Wabi-Sabi Sole

Long Way Home

On December 1, 2017

In English, Japan, Kamakura, Shopping, Shrine, Train

Two things were notable during my English class this afternoon. First, my students loved the cakes I brought back from Nagasaki for us to enjoy during tea time. Second, one of my students gave me a huge hug when she saw me. “Sensei, good to see you!” It feels good to be missed!

After my English class, I decided to take the long way back to the train station and walk through Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine. I haven’t been to visit in a few weeks and thought I might have a chance to see a little fall foliage. And who knows what else, I mean it’s Friday!

Check out these crowds! While I was there I observed three weddings and a plethora of school groups.

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I walked up the stairs to the top of the Shrine to make my Christmas wish. (Layla, these stairs!) ??

After sending off my Christmas wish, I was ready to find Fall foliage. It was my lucky day! Fall foliage and vermilion bridges.

Plus, a Torii gate.

I found a very secluded spot. The serenity was amazing.

I had to wait patiently to capture some of these pictures without too many people. Like I said, it was crowded.

As I walked back to the train station, I did a little Christmas shopping along Komachi Dori. It was a delightful afternoon doing things I enjoy: teaching, snapping pictures, and shopping! Happy Friday!

Torinoichi Festival

By wabisabisole

On November 30, 2017

In Japan, Lucky, Shrine, Torinoichi

My friend, Miki, invited me to go with her to the Torinoichi Festival on November 30th. Torinoichi means Festival of the Rooster (2017). The purpose of the festival is to sell good luck charms and the promise of a profitable future. One of the main items to purchase is a Kumade (a wide bamboo rake). Each of these creations are displayed on a bamboo rake. It’s like a diorama of lucky Japanese items. But, instead of a shoebox, a rake is used. There were many vendors selling Kumade.

The Kumade symbolizes bringing in a huge profit like a rake brings in leaves. There were so many options for what specific lucky charm you wanted on your Kumade. I took a couple close up pictures to help you see the details. Lots of animals, sake barrels, rice clusters, coins, Seven Lucky Gods, dogs (2018 is the year of the dog), welcoming cats, and daruma dolls.

As we walked around the festival when someone purchased a Kumade, it was blessed. Look closely at the Kumade, you can see it is indeed a rake.

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Another lucky purchase.

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The festival is held three times in November and the vendors sell their Kumade late into the evening. We went early before it was too crowded!

The prices of the Kumade are not listed. You must ask the seller for the price. Miki did a little Google research for me. Here is the information she supplied about the prices.

From Miki:

Private person ¥1,000-¥3,000 (smallest).

Private industry ¥5,000-¥15,000.

Small-Medium company ¥10,000

Big company ¥30,000-¥200,000

Corporations ¥1,000,000 (Biggest)

The big ones are HUGE!

Here is the interesting part. Each year, new Kumade are purchased and the old ones are returned. The same amount of money is paid for a new Kumade. It is considered bad luck to keep the old Kumade. The old Kumade are returned to the Shrine and placed in huge dumpsters. Out with the old, in with the new!

The Shrine is illuminated with lanterns. The lanterns announce the name of donors. The higher the lantern is placed, the larger the donation. The line going through the lanterns is for making your wish.

As with any festival, there were a lot of food vendors. Such an amazing variety. It was great to have Miki with me to translate and explain items.

Like the fried and salted spaghetti.

Or the smoked and salted fish on a stick.

Some needed no explanation.

So many bananas.

I enjoyed the evening learning more about Japanese culture from Miki. She is such a wonderful person and great friend. I’m lucky to have met her!

Hiking Mt. Takao

By wabisabisole

On November 29, 2017

In Autumn, Hiking, Japan, Mt. Fuji, Mt. Takao, Train

After visiting Mt. Takao last March for the Fire-walking festival, I really wanted to return to hike the mountain this fall. Rain spoiled my plans to go a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, I was able to reschedule the hike today and I invited my friend, Amanda, to join me. In the end, it worked out perfectly. We caught the 7:21 train from Jimmuji and made it to the base of the mountain by 9:30.

After leaving the train station, we found this extra large map showing the mountain and various hiking trails to the top.

One quick picture before we started our hike!

We decided to take the darker orange trail. The Inariyama Trail.

