Tokyo #13

I am sure you have all seen pictures of Mt. Fuji.  It is a perfectly shaped volcanic mountain.  I was anxious to see it so I did a full day group tour of Mt. Fuji!  I really enjoyed talking to the people on the tour; a father and son from Israel whose son was just about to go into the military, a couple from Massachusetts traveling with their adult son, a British man who loved traveling the world but did it alone because his girlfriend didn't share his love of travel, a man who had spent a week visiting his son in Korea and stopped in Japan on his way home, a couple from South Africa currently living in Singapore, and several other Americans.  Love making new friends for a day!

If you notice in almost every photo you see of the Mt Fuji the top is covered with snow.  That is because late fall, winter and early spring are the best times for clear views.

                                                                

The week we were in Japan it was unseasonably warm and as a consequence most of our views of the mountain were like this:

 In the late afternoon while we were on our lake cruise, the clouds thinned a bit and we did get a 'sort of' view!  Everyone on the tour was so excited!

 The clouds just made the photos more interesting, don't you think?

Truly I think our own Mt. Hood is just as beautiful and I get to see it every week when I drive to Guide Dogs!

Tokyo #12 Favorite Temples

I visited many temples in Japan but this one is my favorite! When I joined the LDS church in 1972 there were 16 temples and I believe all but 3 of them were in the US.  Now there are 141 operating temples, 15 under construction and 14 more that have been announced.  Japan will soon have 3 LDS temples!  About half of all temples are outside of the US! That is some amazing world wide growth!

                                                    

                                 

At the end of our day hiking in Kamakura, just after we visited the Big Buddha, we happened upon the Hasa-dera Temple which really touched my heart. The grounds of the temple are home to hundreds of small Jizō  statues, placed by parents mourning their deceased children. These statues remain in place for about a year, before being removed to make way for more statues. Jizō, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, and in particular, children who died before their parents. He has been worshipped as the guardian of the souls of stillborn, miscarried of aborted fetuses.  Jizō's features are commonly made baby-like to resemble the children he protects.

Tokyo #11 Modern Japan

Modern Japan is also worthy of a blog post!

 Our hotel in Yokohama took up the top 20 floors of the highest building in Japan.  The elevator was the fastest in the whole country and made my ears pop every single time I went up to the room.

The modern sculpture by the hotel reminded me of an amusement park ride. 

Our view could take your breath away!

And speaking of amusement park rides, the bullet train can go almost 200 miles an hour.  Right now another type of bullet train is in the test phase.  This one rides above the rail, the so called 'floating train' and can go at speeds of up to 310 mph! Made me think of the 'hover-boards' from the Back to the Future movies.  I guess I'll have to go back in 2028 just to take a ride on one!

Right by our hotel was an absolutely enormous mall.  I spent a lot of time just walking around there.  This was my first time on a curving escalator!

 Another unusual building on Odaiba Island in Tokyo Bay.

 Four inverted pyramids make Tokyo Big Site an unusual Convention Center!

This building reminded me of things the kids used to build with legos.  

Tokyo #10 - The Search for Enlightenmnt

While most of our faith were listening to the broadcast of our semi-annual General Conference from Salt Lake City, George and I were hiking the hills of Kamakura, Japan in search of the Big Buddha!

Unfortunately we got on the wrong trail and were a bit lost.

 Finally we happened upon a sign....didn't help us much!

 This nice Japanese couple proved to be much more helpful, even with their limited English and our non-existent Japanese.

 With the aid of our map, they got us back on the right trail going in the right direction.

 And we found him!

                                           

The Big Buddha of Kamakura is about 44 feet tall and is the 2nd tallest Buddha in Japan.  The statue was cast in 1252 and originally was located inside a large temple hall.  However the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries but the Buddha survived.  Since 1495 he has been standing in the open air.  Think about that, he has been standing there since Columbus discovered America.  Makes me remember the relative 'youth' of our country.

Tokyo #9 - The Mystery of the 7 Pounds

My friend, Jackie, went to Japan a few months ago to visit her daughter who is teaching English there.  During her two week visit she lost 7 pounds!  She attributed it to the Japanese food and all the walking.  Sounded great to me!  I certainly walked a lot so surely that would equate to weight loss.

Jackie and her daughter probably ate authentic Japanese meals like this one

 From top left that is braised seaweed, seasonal fruit, dried radish with sesame sauce, rolled omelet, sashimi (sliced raw tuna),  braised soy bean fiber,  braised vegetable, seasonal vegetable salad, and fried chicken (one very small piece of fried chicken). It was a great meal! Japanese eat like this for lunch....and there are NO fat Japanese!  All of us Americans wondered when they were bringing us our dessert!  It's right there on the plate - fruit!

