Short weekend

I had to go into school on Saturday to "volunteer" for a community recycling program. I'm still not sure why we were doing what we were doing, but all the other teachers at my school were going, so in order to keep my workplace harmonious I went too. Basically a bunch of parents drove up in small trucks with loads of newspaper, bottles and magazines and we unloaded everything, sorted it, and moved it onto much larger trucks which then drove away. After the recycling thing in the afternoon was the PTA new year drinking party, where I got sloshed with the principal and vice principal (and a good number of my students fathers) and was goaded into singing a bunch of karaoke. They enjoy having a native English speaker around at these things.

Anyway, on Sunday Sam and I had plans to meet up with some friends in Yokohama to observe some of the lunar new year festivities in the Chinatown (中華街, or chūkagai) there. Sam missed a day of work last week, and woke up again Sunday feeling less than 100%, so she stayed home to rest while I went on to meet our friends. We hadn't seen them in awhile and I didn't want them to think we were avoiding them.

Yokohama's a pretty town, which is a nice contrast to Tokyo, which is for the most part pretty hideous.


Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan. 

In the Chinatown itself there was a parade to mark the new year, as well as a massive crowd that made moving about exceedingly difficult. It was also quite loud as they were lighting whole packs of sparklers at once.


The parade through Chinatown. 

A Tragic Accident

I noticed this when I was reading the old paper from back home. I knew I had to put it somewhere where you could see it immediately, Daddy. Note the word in bold.

Serbia-Montenegro train crash kills 39

By PREDRAG MILIC
Associated Press Writer

BIOCE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- A packed passenger train derailed Monday and plunged into a steep river canyon outside the Montenegrin capital, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 135, more than half of them children.

full article...

Snow Pictures

Like Sam said, we were snowed on yesterday. It didn't get as warm as the weather forcast said it was supposed to today, so there's still quite a bit on the ground. We'll see what that means about our morning commute.


Our street. No, it doesn't have a name. 


Our backyard (Really our neighbor's field). 

We want snow!

And we got it today. I woke up at the leisurely hour of 1pm to find it had been snow. And it kept snowing well into 10 pm. The result? About 5 inches of snow that is now freezing. Our car is a little white bump outside. Anyway, it's supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow so I suppose it will all melt and we can't expect a snow day on Monday. Buu.

Greg took some pictures so I am sure they are to follow.

Nikko and Lake Chuzenji

Today was our last non-working day together with Irving, so we all hopped in the car bright and early (too early for Samantha - not even banana pancakes could get her out of bed) for a 3-hour drive to Nikko, about 130km north of Tokyo. It's a quiet city in Tochigi Prefecture, just on the edge of the mountains. The city holds a number of UNESCO world heritage sites, among them the mauseleum for Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), the first of the Tokugawa shoguns (the family ruled from 1603-1868), and the dude who more or less unified Japan.


The area in front of the Tobu train station in Nikko. Nice town. 

About 20km west of the town (and 1500m up) is Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖 - chuzenji-ko). About 20,000 years ago an eruption of Mount Nantai, on the lake's north shore, dammed up the steep valley the Daiya River flowed through and created the 163 meter-deep lake.


Lake Chuzenji. The forests on the shores make it a popular tourist destination in the spring and fall.

The outlet for the lake is the Kegon Falls on the eastern side. The falls are huge, and were traditionally a popular place for lovers with no prospects for marriage to throw themselves from.


Kegon Falls, 97m tall. The picture doesn't really convey how huge it is. 

As you can imagine, the shoreline of the lake is crowded with shrines (and hot springs).


Sam and Irving standing under a shrine on the lake shore. 

DisneySea

We went to DisneySea last Saturday. It was my first time going to a Disney park. Samantha had to show me around because I didn't know what to do. We got to the park around 10:30 in the morning and stayed all day. It was damned cold, but at least that meant the park was empty, so we didn't have to wait long in line for anything.


Sam and Irving standing in front of the Disney Globe. 

The globe above was right by the main entrance. It seemed like a good place to take a picture. Through a big hotel was the area called "Mediterranean Harbor" with a big volcano on the other side.


Irving liked the mountain. 

At night (when it was even colder) we watched a show that involved lost of lights, water cannons, robots, and fire. It was cool.


Ring of fire. 

back at work. damn.

Well, classes started yesterday, so it's back to the 8-5 for us. Irving's been keeping himself busy exploring around our town on foot and by bicycle. He's only gotten himself lost once so far.

Anyway, here are some pictures from our last day of travelling around. We took a roadtrip down the coast on Monday, first stopping about halfway down the east coast of the Boso Peninsula (the peninsula that makes up most of Chiba Prefecture) at Cape Taito (Taitosaki), for some cliff views and a lighthouse. Then we continued south to Katsuura, where we played in the sand and Irving collected some shells. Another half hour of driving brought us to Kamogawa, where we had a late lunch, then it was back in the car all the way down to Shirahama, at the very southern tip of the peninsula.


Shirohama. It was warm(er). 

Nojimasaki lighthouse stands on a rocky outcropping at the southern tip of town, so we decided to go up inside it.


Yes, those are palm trees. It was noticably warmer down there. We're thinking of moving. 


Nojimasaki Lighthouse, in Shirahama. 

Shirahama is further south than anything else in Chiba Prefecture, and much further south than anything on the other side of Tokyo Bay. The nearest land to the west is in Shizuoka Prefecture, just below Mount Fuji. Over the horizon, at any rate, so we saw something I hadn't seen in awhile - a sunset over the Pacific.


Sunset over the Pacific. It was pretty. 

筑波山 (Tsukubasan)

We went on a mini-roadtrip today, trying to just relax a little. From Tomisato we headed up through Narita (where every single person in Japan was trying to get home from the airport at the end of the winter holidays) to Tsukuba, in the middle of Ibaraki Prefecture, to the north. It was a pretty two-hour drive through some mostly rural country, but about two thirds of the way there, at the city of Ushiku, we saw this peaking over a ridge:


The Ushiku Daibutsu. It's 100m from feet to head, and was completed in 1993. 

I had no idea there was a 330 foot-high bronze Buddha (actually a Kannon, Buddha in the female form) an hour north of my home. Turns out it was completed 13 years ago, for reasons still unclear to us. While impressive, it's just not quite as awe-inspiring as the Kamakura Daibutsu. Something about having been completed over 800 years ago makes the latter just seem greater, even at 1/10th the size.

Anyway, after a short detour to gawk at the giant Kannon we continued on to Tsukuba. We spotted a Wendy's, of all places (they're rare here in Japan), in the city of Tsukuba, so we stopped there for lunch. I think it was the first time I'd had a burger since being home in the summer. After lunch we continued on, and after driving about 1/3 of the way up the mountain (this is Japan, after all), we parked and walked through the Tskubasan Shrine.


Main building of the Tsukubasan shrine. Some form of shrine has existed here for over 1200 years. 

After passing through the shrine complex we took a cablecar (it scared Sam, but she still judged it a better option than going up in the gondola) to the saddle between the two summits, at 800 meters. From there, we hiked a further 70m up to Nantaisan, the western peak.


A shrine at the peak of Nantaisan (Tsukubasan has two peaks), 870m up. 

On a clear day you can see all the way to the Pacific on the east, and to Fuji in the south. We were up kind of late, so it was kind of hazy and the light from the sun obscured everything to the west and south of us (Tokyo, Fuji, the interesting stuff). But we did have good views to the east.


Looking south-east at Lake Kasumigaura on the horizon, and the city of Tsuchiura. 

Safe at home

Sounds like all of those returning to America on the 5th got home safely and Jonathan's girlfriend liked her Hello Kitty sandals. So that's all that is important, I guess.

And stuff.

We had all you can meat today, and washed clothes. A lazy day. Totally necessary. Tomorrow it's Tokyo Disney Land.

Kamakura and Yokohama

Yesterday we drove from Tomisato to Kamakura, on the other side of Tokyo Bay. We headed south towards Kisarazu, our old home, and passed over the Tokyo Bay Aqualine, a bridge/tunnel that crosses over the bay. There's an artificial island called Umihotaru about 5km from the Kisarazu shore, where we stopped for snacks and picture-taking.


Mt. Fuji and Yokohama, as seen from Umihotaru. 


Tokyo, from Umihotaru, about 20km away. 

Kamakura was the seat of the first bakufu, or military government (shogunate). It was the de facto capital of Japan for about a century after 1192. Tokyo (then Edo) wasn't a major power center until over 400 years later. As such, Kamakura has some of the oldest buildings in this part of Japan, as well as lots of temples and shrines. The abundance of old shrines meant that the city was still packed yesterday, the last day of the new year holiday.


Komachi-dori, advertised in english as "the shopping street", in Kamakura. 

The big attraction for us was a giant Buddha originally built in 1252. The entire thing is over 13m tall and entirely cast in bronze. It was inside a temple, until the temple was washed away in a 14th-century tsunami. The Buddha has been outdoors ever since. Since it's metal, it's one of the few original structures we've seen here.


Jonathan, standing in front of the Daibutsu (Great Buddha). 

After Kamakura, we had a slow (and confusing - our rental car's navigator was being confusing) drive back to Yokohama, 20km south of Tokyo, for a visit to Chinatown. The Chukagai, as it's called in Japanese, grew out of the half of Yokohama that was opened for foreigners after the Meiji restoration in 1868. It's now the largest Chinatown in Japan, and has great food. Unfortunately, it was very dark by the time we were there so there are no pictures. But we all enjoyed one last (huge) tasty meal together before everyone (except Irving) left today.

Tokyo, Day 2

Tuesday, our second day in Tokyo, began with the second Hello Kitty Bus Ride. The bus took us from Tokyo Station through the Nihonbashi area to Asakusa, where we saw the views along the Sumida River, as well as the crowds at the large temple in the area. January 3rd is still the height of the new year celebrations here in Japan, and many people were there to mark the occasion.


