New Adventures - Shinkansen to Nagoya and Kyoto!

Ok, ok, I have been inspired (or maybe shamed?) by Hibachan to write a long-overdue blog post.  Hibachan means great-grandmother in Japanese, and is the name the kids call Kevin's Grandma Fukuyama.

I didn't know it was possible to receive such a swift kick in the pants via skype from a 90 year-old, but she is an extraordinary person and I should expect extraordinary things.  She made it clear that she looks for a new blog post everyday, and when nothing new appears, she has been forced to re-read old posts.  The pressure, the guilt.  So, here I write.  You can all thank her!

And to be honest, I had grand plans to catch up on several blog posts last week.  But, then sadness overtook me and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.  Grandma Narimatsu passed away last Monday.  It has been a hard week.  A very hard week.  She was like a grandmother to me, and I didn't know how to continue this blog and honor her at the same time.  So, Grandma Narimatsu - this is for you!  For your sense of humor, your gentle spirit, your high-fives, your love of ice cream, your loyalty, your cream puffs, and mostly, for your love.  As I explained to Ethan, you helped make Kevin who he is, and for that, we are forever indebted to you.  I do this for you (and because Hibachan made me do it).

It's also Grandpa Fukuyama's birthday, so I hope he's happy with the way we are leading our lives...

Ironically, "Respect for the Elderly" Day gave us the excuse for this adventure!  It's a 3-day weekend in Japan and we took full advantage of exploring a little further afield.

First Shinkansen Excursion - and we did it 4 times in one weekend!

We decided to hop on the Shinkansen (high speed bullet train) and head south to Nagoya and Kyoto.  We wanted to visit a friend of Kevin's from childhood judo days in Chicago and explore that area a bit.

The Shinkansen was a hit with the boys.  Kevin takes them often for work, so it's no big deal for him.  I was, to be honest, extremely excited about my first shinkansen ride.  And much to my surprise, I was a bit underwhelmed.  I almost don't want to write this here, because that's so not like me.  I am typically easily impressed by new adventures, but for some unknown reason, it didn't do it for me.  Alas....

So, we took the Shinkansen to Nagoya on Friday night, to Kyoto on Saturday morning, back to Nagoya on Saturday evening, and then back to Tokyo on Monday afternoon.  Whew!

The Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto 

First stop Saturday morning was the Golden Temple, one of the most elaborate Zen temples.  Kevin remembered visiting it during his time as an exchange student at Kobe, so it was fun for him to share it with us.  It is quite impressive, especially in its setting on Mirror Pond.

It was built as a retirement home for a 14th century shogun (Ashikaga Yoshimitsu 1358-1408) and converted to a Zen temple when he died.  It survived for 500+ years and then was torched by an "unhappy monk" in 1950.  The current Kinkaku-ji is a replica that was completed in 5 years and re-gilded at no small price tag in 1987.

We enjoyed our walk along the garden path - the on-again-off-again rain only added to the mystique of the morning.

Ethan offering a bow and a prayer at the shrine...

Nara Park, Temples, and the Over-Friendly Deer

Next stop was Nara Park.  We were immediately "greeted" by some very ... ummm... friendly deer.  The kids and I had great fun watching them chase Kevin in search of deer crackers.  So funny.

The boys learned quickly to raise their hand to "show" the deer that they didn't have food.

I later read that the deer are considered messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion.  Given that these were the grounds of a Buddhist Temple, I am still learning the interplay between Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan.

Kevin learned more slowly about how to tame the deer.  I'm not sure what he was planning to do with that umbrella.
But hurting a sacred Shinto deer on the grounds of a Buddhist temple is probably not a good idea.

Several deer crackers later, we made it to the Todai-ji, a Buddhist Temple and the world's largest wooden building.

Here, we also explored the Daibutsu-den (Great Buddha Hall) which houses the Big Buddha, the largest bronze statue in Japan.

The Great Buddha Hall - and two little anti-buddhas having fun!

Those deer were everywhere!

Bowls of udon bigger than your head!

Roadtrip to Kotaijingu, Onsen, and Indian Food

Sunday was roadtrip day with our friends!  At their suggestion, we headed to the Ise Peninsula.  Apparently it was such a great suggestion that everyone else was doing it too and our 1.5 hour car trip turned into 4 hours, one-way.  Yowza.  

But, we were in 2 cars and each of our boys was traveling with one of their boys and the kids were having a grand time.  Our kids loooved their kids, so they were in seventh heaven, despite the long ride.  At some point, we changed the plan and stopped for a lunch and onsen respite.  

The onsen was quite an experience.  Of course, no photos, but there were several bath options to choose from.  An electric shock tub, cold water, hot water, indoor jacuzzi tub, outdoor jacuzzi tub (with big screen TVs - seriously?), hot rock chairs with gentle water rolling down the back, and a milky white tub that I've forgotten what it was.  Very nice.  

Just the calming influence we needed to get back in the car and head to the shrine.

We went to Kotaijingu's inner shrine, called Naiku.  It is said to be Japan's most sacred shrine and was built in the fourth century.  I am not sure if I have no photos because I was a little over-templed/shrined by that point or if perhaps photos were not allowed (I'm hoping it's the latter).

Unfortunately, Ryan had a slight melt-down after visiting the shrine, so we may have diminished ever-so-slightly the sacredness of the place.  Nothing is ever quite the same after a visit from the Narimatsujayne family.

The surroundings were remarkably calming (despite Ryan's antics) - large trees, a river, ornate bridges.  

Our friends by the Isuzugawa River- we had a fabulous time!

I later learned that the Naiku shrine (and the bridge above, too) is rebuilt every 20 years to re-purify the ground.  They only use Japanese cypress, grass thatch, and a few gold decorations.  They even give the old wood to other shrines as a means of recycling.  

The Toyota Museum and Heading Home

We had a little time on Monday before we headed home on the shinkansen and we decided to check out the Toyota Museum.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get reservations for a factory tour and I would have lovvvved to have done that.  Of course, I also took a day off work to tour the Nummi auto factory (sans kids) while we lived in Fremont, so this is par for the course.  

Toyota Museum was a good time.  We saw a robot who could play the trumpet, a race car, a flower car (my favorite - it was basically a bedazzled-mobile and I am not exaggerating), and lots of interactive exhibits on the Toyota production process.  

That face just kills me!

Our race car enthusiast!

A concept car for individual-robot-cars in the future...

Car meets bedazzler!

On the way home, we saw Mt. Fuji from the train.  Yippee!  Finally!  It was getting dark so it was not the best view but it was better than nothing.  This picture is insurance - it's just a billboard we saw on the train platform while waiting for our shinkansen home, but we just never knew when we would get to see the real thing!

Very fun adventure!