SNOW HELLO KITTY

It snowed last Sunday... a lot. I managed to carefully tread my way down to the beach. What would normally be an 8 minute walk ended up taking 20 minutes! But once I got there, here's what I found...

PS: it 's supposed to snow again today, but not as much.

Lodging hints for Kamakura area

I periodically check my virtualtourist.com account (which is sorely in need of updating) and found an email from AUGUST requesting hotel suggestions for a trip to Kamakura in April for their group of 3 adults & 2 children (1 baby). It's a good thing that our British pals, Paul & Karen, with their 4 yr old & 15 month old daughters visited Japan during their Easter holiday. As a result, I've become familiar with lodging options in this little enclave of Paradise (Kamakura area). The following is an excerpt of my reply back to the requestor. (Note: I don't mention love hotels in this reply because of the group mix. However, in a pinch, couples can stay there "all night" usually after 10 pm. Pals Barry & Nadia ended up doing that when they got stuck in Kamakura on a holiday weekend and we were still up in Tokyo.)

There are a few hotels in the area and a couple of houses w/rooms (backpacker friendly). What level of comfort are you looking for? If you want to be by the beach, there are only 3 hotels I know that are across the street from the beach: Kamakura Prince Hotel (about $200USD/night), Kamakura Park Hotel (same as Prince), and a smaller hotel further up the beach whose name escapes me at present,although I drive by it nearly every day to/from work. April is a very busy month here as it's cherry blossom season AND school's out so most hotels are booked and the trains are jam-packed, especiallythe EnoDen line which runs along the beach from central Kamakura to Fujisawa City. If you can get into the Enospa on Enoshima island, it's not a bad deal and not too far from the train station (about a mile?). The website for the hotel follows http://www.enospa.jp/ and for a quick review from travel and leisure mag, read http://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels/enospa-fujisawa-city-hotel.

If you want a more traditional stay at a ryokan, this website gives a good selection of area ryokan. Be fair warned though: most of these little places may/may not have English speakers taking reservations if you call so you'll have to be patient. If there's an email address, you'd be better off to use a travel agent. http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kamakura/index.htm.

My 2 cents: if you prefer Western style rooms and don't mind spending a bit more than other areas futher inland, I recommend the Prince Hotel or the Park Hotel. Sorry the Park hotel link is only in Japanese, but google-ing will give you English websites for reservations. Although it's not in the heart of downtown Kamakura, it's by the beach and is an easy 3km or 1.8 mile walk to what's considered "Kamakura" by some (where the main shrines and temples are located). The Prince hotel also provides some transportation to the nearest train station. When we have parties, some of our friends are coming from other cities like Kawasaki or Tokyo and this is where they have stayed.

The closest station is Shichirigahama station, which is 3 stations from Hase (HAH-say), where 2 popular tourist spots are located: the Great Buddha and Hasedera Kannon or Hase-Kannon. It's also only 3 stops in the other direction to Enoshima City & Enoshima Island, anotherf avorite tourist spot (the aquarium here is good for the little ones although the camelback hike to get across the island is NOT fun but worth the trouble!). Also, if you find it too difficult to find appropriate lodging in Kamakura, you have the whole of the Shonan bay area to seek as well as the Hakone area too,which is only about an hour by train from any of the stops on the EnoDen Line.

If you've visited virtualtourist.com, there are very few hotels/ryokans in Kamakura itself. (FYI: The one in Hayama is NOT, repeat, NOT close to Kamakura if traveling by car, bus or train. You'd have to switch from the train in Zushi to a bus to get anywhere in Hayama and if driving, you'd have to figure out where the parking lots are. However, it's a neat little area to visit. One of our best friends lived on the beach there and we always joked it would be faster for us to get to her place if we had a boat or jet skis). Also, check out JTB's website if you haven't already. They are one of the biggest tour companies in Japan and have a US website. (We have used them for event tickets like for sumo and pals used them for trips to Kyoto, etc)

Happy Traveling!

