Never Say Good Bye

It's 4:00 am and I can't sleep and Teresa can't either.  So Teresa makes a pot of coffee and we look out over the city of Utsunomiya.  The sun is not thinking about waking up yet and that is good.  Teresa goes back to bed because Ric has a hard time sleeping once he knows she's up and vise versa.  I on the other hand pour a cup of coffee and play on the internet.  Ric and Teresa are up now preparing for the day ahead of them.  I really hated to tell Ric good bye but he is leaving for work and when he returns I will be already headed back to Ohio. I am starting to finish up the little things I have out and packing them in my bookbag.  

 I am thinking about all the fun times and memories I have made while here.  One thing running around in my head is that it took 3 weeks for the cherry blossom trees on one of the roads Kozue goes down to take me to Teresa's every morning. Kozue told me that the road is so beautiful when the road is tree lined with beautiful sakura trees all bloomed.

 The plant that Susumu that was like a orchid after 3 weeks was in full orange blooms.  So beautiful, every morning I would get up and look at the progress of his flower. Teresa braided my hair for me this morning.  Thanks Teresa my hair didn't fall down the entire 24 hours it took to get home.
 I am now ready to go eat lunch and go to bus station.  Teresa and I packed the car and Kozue stopped by with my jacket which I had left at her house.  I tell her so long till we meet again in Ohio when she visits Teresa. We are on our way to pick up Valerie so she can come to lunch with us and walk with me over to the bus station. It's raining making this day even more gloomy than it already is for me. We are going to the gyoza place as that is what I want to eat since Utsunomiya is the gyoza capital of the world. 

Valerie bought our lunches and bought me a beer.  Loved the mug 

Heading to the bus station now and its raining, making this day even more gloomy.  Thank goodness there is not alot of waiting time once I reach the bus stop.

Snow on Nikko Mountains Japan April 10th 2012

 Teresa has decided today she will take me to Nikko Mountains for our last road trip in Japan.  The view from the car of the magnificent Nikko Mountains is so beautiful.  The Nikko Mountains are  mesmerizing as we kept driving towards them. Japan has many mesmerizing views because of the huge amount of nature that is so well preserved.  As we started up the mountain I can not tell you how many countless switchbacks we went around to get to  Lake Chūzenji.  This is a scenic lake in Nikkō National Park in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It was created 20,000 years ago when Mount Nantai (2484 m) erupted and blocked the river.  No matter what time of the year you come to Nikko Mountains you will always find the natural beauty of nature at its finest.  Even though it's spring in Utsunomiya Japan here on the mountain there is still snow covered hills and mountains.

 The Adonis coffee shop is located right on Lake Chūzenji. There were only 2 parking spots but since it was early we made one of the spots ours.  The coffee house has been remodeled from the last time I was here.  The deck is much larger, but the view is still as spectacular as the first time I was here.  So glad Teresa and Valerie are here to share the beauty with me.

 The coffee house is nice and cozy and warm as the wind around here was a tad bit cool.  The huge set of windows in the back of coffee house made for a spectacular view of the Nikko Mountains.  I love Nikko and all the beauty it holds no matter what season I visit.

Each of us has ordered a cup of specialty coffee and is enjoying each other's company.  I am anxious to go see the restaurant called Le Michel in Nikko City.  The owner is a friend of Teresa's, whom she met through a guy we both worked with at one time.   

 We have arrived at Le Michel's French restaurant in Nikko City. This restaurant is one of the best places I have eaten in Japan.  It should be famous, but it seems to me that the ones who do know about this place only tell their closest friends.  I could find nothing on the internet about this wonderful place, but so glad that now I know.  It's a place everyone must eat at and enjoy the soba-made crepe sandwiches and soba crepe pastry.  YUMMO......telephone:  0288-53-4659 

 The owner, Asami Yoshiko, will greet you with a very big welcome smile and seat you at a table where there is always a good view. 

Shopping in Nikko City, Japan

April 3 Tuesday Grocery Sales and Strongest Storm in Japan Since 1959

Today I have spent my day getting my laundry done and catching up on my blogs.  Went to grocery store with Kozue this morning. She told me that every Tuesday at 10am  the grocery store has big sales and you must be there early.  I was totally amazed at the number of people in the store. It was almost scary to see them all grabbing for things reminds me of those early sales in USA during Christmas.  I strolled around while she shopped and she found me and we waited in line so I could purchase a strawberry Coolish.  I really like it, its icecream in a packet that you squeeze the icecream out to eat it.  I put in freezer when I got back to the house to save for one night when I want something sweet to eat.  She bought me a cream puff on the way out of the store.  I watched the girl filled it with vanilla pudding.  Yummy.  When I got back to the house I made hot coffee and ate that cream puff. :-)
This morning the weather is windy but no rain.  I'm glad that will give my laundry time to dry.

It is so very windy outside right now and rainy; it's not a good day to be outside doing anything.  The wind is picking up, and it's dark outside.  This weather has been so unpredictable since I have been here.  Never know what it's going to do outside. Just pulled up the internet, and this story has been printed about the awful weather we are having.

