Friends in town

At home from Hong Kong, I had a week to teach, clean, cook and do all the routine things we do before Jean and Andy arrived from their week in China. They had such great stories, I can't wait to go. I told Brian that would be our next trip. Allan's determined we don't make plans until he's sure he can get off work - can ya blame him?

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I went to Haneda Airport on Sunday, July 11th to pick them up and we rode the train to Oppama, where a Mikoshi parade was in progress right across from the station. We watched for a few minutes, but were too anxious to get the luggage home to spend too much time.

After a short rest, we drove to the base to meet Allan, who had finally made a successful dive with the Bubble Club. This time they chartered a boat in Izu, and were treated to an onsen (natural hot springs) after the day of diving.

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We had dinner at Ootoya, where they serve Japanese homestyle food. It's a favorite of ours and Andy discovered tonkatsu, a breaded, fried pork cutlet that is always served with cabbage to help with digestion.

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Allan worked on Monday while I took our visitors to Enoshima. This is a resort island where walking is always uphill or downhill. It's great exercise (or torture depending on your perspective).

Andy and Jean did well with chopsticks (first photo). No English was spoken at this restaurant, but we pointed to what we wanted and were all pleased. Have I mentioned that I've gained 3 kilos in 10 months? It's no wonder...

We headed for the shrine where Jean rang the bell. The large wooden box in the center is the donation box. After making a donation, one would ring the bell, I presume to announce that you made a donation. I've seen a father take money out, then have each of his children touch it before putting it in the box. Hey, cover all your bases.

We came to this plaque with handprints - I don't know what it is, but Andy's hands fit nicely.

I call this the 'luck circle'. You walk through, circle to the left, walk through, circle right, walk through and circle left a second time. You will have a long, happy, rich life (or not).

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After Enoshima, we made a quick stop in Hase to see the 800 yr. old big Buddha, then to Kamakura to pick up the train back to base. We spent some time touring Kamakura before heading home. We planned to meet Allan in town and find a place to eat, but after such a hard day of touring, we were exhausted! Allan merely worked all day, so it seemed only right that he cook for us. Isn't he the best!?

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Tuesday is conversational English with four very lovely ladies, who I hate to cancel, so they had two native English speakers for the price of one. Jean asked questions for nearly 2 hours and the ladies took us to lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. It's close to the house and I hope to get Allan there soon.

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Allan, Gene and Andy had lunch at the Officers' Club, then Andy toured the Japanese battleship Mikasa, docked a short way from the gate. After our lunch, we met up and toured central Yokosuka. When Allan was finished for the day, we ate and drank (sake and beer) at Watami. If you come, make sure we take you to Watami - it's goooood. I was the designated driver, you know what that means.

Since Wednesday was a day off from touring, Jean and I worked on photos and blog stuff ALL DAY. Andy enjoyed a little English language TV.

Thursday morning we packed up and took the train to Tokyo, dropped our luggage at the New Sanno (American military hotel) and headed to the Meiji Shrine. Allan and I went here last year with Jorey Ramer, but it was fun to go again. Here in the path leading to the shrine are Allan, Jean and Andy by the sake casks.

Inside the courtyard, you may purchase a wooden card where you print your prayer, then hang it. Most I can't read, but here's one I can. Nice sentiment.

After the shrine we headed for a little shopping in Harajuku, where the normally subdued Japanese youth were going crazy for sales in a mall area filled with hawkers announcing 50, 60, 70 percent off.

Dinner was at Allan's favorite Tokyo restaurant, Gonpachi. Jean and Andy were not disappointed.

BTW... All of these photos are from Jean's camera. I didn't need to take mine out. She was fascinated by the bizarre styles that are becoming kinda normal to me.

Friday morning we were headed for the fish market. This place fascinates people because it's the largest fish market in the world. To me, it's just a really slimy, smelly place.

Just outside the market, this guy was working on his IPAD. He looked really un-nerdy, so Jean asked to photograph him.

He agreed, then asked us to look at his English language web site. Yep, he gives tours of Tokyo.

The fish market is an unlikely tourist place. It is extremely large, several city blocks by my estimation. Andy and Jean liked it and since I'd tried to talked them out of it by saying it wasn't interesting, Andy told me that yes, it is in fact quite interesting and I should take all visitors to see it. Arrrggghhh!

