Today at 1:02 am Kelly gave birth to her second beautiful baby girl, Ari Jean! She was 7 lbs and 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Everyone is going great and Avery loves her new little sister!!!
Beautiful Ari Jean!!
The Happy Family!
25
May
Today at 1:02 am Kelly gave birth to her second beautiful baby girl, Ari Jean! She was 7 lbs and 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Everyone is going great and Avery loves her new little sister!!!
Beautiful Ari Jean!!
The Happy Family!
23
May
I know it’s been a while and there has been a lot going on around here. So I will try to sum it up for everyone.
I am going to back date everything so you can follow the time line…
enjoy….
21
May
This morning we got up at 6am to get ready to head back to the states. We were in for a long day of traveling. Our bus to the airport picked us up at 7:30 and the day started.
We got to the airport and headed to the ANA Business Class Waiting Area. OMG we didn’t take any pictures but this place was 10x better than the one in the states! It looked like a night club, a fancy night club. With all the free food, drinks, BEER, whatever you wanted!!! It so comfy and relaxing. We boarded the plane at about 11:45am and settled into our roomy Business Class Seats for the long flight. The next 13 hours were filled with movies, video games, some Howard Stern, yummy food, oh yeah a little sleeping too!)
We landed in Dullas Airport in DC around 11:05am, that’s right people!!! We went BACK IN TIME, our own Back To The Future! Michael J Fox got nothing on us!!!
Our flight to NY was not nearly as comfy or enjoyable as the trip from Japan. We got delayed and had to sit on the runway for a good 45 minute. The pilot keep making announcements saying “Please enjoy the short 35 minute flight…” HELLO we sat on the runway longer than the actual flight!!
But we made it. We are back in NY and relaxing at the Ashihara’s. Tomorrow we will head to CT to visit my parents and pick up Inu.
Sorry no pictures from today’s trip but here are a few we took throughout our trip. These are funny signs we got a kick out of….
These are all over the trains on the subway. Please do not take up to much room!
This was posted at the park. They really said “pee & poo.”
So Refreshing & Uplifting!
A cell phone store, a little wordy don’t you think?
A hat store!!! I guess they don’t really know what “Skin Head” means.
Check out the picture of the guy. It looks like he is pointing and laughing. This is “In case of a fire.”
This is a child’s backpack with the Bullet Train on it. “Feeling: Good! READY TO ROLL!” (Sorry Baby Ashihara we didn’t get you this..)
Got to Love Japan!!
20
May
Today we were leaving Kyoto and heading back to Tokyo. But before we left, Ichiro and his dad went to the Enzyme Bath. This is the practice of immersing yourself in wooden tubs, generally filled with fragrant blend of finely ground cedar, rice bran and plant enzymes. These ingredients heat naturally, by fermentation, creating biologically generated warmth that mimics the body’s natural metabolic process. It is said that these Japanese Enzyme Baths have healing powers.
Here’s Ichiro in his enzyme bath. They did two sessions, lasting about 15 minutes each. I have no idea about the healing powers of these baths but I can say that it gives you VERY soft skin!
While Ichiro and his dad were bathing, the ladies went shopping!! It was nice to be able to poke around the stores with out “the men” waiting at the doors for us!
We met the guys around lunch time where we went to another traditional Japanese restaurant for lunch. I must say I am getting a lot better at trying things!!
Here’s a picture of Mr Ashihara and Ken (a business contractor/friend). Ken met the guys at the enzyme bath that morning. He did 10 sessions in 3 days!!!!
I had to add this last picture for Keith. Check out Ichiro’s hat!!!!
After lunch we jumped on the train and headed back to Tokyo.
Tonight has been a quite night. Earlier Ichiro and I grabbed some dinner and tried our luck at a little more Pachinko. Sorry to say were not “SUPER LUCKY” tonight but we had a good time spending the rest of our yen. We leave very early tomorrow for home. See ya in a couple of days!
19
May
Today we packed our bags and headed to Kyoto, only a two our trip on the Bullet Train. Kyoto was formerly the capital of Japan and has more then 2000 temples and shrines. Mr Ashihara had an appointment for a Japanese Enzyme Bath, so he hired a cab to take us to the most popular spots in Kyoto.
