Take A Break

Take A Break

On May 11, 2017

In Fuji Flower Carpet, Google Map, Japan, Lake Motosu, Minobusan, Mt. Fuji, Travel, Udon

Dina and I rented a car and drove to see the Fuji Flower Carpet on Thursday. Although I had already been a few days earlier, I was happy to visit again and hopefully sneak another peak at Mt. Fuji. We left at 5:30 am. It was about a 2.5-hour drive and we arrived right when the park opened at 8:00 am. Here was our route.

I must also briefly tell you about the drive. As we drove towards Mt. Fuji we started with a great view and then clouds slowly started to settle. Dina put it nicely, “I’m observing a changing weather pattern.” However, we drove through a REALLY long tunnel and on the other side, we drove out into the sunshine and cloudless skies! It was a Fuji miracle! We were SO happy!!

Our luck continued at the flower carpet because we definitely beat the crowds and traffic! It was worth going early. I won’t overload you with pictures- I’ll just share a few of the beauty. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to see Fuji twice!

Without the crowds, we were able to have a break time. Ahhhh, beautiful view, good coffee, and cream cheese filling. (I was expecting red bean paste!)

After we snapped a plethora of pictures, we decided to head out to Mount Minobu. Dina picked up a brochure showing Mt. Fuji, a Ropeway, and a pagoda. She quickly did a Google Map search and realized we were an hour away. So, off we went! Maybe my favorite part of the drive was seeing Lake Motosu. It was breathtaking. We pulled over to take a few pictures.

Later during the trip, Dina used Google Translate to attempt to find the name of the lake. Google Translate told her it was the lake on the back of the ¥1000 bill! Sure enough!

Dina’s excellent navigation skills, she will laugh at that statement, enabled us to easily find Minobusan with ease.

We enjoyed the Minobusan Ropeway ride and the view of Mt. Fuji from the top even though the clouds were starting to set in on it.

At the top were lots of trails and a temple. I look forward to returning in the fall with Dave and possibly catching a sunrise over Mt. Fuji!

By the time we came down the Ropeway, we were ready for lunch. We were fortunate to find a noodle restaurant around the corner.

As we were eating, I noticed a sign – fitting right into today’s theme!

The hearty lunch proved to be essential for the rest of the afternoon. According to the brochure, the pagoda was part of a Monastery.

Next to the pagoda were a lot of stairs. Going down. So down we went.

Once we reached the bottom, we read this sign.

As I mentioned, a lot of stairs. 287 in fact. We just walked down them. We would obviously need to go back up. “The Stairs provide you attaining joy of enlightenment.” Hmmm… I’m enlightened about the soreness in my quads today!

The monastery was very unique. It was hard to capture the magnitude and beauty of the buildings and grounds. I took a few pictures and hope they provide you with good highlights. I will definitely suggest we take a drive to Mt. Fuji and see Lake Motosu. If the fall foliage is peaking, we should also make a trip to Mt. Minobusan.

Here was our trip home.

We arrived shortly after 6:00 pm. A glass of wine and rehashing the journey with Dave over pizza was a nice way to wrap up an adventurous day!

Japanese Cucumbers

By wabisabisole

On May 9, 2017

In Costco, Cucumbers, English, Japan, Yokosuka

A cloudy Tuesday can’t even compare to the beautiful day I experienced yesterday. Today was filled with errands. First, I dropped off “Julia’s Baked Beans” at Dave’s work for the potluck. Then, I met up with Dina For our bi-weekly Costco outing. No time to explore much after that because I needed to prepare the cookie dough for the bake sale at Dave’s work on Thursday. This all happened before my Tuesday evening English lessons in Yokosuka. I agreed to sub for six weeks for three Japanese children’s English lessons. After today, two more! These are not my favorite. The highlight of the lesson is when they are over, Dave and I ride the train home together.

But, I digress. This post is about Japanese cucumbers. As I’m happily riding the train back to Yokosuka and avoiding traffic, I’ll tell you about my latest discovery of favorite Japanese vegetable. Yes, the Japanese cucumber. They remind me a lot of English cucumbers because they are long and skinny. They seem to have skin more like homegrown American cucumbers because they have the little white spines. The best part is the delicious crunch!

Here was the pack of eight I picked up at Costco. They were ¥680 or about $6.50. I don’t know if that is a good deal compared to cucumbers in America. In my opinion, they’re worth every yenny! And a better deal than the package of American Cherries grown in CA for ¥2,280 or about $22. I didn’t buy the cherries!

I can easily eat an entire cucumber in one sitting. It like to slice them and then add garlic salt and dill weed.

