Thursday, July 4th 2013 - Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jog

We got up early this morning to see the R family off to work/daycare. R and his family were excellent hosts. Although my friend R can come off at first as a little stand-offish and tough, he is really kind and thoughtful and both he and his wife went out of their way to make sure that we had everything we needed, helped us find things, and spent as much time with us as they could. And of course his daughter is 1000% adorable (she should really be on TV). R has created a wonderful home for himself and he should be very proud of his family and life in Japan.

We watched this program nearly every morning of our trip and I may never get the song out of my head . . .

After the R family left, we showered and ate breakfast (R - we restocked your frosted flakes, sorry about filling up your trash). Then we dashed out to do some last minute shopping at the shopping center near their aparto. We wanted to be out the door and on our way to the airport at 11:30am, so we figured that we'd leave early and hit the grocery store first (as clearly that would be open first) and then off to the other shops. Also, because I had been saying the night before that despite it being the rainy season, we've really only had 3 days of rain, it had started raining, so we made excellent time. Good thing since everything was closed. Nothing opened until 10:00am, including the grocery store and the bakery (how does a bakery stay in business if it doesn't open early in the morning?!?!) So that ate into our carefully planned last-minute-shopping time.

By the time we finishes shopping and got all our bags frantically repacked, it was noon, so we were only running a tad behind. We stopped in at Lawsons for our last conbini lunch for the train ride back to Narita Airport, which was a touch sad. We stocked up on curry pan (for the plane) and then I found a yummy chahan (fried rice) onigiri (rice ball), Mc got a tray of yakisoba (fried noodles that you often get at festivals), we got Red chicken (5 spicy chicken nuggets that are delicious!) and cheese chicken (same, only not good), Mc got macaroni salad in a pouch (he used the chopsticks they gave us, but I think you could probably just squeeze it into your mouth, like macaroni salad Gogurt), I got chocopan and he got a ring cake. (Eating this was spread out over waiting for the first train, then on the second super long train, then on the plane, lest you think we're ridiculous with our conbini feast.)

This was on the train platform to the airport. I wonder if the lear section is next to the women's car . . .

Finally at the airport, we cashed in our Suica cards (you can return the train pass cards and they will give you back the remaining balance plus 290¥ of the 500¥ you paid to purchase the card, TOTALLY worth it for the convenience of not having to figure out individual train tickets) and returned our rented phone (this took 8 seconds, we handed them the phone and pouch of accessories, they found our name on a list and highlighted it, and we were off) and went to the 4th floor for our last-last minute shopping.

*SuperNova Travel Tip - Utilize the airport. If you ask one of your friends where you can find some specific thing in Japan, it is likely that they will say, "You can probably just get that at the airport." And they are right. The 4th and 5th floors of Narita airport have souvenir shops that carry many traditional items as well as fancy omiyage (snacks you bring home for people) and humorous items too. Whatever it is you are looking for, you will likely find it here (although maybe not as much variety - for example, if you want a tea set, you might only find 2-3 different ones, so if you see one you like while you're traveling, get it). And here is the astonishing part - you will find it for reasonable prices! I know, madness. So, if at the last moment you realized you forgot to pick up a present for someone, just get to the airport early! Just don't go through security, once you're through, there are only a very few shops and they are PACKED.

Mc and I finished our shopping, checked in, and made it to our gate just as it started boarding. Now I am freezing on the airplane, sitting next to my love, another unforgettable trip added to the list. Sayonara, Japan! Maybe again in another 10 years, ne?

Tuesday, July 2nd 2013 - Relaxing in Tokyo

This morning we had absolutely no schedule, a beautiful hotel room, and some lovely sunshine. After we finally decided to get up, we went downstairs to the lobby where the hotel prepared breakfast. You could have either Japanese-style (fish, rice, soup, natto) or western-style (weird sandwich, murdock salad, french fries, broccoli soup, and plain yogurt, just like you have everyday back home). We felt that since we had the Japanese-style breakfast in Nikko, we could get the western-style without guilt. In addition to this, they had a buffet that was open to all with waffles and granola and vinegar fruit juice and a coffee machine. There was enough good mixed in with the weird to make for a satisfying, culinarily adventurous breakfast.

*SuperNova Travel Tip - We love the Dormy Inn! 

After breakfast and a shower, we set out towards Shibuya (thank you IB for showing us the way, otherwise we totally would have walked back to Harajuku station and taken the train to Shibuya) to do some shopping. Now, those of you that know me know that I'm not much of a shopper. However, this is Japan and it can be a lot of fun wandering through shops and finding all the crazy, fun, extremely useful items they have. We started out in Loft which is like . . . um, well, it's set up like a department store, but it has more home supplies sort of like Target, so I guess picture Target if each department was a different floor and there was no clothing. We got a few things and I asked the cashier if there was a 100¥ shop nearby. She consulted another lady for a moment, then pulled out a street map that was just handily stored next to the cash register and pointed out a store called Can Do, which was exceptionally helpful and on the way to Tokyu Hands, where we were going next anyway.

*SuperNova Travel Tip - 100¥ shops (basically dollar stores) in Japan are awesome and you can find some amazing things there. I highly recommend checking them out for souvenirs and mementos. 3 coin stores (which basically means 300¥ stores) can also be interesting, but often have less of a selection.

The 100¥ shop had some great stuff, but no AC in the basement level store, so we tried to get out as quickly as possible. A note about AC - I kept worrying about needing a jacket for things like the Robot Restaurant or the department stores, but the AC was set quite comfortably low (for me, I think Mc was dying on a regular basis). IB said that they used to blast the AC, but since the big earthquake they have reduced AC use as part of energy conservation. Anyway, next was Tokyu Hands. Tokyu Hands is a huge store with a crazy amount of crazy things. You can find tools and bath stools and crafts and heated toilet seats and party equipment and horse masks and summer wind chimes and pet goods and it is just a generally cool store to visit. And if you exhaust yourself looking, there is a reasonably-priced cafe on the top floor (2 sandwich sets with fries and tea/coffee came to about 1,500¥, plus because he ordered the ginger pork sandwich, Mc got a free gift -  a tiny plastic pig). On our way back to the hotel from Tokyu Hands, Mc saw Manadrake and if you are a retro super-nerd, you should go to this shop! It was way, way down a very dark stairwell with flashing overhead lights that was vaguely reminiscent of the opening scene of a zombie apocalypse game, but when we finally went through the door, instead of a murder trap, we found a huge basement room jam-packed with collectibles - manga, comics, character goods, blind box figures, stuff dating all the way back to the original Godzilla days. And while you might not speak Japanese, Nerd is a common tongue. Just make an effort to pronounce your favorite series in a Japanese fashion and the helpful staff will direct you to the correct aisle of treasures! (Don't try to say the name in Japanese, I asked the staff about Final Fantasy VII, but I used the Japanese word for 7, which was silly because they call it FF7.)

Because we wanted to make the most of our lovely hotel, we decided to head back around 4pm. We picked up some snacks from Family Mart (brie flavored jagarico, good, but strange . . . ) to tide us over until the free late night soba bar opened up in the lobby and headed back to the room to chill. We also did something I have never done before - scheduled a hotel massage! After walking around Japan on unforgiving concrete for hours and hours each day for 17 days, we were starting to get very achy feet and the hotel had an offer for a 20 min. foot massage for 2,000¥ that sounded very reasonable and very tempting. So the plan was for a late night of relaxation - soba bar at 9:30pm, massages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm, and then a soak in the hotel onsen before passing out completely.

Nyanko-sensei coveting our snacks

*SuperNova Travel Tip - It really does help to know a little of the language to wherever you are traveling. Even though the front desk people at our hotel speak great English, the masseuse had a little more trouble when I called to make the reservation. For example, I told him I wanted the foot massage and he asked "total body massage?" and I said "ie, ashi" which simply means "no, foot" but got the message across perfectly. Also, I gave the times I wanted in Japanese so that there would be no confusion (although he's probably not as busy on a Tuesday night). So, you have 3 options:
   1. Learn a little Japanese. You don't have to go blow a month's salary on Rosetta Stone, there are lots of language CDs at the library as well as language books, there's even a great series for kids called Let's Learn . . . for Spanish, Japanese, French, etc. that teaches through children's songs, which is great for learning basic vocabulary in an earworm type of way.
   2. Find someone who speaks Japanese. It's easier than you think; for example, in this situation I could have asked the front desk to make the reservation for me.
   3. Make the reservation in person. When you are communicating in person, you can use gestures and facial expressions and I cannot express enough how effective these two things are! For example, with the mix-up I had, I could have just pointed to my foot if I had been there in person.