We started at Sanjusangen-do. The main building of the temple houses the Thousand Armed Kannon. This temple also contains one thousand life size statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon which stand on both the right and left sides of the main statue in 10 rows.
Here we are outside the main building that holds the Thousand Armed Kannon and the thousand life size statues. As you can tell the weather was not cooperating with us.
We were not able to take pictures inside the temple however I was able to find this one of the life size statues online. Got to love Google!!
Next our cab driver took us over to Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, aka The Clear Water Temple. The main hall is notable for its vast veranda, supported by hundreds of pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city.
View of the Three Storied Pagoda (Sanju-no-to) with the Sutra Hall in the foreground.
This is the main building.
Check out the view behind us. It was amazing!
Here we are at the Otowa-no-taki, this is the waterfall where visitors drink for health, longevity and success in studies. The water has flown from deep within the mountain for thousands of years, and of course from which Kiyomiza-dera takes its name.
Next we headed to Heian Jingu Shrine, a Shinto Shrine designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Here we are in front of the main gate.
Local women visiting the shrine, everyone was stopping them asking for pictures.
Lastly the cab driver took us to Rokuon-Ji Temple, or The Golden Pavilion. The entire pavilion except the basement floor is covered with pure gold leaf. The Golden Pavilion has a magnificent Japanese garden right outside, there are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation story.
The golden pavilion.
During this time of year Japanese students take school trips to many of the site seeing places we also were visiting. At the Golden Pavilion these 6 students asked if they could “interview” me. They had a little booklet and asked me simple questions to practice their English. I guess I look American!!! I was so impressed and touched by how cute they were. At the end they asked me to write down my address and take a picture with them. I LOVE IT!!
By this time we were pretty tired from all the walking and site seeing so we had the cab driver bring us to the little Japanese Inn we were staying.
It is a very typical Japanese Inn and this is our very typical Japanese room. Check it out… no couch, no chairs, NO BED!
We met up with Mr. Ashihara and went down stairs for a VERY traditional Japanese dinner! Here I am trying to decide if I should even try what’s in that bowl! Please note we are sitting on the floor again. lol
When we got back to our room, our “beds” were out. It was a long day and we hit the hay pretty quickly!
18
May
Today was another fun filled day! We started at a shrine for healthy babies. Women go there before and during their pregnancy asking the gods for a healthy baby. Once the baby is born, the family returns to the shrine. At that time, they thank the gods for their healthy child.
In front of the shrine. The sign says to bow twice, clap twice, bow once again and ring the bell.
After we headed to the Sensoji Temple and Asakusa Nakamise Shopping area. The shopping area started back in 1688 when the neighbors of the shrine were given special rights to open their shops in the approach to the temple. This was done to service visitors to the shrine. Today was the start of a 3 day festival and I kid you not, it was like a Japanese Big E. I LOVED IT!
This is the approach to the shrine. You can barely see it at the end.
The shops sold everything! Even little Japanese outfits for your dogs! Don’t worry Inu didn’t get one!
The entrance to the shrine.
Cleansing myself before entering the shrine.
The shrine itself!
Just like the Big E, there were many games and TONS of food stands. This game you have to try to scoop out fish, turtles or live shrimp with a thin piece of rice paper. The tiniest bit of water and the rice paper will rip.
Here’s Ichiro enjoying his cucumber on a stick. Don’t see that at the Big E!
17
May
Today was a well needed relaxing day. We traveled by Shinkansen, or Japan’s Bullet Train, to Atami. A fishing village where the Ashihara’s have a small apartment.
The Bullet Train was amazing. I’m jealous the US doesn’t have one. The trip to Atami, on a normal train would take over 2 hours, on the Bullet Train?? 45 MINUTES! It was great! Ichiro took video of the train. Soon on his site, you will be able to see how fast it is.
Atami was great. We had a wonderful lunch at a small restaurant and headed up the crazy streets to the apartment. The streets were very similar to Lombard St in San Fran, however traffic was two way and you drove on the left hand side of the street, oh yeah FULL SIZE buses also drove up and down the mountain road!
