Cherry Blossoms ARE Japan!

We took a beautiful walk today - along with all of Tokyo's residents! - on a Cherry Blossom trail near the Imperial Palace. People set out tarps to stake their spots for the week so they can keep coming back to picnic and view the blossoms in the moonlight.
The three people here (who gave me permission to take their photo) were grilling asparagus and other veggies (did that smell good!) for a 10:00am feast including sushi, wine and sake, and they raised their glasses to us.

Bill and I had our treat, too. Delicious noodles from a booth along the cherry blossom festival trail.

Never let it be said that a tree can get in the way of this lovely walking path, as evidenced by Bill peaking under a well-highlighted low limb.

Kyoto Weekend

We had a very lovely weekend in Kyoto - just a little ahead of the about-to-burst Cherry Blossoms (they're out in full in Tokyo). We did everything right, from taking cabs to sights (to save time) to picking the places to see and things to do that interested us most. We started out at the Nanzen-ji Temple, which I thought was the nicest of all the temples we've seen so far in Japan. Kyoto is surrounded on three sides by mountains and the setting of the temple in the foothills among pine trees and gardens and ponds was beautiful and so peaceful.

From there we walked about a mile along the stone-paved The Philosopher's Walk, following a cherry-tree-lined canal meandering through beautiful quiet neighborhoods of lovely homes where we had a quiet lunch outdoors. We then came to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion (never received its intended coating due to wars) and beautiful gardens. Later we took a cab across town to Kintakaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (the upper two stories are gold-leaf). By this photo here you can't tell that we were two among thousands enjoying the day there!

We passed up some Japanese restaurants for an Italian restaurant on the 11th floor of a huge department store over the train station. We had the best thin-crust pizza I've ever tasted - yummy! After dinner we took an outdoors central escalator down the 11 floors by just 5 continuous banks of escalators to the mammoth central entry of the soaring glass and open-space futuristic train station. Being in such an enormous, quiet space was quite thrilling.

On Sunday we took another wonderful stone-paved walk through the charming and unspoiled Higashiyama district, again in the foothills, past temples, small shops, restaurants and beautiful homes. This walk lead us to the famous Gion (Geisha) district where we wandered a while among the tiny, tiny alleys sprawling with life.

As in Tokyo, and in passing cities and towns, temples and shrines are everywhere, including Kyoto. We saw only a few, and each one is visited by many Japanese observing Shinto rituals and Buddhist practices. Temples and shrines are surrounded by gardens of water, stones and gravel, all beautifully landscaped, raked and meticulously tended.

Our Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from Tokyo to Kyoto took 2 hours to travel the 325 km. It was comfortable, quiet and FAST!

Cherry Blossom Festival Begins

Yesterday was a holiday in Japan, Shunbun no hi, celebrating the Equinox. We were invited to Kamakura, an hour south of Tokyo by train, by Yoshida-san - who works at Visa with Bill - and his wife to see the sights and to their home for dinner. We had a lovely day - as did thousands of others - in this beautiful city by the sea, home to over 200 shrines, some small and others very large. The cherry trees are just now coming into bloom, so Japan has announced the official Cherry Blossom time - relative to one tree that signals spring.


Mr. Yoshida showed us many shrines from the 13th century, including the Tokei-ji Temple, a beautifully landscaped serene convent for women who wished to flee from their husbands. Only husbands could apply for divorce (as easily as drawing 3-1/2 lines on a piece of paper and announcing to his wife that they were divorced), but women in earlier times had no other right other than flee to this convent and stay for three years at which time she could initiate divorce.

We also saw the Great Buddha, 44 feet tall, cast in bronze. All in all, we walked over five miles on a beautiful spring day, and Mrs. Yoshida picked us up and took us to their nearby lovely home for a delicious dinner of sushi, tempura, soup, meat sticks, vegetables, salads, cheeses, dessert - beautifully presented. We very much enjoyed our first experience being hosted by a Japanese couple.

