... was Olivia's last 2nd grade field trip.
Ethan is still playing "Dad of the Year" and he took the day off so he could watch Evan and Ava.
I really enjoyed going on my One Field Trip this year. :-)
Please enjoy the slideshow of "Enoshima Aquarium" <-----click.
Enoshima Aquarium is not actually On Enoshima Island.
We go to Enoshima Island pretty much as much as we can. :) So pretty.
Yesterday, for the New Years Day we went to Enoshima Island.
We did this last year as well... we sort of make it Yearly thing. Most Japanese People go to Pray on New Years, but we went just for the fun of it.
You can find Last Years Trip --->HERE<---
We took the trains to Enoshima Island, Walked from Enoshima Station across the 600meter bridge... and onto the island. We ate street foods (like Japanese Spiral shellfish & Sweet Rice Soup & Potato cake & Crisp Sausage and a Grilled Onigiri mmmmm, to name a few!), We walked A Lot, Looked at all the Shrines & Pretty Views, Washed some money, Toured the garden and went up the Observatory....
And to make it all worth it, we saw Fuji!
We also ate a nice lunch at the Outdoor Food Court. It was SUPER Cold and So Windy, but we enjoyed Ramen and Hot Tea's! Also the BEST Curry and Nann!!!!!!! OMG!
I wanna go back for more Curry and Nann Bread!
Above all else, we got to spend this years' visit with Good Friends from another base in Japan and Tim and Kath from here in Yokosuka.
If you get this blog via e-mail, please --->click here<--- for the Slide show. :)
Pictures and Slide-Show Below... ----> And in the Slideshow toward the end, I make an apperiance! (Gasp!---Ethan made me... haha)
Today we ventured out into the Beautiful Country we live in ... to try and get a view of Mt. Fuji or Fuji-san as it is called in Japan.
It's a Cold, Clear Winter day, and that's the best kind of day to spot Fuji from this area.
Well, i should not say cold... as it was not cold when we left. But, while we are out as the sun went down, we started to freeze.
Lesson Learned,... Wear Layers, and wear your big coat!
We left a bit late... but we still had plenty of time, and actually... [by accident] catch Mt Fuji during the Sunset.
WOW! ;)
I am so glad we live in this area of Japan. I Loved Sasebo and Okinawa...
This area just add's so much more to My Personal Japan Experience, and our Experience as a family.
We took the Train from Jummuji Station to Shin-Zushi Station. We got off and walked a block or so to the JR line Zushi Station.
We boarded a Train heading to Kamakura. One Stop.
We got off and switched lines to the ENODEN LINE. Enoden is like a site-seeing train line.
It has Many Stops that are rich in Japan's History, and just plain ole' fun things to explore.
We stayed on the Enoden Line until to reached the Enoshima Station. We Exited and
walked about 5~10 minutes until we reached the bridge.
There are 2 bridges... one for Cars and one for People. It's Free to cross.
A photo on the bridge....
Once you cross there are many Shops and Food Places.
We followed the crowd up to the shrine. We took in the sites and took a bunch of photos.
We went to the Ticket Counter and bought 3 tickets [because Evan is free] for the Escalator + Garden & Observation Tower.
We took the Electric Stairs up to the high point... took more pictures and entered the Garden.
It's Small, but very nice! There is a Beautiful overlook and Restaurant.
We are from South Florida, so... seeing Miami Beach Area in Japan... was Very Neat-o! [see photo's in slide show]
We went from the Garden to the line. There was about a 30 minute wait to get into the Observation Tower.
We boarded the Elevator. It takes you to a indoor observatory.
It's just beyond words!
Beautiful!
Then,... if you are brave... you can go up one more level... on foot.
It's outside, and personally? I am not a fan of height's. I went... but it was not enjoyable.
So, we went back down, and we got some REALLY nice pictures of Fuji-san.
After we Froze our butt's off in the line, and on the Tower we headed back down the hill and into the town.
We hit up almost EVERY Food stall, trying new foods... and just getting warm w/ all the hot food!
MMMMMMmmmmmm food stalls are a Very enjoyable part of Japan for us.
We are food lovers and the kids?? Very Adventurous!
We ate some "sazae" (turban shell). It's like a Shell fish or Sea Snail?
We have had it BBQ'd in the shell... but this time we tried it Yakatori Style.
Mmmmmm!
We also ate some Chicken Yakatori, some Puffed Ball's filled w/ a Cheese & an Unidentified patty. It was Warm and good. It was Not Meat... i think it was Veggie Based.
We also tried Grilled Rice Triangles. I just have loved these for YEARS.... and they were Awesome!
