The Eschmeyers arrive, Tsukiji and other Tokyo..

Kate's sister Claire and her family arrived in Japan on Friday. Kate and I headed to Ueno (Tokyo) together and then Kate went to the hotel with the children while I headed to the airport to pick up the Eschmeyers. Our plan was to stay in Tokyo for the weekend and show them around.

Below is our typical new family arrival photo.

That night was pretty much shot, we just got Japanese fast food from the Sukiya. I had made plans for 5:00 in the morning to go to Tsukiji fish market so after a quick dinner we hit the beds.

In the morning we got moving a little slowly, but made it to Tsukiji plenty early. Tsukiji is the largest fish market in the world. From Wikipedia I found that there are over 400 different types of seafood available at the market and over 2000 metric tons of seafood pass through Tsukiji per day. When we arrived I was not completely sure were to go. I just followed the flow of people in. Once inside I was a little startled by how dangerous it could be to walk around with the children. There are tons of carts hauling a variety of products throughout the facility. They travel through every nook and cranny and it is your responsibility to stay out of the way. We paired each child with an adult to keep them from getting run down. Even with that system Kate looked the wrong way once and almost got hit. We walked around for a bit looking at the different sea life that was available.

Here Claire is posing with some eels that were for sale.

An entire pile of fish being prepped for sale.

For me the most impressive fish to see were the huge frozen tuna. There were giant band saws being used to slice the giant fish into smaller pieces.

And those bits were hauled off by cart.

I am not sure how they freeze the tuna, but they looked to be rock solid frozen.

Once we had our fill of looking at all the sea life being processed at the market we decided it was time for some breakfast. I typically don't eat sushi for breakfast, but what better place to have it then the place it comes right out of the ocean. We wondered around the market a bit until we could stumble on to the restaurants. The seating is extremely limited so they require everyone to place an order. The menu items are limited so Claire took the children off to explore while Greg, Kate, Jake, and myself ate extremely fresh sushi.

I can say that the salmon and tuna sushi were the right with the best I have eaten, the other offerings were also very good, but if I ever make it back I won't waste my time on the other selections, I would go straight for the tuna and salmon...

The market is filled with carts, fork trucks, trolly carts. Just about everything is used to haul the see food. I snagged a picture of this cool bike as we were walking by. I liked the picture so I threw it on here.

From Tsukiji we headed for Asakasa. Asakasa is an older area with temples and a variety of souvenir shops. We took our time taking in the sights and looking in the shops for interesting things.

Kate, Liam, and Colleen showed Rachael and Jake the steps for going to the temples. Below they are wafting the smoke from the incense, I believe this in an act of purification.

I was able to get all the children to stand in front of one of the temple protectors.

This was a bronze Buddha statue at the temple.

When we walked away from the temple we stumbled on a monkey show. There were benches lined up in a circle around a makeshift arena and a women with her monkey put on a show for us.

The show was for donations, but actually it was pretty good. Kate took some video of him doing some tricks. This video was a platform jump to hand walk....impressive.

From Asakasa we walked right past this cool panda bus.

And straight toward this wicked cool boat (WCB). This boat was designed by a famous Japanese cartoonist named Leiji Matsumoto. One of his cartoons was Space Battleship Yamato. The boat ride is about 40 minutes and goes from Asakusa to Tokyo bay.

It is a very futuristic boat. I wanted to ride it the last time we rode the water taxi, but it has limited operation and we were not able to get on it. This time we had to wait about an hour, but we were able to secure tickets for the ride.

The inside is also futuristic and the panoramic windows give you a nice view of the city as you cruise down the river.

Our arrival location was Odaiba seaside park. This island contains a smaller version of the statue of liberty dating from the year 2000. For some reason the French placed a small statue of liberty there from 1998-1999 to commemorate the "French year in Japan". It was popular enough that in 2000 this statue was put up to replace it.

Odaiba is also home to the interesting looking Fuji building. We didn't spend much time on the island, we were tired from getting up at 5:00..

We hopped on a monorail to get back to Tokyo and the subway system and then to the hotel for a nap. The Monorail went over the bay on a bridge and provided some more interesting views of the city.

