Mt. Fuji Detectives

Okay, here's what we know. You got in a red sports car and raced down to Mt. Fuji. We were led to believe you weren't able to climb at this time of year, but no Skyping and some lame excuse that you have to get up early to go to the airport??? Sounds a bit suspicious. Knowing you how we do, the kids took one look at your photos and guessed that you went to Mt. Fuji and climbed it... or at least part of it. So, we decided to do the same. Embarking from Otsuki, we took a train and then a bus to Mt. Fuji. Then, we bought our walking staff, replete with bells (significance?) and set off under the arch toward the summit. Along the way, we got seals put on our staff to mark our ascent. At about 10,000 ft. (on our way up to 12,000) we got to thinking that this was not (puff, puff) as good an idea as we thought. But the views... above the clouds... awe inspiring. So, we trudged onto the summit and then listened to a crazy, romantic sounding Japanese pop song as the sun set. Of course, we set a record on the mountain, summiting in a little under 4 minutes (and that includes a train and bus ride). So, did you climb it??? Okay, to recap yesterday, we woke up early and crossed the border to go for a walk. As we descended into the valley to cross the river, we entered a fog bank. The kids really liked that. It turned out we were the first ones in the park. We hiked the loop by the river and the lake. Crisp autumn weather made it quite lovely. We even got to see the steamboat rev it's engines. At the lake, the kids snuck up on a whole gaggle of geese and they, one by one, abandoned the shore to us. Then, Holden managed to spy a baby painted turtle in the water. What skills of observation! Finally, we retired to the nearby bakery for a mid-morning treat. Then, it was home to build a bonfire. Holden took this opportunity to practice drumming outside with me, while Sydney did crafts. Fun and relaxing day. Today, we are just getting to ready to go for our morning walk. We have been invited by Gary, Clare, and Ada to go to a movie, so we have that to look forward to this afternoon. If I don't answer your call, that may be the reason. But I'll try to pick up. Have a good flight! We love you!!!

Skype tomorrow

Hi Sydney and Holden. I'm so sorry but I won't be able to skype today. It's about 5:30 in the morning for and it's evening for me. I'm exhausted! I really need to go to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow to ride a bus for two hours through Tokyo before I catch my flight to Taiwan. I'll get settled in when I get there and we'll skype tomorow. I'll try to call Dad when I get up in the morning. I'm getting up EARLY so I should be able to catch you. Remember, you can't open another bag until you KNOW I've reached Taiwan. I get there at 2:00 PM China Standard time. (Mom, here is the link to help with time conversion... http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ Click on "Personal World Clock" and make your own personal page.) So, until I am awake enough to blog more, I'll have to leave you guessing with three images. Enjoy! Love, Mom.

U2 too

I just remembered I wanted to share one more thing about yesterday...

Andy mentioned in his "Homefront" blog that he heard U2. I was walking to the Meiji temple and there are a lot of preformance artists on the bridge before you get to the entrance. I hear U2 blasting from somewhere and look around to find an air guitarist giving it all he's got. Here's my U2 cover artist - direct from Tokyo.

To my darling Sydney

Hello Sydney! Thank you for sharing your menu - I wish I could eat there! I'm glad you did some cooking for everyone. Yes, you may have my almanac. I loved seeing you on the video! (Well, all except for those stinky feet that kept coming into view.) I love you. Mom.

I Made Eggs (A Sydney Blog)

Mom, today I went to horseback and Pam timed me for poles, and figure eight, too. I really enjoyed horseback today and I also enjoyed making dinner. Tonight, here is the menu. Sunny side up eggs, sunny side up eggs on toast, sunny side up eggs with toast... with or without jam, sunny side up eggs on toast with toast (with or without jam), scrambled eggs, cheese omelette. That is the menu Dad had. Dad had sunny side up eggs on toast. And yesterday I got a package. I will give you a clue to who sent it. It had stickers on it.... It was Grama Joy! She sent me a copy of The Black Stallion and Flame. She found it while she was cleaning. She thought it might have been yours. I just noticed that the picture that Chunyi Lin did (the one you put in the office) has a 3 in it. It looked like this 3. I wonder how that happened? Wierd. I was wondering if I could have your almanac for 2007. I wanted to ask. Please blog soon. ---Love, Sydney

