Our Japan Trip: Nara

We packed up our bags and left Yokkaichi on the morning of July 9th--the day of our eighth anniversary.  We then took three different trains to get us to the city of Nara where we spent the next few days.  Since we were celebrating our anniversary in this town, we had decided in advance to stay in the fancy and famous Nara Hotel.  It was finished in 1909 and has beautiful woodwork everywhere in the hotel.  Here is a picture of the stunning entrance.

The grand stairs leading out of the lobby.

A shot of the ceiling and chandelier above the hotel lobby.

The piano that Mark Twain played on in the parlor.

Our quaint room when we first checked in.

Ron relaxing in our room.

After checking into the hotel, we wandered around the hotel's beautiful grounds for a bit before heading into town.  Here is a picture of the scenic bridge found on the hotel grounds.

We then walked into town to the famous Nara Park--known for its deer that wander all over.  We stopped to take a look at the five-story Pagoda found in the park.

Ron and I with the pagoda in the background.

We stopped and watch some men writing kanji in a little building on the park grounds.

We walked around for quite some time looking at some other buildings on the grounds.

Me standing in front of the three-story pagoda that is also found in the park.

Ron and some of the deer.  The wild, yet very tame, deer are the reason why this town is quite famous in Japan and the number one reason why tourists come here.  It is fascinating to see them freely roaming all over this giant park.

A close-up picture of the deer.

A large buck staring me down.

 After wandering through the park and a shopping area called the Arcade, we returned to our hotel room for the rest of the afternoon.  We then ventured back out for the evening to celebrate our anniversary.  We walked through a very quaint, traditional district called Naramachi looking for a place to eat, but every menu was either in Japanese or too pricey.  So, we left this cute district and headed back to the shopping area to find a reasonably priced restaurant to eat in.  

These elegant lanterns hung all over the town.  I loved how they looked at night all lit up with the deer silhouettes on them.  Here is a picture I took on our walk back to the hotel that night.

We left our hotel on the morning of July 10th to go on a walking tour that Ron had found in our guide book.  Here is a picture of one of the many deer crossing signs that are all over the city.  It's just the funniest thing to see something like this in the middle of civilization instead of out in the mountains!

The walking tour took us to the Yoshikien Garden which is a very traditional, Japanese garden complete with a tea house.

The tea house and me.

Ron and I in the garden.

From the Japanese garden, we walked through a very quaint neighborhood before entering the compound of the Great Buddha.  First, we admired the Nandai-mon--the main, massive entrance leading to the Great Buddha.

The deer we passed that were scattered all around the compound.

Next, we came across the Todai-ji which is the largest, wooden building in the world built back in the 8th Century that houses the Great Buddha.   

A shot of the Great Buddha inside the building. 

Ron and I in front of the Todai-ji.

After leaving the Great Buddha, we walked up a large hill through another traditional, Japanese neighborhood to the top where we found a great view of Nara below.    

After lunch, we continued on our walking tour...past stores lined with deer.

And through a beautiful hallway lined with Japanese torii.  I love this picture.

The walking tour ended with a walk through a forest full of shrines and stone lanterns.

We found a deer standing perfectly still between two, stone lanterns.  Just amazing!  After our walking tour finished, we headed back to our hotel for our daily afternoon nap before spending our last evening in Nara wandering around the city and eating a dinner at our a restaurant where the sushi arrived on a conveyor belt.

On the morning of July 11th, we packed up and left the stunning, Nara hotel to head to our final stop of the trip:  Kyoto and Osaka!

Our Japan Trip: Yokkaichi

After spending two, fun filled days in Tokyo, we left on the morning of July 7th to head to Yokkaichi--the small town where Ron lived for two years.  We were able to take a bullet train to Nagoya where we transferred trains to Yokkaichi,  I was so excited to ride one of these famous trains for the first time.  Here is a picture of our bullet train as it pulled up to our platform.

Ron and I with our backpacks getting ready to board the train.

A picture of me and the world flying by us as we gained speed and headed out of Tokyo.

A picture of the beautiful countryside that we passed on our way to Yokkaichi.

After arriving in Yokkaichi a little after 11 o'clock that morning, Ron had the brilliant idea of renting bikes for the next two days as our primary way of getting around this small town.  Luckily, there was a bike rental ride inside the train station.  Here is Ron ready to head out to find our hotel!

Me on my bike ready to do the same.  It really was so much fun cruising all over this town on bikes!

After checking into our hotel, Ron was eager to get out and explore his beloved town.  So we headed out in the sweltering heat to find his old apartment and a few of his other, old haunts.

We cruised through an outdoor shopping area called Ichibangai that Ron used to visit all the time.

We then biked farther out of town to find Ron's old apartment.  Here is Ron in front of the place he called home for two years (he lived on the second floor, third door from the left).