A November Sunset at the Beach

A couple of weeks ago, on Columbus Day, since I didn't have to go to work, I went for a quick run around the neighborhood. It's a rare treat to catch the sunset during the week so I sat down by the beach and took some notes. Here's what I wrote:

Sky's clear. Looks like a lot of folks had the same idea I did. Since I arrived about 20 minutes earlier, the crowd of quiet observers has grown from a handful to about 20 folks, some with cameras, some with camera-phones. We all came to watch Fuji-san's "skyline" at sunset. Cool, crisp fall weather means Fuji and the Hakone "skyline" become visible often, always. Even Oshima is peeking through the haze! The photo just doesn't do the view justice, but you can see the handful of surfers enjoying some late afternoon surfing.


There are 2 little boys, twins? on the beach below. (I'm sitting on the Parking lot level with my feet clad in my MBTs, hanging over the side.) These 2 boys are playing in the sand while Mom & Dad watch on the steps leading down--safely munching on snacks. Pigeons are hovering about though. Dad just called for them to come over but one is quite willful and continues digging in the sand.

Kid #2 is still playing while his brother, the good one, sits munching on his snacks. #2 is missing out! They call him by yelling "whoooo". Uh-oh, Dad's going to get him now. It must be an Asian call for kids because my Dad's call to me sounds a lot like that. It's kind of a cross between "hey" and "woh", emphasis on "oh". Kid #2 really likes sand. Good thing he's got on brown pants, but his white shirt is very black. (The volcanic sand makes black mud--duh!)

There are a handful of surfers out, as well as a bunch of Japanese tourists milling about too. A few couples too. The sunset is just gorgeous! It's only 4:26 pm and it just gets darker so much faster nowadays!


It's 4:41 pm now and, wow, now that the sun's set behind Hakone, it's considerably cooler. I'm glad I have my Army & Navy Club windshirt. It helps cut the chill.


Boy, do I love living here and am ashamed to say I haven't grasped the language as well as I should nor have I taken full advantage of the outdoors as others have. I love staying in and I enjoy my solitude. Moment of self-reflection: It must be the ISFP or FP in me, I suppose. I've probably always forced myself to be an ENTJ but now that I'm older, I don't feel as if I need to cover up my true ID. Haha.


Now there's only one surfer out where there were 4 or 5 about 30 minutes ago. I should probably start heading back up. I am glad I wore my MBTs so at least my hiney gets a bit of a workout on the trek uphill back home!

Great Sushi in Kamakura

Our initial visit to Sushi Kappa Gojo, a local restaurant about 2 minutes from our home in Shichirigahama Higashi, Kamakura City, was a wonderful 2 hour affair. We went with our pals, Ginny and David. The short rainy walk was worth it because we had a great time!

We walked in the front door and were warmly greeted by the staff. This restaurant was converted from a ramen house about a year ago and we had yet to visit it. (Hubby needs to be in the mood for sushi so we hadn't gone yet.) Now that we have only 6 months left here, we're due to visit it at least a couple more times before we move!

After stepping into a nicely lit wooden entrance, we were asked if we wanted to sit at the tables to our right or in the booths that were a bit further in. We opted for the more traditional tables, which were like our kotatsu at home, minus the warming unit and blankets, but much more comfortable than sitting on the floor like in some Japanese restaurants. A "hot plate" was built into the middle of the table for four...handy for patrons who order shabu-shabu. Our perfect meal for four consisted of the following:

• beer for Hubby (nama biru or draft beer)
  
• Sake for me & Ginny...they arrived in individual pitchers (about 20 oz. size) made from local pottery and a small exquisitely cut etched glass



• matcha tea (real stuff, not powdered) for David since he was driving them home later



• sashimi for 4 (my favorite was the tuna, although even the octopus was tasty and not rubbery at all like in some restaurants)


• shabu-shabu


• tempura (veggies)


• we also had a bit of miso soup...mmmm....


• topped off at the end with nicely chilled sliced pears

The bill was very reasonable, especially for the level of service, ambience and great food...about 12,000 yen or about $120. For Japan, that's pretty good.

