Zenko-ji in Nagano

In the morning we immediately walked to Tokyo Station, reserved our seats with our JR passes and got a Shinkansen train to Nagano.  Shinkansen trains go up to 130 mph.  Why do we not have these in the States?!

I love that you can get hot drinks in vending machines.  This hot coffee with milk (in a can) was delicious, and so convenient. 

 

Just an hour and a half later we arrived at our destination.  Nagano is the base for all of the ski resorts in this prefecture.  We were not planning on staying but they have large coin lockers at the train station (koin rokka in Japanese) and a cool temple nearby so we took a quick train break. 

 

The walk to the temple is basically just one street, about 2 km, with lots of interesting sights along the way. 

  

 

Nagano is very proud to have hosted the winter Olympics in 1998. 

But this has just reminded Fred that he wants to be in the Olympics before he dies.  He has decided that the senior Olympics may be his only hope.

 

This is the entrance to Zenko-ji, a Buddhist temple founded in the seventh century.

 

 

 

 

A rice ball with miso.

 

We had about an hour before our train left for Yudanaka so we stopped in for a bite to eat.  The lady taking our order didn't speak English so we had to go outside to order, by pointing to plastic food items on display.  No, we did not point to the appetizer above... it was a gift!  Deep fried fish spine, I think.  Mmmmmm?

 

Konichiwa Japan

After the twelve hour direct flight from Los Angeles to Narita (Tokyo) we exchanged our JR vouchers and took the Narita Express to Tokyo Station.  Tokyo Station was a little intimidating (even at 11pm people were rushing around like they were going be late to work) but we found our way to the right exit, no problem.  Luckily walking to Sotetsu Fresa Inn was easy, just ten blocks and two turns later we were there. 

Fred thinks that this is the smallest hotel room he has ever stayed in.  It is small but the beds are comfy and the bathroom is considerably large with good water pressure in the shower, and in the bidet. 

Word of the wise: you have to hit the button again to turn it off when you are done or it just keeps cleaning!

Not to mention if we get bored we could always watch fetish movies. 

It was a long day but Fred wanted to get a bite to eat so of course we all joined him.  The first place we tried a man walked to the door to tell us in good English that he does not speak English, preventing us from entering his establishment.  We had to walk a few blocks but we found a place that was still serving food (it was after midnight at this point).  We got dry Japanese beer and a bunch of appetizers and then headed back to the cozy hotel.  I woke up at 5am totally unable to sleep. 

We head to the mountains today.  I cannot wait!

Two week Japan itinerary in winter

 

I have done my fair share of travel planning but planning for Japan has been the most difficult.  (How can it be more difficult than Cambodia or Nicaragua?!)  When one thinks of Japan they might assume that because it is a developed nation that is so technologically advanced, all of the hotels are available to book online.  This is not the case.  Many hotel websites are in Japanese only, with no email written in English letters, so it makes for planning, with no Japanese skills, more challenging (and time consuming).  Anyway, the planning is all complete (the last addition to the trip made possible by Megumu). 
We bought our two week JR passes last week, our bags are packed and we are ready to go.  This is the first trip that Fred and I will do with another couple, my cousin, Nancy, and her hubby, Vinny.  I think we chose a great couple to start with!  They are fun. 
I have been in spring for the cherry blossoms, and in summer, but never in winter.  It should be a totally different experience.  Not to mention we will be spending a good percent of the trip in the mountains, which I have never been to.  Obviously every day is not planned out exactly but we know where we will be each day.  It should be a great trip!

Dec. 26: depart LAX

Dec. 27: arrive in Narita.  Sleep in Tokyo at Kyobashi Fresa Inn.

Dec. 28: go to Nagano.  Zenkoji temple. Sleep in Yudanaka at Shimaya Ryokan. 

Dec. 29: go to Nozawa Onsen.  Snow board.  Snow monkeys. Onsen.  Sleep at Kawahiro. 