The English description provided says, “while some sections are a little rough, this ridge top trail offers refreshing wonderful views.” It left out the ridiculous number of stairs we would climb over the next 90 minutes!! These pictures only show a portion of the stairs. According to my Apple Watch, we climbed 139 flights of stairs! My thighs were on fire by the time we reached the top.

Honestly, I’m not sure we could have enjoyed better weather. It was such a glorious day. The foliage was spectacular! Here are just a few pictures from our ascent.

Once we reached the top, the view didn’t disappoint. We were able to see Mt. Fuji. Look at her snow cap!! Beautiful. Absolutely, beautiful.

At the top, we enjoyed a cold brew and warm bowl of Udon.

The biggest surprise of the day was the number of people! Despite the hard climb to the top, I’m glad we decided to hike the Inariyama Trail. We passed so many people coming up the paved (easier) trail as we were walking back down.

We walked about part way down before taking the tram down the mountain. The leaves were so beautiful.

I’m so glad it worked out for us to hike Mt. Takao on such a beautiful day. Fall in Japan might take a little longer to arrive, but it’s worth the wait!

Sasebo Sustenance

By wabisabisole

On November 27, 2017

In Cream Puff, Food, Japan, Sasebo, Sasebo Burger

One final discussion to wrap up our trip to the southern part of Japan. A couple of culinary experiences were on fire, literally! I already mentioned first time our food was set on fire. It was the searing of our steak at the SRF dinner on Wednesday night.

The second time we had our food placed on fire was on Thursday evening. We went to Michele Brown Steakhouse. The restaurant was recommended to us by my friend, Paula. She and her husband were stationed in Sasebo. She recommended the wings. We went Thursday night and when the waitress brought out the wings, she promptly set them on fire!

They were pretty good. I have no doubt the fire added extra taste.

Sasebo is also known for the famous Sasebo Burger. Each time we passed one of the certified Sasebo Burger locations, my desire to eat one grew.

Finally, Saturday night we stopped in Sasebo Burger Shop and ordered a Sasebo Burger with fries.

While we were waiting for I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the dinosaur on the wall. There seemed to be a dinosaur theme occurring Saturday night.

The Sasebo Burger was pretty delicious. I was definitely satisfied with my cheeseburger. Looking at the first picture makes me think of the “where’s the beef” commercial.

The fries were alright. I would have preferred to have them without pepper. Don’t worry, I didn’t waste any! I ate them anyways.

My favorite Sasebo snack I ate all week were the custard filled cream cakes. My mom makes amazing cream puffs and these were almost as good as hers!

Oh. My. Goodness. They were so good. How good were they? They were so good, I ate two on Friday and purposely went back on Saturday and ordered two more!

On Friday, I ordered two hard and two soft puffs with chocolate and custard. This would give Dave and I a chance to sample both.

The worker filled the puffs to order. She laughed at me taking her picture. She laughed harder when I came back the next day and ordered more.

I didn’t really like the chocolate cream. Dave didn’t really like the custard. Team Dwyer wins again!

It’s probably a good thing we weren’t stationed in Sasebo. Two of the magnificent treats a day would wreck a healthy diet in about a week. I was happy to indulge and will be sure to stop by if I make a second trip!

Huis Ten Bosch

By wabisabisole

On November 26, 2017

In Christmas, Holiday Lights, Huis Ten Bosch, Illuminations, Japan, Sasebo, Train

During my visit to the IACE travel office in Sasebo, I saw a brochure for Huis Ten Bosch. Huis Ten Bosch is theme park with a Netherlands inspired theme. What caught my eye in the brochure were the holiday light displays. I immediately added this to my list.

We arrived before the sunset on Saturday in order to see some of the park in the day light. We took a 20 minute train ride from Sasebo to the Huis Ten Bosch Station. We were amazed by the view from the start!

That huge building is the main hotel of the park. Dave and I decided we needed a return trip to experience all the park had to offer, including a stay at one of the hotels!

At the entrance of the park, visitors walk through a field with three large windmills. This time of year the fields have pansies and lights. In the spring, the fields are full of tulips. Just like Holland. Before dark.

After dark…

We enjoyed a walk around the park taking in the sights. One hotel is completely run by robots. Check out this guy!

There were tons of cute photo opportunities.

Even roses blooming!

Lots of decorations.

I also had a giggle seeing another pirate ship. My third one in the past 10 days! Notice the cute Amsterdam Row Houses in the background.

As the sun set, lights started to come on. I was giddy! We worked our way to the magical waterfall.