Great little shopping area in Atami.
Once at the apartment we were able to relax and enjoy the view of the ocean.
Check out who made the center of the wall!
How’s that for an ocean view!!!
We were back in Tokyo around 7pm and Ichiro and I were trying to decide what to do. We headed out to the department store, which just happened to be closed. So we ended up in the Pachinko Parlor.
Pachinko is a gaming device used for amusement and prizes and is a cross between the pinball machine and a video slot machine. We saw several of them in Akahabara but had no idea how it worked. Apparently gambling is not allowed in Japan, so by Japanese law, cash cannot be paid out. We did, however read on a few websites that there is usually a small exchange center located nearby where players can exchange tokens for cash.
We watched a few people play and finally asked if one of the workers could help us. We found one guy that spoke some broken English and he TRIED to explain what to do. We really had NO idea what we were doing and ended up just pressing buttons. All of a sudden the machine was going crazy and we had TONS of balls coming out. We fill tray after tray and in the end had 9 trays filled with balls!!! People couldn’t believe it. This one guy near me kept leaning over to see what I was doing. I just laughed and shrugged my shoulder. I honestly had no idea what I was doing!
So we played for about an hour, and decided we would cash out to see what 9 trays of balls is worth. Our helper “counted” our trays of balls and took us over to the prize counter. There we were asked what prizes we wanted. She asked chocolate, alcohol or cigarettes. Ichiro was like “Cash??” and our friend said we had to pick one of them first. We picked the chocolate and the lady behind the counter gave us a bag filled with 4 boxes of chocolate. Then she gave us some tokens. Our friend then took us outside, and across the parking lot to this little shack. There we gave a different lady our tokens and she gave us 33000 yen… That’s about $330!!!!! What an exciting night! YEAH PACHINKO!
Like Foxwoods we couldn’t take pictures, however I found this one on-line. It is honestly just rows and rows of these machines (and VERY loud)!
There’s a picture of the parlor from our hotel room!
Somehow we ended up with this in our pocket;)
In no way did we “win”… wink wink. lol
16
May
Well today Ichiro and I ventured out into the streets of Japan by ourselves. I was a little nervous at first but we really did do well. We started at Akihabara, aka Akihabara Electric Town. Akihabara is best known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic and computer goods, including new and used items. Ichiro’s dream come true. It was streets and streets, lined with shop after shop of electronic stores. I think he died and went to heaven. I, on the other hand, was not as impressed. All the stores looked alike to me and all the items in it looked the same too.
There was one part of Akihabara that amazed me. There are these arcades that are about 6 floors, each floor had a different kind of game. That in itself isn’t that amazing, HOWEVER the people in these arcades are adults, mostly adult males in their business suits! I’m not kidding. Check it out…
There’s a floor that only has CLAW MACHINES!!! We watched men try and try and try to win candy out of a claw machine. I wanted to yell, “DUDE, GO TO THE STORE!”
Here I am trying to win a Mario Solar Mushroom. Sad to say I didn’t win!
Here’s Ichiro trying to win a creepy cat stuffed animal.
Success!!
After we checked out every camera shop in Akihabara, we jumped in a cab and headed over to Ginza. Ginza is known as an upmarket area of Tokyo with many department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses.
I know this street looks similar to Akihabara but these streets were lined with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and other wonderful stores! I know what your thinking, Ichiro is such a great husband to bring you to an area like that. But let me show you the real reason we went to Ginza….
As you can see, Ginza has one of the largest Apple Stores in the world. 5 floors of Apple heaven with a glass elevator to boot, just like in Willy Wonka! Check out the sign to the right of Ichiro. This store was a high end bag store.
We found a little bit of home, this is the first Starbucks that opened in Japan. mmmmm Starbucks!
As we were walking around Ginza we came across an exhibit from Nissan. It was only the first volume of the collection, but would you believe that it was the 240Z car? The same car that the famous Mr K, from our party, talked about. He designed this car and brought Nissan to America! He also gave Mr. Ashihara the first 240 Z car in America, serial number 001! How Fun!
