Senso-ji Temple

     I'm sure this will be the first of many visits to the Senso-ji Temple. It is one of the most visited in Tokyo. It's super easy to get to and is right outside the subway exit of Asakusa Station. This is the fam in front of the Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate). There is some really fun shopping to be had in the Nakamise-dori (the street connecting the Gate to the temple grounds). Lots of traditional treasures and wares to be found and enjoyed. I plan on going back when it's not pouring rain to enjoy a bit more.

   Here is the short version of the history of how this temple came to be. Sometime around 628, two fishermen fishing in Sumida River found a golden statue of Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) when they pulled up their net. The leader of the village saw this as an omen, took vows to be a Buddhist priest, and made his home a temple for the golden statue.

     Twenty some odd years later an important Buddhis priest visited and decided the image was too sacred for human eyes and thought it should be hidden from human view. So, regardless of your Where's Waldo prowess there will be no statue spotting here. They were having a very noisy ceremony of some sort during our visit.

 
     There are a few of these ginormous incense burners on the temple grounds. This one in particular is always kept burning. By wafting the smoke over your head it is meant to bring you good health. I believe just the opposite. It was shortly after the massive amount of smoke I inhaled while videoing that my head cold struck.

    This building is Aashima Hall. It was built in late 17th century to worship the God called Sukunahikonano-mikoto, who is a guardian of women. They have needles ceremonies here, where women express their gratitude by bringing in used sewing needles and sticking them into tofu. Kind of different.

     I saw this statue and was surprised to see a swastika on it. Why in the world would they keep a statue around that was defiled by the Nazis? So I did a little research. Apparently, the Swastika has been around for about 5000 years and is used by Hindus and Buddhists. It is a sacred symbol for them. Swastika comes from the Sanskrit word meaning, well being, good luck and good fortune. It has given me a different take on something that usually evokes a sense of irritation in me.





 One of my favorite things about this temple was all of the young women who embraced their heritage and came to worship in traditional clothing. These girls were so flattered we wanted to take their picture. Kimonos are just so breathtakingly beautiful. I definitely see one in my future and one for my little, too.

It's Me not You.

     It's been a little bit since I posted. I came down with a lovely head cold that took me out for a few days. Let me tell you, trying to translate enough of the back of a box of medicine to make sure you don't overdose, but assuring you get enough to make a dent in your misery, when you feel like trash is a real treat. I am better now, no worries. Just a small bump in my otherwise incredibly bumpy road.
     While I'm on the topic of colds I wanted to share some info about the masks. You know what I'm talking about. There isn't a picture out there of an Asian city where you don't see at least one person with a white mask on their face. They are everywhere! For the longest time, I believed these people were germophobes constantly in fear of contracting someone's cooties. Here is a little bit you may not know. It's not you it's them. These incredibly curtious individuals are wearing masks, because they are sick and don't want to share their cold with you. They also wear them during allergy season. Although I don't know how much the masks help with allergies. I'll update you when that time of year rolls around. So, the next time you see some one with a mask on don't judge just offer them an "Arigatogozaimasita" (thank you) for making the extra effort to keep you healthy.

Construction: It's Everywhere.

Japan in very similar to the US in that there is construction everywhere. They are always working on streets, overpasses, bridges, etc. Everyone knows how popular Hello Kitty is here in Japan. Today as I was out and about I saw this and it cracked me up. I guess even construction workers like Hello Kitty.

Umbrella Ettiquette 101

     I have been going over umbrella ettiquette with my kids. No such thing you say?!? Well let me educate you.
1) Do not spin your umbrella. It sprays water on all the people around you.
2) Do not pull down the mechanism to close while you are walking to shoot water back up at the sky. This also gets water on the people around you. Usually your mother.
3) Pay attention to where you are going. People don't like to collide with small children who are playing with their umbrellas.
4) Your mother doesn't like to play bumper umbrellas so just don't!
5) You don't need to lift your umbrella to accomodate adults. They are bigger than you and can easily walk past you. By lifting your umbrella they have to lift their's and then everyone gets wet. The idea of an umbrella is to stay dry.
6) Do not shake the water off your umbrella in the direction of the people walking by you. It makes them cranky.
7) Do not open your umbrella like a slingshot in the middle of a large group. Knocking people over with your umbrella makes them cranky also.
8) Your closed umbrella is not a sword, staff or magic wand.
9) You have a small umbrella because you are small. It keeps you dry stop complaining.
10) Lastly, Just please behave you are prematurely aging your mother.

