Visited colleague of Michael from Merck (Banyu in Japan), Liz, her husband Bart, Son Ken and Mother Sara Lee for a traditional American Grill Out/Housewarming and Bart's new grill initiation. They recently moved into this new place, and so Deanna and Michael bought some beautiful blue flowers (Mia picked out the flowers) as a housewarming gift.
The apartment is within a gated, US-only, housing project. Outside their windows, in the back of the apartment, is a Shinto Shrine, so they have plenty of trees and a relatively quiet setting for their two patios. Very nice place. Living in the US complex allows you to shop at a US subsidised store with US products, including the Weber gas grill of Bart's (and probably the beef too).
Sara Lee shared her recipe for German Style Potato salad. It was a nice change from the mayonnaise and egg based salad you always seem to get in Michigan. Bart grilled up some hot-dogs and Hamburgers that were quite tasty. Also had a really nice tossed salad with some blue cheese dressing. Bart, Michael and I sampled a couple of "Sam Adams" beers to compliment the lunch, while Deanna and Sara Lee sipped some white wine. Had Deanna's dessert cake with nuts, chocolate and raisins on top, which was complimented by ice cream....
The kids played on some bikes and and few other toys for a while and then we walked down to the playground. Anthony had a little mishap that resulted in a bloody nose, but it wasn't really all that bad in the end.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Park, Indoor Pool and Onsen for the whole Family
On Sunday we had two.....well OK, three goals: 1 Visit this great park that has an obstacle course (the name of which escapes me now), 2 visit a "Family" Onsen, and keep three kids entertained all the while !!
We started out with a short walk from the train station to the park (everything starts and ends with a walk), where we ate a picnic lunch of some sandwiches, a few pastries, some McDonalds Fries (for Anthony), and Onigiri while we sipped some cold beverages. Michael had a frosty, or the McDonalds equivalent...still can't eat real food.
After lunch, and checking out the park fountain, we all walked to the entrance to the playground. There were two playgrounds, one small version for younger kids, and another more complex and dangerous "Obstacle Course" style play area for 6 and up kids.
Below are the pictures from the "Little park" as Anthony put it. Deanna, Mia, Todd and Anthony visited the bigger park after this. It was really neat, but not very safe, primarily for younger children......but Anthony enjoyed it. Seems the Japanese don't have the same safety standards for playground equipment.
We started out with a short walk from the train station to the park (everything starts and ends with a walk), where we ate a picnic lunch of some sandwiches, a few pastries, some McDonalds Fries (for Anthony), and Onigiri while we sipped some cold beverages. Michael had a frosty, or the McDonalds equivalent...still can't eat real food.
After lunch, and checking out the park fountain, we all walked to the entrance to the playground. There were two playgrounds, one small version for younger kids, and another more complex and dangerous "Obstacle Course" style play area for 6 and up kids.
Below are the pictures from the "Little park" as Anthony put it. Deanna, Mia, Todd and Anthony visited the bigger park after this. It was really neat, but not very safe, primarily for younger children......but Anthony enjoyed it. Seems the Japanese don't have the same safety standards for playground equipment.
I like to call this piece of playground equipment "The Ankle Breaker"....
On this "ride", you are counterweighted can be spun around. Keep your hands up and stay off the landings when someone is riding or you could easily get pinched or break a limb....really dangerous.
After the park ,we walked about a quarter mile to an indoor mall/children's play area. The whole complex takes up an entire block and is 6 or 7 stories high. The children were all under the height restriction for the regular pool, so we spent some time in the kiddie pool. Neat set-up for the kiddie pool....it's about 18 inches deep and runs along the back of the public pool area, behind the circular adult pool. Best part of the kiddie pool was the marble waterfall in the middle and against the back wall. There were also two Jacuzzis. After a short dip in the kiddie pool, the men took the Andrew and Anthony to the Onsen. There were several pools and baths, but none was cool enough for either of the them. Both, I think, did like the bathing area. Anthony was having fun dumping the wash bucket over his head. Linda and Deanna spent some time in the hot tub, then Linda went for a message while Deanna took Emilia to the Onsen with her.
The Onsens public gathering/rest area, where you would generally wear your Onsen pajamas to relax between baths, was the least formal of the three Onsens I visited. This was geared more for kids and families and was less like a resort and more like Chucky Cheese (had an arcade attached). Huge bank of vending machines dispensed at least 100 different beverages, snacks, pastries, microwavable food and beer. Another first for me were vending machines that dispensed HOT food and beverages.
Everyone seemed to have had a good time. We did a quick walk back to the train stations, with a short ride home.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Shopping for Pottery - Saturday
The whole crew assembled for a trip to Asukusa to visit Senso-Ji temple and to shop for pottery for the Lo Cicero's to take home. Upon leaving the train we were in the heart of the shopping district where the number of pottery shops and convenience stores is staggering. Bought a beer in the vending machine while getting Anthony some Lemon Water (his favorite Japanese drink). In Japan you can buy and drink beer nearly anywhere, except for the store where you bought it, and some government locations (or shrines and temples).
Linda and I stopped to give some serious consideration to the color and pattern we would like for our collection of pottery, including sake cups (sakazuki) and ceramic bottle (tokkuri). Most of the individual stores had enough choices to make the decision difficult but there were hundreds of these stores, and this was one of the more modest. One store we visited had barely enough room to walk as there was pottery on the floor and stacked up to the ceiling. It was like the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when they go to put the ark away in hiding in a huge warehouse and it seems to go on forever......