Anyway, the foot massage was excellent. It was different than any I'd had before - it was much more pressure point focused, but it felt very good. Afterwards, I went into the hotel onsen. I'm not sure if you can officially call it an onsen if it's not actually natural hot springs, but it was a fancy area where you publicly bathe, so onsen is the word I will use. The Dormy Inn onsen's claim to fame is that they use super soft water. I know this because the sign in the onsen was in English. Apparently they remove the metallic ions and take the hardness as close to zero as possible, whatever that means. The effect is that the water makes your skin and hair super soft, it almost feels as if you didn't get all the soap off. My hair the next day was super shiny. I give soft water a thumbs up. The soaking pool also had around 50 oranges in it, for decoration perhaps, or maybe the oils in the peel. There was only one other person in the soaking pool since it was so late, which was nice, and we quietly sat not looking at each other. After the soak, I tried all the products in the dressing area (although even after trying it, I still have no idea what face water is), and then went back to the room and watched Japanese commercials and I fell asleep until Mc returned from his side of the onsen.

*SuperNova Travel Tip - If you are traveling for a long time, don't forget to relax. You will enjoy your trip so much more if you are not in pain and take the time to do an activity that allows you to de-stress. 

Sunday, June 30 2013 - Akihabara

Since we stayed up so late rockin' out, we were able to sleep in pretty late this morning. By the time we were all showered and in search of breakfast, it was 11:30am. However, this is our vacation and we can eat breakfast whenever the hell we want to. Fortunately, IB feels the same way. He took us down a very cute shopping street near his aparto in Hiroo and we had breakfast at an adorable bakery called Sawa Mura.

After breakfast we took the train to Akihabara, "Electric Town." Akihabara (or Akiba for short if you are a super nerd) is the part of Tokyo famous for having electronics and collectable toys and porn. It used to be the only place where you could get the latest in electronics, however now that you can get the latest just about anywhere thanks to the internet, the otaku (nerd) influence has really taken over Akihabara. IB had an audio tour of Akihabara that we decided to follow called Tokyo Realtime (really good, you should pick it up if you can find it, they also made one for Kabukicho) that walks you through some really interesting spots you might otherwise miss just wandering, like Super Potato (a small, dark, smoky floor of a building full of retro arcade games). We also went to lots of shops selling toys and figurines from popular manga/cartoons/video games, a 5 story sex shop, a huge electronics store, and got tissues from a girl dressed in a French maid's outfit advertising a Maid Cafe (a cafe where you can pay a lot of money to have girls dressed up in cute maid costumes chat with you). At around 4pm we stopped for lunch at a small curry shop called Mammoth Curry where you could buy a variety of curries in small, regular, large or mammoth size (which was 1,000 grams/2.2 lbs). It was quite tasty and I recommend it, particularly if you find yourself lamenting the fact that you never seem to be able find curry by the pound. 

Maid Cafe in Akihabara

Akihabara is generally a favorite part of Tokyo for guys, and while I definitely wanted Mc to see it I didn't think we would be there for very long since neither of us are much into gadgets. However, with the tour and all the fun toy shops selling character goods, we spent essentially the whole day there. My favorite new character is Nyanko-sensei (he is a character from the manga Natsume's Book of Friends/Natsume Yuujincho, but the back story is not important. He's a cat teacher, I like cats and am a teacher, and he's adorable, so I love him).

My favorite part of Akihabara was Gachapon Kaikan which was a huge shop full of gacha gacha machines, floor to ceiling. Gacha gacha machines are like egg machines at home - the ones where you put in a quarter and get a plastic egg with a random toy inside (or a sticker of Michael Jackson if you're me in the 80's) - except in Japan they cost anywhere from 200-500¥ and the much higher quality toy is inside a little plastic ball instead of an egg. Each machine has a theme, most with popular characters like Nameko (an ugly mushroom character from the most boring game I've ever played where you literally wait for mushrooms to grow on a log) or Hello Kitty or Rilakkuma on a keitai strap (cell phone charm) or pin or puzzle, etc. Of course there was a Nyanko Sensei machine, so I spent way too much money there.

*SuperNova Travel Tip - In Japan, they have coins for 50¥, 100¥, and 500¥. The first paper bill you will encounter is 1,000¥ (about $10). This can be dangerous because a lot of things cost about 100¥ and as an American you don't really even think about spending it because it's a coin and our coins are worth so little. Our brain often decides to think of them as quarters, and they are used a lot like quarters here (like in toy machines). But it's important to remember that they are dollars and they add up quickly.

IB had looked up onsens in Tokyo and found one that we should try. An onsen is a Japanese hot spring where you go to relax. Naked, with all your friends and family. But most are separated by gender. Anyway, it's a very Japanese thing to do and Mc needed the full experience, so off we went. Unfortunately, Mc was wearing shorts and his tattoo was in full view. IB said that the lady at the desk was giving us ick-face from the moment we walked in. You see, tattoos are not seen as rebellious but cool expressions of art or self in Japan. In Japan, tattoos are seen as marks of the criminal underworld and are not allowed in onsens. IB has a small tattoo under his arm and has never had any trouble, likely because they don't see it till he's already inside. They saw Mc's from the door and even though IB tried to explain that it was just a birthmark, they denied us access. So we had no choice but to head out and Mc got to feel wildly indignant about discrimination.

After Akihabara, we headed back to IB's aparto and decided to order pizza. Apparently, you can order pizza online from Pizza-la here now, and since IB is fluent in Japanese, it was here in under an hour. Since pizza is expensive here (3,600¥ for a large) we didn't get a weird one for Mc (like one with potato or seafood or egg and mayonaise), instead we got the Get's pizza which was pretty normal except the corn and cheddar cheese (they will put anything on a pizza here).

Tomorrow is a visit to Harajuku and then another onsen, if Mc doesn't get rejected again . . .

Saturday, June 29th 2013 - Shibuya

Saturday was lovely because we were back in Tokyo at a friend's aparto with nothing in particular to rush off and do. We slept in and then got to do our laundry, which was really nice. Once we were up and showered, we headed out to Shibuya, which is IB's stomping grounds.

We were able to walk to Shibuya from IB's aparto in Ebisu and the weather was really nice; warm and clear with a nice breeze. On the way we stopped to get a drink at a conbini and Mc decided to try blue Skal which turned out to be a fizzy pop drink that tasted like bubble gum. Once we arrived, the first thing we wanted to show Mc was The Scramble. The Scramble is a famous crossing in Shibuya (maybe only in Japan can you find a famous crosswalk), just outside the Hachiko exit. If you want to see the stereotypical massive crush of Japanese people, go here. This is where 5 streets converge and instead of having the crosswalks take turns and go with the traffic, all the cars are stopped and all the pedestrians get to go at once in every direction imaginable for 20 frenzied seconds. If you are going to lose the people you are traveling with, it's going to be here. Across the street from the Hachiko exit is a building with a Starbucks a few stories up, which is super popular because it overlooks the Scramble crossing and you get a great view of the madness from above. It is usually packed, but we got to Starbucks early so we were able to get seats and watch for a while.