This is the long and short of our umbrella etiquette converstation every time it rains.They are cute little ducks though.

     Walking around in a city when it's relentlessly pouring rain is an adventure. You are constantly ducking and dodging your way through the crowd. If you don't time it just right you hook your umbrella with someone else's and are blessed with a second, third or fourth shower of the day. It's almost like a live action video game. I mean, who knew I moved to the Seattle of the East. It rains a lot here. 

     It rained so much yesterday, and I was in it for so long, my umbrella actually started leaking. I didn't even know that could happen. My poor feet. 3 pairs of shoes and 3 pairs of socks later my feet were water logged. This girl needs a pair of rain boots or I could always take a page out of this guys book. ROFL.

Never Fear McDonald's is Here

Yes Folks, everyone's favorite fast food joint delivers here in Tokyo. All those nights when you don't want to cook, or walk anywhere to eat, and pizza is just not what you are craving you can order a BigMac and have it brought to your door. This mom couldn't be more excited! Woot! They even have those cute little mopeds with the box on the back to keep your food warm and fresh.

This is the Way We Wash Our Clothes

     I realize I've talked about the wash before, but I felt it needed to be revisited. I have mastered a few things. First, I have managed to figure out the cleaning process and no longer have wrinkled jeans and towels. Bonus! However, I am still trying to figure out what all these symbols mean. (Hoping one is a magic dry in 5 minutes. A girl can dream). Second, I've managed not to shrink anything yet. Bonus #2! Our apartment have the washer/dryer combo. I was given two, but it doesn't really speed things up.

     It takes on average 45 minutes to wash one small load. It's the drying that is killing me though. It takes up to 3 hours, yes 3, to dry the same small load. The amount of eletricity alone to dry one load is astronomical. (Did I mention how crazy expensive electricity is here? 1 week cost us about $100.) We have some pretty high tech showers which allow me to hang my clothes and dry them. This shortens the time to 1-2 hours. Then I throw them in the dryer for a quick 10 minutes with fabric softener to make them soft. 

     Needless to say, laundry is a full day affair. I took me 14 hours to do all of my family's laundry this week. I thought I hated laundry before, but this process has brough a whole new hate to the process. So, the next time you complain about your stacks of laundry (my stacks haven't gotten any smaller here) just think of the hoops I have to jump through for clean clothes. 

Rules: Follow Them

     The Japanese are really big on conformity. They have certain rules and every one just follows them. The best example I can give to show this is the escalators. Here when you go up an escalator (there are a lot of these in the subways, so grateful) you stand to the left, and if you choose to walk, you walk up the right side.

     There is no exception. People cue up in these crazy long lines waiting to ride the escaltor up, and leave the right side open for those who choose to walk. There is usually no line on this side. Go figure! In America, we would all just cram in every available space and push our way to the top if we were in a rush. There is no line cutting here. BIG no no! You go to the back and wait your turn or walk up the right side. I've never seen anything like it. 

Oh My Crepe!

I went to explore Takeshita Street today. Met up with a new friend and had a great time. Apparently, it is where all the teens go to see and be seen. We went during the day when they were all in school. It made it a lot less busy. All along this street in addition to candy shops, clothing and shoes shops are these little creperies. Let me tell you how wrong the rest of the world has been doing crepes.

     In Japan, it is very common to have displays of plastic food so you can get a visual of what you are buying. Let me tell you as a foreigner how grateful I am for this small consideration. Now back to the crepes. It was A) delicious, B) not too far of a commute and C) only 550 yen (about $5.50) well worth it.