After taking a couple hours to tour the many stores, we realized that we hadn't really made any decisions, most likely due to the fact that we didn't know that our choices would be so wide. Should we go with black and white...how about white with blue accent....and there were a variety of earth tones as well.... We decided we needed to narrow our focus on specific colors and patterns or we could spend days making the decision.
During this search, an unusually strong storm kicked up that brought 30-40 mph winds and a drop in the temperature of 20 degrees. Just rain would have been no problem as the sidewalks are covered with awnings. The sky turned dark...then a little green, so we all sought refuge in a restaurant grocery store. You could immediately tell it was for restaurants because the sizes of the store contents were large, not tiny as in the grocery stores. We spent about 20-30 minutes hanging out in the store, trying to entertain the kids with only a few cookies and some purchased fruit snacks.
Anthony could not resist the temptation to touch everything in the stores. This was especially bad because nearly everything in the pottery stores was fragile, and much of it was stacked without much consideration for kids. It had to be a rough time for him because he loves to touch everything, and even more so when we tell him NOT to touch....go figure....
Before Emilia, Anthony and Andrew could go into full meltdown, we headed back to the Ferrante ranch. Myrna, their housekeeper/sitter, was to visit in the late afternoon and early evening, so we thought we'd take advantage of her watching the kids to get a little quiet time for the adults. The adults had dinner out, ALONE, at a nice Italian restaurant. Michael and I each ordered a glass of red wine, Deanna had a Spumante and Linda, a diet coke. We sat on the terrace, which was a small patch of cement on the sidewalk surrounded by potted plants. Michael pointed out that, in Tokyo, it's amazing what passes for a terrace. We ordered a pizza, Caprese salad and a baked eggplant and cheese appetizer and split them, except for Michael who is still healing his broken jaw.
Afterward, Michael and Todd went to the LaQua spa , near the Tokyo Dome, to use the Onsen. http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/laqua/spa.htm
The Tokyo Dome complex is like an amusement park, with a huge Ferris wheel and a roller coaster that runs through the middle of the Ferris wheel. The area was pretty busy, as this was Saturday night, so we were as entertained by the teens and young adults as much as the sights. This Onsen was considerably more elaborate than the first we visited. Upon arrival, you are given an armband with a chip in it. When purchasing anything from a vending machine, or even a massage, you simply swipe the armband and it keeps track of your purchases. This is really convenient, as when you are bathing naked you can't keep spare change in your pocket.
The bathing area was much larger than that of the first Onsen, with more pools to choose from and each being larger to accommodate more people. It is common for each of the pools to be regulated to a specific temperature, ranging from 43C down to only 22C (the cool down pool). In addition to the Onsen pools there were several large Sauna's, both dry and moist, as well as a massage area (ladies doing the massages) and standard jacuzzi tub's.
Another great feature at this Onsen was a sleeping/relaxation area. Within a large room, there are many "individual" couches, each with it's own entertainment area and side stand. It is common for people to spend the night here should they miss their train, or just elect to make an evening of bathing and pampering. We ordered a couple of frozen strawberry drinks and relaxed between baths. Frozen drinks were a great way to recover from the extremely hot baths.
Linda and I stopped to give some serious consideration to the color and pattern we would like for our collection of pottery, including sake cups (sakazuki) and ceramic bottle (tokkuri). Most of the individual stores had enough choices to make the decision difficult but there were hundreds of these stores, and this was one of the more modest. One store we visited had barely enough room to walk as there was pottery on the floor and stacked up to the ceiling. It was like the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when they go to put the ark away in hiding in a huge warehouse and it seems to go on forever......
After taking a couple hours to tour the many stores, we realized that we hadn't really made any decisions, most likely due to the fact that we didn't know that our choices would be so wide. Should we go with black and white...how about white with blue accent....and there were a variety of earth tones as well.... We decided we needed to narrow our focus on specific colors and patterns or we could spend days making the decision.
During this search, an unusually strong storm kicked up that brought 30-40 mph winds and a drop in the temperature of 20 degrees. Just rain would have been no problem as the sidewalks are covered with awnings. The sky turned dark...then a little green, so we all sought refuge in a restaurant grocery store. You could immediately tell it was for restaurants because the sizes of the store contents were large, not tiny as in the grocery stores. We spent about 20-30 minutes hanging out in the store, trying to entertain the kids with only a few cookies and some purchased fruit snacks.
Anthony could not resist the temptation to touch everything in the stores. This was especially bad because nearly everything in the pottery stores was fragile, and much of it was stacked without much consideration for kids. It had to be a rough time for him because he loves to touch everything, and even more so when we tell him NOT to touch....go figure....
Before Emilia, Anthony and Andrew could go into full meltdown, we headed back to the Ferrante ranch. Myrna, their housekeeper/sitter, was to visit in the late afternoon and early evening, so we thought we'd take advantage of her watching the kids to get a little quiet time for the adults. The adults had dinner out, ALONE, at a nice Italian restaurant. Michael and I each ordered a glass of red wine, Deanna had a Spumante and Linda, a diet coke. We sat on the terrace, which was a small patch of cement on the sidewalk surrounded by potted plants. Michael pointed out that, in Tokyo, it's amazing what passes for a terrace. We ordered a pizza, Caprese salad and a baked eggplant and cheese appetizer and split them, except for Michael who is still healing his broken jaw.
Afterward, Michael and Todd went to the LaQua spa , near the Tokyo Dome, to use the Onsen. http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/laqua/spa.htm
The Tokyo Dome complex is like an amusement park, with a huge Ferris wheel and a roller coaster that runs through the middle of the Ferris wheel. The area was pretty busy, as this was Saturday night, so we were as entertained by the teens and young adults as much as the sights. This Onsen was considerably more elaborate than the first we visited. Upon arrival, you are given an armband with a chip in it. When purchasing anything from a vending machine, or even a massage, you simply swipe the armband and it keeps track of your purchases. This is really convenient, as when you are bathing naked you can't keep spare change in your pocket.
The bathing area was much larger than that of the first Onsen, with more pools to choose from and each being larger to accommodate more people. It is common for each of the pools to be regulated to a specific temperature, ranging from 43C down to only 22C (the cool down pool). In addition to the Onsen pools there were several large Sauna's, both dry and moist, as well as a massage area (ladies doing the massages) and standard jacuzzi tub's.
Another great feature at this Onsen was a sleeping/relaxation area. Within a large room, there are many "individual" couches, each with it's own entertainment area and side stand. It is common for people to spend the night here should they miss their train, or just elect to make an evening of bathing and pampering. We ordered a couple of frozen strawberry drinks and relaxed between baths. Frozen drinks were a great way to recover from the extremely hot baths.
Disney Sea Tokyo - Friday
What a great idea for us to go to Disney Sea - Tokyo today! We took a couple of different trains to get to the Disney property, but skipped the Disney Monorail due to huge crowding. We walked about half a mile instead of riding to get to the entrance and arrived a little before opening time, 10am. We were to meet Deanna and Michaels friend John and his daughter, Phoebe, who is one 1/2, at the entrance at opening time, which worked out fine.
Unlike Disney in the US, the majority of the patrons were groups of teenagers and young adults, not families. When entering the park everyone was dressed normally, but there was a mad dash (no kidding, they sprinted) to the trash and trinkets with most everyone purchasing Mouse Head Bands with the ears, and some with bows (Minnie), even some some of the adult guys. I had to chuckle seeing these girlie ears on young men, but they seemed to be as amused wearing them as I was viewing them and the nonsense of it all. Fortunately we were among the first few into the park and Anthony was able to snag a pair of ears that looked like American flags. How lucky. He was very happy with this souvenir and very excited to be at the park.
When we met up with John and Phoebe we headed toward the boat ride,
but Phoebe had a Class 2 accident that required the rinsing of her clothing and the stroller and a complete change of clothes (I didn't ask what a Class 1 accident is, but it must be really bad!!). After that incident, John and Phoebe caught up with us while having lunch at a little cafeteria. The eating area had a stage and they did a cute Donald Duck/Chip-n-Dale show that captured the kids attention while the ate chicken nuggets and french fries. Deanna bought Anthony a cute souvenir cup that contained a strawberry and whipped cream dessert....all the kids loved it.
Following lunch, we headed to Ariel's playground which is an indoor play area with kiddie rides, a movie theater, little playground, etc. The design is really neat and you really feel like you're under water. The play area was not crowded at all so we were able to ride the rides over and over without waiting. There was a cup-n-saucer ride that spins you round-n round inside a big cup as well as a jelly fish ride where you sit under brightly colored jellyfish, in two's, and the seats go up and down gently, with all kinds of pretty lights and colors. At the highest point, you are probably 30 ft off the ground, so Linda was a little queasy, but she powered through it !!
The Saucer Ride.....again no line....how lucky we were !
Ariel's Playground from the entrance overlooking the indoor playground.
Linda and Anthony enter Ariel's Playground
Here, Andrew peeks through the "Coral" like railing looking into Ariel's Playground.
From my opposite side and reaching out to the opposite side of the railing, a picture of Phoebe peeking through.
Afterward, the adults did some rides like Indiana Jones and 20,000 Leagues under the sea. Linda and Deanna did the "Mine Ride". Sometime during our day the weather changed from sunny and calm to windy and a bit cool. Seems to happen like that quite often in Japan and I understand that it's due to the proximity to the Ocean. You're never very far from the Ocean on this island !! Deanna and John were interested in the "Tower of Terror", which is similar to the "Demon Drop" at Cedar Point, but much taller. They had a blast and have the ride picture, with their terrified faces, to prove it.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Tokyo Metro Government Observatory - Thursday
Tokyo Metro Government Building
On Thursday, Anthony, Linda and I traveled to Shinjuku to visit two "Must See" destinations, the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and the Tokyo Metro Government Building. Although we had excellent directions, upon arriving at the station, we got a bit turned around. While looking for an elevator we ended up on the opposite end of the station. You would think it would be no big deal, but the station is huge. Another factor is that, from street level, it is impossible to see any distance, so we were left asking directions. We spoke with a policeman, electrical worker and a guy from the train station. You'd think the local folks would know the exact directions, but we actually had some people give us really poor directions.
We intended to visit the Metro Goverment building first to see the sites of the city and then we were going to have a picnic lunch at the gardens, but we were so hungry that we stopped in a western style restaurant for a little snack before visiting the observatory. Really unusual that you are allowed to smoke in a large government building, with the non-smoking section being at the back near the bathrooms, and really small.
Anyway, we ate quickly and moved on the the observatory, which is at the 45th floor of the twin towers of the building.
The weather was a little cloudy, so we couldn't see some of the more distant landmarks, like Mt. Fuji. Great views of the surrounding area, including Yoyogi Park and the National Gardens. Spent an hour looking out the window, watching helicopters land on nearby rooftops, and looking at "trash and trinkets" at the souvineer shop.
