Creekside B&B

Land of the Rising Mom

Dear family & friends,

Behold the chronicles of Mom's adventure in Japan ... "Welcome Mom!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, April 28: ARRIVAL

Mom has arrived safely in Japan. She flew into Narita International Airport. Hiroko picked he up at the airport and escorted her back to Kitamagome in Tokyo. Hiroko prepared a nice Japanese-style dinner of miso soup, sushi and sashimi which we enjoyed together at our apartment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Saturday, April 29: ONIKURA's

We had a nice relaxing rainy day in our apartment just chilling with Mom. Hiroko prepared a nice American-style breakfast of eggs and sausage. In the afternoon we walked to Hiroko's parents house in Magome (15 minute walk). We all enjoyed our little reunion around the dinner table. We have not all been together since Yuko & Guy's wedding in 2003 in London. Mom finally got to see Oka-san and Oto-san's house and lovely garden. Afterward, we walked around the neighborhood and picked up some more sushi ("oishi" maguro special set) for dinner and brought it home to eat at our apartment. Then Mom passed out and we all went to bed.

* Special Thanks to Stephen Miller for recording the ENTIRE NFL Draft for me (all 17 hours or so) - both on video tape for priority mailing - and on computer for immediate download. Despite still being a new Dad and working 5,000 hours a week, the Dirty Milsner still finds the time to hook a brotha up! The sign of a TRUE friend and brother. Thank you Steve!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Yuko and Joshua arrived Sunday night from Malaysia)

Sunday, April 30: ONIKURA'S

A beautiful sunny day. We walked from our apartment to Chateau Onikura to have lunch with the family. Mom brought gifts for the family. We enjoyed a wonderful soba noodle lunch, courtesy of Oka-san. Shintaro joined us and brought gifts bought with his 1st pay check from NRI. Thank you for the super-kawaii baby mobile! Green Tea and delicate japanese sweets were enjoyed with quality family time.


We made a short pilgrimage to Honmon-ji Temple. It has been under renovations for a while and was finished just in time for Mom's visit.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trip to Kyoto and Nara ...


KYOTO.
Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. It is now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic value, the city was not chosen as a target of air raids during World War II. Countless temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today.


NARA.
Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara. As the influence and political ambitions of the city's powerful Buddhist monasteries grew to become a serious threat to the government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784.

Nara is located in the Kinai plain, less than one hour from Kyoto and Osaka. Due to its past as the first permanent capital, it remains full of historic treasures, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, May 1: KYOTO

Kyoto Afternoon Tour

Mom and I took the Bullet Train from Tokyo Station to the famed city, Kyoto. After checking into our hotel, we quickly joined the tour linked above.


HEIAN SHRINE

The first stop was the Heian Jinjo (Shrine). Upon arrival a Great Blue Heron descended from the sky and landed about 15 feet from us in the Shrine's garden pond. As always, Dad was with us. Mom walked across the same stepping stones that Scarlett Johanssen did in the Kyoto scene in "Lost in Translation." (rumors of me thinking about buying a porsche are greatly exaggerated - Big Surprise!).


Heian Shrine.
Graceful old court life is reflected in the brightly colored shrine with its vermillion pillars and green roof, and in its enchanting inner gardens and ponds. Heian Shrine was built relatively recently in 1895 on the occasion of the 1,100th anniversary of the Heian Capital foundation. It is dedicated to the first and last emperors that reigned from Kyoto, Emperor Kammu and Emperor Komei. The shrine buildings are a partial replica of the Imperial Palace of the Heian Period, but only about two thirds of the original buildings in scale.

(photo from web)
SANJUSANGENDO

Next was the awe-inspiring Sanjusangendo Hall. Sanjusangendo is the popular name for Rengeo-in, a temple in eastern Kyoto which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and its present structures date from 1266. The main hall, which houses the statues, is with over 100 meters Japan's longest wooden structure. In its center sits one large Kannon, flanked on each side by 500 smaller statues, standing in neat rows side by side, each as tall as a human being.


KIYOMIZU TEMPLE

Final stop on this tour was Kiyomizu Temple - an enormous complex built on huge wooden stilts on the side of a mountain.
Kiyomizudera ("Pure Water Temple") is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan.


It was founded in 780 and remains associated with the Hosso sect, one of the oldest sects within Japanese Buddhism. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.


Kiyomizudera stands in the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto and offers visitors a nice view over the city from its famous wooden terrace. Below the terrace, you can taste the spring water, which gives the temple its name and which is said to have healing power.


