Trip to Japan: Day 4

Oh nuts! I woke up at 3:00 AM! Art was doing much better than me.

After another awesome breakfast we traveled to Shuzenji.

Shuzenji is a town located in the Tagata District, Shizuoka Prefecture in central Izu Peninsula. The town is in an inland region of the Izu Peninsula and is noted for its numerous onsen spring resorts, production of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and shiitake (mushrooms).

The bottom photo is an onsen for for your feet. Everyone there is having a lovely hot spring foot soak.

I wish I'd known about the shiitake because I could have bought some for mom. Not to worry. I got her a ton of other stuff. As it was, I did get some wasabi treats for my brother and family.

We next went to the Mishima Skywalk. It's about a mile (a windy swaying mile) over a beautiful mountain landscape on a suspension bridge. That's me waving.

People apparently go over the bridge to see Mt. Fuji. It was too cloudy and drizzly to see Mt. Fuji, but it was still fun.

All the photos taken from high vantage points are done by Art as you might have guessed.

Miho no Matsubara was our next stop. It's a beautiful area on the Miho Peninsula in the Shimizu Ward of Shizuoka City.

"Miho no Matsubara is known as the site of the legend of Hagoromo ("The Feathered Robe"), which is based on the traditional swan maiden motif. The story of Hagoromo concerns a celestial being flying over Miho no Matsubara who was overcome by the beauty of the white sands, green pines, and sparkling water. She removed her feathered robe and hung it over a pine tree before bathing in the beautiful waters. A fisherman named Hakuryo was walking along the beach and saw the angel. He took her robe and refused to return it until she performed a heavenly dance for him. As the angel could not return to heaven without her robe, she complied with Hakuryo's request. She danced in the spring twilight and returned to heaven in the light of the full moon leaving Hakuryo looking longingly after her." --Wikipedia

We arrived at Associa Hotel & Resorts and went to dinner at 6 PM. We sat with Bradley and Ginny. As we ate dinner and got to know each other, they had so many interesting things to tell us about the lives they led before retiring. In fact, we were finding that everyone on the tour had led or were leading very interesting, exciting lives. It was so much fun hearing all their stories.

Art was really loving the rakkyo or pickled onions. I am all about crab legs!!!

Reiko told us that the weather the next day would be about 72 degrees F, but 90% chance of rain. Actually, we were very lucky on this trip. There was only one day of drenching rain. The rest were sunny or occasional drizzles.

I wondered if I'd get more sleep soon.

Trip to Japan: Day 3

OK...
I got up at 3:30 AM so it was getting a little better. Our Japanese tour guide, Reiko said we would be traveling a total of 77 miles that day.

Breakfast was awesome again. You'd think I'd gain weight, but eating all that healthier Japanese food and walking everywhere to see different sites had me losing 2 pounds by the time we got home.

While having our breakfast, the two ladies we'd met at the onsen the night before came to say hello. Good gosh! How did they recognize me with my clothes on? (I'll be blurring out everyone's faces on the tour because I never got their permission to put their faces online.)

Our first stop was the Seven waterfalls of the Kawazu area. It was very pretty. You do know, of course, that Art had to walk and climb up quite a few more stairs than the rest of the tour group.

He did get photos of several more waterfalls than the rest of us. I confess he often got better shots than I did because he was always looking for the best vantage point for his photos. He says he was thinking of my blog.

Reiko explained Japanese money to us. She said that although American money has mostly politicians on them, Japanese money has artists, literary people, educators and scientists printed on the front.

The next tour site was Perry's Road and Perry's Landing in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. There was a monument to document Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan with all his fleet threatening to destroy Japan unless they opened up to trade. The monument was to also now celebrate the friendship between the two countries.

Our bus driver then took us to Dogashima in the Shizuoka Prefecture. We went for a 20 minute boat ride to see several of the scenic islands. Zoshima (Elephant island) was one of the highlights.

Our hotel stay for the evening was Dogashima New Ginsui Hotel. It was a Japanese style room with the friendliest hostess, who came to make us tea and provide us with some snacks before dinner.

At 4:55, we met up with new friends, Dan and Wendy and watched the sun go down. Everyone who gathered to watch the sunset were presented with a glass of wine to enhance the moment. My stomach was empty so the wine definitely elevated my spirits.