Famous Hachiko statue outside the Hachiko exit

After a bit, IB led us away from Starbucks through the streets of Shibuya to a completely different coffee experience. We found ourselves in the Love Hotel district in Maruyama-cho, where IB led us through an old-fashioned doorway and back in time. We left the hot, bustling streets of Shibuya and entered a huge, dark room that was cool and calm. There was a complete absence of noise except for the classical music gently filling our ears. We were led upstairs to a small table in the loft, overlooking an immense speaker system set amidst antique furniture and hundreds of classical music albums. IB had brought us to the Lion Cafe, built in 1923 and created as a space where people can come to relax and enjoy music. Talking is not allowed, even our waiter took our order in hushed tones. There are few windows, so the shop remains dark and cool even in summer, and despite the fact that this was a beautiful respite from the busy life outside the door, there were very few people inside. We sat and drank milk tea and whispered and relaxed. It is one of those hard to explain experiences you get in Japan in that it is in no way Japanese and at the same time uniquely Japanese. I highly recommend stopping by if you need a break and a calm moment. http://lion.main.jp/

Milk tea with huge speakers in the background at Lion Cafe

From there we went to Tokyu Hands (not Tokyo, Tokyu), a multi-story superstore of everything and anything. If you travel to Japan, I recommend you find a Tokyu Hands and save a day near the end of your trip for shopping. They have a section of the store for every room in your house, plus floors dedicated to hobbies, pets, science, weird Japanese toys, etc. It's super interesting, but very big, so set aside a chunk of time if you decide to go.

For lunch, IB wanted to take Mc to a real ramen shop and we went to 2 places that ended up being closed. We were getting hungry and finally settled on Matsuya. Matsuya is a Japanese fast food noodle shop. You order and pay for your meal from a fancy digital vending machine, then you find a seat and hand your ticket to a person in an apron. Within minutes, your food is sitting in front of you, and if you are a Japanese person, you eat it in seemingly one long, loud slurp. The food was actually really good and cheap, which surprised us Americans who assume that any fast food is going to be low quality. Matsuya is a chain you will see frequently and is a good choice if you are hungry, love noodles, and do not fear vending machines (which had really great pictures, making choosing your meal easy even if you don't read Japanese). They are easy to spot, just look for the bright yellow, orange, and blue signs.

R's wife had taken Now-chan to visit family and he had the night free, so he met us in Shibuya and we had a mini JET reunion. After a brief discussion about where the best beer can be found, we headed off to Good Beer Faucets, a craft beer pub in Shibuya ( http://goodbeerfaucets.jp/). If you like beer and are tired of the generic "biru" you order in Japanese restaurants, this is a great place to visit. It's modern, clean, the staff speak English, and the beer selection is large.

Dinner was scheduled to be yakiniku. Yakiniku basically just means grilled meat, and when you go to a yakiniku restaurant, you sit at a table with a little grill in the middle, order plates of a variety of raw things, and then grill them while you visit and eat. It's sort of like a tiny barbeque with a select few friends. I love yakiniku and had wanted to take Mc to one and IB lived across the street from a yakiniku place that he'd been wanting to try, so it was kismet. The restaurant was called Hachi Hachi (Eight Eight) and was a lot of fun. We got a variety of meats and vegetables to grill, bibimbap, kimchee, and lots more beer.

Hachi Hachi yakiniku restaurant

The only logical end to the evening was a round of ancient traditional Japanese karaoke. IB took us to Aso Viba, a cheap karaoke place near his home. For those of you who have never tried Japanese karaoke, it is much different than in the States. Instead of singing a song in front of an entire bar after waiting an hour for your turn, you are given a private room with a telephone on the wall where you can order drinks and snacks as you make an ass of yourself in front of your closest friends and loved ones. There is less pressure (except peer-pressure, there's way more of that), you get to sing as much as you want too, and their sound system makes you feel like a total rockstar. It is so much more fun; you have no idea. We may have forcibly dragged R into the karaoke booth, but it was for the best as we blasted 80s hits and played air guitar well into the night (R took me and a few other newbies to my first Japanese karaoke experience way back when). And if I got a little misty-eyed, it was probably just the smoke from the yakiniku . . .

Sunday, June 23rd 2013 - My Old Stomping Grounds

SuperNova Travel Tip: If you have the opportunity to stay with someone from the country you are visiting, do so. I don't mean hop in the car of random strangers or run away with the gelato man. I mean if you know someone, even if it's a friend of a friend, and they offer to let you stay, do it. When I first arrived in Japan (the first time), I did 3 overnight stays with 3 different families and they were each an invaluable experience. And there's a good chance you will never have had such delicious food.

So on Sunday, S asked us if we wanted to go make pottery. We said yes. Despite the fact that Mc generally avoids art-like activities and puts them in the same stress-inducing category as final exams, we said yes because we had never done pottery in Japan before and when you're traveling, you try new things, and if you're going to say no to things just because you think you might not enjoy it, then why did you leave home in the first place?!

N-sensei was supposed to spend the day with us this time, but unfortunately, Y-chan had woken up with a fever and N-sensei had to take him to the doctor (yes, on a Sunday, apparently the health care in Japan is amazing). So S, A-kun, Mc and I loaded into the car and off we went to spend the day in Omiya. This is one of the things I love about staying with different people. S is an art teacher, so of course she knows about an awesome place to do pottery, something we never would have thought of doing on our vacation. We arrived in a little studio, donned aprons, and sat around a long table while a pottery guru gave us each a huge chunk of clay and taught us how to make serving dishes largely by demonstration. It was surprisingly easy and Mc even enjoyed himself.  And in 6-8 weeks S will send us some authentic pottery, made in Japan!

Tougei (pottery)

After we washed up, we went to lunch. Apparently, S remembered that I told her neighbor boy that my favorite food was gyoza, because we ended up at Gyoza no Ooshyo, a Chinese restaurant known for their gyoza (fried/steamed dumplings similar to pot stickers but way better). We got there just before it opened, and there was a huge line behind us. Lunch was awesome, the gyoza was delicious, and I recommend this restaurant if you stumble upon one.

Lunch was followed by a trip to the Omiya Bonsai Museum. Museums are quiet, but the tiny tree museum was silent. It was also beautiful. They had an exhibit of trees that were 200-300 years old. (This is astounding to me because I cannot keep a plant alive for 2 months.) Mc found the museum to be fascinating and admired and appreciated the trees like an adult. My favorite part of the museum was the sign that said that you could NOT take pictures of the trees. Why? Am I going to steal the image of the tree and scandalously reproduce it over the next 300 years? Are the trees camera shy? Or are they just high-maintenance diva trees? There was a small section of trees in the courtyard that you could photograph, and they were beautiful works of tree-art.

One of the less uppity trees at the Bonsai Museum

For fun, S decided to take us to my old apartment complex in Haraichi. Mc got to see my old apartment building and one of the apartments was vacant, so he even got to look in the window and see the layout. I showed him my tiny train station and the vending machine where I'd buy ice cream sometimes on my way home and the daycare next door that would keep me awake when I stayed home sick. We went to my old conbini (Family Mart, still my favorite because old loyalties die hard) and the Seims drugstore where S helped us buy some headache medicine as our Advil had run out. (If you need ibuprofen while visiting Japan, Eve is a safe brand. Mc had seen a commercial for it and guessed that it was pain medication, but S confirmed so we got some. However, it is not as strong as Advil, only 150mg per tablet, so make the appropriate adjustments to your dosage.) It was really neat getting to show Mc where I lived and how far I had to bike to work and the okonomiyaki place that S first took me to.

When we got back to the N family house, Mc and I had a surprise jet-lag attack and had to take a nap. We got up 2 hours later and went upstairs to find that not only had dinner been made, but they had constructed a noodle chute in their living room. Earlier, S had asked what we might want for dinner and Mc loves noodles, so S thought of somen (very thin Japanese noodles). Apparently there are restaurants in Japan where somen comes down a chute of running water and you have to try to catch it with your chopsticks, dip it in your tsuyu (sauce garnished with green onions and ginger), and eat it fresh off the chute. The N family had built a chute in their living room with cartons cut in half, lined with plastic, propped up on a chair with a bowl at one end. A-kun positioned himself at the end of the chute by the bowl, and Mc and I were on either side as N-sensei and Y-chan dropped noodles and poured water down the chute and the three of us had a chopstick competition. It was so much fun! I highly recommend building a noodle chute in your living room if you're making somen! It was also delicious, but (of course) merely the first course of dinner. After the chute fun was over, we went over to the table where S had made more somen, hamburger steak, and 3 kinds of sashimi (raw fish slices). After a while, there were only a few slices of sashimi and a small hamburger steak left and they offered it to Mc, who took it to be polite and because it was delicious, even though he was full. Then S brought out another course of more gratin (a second dish from this morning), which Mc also finished to be polite. Then came a surprise dessert course and Mc died. Well, not literally. Dessert was mochi dango (3 mochi balls on a stick with various toppings - seaweed, thick sweet teriyaki sauce, or brownish powder) and sakuranbo (Y-chan hates sakuranbo but loves feeding them to Mc.) Mc had to try the mochi dango, but could only split 1 stick with me and I laughingly reminded him of when he asked me if there would be food at S's house.

