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| Hama Sky
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| A Golden Week indeed. 
As May made its slow approach: most likely you’d hear me grumbling: why do they call it golden week? You only get 2 workdays off!! This year Golden week is celebrated from Saturday to Tuesday… !!! but in the magic that is the spirit of holidays… in a near two week timespan (more like week and a half)… I would only go to school for two of those days.
Sunday, April 27, with my trusty companion, the journey begins…
Hehe. Maz arrived in Hama on the Friday before… due to school on Saturday.. adventures were delayed til Sunday… but soon we were on. Our. Way.
DESTINATION??:: Unknown. 
4 train switches later, 4 hours later, we arrived in Ito City, of the Izu Peninsula. Izu is famous for their onsens and beautiful scenery. We first check into our Ryokan, and settle in and absorb the すてき surroundings.   And then it’s off to explore. With no people in sight, and all the shops closed except for the occasional konbini, we head for the beaches. We come across of few kids skateboarding, and maz mourning the years of his childhood, stops to snap an action shot. =D 
we walked beside the water, and I challenged (which I didn’t know at the time) the champion rock skipper. Wish I had video, but maz somehow skipped a rock from one side of the bank to the other! Not much else was goin on except the occasional fisherman, and GIANT coi fish..  , so we headed back to change for dinner.
 . Like almost all ryokans in Izu, dinner is included in the package. And when they say dinner included… they mean business.
Hour 1: 
Hour 2: 
Hour 3: 
The rest of the night was spent enjoyin the facilities that the ryokan had to offer. Outdoor and indoor onsens, and with luck, it was like a personal bath just for me. = D
Izu is famous for their seafood… especially the himono (dried something something fish) so donning our yukata once again. We head back for another breakfast saga.   and then it’s home again home again, back to hama.
Tuesday::
Hama exploring day. I’ve been here for over 8 months, and with the exception of the Hama castle, I had seen very little of what Hama has to offer. So taking advantage of my special visitor, we went around the city to all the tourist “hotspots”. First to Act City, the highest building in hamamatsu to look at the view of all of hama. And on a clear day, you can see mt. fujii! (my apt is in their somewhere) Next we went to the Musical Instruments museum. My favorite part of the place… → 
A few days of work, and then it’s back to adventure land. Destination? Kanzanji Onsens of Lake Hamanako.
Rain was pretty unpredictable so tho we were lucky to have dry weather in Izu, our luck did not last to the next weekend. We decided to go anyway, starting with the Hamamatsu Flower Park. The dreary weather (and my lack of warm clothing) did not allow us to enjoy the surrounding.. but ot be honest… it’s more interesting in the fall. Until we decided to go inside this dingy looking building… and I instantly retracted my statements of boredom.   
Yayyyy flowers!    
And what trip would it be without me getting lost? But we eventually located our ryokan, and soon set off for dinner…
Hands down.. the BEST meal of the vacation. It was the Friday of the golden week festivities, and rainy, so nothing seemed to be open. But as we walked we found this relatively large unagi restaurant, and the picture outside of it seemed enticing, and we decided to give it a shot. No joke… SOOO GOOD. Turns out… there was a tv playin in the background, showing one of those tv shows where the celebrity seeks out yummy restaurants (think Rachel Ray). And we ate a meal that we raved about days later… and such a pretty environment  
The next day, with some luck, we headed to PAL PAL the Hama amusement park.. free of rain.  . A ferris wheel, ropeway, and a few “roller coasters” later.. I realized there was a reason there were only kids and parents there.  
But beautiful scenery…  
And then it’s back to hama to check out the Hama Kite Festival events.
   
But again thanks to the rain, we were unable to see what the kite flying hype was all about. But from what I heard from others… it was awesome. Instead we went to an indoor sports land… with all the games you can think of! = D took a day trip to Shizuoka city for some shopping.. and before I knew it… our last dinner before Maz goes back home =\
With a newfound love for shabu shabu (thanks to spring break)… we tracked down a restaurant in the city…    
<3 <3
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| or can the two coexist??
  
what do you believe?
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| ::note : background change- just for rie, not the only one who probably suffered from my clashing colors ... but the only one who complained about it. haha = D ::
Adventures in Yokohama- Part 2
After one week of being back in school after spring break… come Saturday, I’m back in Yokohama! Last week was with momma (who had quite an interesting tale to tell of her experience in the narita airport with her luggage that was twenty pounds OVER the weight limit.) This time I came back for the Jack Johnson concert. Two concerts in japan (and my lifetime actually) and both are English artists. (whoops) if Kimutaku had a live show, I’d go to that tho!