Afterward, we headed toward the National Gardens. It was supposed to be about a 15 minute walk, but again, we got turned around and we ended up walking about 30 minutes. Linda and I found it funny that this landmark was on our map, but there was no indication of where the entrance was, and the locals had a hard time describing where to go (or maybe it was our lack of knowledge of the language). Wandered for quite a while until we stumbled on gate. Admission was cheap, 250 Y for adults, and the lunch we grabbed for the picnic was reasonable too. We got some mixed sandwiches (strips of egg salad, ham, and cheese sandwiches, not an entire sandwich) and some sushi, as well as some green tea and a couple Coca Colas and spread out our blanket for lunch. Soon after we set-up, the local birds started landing around us. One large Crow was really brave and came up close enough to steal a Goldfish cracker from near out blanket.
The Gardens were exceptionally beautiful and with each tree being manicured, the grass looked like a putting green, and the flowers were numerous and in bloom.
The Japanese Gardens:
English Garden Area:
On Thursday, Anthony, Linda and I traveled to Shinjuku to visit two "Must See" destinations, the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and the Tokyo Metro Government Building. Although we had excellent directions, upon arriving at the station, we got a bit turned around. While looking for an elevator we ended up on the opposite end of the station. You would think it would be no big deal, but the station is huge. Another factor is that, from street level, it is impossible to see any distance, so we were left asking directions. We spoke with a policeman, electrical worker and a guy from the train station. You'd think the local folks would know the exact directions, but we actually had some people give us really poor directions.
We intended to visit the Metro Goverment building first to see the sites of the city and then we were going to have a picnic lunch at the gardens, but we were so hungry that we stopped in a western style restaurant for a little snack before visiting the observatory. Really unusual that you are allowed to smoke in a large government building, with the non-smoking section being at the back near the bathrooms, and really small.
Anyway, we ate quickly and moved on the the observatory, which is at the 45th floor of the twin towers of the building.
The weather was a little cloudy, so we couldn't see some of the more distant landmarks, like Mt. Fuji. Great views of the surrounding area, including Yoyogi Park and the National Gardens. Spent an hour looking out the window, watching helicopters land on nearby rooftops, and looking at "trash and trinkets" at the souvineer shop.
Afterward, we headed toward the National Gardens. It was supposed to be about a 15 minute walk, but again, we got turned around and we ended up walking about 30 minutes. Linda and I found it funny that this landmark was on our map, but there was no indication of where the entrance was, and the locals had a hard time describing where to go (or maybe it was our lack of knowledge of the language). Wandered for quite a while until we stumbled on gate. Admission was cheap, 250 Y for adults, and the lunch we grabbed for the picnic was reasonable too. We got some mixed sandwiches (strips of egg salad, ham, and cheese sandwiches, not an entire sandwich) and some sushi, as well as some green tea and a couple Coca Colas and spread out our blanket for lunch. Soon after we set-up, the local birds started landing around us. One large Crow was really brave and came up close enough to steal a Goldfish cracker from near out blanket.
The Gardens were exceptionally beautiful and with each tree being manicured, the grass looked like a putting green, and the flowers were numerous and in bloom.
The Japanese Gardens:
English Garden Area:
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Some time by myself (Linda)- Wednesday
May be a misleading title, since there are SO many people in Tokyo. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone out walking here in Tokyo.
I (Linda) had the opportunity to spend some time by myself today, so I took advantage of it and went into Harajuku to do some 'shopping'. I'm putting that in quotes because the clothes in Harajuku are REALLY weird. I tried on some clothes, but didn't buy anything, since there is NO way on this green earth I could have pulled them off and made the outfit look planned. Twenty years ago I could have done it (please keep in mind 20 years ago it was the 80's and the clothes would have fit right in!) and I would have done it; but not now (read: not 20 years and one kid later . . .).
Note to Hollywood: You can be really skinny and not be anorexic, EVERYONE here in Tokyo does it.
Note to Alan Gold also: If you've never been to Harajuku, you should go next time you go to Japan to visit Sunric. The fashions will blow you away. I'm sure it'll give you some good ideas!
For lunch today I stopped at this outdoor place, and they had what looked like a hamburger on the menu, so I ordered that. I'm not sure about all these noodle dishes that are topped with what looks like raw octopus. It kind of grosses me out so early in the morning, but I'm sure a lot of people love it! Anyway, I'm not really sure if it was a hamburger or not. It didn't really taste like one, but I'm pretty sure that's what the sign said. I don't think I'll be having hamburger again while we're here.
I was able to navigate the subways by myself (again, I don't know it's a subway or a train, still can't figure that one out) and even managed to stop on the way home and do a little shopping. I got Anthony his first real pair of chopsticks! He's been eating with them so well since we've been here, I don't want him to forget how to do it when we get home!
This afternoon Todd and I are watching Anthony and Andrew while Deanna is out. The two boys are 2 years (almost exactly) apart and it's been a crazy hectic afternoon. Pretty sure we know the answer to whether or not we're having any more kids!
Todd is making dinner tonight, something completely Western: Chicken Pot Pie. It'll be a big change from the way we've been eating!
I (Linda) had the opportunity to spend some time by myself today, so I took advantage of it and went into Harajuku to do some 'shopping'. I'm putting that in quotes because the clothes in Harajuku are REALLY weird. I tried on some clothes, but didn't buy anything, since there is NO way on this green earth I could have pulled them off and made the outfit look planned. Twenty years ago I could have done it (please keep in mind 20 years ago it was the 80's and the clothes would have fit right in!) and I would have done it; but not now (read: not 20 years and one kid later . . .).
Note to Hollywood: You can be really skinny and not be anorexic, EVERYONE here in Tokyo does it.
Note to Alan Gold also: If you've never been to Harajuku, you should go next time you go to Japan to visit Sunric. The fashions will blow you away. I'm sure it'll give you some good ideas!
