Got metafilter?

Been meaning to put this picture up for awhile now, but they blocked anything with a blogspot address at work. Sneaky bastards. Anyway, this is Mount Fuji at sunrise as seen from the hotel we stayed at last month.

Ko-chan and empty beers.

Kazu-kun says peace.

Ko-chan and Mari-chan lookin' funky.

Just got back from a mini-enkai. Mari-chan met us at the station and took us to her friend's okonomiyaki joint. We haven't hung out in ages, so it was good to catch up. But mostly this post is just an excuse to put up more pictures. G'nite.

Mt. Fuji in Zen garden.

Ginkakuji Zen garden.

Jon and I have been extremely busy with the musical we joined. Jon helps backstage. I am the mother of the star (I only have a 30 second debut at the beginning of the play when I say my 1 line) and a dancer. The dances were really hard to learn and a lot of work to memorize but they are a lot of fun!

Because we have been so busy, I have not had a chance to finish writing about my parents's visit. As Jon's mom, Joanna, is coming to Japan in 1 week and 3 sleeps (YAY!), I will try to finish up.

In Kyoto, after walking part of the Philosopher's Path, and waiting for dad to buy a samurai sword, we visited Kinkakuji's sister temple - Ginkakuji - The Silver Pavillion. It is a lot less spectacular than the brilliant gold Kinkakuji. Apparently, Ginkakuji was built with the intention of covering it in silver. The plans just never happened. Even so, the Zen Garden at Ginkakuji is spectacular. I can't even imagine how long it would take to rake the sand into the desired symbols.

Faeries in the parade just as it began to snow.

Pooh-san.

Mom and Dad and Doc.

In the teacup...

I have wanted to go to Disneyland for as long as I can remember. There is just something magical about it. It's every kid's dream and maybe even every adult's too. On March 13, I finally got my chance.

It was everything I dreamt it would be - music, dancing, exciting rides and much, much more - crowds, lines, and expensive food most of which was not vegetarian. I am really scared of rollercoasters but I decided to give Thunder Mountain a try anyways. I promised I wouldn't close my eyes, like I did on the Spiderman ride at Universal Studios Japan. Surprisingly, I managed to keep my promise and as a result, I had a blast.

Now I want to go again!!!

Spring has sprung when the cherry blossoms come.

In Japan, spring is the beginning of the new fiscal year. First the plum trees blossom. Then people get assigned to their new jobs and have to move all over the place. Finally the cherry blossoms arrive and people can sit down to a good party.

Plum blossoms are darker than cherry blossoms, but just as beautiful. Put in the northwest corner of a yard, they also ward off evil spirits. At least I think it’s the northwest corner.

No amount of plum blossoms will ward off your travelling papers, though. This year, one of the women I work with got moved to a new job two hours in the other direction. She had about a week to make the move. Luckily, she lives in the middle of both jobs so her commute stays the same. Other people aren't so lucky. I remember last year, a guy I worked with got placed in Ashizuri, three hours from his home and family. He got a new apartment for the week and was able to visit his family on weekends.

Before, I had a hard time understanding all this movement. I asked people if they were pleased or upset to be changing jobs. They said it didn't matter, that they had to fulfill their duty. I'm reading Donald Richie's The Inland Sea, which talks a bit about Japanese devotion. "I cannot approve of it," he writes, "and I certainly do not like it. It is actually a kind of laziness. You let someone else -- country, flag, government -- make up your mind. You also, of course, make them responsible. Perhaps this is the true attraction of devotion. If you can make someone else responsible, then you don't have to be responsible for yourself. Nothing -- including your own life -- is your own fault." That may be a bit harsh, but it does help to explain the dominant attitude that almost everything -- earthquakes, typhoons, a monster of a boss who makes you work 70 hours a week -- can't be helped, must be dutifully endured.

Ceremonies, for example, are a matter of serious endurance. Yesterday was the first grader's first day of junior high school. Parents crowded the school gym to see their son's or daughter's name announced. Pictures were taken and smiles were beamed. There was a speech about war and peace and the need to study hard. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best. The school brass band beeped and booped as the new recruits filed out of the gym and into school. I did my best just to stay awake.

Today, the last Friday of spring, people seem to be settling into the new year. The photocopier has been cleaned and new ties have been purchased. People are typing and phoning like rabbits because in three hours its hanami!

Cherry blossom viewing originated in the days before time, back when the seeding god, or the harvest god, or some kind of god, resided in the cherry tree. Naturally, people offered food and drink to the cherry tree god when it awoke in spring. But of course the gods had no use for food and drink, and good farmers of the land, being practical people, had a party there under the cherry tree. Then, as now, a good time is a good time.

Maiko.

Wooden door and bamboo in Gion.

Mom, Dad, and Jon at Kinkakuji.

Japan.

What is the first thing that comes to mind?

Perhaps, thanks to The Last Samurai and Tom Cruise, it's samurai which might lead you to think ninja, leading me to our next adventure – a ninja house. Secret passageways, trap doors, and hidden staircases. Sounds cool, right? It would have been much more enjoyable if our tour guide wasn't grumpy and uptight. It might have been a bad day for him. I'm not entirely sure. We did get a real kick out of him though. His tour talk mostly consisted of what not to touch and why followed by a detailed description of people who touched what they were not to touch. It was quite humorous actually.

Nijo jinya is an inn that was constructed sometime between 1661-1672. The apparatuses that the ninja constructed for quick-escape are quite interesting. The inn can be seen by appointment only and it is required that those who cannot speak Japanese bring a translator with them. On our tour there was also an extended family from California with a Japanese translator as well as 2 Japanese girls. Jon and I took turns translating for Mom and Dad. The tour was 1000 Yen which is a bit steep. The rooms were very tiny and the group too large so only a select few could actually see anything besides the hallways. I think the family from California found mine and Jon's straightforward translation to be much more interesting than what their translator had to say. They didn't know this but their translator had her own tour guide speech and elaborated on and/or didn't translate much of what the man was saying. For instance, she didn't even mention the "don’t touch" sector of the tour. When they couldn't hear their translator and they heard Jon and I translating for Mom and Dad, some of the people began to listen in. One of the women asked Mom, "Is that a family member or your translator?"

All grumpiness and squishiness aside, we had a good time. After the ninja house, we proceded to Kinkaku-ji – The Golden Pavilion. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating and the pavilion wasn't shining into the surrounding water. Still, it was quite beautiful.

The best part of the day for me, had to be the real life porcilin dolls – the Geisha. Actually, they were most likely maiko, or apprentice geisha. We saw quite a few of these treasures slipping in and out of the teahouses. They are so elegant and poised and fast. It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of a Maiko. We tried, nonetheless.

After a difficult week of vacationing, we decided to call it an early night and thus begun the Angie and Steve versus Jon and Nancy Kaiser war.