Greetings all.  Chris and I are finally back together again in Japan.  I haven’t had much to write yet because the weather is so hot and humid that to go outside is like stepping into a sauna.  Even your glasses fog up right away.  (I’m definitely not in Coronado any more.)  Although things have been fairly quiet and low key so far we have done a little bit.

Like grocery shopping

 

A common mode of transportation here is the “mamachiati.”  This is a perfect example.

Another observation is Chris’ latest footwear.  $2.00 clogs with bike socks.

Another reason we’ve been laying low is ’cause Chris had a bit of a bike accident the day before I arrived and has been recovering from a forehead full of stitches.  He’s doing fine as you can see.

Meanwhile back on base, construction continues full speed ahead keeping Chris very busy at work.

And back on the homefront, remember our trip to Sapporo last winter?  We went to a Sake brewery and bought  a wonderful bottle of sake that Chris was nice enough to save for my return.  The bottle and “label” are beautiful and it’s so much fun to enjoy it in our wonderful sake cups.

This is festival season so we’re off to the Kintai Fireworks show tonight at the Kintai bridge.  The whole town will be there and the show lasts an hour and a half with lots of food booths or everything on a stick.

So for now I’ll leave you with this interesting flower – a hibiscus maybe?

 

I just thought I’d share this great picture of Chris at the top of Mt. Fuji.  He was at the top yesterday.  His note just said “At the Top. Really bad weather.  Back in Tokyo.”  We’ve not been able to chat yet so I don’t know any details.  But I couldn’t wait to share this wonderful happy picture.

So here’s the update from Chris’ phone:

“Not much to report. We got up Wed morning and had a nice breakfast at the New Sayno Hotel then found a car to rent. We drove up to the mountain and parked then a bus ride up to station 5. We got on the trail about 1400. Nice well maintained trail but steep  under tree cover for the first mile or so then rock. Up past stations where you can stay or pay to use the bathroom or buy water or soup or even a beer. The prices go up as you go up.
It started to rain at station 7 with lots of wind. By the time we got to station 8.5 all were very cold and wet. Spent the night at 8.5 with a small spot on the floor with about 40 others. The wind howled and shook the whole station. Not any real sleep. Some got up at 2 to go to the top for the sunrise. They were back in a few minutes due to wind and very poor visibility. We hung around until about 0600 and the wind dropped a little and the visibility improved a bit so off to the top.
Not very pleasant but success. A long wet slog back down to bus and car.”

Chris then spent three days exploring Tokyo with friends and catching the Tour de France wherever he could.

Greetings All,

It’s time for an update.  First, the big news.  We have a new Grandoggy in our life. Justin and Lauren got a GoldenDoodle.  His name is Huckleberry Finn, named after Chris and he’s so cute (just like Chris).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile in Japan, Chris is riding his bike every chance he gets and is having quite the time of it.  Here are some of his posts.

 

 

Great ride today with Bill Baker. About 80 K upstream along the Nashiki River over the ridge to Kuga past the Dassi sake brewery…Bill would not stop I nearly cried…and back to town. Gorgeous, wonderful and the rice fields are planted and so well tended.

 

 

 

Great ride today with Chris S and Troy.  Sake at Dassai, soba at the huge waterwheel, 103k, great roads and sights and even better company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is a great story he sent from his last adventure.

 

Another great ride today. Started to rain as we climbed up to a Buddhist temple. When we arrived the monk and his helper were so concerned for our welfare that they started a fire gave us coffee and hot coco plus waffles with local honey. After warming by the fire they sent us on our way with plastic rain coats. Magical experience.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I’m still holding down the fort here in Coronado.  Motsi is now 97.  Many of her deceased friends and relations come to visit her and want her to come with them but she keeps telling them “No, I’m not going.”  In fact, one time she told them “I can’t go with you because I’m not driving any more.”

