Focusing on me...
Just came back from Japan with another world experience under my belt. I can't explain the joy I from everything I saw, ate, touched, felt...ATE! lol. Soaking up the culture past and present was so fulfilling for me. Everything was so beautiful even the atmosphere. No tension in the air, no feeling of being uncomfortable, even in a foreign land. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE!
Now it's on to my next one...My next goal/big expense is for my next tattoo. Yeay!!! I have an artist in mind, so I'm going to call when he's available next.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
DAY 7 - Wednesday: Kit-Kats
Wednesday it rained again! As I waited for Auntie Christine to get off work, I read some, ate some, watched some tv and napped on the couch. Yesss...vacation at its best. =)
When she got home we went out and about town, I think we were still in Yokosuka but we could've been just outside. We went to the Japanese version of Sports Authority and across the street there was a grocery store called Livin. We decided on a whim to check there for the kit-kats once again. WOO HOO! SCORREEEE!!! We found 5 different types. Creme brulee, raspberry & passion fruit, framboise (raspberry pastry), banana, anddddd green tea & sakura. We cleared the shelves of everything they had. hee hee! Mission accomplished.
DAY 8 - Thursday: Asakusa
Thursday, Auntie Christine took the day off and we ventured over to Asakusa for another shrine. As the others this one was huge and beautiful. Unfortunately, this one is under construction, so I wasn't able to get a full view from the outside. But, inside, I was able to see a monk in prayer. What a humble and sadating experience. And the ceilings had huge colorful but dim paintings.
We shopped around there for awhile and then made it back to Yokosuka for a dinner of yummy Ramen. Authentic Japanese food is THE BEST!!!
DAY 9: Friday: Bye-Bye
Auntie Christine made me my last breakfast in Japan. Yummy, as always. We chatted and waited for the driver to get me. I was sooo sad to go, but I'm sooo happy for the experience. I definitely have to go back next year. Next year, I'm shooting for October. I would love to see the pretty colors of the trees in Autumn.
Wednesday it rained again! As I waited for Auntie Christine to get off work, I read some, ate some, watched some tv and napped on the couch. Yesss...vacation at its best. =)
When she got home we went out and about town, I think we were still in Yokosuka but we could've been just outside. We went to the Japanese version of Sports Authority and across the street there was a grocery store called Livin. We decided on a whim to check there for the kit-kats once again. WOO HOO! SCORREEEE!!! We found 5 different types. Creme brulee, raspberry & passion fruit, framboise (raspberry pastry), banana, anddddd green tea & sakura. We cleared the shelves of everything they had. hee hee! Mission accomplished.
DAY 8 - Thursday: Asakusa
Thursday, Auntie Christine took the day off and we ventured over to Asakusa for another shrine. As the others this one was huge and beautiful. Unfortunately, this one is under construction, so I wasn't able to get a full view from the outside. But, inside, I was able to see a monk in prayer. What a humble and sadating experience. And the ceilings had huge colorful but dim paintings.
We shopped around there for awhile and then made it back to Yokosuka for a dinner of yummy Ramen. Authentic Japanese food is THE BEST!!!
DAY 9: Friday: Bye-Bye
Auntie Christine made me my last breakfast in Japan. Yummy, as always. We chatted and waited for the driver to get me. I was sooo sad to go, but I'm sooo happy for the experience. I definitely have to go back next year. Next year, I'm shooting for October. I would love to see the pretty colors of the trees in Autumn.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Japan - Day 3 - 6
DAY 3 - Saturday: Taiko Drum Festival
We went to the Taiko Drum festival out in Narita. They had several stages, 8 to be exact, all up and down a street where there were different acts performing and the local stores and restaurants were open. The main stage was actually a temple...beautiful! Beside the temple was a 3 tiered pagoda with brilliant colors. (pictures to come)
We spent the entire day taking in different acts and walking in the local stores and sites. At night, the stores and restaurantes, put out candles to light the path and I think it had to do with the Taiko Drum Festival. Some spelled things out in Japanese characters and other did designs. (pictures to come).
