Here are the daily updates for the last week of our trip:
Friday 15/08:
Head back up to the Iwami Ginzan silver mines, and this time actually go in. Do the tour of the smaller mine shaft, and enjoy the walk back through the bamboo forest. Visit a shrine perched high above the mine shaft. Lots of stairs!
Go back into Oda for a quick rest before dinner at the Osawa's.
We have a fantastic meal with way too much food. A huge dish of sahsimi, fried fish, grilled seafood, egg custard, soup, somen noodles, it just went on and on. So delicious!
Go to Eddah's apartment for a drink before calling it a night.
Saturday 16/08:
Say goodbye to Yoshimi and Yuko, who stopped by at the last minute. Hard to believe our time in Oda is already done!
Stop at a beautiful gorge on the drive from Oda to Hiroshima. Walked down the many stairs, then picked our way across the slippery rocks of the gorge to see a small shrine perched on the other side.
Continue driving all the way to Hiroshima. Grab a quick lunch, then walk through the Peace Park before heading for the airport.
At the airport, Pete has to check his walking stick, and then later his jacknife, which we find amusing. Domestic travel in Japan is so easy! You can bring liquids on board (as we did....), no one ever looked at our passports, Pete's jacknife which he accidentally left in his backpack was quickly put in an envelope to be checked. So accomodating!
Once in Tokyo, we drop our stuff off at Pete's and head out for dinner at TGIFridays. It's fairly late, and lots of stuff is closed because of obon.
Sunday 17/08:
Started out the day with a run around Ueno park, near Pete's place. The weather is drizzly and grey, but perfect for running. The park is beautiful, with an enormous pond full of lotus flowers.
Take the train to Shinjuku (area in Tokyo) and go up the Tokyo Goverment Building to the observation deck. Unfortunately the lousy weather meant that there wasn't much of a view.
Grab umbrellas and walk back towards the station to see if the Mexican Beer Garden is open (it's not). Meet up with Pete's friend Emi for a drink and then we all go for dinner at a fancy restaurant specializing in tofu. Delicious and beautiful food.
Monday 18/08:
Steve, Erik and I walk to Kappabashi-dori to look at all the kitchen ware and fake food stores. Very interesting, and I wish that we had another suitcase! Buy some chopsticks.
Visit Senso-ji temple in Asakasa. Huge temple with lots of incense. Peruse the busy souvenir stands surrounding the temple.
Go to the Asahi headquarters, a huge building designed to look like a pint of beer. Nothing to see there aside from the building, so we carry on back to the subway to go back to Shinjuku to try the Mexican beer garden again. We had great weather all day, and are very optimistic. Get completely turned around in the huge train station, and by the time we find the right roof top patio, it looks like it's going to start pouring. We are determined to enjoy some all you can eat/drink fun, so we tough it out, and luckily the weather cooperates. We had a great time, and all ate too much, and way too fast (two hour limit, we were worried the rain would force us out early).
After the beer garden we randomly decided to go bowling. We all got vending machine shoes and socks and had a great time.
Went back to Ueno for one last drink, then one last snack (the boys only, I couldn't believe they were still hungry!), then the combini to finish the night at Pete's.
Tuesday 19/08:
A bit of a rough start for the boys, so I go do some shopping at the department stores at Ikebukuro by myself. Didn't buy anything, but enjoyed browsing the food floors. A lot like the Grande Epicerie/Galleries Lafayette with a Japanese spin.
The three of us met up again at Ueno park and visited the temple and shrine there before going to the Tokyo National Museum, a perfect choice for the day because it was so ridiculously hot outside. The museum had an excellent collection of artifacts chronicling Japanese history. Could have easily spent a whole day there, but we ran out of time (and energy).
We wanted to go boating on the pond in the park with Pete when he was done work, but it started to rain, and we got hungry, so we had a pre-dinner meal of Korean food before meeting up with some friends of Steve's for dinner and drinks at an Okinawan izakaya.
Wednesday 20/08:
Our last day!!! :(
We actually got up at a reasonable hour for the first time the entire trip and went to the Edo Museum which is by the sumo stadium. We enjoyed the well presented history of Edo (old Tokyo) with many scale models of old neighbourhoods and living quarters. Again very interesting.
Have lunch at a delicious ramen shop nearby.
Take the subway to Roppongi to see the Mori Tower. It's a huge tower with a shopping center inside. Less interesting than we expected, so we decide to walk from there to Omotesando, where we're meeting Pete and Emi later on.
