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Upon arriving back in little Itako, I was greeted with rain, and more rain, clouds, rain, wind, cold...
However, the only good thing weather wise about being back in Japan are the Cherry BLOSSOMS! My entire street was blooming with these gorgeous, mysteriously beautiful, wonders :)
I have been enjoying them as much as possible despite the rain, clouds, and wind. I came back from America at the perfect time as they were just coming into full bloom! This past week, I woke up early due to jet lag, and decided to make good use of my mornings. I went on either a run or a bike ride every morning this past week! I took my camera most mornings and loved the early morning sun last Thursday.
I enjoyed hanami parties (literally picnics under the cherry blossoms) both in Tokyo on Saturday and Kamisu on Sunday. The weather on Saturday was mostly cloudy with a few minutes of sun! I went to yoyogi koen in Harajuku with a few friends followed by an outing to TGIFridays in Ueno. Yesterday was spent in the sun in Kamisu! We enjoyed picnics and sports! I really liked throwing a baseball around, running, and playing frisbee. I also really enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful flowers! We had a solid 4 hours of sun before a storm quickly rolled in over our picnic. We saw the clouds coming and quickly pack our party up!
I need to get most of my pictures developed! However, here is a start of the season from my digital camera!
Check them all out! ----> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038158&id=54500082&l=8f8f162f08
Well, it had been a year since I had visited my lovely country of America. Living in Japan is amazing and when you aren't thinking about America and everything good that comes from this country it is sometimes out of sight out of mind especially when it comes to goods :)
Since meeting Josh, I have had the ability to visit the US Navy Base in Yokosuka several times. I have had the opportunity to eat at chili's and buy American goods. I have also had more exposure to foreigners down there than in my little rice field town :) I think it has helped me dealing with reverse culture shock.
When I went home a year ago I had a little difficulty resorting back to my old American ways. It is only natural when you live in an extremely foreign country with a new language, new food, new style, new people, new looks, new everything really. This year was different and pretty easy :) I think it because of having the base to go to I've been able to hold on to and cherish some of what is at home.
When I went home I did not go crazy eating or buying food products I was missing. Funny enough the only two products I did buy was tea and rice...TEA AND RICE?! Yes, I know I live in the country of tea and rice! However, it isn't the same! I bought jasmine rice and tea as it is a little more difficult to buy those items here. If you do find them it is very expensive! tazo and chai
My trip home was lovely visiting with family members I have not seen in forever and also friends for that sake! It was great going to all my favorite restaurants, shopping, getting manicures and pedicures (at a very reasonable price!), the weather, driving my car, going to a hockey game, catching up with some of my SCA classmates!, seeing Laura Varnell!, getting flowers from Josh from Korea, drawing, being in Nashville, and mostly being with close family and friends!
I spent a majority of my time relaxing and catching up :) I ate lunch with my mom at her school, my father down at his office, with my sister, and with friends!
Being away from home is hard at times but makes me realize all sorts of things being gone. It is an indifferent feeling really - just different. America is a great country and I am happy to be from there but am also so lucky and happy to be living in Japan. Japan has made me realize how lucky I am and has given me a different perspective on life. I am happy that I continue to live here in Japan and discover who I am becoming!
I miss you guys!
To view pictures from March look here:
----> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037558&id=54500082&l=7186422783
March brought many fun times! I feel like I always say this! But I really am always having fun - no matter where I am!!
The first weekend there was a dinner party and clubbing in Tokyo! My friend Andrew who lives in the town next to Itako told many of us about a dinner party one of his Japanese friends was hosting in Ebisu. Ebisu is a really nice part of Tokyo. There is a huge French influence here and is a very lovely place to have an afternoon coffee, shop, or eat dinner! So we started the night there with an all you can eat and drink special for 2 hours :) We ate, drank, and mingled!