IKEA: The Better Way

So the other day we took the whole family to IKEA. Don't know what we were thinking, clearly we weren't. One it's an hour "ish" away. Just like Costco it takes trains AND buses to get there. Then we went on a Saturday. Once again not thinking things through. It was a MAD HOUSE!!! There was no room to walk. I have never had a problem with crowds (or "people traffic" as my daughter call them) before but this one made me claustrophobic. Not to mention with the not so wonderful help of Google maps it took us an extra 30 minutes of traveling to get there, most of which was walking around looking for a bus stop. Then my husband had the grand idea to just go home and order everything online and have it delivered. "Well worth the money," he said. We dutifully snapped pictures of all our wants and needs. Guess what, you can't order online and have stuff delivered. You can order from the store, in person, and have it delivered but that's it. Soooo...I made the trip by myself a few days later.

I did a bit of research before I left. First there is an IKEA shuttle. We saw them when we went as a family as we were disembarking from a 15 stop public bus ride. (This is how we roll.) I found the schedule. Here it is in case you are ever in town. It still takes 20 mintes from the train station but there are no stops. Much better. My second bit of advice is to suggest you go during the week. It was a much better experience and I didn't have to crawl over people to get to the shelves.

    Why would you venture back to the craziness of IKEA you ask? Well here's the thing, I have an organizational disorder. I have to have organization every where. If there is a container for something I have to have one. Did you know they have special containers for storing rice here. I'll be getting one only because they're available. I have an individual shoe container for every pair of shoes in my closet. Boxes for crayons, markers, pencils and scissors. I have containers to hold my currenlty unused containers, although it's never very full. Container Store is my Mecca. If they ever brought one to Tokyo I promise I would keep them in business. Long story short, IKEA was my next best option. Unfortunately, I once again went a little crazy with my purchasing, forgetting I had to lug it all back by myself. I did come semi-prepared. So after I enjoyed my 125 yen hotdog I made my way home with my loot. I'm sure this will be the first of many trips. 

Blog Worthy

A little slice of heaven was delivered to my house today. I was so excited to get this package. It is our very first care package from home. My husband's parents are amazing!!! I can't tell you how much I have missed Ranch dressing or any normal flavored dressing. (We did try a look alike ranch but sadly they put coconut in it along with who knows what else...it was no bueno) Now that I'm not drinking soda anymore (my choice) anything to make water more interesting is a blessing. My kids are going to go crazy for the fruit snacks. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Very Musical Truck

When I think of musical trucks I think of ice cream, but here when you here that tune it means your bath is full. (more on that later) Here musical trucks are walking billboards for bands and upcoming broadway shows. I guess in a city full of walkers the best way to reach a broad audience is in the streets.

They should really step it up a notch and have singers and dancers jump out the back at each stop light.  LOL!

Sidewalks Kind of

Japan really doesn't have sidewalks. There are a few here and there around some of the busier intersections but overall this is what you get. A portion of the road sectioned off with, if you are lucky, a metal barrier. This particular one is pretty generous. Most of the time they are a lot skinnier and with no railing. Great for running though. Asphalt is so much better to run on than concrete. So, no complaints here. 

Onigiri

Onigiri = is a rice ball or triangle. I spent some time this morning at a local chapel making onigiri for the homeless.

We made about 200 of them to pass out. It was so much fun! The company was amazing and as always when it comes to service you get more out of it then those you are serving. I'm looking forward to doing this every week.

Stop the Insanity! News Flash: Dogs Can Walk.

Any one who knows me, knows I love my dog! I love all dogs. I digress...How can you not love a face like this??? And his howl! I miss him tons, just a few more months, Buddy.

Sorry, got a little distracted there. So, when we moved into our apartment and were getting the tour, the concierge asked if we had a dog pram. "A What???" She calmly replied, "a dog carriage for your dog," (she thought I misunderstood, I was thinking she was crazy and wanting to confirm), "we have one you can borrow if you need." "Yeah, I don't have one of those, I think I'll be ok. Our dog has 4 legs."