Chris and I are planning our next “meet-up.”  I’m headed back to Japan at the end of this month.  In mid-August we’ll head down to Bali for a couple of weeks and we’ll even get out on our tandem while I’m there in Japan.  So stay tuned for more great blogging adventures in the upcoming weeks.  Oh, and here is one of my recent projects.

 

 

Well, it’s been a fun two weeks.  Chris is on a plane back to Japan and I now have time to share some highlights of his visit.  First off there was plenty of beer drinking as good IPA’s are non-existent in Japan.

Some of the local pubs/breweries we visited were Coronado Brewing Company, Stone, Ballast Point, Blind Lady Ale House, Bagby’s, Masters, The Little Tap House, Council and Society Brewing.  Some of them more than once.

We had a great time with family as Justin and Lauren came down from Seattle and Jeff and Anne came in from Boston for a great weekend of just hangin’ out.  Good friend Jinelle was in town from Ashland, OR and she joined us too.  In fact, Justin, Lauren and Jinelle all camped out at my house with Chris and me.  First order of business was to celebrated Chris’ birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there was the famous funky bike collection we have here in Coronado.  Jeff even got the Opus Counterpoint tandem working.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there was this bike in the garage, but that’s another story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Chris’ favorite things in the world (aside from the previously mentioned fav’s) is working on boats – especially building boats.  It was a perfect time for him to spend his non- brewery-hopping time with his buddy Scott working on a beautiful cedar strip double kayak.  Of course there was a fully functioning kegerator a few feet from the garage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris brought some amazing sake from Japan which he shared with family when they were here and then two nights ago with boat buddy Scott and fiance Marty.  They picked up an amazing spread of sushi from the Japanese market to go with this Dassai 23.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it.  A very fun, laid back time in Coronado.

Here’s to you, Christo.  Can’t wait to see you again, really soon!

What a weekend this will be.  Chris is coming to town for two weeks!

And Justin and Lauren and Jeffrey and Anne will all be here for the weekend to greet him.  It should be great fun!

Word spread like wildfire last night when word got out that Tim McGraw was playing a concert here on the beach.  Nothing like hopping on your  bike and riding up the street to attend a free Tim McGraw concert on the beach on a warm night in Coronado.

Headline from NBC San Diego News reads “Tim McGraw surprises Coronado beach goers with “secret” concert.”

A secret concert in Southern California didn’t stay that way for long as the country twang of superstar Tim McGraw drew hundreds of beachgoers to the Hotel Del Coronado Wednesday night.  The Grammy-winning artist performed at a private event for the 25th anniversary of Zaxby’s, a fast-casual restaurant chain.

Because the stage was set up on the public beach in front of the hotel, hundreds of fans soon packed the sand to cheer on his songs like “Live Like You Were Dying” and “Barbecue Stain.”

McGraw had given no indication about the private show on his website

Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Tim-McGraw-Surprises-Coronado-Beachgoers-301783981.html#ixzz3Ynv7FGYe
Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook

As I was leaving Japan a couple of weeks ago I was hoping to see spring blossoms but I was a few weeks early.   Now back in sunny Coronado where it is 25 degrees above the normal temperature for this time of year I’ve definitely found spring.

Not only that, look what else I found in this amazing blooming Coral Tree!  Look very closely.

Do you see him?  There were three of them in the tree busily eating the blossoms.

Pretty cool, eh?

Now that it’s starting to warm up in Japan Chris is getting back into cycling after work and I’m sure will be doing more weekend rides with his new biking buddies.  I’ll let you know if he has any pictures to share from his rides.

Happy Spring!

This is my last full day in Japan for awhile and I really wanted to see some spring blossoms before I left.  Springtime is supposed to be beautiful here.  We left the house and biked down to old Iwakuni.  Our route took us along the river by our house, then over a small dam

and across a bridge

where we saw lots of small farms/gardens.

Our destination was the Kintai Bridge.  This is such a cool and amazing bridge.

No blossoms yet.  But in May it should be incredible.  These are all cherry trees.