The second Hello Kitty bus, which took us through Asakusa and Ueno. 

After the tour we went to Akihabara, the electronics district, for lunch. There are restaurants strewn throughout many of the stores, so we took the opportunity to stare at all the gadgets (Jonathan and I ogled a Playstation2 demo on a 65" flatscreen TV).

After lunch, we took the subway back to Asakusa to explore further on foot. First, we saw the Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate), which is about 100 feet away from the stairs to the subway station.

 

The gate was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1960. On the other side is a traditional shopping area, the Nakimise. It's basically a narrow pedestrian-only street, lined with shops. The shops are there year-round, although they do the most business at this time of year, thanks to the crowds.


Like I said, crowded. 

The temple itself is called Sensoji, and has existed in some form or another since 645. The original was destroyed during WW2 firebombing, and the current structure dates from 1958.


Sensoji, with the five-story pagoda visible behind. 

While Sam and Irving stood in line at Sensoji to get everyone fortunes for the new year (Asakusa is one of the only places offering multi-lingual fortunes), the rest of us walked over to the Sumida River. There was a pretty, if not very warm, waterfront park, which afforded us a great view of the Asahi Beer Building.

 

The building, designed by Philippe Starck and completed in 1989, has earned a number of unflattering nicknames, "golden poop" among them.

After finishing up in Asakusa, we took a subway to Shibuya, where we observed pedestrians filling the Hachiko crossing, and window shopped at some of the stores.


Lots of bright shiny lights. That's Shibuya. 

After that, we traveled one quick stop on the train to Harajuku, a trendy shopping district. We walked down Takeshita-dori, a pedestrian-only street, and took in the, er, "sights".


Jonathan in Harajuku 

The street is home to a whole subculture which Sam could explain at length but I don't know much about. Crazy fashions, Hello Kitty lingerie, and crepes filled with ice cream and slices of cake line the whole thing. You really just need to walk down it yourself to really understand.

Anyway, after our walk down the street we ate at Sakuratei, a restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki. After dinner, Sam, Jonathan, and Suzanne headed for home, but Susan, Irving and I set out for Tokyo Tower.


333 meters high, built in 1956. 

After paying 850 yen apiece, we took an elevator to the observation deck and had a look around. I took the first picture the other night, the others are actually from last year, when I had a tripod along with me. The view was the same both times, you'll just have to trust me.


Looking towards Tokyo Harbor, with Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge visible near the horizon. 

Looking west-northwest, with the Shinjuku skyscraper district visable on the horizon. 


Looking generally southwest towards Shibuya. 


Ginza and Shimbashi. 

Hato Bus part 2

Sam was so excited she forgot to translate the first half of the tour for everybody. 

It was everything we ever dreamed of. 

We took the Hello Kitty bus tour. The end.

PS - My head wound is hawt.

太平洋！

We drove out to the coast on New Year's Day. At least, Susan, Suzanne, Irving and I did. Sam and Jonathan weren't feeling well. It was cold and cloudy and windy, but it was still neat to see the other side of the ocean.


Irving taking in the view, looking west towards the Byobugaura (huge cliffs that line the coast for 10km). 


The lighthouse on Cape Inobuzaki, at the easternmost tip of Chiba Prefecture. 


Looking north towards Choshi from the lighthouse. 

Imperial Palace

We went to see the emperor again today. He invites everyone in Japan to come visit his garden twice a year, on his birthday (Dec 23rd), and today. We saw him last year on the same day, except last year the weather was bright and sunny and today it wasn't. Oh well. The palace grounds are still impressive.


Cloudy, but still cool. 

Happy New Year

We're special because our New Year came first. Or at least before yours. I suppose those slackers in the Federated States of Micronesia beat us by a few hours. Anyway, we all went out last night and ate a traditional Japanese meal of soba noodles, in various forms. The most traditional way to eat them on New Year's Eve is cold, and then dip them in a sauce of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi (fish stock). Sam and I ate that last year, and this year we decided that it was just too cold to eat cold noodles, so most of us had our soba in soup form. You'll never guess where we ate all this.


It's a real restaurant here.  


Here we are outside. Most of us attempted to smile. Jonathan didn't. 

After dinner, Susan and Irving took naps. The rest of us were hardcore and stayed up until eleven, then piled into the car and went to Naritasan. Except Jonathan. Dinner didn't sit with him terribly well.


The main gate. From left to right: Nari-ta-san 

We took these pictures during the day on Thursday. Last night it was much more crowded, dark, and cold. But you get the idea.


The main hall. There was a long line to get in here last night. 

The line was so long we didn't even bother. It was so bad there was a police cordon at the bottom of the front steps, and they only let people in every couple of minutes.


Pagoda! 

This pagoda had no real significance last night, other than being lit up and looking cool. Which is plenty, for us.

All of these pictures were taken by Susan. I've been lazy about getting my camera out so far. Happy New Year, everybody.