April 2008

The next day, we met Emiko’s friends (Chinen & Kumi) in Yokohama. They have known each other since their elementary years. The train trip from Kitakurihama to Yokohama took about 45 minutes. Upon getting off the train in Yokohama, I was surprised to see so many people rushing to board the train and the various JR lines which I still have no clue as to where to board or even get off at the correct train stations. Yokohama station has been a long memory of mine as this was the place where I first stayed at a business hotel in Japan and also the time when I visited Emi’s parents for the first time. Not to mention the next day was the tragic 9/11 terrorist attack. Almost 7 years have passed and surely everything around here changed quite a bit. I was saddened not to find the same business hotel. The whole block was changed to a commercial environment. It’s amazing how landscapes in Japan can drastically change to support today’s demand of the society.

The countless number of people and the bright lights highlight the Yokohama station.

I, somehow, was in the “not so packed” area but if you look ahead, bunch of people are heading this way. Seeing so many people at once made me dizzy. I wanted to get out of here quickly…

This is the view outside of Yokohama train station. Takashimaya logo and the Sheraton Hotel to the right. If you ever get lost, look up to the highest tower and surely you’ll find your orientation.

Another landmark is the More’s Tower.

Although the crowd can be enormous, there are many fun things to do in Yokohama.

Another view outside of the Yokohama station.

L-R: Chinen, Emiko, Kumi and myself. Chinen (pregnant now) had her wedding last year in Hawaii and Kumi visited Hawaii some years ago. We had lunch together at an Italian restaurant.

This was a crab spaghetti entree.

This was a clam and spinach pasta. If you are ever visiting Japan, you need to try the Italian food as it’s different than in the U.S. I think it tastes so much better in Japan.

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The day after our Fukushima trip, we decided to venture around Emi’s hometown in Yokosuka. We decided to walk to Kurihama Hanano Kuni (Kurihama Flower World) where it’s famous for their flower garden. There were only a few of them blooming and not as much compared to the full blooming season around late May and early June. One thing I noticed about her hometown was the pleasant greenery landscape with lots of vegetation and saka (hills). The houses were modern and car spaces so tight as it can be. Also, most of the houses had shutters boarded during the nighttime and early morning hours. I only can picture this when we had typhoons back in Guam. But overall, Emi’s hometown was a nice place and convenient to get to many places via bus and train. Her mother took good care of us while in Japan.

Notice the elevation. This is quite typical in Yokosuka. The bus stop is just right of the signal light.

On the way to the flower park, we thought we found a shrine but it was actually a cemetery. Steps were steep and getting to the top was a challenge.

The entrance to Kurihama Hanano Kuni (Kurihama Flower World).

There were lots of these purple flowers. I first thought they were grapes.

Both of us posing at the flower park.

This was the brightest flower.

The green pasture becomes a colorful decor when flowers all bloom in late May and early June. Check this blog site to see flowers blooming (photos taken on 5-8-08).

The view to the Kurihama port.

After visiting the flower park, we went to Kurihama Shotengai (see the blog here) where Emi found a rabbit in front of Taira Hairaclinic salon. The salon kept a rabbit at their shop so customers could see and touch when they’re getting their hair done. This is quite typical for modern salons in Japan.

A quick snapshot of the machi (town). People do continue to wear the mouth mask.

Emi’s favorite pastry shop – Vie De France. She has been visiting this pastry since the childhood years.

These are the cakes from her favorite cake shop. They were delicious!

• Kurihama Hanano Kuni Photos – Series 1 of 2
• Kurihama Hanano Kuni Photos – Series 2 of 2

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Today, we all departed to Fukushima where Emiko’s grandparents currently reside. Fukushima was a very beautiful place with lots of mori (forests) and mountains. There were lots of hatake (farm fields) and very much reminded me of inaka and my dad’s hometown of Otaru. This place is well known for its rice hatake and manjyu. I really enjoyed the whole trip seeing the diverseness of Japan and meeting the grandparents for the first time. They kindly offered the hot green teas, nimono, manjyu and the fresh tsukemonos including takuwan and warming seating inside a kotatsu (my 1st time). It was a nostalgic experience to be offered a service like this. I was so glad to also spend time with Emi’s parents as we drove for almost 6 hours to Fukushima. The 3-4 stops at the “SA” (service area), eating ramen, buying gifts and observing the contrast from city to a suburban atmosphere was incredible. I never had this kind of opportunity as I grew up mostly in the islands. Weather was colder than expected. Temperature ranged in the low 40’s to the 50’s. Wasn’t used to this temperature as Honolulu is usually in the mid 80’s.

Many tulips bloomed this time of the year. This was at the service area where they had a small tulip garden and a koi pond. Recently, there were bandits who would intentionally cut them and just leave the stem. Quite disturbing to hear something like this in Japan…

Emi and her parents. Too bad her brother, Shin, couldn’t join us. He is currently in his 3rd year at a university.