After dinner, we all met back up at ALIFE. Alife is a club near Roppongi Hills that caters to foreigners but is not limited to foreigners! We enjoyed an evening of laughing, dancing, and having a really fun time! Alife has a really good vibe and an awesome environment giving you three options because of the three floors it offers! About 5:00AM we left the club and got something to eat. However, Josh and I managed to loose our crowd :( We ran into Lawson's convinence store to buy an umbrella to stay dry and when we came out no one was to be found :( After our long night out we got a snack at a fast food restaurant - big mistake...my tummy hurt!! Hence why I do not eat fast food any more! We crashed at the New Sanno and enjoyed a lazy Sunday in Yokosuka and baked a cake! :)
The next weekend, Emily and I made an adventure up north to Mito (the capitol of Ibaraki) to view even MORE plum blossoms! We met at the facility where we usually have our JET meetings. There is a neat little family owned cafe around the corner where we usually eat during the meetings. We decided to go there because lunch is delicious and for a set it is only 1000 yen (about $10). After our yummy salad, baked chicken, rice, and apple crisp lunch we headed over to the park! We viewed SOOO many trees. It was raining and that put a little damper on things but didn't stop us from enjoying walking around, eating ice cream and crepes, and shopping in the gift store!
After our meeting in Mito, we went back to our cities, got ready, and headed south into Tokyo for a night of fun!
The third weekend in March was a very special weekend. I was invited by Josh to attend the US Navy Supply Corps. Ball in Tokyo. The ball took place on Saturday at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo. The New Sanno is in the neighborhood of Hiro-o. It is a really nice area full of foreigners. Josh and I checked in and enjoyed a late lunch at Cicada restaurant. We had a wonderful lunch set and coffee. We had great conversation and then walked around Hiro-o. I wanted about an hour and a half to get ready for the ball so soon after lunch we headed back to the hotel so I could turn into a princess! I wore my senior year prom dress and Josh was in his uniform! He looked so handsome!
The ball started about 6:00 with a social hour. We met some of Josh's friends down in the ball room and enjoyed wine and beer with them. We tried to get in line for professional pictures but it was too long so we waited until after dinner.
Our table was really neat! It was all Japanese people for a while. I was sitting between the oldest and youngest officers at the ball. The oldest officer was a Japanese man. He was really sweet. They were happy I could speak Japanese which put them at ease. We could speak both English and Japanese so it was a very good experience for all of us! There was a cake cutting ceremony to start off the evening. Josh, along with a few other officers, went to cut the cake. They all joined hands around a sword and cut the cake. It was a really neat experience. I honestly can say, I never thought in my life time I would have ANY ties to the military in anyway. I understand I've had family members in the military but for me in my person life - never saw it coming!
We enjoyed salad, a steak dinner, and the strawberry short cake that the officers had cut. Josh and I took pictures after dinner before the tea and sake ceremonies! We took really fun pictures! The one we chose is a really cute pic of him dipping me :) - you'll see them soon! After we took pictures we enjoyed a tea ceremony performance. Since I live her as a "Japanese resident" I get to experience these sorts of things first hand. However, I think it was neat for everyone who doesn't get to enjoy this to take part and see how it is done!
After the tea ceremony, we had a sake ceremony. We were all given towels with American and Japanese flags on them. We were to wrap them around our heads! So we did! The pictures turned out so well! The little towels were in little wooden boxes. We used the wooden boxes as a sake cup. They passed out jars of sake for every table. We toasted to everything. From the Supply Corps., friends and family, the dead, the missing, - everything! It was a neat toast since I'd never experienced this.
This was ALL followed by door prizes and dancing :) Josh and I danced for a little while and then went to the hotel bar for a beer :) We were going to go out with friends but by the time it was all said and done, we were tired and happy and didn't go out :)
The next week, Josh and I enjoyed dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel as it was our last evening together before he went to see and I flew home to America. We had dinner overlooking downtown. It was beautiful - check out the pics! We did a wine tasting where we tasted 4 wines and chose one for a full glass. We shared a set menu meal and finished the evening at the Mandarin Oriental bar with live music and a glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne! It was a nice send off and I am still waiting for him to come back from his 5 week journey!
