Brian comes to call... and tour

Brian arrived for his first visit on March 9th, and I took the very comfortable free shuttle from the base to Narita Airport to meet him. It was late when we got home, but Brian woke up the next day as if jetlag was non-existent. Well, he's up nights and sleeping days alot anyway, so it worked well for his visit. We stuck around Yokosuka for the first two days, including my birthday.

We went by train to Tokyo (Asakusa and Ueno districts) on the 12th. I'd had a scratchy throat and by then, I was feeling the full effects of a cold. In Asakusa, we headed for the Senso-ji Temple and it's very extensive shopping area. We were approached by two groups of kindergarteners, who asked if they could speak English with us.

Each one told us his/her name and then asked if we liked Japanese food. They got more than they bargained for from me. I was very excited to tell them just how much I like Japanese food, but I did mention that I'm not crazy about Okonomi Yaki.

Then we signed their worksheet with our name and home country and put a sticker on a map.

We bought a fortune from the Temple, but it was not good. We were supposed to tie it onto a pole and leave it there without reading it, but we brought it home with us, so I'm guessing that we're screwed!

From there we headed to Ueno, the artsy district. We stopped in a museum and saw some street performers. This guy and his partner did yoyo tricks, including a yoyo-ing Barbie, but we missed out on the comedy portion of the show. They had a dialogue that caused periodic laughter, but we stood there straightfaced. It was Greek to us.

On Saturday, Allan joined us for a trip to Kamakura. Do you remember that Kamakura was once the capital of Japan (before Kyoto, which was before Tokyo)? We've been twice before. It's a cute town with shops, restaurants and a really big Buddha. Brian went inside, but I'd been there, done that. We had a great lunch (is there any other kind?) and did some shopping.

Allan has a cold (and he's heading Virginia in a few days) so he didn't go with us on Sunday. We headed for Yokohama and ...

Chinatown!

I've been there before, but I was like a rat in a maze. We walked up one street, then down the next, but I don't have a compass in my head (don't say it).

Being lost isn't always a bad thing. It's good to have that attitude when you spend as much time being lost as I do. We had time to wander around, so that's just what we did. I'd hoped we wander into Motomachi the Rodeo Drive (posh shopping) of Yokohama. No such luck!

Chinatown is the same, no matter what part of the world you're in. This looks just like London Chinatown, and San Francisco if the streets were a little wider.

We bought some goodies and had a good meal, which is easy to do around here. Brian's having ramen and pork buns. You can get pork buns and other finger foods all up and down the street, but it felt like a sit-down lunch day, and Brian never liked food wrapped in paper, even as a child. I couldn't bribe him with McDonald's - Steak and Ale maybe.

Brian went into Yokosuka some nights to check out the local nightlife, but by Monday he was feeling the effects of my cold. He hung around the house Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday, the 17th and St. Patrick's Day, we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Brian's enjoying a drink called sweat while we waited for the train. Umm, appealing!

We were on the train for about 2 1/2 hours. It is a bullet, just look at it. There were a few very quick stops. After each stop, the stewardess came by with a cart of items which had to be purchased. Brian and I split a sandwich assortment, one was potato salad & tomato and another liverwurst. The Japanese have a relationship with the Germans, remember Oktoberfest (my October 17th post).

Here Brian is boarding the train, which is incredibly clean and comfortable. Oh, to have that kind of leg room on an airplane. For the price, I'm thinking everyone gets a first class seat. We had reserved seats, but I wouldn't want to stand holding a strap from Tokyo to Kyoto.

I don't really know how much I paid. I had a travel agent book the train, hotel and a tour.

Speaking of the tour, this lovely structure is the Kinkakuji Temple or 'Golden Pavallion' and is actually a temple. There is a phoenix on the top, gold of course. We saw a samurai castle, two temples, Kyoto Imperial Palace (remember Kyoto was once the capital), a shrine, and had lunch at Kyoto Handicraft Center, which was full of... stuff to buy!

And no stop at a religious site would be complete without a donation box. This one is a game of sorts. Brian hit the bucket and people clapped. You can see that more people than not miss the mark.

The structure below is painted orange to scare away evil spirits, even at night (because orange is such a scary color).

I took photos of unique architectural ornamentation. There were metal adornments on corners of buildings, railings, around windows and door frames, it was quite beautiful.

The gardens at these temples, shrines and the Shogun palace weren't too shabby either.

There is a school for geisha in Kyoto and we kept hearing about seeing maikah, which would be a geisha-in-training. I assume the five young girls in kimono are just that.

I had a shot of this kimono clad teenager on a cellphone, but I couldn't get my camera out quick enough! She's got it in her hand.

