Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
I think it’s best to stay busy right after family leaves to eliminate time available for moping. Even if I didn’t want to stay busy though, it’s not like I had much of a choice. December 1 marked the 60th anniversary of NAF Atsugi 1950 commissioning, and the base celebrated with a recommissioning ceremony, symposium…
First, a disclaimer: My parents and I shared many DELICIOUS meals…just not at Japanese restaurants. Next, a confession: I don’t really like Japanese food in Japan. “What?!” said my dad, surprised. “From reading your blog I would never know you didn’t like Japanese food!” Of course I like many tasty Japanese dishes: yakisoba (fried noodles),…
I had an ambitious hiking route planned for my parents’ visit to Kamakura, but instead we decided to walk along the beach and explore some new places. So after Hokokuji, we made our way across the street to Jomyo-ji, a temple founded in 1188 and ranked the fifth of Kamakura’s great temples (I could not…
Or the bamboo garden at Hokokuji Temple. Either one. Either way, this temple is steeped in Japanese shogunate history! I first came to Hokokuji with Chris and my brother Luke in May on my friend Stacey’s recommendation. This Buddhist temple was founded in 1334, a year after the Kamakura Shogunate came to an end (until…
We detoured from our planned Kamakura hiking route to see some of the gorgeous waterfront. I don’t see the ocean as often as I did in Florida, so I’ll take any excuse to walk along the beach. We found broken shards of pottery, sea glass, sea biscuits, shells, a dead blowfish, and a river just…
It is challenging to blog about my parents’ visit. When they were here I couldn’t because it seemed like a waste of time—I’d be stricken with the realization of how limited our time together was. Now that they’re gone it makes me miss them. That statement will make my mom sad (sorry, Mum). But that’s…
Touring Japan with my parents is really fun because—surprise!—we enjoy lots of the same things!! We stopped in Yokohama for pastries on our way to the heart of downtown Tokyo one morning last week. First stop: Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. We had perfect weather for touring: cloudy and cool. A couple layers and a light jacket…
