Questions answered first:
Girls-the toilets are tricky. It takes quite a lot of coordination. We were told to practice squatting without moving our feet before we got here. Basically, that is what you do. There isn't anything to sit on. Just move the clothing and go for it. Most, but not all, bathrooms have "western style"-like ours or "Japanese style." When you have to go, you have to go. Think of it as camping with a flush. Our tour guide/interpreter said to about being the catcher on the softball team...take that stance!
Schmade-It was ironic that the girls dressed in traditional garb were talking on cell phones. I think they were shooting a photo ad. A guy was there with a big, shmantzy camera and they were posing for him. I just took a cheap shot.
Cameron and Travis-Matt liked the Fuju (puffer fish), but he said he can now check it off his "gotta eat" list. He did say it made his lips tingle and sting. At the festival, he had octopus balls. They were like a hush puppy with vegetables and octopus in them. He didn't like them. I just documented the eating. I didn't try them. I'm too queased out by it all.
Elliott-baseball was the same as American baseball. The big screen even flashed English words instead of Japanese words...which I thought was weird.
Bethie-I'm glad you guys were thinking of me while you were frying at Jamboree.
Okay, new stuff. Yesterday, a group of six of us went to Kamakura. It is a beach town with lots of shrines and the "GIANT BUDDHA." We started off with five. We lost one on the subway. Found him again about two hours later. Lost three people during lunch. Found Matt AGAIN! This time, he decided to stay with us. We came back with four. In the end, everyone made it back safely. It is pretty daunting to be on the subways and trains if you can't read Japanese. Fortunately, several Japanese students have been anxious to practice their English on Americans who look bewildered and lost.We arrived in Kamakura and walked to our first shrine and cemetery. In Japan, about 98% of the people are cremated when they die. There ashes are buried.
From there, we were off to the beach. The sand is almost black. The water was cold. I took a picture of my feet in the water for proof that I was there. Bandaids=blisters from walking in high heels around the city. The weather was great...which is something we were not expecting. This is rainy season
. 
From there we went on the search for shrines. There are at least a gagillion in Kamakura (or did it just feel like it?) Along the way, it became more and more crowded. I'm not talking about a little crowded, I'm talking worse-day ever at Busch Gardens crowded!
One of our early stops was at a beautiful shrine that was lined with hydrangeas. They were incredibly gorgeous. There must have been 500 people there. It was a long hike up the stone stairs and there were so many elderly people trying to get to the
shrine. I struggled up...I don't know how they did it without falling and hurting lots of people. 
Our goal was to find the Giant Buddha. There were a gargillion people trying to do the same thing. But, we made it.
He was Giant. He was erected in 1252. Since that time, he has been damaged by a tidal wave, an earthquake, and old age. He was pretty incredible. I have included a picture of a pair of sandals that was made for him. It was very peaceful and serene.
While we were there, we ran into some other people from the JFMF group. They had just arrived in Kamakura and told us about the earthquake a couple of hundred miles from Tokyo. It occurred where two of our groups are going today. (There travel went on as scheduled) The girls we spoke to about the earthquake said they were at the hotel and the whole thing moved. There are 40 floors and I understand it was built on some sort of rollers so that it could sway with the earthquakes. Since yesterday, there have been over 100 aftershocks.
Back to Kamakura.... We (group of 5) left the Giant Buddha in search of food. Evidently, the bazillion other people were hungry too. Everywhere we stopped was full (keep in mind, however, that many of these food places only seat a dozen or so). One place simply turned us away because they couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak Japanese. We kept walking. We ran into Matt (the one we lost on the subway). He continued on with us in search of food. Finally, we decided our best bet was to be in two smaller groups. So 3 and 3. We found a sandwich and went
onto the next and last shrine. It was enormous and there must hav
e been a big festival that just got over. The pond was gorgeous and the catfish in it were huge.
