End of November - 12/1/06
Greetings! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Can’t believe November has drawn to a close.
No Macy’s parade for us, but we did get helium exposure at a balloon festival earlier in the month. Only one balloon braved a rather breezy day. Our friend, Angela, was disappointed and said that in previous years more than 50 balloons would be airborne. We were happy to see one. Any excuse for us to take in the festival scene!
Dave, the kids, Ian and Stuart re-visited one of their favorite amusement parks. Mitsui Greenland specializes in roller coasters with names like The Atomic and Megaton (see why I skipped it?). The park is easy to find because there is a large (helium!) Ultraman lording over it.
The next day we explored a peninsula south of Nagasaki. We took a winding road that skimmed the edge of steep-sea-plunging- cliffs that led us to beach nirvana. Lots of beaches, some sandy, some rocky. Where were these places in the summer? The best one was a green sand beach that we got to explore and enjoy at sunset.
On the way home we found Chris’ American pizza. I know that this is not so exciting to you guys, but the Japanese are not exactly world-renowned for their cheese. They also have a fondness for corn and mayonnaise toppings that we’ve never quite embraced, so Chris’ authentic ingredient pizza was a treat. We ordered a “meat lovers”. No fish in sight.
I joined Eric’s class trip and went to a Nagasaki television studio for a live taping of a talk show. The kids sat quietly behind the hosts for a full hour. They put Eric right up front and he was a little squirmier than the rest but managed pretty well. Onward to the
Mitshibushi shipyard; they seem to own half of Nagasaki. The scale is massive. These guys are building the ocean cargo freighters. Wow.
Our wonderful friend, Aya, came from Okinawa to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us. We took her to a guest house in hot spring country (ryoken onsen) and had a grand time. Our kimono-clad hostess served us tea in our tatami room and then we changed into yukatas, trotted down to the hot spring and admired the garden from our steamy seat in the natural setting stone tub. (I know I keep writing about hot springs, but it’s one of my favorite Japanese experiences). We had a great meal in our room and had to take the traditional Thanksgiving walk. Yukata-clad foreigners clomping along in our too-small wooden sandals must’ve been a funny sight. Luckily, Aya looked great.
The next day we went to the BioPark, an interactive zoo, and particularly enjoyed the monkeys. This part of Japan specializes in pottery, so we did some shopping and stopped off for Bridget and Eric to make a cup on a pottery wheel. We caught some high school students having a fashion show of their design school projects – hand-sewn, hand-dyed kimonos. I posted a too dark photo, but hopefully the creativity and beauty shows through.
Have a wonderful December -with all the festivities, fun, craziness and joy.
Love, barbara
Pictures at http://photos.yahoo.com/~iverlink called 2006-November.
Blog http://iversonjpn.blogspot.com/
No Macy’s parade for us, but we did get helium exposure at a balloon festival earlier in the month. Only one balloon braved a rather breezy day. Our friend, Angela, was disappointed and said that in previous years more than 50 balloons would be airborne. We were happy to see one. Any excuse for us to take in the festival scene!
Dave, the kids, Ian and Stuart re-visited one of their favorite amusement parks. Mitsui Greenland specializes in roller coasters with names like The Atomic and Megaton (see why I skipped it?). The park is easy to find because there is a large (helium!) Ultraman lording over it.
The next day we explored a peninsula south of Nagasaki. We took a winding road that skimmed the edge of steep-sea-plunging- cliffs that led us to beach nirvana. Lots of beaches, some sandy, some rocky. Where were these places in the summer? The best one was a green sand beach that we got to explore and enjoy at sunset.
On the way home we found Chris’ American pizza. I know that this is not so exciting to you guys, but the Japanese are not exactly world-renowned for their cheese. They also have a fondness for corn and mayonnaise toppings that we’ve never quite embraced, so Chris’ authentic ingredient pizza was a treat. We ordered a “meat lovers”. No fish in sight.
I joined Eric’s class trip and went to a Nagasaki television studio for a live taping of a talk show. The kids sat quietly behind the hosts for a full hour. They put Eric right up front and he was a little squirmier than the rest but managed pretty well. Onward to the
Mitshibushi shipyard; they seem to own half of Nagasaki. The scale is massive. These guys are building the ocean cargo freighters. Wow.
Our wonderful friend, Aya, came from Okinawa to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us. We took her to a guest house in hot spring country (ryoken onsen) and had a grand time. Our kimono-clad hostess served us tea in our tatami room and then we changed into yukatas, trotted down to the hot spring and admired the garden from our steamy seat in the natural setting stone tub. (I know I keep writing about hot springs, but it’s one of my favorite Japanese experiences). We had a great meal in our room and had to take the traditional Thanksgiving walk. Yukata-clad foreigners clomping along in our too-small wooden sandals must’ve been a funny sight. Luckily, Aya looked great.
The next day we went to the BioPark, an interactive zoo, and particularly enjoyed the monkeys. This part of Japan specializes in pottery, so we did some shopping and stopped off for Bridget and Eric to make a cup on a pottery wheel. We caught some high school students having a fashion show of their design school projects – hand-sewn, hand-dyed kimonos. I posted a too dark photo, but hopefully the creativity and beauty shows through.
Have a wonderful December -with all the festivities, fun, craziness and joy.
Love, barbara
Pictures at http://photos.yahoo.com/~iverlink called 2006-November.
Blog http://iversonjpn.blogspot.com/
posted by Barbara Meehan Iverson at 8:03 PM
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