Today was an adventure for us... we hopped in the car and headed for our first trip to Yokohoma, a town that is only about 30 minutes away! We had a map to get to the Yokohoma Country Club for a soccer tournament - surely it couldn't be that hard, huh? Our car has no navigation system but fortunately we discovered that my iPhone has a GPS tracking system so we followed the little blue dot that somehow led us to the club! We had a great day in the sun watching Nicholas play soccer while looking at the ocean on the horizon.
We headed home and had a much easier time finding the way - no little blue dot needed! We made it to the highway offramp and Chris decided he wanted to take a right because that way would get to our house quicker... however, there was a sign that indicated left turn only between 8 and 8 - it was about 4... But Chris said he'd "play dumb" while I said "I hope there's not a cop nearby." And we turned right, stopped at the light, and that's when I heard Chris say "Oh crap."
It's worth mentioning at this point that Chris has no Japanese license.
I look out the window and there he is, Mr. Japanese Police Man... we roll down the window and proceeded to set an outstanding lesson for our two children. The police man said something about "Nihon-go blah blah blah desu ka?" I think that meant do you speak Japanese? That one's easy. NO. He then starts pointing something about "Hidari something tomate something blah blah, kudasai." We knew that meant got to the left and stop please but worked "hard" to decipher what he said. We pulled to the left while the policeman pulled his car over - we looked at one another, and I offered Chris the best advice I knew - play stupid, we do not know Japanese, and say we're sorry - ALOT!!
He comes to the window again and starts the same way, "Nihon-go blah blah blah" - insert look of sheer stupidity between Chris and I... no, we don't speak the language, "Gomensae" - so sorry! He asks for our driver's license, I look at Chris, he looks at me, we shuffle around, and then I pull out MY license and hand it to the man. Chris says his is "at home" - The guy tries again, then points to where we were and says "left turn only" - OOOOOOOH! We say and look at each other as if this was a surprise to us... "Gomenasai" again a few more times. Then the guy looks at us because he realizes he's getting no where - "Next time take license" he says to Chris... Chris looks again as if this was a piece of new information and says "ah, hai, gomenasai" - (yes I'm sorry!). He hands me back my license which was so helpful in this process and then moves along. And we drive away with little smirks on our faces...
That is until I turn around and see my little boy who clearly knows that we are big, fat liars. Without any discussion he said, "it's OK, I know why you did that - you didn't want a ticket." Guess we certainly set a bad example here but Chris learned a lesson... he proclaimed that he really should follow the rules of the road since he doesn't yet have his license.
At least one of use learned a valuable lesson today...
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Traveling to Niseko in Hokkaido
The morning started early but everyone was up and ready to go when the taxi driver arrived at 7:00 AM - We were a bit amazed when we heard Nihcolas announce that it was snowing! Not flurries, but big, big fluffy flakes and lots of them! Since we were flying out of Haneda airport it was much closer and more convenient to take a taxi rather than two trains. And since we really didn't have any luggage - we had already mailed it to the hotel (gotta love Japan!) - it was very easy to head out the door.
When we arrived at the airport, we checked our ticket print out and realized that we could head straight to security. Flying domestically in Japan is MUCH different that the US - our directions said to show up at least 15 minutes before our flight was to depart! Then as we went through "security," we just showed our ticket confirmation and moved right through - didn't have to take off our shoes, our jackets, or even show our IDs!!
We found a Starbucks directly in front of our gate and watched as the hordes of people arrived - our flight was no more than an hour but we boarded a 747! After the masses did their controlled boarding, and we were ready for take-off, we saw that many of the Japanese people were already asleep - how do they do that?? My favorite part was the camera that showed the "view" from the front of the plane... you could see things speed by as you lifted off, but then the moment that we were airborne, the camera switched to the view underneathe the plane which made one wonder why we were suddenly looking straight down after we had just taken off! Gave a us a few giggles... Not as many, however, as the video that showed the nine rules of the plane! They were basic rules but they had cute little cartoon characters showing them in more detail...
When we landed in Hokkaido, we opted to take the 2 hour train instead of the 3 hour bus to the hotel! With Chris and Nicholas's levels of motion sickeness, a bus traveling through a mountain sounded pretty miserable! The train, however, was amazing! As we traveled through the mountains, we saw the ocean and mountain peaks, deer tracks and valleys - it was so beautiful! When we arrived in Niseko village we were absolutely taken back by the amounts of snow there - I have never seen so much!
We got all settled in - rented some skis and equipment - and scheduled lessons for the next day... I went to bed wondering if I would be able to pull it off the next day! Being Southern, 36, and non-athletic... suddenly trying to learn to ski did not sound like something I could pull off!