I cannot adequately describe my wonderful day in Tokyo. Takashi and his wife, Junko, picked me up and we took the subway to Akasana. This is an older section of Tokyo and they had never been here either - so it was a first for all of us. We arrived and went to the market for a little shopping. I didn't get much - just a couple of trinkets. (No, they don't take VISA - not even the restaurants.) The market is the entrance to the Buddhist temple in Asaka. This first picture is Takashi with me at the entrance. Junko is in the second picture. At the entrance to the temple we smudged ourselves and washed our hands and mouths before entering. We also got a fortune! Mine was "Good Fortune" - Encourage yourself and you will be fortunate. You haven't seen a sign of good luck yet, but you will get it in the future. Your time has come, you will be happier like a ship sails before the wind."

Then we went to lunch. This time it was shoes off and sitting on your knees. It was wonderful - shrimp tempura.

After lunch we took a boat tour down the Sumida river. We took a regular boat, but I caught a picture of this crazy boat that can also drive on land. Holden, check this out...

Aftet that we took another train. Holden, I actually saw the Shinkansen train twice, but it's too darn fast and I didn't get a picture. It's pretty cool though. So from there we went to the famous Meiji Jingu Shrine. It was amazing - many acres of old garden and forest in the middle of Tokyo! I got a wonderful walk in and also got my nature fix. Here's a picture of the entrance to the temple... From there it was back to the hotel. I had such an amazing day and really appreciated my friends showing me around. Even though we has some challenges in communication, I got to know them well and valued the time we spent together. I have more pictures and will show everyone when I get home. Tomorrow - Mount Fuji.

Breakfast

Just so you know, my breakfast was a big bowl of fruit, Orange Juice, Super Colossal toast, brie, and a chocolate filled croissant. Yummm.

WARNING: Details of Dinner

So - tonight was my first real challenge with dinner. Warning - very long details coming. Last night we went to a top notch restaurant - very nice - high quality food. Tonight we went across the stree to what would probably be the good quality Mom & Pop place. People were waiting in a line out the door, so it was popular. We stepped in and the fish smell hit me. The other places didn't smell like really strong fish odor. This was a sign. They ordered me a beer. (I really don't like beer but have been politely accepting it. Tonight I was glad to have it.) Appetizer was a dish of raw items which included squid, octopus, and something they could not translate for me. Very, very chewy appetizer. I continued to chew but could not break it down. So, I used the beer to wash it down whole. I grabbed another item - I don't know which one it was - but I took a bite and there was a large, knuckle sized piece of body cartiledge. Chewing was not an option - it was going down whole too - but it was much bigger. Another drink of beer. Now I was wondering if the beer was going to last me the entire meal! Then another tray came for us to share - all raw fish. I was fine with most of it - I actually like raw tuna. Sampled a bit of everything and then tried a little "spring shrimp". It was small and skinny - and raw. The only thing was that once I took a bite it turned to fish mush in my mouth. Kinda gross. Another drink of beer. I must say the textures I've run into are quite amazing. So, now for the main course. We each got a sampler platter with a bunch of stuff on it. Rolls of rice/sushi. Big pieces of sushi (the size of my index finger but thicker) on rolls of rice. Something long at the bottom of my plate. Caviar inthe middle. Sea urchin, yellowfin, and several things I couldn't identify. I tried a few things - not bad. Then I ate some of the long stuff at the bottom. It was a big piece so I needed to cut it - something I don't do very well with chopsticks. I've seen others do it but I'm not skilled. I was sawing away and couldn't get through it. Finally - right in front of the waiter - I actually broke the chopsticks! (They were the cheap little disposable ones, but still...) The waiter quickly whisked away the broken ones and new ones landed in my hand. We all laughed a little, but I still needed to cut that thing! I used my finger a little to pull it apart. I ate about half of it and asked what it was... eel. Interesting. Very soft inside but toward the skin was the layer of uncutable stuff. I saw this other greenish stick thing with tiny little clear balls on it (about 5-6 balls would make a pin head). They said it was seaweed with caviar. I took a bite and quickly regretted the size I had bitten off. The little balls would sort of pop/crunch as you bit into them and they would echo through into your head. I couldn't handle that, but I was already chewing it! Several drinks of beer were needed to resolve this issue. OK - no more eel. No more crunchy caviar. No more cartiledge. Grabbed one of the finger size pieces of sushi still on my plate - something I hadn't tried yet. It was very white and glossy. I popped the entire thing into my mouth (wasn't going to try the cutting trick again) and discovered the outside 1/8 inch to be very soft and extremely slippery. Under that was something akin to the texture of your tongue. I nearly lost it. I tried to chew but that was NOT helping the situation. It was going to have to go down the same way as the others, but it was too big. So, I took two or three big attempts at chewing it in half or thirds and then downed the rest of my beer. Thank goodness it was so slippery - it went down pretty easily. Yes, I was able to hold back onthe gagging reflex, though I really wasn't sure that was possible. Ugh. I made it. "Yes, dinner was wonderful. Thank you so much." Then there was the train ride back. I didn't get lost, but after riding for over an hour and 45 minutes I guess I wasn't paying attention and I missed my stop at Nagatacho. So, get off, grab a train to go back and I was just fine. Made it directly back to the hotel. Another day or two and I'll know this system pretty well. Now, it's late. I'm very tired. Goodnight. Hope your stomach sleeps better than mine.

