Pretending to be locked out of the tower.
We then waited for the electrical light parade while we ate dinner (Pizza, Hawaiian Loco Moco, Chicken Curry and Hot Chocolate) and waited another 90 minutes or so while freezing and taking pictures of ourselves, most too goofy to post. The parade is different in Japan, it used to be the same as the US, but now they use new floats, same music though.
We then waded through the crowd to the Whinnie the Pooh ride, it's similar to the old rides like Pinnochio and Peter Pan but with new technology. Even at the end of the day the ride still had a 90 minute wait. Every 5 minutes or so in the ride, bee hives around it light up and bees sing and the scent of honey is sprayed in the air so it smells really nice. The ride entrance has a big book next to it, and as you go through the line you walk Pooh's house and then through the pages of the book until you get on the honey pot ride cars.
By the time we finished with that ride the park was closing, so we headed out and took one last picture.
Overall we had a great time. Matt thought Tokyo Disneyland was really clean and neat, but he felt the rides were too close while other areas were too open so the sense of scale made seemed smaller than the one in the US other than the castle. Although Yuka and I think Tokyo Disneyland is bigger.
The next day on New Years eve we woke up late and had to run to the train station to make it to Shinjuku in time to see a movie. It was a documentary my sisters and I wanted to see called Broadway Broadway, an english film about A Chorus Line's audition process for the 2006 revival. Then we went looking through Bic Camera the big technology store for Matt.
They had a lot of stuff not available in the US, like some TVs and they had dozens of high end Blu-Ray players that have write capabilities and hard drives for an all-in-one Tivo/Blu-Ray player and burner. It was all expensive though and Matt didn't want to buy anything, just look.
We then went to eat some sushi at a kaitenzushi-style place where the plates of sushi rotate on a conveyor belt around the bar and you pick up any plate you want, a dollar a plate, which is usually 2 pieces of sushi. We sat next to a foreign couple, Matt thinks they were German or something and on the other side was another foreign lady. Yuka thought it was funny when looking at me and seeing the people behind me, she felt like we weren't in Japan.
We then went home and waited for midnight while watching the footage on TV and eating. In Japan they have a famous male vs female singing competition leading up to about 11:45 that we watched. The men won this year. Then they show a ceremony at a temple where they ring a bell and then at midnight they allow people into the temple for prayers. Very quiet event unlike in the US with the fireworks and parties. Then we ate soba and had a sake toast which is a Japanese tradition which signifies having a long life and good year as well as offer the food to the shinto gods and to deceased ancestors.
We then went to sleep until 3am and then woke and left for Kamakura to
Hachimangu temple for getting the blessing from the monks which is our family tradition. The whole town was closed to vehicles, so we had to park around 5am by the coastal resort area and walk a few miles to the temple in the frigid cold and dark. Here's the street leading up the the gate of the temple lined with lanterns. They made the road narrow as it gets closer to the gate so from afar looking down it makes the road seem a lot longer than it really is, and the temple larger.
It was still dark when we got into the temple
We went into the temple and waited as a family for our name to be called. It took about 45 minutes to be called, and we went to receive the blessing, which took about 15 minutes. Our legs fell asleep from the kneeling and sitting, when we got out it was already light out and the crowd was much larger. We then went inside the cafe and had amazake, or hot sweet sake and hot cocoa for Matt. Then took some pictures.
We left the temple and ate some takoyaki (octopus cooked in batter about the size of golf ball with sauce and fish flakes on top) a vendor was selling near the entrance, and then went back into the shopping district of Kamaura.
The street next to the row of lanterns
A shop selling hand-made wooden toys with a New Years decoration over the door.
A famous Kamakura rice cake shop. So many types and flavors.
Down this street of shops we found a shop that sells Studio Ghibli animation merchandise. Matt bought some Totoro figures that when next to one another make an animation. There are 18 total but he only got 3.
We then went home and slept most of the day and got up to have New Years dinner where each piece has a special new years meaning. I can't remember what though. There was shrimp, potato, egg salad, fish cakes, maroons, black beans, sea weed, sweet egg cakes, shumai from my uncle's brother, maguro tuna, and more.
The next day we woke up and watched the first half of the
Ekiden race, a 2 day college relay race where 10 runners (5 each day) for each team race on foot about 19-23 km each for over 100km a day. An international student from Kenya really stole the show that day, gaining a 2:33 lead over the 2nd place person, but that lead was quickly lost by the next 2 team members. We then went to the shopping mall and I had Matt try Mister Donut for the first time, he had a chocolate donut with hardened chocolate on it with cream filling, kind of like an oreo, but less sweet. Then we went treated my family to the hot springs and my dad to a massage. They all really enjoyed it and appreciated it.
On the 3rd we saw the 2nd half of the race, and Toyo University won. Matt and I went with my dad to the auto shop to get a new battery for the Smart Car my family has and then to the grocery store to get my dad some shoe polish.
On the 4th we went to Tachikawa to get my name changed on my passport, but couldn't due to us having the wrong paper so we met up with Akiyo and went shopping and had tea and cake. Mine was Chocolate banana and Matt's was tangerine, orange, chocolate and cream.
We stayed around the house the next day, I went with my mom to the city hall to get the right paper for my passport and Matt watched TV and learned Hiragana, one of our written alphabets.
On the 6th we went back to Tachikawa and had lunch with my mom and Yuka before they went to work, and got the passport changed and Matt and I had some parfait for lunch.
The little strawberry one was sooo good, the bigger one was really good too, but instead of puffed pastry like the little one, it had corn flakes.
On the 8th we met up with Akiyo and her boyfriend Dai-kun for some ramen in Kichijoji and then went and played darts and pool at a game hall. Matt was really good at both, but I won the first game of darts, Akiyo the 2nd and Matt the 3rd. In pool we played 8-ball and Matt and I won the first game, Matt did all the work, but I had the last turn and knocked in the 8-ball for the win. Then Matt beat Dai-kun in their 1 on 1 game, and then Akiyo and Dai-kun beat Matt and I in the final game. Then we walked to a crepe stand and had sat down and talked while we ate the crepes, and then went shopping and found a new teapot for my mom, hers broke a few days before when Yuka poured boiling water in it, the glass must have been too cold before the heat hit it and the change in temp cracked it.
Then we went to an Izakaya which is like an underground bar where they serve a lot of small dishes of food for cheap. A lot of business men go to them to socialize after work. We went there to talk and eat. I had a guava sour which was yummy while Matt had his usual Fanta melon soda, he likes it's taste, green color and that it's not available in the US so he had it quite a bit this trip.
On the 9th we went over to Akiyo's childhood friend's house for a tea ceremony. Matt's never been to one and I wanted to show him, but they're hard to attend but Midori's mom knew how to do it and invited us over. Akiyo and I wore kimono, mine was my grandma's old one. It was raining that day so we quickly shuffled a few blocks to their house. There Sato-san dressed Matt
in a men's kimono she had. And she and Midori walked us through the ceremony. Matt was surprised at how many formalities it had, he though only the server does them, but both the server and those drinking and eating the sweets have certain things they must do. Matt was a quick learner though and we all thought he was cute. Sarah, was also there, she's Yuka's age and our parents know one another and she came to the US a few years ago to study theater at CSU Long Beach. She stayed with me in Fullerton for about a month before getting a place of her own in Long Beach so Matt knew her already, she's half so her English and Japanese are both really good so she helped me translate for Matt.
The food served to each of us. Really sticky mochi-like rice on the bottom left, potato salad, sweet beans, fish, octopus, seaweed, pineapple, and soup.
Midori serving us the food.
Matt takes a turn making the tea after the ceremony is over. It was for me, and he used too much tea powder so it was really bitter. He did a good job though.
Here Sato-san with her grandson playing in the background teaches me how to pour the water for the tea.
Matt, Me, Sarah, and Akiyo
Thank you for teaching us!
For our final night in Japan my mom made a big dinner with yakiniku and hot dogs, and Akiyo made a big dish of sushi rice with salmon and tuna sushi on it.
We spent much more time at home on this trip than on others due to the new year holiday and my parents being home. It was nice not running all over the place and being able to help my mom around the house a little. Matt and I will really miss it, but also are glad to be home where it's much warmer.
マットは私が起きたときは、窓も開けないでゲームをしていて、イライラしたけど、（こんなに天気がいいのにもったいない！）窓を開けて一緒に朝ごはんを食べて（フレンチトースト！）マットはアニメーションを。私はアニメーションをやるべきなのだけれど、やる気な～い、、、、ので、天気がいいので、近くのコーヒーショップまで歩いて来ました。（散歩もかねてね）
近くにあるコーヒーショップは紅茶とコーヒーの専門店。ライトモカ＾＾
私はマットみたいに”家にいるのが大好き！”みたいにはなれない。時には”Ｉ ｎｅｅｄ ｔｏ ｇｅｔ ｏｕｔ～！” めぐと同じように、大学の時も家で勉強するよりは、スタバで勉強したり、本屋さんにいったりするほうがなぜかはかどる。家にいると、なんかよけいイライラしてしまって。ということで、マットを置いて私は一人でコーヒーショップでパソコンと向かってます。
