Mom in Japan!
Short of killing each other, I think my mother is having a good time. I should have known from the ominous beginning that it was going to be stormy. I was waiting in Kagoshima Airport to take my flight to meet with my mother in the Nagoya Airport, when suddenly a thunderstorm rolled in. There was actually a temporary power outage in the airport and it had to run on generator power for about 15 minutes. Anyway, my flight was an hour late, but I did manage to make it. Both my mom and I were excited to see each other in the airport, but were very tired and ready to go to the hotel. She told me about her impressions of Japan so far and her adventures flying coach on NWA (not that she’s ever flown first class).
In Nagoya, we stayed at the City Hotel. Since there is no ‘ci’ sound in Japanese, it’s actually pronounce Shiti Hotel (which sounds an awful lot like Shitty Hotel). However, I could asure that the hotel was anything but. They were very accommodating a friendly to us tourists, despite it being a business hotel that usually caters to Japanese salary men.
We stayed in Nagoya for two days to go to Expo. I was glad that the weather was good (despite it being incredibly hot and the weather reports that announced 50% chance of rain). My mother was just as amazed as I was from the number of umbrellas and hats present at the Expo. Some of the highlights of our visits was attending the Mammoth exhibit donated by the Russians. You need a reservation in order to see it, and I got one over 1 month ago. Those with a reservation still pushed a shoved for their 60 seconds on the moving walkway that passed in front of a frozen mammoth skull and leg bone. Lucky for those of you who don’t have a reservation, I don’t understand Japanese and took a picture of the skull despite outcries by the volunteers warning you not too. (I’m such a rebel.) The other highlight was visiting all the countries. Mom and I were particularly impressed with Poland that had a replica salt mine you can walk through, and a really nice store and restaurant.
One of the more interesting experiences in Nagoya, was going to a restaurant next to the hotel. It was called Bistro something or another. As soon as we walked in, we were a bit frightened by the glass block windows in the shape of crosses and the dim lighting. The place looked smi-goth complete with dark gray walls and blood red drapes to match. We asked if it was indeed a restaurant, because there were only two tables on the ground floor. The woman informed us that indeed it was and we would have to go to the third floor to be seated at a table. So, we collected the tarot card she gave us and proceeded to the elevator. The elevator ride itself was an experience. The elevator’s landing was half-way between the first and second floors and we could tell that the second floor was used for weddings. We hesitated when the elevator doors opened. The elevator was small and completely covered in faux fauna to give it a small jungle closet feel. After checking for animals, we proceeded inside and rode it to the third floor. We got off and it was a PRISON! I KID YOU NOT! We have the pictures to prove it. If it weren’t for how hungry or tired we were we would have walked out and found a different place. However, we were immediately escorted by the warden (waitress) to the nearest available prison cell and closed inside. We ordered food and were served through a hole in the door. We were in complete shock by this point. Of course, we couldn’t resist taking pictures and making fools of ourselves. When we left, we commented on the place and were shown a more detailed brochure that explained how each floor was themed. The second floor was the “chapel floor” and the fourth floor was the “church floor”. I guess we were lucky.
Saturday morning we departed the Shiti Hotel and made our way on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. In Kyoto, we stayed in a small inn that was the first floor of someone’s large house near one of the more famous temples. After settling in, we walked half of Kyoto to go to the shopping district. On the way there, we stopped at Yasaka Shrine near Gion that was bustling with excitement because of the upcoming Gion Matsuri. My mom loved it and told me how mush she looked forward to visiting the other shrines. We randomly ran into a Mexican family there which made for some cool conversation. Later that evening on the way back to the inn, we stopped by the river to soak our feet like so many other Japanese people were doing. We sat by two of many kimono-clad men and women. We spoke to them awhile about our trip so far. After crossing the river, we took a stroll down Gion to sneak a peek at some geisha and maiko. We concluded the evening with a feast at home from food purchased from several combini.
Sunday, we took advantage of my mother’s jet lag and got up at 5:30 to make it to Kiyomizu Temple by opening time at 6:00. We actually got there at 6:10 and were happy to see that we had most of the temple to ourselves. We were able to sit for a while, snap some pictures, drink and collect some holy water, and walk blinded between the love stones. During our time at the shrine, I continued to get phone calls from Cristina. She, along with Jill, Laura, Osa and Shana, had reached the summit of Mt. Fuji, the tallest and most beautiful mountain in Japan. I have to admit I am half glad my mom was here during their trip. I can't say that I could have made it all the way to the top. Apparently some of them felt the same way. However, despite the near brushes with death and bouts of hypothermia, they all did it. Congrats! Hopefully, I'll get some pictures soon and post them!
At 9:00, my mother and Iwalked over to where we were the day before to witness the Gion Matsuri parade. Huge, old carts were pushed through the streets of Kyoto as is done every 17th of July. The streets were packed. Where we were standing was especially packed because it was on a turn. Since the carts are pushed by men, and not pulled by machine, the turns are the most interesting parts of the parade. In any case, after the turn of the first two carts, the crowds began to die down. My mom, being the adventurous person that she is, conga-ed down the street to where all the photographers had set up their step ladders and proceeded to ask one of them if she could go up to snap some pictures. She did, but soon realized that she didn’t know how to operate my camera, so I ended up going up to snap some pictures. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip (one I’ll never forget).
