What? It's Already November?

~

October flew by, and for the most part it was an uneventful month here in Yokkaichi. Some things of note:

• I auditioned for a job as a wedding singer, and I got the job! I am officially starting in December, and currently have three weddings lined up that month. Now to find a dress to perform in...

• We bought tickets for home! We're coming to visit from late December to early January. Can't wait to see everyone ♥

• We've been working for another branch of our main company and got to do a couple Halloween parties. I love Halloween and was feeling pretty homesick because Japan doesn't really celebrate it to the extent Westerners do (though it is growing more and more popular year by year). These parties really helped fill my Halloween withdrawals--I got to see loads of kids dressed up, play Halloween games with them, listen to spooky music and do "trick-or-treating" with them.

• We've been trying to make or find fall treats that we take for granted back home. I decided to have a go at making homemade caramel apples, but the Japanese caramel was SO sweet! Not to mention I thought I'd try and make them fancy by adding crushed M&Ms (and got lazy and just stuck them on instead of crushing them). Despite my slight disappointment at how they turned out, I was pretty amused by the look on the face of our friend from New Zealand when he saw what I made for dessert. Apparently they don't eat caramel apples in New Zealand, and he was totally taken aback. He told us he'd like to see us "try that" on our friend from Australia!

• Lastly, we tried to have an Oktoberfest party, which basically consisted of Chad, our friend Yasu and me. Though it wasn't really Oktoberfest at all, we figured the Japanese take things from other cultures and make them their own, so why shouldn't we? When in Rome -- or Japan -- right? Below is a picture of our feast:

Apples, homemade caramel apple dip, French bread, Kenchin Jiru (Japanese Stew), pumpkin bread, Brazilian sausages, Gouda cheese, wine and beer.

This is an up-close shot of the Kenchin Jiru. It has pork, potatoes, daikon, carrot, mushrooms, green onions, several seasonings and sauces. So good!

That's all for now. We'll try and be better about November updates than we were last month! Take care!

Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavillion

~

The last day we were able to hang out with John and Joel during their stay in Japan, we met them in Kyoto and went to see Kinkaku Temple. Originally constructed in 1397, the temple was burned down in 1950 by an obsessed monk. The pictures below are of the 1955 reconstruction, as it can be seen today.

The temple is surrounded by beautiful gardens and trees. I can understand why Joel thinks he's going to live in the temple one day.

Banzai is a cheer or phrase of thankfulness that means, "May you live ten thousand years!" In my yoga classes, my teachers sometimes substitute the phrase for Namaste, which means, "I bow to you," and honors the divinity in and around us. When we say these phrases, our arms are either stretched up high, or our hands are held together above our heads or in front of our chests in supplication. This bonsai tree reminds me of the meanings associated with banzai, not only because of the way it grows upward, but also because it is over 600 years old.

A tea sample with gold specks.

As we were exiting the main area of the temple, we were surprised to find that amidst the serenity and tradition that permeates Kinkakuji, there were some very modern additions. Not only was there an ice cream vending machine, but an omikuji, or fortune, machine!

No discrimination here, folks. Fortunes came in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English. My fortune is written below:


The clouds over a high mountain are carried away by the wind, and a refreshing full moon will shine on the ground.

Your Fortune: Excellent

Like the moon rising, you'll become happier and happier and your business will be prosperous, but always be carefull or the good luck may turn into a bad one [sic].

• wish : It will be settled earlier than expected by the help of your superiors.
• expected visitor : He (or she) visits you suddenly without notice.
• missing thing : Look into the furniture.
• travel : All right.
  
• business : It will go well if you are always careful.
• study : Keep on studying with confidence.
• speculation : Stay. Must Wait.
• game and match : Someone will help you. It will be settled sooner.
• love : Take care not to lose yourself. It goes well.
• removal : You can try it at any time.
• childbirth : All right. So be faithful.
• illness : Don't worry. You'll get it over.
• marriage proposal : It will soon be arranged unexpectedly. Leave it to others.

Whew! I never need to worry again! Hope good fortune has been paying you a visit! We'll write again soon.

~

Fuji-san

Inch by inch
little snail
creep up Mt. Fuji
-Issa

Chad, our friend Yasu and I climbed the Fujinomiya route on Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, last Sunday. The photo above was taken as we were driving up to level 5. At this time, we were still in awe of the mountain's majesty and sacredness. Despite these initial feelings, it didn't take much climbing for our focus to shift from one of reverence, to one of rethinking our bright idea of climbing a 3,776 meter high mountain. It was a tough, tough hike.


