Homes and the rainy afternoon

If you can't tell now, I have some time on my hands. Actually what I'm trying to do is procrastinate which I'm doing very well by slamming out blog posts. I have these photos I took one rainy afternoon, part of my "day in the life" series. These photos were taken sometime in June, well into rainy season. Rainy season this year was really wet. Our spring was mild and the first few months of summer including most of July was exceptional! I was really hoping that the hot, humid days of Yokosuka were going to elude us this year. Unfortunately that would not be the case and instead, Tokyo had seen some of the highest temperatures since recorded weather keeping.

Well, I had Zelig with me that afternoon so we went out in the downpour and headed to Homes. Homes is a department store, something like Target, perhaps a little more rough around the edges. Upstairs is the furniture department and now a Uniqlo. The furniture store at Homes is really the only option to get "quality" furniture in Yokosuka so of course the prices are steep for a lot of the items. Yes, we've bought a few furniture items from Homes and I just hope they last longer than our IKEA pieces!

One of the reasons why we like going to Homes is to see the pets. It's such a cheap thrill for Zelig and for me too. It's like going to the zoo or aquarium or better because we don't have to drive as far or pay as much. So of course, while we are there and with my camera tucked away in my purse, I headed to the toilets and took some photos to share with you. Why would you want to see a Japanese toilet? To see how clean the facilities are and to see some of the amenities that are included in some of the stalls.

This is the toilet cleaner. You take a few pieces of toilet tissue, spray cleaner on the tissue and wipe down the toilet.

This is the sound effects machine. This is a sensor so when you enter the stall, the sound of running water will start and finish when you leave the stall. It's to mask those embarrasing noises.

This is the actual commode. There is a control panel off to the side of the seat to allow you to adjust the bidet option. You can direct the stream, which by the way the water is heated as are the seats, alter the pattern of the stream such as a soft or hard spray and a few other things that I'm not privy to since I don't read kanji or hiragana.

After the washing of the hands, you'll need to dry off of course. These are automatic. Just place your wet hands inside and jets of forced air will blow the water off your skin as well as a few skin cells and some hairs too!

A Good Old Fashioned Bon Odori Festival!

Sometime between mid-July through August, the Japanese will close up shop for several days, maybe weeks, and head back to their hometowns to honor their families ancestors. The O-bon is a 500 year old Japanese Buddhist holiday where families get together, clean the graves of their ancestors and do what they really like to do...party.

The Japanese love to party. Any excuse to throw back a few chu-hi's, eat some meat on a stick is well worth marking red on the calendar. Just recently the Japanese took the day off for "Respect for the Aged Day" and I believe today is "Autumnal Equinox--Observed". The date is marked red in my Japanese calendar so it must be important to the Japanese. I just don't know if school is closed for this auspicious day as it was for the "Aged." I do know that "Sports Day" is coming up soon which unfortunately coincides with our Columbus Day Holiday. It's going to be a busy three day weekend in Japan. I think we'll avoid going to costoco that day!

Well, back to the O-bon Festival: These pictures are of mikoshi, a portable Shinto shrine which confuses me now since I thought the O-bon Festival is a Buddhist holiday. I guess the Japanese are not opposed to combining the two religions to which I say, "good for you!" The shrine holds the spirit of a diety which is then paraded through the neighborhood streets. Sometimes the shrine is left in a designated place, such as this one on the left, before it is returned to the shrine. The mikoshi can be of an elaborate design, gilded and painted such as the one on the right or like the shrine on the left, adorned only with carvings, banners and lanterns. The shrine is set atop two poles of which are carried on the shoulders of men and women, who rhythmically bounce and chant along the streets. As you can see, there is also the manner of dress which is proudly worn by men and women although I seriously doubt any American male would be caught dead wearing unless they are in college and are pledging to a fraternity.

Note the "gentleman" on the far right. He's packed with neccessities to get him through this day, including the lit cigarette dangling from his lips and what you can't see in his left hand, an opened can of beer.

Just to let you know that a Bon Odori is not just about mikoshi, it's about the fun and games. Zelig and his new friend, Mrs. Fitzgerald, tried to play the games but were quickly frustrated after realizing that these games were not designed to let you win.


Mrs. Fitzgerald not winning

Zelig and Mrs. Fitzgerald display their "prizes." It seems that everyone who plays this game walks away a "winner." Zelig's little fish are alive and well. They are now Goldmember and Dr. Evil. I don't know about Mrs. Fitzgerald's fish. I think they might be dead by now.

