Kyoto

Saturday dawned clear and cool (at least by Osaka standards :) ) and we headed out to explore Kyoto. It was a holiday weekend here and many, many people seemed to have the same idea. We had our first real experience getting squeezed, pushed, wedged and molded onto the train. Luckily it was only 20 minutes on the express and we switched to another train. Our first stop was the Inari temple. I'm not sure if I completely understand this so apologies in advance if I get some things mixed up. This shrine sits at the base of the mountain and you begin by passing through a large Torii Gate. It represents passing from the natural to the spiritual world. Once inside there are thousands of smaller Torii gates so closely packed that it is almost like walking through a tunnel. Throughout the hillside are smaller shrines for specific purposes. This whole place was dedicated to the harvest and growing grains. The fox was chosen as the messenger of the gods so he has numerous shrines so that he will be quick to bring the prayers of the people to the gods. After hiking all around we went in search of "momiji" or maple trees that are supposed to be beautiful and near where we were is supposed to be one of the prettiest places in all of Japan to see them. We followed the directions and eventually got to a temple that looked eerily familiar. As we walked around we realized we had been there before in the spring time and had met with the "laughing buddah," the zen master of Tofuki-ji. We thought that we might try to contact him again but it seemed as if half the population of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe had all decided to visit on the same day. The momiji was breathtaking along with the mountainside and the temple. We took numerous pictures but hope to go back after the crowds have died away and renew our acquaintance with Roshi-san, the laughing buddah. In a future blog we will tell you all about our first meeting and hopefully have new stories to add to the tale. Finally we headed home after a long day and were treated toa beautiful sunset from our balcony. All this and no school on Monday or Tuesday. Can it get any better?

Miyajima

MIYA-JIMA

From our hotel in Hiroshima, we hopped on the trolley and headed to the ferry... a 10 minute ride across to the island.

beautiful....

The vermilion gate rising out of the sea is considered to be one of Japan's most beautiful sites.

the island is known for 'wild' deer and monkeys. Although not really wild, one deer did take a few bites out of my guide book!

This was a real miniature Japanese maple tree!

the first shrine to Hello Kitty that we have seen!

We took the ropeway up to the top of Mt. Misen,

Miya-jima's sacred mountain. we wanted to see what the "least" see!

It was a bit tight....

but worth it- the view was breathtaking!

5 story pagoda

Itsuku-shima Shrine

Senjookaku- "hall of a thousand tatami"- it's huge!

Hiroshima International Peace Park

What an incredible weekend! Our first trip requiring a shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima and Miyagima. We started off in Hiroshima.....

The A bomb Dome- one of the few structures left as a reminder of that horrible day, August 6, 1945 when "little boy" exploded 580 meters above the city. At 8:15 am, the world was forever changed and a sense of what happened that day is strangely felt, even today.

The Children's Peace Monument- a beautiful monument, in memory of sasaki Sadako, a young girl who suffered from leukemia as a result of radiation from the bombing. At the age of 12, she began folding paper cranes on her deathbed in the hope that if she reached 1,000, she would be cured. She died before reaching her goal but her classmates continued after her death and went on to build this memorial.

Today, the city of Hiroshima receives thousands of cranes from children around the world.

When we lived in Sendai, Jeph brought a group of students to Hiroshima (Kristin was in the group) and they presented 1,000 cranes in this very spot! I think Kristin folded at least 900 of them!

The Memorial Cenotaph - Underneath the arch lies a stone coffin holding the names of the A-bomb victims. Right in front of it, there is a Flame of Peace which will only be extinguished when the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed.

The fountain in front of the Peace Memorial Museum- a must-see. The museum displays the history of Hiroshima before and after the bombings and the realities of the terrible devastation that took place over 60 years ago. In the midst of it, there is a powerful appeal and hope for world peace.

Another week gone by...