So, as the three of us are walking to the train station, we run into Matt. He is alone again. Lost. He teaches calculus and AP Trig...but not map reading:) He was so thankful he saw us. (BTW, he is the one who ate the puffer fish). The trip back took about an hour. We got off at the wrong stop and had to backtrack. We did get to see Shibouku. I can't tell if I am spelling it right, because when I google anything here it comes up written in Japanese characters. It is like NYC's Time Square. It was all lit up and loud. There were thousands of people trying to cross the street. Matt said it was one of the busiest intersections in the world.
We made it a point of watching each other...mostly, so we would lose Matt. We went back into the subway and detoured into the FoodShow. It was like an enormous grocery store, but every sort of item had its own vendor. They were "showing" it off and calling out. They had lots of samples. Downfall: it was extremely crowded and you had to buy each item from its own vendor. We made a walk through. Matt tasted everything and then we got back on the subway.
This is a picture of octopus.
Finally, we were at the right stop. As we were leaving the subway station, we could hear chanting and clapping. We were only a block from our hotel and there was a parade going on. The mini-shrines were making there way to the big shrine. It was truly a highlight, so far, to watch this event. We followed the parade to the shrine and waited for them to present themselves. It was a feat of strength and endurance, because the mini-shrines were very heavy, big and they had to take it up a big hill and many steps. I don't know anything about the different groups, but they seemed to represent different neighborhoods and/or families. I tried to look it up, but it comes up in Japanese (at least here it does).
We ate at a noodle shop on the way back to the hotel. You put your money into a machine and out pops a ticket that you give to the cook. He serves it up.
We had to drop off a suitcase of stuff we wouldn't need for the week in the hotel...and then I was fast asleep.
Today, we rose early to finish packing, checking out of the hotel, and moving. We moved to another hotel in Tokyo. It is a beautiful hotel. However, my room is really, really small. Nice, but small. This is more of what I thought Tokyo would be like.
After dropping off my bag, five of us (not Matt-he went to the earthquake area) went to the Tokyo National Museum, Zoo, etc. Three of us came back and decided to do our own thing.
You will probably notice that in all of my pictures, I am wearing a white shirt and a blue hoody. They didn't tell us we would have this much free time!!!! So, I have been washing out my two white shirts and hoody. One of the big "no, nos" is to be sleeveless. All of my dressy shirts are sleeveless because I knew I would be wearing a jacket over them. It is hot here! So, as part of my single adventure (no subway involved), I looked for a shirt. I found three and a new black hoody. After leaving with the shirts, I headed down a street by myself. I do feel really safe here. I bought a mask (like a Kabuki mask), two windchimes, and a McDonald's burger (don't tell anyone!) I needed the calories!!
So, now I am back in my cold, cold room. They said we had internet service, but I had to have someone come and hook up my 37 or so wires.
Be good, be safe, and hug your parents and kids. Happy Father's Day to the Dads! Happy Birthday to my Dad!
. 
From there we went on the search for shrines. There are at least a gagillion in Kamakura (or did it just feel like it?) Along the way, it became more and more crowded. I'm not talking about a little crowded, I'm talking worse-day ever at Busch Gardens crowded!
One of our early stops was at a beautiful shrine that was lined with hydrangeas. They were incredibly gorgeous. There must have been 500 people there. It was a long hike up the stone stairs and there were so many elderly people trying to get to the
shrine. I struggled up...I don't know how they did it without falling and hurting lots of people. 
Our goal was to find the Giant Buddha. There were a gargillion people trying to do the same thing. But, we made it.
He was Giant. He was erected in 1252. Since that time, he has been damaged by a tidal wave, an earthquake, and old age. He was pretty incredible. I have included a picture of a pair of sandals that was made for him. It was very peaceful and serene.While we were there, we ran into some other people from the JFMF group. They had just arrived in Kamakura and told us about the earthquake a couple of hundred miles from Tokyo. It occurred where two of our groups are going today. (There travel went on as scheduled) The girls we spoke to about the earthquake said they were at the hotel and the whole thing moved. There are 40 floors and I understand it was built on some sort of rollers so that it could sway with the earthquakes. Since yesterday, there have been over 100 aftershocks.
