Day 11 in Japan

Some deer at the Nasu Animal Park. 

This llama chased our van, wanting a "cookie" from Fred at the Nasu Animal Park.



Edomura is in the most gorgeous setting.

Cheryl and Yuichi with a "ninja," making the "secret" ninja sign.


Me, Cheryl and Hiromi with the oiran and her attendants.

Fred with an Edomura hostess, who greeted us near the entrance.


This is supposed to look like a typical Edo era house.

SATURDAY, MAY 31

My mother and I got up early and went to the spa. We scrubbed up, washed our hair, rinsed off and stepped into the deep tub. It was heavenly.

After a long soak, we got dressed and went back to our room, where Hiromi was waking up. She went down to the bath.

Then we all met up for breakfast.

It was our first "Viking" meal of our trip. The Japanese call an all-you-can-eat meal a "Viking" instead of buffet. I've never figured out why. I still don't know.

It was a strange breakfast.

There were traditional Japanese dishes, as expected. There were traditional Western fare like cereal and milk, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs. But the bacon is not cooked crisply like we cook it. Then there were strange things like salads and Swedish meatballs. Really. Swedish meatballs.

We ate our fill. Then we packed our things and checked out.

Tsuneo and Hiromi had a full day planned for us.

First was the Nasu Wild Animal Park. It was very much like the Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari. Like Pine Mountain, we could drive our own vehicle, drive one of their vans or take the bus. The buses are all painted like lions and tigers and are really cute.

Tsune-chan decided to drive one of their vans, which was very much like the 10-passenger van we were in.

It was raining off and on all day. So the animals were wet and looked miserable. But the antelopes, llamas and deer followed us around looking for treats. The giraffe stuck its head in our window, too. We only bought one bag of "cookies." We should have bought more.

We had to laugh when a llama chased our van, begging Fred for more.

After a stop in the gift shop, we left for Nikko Edomura or what's known as Edo Wonderland in English. It's like our Westville or Williamsburg. Actors are hired to be hosts and hostesses and act in the various shows.

While at Edomura, it rained practically the whole time. My mother was in a wheelchair and it was slow going. I pushed most of the time and it was hard dodging puddles of water. The one thing about the rain was that there wasn't a huge crowd. So I didn't have to dodge crowds of people, thank goodness.

This place showcases the Edo period, which lasted roughly from 1603-1867. It shows what an Edo village was like in those days.

Hiromi said it's fun for foreign tourists, but even for Japanese people, it's fun.

By the way Edo was renamed Tokyo in 1869.

Some of the daily performances were canceled because of the rain, but we saw the Traditional Japanese Culture Theater, which featured the beautiful oiran or the "ultimate" geisha. And she was truly beautiful. My mother was impressed with the acting.

We saw the Traditional Japanese Performing Arts Theater, which featured the Mizugei. It's a fun show of water tricks. These actors somehow have hidden faucets in their fans and water is controlled, turned on and off. It's difficult to explain, but something to see. Edo people watched Mizugei at hot springs resorts 1,300 years ago.

But the show we all loved watching was the Grand Ninja Theater. Ninjas appeared from nowhere to fight the good guys. And one of those good guys was eye candy, indeed!

We spent hours there, actually closing the place. Along the way, we shopped and saw the Kodenma-cho Jail House and the Kira-Kozukenosuke Residence. The residence was a Samurai house the enemy attacked. Wax figures showed the violence suffered by residents and enemies alike. It was actually pretty gruesome.

It was about a two-hour ride home.

For dinner, we stopped at a chain restaurant called Saizeria. It's what they call a "family restaurant." Yuichi said it's inexpensive and young people like it. It was filled with young people and young families. And 10 of us.

It was "Italian." And not so good.

When the food came, I looked over to see what Fred was eating and he had this huge bowl of pasta. It turned out that he had two orders of spaghetti! The usual orders must have been too small for him. And he did work up an appetite with all the walking at Edomura.

We got home and fell right into bed.

Tsune-chan, Hiromi and Yuichi had another hour to drive home.

I swear our relatives are the best! They did so much for us. And we were just halfway through our trip.

Thank goodness for people who know what they are doing

I have been having problems with this blog.

Every time I can't figure out something, I bring my laptop to work.

