Hotel Masudaya Shimada

... to put our bags away before the show started when immediately to our right fireworks started going off! We moved a little bit away when we noticed that some others were going off in another area of base. So we got 2 shows for the price of one! It was really cool and it was neat to see the families that were left on base enjoying the show. Most of the Navymen are out on summer cruise and they're in port in Australia so a lot of the families had gone to meet them.

... is going to be the longest and busiest term including swimming, school events, late nights, report cards and much more... :o( Need to stuff myself with vitamins... Can't wait to go back tomorrow to see the kids and fill up their little love tanks :o) Ciao Ciao Luv Vicki P.S. Photos are up on Picasa. Check out in the Strawberry Picking folder my little pet shrimps! :o) http://picasaweb.google.com/vickinjapan

Went yesterday with Corey and Hitomi to watch a Major League Baseball game! I'd never been to a baseball stadium before so this was an extra bonus! The mascot prior to the game's start was doing flips for the crowd and was going well until he did a backflip and landed on his face. Stumbled up and fell over the barrier trying to leave the stadium with everyone clapping. The stadium was divided into two ...

Shizuoka is beautiful! Words really can't describe the experience of being here, there's modern buildings, and there's ancient buildings, there's Businessman, and there's women wearing traditional Kimono's. The city itself is so clean, and the weather is amazing. Stayed the first few nights in hotels, while trying to figure out somewhere to live, and at the same time applying for work, looking at rental properties, doing all ...

... which was famous as one of the hardest point on Old Tokaido Rooute. However, the bridge itself was not on Old Tokaido Route. So on the route, travellers used a boat, carrier, or piggyback to cross the river. Besides, the bridge was built in Meiji Period, not Edo Period, for local residents. By the way, I found something interesting. In Japan, there are a lot of great wooden architectures. One of the most famous is Horyuji Temple in Nara, which is the world's ...

... con hijos. También se encuentran los muelles donde descargan grandes barcos, pero lo que destaca de esta "ciudad" es su visión futurista, plasmada en el diseño de cada edificio, entre ellos el FUJI TV, con una enorme bola de mil doscientas toneladas a la que se puede entrar tras sufrir una interminable cola al sol. Obviamente yo pasé del tema. Aún me da tiempo para recorrer la parte norte del centro de Tokyo y acabar en Akihabara de nuevo para enfrentarme a ...

... must have played a big role as well. Their non-stop organized chants were powerful and hypnotic, if somewhat similar to the opposing team's chants. Speaking of which, Sebastian accidently wore the opposing team's colours, and stuck out pretty bad on the home side. whoops!

... each year. The sight is beautiful, even in the cloudy sky. It's fun to see the panic that ensues when kites fly off too far, or tangle with one another! Matsuri food is yummy as usual! They even sold the plain liquid candy that covers candy apples...It's all the fun of a candy apple, without the apple! We see a few new matsuri items (including a new matsuri rope game and a special "French" smoking trolley "L'art de ...

We take a short day trip to nearby Shizuoka to visit a small temple (reached by climbing 1159 stairs...or a convenient ropeway)...and then for some strawberry picking! We actually arrived too late, but some of the strawberry workers took pity on us and let us do it! 1000yen for 30mins of all you can eat strawberries! Combined we must have had over 200! It was a feat we cared less and less about with each strawberry we stuffed down our throats. Not very Japanese...

We arrived in Shizuoka in the evening after a few hours train ride from the japanese alps. Mochan picked us up at the station with his small car and took us to his house where we had a couple of drinks before going to bed. The next day our "Japanese adventure" began :D Mochan took us to see mount fuji, we where ...