When we arrived at the airport, we checked our ticket print out and realized that we could head straight to security. Flying domestically in Japan is MUCH different that the US - our directions said to show up at least 15 minutes before our flight was to depart! Then as we went through "security," we just showed our ticket confirmation and moved right through - didn't have to take off our shoes, our jackets, or even show our IDs!!
We found a Starbucks directly in front of our gate and watched as the hordes of people arrived - our flight was no more than an hour but we boarded a 747! After the masses did their controlled boarding, and we were ready for take-off, we saw that many of the Japanese people were already asleep - how do they do that?? My favorite part was the camera that showed the "view" from the front of the plane... you could see things speed by as you lifted off, but then the moment that we were airborne, the camera switched to the view underneathe the plane which made one wonder why we were suddenly looking straight down after we had just taken off! Gave a us a few giggles... Not as many, however, as the video that showed the nine rules of the plane! They were basic rules but they had cute little cartoon characters showing them in more detail...
When we landed in Hokkaido, we opted to take the 2 hour train instead of the 3 hour bus to the hotel! With Chris and Nicholas's levels of motion sickeness, a bus traveling through a mountain sounded pretty miserable! The train, however, was amazing! As we traveled through the mountains, we saw the ocean and mountain peaks, deer tracks and valleys - it was so beautiful! When we arrived in Niseko village we were absolutely taken back by the amounts of snow there - I have never seen so much!
We got all settled in - rented some skis and equipment - and scheduled lessons for the next day... I went to bed wondering if I would be able to pull it off the next day! Being Southern, 36, and non-athletic... suddenly trying to learn to ski did not sound like something I could pull off!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Disney - Tokyo Style!
Of the things that Mom and Dad wanted to see, Mom really wanted to go to Tokyo Disney. So we decided to take two days and go to both parks. We planned to go to Tokyo Disneyland on the first day and then Tokyo Disney Sea the next day, staying overnight at a Hilton hotel nearby.
Now as all things Japan tend to be.. it was CROWDED! As we approached it was all cars and busses as far as the eye could see... But - thanks to the hoopty van... we were able to bypass the long carlines and pull right into the handicapped parking areas. Gotta love those handicap stickers on the side of the car!!
Mom and Dad really enjoyed being there - we dropped mom off in the shopping area and she was able to shop and shop and shop while we went off and rode some rides. At Disney, one of the big snacks is popcorn in various flavors. Everyone gets a popcorn bucket and carries it around refilling it at the different kiosks. Flavors range from salted, caramel, strawberry, or chocolate, to more exotic flavors of black pepper, soy sauce, curry, and honey (outside Pooh's ride!). Lines for the popcorn can be 20 minutes or more! Papa and Denny got their own bucket - but oddly enough, Dad said he didn't want to try the Black Pepper! We have all decided that our favorite is the caramel.
The funniest part of the day had to have been when I took them to the Country Bear Jamboree - not sure what they were expecting but when the show started and the songs were in Japanese - mom started laughing so hard she was crying - we understood no words except the occasional "Tennessee." Believe me, you haven't lived until you've seen the Country Bears sing Davy Crockett in Japanese! There was an occasional song in English - but the majority was in Japanese. It was pretty funny!
We were able to see both the afternoon and evening parades which are amazing - the night parade is at least 25 minutes long and the lights are beautiful!
We stayed the night at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Japanese hotel rooms are small and often have a maximum occupancy of 3. Nicholas offered to stay with Denny and Papa and we were able to reserve two rooms side by side in the "Happy Magic" rooms... we came up with many ideas as to what we would find in the Happy Magic rooms... but, fortunately for us, the rooms were all designed as if we were in the forest with a fairy princess. The walls were painted with trees and each room had an animal painted around the room - Mom and Dad's room had a frog.. Chris and I had a donkey - wondering if they were trying to tell us which one was the jackass??
The next day we got up and enjoyed a Starbucks breakfast and then headed off to Disney Sea. This park is designed with all of the different harbors of the world in mind - the Mediterranean, New York, Cape Cod, the Arabian Sea, etc. Again, those stickers paid off as we were able to go into the already full lot and get a parking spot that was literally a stone's throw from the entrance!
Again the park was very full and we were amazed to see that they actually had a line to get tickets for the fast pass - so there literally was a line, to get tickets which would allow you to come back later and stand in line again - this line had to have been 40 - 50 minutes - just to get the ticket. The actual line for the ride was about 60 minutes - wouldn't it have been smarter to just get in line for the ride???? Chris, being the smart and savvy guy that he is, walked right up to the front of the line, told them he was trying to find his wife, and cut to the front to get us our fast passes. There was that American ingenuity - always figuring out a way to move past the insanity!
