 

This was yet another wonderful cultural experience. Not only the mask changing, but to also have the opportunity to eat at the hotel!  

I’m so happy I joined Ikebana. Sending peace through flowers! 

Dina and I had a few errands to accomplish in Kamakura today and decided while we were there we should have lunch and coffee. We walked around looking for a spot to eat that wasn’t super busy during lunch time. Good luck. Ha! 

We found a nice Italian place on the second floor of a building. That is a secret to finding a place to eat, by the way. Look up. If you only focus on the restaurants on street level you will find crowded restaurants. Look up and you will see many restaurants with ample available seating. We ordered a set lunch which included a salad and crab pasta. 

Here was my salad. 

Looks nice, right. Until you realize those are “bait fish” on top. Ugh. No where did on the broken English menu did it say bait fish. Fortunately, the taste better than corn and the salad was tiny. 

The pasta and crab was just as described. And tasted pretty good. 

For dessert, we opted for a special princess coffee from Cafe Sizuku. What is a princess coffee, you ask. Well, it is exactly that, a coffee with a character drawn on top. Dina received her cafe mocha first. It had Mickey. 

When my caramel latte arrived it had Minnie! Kawaii! 

They were drawn so they faced one another. 

Who knew coffee could be so cute!?! 

When you visit, I promise we will go to the “princess coffee” place. Also, for my cat loving friends, while we were walking around Kamakura we realized there is a cat cafe in Kamakura!! It is actually owned by the same people as the princess coffee, I think. In the restroom of Cafe Sikuku was an advertisement for a cat cafe located across the street. No worries, I will investigate further and report back! 

Living in such a large and compacted military community is a new experience for us. With the exception of a few DOD personnel, ALL of our neighbors are in the military. As a result, there are always people moving in or out. On average, I pass a moving truck every other day, often with even more frequency. 

Most military families come to a new place and quickly attempt to assimilate into the community and for lack of better words, “nest.”  Spouses buy plants or yard decorations to spruce up their town home and bring a little personality to their 1970s Japanese-American “bomb shelter” town house. When it is time to leave, most of these objects can’t be taken to the next duty station because they are plants or just not needed. Typically, the leaving family will post them for free on our Facebook resale page. First come – first serve. I’ve learned that when I see a moving truck, check the resale page STAT for free stuff. Because who doesn’t like free? If it’s free, it’s for me! 

Such was the case with a friend I made, who is moving in the next week. She had a plethora of plants that needed a home. Yes, please! She delivered them yesterday and I planted them today! 

I also had a neighbor recently move. She, too, was giving away plants and flower bed fencing. A fresh coat of white spray paint and our house looks even more inviting. 

She had the tree in a pot and I thought it would be happier in the empty space at the end of the walk. Just a few hours later and I can see a spring to the branches. I thought the ornaments were a happy holiday touch. Although, it does remind me of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree! 

This picture shows our whole front porch.  The Japanese Maple on the other side of the fence has become a welcoming beacon. So, beautiful to view coming home. 

I know it looks like we need to sweep the porch. But, that is the yellow powder to keep away the bugs. It stays or I go!! 

The other great thing handed over to me by my friend leaving next week, is a job possiblity. She currently teachesEnglish to a group of Japanese ladies on Friday afternoons. She passed my name and contact information to the headmaster of the school. I’m excited. I spoke with the headmaster on the phone today. She actually invited me on the school field trip on Thursday!! So, nice. Unfortunately and a bit surprisingly, I already have something on the calendar. Ikebana – December meeting. I thanked her profusely and told her I looked forward to meeting her on Friday!! I need to start Working so I can build up a plane ticket fund! 

Recently, I learned about a New Years Japanese tradition. On the 2nd of January it is a tradition to visit temples in a local area that are participating in the Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage. I discussed the meaning of the Seven Lucky Gods in an earlier post and incorporate more information I have learned throughout this post. The 2nd of January is the only day for this specific pilgrimage at the designated temples and thus results in chaos as locals and tourists alike are busy going to and fro to collect their Temple stamps or Goshuin and Seven Lucky Gods figurines. Further research on the subject enabled me to find a Seven Lucky Gods of Japan pilgrimage in Tokyo that is available year round.

