Spring Break Fun

Instead of writing a blog for each activity that we took part in for spring break we have compiled some pictures and a brief description of some of the activities into this entry.

Josh's Surprise Birthday Party

March 18th, some of Josh's Shogai students prepared a surprise birthday party for him. They arranged to meet at the Castle Hotel for a buffet style lunch. While we were there we enjoyed hearing about his students plans for their spring break, ate some delicious foods, and Josh opened some presents!

Sushi Lunch

March 30th, two of our students invited us to have lunch with them. As you can see it was quite a variety of sushi. Unfortunately for me, each piece had wasabi on it so I ended up swallowing a lot of them in very big chunks. I even tried scrapping it off but it didn't help much, my mouth was still on fire. Josh on the other hand really enjoyed it!

Tennis

March 31st, we were invited to play tennis with some of our Shogai students. Josh played most of the 2 hours we were there. I am so impressed with his Tennis racket swinging skills. My husband is so talented!!! I on the other hand, had a difficult time. Not only was it hard for me to keep the ball between the lines, I even had a hard time keeping it on our court. I am pleased to say that I only hit it over the 20 foot fence and down the street once this time though!

Himeji Wind Chime Factory

April 2nd, after our morning English lessons at the Shirasagi Residence we went to a windchime factory with one of our students, Yoko. This shop is famous throughout Japan for its wind chimes and we were lucky enough to meet the craftsman and see him at work. As you can see, Josh tried his hand at the windchime buisness, only to realize that he shouldnt quit his day job!

Sakura

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom in Himeji during spring break. The bright white and pink colors were breathtaking. We loved riding our bikes around town and looking at all of the trees. We even had a picnic with a bunch of our friends and students under the cherry blossoms at the Himeji Castle.

Origami Lessons

One day after our community lessons a couple of our students came up to our apartment to cook lunch with us and then teach us how to fold oragami. We learned how to make paper cranes, frogs, hats, balloons and boxes. We love spending time with our wonderful friends here in Himeji. We feel so blessed to learn more about their culture and to be surrounded by such amazing people.

If you want to see more pictures that didnt make the blog you can check out our Shutterfly webpage.

Aquarium and TIGERS Game

A little back story: So back in October we had the big Shinzaike festival where we walked through the neighborhood with a portable shrine and had battles with other neighborhoods around us. Well, the night of the festival we had dinner with a bunch of people from our community. That night I met this wonderful man who also happens to be a big baseball fan like me. During our conversation I mentioned that I was so excited to see a game here in Japan and that I couldn't wait for the next season to start so I could experience a game here in Japan. One thing led to another and he asked me for my email address and said that when the season started he would email me and take me to a game. Now if there is one thing I have come to know about Japanese people is that they are true to their word. Out of the blue last week I got an email from my friend saying that he had tickets for a game he wasn't going to be able to go to, so he wanted to know if Audrey and I wanted to go. My response was, "Ummm.... is Michael Jackson still white?!" Audrey and I decided to make a day of it and go visit an aquarium in Osaka since we were going to be in the area. The aquarium was so magnificent. We took an escalator to the top level and then worked our way down through the middle of the aquarium. We were constantly surrounded by sea life. Everything from otters to dolphins, penguins to whale sharks... it was incredible! We took tons of pictures and hung out in there for at least 2 hours. After we were finished at the aquarium we took train out to Koshien Stadium, home of the Hanshin Tigers. Now here in Japan baseball is life. Baseball is easily the number one sport in Japan and they love their local teams. The trains were packed with people wearing their team colors, with their noise makers in one hand and their glove on the other. It was awesome! Now, Koshien Stadium is by far the oldest ballpark in Japan; built in 1924, the stadium was once visited by American baseball legend Babe Ruth on a tour of Major League stars in 1934. The field is considered sacred and many times player bow before entering or leaving this hallowed field. Needless to say, I was in Japanese baseball heaven. Before the game even started the chants began. The fans at Koshien stadium were unbelievable. They all had noisemakers and they chanted the same thing over over an at the top of their lungs, the stadium was electric. There was a section of Carp fans sitting near us and they were just as loud and animated. It was almost like we were in the middle of a battle. Some of the Carp fans had even brought trumpets which gave it a bit of a college football rivalry game feel. The game itself was great. The left fielder for the Tigers hit 3 homeruns that night and the Tigers went on to an easy victory. It was another wonderful experience here in Japan. We still pinch ourselves sometimes because it doesn't quite seem real.

