Jun 2009

Mitzie and Cullen arrived on the bus in very good spirits with enough energy to have a drink at the club. I was the most tired one out of the bunch by the end of the night.

The next morning we went to the Yamabashi area which is known for growing grapes, cherries, peaches, and plums. It is currently cherry season so we went cherry picking. I think I have stated more than once on this blog how expensive fruit is. To go pick cherries for 40 minutes it was $20 per person. The cost of a small container of cherries in Japan is about $10. Yamabashi is gorgeous and to my surprise has many wineries and vinyards. We will definitely be going for more wine tasting in the future. On the way there was also a garden. They were selling different jams, soaps, and trinkets.

Different pics around the garden. These Coy were so used to people feeding them that they would come up and try to bite your finger.

Us picking and enjoying cherries.

That night we met Kyle and Julie out in Harajuku which is in downtown Tokyo to go to an all you can eat Brazillian restaurant. The meats kept on coming as well as the drinks. Then we spent some time out in the city watching the Japan night life. The below pictures include Kyle and Julie who live across the grass from us. Our dogs are best friends and we kind of like Kyle and Julie too Just kidding they are awesome friends and we would be very lonely without them.

They are drinking Chu-HI in this picture. It is kind of like Mike's Hard Lemonade but much better. They are a little bit dangerous.

The next day we went to Kamakura which is known for having a giant Budda statue. We took a train that goes along the coast line for part of the way (through Enoshima) and I got my first glimpse of a Japanese beach town. Here is a really cool hoese that was close to the water. Even though Japan is an island there are not many close beaches. The coastline is mostly rocky. This area had a small beach and is about a 2 1/2 train ride from our house. The whole vibe in this area was different than the city. It felt like a real beach town.

This is the area around the Budda statue. There were beautiful gardens and a cave with small statues inside for people who have lost young children.

Quinn had to work on Monday so Mitzie, Cullen, and I went to the zoo. This time we road on the lion bus that goes through the lion enclosure. They put little pieces of meat on the sides of the bus so that the lions eat them off and they put bones on the platforms so that the lions sit there and chew on them as you drive by. I have never been that close to a lion before!

The Rhino was happier this time than the last time we were there.

That night we went to a traditional Japanese restaurant. There were eight courses and they brough about 3 plates with each course. About 70% of the food was identifiable. And about 80% of it was delicious. I couldn't stomach eating the whole mini crab.

The next day we went to an aquarium in Yokohama. It was a really cool place and we got to touch a Beluga whale. That night we went to a baseball game and it POURED. We were very wet. Here Mitzie and I are having a great time.

Quinn and Cullen wanted to try blowfish which is called Fugu. For those of you who don't know, it Fugu is not prepared properly then it can kill you as it secrets some type of poison. People like the thrill of eating it. Quinn and Cullen were not impressed. Quinn thought it was too rubbery. I didn't try it.

Our next side trip was to the Fuji area. We had some delicious meals overlooking on of the Fuji five lakes.

We went to a lavender festival and they had some little beatles for sale.

This is the best burger I have ever eaten.

We also went to the Hakone Open Air museum. They had some really cool exhibits. They also had some interactive art for the kids.

This is a giant playground that kids can play on.

A honeycomb of fun for the kids.

We soaked our feet in a mini onsen. There was fruit floating in the water too.

We had a great trip and saw a lot of new things and tried new food. It was a great wayt to start the summer!

We have the cutest dog in the world.

It has been a while. Our friends Dave and Brent were in Japan a few weeks ago and we went up to visit in him in Nagano at Lake Nojiri. Dave and Brent were childhood friends and grew up here in Japan and spent his summers at a cabin on this lake. It was really cool to see the area and countryside of Japan. There are tons of rice patties, lakes, and mountains. We checked out a local winery and ate at their posh where they served us raw chicken as part of an appetizer. The manager and the staff were eager to practice their English and interact with us. They were surprised when two of the people in our group answered in Japanese!

The winery and surrounding area were beautiful. For a second I thought I was in Europe. We bought some plum wine here....just waiting for a special occasion to open it up.

The desserts were absolutely gorgeous and they came to chat us up to figure out what to write on our dessert plate. They even gave my jacket a special chair (it was obviously very fancy).

We ate a lot of Japanese food that Quinn and I hadn't tried yet. It is amazing how a whole country can stay so thin when so much of their food is fried. Here we are eating Korean BBQ at the cabin. It was great going to the grocery store and having Brent and Dave finally tell us what everything is. We have just been guessing and eating whatever for the last 9 months.

For those of you we haven't told, we bought a car a few months ago. We needed one for guests and when the weather is terrible. Quinn was really disappointed that we bought one because he was making it a personal challenge not to have one, but it has really come in handy. Anyway, here is a picture. It is tiny and barely fits four people and their luggage for a weekend trip. It is super cute. Its called a Nissan March. Not approved for the US crash standards. People here drive much slower because of the traffic and narrow roads. I don't think we ever go much over 40 miles per hour.

Last weekend we went to a ballet called Trockadero. It is an all male ballet group that performs in drag with point shoes. It is a comedy act and really funny. Couldn't take any pictures because of the rules but you can check out their website www.trockadero.org. They travel the whole world.

The Striders running club held their annual Ekiden (Japanese for relay race) and there were over 1000 teams participating. It was really busy.

We also went to Joyful Honda (crazy Japanese mega store) to buy some flower to decorate our patio. Went with a French theme so here are some pics. They have so many beautiful flowers at Joyful Honda it was hard to decide which ones to buy.

Quinn's mom and brother arrive this Friday so I am sure I will have more pics and stories after their trip.