Dinner was a full kaiseki meal with a HUGE assortment of dishes! Good grief! Ummm...

There was a clear covered dish with a LIVE abalone in it over a grill. Yikes! The burner was lit and the abalone squirmed while being cooked. Yiiiikes! I couldn't eat it. OK... I took a sliver and then gave the rest to Art. I know crabs and I don't know what else are put into a pot of boiling water to be cooked alive around the world, but I couldn't bear watching it.

The Dogashima New Ginsui Hotel is built on the side of a cliff so we entered the hotel on the 7th floor. It took a bit of time to get used to it.

The onsen (hot spring bath) was even hotter this time. You can only stay in it for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time and once a day is good enough for me. You are supposed to wash yourself completely before entering the bath and you are NEVER to put a towel into the onsen water. You cannot enter the bath if you have any tattoos on your body because they are a sign of the Yakuza (Japan's Mafia). You could pay extra, however, and go to the private onsen bath.

It was a lovely day and everyone was getting to know each other better and better. It's amazing how a Hawaii Tour can have everyone becoming a family in such a short time.

Trip to Japan: Day 2

Breakfast was at 6 AM and yes, we found most of the tour group already at the tables. Others had also gone to bed around 10:00 PM, woken up between 1:00 to 3:00 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. This would happen for several days.

I met a woman named Miriam at breakfast who was going on a Princess cruise and coincidentally was from the hometown where I grew up! I couldn't believe it! We would all be leaving in a couple of hours for our respective tours. It was such fun comparing stories with her.

When we joined our tour in the lobby, Miriam saw me and waved me over. She wanted to give me a little gift. It was dish washing scrubber that she'd knitted herself. Time and again, we have found that Hawaii travelers are the friendliest people around.

Our first stop of the day was the Landmark Observation deck in Yokohama; at 971 feet it is the 2nd tallest building in Japan. There are 69 floors. From the top of the building, we were able to get a bird's eye view of the area. We could even see Mt. Fuji!

Back on the ground, we loved seeing this little Day Care expedition with toddlers in carts.

The Nippon Maru training ship was docked right next to the Landmark Observation tower.

Reiko also showed us a woodblock print of Commodore Perry who played a key role in forcing Japan (1852-1854) to open up from its isolationist policy. The Japanese had never seen a blue eyed person so they couldn't believe that anyone's pupils could be blue. They therefore colored the whites of his eyes blue in this woodblock print instead.

Our tour guide, Reiko also told us about General MacArthur being so beloved by the Japanese people because of his decency and fairness after WWII. They loved him so much that they hoped he would be voted the next U.S. President. They even put up a big sign on the Ginza that read "WE PRAY FOR MACARTHUR'S ERECTION." (The Japanese have difficulty with the sound of the letter l.)

Our next stop was Kamakura where we saw the huge statue of the Buddha called Daibutsu. We'd been here before and it was nostalgic to see it again.

"The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a monumental outdoor bronze statue of  Amitabha Buddha located at the Kōtoku-in Temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The bronze statue probably dates from 1252, in the Kamakura period, according to temple records." --Wikipedia

We arrived in Atami which was once considered "Monaco of the East." It used to be a popular honeymoon destination.

That evening I went to the onsen with a new friend. Ann said we could go together to give each other courage. Why courage? It's because everybody (men and women have separate baths) takes off all their clothes and goes into the communal hot springs bath together.

The most awesome thing was the onsen on the outside. When Ann and I went out, we were surprised to find the onsen pool filled with rosebuds. It was incredible! I can honestly say I've never, ever been in a bath filled with rosebuds and petals! The amazing thing is that the onsen water was hot, but the rose buds were not wilted at all. How can that be?  We met a couple of friendly ladies there who were surprised and impressed that we were from Hawaii.

Mom had told me in past that it would be safer if I don't speak Japanese because although my accent might fool someone into thinking I know what I'm saying, ummmm.... well... it's not a sure thing and I could put my foot in my mouth without knowing.

Whatever, the case... there were lots of smiles and laughter so it was OK... I think.

