There is nothing to eat, only expensive ingredients to make...what exactly?!

So, let's go grocery shopping in Tokyo.  No driver's license just yet, so we have to stay close by--places we can walk, bike or train to.  And, since we walk, bike or train, we can only carry so much, creating an every other day shopping need.  Okay, I already mentioned there is a Costco, but that is for another post.

Let's visit National Azabu, the closest and most expensive one with plenty of foreign choices.  The yen/dollar rate is always changing, but most recently it hovers around 100 yen to $1, so any photos you see, just make the conversion.

Meat/fish department:

Tako anyone?  Such a wide selection.  I won't even show the beef or pork, it is too expensive.  No turkey (except at Costco), plenty of chicken and lots of other very fresh fish. 

For those of you who don't live in Hawaii or have never visited Japan, kamaboko is a fishcake--white  fish parts chopped, processed and steamed.  Think imitation crab except nastier tasting.  It is then cut into slices to place on top of ramen. It is usually pink and white, but look at this gorgeous kamaboko I found!  Yes, it is Pikachu kamaboko ready to be sliced and garnished.

We love, love, love Japanese food, but we also crave our American/Hawaiian stuff.  Luckily National Azabu has a lot of it.  You can buy about a cup of sour cream for $4!  I just had to have some recently for soup I was making.  I refused to pay as I needed two cups.  So...I googled "how to make sour cream" and saved myself almost $8.  You have to be resourceful here.  And yes, you too can make sour cream! Just plan ahead, it takes 72 hours.

They have fabulous yogurt here, but I had to train myself to love plain yogurt over Greek style as it is waaaay too expensive.  

You read that right, $29 for a quart of Fage Greek style yogurt.

Another bargain..cake mix for almost $8.  Emma had to make me one for my birthday--wow.  Just our luck, Japanese directions were pasted on the back, covering the English ones.

Produce should be reasonable, right?  Depends.  Sendai was considered the place to get most of Tokyo's vegetables, but since the tsunami/quake/nuclear power plant melt down, people here are too worried about radiation, so we spend most of our money on fruits.  For example:

Almost $10 for a quarter or less of a watermelon.  Okay, melons have always been expensive here.  We saw one in a crate, bedding in straw for nearly $100.  I splurged once and ate every bit.  Peaches (below) for just over $3 for 2.  My parents and sisters have peach trees in Utah--they GIVE them away.

There is always Frosted Flakes, regular or waffle flavored.  But you have to ask for Corn Frosties.

And who could live without Creap?

True story.  I bought Organic Arugula from Costco last week to make salads.  I washed it, spun it, left it in the fridge for a few hours.  Later when we went to eat it, I almost put a spoonful of bee in my mouth.  Can you see it?  I don't know how it survived, but it was definitely moving.  So glad I spied it before I ingested it.

Now for the fabulous food--Tempura, Ramen, Curry Rice, Mabodofu, etc., etc., etc.

Scott introduced Emma to Yakidango--mochi balls (pounded rice balls) coated with teriyaki-like sauce and roasted.  Yum!  They found some as big as golf balls in Nikko.

  

Oishii!  So, I have learned to just bite the bullet so to speak and just buy what needs to be bought so we don't starve.  I am sure we won't.

Why we are really here.

I was torn about what to write, after all the action never stops.  I have so many ideas of how to present this wonderful country.  Life is so different now in Tokyo for us than the other two times we have lived here.  The first time as missionaries, we were so busy and had little resources.  It wasn't our job to be tourists and discover this area, it was all about the work.  When Scott and I came back 28 years ago, we  had one little daughter and were expecting another.  We just didn't have the resources at all to wander and have fun.

I have been going to many places since moving here 6 weeks ago and I will share pictures of one we visited yesterday, but in part it is my job now to discover Japan---for my daughter's sake.  It is such a thrill to show her places I have been, places I haven't been and teach her things I already know--how to navigate the train system here, how to write in Japanese.  But before I do that, let me tell you why we are here.

We are here to represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  My husband has the greater part of that and he is so busy and happy.  He has stepped up his Japanese and tries so hard to teach hours upon hours in a foreign language.  He studies, he prepares and he goes.  I am so proud of him.  I get to travel with him a lot and I try as well to say what I can in Japanese and turn to a translator when my language isn't enough.  I am so grateful to be here.  I love the people, I love my neighbors, I love my family.