I hope I captured the beauty in the video. It’s truly amazing to watch.

We walked through the blue garden lights. Enjoying the lights and singing “Blue Christmas” and wishing those wine glasses had wine!

Our next highlight was a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

The ride around was 11 minutes. I’m happy to report the cars were Dave proof. They were completely enclosed so he couldn’t drop water on anyone! The views were spectacular!

After the ride, we walked to the huge tree so we could enjoy the tree lighting ceremony.

It was mesmerizing!

I took a close up of the fountain. Notice the wine fountain sign, Santa, and all the muses. Amusing!

The last highlight of our visit was the boat ride. We rode through the canal and were able to enjoy the lights and animations.

The best part was the canal light show. I recorded part of it for you.

One last funny. The parade was going on while we were on the boat. After we got off the boat, we saw part of as we were walking around. There were lots of Santas dancing and floats and Christmas music and a dinosaur. Yes, a dinosaur. Apparently, nothing says Merry Christmas like a dinosaur float!

All the lights and holiday music truly helped us get in the Christmas spirit. The theme park and illuminations were over the top. I hope we have the opportunity to return in the spring. I would love to see the flowers!

Afternoon in Nagasaki

By wabisabisole

On November 25, 2017

In Japan, Mt. Inasa, Nagasaki, Train

After our visit to the Nagasaki Peace Park, we were ready for a snack. We decided on a lunch set. Dave enjoyed the sushi lunch set and I enjoyed the tempura lunch set. Oishi des!

After we were refueled, we were ready for more exploring. Next on my list of things to see was the Mt. Inasa Ropeway. I’m a sucker for a Japanese Ropeway. I’m not sure why, but I get such a kick out of them! We had a little time before the next car arrived. This allowed us time to walk around a nearby Shrine. The fall foliage made me so happy!

Finally, it was time for our 14:00 gondola ride to the top of Mt. Inasa. As we were boarding, we paused for a quick photo with the gondola driver. There were two professional photographers taking pictures of the gondola, but not riding. I asked one of them to take our picture. While he was snapping away, his partner was snapping away, too! On their camera. Dave and I laughed at the possibility of our picture ending up in some Japanese advertisement.

The ride to the top was very quick. Only five minutes. I snapped a few pictures during our ride up. Don’t you just love the pink house? And did you notice all the stairs the people have to climb if they live at the top?

As we rode in the gondola to the top, we were informed that Nagasaki was ranked as one of the three cities with the best night views in the world in 2012. The other two cities were Hong Kong and Monaco. Obviously, we came to the city only for the day and didn’t have the opportunity to see the spectacular night view. We saved something for the next time we visit. During the day, the view was pretty spectacular, too!

The ride down provided us with beautiful views as we were lowered back down to the city. I included a short video of our trip down. I wanted you to experience the beauty and hear our gondola driver speaking to us!

The third place I picked for us to visit was Meganebashi or Spectacles Bridge. It is the oldest arched stone bridge in Japan. It also has the claim of being the most photographed bridge in Japan. It was built in 1634 by a Japanese Monk. It was badly damaged during a flood in 1982. It was repaired and restored using most of the original stones that were retrieved from the river.

Two pictures with people on the bridge. The first one – us. The second one – Japanese school children.

And one selfie for good measure. Doing our part to help it remain the most photographed bridge.

We had a great time exploring Nagasaki. I left a lot open on my to do / see list. Enough to potentially make a second trip. In hindsight, I probably should have booked a room so we could have spent the night. This would have not only given us more time to explore, but also broken up the two long train rides. Live and learn and always keep exploring!

Nagasaki Peace Park

By wabisabisole

On November 24, 2017

In Japan, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Peace Park, World Peace

Another place on my “must see in Japan” list is Nagasaki. It is about a 2 hour train ride from Sasebo.

This was Dave’s first time riding the Sasebo trains. We had a giggle as we boarded. We caught the 8:27 train from Sasebo Station. Clickety-clack we went!

When I stopped by IACE travel on Monday, she gave me a plethora of helpful information to plan our visit. The travel agent provided a suggested itinerary for our trip as well as train schedules. Getting around the city of Nagasaki is easy because they have a trolley / streetcar. There are four different lines making it easy to navigate around the city.

Based upon the list of places to visit I was provided, I knew we weren’t going to be able to see / do everything. So, I made a priority list. The first and foremost location I wanted to visit was the Nagasaki Peace Park. It was surreal and serene. As you walked up several flights of stairs, you passed several statues leading you towards the Peace Park Fountain.