I ate other typical Japanese food on other nights, like this very delicious Udon Noodle soup.  We loved it!

One morning I joined the line of school children sampling these little deep fried treats filled with sweet, red bean paste.  Very unusual flavor but quite enjoyable! 

So I did eat like a native some of the time!  Unfortunately I discovered that the vending machines had my favorite Dr. Pepper.  Perfect little pick me up after walking for miles and miles!

And the mall by our hotel had a Mr. Doughnut shop.  Don't really think this fat lady cut out was that great of an advertisement for eating doughnuts!  I only went there once.

My real downfall was finding this cute little French bakery also in the mall by our hotel.  Every morning it was packed with skinny Japanese buying sandwiches and pastry so I joined the group.  Actually I went there almost every morning and got my breakfast and my lunch.  I don't even eat at the bakeries in France but this place just called my name every day!

I guess there is no mystery as to why I didn't loose 7 pounds.  It probably is a good thing that I didn't gain 7 pounds.

Tokyo #7 - Barça!

I did a double take the first time we went to the restaurant at our hotel in Yokohama! My boys, my team, FC Barcelona stayed in this hotel for the FIFA Club World Cup in  2011.  They had all their meals right in the restaurant where we were eating!   For a fan like me that was downright exciting!!!

And they won!   The final against Brazil's Santos was billed as the show down between the current king of football, Lionel Messi, and one of the pretenders to his throne Neymar. 

As it was, even Neymar himself was gracious enough to admit that, for now at least, Lionel Messi and Barça are simply in a class of their own.  "It's impossible to stop them, " reflected the teenager.  "Today, the best team in the world showed us how to play football."  Now Neymar and Messi play together for FC Barcelona!!!!

2011 was a great year for all of us Barça fans!  In the words of their coach, "In the first half, the players were like artists, whatever they envisioned in their minds, it appeared on the pitch."  This was FC Barcelona's 2nd Club World Cup in three years, with the highest number of overall goals and with a record winning margin in the final itself.

Tokyo #6 - Guide Dogs for the Blind Japan Style

Look what we happened to run into in Japan.  A Guide Dogs for the Blind fundraising activity!! All this was happening in the town square just outside the train station in a popular resort town,

This dog was showing off her obedience skills.  Isn't she a pretty girl?

I'm so happy that the trainer spoke English perfectly so we could talk.

These two dogs are considered PR dogs.  Their primary focus is public relations and fund raising.  Just like at our Guide Dogs here in Oregon, the breeds they train are Labs, Golden Retrievers, and Lab/Golden crosses.  It amused me that these dogs knew more Japanese than I did. "My Guide Dog is smarter than this tourist."

It appears that being a PR dog is exhausting work!

Yes we did put some money in the doggy bank that the volunteer is holding!  I love Guide Dogs for the Blind, even in Japan!

Tokyo #5 Toilets, yes toilets!

Japan definitely gets the award for the country with the best toilets.  This little beauty was in our hotel room.

You know it is a fancy toilet when it comes with a control panel!  You could have a bidet or a spray and could control the water pressure.  Best of all the seat is heated!   When you sat down a subtle amount of air freshener automatically sprayed.  These fancy toilets weren't just in hotels either.  They were also in public bathrooms in museums, malls and even in some parks and temples.

Many public restrooms provided disposable towels and antibacterial cleansers for the toilet seat.   A person from Japan visiting in the US is probably horrified at the state of many of our public toilets.

 I walked into one bathroom in a mall and was shocked to see a urinal .  I did a quick double take to be sure I hadn't made a big mistake.  The sign assured me that I was in the 'Ladies' but I couldn't figure out the urinal until I went in the stall. This bathroom is all about being convenient for mothers.  A urinal for little boys who aren't old enough to go in the Mens alone and a small toilet for a small child.  Pretty handy if you ask me.

This large bathroom is on the train!  It is probably 4 times larger than on an airplane and spotlessly clean!

But just so you know you are in another country - there are the occasional 'squatty potties'!  But they are very clean also!

And speaking of urinals (not something I often do), I was sitting on a bench at a park that was directly across from the toilets.  I couldn't figure out why men kept coming out zipping their pants.  Why didn't they take care of that INSIDE the bathrooms?  Then I happened to notice that the urinal was located right by the place where the door could have been, should have been; but wasn't. The men were in plain view the whole time!