Dave was my pilgrimage partner and he was a good sport! The information I collected described the route to take about two hours, cover six miles and include six temples. Six temples? It’s Seven Gods – why only six temples? At the third temple, the pilgrimager collects two Gods. This journey involved 8 trains total and took about an hour each direction. Pretty breezy, actually. I’m not sure if you can tell, but we are on the south side of Tokyo.

Our first stop was at the Kakurinji Temple.  The Kakurinji Temple was established in 1631 and enshrines Bisyamonten, the Indian God of War. Each of the temples were nestled in the middle of the city.

Bisyamonten is the god of war and also the god of treasure and wealth. He wears yellow armor, a tower on left hand and a spear on right hand. He is stepping on evil with his angry face.

We continued on our way to Zuishoji Temple. The Zuishoji Temple was founded in 1670 and was the first Zen temple of the Obaku sect – one of the three main schools of Buddhism in Japan. Zuishoji Tempme enshrines Hotei, the God of Happiness and contentment.

This is how each God is presented. The pilgrimager selects their own God because it contains a fortune inside. The fortune is good for a year. If one does not like their fortune, it can be tied at the temple where it was selected. During the New Year celebration, all unwanted fortunes will be burned. Since neither Dave nor I read kanji, our fortunes will remain inside our Gods.

Peeking inside the temple.

Hotei has a huge abs and great smile and often referred to as the Fat Buddha. He has a fan called Bashosen and like Daikoku, he has a lucky bag.

The third temple of the pilgrimage was the Myorenji Temple.

The Myorenji Temple enshrines both Fukurokuju and Jurojin. Fukurokuji means fortune (Fuku), happiness (roku) and longevity (ju). He has long head, long beard, stuff and his parter crane. Jurojin (meaning longevity) is the founder of Taoism. He wears a cute cap, and has a long staff and often has a deer as partner. These two with their similar descriptions are often confused.

At the Myoenji Temple I learned the importance of being bold. Because this is the off season and a Sunday, the temples are not obviously “open.”  One must be bold and go ring the door bell. You will be greeted happily. The awaiting Monk will stamp you Temple book and allow you to purchase your God. Just be bold and smile. They will happily take your ¥¥.

Next up was the Daienji Temple. The Daienji temple was founded in 1624. This temple was the most entertaining. It had statues and shrines everywhere. I attempted to take photos of most – but, I know I missed some. I’ll look forward to visiting this one again, with you!

Daienji Temple enshrines Daikoku. Daikoku is the God of wealth, farmers and the kitchen. Daikokuten has a hammer with right hand, and a lucky bag on left hand. Sometimes he stands on two straw rice bags. He is the combination gods of Indian god and Japanese god.

Our fifth temple stop was the Banryuji Temple. The Banryuji Temple was established in 1646. It enshrines Benzaiten, the only female of the Seven Lucky Gods.

She was originally Indian Goddess. She is a god of water. Benten Shrine in Japan always located near water. Notice the pond at the temple.

And the God – Benten. Benten is the God of music and fine arts.

Our final stop was the Ryusenji Temple. The most impressive was definitely saved for last. The Ryusenji Temple was founded in 808 making this the oldest spot of the pilgrimage.

Ryusenji Temple enshrines Ebisu who is the the God of commerce, fisherman and good fortune. Ebisu holds a fishing pole on right hand and red bream on left hands. Ebisu is the only Japanese God in 7 Lucky Gods.

All Seven Lucky Gods together. I absolutely LOVE my Seven Lucky Gods of Japan. They make me smile with happiness.

Finally, I have to give serious props to my husband. Dave said he would take this pilgrimage with me and he was such a good sport. Especially, because he woke up at 2am to watch football and make white bean turkey chili all while I slept. Football is something we miss because of the time difference and he was looking forward to rivalry weekend. He really wanted to watch football and he really wanted to make me happy by pilgrimaging with me. Amazingly, he did both with a smile. To top it off, dinner was ready when we arrived home. He’s a keeper fo’ shizzle.

When you visit, this is totally doable. It’s about a half day adventure, covering six miles. I will make sure you have plenty of yen for your figures before we head out.