I think they would be a nice accompaniment to happy hour Roxanne’s house in VB on Friday night. I know my friend, Sue, would love them. And I know my father-in-law wouldn’t. Next time Delaney and James are here visiting, I will have plenty available to dip in Ranch. My mom would enjoy cucumber sandwiches on Japanese bread! I almost feel nostalgic/ home sick thinking about who would enjoy the cucumbers! Ha! Love and miss you all!

Fuji Flower Carpet

By wabisabisole

On May 8, 2017

In Fuji Flower Carpet, Google Map, Japan, Mt. Fuji, Owl, Shiba-Sakura Festival

I took an ITT tour on Monday. The tour had four points of interest. Because we were heading to Mt. Fuji, we left at 5:00am. Given the beautiful weather, it was totally worth it! Honestly, the weather today could not have been more perfect. Mt. Fuji was visible all day. Here was the route to get to the first stop.

1. Open Air Museum

Our first stop was to the Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba. It was actually the same replicated village we visited when the Cummings were in town. The sky was even more clear today and the later blooming Sakura were lovely.

The carp flags were still flying from Children’s Day this past Friday. They made for a beautiful photo.

Both of my normal liberty buddies were busy today. I went on this trip solo. However, I was able to make friends with a mutual friend who was also traveling solo. She and I took off for a little bit of a hike. Besides a beautiful trail, we saw this guy! Japanese rat snake. Gross!

My new friend, Katie, took this picture of me – what a view!

2. Shiba-Sakura Festival

The main attraction of the tour was the Shiba-Sakura Festival also known as the Fuji Flower Carpet. The Flower Carpet is a carpet of moss phlox planted in beds all around the garden. It was stunning. And of course, crowded!

The phlox is pretty. With Mt. Fuji in the background it was amazing.

Maybe a few more pictures. It was just so beautiful. Today, I opted for grape ice cream.

I took a quick video of th Flower Park from the overlook. To help you embrace the beauty.

3. Fuji Kachōen

Our third stop was at Fuji Kachōen – “A different world of flowers and birds.” Here we were able to walk through a beautiful greenhouse and view different species of birds. The greenhouse was my favorite part.

Look at these giant begonias!

The best part of the birds was having the opportunity to “hold” an owl. “Hoo you looking at?”

4. Otodome Waterfall and Shiraito Waterfall

Our fourth and final stop was to visit the Otodome Waterfall and the Shirato Waterfall. The water from the falls is snow melt from Mt. Fuji. It takes 20 years for the melted snow to make its way to the waterfall! Here is Otodome Waterfall.

To reach Shiraito Waterfall, we walked down a short path of 100 steps.

After viewing the falls from the bottom, I walked up to the overlook. The views were worth the stairs.

It was an amazing trip. I honestly can’t believe how lucky I was with the weather today. When you visit, I hope we have luck with the weather when we visit Mt. Fuji. It was such a glorious day!

Patio Weather

By wabisabisole

On May 7, 2017

In Beer, Japan, Pizza, Sashimi, Sushi, Yokosuka

The weather has been so delightful the past week. I like to describe it as patio weather. For lunch, Dave and I went to one of our favorite patios in Yokosuka. Napoli’s pizza. We started with a salad.

And ended with a pizza. I ordered a four cheese pizza. They suggest honey to be added. It sounds weird but, tastes amazing.

Patio, pizza, and beer. It was a nice lunch.

For dinner, we decided to avoid the crowds of Golden Week and instead visit our favorite patio in Zushi. Ours. We set up our table top grills and enjoyed our Japanese style meal. We started with edamame and Sake.

Dave was my personal chef. He made veggies (cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts) on the hot plate in the ceramic bowl and grilled steak and pumpkin. I nicely displayed the tuna sashimi and tuna rolls.

It was a team effort of deliciousness.

I hope when you visit we are able to enjoy patio weather.

PS. Saturday we had the pleasure to welcome friends from Great Lakes who just moved to Japan. It was very fun to see familiar faces. We took them to the first place we had ramen in Yokosuka. Seemed appropriate. Welcome, Jenn, Heath, Hayden, and Mady! We are happy to have you in Japan with us!! I also promise to take a better photo next time we are together! ? in the meantime, ramen.

Hyakunin Isshu

By wabisabisole

On May 5, 2017

In Culture, Customs, Hyakunin Isshu, Japan, New Year

Last week, my English student brought me a bag of rice crackers with the Hyakunin Isshu pictures and poems printed on the labels. She attempted to explain the meaning of the card game to me. However, it had been so long since she played she wasn’t sure how to explain it correctly. In the meantime, she encouraged me to enjoy the crackers with my husband while sipping a beer. I followed her directions, poured us a pint and invited Dina and Brent to join us. The crackers were actually pretty good. Only one of them had a strong fish flavor. The rest were very good.

