Seems like for the last two months the blog has seen some heavy volleyball love. Finally Ben is getting some air time. Recreational soccer was in full swing in October. Sadly, there is only one team in his age division, so this season will be spent playing a hodge-podge version of soccer but it's better than nothing!
Now that the weather is finally starting to cool off, some of my Yokota friends and I have started wandering around Japan for some fun day trips. On this fine day, we traveled over to Gunma Prefecture (the Japanese equivalent of a state) which is adjacent to Tokyo Prefecture, where we live. Gunma is predominately a mountainous prefecture with many hot springs (onsens) and ski resorts. It is also well-known for its agriculture and is Japan's leading producer of wheat. Gunma also produces quite a bit of the nation's rice, potatoes and cabbage. We decided to check out Oracho Tataranuma Park first. The park is surrounded by a rice field on one side and a pretty good sized lake on the other. Not much going on at this park with the exception of swan and crane watching. When we parked, we noticed several people with extremely large cameras setting up by the lake so we walked over there to check out the scene. Nothing going on, just the swans, cranes and ducks doing their thing. We then headed over to the small shrine located on the river. On our way back to the car we walked under massive hydrangea vines that I am sure are spectacular in the spring. We will have to make another visit out here when they are in bloom.
Next up we visited nearby Tatebayashi Castle ruins. The castle was built in the 15th century but was allowed to fall into ruin after it was mostly destroyed by fire in the 1800's. The only surviving pieces are a few stone walls and a gate. So ultimately there wasn't really much to it, but since we were in the area we thought we would at least check it out.
The REAL reason we treked over to Gunma was to check out the Morinji Temple, which was dedicated to the Bunbuku Chagama, more commonly known as the Tea Pot Tanuki. If you have read any of my previous posts about the tanuki, then you know they are considered a trickster god and can shape-shift. Apparently, this particular tanuki took the shape of a tea pot that famously never ran out of tea. After it was discovered that he was not in fact not a tea pot, the tanuki agreed to preform many tricks in his tea pot guise. Many people paid admission so much that enough money was collected to build a bridge. The priest of the local temple named the tanuki "Bunbuku Chagama" which means "fortune distributing tea kettle." The Morinji Temple has twenty one statues that welcome visitors. In addition, there are many more statues on the temple's grounds and ya variety of tanuki souvenirs for sale from the street vendors leading to the temple. You (and Jim) will be happy to know that I refrained from purchasing any more tanuki. It wasn't easy.
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| Even the manhole covers have tanuki! |
The following week, I was invited by a friend to hike Mt Mitake. Our family did this hike last August, but we didn't have all the information we needed to see all the cool things, so I was more than happy to go back! Of course the cooler weather didn't hurt either 😳. This time we rode the trolley up and made our way over to the Musashi Mitake Shrine. The views from atop the mountain were spectacular! We could see all the way to downtown Tokyo!
Next stop was Kawagoe (this time with the kids), known as "Little Edo" because its main street is lined with clay-walled warehouse-style buildings and is reminiscent of an old town from the Edo Period. We only spent the afternoon so we stayed in the warehouse district. We saw all the sights and I really need to get back over there to pick up some Christmas presents.
One of the biggest draws on the street was the Toki no Kane. It is a bell tower that has stood for centuries and still rings four times daily.
Of course, the kids were most excited about Starbucks. This one is another branch that was designed to blend into the surrounding Edo style of architecture. It may look ancient on the outside, but the inside is the perfect mix of old and new to create a very peaceful and beautiful structure.
Last year, I decided to commit to trying to learn some Japanese using Duolingo. I am happy to say that this month I extended my daily streak to 365 days!! I can't say that I have learned much Japanese and my accent is truly horrible. BUT I have done it for an entire year - so yay me! I do find that I can pick out some hiragana symbols and have learned a few more words/sayings.
One of the biggest draws on the street was the Toki no Kane. It is a bell tower that has stood for centuries and still rings four times daily.
I promised I would steer clear of anything volleyball related, but I do have to mentioned this one thing. Lilly got Hoco proposaled (is that even a word?) after one of the home volleyball games! It was super cute. She will hate me for saying it, but it was.
Recently the Yokota Air Base allowed bird scooters to be allowed on base and there are several parking stations near our house. So of course Jim and I had to try them out! Reminded us of our fun year in Arlington!!
The next weekend Ben and Jim went on a Boy Scout camping trip to Chubusangaku National Park in the Southern Japan Alps, better known as Kamikochi. According to Jim, this place rivals the best US National Parks (he said it reminded him of Zion National Park in Utah). It was really cold (low 20s) and the scouts woke up in ice-encrusted tents, but Jim and Ben said they had blast. Plus there were snow monkeys in the park ... Ben said they invaded the campsite during breakfast and the park rangers had to use firecrackers to scatter the monkeys! Crazy. One of the pics below shows the band of monkeys on the prowl.
After the boys got back from "roughing it", I took a trip back downtown to the Starbucks Rostery. I swear I normally don't go to Starbucks that often. At any rate, this time it was for a tour of the facility, which is one of the largest Starbucks in the world. We were greeted by our host for the tour and given a pretty through description of each level of the four story building. The interior of the building is centered around a 56 foot high copper cask decorated with 2,100 handcrafted cherry blossoms and leaves. The first floor mainly focuses on the gift shop, baked goods and of course, coffee. One of the employees gave us a brief run down on how the beans are prepared for roasting and also told us they roast all the beans for all the starbucks coffee in Asia! We were also given a sample of a recent coffee blend. There are (small) bags of Jamaican coffee beans here that sell for over $100. Nuts.
The third floor is mainly a seating area with both inside and outside tables. The biggest draw of this floor is the ARRIVIAMO bar. We were given another sample of coffee - by this point I was practically vibrating out of my seat from all the caffeine! It was very educational and I gained a new appreciation of just what goes into the coffee production/preparation before it ever gets brewed into the delicious concoctions we all love!
The last thing on our agenda this month is of course HALLOWEEN!! Thankfully the kids are all still interested in doing some dressing up and even a little trick or treating. Lilly and her bestie decided to resurrect the dinosaurs from two years ago.
