Kimono Week and a few of the people I love here.

So, I have been lucky enough to wear a kimono three times since Christmas.  Our dear friend, Shiroko Aoyagi has dressed me (and others) in her beautiful kimonos and treated us to Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), koto playing, tea ceremony and Kabuki.  She just loves sharing her culture and making sure we are as UNcomfortable as we can be.  As she cinches us up in those gorgeous things, she scolds (in her best English--which is darling), "No bress, no bress!"  After you see the photos, you may think she said what I thought she said as we all seemed to lose our curves, but the truth of the matter is that after watching Kabuki for four straight hours and finally being released from the obi allowing us to breathe, she really meant, "no breath!" Here is our wonderful Shiroko!  The smile never leaves her face and it is a special pleasure for her to make us her life sized Barbies.  The beauty in pink is Rosalie Ringwood, my wonderful neighbor.  

Shiroko not only planned a day of culture at her home, but she fed us as well.  There was so much food and so little stomach room or lung room, but we did our best to enjoy it.  She first brought out the lacquer ware lunch plates with so many delicious treats, then came the tempura.  She told us there is a saying in Japan--One never starts cooking tempura until they see the whites of their guests eyes.  

She obliged three of her friends to come and help with the fun/torture by teaching us to play the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument.  One of the dear souls was Kinoshita san whom I remember when I was a missionary here.  The other two ladies either showed us the tea ceremony (we drank seaweed tea, I wouldn't recommend it) or helped us learn ikebana.  Carey Aalders was gorgeous in pink and played beautifully! The dear sister who taught us could not have been more than 80 pounds and wears kimonos ALL THE TIME!  She says she cannot find clothes small enough for her and is too old to wear what might fit her as well as middle school girls.

Below are the four of us near the tea ceremony tools.  We could only sezu (sit like we are) for the length of time it took to grab a photo.  The beautiful woman in navy is Carol Chandler, an indispensable soul in the office, my husband's administrative assistant.  The Aoyagis have a traditional Japanese home, mostly with tatami (rice) mats on the floor and shoji doors.

Lastly, we learned Japanese flower arranging.

This is Emi (below), Elder Aoyagi's administrative assistant and about the dearest person there is. We love her.  Her English is perfect and she plays the piano and makes everyone happy with her smile.

We loved spending the day with the Aoyagis.  A week later, Shiroko had planned to take Rosalie and I to Kabuki (traditional Japanese theater) and insisted we wear kimonos again. This time we rode the trains in them and there were plenty of smiles.  It felt like they were really thrilled to see two Americans in traditional Japanese wear and we heard more than once, "O niai desu ne!"  Meaning--it really suits you.

The theater is in Ginza and was a remarkable building.  This is what it looks like from the outside, and...

this is the stage.  Wow! This was painted silk and there was not one, but four scenes.

We were not allowed to take photos during the play, so I added the bottom two from Bing images.

I can't begin to describe how beautiful it was, elaborate scenes, one with snow falling.  All men actors, and has its origins in the 1600s.  It was funny, it was action packed.  This is the only photo we took during intermission.

Our footwear for the day, painfully too small, but oh so pretty. We were expected to turn our toes in the whole time.

To end this entry, a not-so-Japanesey wedding.  This dear girl is another admin assistant in the office, Yayoi (Tonami) Iwanami.  She was married last week in the Tokyo Temple.  We loved going to her reception.  Yayoi is a treasured friend and we were so happy she married such a dear man.  Every bit of their reception spoke of their unselfishness and sense of fun.  Something we have never seen--Masaki, the groom, fed his bride the cake from a spoon.  Then two spoons were presented to the guests for Yayoi to feed her groom.  Guess which one we all chose!  

And just so you know, here is a traditional wedding kimono…

Indy and Emma, below and Julie and Phil Welch below below, four more of our beloved friends. 

So, we were foreigners dressed in traditional Japanese clothes and the Japanese were in traditional western wedding attire.  It was a fun and busy week.

Christmas in Tokyo

The Sunday before Christmas, we received a distressing call--Camille and Abby were stuck in Seattle, missing their connecting flight.  It was still at the gate, but doors were closed, no one allowed--you know, security and all.  How frustrating for them to watch it for a full hour and a half and not be able to do anything!  We redeemed the extra day on the end of the trip, though, demanding their return flight be changed.  So…we had to get straight to business once they were here.  You don't have to imagine the happiness of the youngest, being reunited with two older sisters--you can see it on her face below.  Plus, she got to show her mean training (yes, in English speaking Tokyo, train becomes a verb) skills.