Omotesando is like the Tokyo version of the Champs Elysee, with all the big designer brands and some really interesting architechture. I liked the Prada building, and the Tod's building and Dior were also really cool.
Had a taste of Canada with maple flavoured soft serve, then hit happy hour for a quick drink before meeting Pete and Emi.
Emi had arranged for us to go to a sake tasting organized by the Danish embassy at a famous tonkatsu restaurant, Maisen. The sake presentation was by Miyasaka breweries, and was lots of fun, and the food was also delicious. We had a guided tasting of five different sakes, then they left all the bottles on the table for us to enjoy with the meal.
A perfect way to end the trip. Not that we wanted it to end...
Then we were up bright and early yesterday morning to get the train out to Narita. Steve came along for the ride before continuing on to catch his flight out of Haneda. We were pretty disappointed when we checked in and were told that we wouldn't be able to sit together. After saying goodbye to Steve we cruised half-heartedly through duty free and were waiting to board when we got paged by the airline. Lucky us, we got upgraded to Premium Economy, which meant not only did we get to sit together, but a bigger seat, way more leg room with a leg rest, better food, and best of all champagne! It was a pretty good flight home.
And now we're back in Paris. Not much has changed. The weather is still grey, and it's absolutely pouring rain right now. It's nice to not be sweating all the time, and we slept with covers on the bed for the first time in two weeks.
Really not looking forward to going back to work.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
enfin chez nous
12.5 hours is all it takes to be transported to another world. We said goodbye to Steve and Pete this morning, and now we're sitting in our lonely little apartment wondering what we're going to eat for dinner.
What an awesome trip. When can we go back?
What an awesome trip. When can we go back?
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday
We went and watched Steve play taiko at a local performance in the morning, it was fantastic!
Lunch at the Queens Cafe, yummy.
Beach.
Dinner at the kira-kira (means 'twinkle', the restaurant has Christmas lights outside) restaurant.
Karaoke!
Lunch at the Queens Cafe, yummy.
Beach.
Dinner at the kira-kira (means 'twinkle', the restaurant has Christmas lights outside) restaurant.
Karaoke!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday
Today was culture day. Also, our third anniversary! :)
We drove out to Omori to check out the silver mines. The Iwami Ginzan silver mines have recently been declared a World Heritage site for both cultural and industrial reasons. Erik and I visited them on our first trip to Japan, but lots has changed, and Pete was in, so off we went.
We stopped first at the new museum explaining the history of the area, and the special way that the silver was extracted from the mines. Then we continued on to Omori, first to have lunch and meet up with Yuko. While we were looking for a place to eat, we ran into Matsuba-san, the woman who owns the samurai house that we stayed at on our last trip. She invited us over for lunch, and we had a fantastic meal in her beautiful house.
After lunch we checked out another samurai house, and visited the shrine with the special dragon that roars when you clap in the middle of the room. After a stop for ice cream, we realized that we were too late for the mines. Hopefully we'll be able to do it another day.
Steve had a taiko practise that evening, so we were on our own. We found a rooftop patio and hung out there for a bit before continuing on. There was a big bingo festival happening outside the grocery store, but we were too late to get in on the fun. Ran into Asano-san, the woman whose family owns a sake brewery.
Picked up some groceries, and had dinner at home for the first time. Pete's a good cook! We had been given some fresh fish at the bbq we were invited to on Monday, so we grilled it, and it was delicious.
We drove out to Omori to check out the silver mines. The Iwami Ginzan silver mines have recently been declared a World Heritage site for both cultural and industrial reasons. Erik and I visited them on our first trip to Japan, but lots has changed, and Pete was in, so off we went.
We stopped first at the new museum explaining the history of the area, and the special way that the silver was extracted from the mines. Then we continued on to Omori, first to have lunch and meet up with Yuko. While we were looking for a place to eat, we ran into Matsuba-san, the woman who owns the samurai house that we stayed at on our last trip. She invited us over for lunch, and we had a fantastic meal in her beautiful house.
After lunch we checked out another samurai house, and visited the shrine with the special dragon that roars when you clap in the middle of the room. After a stop for ice cream, we realized that we were too late for the mines. Hopefully we'll be able to do it another day.
Steve had a taiko practise that evening, so we were on our own. We found a rooftop patio and hung out there for a bit before continuing on. There was a big bingo festival happening outside the grocery store, but we were too late to get in on the fun. Ran into Asano-san, the woman whose family owns a sake brewery.
Picked up some groceries, and had dinner at home for the first time. Pete's a good cook! We had been given some fresh fish at the bbq we were invited to on Monday, so we grilled it, and it was delicious.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday
Anyway, here's how the day went (after we ate):
Decide to go to the beach.