Level 5

We started our ascent around 10:40 in the morning. This was a rather late start, but we heard we should try to acclimate to the altitude for a while before beginning (we were on level 5 for quite some time before starting). The hike from level 5 to 6 is quite deceiving--it is relatively easy and quick. Once you pass level 6, however, you're in for the real challenge.

Since we decided to go on our journey in September, all bathrooms and restaurants above level 6 were closed. The main climbing season is from July to the end of August, so we had to endure this trek without using...well...legal facilities. It is technically illegal to climb past level 6 this time of year, too, but many Japanese hiked regardless (why shouldn't we?). Many of our fellow hikers told us they always wait until September to climb because the weather is perfect and there are less people.

As for the weather, the other hikers couldn't have been more right: it was beautiful. Michigan winters are much colder than the weather that greeted us on Mount Fuji. When we were moving, we only wore long sleeves; when we rested we wore sweaters.

After about 4 1/2 hours, all three of us were ready to be done climbing. But alas, we were only at level 9.5! No matter how tired we were after the slow and steady slog up, you can bet that our physical fatigue wasn't going to stop us from getting to level 10!

...However, lack of daylight was.

When we got to level 9.5, we could see the top of Fuji--only a 30 to 35 minute hike away. It was 3:00. No matter our determination, physical ability, or lack of being affected by altitude, we had to turn around or we'd be descending the mountain in the dark. I cannot explain what an awful feeling it is to see the goal you've been working toward for 4 1/2 long hours so close, and then be forced to turn around and go back to where you started. And it wasn't just a matter of turning around and going back--it was a gruelling, stressful descent, watching every step and trying not to slip on the loose gravel. Three hours and ten minutes later, with darkness enshrouding us, we made it back to level 5.

The top of the mountain as seen from level 9.5--crystal clear.

It was so bright!

I wish I could say we made all kinds of self-discoveries and learned all kinds of life lessons, but the main thing I found on this trip is that I am no mountain climber. Despite this, I can honestly say that overall the experience was amazing. And we are planning on going next year and doing the whole crazy adventure again--this time watching the sunrise, and this time going to the top. I recently read a saying: "If you never climb Mt. Fuji once you are a fool, if you climb it more than once you are twice the fool." When we really stop and think about our plans, this saying makes a lot of sense, but we're still determined as ever to fulfill our goal of getting to the very top. And we will.

On the way down...

~

Happy 25th Birthday to Chad!

The Friday before Chad's birthday, some of his friends threw a surprise party for him. The party was held at a "Western" style bar in Tsu, and we had a lot of fun.

Don't know how much can really be said about that sign...

Takahiro is holding one of my favorite Japanese foods: takoyaki (octopus balls). This particular tray of takoyaki has a special surprise: one ball has a very strong spicy and not-so-good flavor. None of us aside from Takahiro knew about it, so Chad and I felt lucky not to be the ones in for the surprise (our friend Yasu got it!).


Chad ate this sucker, head and all.

Some kind of salad with chow mien noodles.

The restaurant gives all parties a one dollar bill that everyone is supposed to sign. Usually the bar keeps the bill and hangs it on the wall, but Chad got to keep ours.

Chad's complimentary birthday dessert....

and ours:

Emiko held the dessert near her head to give a sense of the sheer size and glory of it.

Present time!

On Chad's actual birthday, we slept in and then had blueberry pancakes (blueberries are a rare treat here as they're very expensive). Can't say how great the blueberries ended up tasting, but it's the thought, right? At the very least, we had some delicious Eno Maple Syrup to eat on them ;-)

After some deliberation, we decided to go to Toba aquarium. We hopped on a train and enjoyed beautiful scenery on the way:

When we got there, we enjoyed our obentou, or Japanese lunch boxes. This was my first attempt at making obentou, and they turned out pretty delicious (albeit a little smushed!).

The view from where we ate lunch.

After lunch we headed to the aquarium and saw some really amazing creatures. We had a really nice time.

Biggest. Crab. Ever.

It's lookin' at YOU!

Apparently one shouldn't get too close to the pelicans or storks.

I had never seen a seahorse before. The seahorses in Toba Aquarium were the length of my forearm! So cool!

Deep thoughts...

Craziest thing ever: a petting zoo for octopus! They are surprisingly soft, but the moment you touch them their tentacles move all of the place. One of the suctions on the tentacles caught hold of my finger and sucked! Ahh! Overall it was pretty cool, but I decided the octopuses must have stressful lives being exposed to curious people touching them all day.

