おとうさん (Otosan) & Hiroko

7.12.08

Right after work, Hiroko, her husband and I all hopped into his speedy Megane, Renault convertible and headed towards Futomi, Chiba. Futomi is located on the Pacific Ocean side of the Chiba Prefecture. I live on the opposite side of the Chiba Prefecture--on the Tokyo Bay side. It took us about three hours by car to get to Futomi which is located somewhere between Kamogawa and Tateyama.

As we were driving to Futomi, we passed through a heavy hail storm.

We also passed through this small village that was holding it's summer festival. Here, the men of the village are carrying a solid gold statue to the shrine.

After relaxing in the outdoor onsen (it is fenced in), we enjoyed a rather large dinner in our hotel room. Hiroko later told me that she had ordered the smallest dinner package possible. I couldn't imagine the size of the largest one.

This boat filled with raw fish was only a portion of the meal. There were many new foods that I tried while staying at the hotel, and to be honest, I enjoyed a great majority of them. :)

Otosan & Hirokosan are almost ready for bed.

7.13.08

The next morning, we all woke up very early, went to the onsen again and enjoyed a nice Japanese style breakfast at the hotel as we looked out onto the ocean. After breakfast, we decided to go on several adventures which are described in the pictures below.

View From the Hotel

From our room window, we could enjoy a beautiful Pacific Ocean view.

This is the hotel's eating area.

Hiroko is standing just outside the entrance to our Japanese style hotel.

The fishing pond was located just beyond this cave.

Now that I have my pole and my bait, I'm ready to fish. :)

Hiroko caught a fish! We quickly discovered that these crafty little fish were trained professionals at stealing our bait. If my father would've been fishing with us, he would have called them "bait stealers". I just called them "dorobo!" (robbers in Japanese).

There were several birds of prey flying around the top of this cliff.

Pale Pink Hibiscus

The Nokogiriyama Rope Way

We took the rope way headed towards Nokogiriyama.

This is the view from the top of the rope way.

Climbing Up towards the Nihon-ji Shrine

View Over the Ledge

We passed by these Buddist statues while hiking.

After our long hike, Hiroko and her husband decide to sit in the shade by the Daibutsu (giant Budda statue). The Daibutsu behind them is the largest stone carved Budda in Japan.

Dragonfly

Tiny Budda's Near Their "House"

Hiroko and I placed two little Budda's near their "house"/shrine and made a wish.

From left to right: Azusa, Mai (Azusa's best friend) and me. After all I did this weekend, I still had time to meet up with my friend Azusa on Sunday night. I wanted to see her before she left on a trip to Switzerland. Azusa invited me to her home for dinner, which her father made. He prepared home-made pizza, noodle and cheese casserole, salad and some other dishes that had a very "American" taste. After eating, the three of us sat and talked with Azusa's mother who was very kind and caring.

Tokyo Disney Land Hotel Grand Opening

7.9.08

The official opening of the new Tokyo Disney Land Hotel was this past Tuesday, July 8th. Lauren and I wanted to visit on opening day but we were unable to fit it into our teaching schedules. However, we were able to find time the following day. We thought it would be a good idea to invite Hiroko with us for a "girls day out". We enjoyed giving ourselves a tour of the new hotel the surrounding area before getting lunch together at a Hawaiian style sandwich shop. After lunch we headed back to school for our afternoon lessons.

Because the hotel is located outside the park, we were able to freely walk around the entrance.

With my back facing the entrance to the hotel, I could see the Tokyo Disney Resport train line. Behind the train line is the entrance to Tokyo Disney Land.

Goofy and many other Disney characters welcome guest into the hotel.

Up the Stairs and Past Alice

The hotel lobby is quite large with a high cathedral ceiling. The the cast iron elevator cage was beautiful and all the lounge-wear had a classy "olden days" feel to it.

Lauren, Me and Hiroko in the Lobby

Guests arriving to the hotel by taxi or bus see this fountain inspired by Disney's Fantasia movie. Sorcerer Mickey is commanding his brooms to pour water into the fountain.

I took this picture especially for my dear friend Alison Kincaid.