For lunch today I stopped at this outdoor place, and they had what looked like a hamburger on the menu, so I ordered that. I'm not sure about all these noodle dishes that are topped with what looks like raw octopus. It kind of grosses me out so early in the morning, but I'm sure a lot of people love it! Anyway, I'm not really sure if it was a hamburger or not. It didn't really taste like one, but I'm pretty sure that's what the sign said. I don't think I'll be having hamburger again while we're here.
I was able to navigate the subways by myself (again, I don't know it's a subway or a train, still can't figure that one out) and even managed to stop on the way home and do a little shopping. I got Anthony his first real pair of chopsticks! He's been eating with them so well since we've been here, I don't want him to forget how to do it when we get home!
This afternoon Todd and I are watching Anthony and Andrew while Deanna is out. The two boys are 2 years (almost exactly) apart and it's been a crazy hectic afternoon. Pretty sure we know the answer to whether or not we're having any more kids!
Todd is making dinner tonight, something completely Western: Chicken Pot Pie. It'll be a big change from the way we've been eating!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Ginza, First visit to an Onsen - Tuesday
Visited Ginza today to do some shopping. Ginza is about a 20 min ride up the Hibya line (runs out of the Ebisu station near the Yamanote line). We have heard that there are great shops and restaurants and the area is very busy, but hey, what isn't in Tokyo. Most of the shops on the main street are designer boutiques like Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, Luios Vuitton, Tiffany, etc.....so we really went WINDOW shopping. There were some great restaurants, but we ended up at McDonalds.....Linda and I split a Big Mac meal and Anthony had a Hamburger kids meal. I was shocked when the cashier spoke great English and our total came to only 360 Y, which is about $3......It's because I didn't order meals, I ordered only sandwiches. Tasted just like Mickey D's from home, though. McDonalds offers an Ebi patty (shimp patty served just like a chicken sandwich). Also offer a Teriyaki burger, looked like a regular hamburger with brown sauce on it...They only had stools to sit and only for about 20 people inside, so we ate quickly and made it out for some sightseeing.
Ginza is also known for it's shows, and since Anthony won't sit quietly for long, that wasn't an option. Really not much to do unless you are ready to spend some serious cash, or take in a show, so it was a brief trip and we were home within a couple hours.
Michael and I visted an Onsen (hot spring bath) somewhat near the Ferrante ranch (only a 15 min train ride and 15 min walk) . This particular Onsen is much like a resort with extensive bathing facilities, a small restaurant, a bar, segregated bathing areas for men and women with different types of pools, as well as a non-segregated tub where you must wear a suit. When we arrived, we were given a key to a locker attached to a rubber bracelet, as well as a small robe, and two towels....one being a towel to dry and the other is a privacy towel. You take the privacy towel with you in the Onsen in case you'd like to shield yourself, although the whole experience was completely natural and I never felt the need to "cover up". At the mixed pool we found there was big screen TV playing a game show which, Michael and I agreed, really zapped the mystique.
Since Onsens are natural, the custom is to wash and rinse your entire body very well before entering, and it's also courteous to others as you are all soaking in the same water. Any contamination would require the pools being drained (and would really piss off the patrons and management and would result in your being rudely thrown out). I don't know if all of the Onsens are the same, but the bathing area at this Onsen had a stool and a small bowl and several types of soaps and shampoos. You sit on the stool, naked, and operate a two headed spout, one with a shower head and one with the standard bath spigot. I soaped and rinsed twice to ensure I was really clean, using gallons of water and lots of soap. Almost everything in Japanese life is minimalistic, but the use of water and soap is unlimited in an Onsen, so it's a real a treat.
The color of the water was that of brown tea, although I understand all of them are slightly different. There were several pools to choose from, and we tried a couple just to see what each offered, including one that was outside, and one inside.....They were all pretty hot, so we didn't stay in very long. You don't shower afterward as that would result in the removal of the minerals in the Onsen that are absorbed through your skin and have healing properties. Very relaxing, and I didn't feel a bit uncomfortable in this new experience. I think that a visit to an Onsen is a "Must" for any visitor. These folks really know how to relax (thinking of changing my middle name to "Onsen")
Outside of the Sony Building, Spiderman is coming....
The Ginza Station
Sorry, no pictures of the Onsen.......they strongly discourage taking your camera into a bathing area....
Ginza is also known for it's shows, and since Anthony won't sit quietly for long, that wasn't an option. Really not much to do unless you are ready to spend some serious cash, or take in a show, so it was a brief trip and we were home within a couple hours.
Michael and I visted an Onsen (hot spring bath) somewhat near the Ferrante ranch (only a 15 min train ride and 15 min walk) . This particular Onsen is much like a resort with extensive bathing facilities, a small restaurant, a bar, segregated bathing areas for men and women with different types of pools, as well as a non-segregated tub where you must wear a suit. When we arrived, we were given a key to a locker attached to a rubber bracelet, as well as a small robe, and two towels....one being a towel to dry and the other is a privacy towel. You take the privacy towel with you in the Onsen in case you'd like to shield yourself, although the whole experience was completely natural and I never felt the need to "cover up". At the mixed pool we found there was big screen TV playing a game show which, Michael and I agreed, really zapped the mystique.