Somen chute

Amazing dinner

Saturday, June 22nd 2013 - Kappabashi Dori & Yomiuri Giants vs. Chunichi Dragons

Saturday morning we woke up and had breakfast of potato gratin and green salad (Japan is not really a "these are breakfast foods" type country) with S, A-kun, and Y-chan. N-sensei had to go to a handball tournament and had already left. We showered and then S asked us if we had ever been to Kappabashi Dori before. We had not, so off we went. This time we walked to the train station. As we left S's house, S told us the neighbor boy wanted to ask us a question in English. (He clearly did not want to speak to us in English.) We stopped and smiled and he said hello and we said how are you and he stood there, hanging on his front yard fence, terrified smile frozen on his face while his mother yelled at him from the sliding door. So we smiled and waved and said good-bye and started to move away to let him off the hook. As we started to leave, S told us that he had wanted to ask us what our favorite food was (see, we went with the "how are you" conversation, which was not what he had planned, and we broke him), so we went back and I said that my favorite food was gyoza. He was relieved having completed his mother-assigned task and we were happy to help. We waved and walked away.

Our final destination was Tawaramachi station, but we paused in Ueno station for lunch because it's a large station with some restaurant options. S took us to a soba shop where Mc got cold soba noodles for the first time (they come on a slatted wooden box and you dip them in a cold broth) and a bowl of rice with kakiage on top (vegetables dipped in tempura batter and fried in a mass), while I had cold soba with teriyaki chicken. S had to leave because Y-chan was suddenly and randomly inconsolable, so while she pushed his stroller around the station, Mc and I tried to figure out what the teapot on our tray was about. We tried to ask A-kun, but he was very busy constructing things of napkins and table accoutrements. The men sitting next to us (who were having a very fun lunch consisting of mostly sake), overheard our musings and explained that it was the water that the soba had been boiled in. When you're done eating, you pour it into your bowl and drink it and it is very good for your health. Generally in Japan, "Very good for health," is code for "This tastes terrible," but we tried it and it's actually quite good, especially if you mix it with a little of your dipping broth. S came back, Y-chan was appeased with an Anpanman juice, we finished lunch, and found our way to Tawamachi station.

Kappabashi Dori is also known as Kitchen Town and it's where you go to find all the extremely realistic plastic food you see in displays outside restaurants. When you go to this street you will see kappas everywhere - a kappa is a mythical Japanese creature that lives in the water and will try to drown you (this was to keep kids away from dangerous waters). Kappas have an indentation on the top of their head shaped a little like a bowl, and if their bowl is full of water from the river/lake where they live, then they can walk around on land and harass you. If a kappa is harassing you, try tricking it into dumping out it's water (for example, bow deeply and the kappa will bow in return, spilling his water) which renders them immobile. No, they don't have anything to do with kitchens, why would you think that? Anyway, I imagined the streets being lined with shops with very cheap plastic vegetables in bulk in bins, so you could essentially just fill up a basket with play food. That is not the case. All the food is sold in display sets that are very expensive. And realistic! There was a can of beer with ice on the sides that I would have sworn was real if it wasn't so hot out. You can buy little pieces of food, like life-size pieces of sushi stuck on a magnet, but those run about $10 each, which seemed like a lot for a magnet to us. However, it's worth a look because the fake food they sell there is amazing. Also, only a small portion of the shops sell plastic food. The rest sell kitchen accoutrements from things to set up your new restaurant to things to complete your home kitchen. We bought an ice tray that makes perfectly round ice cubes the size of marbles. S bought her kids an ice tray with dinosaur shapes and also got a set of hashi oki (chopstick rests). It was quite a good time and we enjoyed it very much.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Japan is super safe. You do not need to bring a money belt to Japan (although if you've read my other travel writing, you know I don't take a money belt anywhere because there's nothing so awkward as fishing money out of the waist of your pants). When I lived in Japan, I once accidentally left my wallet in the basket of my bicycle when I went into a shop, and it was untouched when I returned in a panic. S had a stroller with several bags of stuff in it and when we would go into the crowded shops, she would just leave it outside the shop. I'm not saying you should do stupid things, but it's one of the very few places you will travel to where you can breathe easy in crowded places (which is good, because all places are crowded places in Japan).

We had tickets to a baseball game in Tokyo Dome City at 6:00pm, and instead of ditching us to head home with the kids, which would have been perfectly reasonable, S took us all the way to Tokyo Dome City and just arranged for N-sensei to meet them there with the car. She also brought a bag of fan gear for us to use at the game. We took a group photo outside the stadium, and then the happy, thoughtful, wonderful N family waved good-bye and headed home.

Tokyo Dome City is a resort/amusement park built up around the Tokyo Dome. If you don't already know, baseball is Japan's number 2 sport, right behind sumo wrestling. Mc is a huge baseball fan and so of course we had to see a game while we were there. Even if you are just a sort of baseball fan, you should go to a game. It's crazy. First of all, cheering is very polite. If you are a fan of the away team, then you sit in your designated section. Then ONLY the fans of the team at bat are allowed to cheer. Secondly, cheering is organized. There is a band and flag wavers and specific songs and chants and hand motions. (Just look around you and find someone who clearly knows what they're doing and then do that. They are very easy and you will catch on quickly). Thirdly, there's the beer wenches. Very pretty Japanese girls wearing girly baseball uniforms running up and down the stands with a beer keg on their back. When you wave one down, she will kneel next to you and pour your beer. Fourth, besides the beer you buy from wenches (about 800¥ each), everything in the stadium is about the same price you'd pay outside the stadium. I had a gyudon bowl and Mc had curry katsu and they were only about 500¥ each. They even have a sort of conbini/fan store and again, drinks were what you would pay at any conbini. Fifth, you never know what you'll see. Sure, there was a baseball game, but there was also Ronald McDonald. And then there were the cheerleaders because obviously baseball needs cheerleaders. And the Giabbit (the mascot for the Giants is an orange rabbit, so he is the Giabbit) and his sister. Drawbacks: the seats are very small. I am 5'9" and when I sit back in the seat, my knees touch the back of the seat in front of me. If you go see the Yomiuri Giants play, they are the number 1 team in Japan, so when we went it was very crowded and hot. It was uncomfortable. 

Yebisu Beer Wench (be careful who you flag down or you may end up with a lemonade wench by accident)

Baseball cheerleaders

In the end, the Giants lost 2-0 to the Chunichi Dragons and while it was uncomfortable, it was worth going. At the very least Mc got a cool Yomiuri Giants hat and I will cherish my small, garishly orange stuffed Giabbit. We found the train station without issue (generally I would confidently tell you to follow the crowd, but the crowd might be taking the subway, so you should bolster following the crowd with looking for signs) and we even managed to not get on a rapid. As we exited the train at S's station, I heard Mc blow out a big sigh behind me. When questioned, he told me that he almost lost his wallet (he was carrying all our cash). Apparently, as we started to walk off the train, someone tapped Mc on the arm and when he looked back the person gestured at his wallet on the seat. Did I mention Japan was safe?

Friday, June 21st 2013 - part 2, The N Family

When I moved to Japan to teach English with the JET program, the school administration assigned S, the art teacher, the glamorous duty of making sure I understood how to function in my new town. I assume they picked S because she was about my age, also single, and lived relatively close to the apartment they chose for me. They did not seem concerned with the fact that S did not speak English. If S was put out by any of this, you would never have known, she was always laughing and easy-going about everything.

