Meeting an old friend and making new.

Saturday we had the opportunity to visit the Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka and meet up with an old friend from college that currently lives with his wife and 2 kids in Kobe.  We hadn't seen Shin since Emily's wedding in 2000.

The exhibits were really awesome.  The above photo is of their special attraction... a whale shark.  Below photo is of a giant manta ray.  We had never seen such incredible displays of jellyfish, squid, and other unique sea creatures.

Shin's kids were really sweet.  Their son is 3 and really full of energy.  Within the first few minutes of meeting each other at the aquarium Shigeru had run off with excitement and no one knew where he was for a good 15 minutes or so.  In the end he hadn't wandered too far off course and we reconnected.

Their daughter is 8 months old and really adorable.  Kristie was enjoying the baby holding time.

After our time at the aquarium we went to an all you can eat "fry daddy" type restaurant.  Each table was equipped with a built in fryer and you could select from a variety of meats and vegetables to bread and cook.  We had a great time.  Below are a couple of videos of the girls learning how to properly cook with oil!

All week we've been saying that Marc needs a flag as the tour guide leader.  Paige and Madeline, however, have done a really amazing job getting the hang of big city navigation.  They are becoming masters getting through train stations and getting grandma and grandpa going in the right direction.  Here Paige is using a pen to lead the way back to our hotel after our day at the aquarium.

Osaka-jo (castle)

Madeline reporting today!  Friday we got to sleep in.  It was just a sort of laid back day.  It was the only day we really had to face rain beside the Mount Fuji tour.  We did, however, visit Osaka-jo (castle) on our own.

Here are some facts:
     Construction of Osaka Castle began in 1583 under the direction of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It was the Toyotomi family castle until it was burned down during the Osaka Summer War of 1615.  It was reconstructed from 1620-1629 under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  It remained almost the same with its dignified style intact up until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.  Over the years, many questions and mysteries surfaced regarding the massive stone wall foundations, hidden tunnels, and what ever became of the original Outer Moat?
     Modern-day Osaka originated from this site.  During his reign, Hideyoshi set up a central administrative network in Osaka, brought the century-long civil wars to a close and established the powerful Toyotomi Government.  Today, Osaka-jo welcomes guests from all over the world as a museum displaying precious relics and artifacts of history.

The cherry blossoms (sakura) are in full bloom and are beautiful.  All throughout the grounds of the castle and surrounding park we found families and couples having a picnic today under the trees.  Despite the periodic rain shower, everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

A message from Madeline...

Hey everyone. Madeline here.  


To let everybody know, my toe is a lot better. I've been in the pool at the hotel and it feels awesome. I even did some laps.


Mrs. Hoyle, just so you know I've done some homework but haven't finished.


I hope everyone is doing well and that they are having a good spring break filled with lots of fun.


Uncle Paul, haven't had any math problems from you in awhile but I have a navigation problem for you. Considering I have been leading the family around the train station all by myself, my new nick name that I got from Yukari is the Madigator (Madeline + navigator). So anyway here it is...
I'm staying at the Hilton Osaka and going tomorrow to the Kaiyukan Aquarium. What is the shortest route to travel there and how much will it cost?


So far my favorite thing about the trip was, going on the tour where we went to the Nara deer park, the Gold Temple, Nijo castle (which had a floor that when you stepped on it sounded like Nightingaile birds), and also going to the snoopy store.


Hope to see everybody soon.
Love Madeline;)

A message from Paige...

Hi Everyone!  It's Paige.  

For my Stingray Coaches, I beat an old guy doing the 50 breast at the hotel pool today and didn't even have goggles.  Not sure he knew I was racing him though... but I still beat him.  And he had goggles!  The pool here has 2 lane lines and is really warm.  I wish the Duis was warm!  We even have to wear swim caps that the hotel provides.  And... they are even Stingray colors.

Also, I'm getting tired of the food.  I really wanted chicken nuggets from McDonald's so   I patiently waited for everyone else to have dinner and then Mom and Dad got me some in the train station on the walk back to our hotel.  My favorite thing in Japan so far has been the deer park.  It was also great to meet Mom and Dad's friend from college, Yukari.  She is silly.  