Part of the fun of visiting Kiyomizudera is the approach to the temple along the steep and busy lanes of the atmospheric Higashiyama district.


SUSHI BAR

For dinner we went to a Sushi Bar in Kyoto Station - you know, the kind with the sushi rotataing around on small plates on a conveyer belt.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, May 2:

Kyoto & Nara 1-Day Tour


NIJO CASTLE

Nijo Castle (Nijojo) was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Edo Shogunate, as the Kyoto residence for himself and his successors. The palace building now known as Ninomaru ("secondary castle"), was completed in 1603 and enlarged by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu. It survives in its original form and is famous for its Momoyama architecture, decorated sliding doors and floors that squeak like nightingales when someone walks on them (a security measure against intruders).


Iemitsu also added the Honmaru ("main castle") including a five storied castle tower to Nijo Castle. However, the original honmaru structures were destroyed by fires in the 18th century, and the present building was moved there from the Imperial Palace in 1893.


KINKAKUJI - THE GOLDEN PAVILION

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple formally known as Rokuonji. In 1397 construction started on the Golden Pavilion as part of a new residence for the retired shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimitsu's death in 1408. The Golden Pavilion functions as shariden, housing sacred relics of the Buddha and is covered in gold leaf. The present building dates from 1955 as the pavilion was burnt by a fanatic monk in 1950. The most authentic and exquisite Japanese style garden in the world.

KYOTO IMPERIAL PALACE

Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho), the ancient Imperial Palace clearly shows the Japanese taste for purity, simplicity and calmness. It used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. It is located in the spacious Kyoto Imperial Park. The palace burnt down and was moved around the city several times over the centuries. The present reconstruction dates from 1855. The palace complex is enclosed by a long wall and consists of several gates, halls and gardens.

We enjoyed a buffet lunch from the 7th floor at Kyoto Handicraft Center with a view of valleys of Kyoto.


TODAIJI TEMPLE

Next was the pilgrimage to the enormous Todaiji Temple - the world's largest wooden building - and breathtaking Great Buddha. Todaiji ("Great Eastern Temple") is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. When we arrived, Todaiji Temple was adorned with decorative banners for a specific memorial celebration.


THE GREAT BUDDHA

Housed inside the massive wooden structure is The Great Buddha - a wonder of religious architecture. Your first site of the huge and peaceful giant is a religious experience.


(from web: non-decorated normal view of Todaiji)
Todaiji was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower its influence on government affairs.


Not only is Todaiji housing Japan's largest Buddha statue (Daibutsu), but it is also the world's largest wooden building, even though the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple's size.


(photo from web)
DEER PARK

More than 1,000 deer roam freely in the verdant 1,250 acres peaceful park. If you wish to feed the deer, they will gladly eat from your hand. Nara Park (Nara Koen) is a large, pleasant park in central Nara, established in 1880.


(photo from web: Yes, they will bow to you 3 times before accepting the deer snacks - no lie!)
The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered messengers of the gods in Shinto, Nara's deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated a National Treasure.


KASUGA SHRINE

Kasuga Taisha is Nara's most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city. Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan's most powerful family clan of most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Like the Ise Shrines, Kasuga Shrine had been periodically torn down and rebuilt every 20 years for many centuries. In case of the Kasuga Shrine, however, that Shinto custom was discontinued at the end of the Edo Period. Kasuga Taisha is famous for its many lanterns which were donated by worshippers. The many bronze lanterns within the shrine and the hundreds of stone lanterns lining the shrine's approach are lit on the occasion of the Lantern Festivals in February and August.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, May 3:

Kyoto Tower and return to Tokyo ...


(photo from web)
KYOTO TOWER

Kyoto Tower is the 131 meter-high observatory tower constructed in 1964 on top of a building directly opposite JR Kyoto Station building. Its unique form is in the shape of a Japanese candle stick. Instead of a conventional steel frame it is made of a tower of steel rings.


(photo from web)
The observation deck is located 100 meters above from the ground and is a major sightseeing spot with a wonderful view of the whole city of Kyoto nearby temples and shrines and the 36 peaks of the Higashiyama range.


MT. FUJI

On the Bullet Train back to Tokyo mom gasped as she was conforted by the graceful, yet imposing facade of Mt. Fuji on the horizon. The flowing robes, bald, striking! That's a big twinkie!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, May 4:


KABUKI THEARTER

After a day of relaxation and recharging at, Mom and I went into Ginza for a wonderful Tempura and Sukiyaki dinner. Then we went to the famous Kabuki-za Theater for a special performance. (and NO Earthquakes!) Our bus ride back to the subway station drove us through Ginza at night!



