Yokohama- View From the Top
This weekend Zach and I went on a farewell tour of Tokyo. Saturday we went to Yokohama, as we had never been there, and Sunday we visited all of our favourite places in Tokyo. We arrived in Yokohama bright and early and headed straight to the Landmark Tour- the tallest building in all of Japan! Also, the fastest elevator in the world takes you to the 69th floor observatory at a rate of 45 km/hour! Needless to say, I waited in Starbucks while Zach ventured to the world above. However, I did go on the moving sky highway afterwards! (Also, a picture of the tower from the ground).
Yokohama- Chinatown
After walking around the harbour we headed to Chinatown. Yokohama's Chinatown is very famous, because there are only two Chinatowns in Japan- in Yokohama and Kobe. This is very surprising to me, but, as a result, Chinatown is a big deal. It was really fun, and it definitely felt very un-Japanese! I especially liked the giant panda!
Happy (early) Birthday To Me!
On Wednesday Alexis had a surprise birthday party for me! I say surprise, because while I knew that we were going over for dinner, I didn't know that it was a birthday party! It was excellent timing, as her 4th of July parcel arrived that day, so it was all-American themed dinner, which I felt was quite appropriate for my upcoming move! It is hard to say what the best part was- either the New York Yankees shirt, or the chocolate-pancake cake, but either was it was really sweet! I had a lot of fun!!
Barbeque
Following tennis we did something I am much more experienced at: eating! We had a huge BBQ with so much meat, veggies and yakisoba! It was great!! Plus, it is always lots of fun to run around and play with the kiddies! It was a perfect summer day, and a great way to say goodbye to these people who have meant so much to us while we have been here!
The Challenge: The Sign of a Good BBQ
More Food!
Roasting marshmallows!
With Hiroki and Tomoharu
The Whole Gang
Tennis
My Moms and Kiddies took Zach and I to play tennis this weekend. This is kind of amazing for two reasons: 1) I have never played tennis before EVER. I have NEVER held a racket. I have NEVER swung at a tennis ball. The closest I have ever come is using tennis balls in socks to practice for rhythmic. NEVER. 2) I have never played tennis before. How does one become 24 without ever playing tennis? So, off we went to Uchinada for my first tennis experience! Unfortunately my opponents are all exceptional players who play for several hours everyday, including the 10-year old kiddies. The good news is that Zach and I beat (I think- it was very, very close) the two 10-year olds- one with a broken shoulder! Still, it was a lot of fun! I think I may try tennis again within the next 24 years.
Yuuta and I
Zach showing his natural tennis ability
I'm actually playing here. I am the player in pink. I learned to serve (sort of).
The formidable opponents- broken shoulder and all!
Mizukami san shows far greater skill than I could!
Kobe- Chinatown
After finishing the GRE this weekend Zach and I headed to Kobe-- officially the last place on my "MUST SEE IN JAPAN" list. We arrived in Kobe just as it started pouring rain! I mean, POURING!! It was the hardest rain I have seen in a long time- and I live in Kanazawa However, having waited two years to see Kobe we just had to "gambaru," buy a couple of umbrellas and get wet! Our first stop was lunch in Chinatown. We went to this little family-run gyoza restaurant. We knew we were in good for a good meal when there was a line-up outside, even in the pouring rain, but we weren't prepared for how good it was! Some people rave about Kobe beef, but I love Kobe gyoza!! When we finished lunch there was still a huge line-up, and the rain had stopped!!! So we walked around Chinatown some more!
At the gyoza restaurant. The gyoza (Chinese dumplings) were made completely by hand in the little kitchen in the middle of the restaurant. When I asked if I could take a picture several members of the family were making gyoza; however, they quickly left telling the poor 15 year old son that I wanted a picture of only him and made him stay. He pretended to be embarrassed, but gave me a big smile when we left so he didn't really mind!
This is Chinese liquor that we found for sale. You have probably heard of a worm in a bottle of tequila, but an iguana? There were huge iguanas inside the liquor! Had it not been so disgusting we probably would have bought a lot of it!
Kobe- the Harbour
Once the sun came out we walked to Kobe Harbour. The harbour was more or less entirely destroyed in the earthquake, so it is now very modern. There is an earthquake memorial where part of the harbour has been maintained as it was after the earthquake, as well as the famous Kobe Tower. It was a nice walk around the harbour- especially as the weather was almost hot!
The lampposts after the earthquake hit.
I love palm trees!!
Kobe Tower
The area around the harbour is named Meriken Park, because the American Consulate used to be located there. We found this weird tribute to old American entertainers. On the other side of the TV are many stones with American actors names and dates on them.
A random taiko show that we found.
Zach in front of the Santa Maria. I wonder if West Ed is missing it...
I wish we were staying in this hotel...
School Picnic
This Thursday was the school excursion, so I headed out with the first-year students for a long hike and then a picnic in a beautiful park! By long hike, I mean a LONG HIKE!!! It was a 14 km hike, it was 30 degrees out, and it was up and down mountains. BOTH WAYS. I was so sore the next day, and so tired when we finished, but it was all worth it! I had a really great time hiking with the students, playing volleyball and soccer, and eating a great lunch!
Ladybug rollercoaster at the park!
Cooling down in the lake when we arrived!
My adorable students.
320 students, plus teachers, stretches on for a long way!
Stopping to Smell the Roses
Today was a very rare event for Zach and I- we both had nothing to do after school! We enjoyed our newfound freedom by going for a nice, long walk around the neighbourhood. On our adventures we came to visit this rose garden near our house. The roses were in full bloom and they were beautiful! My favourite part were all the names of the roses! Every type of rose was labelled- but, alas, no Jane's!
Nagano- The Final Tour
This weekend was our final trip to Nagano for the twice-yearly JET soccer tournament. This was quite an emotional trip, as I think that soccer has been the one theme dominating our lives here in Japan- and apparently the obsessing was worth it! This weekend saw Ishikawa with its best finish ever! It started out intense, with a 1-0 loss to Tochigi, despite serious Ishikawa dominance. We had a quick comeback, however, with a 3-0 victory of Saitama, followed by an extremely close game (and some dogdy reffing) against Yamanashi, maintaining a 3-2 lead for the victory. The day ended facing our new found rivals Tochigi, against losing a close 1-0 match. This is the first time that Ishikawa has managed to win two games in one day- and actually ended up in the top half of the rankings! The party was, as always, a challenge that Ishikawa was determined to meet. Saitama put up a good fight, but I think the victory remained ours. Sunday was only elimination games, and we were up against Shonai- the team that had eliminated us last June. Out for a taste of revenge, it was a very close game! Shonai had an early 2-0 lead when a handball in the box gave us a penalty and a goal!! But, with time running out, would it be enough? Yes! Zach came through to save the day and scored the equalizing goal!!! Game Over! It's time for penalty kicks. We missed our first one, and Shonai scored. But, we scored our next- and Shonai was up to the plate. The goalkeeper made an absolutely beautiful save-- only to have the ref call it back! We ended up losing on penalty kicks- but definitely won a moral victory! Plus, the curry rice was yummy.
It is very sad that we won't be back to Nagano, but it was a great way to leave it! And, of course, the mountains were goregous!
Warming up for the first game!
The strike force.
The cheer squad. Perhaps most responsible for the great results.
The whole team.