After I took the above picture, I turned to my right and took this picture of a bamboo forest.

 

 

As we wandered around the town we came upon these little dolls.

And then saw some steps which we climbed, first to this small shrine

and then climbed a lot more steps to this big shrine at the top of the hill.

 

Here’s a cool statue.  He was guarding the entrance to the shrine.

Here are a couple more pictures of this shrine.

From here we biked back across town to meet friends at the most amazing Ramen shop ever. It’s really tiny.  Only about 10 stools at the counter and just the owner doing all the cooking.

First we had some amazing gyoza.

Then incredible fried rice.

And the best ramen ever.  Yum

On our way home, as we crossed our little bike/walking bridge across the river to our house we saw the fisherman working his net.

This is a pretty incredible place to live and an amazing experience.  We are really loving this adventure together.

Tomorrow I head back to Coronado.  So I’ll leave you with this picture of a sake jug we purchased at a second hand store on our way home.  Should make for a great growler down the road.

Sayonara

 

What an amazing day we had today – an adventure to Miyajima Island, one of Japan’s three most scenic spots and a hike up Mt. Misen.  From our house we started with a five minute bike ride to the Iwakuni train station, then a 25 minute train ride to Miyajimaguchi, and then a 10 minute ferry ride to Miyajima Island.  How’s that for a fun way to start the day?

This O-Torii Gate stands about 200 meters from the front of the main Itsukushima Shrine.  The O-Torii (Grand Gate) is about 16.5 meters high.  It’s roof is 24 meters in length and is made of Japanese cypress bark.  The main pillars, which are 10 meters in circumference, are made of natural camphor trees and the four supporting pillars are of natural cedar.

Beyond the O-Torii is the Itsukushima Shrine, first built in 593 and was remodeled into its present form in 1168.  The vermillion color is considered to keep evil spirits away.

From here we explored the sights and shops around Miyajima village.

Here we came upon the “World’s Larges Rice Scoop.”

Now it was time to start our hike up to the observatory high atop Mt. Misen.  There is a “ropeway” (which we would call a tram) for those who don’t want to do the 1.5 hour hike to the top – which seems to be just about everyone.  There are three main paths to choose.  We picked the middle one which turned out to be straight up.

It was a very cool hike, about 2 kilometers if you didn’t take all the side trails.  Along the way we checked out the Daishoin Temple.

 

And lots more sights along the way.

And up we climbed.

To the top

From here we climbed up to the observatory where we had a 360 degree view of the world!

 

Someone told us there was food at the top but – no food.  So, time to head back down.  This time we took a different path, equally beautiful.

As we near the bottom of the mountain we learn of a great storm (one of many over the years) that caused a lot of damage to the town below and in 2005 an erosion control project was established “in the Japanese garden style.”   “Rocks were strategically placed in streams to encourage the water to flow in certain directions, creating scenes that look more like paintings than nature itself. The water from Momijidani stream flows perfectly down a manicured stream bed and shimmies over a stone wall. The stone wall has evenly spaced troughs of predetermined widths in it to create pleasing water flows” according to Amy Chavez.

Next we came upon a pond with super-sized koi.

Back in the village we had to check out the five-storied Pagoda, built in 1407.  It’s 28 meters high and very pretty.

OK.  We’re officially pooped and hungry.  Time for a

and some fresh grilled

What a great, beautiful day.

And here are some bonus pic’s for you, Eileen, my favorite knitting teacher in San Diego.  More sights along the trail today.

 

Our last dinner in Thailand is on the beach away from the resorts at a little open air place that is run by a couple of happy local Thai brothers.  The best food ever.  It’s the same place we had our beer and fresh roasted peanuts one week ago.

A toast to us and 38 wonder years together.

We are now back in Japan.  I am here for just one more week then it’s back to Coronado and my caregiving duties while Chris holds down the fort here in Japan.  We’ll try to squeeze in at least one more adventure before I go.  So stay tuned. . .