In the afternoon, we decided that we would walk opposite the festival and have a lunch before taking the philosopher’s walk to the Silver Pavilion. We did. It was a nice place away from the tourist center who seemed happy to see us there. After we finished eating, we were not sure of the direction to go in next, so they escorted us down a block until our path was easy and straightforward. Before going to the Silver Temple, we stumbled into some other temples, one which had someone doing some chanting. I think that this was my mom’s favorite and where she felt ‘most at peace’. Then, we walked on for about 35 minutes to the Silver Temple. My mom was not a happy camper and did not find it worth the walk late in the day.
Monday was Marine Day here in Japan. Mom and I decided to celebrate it by going to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo. I had mentioned to my mom briefly how there were deer roaming freely on the Nara Park grounds, but it was nothing like she or I imagined. Within a block of the train station, we were walking along side parks where deer would come up to us. They were expecting food because so many tourists buy deer biscuits at stalls and feed them. We decided against this since they attack you for the food, and we felt it was so much nicer to just pet them and be with them without them chasing you and trying to eat your hand. In Nara, we also visited the world’s largest wooden structure with one of the largest Buddha and a couple of other temples.
Instead of staying in the stale heat of the Kyoto valley, we (read my mother) decided to head to Kagoshima on the earliest flight rather than the planned late flight. We ended up getting it on standby with the original low ticket prices that I had purchased. I was surprised that we did not have to pay anything extra. So, we landed in Kagoshima at about 10:30 and headed to Higashi-Kushira to meet Cristina for lunch at 100 yen conveyor belt sushi. After lunch, I took my mom to my house, where she settled in and spent the day unwinding. Later that afternoon, I took her to the Katos’ and the beach. The Katos were excited to meet her. Well, the young girls were a bit shy at first, but they quickly warmed up to us in no time. By the end of the visit, they were saying my mom’s name and blowing her kisses. (Both things they learned from her.) As for the beach, my mom was surprised to see it deserted. Later that evening we met up with Cristina at Tomo-chan’s in Osaki my mom had a hoot. Tomo-chan made some of his great yaki-soba and treated her to some fine extras along with some beer and shochu.
Yesterday, my mom spent the day lazying about. I went home to take her some sushi lunch. Then, after work, we picked Cristina up and went 100-yen shopping. My mom absolutely went crazy. She would have liked to have bought more, but alas, you only have so much luggage allowance (of which she has already exceeded). We continued to some must-do Kabochate followed by mandatory karaoke. Some of my mom’s hits included Springsteen’s Born to Run and Shakira’s Estoy Aqui.
Today, we’re taking her to the Koyama Waterfalls and going to the Katos’ for dinner.
In Nagoya, we stayed at the City Hotel. Since there is no ‘ci’ sound in Japanese, it’s actually pronounce Shiti Hotel (which sounds an awful lot like Shitty Hotel). However, I could asure that the hotel was anything but. They were very accommodating a friendly to us tourists, despite it being a business hotel that usually caters to Japanese salary men.
We stayed in Nagoya for two days to go to Expo. I was glad that the weather was good (despite it being incredibly hot and the weather reports that announced 50% chance of rain). My mother was just as amazed as I was from the number of umbrellas and hats present at the Expo. Some of the highlights of our visits was attending the Mammoth exhibit donated by the Russians. You need a reservation in order to see it, and I got one over 1 month ago. Those with a reservation still pushed a shoved for their 60 seconds on the moving walkway that passed in front of a frozen mammoth skull and leg bone. Lucky for those of you who don’t have a reservation, I don’t understand Japanese and took a picture of the skull despite outcries by the volunteers warning you not too. (I’m such a rebel.) The other highlight was visiting all the countries. Mom and I were particularly impressed with Poland that had a replica salt mine you can walk through, and a really nice store and restaurant.
One of the more interesting experiences in Nagoya, was going to a restaurant next to the hotel. It was called Bistro something or another. As soon as we walked in, we were a bit frightened by the glass block windows in the shape of crosses and the dim lighting. The place looked smi-goth complete with dark gray walls and blood red drapes to match. We asked if it was indeed a restaurant, because there were only two tables on the ground floor. The woman informed us that indeed it was and we would have to go to the third floor to be seated at a table. So, we collected the tarot card she gave us and proceeded to the elevator. The elevator ride itself was an experience. The elevator’s landing was half-way between the first and second floors and we could tell that the second floor was used for weddings. We hesitated when the elevator doors opened. The elevator was small and completely covered in faux fauna to give it a small jungle closet feel. After checking for animals, we proceeded inside and rode it to the third floor. We got off and it was a PRISON! I KID YOU NOT! We have the pictures to prove it. If it weren’t for how hungry or tired we were we would have walked out and found a different place. However, we were immediately escorted by the warden (waitress) to the nearest available prison cell and closed inside. We ordered food and were served through a hole in the door. We were in complete shock by this point. Of course, we couldn’t resist taking pictures and making fools of ourselves. When we left, we commented on the place and were shown a more detailed brochure that explained how each floor was themed. The second floor was the “chapel floor” and the fourth floor was the “church floor”. I guess we were lucky.
