Bowling and Hakone

We started off the weekend Friday night with a little bowling. This was the first time that I have been bowling and probably the third time for Michael. The setup was the same as in America, the only real difference was getting shoes from a vending machine and paying after we bowled. It was a good time, but since I haven't bowled in more than a year I was a little rusty. Over the weekend, Michael and I took a trip to Hakone. It's about a 3.5 hour drive from Utsunomiya and maybe an hour or so from Tokyo. We took the interchange which guided us through Tokyo. It was pretty surreal driving through Tokyo. We were able to drive through Shibuya and past the exits for Ginza. Never would I have imagined that we would be driving in Tokyo. Well, technically Michael was driving. We were able to see Tokyo from a different perspective since we always take the train. It seemed so calm and quiet. After about 4 hours we arrived in Hakone. We decided to have lunch on the south end of Lake Ashi before heading north to Gotemba where our ryokan (Japanese style hotel) was located.
After lunch we visited Hakone Shrine to check out the torii in the water. It was just along the end of the Lake with a little walk path out to be directly under the torii.
From there we drove up some mountain roads to go to a Glass Forest. It was an Italian style set up with lots of beautiful glass scupltures. They even had a small display of Chihuly glass. There were also some very intricate glass decor with flowers and people that was so small and so detailed that we had to look under a magnify glass. Too bad we couldn't get a picture to show the justice. After the glass forest we headed towards our ryokan so that we could go to the onsen before dinner.
Shortly after getting settled we headed for the onsen. It was so beautiful with the snow covered trees. After the onsen, we rested for a little bit before heading to dinner. Dinner was fantastic. We got tons of food and we even ordered an extra sashimi plate because I love sashimi and it was really cheap. Hehe. Unfortunately, we miscalculated and it was too much food for us. We had yakiniku for appetizer along with sashimi and a few other small items. After that, we had soup, salmon/ikura donburi, tsukemono, and tofu. For dessert, we had 2 types of cake and ice cream. Somehow, we managed to eat all of the dessert. On Sunday, we started off with a nice breakfast buffet of Japanese and Western style food. It's so crazy how we have adapted to the culture in Japan because I no longer find it strange to have miso soup in the morning for breakfast. After we left the hotel we headed for Togendai on the northeast side of Lake Ashi to catch the ropeway to Owakudani.
Owakudani is the area around a crater created during the last eruption of Mount Hakone some 3000 years ago. Today, much of the area is an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced. There was sign that said the water was 80 degrees celsius (176 degrees farenheit). When you get off the ropeway, there was definitely the distinctive sulfur smell. Owakudani was also famous for black eggs (黒たまご) which are eggs boiled in the hot springs with a bit of a sulfur smell. It's suppose to increase longevity. It tasted just like a hard boiled egg. After our Owakudani journey we headed back for Utsunomiya. We hope you had a lovely weekend! Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's Day!

Lots of Food, Flat Stanley, Tableware Show...

Last weekend was filled with lots of eating. Friday night, we went out with one of my students, Miyata-san and his wife. We went to Motsu Nabe, which translates to hormone nabe. More than half of the meal was food we have never tried before. We started off with some appetizers such as horse meat sashimi with a raw egg, pig's feet, and deer sashimi. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Then we had a big pot of nabe filled with different kinds of goodies such as pig intestines, stomach, etc. Motsu nabe is a delicacy of Kyushu area but has become more popular in recent years because it's suppose to be good for your health. There is also hormone yakiniku restaurants too. It was a great time.
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Saturday afternoon we went out with some Miya Kids moms, Honma-san and Taniguchi-san, for a belated Christmas party. We went to Hinano, a Japanese food buffet, which was great. There were so many things we have not had or always wanted to try, so it was our chance. We got so excited for the food, we forgot to take pictures. We did manage to get some great pictures of the moms and kids.
Click for more Belated Christmas Party Pictures Saturday evening, we invited my teacher and her family over for Taco's. Mexican food is very rare in Utsunomiya, so we shipped a lot of taco seasoning because it's one of our favorite dinners. They seem to enjoy the taco's a lot, which made me really happy. I made some fresh guacamole too which was a hit. It's always a great time with my teacher and her family, they are such kind people, it's probably going to be one of the hardest goodbyes to say when we leave.
Click for more Taco PicturesThis past weekend was quite eventful too. First of all, we received Flat Iron Man in the mail from Nathaniel. Originally, the story is about Flat Stanley who was flattened by a bulletin board and his parents shipped him to California through snail mail. It's a way for children to learn about different cultures and geographies. We originally thought Flat Iron Man got lost in the mail because it was about 2.5 weeks since he was sent. Magically, he found our place. We started his adventure with kaiten sushi. Then he joined us for dinner with a Japanese family. After that, he went to Tokyo with me and the finale of his trip was a nice strawberry picking experience. I hope we were able to show Flat Iron Man a good time and a little bit about life in Japan.
Click for more Flat Stanley PicturesSaturday night, we were invited over to our friend's, the Miyamoto's, place for dinner. We had anko nabe. Anko is a delicacy from Ibaraki prefecture and is best during winter. We had anko nabe first with miso and second with a clear broth. Both ways were delicious as it was our first time to have anko. The Miyamoto's have been so kind to Michael and I, they are eager to show us new things about Japan and they really have a passion for food. Their children are also super adorable. I met Joe-chan when he was only 3 months old, so he was unable to hold up his head. Now he is about to walk and talk, and it's amazing to me, because that shows how fast time really goes. Thank you to the Miyamoto's for a lovely evening.
Click for more Anko Nabe Pictures On Sunday, I went down to Tokyo with Stacie, Mioko and Keiko. We started off by going to Harajuku's Oriental Bazaar. It's a place to get many Japanese souvenirs. Next we walked through Takeshita Dori, the famous street known for the crazy Harajuku styles. Then we went to a Turkish restaurant for lunch, which was good. Finally, we went to Tokyo Dome to a tableware show, our main purpose for going to Tokyo in the first place. Yoko-sensei had a small exhibit at the show and she met us there. She was very kind and guided us through the show and introduced us to some of her friends. In the middle of the show, there were lots of table coordinations which themes. Probably not for everyday use, but there were great ideas. Around the table coordinations, there were many vendors selling anything you can think of for tableware. The major companies from Japan like Noritake, Okura, Arita, etc. were all there. It was quite tempting to buy everything, but I was good because I knew I would have to carry it back to Utsunomiya. I managed to leave with dessert forks and spoons, 2 rice bowls and 2 small plates.
Click for more Tableware Show Pictures To start off my week, I joined some of the other OAP wives and their children strawberry picking. The strawberries were very sweet and pretty cheap compared to the grocery stores. The fruit in Japan is amazing. Fruit is mostly available by seasons. For example, nashi (asian pears) are only available during late summer/early fall so we cannot find it in the supermarkets. It really makes us appreciate the fruit more and we look forward to the next fruit season. That about sums up the past 2 weeks. I hope you have a great week!
Click for more Strawberry Picking Pictures