Yama Yuri No Yado, Hanamaki

We were so lucky to get to stay in a ryokan, traditional Japanese Inn, with natural onsens, hot springs, in the mountains. A guy from Willy's work drove us there and stayed for almost an hour explaining the customs to us. We are first brought in to the lobby to drink some really strong green tea and eat interesting cookies?/rice balls? to relax and meet the hostess. Our shoes have already been replaced by slippers at this point. We are then escorted upsatirs to the nicest room with a low table and chairs, tatami mats and sliding paper doors.

We then had to change in to our yukatas, summer cotton kimonos. Since it looks like a bathrobe, that is how I wore it. I peaked into the hallway and saw an ancient maid and with gestures, I asked her if I was wearing it right and she ushered me back into our room and with another young woman dressed me up. It was embarrassing but helpful. I was very grateful. These two days were full of learning and it was hard sometimes. Staying here, was the first time it felt like we left Boise.The dinners lasted for almost two hours. It was fancy for even the Japanese people, a very special place. The food was incredible. Probably the best sushami that we will ever eat. Hunks of beef that melted in your mouth. It was cool becuase I got to cook things and serve food and tea to Willy like it is customery here. The man is served before the woman instead of visa versa like here in the States. As amazing as these dinners were, poor CMCD was getting not only one, but two teeth! He was as squirmy as a toddler could be and it required all of our patience to amuse him and enjoy our experience. Do you know how quiet Japanese people are? That is ok though, I would not trade our time for anything.
When we were done eating, we went back up tour room and our futons were layed out for us. These were the most comfortable beds we had on our entire trip.

After dinner I went down to figure out the onsen. It is a public bath and hot springs. I thought that I would be self conscious there, but I felt amazing bathing in front of petite women. It was a sisterhood, that even though I was a gajiin, foreigner, that I belonged to. You basically go in and sit on a stool and take your sweet time in bathing. Heck, wash 3 times because you have a teething toddler upsatirs! When you are clean, you go into the onsen and just walk in. It is outside in a cliff of the mountain. It was puring outside and pretty dark because the bath was tiled and mostly made of black rock. You just floated in the hot water and your skin is fluorescent white. It was a sensory experience. I chatted with a nice woman, while in there. I practiced my horrible Japanese and she her descent English. I was so grateful to her for being friendly. She even helped me to redress. When she left the onsen, others came in but they ignored me, which was fine because I was leaving anyways. The water was the hottest that I have ever been in. Then you take your sweet time in dressing and doing your hair... Believe me, after all of that you feel pretty emotional and all opened up, I was grateful for bed next to my baby. I tried to wait up for Willy but I just couldn't.

Talk about Service!

The Japanese people are the most hospitable people that I have ever met. They put my manners to shame. At the breakfast buffet, in Kitakami, we were seated and they brought a highchair out for Cole. In Japan, they don't really use the straps to anchor babies in. Willy asked if they had a chair with straps or belts and at the word belt, the waiter scurried behind a wall and preceded to take off his belt to give to us. Willy was mortified and the other tables were pretty amused. Willy was able to let him know that it wasn't necessary for Cole to have his belt and we would be ok. Have I mentioned English was barely spoken there?

Breakfast is great. We made a system: we all sit down and I grab food for Cole (yogurts, fruits, breads, and an egg thingie?), then I get us both OJ and coffee. I then go and grab my breakfast while Willy stops Cole from screaming and feeds him. Now it is Willy's turn to get his breakfy after he scopes mine out. We ate rice, miso soup and fish for every breakfast (and meal, really). I really liked it. They also served the most amazing pineapples, mangos, kiwi and plain yogurts. There was pickled vegetabls, dumplings, miscelaneaus unidentifiable tasties and not so tasties, as well as runny eggs, poached eggs, intresting bacon and sausage. Rule of thumb: Stay away from Western foods because it is not what you are used to.