Ann and I were now good friends even though we'd just met a couple of days ago. Once you see each other totally naked, how can you not be good friends?

Trip to Japan: Day 1

Long time readers usually get an inkling when I'm gone on another trip or am swamped with too much to do. This summer and fall are no exception. We were gone to Illinois during the summer, returned home to Hawaii for a bit and then was off to Japan on a tour.

The following posts for the next couple of weeks will be about our trip through the Izu and Kii Peninsula on the island of Honshu in Japan with Kobayashi Travel.

When our friends, Morris and Jane dropped us off at the airport at 7:30, we thought we'd be way too early for the 8:00 meeting time. Ummm.... nope. We were one of the last ones there. We'd soon learn that Hawaii people tend to arrive early so they don't keep anybody waiting.

Friends and relatives in Japan worried for us because of the typhoon that had swept through Japan and another one that was expected.

We took off on JAL (Japan Airlines) at 11:00 and arrived in Narita (Tokyo) after an 8 hour 15 minute flight. I watched four movies and didn't sleep a wink. Our Japanese tour guide, Reiko whisked us off in a large tour bus. She told us that there would be no bottled water in the hotel rooms because water everywhere in Japan was safe to drink. Awesome!

Our first hotel was the Yokohama Bay Sheraton. It was a huge, luxurious departure from the Motel 6s that we usually stayed at when the kids were younger.

Dinner buffet choices had us turning our heads this way and that trying to figure out what to try first.

Before we could go to sleep we had to send out gift packages to relatives and friends in Japan. The Yamato takkyukin service is found at just about every hotel in Japan and is inexpensive and EFFICIENT! In the past, when traveling on our own, we've even sent our luggage to the next hotel stop for what I remember as being about $30. I think... Whatever the case, it was worth it not to have to lug the suitcases on the trains.

Since I wasn't able to sleep on the plane, I hoped I'd be able to sleep until 4 AM. I fell asleep at about 11:00 PM and woke up at 1:30 AM. Arrrghhh... And no matter what, I just couldn't get back to sleep.

For the first few days, tour member morning greetings usually began by asking how many hours of sleep we got.

Talking to Alexa

My birthday was celebrated this summer in the most wonderful way. I got up to this.

Since we were at a hotel at the time, I was surprised that my daughter and granddaughter was able to do this while I was sleeping and then setting it up without making a sound.

I do happen to be a pretty light sleeper.

The birthday cake was presented in the evening with my son and his family.

Our son gave this to us. Art and I celebrated within 2 weeks of each other so Amazon's Alexa was something we could both have fun with.

All we have to do is call out, "Alexa!" and it turns her on. We can then ask her for the news, play music or answer a few simple questions.

I say few because we do too often hear her say, "I don't know that."

Alexa can tell you a joke though, if you ask her for one.

I'd complain but my iphone Siri ("Hey Siri") is really only marginally better.

Art's Android ("OK Google") surpasses both by a mile.

Sigh....

I just asked Siri to tell me a joke and she said, "I can't. I always forget the punch line."

Very funny.

Why am I talking to a machine?

Making Silly Putty

My favorite granddaughter, KC (OK, so she's my only granddaughter) offered to teach me how to make slime for my blog readers.

KC first collected all her supplies. Borax, glitter glue (any kind of glue will do, I think), warm water and hand lotion.

She added the Borax to the warm water and then sprinkled it onto the glue.

She mixed it until she got the consistency she wanted and then made it into a ball and coated it with baby lotion. Again, I think any lotion will do.

In the end, I think it's more Silly Putty than slime. I looked online and there's a ton of websites that give you directions for Slime. I'm adding one below. Just clink on the link.

I got this more careful explanation from the Home Science website.

