First Snow of 2011/2012 Season

Let the record snow that Monday, November 21st was the first true snow of the year. (We had a few flurries last week that didn't stick so that doesn't count.) I wish I could say that I am excited... but the older I get the less I enjoy being cold. The snow is beautiful when you can stay inside and snuggle up with a book and some cocoa. But each time I have to go outside and attempt to drive in it I wish that our gorgeous fall season would have never ended. Oh well - each season has something new to offer. Time to adjust and bundle up!

Samurai Coctail Party

We've decided we don't get enough opportunities to dress up around here, so our friends Nick and Brooke Edwards threw a cocktail party and invited the entire squadron. Not much to say except that the food was fantastic and we had a great time catching up with all of our friends and taking pictures of everyone in their snazzy get-ups. Fun night in Misawa! =^)

Art from Lisa

I am very sad because my good friend Lisa Gee (the one who went to New Zealand with us) will be moving back to the States soon. Before she goes, I really wanted to have a piece of art from her, so I asked her to do this piece for me. It's 20x24" on tea stained paper - done in black, red and gold ink. I LOVE it, and I think it will look great with our red walls. It will be a special piece of art from a friend, as well as from our time here in Japan. =^)

Kyoto

Finally - after a year and a half of living in Japan - we made it down to Kyoto! This was the top of my to-see list after moving here, and I am so thankful that James was able to be there to experience its ancient beauty with me! Kyoto was the capital of Japan for years before it was moved to Tokyo. Because of its history and all of the ancient temples and castles in the area, the U.S. decided to spare the city during our bombing raids in WWII - so this is one of the few cities in the area where you can see original structures as opposed to replicas of ancient temples and palaces. Unfortunately, we missed the peak of fall color by about two weeks... but some of the maple trees had started to turn red so I was satisfied with how my pictures turned out.

Generally - I'd say my impression of the city was mixed. All of the tourist sites are stunning, but the city itself is not much to look at and really difficult to get around in. Because it's so much older than Tokyo, it doesn't have the convenient commuter infrastructure. We had to get used to traveling on packed city buses instead of hopping on and off of the subway. Also, we found that the city was much less foreigner-friendly than we anticipated. There were not nearly as many international restaurants as I anticipated there would be in a city frequented by sooo many tourists. But then again, I think James was right when he pointed out most people coming to Kyoto want the full Japanese experience. We are unique in that we were there on vacation and eager to escape Japanese food for a while. ;^)

We stayed in Kyoto for two nights at the Hotel Sunroute Kyoto - a Japanese business hotel with surprisingly comfortable beds. This was a must for us because by this time in the trip we were extremely sore and worn out. But I didn't let the pain stop me from getting out there and seeing the sights I'd been wanting to see for so long. We packed 'em in over the course of a day and a half. Here are the highlights:

Toji Temple

Home to Japan's tallest wooden pagoda

Yasaka Shrine

One of the most famous shrines in Kyoto

Located on the Eastern end of the main drag in Gion

Peeking out onto the main street in the Gion District

Gion

Kyoto's most famous restaurant and entertainment area

Home to old wooden tea houses where Geisha's perform!

We caught a glimpse of some real geisha and maiko (apprentices) entertaining through the back windows of a restaurant

We had dinner at the same restaurant both nights we were in Kyoto because it was SOOO good. It was an italian restaurant in Gion called Scorpione. I highly recommend it!

Kinkakuji Temple (The Golden Pavilion)

The top two stories of this temple are completely covered in real gold leaf!

Nijo Castle

Home of a very paranoid shogun (feudal lord).

He installed "nightingale floors"throughout the palace that would chirp

whenever you step on them to warn him of intruders.

He also had 1,000 Samurai warriors to guard his palace, as well

as personal body guards hidden behind secret panels in each room.

Cool traditional Japanese garden.

More beautiful fall foliage

We saw a lot of women out in their Yukata (summer-weight kimono)

Fushimi Inari Shrine (1,000's of Torii Gates)

This famous shrine is dedicated to the Shinto god of rice.

Families and businesses have dedicated the gates that wind

along pathways all the way up the sacred mountain.

It's quite an experience and lends itself to stunning photos.

WARNING: BRING BUG SPRAY!!!

This was a fitting end to our time in Kyoto. There were other things we would have liked to seen but by then I was bug bitten and blister-footed and ready to go home and relax. We spent one more night at the New Sanno in Tokyo before heading home to Misawa. On the train back to Tokyo, we caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji out the window. I didn't get a good picture of it, but rest assured - it is a big mountain.

