Still Traveling

From Japan to South Dakota, with a little stop in Anchorage in between...

Uncle/Niece competition.

"Redneck Ingenuity" was voted unanimously as the title of this picture; how to remove a gamepiece stuck in a tree by tying two sticks together and standing on a chair on top of a picnic table.  It works!

Happy Birthday One-Year-Old!

Random Pictures from Japan

Monkeys all around, and Kyoto in the background.

"Caged" humans feed wild monkeys little treats.

An awesome old-school slide, the kind that shoots you off the end like a rocket and makes you run just to keep from splatting on your stomach.

A torii (gate) typically is at the entrances for grounds of shrines and temples. This temple grounds has an entire hike of over 4km lined with torii.

Shrines often have wells of refreshingly cool water.  You dip cups on long bamboo handles into it, then splash it on your hands and face.

Ice Cream as Entertainment

This is my first attempt at posting a video, so I hope it works :)

Michelle

Kleptomaniac Lobster

No, that's not the name of some obscure Japanese rock band; that was the menu item that I ordered during our last dinner adventure in Kyoto ;)  More on that in a sec...

This narrow street is called Pontocho, and is considered by many to be one of the most charming, fascinating streets in all of Asia.  This street is able to exist because Kyoto was spared WWII bombings that other cities received, and so this tiny street much to narrow for cars wasn't demolished, but has been preserved in it's original size.  This is where we went hunting for an interesting restaurant.

This photograph shows what the restaurants lining Pontocho look like from the back.  We're standing on a bridge spanning a very shallow river and can see straight into the lit restaurants and bars.  The area on the opposite side of the river is a region called Gion.  Both Pontocho and Gion are featured in the book Memoirs of a Geisha as the areas where geishas live and work.  Kyoto is now the only place left in Japan with geishas, and they still work in these two areas.  We did see some, (beautiful!) but weren't quick enough with a camera to get any shots.  

We didn't know what we were in for when we chose this restaurant, but it ended up being pretty traditional:  we had to remove our shoes at the door, sat on low cushions instead of chairs, and cooked our own food at a massive dining table designed to seat 12 with a grilling pit and exhaust fans in the middle.  In this picture my sake is in the foreground ;)

We cooked our own food above red-hot ceramic "coals."  I thought I should keep an eye on my Kleptomaniac Lobster (yes, that's exactly how it was listed on the menu).  Our friend (and Rick's research partner) Mike, a professor at University of Pittsburgh, is seated next to me.  He had the boring Bamboo Steamed Chicken.

For some reason, Gemma couldn't resist trying to bite the eyes off of the lobster shell,  I'm still kinda surprised the rowdy Americans weren't asked to leave =:o

I'll leave you with a more serene image of Kyoto--a couple in traditional dress walking hand in hand.  Though you can see traditionally dressed people in Tokyo and Osaka, I found it to be much more common in Kyoto.  One reason is that the city randomly hands out free rides on public transportation to anyone traditionally dressed as an incentive.  Kimono can typically cost $5000 at the low end, so this is quite an investment in beauty and tradition.  

Lizards and Bullfrogs and Monkeys, Oh My!

It doesn't say so in the travel books, but it's obvious that the highlight of touring any centuries-old Shinto Shrine or Buddhist Temple is the possibility of capturing a critter.  Here's Gemma with a gecko that she caught at a shrine that is well known in Japan for it's spectacular flower gardens...

such as this river of hydrangeas tumbling down the mountain side.

  

Hiking through this bamboo forest was a real treat.  It looked like the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!  Of course, Gemma preferred the giant bullfrogs living in a pond in this forest.  The first time I heard one, I truly thought it was a cow mooing.  Rick pointed out that may be where the name bullfrog comes from.  Cool!  I hadn't thought of that :)

Monkeys live in the mountains around Kyoto, and we hiked up to a park where we got to hand feed the monkeys little treats like apple chunks and chestnuts.  They were adorable!  Gemma commented, "We should do this more often!"  Yeah, I agree.  

We now have 1001 photos of this particularly cute monkey baby, courtesy of Gemma.

Grandpa Clarence now has a "shrine" of sorts in the hills of western Kyoto.  Gemma collected flowers, bamboo, and grasses during a hike through the grounds of a Shinto Shrine, assembled them artistically at the base of a tree, and wrote "Grandpa" in little stones.  Monkeys occasionally visit the area, so Dad would like that :)

A Crabby Day (that's a good thing)

Since arriving in Kyoto, Gemma has been very excited to repeat her favorite activity from her previous visit to Kyoto as a Kindergartner--capturing tiny crabs that live in the rocky streams of a certain temple grounds.  We struck out on our quest on our first day here.  I think it was too sunny and warm for them to want to be outside (good weather for me, bad for crabs).  So we tried again yesterday and SUCCESS!  A happy nine-year-old :)

Really though, you cannot fail in Kyoto.  This is just a random shrine on a quiet street corner.  Simply wandering around is outstanding entertainment in this city.

Gemma and I capped off our day with a fun, fabulous, adventurous meal at a restaurant serving traditional Japanese dishes, Kyoto style--many small bites of various foods served in beautiful, interesting containers.  No one working at the restaurant spoke English, so Gem and I ordered by pointing to a sample in the front window.  Gemma picked the meal you see above.  Really, the only things we could identify with any certainty were the cucumbers, tempura, Japanese omelet,  four little sashimi bites, and the sticky rice in the little pot.  The rest was a mystery!  Gemma tried at least a bite of everything!  

We're loving Japan!

Michelle

Hello from Japan!

We had so much trouble with "red tape" that this was nearly the trip that never was, but here we are in beautiful Kyoto after spending a couple of awesome days in Osaka.    

Below are two pictures from our trip to a samurai castle (now a museum) in Osaka.  One picture shows Gemma playing dress-up with the locals, and the other shows a garden area of the castle.

Gemma has now learned to eat using chopsticks, and is an excellent navigator on the subway.  One of our favoring activities here is spotting "Engrish," that Asian way of expressing things in English that ranges from not quite right to downright unintelligible, but always comical.  So far, she has found the best example on a large sign outside an electronics/tool store in Osaka that advertised "High Prices!"  Who knows, maybe someone would find that a compelling reason to shop there!  We'll keep looking...

Michelle

Minimalist Travel Experiment Number 1

I call myself a minimalist, so let's see if I can actually walk the walk!

The question is:   Can I pack for 10 days in Japan using only a small carry-on, without sacrificing necessities, and without making life so inconvenient as to diminish the quality of the trip?  Let's find out;)

The bag on the left is a typical carry-on bag.   

The bag on the right is my new "micro-carry-on."

Opened to show the clothing compartment.

This is the exploded view showing everything I packed,

including my laptop, snacks, even and umbrella!

The "cheat" is that I'm taking along the other carry-on shown above empty, so I can come back with some things I want from Japan.  

Hopefully I'll be able to post from Japan :)

Michelle

Good Morning!

The link below takes you to a gorgeous volcano photo.  The caption says it's Redoubt, but to me it looks like Augustine (the Volcano near Homer that erupted a couple of years ago). 

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/image.php?id=18795

Enjoy!

Michelle