My happy face that at least some of our family is together.  Don't know the lady who is obviously sick AND photo bombed our picture.  One man, while we were "training" was shocked that we had three children and about had a heart attack when we told him two were missing.  I guess when you are blonde in Tokyo you attract a lot of attention.  Just ask Emma how often that happens.

First day, Asakuka.  

Had to do the first of "Life imitates art" photos.  Sorry for the blur--either my i-phone or my photography skill--probably the latter.  We found some awesome umbrellas that were functional and pretty--so Japanesey underneath and a pattern of cherry blossoms show when they get wet.

And of course, Asakusa wouldn't be complete without dango.  Camille and Abby figured out why all these years we bought Mochi at Daiei in Kailua and toasted it with shoyu.  They are in love and joined us in our quest for the perfect soy sauce roasted pounded rice balls.

A perfectly crafted day to Asakusa wouldn't be complete without a trip to Skytree--except it wasn't perfect.  Where was the jumbo deluxe Christmas village everyone talked about?  I couldn't live that one down and it failed like our visit to Shinjuku--pictures NOT included.

At least the structure is impressive.  So much for bringing Christmas into the holiday.  Scott and Camille stopped in Ginza for THE most incredible waffles for Christmas breakfast, a must if you plan to come visit--in fact plan your whole trip on this post.  Then we met up at Roppongi at (Hawaii friends, please take note) ドん(my keyboard won't do the right "n") キホテ!  You read that right, Don Quiote!  This is the equivalent of the ABC store in Waikiki except with all sorts of kitsch  for the seeker-of-Japanese souvenir stuff. And just look at the treasures we found!  

 Roppongi had some amazing decorations and lights, but no Christ anywhere, not sure why I expected differently, just hoped.

Day two just happened to be Christmas!  Our day started the way I wish it could start everyday--a Skype call with our favorite missionary serving in Santiago, Chile.  What a happy boy, loves his mission, his companion, the members, etc., etc.  The day would have been complete just visiting with him, hearing his adventures.  Love this boy, uh…man.

After drying our tears that our hour was up... we opened presents. Abby has got the whole Japanese girl pose thing down.  Not sure what Emma is proposing…ready to heft an omikoshi down the street, I guess.

So what do you do on Christmas day to honor Christ?  You visit the iconic Buddha in Kamakura, of course.  You people know I really didn't mean that, right?  But, when Delta has stripped you of a day with your daughters, you compact and regroup and just feel grateful you are with family for this most special of days.  We are sorely missing Joe, Kate and Ammon and our little grand babies at this point.  And our soon-to-be member, Casey.  Camille, I know this is a sentence fragment, don't judge, it just sounded better when I said it in my head than it looks on my post.

Truly our favorite day!  

Inside the statue.  

All three figured out the standard pose.  Driving home, we got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji--just gorgeous.

Day three--Nikko!  My sisters and I have a similar photo from over thirty years ago.  Yes, my family came to pick me up from my mission.  Fun thing, I talked to my parents FaceTime while driving up to Nikko.  Wish they could have come again with us this time!  I got to show them the town we rode through years and years ago.  They didn't remember.  However, the structures at Nikko are hard to forget--just amazing.  See earlier post for more information on Nikko--the resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the most important Shogun from Japanese history.

Have to do the obvious!  How true to life this picture is..or is it?

Yes, another "life imitates art" photo, I couldn't help it.

We took a drive up to Kegon Falls.  This time we saw the lake.  The falls were shrouded in fog the last time we were here with the Ringwoods, but this time--they were mostly ice-covered.  Gorgeous either way.  We found this ice cave--man made, of course, but there was a smaller one next to it--a sign said, "Is this where pigs sleep?"

Gorgeous falls!  And as an added bonus, there were monkeys wandering around the village.  We got within a yard of three, one was a baby.  What a thrill!  I think the weather forced them into the town from the mountains.  

Day four at the Aoyagi's home in Chiba.  He is the first counselor in the Area Presidency and my goodness, they really are two of the dearest people we know!  Shiroko dressed the girls in her own kimonos, me too. It took hours, no kidding.  Never mind that none of us could breathe, nor had any curves to speak of, but that is beside the point.  They made us sukiyaki, gyoza, tempura and sushi all in one sitting!  We had to eat while not breathing while wearing kimonos--part of the cultural experience, she said.  Fun, fun day!

