Yoshino Baigo Plum Tree Festival

Today we decided to head out to see our old stomping grounds and take in the beautiful site of blooming plum trees.  We got up and had breakfast at our local Skylark restaurant (Vanessa and I had the "American" breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and salad while Maddie had the Japanese breakfast of steamed white rice, dried seaweed, grilled salmon, pickled cabbage, and miso soup.)  Afterwards, we drove to Yokota Air Base in Fussa.  It was only about an hour drive.  Yokota has changed a lot since we were there and it was fun to see the base where we used to work.  After an hour or so around the base we headed out the gate on foot to the Fussa train station.  Along the way we took a slight detour and walked by the first apartment we lived in back in '94.  It was so small!  We took the train West, past Ome to Hinatawada station.  That is the location of the Yoshino Baigo annual Plum Tree Festival.  It is actually a residential area but many of the homes have plum orchards in their yards.  The whole town is a mixture of decorative plum trees and actual fruiting plum trees.  Both are beautiful and fragrant.  The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's tourism web site says there are about 25,000 plum trees of up to 120 varieties in this area!  We had a very nice time walking around the streets, climbing a hill to a shrine with a fantastic view and enjoying the festive mood of the crowds of people.  After a couple of hours we, along with seemingly thousands of others, took the train back to Fussa.  We stopped in a Starbucks to fortify ourselves for the short walk back to the base.  After a bit of shopping on base we drove back home.  There was more traffic going back home so it took us a couple of hours.  Jelly Bean was glad to see us!  It was another glorious day in Japan.

This is the view of Mt. Fuji from Yokota Air Base.
Vanessa and Madeleine enjoying some festival treats.
The hills were covered in blooms!
Madeleine only added to the natural beauty.
Vanessa took a close up of one of the blooms.  If only you could smell the perfume-like scent!
This was Maddie's favorite tree.  It was in someone's yard.
This is an orchard we passed on our way back to the train station.
This is the Tama river we crossed to and from the train station.

Happy Birthday Jelly Bean

March 13th was Jelly Bean's 2nd birthday!  We celebrated on Saturday since I had to go to school on Friday.  On Saturday morning it was rainy but that did not stop us.  We put Jelly in his coat and went in the car.  We went to a park called Sagamihara Park and walked around.  He had a blast.  We walked around a fountain but there was a sign that said "No Dogs" so we kept going.  We came to a lake and he chased a duck.  He really liked running through the puddles in the rain.  I climbed up a giant tree house but he couldn't go with me.  The rain stopped so we went to an outdoor cafe where there was a spot where we could tie Jelly up next to our table.  We ate ramen (a kind of noodle soup) and ice cream.  Then we walked through some pretty gardens.  The flowers are just starting to bloom.  On our way back to our car we met a giant, white dog.  He was really big and friendly and drooly!  I liked him.  So did Jelly.  Next we headed home.  Later we had a little birthday party.  We sang Happy Birthday to him and then he ate his filet mignon doggy food cake.  Then he licked the plate and got every little bit.  Mommy said we could put the plate back in the cabinet, ha ha.  I think he had a great birthday.  Sorry, but we forgot the camera so no pictures.

Having a great time in Japan,

Maddie

Snow on Girl's Day

Today is Girl's Day in Japan.  Maddie received some sweet treats from her teachers and a gift from us.  But the nicest gift came from Mother Nature in the form of snow!  It started snowing about 530p tonight (while Maddie was with her Japanese tutor) and is still snowing three hours later.  It should snow until about 1am or so and then the forecast calls for rain.  We are hoping it doesn't rain so the snow is still there when we wake up.

This was Jelly Bean's first time in snow.  He loved it!  He was running around at high speeds stopping only to lick it up from time to time.  We recently took him to the groomer for his first haircut since coming to Japan.  He looks handsome, doesn't he?

Maddie made some yard sculptures.  She stayed out playing until bedtime!

Traditional Japanese Buildings in Noborito

Not long ago we spent the day with our friends, Kazushi and Mieko Kimura.  We met at a park in the area of Noborito, only about a 20 minute train ride.  The park is home to many traditional homes and buildings from all over Japan.  They have restored them to their original condition.  It was educational to see how these buildings were constructed, mostly without nails.  We had a great time touring the park and then had a wonderful lunch at a nearby museum cafe.

In one of the buildings (an old inn for horse traders) the man shown above created a scale model of a typical fire place in this type of building.  He asked Maddie to help him assemble it for display.
This building has an interesting roof.  The wooden shingles are held down by logs cut if half and rocks!