Here, somebody is being interviewed. Can you see the camera and sound equipment? The guy in the gray vest is asking the fellow at the far left questions. It might be on the news that night or maybe there's a documentary about the Tokyo fish market. Maybe you'll see it. Prepare to be dazzled.

The Senso-Ji Temple was our next stop. Shrine, temple, shrine, temple, we give Buddhism and Shinto our attention when guests are around.

This is the market leading to the temple, and I like this one. We watched a machine make cookies and bought some freshly baked one with a filling and no preservatives. The vendor told us we had 3 days to eat them.

This was a common site. Andy loves his soft serve ice cream, and he indulged whenever the mood struck. I had my share too. He had never had 'green tea' or 'sweet potato' flavor before, but they're available wherever soft serve can be found in Japan.

And here is the Senso-Ji Temple. This site has been sacred to Buddhists since the 7th century and the temple and other buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt over the years, most recently after World War II.

There are several buildings within the area, including a pagoda and one that's dedicated to a deity who looks after women. I like a religion with a deity like that.

Here's something we enjoyed. Pay 100 yen (about $1.15 at the current exchange rate), and pick up one of these metal cans with a small round hole in the top. Turn it over and a stick with a kanji symbol falls out. Find a drawer with the matching symbol and pull out your blessing.

Jean's got a 'best blessing' while the rest of us got a 'good blessing'. Hey that's great, I've gotten a 'bad blessing' before. I think it was at this same temple. Imagine paying to get a bad blessing. I don't care who you are, that's not funny.

And we went to Ginza, the Rodeo Drive of Tokyo. If you're looking to spend $500 for a pair of shoes, here's your place. Oddly (or not), none of us bought anything here, but it was a good place to help you appreciate a white sale at Macy's.

Dinner on our last night was at the hotel, and we were very happy with the cuisine. Allan had beef wellington and cherries jubilee, complete with flame. I tried a seafood plate, since they do good seafood here. You could get squid or octopus if you aren't careful.

The breakfast was good as well, plentiful and economical. The military and the affiliated civilians are well cared for in Japan. If you know anyone who's spent time here, you probably have heard good things from them. You won't hear any complaints from the Schreibers.

So after 16 days in temples and shrines, Jean found the Pearly Gates. They're in Tokyo... whoda guessed?

I hope Jean and Andy had fun in Japan and will make another visit. When they do, she'll understand when I say 'irashaimasei'.

To Hong Kong and beyond

On July 1st, eight Americans, on three separate flights, arrived in Hong Kong within 40 minutes.

The scheduling for the trip was made by the seven who came from the US, and it conflicted with an Industrial Hygiene training session at Yokosuka base, so Allan wasn't able to join us. Fortunately, he thought I should seize the opportunity to travel with my best friend, Jean.

A young Chinese girl named Winnie gathered us up at the airport and got us to the Park Hotel in Kowloon. Kowloon is not on Hong Kong Island, but on a peninsula of mainland China that juts out into Victoria Harbour facing south toward Hong Kong Island.

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The name 'Kowloon' means nine dragons and refers to the 8 hills of Kowloon. The emperor is the ninth.

The following morning, we went by double decker bus (1st photo) around Hong Kong Island. The ride was an adventure, as the road was narrow, steep, curved and sometimes bumpy, none of which bothered the driver.

The scenery was like the a movie about the Amazon, lush and mountainous. The area had some interesting architecture like this concave building. We reached the town of Stanley where our adventure begins.

Here we are, just off the bus (2 men, 6 women). L-R Pilar, Renee, Cecil, Edmee, Jean, Andy, Yasmin and Elizabeth.

The guidebooks say to visit Stanley market, and we did. Jean and I each got a pashmina. I wear one every day in winter. We have a wet, windy cold in Yokosuka, so you want to protect your neck. Jean, Andy and I finished shopping and were wandering when we found Cecil and stopped for a beer while we waited for the others. After two beers each, we headed to Murray House for some lunch.

Murray Barracks, was built in central HK in 1846 and was one of the longest surviving buildings of that era. After being occupied by the British and Japanese (as well as being haunted), it was disassambled in 1982 to clear land for a large bank. Each block was labeled and stored until it was reassembled in 2001 in Stanley. When the rebuild was completed, six ionic columns were left over, so they were placed at the front of the terrace. Click on the photo to get a better view.