So far I've taken a nap in the bus, train, and plane.  Maybe I'll get a boat in yet too during this trip!

That is all.  Paige.

The Nara Deer

While at the Todaiji Temple, the girls had the opportunity to pet the tame deer that are indigenous to the area.  The Shinto Temple (also in the same area) has a legend that the Shinto god road into Nara on a deer.  The people of the area have cared for the deer for so many years that they became tame and freely wander the park. The deer are extremely cute and will bow to you in hopes of receiving food. Watch the videos below and you can see how assertive the deer become when they know you have food. The second video shows the bowing deer.  

The perils of feeding deer is that they like to nip at you when you don't feed them fast enough.  Kristie actually got bit a couple of times in the leg.

Kasuga-Taisha (Shinto shrine) founded in 768 A.D. and rebuild several times over the centuries.  It is the family shrine of the Fujiwara family and is known for it's variety of lanterns (bronze, stone, etc.)  Twice a year the lanterns in the picture below are actually lit.  If you aren't familiar with these religions, Shinto is the original religion of Japan.  Buddhism was introduced to the Japanese through the influence of India and China. The tour guide did a great job of explaining the differences between the religions and how the influence of the Chinese impacted Japanese culture.  For example, the written words/characters used in Kanji (con-gee) are actually Chinese.  There are over 50,000 characters.  The average Japanese student will know 3000 characters by the time they graduate from high school.  Japanese have introduced additional characters/letters (a little over 40) as well.  Marc knew 500 characters during his exchange year. 

This tour was really amazing.  During the drive from Nara, we were able to see the countryside, rice fields, and neighborhoods.  In Chicago, we will see car lifts in small city parking lots.  Here, you see those lifts in home garages as they try to conserve space.  Kristie actually saw a bike lift as well.  Upon return to Osaka, we found a Japanese style Italian restaurant.  Yummy spaghetti and dessert. It was a sweet end to the day!

Lots of History and Culture in Osaka and Nara

It was really worth our while to join an organized tour of Kyoto and Nara on Thursday.  We saw so much history in these 2 cities.  During World War II, this area of Japan was not destroyed by any air raids, therefore original structures remain.

We started the day by visiting the Nijo Castle - former home to the last Shogun of Japan.  The castle was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu.  It was completed in 1626 by the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu, with the addition of some structures transferred from Fushimi Castle (built in Momoyama period; 1573-1614).  Nijo Castle is one of the finest examples of early Edo period and Momoyama culture in Japan, as it makes splendid use of early Edo period building designs, lavish paintings, and carvings that Iemitsu generously commissioned.  In 1867, when Yoshinobu, the fifteenth Tokugawa Shogun returned sovereignty to the Emperor, the castle became the property of the Imperial family.  In 1884, it was renamed the Nijo Detached Palace.  It was donated to the City of Kyoto and returned Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) in 1939.  The castle was designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

It had an interesting "ADT system" called the Nightingale Floor.  As we walked through the Castle the flooring sang underneath our feet.  This was purposefully built this way to alarm the Shogun and his body guards of spies or assassins.

Next we toured the grounds of Rokuon-ji Temple, home to The Golden Pavilion.  Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion) is a popular name for one of the main buildings of this temple, which is properly called Rokuon-ji Temple.  In the 1220's it was the comfortable villa of Kintsune Saionji.  Yoshimitsu, the 3rd Shogun of Ashikaga, abdicated the throne in 1394.  After three years, he began to build Kitayamaden and he made a special effort to make it a breath-taking site.  He indulged in his peaceful life in this serene setting.  After Yoshimitsu's death, Kitayamaden was made into a Zen temple in accordance with his will.  All the buildings of those days came to ruin except Kinkaku.  The garden, however, remains as it was in former days and can be enjoyed as it was hundreds of years ago.  Rokuon-ji Temple was inscribed as World Cultural Heritage in 1994.  Interesting fact about this Temple is that the Japanese lacquer used to protect the gold leaf was more expensive than the gold leaf.