And either Nick Blaire or Jeff Hendrickson help me.

Almost every time, it's something very simple. I just couldn't figure it out.

Thank goodness they can.

I'm a little behind writing about my Japan trip, but I promise I'll have it done by this weekend.

Now I'm really puzzled

I rewrote my post about dragons from last night and it got posted tonight, but with yesterday's date.

I just can't figure this out!

It's frustrating

I wrote last night, but the Web site must have been down. Everything I wrote is gone, even though I saved it.

Actually, the first sentence was saved.

I'll start all over again tonight.

Dragons

These dragons are on a fountain in Asakusa.



I'm at the Dragon Bridge near Sifu.



This is the dragon on top of one of the buildings at the Yomaimon palace in Nikko. The palace was built long ago for the Shogun Tokugawa.




This huge dragon is in a fountain at the Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto. It's my favorite.

I was born in the year of the dragon. So I have T-shirts with dragons, a baseball cap, a purse with Hello Kitty riding a dragon, stuffed animals including the smart-alecky one from "Mulan," statues. Between dragons, pigs and Hello Kitty, I've got a lot of stuff.

There's a T-shirt that I have that says "Princess of Quite a Lot." And I truly do have a lot.

So while I was in Japan, I took pictures of lots of dragons. It seems a lot of the temples and shrines have dragons adorning the buildings.

My favorite is the one in Kyoto at the Kiyomizu temple.

Later on, I'll tell you about another dragon.

An observation about Japan

This car, a Honda (a Fit perhaps), is owned by the neighbor who lives two doors down from where we were. I watched the woman park this car. As you can see, there's maybe two inches between the wall and the back bumper! We saw car after car parked like this. In fact, at one house down the street, the parking space had two cars and a mini-van! And they all fit perfectly.



This is the street where we lived for three weeks. The house was at the very end of the street on two lots, so it was a huge one by Japanese standards. But as you can see, it's a very narrow street. Everyone backed up into the street to park in front of the house. Amazing.




Space is at a premium in Japan.

You ought to see the parking garages!

You pull your car into the garage. Get out. Then with a push of a button the parking lot attendant will send your car on a carousel-like contraption.

After shopping, going to the theater or dinner, you go back to the garage, give the attendant your ticket and he pushes a button retrieving your car.

It's amazing.

If you have a car, you must have a parking space or garage at your house.

Sound simple?

It's not.

I was constantly amazed at the parking prowess of the drivers in Japan.

Parking spaces just big enough for cars are normal.

Many streets are also very, very narrow. Some of them are just wide enough for one car.

It was scary for Cheryl, who would squeal in terror with her hands over her eyes. The driver, usually Mariko, would just laugh.

Cars are one thing. Bus drivers are very, very skilled. They navigate these narrow streets as if they were wide highways.

Ken-chan was always asking I wanted to drive.

NO!

You be the judge.

Columbus Jazz Society

Laura Lowe took this picture of Montheletha Mitchell Monday night at the Loft.




Sally Morgan took this photo of Jan Hyatt and Michael Hoskin during their performance Monday night at the Loft.


Edred Mitchell was always a gentleman. And a very, very talented musician.

I met him when he was in the orchestra in a show at the Springer Opera House. I can't remember what show it was. It may even have been in "Guys & Dolls," the 1993 version that I was in.

Edred was always unfailingly polite, quiet and, did I saw talented? Yes, a very talented bass player.

He died a few months ago of brain cancer. It's that familiar sad story -- Edred had no life insurance, so he had no money to leave for his family.

The Columbus Film Society stepped in hold a benefit concert for the Mitchell family last month. There was another one tonight at the Loft.

I don't know how much was raised, but I think it will help the Mitchells.

I got an e-mail from Jan Hyatt, who said that Michael Hoskin was expecting to see me.

Jan and Michael together again was something I wanted to see. Jan is a fabulous singer and Michael is one of the best saxophonists I've ever heard.

They went on first, backed up by bassist Edward Robinson, keyboard player Tom Chadwick and drummer David Morgan.

This was the group I used to see when I was in college with them. We won't say how many years that was!

They were followed by group after group of musicians paying tribute to Edred.

It was one of those magical evenings. I know that Monday night is a strange night to do something like this, but I'm glad to know that a group of jazz lovers came out.