Our third day in Kyoto, we went back to the Kyoto Handicraft Center for a little block printing and each did two pictures. I love that 'hands-on' stuff. Brian goes along with me on most stuff - I just plow ahead so he gets out of the way and catches my wake.

Once back in Yokosuka, Brian only had the weekend left. We had seen alot of Japan by that time, but not the California Pizza Kitchen in Kawasaki. Some friends invited us to meet them for lunch on Saturday. Unlike some restaurants (Denny's, McDonald's), this one is just like it would be in the U.S. The two couples with us had been to a 'fertility festival' and had pictures on I-phones. The Japanese are not prudish when it comes to fertility.

We stayed for a little shopping. I had no idea that shopping area was there! It's underground and I'd been on top of it a dozen times. Anyway... where was I? Oh, yeah, we didn't stay as long as the others, because Brian needed to rest up for his last Saturday in Japan. Big Plans.

Since the trains don't run between midnight and 5:00 am, Brian left the house for Tokyo around 9:30 pm, and returned around 8:00 in the morning. He reports that he found a couple of good spots, although one he'd seen online was not one of them.

We left on Monday, Brian for Portland, me for Orlando. I think he'll want to come back. He wants to see China.

Didn't he go over there to work?

It's me, Allan. Well, here I am as a guest columnist again. It seems Liz is finished skiing for the year and my cousin Jorey was in town (or country, again) and wanted to go, so we went. Last Saturday, we met at the Shinkansen (bullet train) in Tokyo. This was my first experience on the bullet train and it is definitely different from the regular train service in Japan.

It looks sleek and fast, and it is (about 120-160 mph). We made it from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station in 80 minutes. I left Yokosuka at 6:30 AM and was skiing by noon. The resort was Mt. Naeba and we stayed at the Prince Hotel.

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When we left Tokyo, it was about 45 degrees fahrenheit and raining. Jorey was telling me about a famous Japanese Nobel Prize winning author who wrote about going on the train and "after going through the tunnel and then there was snow". Well, after going through the tunnel "then there was snow"!

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When we arrived at the slopes and were getting ready to ski, we met my boss and his family. The skiing was like springtime - slow, mushy and choppy - and a lot of hard work. That night it got colder and snowed about 4-5 inches. That made Sunday really treacherous. Under the new snow - ICE! With a lot of people on the slopes and icy conditions, skiing was difficult. Jorey and I did find some nice areas and had a blast. We skied (I skied, Jorey snow boarded) hard that morning and left the slopes at 1:00 PM.

We were on the train when a colleague sent me an email that the trains going along the coast from Tokyo to Yokosuka were cancelled due to the Tsunami caused by the Chilean earthquake.

Jorey and I took our time in Tokyo and the trains started running again, no problem just precautionary measures. Japan is way different from Florida. Like Dorothy said "Toto, we're not in Kansas any more".

The Sapporo Snow Festival

COLD!!! That describes a snow festival. Cold enough outside to keep large blocks of ice frozen for weeks. The 61st annual Sapporo Snow Festival ran from Feb. 5th to Feb 11. We arrived on the 4th, so we saw the works in progress.

Our day began early. A taxi picked us up at 5:10, (the bus doesn't run that early). So... train to airport, Tokyo Int'l to Sapporo, then a train to the city.

We started with a walk down this street, where teams were sculpting blocks of ice with chain saws, and chisels. There were fish and a mermaid with very intricate gills and scales.

The artists did amazing things. This street was all ice sculptures and as we walked, we got to a park area that was filled with snow sculptures.
This palace is one of them. Didn't I say it was amazing?

There's a Disneyland in Japan, so I guess that the 20 foot Mickey and Minnie was sponsored by them.

There were several other very impressive sculptures close by, and then we reached a spot where 3-man teams from around the world were creating pieces from 15-foot cubes of packed snow. One team was from Portland, Oregon. We talked to them about Brian and Portland. Their block of snow hadn't taken shape yet, but we promised to come back on Saturday to see it.

Mickey and Minnie are universal.

At some point, we stopped for a hot chinese lunch, and were warm for the time it took to eat. After almost 5 hours of touring, we got back to our hotel around 4:30. It has several restaurants for dinner, but we usually like to find some little hole-in-the-wall place that has really great food for very little yen.

It didn't matter, by 5:30 we were both asleep. Remember, we got up way before dawn, traveled half way across Japan and trudged around in a blizzard for hours.

The next day... Friday was the official start of SnowFest, but it was also our only full day in Sapporo. We called some new friends that we met only once, at a barbeque at Yokota Air Base in early January. Allan found out that they would be in Sapporo when we were there, so we planned to get together.