I don't know what day this was, they are starting to merge one into the other, but we saw a lot of things at night.  Shibuya, Odaiba, etc.  All of it wonderful, but my two non-fish eating girls were disturbed by this poster of sushi.  Comes in handy when ordering.  Our "sushi is my favorite food" Emma refused to participate in this blasphemous photo.

Below, evening shot from Odaiba.  Girls loved this place, as do I.  See Tokyo Tower?  We live just east of that.  This is our City!  This is our home.  This photo does not even do it justice, it goes on forever.

Last day was at Disney Sea.  Honestly, the best Disney experience we have had.  Thanks to the girls for convincing us to do it.  It was on New Year's Eve and we had a great time.  The park closed at 6:00 p.m., only to reopen (and charge a ticket again, clever marketing) at 8:00.  They know how to do it.  We were tired and went home.  It was dead in our part.  Everyone was either at Disney or at the neighborhood temples.  We were in our beds.

Loved, loved having Camille and Abby here with us!  Stay tuned for a movie Camille is making to show the world their trip.  Hurry up, Camille!  

Christmas is different here.  I didn't see one depiction of Christ anywhere except at church and in our home.  We have wonderful creches from all over and this year I got to add two from Japan.  For all you who might be wondering if Jesus is white--I have news, no He isn't.  He is actually Jewish.  But this year baby Jesus was Japanese.  It made me happy to celebrate His birth with three of my four favorite daughters.  Love you guys.

How my driving is (absolutely) different than yours.

Japanese license obtained, legality confirmed and experience had--to Costco.  It was terrifying and this is why…

1.  The navi speaks Japanese.  Okay, it speaks English too, but we have to program it using only Japanese, so it has taken some time to learn, but it accepts phone numbers as a destination!  Do navigators in America do that?!  It also tells me where there are traffic jams, which seem to happen a lot, because…

2. There are usually only two lanes on the freeway and no shoulder!  And…

3. We not only drive on the left (wrong) side of the road, but the driver drives from what we know as the passenger side.  Okay, this isn't news for anybody, but it sure is hard to make that switch in your head and to recalibrate.  Scott spent the whole drive as a passenger uncomfortably leaning to the right, which signaled to me I was too close on the left.  I thought I was as far right as I could go. There is no wiggle room.

4.  Our van is ultra skinny as are most other cars and trucks on the road…thank Heavens!

5.  Bikers have either no rules, or they don't follow the rules outlined for them.  Honestly, they scare me to death.  On the freeway, they go in the middle of lanes, they weave, they go on the non-shoulder which looks to be about six inches.  On surface roads, they creep up to the side of you as you are making a left turn (from the far left lane--remember, we are opposite here) and about scare you to death as roads are so narrow in the first place.  There is no second place.

6.  The road signs in Tokyo are in Japanese AND English, whew!

7.  Oftentimes there are surface roads under the freeways and the navi doesn't know that and cannot fix its directions until you pull away from such a road.

Other observations:

They have great names for their cars.  Case in point below.  Look to the right of the license plate under "Hybrid".  What?   She's what?  I could understand if it was "Hers".  Our van is an El Grande--heh, heh.

There is this cool little sensor on our van which beeps when objects are too close, which happens quite often.  A person can walk by, a bike ride by and touch it off.  It comes in handy when it is time to park as more often than not you are expected to back in.  See the little blue light on the left just above the dashboard?  It retracts completely when parked.

Speaking of parking, there are always one or two attendants to help you back in as the parking spaces are as narrow as the roads, in relative terms.  Great job, parking, dear husband.  Don't even get me started on our driveway (narrow, yes, and steep) and we do have to back in.

We drove once for almost twenty minutes before we felt like we were out of the city proper--it is that huge!  It is after all the biggest city in the world, which makes a navi essential.  As long as I see three different landmarks, I know I am close to home and I know I can figure it out without help--Tokyo tower, Mori tower and this building in Shinjuku which looks like it is the Empire State building, Asian style (bottom picture).

Imagine living this close to the freeway!  There are apartment buildings within yards, or should I say meters of the guardrail, and remember, there is no shoulder to speak of.

Getting a license was a month-long odyssey in itself.  We had to take a whole day filling out papers, taking a written test…wait, I am whining.  Anyway, I passed the driving test on the first try..only because the foreigner testing before me did such a bad job.  I think the tester just wanted to feel accomplished for the day.  Anyhow, we are free to go anywhere and Tokyo looks a lot different from the road than it does from the subway.  We love it here!