S went so far above and beyond whatever the school had told her to do. On one of my first nights in Japan, she made me dinner and handed me Aquarius (Japanese sports drink) just I was contemplating passing out on the floor from heat exhaustion. She showed me how to get to two grocery stores from my apartment. She showed me where the video rental store was (yes, video rental, shut up) and then after that she took me to a restaurant. She sat me down, ordered two beers and what I learned was okonomiyaki, took out a spiral notepad and a pen, and we started talking. We used lots of hand gestures (think Charades) and any time we got stuck, the ingenious art teacher would draw a picture on the notepad and understanding was restored. (S said something about taco, and I got excited and drew a picture of a taco and asked, "Taco?" S looked at my picture and laughed. She pointed to it and said, "Tacosu." Then she drew a picture of an octopus and said, "Tako." My disappointment was vastly overshadowed by the fun of our conversation AND I was learning important and easy to remember nouns.) The more beer we had, the better our communication skills got until our friendship was permanently sealed.

I have such fond memories of S. She took me to my first cherry blossom viewing picnic in Omiya park. I took her on her first all-night clubbing experience in Roppongi. She would have little dinner parties with 2 other teachers from our school and taught me about holidays like Girl's Day and Japanese Valentine's Day. I took her to the Air Force base in Yokota to visit my friends and taught her about Taco Bell (she was pretty impressed with the size of the soda pop cup and kept it as a souvenir). When I was hit by a car, she was the only one who visited me and she brought me dinner and we played games. I would not have thought, logically, that two people who did not speak each other's language could become real friends - friendly acquaintances perhaps, sharing wacky exchanges once in a while, but not true friends. However, S stayed in touch even after I had to change schools my 2nd year in Japan. And then after I came home, we continued to communicate a few times every year with letters and packages. A few years after I left Japan, S got married. I actually knew her husband; she married the PE teacher at the school we taught at. I was very happy for her because he was extremely nice (and very good-looking!) and they had 2 boys, so she hasn't had a chance to visit me yet. Every time she had a big life event, she would send me pictures and a long letter, and I would do the same for her (except she is way ahead of me in the game of Life). S has always had a special place in my heart and I was so excited to see her again and for her to meet my husband.

When we met S at the train station, she looked exactly the same. I always forget how small she is (she only comes up to my shoulder) and she was stylishly dressed and still beautiful. She had brought her oldest, A-kun who is 5, with her and he looks just like her. When we arrived at her house, her husband N-sensei met us at the door carrying Y-chan, who is 2, with big smiles and warm handshakes. S has such a happy, warm family. They gave us a tour of their lovely home and we gave out our American omiyage (step 1 in winning over the kids). Then S sat us down for dinner while the boys decided that the best thing to do would be to open and try all the candy at once. S told us that she had a friend who was a tour guide and had asked him what Japanese food foreigners liked the most and then had made that. She made two kinds of katsu (S is an amazing cook and taught me everything I know about cooking Japanese food) and rice, salad, fish tubes stuffed with cheese, and so many other things I cannot remember them all. Dinner was a lot of fun and although N-sensei's English is limited, S did a great job translating (her English was actually quite good by the time I left Japan. I had assumed it was because she was just rusty at first and it had improved with practice. However, she told Mc that she wasn't interested in English before she met me, so it's possible that she studied) and N-sensei's smartphone had an app he could talk into and it would translate simple words and phrases. And of course Mc had listened to the language CDs and knew enough words to impress.

At dinner N-sensei asked Mc if he would like whiskey or beer. Mc chose beer and when N-sensei asked if he'd like another, he said yes because it was just beer and we were having good times with new friends. What he didn't realize was that the question wasn't "beer or whiskey" it was "which one first?" After dinner, whiskey came in large glasses with ice. S and I were chatting and when I glanced over at Mc I was a little surprised how red he'd gotten. He leaned over and whispered, "They stop asking if you want more! I just looked over and my glass was full again!"

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Japanese people generally love to drink, especially the men. If you are at a party, there will likely be one huge bottle of beer on the table and you will have a small juice-sized glass. The custom is that if you see someone's glass getting low, you grab the bottle and fill their glass for them. It's actually a great tradition, because then you can grab a bottle and go pour for people and chat with different guests at the party. If you want more drink, you cannot pour for yourself, so what you do is you find someone at the table near you and fill up your glass and then they will say thank you, notice your glass, and do the same for you (although people get a tad less meticulous the more alcohol that gets poured). This is important: If you don't want more, leave your glass full. It seems like a waste, but if there's any room at the top of your glass, you're getting more.

After dinner, Mc taught the boys how to use the remote control car and played with them till they were screaming with laughter and 100% won over. Around 11pm Satoko showed us to our room where she had laid out 2 futons with matching comforters, taught us how to use the electronic blinds and our air conditioner, and we slept like rocks.

Thursday, June 20th 2013 - Nikko Mountain, Day 1

Thursday morning we had a delightful breakfast with R at Mister Donut before heading out on our next side trip adventure. Mister Donut is a chain, you will see them all over Japan, and is very easy to navigate. You simply grab a tray and some tongs, pick out the donuts that look the most enticing (much like conbini pan, this will largely be a crap-shoot - R got a frosted donut that would otherwise look harmless, but turned out to be part of a Calpis flavored-everything campaign and was... interesting) and just pay at the register. If you want coffee, you can ask for it (coffee = ko-hee) and they will likely understand you, a great place to go if you want something easy.

From Mister Donut, it was a short walk to the station. (ANOTHER bonus of staying with friends is that if your friends are centrally-located and really kind, generous, wonderful people, they will let you leave your big suitcase with them while you take side trips with only your carry-on. You should definitely bring them omiyage.) The train ride to Nikko from Tokyo is pretty long, about 2 hours north. Mc and I had been traveling around Japan for almost a week and were feeling pretty confident about our train skills. Till one particularly long stop. Mc looked out the open train doors and noticed that the sign said that the train was ending at a station before Tobu-Nikko (our goal station), which was concerning. We were sure that we had gotten on the correct train, ending in Tobu-Nikko. We grabbed our bags and hopped off the train, looked around in a puzzled-fashion, and then I stopped a train worker and asked if the train was going to Tobu-Nikko (the awesome thing about Japanese is that you can turn anything into a question by adding "desuka" to the end of it, so I just said, "Tobu-Nikko desuka?" while pointing at the train and looking confused, which worked just fine) and he said no and gestured with a pushing-type motion, then hurried off. Relieved that we caught our mistake, we tried to figure out when the next train was coming and wandered in the direction he had waved us. We started to sit down on a bench to wait when the train guy came back around, noticed us, and told us to get on the train that was still there. Confused, we apologized for not understanding his gesture, jumped up and got on the train. The best we can figure was that at this station, the train we were on split in 2 and went different directions. So while we did get on the correct train for Tobu-Nikko, we did not get on the right section of the train. The moral of this story is NEVER let yourself feel confident in your train skills, because that's when the train will get you!

Anyway, we did eventually get to Nikko station and for those of you wanting to visit, you should know that the train station is really small, it doesn't even have a full conbini inside (I know, unfathomable)! It does have an information office and I always recommend taking advantage of them, even if it's just to walk up and ask if they have any information/handouts in English. (You will use them later.) However, please note that they only have English-speakers at the information desk during certain hours (when we were there it was until 4pm), so don't think you can just go there any time.

Mc had done some research and booked us a room at a minshuku (guesthouse, kind of like a bed and breakfast) called Rindou no Ie. Once we booked it online, we received an email from Shizuo thanking us for choosing his guesthouse and telling us that once we arrive to please call him and he would pick us up (Note: if you'll recall, we rented a phone at the airport and I highly recommend it as it was infinitely useful to have for situations like this one. However, there are still pay phones all over Japan - just look for the green handset), which we did and he arrived within 10 minutes. Because we were early, our room wasn't ready. He offered to take our luggage on ahead, encouraged us to go sightseeing, and call him when we were done, even though we offered to walk (it's about a 15 min. walk, just over a kilometer, but we were grateful for the offer of a ride since it was raining).