They joined us for a trip to Otaru, a small town 25 minutes away by train.

Otaru is famous for blown glass, and I got to make a cup. I'll explain the procedure... first they put a tiny bit of molten glass onto the tip of a 'blowing tube'. You blow it up a little bit - just enough to make a cavity. Then, they dip it again (left photo) and you blow it up to size. The next step it to flatten the bottom (right photo) with a paddle. The tube is constantly rotated while all this is happening, otherwise the molten glass would simply drip onto the floor.

Another tube is attached to the flattened bottom, and you make a indention around what will be the top, and tap the blowing tube to break away the glass. If you tap too hard, as I did, it breaks the glass. After the whole thing was heated again, Issey cut away the broken part with a pair of scissors (right photo).

Then we used very large tongs to open up and shape the top (still rotating). Issey put on the handle and my initial. Voila... here's the finished cup, a little shorter than planned, but beautiful none the less!

That's not all we did in Otaru. We shopped in glass shops (what else?), ate sushi and drank sake and beer. And we attended the official opening of the Otaru Snow Festival, complete with acappella gospel music (truth is stranger... ). After all the usual tourists stuff, we got the train back to Sapporo. At the Sapporo station, there are hundreds of shops and restaurants, so as you'd expect, we shopped and ate, including decadent desserts - American desserts, (because Japanese desserts are barely sweet and have very little goo).

Breakfast was included with our room. On Friday, we had the English breakfast and planned to try the Japanese breakfast Saturday. We thought better of that plan, because the English breakfast included rice, miso soup and tofu. If that's English, we didn't want to find out what the Japanese breakfast was.

We had a short day, but we toured the area where teams were still working on sculpting blocks of packed ice for judging on Monday. The Netherlands had a unique idea. With saws, they were cutting their block into 9-10 inch cubes, then wrapping the cubes with ribbon and giving them away as gifts. Though they tried, they were unsuccessful in getting me to accept a big block of compacted snow to carry around. A big mug of cocoa would have been nice though.

Since you can get canned hot cocoa from a machine, along with coffee, hot tea, cold drinks and watered-down bourbon, that idea wouldn't have had the same uniqueness.

Allan noticed the StingRay Bar sign across from our hotel. But I wondered how many men have the chutzpah to get a tattoo from this place.

We came close to being snowed in, but the snowplows cleared the runway, so our plane left 30 minutes late and made up some time in the air. We had Sunday to relax and get ready for the week. I did lesson plans for my Monday and Tuesday English students, and Allan prepared for the week by watching 5 hours of television.

I'm not sure what my next adventure will be. I'm going to Kyoto with Brian next month. I hope it will be a fun story.

It's good to see friends and family

It snowed here last night and the slushy remains lay atop half walls and car bumpers this morning as I made my way to the bus en route to base. I haven't lived in snow territory for many years.

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Ben and Olivia Schreiber's father visited us this past week. Allan's cousin Paul is always a fun guest. We met at the airport and went by bus to the American Military Hotel, the New Sanno, in Tokyo.

He stopped in Japan on his way to Bangkok, India and (I think) Hong Kong. It was business for him with, we hope, a little fun added.

We had been to the New Sanno for a holiday party, but we didn't meet Natasha during that visit. She's a very sweet cat who stays at the checkpoint. She was so calm, we weren't sure she was live! Seeing another cat makes us miss our two guys, Joey and Sam.

The best thing about this hotel is American mattresses. Whatever horror stories you've heard about Japanese beds is true. We've been to 4 hotels so far and the beds are like granite! We are soft Americans, I admit it!

After a little rest time we hit the town. Our first stop was dinner. Kenji, the manager of the restaurant where we ate, is Cuban and Japanese. We mentioned it to Paul, so when he stopped at the table, Paul spoke to him in Spanish and they were old friends in no time.

Allan really likes sake, and doesn't miss too many opportunities to try different kinds. He and Paul had a mini sake tasting.

I headed back to the hotel early, leaving the men to see the sites of Roppongi. Our plans were to see the Tokyo fish market early in the morning, and I need more beauty sleep than I once did.

We got up early to schlep to a grimy, smelly, fishy place. It's famous and has to be the largest fish market on the planet. Why they allow tourists here is a mystery. These carts (above) are zipping around everywhere.

If you don't get run down, you could easily get slimed by a guy in a rubber apron covered with fish guts.

We snacked on some steamed crab claws, (at 7am) but most of what we saw was headed for restaurants and markets. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me (never again). We heard from Paul that he went back the next morning, and in fact ate in the same sushi place where the three of us had breakfast. It was good, but I'm trying not to make my entire blog about food, so I won't dwell.