Kitakami, City Plaza Hotel

Our Hotel Window View

Bento's

Before you get on your train, you can buy a bento or boxed lunch. Willy got me the fancy one with faux wood styrofoam packaging. After you open them, there are eyeballs looking at you. I am exaggerating a little but when picking at mine, I couldn't help but think of bait. We did share a good laugh because I took a bite of the yellow and green thing on the top right and after politely hiding how grossed out I was, I told Willy that he should try it. I know how wrong that is; he was not so polite in hiding it. We learned later that those things are fish paste. I was too afraid to try the thing that looks like an eyeball next to it. Willy tried it and said that it was good. We left the shrimp. Have I mentioned how quite transportation is?

Earthquaaaaaake!!!!

Our first night in Japan, we woke up to the hotel walls swaying. Willy was a little freaked out. It lasted a few minutes. I have never experienced that before. The next morning, I received a message from my mom that it registered a 6.9 on the scale. It was felt the most in Tokyo and they stopped the trains for a bit. If we had traveled a few hours later, we would have probably been inconvenienced by this. But we were already in Kitakami, luckily.

A few nights later, we were sleeping and the next thing I know, Willy is shaking me saying that there was an earthquake. The next morning he told me it was just a dream and that he remembered trying to hold the walls up to save us.

Why don't we have this in US???

It is always good to experience new things but on this trip I am astounded that we are missing out on awesome things in the US, at least I am in Idaho. One of those things are the robotic toilets. For further details on its merits, you will have to ask Willy but suffice it to say that we will be shopping for one one Ebay when we get home. No joke!

And while I am on the subject... here is a picture of the public bathrooms in the woman's room.


Another awesome thing is the coin randry machines. We were desperate for clean clothes in Kitakami and found a laundromat. We didn't believe the gestures of the owner that all we had to do is insert 1000 yen and ALL of our clothes (in one machine) and it would automatically dispense the soap and dry them in only 50 minutes! I thought for sure that we would have to change the clothes into dryers but I was wrong. This was also the cleanest laundromat that I have ever been in. Just click on the picture below for Willy's commentary. :)

From Upload to japan photobucket

Narita

I finally caught up on uploading all of the pictures of our trip. You can see the first half by clicking on the picture to the right. For the rest of them, click on the link above the picture. With that out of the way, I will begin to regale you by relating some of the adventures that we are having in Japan.

When we walked in to the airport at Narita, there where a lot of people wearing surgical masks and we passed by a sign that said quarantine and people offering to take your temperature if you had any symptoms. OK.... There is nothing like rolling your toddler past a sign like that! But really, the Japanese people are the cleanest germ crazy people I have ever seen. Even in the hotels they surpass US standards of cleanliness. I would eat off of the floor here! I am hardly exaggerating. We have eaten in a few places where you sit on a pillow on tatami mats and eat your eel (more on that later).

Arriving at Nihon

Guess who left his passport at home and realized it when we were checking in at the airport? Yes, that was a fine start to the day. (Karen, thank you so much for driving us to the airport and for asking us if we had everything on the way out.) As I was waiting in line while Willy took a taxi home to get his passport, people were joking with me that it was really my fault for not checking. I will leave that up to you. I was very surprised that I heard Willy calling my name as I approached our gate. He made it there the same time that I was just getting out of security!

I lost Cole's favorite book on the plane to Salt Lake. Needed more coffee.

The flight to Narita took my entire life. It was also uneventful. Cole was fine. We had a bassinet for him to sleep it so that was a big help. The food was also very good. He also got to crawl around because we had the whole 4 seat row to ourselves; the plane was not very full. Not a lot of Mormons going to Tokyo, I think. There were movies (I watched Star Trek; Willy watched The Soloist).

When we arrived, everyone was wearing surgical masks and we passed by a quarantine sign and people standing around looking like they would take your temperature if you had any symptoms. No problems with Customs; very easy.

We bought our train ticket and took a taxi to our hotel and then slept for 12 hours.