In the evening after I could drag everyone out of bed we made our way to the Sunshine 60 building. It is the second tallest building in Japan with 60 stories. The elevator is the second fastest in the world. It has an image inside to show how quickly you were moving and it was very fast. The view from the top was amazing. As far as you can see there are buildings, and that is in every direction. Tokyo is unbelievably big..

And a short video from the top observation deck that is outside.

At the top were some Halloween costumes you could put of for photo opts. The younger children were excited to participate.

To round out the evening we stopped at Shibuya. That is were the huge intersection is with a crazy number of people all crossing at one time. First we hit up one of the many ramen noodle shops in the area for dinner and then the Starbucks to watch the people crossing the street from an elevated view.

Sunday was a bit of a lazy morning. Once we all got moving we took the subway to Meiji Jingumai temple.

While at the temple we saw a number of younger girls dressed in beautiful kimonos. I don't exactly remember the ages, but something like girls of age 3 and 7 dress in formal kimonos and go to the temple. If those numbers are correct the girl below should be 7.

Pictured are some of the casks of Sake that have been blessed at the temple.

As we were walking around there were two different weddings taking place. It was nice to see everyone dressed so formally, everyone looked so proud.

Liam, the bug whisperer, found this preying mantis at the temple. He walked with it the entire time we were at the temple and then let it go at the edge of the woods just before leaving the temple grounds. This temple has so many trees that while you are there you actually forget that you are in the middle of a huge city.

Outside the temple grounds it is a short walk to Harujuku. This area is interesting to shop and for people watching. We found a shop selling necklaces that could be personalized with your name in Katakana. It turned out to be the souvenir of choice on the day.

After eating lunch at a Japanese/Italian restaurant we took a trip to Ueno and browsed the 7 story toy store there called Yamashiroya. I could spend tons of money in places like this, but have learned to resist the urge to buy everything cool and walked away empty handed. Before going back to the hotel to pick up our luggage we spent a few minutes in Ueno park. We didn't stay long because it was getting late, but it looks like a very nice park. If possible I want to go back for the cherry blossoms in the spring.

On the way back to Utsunomiya the Eschmeyers really wanted to take the Shinkansen. They are the fastest trains in Japan. Typically we don't ride them because it cost twice as much as the local trains, but since our visitors were interested we complied. It takes about 45 minutes to the local trains 1hour and 40 minute trip. I have to say it is very nice. Unfortunately with a family of four it is also very expensive so next time, back to the locals it will be.

The seats are very much like an airplane only more comfortable and with legroom. There is even a food/drink cart that comes around to serve you. None of that is available on the local train ride.

That is all for this post, I am tired and going to bed...Have a good week.

Colleen's speech, Kate passes drivers test, Fun park, etc.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Mary made it back to the states safely this past week. Our next visitors come at the end of this week. Just after everyone left, Kate took her drivers test for the second time. This time things went well for her. After the test the tester said "Yokata" which means you did good. She came home with her license so now both of us have completed the task of obtaining a Japanese drivers license.

Colleen and Liam both gave speeches at school this week. Liam gave his in his classroom so we were not able to see his. I heard he did a great job. His speech was all in Japanese. One student from each grade was selected to read their speech in front of the entire class. Colleen was selected for her class. Kate was able to attend and tape her speech. Her speech was also in Japanese. Both children's language skill has really improved in the last six months. In Colleens speech she is talking about her experience coming to Japan. You may have to turn the volume up a little to hear it as the video is a little quite. Also Kate didn't turn the video off immediately at the end because she was excited Colleen did so well so there is a little bit of extra footage.

Back when Warren was in Japan, he and the children planted a garden. One of the many different things they planted was Daikon. Finally Liam was able to harvest one of his. We have not yet eaten it, but it is huge. Hopefully it is also tasty. We will find out soon.

This weekend I wanted to enjoy some time with the children, so we headed to the playground that was at the art park that I went to a few months back. The park has a fun playground and the huge roller slide. Last time I went it was with Warren and Jim. Kate and the children were not there so I wanted them to have a chance to enjoy the park. While walking to the playground we passed some of the artwork. Colleen posed with this huge dog collar.