Today, she brought me a print out with an explanation of the game. According to the information, Hyakunin Isshu is a traditional Japanese playing card game. It is typically played on the Japanese New Year’s holiday. There are 100 cards with 100 different latter parts of poems written on each card. The collection of poems was chosen by a poet named Fujiwara of Teika during the Heian period.

If you look closely, you can see the poem written on the package next to the picture.

To play the game, the cards are arranged neatly on the floor face up. The “referee” reads allow the start of a poem and the players scramble to grab the correct corresponding card with the latter half of the poem. The player who is able to accumulate the most number of cards is the winner. The referee declares the winner after correctly assessing the cards selected by each player.

Maybe once I am fluent in Japanese, I will challenge my Japanese friends to a game. In the meantime, I will enjoy delicious rice crackers with my beer! Kanpie!

On a More Important Note

By wabisabisole

On May 4, 2017

In Captain, Doki Doki, Japan, Tokyo

Sonia and I went on an ITT trip to the Doki Doki Flea Market located on the east side of Tokyo. Here was our route.

Shockingly, traffic was a breeze both coming and going. The Flea Market opened at 10am. Here was the line to enter.

Here was the crowd as we walked in!

The Doki Doki was like a giant garage sale. I was hoping for lots of Japanese antiques. Nope. Not at all. Only thing I bought was lunch. Pizza and a beer from Uncle Ken’s bus with a built in brick oven.

I don’t plan on returning next year. I don’t suggest you go either. Unless, you need bride and groom bunnies or cats. This picture summarizes the items for sale.

On a more important note, we found out in the middle of the night that Dave was selected to promote to the rank of Captain! I am so proud of all his hard work over the past 32+ years of his Naval career. He is dedicated to excellence and an inspiration to so many. Congratulations, my love. I love you and I’m so proud of you!

His work surprised him with a cake and balloons!

Nezu Shrine

By wabisabisole

On May 3, 2017

In Azalea, Golden Week, Google Map, Japan, Nezu Shrine, Tokyo, Train

The Nezu Shrine is in the north central part of Tokyo. It was founded in 1705 and is famous for the Azalea Festival. The Azalea Festival is held from mid-April through the end of Golden Week (first week of May). I almost let this Festival slip past me.

Dina and I went up on Wednesday to see the Shrine, azaleas, and the Festival. Google Maps gave us our route to the Shrine (1.5 hours). However, we were assuming because of Golden Week, the 30-minute delay was caused by “extra passenger load” – our trip actually took 2 hours. Dina had the patience of a saint with me today!

The Shrine was very large and had a large garden full of azaleas. Unfortunately, most had already bloomed. Only a few blossoms remained. I will need to visit earlier next year to truly experience the azalea splendor. Here are a few pictures of the azaleas and the surrounding gardens.

Remember how I mentioned this is Golden Week? Looking at those pictures, you might be wondering, “where are all the crowds?” Oh, trust me. They were there. Here are several of the same pictures at different angles to include the crowds.

There were so many people!! Dina was very patient with me as I waited for the perfect shot. There was a long row of Torii gates I wanted to photograph without people. We waited… and waited. Eventually, I was able to take a people free shot. Or mostly, anyways.

Sometimes, the right person or people in a photo make it much better! Notice how short the Torii gate were! We are hitting our heads! We had to duck the entire way!!

Just in case you’re not convinced how short the gates were – Dina snapped this picture of me ducking through the gates! Ha!

I took a few close up pictures of the remaining azalea blooms.

We were able to get a stamp in our Temple Books. After waiting in line for 30 minutes… like I already mentioned, Dina was super patient!

The other interesting thing to note, was how despite not having blooms, the azaleas looked lovely. My friend, Sara and I joke about how ugly azaleas are after they finish blooming. This is what we are accustomed to seeing. Dead brown and past their prime blooms.

Apparently, not the case in Japan. Dina and I are convinced they cleaned off the dead blossoms daily because the shrubs without blooms were green.

I must also mention the Festival. It was mostly food vendors. So many interesting and unique foods on a stick! Bananas, meats, corn, and more bananas.

Or maybe you want salty nuts and dried fruits?

Maybe squid!

Or perhaps octopus balls. Three different octopus ball vendors. They are actually very delicious and tasted great washed down with a chu-hai.

Or mystery meat? Or mochi? Or noodle tacos with an egg on top?

Whatever Japanese street vendor you were searching for, you would be able to find and eat until your heart was content!