All of the workers were dressed to the nines.

In the Bippity-Boppity Boutique, little girls transformed themselves into princesses with the help of hair and make-up artists. Princess dresses (Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty) could be purchased in the shop next door. We saw several little "Disney princesses" walking around the hotel area; they were absolutely adorable.

At lunch, I ordered a shi-i-ra sandwich. Because my name in Japanese means Mahi Mahi--a popular Hawaiian fish--I couldn't pass up the chance to eat myself. :)

Yokohama Night Life

7.5.08

After work today, Lauren and I met up with Ryo-chan in Yokohama. After getting something to eat for dinner we walked around and decided to ride some of the attractions in Yokohama's Cosmo World theme park.

Ryo-chan and Lauren

Looking Up at the Gigantic Cosmo World Ferris Wheel

It's a good thing I fulfilled the height requirement. ;)

First we went on the Spinning Coaster.

Ryo-chan and the Spinning Coaster didn't mix too well.

Waiting to Get on the Ferris Wheel

Air Conditioned Ferris Wheel Cars

Lauren and Ryo-chan giving the thumbs up as our ferris wheel ride commences.

A birds-eye-view of the Spinning Coaster. Personally, I found it quite enjoyable.

This picture was taken from the top of the ferris wheel's cycle.

This past Sunday was a popular Japanese festival where people write their wish on a piece of paper and hang it on a stalk of bamboo. All three of us wrote a wish and tied it to the bamboo stalks.

Ryo-chan won Lauren and I Kapibara-san toys in the Cosmo World arcade playing the claw game. Lauren and I also took purikura.

Kapibara-san buddies for life!

Cup Noodle Arcade Games

Why Health Care? Why Now? (an NPR story)

7.3.08

I came across an interesting article on the NPR.org website today. It discusses some issues concerning the United States health care system as they related to those issues of other countries such as: France, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Within the article, a pop-up window allows you to make side by side comparisons of general health care information between various countries. Of course I compared United States to Japan as well as some others. If you have any interest in health care whatsoever, I recommend reading the article below (Please click the link that will take you to the story on the NPR.org website).

Why Health Care? Why Now? by Joe Neel

Wednesdays with Ro

7.2.08

I had a new student tonight and her lesson ended at 9pm. Even thought it was quite late, I enjoyed my bicycle ride home. When I passed by the park their was a really sweet and flowery scent in the air. I wish my mother (or grandmother) would've been their to confirm the flower type for me. They are always the two to ask when it comes to anything garden related.

My lessons went well today. It makes me sad to think that I only have a few lessons left with my students. Parent Open House will be the week of July 14th and I will do my best to prepare for that date. I hope the parents are impressed with what my students learn. English is so difficult and all of my students are doing a great job. Granted some are improving slower than others, but overall, I believe they have changed for the better. Perhaps I have also changed for the better as well. I hope. :)

Before going to class today, Lauren (Ro) and I stopped to get some ice cream (it's our favorite past time) and take some purikura pictures. Here are two of the four pictures. I suppose all purikura pictures are meant to be a bit on the ridiculous side.

Bejeweled Ro & Shi

Tall Ro & Short Shi

Random Side Notes: Lauren just sent an email to my cell phone informing me of a rice vending machine that she spotted while walking around Tokyo this evening. To the Japanese, convenience is extremely important, even when it comes to rice.

I would also like to mention one more thing. On Tuesday night, I was called on to remove a rather large moth from the classroom where Lauren was teaching. The moth was about an inch long with the fuzziest looking antennae Lauren or I had ever witnessed. The moth's antennae were about .5 inches long--about half the length of it's body. I gently trapped it under a cup and released it into the flowerbed lining the front window of the school. While it was in the cup, I made sure to spend a good thirty seconds watching the moth's two antennae move around wildly. It must have been honing in on my presence.