15
May
Today we took the train about an hour outside Tokyo to met Mr. Ashihara’s cousin in Kamakura. She lives one town over from Kamakura and as a gift to Ichiro and I, offered us an all inclusive tour!
We started with lunch at this very nice restaurant. Ichiro was impressed with the fact that I tried everything (I even impressed myself!)
Here we are outside the restaurant, the gardens were beautiful.
We had a nice private room where we looked over the town and ocean.
Next she took us to Daibutsu or Great Buddha. The Buddha is the Amida Buddha which is worshiped by the Jodo School, as a figure of salvation. It was build in 1252 and sits approximately 13.35 m tall.
Right in front of the Great Buddha is this large incense holder. You wave the smoke near you and make a wish asking something of the Great Buddha.
Here I am, doing my Japanese Photo Pose!
Next we went to the Great Kannon Kamakura Hasedera Temple. The Hase Temple is famous for its statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The statue shows Kannon with eleven heads, each representing a characteristic of goddess. We were not allowed to take pictures of Kannon however below is the building she was housed in.
The main building.
The grounds had beautiful gardens with smaller Buddha tucked away throughout. Here are a few pictures of my favorites.
Also there was this cool cave that you could walk (almost crawl) through. Inside were many statues that represented different
things. Many people would light candles and make wishes in front of the statue that corresponded with their wish.
Lastly, you could write a message on the back of these mini Buddha and leave them in the cave. My mini Buddha is the one right in the front.
We have taken so many pictures. To may to post here. You can check them out on Ichiro’s website’s photo album!!!
Heading to bed, it was a long day!!!!
14
May
So I’ve decided to photo-blog, not sure if that’s a real thing but I am much better at sharing pictures then writing!!!
Today was such a great day. We started the day by taking the train to Kodaino to visit the Ashihara family plot. It was an amazingly touching experience and I was honored to be able to be part of it. We first visited the care takers office. We ordered flowers and got the family bucket. Mr. Ashihara said their bucket had to be more then 50 years old. The history behind this process is just amazing. Taking care of the family plot is passed down from generation to generation. It’s an important job for the family.
This is inside the care takers office. The walls are lined with family buckets.
This is the Ashihara’s bucket. It says Ashihara Family on the front, with the crest. On the back it names the care takers office and the side of the handle gives the location of the plot. I LOVED the buckets, the fact that they had so much history.
On the way to the plot you fill the bucket with water to wash down the stones. Here’s a picture of Mr. Ashihara washing down the plot.
Flowers and incense were added.
This stone lists all the names of family members that are buried at the plot.
We were each given some time to talk to the ancestors. I can’t even explain how touched I was to be able to share this experience with the Ashiharas.
After we headed to a hip shopping area of Tokyo. We heard of a store that dedicated an entire floor to Hello Kitty! Kelly, you would have LOVED it!!
The store was about 6 floors in all, each floor had different themes. This store was so fun, other items they had were Tickle Me Elmo, who spoke in Japanese, stomping Mickey Mouse figures (check out Ichiro’s blog later for video), solar powered plants!!! Wish I had more room in my suitcase!!
Next we walked over to the Meiji Jingu Shrine which is dedicated to a former emperor of Japan. It is built in the middle of Tokyo, similar to Central Park in NYC. A little peace in a VERY busy city!
The entrance
These are barrels of sake from all over Japan that were offered to the emperor.
This area outside the entrance to the shrine is used to wash your hands, this is done for purification purposes.
Walking around the shrine.
This is the main part of the shrine. You can make a wish by throwing a coin into the wooden boards in the front, bowing and making a wish.
I loved this tree. It held tablets with special prayers and gratitude statements made by visitors. They are hung around this “divine” tree and are offered up at the morning ceremony that is held every day.
Close up of the tablets.
One last picture… Ichiro and his dad talking about cameras. I can’t say it enough, like father like son!!! (“LORD help our baby” – Maybe that was my wish!!!) LOL
OH WAIT!!! This is for Jeff, You don’t need to grill anymore. Mo makes a MEAN burger!!!