Step 1 is to get a cushion to sit on. Typical roller slides don't have a cushion, but I think because this one is so long it would cause pain by the time you got to the bottom if you didn't sit on one.

Step 2 is walking up a big tower to the start point. There are many colorful windows on the way up.

Step 3 is to ride the bottom...

It is a lot of walking to get to the top. I think the children did it about 3 times.

The playground has a number of other things to have fun on.

Many of the parks in Japan have zip lines. The children always enjoy them. I always wanted one as a child, so on occasion I will give them a go as well.

They also had this huge bouncy thing. I am not sure what is under it, but it looks like a white tarp stretched over a huge balloon. We jumped on if for probably a half an hour before moving on.

While the children were jumping, Kate went for a drink of water. I looked over to see a huge geyser of water shooting probably 15 ft in the air and Kate standing with a strange look on her face. Apparently she turned it on full blast and this one really had some water pressure. Fortunately it did not blast her contacts out. The picture is after she figured it out.

Now that we are approaching fall I have noticed a lot of spiders around. They make huge webs. While at the part we found this big one near a tree. Some of them are pretty colorful. For the most part I just try to stay away from them. I would hate to walk into one of these webs.

Hope everyone has a good week...

Chopstick making,Japanese Drivers License, Nikko, Gyoza statue..

This week at Liam's school the children had a lesson about recycling and the environment. I was not able to attend, but Kate, Grandma and Grandpa were able to go to the school and participate. The children made there own chopsticks and were requested to take their personal chopsticks with them when they went out to eat. Since I wasn't there I am not sure of the numbers, but I guess an incredible amount of trees are used each year to make disposable chopsticks. If the children carry their own they can reduce the usage of trees for this purpose.

Here Grandpa Jack is giving Liam some tips on using the razor knife to shape the chopsticks while Reiko looks on with a look that says... "don't cut your fingers off".

After the shaping was complete the children were given the opportunity to burn their names into the chopsticks. The finished product came out really nice. Liam has already used them at a couple of meals.

Grandma and Grandpa didn't want to stick out so much so they dawned the masks just like everyone else. I think in this case they were actually for the dust from sanding the chopsticks and not so much for sickness.

On Friday I took everyone to a Katsu restaurant. Katsu is breaded and fried and you can get a variety of types. Pork, chicken, shrimp, oyster, etc... Everyone picked a form of pig meat in the end. The meal was delicious, not only was the Katsu excellent, but the salad and miso were great as well.

Yesterday we went back to Nikko, but this time to see the temples. The previous time we drove around and took in the scenery, but did not stop to see the temples. This week was a full moon and at the temple there was a bamboo circle at the temple. I am assuming this represents the moon. Many people were intentionally walking through the circle.

Nikko is full of really old trees. Over the years it was learned that lightning was a huge threat to both the temples and the trees surrounding the temples. Now many of the trees have lightning rods on them. Metal bands are used to hold the lightning rod in place and can be seen about every 20 feet up the length of the larger trees. The picture below shows a couple of the metal bands.

The mountains stay moist and cool year round. The environment really fosters the growth of plant life. The green color is amazing.

There is a walking path connecting two different segments of temples. On both sides of the path there is almost a carpet of greenery growing on everything. To add to the atmosphere there is a channel of mountain water running along the side of the path. The gurgle of the water as it runs by makes for a very serene stroll to the other temple.

This image shows just how thick the layer of green can be. It reminds me a little of that Creep Show movie where the meteor hits a small community and the man that touches it ends up covered in green moss along with his house and the surrounding community.

I also like this picture that Kate took of leaves of a Japanese Maple (I think)

The temples in and around Nikko really are beautiful. They are set in the mountains with the mature trees. It is impossible to really capture it in a photo, because photos don't do a good job explaining the atmosphere.

This temple requires walking up quite a few steps to see it all.

Nikko is also home to a 5 tiered pagoda. I previously posted pictures of it from the front, so I decided to mix it up a little with this photo from the back side. The trees are huge all through the temple area, but without a reference in the picture it is difficult to understand just how big they are.

The children found a drinking fountain that was fed by the mountain natural spring. They also discovered if you plug up multiple holes while your brother/sister are drinking they can get water up their nose.

