Last of Japan

Here are a few miscellaneous photos and comments that did not fit in any of our categories.This is the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. This was in the Lakes District. The bus just went by this area several times over three days and it was always steaming like this. No warning markers or anything! 

Our first stop in the Lakes District was for lunch. We went to "Woody's Café". We found Woody behind the bar. The food and service were very good, but they only had seats for about a dozen people.

We don't know what this is for, but it was too cute to leave out.

In Himeji, we stopped for ice cream. They brag about their macha flavored ice cream. Macha is a strong, green tea. If you look close, Jim's ice cream cone is a swirl of macha and regular green tea ice cream. His hat and shirt match the ice cream pretty well.

We went here for supper (pizza and beer) in Tokyo. It was a very interesting place. Restaurants generally have a cover charge. They then give you an appetizer you didn't order to make up for it. Also, there is no tipping in Japan! We read (but didn't try it) that if you leave a tip on the table, they will chase you down to return it. 

Japanese toilets were interesting. This is a lady's toilet and has a place to put your baby. Very handy!

The toilet seats are heated and have a control panel to wash off your bum.

Our friend Erna wanted to bring back some delicate souvenirs and needed some bubble wrap. We asked at the hotel desk and they didn't know what we were talking about. Jim looked it up on the internet translator and found "puchi puchi." The desk clerk immediately told us where to find it. We found it at the 100 yen store (Dollar Store) inside a large department store. We also found out that the name "puchi puchi" is taken from the sound it makes when you pop it!

In the hotel, they had instant coffee. This is the picture of it. It is like the Melitta Filter system in Europe. You pour hot water through the grounds to make one, fresh cup of hot coffee!

While in Tokyo, Jim met a fellow Esperantist and we spent an afternoon with him. This picture is of a game he introduced to us. It was very simple to explain and not so simple to actually win!

We hope you have enjoyed our pictures and commentary about our trip to Japan!

Sushi Cooking Class

On our tours, we visited several markets. At one of the markets, we stopped for lunch at a Sushi bar. 

This is what a Sushi Bar looks like in Japan.

 We ordered our selections and the Sushi chef made all the stuff right in front of us.

 Here is what our sushi lunch looked like.

 Since we wanted to learn how to make sushi, we signed up for a Sushi cooking class. Here is the instructor from Tokyo Kitchen. It is a one-person business! She met us and the other three students (Australians) at the Asakusha District Visitor Center. We walked to her kitchen (an apartment in Tokyo).

 First she explained about the "Fifth Taste" (Umani) which is "yumminess". The first four tastes are sweet, sour, bitter and salty. 

 We learned how to politely start eating in Japanese. You can say "it's a ducky mouse" and it means "let's eat!" When you are done, you politely intone "goat cheese so summer desktop". This is supposed to mean "it was a feast!" We don't know how close the pronunciation really is, but it is fun to say!

 Here we are ready to cook after washing up and putting on our aprons. The instructor does not live in this apartment. She actually commutes from the Lake District (a couple of hours each way) when she has a class. She rents the apartment to use the kitchen as a classroom.

 One of the things you commonly put in sushi is an egg omelet. The Japanese put sugar in their omelet and sugar in the rice in sushi. Sushi is actually quite high in calories. The little square pans in the photo are used to make the eggs. We wanted to buy one when we got home, but they were about $16 at the Japanese store in Seattle. We found one at Goodwill for $2. Great deal!

 Here are some of the ingredients for the miso soup that we also made in the class. We got our ingredients in Seattle. We had to ask the clerk in the store to find stuff for us since we don't speak Japanese.

 This is one of the steps in making sushi rice. You cook the rice and then put rice vinegar in it and fan it while you mix it in. You keep mixing and fanning until it is all evaporated or absorbed. The instructor taught us the traditional way but admitted she uses a hair dryer at home!

 Three more vital tools to make sushi: bamboo mat for rolling the sushi; bowl of water to dip your hands in and keep them wet; and a towel to dry your hands and wipe off excess rice.

 Here we all are making the best sushi we ever ate. 

 This is what we made. We are still working to re-create the cool mosaic square sushi in the middle! 

 Here is lunch. The students (us!) actually made everything here. It has to be laid out in the traditional Japanese order. The rice MUST be in the lower left, the soup on the right, the side dishes in a row across the top, and the chopsticks facing left at the bottom right.