Go to combini for sunscreen. No sunscreen, but get ice cream (it's sooooo hot!!)
Go to Juntendo home store for sunscreen. No sunscreen, but get two sunflower themed inflatable inner tubes.
Go to next combini. They have sunscreen. They also have frozen drinks.
Go to beach.
Apply sunscreen.
Inflate inner tubes.
Float around in the sea of Japan for a couple of hours.
Get out. Reapply sunscreen. Drive to next beach.
Eat.
Onsen.
Eat.
Watch Olympics.
Go to combini. Buy snacks.
Consume snacks and beverages.
Sleep.
It was a tough day.
Decide to go to the beach.
Go to combini for sunscreen. No sunscreen, but get ice cream (it's sooooo hot!!)
Go to Juntendo home store for sunscreen. No sunscreen, but get two sunflower themed inflatable inner tubes.
Go to next combini. They have sunscreen. They also have frozen drinks.
Go to beach.
Apply sunscreen.
Inflate inner tubes.
Float around in the sea of Japan for a couple of hours.
Get out. Reapply sunscreen. Drive to next beach.
Eat.
Onsen.
Eat.
Watch Olympics.
Go to combini. Buy snacks.
Consume snacks and beverages.
Sleep.
It was a tough day.
Monday
Monday was the return from Matsue. Stopped for breakfast at the Gusto in Izumo, then drove back up to Hirata to say goodbye to Yoshimi. We were taking the train back to Ohda. One train from Hirata to Izumo, no problem, but the train we got on leaving Izumo ended at the next stop. We got off and hung around the super exciting train station for a bit, before checking out the wave pool, and noticing the brewery across the street. The brewery was unfortunately closed, but the hotel next door was able to sell us some of the local specialties.
Back on the (correct) train, it was a pleasant ride down the coast before arriving at our destination. Ran some errands (groceries!) before heading back to the train station to pick up Pete! It's great to have him here.
We were invited to dinner that night at the Marugame's, where we barbequed fresh fish and local beef. Very delicious!
Back on the (correct) train, it was a pleasant ride down the coast before arriving at our destination. Ran some errands (groceries!) before heading back to the train station to pick up Pete! It's great to have him here.
We were invited to dinner that night at the Marugame's, where we barbequed fresh fish and local beef. Very delicious!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday
**You can see all the pictures we've been taking by clicking the link for the slideshow to the left**
Sunday was festival day.
We treated ourselves to lunch at McDonalds, the halfway point in our drive to Matsue. Before getting dressed up for the festival, we checked out Matsue Castle, the only other original wooden castle aside from Himeji in Japan. Then we stopped by the samurai house quickly, before going to get dressed up for the evening.
The summer is festival season in Japan, and many people get dressed up in yukata and jimbe for the event. Yoshimi was kind enough to lend me a yukata and help me put it on. It was a fun experience. At the festival, we watched a couple of different taiko groups perform, we snacked on festival food, and then found a spot to settle in for the grande finale, the fireworks. The show was quite impressive, and quite long! It went on for about an hour. We watched most of it before heading back to the stands for some more snacks, and then we called it a night.
Matsue Castle
At the top of the castle (it was a bit warm....)
Girls in yukata
The boys in their jimbe
Sunday was festival day.
We treated ourselves to lunch at McDonalds, the halfway point in our drive to Matsue. Before getting dressed up for the festival, we checked out Matsue Castle, the only other original wooden castle aside from Himeji in Japan. Then we stopped by the samurai house quickly, before going to get dressed up for the evening.
The summer is festival season in Japan, and many people get dressed up in yukata and jimbe for the event. Yoshimi was kind enough to lend me a yukata and help me put it on. It was a fun experience. At the festival, we watched a couple of different taiko groups perform, we snacked on festival food, and then found a spot to settle in for the grande finale, the fireworks. The show was quite impressive, and quite long! It went on for about an hour. We watched most of it before heading back to the stands for some more snacks, and then we called it a night.
Matsue Castle
At the top of the castle (it was a bit warm....)
Girls in yukata
The boys in their jimbe
Saturday
Late start to the day.
Yoshimi made us some delicious Korean food for breakfast/lunch, then we hit the road. We were headed south of Ohda to the town of Yunotsu where we stopped at a little wine store run by a Japanese man who regularly goes to France to source wines for his store. Picked up a couple of bottles to taste later in the day. Kept going, stopped at a Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain before continuing on to Gotsu where we had dinner at the tanuki (racoon) restaurant. Delicious ramen, and enormous portions. Drove back up to Yunotsu to see the fireworks that were part of their festival, before driving back to Ohda to enjoy some wine.
