A Sad Goodbye

Last Monday was a sad day for me. I had to say goodbye to my favorite teacher at Bayside Academy (the school where I study Japanese). She told me last Friday that she is leaving Bayside Academy and Monday would be our last class.
Hayashi-sensei had a teaching style that was a perfect combination for me. She pushed me and kept me from being lazy and she made class fun at the same time. She also taught me many things about Japanese culture. I truly enjoyed our time together and will miss her.

林先生、どうもありがとうございました！
じゃ、また。。。

ガーリ

Stephen Visits

Here's a blog that's long overdue.

Last May our son, Stephen, came to visit. He stayed for about a week and a half. Marcia took time off from work and she and I (with some help from our friend Chigusa) became tour guides. Stephen got to see Yokohama, Kamakura, Tokyo, and Kyoto. We took day trips to Tokyo and Kamakura and spent two days and three nights in Kyoto. Marcia and I had never been to Kyoto and enjoyed the trip immensely. We also went to a home game of our local baseball team, the Yokohama Baystars. Having Steve come visit was a complete delight. It's one thing to tell someone about where and how you live but, it's so much better to be able to show them. Stephen wanted to document his trip for his friends so most of the pictures you are about to see were taken by him.


VIEWS FROM YOKOHAMA:

Stephen discovers the stairway to our house.


View from our balcony.



Our train stop. A rare empty moment.

Notice how clean this subway is.


Our local park.

Yokohama bay.



Chinatown.


Around town.


A local video arcade.


STEVE VISITS KAMAKURA:




Steve performs purification rite before entering temples.



Steve and Daibutsu (The great buddha).



Hachiman-gu Shrine.


Hase-dera Temple.

QUICK VISIT TO TOKYO:



Dinner with friends at a very nice (upscale) restaurant in Tokyo.


Fujinori and Stephen.


Chigusa (Fujinori's wife).

The meal. Delicious!







Most importantly, the sake.

Steve digs in.


Marcia after some sake.

KYOTO.

Kyoto is famous for its many shrines and temples. We had a wonderful time here.

Chigusa came with us and was a wonderful traveling companion.


Kinkakuji temple.
The four adventurers.



Various temples and shrines including a Shogan's castle.



















Steve makes new friends.

A not so fancy restaurant in Kyoto.
The preceding picture isn't that good of a picture, however, there is a story here. Notice the menu on the table. Looks like an ordinary nice menu right? Well, this restaurant is like a fast food restaurant, so the items in the menu are somewhat limited. In fact, when you open the menu, this is what you see....





A picture of the one item that they offer and the price. That's the whole menu. Marcia still took a long time deciding what to have.

GOING TO A LOCAL BASEBALL GAME.


Luckily, the local baseball team, the Yokohama Baystars, were in town so Stephen was able to experience Japanese baseball.



Baseball was pretty much the same. Cheerleaders...


fans.....

young and.....
old......


souvenir venders....

and, of course, beer venders.
Although the Baystars lost, it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.


We share a last dinner before Stephen returns to the States.

Well, there you go. A whirlwind tour of Steve's first visit to Japan. He said he had a wonderful time and wants to come visit us again. We, of course, were delighted to have him visit and can't wait for him to return.

Ja mata,

Gary