Jeph and I enjoyed a busy but 'regular' kind of week. Today, Jeph traveled to Kobe with his middle school basketball team for their second game of the season and he has gotten into the swing of weekly practices and Saturday morning games. I (Karen) was busy substituting and babysitting in addition to proctoring the SAT exam last week. I remain amazed that we are really in Japan- life seems so normal and yet, still so different. I am enjoying our scooter and have gotten into the habit of driving it almost daily. (after about 6 weeks of riding, we finally needed to get gas- Jeph drove it up to the station and $4.40 was all it took to fill it up!) I rhode the bike up to school on Thursday, but left it there for Jeph to ride home after his practice. I really enjoyed the walk home and couldn't believe what all i had missed as i had been whizzing by on my bike (yeppers, I now drive the speed limit and have even passed my first vehicle!!!)
Some of the things i rediscovered include:
* chatting (ok, it's really just a few words of greeting and some hand signals) with the numerous little old men who serve as street/traffic controllers. They seem to get a kick out of our small encounters in the same way that i do.
* the smell of the incense as you walk past the cemetary (I do have to laugh a bit as i notice the flowers that are left at the graves. They are the same arrangements that i get from the store for our table. I have decided that they will serve as a reminder for me to die to myself each day as i seek to live for Christ)
* the construction that is going on! I couldn't believe how many houses have been completed and how many are under construction just in the short time that i have been here. To see the finished products, the ones hidden behind the green or blue covering, to hear the sounds of the hammers and staple guns as well as all the large machines still clearing land and moving dirt on the other side of the road were things i stopped noticing when riding the scooter. I can't imagine what it will look like in just a few more weeks.
* the challenge of not getting run over by people on their bicycles- it can be pretty wild on the sidewalks. I always feel like i should move to the left but have found that there doesn't seem to be any rules re: this. Thankfully, bikes are equipped with little bells and folks are quick to let you know they are behind you!
So, although i do love riding the scooter, i think i will make it a point to walk at least a few times each week so as not to miss out of these simple gifts along the way.

Hot Spots Around Osaka

What a great day we had exploring a new part of the city. We started the day off at church. After the service, the pastor asked us all to sit down and prepare for the "engagement ceremony"! The future bride and groom came forward (dressed in beautiful kimonos) and rec'd a blessing from the pastor and exchanged vows promising their lives to each other, to remain faithful and to be married in the near future. What an honoring tradition. After they presented gifts to each other (they were wrapped so am not sure what they were- not sure if a ring was included? We'll have to ask some of our Japanese friends about this tradition), friends came forward with flowers and presents for the new engaged couple!

We then headed to the train station and went to the Umeda Sky Building- surrounded by really fun fountains and waterways. We ate a quick picnic style lunch and headed to the top to see the Floating Garden
(Kuchu Teien Tenbodai).



















A highlight of the day was a trip to SpaWorld. You really have to check out the website (http://www.spaworld.co.jp/) It was amazing. There are two floors devoted to spas from around the world. These were incredibly wonderful (if you enjoy hot tubs and can deal with walking around naked!). The real fun, however, is up on the 8th floor. It's co-ed and bathing suits are thankfully required! There are several wonderful hot baths on this top floor along with a fun lazy river. The best part, though are the waterslides. What a blast- our favorite one was was like a huge toilet bowl where the water spins around and around and eventually you get flushed through a hole and into a large pool of water. We watched a few Japanese kids do this and they went around the bowl maybe one time before getting flushed to the pool. When we did this, we whipped around the bowl several times before being sucked down to the pool. It was a riot and if anyone comes to visit us, this is a must do! One of the other cool slides was similar to a skateboard 1/2 pipe- we would shoot out of the gate and fly down this really steep drop and then fly up the side of the wall before sliding back into a larger pool area. Really fun!

We hopped back on the subway and went to the Tsutenkaku Tower. The tower was built in 1912 (rebuilt in 1956)and was modeled after the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumphe. The Billiken, the god of good luck is a popular figure at the tower and people come from near and far to rub the soles of his feet. He is actually quite cute- his smile, upturned eyes and pointy head makes him a god of the common people. Folks were celebrating his 100th birthday so there were lots of celebratory items for sale all around the tower. We ended the day at a fun little Japanese bar/restaurant in the Shinsekai neighborhood before heading for home.

Halloween in Japan

Here is Nina-chan experiencing the fun of pumpkin carving. Karen has been doing quite a bit of babysitting for Nina and her younger sister, Rhiana (who was napping at the time). Nina has a book about 'yucky' and 'yummy' things- what a great lesson they had as they separated the 'yucky' guts and the 'yummy' seeds! Oh, the fun of hands-on English lessons!!!

Sports Day 2008

Sports Day here in Japan is a huge event- a national holiday actually. Here is what the day
looked like at Osaka International School. The day begins with all the students parading in by class. There are some major team games (ultimate frizbee and dodge ball) in addition to fun relays, tug of war, etc. The highlight of the day, however, are the class performances!

be sure to check this video out- these are the seniors, and overall champions!