On our way to the Imperial Palace, we came to this building. Does this look like Independence Hall or what? You know, Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock - those other rebels. Well, I say 'yes'. Except I think the one in Philadelphia has a bell tower. I seem to remember something about a cracked bell.

This is the Imperial Palace, which is of course, where the Emperor lives. We got a little closer, just to the right end of that bridge. As you'd expect, lots of tourists were looking and photographing the guards and the palace.

The Palace is open to the public two days a years, the Emperor's birthday (in late December) and New Years Day. Japan is not actually run by the Emperor. They have a Prime Minister and a congress of sorts called the Diet. The current Emperor is Akihito. The period of his reign is the Heisei Era and this is the 20th year, so on government documents, the year is listed as Heisei 20.

Some nice tourist took this photo of the three of us. That building is the guard house to the left of the bridge.

Buses dropped off groups of tourists and this field trip of junior high school boys. You can tell by the military looking uniform. High school boys wear a blazer, slacks and tie (and very often, penny loafers).

The palace was directly behind me when I took this photo of the Tokyo skyline. That's Allan and Paul in the foreground. We headed in that direction, and found the Ginza District, which is the Rodeo Drive of Tokyo. I actually made a purchase - no, two purchases.

On the way to Ginza, we passed through a park where this fierce Samurai warrior stood guard.

Paul spotted a cute bag (purse) and asked the young lady carrying it for a photo. When I reached them, she was telling him and Allan that she was from Hong Kong. Of course she spoke English. Everyone from Hong Kong that we've met so far speaks very understandable English. Her two friends arrived to ask if she were becoming an international model. She said 'No, just the bag'.

Before heading home we stopped here. Weary travelers everywhere can hit the 7-11.

We took the train to Yokosuka and Allan worked a half day.

Paul, we had fun. Come again and bring Henry!

... and sumo of course!

Believe it or not, Liz has a guest columnist for her blog. On Sunday, January 24th, I went to Tokyo for the finals of the sumo matches. LtJG Amanda Dillinger works with me as an Industrial Hygiene Officer. Back in early December, MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) placed an announcement that tickets would be going on sale for the sumo event. Amanda and I talked about going and the next day, she went to pick up tickets. But all the tickets were sold so she placed her name on the waiting list for 6 tickets. Back in early January, she heard that they got more tickets and we would be going.

Before I go on about the trip, let me explain more about sumo. The Japanese take a lot of foreign influences and put their own twist and make it theirs, but sumo is truly Japanese. According to Japanese legend, the very origin of the Japanese race depended on the outcome of a sumo match. The supremacy of the Japanese people on the islands of Japan was supposedly established when the god, Takemikazuchi, won a sumo bout with the leader of a rival tribe. Apart from legend, however, sumo is an ancient sport dating back some 1500 years. The sumo ring is called a dohyo and takes its name for the straw rice bag which marks out its different parts. The dohyo is 18 feet square and 2 feet high and is constructed of special kind of clay. A bout is won by forcing the opponent out of the inner circle or throwing him in the dohyo.

On Sunday, we took the bus from the base to Tokyo. Amanda and I were joined by another Lt. from our Department with her girls, the Commander of the destroyer USS Curtis Wilber, and his son and a Lt. Commander from a carrier, the USS George Washington, and his family.

When we arrived a Kokugikan Arena, there were sumo wrestlers arriving, big guys, and colorful banners proclaiming names of individual wrestlers. You can see they decorate the wall with all sorts of art. We entered through an area of 20 tea-house establishments marked by red lanterns, pretty cool.

When we entered the arena, there were matches in progress. These matches were the minor leaguers. The really big and better wrestlers come later in the afternoon. Each match lasts only 5 minutes or so, with most of the time being spent in formalized rituals. The bouts themselves last from 10 to 120 seconds, but the matches are not delayed after one bout finishes, the next starts right away.

Amanda and I had made bets on the outcome of each match (Bruno, you'll like this one). The loser buys lunch. Of course, I won. Speaking of lunch, one of our group found out there was a lunch area serving a dish called sumo soup, based on what the wrestlers eat. It has veggies and lots of meat and seafood, for only 250 yen (about $2.75). It was a great deal.

Following the minor leagues, the major leagues were a site to see. These guys were BIG, and not just fat. The bouts were fast and furious.

The last two fighters were the best of the best, and the winner was awarded the Emperor's Cup. Besides the Cup, he received 6 or 7 other trophies.

They practically showered him with awards which included flags, trophies and exceptional vases. All in all, what an experience. Maybe Liz will attend the next one, but I doubt it.