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, May 5:

What? Did you expect us to do something EVERY day? Friday was a well-earned day off. It was a day spent relaxing and resting in our apartment. I was exhausted. It is not easy keeping up with Mom!

Saturday, May 6:


ASAKSUSA! I finally got a chance to take Mom to the famous Asakusa district. We were stopped on the street and asked to pretend we were Italian and some TV promotion.


We walked up the Nakamise path with it's quaint shops as we approached the main courtyard. We eventually made our way to the great shrine itself.


We stopped for a snack lunch of TakoYaki - grilled dough balls with octopus - and a Ramune soda pop. Before leaving, we grabbed Age-manju snacks - sweet bean paste in a fried dough - pumkin, sweet potato, and green tea flavor.


Then we took a 40-minute boat cruise up the Sumida River from Asakusa to an old man-made island fort in Hamarikyu. We walked around the park and saw the famous 300-year old pine tree. We walked past the Tsukiji fish market (it was closed due to Golden Week holiday) and toward Ginza. We hoped back on the subway at the station in front of the Kabuki Za theater.

Sunday, May 7:


The entire family assembled for a dinner together in Omori at our favorite Tempura Restaurant. After lunch, we went to Oimachi for some shopping at Uni-Qlo - Japan's cooler version of The Gap.


Monday, May 8:

It was back to work for me ... but Mom and Hiroko continued there adventure. Mom and Hiroko went shopping at TOC for baby items. They met me for lunch during my lunch break in Gotanda and we went to a Chinese Restaurant in Gotanda Tokyu Department Store.

Tuesday, May 9:

More relaxing for Mom at our apartment. Mom couldn't keep away from reading The Da Vinci Code every free moment she had. Mom and Hiroko again met in Gotanda for lunch. Every night Hiroko prepared a delicious and healthy meal for us all.

Wednesday, May 10:

Hiroko and Mom went to the hospital for a baby check up. Mom got to see the ultra sound and baby's heartbeat. Hiroko is in great shape thanks to yoga and swimming. Our Son to be is healthy and doing great. Everything is on schedule for a due date of July 25.

Thursday, May 11:

Lunch again in Gotanda. This time my work buddy and loyal best friend in Japan, Jeffery, joined us for lunch at a great Korean Restaurant. Mom's seafood broth soup was huge! We all had to help her finish it. After lunch, Mom wanted ice cream for desert. So Hiroko took her to another restaurant for more food.

Friday, May 12:


Lunch in Gotanda with Mom, Hiroko, Michiko, Yuko and Joshua at "To the Herbs" Italian Restaurant. Am I a lucky man, or what? Out to lunch with all the ladies!



After lunch, Hiroko took Mom to Azabu Juban neighborhood and the epic metropolis locale of Roppongi Hills. Mom got to see the never-ending panaramic view from the skyscrapers observatory.


(Makes New York City look like Fly Creek - or is it Cambodia look like Kansas). Then came a true highliht for Mom - The Da Vinci Code Exhibit at Roppongi Hills.

Saturday, May 13:

A rainy saturday in Tokyo provided a needed day to rest. We had brunch at Sunday's Sun restaurant - right down the street from us. While Hiroko napped, we went out and bought a first-time Mother's Day gift for Hiroko - her very own rocking chair! They are very rare in Japan, aparently. But we found a nice, charming, used model. It was delivered in the rain a few hours later. (Given my lack of native language fluency, my bargaining posture was highly dubious, but very well ...).

Sunday, May 14:


Off to Meguro for shopping. We got some nice clothes for Mom and Uni-Qlo and some gifts for others (Pat, Kim, Dough, included). A truly poignant and special Mother's Day was celebrated at a exquisite Chinese Restaurant at the Miyako Hotel near Ebisu. What a feast!


Later in the afternoon, we walked over to the Onikura's to say goodbye to Yuko and Joshua who were leaving the next day.

Monday, May 15:

Mom's last day in Japan. Hiroko and I took Mom to lunch at Franklin Avenue - an elegant high-end burger restaurant with a garden courtyard. (see the top photo for this Blog post). Then Mom had a lot of last minute packing to do.

Tuesday, May 16

Hiroko's dad paid for a private taxi escort from our apartment to the Airport. No problem through the airport and back on a plane to the US.

And with that Mom's first visit to Japan is in the books. What an adventure. I am sure none of us will ever forget.


Thank you so much Mom. We love you.