• School glue
• Borax (Sodium tetraborate)
• Food coloring (optional)
• Water
• Two bowls

WHAT YOU DO:

1. In one bowl mix 1 oz. glue (about ¼ of the glue bottle) and ¼ cup water. If you want colored slime, add food coloring to the glue and water mixture. Lift some of the solution out of the container with the stir stick and note what happens.
2. Add ¼ cup of Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) Solution to the glue and water mixture and stir slowly.
3. The slime will begin to form immediately. Lift some of the solution with the stir stick and observe how the consistency has changed from Step 1.
4. Stir as much as you can, then dig in and knead it with your hands until it gets less sticky. This is a messy experience but is necessary because it
   allows the two compounds to bond completely. Don't worry about any
   leftover water in the bowl; just pour it out.
5. When not in use, store the slime in a plastic bag in the fridge to keep it
   from growing mold.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The glue has an ingredient called polyvinyl acetate, which is a liquid polymer. The borax links the polyvinyl acetate molecules to each other, creating one large, flexible polymer. This kind of slime will get stiffer and more like putty the more you play with it. Experiment with different glues to see if they create slime (e.g., carpenter glue, tacky glue, etc.).

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody! 

I'm so very grateful for all the wonderful people in my life of which you are a big part and wish you all a very fabulous Thanksgiving celebration!

Trees In the Neighborhood

One of the things that Art really misses on Oahu are the tall trees. Oh yes, we have trees in the mountains and some neighborhoods have lots of trees (especially on the windward side of the island). Some towns have an association that takes care of the maintenance so they have some trees.

We just don't see a lot of areas with as many trees as on the mainland. I think it's because the maintenance is so much more expensive in Hawaii.

We really loved walking around the neighborhood under the shade of the large, gorgeous trees and imagining what it will look like in fall and spring.

Sigh...

Then again, we don't have to worry about shoveling snow either.

Cars That Thieves Love

Before we returned to Hawaii, my brother told me we shouldn't buy a Honda Civic because that was the most stolen car in the islands. We bought a Toyota Prius instead and it's worked very well for us.

His son, Cody, on the other hand bought a Nissan 240Z which he worked hard to rebuild. He spent a lot of hours (and dollars) on it only to have parts of the car constantly being stolen. And then someone actually came and stole the car itself. Sigh..

It was awful!

He now drives a regular car. Ummm... I forget what kind. I just know thieves are probably not looking for it.

I'm bringing this up because during his morning walk, Art came across this sad skeleton of a car. Now this is what I called a stripped car.

I wonder if it's a Nissan 240Z.

Macarons

Jane, a friend of my daughter very generously brought back boxes of macarons from Canada for KC and us while we were in Illinois.

These are not ordinary macarons. They are Laduree macarons. When my son-in-law took our daughter to Paris for her birthday, they brought back Laduree macarons for our granddaughter. It was extremely special because they are extremely expensive.

I took a small bite and let them savor the rest of it because with my lack of taste, the wonder of it is wasted on me.

I'm afraid this was my favorite cookie for the longest time. You can get the package for $5.87 at Walmart. 

Gosh... I haven't had one of those in such a long time... before I ended up with diabetes, that is.

Sigh...

What's your favorite cookie?

Saved Memories

In my daughter's home is a large box of memorabilia I kept when I was a teenager. I used to keep little pamphlets and clipped magazine and newspaper articles that I thought were important.

This was such a shocking, tragic, devastating time for every American.

The Hawaii Times is the Japanese language newspaper where my mother worked. Her paper covered the funeral of John F. Kennedy.

The Honolulu Advertiser also covered the sad event. I just noticed when photographing the front page that there's a misspelling in the headline! Good grief! That's a terrible mistake.

The 60s was also a time for Beatle craziness. I was as crazy as any teenager of the time.

I still had this little Beatles collectible booklet.

Then there was the Space Race. It was truly a euphoric time!

Since I was fascinated with ballet, I was very fascinated by Rudolf Nureyev.

My daughter, Tiffany is also keeping newspapers now.

What's the latest in her collection?

Oh yes, definitely! It's the Cubbies winning the World Series!

Eclipse Day!

Solar Eclipse Day was finally arriving. Our techie son-in-law, Ed had done a lot of research and was concerned that Carbondale in southern Illinois had been so heavily advertised as having the longest duration for Totality that traffic was going to be a nightmare. The Red Cross was even advising people to carry toilet paper, food, and other emergency supplies in case you were stuck in a nightmare traffic jam.

Ed decided that it might be better to head out to St. Louis, Missouri a couple of days early. That way, we could see the eclipse there and also visit his parents.