Anyway, we start at the shink… 10 am. 4 girls 1 guy. (no… the guy was NOT me. ) 
 we head to the hostel to drop off our bags.. and what do we find? porn vending machine. 
soon realized that we were probably not in the best area of yokohama. =\
We drop off the bags and first stop? Chinatown!  We immediately look for a place to lunch and then browse the area.
::Taylor- **What is GOING ON?**
 Jenn:: **which boba should i get?**
Karen::** just get all of them.**
-- i love these girls. ((note:: not the actual conversation but...)
After lunch, we head towards the concert venue… during our walk I saw this… and had to take a pic 
Outside the Akarengasoto (sp?) the red brick warehouse. Taylor got in the way of my picture. =| (
And here we are at the venue… outdoors on a beautiful day with no rain clouds in sight!
Took a few nature pics…
some pretty flowers::
  We get there before 3 and jack Johnson comes on at 5:45, so they have a few openers… some good some bad. Matt Costa is aight, Mason Jennings I DO not like. They also had a Hawaiian band that was pretty good listenings.
*embarrassing moment #1-: by the last of the openers I was getting really sleepy from drinking wine (one glass is all it took too..) so I decided to take a nap… since we were outdoors and everyone’s sitting on the ground… before I realized what’s happening… I open my eyes, and eeevverryyonnnee around me is standing… but not looking at the stage..staring/laughing at me. =| apparently, they one by one stepped over me… and soon there was no one sitting on the ground except for me.. sleeping with my mouth open. *sigh*
and THEN!!! Jack introduced himself to me!! He said, “Hi I’m Jack, thanks for coming to the show!” !!!!!!
 well… me.. and the thousands of other people there… =|
but the screen set up was great quality, and since it was Japan, everything was sooo orderly and everyone was quiet most of the night so that they could enjoy Jack’s songs. He’s really awesome live!! And who was even more awesome? His pianist- Zach Gill… man he was tearing up the stage.. a different instrument for almost every song. And towards the end when the openers joined jack in some collaborations… he had a solo verse and his voice was AWESOME!! Big fan big fan… kinda looks like david arquette too… (I dunno if that gives him bonus points tho)
after the concert, everyone files out… I was stttarrrvvvviinnnggg. So we walk around.. and stumble across Q’s Diner of American, Mexican cuisine and more. Since yokohama is one of the first (the first?) ports… there are western influences eevveerryyywhhheerrreee. The buildings, the restaurants, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in japan. So we eat, drink, and be merry.
*Embarrassing moment #2: at the hostel we all go our own rooms complete with tv and a futon to sleep on. Everyone was pretty tired so
we say good night and head to our rooms. The next morning, I wake up once again, cuz I was freezing all night. Wondering how everyone else fared in the cold cold rooms I visit Jennifer’s. what I thought was futon for me to sleep on.. was the duvet comforter that was supposed to keep me warm. Doh! i just figured it was like the one I have at my apartment.. two layers of padding between me and the floor. Guess I was wrong… = |
Day 2- last day in the Yok.
And immediately…
*Embarrassing moment #3: now when I say this place is dirty… I didn’t want to take pictures cuz I didn’t want spend any more time in the bathroom/shower/kitchen areas then I had to. In the morning, we’re all getting ready (it’s a community area) and so I have to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth. The night before I was having nightmares of this place (that’s how bad it was). My dream:: ((I had to pee REALLY badly, so finally I got up and went to bathroom. Somehow I had lost my shoes, so I was walking ( u know… where the least amount of skin touches the floor) and then when I got to the bathroom, there were no stalls to separate the toilets AND there were two girls with sleeping bags and blankets that were squished between the two toilets. Not wanting to pee with her right there.. for whatever reason.. I flushed the toilet instead… and because it’s a dream… water overflowed ALL over her… as I ran back to my room to hide))
had to share this dream to show how disturbed I must have been about this place.
ANYWAY.. back to embarrassing moment: I’m in the bathroom brushing my teeth and Just as I’m about to finish up… Jennifer comes by the door and waves hi thru the window… of course I have to say hi back but instead of a normal person and using the hand not doing anything… my right hand flings my toothbrush and onto the floor… NNNOOOOOO
So back to the recap: Almost an exact repeat of all of yesterdays meals….
