Doesn't that get you pumped up??
Josh had to work on Thursday and Friday, so I spent the days shopping and sightseeing. I toured around Yokosuka one day, the city where the Navy Base is located, and I spent my other day wandering around Kamakura, a quaint nearby city. I walked a lot, saw some lovely scenery, and absolutely froze! Have I mentioned lately that we have an endless summer in Guam? Well, it's winter in Japan now and boy was it cold!
Saturday morning saw Josh and I off on a bullet train to Kyoto. The train ride was about 2 and a half hours...I hear that if you drive, it takes 8 to 10 hours. Yay for the bullet train - when do we get one of those for cross country trips in the States?! Anyway, after a nice mid-morning nap we arrived in Kyoto and set off on our way. I imagined Kyoto to be a quaint, picturesque little city. That is not the case. It's actually quite large and spread out, much like Tokyo, though less congested. We walked miles and miles every day to see endless shrines and temples. It was lovely though, and who am I to complain about combining exercise and fun? Guess we just walked off all those tasty Japanese goodies! (For any future Japan sightseers - AM/PM [yes, the convenience store] has the BEST desserts!)Anyhow, we enjoyed our few days of culture and then began our return journey home. It went flawlessly - except for the part where our ATM card wouldn't work, and then our credit card wouldn't work, and then we couldn't get through to the credit card company to fix the situation, and then...well, let's just say it was an adventure. The idea of me begging on the street did get tossed around, and at the time, it didn't seem too far fetched... What's the moral of this story?? Make sure your ATM card will work in a country that almost solely accepts cash! Oh, and if you are forced to use you credit card as a last resort (you know, seeking out high end restaurants that actually accept credit cards for every meal and such...), try your best to prevent its magnetic strip from demagnetizing...
Fortunately, Lady Luck was on our side and we were able to make it safely back to the airport in time for our flight home. In fact, we even had enough time to hang out in the First Class lounge before the flight. (Yay for all the frequent flyer miles you rack up when you live way out in the middle of nowhere!) It was interesting to go from being a pauper without subway fare to get to the airport to a prince/princess eating off of china in First Class in a matter of hours! Just another life lesson, I guess.
And that's another trip for the books in Josh and Mandi's travel log!
At the sumo tournament with Noriko. We had cool seats - little cushions on the floor! (Notice that I am still in my full winter coat and scarf get up and Josh is in short sleeves - this was the beginning of many chilly days for me!)
Hehe, I couldn't resist! This is a ceremony of all the top competitors before the final round of competition.
Moving on to Kamakura, this is the inside of one of its many temples. I particularly like the dragon on the ceiling.
A funny little statue I encountered while wandering around. If I understood the translation of his sign properly, he was telling me to "Be happy or else!"
A pre-cherry blossom season Buddha. You can see some buds beginning to bloom on the trees. Use your imagination - in about 2 months this will be breathtakingly beautiful!
A pretty outdoor amphitheater in Yokosuka. It had good acoustics - I overheard some Japanese schoolgirls chattering in there from pretty far away. Too bad I don't speak Japanese, I could have gotten an earful of the local schoolyard gossip!
Not quite the St. Louis Arch, but pretty nonetheless. I was partial to the fountain, myself...
Who can beat that? Old school music (Name that tune!) and a water show...a scheduled show, no less. It played about 6 times a day. Go Japan!
The Battleship Mikasa in Yokosuka. This is Japan's version of the HMS Victory or the USS Constitution.
Mt. Fuji via bullet train
Simple yet beautiful sand art in one of Kyoto's many temples
A cute little beaver statue. I'm sure it has significance. I just appreciate the vibrant flower on its ear!
Prayer cards at a shrine. Quite picturesque, I think. Wish I could read them!
Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear... Ok, not really. I must be hanging around with too many little people if I've got fairy tales on the brain!
Kyoto at dawn...see the giant orange torii gate through the trees?
Now that's my kind of tree - all bundled up for the winter!
Some lovely buildings at the Kiyomizu-Dera temple complex
The Japanese make everything ornate...what a pretty carving!
And for that matter, what a pretty pagoda poking up in the middle of the city. There are truly shrines and temples everywhere!
I love the old fashioned lanterns - these are also all over the place.
Josh's giant Asian twin?
A hard earned photo in front of the Kinkaku-Ji temple (the Golden Temple, which is actually covered in gold foil). It took many tries to find someone who could take our photo and actually get the temple in the shot without us blocking the temple - evidentally we're too tall to properly frame a snapshot!
Does this look familiar to anyone? (It should if you've seen Memoirs of a Geisha.) These gates are at the Fushimi-Inari Taisha shrine.
Just beautiful! There are literally hundreds of gates lined up, one after another, for 4km.
A shrine of miniature torii gates
Trying to blend in with the locals. I don't know why, but all the Japanese tourists in Guam take photos showing the peace sign. So, when in Rome...
A new take on vending machines. You order and pay for your food through the machine and then take the ticket inside the restaurant, sit at a table, and give your ticket to the waiter.
We stumbled upon the Nissan Global Headquarters in Yokohama on our way back to the airport. What a fun car!
A Japanese Coast Guard ship in the harbor in Yokohama
My little pack horse. He's got all the luggage and he's still smiling - what a catch!
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