Photos by DJ

Candy, Carfts and Corners

Time for a little update and catch-up.  Aren't I always trying to catch-up?  I have three photos to share today from this week. 

 

This was taken near the Kanazawa Hakei station.  It's actually the corner of a building.  Hubby was able to position himself well and zoom in.

 

I don't have a model the right size for this, but I finished my first hat this week!  I used circular needles and this was actually quite easy.  I'm very happy with how it turned out. Not sure what my next project will be, but I'd like to try making socks--my knitting group assures me they're very easy.

 

A new pack of kit-kats!  We got these in Tokyo last week.  Espresso Coffee.  Haven't tried them yet, but our friends said they were very good.  We've actually not had a kit kat we haven't liked.

Shibuya

We went into to Tokyo yesterday for a fun-filled day.  Our stop this time was Shibyua and a new one for us.  Shibyua is like the "Times Square" of Tokyo and was a lot of fun despite the crowds.  We went during commute time though which was a big mistake, but at least we were in town early.  We have gotten used to the crowds here and so long as you don't have to squeeze your way on to the trains, it's not that bad.

 

Shibuya has a famous resident, Hachiko.  He's a bronze statue outside the station of an Akita and has quite a story behind him.  Apparently Richard Gere is doing a re-make of the story.  I didn't know he had such a passion for things Japanese, but this will be his second Japanese re-make.  Did you ever see Shall We Dance?  We actually saw the original in Italy long ago and prefer the Japanese version to the American, but it was still a good movie.

 

Getting off the commuter express from Yokohama to Shibuya.

 

Before

 

During, not so bad!

Kit Kats

I know I've posted before about the abundance of Kit Kat varieties we can get here in Japan.  This weekend, Dale found a new one, the 150th Anniversary of Yokohama edition.  We didn't know what flavor they were until after we tried, but that didn't stop us.  It was very good too!  We found out that they're caramel and salt.  Not exactly two flavors I'd put together, but the Japanese aren't afraid of putting any flavor out there.  A friend of mine recently posted about some interesting ones on her blog: Dollars to Yen.  This is actually great blog, by the way, she gets out and does a lot!

Note to Self. . .

 

If I arrive at our little train station and there are more than the dozen or so people waiting, and the train already arrives full, it's probably not a good idea to try to go into Tokyo.  I was crazy though and got on and it took me THREE hours to make it my destination, the Japan Hobby Show.

 

I suppose the good thing about arriving as late as I did, was that I didn't have to wait in the long admission lines.  So there was a plus.  The show was very nice.  ALL kinds of crafts and hand's on activities.  I got a few new ink pads, and in the end, I was glad I went for it.  Although, considering it only took me an hour to get back home, it was a rather crazy day.

The Japanese Love Their Pets

Today we went out and explored, stopping at a near-by mall.  We knew there was a Lego store there, but weren't sure what else to expect.  It was surprising at how "western" the mall was.  We have gotten used to how much the Japanese love their pets and how much they like to have them with them.  They take their dogs everywhere.  We had heard about the pet stores at the mall, but what we saw really took us by surprise.  The magnatude to their obsession is crazy.

 

  

These little guys were parked outside the pet store.  Not just any pet store, but  one to the extreme specializing in EVERYTHING you could imagine--and sometimes not quite imagine--for your dog or cat.  There were clothes, jewlery, food.  You name it!

  

  

Awhile ago, while still in Korea, we caught a show on Animal Planet about the pet obsession in Japan.  One of their features was on the gourmet food that one can purchase for your pet.  These pets are so pampered that regular dog food just won't cut it.  The "snack" bar was located in the middle of the store.

 

  

If you look closely, you'll see that they have included the caloric intake of the treats as well.  Sorry it's a bit blurry, but I don't like taking pictures in stores.

We spent a lot of time exploring the store.  The boys really enjoyed it and especially had fun looking in the toy section.  I guess the scary thing was that this wasn't the only pampered pet store in the mall, there were at least two more!

  

This store had more licensed items.  Lots of Snoopy, Disney, Peter Rabbit. Do you need a Peter Rabbit raincoat with matching carrier for your pooch?

After enjoying some Cold Stone ice cream, mmmmmm. We explored the rest of the mall and came to a specialty food store that had EVERYTHING imaginable from just about anywhere.  It was really funny to see Old El Paso taco shells right there next to the Spam and Candadian Maple Syrup.  What really caught our eye though was the pasta section.  It had our favorite Italian Pasta and right beside it, Kraft Mac and Cheese!  However, the $10 can of Kraft Paramesan was amusing.  It's always fun to compare prices of everyday American products that we can get and what they cost out in town.  Philly Cream Cheese was almost $5!

  

(I took this from well outside the store.)