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Book your lodging before you leave. I know that some travelers prefer the freedom of just showing up in a place and seeing what happens (because life is for the living!), but those people have to be  prepared for/ok with sharing a bedroom with 2 random dudes in what you were told was a hostel, but may, in fact, be a squatter community. I have done it both ways (that was not a random example) and I personally find the benefits of planning far outweigh any benefits of winging it. 1. You know the costs in advance and have factored them into your budget, 2. you don't have to spend valuable vacation time in a dark internet cafe frantically researching reviews on TripAdvisor, 3. when you book in advance, the good and affordable hostels/guesthouses/hotels are still available so you don't have to settle for a place that has a roach you were sure was a mouse at first glance. If planning makes you feel restricted and panicky, remember that reservations are just reservations, and as long as you note their cancellation policy, you can change your mind at any time. But it's much easier to cancel a reservation than spend forever trying to make one.

This was really the first time that the rainy season was rearing its dampish head. I was worried about Mc because it was cooler on the mountain than in Tokyo and rainy, but Mc claimed it was still too hot for his raincoat. We solved this problem by picking up a small umbrella for 350¥, figuring that it was small enough to take home and we could always use another umbrella. (The umbrella is currently sitting long-forgotten in S's umbrella stand.)  Then we hopped on the bus (the stop is right outside the train station and your Suica works on the bus) for some shrine viewing.

There are several shrines and temples in the Nikko area, but I specifically wanted to take Mc to see Nikko Toshogu Shrine. When I lived in Japan, Toshogu Shrine was the first experience I had where I went to a place that looked exactly like the slides from my Asian Art History class. The bus ride is relatively short and admission is 1,300¥ to see all 3 treasures (which you should). Your ticket will come with 3 stubs, so you'll know you're about to see one of the highlights when a temple-bouncer rips off part of your ticket. I do a lot of writing, but attempting to describe Toshogu Shrine will come off as an attempt to use all the thesaurus has to offer for alternatives to "awesome" or "amazing." So I will stick to things you should know and experiences we had and you'll just have to go visit for the visual part. 

Things of note: The shrine is huge. It is worth the admission as there is a lot to see and you will spend some time there. There are a lot of dragons incorporated into the decor. There are some presentations; they are not in English. However, if you pay attention to body language and just relax and look around, you'll get the gist and none of the presentations are very long but they are all worth doing. One of the first things you see when you walk in is a carving of the 3 monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) and it is awesome to see where that originated. It will be packed. We were there on a Thursday and it was rainy and it was still full of people. 

Many of those people were school groups, since school was not out yet in Japan. If you are obviously foreign, you may become the target of one of these school groups. It is not uncommon for teachers to assign their students an English dialogue when they know they are taking their students somewhere English speakers frequent. We were surrounded by just such a group, each student nervously clutching their A4 worksheet with their carefully printed script, never making eye contact, as they ask you what your favorite color is. If you are the subject of one of these interviews, keep your answers short and predictable. (If you vary from the script, they will not know what to do and will panic. These kids are adorable and you don't want to scare them away.) After Mc and I answered the same questions fifteen times ("Where are you from? Do you like Japanese food? . . ."), we were able to continue our sightseeing. I'm glad Mc got to experience this; it's really fun, very cute, and it totally makes you feel like a rock star. Later, wandering through the grounds we would inevitably see the group of students again. No longer encumbered by their terrifying speech, the brave ones shouted, "HARO!" and once you respond, "Hello!" you are caught in an infinite loop of saying hello to every student as many times as they can get you to say it before their group walks too far away. I honestly do not think that they are making fun, I think that they are super excited to try out a word that they've been required to learn but never get to use and then lose it when they find that it actually works. While I was in the bathroom, some super brave students approached Mc and asked if he would take a picture. He thought they meant take it for them, but soon found out they meant with him in it. Once he agreed, he was a celebrity for the next 10 min. as student after student needed a picture with him. I love Japanese students.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Don't let the weather keep you inside. It was rainy (I purposely won't say it was "raining" because I am from Oregon and we have more words for rain than Eskimos have for snow and it wasn't raining, just drizzly) and we got wet, but it wasn't cold and we had an amazing time and the weather actually made for some great pictures - the low clouds and mist giving the beautiful shrine an ancient ambiance.

After a few hours, we were damp and tired from traveling and headed back to the station, where we met Shizuo. Our room at the minshuku was wonderful. It was a traditional tatami room with sliding doors. Green tea was already set out for us on the low table in the middle of the room. We had our own air conditioner and the wifi password was framed on the TV stand. We sat on our knees on zabuton (Japanese floor cushions) and drank hot green tea out of tea cups with no handles. After we felt settled, we went downstairs to ask if Shizuo would recommend a restaurant for dinner. Not only did he haul out the map and draw on several locations, but once we picked one, he insisted on driving us. 

The izakaya he recommended was delicious. (I had the name of it written down, but alas, we kept the wrong map.) They had an English menu (meaning they had a regular menu on which they had printed and taped tiny English translations - you see this a lot) and we saw an opportunity to try deep-fried ray. It came in strips and was awesome. It had an almost sweet taste and was just a little bit chewy. Everything we had there was good.

Once back at the minshuku, we pushed back the tea table, unfolded our large, cushy futons, donned our yukata-style robes, and kicked back. After a little while, I decided to take a bath before the evening rush. The bath was downstairs and was huge and I had it all to myself. After showering at one of the 2 shower stations, I went over to the massive bathtub and pulled back the cover. It was filled to the top and had bath salts mixed in that turned the water an opaque milky white. It was relaxing and wonderful smelling. As I pulled back the next section of bath cover, an image of a body floating to the top of the water FREAKED ME OUT and then there was no way I was getting in. But since I am a rational person (obviously), I figured I just needed to sweep the bottom of the tub. The only thing I could find was the little bucket they provide so you can rinse yourself, so there I was, dredging the bottom of a perfectly lovely bathtub for bodies. I didn't find any (surprise), so logically as I got into the bath and sank in up to my shoulders, my mind changed the image to that of a pale white hand shooting up out of the water and pulling me under. The setting was perfect - way out in the mountains, downstairs away from my husband, we don't speak Japanese so of course we would not have heard the rumors of how people keep disappearing or the story of the girl who drowned while working in a minshuku . . . I could basically write the horror movie in my head, and I needed to STOP because I needed to take a bath like a reasonable adult. So I sang. I sang every song I could think of while forcing myself to enjoy the heat of the water, and of course it worked. It is fun to sing in a huge bath room like that, the acoustics are excellent and if anyone could hear me, no one beat on the walls. The water made my skin feel soft and SOMETHING TOUCHED MY FOOT!!! After I restarted my heart, I discovered it was the pull string for the bath plug and this is why is a curse to have an active imagination, not a blessing. Bath over.

Wednesday, June 19th 2013 - Studio Ghibli Museum, yata!

On Wednesday, R and T took the day off and we had planned on taking their daughter, Now-chan, to the Ghibli Museum. Studio Ghibli makes feature-length animated movies that are amazing (well, the ones done by Hayao Miyazaki - co-founder, director, screenwriter, animator - are amazing, not so much the ones done by his son). They are super-famous in Japan, kind of like Disney movies here. But they are so much more than Disney movies. The attention to detail in the animation makes for beautiful movies, the stories are deep and interesting, and his movies almost always feature a strong female character. My favorite is Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but he is most famous for Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro), which I show in my classroom every year (and my students are always riveted). His movies are excellent and I highly recommend them, but do your research - for example, while the Japanese don't really swear, when they dubbed over Princess Mononoke the English version ended up with swear words and a PG-13 rating, and while many of his movies are great for children, Grave of the Fireflies is a sad movie about the effects of the nuclear bomb. However, Kiki's Delivery Service is a classic among little girls, Howl's Moving Castle has an excellent cast of characters, Spirited Away won an Academy Award, and so many of his movies are fun for the whole family (and no princesses needing saving!).

I didn't go while I was in Japan because I didn't know Ghibli had a museum (I'm surprised they don't have a land, like Disneyland. I'm sure it would be popular). Going with the R family was perfect because then it looked like we were going for the child and not because I'm a huge Ghibli nerd (never mind the fact that Now-chan is 2 and has never seen a Studio Ghibli movie). The plan was to have breakfast, head out, get lunch on the way, and then play at the museum. The plans changed a little when it was discovered that Now-chan had a fever, but they just changed slightly. Apparently, in Japan you can call the doctor and tell them that you need to come in and then they call you back when they have an appointment ready for you (within the hour), then you go to the doctor's office and go right in! T and Now-chan were done at the doctor's office in time to meet us at the train station. They diagnosed her with a cold and gave her medicine in packets of powder to be mixed with juice (this struck me as funny as I associate medical powders with the apothecary and wondered vaguely if they had checked her vapors or offered leeches). The train ride was uneventful except that Now-chan had no intention of drinking her concoction, as this would ruin her 2-year-old street cred.