At one of the “SA” stops, this person was flavoring the dango. Dango is popular and something I enjoyed this time.

This oba-chan was grilling “beef” yakitori at “SA”. Beef is still expensive in Japan. See the price – 450 yen per stick.

Now this is a massive electrical line. While driving to Fukushima, I noticed so many of these dotting along the landscapes. I wonder how much voltage it holds and how far they line across Japan.

This is a typical view of the residential area. Lots of hatake and very spacious rice fields. In Fukushima, most of the 20-30 year old generation moved to city and only the older generation remained. This is quite disturbing because what would happen to all the plantation fields once they expire. Even the old houses remained abandoned…

Photo of Emi’s grandmother (mother side), Naomi, Naomi’s mother, and Seiya-kun. We were lucky to see the cherry blossoms although it was already past the blooming season.

The kind of treat a grandparent offers – manjyu, nimono, cucumber and cabbage tsukemono, osenbei and green tea. Everything was delicious and so fresh from the hatake.

We stayed overnight at Kikori Cottage where it is famous for its onsen and the mori environment.

This was a nice cottage. Right behind this was a lake. Emi and I stayed in the left part while her parents stayed in the right part.

There were 3 beds and the room was in brand new condition.

A view outside the lanai. It was so beautiful to see nature so close.

Dinner was nice. Everything was so fresh and nicely prepared.

Breakfast was nice too. To the far left is a half cooked egg where you would mix together with the rice and add some shoyu. The yolk was very orange, not yellow like in the U.S.

The lake was very beautiful. It was so still and the forest full of tall trees.

Next day, we visited the hometown of Emi’s grandparents (father side). They also lived in Fukushima so it was convenient to travel nearby.

The grandparents were happy to see us, and they were also very healthy. We all had a great time, and it was an awesome trip!! Fukushima is a very beautiful town and hopefully we can visit them again with our yet to be born children.

• Fukushima Photos – Series 1 of 3
• Fukushima Photos – Series 2 of 3
• Fukushima Photos – Series 3 of 3

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4:30am (Honolulu) – Morning alarm rings. Both of us still in the midst of sleep get ready as shuttle will be arriving at 5:30am. We arrived to Honolulu International Airport a little past 6:00am. Hardly anyone was there and the ticket attendant told us the flight to Japan will be half empty. We wait and eat the fruits and pastries we brought from home. At the same time we talk about what to do in Japan.

It was a crisp and a sunny morning with no clouds to be seen.

A quiet morning ready to begin.

JAL 075 – The flight we took from Honolulu to Narita.

Indeed a quiet morning in Honolulu.

The flight arrived safely in Narita about 11:35am. As usual, the airport weather was overcast and the temperature was in the low 60’s. Yikes!!!

As you can see, hardly anyone was around as we walked toward custom and immigration.

The one thing inconvenient about the custom/immigration process is where the US citizens need to be in the same line as the foreigners from Europe (Russia, Italy, France, etc…) and non-Japanese Asian countries (China, Hong Hong, Taiwan, etc…). Usually, if you were in Guam or in Hawaii the non-U.S. citizen’s line is more crowded than the U.S. citizen’s line. It really felt like you were outside of U.S.

As we arrived, Emi’s parents picked us up and we stopped at the “Service Area (SA)” which is basically a stop area along the highway where there are restaurants, restroom and a parking area. This was something new to me. We all ate ramen and proceeded to head home to Yokosuka. The drive took us about 2-3 hours. The scenery reminded me of what Japan is all about. Countless mansions, ports with tall cranes, buildings so closely attached together, railways almost next to the highway, bridges that lead to no end point and the famous Tokyo bay. One thing that really caught my attention was how things were very much in order in terms of transportation and most of the cars in clean condition. You wouldn’t find a Guam Bomb or car with no windows. Trucks were even decorated like a transformer. Before arriving home, we stopped at a local grocery store called AVE where prices were so much cheaper than Hawaii. They were even very fresh!

Kimuchi Chige (Kimchee Soup) – Emi’s mom cooked us this for dinner. Here is the recipe. She stir fried the sliced onion, garlic and ginger with sesame oil. Then added the sliced pork and chopped kimchees. She added little bit more oil and stir fried until the pork was not pink. Then she transferred the whole thing to the stone pot and added a bountiful amount of sake. Added konbu and chicken dashi, water and the vegetables – Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, chives, shira taki, etc. And finally, she added ketchup, kochu-jang, shoyu, sugar and a little bit of vinegar. Ketchup and vinegar gave it the citrus like flavor. Really delicious. Everything she cooked for us was so good!!! Day 2 will feature the Fukushima trip. Stay tuned.

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