After the aquarium, we decided to have a couple of local beers while we waited for the train. We went back to the ocean side and swung our legs over the side of a big wall. Chad said, "Be careful not to lose your sandal down there." After saying okay in a way like, "Oh, if you say so...." I swung my legs over and then...my flip-flop fell into the water. The wall was so high, there was no way Chad could jump in and get it--he wouldn't be able to get back up. On top of that, there were tons of jelly fish floating around. To say the least, I got even more looks than usual when riding the train home. ("Wow! There's a foreigner! Wow! She's not wearing any shoes!)


Our beers.

My sandal floating down the river.

When we got back to Yokkaichi, we had yakiniku, or Korean-style barbeque, for dinner. More on yakiniku later, but pictures are below:

The grill in the middle of our table.

After our fill of dinner, we headed home for Chad's birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, handsome!

I hope Chad had a nice day. He mostly went on and on about what and old man he is now ;-) We miss you all very much and wish you could have been here to celebrate with us.

Next post: Mount Fuji!

Yokkaichi Fireworks

During the summer it's guaranteed that every day--somewhere in Japan--there is going to be hanabi, or a firework show. In August alone, there are over 200 firework shows, and John, Joel, Chad, our friend Takahiro and I went to the Yokkaichi show.

Before finding a place to sit, we stopped at one of the food stalls for taiyaki. These fish-shaped sweets are made with pancake-like batter and filled with sweet bean paste or other delicious fillings. We tried custard. Yum!

We had a great view from Yokkaichi Port. The area was packed!

Not only do the Japanese celebrate summer with fireworks much more frequently than Americans, but with firework shows of a much greater caliber. When I tell my students that 4th of July fireworks generally last about 20-25 minutes, they all gasp, "Ehhhhhhhhhhh?" Japanese hanabi typically last at least an hour and a half. And although our pictures can't possibly do the Yokkaichi firework show justice, within five minutes of it's start, the show was better than a full 20 minute show back home. The fireworks were just great.

The Grand Finale:

One downside to seeing such amazing fireworks was trying to get home! The street was jam-packed with people.

You can't see too well in this picture, but many people were wearing jinbe (a kind of summer pajama) or yukata (summer kimono). Traditional clothing such as these are often worn to firework shows.

We had a great time, and can't wait for fireworks next summer!

Beer Gardens and Asahi Brewery

It was John and Joel's first night in our area of Japan, and we had to make it special. What could be better than hitting up Nagoya's Haunted House (way too short for the cost, but really creepy nonetheless), shopping in Sakae, and then heading to a beer garden?

Beer Garden Miami is a pretty famous beer garden in Nagoya in which you can eat over 100 different dishes. It's a tabehoudai and nomihoudai (all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink) for about 150 minutes, and it costs about 38.00 USD. Unlike many beer gardens around the world, beer gardens in Japan are usually found on rooftops of department store buildings. The gardens have a very open, relaxing atmosphere. Beer Garden Miami is on a rooftop of a building over 11 stories high, and is across from Nagoya Station (a very convenient location!).

We could understand why the place was so packed--it was really cool.

The Beer Stations

On the right side of the garden were the beer stations. It was a beautiful sight. Stick in your glass, press a button (even deciding whether or not you want head on the beer), and there you have it. A never-ending beer flow for your entire stay at Miami.

On the left side of the garden was the large selection of food. Some of it, pictured below, was precooked:


Korokke (a croquette), dango, pizza, fried
onigiri (rice ball), edamame and some other
fried foods.

As for the uncooked foods, you can choose what you want before bringing it back to your table to cook at a little grill.

Kanpai! Cheers!

After our night at the beer garden, our beer excursions were far from over. An Asahi Brewery tour was booked for 3:00 a couple days later.

We felt like this adventure could be an excellent adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...except with beer. Year after year of beautiful beer.

Asahi makes several products aside from the Asahi-brand beer -- including, but not limited to, soft drinks, whiskey and wines. Additionally, the company has business agreements with companies like Miller and Löwenbräu of Germany.

Malt and Barley
(It says ASAHI in the circles)

Asahi comes in all sizes, from bottles as big as an
arm, to little bitty cans the height of a pointer finger.

I was surprised to learn how much Asahi does with recycling. The uniform pictured above is made from recycled plastic bottles. There were posters lining the walls with pictures made by school children who went on the brewery tour and learned about Asahi's Eco-friendliness. It seems kind of weird that kids would go on a brewery tour, even if they are learning about helping the environment, but maybe it's because Asahi has plants that produce soft drinks, too (although this plant doesn't...).

Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of a lot of the cool stuff inside the brewery because it was prohibited. However, we let go of our disappointment pretty easily when we were brought the the final stage of the tour: the tasting room!

Joel, Chad, our tour guide and John

VIP status

Air-puffed cracker snacks

Cheese sticks and beef jerky!

A rare photo of Chad and Joel captured in their most natural state!

Quite possibly Chad's biggest smile since our wedding day ;-)

We were allowed 3 free beers, but were
supposed to drink them in 30 minutes!
And then, they offered us a 4th!

And we look forward to seeing you again, Asahi Brewery!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Post Notes

1. Tanuki are kind of like red pandas, but their tales are quite a bit different. Maybe you can kind of see in the picture below:

2. The A-Bomb Dome used to be an Industrial Promotion Hall, and it was almost directly under the spot the first bomb hit in Hiroshima during World War II. After the bombing, the structure was still standing. Amazingly, it can be seen today just as it was after the bombings (although today there have been supports added to keep it standing).

3. The Pavilion of 1000 mats (Itsukushima Shrine) was built as a place to chant Buddhist sutras for fallen soldiers. "1000 mats" refers to the size of the hall. It was never fully completed, so for some it may seem a little sparse. We thought the simplicity ultimately added to a peaceful atmosphere.

4. Tina and Marco thought this particular izakaya was an old man bar because most of the patrons consisted of old men, the food was a bit cheaper than other izakayas (mostly due to the clientelle), and it closed early. Also, the atmosphere was a bit more casual than some of the styles izakayas geared toward younger crowds tend to have.

5. Tina and Marco maintained as much of their vegan diet as possible while they stayed in Japan. There were some exceptions, as it is nearly impossible to be vegan in Japan, but they returned to their normal diet as soon as they hit the flight home.

Tina and Marco Visit Japan!

Hisashiburi--Long time no see! Sorry for the lack of posting. August has gone by so fast we haven't had a chance to catch our breath! Since our last post, Tina and Marco came to visit us for about two weeks, and a day after they left, our friends Joel and John came!

We picked Marco and Tina up from the airport on Tuesday, hung out in Yokkaichi on Wednesday, and then left for our first trip on Thursday. We took the shinkansen, or bullet train, for about 3 hours before we reached our destination: Hiroshima.

This is us on the shinkansen before having a sobering day in the city.

The Peace Memorial

The A-Bomb Dome (left standing since the bombing)

This was my second trip to Hiroshima, and although I strongly believe everyone should visit Hiroshima if they have the opportunity, I can't say I was entirely keen on going again. The dome building and the peace museum are heart breaking beyond words.

Despite the tragedy that surrounds Hiroshima, this time around I was able to look beyond the tragedy and instead focus more on the beauty that Hiroshima has been growing in its place. Thursday was the anniversary of the bombings, and that night a commemorative ceremony was held in which lit paper lanterns were released down the river. I felt that this symbolized not only the remembrance of what happened that day 63 years ago, but also the peace that Hiroshima advocates so strongly today.

After the ceremony, we headed back to our hotel, grabbing dinner along the way.

Chad getting attacked (Tina's clearly okay with this).

After much deliberation, we finally settled on Mos Burger, a Japanese version of McDonald's, for dinner:

Chickens at Mos Burger are happy, even if their heads are on fire.


Breakfast on Friday was a fine mix of convenient-store food.

We decided Friday would be an excellent day to go to Miyajima. Home to one of Japan's three best views, Miyajima is a beautiful little island only a tram and a ferry ride away from Hiroshima.


Chad, Marco and Tina pet the tame deer.

Buddies!

The view from one of the trails.

Tanuki! A Japanese Raccoon Dog!

Note: We also saw an awesome monkey, but failed to get a good photo. We were all going on and on about the raccoons when suddenly Chad got curious about a steady stream of fruit hitting his head. He looked up to see a monkey eating lunch in the tree above!

Above is a picture of Senjo-kaku, or the Pavillion of 1000 mats. There are many interesting paintings hung on the ceiling throughout this peaceful hall. Just as cool as the inside of Senjo-kaku is the view looking out -- you can see the five-story pagoda pictured below:

After our hike, it was time for lunch. We decided to have some traditional, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. We also tried freshly baked clam, another Hiroshima specialty, for the first time.

Then, we were off to Miyajima's main attraction: the giant orange torii, or gate, near Itsukushima Shrine.