Man they love their baseball

The scoreboard at Koshien Stadium

Audrey and I in front of our seats

This guy was about to fall off his rock

Cuddling to stay warm

Jelly fish

Whale Shark

Lovers in Japan

Hiroshima and Miyajima Island

So this weekend we decided to take a day trip to Hiroshima. For those of you who are not familiar with travel in Japan I will give you a little tutorial. The best way to get around in Japan is by train. There are thousands of trains going thousands of different places all over Japan. Now each train is also different. You have the Shinkansen which is the bullet train and easily the fastest way to travel Japan, especially long distances, but it is also the most expensive. Then you have the Special Rapid. This train is not super fast or anything, it just skips smaller stations and only stops at the major ones. Then there is the local train. This is the exact same train as the Special Rapid but it stops at every station along the way. During breaks from school the JR line has a special pass called the Juhachi-kippu. When you go to the station with this pass, you get a stamp for the day and then jump on whatever train you want to take. Once you have your stamp for the day you can go anywhere you want and get on and off the train as much as you want for that day. So I, being the "frugal" person that I am, decided that we should try using this ticket to go to Hiroshima. Unfortunately, you cant use this ticket on the Shinkansen so we would have to rely upon the local trains. After doing some research and charting out our trip I found that if we used this pass and left at 5:28 am we would make it Hiroshima by 9:48 am OR we could take the Shinkansen and leave at the same time and arrive in Hiroshima at 7:30. So now we had a decision to make. Using the Juhachi-kippu would take about 9 hours round trip where the Shinkansen would take 4. But the Shinkansen would cost $320 round trip for the two of us where the Juhachi would cost $46. Hmmmm... So at 4:45 on Saturday morning with a couple snacks, a few books, our I-pods fully equipped with 5 movies a piece and our Juhachi-kippu ticket burning a hole in our pocket, we headed for the station. We were excited for our adventure and looked forward to seeing the sights in Hiroshima. 4 hours and 20 minutes and 51 stops on the local train later we were in Hiroshimam, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to go. Unfortunately, the weather was not so good in Hiroshima... and by not so good I mean it was pouring rain! By now we had come too far to let this deter us, so we set off to the A bomb dome. One of the good things about our 4 hour train ride was that we had plenty of time to read our Fromers guide to Japan. We were able to map out each and every spot we wanted to see in Hiroshima so we were ready to roll. After a short street car ride we arrived at the dome. I was a very somber feeling as we got closer and where able to soak up what happened here so many years ago. The A Bomb Dome is the remains of the former Industrial Promotion Hall. This building was closest to the hypo center of the nuclear bomb and still remains at least partially standing. It was left in its current condition after the bombing in memory of the casualties. A little past the dome we came to the Children's Peace Monument. Here we saw a statue dedicated to all of the children who died in the bombing. The top of the statue is a girl with her arms stretched out holding a paper crane above her head. The statue is in remembrance of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died from radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes she would be cured. Even today, children from around the world send folded paper cranes to be placed at this monument. We then moved on to the memorial cenotaph. This cenotaph holds all of the names of the people that were killed in the bombing. If you look through the monument you can see the peace flame and the A Bomb Dome. After seeing all of these memorials, the weight of what happened almost 64 years ago really started to hit home. With heavy hearts we headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. In this museum there were stories of some of the people who lost their lives, pieces of buildings that were destroyed, clothes that were tattered, pictures of victims suffering from burns all over their bodies, testimonies from people who survived the bombing and information on nuclear weapons in our world today. Many times we found ourselves just standing and staring as there are no words to begin to explain the mass destruction and lingering effects of this bomb. Some of the statistics are more than my finite mind can truly grasp. 70,000- 80,000 people killed instantly, 90,000-140,000 were dead by the end of 1945 due to burns, radiation and other related diseases and up to 200,000 had died by the end of 1950 from cancer and other long-term effects. There are sights and sounds in my head now that can never be erased. Even after going through so much, its amazing how far Hiroshima and Japan as a whole has come since then. After leaving the memorial park we hopped back on the street car and headed to a small down town district that is known for its Hiroshima-yaki. In past blogs we have talked about how much we love Japanese food, especially Okonomiyaki. Well Hiroshima does Okonomiyaki their own way and we had to get in on that action. Our Fromers guide led us to a little hole in the wall place that made some of the best Hiroshimayaki around. We left very happy and stuffed! We decided we would walk around a little bit and then we came across a sight that we never thought we would see in Japan. It was called "Happy Marvelous Creations," and yes, the name says it all! While they may call it exactly what it is, us Arizona folk call it, Cold Stone Creamery! For those of you who do not know my wife very well, there are not many things in life that she loves more than ice cream, especially Cold Stone. So it didn't matter how full we were, there is always room for "Happy Marvelous Creations"! So by now we are in a food coma, but pushing on because we wanted to make it to Miyajima before it started getting to late. We headed back to the station, flashed our Juhachi-kippu and hoped on a 20 minute train ride to catch a ferry out to Miyajima Island. The island was so beautiful as we were surrounded by nature. After walking for a couple of minutes we were greeted by wild dear that roam the island in search of a treat from the tourists. There is also a beautiful shrine that has an Ottori that can only be reached during low tide because when the tide comes in it is becomes partially engulfed by the ocean. Audrey and I were there at high tide, but it was really cool to see the Ottori out in the middle of the water. There was a lot of great hiking to do on the island, but due to the rain we just hiked through many of the omiage (souvenir) shops. After a couple of hours on Miyajima we decided to call it a day. We took the ferry back to the train station, then a train back to Hiroshima. We gathered our belongings and jumped back on the 7:15 train headed to Himeji. It had been a long day and we were beat, but it was well worth it. We had a wonderful day in Hiroshima!