We were in what Reiko would say is "country" and I enjoyed myself. I felt like I got to take in a part of traditional culture. We, our tour bus, were the only tourists, meaning non-japanese, there, 95% of the other people at the festival were Japanese.
DAY 4 - Sunday: Tokyo
Reiko, pronounced Lay-co, another friend of Auntie Christine's, took us to Tokyo. She's lived in Japan her whole life and went to school and works at the university in Tokyo, so she I'm glad she was there to show us around. We ventured through Harajuku St, went to Shibuya 109, and mall filled with all girls clothes...I did some major damage here...and then we shopped around Shibuya. Then we traveled by the Harajuku train station to see the Harajuku people in action. Being that it was Sunday morning there weren't too many out there. But there were different kinds..the first group of people we seen were goth like and a little scary. The one I did take a picture with was more on the sweeter side, but didn't have as elaborate a get up as others I've seen from pictures or TV. I'm told the Harajuku are usually out on Wednesday mornings.
After our day of shopping, Auntie Christine and I decided to have a low key dinner. We ate at the Chilli's on base across from her place. We laughed over dinner and dinner and drinks and called it a night.
DAY 5 -Monday: Rain
After all the food I've been eating I decided I would run while Auntie Christine was at work. So I ate some breakfast and watched some tv. Got dressed, stretched and even went out the front door only to see that it was RAINING! wth! There goes that idea...so I went back upstairs and did some laundry instead. I watched more tv, read a little, and took a nap on the couch. When Auntie Christine came home we went on a hunt for the kitkats. Everyone at home asked me for green tea and other flavored kitkats. And we went to every grocery store and every place that we could think of. We had no luck. But, I'm still on the hunt so don't worry folks.
DAY 6 - Tuesday: Yokohama
I woke up and it was sunny again! The weather here is totally like San Francisco...bi-polar. So, I ate some breakfast, watched some tv and went for my run. I was hoping to run 7 miles, but the sun was beating down and I was out of gatorade, so I decided to cut my run short. I didn't want to get dehydrated, I was already feeling some of the effects. But I ran hard and had a good run, I could feel the tightness as I stretched.
When Auntie Christine came home we took the train to Yokohama. We went to the new mall there, I don't recall the name, but it's a really nice mall. And it smelled good too. Each floor had a different scent. We were wondering if it had some type of timed release. And on the bottom floor we found a spot that made differnt types of mochi. OMG these mochi balls are sooooooooo good fresh. These mochi were in little balls of bread. We tried the sakura, custard, purple yam (ube) and she had the chocolate. HOLY MOLY those were the best mochi I've ever had. And then we also bought one green tea, this has the normal powder on the outside that we are used to. But the custard was the besttt!
Then we went went to the Landmark Tower and Queens Court malls. I also did some damage at these malls. But...this was mostly for gifts, not myself. I'm not that selfish! lol
We went to the Taiko Drum festival out in Narita. They had several stages, 8 to be exact, all up and down a street where there were different acts performing and the local stores and restaurants were open. The main stage was actually a temple...beautiful! Beside the temple was a 3 tiered pagoda with brilliant colors. (pictures to come)
We spent the entire day taking in different acts and walking in the local stores and sites. At night, the stores and restaurantes, put out candles to light the path and I think it had to do with the Taiko Drum Festival. Some spelled things out in Japanese characters and other did designs. (pictures to come).
We were in what Reiko would say is "country" and I enjoyed myself. I felt like I got to take in a part of traditional culture. We, our tour bus, were the only tourists, meaning non-japanese, there, 95% of the other people at the festival were Japanese.
DAY 4 - Sunday: Tokyo
Reiko, pronounced Lay-co, another friend of Auntie Christine's, took us to Tokyo. She's lived in Japan her whole life and went to school and works at the university in Tokyo, so she I'm glad she was there to show us around. We ventured through Harajuku St, went to Shibuya 109, and mall filled with all girls clothes...I did some major damage here...and then we shopped around Shibuya. Then we traveled by the Harajuku train station to see the Harajuku people in action. Being that it was Sunday morning there weren't too many out there. But there were different kinds..the first group of people we seen were goth like and a little scary. The one I did take a picture with was more on the sweeter side, but didn't have as elaborate a get up as others I've seen from pictures or TV. I'm told the Harajuku are usually out on Wednesday mornings.