Then it was home sweet home America for me! I will post March pictures in my next entry! <3
After Osaka, February continued to bring all sorts of fun!
The first weekend of February was really special :) As if the past weekend wasn't! I went down to Yokosuka to hang out with Josh and his friends. On Saturday, we had free time so I suggested we take a very small trip to Zushi which is 11 minutes by train from Yokosuka :) There are beautiful beaches there and one delicious Italian restaurant. We arrived in Zushi and took a taxi to the water :) We enjoyed lunch looking out over the turqoise water with the mountains in the distance. I am very envious that Josh has a beach with such clear water near his place. We watched the wind surfers as they made attempts to catch some waves. It was a really beautiful site! We sat and enjoyed salad, pizza, and pasta! After lunch we took a walk on the beach :) We wrote sayings in the sand and ran around on the beach. We wanted coffee and cake after lunch but decided to play on the beach first. We couldn't really find anywhere else to get a nice coffee so we went back to the Italian restaurant! hee hee! We enjoyed coffee and chocolate cake! After our lovely afternoon we headed back to Yokosuka. We met up with a few of Josh's friends and went to play billards! Sunday brought a wonderful brunch at the Officers club followed by lots of talking and relaxation!
The second weekend of February, Josh and I celebrated Valentine's day in Tokyo! I had a long weekend and started the weekend by traveling down to see Josh in Yokosuka. On Thursday February 12th, Josh was working so I had made an appointment in Tokyo to get my hair cut. It was nice to see my old hair dressers as I hadn't seen them since last August! Yikes! So with my healthy hair, I went and enjoyed lunch at the organic cafe that is down stairs and up the street from the hair salon. I didn't stay in Tokyo the rest of the afternoon but went back to Yokosuka to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Josh :) On Friday February 13th, Josh and I met for lunch! We went to chili's and were able to enjoy a long lunch before he had to go back to work. I decided I wanted my nails done and therefore did! It was by far the most expensive manicure and pedicure I've ever had! It is not worth having a mani and a pedi in Japan! I met Josh after work and then we headed up to Tokyo together!!
We stayed at the ANA Intercontinental hotel in Roppongi :) We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant in the hotel and had a very relaxing evening at one of the lounges in the Hotel! There was live music and we enjoyed a drink and even split a cigar! That was a fun first experience for me :) We enjoyed talking and spending the evening together. Saturday brought eating and shopping around in Roppongi. We had lunch with John (Amari) at Rigalletto's in Roppongi Hills. We sat for a long time until we both decided we could use a nap! We got ready for the evening and went to the most delicious spot of a restaurant. We went to the California style restaurant cafe called California Yoshi Grill. We enjoyed a 6 or 7 course meal (I can't remember, ha ha) and wine. It was a very relaxing and lovely Valentine's Day! After we went to Ferria, a lounge/club in Roppongi. It clearly wasn't "happening" yet but we stayed for a bit before heading back to the ANA for another evening of live entertainment at a different lounge called the Manhattan lounge. It was time well spent and we really enjoyed our weekend together :)
The third weekend of Feb, Josh came up to Itako and we went to Erin's Koto concert. Koto is a traditional Japanese instrument. It kind of looks like a guitar/harp but on the ground. Josh, myself, and one other girl Michelle were the only ones invited into the concert. It is a very beautiful sounding instrument, very haunting. I had a go at it after the concert! It was pretty much a private concert by their class for us! It was a great experience! After, we went out to lunch. The restaurant appeared to be in a Japanese garden. It was beautiful. We sat on the ground and enjoyed sushi, chowamushi (custard soup), and a desert. Josh and I relaxed the rest of the weekend in Itako :)
The last weekend of Febuary brought a small trip to a pretty neat location called Odawara, never heard of it - neither had we! I typed in Plum Blossoms in Kanagawa Prefecture and was given this location. Josh, Natalie (another officer of the USN), and I took on this adventure Saturday morning. It was a cloudy morning but it didn't stop us from going on our adventure. We traveled about an hour and half before we arrived in Odawara. This town is near Mt. Fuji. However, it was cloudy so we could not see Fuji :( The plum trees were beautiful. Plum trees look very similar to cherry blossoms however, they are about a month earlier. We saw on the map that there was a gelato factory which immediately drew in ALL of us! So we headed that way to enjoy two scoops of gelato each! We needed lunch but decided to go there first. As time went on, we did not find a restaurant. We were walking along the road to find a supposedly famous/popular temple which wasn't much of anything when we arrived. I asked a man where there were restaurants and he said not much was around but if we held on he would take us...
