Nicole's Adventures in Japan

The storm made walking home last night from the Nagoya Castle Festival. It really lit up the sky last night. I took a short video. Take a look for yourself.

On Monday the 21st I caught the Shinkansen into Tokyo, to meet my parents. I got in early so I wondered around. Our hotel was on a Man Made Island, it was really nice. A park right down in front of the hotel which was very close to the water. But considering all the industrial companies around you probably don't want to go swimming. Monday was holiday in Japan so the streets and the park were filled with people. So was the rides park over by the station. Just tons of people.
My parents arrived about 3 hrs after I did and it was so great to see them. After they settled in a bit we wondered over to the 7 story shopping center across the way. Since it was there first night and it sounded good to me we went to an American Hawaiian Restaurant. It was really good and the first bread resembling wheat bread I had eaten in over 3 months. So that tasted really good.
Tuesday morning we woke up early which we have been doing ever sicne. That is why mom keeps calling this a great trip, but not a vacation. The hotel in Tokyo was amazing with a beautiful view, it spoiled all the other hotels. Plus sleeping ina realy bed was a nice bonus.
On Tuesday we visited many sights in Tokyo. One was the Shrine in Yogi Park which I saw on my second weekend in Japan. It was really cool. I just wish we had a little more time to wonder around.

Blog continued later but here are some pic.

This weekend was amazing. It was great to get out of the city and enjoy the great outdoors. Aaron took us on a hike in the a gorge on Saturday. It was beautiful, it was like being home it was so green.

Then off to a BBQ on Sunday, in a beautiful park. However I could have done with out the bug bites.

This weekend was good. Friday instead of having our regular classes, the whole school went down to Sakae to see Kabuki theater. I was told it wasn't traditional Kabuki, but super Kabuki. Traditional Kabuki is like going to see a shakespearean play with out reading the cliff notes first. Some of the students were not excited. I on the other hand having no real idea what it was, was excited to go. Plus the not having to teach on a Friday was a plus.
The Kabuki theater, was very nice about the size of the Schnitzer concert hall back in Portland. The theater was a nice size and as teachers we got good seats and being the international teachers we probably had some of the best seats in the house. When we got there at around 9 am there was a morning meeting like normal, I understood none of it. However I was given a time schedule for the play and a very nice book, probably like the books you can buy when you go to concerts and plays back home. My first thought was how can I take it a part and use it in a scrape book, but I have since re thought that and will probably leave it whole. The costumes were amazing and very elaborate, the story was a bit hard to follow since there was lot of talking scenes and if my students thought it was hard to follow, well then you can imagine how hard it was for me. The play had some amazing scenes. One Fight scene the choreography was amazing, and as the scene went on the practically knocked down the whole set. knocking out back wall, throwing barrels. It was terrific. Then later there was a boat scene where the ocean came up and there was a storm. It was done very well an the ship it self the way it moved around the stage was very realistic. At the end the main character turns into a bird/angel, I am not really sure, but any ways he flies out over the crowd. That got some of the girls out of there seats.

Then on Saturday I went to a Barbeque in Kaiyra park with a friend from church. She invited a bunch of her friends to come and really it was only Theresa and I who spoke English. However it was still a lot of fun to get out of the city. There were some kids at the BBQ, they were really cute, and thought it was great fun when I got out my camera and took pictures. Plus one of the couples who came had a dog named Nana. She was really cute and friendly. I had a great day just hanging out and eating good food!!

Last weekend was a weekend of flowers. Saturday I went to see the irises and then on Sunday, I ventured out of Nagoya to find a the hydrangea festival. It was an adventure, and now I am feel more confident about my ability to get around by train, subway, and bus. It took two trains and a bus to get to the festival. It was well worth all the trouble. The trains weren't hard to figure out, I am getting much better at figuring out which one I want and which direction I want to go. So getting out to the town of Gamagori, wasn't hard, but then I had to figure out where to catch the bus and which bus to take and what time it was coming. Since it was a small town, not many people around and even fewer who looked like they might know enough english to help me. However about that time a bus arrived, so I got brave and asked. The driver was very kind, and showed me that I wanted but number 3 not 1 or 2. So then bus 3 arrived, however apparently it wasn't the right bus # 3. So then that driver was kind enough to point to a sign with the times for the #3 bus that I wanted. Except even then it was a little confusing. So finally the next #3 bus arrives and I ask the driver if this the bus to Katahara Onsen Mae, and I am in luck. However, all the way out there I worried that I would not know the stop, which was silly since that was the only place the bus was going. So finally I had arrived, they had a big sign welcoming us to the gardens. There were several venders there selling food and since I was a Hydrangea festival they were also selling hydrangeas. I paid my 300 yen and went into the garden. It was amazing, The whole hill side was covered in Hydrangeas of every shade of purple, blue, pink, cream and white imaginable.

I am just kicking myself because I should have taken more pictures. However I was brave enough to ask someone to take my picture. Okay I know I keep saying I am being brave. Well I tend to be shy about asking strangers for help. The fact that I still know very little Japanese makes asking for help even harder. At the irises I figured it was safe to hand my camera over to gentleman whose camera was even nicer then mine. At the hydrangeas, I found asked a women and then she made her daughter get up and take the picture. Both seemed happy to do it. Did I mention I was the only white person out at the festival. In the two hours I was out in Gamagori I did not see another white person. In Nagoya wondering around or even going to and from work I see other white people on a daily basis, and no I am not counting Mike and Justin. Anyway back to the festival, the hillside where the Hydrangea garden was is beautiful. I hiked up the hill and took a couple pictures. Both Grandpa's would have loved it. They were beautiful.

After the gardens I caught the bus, and headed back to Gamagori Station. The station is near the wharf on the ocean. I could smell the salt of the ocean in the air so I wondered closer to the wharf. I was hoping for a beach to walk towards, but no mostly an industrial area. Lots of ships and buildings. Eventually I wandered back to the station and headed home. It was a good day!!