Japanese Alps & Tokyo

     The Alps in Japan are fresh, peaceful, and full of hot springs. From small mountain towns with historic relics covered in snow to monkeys bathing and swimming in natural hot springs.

     We started out in Nagano where they had the 1998 Winter Olympics. It was a great little town that served as a central hub for venturing to the surrounding towns and villages. The first town we went to was far away in the hills where a troop of monkeys had made a naturally occurring hot springs their home. While the winters would dip into freezing temperatures, the monkeys would stay nice and toasty in the 103 degree mineral water bubbling naturally from the earth. It was completely hilarious seeing a monkey personify the spa experience. After our trip with the monkeys, we went and visited a Japanese castle in the city of Matsumoto where we toured one of the last 5 castles left in all of Japan. It was pretty amazing since a castle usually conjures up the image of a huge stone structure like those in Europe. However, this castle was almost completely made of wood and housed the local Samurai responsible for keeping it and the surrounding areas safe.

     From the alps, we moved on to Tokyo. This city is brimming over with technology, activities, fashion, sushi, and people. We walked to an intersection called Shibuya crossing where every hour an average of 100,000 people cross the street. It is basically like a mini Time Square complete with restaurants, clothing shops, and lights. Not far from the crossing we caught a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome where the Tokyo Giants smashed the dreaded Dragons. It was a great game! What made it so interesting was seeing people eat sushi while they flagged down their favorite little beer girl that ran around filling up cups from the mini keg strapped to her back. However, the best sushi we had in all of Japan was found at the all too popular Fish Market where the famous Tuna auction is held everyday. With only 120 visitors allowed per day to see the auction, we had to get in line at 2:30a.m. to see the auction at 5. However, it was completely worth seeing the best and biggest tuna being sold off as if it was a prized antique. So prized in fact that sales from the market reach an annual level of 8 billion dollars. After the auction, on the grounds of the Fish Market, we ran over and got in another line where sushi that has just come off the boat is filleted and served to your salivating mouth. Man did that taste good! Now if you're not a fish eater, the next night we had the best beef we've ever had: Kobe. This beef melted in our mouths like Cotton Candy and had a marble running through it that would make Michelangelo jealous. It was simply an amazing dinner and I can't believe something could taste so good! Wait....actually....I can. For the price we paid, it better!

     With our trip coming to a close, we ditched excess clothes and items that we no longer needed, packed up our things, and headed to the airport to catch our flight back to LAX. With our trip completed, we look forward to settling back into our lives and the thrill of getting to eat Mexican food once again!

Panoramic train in the Alps

Bath Time!

Hey Hey for the Monkeys!

Flavor Savor

Cleaning time

Monkey Love

The forest in the Alps was beautiful!

Tuna Tuna Tuna - super cheap and super tasty

Cherry Blossoms abound

One of only five original castles left in Japan

Matsumoto Castle

At the time, the best steak we've ever had!

Morning market

The ever so happy Japanese!

The best means of transportation short of the Shinkansen bullet train

My pants are bigger than the people! lol

Sake is so yummy!

The snow fall completely blanketed everything

Lost in the trees

Snowmelt

Lakes of glass reflected mirror images perfectly

Cherry Blossom park in Tokyo

which one is prettier! Duh! My wife!

Go Giants! Tokyo Giants that is

They serve sushi at the ballgame

The girls run around the stadium with kegs on their backs serving beer

Pano of the Tokyo dome

Subway coming into station

Pano of Shibuya crossing

Erica's fluffy new friend

Scary Harajuku twins - The Shining?

Tuna auction

Flash frozen tuna everywhere!

Tuna inspector

Each fish is specifically inspected for quality and texture

Bring em out Bring em out

It goes with the territory

Whale meat, not exactly PETA certified

"I need suction doctor!"

The biggest tuna chunk I've ever seen

Waiting for Sushi at 5:45 in the morning

The freshest sushi money can buy

Beer and savory sushi at 6:46am, bring it on!