...We were laughing at this thought but I told the two of them that this happens a lot, we can trust Japanese people for the most part...so we waited for him to go get his car. Let me paint you a picture: work clothing, country side, barns, shacks (if you will), COUNTRY SIDE, small, narrow roads...We were all expecting this man to drive out of his garage with a truck that would barely fit all of us but instead were greeted with a SILVER MERCEDES BENDZ! I laughed and said, "yep, yakuza (Japanese mafia)". He offered to take us to his friends ramen place. I asked was there anything near the train station. He said there were a few options but the first place he took us to was closed. They he said lets go to the ramen place. I asked how far and he said 20 minutes away! I said no thank you and he pointed us to another hole in the wall! It was literally a restaurant with 2 tables and a small seating place in the back! Natalie and I split a ramen and Josh had a rice bowl with meat and egg on top! We also drank sake and had a blast talking with these 4 old, chain smoking, country bumpkin Japanese people! IT was amazing!
After lunch, we wandered back into the plum orchard :) We bought a bottle of umeshu (plum wine) and opened one bottle to take pictures in the orchard fields :) After meandering for about an hour and a half we headed back to Yokosuka! It was a really fun day spent with Natalie and Josh!
To see all the pictures from my February adventures look here!
----> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037401&id=54500082&l=13303f981e
The very end of January brought a wonderful trip to Osaka :)I asked Josh of all the cities he wanted to travel to right away, which city would it be. He said Osaka. I said okay, let's go! So not much planning and a little time later we found ourselves on a shinkansen headed to Osaka! :D We enjoyed pizza and a bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne!We arrived late Friday night and checked into the New Otani Hotel over looking Osaka Castle after a bit of an adventure:) We arrived at Shin-Osaka station and needed to get to Osaka station. I asked a lady if the train we were going to get on was headed to Osaka station. She said yes. I knew it was only a four minute ride and when more than four minutes had past, I was a bit concerned! We were actually headed on a high speed train to KYOTO! WHAT!? Why?! So, 30 minutes later and two sleepy people later, we arrived in Kyoto. We had to wait about 25 minutes for the next train back. We decided to celebrate the mistake with grapefruit Chu-hi. The train came and we were on our way back to Osaka. WE FINALLY made it to the hotel about 1AM via taxi. It makes for a funny story. Needless to say we slept in a bit on Saturday morning. We had a wonderful American Breakfast in the room and then got ready for the day! We went out to one of the main districts of Osaka. We walked and lazed around all day just enjoying the sun and our awesome lunch! Everywhere we went was closed for lunch except for this little, hidden hole in the wall nabe type restaurant. We sat for a really long time enjoying nabe (japanese soup/stew), various meats, vegetables, rice, and other unidentifiable goodies! We walked around a bit more and then went to another cafe for chocolate milkshakes! They were delicious! We took the train back and walked to our hotel, by this point we were a bit tired and wanted a nap before we went to the observation deck for dinner. The view of Osaka castle at night is spectacular. Check out the pictures below! We got ready and took a taxi over to the observation deck. We had reservations pretty late that over looked Osaka. Osaka is a much slower paced city, lots to do, very sweet people, fantastic food, great walking, and just a very enjoyable city! We took a taxi to the observation deck and took the elevator to the top floor which is about 38 or 39 stories up, I think. We walked around the top deck inside, not out, and went and enjoyed a several course meal at Stardust cafe. We had bread, salad, vegetables, steak, dessert, and wine :) It was a lovely evening with great conversation and beautiful views! We went back to the hotel and drank champagne at the Castle Bar. It was a really neat bar! On Sunday, we had a really relaxing brunch in the hotel over looking Osaka castle and the surrounding areas. It was a cool and misty morning which was perfect to curling up in a sweater and jeans and enjoying the gourmet brunch! After brunch we slowly walked over to the castle in the rain. There was a marathon going on in which I thought these people were insane because it had started to rain. We walked up to the castle, bought tickets, and walked around the 8 floors of the castle. After the castle, we sauntered back to the hotel for afternoon coffee and cake. We sat and talked for a long time before casually going to the train station to catch the shinkasen back to Tokyo!It was a wonderful weekend spent with Josh in a fantastic city! As always, I continue to love Japan!! Check out photos here ----> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037018&id=54500082&l=d667b03fb4
Tokyo January brought cold weather but really fun times with friends that didn't stop us from going out and enjoying Japan!