At the temple
Dinner
Yoshimi made us some delicious Korean food for breakfast/lunch, then we hit the road. We were headed south of Ohda to the town of Yunotsu where we stopped at a little wine store run by a Japanese man who regularly goes to France to source wines for his store. Picked up a couple of bottles to taste later in the day. Kept going, stopped at a Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain before continuing on to Gotsu where we had dinner at the tanuki (racoon) restaurant. Delicious ramen, and enormous portions. Drove back up to Yunotsu to see the fireworks that were part of their festival, before driving back to Ohda to enjoy some wine.
At the temple
Dinner
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Friday
Bike trip.
Got up around 11, and had a nourishing breakfast of an omelette with shrimp sticks. Yum. Shattered a wine glass all over the kitchen floor and spent a good chunk of time cleaning that up. Slathered on a thick layer of sunscreen, loaded up our bags, adjusted the bikes, and off we went.
Steve had chosen a route that took us up the mountains, then along the coast all the way to Hirata, a small town just north of Izumo. We had lots of stops, and just to stay true to our tradition of bike trips, it of course started pouring rain half way through. Luckily we were taking a coffee break when it started, so we hung out there till the worst had passed. The rain cooled things off quite a bit and made the riding much more pleasant. Stopped for a snack at the bakery then pushed on until Izumo for our reward of the Sake Gorilla and a sushi buffet at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant.
All in all it took us about seven hours, including stops. My bum has never been so sore, but the route was beautiful. Well worth the effort.
Friday night the boys went to the onsen, while Yoshimi and I hung out. We had a snack/third meal at Joyfull before heading back to Yoshimi's to enjoy some snacks and refreshments.
Got up around 11, and had a nourishing breakfast of an omelette with shrimp sticks. Yum. Shattered a wine glass all over the kitchen floor and spent a good chunk of time cleaning that up. Slathered on a thick layer of sunscreen, loaded up our bags, adjusted the bikes, and off we went.
Steve had chosen a route that took us up the mountains, then along the coast all the way to Hirata, a small town just north of Izumo. We had lots of stops, and just to stay true to our tradition of bike trips, it of course started pouring rain half way through. Luckily we were taking a coffee break when it started, so we hung out there till the worst had passed. The rain cooled things off quite a bit and made the riding much more pleasant. Stopped for a snack at the bakery then pushed on until Izumo for our reward of the Sake Gorilla and a sushi buffet at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant.
All in all it took us about seven hours, including stops. My bum has never been so sore, but the route was beautiful. Well worth the effort.
Friday night the boys went to the onsen, while Yoshimi and I hung out. We had a snack/third meal at Joyfull before heading back to Yoshimi's to enjoy some snacks and refreshments.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Thursday
We woke up late today as a result of a late night last night enjoying our Sake Gorilla purchases and watching No Laughing Hospital. Also could be the jet lag (so much easier in this direction!!).
When we finally got our act together, it was decided that today was a beach day. Off we headed to one of the local beaches. It was considerably cooler by the water with a nice breeze which made the extreme heat completely bearable. Not too many people, dropped our stuff and headed right in. The water was perfect, and there were quite a few waves, but the water stayed really clear. It was wonderful. Just as we were getting out, it started to thunder, and then pour.
After we cleaned up, we had a late afternoon snack at a cafe (Queen's Cafe) with two other ALT's. Enjoyed chicken, pork and shrimp sandwiches. Yum. Left there just in time to head up to Kuri-san's a kayaking friend of Steves, to help celebrate his youngest son's fifth birthday.
The kid was crazy, but the food was delicious, and our hosts incredibly welcoming. We got to meet the pet goat, and also the two pet hamsters. Good times.
Tonight we're taking it easy, in preparation for our big bike ride tomorrow back to Hirata (where Yoshimi lives). Hope it's not too sunny!
When we finally got our act together, it was decided that today was a beach day. Off we headed to one of the local beaches. It was considerably cooler by the water with a nice breeze which made the extreme heat completely bearable. Not too many people, dropped our stuff and headed right in. The water was perfect, and there were quite a few waves, but the water stayed really clear. It was wonderful. Just as we were getting out, it started to thunder, and then pour.
