Our First Visitors
You may be wondering why you haven't heard much from me these days. We have had our first visitors from the states! My mom and dad arrived from Greensboro, North Carolina without any glitches on March 16th and have been visiting us for two weeks. At first, they were a tad tired from jet lag, but other than that, they hit the ground running!

After one day of rest--and a mandatory visit to an Asian goods bazaar on base for some shopping--we were off to Tokyo to stay at the New Sanno military hotel for 3 days. We had great weather and a great time.

On the way, "Fuji-san" presented itself to the Westerners, which was impressive and welcoming. (It was several months before we finally were able to see it for the first time!) We visited Tokyo Tower, which is a tad taller than the Eiffel Tower. We rode to the top and saw a panoramic view of the Tokyo metropolis.

We rode the subway every which way, visiting Asakusa Kannon Temple, where we basked in "holy smoke" to rid our bodies of any health problems, namely aches from all the walking we did. We also stopped off in Ginza for some upscale window shopping.

And of course, we had to get as close as we could to the Imperial Palace.

We took a few other day trips during their stay as well. On a rainy day, we headed to Granberry Mall in Yokohama and had dinner at an Outback Steakhouse--a little taste of home.

Another (nice and sunny) day we went to Kamakura and took our little Buddha to visit the Great Buddha and the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

The rest of the time, Nana and Grandpa enjoyed Sydney's company. And especially her singing and dancing!

The quintessence of Japan--cherry blossoms--finally decided to show their true colors by the end of their visit as well! It was a very nice visit. Thanks for coming! Anyone else up for an adventure? Check out all of the photos from this visit in the photo gallery.

Ikebana Demonstration at Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura

Today I went to a demonstration of Seika, a classical form of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. The headmaster (iemoto) of Towa Kado, a very traditional Ikebana school, created three beautiful arrangements with such ease, but it's not as easy as it looks.

He has a small bag of tools used to cut, file--even hammer--branches into place. The curves of many of the branches are created by cutting a tiny slice in the branch and placing a matching wedge of wood to create a bend without a break. Three or four wedges create a curve. But one overzealous pinch and the whole branch would snap in half. (That didn't happen today!)

Can you tell what each arrangement represents?

Probably not, but once I tell you, you will probably see the resemblance! The evergreen arrangement represents the peak of Mt. Fuji. The cherry blossom arrangement represents the flow of the Sagami River. And the pink alstrameria arrangement represents a boat in Sagami Bay.

A bonus in attending this program was that it took place in Kamakura on the grounds of Engaku-ji Temple, a famous Zen temple with several buildings surrounded by a cedar grove. It is here where I first learned about a special book you can purchase to receive han stamps from each and every temple or shrine you visit in Japan. No matter which shrine or temple you visit, it costs 300 yen to drop the book off while you walk around. Then when you pick it up on your way out, you will find inside an unique artistic calligraphy representing the temple or shrine. The "book" actually has accordian style pages that I imagine--once filled--could stimulate many conversations while displayed on a prominent bookshelf. I've visited a good 20 temples or shrines so far, so I'm only slightly disappointed that I didn't learn about this tradition earlier. I guess I'll just have to retrace my steps!

There Are Some Things Money Can't Buy...
For everything else, there's Visa. (Although there's a 3% service charge when you use a credit card in Japan, but that's another blog entry.) Good thing you can charge in Japan, though, since some things really are outrageously priced--like an elementary school-age kid's standardized backpack, or randoseru. They're typically red (normal) or black (private school).

Any guesses as to how much one of these backpacks will set you back? (No, this is not another trivia contest because the photo gives away the answer...but only if you know the exchange rate. ha ha) Supposedly, the cost is economical since it is meant to be a durable backpack to last the entire 6 years of elementary school. But when I saw these bags at Toys R Us this week, I couldn't get past the sticker shock to think about it being an economical choice.

I've often noticed how cute these Japanese school-age kids are as we pass by them driving onto base. There is a small private elementary school located just outside the gate and it is impossible not to notice these kids squealing and running around in their uniforms during recess. The girls wear little red dresses and the boys wear navy blue Bermuda shorts with suspenders. They are adorable. It appears that they are lining up to play "Red Rover," but then again maybe not.