Apparently you can't walk your dog inside the building you have to carry him out. Fair enough I wouldn't want dogs having accidents inside the building. I would think though once you got them outside you would put them down and let them, I don't know...walk?!? You see them all over the city though, owners taking there dogs out for a carriage ride, pushing them up the millions of hills here. I can't help but snicker every time I see one. I love my dog, but there is no one on God's green earth that I would push, Tucker around in a stroller up these hills. Ummm NO. He can walk his darn self. How are these stroller dogs supposed to get exercise? How are they supposed to sniff and well...pee? I found this cute pooch waiting patiently in his "pram" while his owner picked a few things up at the grocery. These little strollers range in price from $50 to $300. So I'm kindly requesting we STOP the INSANITY! Let you dog walk people they will be ok, I promise. Spend that money somewhere else.
One a side note: This city loves their dogs. Many restaurants have hooks outside so you can bring your dog to dinner. I think that is pretty cool. Not right now when you melt walking outdoors but once it cools off it would be nice to take Tucker to lunch. I need to get him here first.

My First Ramen

     I decided to take a stab at making Ramen. Ramen here is VERY different from the states. One it doesn't come dehydrated in a cup and two there is usually large pieces of meat or egg in it. I don't know how authentic adding carrots is, but I like veggies in my soup.

     I had to try out on the kids first because Scott is so darn picky. They loved it! Move over Betty Crocker, this girl doens't need recipes to follow. PS: These are the noodles I was looking for in the grocery (see previous post) while stalking the noodle aisle watching people shop. 

It's Ok to be a Sheep.

     If you know me at all you know that I'm not follower. I tend to blaze my own trail. In fact, I kind of like this about myself. (The only exception to this is when my husband is in charge. He tends to out aggressive me. It's not my favorite, but I've come to accept it.) I'm independent, like to do things on my own, and don't typically ask for help. My husband recently commented to me on how moving to a foreign country is "universally disruptive." It effects every aspect of your life; food, clothes, shelter, work, friends, language, transportation, etc. When you are in these circumstance you can sink or swim. The balance is finding when you need to blaze your own trail and when you should take a step back. During these ardious times I often find myself in, I have come to the conclusion, it's ok to be a sheep sometimes.

      So, what brought on this enlightenment you ask? The grocery store. LOL Because everything important to me boils down to my stomach. I was standing in the noodle aisle, this is a very daunting thing. There are a lot of different noodles here, and it takes forever to google translate each label. So, I took a step back and watched what other women in the store were picking up. There seemed to be 3 or 4 packages that were staples. I went from 30 labels to 4. Low and behold I found what I was looking for. Then I went to check out...Side note here: This was the best $20 I have ever spent in my life. Right here...

   After checking out and filling up my rolling grocery bag, (which I love, did I mention that???) I saw a man walking over to an ice maker. He took a few plastic bags from the shelf, filled them with ice, tied them up and stuck them in his bag to keep his food cold. In my typical storm through life fashion, I would have never noticed the ice available to me. I filled up a few bags myself, stuffed them around my fridgables and headed home. As I made my way to the subway, I realized how many times I had found myself following in others footsteps today and that's when my epiphany happened. Little did these strangers know, they were teaching me a life lesson and making my grocery shopping a little easier too.

Just Another Day at the Disney Store

     I finally got a chance to make it back over to the Disney Store with all of the kids. The boys were eaten alive with envy that Payton got to go without them. With 3 floors to explore it really is a fun place to go. The stairs (because you can't get away from the stairs here) go up in a fun sprial and are decorated like Alice in Wonderland.  I got a great shot at the full store too. Doens't it look like Maleficent's castle (or maybe what I think Malificent's castle would look like if I had any idea).

     I'd really like to know the person that lives in the apartment on top. If they are moving out anytime soon and if yes could we move in. How cool would it be to live in this building??? Maybe they are looking for a cool American to get to know....