Tokyo Giants Baseball

We had a fun afternoon at the Tokyo Dome (just 4 stops away on the Metro) for a Tokyo Giants pre-season baseball game. It was a great game, tied 4-4 until the 9th inning, but the other team, the Hawks, won by 1. The crowd was so much fun to watch. Both outfield sections were loaded with very spirited and chanting fans (with drums and horns).

There's an amusement area in the same complex as the Tokyo Dome. How about this roller coaster going in and out of buildings - space is limited here! - and unbelievably Bill and I went on the ride after the baseball game in the RAIN! We were nuts, but it was a thrill!

A day ahead celebrating St. Patrick

Since we arrived at St. Patrick's Day a day ahead here's a toast to everyone from The Dubliner's Cafe in Tokyo. We had delicious Colcannon - the potato-cabbage mixture we ate throughout Ireland - it was just as good here in Japan!

We're even going to a big parade on Sunday on Omotosanto - the Champs Elysee of Tokyo. Can't wait - it should be fun. We'll be sure to have another beer!

Books, and more books

Today I went to a large bookstore which I had heard has a very good selection of English language books. I was in heaven, as I am running out of books to read.

A while ago, there was an article in the local newspaper about why so few Japanese speak English, or other languages, and one of the reasons was that (almost) everything that has ever been published has been translated into Japanese, thereby negating the need to learn a language in order to read about a subject originally written in another language.

I have yet to see a Japanese book in hardback so, therefore, stores can get many more books on their shelves. Whether books are all paperback for this reason, I don't know, but the store I was in today was jam-packed with thousands and thousands of books on four floors - the 4th being the English-language books.

I've also noticed that when people read books in public - and so many read on the Metro - every book has a paper cover, another sign of one's privacy in this crowded society I would suspect. So, when asked at the checkout if I would like paper covers on my books, of course I said yes.

The Engaged Couple ...

When I was in Carlsbad staying with Gina and David & Kyla, the timing was such that I could be there for Steve and Valerie's engagement party. The morning of the party Valerie picked me up and I went with her to help make a final selection of her wedding dress. I thought that was just wonderful that she wanted to share the decision with her future mother-in-law. Of course she selected of lovely dress, and she'll be beautiful in it on August 12 - their wedding date.

I also spent time with Valerie's two children, Jacob and Kalia, our next two grandchildren-to-be in August. They're lovely children, very well raised and they obviously love their mother very much - they think Steve is pretty cool, too!

From Japan I brought to Kalia a kimono and a fan and Jacob a Yomiyuri Giants baseball shirt and ball signed by the player. Pretty cool stuff, they thought.

The engagement party gave me the opportunity to meet Valerie's family and both Steve and Valerie's friends. Can't wait to have another daughter in the family!

An easy mistake ...

... or maybe dumb!

When my new round-trip air to Tokyo was set for March 1, I went to the JR Rail Station and purchased a reserved bullet train ticket from the airport to central Tokyo, also for March 1. After I arrived and got myself to the train I placed my ticket in the turnstyle, and "beep, beep," an alarm went off - at which the attendant came over, looked at my ticket and said, "This is for March 1, yesterday." Like a ton it bricks, it hit me that we're a day ahead here in Tokyo. Not once did it enter my mind I'd be arriving on March 2! I wasn't allowed to turn in my ticket for the correct date, so I had to purchase another. Bummer - that was about $26 down the tube.

I like to think my logic in picking March 1 at the time I purchased the ticket was a very easy mistake to make - not so dumb, really!

Kyla and Grammy!

I spent four incredible days with our little sweet, beautiful Kyla. Now I can recite all the superlatives I've heard about being a grandparent. She's beautiful, sweet, smart, and everything else that goes with a perfect little granddaughter. It was a thrill to hold her - and I got to do a lot of that, much to my joy - and change her, too. Anything so I could get my hands on her. See how she loves her Grammy already! Goodnight Moon - David's first book, too! She loved the colorful pages, that is when she wasn't staring at me.

I missed her the moment I left. Now that I'm back in Tokyo, we're going to see her on the Webcam, but that's not the same. A little more than a month to go in Tokyo and we should be back home to see Kyla again.