Leaving Sagamihara

Ah - done with work in Japan. Now it's dinner and the weekend. I am a little upset with myself though because I have not gotten my camera out at all. I wanted to get some pictures of my coworkers in Japan but I didn't remember! Sorry - no pictures to post. Hopefully I'll have a few by the weekend though. Saturday - my friend Takenouchi-san and his wife will be giving me a tour of Tokyo. (I met him when he was staying in St. Paul over a year ago.) He wanted to know if I wanted to see Traditional or Modern Japan. I voted for traditional! So, I will get an official tour. Sunday - I have found a friend, Uno-san, who will drive me in his little red convertible to see Mount Fuji. This is around a 3 hour drive - depending on traffic. So I get to see the city and the countryside. AND - I don't have to navigate the transportation system by myself. I must admit it's a little confusing for me to find my way around. By the way - everyone loved the chocolate gifts. Everyone except my host, Kuma. I discovered that Japan has declared a program against "metabolic disorder". After a little discussion, I found this means "weight gain". Actually, Japanese people have a different metabolism than we do. They don't gain as much weight (plus they eat a lot of fish so this helps) and they process stuff faster. For example, they need less alcohol to get drunk. Anyway, he is required, by 3M and the Japanese government, to report his weight, waist measurement, everything he eats daily, and all the exercise he does - for 9 months! They call him once a week to tell him to walk to work, bike more, cut back on sweeets, etc. Anyway. Need to go to dinner. I'll have more for you later.

Toilet humor

For those interested, here is a wealth of info - with Pictures - about toilets. Squat toilets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet Japanese toilets and bidets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_toilet

It finally works...

I see my posts finally went through. It took a while. Andy - try some lavender oil and Rescue Remedy on Holden. They might help a bit when things get hard. Love you.

Blog Blog Blog

Just sent a blog but didn't enter a title. Don't do this - there is no way to get the text back. It even disappeared in the window when I go "back". So, you miss out this time. Tell Sydney that my meal quivered a bit too. Cafeteria food. Fortunately/unfortunately I'm not exactly sure what I was eating. Octopus in a gelatinous goo over rice? Chewey and gooey. Yummm... Love you all very much! Mom