Over the hills and through the tunnels to Zachary's house we go

One of the most amazing things about our move to Japan is that our son, Zachary, is also stationed at Yokosuka. He received orders to Yokosuka a few months ago and moved here in late October. Zach was on leave for about a month before he actually had to report to Yokosuka. He spent that month at our house. While he was there, Mona was contacted about a job overseas working as an autism consultant. Everyone was amazed (and we still are) when we found out that the job was also located in Yokosuka. Talk about God working in mysterious ways - the odds of Mona being offered a job in the same exact place that Zachary was being sent would be astronomical to say the least.
Our daughter, Andrea, arrived late last night and took the taxi to Zachary's apartment. After he got off work, we met up with Zachary so he could take us to see Andrea at his apartment.
And since Zachary lives off base,  we would be able to walk through a part of Yokosuka that we hadn't seen yet - few, if any, tourists would be found here.

We walked out the main gate of Yokosuka and traveled down to the end of a road to find this hill waiting for us. It actually ended up being a series of hills.

After we topped the first hill, this is
what awaited us. If you enlarge this
picture, you will get an idea of how
steep the hill is.

This is a picture of the first hill,
we are already close to the top
and already breathing hard.

This is halfway up the third hill.

This was the view when we
finally stopped climbing. There
was another hill but I think
Mona began focusing on
making it to the top instead
of focusing her camera.

We were amazed at the
places the Japanese used
to park their cars.

Another view from the top. Tokyo
Bay is in the distance.

At the bottom of the hill,
we go through a tunnel.

It is starting to get dark.

Macie, like the rest of us, is
wondering how much further.

Another street to turn onto -
notice how narrow it is. Pretty
common for the side streets.

Finally! We are at Zachary's
apartment building.
There is an easier way than this
to get to Zachary's place but this
is the trek he takes everyday to
avoid the traffic and masses.

Pictures of Kamakura

I have made a couple of posts already about the trip to Kamakura - the train ride, visiting the shrine and eating out. Here are a few more pictures that I wanted to post.

Macie in front of the map of
Kamakura. A little intimidating
when the map has no English.

Macie and I before we head into
the shopping district.

It was very surreal walking down
the streets for the first time. So
much to see that you could spend
an hour and only go 50 feet.

When the guide asked if we knew
who this cat was, I said Garfield.
Not Garfield. But a cat that is seen
in front of many shops throughout
Japan. A raised left paw means
welcome people. A raised right paw
means welcome money.

This was a cat seen in front of
noodle making shop. The cats
are found everywhere and come
in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Signs like this are a very common
sight in front of many restaurants.

These lions are often seen in front
of the Shinto gates. Seen throughout
Asia - these are slightly different.
Typically the mouths are closed.
The Japanese lions will have
one mouth open and one closed.
This is symbolic of the Japanese
alphabet whose first sound is
 made with an open mouth and the
last sound made with a closed mouth.

Mona was fascinated by this picture
because of the difference in height
between the guide and myself.

Indiana Jones and the Resutorans of Kamakura

On our trip to Kamakura, we were told to go find a restaurant and enjoy the local cuisine. Eating out for the first time in Japan - sounds easy enough but nothing is simple in Japan. This are so for many reasons for this. One reason is that the language is so different that you cannot use context clues to decipher what is on the menu - so you will often see poster boards and menus with pictures next to each item. Second, the food is so different and the choices are so varied, that it is truly hit or miss when ordering. Third, many of the restaurants have small storefronts that will lead upstairs, downstairs or down a hallway to the actual restaurant. Because of all this and more, as we looked for a place to eat, we felt like Indiana Jones in search of something mysterious and exotic.

The lady in front of the placard
wearing the mask was like a
circus barker trying to lure in
customers. After we told we were
interested, she led us down a
small passageway that led to
the restaurant. 

The restaurant (resutoran) was so
small that Mona said it reminded
her of a dollhouse.

We were lucky that we picked
this restaurant. They listed their
menu items in seven different
languages.

Mona is demonstrating the proper way to
eat Japanese food. You hold the rice bowl
in the left hand while you sample the main
dish using your right hand (not with a fork
like Mona but with chopsticks). She is such
a typical gaijin.

Our first bill in Japanese kanji and
the amount we owed in Yen.

Our first train ride

On Thursday, as part of our orientation, we went to a nearby town called Kamakura. One of the purposes for the trip was for us to learn how to use the Japanese train system. A little intimidating because most everything is in Japanese. And because we are not familiar with all the towns and cities in the area - very important because the trains will have the last stop listed on the trains (not just the stop where you want to get off). For instance, we took the Chiba train to get to Kamakura yet Chiba is actually just a little east of Tokyo about 70 miles away. Same thing when we wanted to go back to Yokosuka - we took the Yurihama train which is a town about 10 miles past Yokosuka. This we had to figure out on our own.

We needed to get money the night
before for the trip. No dollars, only Yen.

That morning, we walked from our lodge
to the orientation. Everyone is excited.

We are taking the bus to the train
station. Macie is excited, Mona is not
as excited.

Japanese school children. The hats
signify which class they are in and were
a common sight.

The map to guide us to our destination.

Our first Japanese train ticket.
It cost 220 Yen.

Macie and I waiting for the train.

I gave Macie girl a hug for good luck.

Once we got on, Macie got a little nervous.
Wish I had taken a picture of Mona.

This is on our way back. Macie is now
an expert on riding the train. At least, until
the next time.

We made it back. Mona can relax now. Actually,
everyone did really well and had a great time.

Our first trip - Kamakura

We made it back from our first trip off base to visit the city of Kurakama. The trip was filled with firsts for us - first time being off base, first time riding on the Japanese railway, first time to a Shinto Shrine, to eating at a Japanese restaurant and to finding our way back to the base on our own. We experienced and learned so much that I will have to break the trip down into several posts. This first post is about the Shinto Shrine we visited in Kamakura.

Macie and I on the steps of
the Hachiman Shrine.

Macie and Mona.

The Hachiman shrine.

Our guide for the tour of the Shrine and
of Kamakura.

Macie is guiding me through the
steps to purify myself before entering
the shrine. I had to use a lot of water.

A candied grape.

Traditional celebration for 3 and 7 year old girls
and 3 and 5 year old boys. Both girls and boys
wear kiminos.

Our guide is telling us about the
first Shogun - a samurai named
Minamoto Yoritomo. 

The 12.4 million number is the number of
visitors to the shrine each year. The 2.5
million is the of number to visit the shrine
 in the first 3 days each new year.. 

Our guide explaining that the shrine was
built by the first Shogun who moved the
capital of Japan to Kamakura.

Your are not supposed to walk on
the center sidewalk - it is reserved
for the gods. Note how many are
walking on it - she said that even
a lot of Japanese are unaware of this.

A gate like the one pictured above wil be seen
before every shrine in Japan. The presence of a gate is how you can tell the difference between a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple.

Notice who is carrying the flag. And
I was hoping not to stand out.

We venture out

Today, we take our first trip off base. As a group we are going to take a train ride to Kamakura - which is about 10 miles from the base. We are going to do some sightseeing in the morning, they are going to give some instructions, we eat lunch on our own and then we have to find our way back to the base. It is going to be interesting. Of course, Mona has describes it a little differently - she uses words like stressed and freaked out.
The leader of our little expedition said that they hadn't lost anyone yet. To make help us make it back, they are giving us a little blue card that says in Japanese "I am from Yokosuka Naval Base. I am lost. Please help." I suggested to Mona that she needs to hang her card around her neck as soon as we leave base.