After we cleaned up, we had a late afternoon snack at a cafe (Queen's Cafe) with two other ALT's. Enjoyed chicken, pork and shrimp sandwiches. Yum. Left there just in time to head up to Kuri-san's a kayaking friend of Steves, to help celebrate his youngest son's fifth birthday.
The kid was crazy, but the food was delicious, and our hosts incredibly welcoming. We got to meet the pet goat, and also the two pet hamsters. Good times.
Tonight we're taking it easy, in preparation for our big bike ride tomorrow back to Hirata (where Yoshimi lives). Hope it's not too sunny!
Picture Blog
Pre-dinner pizza on our first night
Our first meal. It was AWESOME
The super friendly owners of the restaurant where we had dinner the first night
Wine tasting at the Shimane winery. Don't we look impressed? (France wins)
Conveyor belt sushi. SOOOO good. We're going back tomorrow.
The Sake Gorilla
Working out (with Hibiki, Kuri-san's son. It was his birthday, and we were invited for dinner)
The whole family
Check out all the pictures here:
 |
| Nihon 2008 |
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
The Good, the Bad and the Steamy
The good: we're in Japan! Awesome flight, no problems with the connection (even had time to spare!) and couldn't be happier to be here. Had an awesome sushi dinner last night with Steve and Yoshimi, and had a fun day today touring around Izumo, tasting wine, and having conveyor belt sushi (sampled the Olympic menu, it was fantastic. So full now).
The bad: well, there's not really anything bad to report. :) It does get dark really early here though, which is weird. 7:30 and the sun is setting. What's up with that?
The steamy: it's hot here! The heat and humidity hit us like a wall the minute we stepped out of Narita. The air was so thick we could have cut it with a knife. We spent most of today in the air conditioned bliss of a museum, and otherwise it really wasn't to bad. It's kind of nice to be having a summer, finally!
Pictures soon, as soon as we get Erik's computer up and running. :)
The bad: well, there's not really anything bad to report. :) It does get dark really early here though, which is weird. 7:30 and the sun is setting. What's up with that?
The steamy: it's hot here! The heat and humidity hit us like a wall the minute we stepped out of Narita. The air was so thick we could have cut it with a knife. We spent most of today in the air conditioned bliss of a museum, and otherwise it really wasn't to bad. It's kind of nice to be having a summer, finally!
Pictures soon, as soon as we get Erik's computer up and running. :)
Sunday, August 03, 2008
T-1 day
We're now officially on vacation, and are now also both anxiously awaiting our departure for Japan.
We had a nice dinner last night with Pavel and Tatiana. It's been a long time since we've had people over to our place, and it was fun pulling everything together. Plus it's nice to have a concrete reason to get the place cleaned up. The feature dish was Erik's os a moelle risotto, and everything else paled in comparison around it. Regardless, here's the menu:
Appetizers and aperitif:
Baba ghanoush with home-made pita chips
Purple potato chips
Raspberry kir royale
Entree:
Fennel salad, from the Barfoot Contessa in Paris
Plat:
Os a moelle (marrow bone) risotto
Haricots verts with shallots
Fromage:
Brillat Savarin triple creme
Goat cheese
Comte
Dessert:
Nectarine, mascarpone and gingersnap tart
It was a delicious meal, and nice to be able to host them for once.
Now we've got lots of time to learn Japanese, do laundry, clean out the fridge and start packing. Oh, and stress about the 3 hour connection we have once we arrive in Japan. Apparently it's more than enough time, but we've got to go through customs and change airports. Let's hope Japanese efficiency is on our side on Wednesday!
Sayoanara!
We had a nice dinner last night with Pavel and Tatiana. It's been a long time since we've had people over to our place, and it was fun pulling everything together. Plus it's nice to have a concrete reason to get the place cleaned up. The feature dish was Erik's os a moelle risotto, and everything else paled in comparison around it. Regardless, here's the menu:
Appetizers and aperitif:
Baba ghanoush with home-made pita chips
Purple potato chips
Raspberry kir royale
Entree:
Fennel salad, from the Barfoot Contessa in Paris
Plat:
Os a moelle (marrow bone) risotto
Haricots verts with shallots
Fromage:
Brillat Savarin triple creme
Goat cheese
Comte
Dessert:
Nectarine, mascarpone and gingersnap tart
It was a delicious meal, and nice to be able to host them for once.
Now we've got lots of time to learn Japanese, do laundry, clean out the fridge and start packing. Oh, and stress about the 3 hour connection we have once we arrive in Japan. Apparently it's more than enough time, but we've got to go through customs and change airports. Let's hope Japanese efficiency is on our side on Wednesday!
Sayoanara!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)