We lunched at a great Vietnamese restaurant. We have no Vietnamese restaurants in Yokosuka and I love Vietnamese food, so I was a happy girl.

Just like in Japan, the school children are assigned to interview native English speakers. A group of boys spoke with Andy and four girls, 9th to 11th grade asked questions of Yasmin, Jean and me.

The bus took us back to Kowloon in time to hit the 'night market'. It was a cheesy tourist trap, and one vendor had large beetles in shadowbox frames. Who would want something like that? As it turns out, Jean's son Sean asked her to bring one back as a souvenir. Hey, I just report this stuff...

After perusing the market, we found a few of our ladies at this table (above) having a drink. We all joined them and had dinner next to a table (to the right of the photo) filled with Americans, a few of whom were pilots for FedEx. This is their favorite place to eat, so we made a good choice. The table was on a busy corner, but we weren't sure what building the food was coming out of. Walking back, we did some window shopping for j-e-w-e-l-l-e-r-y, as it's spelled in Hong Kong (British influence).

Here are Andy, Jean and Yasmin (seated) on Saturday during our slow ferry ride to Lantau Island, just west of Hong Kong Island. From the dock we boarded a bus to Tai O, a small fishing village. It's really poor - well, you can see that from the photos.

It looks as though the boat might also be home. We took a long walk to a temple, but I missed the 'Walk of Wisdom'. That doesn't sound like something you should miss out on, but I did.

This was the nicest residence we saw in the village. Jean, who is a contractor said it was made from cargo containers from ships. If you thought you need a bigger, fancier house, what do you think now?

From Tai O, we rode yet another bus to Ngong Ping, a tourist village full of souvenir shops, restaurants, and a BIG Buddha, that can be seen from all over the island. He's right there at the top of the photo.

Andy managed to find a pizzeria and decided to eat there. Not so, Jean, Yasmin, Pilar and Lizzy. We found a ramen restaurant.

After lunch, and a long climb to the Buddha, we took a gondola ride across the island to the train station where we would head back to Kowloon.

This is my favorite part of the trip. We could see most of the island and Victoria Harbour, and the entire airport. The ride took about 20 minutes and cost about $7.

Here's some more interesting architecture. Hong Kong is a modern city, and although it reverted to China in 1999, just about everything is different from mainland China, right down to the currency.

After a train ride back to Kowloon, we set out in search of two stores, Pandora jewelry and Longchamp bags, and made purchases from each. Jean has a bracelet that she added three charms to, and Renee bought an extremely lightweight backpack. I was tempted to get one myself. That night we had fabulous Thai food, right there at the mall.

Our last morning in town, we headed to the highest point on Hong Kong Island - Victoria Peak. The view is great from here. It was once the poshest place to live, but now it's a big ole tourist trap.

Sometimes when you have a camera handy, there's that shot you just can't let go. I was pretty much running after this one, so it's a little fuzzy, but you can see what this guy's T-shirt says - right? and you can also see that he's on the phone - right?

Okay, good. That's all.

A trip to Sea Paradise

Just one stop away from our neighborhood train station is Kanazawa-Hakkei station. We met some friends from the base there this past weekend and took a short ride to 'Sea Paradise'.

It's a SeaWorld sort of place, with lots of large tanks full of the kind of things Allan just loves to observe. A young MLC (master labor contractor - or Japanese national), Hiroko and her sister were in the party. Each had a son, so we had two children with us.

Another member of the group was Ryan Hevener, a young sailor who works with Allan's group. He and Allan are in the May 30th, Allan Rides Again issue, sitting on the bronze bear.

The tanks were filled with an array of sea creatures which fascinated all of us. These fish are feeding on the plants here.

There was a show with gray dolphins, beluga whales (below) seals and walrus. Of course they all were very acrobatic and theatrical creatures.

Below a dolphin is flying high, wacking a ball with his tail fin. Of course he got a nice reward for his efforts, as well as accolades from the crowd.

After a few hours of shows and big and small creatures in tanks, it was time for lunch. This is my favorite part of any outing, and today we went to an Italian restaurant. It was in fact, the Japanese version of an Italian restaurant.