We really liked the massive thatch roofing.
Vanessa grinding rice for a particular kind of grilled rice.  They would grind it using these stone grinders, then cook it and put it on sticks.  Then the rice sticks would be placed in the ashes around a fire for grilling.  Sounds delicious to us!
There were many volunteers who practice the crafts of the time period.  These artisans were making shoes, slippers, boots and other items from straw and grass.  I tried to buy some but they were not for sale.  We met some of them and they are very dedicated to keeping the old traditions alive.

Maddie's Speech at School

Today the parents were invited to the classroom at Maddie's Japanese elementary school.  All of the students prepared speeches about what they would like to do when they grow up.  Madeleine gave a short speech about being a veterinarian and liking animals.  We are very proud of her!  Her teacher said that her pronunciation was very good.  Way to go Maddie!

(Sorry about the low quality but we filmed it with our regular camera, not the video camera.  Turn the sound up!)

Sumo!

About a week ago we had the opportunity to see a sumo tournament.  Normally a "basho" or tournament is a 15 day event but this was a special kind of single elimination tournament in one afternoon.  We took the train and got to the stadium about 2pm.  There were a few wrestlers taking pictures out front but we hesitated to ask them for a picture and missed our chance.  We took this picture instead:

We took our seats just in time to see some of the sumo wrestlers going against some children.  The children looked tiny next to the wrestlers and were very entertaining.  Maddie really got a kick out of it.  Next there were some comic wrestlers who came out and did a funny routine.
Afterwards the real tournament began.  The league is made up of two main groups, East and West.  Each group comes out and lines up in a circle around the floor as their names are announced.  We like seeing their fancy cloths.
Next, the Yokozuna (Grand Champion) comes out and does a ceremonial type demonstration to show his power.

Before the actual wrestling began Troy ran out and got some goodies for everybody.  Yakitori (chicken on a stick), a bento box (boxed lunch with rice, seafood, salads and other yummy stuff) and beer.
We got to see all of our favorite wrestlers.  The one below is huge.  His name translates to Mountain Mountain (I think).    The single elimination was great because we got to see our favorites over and over again as they won.  Unfortunately, our most favorite, Baruto, lost his first match.
We had a really good time.  Sumo is an amazing sport.  All of these guys can do the splits!  They are incredibly strong and nimble.  In Japan, these athletes are treated like rock stars.  We love sumo!

Hokkaido in Winter

Hey Everyone!  A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to the northern island of Japan called Hokkaido.  It was home to the Ainu people and the Japanese have been there about 150 years.  The biggest city is Sapporo and they have a huge Snow Festival every year.  We joined a ski tour with the intention to ski a few days and sight see a fee days but Vanessa's injured foot kept her from skiing.  (It's healing slowly but there is definite improvement after a few visits to the acupuncturist.)

We left our home about 4am and joined the others on the tour for a bus trip to Haneda airport.  We caught the 7am flight on All Nippon airways.  Our plane was the Pokeman plane.  The interior had Pokemon characters on the seats and dishes, and the outside of the plane was painted with Pokemon characters!  

Upon arrival in Chitose, we separated into two groups: one went skiing immediately and the other went sightseeing.  Vanessa, Madeleine and I went with the sightseeing group.  Our first stop was the old Sapporo brewery.  It is now a shopping area but they still have the old buildings.
Here I am standing under the old smoke stack.  I could almost smell the hops!  Next we went to the Ishiwa Chocolate Factory.  This was an incredible, magical place.  They had a lot of china and other things to look at but it was a working factory so we got to see them making chocolate cookies.  
The girls enjoyed some hot chocolate.  Madeleine said it may be the best ever.
There was plenty of snow outside of the chocolate factory.  Are we still in Japan?
We loved the quirky architecture of the factory.  Click the photo to get a good look at the guys in the background holding up the tower.  We had a really good time seeing Sapporo.  We also went to the Hokkaido museum where we learned all about the Ainu people and the history of the huge island.

We then headed to our hotel, the Keio Plaza in the center of Sapporo.  It was a very nice hotel and included a huge breakfast buffet every morning.  They had both Japanese breakfast food and Western food.  Vanessa was very adventurous and even tried the salted fish guts over steamed white rice.  She said it was pretty good!