For those of you who want to visit the Ghibli Museum, please note that you need to buy tickets in advance. Internet research led me to believe that you need to buy your tickets MONTHS in advance, but R picked them up at a Lawsons less than 2 weeks before we wanted to go with no problem. (The Ghibli Museum website has an English version - http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/ .) However, it is not a myth that you need to get them in advance, they will sell out - they were sold out when we arrived and we went on a Wednesday while school was still in session, i.e. not vacation season. Unfortunately, I didn't buy the tickets myself, so have no advice to offer there except that the employees at Lawsons are generally extremely nice and helpful and if you print off anything with Ghibli Museum pictures on it, they will probably figure out what you want and give you a hand.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: While I am terrible at picking up languages and do not generally "study the language" before I travel, it is a good idea to learn 3 phrases before you go: "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" ("kudasai/koo-dah-sigh," "arigato/ah-ree-gah-toh," and "sumimasen/soo-me-mah-sen"). I always give this advice in my travel writing and I will say it again here. People are so much nicer and more willing to help you if you make a little effort with their language. Combine this with my other tried-and-true tip about smiling (always smile, although never nod unless you truly mean "yes" because that can get you in trouble) and you will likely get through most situations.

Also, the museum is not right outside the train station (yes, gasp). It's about a 15 min. walk, so definitely research the route before you come if you won't have internet access once you're in Japan.

The actual museum is awesome. There is a HUGE stuffed Totoro selling tickets in the ticket office (which is perfect since there are no actual tickets to sell) and the museum building itself looks like something out of a Ghibli movie. The museum is a nice mix of things for adults and activities for kids. You can touch just about everything and one of the first rooms you go in has the biggest, most complicated, and most awesome zoetrope ever called "Bouncing Totoro." (A note about strobe lights: they are everywhere in Japan. You will encounter bright flashing lights absolutely everywhere; if you have epilepsy, I'm sorry, but Japan is not for you.) There is also the Saturn Theater, a small theater showing a Ghibli original movie (about 15 min.) that can only be seen in the museum. Mc and I were worried at first about the movie being in Japanese, but there were no words so it was no problem. We got to see Pan Dane to Tamago-Hime (Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess). I can't tell you what it was about (not because I am trying to be obnoxious but because I have no idea how to even begin, "So there's this witch with ENORMOUS bazooms who flies in on a bucket and wants to make a 30 egg omelet, but one of the eggs won't break, so she puts a hair-tie on it and spins it and it now has a tiny face and arms and legs and hair-tie dress and one night . . . "), but it was absolutely captivating and Now-chan talked about Tamago-chan for the rest of the day. 

After the movie, we got lunch in the cafe and I would probably say this was the most disappointing thing about the museum. It was a cute, outdoor cafe (it also had a small indoor cafe if the weather is bad, but it was packed when we came so we chose outside) but the food selection was very limited (2 food choices and ice cream). I had a hot dog, Mc and T had a pork belly rice bowl, R had a Studio Ghibli beer, and Now-chan had a fit. Probably because we were sitting quietly and that didn't suit her style, the girl has things to do; people to see, things to touch, stairs to climb. She got over it as soon as we started moving again and T is a champ at eating around a 2-year-old storm in her lap.

Upstairs is a huge neko-basu (cat bus from Totoro) that kids can actually play in, complete with makurokurosuke ball pits (makurokurosuke are black dust balls also from Totoro and then again in Spirited Away) which was awesome but only for children. Boo. A lot of the actual museum exhibits (most, actually) were in Japanese only, but there were a ton of pictures and despite the lack of English we totally felt the experience was worth the 1,000¥ admission. On the top floor is the gift shop Mama Aiuto which means "help Mama" in Italian and is aptly named because that place is insane. The words "crowded" or "packed" come to mind but are not quite right . . . maybe "suffocating" would work . . . Anyway, we braved it because Mc wanted a No Face souvenir (from Spirited Away), I wanted something (I got a small stuffed fox-squirrel from Nausicaa and Laputa), and we needed to get a Tamago-hime for Now-chan because she seemed so enchanted by the film and because we are big fans of buying affection.  On the roof of the building is a life-size Robot Soldier from the Laputa movie and everyone was politely taking turns taking pictures in front of it. On N's 3rd trip up the tiny, spiral staircase, we got her to come over to take a picture and while she is half Japanese, she is also half American, so she ignored the people politely taking turns, and marched up to the robot. I like her style; work it while you're 2 lady!

Robot Soldier from Laputa: Castle in the Sky and fearless Now-chan

After we were sure that we'd seen all there was to see, we said good-bye to Totoro. Now-chan passed out in her stroller once Tamago-chan was securely strapped in and T decided to take this opportunity to head home so that R could take us drinking.  Hurray for T, the most awesome of wives!

We hadn't been to Shinjuku yet and it had been awhile since R had been there, so off we went. It was still pretty early, so we killed time at a coffee shop in a shopping mall under a train station (that sounds weird, but is really common) where our waitress' name tag claimed that she was Ally McB. The people at the next table were smoking, so we got a solid nicotine hit with our tea and coffee, free of charge (there is a LOT of smoking in Japan, but surprisingly, it's actually less than when I lived there, so good on ya Japan for slowly making changes!). After that, we wandered, which is one of my favorite activities. We went through every floor of a new shopping mall (this one was not part of a train station) and gasped at prices, we went to a clothing store and looked for an Engrish t-shirt for Mc (it is popular for foreigners to collect Japanese t-shirts that have English on them because apparently they have no interest in proof-reading and the t-shirts are generally hilarious) and then R decided to take us to Shonben Yokocho (Piss Alley).

This street is cool because in the middle of ultra-modern Shinjuku is a street that is like stepping back in time. It's lined on either side with tiny food and drink establishments that have a counter with some sort of grill and can seat a whopping 6 adults. We started out in an izakaya with an upstairs, meaning there was a ladder near the door for the adventurous. R did a great job reading the menu and we had yakisoba with pork and seafood, boiled beef with garlic, kimchi pork, and beer. Here is the great thing about ordering beer in Japan, the word is the same and they only have one kind. All their beer is a light lager type and before you scoff or keel over, just try it. It's average at worst (although I love it), you will never get a bad beer in Japan unless you seek one out. The word for beer in Japanese is "beeru" and you hold up the corresponding number of fingers to beers you want. If they ask you anything, it will be if you want a big one or a small one, and you can get through this question with gestures. The next place we tried was yakitori, or chicken on a stick. We squeezed into an 8 seater and were handed an English menu immediately. R ordered chicken-wrapped asparagus skewers and the sample plate that had 3 things listed followed by a dot dot dot. We decided to take our chances and the dot dot dot wasn't even cartilage, so we won! Mc got to try chicken hearts, though, which he didn't mind but are not my favorite (unless the only other option is cartilage). 

Mc was trying to juxtapose the image of the huge modern building behind the tiny traditional street

Several beers later, we decided to walk through Korea Town. On the way, Mc and R got alcoholic drinks at the conbini, largely because they were funny and drinking on the street is allowed in Japan. Mc got Ramune (Japanese soda pop) flavored alcohol drink and R chose a Calpis (carbonated yogurt drink thing) one. Walking through Japan at night is always fun, especially if you're with someone who knows where they're going so you don't have to pay attention and can just gawk. We eventually even found the train station. It was a fun night and Mc was particularly proud of himself for remembering that R had to get off one stop ahead of us to pick up a bicycle. "Wow, I'm impressed you remembered, good thing you were here!" Silence. "So . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't you want to get off here then?" "OH!" and R leapt off the train as the doors closed. :) We had a most excellent time and R was a wonderful host.

Thursday is our first big trip away - overnight on Nikko Mountain!

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 - Kamakura and My Beloved Daibutsu . . .