I have been trying to reconnect with people I knew long ago.  In some cases it is going to be harder than others.  Here is a lucky and happy reconnection.  Maybe soon I will get to see his parents.

This is Elder Matsuhashi, serving in Sapporo.  My husband got to meet him last weekend and what a thrill!  I met his mom when I was a missionary up in Nagano 30 years ago and my companion and I taught her the gospel.  She joined the church, went on a mission herself and it was my blessing to be in Tokyo when she married in the Tokyo temple.  Twenty six years later...this.  Does it get happier?  

Scott got to meet a man he taught that long ago as well.  We love his family, his darling wife and daughters and we get to see them regularly.  His name is Brother Tomioka and he has been a bishop (sorry, no photo).

See the man in the middle?  He is the Tokyo South mission president.  I knew him when he was sixteen years old, again when I was a missionary.  I didn't find him, but got the chance over and over for 5 months to teach him and his family. We love him and his dear wife and the people who flank him.  His boys have welcomed Emma and made her their best friends. I never would have guessed all those years ago that I would be back under these circumstances and be near those people I loved so long ago.  I am still trying to find so many whom I love.  Wish me luck.

That being said, here are some photos of our trip to Nikko yesterday with the Ringwoods.  They are the best neighbors and their son Spencer has also been so kind to Emma.  I can't ask for better friends, Japanese and American, although I know I have them in Hawaii and Utah and all over, for that matter.

This is Nikko, a place to honor Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is entombed here.  There are structures here built in 600 AD!  There was major refurbishing going on, but you get the idea--fabulous!  There was a carving--Nemuri Neko which is a national treasure--it was so small, story later.  For heaven's sake, isn't the whole complex a national treasure?!  

            See the carving of the elephant?  The carver had never seen one, made it from a description.

                                     Original hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil monkeys.

This oni represents the "alpha" part of the alpha and omega oni guarding the shrine/temple.  The structures were both Shinto and Buddhist.

A day out isn't complete without some yakisoba for lunch with the Ringwoods.  Great little restaurant, left our message on the wall.

Our darling neighbors, the Ringwoods.  Sooooo...life is good.  Full of fun, family, friends and faith.  That is why we are here.

Whitings in Korea!

My first visit to Korea!  Loved it.   Scott wanted to call it Planes, Trains and Automobiles as we took a taxi to Shinagawa train station, train to Haneda, plane to Seoul, train to Daejeon, auto to who-knows-where, train to Kwangju and then did it all in reverse.  Returned to Miss Independent, who got herself to school, early morning seminary and church all by herself.  Treated her to Shokugo Ramen--see previous post.  She even did her own laundry, but not the dishes.

Some highlights:

See these people?  He used to be the executive VP of Samsung and now he is a humble mission president.  They are the dearest people we met in Daejeon.  She is a fireball and keeps her husband on his toes.  Their chosen English names?  Spencer and Camila--so fitting.  Love them.

They drove us to "Who Knows Where" a few nights ago and I had such a bad headache that my stomach was hurting.  Luckily.  They took us out for Chinese food done Korean style.  I couldn't eat anything without feeling more sick.  Scott kept looking at me like, "I am not sure what I am putting in my mouth, but I am going to be polite, which is more than I can say for you, wimp!"  It looked terrible and I was so happy that I was sick.  So glad I was better the following night as we had Kal Bi--done right!  Best food ever, even better company.

We got a night and part of a day in Seoul after all business was conducted and here is what I saw out my hotel window--a thousand year old wall!  I went exploring and made it to the top.

See the tower?  I made it to the top!  There used to be a fence where couples would lock a padlock to seal their love.  It became dangerous as some had fallen to their death, so the government erected seven trees to accomplish the same purpose.

This was the view from up there!

Gorgeous!  I later went to a market and saw and smelled wonderful things.  I was so busy looking, I only got this one image.  The old woman selling these "things" added a bit of flair just for my photo.  If they are bugs, they were roasted and she had picked all the legs off.  Really, what are they?

Last parting shot of Korea--

So, we are back home.  So weird, Tokyo is home for now.  So weird and yet so wonderful!