Dec. 30- Jan. 2: return to Tokyo.  Sleep at Akasaka Fresa Inn.  New Years.  Imperial Palace. 

Jan. 2: go to Osaka. Sleep at Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka.

Jan. 3: go to Koyasan.  Sleep at Muryokoin temple.  Fire ceremony.  Temples.  Cemetery.

Jan. 4: go to Nara.  Sleep at LOHAS Nara Ekimae.

Jan. 5: split off from Nancy and Vinny.  Go to Tokorozawa Saitama.  Sleep at Mu's house!

Jan. 6: spend the day with Megumu's family.  Sleep at Mu's house.  (Nancy and Vinny return to LAX.)

Jan. 7: go to Minakami Onsen.  Sleep at Oyado Matsubaya. 

Jan. 8: snowshoe tour with Forest and Water Natural Adventure Planning from 9am-4pm.  Sleep at Oyado Matsubaya.

Jan. 9: explore Minakami.  Go to Narita.  Return to LAX.

Christmas Eve

We stopped by Marla and Dan's house on our way up to Camarillo.  I got Dan a mini keg of dark beer to go with the hard cider he made.  Mmmm mmmm.  A black velvet. 

Marla made lunch.  Quiche, salad, and blueberry cinnamon crumb cake. 

One of the reasons that I wanted to go to Mexico for my birthday was to get these masks for the girls.  It was a successful mission.

Thanks for the radio Marla!  Love it.

Dan made a tumble weed snowman.  My dad used to make these when we were kids.  It did have fake snow but it washed off in the rain.

After lunch and presents we drove to Camarillo to spend the rest of the day with Fred's family.  Luckily there was no rain and no traffic. 

 

After pizza, Fred's sister Dawn took us to the only bar that was open on Christmas Eve.   We played pool and got caught up on life happenings.

And before we knew it Christmas day was here!

 Here comes Santa Claus.  Here comes Santa Claus.  Right down Santa Claus lane.



Mammoth done cheap

Fred has been watching weather forecasts, so bummed to see good snow with no boarding plans.  Even though we are planning on going snowboarding in Japan we decided to take Christmas money from my dad to do a short Mammoth trip as cheaply as possible.  After Fred got off work we drove to Bishop.  We stayed at the Elms Motel (47$ including tax).  The hotel is great because your car is right out front and there is a simple continental breakfast.  We will be staying here from now on for sure.

In the morning we drove to Mammoth.  Luckily the roads were clear (no chains required) even though there was a constant dusting of snow.  As we were leaving in the evening they were recommending chains.  We had perfect timing!

We bought 'beginner' lift tickets for 57$.  There are only four lifts available with the beginner lift tickets but for our first trip of the season it was all we needed. 

It snowed the entire time, and was a bit windy, but totally ideal.  It was Monday so there were no lines.  We practically had the mountain to ourselves.

Fred was so happy with my boarding that he pushed me to go into the treeline (not literally).  It was super fun!  Partially because there was so much space between the trees.  No stress.

After 5 hours of boarding we packed up and drove home.  I was a bit surprised in the morning when my alarm when off (aren't I on Christmas break yet?!) but it was the best short little Mammoth trip. 

Birch and Beach

Fred is camping again this weekend for work so I kept the house lively by having the girls over for a night.  I took them to Birch Aquarium.  I love this aquarium but haven't been back since I volunteered for two years here, at the tide pool exhibit, while going to school.  I managed to let the new UCSD student volunteer do her thing without chiming in.

There are fish tanks that represent over 60 different habitats from all over the world. 

But I think the seahorse exhibit has to be my favorite. 

I had never seen the kelp tank dive show before.  It was cool because the lady (feeding the giant sea bass) has a microphone and can communicate with the docent giving the presentation.  Very entertaining for the little ones.

I couldn't take them this close to the beach without going to the beach!

We collected shells on the sand and enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day. 

Then it was dinner, shaved ice, games and movies. 

By ten we were all exhausted. 

Margaronas

What would you do with all these ingredients? 

You would make a margarona, of course!