Dessert was an assortment of fruit and marshmallows which could be held under a chocolate fountain. Hiroko's son Hugo was indulged by his mother and got great pleasure from the chocolate covered treats.

Allan and I had our share, but our faces were clean, so... that would be an incredibly boring photo.

And lastly, this is our friend and Allan's Japanese teacher, Hiromi. She speaks English well, and says she learns more by watching American tv shows.

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Here we have few English channels, with an abundance of NCIS, CSI Miami, CSI NY, Cold Case and MI5, (a British cop show) so I thought her exposure to everyday English must be limited. She responded by saying she knows what 'pedophile' means. She sometimes gets it mixed up with 'pedestrian'. Hey, how well do you speak Japanese?

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I'm going to Hong Kong Thursday, so I'll be letting you know how I liked it very soon. Stay tuned.

Navy retirement ceremony

Lt. Elena Roldan retired this week. That's her in front of the flags. This was the first retirement ceremony for Allan and me. Commander Paul Brochu, Director of Public Health was the MC.

The colors (flags) were presented and a former commander of Elena's came from Guam to take part in the ceremony and speak about her career. While Cmdr. Brochu recited a prose composition entitled 'Old Glory', there was the passing of the flag.

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The folded flag was passed down a line of eight naval personnel. Each recipient saluted the flag, then extended arms. The flag was transferred by flipping it over so that the pointed end was away from the recipient's body.

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The person who relinquished the flag then saluted it, and the person now holding it did an 'about face' and the whole thing started again until it reached Elena's two daughters. They accepted the flag and presented it to their mother. The ceremony ended when Lt. Roldan requested permission to go ashore for the last time.

Things around Yokosuka (again, it's YoKoSka) have settled in and become somewhat routine for us. We've been here nine months already.

Seeing someone sleeping on the train is pretty common, but this little girl looks like a fourth grader. Usually kids will go one or two stops, but this girl went quite a distance. I was afraid she would miss her stop. But she got off one stop before me.

Last weekend, we played golf with two friends at Atsugi Naval Base, which oddly is not on the ocean. The planes from aircraft carriers are 'parked' there when the ships are in port.

Saturday night was a surprise 50th birthday party for a friend, whose husband gave her a trip to Israel.

This weekend was golf again and a shopping trip to Kawasaki. Yeah - the motorcycle city. Allan left for a dive trip early Saturday that didn't happen since the seas were lousy. We decided shopping and lunch would occupy us for a few hours.

We chose Kawasaki for it's California Pizza Kitchen. We really were ready for some American restaurant food. But don't eat at Denny's in Japan - it's not anything you'll recognize.

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Here's a challenge for you. Find a city somewhere in the world without a McDonald's - betcha can't.

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And you can't find a city in Japan that doesn't have a Pachinko & Slot. Gambling is a national pastime. Vegas is the favorite destination for Japanese tourists in the states.

When the sun is shining, I think this contraption is called a parasol. Alot of women carry them here. So feminine.

I'll be meeting Jean in Hong Kong in about two weeks. Then she'll make a trip to China and come to Japan for six days. Poor Allan has a training session and can't be off that week. Awww!

Allan Rides (Writes) Again

I recently went with friends to see the Yokohama BayStars play. You might think baseball's the same the world over, but the experience is different in Japan.

The basics of the game are the same, in fact there were several American players on each team. There are cheerleaders, mascots and each team has it's own fans. The difference can be attributed to the fans. These are not what we think of as typical.

The fans have their own trumpets and drums. Each player has his own song, but unlike the American game, where the song is an original recording, the fans here make up a song, which is more like a cheer.

There are rules to cheering as well. You can only cheer when your team is at bat and you don't boo the other team or the umpires.

As the game progressed and the crowd imbibed in more alcohol, the cheering got louder and louder. Speaking about drinking, the concession personnel walking up and down the stadium are mainly women.

They carry at least a case of beer (cans) up and down the stadium. Remember that 5', 100 lbs. is average for a Japanese woman. The food was good, but also just a little different. I had yakisoba, which is fried noodles. You could get a hot dog, but not with a bun.

The band would play the tune for "CHARGE" and only we few Americans shouted. The Japanese really enjoyed us.