Next on the tour was the Kyoto Imperial Palace.  In the year 794 the Emperor Kammu transferred the capital to Heian-kyo; the emperor lived in the Dairi (Imperial Residence), which itself was located in the center of the Daidairi.  When the Dairi was destroyed by fire, the emperor moved his private residences to temporary imperial residences at the palaces of other noble families in the capital, which came to be known as the Satodairi.  From the later half of the Heian period onwards, the original Dairi imperial residence gradually fell into disuse, while the Satodairi came to be the daily living quarters of the Emperor. The present day Kyoto Imperial Palace developed from the Satodairi called the Tsuchi-Mikado-Higashi-no-Toin-Dono.  (WOW that's a mouth full). It was here that Emperor Kogan (rhymes with Hogan) was crowned in 1331. From then it wast he imperial residence until the year 1869, when Emperor Meiji moved the capital to Toyko.  During the intervening centuries, there was a repeated pattern of destruction by fire, and subsequent reconstruction until 1885, when reconstruction took place and almost all of the buildings now standing today obtained their current form.  The Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds, enclosed by a tsuijibei earthen wall, cover an area of approximately 27 acres.

Paige did better with lunch today as there was a kids menu.  For the rest of us, we had a variety of Japanese foods. The most alarming was being presented with a bowl of what appeared to be raw chicken in a broth with vegetables.  A sort of parchment paper lined the bowl. Leave it to Marc to try the broth in an effort to catch salmonella.  Eventually, the waitress came along and lit a fire under the bowls.  In no time, the raw mess turned into a nice soup.  Paige really liked trying a green, gelatinous, slimy thing (in center of picture) which Kris did not find quite as appetizing.

In the afternoon, we bused to the Todai-ji Temple in Nara (pronounced Na-la).  The Temple was built in the Nara period (710-794 A.D.) under the direction of Emperor Shomu. The Temple was officially positioned as one of many state established provincial temples. However, since the chief object of worship of the temple is Vaironcana Buddha (Buddha that shines throughout the world like the sun), a magnificent temple was built to reflect this importance.  Today the Temple serves both as a place of prayer for peace and affluence on earth, as well as the center of Buddhist doctrinal  research. Over the centuries, Todaiji has produced may scholar priests.  The statue of Vaironcana Buddha is made from cast bronzed which was then plated with gold.  The statue was consecrated in 752, but was damaged and repaired several times in the following centuries.  The great Buddha hall was burned in the fires of 1180 and 1567, and the current building is actually the third generation structure, which was built in Edo period.  It still ranks today as the largest wooden structure in the world.  The structure itself and the statues inside are intimidating to say the least.  It never ceases to amaze how these structures are built without modern day equipment.  Hard to picture how the cypress trees were hauled and put into place without cranes.  They used the entire tree trunk as pillars to support the Temple.

Osaka!

We left Tokyo today and traveled to Osaka.  It was a great day to kick back a little bit.  I did however have a surprise up my sleeve and at about 4 o'clock Kristie got a knock at the door.  An old friend from college, who Kristie hadn't seen since our wedding, just so happened to be in Osaka on business and staying at the same hotel.  It was great to see Yukari and hang out with her for some shopping around Shinsaibashi and a great dinner.

Doutonbori full of restaurants and arcades.

 Yukari and I order some Takoyaki (octopus dumplings) - an Osaka street food specialty.

 The girls go for a run with the Glico Man!  Maker of favorite snacks such as Pocky, Pretz, and Creamy Collon.

 A bit of arcade time.  Kind of like Japanese Drum Hero.

Paige found Hello Kitty!

The girls became fast friends with Yukari.  In Mad's and Paige's words "Yukari is funny, friendly, and just plain cool."

Linda is really starting to master the chopsticks.  And the beer helped too!

We had everything from meatballs to okonomiyaki (Osaka-style pancake) to chicken skewers and wings to french fries.  It was a great meal.

Mt. Fuji

History of Mt. Fuji volcano (from brochure)

The volcano we currently know as Mt. Fuji was formed over hundreds of thousands of years in a process that can be divided into three distinct phases of volcanic activity.