This was the view outside our hotel window the day before the eclipse. Ed did more research online and decided we should drive to Festus, Missouri where there was a greater chance to evade the cloud cover that was threatening to roll our way. Totality was also only 1 second less than Carbondale!

Festus was just 50 minutes away and an easy drive. There was no traffic.

We stopped at Panera which is called the St. Louis Bread Co. in Missouri. The weather was over 90 degrees so we stayed at Panera for quite a while, enjoying lunch in air conditioning like everybody else.

When totality was nearing we headed out to look for a viewing area.

Festus had a park designated as the Eclipse viewing area.

Tiffany checked Google Maps and saw that traffic was heavy there so Ed headed in the opposite direction and found this park.

It looked perfect and there was ample parking!

The Festus police actually stopped by to pass out tubes of bubbles for children to play with while we waited for totality.

We discovered that it's very difficult to take a photo before totality if you don't have a camera filter. You could also damage your camera. Therefore we had to borrow the mask that I made for KC to take these photos.

You can see the eclipse happening on my blouse. The light became very eerie and then darkness!

We had seen a total solar eclipse in Kona on July 11, 1991 with Tiffany and Keola.

This was Ed and KC's first time. I don't think Ed was expecting to be so awed by the event.

You could see all the eclipse patterns as the sunlight passed through the tree branches overhead after totality.

We got back in the car and headed back to Chicago passing a lot of clouds on the way. It would be a 6+ hour drive, but we were so happy we didn't mind it.

We learned later that many parts of Carbondale had been clouded over.

I must say we were very grateful for son-in-law's ability to do quick research, figure out a strategy and execute the best plan to achieve success.

We were absolutely elated that everything worked out so well.

And now we have t-shirts to show we were there.

The next Total Solar Eclipse will be on April 8, 2024.

I've already told our son-in-law that we'll be coming again in 7 years. After all, we won't have to travel so far from Chicago this time. Totality will be in Indianapolis, but I'll let him decide where we should go.

Making an Eclipse Mask for the Kids

We'd been planning for a long while to see the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21st in southern Illinois. Carbondale was the place to go because it had the longest totality duration. Since hotels were now going for exorbitant prices or were now non-existent, we thought we'd go to Springfield and then drive down to Carbondale after breakfast.

Meanwhile one of Tiffany's friends who happens to be a doctor and is a surrogate auntie for KC sent us a website link warning us about protecting children's eyes in the time leading to the eclipse.

Tips to Watching the Eclipse With Your Kids

The website was from Washington University Eye Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Tiffany got me a paper plate and I proceeded to create this mask to give KC added protection for her eyes.

And there it is!

It worked like a charm in more ways than one which I'll explain in tomorrow's post.

Chicago's Navy Pier

KC had apparently mentioned that she'd wanted to see fireworks during the 4th of July, but hadn't told her parents. KC had since learned that her friends had seen them and loved it.

My son-in-law, Ed decided to surprise her with a trip to Navy Pier in Chicago to see the fireworks that are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays over the summer.

While waiting for the fireworks to start, we decided to ride the Ferris Wheel.

I used to love the open air Ferris Wheel when I was a kid, but somehow between then and now, I'd gotten leery of them.

However, the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel has enclosed compartments which makes it feel more secure, I think.

It was fun to see the gorgeous Chicago skyline from up high.

It had been a while since Art and I had seen fireworks up close. It really was pretty darn awesome and KC would have a lovely story to tell her friends when she saw them again.

Chicago Botanic Garden

Our daughter, Tiffany knows how much we love going to gardens so she's always made it a point to take us to the Chicago Botanic Garden when we're in town.

The gardens boasts 385 acres of landscaped displays with millions of different plants and flowers.

This must be something new because I've never seen it before. The colors were striking!

KC took a photography class at school and loved using my Canon to take photos. We saw that another corpse plant was ready to bloom. This one was named Alice.

Everybody knows I have this strange obsession with waterlilies.

I don't know why.

Could it be because they float like jewels on water?

Whatever the reason, my family always lets me take as much time as I want to capture their beauty.

OK, maybe I went a little overboard.

We ended our visit at the Japanese garden and passed the rose garden on the way out.

It was a lovely day.