First is breakfast at mcdonalds (again). But Japanese sausage mcmuffins are so good. Gotta chill on the amount of oil I consume tho. Anyway, we sat w/ good ol’ ronny.
back in Chinatown.  Gotta stock up on the food that we won’t find in Hama… so we get some boba, and sesame mochi balls.. yum! Soon after, Sarah and Taylor have enough of exploring, leaving Karen, Jenn, and I to tear up the streets of Yokohama. Ha. We do some exploring, a lil shopping, and LOTS of laughs. 
 
Final destination? Hard Rock Café . 
peace.
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| Spring Break 2008
Days passed- 18
Cities traveled- 11
Shink trips- 6
Castle picnics- 1
sightseeing sites- 20+
Food consumption- 7 hours a day. SEVEN HOURS OF MY DAY… eating.
Hands down, the best spring break of my life.
Day 1- the journey begins.
Momma has arrived in Osaka on Tuesday, but since I had school til wed… we arranged for her and her friend kaneko to come up to Hamamatsu to watch my first taiko performance in Japan.
As momma noted- I am the biggest one… of the girls AND guys. *sniff
Day 2- Hamamatsu--:>Tokyo/Kashiwa
Lauren is to be married in a lil over a year, so of course…. There’s gotta be a “meet the parents” day. Ma has already met Ryu’s mom… so all that was left was for the Japan introduction. So momma, kaneko, and I head to Kashiwa in Chiba, to have dinner and drinks with Ryu’s dad. (me as the stand-in daughter to be wed) =\ awwwwkkkwwarrdd.
Turned out to be okay… no picture highlights for this day, but if there were… it would be of the food. No joke… the BEST food I’ve ever eaten. It was an old-school washoku (traditional Japanese) restaurant… that served some of the yummiest dishes I’ve ever tasted. And they would bring dish after dish…
After dish. my favorite was the fugu. We drank the rest of the night… and I discovered one important mismatch between me and japan. Me and my hatred of luke warm drinks vs. the Japanese custom to never leave a cup unfilled. You can guess where I’m going with that…
Day 3- Kashiwa--:> Himeji
Drunk as a skunk and mixing of drinks inevitably leads to…. Next day’s death. Otherwise known as a mean ol’ hangover. Not much happened today.. except for recuperating. Not a pretty sight. But we shinked back to Himeji to reload and get ready for our drive to Kyoto. Ma and I were stayin at Kaneko’s house for the duration of the spring break…
Meet.. Hanako.
she gave us the tour of the house…
random pig
Day 4- Himeji: The beginning of the crusade of non-stop eating.
We tried to do a bit of sightseeing beforehand, but rain and my mom’s distaste for anything involving moving standing up…
tho after a bathroom pit stop in the Himeji castle town. Look what we stumbled upon!!
next up? Taguchi Dessert Factory!!! Cheesecake, cream puffs, éclairs, oh my! Kaneko’s niece’s husband runs Monteur pastry company, and we spent the day touring the factory… first we suited up, got disinfected, and air sprayed… check out my mom!
after watching how the magic of heavenly desserts happens.. = D of course we had to do a VERY THOROUGH quality check.
some very happy campers... = D
 or maybe just me.
Day 5-7- Kyoto
Using her sister-in-law’s car, Kaneko drives us 2 hours to Kyoto. We drive into the city.. and then… out of it… I started to wonder about why she was taking us outta the city… until we stop at this amazing… and unbelievably HUMONGOUS… resort hotel. Outside it’s not so attractive besides being amazingly huge… it’s very simple red brick. But once you enter the turnaround… absolutely pics. And the bathroom?! I took 5 pictures of just the sink. Hahaha.. whatta loser.  We got to our room… and on tv there was a tour of the place and the facilities and extras that they provided… and I started to take pictures of the video… momma called me stupid but hey! How you gunna get photos of the aerial angles? Can you guess which ones are real? Vs video?
 
Growing up I ate dinners at a ridiculously early hour. Some would call eating at 4pm… lunch. But being with my mom and her 2 year older friend, they quite enjoy the early meal, and so we head to the Tenshi café restaurant at a compromise… 5:30pm. We were the first ones there… and as it turns out.. the ONLY ones there for the majority of the night. How do I know? Cuz we were there eating for 2 ½ hours… by ourselves. And this was the 2nd most memorable meal of the trip. This restaurant advertises its use of all organic, home-grown type of ingredients… and man… was it good. Not sure how many courses this one has, but I can guarantee each one was just superb.