Sunset over Mount Fuji!

Tokyo tower, Eiffel tower wanna be

Self portrait in the subway

Subways are so fun to photograph!

Packed like a sardine!

You would think there was a plague going around

Thong, tha thong thong thong

Almost had this guy in our lap

Beauty everywhere

Pagoda temple

The best beef I've ever had and a price that felt like a mortgage!

Tokyo tower

Beauty over Tokyo

Last night in Tokyo all dressed up and ready for the town!

Kyoto, Japan

     Kyoto is a city burgeoning with culture and class. From hundreds of temples to just as many fashion malls, this area of Japan truly blends the 21st century with ancient history.
     Our first days were spent getting to know the different people from the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses where we observed the annual Memorial of Jesus Christ. It was great getting to attend this annual event in Japan as we knew this was being held earth wide even back in our hometown at the same time. What a faith strengthening experience that we were able to enjoy!
     The next few days were used to observe the local surroundings. We found ourselves immersed in a world famous bamboo forest where, once again, a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed. It was amazing how the bamboo climbed clear over our heads obscuring the sky and leaving only a beautiful light green behind. We also viewed dozens of cherry blossom trees that only your own eyes can truly appreciate.
     I have been dying to talk about the advance intricacies of the toilets in this country. Japan is very much number 1 when it comes to going number 2. There is nothing ordinary about their toilets as they feel more inclined to the cockpit of a space shuttle than a regular old porcelain throne. This is first realized when sitting down as the seat is heated between 86 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, depending upon your liking. Next you have two options of water spray that can be manually adjusted forward or aft. These sprays also have varying degrees of temperature and pressure which can additionally be mixed in with soap and pulsating or vibrating water to help sooth constipation or hemorrhoids. If that doesn't work, have your favorite classical music play to help release tension in stereo surround sound. Don't want to use toilet paper? There is an optional blow dryer to sooth your backside with warm air. These is also an added ozone deodorizer with every flush and a foaming soapy disinfectant cleanser that swirls the bowl clean. Did I forget to mention that most of these are remote control operated? Future toilets in development are even going as far as calculating your blood sugar level based upon your urine output and measuring your blood pressure and body fat via the toilet seat. To top it off, if you're hooked up to wifi, this may all be transmitted to your local doctor to keep an updated tab on your health. Oh yeah, and to make sure your wife stays happy, be sure and give the appropriate voice activated command to close the lid.
     Next stop is the Japanese Alps and Tokyo.    

Kimonos everywhere!

Notice the control panel on the side of the toilet: practically can launch a spaceship

Erica with our new friends in Japan

Our new friend Kumi

I'm not even that tall and I can barely fit through the doors here :)

Geishas! Which one is Erica?

I think she's turning Japanese, I think she's turning Japanese, I really think so

Never knew how different someone could look with a little makeup and a wig

Hot stuff!

Blending in nicely!

Erica's long lost cousin :)

Cherry Blossoms

We just showed this guy how to do his first Sake Bomb!

These are the entrance markers to all the temples in all of Japan

This tunnel of orange stretched on for days it seemed

On the downside of every wood beam, there were Japanese inscriptions

Thousands of orange wood beams

Sushi lunch is served!

Cherry blossom trees made everything beautiful

Fresh is a complete understatement

A beautiful castle section protected by cherry blossoms

Apparently there is no 'scribbling' in certain areas (?????)

 Only thing that is more than beautiful than cherry blossoms is my wife!

 

 The bamboo forest was so fantastic

Seemingly endless amounts of bamboo clambering for the sky

 All types of Sake on sale everywhere

 This guy was completely authentic, had been serving Sushi for over 40 years

 Peek-a-boo!