After the benefit, I met Jan and Michael for dinner. We were joined by Gene Woolfolk, Sam Dunford and Tom Chadwick. We spent hours laughing and reminiscing. Even though I was not a music major, I knew a lot of the people who were in the music program at Columbus College (which of course is now Columbus State University).

Oh, what fun!

I hope we get a chance to do something like again.

Ichiro

I've always wondered by Ichiro Suzuki is called by his first name. I asked my mother and she doesn't know.

I wondered if he was called Ichiro when he was playing in Japan. My mother thought he was.

When the Atlanta Braves 2008 schedule was announced, during interleague play, the Seattle Mariners were playing June 20-22.

At the last minute, I bought tickets for Friday night's game. It had been a couple of years since I went to see a Braves game. It was probably longer for my mother, sisters Nancy and Patty and my brother Fred.

The five of us went and had a great time.

Patty got a great picture of Ichiro. I asked how she got such a great shot. She told me she took a picture of the Jumbotron!

Unfortunately, the Braves lost 10-2. But they won the Saturday and Sunday games.

And we go to see Ichiro, though he didn't play that well.

Another thing we can cross off of list of things to do.

Day 10 in Japan

The beautiful misty mountains of Nikko.




The famous "See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil" monkeys at Toshogu in Nikko.




A dragon adorns the top of one of the shrines at Toshogu in Nikko.




Here's Mommy at the onsen.


FRIDAY, MAY 30

At 9 a.m., Tsune-chan, Hiromi and Yuichi show up in a 10-passenger Toyota van to take us to Nasu and Nikko.

It's a three-hour drive to that area where we have a reservation to stay an an onsen or Japanese spa.

Once we get our luggage in the van and lock up the house, we're on our way.

Toll roads are foreign to us in this part of Georgia. If you live in Atlanta and have to go on Georgia 400, you pay a toll to drive on that highway.

In Florida, you get used to throwing change into toll booths. Same in other states.

But in Japan, on the major highways, it seems every mile or so, you pay a toll. And it's not a quarter. It's anywhere from the equivalent to $3 and up. It adds up.

Like on Florida's Turnpike, there are service plazas in Japan. That's where you can stop to go to the bathroom, get something to eat, buy stuff and gas up your car.

At the first one, Tomobe, Tsune-chan announced to us that we had 10 minutes.

We junped out of the car and started exploring.

I goofed up. When we were in the bathroom, I took my mother's purse with me.

It wasn't until she got ready to pay that there was no purse. I went to the bathroom and it wasn't there. While I was in the bathroom, searching for her purse, her name was called on the intercom. Someone had found it and took it to the custoner service desk. The entire purse was intact.

Thank goodness! I would never hear the end of it if her passport was gone.

We bought what we had chosen and got back in the van.

No natter what Tsune-chan said, we spent at least 30 minutes there.

We got to Nikko, which is famous for its hot springs and monkeys, right at lunch time. Tsune-chan and Hiromi had made reservations at a restaurant that specialized in yuba. Yuba is a form of tofu. This meal may just be the best one I had in Japan in the three weeks we were there. It's amazing what a skilled chef can do with tofu!

Jessica, being a vegan, absolutely loved it. But so did everyone else. Well, except maybe Fred, whose comment at practically every meal was "Where's the meat?"

It was a drizzly kind of day. Not exactly raining, but a little more than misty.

It was actually very beautiful.

After lunch, we went to Toshogu, the famous shrine at Nikko that features the "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil" monkey carvings.

Our mother, who had quadruple bypass surgery last July, isn't moving as well as she used to. So we helped her climb the stairs as far as she wanted to go. She actually waited for us under a shelter while we explored the various shrines that dated back centuries.

After we got our fill of the shrine, we got back in the van and went to Nasu, a small town where there are various hot springs spas.

Tsune-chan and Hiromi found us a very nice one. When we checked in, we were each given a cotton kimono to wear.

This was very strange, but the rooms are not coed. Weird, huh?

So my mother, Hiromi and I were in one room; Cheryl, Jessica and Patty were in another and Fred, Tsune-chan, John and Yuichi were in a third room.

As soon as we got in our room and got unpacked, Mommy, Hiromi and I headed to the hot springs. Like in a private home, there is an area where you scrub off the dirt on your body and rinse off. Then you soak in the hot water. Yes, you're naked in front of all the other women. There's a soaking tub and a whirlpool bath inside. Outside, there's another huge tub made of stone.

It was so relaxing.

There's a separate bath for men.

After you dry off, you get in your cotton kimono.

And then go to dinner. And what a dinner it was.

My camera died, so I don't have photos, but I'm getting discs from Patty and Cheryl, who do have photos from dinner.

After dinner, Mommy, Hiromi and I went to bed.

The others stayed up.

Patty, Cheryl and Jessica went to take a bath; John, Tsune-chan and Yuichi did, too. Fred refused to be naked in front of other men, so he did not bathe.

The rooms had no shower facilities because the hotelier expect people to use the public bath.

The others later met and played ping pong with other people staying there.

Fred played against a woman, who he said was a former pro. He claims to have beaten her. And it turns out that Tsune-chan was a ping pong champ himself in middle and high school.

We had no idea that's what they were doing until the next day.

Day 9 in Japan

This is Cheryl, Mommy, Fred, me, Jessica, Fu-chan, Patty, John and Noriko.



One of the Ghibli Museum's buses.


THURSDAY, MAY 29

About a week before leaving for Japan, I e-mailed my friend Tom Ford to let him know my plans.

He said he wanted me to go to the Ghibli Museum. And he sent me a link to the museum.

It's a museum dedicated to the work of anime master Hayao Miyazaki, who won an Oscar a few years back for "Spirited Away."

My mother has never been one for animation. I saw it in the Screening Room and loved it. Tom gave me a DVD of "Spirited Away" for Christmas that year.

One night, I popped it in the DVD and my mother came and sat and watched it with me. She got hooked.

Last year, one of the cable channels had a Miyazaki festival, hosted by John Lassiter of the Disney-Pixel Studio. Lassiter is a big fan.

So we've purchased many of the Miyazaki films.

When I showed her the link to the museum, she said she knew Mitaka because we used to live there. It turned out it was on the other side of town, and everything has changed so much. She said nothing looked familiar.

My cousin Noriko also loves the Miyazaki fllms and was familiar with the museum because of her friends works there. She arranged to get us tickets, which are difficult to buy because you have to get them weeks in advance.

That morning, we got up early and Mariko-san once again drove us to the Minami Kashiwa train station. In two trips. In the rain.

Noriko, who lives two hours away, met us at the station. I swear my relatives were so good to us. They went out of their way to make sure we were on the right train, going the right way.

It took about an hour to get to Mitaka, where Noriko's daughter, Fuyuka met us. Fu-chan, as we call her, is now 37, and gorgeous. She got an art history degree from a college in West Virginia. I can never remember the name of the school. When I saw her 10 years ago, her English was almost perfect. It's not as good as it was 10 years ago, but I guess when you don't use a language every day, it's easy to lose the ability.

Even so, she still speaks English better than I speak Japanese!

We got on the Ghibli Museum bus. Yes, the museum has its own fleet of buses.

Tom asked me to have my picture taken with the Cat Bus and the Robot.

The Cat Bus is inside and photographs are not allowed inside. The Robot is outside, so I did get my picture taken with it.

My mother, Noriko, Fu-chan and I had a great time. The rest of them, not so much. In fact they complained bitterly.

We had to cut the visit short just so they wouldn't keep complaining!

The best part of the museum is the short film in the museum's theater. I loved it. Fortunately, so did everyone else.

After we left the museum, I can't remember what we did.

I know we had to pack to get ready for our trip to the spa in Nikko.

An observation about Japan

This my 21-year-old cousin, Eri Kono, who is studying to be a kindergarten teacher. She is dressed exactly like young women all over Tokyo. We were on the train and she is holding her constant accessory — her cell phone.

You know those slick ads for high end designers in magazines like Vogue where at the bottom, it says something like "New York London Paris Milan Tokyo"?

We went past Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and the like while we were in between Harajuku and Shibuya. In fact, there was a huge mall with stores like that.

But you just really don't see any women who are well put together.

Most young women wear very short skirts, leggings or thigh-high stockings and high heels that don't fit. So they walk pigeon-toed and knock-kneed at the same time, which is quite a feat, and they drag their feet. Not an attractive look at all.

Jessica, whose mission was to buy shoes, didn't have much luck. Her feet were a tad too big. My problem is the opposite — my feet are too small. Everyone thinks that Japanese women have small feet and I would have an easier time buying "grown up" shoes in Japan than here in the States. They are wrong. The only shoes I could find in my size were pink or purple with ribbons and fake gems on them. Not exactly the right look for a 55-year-old woman! It was either those or athletic shoes adorned with superheroes or anime figures. Again ... not a good look for me. And that's coming from someone who owns several pairs of Hello Kitty shoes.

After a few shoe stores Jessica visited, she figured out why Japanese women were wearing ill-fitting shoes. Shoes are sized S, M, L and LL. That's right — small, medium, large and extra large. In most of the stores, I never saw shoes that were sized like the ones here. That explained that.

She also wanted to buy clothes. Jess gave up after a while. There were plenty of cute clothes. But she said, "How am I supposed to fit in this?" holding up one cute top. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Even a shirt that is sized as a large, is like a small here. I think the average bra size in the States is a 36-C. Japan is the land of why my friend Hernice Smith calls "Barbie underwear."

I don't think she bought any clothes at all.

I received several shirts that were either large or LL.

I swear in American sizes, they would be way too big. Really. Japanese-made clothing are made to fit Japanese girls. I don't know where bigger women buy their clohes. America?

Going back the shoes for a moment. I saw one woman wearing a pair of the distinctive, red-soled Christian Louboutin shoes. They were gorgeous. I was so jealous. But then I watched her walk in them and had to laugh.

Day 8 in Japan

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28

It was an off day. Ken-chan did not have anything scheduled for us.

So we decided to do laundry.

We gathered all our clothes and Mariko-san drove Patty, John and Cheryl to the coin laundry.

The rest of us just hung out at the house.

It was the last day we could relax before our really hectic schedule began.

Day 7 in Japan

Ken-chan waiting for us!






Asakusa during the day. It's just as pretty in the day as it is at night.



TUESDAY, MAY 27

It was Ken-chan's last day off and the last day we had the big van.

He asked what we wanted to do and we decided to go to our mother's favorite craft store and then go back to Asakusa. The store was very close to that particular craft store.

The store, Sakura Hori Kiri, has five levels and you can buy paper of all kinds, kits of all kinds and accessories. We all bought stuff. And paper is very heavy when you buy a lot of it. Believe me.

Fortunately, the van was parked nearby, so we unloaded our things and found a restaurant for lunch.

Actually, it was a Chinese restaurant on the next block from the store. Lunch was very good.

Fortified, we got in the van and headed for Asakusa.

Because Ken-chan had to get the van back to the dealership, we had a limited time. So we split up and went to the places we wanted to go to and set a time to meet back at a certain point.

I took my mother and went one way. Patty and John went in another direction. Fred, Cheryl and Jessica went another. I have no idea were Ken-chan went.

In one store, we saw Patty and John. Then we didn't see them again.

We had about 90 minutes and even that was not enough.

But we had to leave and got back to Kashiwa in time so Ken-chan could return the van.

I can't remember what we did for dinner. We may have ordered something.

Oh, and that's really cool.

You call a restaurant and order whatever you want.

The food is delivered in real dishes. No plastic stuff. After you eat, you put all the dishes back on the tray and put it outside the door. And they pick it up.

You don't have to do dishes or anything!

And there's no tipping in Japan. Not for waiters, cab drivers, hotel bellmen, airport luggage handlers. No one accepts tips. No one.

I'm guessing people are paid for their jobs and don't have to depend on tips to supplement their income.

Atlanta Ballet announces the 2008-09 season

There's something new for the Atlanta Ballet's 2008-09 season. It's moving to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre from the Fox Theatre downtown. Well, except for "The Nutcracker."

I haven't been to the new performing arts center. I'm sure it's got all the bells and whistles. But it couldn't compare to the Fox in ambiance.

The season includes "Swan Lake" in October; "Bram Stoker's Dracula" in February; "The Firebird" in March; "Don Quixote" and "Snow White" in May.


Season tickets are $44-$348 and are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale later this summer.


Call 404-892-3303 or go to www.atlantaballet.com

Day 6 in Japan

Me, our mother, Fred and Cheryl at Fukuroda Falls.



Fukuroda Falls.



There were beautiful scenes in the country, just like this.



Ken-chan, Fred and Jessica checking to see if they could catch a fish.



The Dragon Bridge.



This is me at the entrance of the Dragon Bridge.

MONDAY, MAY 26

Ken-chan took two days off so he could take us somewhere. He rented a van that sat eight so we could all go in one vehicle.

He told us to get ready to leave at 9 a.m.

Not a problem since we all got up so early every day. I think we were drugged or something.

During this time, Cheryl and i came down with severe coughs. Again our relatives came through, bringing all sorts of medication and cough drops. We just kept coughing.

The special place Ken-chan took us was Fukuroda Falls. It took about two hours. It got to the point that we took to joking about the length of time it took to get somewhere.

It seemed like everything was an hour-to-two hours to get wherever we were going.

It was gorgeous.

At the entrance to the falls, we got a wheelchair for my mother. We pushed her to the first observation point. She didn't want to go any further.

After our fill of the falls, we wandered down the village where we sat at one store and had some tea. We bought grilled whole fish and some other goodies and shared them with the pretty little cats that lived at the store.

We left and went to find a place that Ken-chan had read about. It was a small shop that made sake. Amazingly, we found it and it turned out the proprietor offered sake tastings.

He was this cute little old man whom I believe we woke up from his nap.

The three different sakes we tasted were nothing like the ones we have here in the States.

I bought a bottle.

And then we went to another place that Ken-chan had read about.

It was in this gorgeous river where a bamboo contraption was built. The bottom was in a V. Apparently, fish would be trapped there and all you have to do is stand at the bottom of the ramp and catch the fish. They are freshwater fish similar to a sardine. I think.

Jessica, Fred and Ken-chan took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and got wet.

It wasn't the season for the fish, but we could see how fish was caught.

We had one more stop. It was this spectacular bridge that went nowhere. It's a strange thing. The bridge, a pedestrian bridge, spanned a 1,000-meter gorge. You walk across and then walk back. I swear.

We had lunch there, and just as we were ready to walk the bridge, a storm came up and they closed the bridge. A good idea since it's a steel structure.

And a good thing for Ken-chan because he's afraid of heights. He made like he was disappointed, but we all knew better.

On our way home, we stopped at a grocery store and bought dinner.

Another full day. And we have another full day tomorrow.

Day 5 in Japan

In Asakusa, Tsune-chan, John, Patty, our mother, Fred
and Ken-chan.



Here are Jessica (left-right), Yoko, Yuichi, Miho, Fred, Tsune-chan and Hiromi in the Ginza. Tsune-chan and Hiromi are the parents of Yuichi and Miho. Yoko is Hiromi's cousin. Their mothers are sisters. Yoko visited us in Columbus in 1995. Believe it or not, she's 37.



Another busy day in the Ginza.

SUNDAY, MAY 25

Today, we go to the Ginza, which is a high end shopping district in Tokyo. Or as my brother said, "We finally go to Tokyo?"

The Ginza is typically compared to Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale and Fifth Avenue in New York City.

We have lunch in a restaurant called Hage-ten. The waitress explained that the original owner was bald. Hage in Japanese means bald. Ten is short for tempera. Now, the restaurant is in hands of his grandson. We ate a great meal of tempura.

Jessica is a vegan and I think of all of us, had the most difficulty with meals. She relented a few times and ate something with a fish base.

After going to a few stores, including the Apple store, we went to Asakusa, which is a tourist place, but still a fun shopping district. It's got the distinctive "gate" with huge statues of the gods of thunder and lightning. It seems everyone who goes to Japan has their photo taken there.

There are some high end stores there, as well as tacky souvenir shops.

And everyone loves going to Asakusa.

Day 4 in Japan

SATURDAY, MAY 25

Today, we went to La La Port, a huge shopping mall complex just outside Kashiwa.

When my cousin Hiromi came to visit us in 2002, she was amazed at the size of Peachtree Mall. We told her that it was a relatively small mall.

Even six years ago, malls as we know them were not so prevalent in Japan.

Now, they are everywhere, including La La Port.