Next day is our sight-seeing portion of the trip… we met up with kaneko’s cousin and went to temple villages,
 (our little tour guide)
shrines, flea markets, and a home that has been turned into a landmark (Shozan).    Each place had it’s own special quality… but it being spring.. I became obsessed with pictures of flowers.  After all the touring around… (I can’t say walking.. as we spent more time sitting than anything else). We went for an okonomiyaki dinner at the Gion district.  Apparently the last time Kaneko and her cousin had gone there… they went with family that ate all the food and left them starving. Determined to not repeat that same experience… they proceed to order like SIX okonomiyaki. Oy. Plus yakisoba
Our last day’s big stop? Kyoto eiga mura (movie village) Kaneko had heard that you can dress up as a maiko (a young geisha) and get your picture taken, and she wanted me to experience it… turns out that’s a happening thing to do.. and reservations have to be made way in advance. But “luckily” for me… there was an express version. 5 minutes (literally timed) to put on the wardrobe and headgear…. Check out this pic….-→
SY KE! That picture has long been burned and destroyed. I looked like a neckless dwarf. =\ *wah
Otherwise, the eigo mura ended up being a big drab. There were sounds of filming for some movie… but it turned out to be in some obscure place that no one was allowed to see… borrinngg… this pic was the most interesting aspect I found of the whole place… 
We have one more place to visit before heading back to himeji, and of course… that includes eating. We head to some famous bridge in Kyoto, but of course, not until after eating… and the menu was udon.
Day 8- back in Himeji
We head out to the seaside for a seafood lunch with kaneko’s older brother and family. There you pick your own live sea creatures… and roast them on a fire..   
I tried to keep an open mind.. I don’t think seafood is my thing. Afterwards they took us to a senbei shop. Filled with boxes and boxes of my favorite kinds of senbei.. now THAT’s more like it. hahah.   The shop was this cute lil place with this beautiful garden so the customers can sample the treats and enjoy the view. 
Day 9- Kobe
Took a day trip out to Kobe to lunch with an old business friend of my parents’. Had a bit of Russian food… then walked around a bit for shopping needs.
Day 10/11- Himeji
Kaneko has one more brother (the eldest) who invited us out to his factory for lunch/dinner/after dinner/ etc.. hahah. His factory makes… I still don’t know what, but they’re huge!   hahahahha
We eat a soba lunch there, and then take a lil tour of the place… until it’s time to head back to the city to meet up with the rest of his family for dinner. Again it’s the type of restaurant where you choose what you want to eat… not by menu, but by the pond in the middle of the restaurant. This place was quite tasty, but unlike the norm… of takin the pictures before consumption… I always fail… and only have the ravaging ends of my meal. 
Meet Ryo(u)ma.  The grandson of kaneko’s brother. Cute as can be, but packs a lotta punch with his mouth. His range must have been 10 decibels above the norm… and tho I found him endearing… others… not so much.
We meet with them again the next day for a sukiyaki dinner at Toru-niisan’s “mansion” (apartment). Penthouse level with the best view of the Himeji castle however, must mean that it cost as much as a  mansion mansion. 
I tested out my English teaching abilities on Ryo-chan… and we played card game after card game.
Day 12- Miyasaki/ Takasaki? I can’t remember.
We planned to spend the day near Kobe but as plans so often change… today was no exception. An old friend of kaneko’s stopped by and told her of this place to cleanse the body/spirit of evils. So instead we head out to miyasaki for a udon lunch and a spirit cleansing.   
reminds me of the Mulan dragon... hehe
Meet Mari
 6 years ago she came to stay with my family along with her twin sister and younger brother. She is quite possibly the sweetest 16 year old… as there seems to be no such thing as a sweet teenager these days. But using her English and my limited Japanese, she kept me informed as much as she could… as my mom chattered off in Japanese… *sniff. Haha.. I guess that’s not entirely true. Anyway, we next set off to an art gallery and after purchasing some artwork (not her first of the trip and CERTAINLY not the last) the artist consented to a pic. 
Kappa chan..
Day 13- Shikoku
As plans to stay overnight in Nara due to tourist overpopulation… kaneko’s oldest brother, family, and momma and I head out to Shikoku to check out the eddies of Naruto. We made a pit stop at Awajishima…  (looked like a slug)
and holy crap are rest stops different in Japan vs. LA. People stop because they want to not just because nature’s calling becomes a necessity. They have random assortment of things here… a ferris wheel  cool drink machines  and my favorite… good reads in the bathroom  ha!