Since Onsens are natural, the custom is to wash and rinse your entire body very well before entering, and it's also courteous to others as you are all soaking in the same water. Any contamination would require the pools being drained (and would really piss off the patrons and management and would result in your being rudely thrown out). I don't know if all of the Onsens are the same, but the bathing area at this Onsen had a stool and a small bowl and several types of soaps and shampoos. You sit on the stool, naked, and operate a two headed spout, one with a shower head and one with the standard bath spigot. I soaped and rinsed twice to ensure I was really clean, using gallons of water and lots of soap. Almost everything in Japanese life is minimalistic, but the use of water and soap is unlimited in an Onsen, so it's a real a treat.
The color of the water was that of brown tea, although I understand all of them are slightly different. There were several pools to choose from, and we tried a couple just to see what each offered, including one that was outside, and one inside.....They were all pretty hot, so we didn't stay in very long. You don't shower afterward as that would result in the removal of the minerals in the Onsen that are absorbed through your skin and have healing properties. Very relaxing, and I didn't feel a bit uncomfortable in this new experience. I think that a visit to an Onsen is a "Must" for any visitor. These folks really know how to relax (thinking of changing my middle name to "Onsen")
Outside of the Sony Building, Spiderman is coming....
The Ginza Station
Sorry, no pictures of the Onsen.......they strongly discourage taking your camera into a bathing area....
Monday, April 23, 2007
Rainbow Bridge, Odaiba - Monday
The weather report on monday called for scattered rain so our plan to visit Ginza was scrapped in favor of a trip to Odaiba. Odaiba is a man-made island, primarily using fill from other construction projects. Took the Yamanote line to the Yurikamome line, which has particularly scenic views of the city and Tokyo Bay. One really great feature of the ride is that the train crosses the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the mainland to Odaiba. In order to obtain the height needed to cross the bay, the bridge does an upward spiral before the crossing, allowing views around the city. Another neat feature is that automobile traffic runs immediately adjacent to the train.
On Odaiba is Aqua City, which is a group of shops, restaurants, displays and exhibitions. Adjacent to Aqua City is an artificially created sandy beach in a small cove. I imagine that on a hot-sunny day the crowds would be unbelievable. Although it may not sound exotic, we ate lunch at the "Sizzler", which is an american chain, if I'm not mistaken. Food was Western style with a few Asian dishes offered also. Had an "All-you-can-eat" soup, salad and beverage bar, which we knew Anthony would like. Tried several types of "seaweed" salads, aloe yogurt, many types of "non-sea greens" and some type of tropical tea, which had a sweet, flowery smell. They had a large patio area overlooking the bay and Rainbow Bridge, so we ate outside. Very enjoyable, and we had nearly the whole place to ourselves (1 other couple there).
Next we walked through the mall and found some really great shops. They had a Disney store, Snoopy store and many designer stores. A shop lady took to Anthony with comments of "kawaii" which, roughly translated, means "cute". She spoke a little english, so I asked her how to say "shy" in Japanese, which is "hazukashii". A good term to know as every occasion where we meet someone, Anthony buries his face in his hands (Strange, because he won't stop talking any other time!!). She gave him a cute little charm of a Sea Breem that we attached to his shoe......he really loves it.
Within Aqua City is the Sony ExploraScience museum, which has some of the latest interactive science exhibits. It's broken into three distinct areas, red, white and green, with each featuring different types of experiences. The LoCiceros enjoyed the green area, or Digital Dream, part of the exhibit the most and we spent most of our time there. The area showcases the latest Sony digital technology in a format that entertains children (Anthony and I). Two displays that really entertained Anthony were "Marble Mania" and "Holowall Table".
Marble Mania is a game where projectors cast the images of Marbles and a catch area on a table. The object of the game is to gather the most virtual marbles in your catch area. To gather marbles, ou put your hands on the opposite side of where you want the marbles to go and move....they are repelled by the location of your hands....Anthony kept saying, "this is really cool !"
Holowall Table is a table where you make what amounts to shadow puppets on the face of the table. If you make the images as they are shown next to the table, the shadows turn into images of the animal shadowed, and they begin to move around and make sounds. There were Butterflies, Birds, Elephant, Snake, Moose and several other animals. If you didn't get the shadows just right, a different animal than you intended might pop up. We must have spent half an hour making shapes with our hands.
On our ride home, we met some English speaking folks from the Hollywood FL area and had a nice conversation with them. They are staying with relatives on the outskirts of Tokyo. We exchanged our stories and experiences in the short period on the train together, said goodby and we were on our way back home.
Deanna made Salmon, Rice and veggies, flavored with some oriental spices and also a really great Miso soup with tofu and seaweed. Anything homeade is great, and when it's got a different kind of flavor, its a real bonus in my mind. Sunday, she made an Apple Curry dish with chicken and veggies and rice.
Harajuku, Yoyogi Park - Sunday
On Sunday, we did a Ferrante-LoCicero joint trip to Harajuku, a brief train ride from Ebisu ("our" station) up the Yamanote line. The Harajuku station is one of the smallest and most poorly laid out, and on the weekends, the crowds make the area near gridlock!
Harajuku has several major attractions such as Meiji-Jingu temple, Yoyogi Park (equivalent to Central Park of New York) and Takeshita-dori, a gathering place for teens and the young hip crowd (Meagan would surely have enjoyed this). Very near the station, teens dress up and display themselves for pictures and "Free Hugs" and people really seem to be drawn to it. Most of the young girls dress in what I call the "Little Bo Peep" costumes with frilly skirts, bows in their hair, longs socks and ballet slippers, but the variety is endless.