The last time I visited Miyajima, there was a high tide, but this time, the tide was so low you could walk through the torii! Low tide or high, Miyajima is incredibly beautiful. What was especially lucky about our visit this time was that it happened to fall on the annual Music Festival on Boats, or Kangensai. According to our ticket to the shrine, music is played in front of the shrine to "comfort the sacred minds of the enshrined deities... Since the 14th year of the Meiji period (1881), the divine carraige has been carried across the sea by boat while priests play ancient court music."

After our Hiroshima trip, the next trip on the agenda was Tokyo. Rather than following said-agenda, we ended up going to Kyoto (which turned out really nice because there was a typhoon and a pretty reasonable earthquake in Tokyo when we were going to go!).

I didn't catch the name for sure, but I'm pretty sure this is part of Nishi Hongan-ji, a five-building temple of which the main building is under construction. The architecture of the buildings not under wraps was quite intricate.

Taken on the road leading up to Kiyomizu-dera.

I've been to Kiyomizu temple countless times, and each time I can't resist taking a few more pictures. Here are just a couple (photographers must love Kyoto!).

Chad is drinking from the sacred waters --
they are believed to have therapeutic
properties, aid in health, happiness, school
and more!

Walk between this stone and its partner-
stone with your eyes closed and your
love will be fulfilled!

Rub this Daikoku statue and your
love-prayers will be answered!

Upon leaving the temple, we made several interesting stops--one of which was at this little area:

Drink the water for beauty!

While in Kyoto, we were able to meet a couple of Marco's band friends. Below is a picture of us at an izakaya, or (according to Tina and Marco) and old man bar.




Tina loves Ichiro!

The day after we went to Kyoto, we got up nice and early for a trip around Ise. We were pretty tired, but our friends drove us and it ended up being a pretty laid-back day.

First, we made a stop at the Itsukinomiya Hall for Historical Experience. A pretty hefty title for a little place out in the countryside, but it ended up being really neat. The hall was built to preserve and teach about the time in which Chinese culture was flourishing in Japan. One of my favorite things about the site is that the entire building was constructed without using a single nail. Check out the beautiful joint work in the ceiling alone:

A traditional carriage

Below are pictures of us wearing juni-hitoe, a traditional outfit of layered kimonos. Our guidesheet said that Imperian women would often layer more than twelve kimonos at a time! Pretty heavy attire!

Chad knows how to work the fashion
better than most.

(He's even teaching me!)

We also got to see traditional loom weaving in which hand-dyed thread is used. It was a really interesting site!

Next up: lunch at a fresh tofu restaurant near Ise Shrine!

MMM! Fresh tofu, hot-spring boiled egg, miso soup, salad, eel...!

Chad, Caitlyn, Tina, Marco, Emiko and Takahiro
(outside the restaurant)

Chad drinking a Rising Sun Pale Ale
before we head off to see the
Wedded Rocks

Meoto-iwa, or the Wedded Rocks, are located in Futami, near Ise. In the area surrounding the rocks, there are myriad frog statues. In Japanese the word for frog, kaeru, is the same as the word meaning "to return," although with different kanji. It was hard to find someone who knew the connection between the frogs and the rocks, but from what I was able to gather it has something to do with the safe return of loved ones.


Getting my lasting happiness by pouring water
on the frog's head

The larger rock with the torii on top represents the husband, and the smaller the wife. Apparently, the couple symbolized is responsible for the creation of the Japanese islands. Every year on New Years Day, the heavy, sacred ropes are replaced by swimmers.

After we left Futami, we headed for the old guest house in which Ise Shrine visitors used to stay. They had an interesting exhibit going that featured dolls exchanged between the US and Japan right before WWII. All but 9 of Japan's friendship dolls from America were destroyed in the war, but new ones have been exchanged every year following the war's end in support of today's good relationship with Japan.

Chad is clearly in support of the doll exchange

A couple days later, we headed back to Ise Shrine (Tina and Marco wanted to make a stop there). This time, one of our students and a coworker joined us.

Walking along the river...

We were lucky enough to try a Japanese specialty called akafukugori (pictured above). This treat is famous in Ise, and it consists of shaved ice, green tea syrup, mochi and sweet red bean paste. Delicious!

We ended the day with an authentic Indonesian dinner (cooked on the spot by an Indonesian!) at one of our students' house.

Hanging out with Tina and Marco was really fun, but time passed by too fast! We are sure we filled every day with so much activity and culture that Tina and Marco were ready to go home and speak English, eat American (vegan!) food, and relax. Although they filled part of our homesickness gap temporarily, their visit simultaneously made us miss home even more. Can't wait to visit over Christmas! We are thinking of everyone back home everyday.

Stay tuned for our update on John and Joel's visit! Love ya'! <3