I know it is hard to see, at the other end of the fountain is the Peace Statue.

Here is a picture of the Peace Statue up close.

There is so much symbolism in the Statue. We didn’t quite understand the meaning at first. Fortunately, there was an information plaque in English near by.

The park’s crowds would ebb and flood as one tour group arrived and another would leave. Here is what the park looked like when we first arrived.

When we had an ebb in the crowd, we snapped a quick selfie.

The magnitude for the desire for peace was felt from the moment you entered the park. Ropes of paper cranes were prevalent everywhere. Each one, a prayer for peace.

The next spot within the park was the Nagasaki Monolith. The Ground Zero of the explosion.

I find it fascinating to visit places we learned about in history class. My memory isn’t too good at remembering exactly what I was taught so many years ago, but I feel like there was only a glossing over of the attacks. Do you remember learning Nagasaki wasn’t the intended target. But, the cloud cover on August 9th, 1945 caused the plane to reroute further south. Through a break in the clouds, the pilot saw the Mitsubishi factory in Nagasaki and recognized it as an intended landmark and dropped “Fatman”. Ground Zero of the explosion was a Catholic Church. I don’t remember learning that in my history class. This is a picture of church’s corner stone is reconstructed. The lions at the bottom are not.

It is interesting to see history from a different perspective. Even more so to realize the Japanese’s desire for world peace. The Japanese don’t want this to happen again – anywhere.

Our final stop in the Peace Park was a visit to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. The antique clock when you enter is permanently stuck at 11:02am – the time when Bomb detonated. The re-enactment video is intense. The stories of the victims are heartbreaking and the stories of the survivors incredible. Neither pictures nor my words give them enough weight. It truly was a somber and surreal experience.

We left Nagasaki Peace Park feeling sad and yet hopefully. Hopeful for world peace.

One prayer at a time.

Kujukushima

By wabisabisole

On November 23, 2017

In Japan, Kujukushima, Ramen, Sasebo

Thanksgiving afternoon Dave and I went to visit Kujukushima. Kujukushima is a small resort area about 10 minutes from Sasebo Naval Base. We caught a taxi from the base and ¥1500 later, we arrived in the resort area.

Kujukushima means 99 islands. The best way to view the islands is via a short sightseeing boat tour. Our timing was amazing. We walked up to the boat launch at 11:56 and were able to purchase two tickets for the 12:00 tour. Off we went on the Pearl Queen!

The boat tour of the islands was beautiful albeit chilly. Very chilly. The islands and surrounding water was so lovely.

We stayed topside as long as possible. The wind was whipping. Check out our attempts at a selfie!! Don’t you love my flock of seagulls hair! Haha

Finally we found a wind break and we could snap one really quickly!

Along the tour, we saw many oyster fields. We also learned the buoys are for growing pearls in the oysters. We found it interesting how neatly organized all the buoys were arranged. And we were lucky enough to see an oyster boat heading back to shore.

A little over half way through our 50 minute cruise, I was too chilly to stay topside any longer. We went below deck. I found the Captain’s coat and tried it on for size. I was hoping it would help me warmup faster. Please to meet you, Captain Julia-San.

After our boat tour, we were ready for lunch. A warm lunch. Ramen sounded perfect. We found a ramen restaurant overlooking the harbor.

The ramen had a fish broth. Oishi des. We both ranked this in our top five ramen and I gave it the best broth award.

In the surrounding park was an oyster festival. Considering the breeze and chilly weather, there were so many people!

Groups gathered around small grill pits and enjoyed their oysters. Unfortunately, we were so full from our ramen we had no room for oysters. Plus, did I mention we were chilly?

It was a nice afternoon in the park and on the water. We took a taxi back to Sasebo Base. We realized how close we were to the base. We could have walked! Oh, well. Next time!

Thank you for sharing. Ok, subject change.

I just want to pause for a second and say Happy Thanksgiving. I’m very grateful for all of my readers both near and far. I enjoy sharing our adventures out and about in Japan with you. I appreciate all your love and support for us and my blogging over the past 12+ months. Please know we spent the day talking and thinking about our friends and family. We miss you and love you. We are truly grateful for your love and support. Please enjoy a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Delicious Dinner

By wabisabisole

On November 22, 2017

In Food, Japan, Sasebo

Wednesday evening, Dave and I had dinner with part of the Sasebo SRF workforce. We meet at a restaurant near the base. Our reservation was for two hours of dining. During this time, we had a set menu and open bar. We started our meal with a salad.