How my house is (probably) different from yours.

We live in very comfortable circumstances compared to when we lived here as missionaries and later as a young couple with Kate.  For as Western as our place is, there are plenty of things that are VERY Japanese.  For instance:

1.  Our house is an apartment in Tokyo, not really a "house".  It is five stories high and houses three apartments.  Scott's office is next door, seven floors.  There is a busy street right out front, plenty of shopping and hole-in-the-wall places to eat, yum!  I've learned a new Japanese word Shokugo Ramen--after dinner ramen!

2.  Our front door is an elevator door.  There is another way to get out with a fire escape, but the elevator opens straight into our genkan.  Once inside, I have to use our key to get the elevator to stop at our floor and open the door.  If you happen to visit, you have to call from the outside gate.  I have a video feed of the interior of the elevator so I know who is coming.

3.  This is two train stops down.

4.  There is a subway entrance/exit we can see from our family room window.  See large gray rectangle--roof of said entrance.  That would put us right on top of the subway.

5.  This is our yard/garden.  

6.  We can see the Tokyo temple out of one of our windows.

7.  We have two refrigerator/freezers because Japanese ones are too small.  It has so many drawers, it is hard to remember which are the fridge and which are the freezer ones.

8.  My microwave, steamer, defroster, toaster, multi-use thingy has instructions all written in Japanese--my kanjis are severely lacking.  I don't know which button to press to get what I want done.

9.  Our A/C slash heater is in centigrade.

10.  Lastly, in order to have a car in Japan, you must prove you have space to park it.  Check, thank goodness.  Now to just get a license....

Just kidding...

This is ours.

What we do have in common with most of you is that our "house" houses our beloved ones.

The last month...

Craziness.  Family together for a last few weeks and then scattering to the world one or two at a time.  Thanks to Camille for bearing it all and "holding down the fort".  She truly is a champ.

Last time I counted, I had been to the airport seven times in the three weeks until we left.  The final time was to leave with Emma to make the BIG move to Tokyo.  The first to go was Joe.  Maybe Elder Whiting is the better title at this point.  The boy has been gone now for 3 weeks, and it was gut-wrenching to say, "Adios".  He appears to love it and so it is not so hard to bear the void he left, "as long as he is happy," so they say.  He has been a joy and we will miss him.

Dad (Scott, Sparky) left a few days later and more tears.  Little Sam really did seem out of sorts without the males in his life.  Five women had a hard time keeping him and his little sister Grace happy all the time.  Thank heavens Ammon arrived!

Abby left the day before we did and must be having the time of her life as we haven't heard anything from her.  Maybe she forgot her phone charger--that is the likely scenario.

Then us, Emma and I.  Wow, we just moved from Hawaii a year ago and here it is again.  Emma is being a trooper, maybe it is the excitement of city life in a foreign country, but she is truly is happy.  Maybe it has something to do with the business class seats.  The excitement started to wear down after the second hour on the plane in Portland with constant updates as to why they hadn't been able to fix the mechanical problem--it was just a light on a dashboard for heaven's sake!

The upside to an overnight layover--one last steak dinner before moving to $100 a plate beef country.  The downside?  Handling nine pieces of luggage between the two of us.  Yes, we had to get our bags, take the shuttle to our motel and do it in reverse the next early morning.  We cheated.  We "borrowed" overnight a luggage rack that bellhops use.  We simply couldn't face unloading it in our room and searching for one the next morning to load up, so it stayed as is in our room with us.

Nothing to report about the flight.  Did it really happen?  I don't know, I was asleep for more than half of it RECLINING in my spacious pod.  But there we were all of a sudden in Japan.  We we spoiled and tried to avert our eyes from the economy class zombies, poor souls.

Scott was there patiently waiting as Emma and I were processed like fake cheese slices.  So good to be with him again!  We went adventuring, taught Emma how to use the train system and got Chicken Tikka Masala with naan bread for lunch in Shibuya.  I keep forgetting we look so different than everyone else until I see people staring at Emma and that long gorgeous strawberry blonde hair and "tall" nose.  "Hana ga takai, ne?!" we hear whispered around us.  I love seeing her face as she sees things for the first time.

So here we are--today to the American school to get her registered, then to Costco.  Wait, what?!  Costco!