Tuesday we had planned on visiting my FAVORITE place in Japan, Kamakura. Kamakura is a small ocean town famous for ajisai (hydrangeas) and the Daibutsu (great Buddha). It is about an hour and a half south of Tokyo and it was very, very hot when we went. Kamakura is kind of split into two parts - there's the main part of the city by the Kamakura train station, and then there is a little train that goes out to the area around the big Buddha (Hase station on the Enoden line, it's still a JR line, your Suica will work). My plan was to run out and see the big Buddha (straight shot from the station, follow the signs or the masses) and then head back into the main part of town for lunch. What I had forgotten was that most of the things you go to Kamakura to see are on the route between the big Buddha and the tiny train station. Mc is pretty easy-going, so we changed the plan to get a snack and drink at a konbini while we were sight-seeing and then eat at a restaurant when we got back to the main area.

Did I tell you that there are konbinis everywhere in Japan? What I meant to say is that you can't throw a stone without hitting a konbini unless you are specifically looking for one. Then they disappear into the mist, like a 24-hour ninja. There were zero konbinis between the station and the Daibutsu. However, I had read that sweet potato softo-cream (soft-serve) was specific to Kamakura and so Mc and I got a sweet potato and vanilla swirl cone instead at one of the many stands, which was delicious while at the same time surprisingly sweet-potatoey. (If you don't read Japanese, just look for the purple ice cream cone, there's pictures and giant plastic ones everywhere).

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Every area of Japan is known for something. If it's outside the city, it's usually a fruit or vegetable. You'll know it because EVERYTHING in the shops near the station will be selling products with that flavor. The ice cream shops will almost always feature that flavor in a soft-serve, and if ever there was an excuse to buy ice cream at every destination . . .

The Daibutsu is a 44 foot tall bronze statue of Buddha (2nd tallest bronze statue in Japan) in Kotoin temple. He used to be housed in a great wooden building, but it was blown away in a typhoon/tidal wave more than once (as I will go into more later when we go to Kyoto, the Japanese are a bit like ants when it comes to doggedly insisting on rebuilding the same thing) and he survived each time. Eventually, they gave up and he has been in the open air since the late 1400s. The Daibutsu is one of my favorite sights in Japan because he is impressive while at the same time peaceful. He was built in the 1200s, which means for more than 700 years he has stoically, literally, and peacefully weathered every storm.

When you buy your ticket (only 200¥), you walk through the ticket gate to the washing area where you rinse your hands with cool water you scoop up with a long ladle from a fountain, so that you are cleansed before going in. The path to the big Buddha is L-shaped and as you begin to round the corner, you can see his head just above the foliage. Then as you walk further his entire body is revealed, towering above the tree tops and the tiny people crowded around his base futilely trying to take pictures that encompass his size. He sits there among the frenzy, cross-legged, head bowed in meditation. For an extra 20¥ you can go inside the Daibustu to see how he was put together. It is very cheap to go inside, probably because he is a giant oven and you can only spend a few minutes there. Next to the Buddha is a long stand selling Daibutsu-themed good luck charms and souvenirs, we bought a Daibutsu traffic safety charm for Mc, as mine has served me well over the years.  You will find omamori (good luck charms typically made of fabric with a loop at the top to hang from your car mirror or handbag, never open an omamori or all the luck will come out!) at every shrine or temple you visit. There are omamori for all different types of luck - from making your wishes come true to passing an examination to falling in love. I love good luck, so I love these. After purchasing our omamori, we sat on a large stone near the Daibutsu and people watched, enjoying the calm the big Buddha has always provided.

Daibutsu with a kite (type of bird), see how he towers above the trees.

Kosoku-ji

On the way back to tiny Hase station, there are a number of signs telling you to go this way (right, if you're walking from the big Buddha to the station) to see this or that. We followed one and ended up in a lovely ajisai garden in Kosoku-ji. It was very quiet and shady and beautiful. Another sign led us to one of the main temples of Kamakura, Hasedera. At the temple we were given a handout in English and on one side it stated the main summer events. One said that there was a Inari Festival on June 18th, which it happened to be. Mc and I saw nothing all day that would imply that there was a festival going on, except for the fact that it was more crowded than I had ever seen Kamakura regardless that it was a Tuesday. There is part of the gardens of Hasedera where you walk up a hill to better view the ajisai, and there were so many people that as we walked up we were given a number that corresponded to a huge board. The group with our number had to wait 45 min. for our turn to wait in line to get to see the ajisai. While we were waiting (and sweating), Mc bought a steamed man (of undetermined flavor in the middle) and Ramune (Japanese soda with a marble in it) by himself, I was very proud. Once we were in line, it was basically just staying in line till the trail ended. As we inched along, admiring the ajisai in slow motion, I thought that this was probably for the best as standing in line is a large part of the Japanese culture. Welcome to Japan.

The line to view the ajisai at Hasedera

There is a lot to see at Hasedera, there is a 30 foot golden statue of Hase Kannon, a cool cave with a carving of Benzaiten (one of the 7 Japanese Gods of Fortune, the only female and the god of music and art), a statue of Daikokuten (another one of the 7 Wise Guys, he is the god of wealth), and Mc's favorite - the Kyozo Sutra Archive. The archive is stored on a rotating rinzo (book racks) and it is said that if you turn the rinzo you can earn the same merit as reading all the sutras. You can only turn the rinzo on the 18th, so it was worth wading through the masses.

After Hasedera, we rode the train back to Kamakura station and went out the wrong exit (it had to happen sometime). I knew we were on the wrong side of the station because I'd been to Kamakura before and didn't think Kamakura had changed that much in the past 9 years. So we walked around the station and it started to look much more familiar. We went to the Komachi-dori, a very popular shopping street marked by a HUGE vermillion torii gate and my favorite Studio Ghibli shop (which was still there!). 

Then we went hunting for food, as 4pm was a very late lunch. I will admit that as experienced a traveler as I am (and as much as I LOVE food), my kryptonite is restaurants. It's the one place where if they don't have a picture menu, I don't feel confident that I can point and grunt my way through. However, and I think this has changed since I lived in Japan, many restaurants offer English menus. So we picked the first place to claim that they had an English menu and sat down. Turns out we picked a Chinese restaurant and while flipping through the menu Mc was delighted to realize that he would finally get to try shark fin. He had the option of soup or dumplings and he chose dumplings (the cheaper option), which was a good thing because shark fin is not good. Check that off the list!  Linner was average and we decided to try to hit one more temple before we went back home. There are a TON of temples in Kamakura (like Zenairai Benten Shrine, where you can wash your money in hopes that your money will double), but it was getting late and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine was at the end of Komachi-dori and we figured it would be easy to find.

To this day, we have no idea how we missed it. We caught our mistake in time to enter the Shrine from some sort of tiny side street. It was closed (most shrines and temples close around 5pm), so we walked the grounds and then headed back.

view from Zenairai Benten Shrine, see the torii gate in the distance

SuperNova Travel Tip: Omiyage doesn't really have an English translation. We would say "souvenir" but it's not really the same. Omiyage is a gift you bring back from your trip for your coworkers and family. Every time you go to a popular tourist spot, you will see little shops inside and near the train station selling decorative boxes of individually wrapped cakes/cookies/treats, often featuring the local taste of the region-specific fruit or vegetable if they have one or pictures of whatever thing they're famous for stamped on each treat. When you get back to work, you put one (or a few) individually wrapped treats on each coworker's desk. If you are staying with people, it's polite to bring them back omiyage from wherever you are. If you don't know what the local specialty is, watch people. You'll start to notice that everyone is carrying the same bag from the same shop, and that's probably what you want to bring back for people. If you'll notice, the price of each item is always listed on a sign, not on the omiyage itself, so there's no price tag to spend hours picking at because it's all meant to be gifts.

As we walked around Kamakura, we kept seeing people carrying yellow bags with the same bird on them. I saw a school group carrying them and knew that was the popular Kamakura omiyage. We finally walked by the shop selling the contents of those bags by the train station (of course). The store was Toshimaya and they are famous for selling large butter cookies in the shape of a pigeon. Yup, a pigeon. No further explanation offered. R, you're welcome.