Alexis' Book Club :)

Since this blog is about Japan I figured that it would be appropriate to write about a book that I just read. It is rainy season, seriously it is killing me I am so pale to begin with that I am about to glow in the dark, so I have been able to do some reading. My mom sent me this book and I recommend it if you are interested in sumo or the history of Japan. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tuskiyama covers about a 30 year time period in Japan that starts right before Japan's involvement in World War II. The main story is about two brothers, orphaned by their parents and raised by their grandparents, and how their lives and dreams develop. I throughly enjoyed going to the sumo tourament and this book delves into all the aspects of sumo since once brother becomes involved in sumo, the other into Noh theater masks. The books also describes the wedding ceremony, which only made me understand more about what Bridget and I witnessed in Tokyo. I highly recommend the book if you are interested in sumo, Japan, or the effects of World War II. Beware it is not a quick summer beach read and it is 432 pages but it is very interesting and I found it to be worth it.

Floating Beauty

Over Memorial Day Weekend I ventured on my own to Miyajima Island. It is so easy to get to Miyajima Island from Iwakuni, about 25 minutes on the train and it such a wonderful place. I definitely will go back there again! I previously mentioned Miyajima Island when we stopped at the rest stop over looking it.

It is popularly known as Miyajima, the Shrine Island, but it also known as Itsukushima. It is in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. Miyajima Island is known for a few things: the floating tori, "the wild" deer that just walk around, the monkeys, and the wonderful views.

There are two different ferry companies that you can take over to the island.






The famous landmark on Miyajima Island is the floating tori, it is amazing.









By the time I came down from the top of Miyajima (more to come on that) the tide was out and you could walk all the way to the "floating" tori. It was pretty cool to be able to get so close to it since it is pretty surreal the way it "floats" in the water and looks so far away and grand.












More to come on Miyajima........................

O Great Buddha!

On our last day in Tokyo, o so many weeks ago, Bridget and I decided to leave Tokyo and take the train to Kamkura. Kamkura is located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 31 mi south-south-west of Tokyo. It is a small town but has a lot of shrines and restaurants. We also had some fantastic Chinese and sweet potato ice cream, a speciality of Kamkura and to be honest I was only partially brave and had half vanilla half sweet potato.

When in Kakura Bridget and I saw something that had me speechless, yes I know me speechless?!?!?! We saw a bunch of little kids, I am talking 5 year olds, just leaving their school friends and taking the train by themselves! They were so cute and so tiny, the boys had on little uniforms with tiny shorts and little boat hats but seriously, taking the train by themselves was normal! I couldn't imagine that being okay in the U.S.; nobody blinked an eye or even seemed to notice that they little kids were by themselves!!

Also something else that had us slightly disturbed was the map symbol for Buddhist Temples. Scroll on down to see what it is!!!

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine : This is Kamkura's most important shrine.




The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu): a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air. Bridget and I went inside the Buddha, it was amazing to be inside it and look at the inner details.







Throughout the week in Tokyo we were bombarded by school groups EVERYWHERE. Only fitting that we finally got a picture of them!



These school kids bought some bird seed and then would freak out when the pigeons came, it was very entertaining!

OOOOOOO one more thought

So as most of my friends and my parents know, I can have a long conversation with you hang up and then remember one more thing I wanted to tell you which then leads to another phone call. On that note..........my random thought goes to the Cherry Posting. One of the funny things that happened on the tour was the reaction of the Japanese to two American babies. There were two adorable, pale (oops I mean fair), babies - a little girl that was 7 months old and a little boy that was 10 months old. At the winery all of these Japanese just kept coming up to them and taking pictures. When the little kids were playing on the lawn these two Japanese women ran over to them with a little dog so they could take pictures of the dog standing behind the kids. It was hysterical, they just couldn't get enough of these kids. According to the parents this happens everywhere and everyone wants to hold them. Made me laugh!

Cherries and Wine :)

I did my first tour through the Marine base today, Cherry Picking and Wine tasting! It is hard to get on the tours here because the sign ups are at least 2 months in advance and fill up quick; however, I was on the wait list and being by myself made it a lot easier to get off the list. It was a great day and I was able to chat up some people. Happy Father' Day!

Cherry Picking:

We had a half an hour for all you could eat cherries! We were in a covered green house and were able to pick off any of the trees. They also walked around with buckets of cherries. They were delicious!








Wine Tasting:

After cherry picking we then went to Myoshi Winery. First, we went to BBQ and then walked into a tasting room/store. It was different, you just walked around with mini cups and went to the casks and poured it yourself. They also had pricer wines that they poured for you. It was different and a lot of fun!




Rest Stop:

On the way home we made a quick rest stop and stopped at a look out for Myjima Island (more to come on that later) and of course a Starbucks!

Movies to Reality

It is a rainy day in Iwakuni and a rare weekend day that I am actually in town with nothing to do. So I decided to rent movies from the library and I finally watched Lost in Translation. When Bridget and I were in Tokyo we went for drinks at the Park Hyatt, where the movie was filmed. We too were surrounded by cigar smoke and serenaded by some Jazz music. We also sat next to the large table that is in the movie. The funny thing about our experience was getting there, we get into a cab in the pouring rain and asked to go to "Park Hyatt" (the only Park Hyatt in Tokyo) and the cab driver was sooooooooooo confused and after a few seconds he was like Park Hyatt Shinjuku?!?!? I guess we tried to make it too simple!

Senso-Ji: Religion, Shopping, and People Watching

On our tour Bridget and I went to Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. There was so much going on that we had to come back to take it all in. It is the oldest temple in Tokyo and it is a Buddhist temple. In front of the temple is one huge row of stores (more like permenant booths), the street is called Nakamise-dōri. Both times we were there it was mobbed, mostly by school kids but it was so much fun to walk thru the little stores and to shop a little bit. I was able to get a wonderful set of chopsticks with rests, these are awesome because they are Sumo chopsticks - yes I am obsessed with sumos! Too bad Bridget had to bring them back to the states for me since my bags were already stuffed to the gills!







The Row of Shops:





At the Shrine: