Last night's adventures included a typhoon that was passing by Japan's East Coast causing intense wind and rain, an earthquake at 2 am, and thunder soon after the earthquake.
The earthquake was off the shores of Japan in the ocean but it registered s a 7.3 magnitude. This is the largest since we arrived. It woke me in the middle of the night, at precisely 2:10 am. Not only was it the largest we have felt but it also lasted the longest. It was close to double in length of the other two quakes. There was a tsunami warning affected at the coast of Japan and a tsunami of about 39 centimeters was reported. When I read this I just pictured a person standing on the coast and stomping on the wave when it came haha
The thunder was fun to listen to. It occurred just a little while after the earthquake and only last a few minutes before it was over. With the trees around us and the fact that I was laying in bed with the shades and rice paper blinds closed I wasn't able to see any lightening.
Hopefully tonight is less eventful...
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
well... umm goodbye
We aren't sure where Marley picked up saying "umm" but he has. Its adorable when he says it though. He'll come in the living room in the morning after returning with Seth and I'll ask him where he went. He looks at me and says "umm kokubunji" or "umm to get a pastry". It sounds so cute coming from a tiny curly red haired boy!
My favorite is when he is talking to Kelly or Seth on the phone. They will say goodbye and he responds with "well, umm goodbye" and then hangs up. Its such a confident goodbye that it sounds so funny coming from him.
My favorite is when he is talking to Kelly or Seth on the phone. They will say goodbye and he responds with "well, umm goodbye" and then hangs up. Its such a confident goodbye that it sounds so funny coming from him.
Typhoon # 2
Typhoon season is in full swing in Japan. We are about to experience our second typhoon since we arrived. This one is not projected to actually hit Japan just near enough to cause extra caution. The rain and wind has begun but only very minimal compared to last typhoon. The typhoon should hit/pass by early tomorrow morning causing mainly rain (and lots of it) tonight and most of tomorrow. Looks like another inside rainy day.
We went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants at Kokubunji today. We ordered a new dish that we thought was going to be udon noodle soup. Or at least we thought. Turns out the picture we thought had udon was actually the stems of mushrooms. So instead of soup we got a bowl of mushrooms, potatoes, and giant chinks of parsnip all in a weird slimy goop. It was not that appealing. It turns out this was a combo dish as well. It also came with a wooden box dish with a lid. Kelly and I looked at each other knowing that anything could be under that lid. We took the top off cautiously. I was relieved when we took the lid off while Kelly felt grossed out haha
In the dish was a bed of rice with some type of meat (or animal) on top. To me they looked like clams and I was good to go. The gooeyness and chewy look made Kelly not so sure. I tried one and it tasted mostly like a clam. I thought it was pretty good actually. Kelly was finally ready to try one and when she picked it up with her chopsticks we noticed hers had an orange thing inside it. It looked like an orange kidney shaped thing.
We went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants at Kokubunji today. We ordered a new dish that we thought was going to be udon noodle soup. Or at least we thought. Turns out the picture we thought had udon was actually the stems of mushrooms. So instead of soup we got a bowl of mushrooms, potatoes, and giant chinks of parsnip all in a weird slimy goop. It was not that appealing. It turns out this was a combo dish as well. It also came with a wooden box dish with a lid. Kelly and I looked at each other knowing that anything could be under that lid. We took the top off cautiously. I was relieved when we took the lid off while Kelly felt grossed out haha
In the dish was a bed of rice with some type of meat (or animal) on top. To me they looked like clams and I was good to go. The gooeyness and chewy look made Kelly not so sure. I tried one and it tasted mostly like a clam. I thought it was pretty good actually. Kelly was finally ready to try one and when she picked it up with her chopsticks we noticed hers had an orange thing inside it. It looked like an orange kidney shaped thing.
She tried it and said it was better than she thought but still wasn't overly excited for it. Seth tried one but said the same. I ended up eating the rest! The rest of the meal was great though! We got the chicken dish we love and then we also got a tofu and spicy sauce dish. It hard to explain what exactly it is but its a sauce with tofu on top. You scope some of the sauce on to your rice and enjoy. It is definitely spicy though so I have to be careful how much I add to my rice!
A picture of the sauce and tofu
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Neighbor
We will be getting our first house guest on Saturday. She will be living in the downstairs apartment for about 3 weeks we think. This is older, in her 60's, and is here to do a series of talks as she moves throughout the country giving speeches. Hopefully she doesn't mind our early morning routines and Marley ringing the doorbell anytime we get home to let the house know we are back!
Kelly, Marley, and I went swimming today. When we first got to Japan he was scared to put his face in the water and wouldn't try anything without holding on tightly to one of us. Today he was like a machine! He would leap from me to Kelly with his head fully in the water and going close to 5-6 feet, at least 1-2 feet all by himself! He kept saying he was a seahorse! Such a success! At least it was until we were leaving and he got his finger closed in the hinge of the door. Opps! Instantly there was a huge indent and it was turning black. Thankfully it wasn't broken and there was no blood. He cried until we put a band-aid on. Thank goodness for magic healing powers of a band-aid!
Kelly, Marley, and I went swimming today. When we first got to Japan he was scared to put his face in the water and wouldn't try anything without holding on tightly to one of us. Today he was like a machine! He would leap from me to Kelly with his head fully in the water and going close to 5-6 feet, at least 1-2 feet all by himself! He kept saying he was a seahorse! Such a success! At least it was until we were leaving and he got his finger closed in the hinge of the door. Opps! Instantly there was a huge indent and it was turning black. Thankfully it wasn't broken and there was no blood. He cried until we put a band-aid on. Thank goodness for magic healing powers of a band-aid!
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| Cute grandma and grandson on a walk |
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| Yummy... bean paste animals! |
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Smoking
I have never seen so many active and healthy elderly people out and about. Every morning and many afternoons there are groups of elderly people doing exercises and stretches all while singing/groaning. Women and men well over the age of 70 pass us on their bicycles everyday. For being such a healthy and health conscious country it amazes me that they have no regard for the idea of second hand smoke.
There are designated areas in largely populated public areas for smoking. This is usually a giant glass box with a few benches and ashtrays inside. With everyone smoking inside and very little ventilation it looks like a hot box from the outside.
Yet no one in this country seems to have anything against smoking in restaurants. Many of the restaurants we have wanted to try had several people smoking and so we would move on to the next. But it ruins your meal when you are sitting down to eat and someone lights up a cigarette at the table next to you. Especially because the space is so small that there is little room to escape.
We went to our favorite Indian restaurant last night. And this time Seth joined us because he didn't have class in Tokyo. He isn't the biggest fan of Indian food but we were very happy when he said he really liked the food! He said its one of the best meals we've had so far!
Anyways, we had just gotten our food when the older couple next to us light their cigarettes. We were disappointed because we had finally found a place we loved! And even more frustrated when we realized they weren't even smoking the cigarettes! they were having a conversation while just holding them! Gahh
There are designated areas in largely populated public areas for smoking. This is usually a giant glass box with a few benches and ashtrays inside. With everyone smoking inside and very little ventilation it looks like a hot box from the outside.
Yet no one in this country seems to have anything against smoking in restaurants. Many of the restaurants we have wanted to try had several people smoking and so we would move on to the next. But it ruins your meal when you are sitting down to eat and someone lights up a cigarette at the table next to you. Especially because the space is so small that there is little room to escape.
We went to our favorite Indian restaurant last night. And this time Seth joined us because he didn't have class in Tokyo. He isn't the biggest fan of Indian food but we were very happy when he said he really liked the food! He said its one of the best meals we've had so far!
Anyways, we had just gotten our food when the older couple next to us light their cigarettes. We were disappointed because we had finally found a place we loved! And even more frustrated when we realized they weren't even smoking the cigarettes! they were having a conversation while just holding them! Gahh
Monday, October 21, 2013
Tokyo Station
Its always interesting when we get closer to Tokyo how things change. The amount of people at the Tokyo train station (which isn't even the busiest train station) is insane. There is barely any room to see signs on the walls or stop to breathe because people are walking in every direction. And this was a Sunday afternoon, I can't even imagine how busy it gets during weekday rush hour. But also the amount of white and English speaking people increases greatly! We no longer feel like we are the only ones in Japan after visiting downtown Tokyo.
Here's a picture of Marley at one of the Tokyo Station signs
Seth and Kelly have been reading the Lonely Plant Japan to get ideas for while they are here. Under dangers there are only two listed. One is the obvious, earthquakes, they have their own section. But the second danger isn't pick pocketing or disease but rather a warning to avoid the train stations at rush hour haha And we do!
Tokyo Sea Life Park
Yesterday was the Kodaira City festival. It was supposed to have vendors, food, mascots, and games for the kids. We first heard about it a few weeks ago and have been excited to explore. Unfortunately yesterday we woke up to a complete downpour of rain. We were hoping the rain was going to lighten up so we could still try it but by mid morning the rain was only getting worse. We decided to ditch the idea of going to an outside festival and go to an aquarium instead. We decided to go to the Tokyo Sea Life Park. We all bundled up in rain gear and gloves and headed to the bus station. One bus, two trains, and two hours later we arrived at the station near the aquarium. After two hours in the train we forgot how badly it was raining. When we got near the doors we realized the rain had almost doubled in amount and intensity as when we left our house. We couldn't see anything around us because the rain/clouds were so thick.
It was a ten minute walk from the station to the aquarium and in that time we all got drenched! The umbrella I was using was broken on one peg. Apparently while walking the material on that peg inched up and water was just dripping straight down my back. By the time we got undercover the back of my coat and butt were completely soaked! Jeans don't dry very fast.
The entrance to the aquarium was a giant glass dome (this is a picture offline because it was too rainy and we were too wet to try and take a picture while walking!)
Overall the aquarium was a lot of fun and we got to see some interesting sea animals. And by the end it was time to go I was finally dry! Just in time to go back out in the rain and head back to the train station haha
It was a ten minute walk from the station to the aquarium and in that time we all got drenched! The umbrella I was using was broken on one peg. Apparently while walking the material on that peg inched up and water was just dripping straight down my back. By the time we got undercover the back of my coat and butt were completely soaked! Jeans don't dry very fast.
The entrance to the aquarium was a giant glass dome (this is a picture offline because it was too rainy and we were too wet to try and take a picture while walking!)
So you enter the dome and here everyone took off their rain gear and dried their umbrella and then headed down the escalator to see the animals.
The idea of an aquarium seemed great for a rainy day, however we forgot to keep in mind MArley's attention span. Within literally 2 minutes he was saying hes ready to go. Thankfully we were able to keep him occupied and interested in the fish to keep moving but we had to do so fast.
Here are some of the pictures I took!
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| This is a lump fish |
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| I think he's my favorite! A leafy Seahorse! |
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| Big bellied Seahorse and a Leafy Seahorse! |
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| This fish buries into the sand to attack its prey |
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| He is huge! |
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| A giant spider crab |
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| Hard to see but its the only octopus that was semi out. Can you see him? |
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| Baby Penguins! |
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| Another hiding octopus. Maybe they know I had some for dinner the other night and they were plotting revenge |
Overall the aquarium was a lot of fun and we got to see some interesting sea animals. And by the end it was time to go I was finally dry! Just in time to go back out in the rain and head back to the train station haha
Of course any day isn't complete without getting lost along the way. We took the train from Tokyo station to Shimbashi were we stayed the first 4 days to visit a toy store. From there it was supposed to be two trains and we'd be home by 5. Transferring from the first train to the second was a fail. We went out the wrong gates and couldn't get to the JR line from where we ended up. We had to go outside and re-enter at a different spot. It was now 5 o'clock, dark, ad raining. We walked around aimlessly for a good 10 minutes before we found a map and a new entrance. However, this station did not have a JR connection so we had to take yet another train in the opposite direction to Shinjuku to then catch the JR Chou. In turn it took us 5 trains and way longer than it should have but we made it home!
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