After our day of shopping, Auntie Christine and I decided to have a low key dinner. We ate at the Chilli's on base across from her place. We laughed over dinner and dinner and drinks and called it a night.
DAY 5 -Monday: Rain
After all the food I've been eating I decided I would run while Auntie Christine was at work. So I ate some breakfast and watched some tv. Got dressed, stretched and even went out the front door only to see that it was RAINING! wth! There goes that idea...so I went back upstairs and did some laundry instead. I watched more tv, read a little, and took a nap on the couch. When Auntie Christine came home we went on a hunt for the kitkats. Everyone at home asked me for green tea and other flavored kitkats. And we went to every grocery store and every place that we could think of. We had no luck. But, I'm still on the hunt so don't worry folks.
DAY 6 - Tuesday: Yokohama
I woke up and it was sunny again! The weather here is totally like San Francisco...bi-polar. So, I ate some breakfast, watched some tv and went for my run. I was hoping to run 7 miles, but the sun was beating down and I was out of gatorade, so I decided to cut my run short. I didn't want to get dehydrated, I was already feeling some of the effects. But I ran hard and had a good run, I could feel the tightness as I stretched.
When Auntie Christine came home we took the train to Yokohama. We went to the new mall there, I don't recall the name, but it's a really nice mall. And it smelled good too. Each floor had a different scent. We were wondering if it had some type of timed release. And on the bottom floor we found a spot that made differnt types of mochi. OMG these mochi balls are sooooooooo good fresh. These mochi were in little balls of bread. We tried the sakura, custard, purple yam (ube) and she had the chocolate. HOLY MOLY those were the best mochi I've ever had. And then we also bought one green tea, this has the normal powder on the outside that we are used to. But the custard was the besttt!
Then we went went to the Landmark Tower and Queens Court malls. I also did some damage at these malls. But...this was mostly for gifts, not myself. I'm not that selfish! lol
Friday, April 9, 2010
Japan - Day 1 & 2
DAY 1 - Thursday: Yokosuka (yo-kos-ka)
Thursday morning Auntie Christine and I chatted over a great American style breakfast. She cooked me toast, eggs - over easy, and bacon, served with a glass of oj.
She went into work for a couple of hours, so I watched some tv and went on a run. Tv here on base is limited to a couple of channels and a lot of the commercials are about the military, it's pretty funny when you're watching "Ace of Cakes" and the commercial all of a sudden has someone in camo talking to you about the military happenings of the world. hahaha! Anyway...the "track" is about a mile away from our housing, so I ventured over and found it. It's not necessarily a track, like a college or high school track, it's more like a paved path around a football feild, tennis walls and courts, a skate park, a street hockey rink and I don't know what else in between. I tried to ask someone standing around what the distance was around but he seemed to have no clue. He said maybe 1/4 mile, but with all that stuff in between, I knew it HAD to be longer. So, I decided to do 4 laps around and time myself. I know I usually run at about 12 min miles, so 4 laps around was equivalent to about 2.5 miles. I knew I wanted to do 5 miles, so it was perfect...I did another 4 laps and walked back home. I got in a total of about 7 miles.
When Auntie Christine got home, I got ready and we ventured about town. We walked along the streets and went to More's, a shopping center. I bought a couple things here and there, of course some Hello Kitty items for myself. And, we ate at a Ramen spot in the mall. THE BEST ramen I've ever had in my life. But, I think I was most amused with the system for ordering/purchasing the food. Right in front of the hostess stand, there's a machine, where you choose what you want. (Thankfully, there's buttons below the pictures, b/c I'm told other places simply have the charaters and neither of us reads Japanese.) So, you press the button with the food you want and put your money in the machine. A ticket comes out and you give that the hostess who then seats you. Talk about efficient and clean (no one handles the money)!