 This was most of the group (someone had to take the picture!). It really was the best sushi we have ever had. The instructor was EXCELLENT and we would certainly recommend her. The price was quite reasonable, too.
If you click on the link, you will see a short video of our class posted by the instructor on her Facebook page.
Our Sushi Cooking Class

Museums

 When we visit new places, we like to find small, unusual museums. They are much easier to visit since their small size forces them to focus on something unique. The bonus is that you don't need 7 hours of walking to get through them.

This was from the Origami Museum in Tokyo. They weren't having any demonstrations or classes when we were there. The whole thing was about the size of a two-car garage.

Right after the Origami Museum, we found a very nice coffee shop. The owner roasted and sold his own coffee and was thrilled to have someone to practice his English on.

This gentleman was demonstrating a "trick box" to us. He designs and builds them. The trick is to figure out how to open the box! This store/museum was at the Samurai Gate in the Lake District.

This is one of the boxes in the museum.  They also have some "trick boxes" which are full-blown furniture. Desks, chests of drawers, coffee tables, etc. can all have secret compartments with NO key. Jim actually figured out one of the displays and opened the secret drawer!

Here is the one the craftsman was demonstrating to us.

We visited the Fire Museum in Tokyo.

As you can see from the toy fire engine in the back, this was a "kid friendly" museum.

They had some very nice historical engines from long ago. The horses weren't alive.

The kids got to dress up as fire-fighters.

Jim also got to dress up as a fire-fighter. This was done on a computer simulator.

Alonda fulfilled a childhood dream to play dress up!

This museum used to be home of the founder and owner of the Asahi beer brand. It is used now to display his personal collection of art.

The house is quite large by Japanese standards.

This is the water garden in the back of the house. 

This is the view from the balcony of the house/museum.

Alonda and Janet (one of the fellow tourists from England) had tea on the balcony.

Walks and Gardens

At the Senso-ji Temple in the Asakusha District of Tokyo, we walked through the surrounding gardens. This was a very peaceful place.

This is a statue of the Buddha. They have a lot of them in Japan.

Here are Alonda and Erna in front of a shrine in the garden.

We spent an afternoon before the official tour in the Mukojima-Hyakkaen Gardens in Tokyo. There were at least 30 monuments scattered around in the garden. Most of them have carvings on natural rocks. We don't know what they say.

One of the first things on our tour was taking the Water Bus on the Sumida River to the Hamrikyu gardens. It was actually a very interesting way to see some of Tokyo. We enjoyed snacks and drinks on the boat since the day was very warm. Boats used to be a major way to move cargo and people around Tokyo.

The Hamrikyu gardens are in the city of Tokyo. About the only thing in bloom when we were there were the azaleas. We chose our travel time to specifically avoid the cherry blossom season. Tokyo is a large city and when you add in all the extra tourists ...

We traveled to Kamakura to visit the giant Buddha (see previous post). After visiting the statue, we went on a hike to the Kamakura-gu shrine where you could wash your money (see previous post). The hike was more strenuous than we had anticipated.

The view from the top was quite spectacular.

This is part of the Tokaido Trail through the Japanese Cedars going to the Samurai Control Gate. We did see some flowers blooming in the forest.

This is the Japanese Iris.

This is Wisteria.

We went on a tour around the World Heritage Temple and Garden. We were fascinated by the garden since everything was labelled. There were a lot of things in bloom, too. Erna and Alonda were in 7th Heaven.

This is an example of the signage. It had the Japanese and the scientific name. This is an azalea bush.

This is some variety of a hydrangea but we couldn't find an exact translation.

This is a Japanese Spirea.

This is what the pathway through this peaceful, beautiful and cool garden looked like.

If you didn't want to have to plant and water and weed, you can always do the Zen Garden thing and rake the rocks.

One of the highlights of the trip was a walk through a bamboo forest in Kyoto. These were easily the largest bamboo we had ever seen.

This is the Japanese Black Pine garden at the Imperial Palace. All of the trees have been carefully trimmed for a loooong time.

After we walked around the Imperial Gardens, we rested at the Wood Terrace and watched these fountains change their presentations.

 In the background, you can see the Black Pines and the closer trees are Ginkgoes.