 
went to the #1 temple in Shikoku... and quite honestly the most interesting thing was the coi fish. but in my defense they were REALLY interesting!!! there was one that looked like a cow (in color AND size),  one that swam on its side, and one that literally jumped OUT of the water like a dolphin! don't know what they feed their fish, but they were like the stars of the show! (i only wish i had video of the jumping fish)
Day 14- Nara
Kaneko’s family really went out of their way for me and my mom… On this day, Toru-niisan picked the three of us up in the morning.. and we headed to our next stop… Nara. And we finally were at the right place and the right time for the sakura season… ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Unfortunately, since japan keeps such close tabs on their “sakura watch” there were tons of people to compete with.. actually.. not just tons of people.. but DEER… freakin everywhere!!! Some cute… some not 
I thought this one looked like syd from Ice Age!  heehee
We went to the Todaiji Temple, home of the largest Buddha…    as well as other various places (the names escape me). Then it’s homeward bound. 
Day 15 (thurs)- my last day in Himeji
I have work on Friday, so I gotta pack it up and load out. (needless to say, I don’t pack light). Packed my clothes, packed on the pounds… and have to say goodbye.. so finally a light day of “things-to-do” and I set back to Hamamatsu to my lonely apartment.
Day 16 (Friday)- work.
Booorrrrinnnggg
Day 17 (Saturday)- BACK to himeji?! **** PICTURES COMING****
Yay! My momma originally planned on coming back with me to Hamamatsu… once again had her plans changed and instead… the two of us would be headin up to yokohama tomorrow!
So now that I’m back in Himeji, Kaneko takes us to the Himeji jo for a Hanami picnic. And this place. Was. PACKED. After our picnic, we met up with the dessert factory niece, who provided ALL YOU CAN EAT ICE CREAM!!!! Needless to say what happened next. =\
Now packed with ice cream, Mari volunteers to take me up to Himeji jo to go to the top of the castle. Supposedly it takes an hour to trek up the castle, so I was worried… but turns out… getting to the top is only about 6 flights of stairs… but with the crazy amount of people? The line was 1 ½ hrs. jeebus. Luckily for me, I was with a wily lil teenager and we wrestled our way to the top. We were in a hurry cuz in just an hour, there would be the finale performance of the drum circle.
We made it just in time… and the group playing? Honno (?) Daiko from Ishikawa-ken. 3 ladies in black and white, playin with impressively fast small drum technique.
Mari and I walked home after, for a family dinner. Roast beef, pork, chicken, the works… I don’t think I’ve ever seen more food for the amount of people ever.
Day 18- officially the last day of my spring break. Yokohama!
Amazing how fast 3 weeks can pass. With a blink of an eye, my mom was here and is now back in la. Did lots, ate lots… and no picture can capture what an amazing experience it was.
Anyway, after one more meal with kaneko, she takes us to the train station and she and my mom shared a tearful goodbye. It’s amazing to think that people can be friends for 30 , 40 + years. Even more amazing to those who have been married that long. People change, lives change, but maybe it’s what kaneko says.. sometimes… it’s in the stars…
Back to yokohama!
My mom packed a 80+ pound suitcase, and since its my luggage, and since I’m making her take some of my winter clothes back with her, I’m responsible for lugging that elephant around japan. And seriously, that thing is just ridiculous. I can’t begin to describe how heavy it was, and only wish I had a picture of it to show. But luckily, Mikito and his wife Sachiko ( my dad’s cousin) met us at the train and helped us with our luggage. They take us to their home…
meet dog #1: Jun 2 years old, pomerian, possible asthma (has coughin fits. =/ )but cute as a button.
  
dog #2- pudding? old, hyper, has a.d.d.
 
but both have wonderfully HILARIOUS quirks about them. Pudding- has an itchy butt. he sits on the floor, and lifts his hind legs as he pulls him self around the floor. awesome
Jun- also, an itchy butt. BACKS into Mikito's feet so that he will scratch his bum with his slippers.... it's utterly classic.
anyway, we chill at the house to relax and unwind, and then we soon leave for dinner. Italian food! And mannn… they do all you can eats… like no other.  (the only pic i managed to take before devouring)
Luckily we were soon joined by their two children, who also stayed with my family years ago… (like 19 years ago!). lots of drinking, laughing, and catchin up… I forgot how much English Mikito knows! Phew!!
But since I have work on Monday, I have to head back to Hamamatsu, while my mom stays overnight so that she can go to the airport. Got drunk as a skunk… and was pretty worried about the next day. Got on the last train, set my alarm so I wouldn’t miss my stop, and barely had a chance to unwind.
But no worries.. back to school, back to the working life… and no more momma. =\
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