Saturday morning we departed the Shiti Hotel and made our way on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. In Kyoto, we stayed in a small inn that was the first floor of someone’s large house near one of the more famous temples. After settling in, we walked half of Kyoto to go to the shopping district. On the way there, we stopped at Yasaka Shrine near Gion that was bustling with excitement because of the upcoming Gion Matsuri. My mom loved it and told me how mush she looked forward to visiting the other shrines. We randomly ran into a Mexican family there which made for some cool conversation. Later that evening on the way back to the inn, we stopped by the river to soak our feet like so many other Japanese people were doing. We sat by two of many kimono-clad men and women. We spoke to them awhile about our trip so far. After crossing the river, we took a stroll down Gion to sneak a peek at some geisha and maiko. We concluded the evening with a feast at home from food purchased from several combini.
Sunday, we took advantage of my mother’s jet lag and got up at 5:30 to make it to Kiyomizu Temple by opening time at 6:00. We actually got there at 6:10 and were happy to see that we had most of the temple to ourselves. We were able to sit for a while, snap some pictures, drink and collect some holy water, and walk blinded between the love stones. During our time at the shrine, I continued to get phone calls from Cristina. She, along with Jill, Laura, Osa and Shana, had reached the summit of Mt. Fuji, the tallest and most beautiful mountain in Japan. I have to admit I am half glad my mom was here during their trip. I can't say that I could have made it all the way to the top. Apparently some of them felt the same way. However, despite the near brushes with death and bouts of hypothermia, they all did it. Congrats! Hopefully, I'll get some pictures soon and post them!
At 9:00, my mother and Iwalked over to where we were the day before to witness the Gion Matsuri parade. Huge, old carts were pushed through the streets of Kyoto as is done every 17th of July. The streets were packed. Where we were standing was especially packed because it was on a turn. Since the carts are pushed by men, and not pulled by machine, the turns are the most interesting parts of the parade. In any case, after the turn of the first two carts, the crowds began to die down. My mom, being the adventurous person that she is, conga-ed down the street to where all the photographers had set up their step ladders and proceeded to ask one of them if she could go up to snap some pictures. She did, but soon realized that she didn’t know how to operate my camera, so I ended up going up to snap some pictures. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip (one I’ll never forget).In the afternoon, we decided that we would walk opposite the festival and have a lunch before taking the philosopher’s walk to the Silver Pavilion. We did. It was a nice place away from the tourist center who seemed happy to see us there. After we finished eating, we were not sure of the direction to go in next, so they escorted us down a block until our path was easy and straightforward. Before going to the Silver Temple, we stumbled into some other temples, one which had someone doing some chanting. I think that this was my mom’s favorite and where she felt ‘most at peace’. Then, we walked on for about 35 minutes to the Silver Temple. My mom was not a happy camper and did not find it worth the walk late in the day.
Monday was Marine Day here in Japan. Mom and I decided to celebrate it by going to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo. I had mentioned to my mom briefly how there were deer roaming freely on the Nara Park grounds, but it was nothing like she or I imagined. Within a block of the train station, we were walking along side parks where deer would come up to us. They were expecting food because so many tourists buy deer biscuits at stalls and feed them. We decided against this since they attack you for the food, and we felt it was so much nicer to just pet them and be with them without them chasing you and trying to eat your hand. In Nara, we also visited the world’s largest wooden structure with one of the largest Buddha and a couple of other temples.Instead of staying in the stale heat of the Kyoto valley, we (read my mother) decided to head to Kagoshima on the earliest flight rather than the planned late flight. We ended up getting it on standby with the original low ticket prices that I had purchased. I was surprised that we did not have to pay anything extra. So, we landed in Kagoshima at about 10:30 and headed to Higashi-Kushira to meet Cristina for lunch at 100 yen conveyor belt sushi. After lunch, I took my mom to my house, where she settled in and spent the day unwinding. Later that afternoon, I took her to the Katos’ and the beach. The Katos were excited to meet her. Well, the young girls were a bit shy at first, but they quickly warmed up to us in no time. By the end of the visit, they were saying my mom’s name and blowing her kisses. (Both things they learned from her.) As for the beach, my mom was surprised to see it deserted. Later that evening we met up with Cristina at Tomo-chan’s in Osaki my mom had a hoot. Tomo-chan made some of his great yaki-soba and treated her to some fine extras along with some beer and shochu.
Yesterday, my mom spent the day lazying about. I went home to take her some sushi lunch. Then, after work, we picked Cristina up and went 100-yen shopping. My mom absolutely went crazy. She would have liked to have bought more, but alas, you only have so much luggage allowance (of which she has already exceeded). We continued to some must-do Kabochate followed by mandatory karaoke. Some of my mom’s hits included Springsteen’s Born to Run and Shakira’s Estoy Aqui.Today, we’re taking her to the Koyama Waterfalls and going to the Katos’ for dinner.
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