The A Bomb Dome

Paper cranes
The Children's Memorial
The Peace Flame
Through the Cenotaph you can see the Peace Flame and the A Bomb Done
The name says it all
A dear trying to snack on Audrey's jacket
The floating Ottori on Miyajima Island

Kyoto Take 2

This weekend Audrey and I had the opportunity to make another trip to Kyoto. We had made a day trip just after New Years Day and were excited to go back and see parts that we missed the first time. This trip was also exciting because we had 12 students/tour guides/translators from my Shogai University class. We started out the morning with a brisk jog as we were running late and almost missed our train. Luckily, we spotted my students and boarded the train just before it left the station. Once in Kyoto we headed for our first destination. Kinkaku-ji ("Temple of the Golden Pavilion"), This park had a beautiful shrine that was covered in gold leaf and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The temple itself was breathtaking! We took a bunch of great pictures and had a great time walking around the garden and enjoying the beautiful weather. After spending about an hour there we head to our next stop, Ryōan-ji. For us the most impressive part of this Zen temple was the famous rock garden, which is thought to have been built in the late 1400s. The garden consists of raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which are placed so that, when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder. Unfortunately, Audrey and I have not attained enlightenment so we were only able to see 14, but we are striving to see them all on our next visit. Our next stop was Ninna-ji, is known as one of the "historic monuments of Ancient Kyoto" It features some beautifully painted screen walls, and a beautiful walled garden. Again, more beautiful scenery and quality time with lovely people. Once we had finished our 3 temple tour we headed to what is known as Kyotos kitchen. This is a small street packed with shop after shop selling anything and everything you need to make a delicious meal in Japan. Audrey and I were amazed at some of the foods they were selling and we had a wonderful time sampling some new cuisines as we ventured from one end to the other. Now after being on our feet for almost 8 hours, we were all pretty beat and ready to head home. We explored the Kyoto station a bit and then hopped on a train back to Himeji. Over all it was a wonderful day filled with beautiful nature, interesting history lessons and wonderful friends. We look forward to many more trips like this around Japan in our last few months here in Japan.

Audrey and I in front of Kinkaku-ji
Kinkaku-ji in all of its glory
Zen garden at Ryoan-ji... Can you find the 15 boulders?

Enjoying our time in Japan

The Crew
Ninna-ji
Lovers in Japan

Junihitoe

On February 21st, Josh, two of my Shogai students, and I visited Himeji's Historical Museum. My favorite experience while visiting the museum was being able to try on a >junihitoe, also known as a 12 layer kimono. I was told by the ladies who dressed me that this type of kimono was worn by the ladies of the Imperial Court in the Heian period (794- 1185). However, at the Historical Museum people are given the opportunity to try on this kimono or samuri armor three times a day in an area of the museum that is free to visitors. We arrived at the museum early that morning in hope that I would be the only person wanting to try it on. If there are other people waiting in line, we would have to draw straws to see who gets to dress up. Luckily, I was the only one who who showed up at this time so I there was no drawing of the straws. The whole process of putting on the kimono took about 15 minutes. They do not put on each layer individually, instead they would add multiple layers at a time. It was very easy for me to hold my arms extended out for the first couple of layers but the third layer was more like 7 or 8 all at once! It was extremely difficult for me to keep my arms held out for the entire time because the weight of the kimono was so heavy. I later found out that some Junihitoes can weigh up to 40 pounds. YIKES!! When the ladies finished, there was a little photo shoot and then the ladies helped me to take the kimono off. This process was really easy! They just untied the obie (belt) and slipped the kimono off me like a jacket! Trying on the kimono was such a neat experience and I totally felt like a Japanese princess! Here are a few pictures... please enjoy!

The first layer!

The third layer composed of 7 or 8 kimonos!

Almost finished!

TA DAA!

Me with my handsome husband!

Ikebana Exhibition

On Valentines Day, Josh and I went to an Ikebana Exhibition at the Egret center in downtown Himeji. One of my friends, Eiko, participated in this exhibition by entering a modern rose arrangement. We enjoyed strolling through the exhibition and admiring the beautiful flowers and designs. Here are a few of the unique arrangements that we saw!

Valentines Day... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

As Valentines Day is upon us I wanted to write a post celebrating my wonderful Valentine.  She is truly the love of my life and the answer to my prayers.  She is the sanity to my craziness and the up to my down.  She is beautiful beyond measure, whether she is wearing a dress or sweat pants, makeup or none.  She is kind and caring, humble and fair.  She is my best friend and she loves me unconditionally.  She is smart and witty, clever and funny.  Her smile melts my heart and can light up a room.  Her strengths are my weakness and she is good at all of the things that I am not.  She has an infectious personality and the only time I don't miss her is when I am with her.  She always lifts me up when I am down and believes in me even when I don't.  She's a fabulous cook and she keeps our house perfectly in order.  I feel so blessed to call her my wife and I cant imagine my life without her!  

A not so scary witch...

Enjoying some Chocolate...

Audrey on a rainy day... she is so cute!!

Japanese Audrey... utsukushii (beautiful)