Nagoya and Toyota city

Bob's one request for this trip to Japan was to see the Toyota factory, so we allotted some time in the city of Nagoya, which is about an hour from the plant. This was a fun leg of our trip because I don't know anyone who has spent any time in Nagoya. Often in the military we look at friend's travel photos and get inspired to copy each others' vacations. So this was an adventure totally unique to us. (For now. We may have started a new trend!)

On our first afternoon in Nagoya we walked to Nagoya castle. Originally built in 1612, this stunning seven story structure burned down in May 1945 when the U.S. firebombed the area on one of our air-raids during WWII. But it has been beautifully restored and turned into a museum.

This was definitely one of my favorite sites from our trip!

The next day we journeyed by train to Toyota-shi (literally translated Toyota City) for our tour of the factory. They are free as long as you make a reservation online in advance on the Toyota website.

We arrived with enough time to wander around in their museum and show floor. Bob was so excited that I had a hard time getting him to stand still long enough to take a picture. Worth it, though!

Obviously we were not allowed to take our cameras or phones into the factory itself so I don't have any images from the two warehouses we went into. But trust me when I say that it was impressive! The spaces were huge and full of tracks leading partially constructed vehicles from one station to the next on their journey to becoming a brand new Toyota vehicle. I thought it was interesting learning about the Toyota business philosophy and the logic behind every little step of the process. There were some parts of the process that were totally automated, with robots doing all of the welding, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people they still employ as mechanics working on assembling the vehicles and doing all the detail work by hand. They also had a great system (which is apparently pretty unusual) where if a worker needs help or something is going wrong, they just have to ring a bell and their superior will be right there, helping them get things going again. It was very quick, orderly and polite - totally the Japanese way. =^)

One of the most interesting things for me was watching the other people on the tour with us. This was one of the many times I felt SERIOUSLY under dressed. There we were in our jeans and tee shirts, and the rest of the people were in business suits. I think most of them were market researchers and things like that from all over the world. The tour guide seemed to get a kick out of the fact that we were there just because we love Toyota cars. =^)

We met this awesome German business professor named Andre on the tour and hung out with him for a good part of the day. It turns out he works for a university that is trying to expand its exchange program to parts of Asia and Australia so he's been traveling quite a bit, trying to make some contacts with schools in Japan. He spoke very good English and had a nice sense of humor. It was interesting talking to someone from Europe about things going on in Japan - particularly about the earthquake and tsunami and how Fukushima impacted nuclear policy in Germany. He and Nancy exchanged business cards so maybe we'll hear from him again next time he's traveling in the States.

After the plant tour, we went to the Toyota Automobile Museum and spent the afternoon oogling over some beautifully restored old cars, as well as some shiny new ones. James was particularly excited that they had his favorite car of all time - the Mercedes Gullwing - there on display. I'm really not a car person, but even I had fun on our Toyota-filled day in Nagoya.

This was my favorite because it looked so happy!

FDR's car

Bizarre Japanese car with 3 wheels and 1 headlight.

The future of Toyota

The next morning we said farewell to Bob and Nancy and saw them safely on their way to Korea. Then James and I continued on to Kyoto for the weekend!

Tokyo

This fall, James' parents Bob and Nancy decided to come visit us in Japan! Since they had already explored the area around Misawa when Jon and Claire were stationed here, and we do not really have room for guests in our house, it didn't make sense to have them come all the way up here. James and I haven't really had an opportunity to tour Tokyo or Kyoto yet, so this seemed like a good excuse to take some time off and all explore the pride of Japan together!

We spent the first four days of Bob and Nancy's visit in Tokyo. Their usual travel style is to wander around and get a taste of a place by seeing where the people live and work and eat (as opposed to hopping directly from tourist site to tourist site). This proved to be the perfect way to explore the world's most populous city. It's SO big and I was really overwhelmed trying to plan a specific itinerary. So we just picked out neighborhood after neighborhood along the central subway line and went for a walk. It was A LOT of walking (3-5 miles a day) so we were pretty sore by the end. But I really do feel like I have a good sense of the city now.

Thankfully we had fantastic hotel to retire to for a late-afternoon nap before dinner. We were lucky enough to score two rooms at the New Sanno Hotel - the U.S. Naval Joint Services hotel in the heart of the international district of Tokyo. It's definitely the nicest military hotel I've ever stayed in. The rooms were comfortable and familiarly American - but the interior was very elegant and the amenities were very impressive. I enjoyed doing a little Christmas shopping at the hotel stores, and especially looked forward to a delicious, hot American breakfast each morning (something you will not find in any Japanese hotel.) Can't say no to the discounted price either. ;^)

Below are some of the highlights of our Tokyo tour

Roppongi Hills

Our first stop was Roppongi - known as the city's most popular nightlife district among foreigners, offering a large number of international restaurants and bars, as well as high end retail shops, theaters and luxury hotels. It was here that we got our first glimpse of Tokyo tower, as well as our first up-close encounter with a Tokyo skyscraper.