I went with Paul, Cheryl and Bailey Brochu, and we met some of their friends. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

The weekend after the baseball game, Liz and I went to Enoshima Island. It rained the entire time we were there. We walked to the island from the train station, up to the top and down the other side to go into some caves carved from the waves. We climbed back up and over, and it never stopped raining. It seemed like a place to go in the summer, beach area and a nice Aquarium. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go back when the weather is better. On the way back to the train, we stopped and Liz had an apple/mango ice cream.

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Last week, when Liz was in the states, I went with some friends to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. It was interesting because of the unique animals. They had a large exhibit of various species of birds with the most unique, a huge condor.

They also had a silver back gorilla and something called a dhole. A dhole is a type of wild dog, I guess similar to a dingo. After the zoo, we went to lunch, a Japanese version of Korean barbeque. Awesome... maybe it was the beer that made it so good.

The sign above is pretty self-explanatory. Signs like these are a good idea, as we see below, boys will be boys.

Allan goes to Korea

It's been very quiet around 3-3-1 Shonan Takatori lately. Allan left for Korea on April 24th, TAD - Temporary Duty. I kept busy teaching, went to Tokyo, and ran around Yokosuka, but as it turned out I had too much time on my hands.

Since Allan was on temporary duty, it was mostly work, little play. He was scheduled for eleven days, which is pretty much the time it took to do the work. He came back with alot of Industrial Hygiene photos, none of which will appear in my blog. You're welcome.

His flight into Pusan arrived several hours late and his bags were the last to come out. But as planned, two men from the base picked him up and they went to a local bar (Duffy's) for a couple brews. There was a six-piece band and three patrons, including Allan. Having gotten a late start, they closed the place down.

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His first five days were at Chinhae. These photos were taken from the highest point. You can reach it by stairs (365 of them) or by gondola. First is a view of the town, then some animal topiary, and the gondola. A memorial is built on this hill. It's called Chinhae Tower and has two levels dedicated to the history of what was a fishing village. Then five levels for observation, but no photos can be taken of the naval base.

After work the first day, he played basketball with some of the guys from base. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah, he was sore, and he aggravated a muscle he'd injured surfing, but I know he had fun doing it.

Back at the bottom of the hill, he toured the town, with plenty of restuarants and a local farmers' market. The market had lots of live things for sale, including fish which Allan couldn't identify. Unusual, since he has a degree in Marine Biology.

He likes Korean food, so he had no trouble finding something interesting to eat, even kimchi, which he's always refused to eat, saying it's too spicy. Then he discovered that he also likes Korean beer, no surprize there.

He needed a Korean national escort to view the Turtle Ship, a replica of a 17th century vessel, 34.2 meters long, 10.3 meters wide, 16 oars and 14 cannons, constructed of wood and an iron clad shell, hence the name.

I don't even want to know how hard it was to row that thing across a bay.

There was a spot inside the ship where a fire pot connects to this dragon. Smoke from the pot would billow from the dragon's mouth. The cannons were tiny, when compared to contemporary vessels. The cannonballs used were 3" in diameter.

Fierce looking masthead, tiny balls. I'm just saying...

These last two photos are from inside the Turtle Ship.

After Chinhae, he went north to Pohang. There's a helicopter squadron stationed and they must have needed some Industrial Hygiene or Safety work.

BTW... if you want to see these photos better, just click on one and you will get a larger version.

Not much free time in Pohang either. The only sites he saw were restaurants. He's happy to eat in Asian restuarants. I try to give him food for lunch, but he prefers to eat at the sushi-go-round or in one of the restuarants just outside the gates of the base.

And as there hasn't been a quick lesson for a while, here's one now...

QUICK LESSON: Golden Week. In Japan, there are four national holidays between April 29th and May 5, so most employers give their workers the week off.

April 29th is Hirohito's birthday. Most Japanese that I've talked to don't know the name of the current emperor (Akihito), much less his father, but they still celebrate his birthday.

May 3rd is Constitution Day, the 4th is Greenery Day (Japanese Earth Day), then the 5th is called Children's Day, but it's really a day to celebrate sons and pray for their futures. The traditional decoration is a samurai doll. There is a Girls' Day in March, but it's not a national holiday. Don't get me started.

So, since 4 of the 9 national holidays fall in a seven day period, it's a sort of spring break.