And... on the way home we ate a Pork Steamed bun.
Remember... we were there most of the day/night... and we did not stop to eat.
So, snacking on these food stall's here and there... it was very nice.
Olivia bought a Penguin Stuffed Animal Key Chain...
and Evan wanted a Vending Machine Train, haha.
I also got both kids a Shonan Pin. I bought 2 ... they were 100 Yen (1$) each but they can pin it on 'whatever' and kind of 'collect them' at all the places we go around Japan.
Shōnan (湘南) is the name of a resort-oriented region along the coast of Sagami Bay in central Japan. Centered on Enoshima, an island about 50 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, the Shonan region stretches from Oiso (大磯) in the west to Hayama (葉山) in the east, including Kamakura (鎌倉) and Hiratsuka (平塚). The region benefits from a mild climate and long beaches covered with dark volcanic sand.
Also... if you get this via e-mail here is the link to view the Slide Show for this Trip. --->
http://www.slide.com/r/wHMQ86_kgj8r6cQuAi8PhGhjJdLsetNk?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
This is a Video of us going up the Elevator on Enoshima Island Observatory.
(Evan talking in the background.)
If you get this Via E-mail you will have to click HERE to see the Video.
As i said before, we took a train to Kamakura. We toured Kamakura, ate some sweet potato ice cream & ate some lunch at Daiei Mall.
For my state-side friends,... If something is 100Yen its about 1.00$.
So, my lunch @ 880Yen is was about $8.80. It flux's with the yen rate. Right now the rate is about 99.9 and that means the dollar was not as good.
Enjoy these pictures from out trip.
The kids sure missed us!!
Today was a short day in our culture class.
The plan was to give us a one hour lesson on taking trains in Japan. The idea was to walk us to the train station, have us pick a destination, and see us off... yup... not go with us... just wave as we left for an adventure.
I have to admit i was a bit unsettled at this idea.
I mustered up some bravery and found another couple who was adventurous... and we went on our way.
We took the JR Train from Yokosuka *Sobu-Line (Yokosuka staion) to Kamakura.We got off Yokosuka *Sobu-Line and connected with Enoden -Line. We rode Enoden Line until Hase' Stop.
Just about a 10 minute walk from Hase Staion was the "Great Budda" or as the Japanese call it Daibutsu. Along the way we had the option of stopping at a beautiful garden/temple. We decided not to, because we were on a time limit. Also with Kamakura being only a 30 minute trip... i am sure will will do this trip with the kids. (Maybe this weekend)
So here is the time line.
We went to AOB class from 7:45 am ~9:15am. We met the guide outside the gate @ 9:45 am. We boarded the train at 10:15 (i think) and we were on our way!!
(After about 20 minutes of walking and 20 minutes if talking. We also bought a Suica Rail Pass instead of a 'ticket'. This Suica Pass cost 2,000 Yen (about $20 US dollars). With a Suica you don't need to worry about tickets and fairs. You only need to make sure it has Yen loaded on it, and it can be loaded up to 500$ (i think). It was very to buy... and easy to use. Minimum amount is 2000 Yen.
So, needless to say, we still have plenty of $$ for the weekend, if we feel like taking a train somewhere.)
After we got on the train, it was a quick and painless ride to Hase' and we got off the train, and walked about 10 minutes, through shops and food venues and we were there!! It was cheap to get in, and Very beautiful and amazing.
If you decide to come to Japan, ... (family & friends) we will definitely go!!
After we saw Kamakura we boarded the train again, and came back to the Yokosuka Station. We decided, along with our trip buddies to head over to Daiei Mall (like Jusco, but biggggggger).
We walked through the food store & the restaurant's. We were hungry for lunch at this point... We decided to eat at a soba/udon shop. We all had a great meal.
After lunch we went up to the 4th floor and went into a book store. I found a English/Japanese book i am enjoying.
After that we went into a small 100 Y shop (like a 1$ store, but better).
By this time, we were just tired... we decided to come back this weekend. We headed back to the base, found the bus to the Kids Childcare Building. (We could have walked, but we did not have the energy.
We got back to the room about 4:15 pm and we have been relaxing for about an hour. Tonight we need to get out, and get some food stuff at the commissary. Also we told the kids the could pick a small 'goodie' at the store.
So, in about 30~1 hour we will be going out again. We are trying REALLY hard to stay up later and later each night. Jet lag has been taking a toll. Last night we were in bed and sleeping before 7 pm. But, hey its better than the night before, when we were sleeping @ 6 pm.
We hope to stay up till 8 pm tonight, maybe even 9 pm.
Pictures will be in the next post.