Huh? What did you say? costoco? Oh, you mean "Costco!"

I love Costco. I really have a lot of fun at that store. You'll just never know what you'll find there. There is a really good selection of wine and I like the cheeses. I would really like to indulge in the fresh produce but what am I going to do with a large box of erengi mushrooms? Now really!

What I think is so intriguing about this Costco is not only is it in Japan, where it's very popular, but the majority of the produce and merchandise sold are western items and brands. I'd say a good 80% of products sold are Western items and brands. That includes clothing, (sold in U.S. sizes but of course all petites or smalls), six packs of cream of mushroom soup and large boxes of Dreft laundry detergent! There has even been available an incredible playground set, wooden with a climbing wall, a six foot slide, two swings and monkey bars. This thing was huge! Now who in Japan would buy that? Back in the States, I would probably buy it, of course after Doug has the heart attack when he sees the price.

I also like their food court. This food court is very popular and fills up fast with shoppers. A popular lunch item are their hot dogs, (all pork product of course). The Japanese are not shy when it comes to topping their dogs. They load up on relish, onions and mustard and ketchup. Some would say "sacrilege!" but since the Japanese don't follow Christian religion they don't really care about the sanctity of the dog!

A popular dining spot--the Costco food court!

Doug and Zelig enjoying their Hokkaido softo cureemu!

After a successful day at Costoco, we head out with all the other shoppers on the escalating slide. Pretty nifty!

Hayama--my kind of town

I have had this idea for sometime now. I wanted to mark a day in the life of Zelig so I took the camera with me where ever I went for several days. Sometimes Zelig was with me, sometimes it was just me or a friend. I ended up spending a few days in Hayama with Nicki, either with our kids or without. The days were hot, there was no Fuji-san in sight, but the memories were still grand.

I start off with my friend, Nicki, in Hayama, which is a sea town on the west side of the Miura Peninsula. It is the location of the royal family's summer home, safely tucked away just north of this view above. Do you see the little red Torii gate off in the distance? By the way, Nicki and I were sitting on the balcony of a very popular restaurant called Ottimo. The food served is fancy Jatalian, tasty but oh so haute! Actually, the prices were reasonable which means that I've been in Japan for too long!

Fancy food!

Fancy drinks!

Good times with Nicki, Joshua and Zelig

Then sometime later in the week, Nicki and I and our two cute little boys went back to Hayama and spent the morning on the beach. I must say that this small stretch of beach wasn't too exciting but it was cleaner than some of the other beaches I've been to on the peninsula. The boys had a great time and so did the moms, considering what Nicki and I went through to get the car parked. Do you remember the scene from the first Austin Powers movie when Austin, driving the little golf cart, needs to turn around in the narrow hallway? Little by little, he backs up, then pulls forward, backs up, pulls forward, backs up...you get the idea. Well, that was me trying to pull into a drive way with Nicki running back and forth checking for clearance on the narrow street. It was really funny as I look back on it.

Kannonzaki Nature Center

The Kannonzaki Nature Center, situated along Kannonazki Park, is this areas natural museum, exhibiting living creatures and plants found in and around the rocky beaches and Laurel forest of the Miura Peninsula. The natural landscape and coast line of this point on Tokyo Bay made Kannonzaki an important strategic zone in national defense since 1854, when the Tokugawa government opened it's ports to foreigners.

The Nature Center has been a favorite of Zelig's ever since we went several months ago and we've been back many times since. It's a small museum, exhibits are sometimes nothing more than plastic bug boxes with crickets or preserved fish in glass jars. However Zelig's favorite exhibit is the "fish touches pool", two boxes laying close to the ground, filled with a sampling of sea life. I think the exhibit is changed out frequently and I can only imagine the volunteers of the museum wading out into the tides and taking large scoops from the sand to bring back. Zelig just loves this pool and he specially likes to touch the octopus. Today, he touched one of the sea slugs which really is as slimy as one would imagine and kept on picking up the star fish.

Zelig with new friend, Sara Fisher

Just outside the Nature Center is a spot that marks a significant historical and cultural event for Japan. It is said that on this spot in 1954 in Kannonzaki, Gojira, or Godzilla, rose from the sea and set upon his destructive path towards Tokyo. To mark this event, his foot prints have been preserved in cement, like Grauman's Chinese Theatre! Only there is no signature.

Gojira was here!