Mom was able to do some more shopping, but the stores were very full and we began to see that the way to get around is to either shove or be shoved. Mom quickly learned how to do some shoving of her own... Sydney also became a pro and pushing her way to where the characters were and be able to get her picture made with every single one. There is no line for the characters - they just move around and people swarm around vying for a photo. There were several people that took pictures of Daddy with Chip and Sydney with the various characters.
We left this park after the sun went down - we had had enough of Disney and the hordes of people - plus once the sun went down it was COLD!
As we left, Mom said she had a great time but asked that we please not go anywhere the following day! She was exhausted and needed to rest!
Now as all things Japan tend to be.. it was CROWDED! As we approached it was all cars and busses as far as the eye could see... But - thanks to the hoopty van... we were able to bypass the long carlines and pull right into the handicapped parking areas. Gotta love those handicap stickers on the side of the car!!
Mom and Dad really enjoyed being there - we dropped mom off in the shopping area and she was able to shop and shop and shop while we went off and rode some rides. At Disney, one of the big snacks is popcorn in various flavors. Everyone gets a popcorn bucket and carries it around refilling it at the different kiosks. Flavors range from salted, caramel, strawberry, or chocolate, to more exotic flavors of black pepper, soy sauce, curry, and honey (outside Pooh's ride!). Lines for the popcorn can be 20 minutes or more! Papa and Denny got their own bucket - but oddly enough, Dad said he didn't want to try the Black Pepper! We have all decided that our favorite is the caramel.
The funniest part of the day had to have been when I took them to the Country Bear Jamboree - not sure what they were expecting but when the show started and the songs were in Japanese - mom started laughing so hard she was crying - we understood no words except the occasional "Tennessee." Believe me, you haven't lived until you've seen the Country Bears sing Davy Crockett in Japanese! There was an occasional song in English - but the majority was in Japanese. It was pretty funny!
We were able to see both the afternoon and evening parades which are amazing - the night parade is at least 25 minutes long and the lights are beautiful!
We stayed the night at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Japanese hotel rooms are small and often have a maximum occupancy of 3. Nicholas offered to stay with Denny and Papa and we were able to reserve two rooms side by side in the "Happy Magic" rooms... we came up with many ideas as to what we would find in the Happy Magic rooms... but, fortunately for us, the rooms were all designed as if we were in the forest with a fairy princess. The walls were painted with trees and each room had an animal painted around the room - Mom and Dad's room had a frog.. Chris and I had a donkey - wondering if they were trying to tell us which one was the jackass??
The next day we got up and enjoyed a Starbucks breakfast and then headed off to Disney Sea. This park is designed with all of the different harbors of the world in mind - the Mediterranean, New York, Cape Cod, the Arabian Sea, etc. Again, those stickers paid off as we were able to go into the already full lot and get a parking spot that was literally a stone's throw from the entrance!
Again the park was very full and we were amazed to see that they actually had a line to get tickets for the fast pass - so there literally was a line, to get tickets which would allow you to come back later and stand in line again - this line had to have been 40 - 50 minutes - just to get the ticket. The actual line for the ride was about 60 minutes - wouldn't it have been smarter to just get in line for the ride???? Chris, being the smart and savvy guy that he is, walked right up to the front of the line, told them he was trying to find his wife, and cut to the front to get us our fast passes. There was that American ingenuity - always figuring out a way to move past the insanity!
Mom was able to do some more shopping, but the stores were very full and we began to see that the way to get around is to either shove or be shoved. Mom quickly learned how to do some shoving of her own... Sydney also became a pro and pushing her way to where the characters were and be able to get her picture made with every single one. There is no line for the characters - they just move around and people swarm around vying for a photo. There were several people that took pictures of Daddy with Chip and Sydney with the various characters.
We left this park after the sun went down - we had had enough of Disney and the hordes of people - plus once the sun went down it was COLD!
As we left, Mom said she had a great time but asked that we please not go anywhere the following day! She was exhausted and needed to rest!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas Continues...
Well, it's the day after Christmas and we are settling into our evening routine... family movie accompanied by a few snores from Papa. Denny is on the computer and probably truly wishing that she could be watching HGTV instead of Mall Cop... but the kids won.
We had a wonderful Christmas - Santa was very good to all of us. Lots of goodies - Sydney got a princess doll house, Chris got a kindle, Nicholas is loving his electricity set, Papa got a new wallet, Denny got a photo book full of pictures of her grandbabies, and Mommy got a new strand of black pearls. Don't think it could get much better!
On Christmas Eve, I took mom to Shibuya, a major shopping area where literally a million people pass each day. For those of you who watched the last season of the Amazing Race - this was the intersection they walked through. Her eyes were huge as we walked along... we went through a typical Tokyo department store and through the Disney store. I even treated her to McDonalds (I know - I'm the big spender...). Next we went to Omotesando, another shopping area to meet everyone else so we could go to Christmas Eve services at the Tokyo Union Church (www2.gol.com/users/tuc/) and see the lights in stores like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. After church we toured the famous Japanese toy store, KiddyLand, to continue our path of sensory overload!! This store is huge and packed on 6 different floors...