Japan’s Strongest Storm Since 1959 Forecast to Slam Into Tokyo

By Chris Cooper, Kiyotaka Matsuda and Stuart Biggs - Apr 3, 2012 1:22 AM CT

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, some train services were halted, and thousands of workers went home early as Japan’s weather agency forecast the strongest winds in more than 50 years would hit Tokyo today.
A storm crossing Japan from the southwest is forecast to hit the capital with sustained winds of up to 90 kilometers an hour (56 miles per hour), Takeo Tanaka, head of the weather advisory office at the Japan Meteorological Agency, said in a telephone interview today. The winds are expected to reach peak strength in Tokyo between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., the agency said.
Enlarge image
A storm passing over Japan is seen in this satellite image acquired at 13:00 JST, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Source: Japan Meteorological Agency via Bloomberg
Sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour would be the strongest to hit the capital since 1959, when a storm hit Tokyo with winds of 97 kph, data from the weather agency show. The low-pressure front formed over the Sea of Japan, the agency said.
“It’s very unusual for Tokyo to have such strong winds when there’s not a typhoon,” Tanaka said. “People should try to avoid going out.”
All Nippon Airways Co. (9202) and Japan Airlines Co. (9201), the nation’s two largest airlines, canceled nearly 300 flights, stranding more than 32,000 passengers. All Nippon scrapped 139 flights, affecting about 13,000 people, the airline said in a faxed statement, while Japan Air canceled 160 domestic flights that had 23,740 passengers. Both airlines warned that international services may also be disrupted.

Ikebana~Japanese Flower Arranging with Yoko Sensei: April 2

I am so excited today to meet Yoko~san for my first lesson in Ikebana.  Yoko san is a certified sensei for teaching this wonderful art called Ikebana.
Teresa and I are on our way to pick up Valarie and Kensho.  The ladies told me Yoko san lives in a place they all call Beverly Hills of Japan.  When we arrived to her house I now know why they call it this. :-)  The surroundings the homes are located in is in a very well kept neighborhood with all the houses about equal in comparison.

Mioko was already there for Ikebana class and greeted us with her usual beautiful smile.  When we walked in and took off our shoes I was  astonished over the beautiful hand painting she has done on many things.

I am admiring her beautiful house looking at all of her hand painted items.  I am really liking her wine rack she made with lighting behind the bottles.  She used LED lights so they don't get hot and destroy the bottled wine.    I really, really, want to do this when I get home.

Yoko~ Ikebana sensei is starting to give us instructions on how many flowers we get of each kind and how to start  our Ikebana.  Ikebana focuses on a triangular formation, with three predominate flowers symbolizing heaven, earth and humankind.  We are all listening carefully to her as we want to follow her instructions. We were given choices of using baskets or boxes for our Ikebana.  We all chose the baskets.

 Together we all go out on the deck where the baskets are sitting waiting on us to fill them with beautiful flowers.  We are all so proud of our Ikebana's as I watched everyone work to place their flowers just right everyone was so engrossed in what they were doing.  Not much talking if any and you could tell they were thinking hard on where to put the next flower they had in their hand.

 Yoko san if giving my Ikebana a little help, I want it to look beautiful as I am giving to my host family Kozue and Susumo. :-)

 In Japan their culture tries not to throw anything away even the stems we cut off to shorten our flowers.  She used a part of a stem and put on the inside of a leaf or support. What a creative idea.

Well we have cleaned up our area and are proudly displaying our beautiful Ikebana's.

Gift for my host family looks great.  Forgot to mention if you look close you will notice that I have Easter egg in my Ikebana. :-)

 We are now taking our Ikebana's inside and Yoko san has invited us all to stay for coffee and cake.  All of our Ikebana's look so beautiful, a big thank you to Yoko san for having us in her home to teach us how to make this great Japanese tradition.  The smell of flowers is all through the house now wow loving it.

Coffee and this wonderful cake like treat filled with vanilla pudding and whipped cream.  I have never tasted anything as good as this.  It's not to sweet or rich tasting.  YUMMO We each got to go to the china cabinet and pick out a cup and saucer to use for our coffee.  What a talented person Yoko sun is her art on everything is just so well done.

 We sat for a while and talked and then decided where we were going to eat lunch.  We ended up at a Chinese restaurant.  The place looked very new and the food was excellent.

How to do a Japanese Flower Arrangement


Simple Ikebana Design

1.  Place a floral frog (a spiked holder for cut flowers) in a shallow bowl, tray or pot, near one edge of the container. Use a bowl with very simple lines, preferably one with no designs or ornamentation. Fill the bowl halfway with water.

2.  Place your longest branch or flowers near the top center of the floral frog, leaning slightly to the left side. This flower represents heaven. Take time to position the flower in a pleasing, graceful line.

Place the medium-length branch or flowers toward the bottom left of the floral frog. Lean the flower towards the left, but at a steeper angle than the first flower. This flower represents the earth. Step back to examine your arrangement from different angles, and adjust to please your eye.

4.  Place the shortest branch or flower on the bottom right side of the floral frog. Lean it slightly away from the longest branch. This represents humankind. Remember that in ikebana, empty space is as important as the floral elements.

5.  Fill the arrangement in with additional short flowers or greenery until the floral frog is completely covered.