Other than the great food, here are a couple of things I fondly recall about the restaurant...

• Zen-like entrance and overall decor


• Aquarium visible from the road...blink and you'll miss it because it looks just like a window


• Sushi chefs' backs are visible from the front


• You'll have to take your shoes off before entering the seating areas


• exquisite pottery for dinner dishes and serving dishes

Japanese like to ... (as observed by Texapina Mel)

1. Stop to smell the roses. Okay, in this case the ajisai (hydrangea). Each month has it's own flower. The ajisai viewing season is in June which coincides with the rainy season. This particular sunny spot is at the top of the stairs at Jojuin temple, Inamuragasaki in Kamakura-shi. Hundreds of people visit the temple to see the thousands of ajisai along the hillside. Traffic is snarled all along the beach towns so the best way to travel is via train/bus/foot. I've lived here for over 3 years now and as a pseudo-local, I avoid driving on summer weekends as much as possible to avoid the Japanese tourists with their cameras and tour leaders. (Yes, Virginia, even in Japan, the quintessential camera-toting Japanese tourist exists!)

2. Visit the izakaya after a long day at work, sometimes followed by karaoke: Izakayas are Japanese restaurants that serve drinks as well as fairly inexpensive food. Since Japanese homes tend to run on the small side, large parties (say 10 or more people) tend to gather in nearby izakayas. Good, cheap food is counterbalanced by the oft-expensive alcholic beverage of choice (a nama-biru or draft beer can run you about 600 yen or more around here... more in Tokyo). Karaoke afterwards (with more alcoholic beverages and beer munchies) can also follow. For an idea of what this is like, watch Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation". Some karaoke establishments are just like in the movie (pay a flat fee per person for a set amount of time in a private room and order off the drink/food menu as desired). Others are high-tech karaoke DVD machines attached to a TV set up in a local bar.

My personal favorite is Casablanca in Yokosuka City. It's tucked into a corner and is owned by Charlie, a local dude who has a voice like an angel. Casablanca fits about a dozen people, max... get there early and don't mind the second-hand smoke! PS: If you're younger than 30, you may feel out of place when you first enter. Just grab the mike and sing your heart out...you'll fit right in!

3. Watch hanabi (literally "fireflowers" or fireworks) Okay, last year, we watched no less than 3 hanabi shows in the month of August. Some Japanese apparently make a sport of it, which is easy to do since there's a show somewhere in Japan nearly every night in August. For Westerners from North America, a Japanese hanabi show is not to be missed. They last about 45 to 60 minutes and the ENTIRE show is the equivalent in "bang" as the finale or last few minutes of the biggest fireworks show in the U.S. SERIOUSLY. The Japanese take everything they do seriously...including their hanabi.

4. Visit temples and shrines Since this is a country rich in culture and tradition, visiting temples and shrines should come as no surprise to any visitor who's read a guidebook on Japan. As a Westerner living here in Japan, I've grown accustomed to the many national holidays throughout the year, mainly because it means the following:

• traffic in/around temples and shrines will increase, especially around Golden Week (May) and the New Year holiday



• trash pickup may be affected, especially around Golden Week and New Year



• our local neighborhood restaurants will be crowded so we either eat at home or order take out (non-Kamakurans love one of our favorite eateries, San Go Sho...it's a famous Japanese curry house, made famous by the surfer community). Sorry, these links are in Japanese (the 2nd one shows the exterior of the restaurant), but I plan to list favorite Kamakura area restaurants and cafes in a future blog, with directions too!



• local businesses may be closed

5. Give gifts It could be fruit or flowers from the backyard or omiyage (souvenirs) from their latest trip abroad, but it's guaranteed to be beautifully wrapped and presented. Warning: don't delay in reciprocating with a gift of equivalent meaning/value but do not outdo the other person...you may end up in a gift-giving frenzy.

This list is by no means inclusive (or exclusive for that matter)... there is so much to list! These are just the first few to come immediately to mind.