The main street is a beautiful tree lined boulevard with plenty of shopping. There were fast food joints (Wendy's was packed), pottery, jewelry, and all varieties of the fashion spectrum. We had a quick, tasty lunch at Pizza Express, which was fantastic (I think we've eaten more pizza than sushi). Unfortunately, little Andrew was out of sorts and unconsolable (Deanna's vocab), so Deanna had to take him home early. The rest of us went to the Oriental Bazaar, a shop with great pottery and other oriental stuff. We are looking at buying a set of dishes, tea cups and the like to bring back to the States to remind us of our trip.
Afterward, we strolled down to Yoyogi-Koen to see the sites. We passed many street vendors selling food, which always gains my interest. I was wondering how the food varies by location, especially street vendors, because to a foreigner, much of the stuff looks the same. Michael explained that the types of food (dumplings, skewered meat, etc) are fairly consistent in the basic ingrediants from location to location, while I thought it would vary with every vendor.
In the park we observed the traditional family units picnicing, couples strolling hand-in-hand, fathers and sons playing catch, and whole familes with a vollying a vollyball. There were numerous street performers playing instruments ranging from bongos to ukelele's. The group playing ukeleles (10-15 people) were playing the song "Downtown", which we thought was pretty cool, so we stopped and did a little sing-along. There was a group of people doing a skit, folks playing the traditional 3-stringed guitar (name not known), and some rock bands. Also noted a group doing a martial arts thing with wooden swords (I think it's called kendo?) where they line up on opposite sides and make charges toward each other in mock battle.
Emilia and Anthony fed crushed pretzels to tiny fish in a pool near a bench where we sat while we listened to some bongo players. The pool was very dirty, as was the rest of the park, but I can truly say that his was the only spot I've seen that wasn't very clean. We headed back to the Ferrante Ranch after watching a bit of "The Basketball Man Show" (another street performer) while Michael and Emilia went on to do some shopping.
Harajuku has several major attractions such as Meiji-Jingu temple, Yoyogi Park (equivalent to Central Park of New York) and Takeshita-dori, a gathering place for teens and the young hip crowd (Meagan would surely have enjoyed this). Very near the station, teens dress up and display themselves for pictures and "Free Hugs" and people really seem to be drawn to it. Most of the young girls dress in what I call the "Little Bo Peep" costumes with frilly skirts, bows in their hair, longs socks and ballet slippers, but the variety is endless.
The main street is a beautiful tree lined boulevard with plenty of shopping. There were fast food joints (Wendy's was packed), pottery, jewelry, and all varieties of the fashion spectrum. We had a quick, tasty lunch at Pizza Express, which was fantastic (I think we've eaten more pizza than sushi). Unfortunately, little Andrew was out of sorts and unconsolable (Deanna's vocab), so Deanna had to take him home early. The rest of us went to the Oriental Bazaar, a shop with great pottery and other oriental stuff. We are looking at buying a set of dishes, tea cups and the like to bring back to the States to remind us of our trip.
Afterward, we strolled down to Yoyogi-Koen to see the sites. We passed many street vendors selling food, which always gains my interest. I was wondering how the food varies by location, especially street vendors, because to a foreigner, much of the stuff looks the same. Michael explained that the types of food (dumplings, skewered meat, etc) are fairly consistent in the basic ingrediants from location to location, while I thought it would vary with every vendor.
In the park we observed the traditional family units picnicing, couples strolling hand-in-hand, fathers and sons playing catch, and whole familes with a vollying a vollyball. There were numerous street performers playing instruments ranging from bongos to ukelele's. The group playing ukeleles (10-15 people) were playing the song "Downtown", which we thought was pretty cool, so we stopped and did a little sing-along. There was a group of people doing a skit, folks playing the traditional 3-stringed guitar (name not known), and some rock bands. Also noted a group doing a martial arts thing with wooden swords (I think it's called kendo?) where they line up on opposite sides and make charges toward each other in mock battle.
Emilia and Anthony fed crushed pretzels to tiny fish in a pool near a bench where we sat while we listened to some bongo players. The pool was very dirty, as was the rest of the park, but I can truly say that his was the only spot I've seen that wasn't very clean. We headed back to the Ferrante Ranch after watching a bit of "The Basketball Man Show" (another street performer) while Michael and Emilia went on to do some shopping.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Tokyo isn't for Cheapskates
The Tama Zoo. Another little train ride away from a really cool destination...
Mia and Anthony have fun while walking together:
The Entrance to the Zoo and Michael in the foreground....nice plaid shirt, you from Michigan?
Monkey's on overhead ropes. One adult had two babies firmly attached as she swung back and forth across the ropes.
Your wallet will certainly take a hit here in Tokyo. Some things are wicked expensive, some things are relatively cheap, but you pretty much end up spending money each and every day; it's almost hard not to. For starters, you pay to take the subway or the train (haven't figured out the difference in those two yet, perhaps we've only ever taken the subway?); food is more expensive at the grocery store than at a restaurant, so we eat out a lot. Some of the food we've eaten on the run (it's hard to sit in a restaurant with 4 adults and 3 kids) and that's relatively inexpensive (up tp $5 maybe, some as cheap as $1.50 for the onigiri). A container of apple juice is about $4 and gas is around $4/gal. A 'loaf' of bread (really about 8 pieces) is about $4 also. The fruit is outrageous; $5 for a package of grapes, bananas are about $1/lb, and so it goes . . .
