Sakura in Kamakura

Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossoms. Did you know that the Japanese gave the cherry tree to the United States back in 1912? I didn't! Well, if I did know I've forgotten up until Julie and I were talking about it. In 1965, 3800 more trees were given and accepted by Lady Bird Johnson. Last week and the week before were the two weeks when they peaked, and we were out and about taking it all in. We arrived at this time last year, the peak of sakura season, so this year I knew where I wanted to go to see them. Bob's been working later hours than usual and on weekends too, so anything we wanted to see had to be done without him.

The Japanese are very serious and proud of the sakura; last year they even had Kit Kat Sakura! Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward. From what I read it begins in Okinawa in January and reaches Kyoto and eventually Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April.

Last Friday evening we went with Julie and her family to Kamakura. It's only two stops away by train and takes about 15 minutes to get there. Specifically Dankazura and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Dankazura is a walkway that leads almost from Kamakura Station down to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. I went to these places on New Year's Eve...click here if you want to see more pictures and to learn about how the Japanese traditionally ring in the new year.

On Tuesday the girls and I went to Hase Temple (Hasedera) and Daibutsu/Great Buddha of Kamakura. We walked around, took some pictures and enjoyed the afternoon. The weather was beautiful and we were happy to take advantage of it. Below are pictures of a garden at Hase Temple and Daibutsu. I'm still experimenting with the panoramic stitching thing. Click the pictures to enlarge them.














I've added the pictures from both days to a Shutterfly album, click here if you want to see them.

Japan's Junior Screen Magazine: Twilight Special

This is for the "Twilight" fans out there. I found this magazine late last week and scanned some of the pages and took pictures of the rest. I've included Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart's pages. Click on the images to enlarge them. There are also two fold-out posters, one of Rob and the other of Kristen.

I have more from this magazine and uploaded them to Flickr. Click here to see them all....I think 24 or 25 in all.

Check out my other post about "Twilight," and this includes the Japanese trailer, the 11 books and the illustrations inside.

The Park at Kanazawa Zoo - and More Roller Slides

This park is so much fun, only 10-15 minutes from our military housing area, Ikego, and easy to get to. We went last Thursday with some friends (who have been before), and enjoyed it so much we went back on Saturday...and took Bob with us this time. They've got three roller slides, a rock climbing wall (more like a slope), rope wall/slope and more. I tried that panoramic picture again, and this time it should be clickable; click on it to enlarge it and you can see more detail.







I took two videos going down the slide. If you subscribe to my blog via email you'll need to click here to see the videos. The first is without the plastic seat and the second is with it. You'll notice a big difference in speed...I certainly did! The secret is to sit and lean back with it. FYI, they're sold at a small store there for ¥700 (about $7), but I heard Livin (on Rte 16 in Yokosuka) has them for ¥300 or ¥400. Entrance to the park is free, I'm not sure of the cost for the zoo, and parking is ¥600. There are bathrooms and vending machines at the top, but next time we go we'll bring a picnic lunch.

My one piece of advice is this: When you arrive, take the big slide down to the benches and play area. Don't bother going down all the stairs. Just put your bag, purse, camera bag, etc on your lap and enjoy the ride!

































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Happy Easter!

Well, maybe something more along the lines of "Happy Keester?!" In 2005, before Keanna started crawling, I painted her butt to look like two Easter eggs. I'll never forget the expression on Bob's face when I told him about it, but (pardon the pun), when he saw the outcome/pictures he agreed that it was cute. I think he was secretly shaking his head though!

He just peaked over my shoulder and not only did he shake his head, but he rolled his eyes too. Keanna doesn't believe me that it's her and at the same time Sydney's convinced it's her hiney we're looking at.

Easter isn't really celebrated in Japan since it's a Christian holiday and most people are Buddhist and Shinto. I have seen one Catholic church in Kamakura though. Christmas, on the other hand, is a different story. Anyways, out in town there are no chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs or Peeps. We have the Navy Exchange store on base to shop at and that's where we can find American products. I got the supplies to color eggs and some goodies for Keanna and Sydney's Easter baskets. The three of us colored eggs yesterday afternoon since Bob was at work.

On Cloud Nine at Showa Kinen Park in Tokyo

We had one heck of a day yesterday! It began with my alarm clock buzzing in my ear at 6 am and my friend picking us up at 6:45. We went to Showa Kinen (Memorial) Park on the west side of Tokyo today, and I can't believe we've been here one year and haven't been up there sooner!

Anyway, the drive took about 2 hours and 10 minutes thanks to morning rush hour traffic. We were waiting outside the Nishi Tachikawa gate at 9:24 am and had maybe 10-15 cars in front of us. The park opened at 9:30 and our group, composed of three moms and five kids, immediately began navigating our way to the Children's Forest area of the park. Oh, the cost was ¥400 for me (about $4) and the kids were free. My friend's son is 10 and he was ¥80 (about $.80). Parking was ¥820 (about $8.20).

On the way to the children's area we passed by so many beautiful flower beds and sakura (cherry blossom trees). Little streams, bridges and cut-outs for our faces delayed our arrival to the Sea of Clouds located within the Children's Forest, but the photo opportunities were too great to pass up. Flags were hanging saying "Flower Festival 2009," so I'm not sure if the flowers are always like that or if it's something special going on.

I'll do my best to let the photos and videos speak for themselves, but I really can't say enough great things about this place. I know we made it through maybe half of the park in our nearly five hours there, and I'm anxious to go back, this time with Bob, to see the rest. There are Japanese gardens, a bonsai tree area, paddle boat rentals, bbq pits...and the list goes on.

I took more pictures and posted them in my Shutterfly album. Click here if you want to see them. For those of you that subscribe via email you'll need to go to the website of the blog to see the four videos. Click here to be directed there. Speaking of videos, be sure to watch the one of me running...and think of the song "Wipeout" while watching...if I had the time to dub that song over the video I would have.

I learned how to "stitch" photos together, so I experimented below. Thanks to Jacquie and Heather on HMW for teaching me! I took five or six shots scanning right to left and overlapping each time by about 1/3. It worked on some of the pictures I took and looked awkward on others.

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