Komitake Fuji Period (700,000 - 200,000 years ago)

700,000 to 200,000 years ago, at the time of the Beijing Man (Homo erectus pekinenses) and when the Japanese climate was passing in and out of glacial and interglacial periods, Japan was undergoing and active volcanic period.  The Komitake Volcano, the "base" on which Mt. Fuji later developed, is believed to have been formed during this period by an accumulation of hardened lava and volcanic ash that eventually reached 2,500 meters in hight.  The Ashitaka Volcano was also erupting to the south at the same time.  For the tens of thousand of years between the end of the Komitake Fuji Period and the later Older Fuji Period, Komitake was exposed to the elements and underwent significant erosion.  Today, a part of Komitake's crater wall can be seen at Izumi-go-Take near Mt. Fuji's 5th Station. 

Older Fuji Period (80,000 - 16,000 years ago)

The eruptions that would form the Older Fuji Volcano began on Komitake's souther side.  It is presumed from analysis of volcanic ejecta that the eruptions of about 25,000 years ago (during the Weichsel Glacial Period) were particularly violent.  Mud and pyroclastic flows created a layer of impermeable rock, which in turn helped to bring about an abundance of spring water around the Fuji area.  It is believed that the winds carried volcanic ash from Older Fuji all the way to the Kanto region.  After such repeated eruptions, Older Fuji reached a height of about 2,700 meters.

Younger Fuji Period (14,000 years ago - The Present) 

About 10,000 years ago, eruptions that would later form the Younger Fuji Volcano broke out between the respective craters that formed Older Fuji and Mt. Komitake.  These eruptions eventually covered the peaks of both these older volcanos, forming the Fuji that we see today.  The eruptions grew less violent, and by 8,000 years ago Younger Fuji had attained the beautiful shape it has today.  About 20 eruptions of Mt. Fuji have been documented since the start of recorded history in Japan.  The most recent eruption occurred in 1707, forming a new crater named Hoei-zan and spreading ashes all the way to Tokyo (then named Edo).  Records indicate that the sky was so dark with ash that even in the daytime one could not read without the aid of artificial light.  Recently, however, researchers have been busy analyzing the claims of a document - discovered in Numazu, Shizuoka - that indicates that there may also have been a steam-like eruption of Mt. Fuji in 1770.

Lunch on the Tour

Paige didn't really appreciate lunch.  Madeline, however, was a true sport about it and tried just about everything. 

The weather really didn't want to cooperate with us today and our trip around the lake was a bit wet.  By the time we arrived at the train station for our trip home by Shinkansen (bullet train), we had to make frequent stops due to typhoon like wind and rain conditions.  We made it back to our hotel safe and sound though in the end.  Madeline is becoming quite the navigator of Tokyo train and subway stations!!

Paige left a message on the bus

We all arrived safe and sound on Sunday afternoon into Tokyo.  The girls did, including Kristie and Linda, did really good with the long flight.

We started our day by visiting Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.  Here Grandma and Grandpa stand with Madeline and Paige at the entrance to the temple grounds.

 Cherry blossom are blooming all over Tokyo.

The girls pose under a large rope sandal.  They are the charm against evils because they are symbolic of the power of "Ni-Ou."  Wishing for being good walkers, many people will touch this big sandal.

Preparing for entrance into the temple we washed our hands.

A shot Mad took of the Tokyo train lines.  Just the train lines.  The subway lines are just about as many and run overtop, or rather under, these lines.

Last stop of the day we visited Harajuku.  Home to some of the craziest fashions and trends of Tokyo's youth.  It's truly alive with energy and spirit.  Madeline says, "It was a lot of fun and quite busy."

We were able to meet up for dinner with a former Rotary Youth Exchange student (Miou) that lived with Mom & Dad in 1993/4.  Was great seeing her after all of these years.  Cool restaurant too... it inspired a fight scene in the Kill Bill movie.

The girls were absolute troopers considering all of the walking around Tokyo today.  But jetlag has hit all of us... some harder than others.