A few weeks ago I went on the train for two outings, one alone for a spontaneous adventure, and one to meet my Japanese ladies to whom I teach conversational English. The spontaneous outing was on a Monday. It was a breezy, warm, blustery day that promised rain. I rolled the dice that the rain would hold off, and hopped on the train bound for the southern end of the Muira peninsula to view the tail end of plum tree blossoms. Three or so stops from Yokosuka, I got off, and was only a few blocks from a beautiful sandy beach. I walked along the water, hoping the rain would stay away for just a little while longer so I could dig my toes in the sand for a few minutes.
I happened across a 7-11. The 7-11's here are great. They look the same on the outside as an American 7-11, same colors and logo. On the inside lies the difference. Here they are full of fresh food like baked goods, fried foods (on a stick, Minnesota fair style), fresh hot coffee, bottled hot coffee, a few fresh fruits and veggies, and lots of freshly made sandwiches like egg-salad sandwiches and fried chicken sandwiches. Many people stop into 7-11 for a lunch on-the-go. I have a favorite food that I get from 7-11, pretty much any time of day. It's a soft boiled egg that is cooked and packaged in Shoyu sauce (that's what they call soy sauce in Japan). The eggs are salty, flavorful, and absolutely delicious to the point of being addictive. I found my soft boiled egg to take home for lunch, and also bought a hot coffee with cream to sip as I walked.
I wandered around the area, stumbling on some cute little side streets, and a main area with trees just finishing their peak bloom. It started to rain, I got hungry, and so I returned to the train station to ride 20 minutes back to Yokosuka. It was a nice little outing.
The second adventure I had this week was with two ladies to whom I teach conversation English. Really, their English is great. We spend most of our time expanding on their vocabulary while gossiping about the latest news, or just getting to know one another. They are very sweet, traditional Japanese ladies. They've been studying English with various spouses from the American Navy base for at least a decade.
Usually we meet at the house of one of the students for two hours, but every now and then we take a field trip. The field trips are extremely educational for me. Our first field trip was to the bamboo garden of a local Buddhist temple. We sipped tea while watching the rain gently fall on the 50 foot high stalks of bamboo. It was wonderfully peaceful. The second field trip was just a couple of weeks ago. They took me to a "museum". It's actually the house of a collector. He opens his home once a year for one month so people can come in and view his collections. It's mostly dolls and figurines and some paintings. He also had several of what look like mobiles (like above a baby's crib), but exceptionally larger and filled with handmade stuffed figurines. All of it is exquisitely detailed, and all of it is antique. The house itself is an antique, built with several exposed 6x6 inch beams. Words don't do it justice. Pictures:
Next week is spring break for the school kids on base, and I am intending to take Silas and Jud, along with two friends, on a few outings. We will go wandering inYokohama, and another day go exploring in Tokyo. We may fit in a hike another day, as the Sakura (cherry trees) are blossoming! They are magical. A small taste of one tree (imagine a street lined with these beauties, as you walk through them like a tunnel):