Christmas was a great day - staying at home, watching the kids play with all of their goodies, and eating a yummy turkey with all the "fixins" for dinner. Today we did some more touring - went to Tokyo Tower and ZoJo Ji Temple, finishing the day off with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - Panic Cafe!
We are now stuffed and ready for bed - Guess, though, we'll wait until Mall Cop is over!
We had a wonderful Christmas - Santa was very good to all of us. Lots of goodies - Sydney got a princess doll house, Chris got a kindle, Nicholas is loving his electricity set, Papa got a new wallet, Denny got a photo book full of pictures of her grandbabies, and Mommy got a new strand of black pearls. Don't think it could get much better!
On Christmas Eve, I took mom to Shibuya, a major shopping area where literally a million people pass each day. For those of you who watched the last season of the Amazing Race - this was the intersection they walked through. Her eyes were huge as we walked along... we went through a typical Tokyo department store and through the Disney store. I even treated her to McDonalds (I know - I'm the big spender...). Next we went to Omotesando, another shopping area to meet everyone else so we could go to Christmas Eve services at the Tokyo Union Church (www2.gol.com/users/tuc/) and see the lights in stores like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. After church we toured the famous Japanese toy store, KiddyLand, to continue our path of sensory overload!! This store is huge and packed on 6 different floors...
Christmas was a great day - staying at home, watching the kids play with all of their goodies, and eating a yummy turkey with all the "fixins" for dinner. Today we did some more touring - went to Tokyo Tower and ZoJo Ji Temple, finishing the day off with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - Panic Cafe!
We are now stuffed and ready for bed - Guess, though, we'll wait until Mall Cop is over!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Day 2... Better than Day 1!
So yesterday was not the best for my parents... Let's just say jetlag is not their friend! They were slow moving in the morning but we finally got out of the house around noon. Took Dad to the money exchange and then off to lunch.. where he became a bit confused with the new denominations. When they brought the menu, he took one look at the prices and said "can we afford to eat here??" Quick lesson on Japanese yen... 1000 yen is roughly 10 dollars (but Daddy didn't know this little bit of information) - so when he saw that the chicken salad was 1300 yen... he became a bit concerned! We then had to have a brief money lesson...
We went to the top of Mori Tower (up on the 52nd floor!) - it was very clear and we could see for miles and miles and even see Mt. Fuki in the distance. The kids had a great time showing them the places they knew. I next took them to the 100 yen (i.e. the dollar!) store - a favorite store of mine! And we meandered our way home... By late afternoon, Mom and Dad were pretty much "done." Mom was worse - she wasn't really making coherent statements which provided much humor for the rest of us. :) She, however, perservered and made it all the way to 8:30 P.M. before she crashed.
This morning they were a bit more refreshed and we headed out for the next adventure... the subway train! The one we needed was, of course, one of the deepest trains in Tokyo and we just kept going down escalator after escalator - made Mom happy! They followed directions well and after a train switch, we arrived at Asakusa Kannon Temple and grounds - a very Japanese experience. They seemed to enjoy it - we saw ladies in kimono, a wedding, and a special Buddist ceremony with monks chanting. There is also a huge section with all the Japanese souvenier shopping you can imagine.
We're now home and are watching Santa Clause 3 - Daddy is having a hard time staying awake...
I'll post some pictures of our day in a bit...
We went to the top of Mori Tower (up on the 52nd floor!) - it was very clear and we could see for miles and miles and even see Mt. Fuki in the distance. The kids had a great time showing them the places they knew. I next took them to the 100 yen (i.e. the dollar!) store - a favorite store of mine! And we meandered our way home... By late afternoon, Mom and Dad were pretty much "done." Mom was worse - she wasn't really making coherent statements which provided much humor for the rest of us. :) She, however, perservered and made it all the way to 8:30 P.M. before she crashed.
This morning they were a bit more refreshed and we headed out for the next adventure... the subway train! The one we needed was, of course, one of the deepest trains in Tokyo and we just kept going down escalator after escalator - made Mom happy! They followed directions well and after a train switch, we arrived at Asakusa Kannon Temple and grounds - a very Japanese experience. They seemed to enjoy it - we saw ladies in kimono, a wedding, and a special Buddist ceremony with monks chanting. There is also a huge section with all the Japanese souvenier shopping you can imagine.
We're now home and are watching Santa Clause 3 - Daddy is having a hard time staying awake...
I'll post some pictures of our day in a bit...
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