The next day after breakfast we got on a bus and headed to the ski resort Rusutsu.  Vanessa stayed in the lobby and got a great seat in a coffee shop with a huge picture window.  Maddie and I skied.  It was snowing pretty heavily and sometimes it was hard to see.  We had a great time and Madeleine picked up her skiing right where she left off.  She didn't have any trouble navigating the mountain just behind the resort.
Maddie and a friend collapsed after a few ski runs.
Troy coming back from the slopes.  The snow stuck to my face.  My beard isn't quite that white yet!  Vanessa didn't recognize me at first when I walked in the door.
The next day we went to the town of Otaru.  This is a picturesque port city.  We went to an indoor ice house (complete with slide), had a very nice sushi dinner, visited a glass making factory, music box museum and store, and a kaleidoscope store.  Maddie made her own kaleidoscope!  We also had some ice cream.  We loved the milk and ice cream in Hokkaido.  They are famous for happy cows.  The dairy was so extremely rich and milky we couldn't help ourselves and enjoyed it often.  Toward the end of the day we went to a small museum dedicated to the city.  Outside of the museum they had built a small hill so kids could try out the old sleds and snow rickshaws.  (OK, kids of all ages....)  Finally, we found a small, local restaurant.  There were only about 8 seats in the whole place.  The owner was a young chef who worked in a large hotel.  He cooked some of the most delicious pasta we have ever had.  I even tried some of the local Otaru wine.  We took the train back to Sapporo since the tour bus had left hours earlier.  We loved Otaru!

The next day we went to the ski resort in Kiroro.  Since Vanessa couldn't ski, we decided to play in the snow.  They had this kids area that had a slope for sledding, an intertube slide and other play areas.   The first thing Maddie did was take a ride on an inflated boat that was pulled around a course by a snow mobile.  Then we all went sledding and had a really good time.  Then we discovered the tube slide.  I think this was Maddie's favorite.  The adults tired out but Maddie and a friend kept at it.
It was snowing pretty heavily but that only made it more fun.
Maddie and her friend played in the snow.  They made a snow fort and cached snow balls.  I went to check on them and got bombarded!
It was finally time to go so the girls reluctantly came back.  We had a nice lunch in the resort lobby and then we headed over to the onsen (Japanese baths.)  Vanessa and Madeleine went to the women's side and I went alone to the men's.  We often go to the onsen but there is something special about going when it is snowing.  The baths were great.  They had several inside but the real treat was the one outside.  I went to the sauna and stayed as long as I could stand it.  After stepping out of the sauna I went to the outside pool.  The pool was really beautiful and made from rocks.  There were large rocks along the perimeter and the floor had smaller ones.  In the center was a cluster of rocks with a fountain of hot water issuing from the center.  Half of the pool was covered and half was open.  Along the edge of the outside part the snow was piled six or seven feet high.  The view beyond the bath was the side of the snow covered mountain and trees.  I stood at the edge of the pool and used a small bucket to rinse myself.  Then I eased into the pool.  The water was nice and hot!  After acclimating to the hot water I went over to the uncovered area.  The snowfall was heavy.  My skin was steaming up and melting the snow as it landed on my skin.  After a very relaxing soak, I climbed up on one of the rocks and sat there letting the snow fall on me.  It was incredible!

That night the entire tour group went out to dinner.  It was at the old Sapporo brewery and it was a kind of all you can eat deal where you cook your food at the table.  We had all you could eat and drink (including cold beer) for 90 minutes.  It was a smoky, boisterous time that we really enjoyed.  (By the way, when we first arrived, they had plastic bags at the table.  Before the cooking began, everyone put their coats and hats in the bags so they didn't get smoky and smell of cooked meat and vegetables.)  It was really fun cooking at the table and several times during the meal we all did the wave from one end of the room to the other.
The restaurant (and the style of cooking) was called Ghengis Khan.

After the dinner, the bus dropped us off at the park in Sapporo where the Snow festival is held.  The festival had not started yet but most of the large sculptures were completed.
The park is a long narrow one with the tower at one end.  We started there and walked the length of it.  There were countless snow sculptures along the way.  Some were the size of a typical statue and others were larger than a house.


This one above was really big.  It was amazingly detailed.  To understand the size of it, I am standing near it and looking up at it.  It was at least the size of a two story house, if not bigger!

The next day, which was our last, we went to the Winter Sports Museum.  It is a very fun, interactive museum on the grounds of the ski jump site of the Sapporo Winter Olympics back in 1972.
Madeleine did great on the ski jump simulator.  She jumped a lot farther than I did!
The beautiful Vanessa and Madeleine at the bottom of the ski jump.

We took a ski lift up to the top of the ski jump.  It was really beautiful up there.  It had snowed every day we were there except this last day.  The clear skies gave us a beautiful view from the top!

An amazing view from the top of the ski jump.  What courage it must take to jump off of this thing!
Later that day we went to lunch in another area of Sapporo.  Here I am in front of the beer and whiskey signs. (Of course!)  They also had some ice sculpures.  Click on the photo below and check out the fish and crab embedded in the ice.
After lunch we went back to the hotel and caught the busses back to the airport in Chitose and flew back to Tokyo.  It was a really great trip.