Yokosuka Shobuen

By wabisabisole

On May 2, 2017

In Flowers, Google Map, Hooptie, Japan, Wisteria, Yokosuka, Yokosuka Shobuen

I had one more garden on my list to view wisteria, Yokosuka Shobuen. Yokosuka Shobuen is actually known for being one of the largest iris gardens in Japan. The wisteria is an added bonus. The garden has over 140,000 iris. They were beginning to sprout but, not yet in bloom. Guess, I will be returning next month!

The garden opened at 9:00am. I decided to drive because my research told me there was plenty of parking. I arrived 9:30 and was ahead of the crowds. Here was my route.

The funniest part was the Japanese parking attendant coming over to my car after I parked. Following the protocol, I backed into the spot. However, I parked the Hooptie a little crooked. The attendant came over and asked me to re-park with her assistant, of course. Haha! If she only knew crooked parking is pretty much how I roll. Or stop rolling for that matter.

Moving on to the garden. The entry ticket was self-service. Fortunately, there was English.

Also, remember yesterday I mentioned the carp streamers being hung for Children’s Day. There were some at the garden entrance.

The wisteria was delightful. The garden wasn’t very large, I was able to walk around the entire garden in about an hour. I took a lot of pictures. I’ll share my favorites. Hopefully, not too many.

Here is the view when entering the garden. The beds in the foreground are the iris.

The first stop was the wisteria arbor.

The path then led to the wisteria garden. There were so many different colors. The scent was intoxicating!

The path then took me through a wisteria tunnel. So much pink and purple! It was magical.

The next area was the trellis of Japanese wisteria. There were actually several trellises. One was set up for hanami.

The others were a little lower and beautiful as well. More pink and purple!

I couldn’t resist a wisteria selfie.

My other favorite thing to do was to literally stand under / inside the wisteria.

In closing, a few close-up shots of the blooms. Do you have a favorite? Pink or purple?

Shonan Beach

By wabisabisole

On May 1, 2017

In Enoshima Island, Golden Week, Japan, Shonan Beach, The Beach

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day. Dave and I decided to walk around Shonan Beach and Enoshima Island. When Dave and I went in January, we had amazing views of Mt. Fuji. Today we had a hazy view of Mt. Fuji and a view of a bunch of surfers!

We stopped for a burger at J.S. Cafe. I had an avocado cheeseburger. Dave opted for the sunny-side up egg and bacon burger.

I love the advice on the burger wrapper / holder.

We walked along the beach after lunch. It was fun to be back in a beach scene. One thing that remains the same about a beach town – bikes! So many bikes!

This picture reminded me of our friend, Mark, in Virginia Beach. As a surfer, he transits to and from the beach on his bike with his surfboard. I looked for him in the water today.

Saturday started Golden Week. A little research helped me better understand the holiday period. The four holidays between the week of April 29 through May 5 were established in 1948. The way the calendar falls in 2017, Golden Week is about 9 days. Many businesses give employees time off making it a great time to vacation.

April 29th was Showa Day. Showa Day commemorates the birthday of the deceased Showa Emperor Hirohito, who reigned for 62 years.

May 3rd is Constitution Memorial Day. It celebrates the Japanese constitution that came into effect on May 3, 1947.

May 4th is Greenery Day. It is a time for the Japanese honor nature. Also, it a time to reflect on the link between humanity and the environment and appreciate nature’s abundant gifts.

May 5th is Children’s Day. The day celebrates the health and happiness of children. It was formally known as boy’s day. On this day carp streamers are flown. Carp are a symbol of stamina and strength.

We have been warned to be prepared for crowds everywhere. Walking around Shonan Beach and Enoshima, we moved with the masses.

My favorite picture was of this surfer finding his own spot to take a nap. Forget the crowds or surf. It’s time to nap!

Saturday in the Park

By wabisabisole

On April 29, 2017

In Friendship, Ikego, Japan

Saturday MWR held a “Friendship Day” at the Ikego track. It was an open event welcoming together Americans and Japanese to enjoy fellowship and cultures.

Dave and I were able to walk down and enjoy the event.

Like any good American day in the park, there were American Firetrucks and Sparky!

There were several food vendors. The longest lines were for the American hamburgers and shaved ice.

When we first arrived, the U. S. Navy Band was finishing their set. They sounded pretty good as we walked down the hill to the track.

There were tents set up with games for kids to play. Also, a muscle man hammer. It was funny to watch the Japanese men. They were often dressed so nicely and slammed the sledgehammer like a boss!

The highlight was watching a group of Japanese dancers. The dancers were all ages. Check out the shoes the ladies were wearing!

The dancers were impressive and very entertaining to watch. As you can tell by the video, it was a very windy day. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to dance with their hats in the wind!