Before going to London I had invited a lot of friends out for a New Years Bash after we were all back in the country and over our various jet lags :) I wanted to enjoy dinner, costume karaoke, and go clubbing all of which I assumed other people would want to do too! :) I was right!
About 25 people showed up for the event! The evening started in Roppongi at an Italian restaurant called La Boheme. It is a nice little chain restaurant in Tokyo that is great for parties! We enjoy dinner once we all located the restaurant! It took us awhile to find it! We stayed there for about 2 hours enjoying Italian food and wine and other various cocktails! We then paid (that was a joke, no kidding it took forever to collect all the money) and walked to the costume karaoke joint about 10 minutes down the road.
I must tell you that karaoke in Japan is much different than any other country I've experienced it in. In Japan, you are assigned a room and are allowed a minimum of usually an hour. You have couches, cushions, a TV (or more), and an electronic box which holds all of the songs that you select and enter into the TV...then the magic begins UNLESS YOU ARE DOING COSTUME KARAOKE! At this particular venue, we had our room (for all 20+ people) and about 200 costumes available to us! I also had a coupon for wine and sake for everyone. Needless to say it was a very entertaining two hours! Check out the pics on the link below!!
We then went to an awesome club in Roppongi near Roppongi Hills. The club's name is Alife. It is a club that caters to westerners but is not limited to foreigners. We had a blast dancing until 5 in the morning then enjoying ramen before all heading home to our various cities! Needless to say it was a lovely BASH and a great way to bring in 2010 again in Japan!! :)
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Yokosuka & Kamakura with Emily and Erin!! <3>
A little information for you :) Yokosuka is south of Tokyo about one hour via trains. It is the home to one of the US Navy Bases. It is a beautiful area with the ocean near by, good shopping, and great eats!
Kamakura is a town south west of Tokyo about one hour. There is alot of history here including many temples and The Great Buddha. The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, surpassed only by the statue in Nara's Todaiji Temple.
The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air.
We enjoyed Kamakura very much. We walked a lot and had a great lunch! We happened to stumble across this adorable cafe and eat a western style lunch of soup and sandwiches! We then walked around some more and headed back in the early evening.
We went out to dinner in Yokohama on Saturday evening. We were all pretty tired after dinner and decided to go back to Josh's apartment and call it a night.
On Sunday we enjoyed the US Navy base. Josh checked all of us in and we went and enjoyed lunch at Chili's. We then did some shopping and had Starbucks together. We took a nap and then headed home to our various apartments about 6:00.
It was a lovely weekend spent in Kanagawa prefecture!!
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Itako
The end of the month was very fun! I have an elective class at Hinode for both 2nd (US 8th grade) and 3rd (US 9th grade) grades. I am the primary teacher and can teach the students about pretty much anything! My students really wanted to know about American junk food. I chose two dishes that we could create, eat, and clean up in a 50 minute period. We made Mac-N-Cheese and banana splits! The students and I had a great time with this class!
You can check out all of the pictures in the link below!! :)
To see ALL of the adventures from January click here!!
----> http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2036959&id=54500082