Takaozan & Shodo

6.29.08

As the end of my stay in Japan comes closer and closer to its end, Hiroko made it clear that she wanted to take Lauren and I to a special restaurant to celebrate the past year of teaching. Getting off at Takaosanguchi station, we took a quick shuttle bus ride to a very famous traditional Japanese restaurant called Ukagaitoriyama. At the entrance to the restaurant, we were greeted by waitresses in matching kimonos. It was a beautiful and old Japanese restaurant with several different complexes for different occasions. Our table was located next to a window overlooking a large garden decorated with a waterwheel, lanterns and a pond. The sound of the waterwheel was very calming and the restaurant had a pleasantly fresh smell.

Hiroko and Kawabata-san at the Takaosanguchi train station.

Me at the Takaosanguchi train station.

The Keio train at the Takaosanguchi train station. Hiroko explained that Takaozan (Mount Takao) is a famous mountain in this area and many people come from all over Japan just to climb it.

Entrance to the Ukagaitoriyama Restaurant

Hiroko ordered sake in a bamboo container.

Our traditional Japanese meal consisted of several different courses. Each was very delicious and very new to me. Here are "mountain vegetables" on the left and miso eggplant on the right. It is not pictured here but after this course we were given raw coi--also known as carp or goldfish. The coi didn't have much flavor on its own so we were given sweet mustard sauce as a dip.

This fish is called Ayu. According to wikipedia it is a relative of the smelt from Gunma, Japan. I went to Gunma three weekends ago! Wow.

In the middle of our table was this Japanese style barbecue. A man carried over a large pot full of hot coals and placed in in the middle of three cast iron slabs. The slabs absorbed the heat from the pot and transferred it to the ashes below. A grill was placed over the pot and we were given meat and vegetables to cook.

My five onions from the picture above accidentally slid off the grill and fell into the ash below. Here is a picture of the evidence. After this incident, Lauren told me she "didn't know me". Hiroko, on the other hand, just grabbed my onions from the ashes, cleaned them up and put them back on the grill while saying "It's just like camping!". :)

Just before the last two courses (rice and then dessert), the restaurant prepared for a thirty minute firefly show by distinguishing all the lights in the restaurant. We all sat out on the narrow porch and stared into the rainy garden while captured fireflies were released into the pitch black night. You could see their faint green glow as they flew to their freedom. One of the waitresses came around and placed a glowing firefly into my hand. I tried my best to be gentle and eventually returned it back to the nature of the garden.

6.30.08

Today in my Japanese class I learned how to do Japanese calligraphy, which is also known as Shodo in Japanese. My class provided all the materials: sumi (black ink make from charcoal), suzuri (an ink well), fude (traditional Japanese Shodo brush), bunchin (weight to hold the rice paper), hanshi (rice paper), shitajiki (mat blacked under the rice paper that is used to absorb the excess ink that may happen to bleed through the paper), and fudemaki (bamboo mat that is used to store the fude brush when you're not using it).

My teachers explained that I should hold the fude--with my right hand--at a ninety degree angle to the rice paper. They said I should also place my left hand on the lower left corner of the rice paper to hold it down. We practiced writing some basic kanji--the numbers one and two--and then we learned how to write then kanji for kokoro, which means "heart" in English. We right from top right to bottom left and sign our work on the left side. To be honest, it took me quite a while to feel comfortable with writing from right to left. All my teacher's were very supportive and great motivators!

Here is some new vocabulary for me to learn.

My calligraphy and Nakayama-san (Nakayama-san translated for us.)

Ogino-san is giving us some directions.

Shodo Painting

My Shodo painting of the kanji for "heart" (kokoro) with my first name in kanji (shiira) on the left side. Normally my name would be written as using characters like this　シーラ (shira) サヤ (saya), which are for all foreign/non-Japanese words. However, my friend Ryoji chose this kanji for my name: 紫衣羅 (shira) 早夜 (saya). Many parents will chose kanji for their children because of the meaning behind each character. The kanji for my first name means purple cloth while the kanji for my last name means early or fresh night.

Monica-san and Nakamura-san


Pictures care of Ogino-san posted 7.5.08.



This picture reminds me of when I help my students at Hands On English write their ABC's. I often have to guide their little five year old hands as they learn the shapes of the letters.

I am writing heart (kokoro). The kanji for kokoro has four strokes and in this picture I have finished two of the four.

Signing My Name: shi-i-ra