Today's Picture #1- Day Trip to Hakone, January 2005
Story behind the picture:
With life in Japan on hiatus due to Shougatsu (New Year's Holiday), my wife and I found ourselves with a free day and decided to make the commute from Saitama to Hakone located in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo. Shougatsu usually is the last three days of December and the first three days of January and even the hard-working Japanese will take this time off to spend with family where they dine as if it were Thanksgiving and go to the temples.
We headed out early and took local Japan Rail lines from Saitama's Warabi Station to Shinjuku Station. Due to the holiday, loads of salary men and office ladies were light therefore, we managed to sit most of the way. At Shinjuku Station, we transfered to the Odakyuu Line and took their limited express service and arrived at our final destination by mid-morning.
In Hakone, there are many things to do ranging from eating eggs boiled in a geyser of sulfer turning the shell to black to viewing Mt. Fuji on a clear day. There are many hotels such as the oldest Western hotel in Japan, Fujiya.
After spending the day in Hakone, we returned to Shinjuku Station on the Okakyu Line. Along the way, we stopped for dinner at the Shimokitakazawa Station, an area for young people and trendy shops. We ate at an Indian restaurant then returned to Saitama.
Today's Picture #2- Coming of Age Day in Kawaguchi, January 2005
Story behind the picture:
Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day) is the right of passage that a young person in Japan takes on their 20th year. Initially held on January 15th, this day is now recognized on the third Monday of January. Young people turn of age wear lovely long-sleeved kimonos for the ladies and suits for the men.
These two young women were out at the Sogo department store at Kawaguchi Station in Saitama. Their parents (not in the picture) had taken them out to lunch at one of the nicer sushi restaurants in Kawaguchi. My wife and I were out eating sushi and the pictures shows these two girls in their best kimonos getting ready to dine on some moriawase nigiri sushi. This is an assortment of raw seafood packed over small handfuls of vinegar-flavored rice with a dab of wasabi between the seafood and rice. This dish can be eaten by hand or chopsticks and is dipped in soy sauce. The soy sauce can have a dab of wasabi added to spice things up. Between the different kinds of nigiri sushi it is recommended to eat the side of gari (thin slices of ginger) to rinse the mouth to savor the next piece of washoku (Japanese cuisine).
Which would you rather have, a plate full of sushi or a pair of 20-year old Japanese girls?
The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-10
No comments:
Post a Comment