Goodbye to Uh... to Yeah... these two fish

Well, we have learned another lesson of life here in Japan. That is, never encourage your daughter to try to catch fish at a street vendor at the side of the road. Of course, everyone here says, "Oh yes, my kids caught some fish years ago and they are still alive and well!". Yeah, screw you!

Well, yesterday my wife found another goldfish dead in the water. This time Anna was not effected at all. I believe the fish/death thing has now desensitized her somewhat.

This morning I woke up to check on the fish and found the remaining two dead also. Now we have an empty tank and the fish graveyard in the front is going to get crowded. I asked my wife if she thought we should get some more fish but she said she will tell Anna that we will not get another. I am still waiting for the reaction this morning from home on how Anna will take that.

The salespeople at Joyful Honda tell us that the goldfish crop this year is bad. I wonder if there is a goldfish health index we could look up on the Internet?

Ueno Park 上野公園

Today, while Mom was at work at Big Hop, Anna and I took a trip to the big city. As of late I've been kind of worried that the wife and daughter have been hanging around the Inzai for too long. I especially felt that way when, on the way home from the station one day, Hiroko made it a big point to say that the new housing sign had changed in front of our neighborhood. If this was the extent of her excitement, we needed to get out of the neighborhood at least for the day.

First step is Anna. We dropped Hiroko off at work and Anna and I took the train to Ueno Park. We arrived at about 10am and took a ride on the paddle boats. Then we went for the zoo but I got lost and ended up a couple of blocks down the road until I realized I had to go back. We got to see the Giant Panda there. The panda I think has gotten pretty tired of getting his picture taken with flash bulbs every time he looks towards the guests, so I did not get some very good pictures.

The street performers were great. One in particular was this lady singing opera while playing the accordion. The last performers we saw were from Peru playing the pan flute. Also, there was a great guy doing a comedy / juggling / balance act on a bowling ball. All allot of fun.

Good-Bye Kara-Kun

While my mother was here in Japan they took a trip to see the cherry blossoms at Kobayashi Bokujo. All along the street there were vendors peddling food, toys, etc. At one of the booths my daughter tried her hand at "Kingyo Sukui" (金魚すくい) where kids try to catch goldfish with a disk of paper that slowly falls apart in the water. If you are not quick, you will lose the fish. Anna was able to catch three orange goldfish and one black big eyed goldfish.

The three goldfish are named Remi, Kina, and Hina. The black fish, Kara from day one tended to hide underneath the plastic plant inside the tank. The Remi, Kina, and Hina would pick on Kara while he hid there.

Yesterday, our worst fears were realized and Kara was found floating underneath one of the tree he liked to hide under. Anna took it pretty hard but she learned one of life's hardest lessons. We made a grave in the front yard for Kara and my wife made a little drawing of Kara underneath his name.

In the afternoon we went to Joyful Honda to see if we could find another fish to replace Kara. Unfortunately, the salesgirl there warned us against buying another one at that time. Many of the fish were not well there either. She told us to come back in a couple of weeks to see if the fish had gotten any better (or some of the weak ones had died off.)

Coolest Truck Ever

Today, on the way to work I spotted the back of this dump truck on it's way to a construction site. The back of the truck is a picture of the popular Yakuza movie star, Bunta Sugawara. He stared in the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity Series" (仁義なき戦い). The series mostly depicted the stories of gang wars in Hiroshima following World War II.

This pose of him coming out of the water with the short sword weapon of the Yakuza is a classic. Many trucks here have much more elaborate designs (I'll try to get some more pictures later) but this one really brings chills coming up your spine. This truck simply tells you "Tailgate at your own risk."

Grandma Goes Back to The USA!

Today we took my Mom back to Narita Airport to say good bye for a while. My mom is always very nervous about flying. Her flight was at 3:30 in the afternoon but we left the house at 10:30am. In the pictures you can see that Mom was visibly nervous when she saw the line at the Delta counter. She was really spooked from the last time she came here and we were caught in a massive traffic jam in Narita. The date was the "Coming of Age" day and there were allot of 20 year olds going to Narita-san to have their ceremony.