After our daily afternoon nap, Ron's good friend, Takashi, and his wife, Pooh, came and picked us up from the hotel.  We have not seen Takashi since he flew out to Seattle back in the fall of 2007 right after we moved there from Long Beach.  Takashi and his wife first took us to the Yokkaichi Port Tower for a nice, 360 degree view of the town.

Then they took us to a yaki niku restaurant where you cook your meat on a grill found right on your table.  We had a great time talking to them and eating all sorts of meat--including cow tongue which was a first for me!

Funny Takashi and his wife grilling away!  They sure are a silly and fun couple.

We started off the morning of July 8th bright and early by being picked up at our hotel by Ron's former boss, Ms. Kimura, and her husband.  She now teaches at a private high school and had asked us in advance to come and teach her first and second period, English classes.  It was so much fun to be up at the front of a classroom teaching these incredibly respectful, Japanese teenagers.  Ron and I each gave five minute introductions of ourselves (while the students madly took notes).  We then split them up into two teams and played a game that quizzed them on our introductions.

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The students listening to Ron's introduction.

Ron and I with Ms. Kimura's second period class.

After second period, we were picked up by Ms. Kimura's husband and the two of them treated us to lunch at one of the fanciest restaurants in town.  We ate at a shabu shabu style restaurant in our own private room where everything is cooked in a large pot in the middle of the table.  We even had our own waitress wearing a traditional, Japanese kimono help us with the entire process.  The food was delicious and we had a wonderful time talking to the two of them for two hours!

Getting reading to put the vegetables in.

Beginning to cook the vegetables in the pot!  Isn't it so pretty?

Yukio and Yoko Kimura with Ron and me.

Getting ready to leave the restaurant.  The Kimuras were such a sweet and kind couple--they even paid for the entire $235 lunch themselves!  

After the Kimuras dropped us off at the hotel, we quickly changed and went out on another bike ride through the city.  Here we are in a beautiful park we found.

After our bike ride, we returned to our hotel for a quick rest before heading back out to dinner with Takashi and Pooh.  This time they took us to an izakaya style restaurant that specializes in food from Okinawa.  We ate in our own private room and had a good time dining on small dishes--many of which contained pork.  We even ate pig's feet and pig's ears that night!

Takashi, Pooh, Ron, and me inside our private room.

Our Japan Trip: Tokyo

It has been a dream of Ron's and mine to visit the country of Japan ever since we met. Ron taught English there for two years back in 2000 to 2002 and has never been back to visit.  I have never been to Japan and have always wished to go with him as my "tour guide."  After years of talking about it and dreaming about visiting, it finally became a reality this month!  Thanks to my parents and our good friends, Wendy and Scott, who agreed to watch our children, we were able to slip away for 12 nights and 13 days to visit the cities of Tokyo, Yokkaichi, Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka.  It really was a dream vacation from beginning to end with the exception of the intense heat and humidity!  We had a fabulous time eating the delicious food, visiting the sights, travelling on the amazing train system, interacting with the people, and reconnecting with some of Ron's friends.  It truly was a trip that we will never forget!

Ever since I started travelling internationally on a regular basis during my single days in Southern California, I have always wanted to fly on Singapore Airlines due to its incredible reputation as one of the best airlines in the world.  So, I was absolutely thrilled when I started shopping for our plane tickets and discovered that the most affordable airfare from Seattle to Tokyo was on this airline.  And, let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint!  The customer service on this airline was top notch.  Ron and I just could not get over it the entire time we were flying to Tokyo!  We were almost sad to land and leave our plane after our 12-hour flight due to how well we were treated.  Here is a picture of our plane after getting off in the Narita Airport in Tokyo on the evening of July 4th.

A very, travel-worn me standing next to the "Welcome to Japan" sign we found once we entered the airport from our plane.

On the morning of July 5th, we headed out to face the day after a decent night's sleep in our little hotel room in Tokyo.  After picking up breakfast at one of the hundreds of convenience stores in Tokyo, we stopped to eat in Ueno Park.  Here is Ron standing next to the beautiful entrance to a building in this large park.

Posing on a bridge overlooking the lily pads in Ueno Park.

We then wandered over to the Ameyoko Market in Ueno to look around.  Here I am braving a rain shower with the colorful signs in the background.

We enjoyed exploring this lively market with all of its vendors and goods for sale.  

We then hopped on the train to head over to Shibuyu Crossing.  I just couldn't get over how crowded these trains always were and how people were just jammed in like sardines.  Since I was normally a head or so taller than everyone, it was easy to get a picture from above!

We wandered through a high-end grocery store after we first arrived in this part of Tokyo.  I was shocked to discover this kind of toilet in the women's, public restroom.  I haven't seen one of these in a LONG time and just couldn't resist taking a picture!