DAY 2 Friday: Kamakura
Friday morning, Auntie Christine and I chatted away again over breakfast. I had some left over mac and cheese she whipped up for us the night before, she made some fried rice for herself. When Uncle DeWayne came home for lunch, we got ready for our day. We dropped him off to his ship and said our good byes, he's off to sea for 2 months. I was sad he was leaving, but at least he was here for a couple of days and I got to see him.
We ventured by "train" (it's actually like Bart) to Kamakura and visited 3 beautiful temples. I can't even begin to explain. (I'll post pictures later.)
And then we rushed home to have dinner with a Japanese family that Auntie Christine is close with. Noriko, along with her daughter, Yukari took us to a Yakitori style Japanese restaurant. She was so apologetic for not bringing us to a nicer restaurant, as everything was booked for some sort of celebration for the beginning of April. We thought the restaurant she did bring us to was wonderful. The food was delicious! We let Noriko and Yukari order for us, and everything they chose was great. Yakitori style is small portions served on short skewers. We had pork, chicken skins, ground chicken...and I can't even remember what else. We also had, tempura, some sashimi, 3 different types of tuna. The sashimi was so fresh and tasty not to mention the wasabi was sooo good too. And we also had kamameshi style rice. It's rice that cooks right in front of you, it's in a little latern looking pot and they light it during the beginning of your meal. Like Chinese restaurants, rice is last, so once you are done with everything else, the rice should be done. And it's comparable to paella, but Japanese style. They use Japanese rice and ours included shrimp, squid, crab, bamboo and some other ingredients, but you can choose different types of kamameshi. Filled with food and a whole lot of sake, Auntie Christine and I ventured home to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow (which is now today) we have a big day! We are going to the taiko drum festival!
Thursday morning Auntie Christine and I chatted over a great American style breakfast. She cooked me toast, eggs - over easy, and bacon, served with a glass of oj.
She went into work for a couple of hours, so I watched some tv and went on a run. Tv here on base is limited to a couple of channels and a lot of the commercials are about the military, it's pretty funny when you're watching "Ace of Cakes" and the commercial all of a sudden has someone in camo talking to you about the military happenings of the world. hahaha! Anyway...the "track" is about a mile away from our housing, so I ventured over and found it. It's not necessarily a track, like a college or high school track, it's more like a paved path around a football feild, tennis walls and courts, a skate park, a street hockey rink and I don't know what else in between. I tried to ask someone standing around what the distance was around but he seemed to have no clue. He said maybe 1/4 mile, but with all that stuff in between, I knew it HAD to be longer. So, I decided to do 4 laps around and time myself. I know I usually run at about 12 min miles, so 4 laps around was equivalent to about 2.5 miles. I knew I wanted to do 5 miles, so it was perfect...I did another 4 laps and walked back home. I got in a total of about 7 miles.
When Auntie Christine got home, I got ready and we ventured about town. We walked along the streets and went to More's, a shopping center. I bought a couple things here and there, of course some Hello Kitty items for myself. And, we ate at a Ramen spot in the mall. THE BEST ramen I've ever had in my life. But, I think I was most amused with the system for ordering/purchasing the food. Right in front of the hostess stand, there's a machine, where you choose what you want. (Thankfully, there's buttons below the pictures, b/c I'm told other places simply have the charaters and neither of us reads Japanese.) So, you press the button with the food you want and put your money in the machine. A ticket comes out and you give that the hostess who then seats you. Talk about efficient and clean (no one handles the money)!
DAY 2 Friday: Kamakura
Friday morning, Auntie Christine and I chatted away again over breakfast. I had some left over mac and cheese she whipped up for us the night before, she made some fried rice for herself. When Uncle DeWayne came home for lunch, we got ready for our day. We dropped him off to his ship and said our good byes, he's off to sea for 2 months. I was sad he was leaving, but at least he was here for a couple of days and I got to see him.
We ventured by "train" (it's actually like Bart) to Kamakura and visited 3 beautiful temples. I can't even begin to explain. (I'll post pictures later.)