Finally, we were left with Garlic Joe's eatery and some interesting pizza.

 

Not too sure about this one. 

 

Kamakura, Take 2

Today we took advantage or our day off and went as a family to Kamakura.  This was our first trip back since that crazy trip last year in unbearable heat, humidity and pouring rain.  What a difference!  The cherry blossoms have definitely peaked and it doesn't look like they'll be around much longer.  We could really see the difference just since our little expedition on Friday.  We got an early start hoping to beat the crowds and had plenty of wonderful sites all to ourselves.  Unlike Friday when it was all Japanese tourists, today the Europeans and Australians were out and about. 

We went first to the Great Buddha, one of my favorite landmarks.  GORGEOUS!

 

  

My husband noticed this roof tile.

From here, we walked back down the street to the Hasedera Temple.  This has got to be one of the most beautiful, peaceful places, especially when not very crowded.

 

  

  

When I think of the cherry blossoms, I think of these above.  The light pink creating clouds of blossoms.  However, there are many varieties and quite the range of colors.

  

After a quick lunch at the golden arches--have to keep the kids happy--we headed down the Dankazura, the main street in Kamakura, to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. 

  

  

  

The ponds and streets are becoming quite littered in blossom snow.

I like to play with my pictures in Photoshop, and had fun with this one using a plug-in.

   

 

Hanami

Hanami is flower viewing time in Japan, particularly those of the cherry blossoms.  In just the last week, the trees have exploded here and yesterday I took advantage of it with a trip to Kamakura, one of my favorite cities.  The trees were just beautiful and we were so happy with the clear skies and warm weather too.  I'm hoping with it being spring break now, we can go back later in the week and see even more of the beauty.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Life Meets National Geographic

My family has always subscribed to National Geographic and I remember how exciting it was to look at all the cool pictures from all over the world, and how far away all those places were.  I am always amazed at how much we've seen over the years and how many of those "National Geographic moments" we've been able to experience, especially my little guy who isn't even five yet!  World capitals, foreign treasures, fun tourist spots.  Yesterday was one such day, we went to Nagano to see the snow monkeys.  This was one article that I remember seeing when I was younger.  How amazing it would be to go myself.  Now I have!

We got an early start to the day; our bus picked us up at 4:15 AM.  The trip was long, but lots of fun.  Despite keeping track of the weather forecast the past few days and feeling good about it being warm and sunny, we were surprised with a snow storm.  This was actually to our advantage I suppose in that the mountains were beautiful!  It also made for a very wet walk--at least we were prepared with extra clothes and shoes.  The walk to the monkeys was nearly an hour and the boys had a great time in the snow.  We were all very much surprised when we turned a corner, and there they were.  The boys were surprised that there were no fences and the monkeys were just walking around.  The three of us took a ton of pictures and had a National Geographic Moment.  Although being there lost some of the magic and mystery of the magazine, it was still a lot of fun.

 

  

  

  

The spring where many of the monkeys bathed.

  

  

  

 

Out on the Town

When I did my photo today, I didn't think about the photo I took yesterday.  My son has gained a new interest in creature features: Godzilla, Ray Harryhausen, Ultraman.  Being here in Japan, he's been able to find all kinds of creatures in the local stores.  His first though, was Godzilla, that he bought when we vacationed here last year.  It was laying on the floor, so I decided to shoot it:

 

I say I didn't think of yesterday's photo, because last night we were in Tokyo.  I snapped this picture through the window of the Shimbashi station, looking over towards Ginza--at least that's I assumed what I was looking at considering the signs. The window had some stripping in it so it was like shooting through a fence.

 

 The last time he was in Tokyo with Daddy, our little guy saw a clock tower that looked like the same that was in the Godzilla movie and on one of the commercials here.  He was so excited.  They forgot to get a picture of it though, maybe next time.  We seem to go into Tokyo a lot, it's a fun adventure.

We had scouts again on Wednesday.  The boys play games before each meeting and at this one, they played Twister.  Who knew a game that we used to play at kids, could still be so popular.

 

Finally, I'm still amazed at the amount of floral life that is still alive here, even in the dead of winter.  These cabbage plants, for lack of better description, are all over and in various shades going from a nice cream to a deep purple.  I was out with my macro lens, and tried to snap these ones with the water droplets.  It's hand-held so not as good as it should have been.  I need to get over to the school this weekend with the tripod and do a better job.

 

 

 

Beautiful View

The blog is Photos by DJ.  Today I'm submitting some photos by the "D" half of the blog.  Hubby went out for a bike ride to the neighboring city and was surprised by the view he found there.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous today after a rain storm earlier in the weekend.  With the wind blowing too, it's as clear as can be and was greeted with this site at the beach:

 

It's hard to believe that Mt. Fuji is that close and that big.  Wow!