Back to Kamakura.... We (group of 5) left the Giant Buddha in search of food. Evidently, the bazillion other people were hungry too. Everywhere we stopped was full (keep in mind, however, that many of these food places only seat a dozen or so). One place simply turned us away because they couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak Japanese. We kept walking. We ran into Matt (the one we lost on the subway). He continued on with us in search of food. Finally, we decided our best bet was to be in two smaller groups. So 3 and 3. We found a sandwich and went
onto the next and last shrine. It was enormous and there must hav
e been a big festival that just got over. The pond was gorgeous and the catfish in it were huge.So, as the three of us are walking to the train station, we run into Matt. He is alone again. Lost. He teaches calculus and AP Trig...but not map reading:) He was so thankful he saw us. (BTW, he is the one who ate the puffer fish). The trip back took about an hour. We got off at the wrong stop and had to backtrack. We did get to see Shibouku. I can't tell if I am spelling it right, because when I google anything here it comes up written in Japanese characters. It is like NYC's Time Square. It was all lit up and loud. There were thousands of people trying to cross the street. Matt said it was one of the busiest intersections in the world.
We made it a point of watching each other...mostly, so we would lose Matt. We went back into the subway and detoured into the FoodShow. It was like an enormous grocery store, but every sort of item had its own vendor. They were "showing" it off and calling out. They had lots of samples. Downfall: it was extremely crowded and you had to buy each item from its own vendor. We made a walk through. Matt tasted everything and then we got back on the subway.
This is a picture of octopus.Finally, we were at the right stop. As we were leaving the subway station, we could hear chanting and clapping. We were only a block from our hotel and there was a parade going on. The mini-shrines were making there way to the big shrine. It was truly a highlight, so far, to watch this event. We followed the parade to the shrine and waited for them to present themselves. It was a feat of strength and endurance, because the mini-shrines were very heavy, big and they had to take it up a big hill and many steps. I don't know anything about the different groups, but they seemed to represent different neighborhoods and/or families. I tried to look it up, but it comes up in Japanese (at least here it does).
We ate at a noodle shop on the way back to the hotel. You put your money into a machine and out pops a ticket that you give to the cook. He serves it up.
We had to drop off a suitcase of stuff we wouldn't need for the week in the hotel...and then I was fast asleep.
Today, we rose early to finish packing, checking out of the hotel, and moving. We moved to another hotel in Tokyo. It is a beautiful hotel. However, my room is really, really small. Nice, but small. This is more of what I thought Tokyo would be like.
After dropping off my bag, five of us (not Matt-he went to the earthquake area) went to the Tokyo National Museum, Zoo, etc. Three of us came back and decided to do our own thing.
You will probably notice that in all of my pictures, I am wearing a white shirt and a blue hoody. They didn't tell us we would have this much free time!!!! So, I have been washing out my two white shirts and hoody. One of the big "no, nos" is to be sleeveless. All of my dressy shirts are sleeveless because I knew I would be wearing a jacket over them. It is hot here! So, as part of my single adventure (no subway involved), I looked for a shirt. I found three and a new black hoody. After leaving with the shirts, I headed down a street by myself. I do feel really safe here. I bought a mask (like a Kabuki mask), two windchimes, and a McDonald's burger (don't tell anyone!) I needed the calories!!
So, now I am back in my cold, cold room. They said we had internet service, but I had to have someone come and hook up my 37 or so wires.
Be good, be safe, and hug your parents and kids. Happy Father's Day to the Dads! Happy Birthday to my Dad!
3 comments:
Wow !!! That is really amazing! Odd coincidence: I was just on Google and saw the headline about the earthquakes on Honshu.
Neat way to order noodles! Are there pictures on the vending machine as opposed to a written menu? (I'm trying to figure out why this method is used....to avoid speaking?)
I didn't see the sandals....Did I miss something?
What a beautiful place, but the talk of earthquakes terrifies me! Be careful and stay safe.
Wow! That's a packed day! You have become quite the photographer. Your pictures are capturing the beauty of it all very well. The noodles actually looked quite tasty.
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