After a brief tour of the Roppongi Hills shopping complex, we walked to Tokyo Tower and rode the elevator up to the top to see the lay of the land. It was incredible... buildings stretching as far as the eye can see.

When we'd had our fill of our bird-eye view, we took a quick look at Zojoji Temple. It was interesting seeing the contrast between the new and old architecture.

By this time we were starving so we went back to Roppongi to try the first of many restaurants Claire recommended. It was called Roti Roppongi - American grill and rotisserie in a friendly wine bar setting. It was definitely the best restaurant burger I've ever had. Highly recommend this place! (We actually went back for a second time the night before returning to Misawa. Mmmm.)

After a quick afternoon siesta at the hotel, we returned to Roppongi at night to see one of the best views of Tokyo tower lit up at night. It was truly breathtaking, seeing the city all lit up. I definitely have a weakness for twinkly city lights. What a view!

Cute shot of Bob and Nancy!

Central Tokyo

On our second full day in Tokyo we ventured into Central Tokyo to see the Diet Building (The Japanese Capital Building) and the Imperial Palace. We weren't able to get very close to the primary buildings, but the grounds around them were very beautiful.

The Diet Building

Giant antique doors leading into the Imperial Gardens

After seeing everything there was to see around the Imperial Palace, we wandered into one of the elegant buildings downtown for a fancy Brazillian meal. The best thing I had to take pictures of on this day was the architecture downtown. The variety of styles and sophistication of the buildings was truly impressive. Below are a couple of snapshots from inside the building where we had lunch. Stunning.

GODZILLA!!!

The most fun I had this day was walking around in the showrooms of the official Sony Building. It was the closest encounter we had with the famed technology of Japan. Too bad gadgets are almost twice as expensive here than they are in the States!

GINZA

Ginza is the country's most famous luxury shopping and entertainment district - home to Japan's most expensive real estate, as well as every major fashion and cosmetics brand. It was like walking down Rodeo Drive in L.A. I'm sure it would have been more impressive when all the store fronts were lit up at night (something similar to being in Times Square). But even so - I was a bit star-struck seeing all of these designer shops that I definitely can't afford to shop in. Definitely an experience.

Us crammed into the Subway at rush hour. We spent
a lot of time on the Subway on this trip.

Tsukiji Fish Market

We got up early on Tuesday morning to see one of the world's largest wholesale fish markets. The vendors in this massive series of warehouses handle over 2,000 pounds of marine product every day. It was a maze of small booths filled with all kinds of fresh fish (some of which was still alive and wriggling). But hands-down the most impressive thing we saw was some of the vendors cutting up MASSIVE tuna (about as long as I am and twice as big around) with super long fillet knives that look something like samurai swords. Definitely an interesting glimpse into this city's daily operations.

Ueno Park

After the fish market we returned to the hotel for a hearty breakfast before journeying up to the north side of the city to take a walk through Ueno Park. This area is similar to Balboa Park in San Diego, with beautiful tree-lined paths connecting various shrines, museums and the Tokyo Zoo. We mostly just walked around and enjoyed watching some truly gifted street performers.

Frijoles Burritos & Tacos (Knock-off Chipotle!!)

One of the most exciting discoveries we made in Roppongi is an Asian version of one of our favorite fast food restaurants!! It looked just like Chipotle, but the portion sizes were smaller and it was probably healthier because they use a lot less salt. Still, it was an excellent meal for two people who have been deprived of its spicey goodness for far too long. =^)

Tiny Japanese-sized burrito!

Shibuya

Our final stop was the epicenter of youth shopping and entertainment in Tokyo - Shibuya! It's one of the busiest areas in Tokyo - especially at night. It was overwhelmingly awesome - seeing all of the lights and people. This is truly the "Tokyo experience" that people expect from seeing movies and ads about Japan. There is an intersection in front of Shibuya Station where the lights in all four directions turn red at once and TONS of people surge into the streets and "cross" in any direction they choose. I've never seen so many people walking at once in my whole life. SO cool. We mostly walked around and looked at the different shops, then ate dinner at a Greek restaurant before concluding our tour of Tokyo.

Time to cross the street!

Random tidbit for my dad - we found a Trumpet store in Shibuya and couldn't help taking a peek inside. SO many trumpets!

The next morning (on Wednesday) we took a train to Nagoya!