Grandparents typically buy this type of backpack for their grandchildren as a rite of passage of sorts. And what grandparent does not spoil their grandchildren? I would venture to say that the backpack above is leather for this price. These backpacks were 249,999 yen (about $215), but prices actually range anywhere from $100 for the cheapest imitation leather to about $500, (at which point I would be looking for a designer label on it.) I think maybe it's a Japanese conspiracy against grandparents. At least Sydney's grandparents can breathe a sigh of relief.

Hinamatsuri (Japanese Doll Festival or Girls' Festival)

On March 3rd, Japan celebrates a Doll Festival or Girl' Festival. In each home, girls drape a red cloth over several mini steps and line up many dolls representing the Emperor and Empress, attendants, and musicians dressed in traditional court attire of the Heian period (794-1185). (Heian means "peace" or "tranquility" in Japanese.) (The first photo is an example I found on the Internet. My Japanese friends tell me the real dolls are very expensive.)

People believed that dolls could contain bad spirits and, therefore, protect

the owner. This festival traces its origin to an ancient Japanese custom (hinanagashi or "doll floating") of putting paper dolls in a boat and sending them down a river to dispose of bad spirits. Once the evening of March 4th rolls around, the dolls are put away promptly, as yet another superstition exists; if they are not put away by this night, the girl of the household will marry late.

Our kind Japanese neighbor brought over this adorable cake for us to celebrate Girls' Festival with Sydney. We invited Sydney's friend Violet and her family over to celebrate with us. Note the Emperor and Empress. Sydney had the most fun devouring these fondant people! She started by picking off the crown and eating it--how fitting!

One of my Japanese friends from the English conversation class I lead made this cute painting of the Emporer and Empress for Sydney. Obviously the cake didn't last past March 4th, but I think I'll take my chances and display this special painting all year long.

Sydney's Favorite Words or Expressions
(In order of Appearance...)

I figured I better hurry up and share this list since it is growing daily and I may not be able to keep up!

1. Hi


2. Mitch


3. Be Happy


4. Baby


5. Quack Quack


6. Duck


7. The melody to "Twinkle Twinkle/ABC" song


8. Bye Bye


9. Ball


10. Moo

Note: Dada or Mama do not even make the list. But Mitch, the dog, does!

Japanese Bathrooms
Yes, this topic deserves its own post, believe it or not. I've already mentioned the heated toilet seat. No joke, it is still one of my favorite things about Japan. Of course when you have central heat throughout your house, I guess they become less necessary and therefore less luxurious on a cold winter morning. But alas, we do not have central heat in Japan. And as I've mentioned before, it has been as cold as 41 degrees Fahrenheit inside our house while the heated toilet seat remains a balmy 85 degrees.

But there are in fact many things that make a Japanese bathroom much more comfortable than any other bathroom I've ever used. Brian, the conservationist guy that he is, particularly appreciates the faucet built in to the top of the toilet tank. "Reduce, reuse, recycle" is our motto around here. Don't worry, clean water comes from the water pipes and pours out of the faucet so you can wash your hands and the dirty water drains into the top of toilet tank to fill it.

We have mentioned already how much we like the Japanese bathtub. It fills with the touch of one button to a temperature you preset with a digital thermostat. And another button turns the water heater on to recirculate the tub water and maintain it at a set temperature. Reheated water pours in through the jet. Apparently, it is possible to program a timer to fill the tub at a certain time each day. We're told some people even use their cell phones after a long day at the office to call their tub to tell it to fill up! We haven't figured out those options on our tub and we still think it's cool.

And one should not underestimate the convenience of having a button to push to keep the mirror above the sink fog-free. Or the usefulness of having not one but two toilet paper dispensers that help prevent overshooting the amount of t.p. needed at any given time.
While the hole-in-the-ground toilet is not something I see as positive, even public restrooms in Japan have some perks. The faucets are almost always automatic as are the hand dryers, which project "gale force winds" at your hands to dry them in record time.

But I finally decided Japanese bathrooms were worthy of a blog entry this week when I saw this "Shower Robo" in a public restroom in a Japanese department store. What is it for, you might ask? The Shower Robo appears to be a device that automatically senses when you step into the stall and immediately starts the sound of a trickling faucet so as to cover up any impolite sounds you may make in the presence of other restroom goers. It continues until you step out of the stall. (I was especially glad that it covered up the sound of my camera taking this photo so that no one had to wonder what I was doing with a camera in my stall.) This is another invention that leaves me wondering why we don't have these in America. You may think of electronics when you think of Japan, but for all of the above reasons, I would argue that a Japanese bathroom is definitely Japanese ingenuity at its best.