Yesterday we went to the Tama Zoo and the tickets were incredibly inexpensive. 600 yen (about $4.80) for adults, kids free. I think the Detroit Zoo is about $24.00 for adults and an additional charge for kids. I could be wrong, but I know it's expensive to the point we only go once or twice every couple of years. I got Anthony a t-shirt for 1800 yen, which is about $15.00, and that seemed really expensive. Even the snack shop was pretty inexpensive. We ordered food for all of us (except Michael, he's still on a liquid diet) and the total came to around $25.00 (including beer). We had soba noodles wrapped in a scrambled egg (it was really good, even if it doesn't sound like it) that Anthony, Emilia and Andrew gobbled up; Deanna had some sort of rice with clams and other stuff wrapped in a banana leaf; Todd had a 'hot dog' with some sort of curry sauce and I think what may have been onions and he really liked that.
It seems like I say "some sort of . . . ." when talking about food, but the food is really different here. Last night Todd and I went for Ramen noodles at this little place down the street. It's not an american restaurant, but a traditional Japanese noodle restaurant, (actually, I think it was Chinese). We figured our way through the menu (fortunately there were only like three choices) and then covertly watched others eating so we could figure it out. And, yes, slurping is huge here, something to do with cooling the liquids and letting the smell/taste really get to your taste buds. Whatever, it's weird to do in public! The noodles (and pork strips) were awesome, but way too much to eat for just one person. Very unusual, since it seems like most of the other servings would be considered 'child portions' in the US.
We stopped at Starbucks when we were in Kyoto at a shopping center called a Porta. It's an underground mall-type thing where they had shops and restaurants alike. Anyway, at the Starbucks Todd ordered a small Mocha Frappachino (sp?) and it was REALLY a small size! How refreshing! Maybe there's a reason that the US has a higher rate of overweight people than practically anywhere else?
Anyway, Todd, Deanna and Andrew went out for bagels and pastries this morning (the bagels are not quite the same as the bagels at home, but they were really good!). Anthony and Emilia split a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast; Andrew had some sort of french toast thing; and Michael had liquified oatmeal. He said it was good. I'll take his word on that.
Mia and Anthony have fun while walking together:
The Entrance to the Zoo and Michael in the foreground....nice plaid shirt, you from Michigan?
Monkey's on overhead ropes. One adult had two babies firmly attached as she swung back and forth across the ropes.
Your wallet will certainly take a hit here in Tokyo. Some things are wicked expensive, some things are relatively cheap, but you pretty much end up spending money each and every day; it's almost hard not to. For starters, you pay to take the subway or the train (haven't figured out the difference in those two yet, perhaps we've only ever taken the subway?); food is more expensive at the grocery store than at a restaurant, so we eat out a lot. Some of the food we've eaten on the run (it's hard to sit in a restaurant with 4 adults and 3 kids) and that's relatively inexpensive (up tp $5 maybe, some as cheap as $1.50 for the onigiri). A container of apple juice is about $4 and gas is around $4/gal. A 'loaf' of bread (really about 8 pieces) is about $4 also. The fruit is outrageous; $5 for a package of grapes, bananas are about $1/lb, and so it goes . . .
Yesterday we went to the Tama Zoo and the tickets were incredibly inexpensive. 600 yen (about $4.80) for adults, kids free. I think the Detroit Zoo is about $24.00 for adults and an additional charge for kids. I could be wrong, but I know it's expensive to the point we only go once or twice every couple of years. I got Anthony a t-shirt for 1800 yen, which is about $15.00, and that seemed really expensive. Even the snack shop was pretty inexpensive. We ordered food for all of us (except Michael, he's still on a liquid diet) and the total came to around $25.00 (including beer). We had soba noodles wrapped in a scrambled egg (it was really good, even if it doesn't sound like it) that Anthony, Emilia and Andrew gobbled up; Deanna had some sort of rice with clams and other stuff wrapped in a banana leaf; Todd had a 'hot dog' with some sort of curry sauce and I think what may have been onions and he really liked that.
It seems like I say "some sort of . . . ." when talking about food, but the food is really different here. Last night Todd and I went for Ramen noodles at this little place down the street. It's not an american restaurant, but a traditional Japanese noodle restaurant, (actually, I think it was Chinese). We figured our way through the menu (fortunately there were only like three choices) and then covertly watched others eating so we could figure it out. And, yes, slurping is huge here, something to do with cooling the liquids and letting the smell/taste really get to your taste buds. Whatever, it's weird to do in public! The noodles (and pork strips) were awesome, but way too much to eat for just one person. Very unusual, since it seems like most of the other servings would be considered 'child portions' in the US.
We stopped at Starbucks when we were in Kyoto at a shopping center called a Porta. It's an underground mall-type thing where they had shops and restaurants alike. Anyway, at the Starbucks Todd ordered a small Mocha Frappachino (sp?) and it was REALLY a small size! How refreshing! Maybe there's a reason that the US has a higher rate of overweight people than practically anywhere else?
Anyway, Todd, Deanna and Andrew went out for bagels and pastries this morning (the bagels are not quite the same as the bagels at home, but they were really good!). Anthony and Emilia split a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast; Andrew had some sort of french toast thing; and Michael had liquified oatmeal. He said it was good. I'll take his word on that.
More Pictures
Raked gravel garden and large gravel mound....most often the mounds are symbolic of Mt. Fuji, but interpretation is in the eye of the beholder
Although known as the "Silver Pavilion", the temple was never gilded due to lack of funds
Entrance to the Ginkaku-ji Temple
One, of several, ponds at the Ginkaku-ji Temple at the north end of the "Philosophers Walk", Kyoto
Picture from the top floor of the JR Rail Complex, Kyoto
Riding back to Tokyo from Kyoto on the Shinkansen, near Shizuoka
View from our room, Hotel Granvia, Kyoto Tower Hotel across the street
View from our room, Evening...sorry, a bit blurry, note my fingers in the reflection
And another evening view from our room......
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