Bowling

We went bowling with friends a couple of weekends ago.

Common questions have been:

1. Are the lanes the same size as in the U.S? = Yes.
2. Are the balls the same size as in the U.S? = Yes (although the finger holes are a little smaller).
3. Was it smokey? = No, you can't drink or smoke in the bowling allies here - at least in the bowling alley that we went to anyway (which actually surprised me because drinking and smoking are huge in Japan.)
4. Was it more expensive? Yes, slightly more expensive.
5. Any other differences? Yes. It was extremely clean! And you get your shoes from cool vending machines.
   

You just find your size, push the button, and out pops your shoes!

I guess there were bowling pin costumes you could wear?

Recent Ikebana

Here are a few pictures of my recent Ikebana pieces. They are all "freestyle." They key component of this style is: movement! You start by picking a main centerpiece, which is usually your favorite piece out of all the materials. Then you use the remaining materials to create "movement."

My sensei (teacher) taught me how to tape a wire on the back of the leaves to create movement. After attaching the wire, you can bend the leaves any direction or shape that you want. I choose to do wavy! The big dark pink flower is my "main," and the red and white flowers in front are "busy flowers."

For this piece, my sensei taught me how to insert a wire into the the long & skinny stems in order to bend them.... this creates "movement." The calla-lily is the "main," and the small flowers in front are the "busy flowers."

For this piece, my sensei taught me how to shape the leaves to create "movement." To do this, you just run the leaves through your fingers - gently bending it in the direction you want it to go several times (before doing this, they were completely straight).

Our Apartment #5

Here is the view from our apartment balcony. The building sits near a canal, which we're hoping won't be too smelly or buggy this summer! We live downtown near the Nagoya Station area, so we're surrounded by tall buildings and tons of restaurants, cafes, shops, pubs, etc.

Our Apartment #4

Guest bedroom. There is a small balcony
outside of the doors on the right-hand side.

Sink and laundry area. The shower room is connected to this area.

Shower room! It's actually quite large - that is a full size tub. We hang our clothes to dry in here - there is a control panel for: dry, cool, heat, and ventilation. You can control the temperature and amount of time. We love this function, and yes, we have also defrosted a couple of food items in here while the oven has been occupied! :) It works great, and fast too!

Our Apartment #3

Here are a few pictures of our living room area. It's a large open space - combining the dining room, living room, and kitchen all in the same area. We've rearranged our furniture a few times, so you'll see a couple different set-ups below.

Entering the living room area from the hallway.

Kitchen

Living room set-up #1

Living room set-up #2

Our Apartment #2

A few more apartment pictures.... I'll keep uploading them throughout the week to give you a tour of our apartment.

You walk in the door and see a hallway...

On your right-hand side there is a ginormous shoe closet!!
We love this... and definitely need one in our future house!

Take a couple steps past the shoe closet and you come to the toilet-room. Yes, it's a small room just for the toilet. It has a heated seat, and small sink on top of the toilet.

Keep walking down the hall and you come to our bedroom. There is a small balcony out of the sliding doors, and a walk-in closet behind where I'm standing. We bought the biggest bed we could find here.... queen size. But if you look closely, you will see that it's actually two single mattresses combined in one frame.

Our Apartment!

Welcome to our gated community....

We're on the top floor and the entrance to our apartment is secured by a locking gate minus the key. It is like our own private little 16 sq ft community!!

We have an electronic key card for our door. The same key lets us in the building and onto the elevator. Each tenant only has access to their floor unless you are "buzzed" in to a different floor.

Please remove your shoes! Shoes are not allowed in homes in Japan... it's seriously written into our lease. You can imagine how hard it was to find Joe his slippers too!

Picture for Mom S! :)
Close up of the outside of our building - PINK!!

Stay tuned for more pictures of the rest of our apartment..........

Himakajima Island

Last week was a Japanese holiday called Golden Week. So Joe and I took a day to travel south a little ways and visit an island called Himakajima. It was only about a 45-minute train ride, and then 30-minute ferry ride over to the island.

It was a nice day trip from Nagoya. We're planning on going
back this summer for octopus fishing and dolphin swimming!

Fresh octopus and squid for sale on the street.

We walked all the way around the island. It's was only 2-3 miles.

The beach on the east side of the island (Sunrise Beach).
This is where we discovered tons of beach glass!

Our beach treasures!

Jenny's Visit!

We had a great time with our first visitor, Jenny! It was so nice to have her here, and we miss her already! It was fun to travel around Japan, take her to our favorite restaurants, and show her around the city that we love. Here are a few photos from the rest of her trip.

Photo booth! You take a few pictures, then add words/pictures/etc.
The pictures turned out really cute :)

Tempura for lunch.

Our favorite restaurant (Indian!)

Cider beer at an Irish Pub down the street.

Chinese or Taiwanese? We don't know... but it's delicious!

Ramen action shot! And yes, it's completely polite to slurp here...
in fact, if you don't slurp you look silly and burn your mouth.

An afternoon at Nagoya Castle.

Pretty pink flowers on the castle grounds.

at Nagoya Castle

Inuyama Castle

Inuyama Castle is the oldest standing castle in Japan. It was built in 1537 by one of Japan's greatest samurai warriors. After construction, ownership changed hands frequently - but it's the only castle in Japan today that remains privately owned. It stands on top of a hill next to a river... which makes for a beautiful view at the top.

Walking on the path to the castle.

Inuyama Castle

Very steep staircases leading to each floor.
You have to remove your shoes to go inside this castle!

Beautiful 360 degree view at the top.

You can walk all the way around the castle top
on the small ledge that we're standing on.

Nara

The city of Nara is called a smaller version of Kyoto. It was the first permanent capital of Japan, and today is one of the country's most rewarding sights! It's known as a treasure house of Buddhist art, with numerous Japanese Buddhist temples and Buddhist statues.

There are wild deer everywhere... and they are not scared of people! They are called shika and were originally regarded as divine messengers of Shinto gods. Today they enjoy the status of National Treasures. They roam the park and surrounding areas in search of handouts from tourists, often young children who have the misfortune to be carrying food! (Yes, we did see a deer chasing a stroller because the baby was holding a cracker). Vendors also sell deer-biscuits for a couple dollars so tourists can feed the deer.

Todai-ji. This is the temple that represents Nara.This enormous temple houses Japan's largest bronze statue (see below) as well as many other Buddhist statues. It's worth the trip to this city, just to see this temple and giant Buddha!

The famous Daibutsu (Great Buddha). It stands 15 meters tall and is approximately 380 tons... it's an amazing sight to see!

Another Buddhist statue inside the temple.

Another Buddhist statue inside the temple.

Nigatsu-d0. This temple offered amazing views of the city!

Part of the view from Nigatsu-do.

Kasuga Taisha. This shrine and surrounding area is lined with thousands of bronze and stone lanterns.

Japanese wisteria bloom from late April to early May - beautiful!

Kofuku-ji temple area. 5-storey pagoda, the second tallest in Japan.

Ended our day with a Nara cappuccino...

and dinner & drinks at the Mellow Cafe.