This month went by way too quick. Being here and getting into the "Salaryman" lifestyle I think was a little different for Mom. There were a couple of times where my superiors wanted me to have a few drinks after work. Although I don't come home as late as other husbands here, I did come home pretty late on those days. Also, while she was here my company had two "Working Saturdays" that I had to take off while she was here. I had hoped to take more time off to do stuff but this month has been extremely busy.

With the rain in Shimoda, that trip was kind of a disappointment but seeing Gyokusenji and the first American Embassy in Japan was great. Also, I think that she got to see the blooming of the cherry blossoms around Japan during this time made her trip all worth while. The Cherry blossoms at the Kobayashi Bokujo have all but fallen from their branches now. Mom, however, got to see them when they were just budding out until they went to full bloom. I don't think that there are many places in the states where you can see a full fledged pink tunnel.

This year we hope to get everything settled back in the USA and make a trip to Atlanta to see Mom, my sister, and everyone.

Love You Mom. I miss you already!

Grandma Goes To Naritasan

Today we took a day trip back to Narita-san. This time I wanted to take my mom here. Last year when we visited this temple, it was being restored for it's 1070 year anniversary. This time, all of the scaffolding was gone and the buildings all open for everyone to see.

When we arrived and saw the main temple building, we noticed that they were actually letting people inside. Usually at these temples the closest you get is the front gate where you throw your 10yen coin and make your wish. This time the side entrances were opened and the Buddhist monks were chanting and beating taiko drums for a special ceremony. Since you usually don't see this unless you know about it, this was a great opportunity.

Mom really loved the gardens around the temples. There were still cherry blossoms in bloom with some more different kind of blossoming trees blooming with various colors everywhere. Since the place was being restored last time, we really did not realize then just how big the whole complex was. This time, we got to see it all.

Also, on the way home I was able to get a final picture before I go back to work tomorrow of the Kobayashi Bokujo Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. This picture was taken while I was behind the wheel. You should not try this on your own.

Townsend Harris and Shimoda

At the end of March we took a trip with Grandma to the Izu Penninsula where there are many hot springs. There has always been a town that I have wanted to visit here in Japan. The town is Shimoda. This is the site of the first American Embassy set up by Townsend Harris in 1854 following the expedition of Commodore Perry and his Black Ships.

We first visited Gyokusenji. This was a temple that the samurai of Shimoda allowed Harris to use while he stayed in Japan. On the site is a very large cemetery where there are graves of sailors that died on the trip to Japan.

After seeing Gyokusenji we rushed to the temple dedicated to Okichi, the geisha assigned to spy on Townsend Harris for the samurai. Her story is a very sad one. Before Harris had arrived she had a person she loved. After he left she was scorned by others because she had been with the "barbarian" Harris.

Our hotel was just wonderful. If the weather had been better it would have been even better. Unfortunately, we had rain for the whole time we were there. Hopefully next time we visit, the weather will be better. Mom really enjoyed the hot springs. The meal was full of fish caught just off the coast of Shimoda. Simply the best!

We could have also taken a trip on the Susquehanna, a replica of the steamers that visited Japan back in the mid 1800's. Again, the rain really prevented this. On the way back, Anna told us that next time we should go to Shimoda when the weather is better.

2008 Kobayashi Bokujo Sakura

About 2 weeks ago we were able to enjoy the blooming of the Kobayashi Race Horse Pasture Cherry Blossoms. These pictures were taken while they were about 60% opened. They still are quite beautiful even at just this much. As I'm writing this now (4/6/2008) the flowers are just now starting to come off the trees. When you drive or walk underneath these trees it looks as though it is snowing. This is definitely the reason I wanted my mom here during the spring.

On this day, Hiroko's relatives came up from Funabashi and my friend from work came down from Tsukuba for the day. While walking underneath the trees we came upon our neighborhood council enjoying snacks and beer. When I was offered a beer and some squid jerky, I could not refuse.