     

With Halloween right around the corner they had tons of fun costumes to try. Yup apprently Halloween is celebrated here. Who knew?!? I can totally understand why it is only the best holiday (aside from Christmas) out there!

"Do or do not, there is no try."

Our First Earthquake

     We had our first earthquake today. It wasn't very big but enough that we all felt it. I heard it more than anything. It sounded like thunder. Having the earth move beneath your feet is so foreign when it happens your brain automatically tries to convince you that you didn't feel it and it was your imagination.

     The kids said they felt it really well at the school. Payton acknowledged her helmet that she tried to ignore on the first day. LOL. The family was scattered all over Tokyo. Scott was in western Tokyo said he felt it really well at work. The kids were in northern Tokyo and I was out shopping in southern Tokyo and didn't feel it much at all.

No More NFC!

     <Sniff, sniff> You know all that fun tappy stuff we can do with our phones in the states? Well it's a no go here (not even at McDonalds). Japan is primary a cash based system. Many stores don't even take credit cards, which are very hard to come by BTW. There is good and bad to this. It really keeps the Japanese people from going into credit card debit. Something too many Americans struggle with. I think that's the only perk. So the bad...you have to carry cash everywhere, you jingle when you walk (where do you put all the change that accumulates like bacteria on rotting fish?), it's more difficult to see exactly where you spend your money and last but not least I can't use the tap and pay on my phone. <sigh>

First Field Trip

     One of the best things about private schools are the awesome field trips. The boys spent three days, hiking, camping, river rafting and just having fun. This was a picture shared by the school of their hike. So beautiful I had to share. I'm jealous I wasn't able to go.  ~Mt. Tanigawadake

The Very Un-Carpool

They have these little garages in front of a lot of the schools. So moms can park their bikes and pick up their kids. I've seen the lines to park and pick up down the block at some schools. It made me giggle. 

No space no problem

          There are a lot of instances when there just isn't any space but someone decides to cram a building in there anyway. This is one of my favorites. It is the tiny building next to the large one. Very little space at the end of block. 4 floors, super thin not more than one room per floor. The bottom floor is a small shop. I'm hoping the top 3 floors are for only 1 person.

Then there are the ones they make to fit the small corner that Payton believes look like pieces of cheese. Like this one. 

Over all they have some pretty cool looking buildings here. Just a little different from home. I'm sure there are some better ones, but these just don't fit my norm. 

Here is another one that just got crammed in between two others.  Looks like an industrial complex.

I'm pretty sure this one is space ship.

A Weightloss Plan that Works!

No gimicks here, Friends. No pills, shakes, drinks, or bland food. No counting calories, logging your food, nothing. This plan works, I promise. I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm going to share my secret with your for FREE. Yes, FREE! Here it is (drumroll please....)

HILLS!

STAIRS!

AND MORE HILLS! 
     Plus not buying a car in Tokyo that helped. I have been walking hills and stairs for two weeks. I finally got on the scales and was shocked. I swear this city is nothing but hills and stairs and most of it is up. No wonder these people are so skinny. I'm not real sure where the down hills and stairs are I don't find those very often. So for those of you who have mentioned wanting to come and visit. I recommend good walking shoes (finally figured out why they wear tennis shoes with skirts. No judgement here those people are smart!). I also recommend a good walking regime about a month before you come (a least a mile more is better.) It won't fix the problem but you won't want to die when you get here. 

Hachi

     If you haven't seen this movie you should. It has Richard Gere in it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028532/ I watched it a few years ago and still remember balling my eyes out.  It is for sure the saddest movie ever. Grab a tissue BOX, you'll need it.

     Anywho...I was walking around Shibuya Station yesterday after dropping off the kids and stumbled across this statue. It's kind of off to the side by the smoker's corner. I thought, "Shut the front door, it's Hachiko!" Yup sure enough it is the statue erected for the faithful and loving dog from the movie I watched. Made me teary just thinking about it.