The second dish was a cooked vegetable medley prepared on the hot grill top in our table. Each of the prepared dishes served four people.

The server prepared our food while we watched. He spread the vegetables in a circle before pouring an Italian sauce into the center.

The final ingredient was cheese sprinkled on top. The dish was a little runny and not suitable for eating with chopsticks, instead we had a cut little shovel!

My only complaint about this dish was the amount of corn. I had a pile of whole kernel corn left on plate!

The next dish was my favorite. It started as a large piece of meat with garlic on the side m. We were instructed by our chef to “no touch”!

After a few minutes, our chef placed the garlic on top of the meat and a slab of butter.

When the meat was cooked to his satisfaction, he sliced it before searing it.

He seared it by spraying sauce and lighting it on fire!

While we were waiting for the steak to be finished cooking, we enjoyed paella.

The final dish was okonomiyaki. We had a similar dish when we went to visit Miyajima Island. There’s a lot going on in this dish. Cabbage, egg, bacon, and sauce!

The food was very good. Needless to say, no one was hungry by the end!

Fortunately, Dave and I had a some what long walk home to help us digest the meal. Along the way, we enjoyed a few Christmas lights! It was a great night with a great group of SRF Sasebo employees.

PS. I’m happy to report my WordPress App is working well again!

Japanese Onsen

By wabisabisole

On November 22, 2017

In Japan, Takeoonsen, Train

WordPress is being difficult today. I’ve corrected stupid typos over and over. I’ve closed the app, restarted my phone, and retyped the post three times. Uncle. This one won’t be perfect. It will have its own wabi-sabi.

The pictures won’t load with the narrative correctly. So, I’ll front load the narrative and back load the pictures. You’re all smart. You will figure it out. In the mean time, I’m hoping to figure the glitch with my WordPress app! Stat!

Now begins the blog:

Even before I arrived in Japan, I was told about Japanese Onsen. Japanese Onsen is a hot spring bathing facility. The volcanic activity under the island creates naturally occurring hot springs. Many hotels have private onsen and are situated around an area with very active hot springs. Also, there are public onsen. I’ve been curious about Japanese Onsen, but because of my tattoo, I am not permitted to visit. Tattoos are not permitted at Japanese onsen because tattoos are associated with the Yukuza (Japanese gang members). It was by pure luck I learned about the private / hourly onsen in Takeo. The onsen I went to visit was Takeoonsen. It was about an hour train ride from Sasebo Station.

I caught the 10:14 local train from Sasebo Station. It took two trains to get to Takeoonsen Station. I must reiterate how I feel like a city girl visiting here after living in Yokosuka. These rickety old trains go clickety-clack!! Not to mention, they are only two car trains. The smallest one we see near us is six cars!

As I left the train station at Takeoonsen, there were no ticket machines to input my ticket. Instead, I handed my ticket to the ticket master. Now it makes sense why I can’t use my PASMO train card. They don’t have card readers. Again, feeling like a city girl!

Immediately leaving the train station I was greeted by signs for the Takeoonsen.

There were signs like these marking my way there. Speaking of onsen, have you ever noticed this emoji ♨️? It means onsen. Notice the top sign on the left.

Next two pictures – the front of the onsen and the history.

Narrative- when you enter the onsen, you are provided a menu to choose your onsen. I selected a private onsen and was told in Japanese and a quick game of charades to go around the corner.

The receptionist was so kind and helpful. We did our best to communicate despite the language barrier. I paid ¥3400 for an hour in a private onsen overlooking the forest.

The room included my own changing area, private toilet, and toilet shoes. Because Japan.

The onsen tub was immaculate. So clean. And the view! The doors open to not only enjoy the view, but to help cool down. I did love how my skin felt during and after my soak. The Sulfur from the hot spring really softens the skin. It’s amazing.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the onsen. I thought an hour wouldn’t be enough. But, after 40 minutes, I was opening the doors and ready to chill before I got dressed. I’m not sure this experience is for everyone. I’m not sure Dave would even like it. One person I know would love soaking in a HOT bath, my sister in law, Juliana. She would be all over this!

I’m sorry this blog was so disjointed. I don’t know why WordPress is being so challenging. I’m hoping for easier blogging tomorrow!