I love this old cherry tree. I am not sure how old it is, but it is very weathered looking. In the picture you can see the extreme care given to the tree to keep it shaped and from becoming broken.

It is my understanding the the temples in Nikko are both Buddhist and Shinto. Shinto shrines typically have the large gates (Tori Gates) and Buddhist temples typically have a bell. Below is a bell in Nikko next to one of the temples. We have heard it ring before on a previous trip. I am not sure what the occasion is when it rings, but the sound is very nice.

Finally on the way out of Nikko I was just picking roads off of the navi and we ended up traveling on a really nice road. The view from the road was great and eventually I was able to connect it back to the road we wanted to be on to go home.

After residing in Japan for 1 year the International drivers license is no longer valid with the Japanese government. We are quickly approaching the 1 year mark so Kate and I were tasked with passing the Japanese drivers test last week. The entire process required me to take 2 half days and 1 full day off of work. The first half day was for the license bureau to confirm that I am me and legally reside in this country. They also confirm that I previously had a drivers license in the US. The next half day was for practice driving at a training center. The final full day was for the written test and driving test. The driving portion of the test has a very low pass rate. When the first group of US associates and spouses went all came home empty handed. Out of about 22 people 1 was successful in obtaining a license. The driving portion is really an exercise in showing that you understand the driving requirements and are capable of doing them. Below is the course. The instructor only speaks in Japanese during the test.

Now for the steps...I won't list them all because it is boring blog material, but I will list the steps required just to start and pull out.

1. Approach the car from the curb. Look right and left before opening the rear door to place your belongings on the seat.

2. Look at the front and back of the car and under the car to confirm there are no obstacles, children, etc.

3. Approach the drivers door, look right and left before opening the door.

4. Get in the car.

5. Close the door

6. Immediately lock the door.

7. Adjust the seat.

8. Adjust the rear view mirror. (you must touch the mirror for it to count)

9. Adjust the door or fender mirrors.

10. Buckle your seat belt.

11. Confirm that all passengers have their belts on.

12. Depress the foot brake.

13. Confirm the car is in park and the emergency brake is set by shaking the lever, knob.

14. With the brake depressed start the car.

15. Look around the car to confirm pedestrians, cyclist, etc.

16. Activate the right turn signal to show you are planning to pull out.

17. Put the car in drive.

18. Turn off the hand brake.

19. Check the rear mirror, fender mirror, and blind spot for traffic.

20. Pull out.

21. Turn off the signal.

All of the procedures need to be followed or you will lose points. There are similar lists for changing lanes, turning, cross walks.....etc...I spent the night before memorizing the procedures and practicing them to make them natural so they didn't require a lot of extra thought. On test day I memorized the course so that I didn't have to listen for the instructions as I drove. Then after lunch we were allowed to walk the course before we drove. I walked the course by memory and imagined what I should be doing at each stage of the course. Throughout the day I was made fun of as I sat imagining I was driving the course. Everyone said I was doing the robot dance. Anyway end result. 4 out of 20 passed the test and came away with a license, 2 of which were first timers. Myself and Mike Cao. I really can't afford to take time off of work now so I was really happy I could pull it off on the first try.

On Sunday we took the train from Hoshakuji station to Utsunomiya so that everyone could see what it was like to ride the trains in Japan. After arriving in Utsunomiya we walked around and did some exploring in the city. I had Kate take this picture of me and the children with the famous Utsunomiya Gyoza statue. The statue used to be on the east side of the station, but was moved during the station remodeling a few years ago. There was an accident during the move and the statue was broken into three pieces. The devastating footage made the news. I found this tragic video on youtube so I attached a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8JnA-eN6fs

Now the statue resides on the West side of the station under a walking bridge. You can see the repair marks in the picture. The statue is of Venus De Milo wrapped in Gyoza...awesome..

The other picture is the family huddled around a huge frog carved from Oya stone.

When we got back to the station Liam found this huge preying mantis. Since he is the bug whisperer he had to hold it for a little bit before we returned home.

In one day I saw 6 different mantis. There must be a lot of them in Japan.

Thats all for this post, have a good week.