Sankeien Garden and Chinatown

Dave made some great scramble with peppers and eggs for breakfast this morning. It was a lazy one after the party last night! All six of us (yea) headed out to the train station late morning with our destination being Sankeien Gardens. This Garden was created by Sankei Hara, a successful Yokohama businessman who built a fortune through his silk business. The construction took 20 years. It comprises two gardens: the outer which was accessible to the public in 1906 and the inner for private use. He brought in many temples and buildings associated with historical figures. The Japanese government has recognized Sankeien Garden as one of the "Places of Scenic Beauty" in Japan.

A new train system for us...

Beautiful ponds and gardens leading to the 3-story pagoda...

the azaleas were in full bloom and the iris just beginning...

Colin taking a picture of Ryan at a small Buddhist shrine along the path...

even a lovely bride and groom...

This is the Former Yanohara Family House, an Important Cultural Asset in Japan. It was originally built in a small traditional village located in Gifu Prefecture, now designated a UNESCO world heritage site. It was designed for farmers but has many high-class architectural elements, such as spacious entrance hall for guests, tatami mats in the reception room and windows with distinctive designs often seen in Zen Buddhist temples. Inside the house displays the farming tools used in the Hilda region. It was really fascinating!

The fireplace in the middle of the living room...

Teapots..

storage and food buckets and pails...

the very steep and narrow steps to the second level...

we stopped for lunch near this scenic spot...

Ryan checked to see if there was anything interesting in the water...

then we hiked up the hill to the 5-story pagoda...

and on up the hill to the observation point...refineries...

then a fun stop to try to feed the turtles amongst all the koi...

everytime this guy would about reach the food a bunch of huge koi would move him away...

finally success!!!

This tufted duck was also there, but never got into the chaos.

Then a visit to the original home built in 1902 by Sankei.

It had stunning views from almost all the rooms...

a few traditional Buddhist doorways...

a meditation chair...

the on to a display area with this beautiful handpainted wall...

Then Grandpa did a short talk on bamboo.

Then back on the bus and a visit to Yokohama's Chinatown.

There are shrines and gateways all through the area.

and some great restaurants...Ryan almost has those chopsticks down!

and this time some games on the way home. Very nice day!

Baseball, Yardwork and Jets

Finally sunshine! Despite all the wet weather all week, they're going ahead with makeup games today.
Loved this outfit. If you can't find both socks do one of each. Black and red are both colors for their team so why not. We did find another black sock before we left. Ryan's game was at 9 and Colin's at 10.

Ryan played with one of the neighborhood girls and her dog during Colin's game.

Then a quick run to the Commissary and home for lunch and then some serious tying up of look ends around the house.
Jill, John and the boys planted the plants we had bought when we first came here. They did a great job!
Jean washed sliding glass door windows, Dave and John mulched and worked on weed control and we just generally made the outside look GREAT!

After we got done Dave got cleaned up and we headed down to his office.

Colin, Ryan and Jill had headed down on their bikes and scooter.

Atsugi Naval Air Facility...

Commander Baird's jet

Dave explaining some of the mechanics of the plane.

Dad and his boys!

We headed home after a look around and had burgers for dinner. Then the Bairds headed next door for a Cinq0 de Maio party. We just hung out here working on pictures and the blog. The party went on til the wee hours of the morning but we still slept pretty well. Fun day!

Senso-ji Temple - and many forms of transportation!

Looks like a break in the weather -- only 50% chance of rain today so we're off to Tokyo and the excitement of Golden Week!
The first train station is just down the hill and a short walk. We take that train to Yokohama Station and then find the on the subway and then another train and then a new train to us...
The Yurikamome is Tokyo's first fully automated transit system, controlled entirely by computers with no drivers on board.

We got lucky enough to be in the very front car!

The Yurikamome is sometimes mistakenly called a monorail, but the trains run with rubber-tired wheels on elevated concrete track guided by the side walls. Fascinating & Great views!
We rode it and then walked to the Tokyo Cruise Office and headed up river where we went under 13 different bridges on a narrated tour.

Sky Tower

We got off the boat and headed for Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo's most sacred and spectacular temple.

Us and several thousand others!

As well as Flat Stanley. This character is in a book series for young readers. One of Colin's friends from Hawaii had send the cutout to visit places in Japan. He kept getting left on the refrigerator, but today we finally tucked him away with us. Here he is entering the street of shops to the Temple. Colin will them mail it to another friend and he will have new adventures there. I think there is a small picture book that travels with him so all will know where he has been.
Our first stop was a shop that made candy much like rice krispie treats. Here the man is cutting the finished product into 1" squares. He has a long blade next to the wooden stick. Once he cuts he turns the stick 1/4 turn and is ready to cut another even row. We bought some--good!

These folks were making waffle type breads..poured the batter into molds that went along a conveyor to cook, then the mold tops opened and the individual pieces were wrapped in Saran. very ingenious.

Jill stopped at a small shop selling purses. She was looking for something small but big enough so she didn't have to fold her yen more than once and could still carry all her coin yen also...found just the thing.

As we got close to the Temple there were some food vendors so we decided to stop and eat before moving on. Chicken Kabobs, fried noodles with vegetables,

mammoth hot dogs - actually very tasty...

and the boys got some soda where there was a marble on top that they pushed down into the liquid that caused the carbonation. Saw a lot of those around.

then on into the temple area where we washed our hands in the dragon fountain.

After we had gone up to the temple and looked at the golden figures and watched the worshipers pay their respect by throwing coins and lighting candles, this crowd was yet to come in.
The smoke is from the incense burner and is constantly surrounded by people wafting the smoke over themselves to keep them healthy.

Once we got out of the main temple area we crossed a lovely stone bridge with this waterfall on one side and

and many koi on the other side. Notice the azalea hedges...they're just beginning to flower. In a week they should be stunning!

More wonderful architecture along with some threatening clouds.

And a huge pair of sandals, one on each side of the building. The people reach up for them hoping to touch them and have safety and good health in their travels.

The five-story Pagoda.

And more shops. these were mostly artisans. This man made heads and feet for dolls and his wife makes the costumes. He explained the process. The dolls were exquisite.
The next shop the man made tops of all sorts. We got two for the boys that when spun correctly turn on their bottoms...shaped much like a mushroom. Colin played with it a lot today.

A snow cone stop...just like ours except the boys got to put on their own juices.

Then the rain came..not too heavy, but the crush of people many with umbrellas made walking through the street to the train interesting.
As we came up the stairs from the subway to catch our train there was this beautiful peacock window.

On the last train home all the seats were taken so Colin and Ryan sat on the floor with their books until we got to our station..both engrossed.

Dad was home when we arrived so the boys had some playtime with him before he and Mom took off on their Date Night! We had one of our own with their favorite meal - Lentils and Rice and Mac and Cheese and then a movie - Ratatouille! I've been trying to see that for years. A little Strawberry Ice Cream to finish off the night and we hit the hay. Great day!