And then we rushed home to have dinner with a Japanese family that Auntie Christine is close with. Noriko, along with her daughter, Yukari took us to a Yakitori style Japanese restaurant. She was so apologetic for not bringing us to a nicer restaurant, as everything was booked for some sort of celebration for the beginning of April. We thought the restaurant she did bring us to was wonderful. The food was delicious! We let Noriko and Yukari order for us, and everything they chose was great. Yakitori style is small portions served on short skewers. We had pork, chicken skins, ground chicken...and I can't even remember what else. We also had, tempura, some sashimi, 3 different types of tuna. The sashimi was so fresh and tasty not to mention the wasabi was sooo good too. And we also had kamameshi style rice. It's rice that cooks right in front of you, it's in a little latern looking pot and they light it during the beginning of your meal. Like Chinese restaurants, rice is last, so once you are done with everything else, the rice should be done. And it's comparable to paella, but Japanese style. They use Japanese rice and ours included shrimp, squid, crab, bamboo and some other ingredients, but you can choose different types of kamameshi. Filled with food and a whole lot of sake, Auntie Christine and I ventured home to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow (which is now today) we have a big day! We are going to the taiko drum festival!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I'm here, I'm really here!
My flight to Japan was early afternoon on Tuesday, and my cousin Murielle and her friends were going to the Philippines, so my uncle picked me up and off we went to the airport at 10am. Being that Japan is their connecting flight, we all were on the same flight. He helped us check in making sure we got on the flight and our seating arrangements early. WOO HOO for having an uncle that works for an airlines. My flight to Japan was a SUPER DUPER deal, and I flew business class! As Deb put it, "I'm the luckiest geisha in the world, keepin it kamameshi" lmao!!!
Unfortunately, one of Murielle's friends had a problem with his passport and couldn't make it on the flight with us. So, off the rest of us go to the gate... We had some time and I was STARVING, so I got a pizza from Firewood...pretty good.
Finally we board. Here is my pictorial of our flight...
this is what was waiting for me at my seat
mimosas before the flight
our menus
personal tv and vodka crans..yeay!
appetizers
i thought the butter was cute
dinner
breakfast
So we land, and Murielle and her friend and I go our separate ways. I go through immigration and then go through customs. Per my aunt's directions, there would be a guy waiting there to pick me up, with a sign with my name on it. HAHAA! And there he was. I should've taken a picture of this.
The ride out to the Yokosuka Naval base is about 2.5 hours away, so I drifted in and out of sleep. My aunt met us at the front of the base and got me checked in. After I unpacked a little and Uncle DeWayne got home from basketball practice, we all went to dinner. Sooo yummy, no it wasn't Japanese food it was Korean, but I did have the best udon I've ever had in my life. And so that started my trip. It was cold last night and drizzling from time to time, but the weather is supposed to warm up. The weather out here is as bipolar as the city!
I woke up about 1pm our time, 5am here! I'm gonna need to adjust to the time change, but it is pretty sunny outside, so maybe I'll go for a little run today.
Unfortunately, one of Murielle's friends had a problem with his passport and couldn't make it on the flight with us. So, off the rest of us go to the gate... We had some time and I was STARVING, so I got a pizza from Firewood...pretty good.
Finally we board. Here is my pictorial of our flight...
So we land, and Murielle and her friend and I go our separate ways. I go through immigration and then go through customs. Per my aunt's directions, there would be a guy waiting there to pick me up, with a sign with my name on it. HAHAA! And there he was. I should've taken a picture of this.
The ride out to the Yokosuka Naval base is about 2.5 hours away, so I drifted in and out of sleep. My aunt met us at the front of the base and got me checked in. After I unpacked a little and Uncle DeWayne got home from basketball practice, we all went to dinner. Sooo yummy, no it wasn't Japanese food it was Korean, but I did have the best udon I've ever had in my life. And so that started my trip. It was cold last night and drizzling from time to time, but the weather is supposed to warm up. The weather out here is as bipolar as the city!
I woke up about 1pm our time, 5am here! I'm gonna need to adjust to the time change, but it is pretty sunny outside, so maybe I'll go for a little run today.
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