Yokohama

Yesterday (Wednesday), ten of the teachers I work with at my Junior High School and myself, took a three hour bus ride to Yokohama. Yokohama is San Diego's sister city. Our trip began at 7:00am in front of Chichibu City Hall where the bus picked me up. We had a forty seater for the 11 of us. Nice. By 7:30 all of the teachers were picked up and we were on the road. We started the morning by giving short speeches about why we were excited to go to Yokohama. Any occasion is an occasion for a speech in this country, I tell ya. So, I said something really fast since no one but one person (one of the English teachers) could understand me, and come to think of it, if I don't talk slow and robotic, the English teacher doesn't understand me much either. So, at 8:00, Takizawa-sensei strolled down the bus aisle with beverages of various sorts...beer, lemon chu-hi's, grapefruit chu-hi's, etc. So, being the ever so willing to please gaijin I am, I took a lemon chu-hi. So, we were all drinking in the wee hours of the morning on a bus headed towards Yokohama. Do the Japanese know how to party or what? When I busted out the ol' cell phone camera my principal asked the English teacher if I had ever seen/had a chu-hi before. Um, yeah...I just haven't ever had one in my hand this early in the morning was my reply. He laughed and chugged away.

The breakfast of champions...


Meanwhile, the inflight entertainment was boomin'. There was a television screen in the bus that we played bingo on. We were given cards while my vice-principal belted out the number is Japanese. I won. I am now the proud owner of plastic wrap (this is the SECOND time I've won Saran Wrap...what the...?) and a face protector/neck thingy. I don't know what it is called, but damn! I was excited to get one. I was going to buy one this weekend because my face gets so cold on my motorbike. I used it today and it made all the difference. Plus, it is in a sexy camoflauge pattern. No one will recognize me now.




There was also karaoke on the bus and my teachers wanted me to sing. The only English songs that were there was the Beatles (and I have been singing 'Imagine' and 'Hello Goodbye' in my classes the last three months and want to SHOOT myself everytime I hear those songs...so that was out.)

Well, we arrived at Yokohama and I was pretty impressed by the city. It reminded me a lot of the Bay Area and a little bit of San Diego and downtown Old Sacramento. It was nice to be on the water and breathe in some ocean air again.

There is a huge ferris wheel in the middle of the city. HUGE.


Here is a photo of me (hmm..where am I? And don't mind the wild hair)and some of the teachers and principal I work with. We are in front of the Red Brick Warehouse that has been converted into a mall. It had some pretty cool stuff in it. I actually enjoyed shopping.

Nakata-sensei, Ihara-sensei, Arai-sensei, Kocho-sensei, Ashihara-sensei, Takizawa sensei, GiantGaijinWhoDoesn'tBelongInThePicture-sensei, and Asaka-sensei

We ate lunch at this hotel...tabehodai!!!


Some photos of the city



We finished the day by going to a Japanese garden. It was very beautiful. Many of the building were hundreds of years old. Most of them were in Kyoto initially and moved to Yokohama in the early 1900's.





And these are by far the largest koi fish I've ever seen. Even bigger than that monster we had in the pool when I was a kid. These things apparently are accoustomed to visitors feeding them because as I walked over the bridge at least 30 of them came up to the top and opened their monstrous mouths. Huge...huge...HUGE. I think if I had fell in the pond, then would have stripped my bones clean in 1.5 minutes.



Overall, it was a great trip. We ended it on the bus by giving closing speeches about our favorite part of the day. I wasn't surprised.

Tokyo Disneyland

So, Saturday I went to Disneyland. It was VERY crowded, but it was still fun. I have to say that the original Anaheim Disneyland is the best and I don't think many would argue. Tokyo Disney has most of the same rides as Anaheim. They also have another theme park next to Disneyland, called DisneySea. I plan on heading there once the weather warms up a little. It was strange to be in such a familiar place, but in such an unfamiliar place at the same time.

The Entrance to Tokyo Disney


It was decorated for Christmas (of course!)





The only thing that was better at Tokyo Disneyland (in my opinion) was Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was enormous compared to Anaheim.


The first ride we went on was Pirates of the Caribbean. It only took 45 minutes to get on the ride. Amazing. It was a little shorter than the Anaheim ride, but everything was the same. All of the pirates spoke English, so it was really familiar. However, it lacked that old musty smell that I love so much about the ride.




The Haunted Mansion was pretty cool. We had to wait three hours in line to get on the ride. The Mansion itself is huge compared to Anaheim and pretty ominious looking.
It was decorated in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' theme, which I love.




It's A Small World


I was feeling brave and went on the Teacups...twice. We all sat in the same teacup and wanted to see how fast we could go. I should have said 'no' to a second round, but peer pressure's a mo' fo'. :) The second ride was videotaped. The quality is pretty crappy, though. I am working on it.

Autumn In Chichibu

The Japanese are very proud of their 'four seasons.' I am constantly asked if I have experienced four seasons. Well, technically, being from Southern California, I haven't, but they will ask the same question to someone from Massachusetts. Silly. The changing of the leaves is a big event here and people flock to see the vibrant colors. Here are some photos from Muse Park that I took on Thanksgiving Day.






'The Shining' twins




There is a little choo-choo train that runs through the park


There is also an area in the park where they have a bunch of toys for kids to play on...or a bunch of adults. Prashant likes being the captain of his 'ship'. "Land Ho'"!!!




"Do you realize that for every lost, mangled doll, there's a little girl with a broken heart?" -Ack Ack Raymond.
Pretty creepy if you ask me.


A Hello Kitty ride that teaches you your ABC's.

Chichibu Walking Tour

Here are some photos of Chichibu that I took during my walking tour.

Our group and tour guide...



The Chichibu Train Station (one of three)


Some lovely paintings done by the local children


One of the local sake breweries



Some random buildings around town




One of the 38 temples in the Chichibu area