 The backs of Kimonos are so ornate

 Even the little ones wore kimonos

 The Shinkansen bullet trains are crazy fast and so futuristic looking

 Loved photographing the trains

 Cherry blossoms beautified everything in Japan

Hiroshima, Japan - Tragic History & Excellent Food

     Heated toilet seats and a dairy air water cleanser that rivals the Bellagio fountains in Vegas? Check. A selfless culture with polite manners and a cutting edge love of fashion? Check. Automatic draft-beer dispensing machine? Check. Bullet trains that can exceed 340/mph? Check. Self opening car doors on taxis? Check. Freshest and most affordable sushi ever tasted? Double check. I love Japan!
     Our first stop was in a very sobering Hiroshima. At first glance the city is bustling with people and restaurants. However, underneath this fresh new exterior is a deep scar that has transformed, not only Hiroshima but, Japan as a whole. For those of you who recognize the city's name but can't quite remember where you've heard it from, it was where the first atomic bomb was dropped in aggression by The United States of America during WWII. Out of all the buildings in a 2km radius, only one survived in a highly damaged and crippled state. The city has taken tremendous effort for it to be preserved for eternity and, every year on August 6th, the day the bomb was dropped, the current mayor of Hiroshima writes a personal letter to every nuclear weaponized nation pleading with them to dispose of their nuclear arms and to call to mind the horrible effects that not only nuclear bombs can have on people but war itself. This fact was gleaned from the local museum detailing everything you wanted and didn't want to know about nuclear bombs and their catastrophic capabilities. The museum was very open, honest, and completely unbiased which surprised Erica and I. It's candor stated things such as how the Japanese political policies at the time were foolish and had displays that even begged the question "When will war ever end?" Over 280,000 people have died from that one horrific decision and are actually still dying today due to cancer relates issues. But how do you humanize that many people without it just becoming a statistic? They did so with moving personal stories and gruesome pictures that etched into your mind how disgusting and demonic man can be to one another. One such story talked about atomic rays shining through a woman's kimono transferring the same kimono pattern to her skin with third degree burns. Another was how a man, for the rest of his sickly radiated life, had dark black finger nails that mutated with his skin to produce living fingernails: the color of the nails was caused by actual blood capillaries that flowed through the nail along with nerves making every nail clipping torturous as if cutting off an appendage. It was so miserable that he stopped cutting them all together choosing to let them grow nearly a foot long. With swollen, puffy eyes we made our way like this to each and every exhibit thinking that the next couldn't be as bad as the last; we couldn't have been more wrong. As strong as the content was, this museum will forever be on my highly recommended list to show people how truly horrible this world can be.
     The next day Erica and I retreated to more relaxing activities which included strolls through the local parks and shopping. The shopping was a stress reliever for Erica and I wasn't about to argue after a heartbreaking day previously. We also got the best sushi I've ever had from the strangest of places: the mall. Apparently this is not rare in Japan. We estimated the equivalent meal in the U.S. would have set us back $120. It tallied up to a whopping $11. We were so astonished at our bill and the superior quality over anything like it we've had previously.
     Two days under our belts in Japan and we were already feeling right at home. Next stop: Kyoto.

 Metro train in Hiroshima

 The A-Bomb Dome: the only building left after the blast

 The hypocenter of the blast was around 600 meters directly above this building

 I love Japanese kids! They are so adorable! It was sickening to me to think after going to the A-Bomb museum that innocent children like these were killed by the thousands

This time piece stopped exactly at 8:15am when the bomb detonated  

 This is a picture of a photograph taken 3 months after the bomb showing the complete destruction

 These are skin and fingernails that dropped off victims as if they had leprosy

 If this photograph was enlarged, you would see that the mural in the background is made up of 280,000 mosaic tiles representing all of those who have lost their lives from this horrible incident

 Another view of the A-Bomb Dome

 Erica trying to blend in like a local

Our first sushi experience and it was fantastic!

This was the softest fish I've ever had bursting with flavor

Everywhere in Japan (practically every 200 meters) there is a vending machine with hot and cold drinks, even alcohol!

Beautiful scenery along the river that flows through Hiroshima