Apparently, fruit is extremely expensive in Japan.  As a result, we ate loads of vegetables every day, but only had fruit (a pineapple slice on a stick) ONE time during our almost two weeks in Japan!  Here is a cantaloupe we saw at this grocery store wrapped in a fancy box for sale for $250 American Dollars!  Ron said that this could be given as a wedding gift!  Unbelievable.

We then headed over to Shibuya Crossing--the busiest intersection in the world!  It was absolutely incredible to see in person.

Here is a picture I took as we crossed the intersection ourselves!

We actually walked up to a Starbucks (on the second floor of a building) and watch the intersection for several minutes while drinking our fruit smoothies. It was absolutely fascinating to watch this many people cross one street in just a few minutes time.

We then ventured over to a mall called Shibuya 109 that is just a block or so from the intersection.  Ron had read about this mall in a tall tower and we had NO idea what we were in for when we walked into this place.  It was unreal as we found floor after floor of teenage employees shouting through megaphones at the top of their lungs trying to get shoppers to enter their stores.  The majority of these store employees had bleach, blond hair and eyes that were "blown out" by their make-up to make their eyes look large and round.  Most of these employees were wearing extremely skimpy outfits and walked around their stores like they were the coolest things on the planet.  Ron and I found it absolutely fascinating to peek into the world of Japanese teenagers and young adults who want to look and dress like the Western world! 

Here I am posing with a group of tiny, Japanese store clerks.  They got so excited that I wanted to take a picture with them that they even gave me a sunflower to put behind my ear.  Don't I look so tall next to all of them?!

After returning back to our hotel for a well-needed nap and break from the heat, we returned to the Ameyoko Market for dinner.  We stumbled across this fabulous sushi bar and spent a very authentic evening eating sushi with Japanese patrons (we were the only tourists in the restaurant).  They were so nice that the hostess gave us gifts when we left! 

On the morning of July 6th, we headed over to the Asagoa Flower Festival that had been recommended to us the night before by a Japanese couple eating next to us at the sushi bar.  It turned out to be pretty small, so after a short stay, we headed on our way. 

We then took the train to the Asakusa Station to spend the next few hours shopping and sight seeing.  We shopped in the Nakamise Dori and visited the Senso-ji Temple. 

The Senso-ji Temple.

Ron and I in front of the temple.

We passed through a beautiful park near the temple and found this pond full of koi fish.

Ron and I in the park.

One of the many bike racks FULL of bikes we saw throughout the city!

After returning to our hotel for another afternoon nap and break from the heat (which became part of our daily routine), Ron and I ventured out to the crazy Shinjuku District to observe some of the wild, nightlife found there.  Large, brightly lit signs covered the buildings on every street we explored.

Ron and I and the bright lights of the Shinjuku District.

Another shot of this district with its lights and crowds of people!

Logan's 17-Month Update

 

Since we were in Japan when Logan turned 17-months old, this post is a few days late.  Our little boy went thirteen days without seeing us which is a big deal for a child this age.  He actually did really well with the grandparents and with our friends, Wendy and Scott, but has gone through a bit of an adjustment since we returned.  He went immediately to Ron on the night we came home, but would have nothing to do with me until the next morning!  Ouch!  Since then, he sometimes still prefers Ron over me and is quicker to throw tantrums.  I guess it's only natural that he is punishing us for leaving him behind for almost two weeks.  Besides that, Logan continues to be such a happy, cute, and funny boy.  This past month, he did not learn a single word which is so different than his sister at this age, but he did pick up some animal sounds.  Logan is a pro at barking like a dog and meowing like a cat and will also sometimes make the elephant and monkey noises.  I especially love it when he barks because his cheeks puff out all big.  He looks just like Lia did when she used to do this!  He continues to love to go outside and brings you his shoes several times a day.  In addition to his own shoes, he loves putting on one of Ron's or my shoes and trying to walk around in them.  He really gets a kick out of wearing one of my heels that he finds in our master closet  (pictured above).  He has also taken to little, toy cars and will push them around on the floor while making engine noises.  No one taught him to do this--so it just goes to show that this kind of thing is wired in the male genetics.  He loves his blanket and carries it with him everywhere in the house.  Logan also loves his sucker and tries to get it out of his crib several times a day!  He continues to sleep really well and no longer requires us to make a sucker run in the middle of the night.  He LOVES to eat and insists on eating food whenever he sees someone else eating!  Ron also introduced him to the fork and sppon and Logan now insists on eating with them at every meal.  He is actually pretty good at picking up food with them!  Logan has really enjoyed the warm weather this summer and playing in the water.  He spent many afternoons playing on the beach and jumping in the water at Lake Sammamish while my parents watched him in Issaquah.  That's about it for this month.  It's hard to believe that he will be officially one and a half years old next month!  Our baby boy is growing so fast!