It's three stories high, and is circular. The third floor features a food court and sit-down restaurants. You walk around the food court which is in the inner circle. I can't remember how many restaurants are in that food court, but if you can't find something to eat there, you're a really picky eater.

We had a great time eating during this trip. And we really liked La La Port.

We just didn't have a lot of time to shop because we had a schedule to keep.

This first weekend was probably our easiest one where we really weren't on a real schedule.

That picked up on Sunday.

Day 3 in Japan

FRIDAY, MAY 24

I got up every day between 4:30-5:30 a.m. Everyone who knows me knows that this is a very different thing for me. I am not a morning person. But the house, which reminded me of the house in "Ju-on," which was remade in America as "The Grudge," made me go to bed early and get up even earlier. Thank goodness there was no creepy little kid skitttering around.

There was something wrong. But we were always getting up early to take showers, get dressed, eat breakfast and get ready to do something.

I really can't remember what I did on this day. If I remember, I'll update this blog.

P.S. We went shopping at Minami Kashiwa. When we first went shopping the first night we were in Japan, Auntie Keiko took us to the 100 Yen store, which is the Japanese equivalent of the dollar store here in the States.

Cheryl got hooked. That's why we went back so the rest of the family could experience the "hyaku-yen" store.

Mariko-san made two trips to take us there. But we made her go home.

We took the bus back.

Day 2 in Japan

THURSDAY, MAY 23

We all woke up very early. Very early.

My mother had a cramp in her leg which woke up Jessica, who was sharing the downstairs room with us. My mother had a bad time trying to get up from the floor.

From that day on, we made sure she slept on the fold-out sofa in the living room on top of the futons.

Fred came downstairs, complaining that the air conditioner in his room wasn't working, the door to his room was broken and birds woke him up too early.

And the toilet upstairs was one of the Japanese-style ones where you have to squat!

Needless to say, everyone sleeping upstairs used the toilet downstairs most of the time. Almost exclusively.

Mariko-san came over from her house, to show us how to separate our garbage. In Chiba, the prefecture (the Japanese equivalent to a state) where we were staying, garbage collection is very strict. There were two bags. The red one is for trash that can be burned (paper and discarded food); the yellow one is for plastic, glass and aluminum cans. And they were collected on different days. I could never figure it out, but Mariko was wonderful, coming over to collect the trash on the right days. I'm sure she was astounded over the amount of the trash we went through!

But there were seven of us. Right?

She made two trips so we could all go to a grocery store called the York Mart, where we bought even more food. For lunch we went to a kaiten-sushi restaurant. It's one of those restaurants where plates of sushi are placed on conveyor belts and you choose what you want to eat.

We rested the rest of the day.

That night, we walked to the Shin Kashiwa station area to another grocery store, this one called Tobu. Oh, Shin Kashiwa means New Kashiwa. We decided to go to the Mos Burger. This is a chain in Japan where you can get regular hamburger. But being Japanese, you can get a rice burger. Instead of buns made of bread, the buns are made of rice. Auntie Keiko ate a hot dog on a stick. Cheryl said the burgers were much too small!

The TV that Ken-chan rented was OK, but it wasn't hooked up to cable, so the reception was bad.

We hardly watched any TV, so we usually went to bed before 11 p.m. every night.

Fred decided he would sleep on the other fold-out bed in the living room, so Jessica went upstairs to sleep with her mother.

I had the downstairs room to myself, which was fine with me.

My travelogue begins

This is Yuki (standing, left-right), me, Patty, Cheryl, Jessica and Mariko (Yuki's mother); seated are Eri (Yuki's sister), my mother, Auntie Keiko (Eri and Yuki's grandnother) and Aunt Mizue.


Cheryl and Tsune-chan discussing something, but neither could understand the other.


TUESDAY, MAY 20

After spending the night in Atlanta because of a canceled flight, we went to the airport and checked in. We also traded dollars for yen. It was something like 94 yen to every dollar, which isn't very good.

We boarded a Delta plane for LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).

It's a very crowded flight on a small plane. We land at LAX, where we have to find our next plane, which is Korean Airlines. My mother flew Korean Airlines years ago and has always told us horror stories. We were a little dismayed. But it was our only way to get to Japan.

So we stopped to eat lunch at the airport. Because of all the Asian travelers, the restaurants cater to them and there was some great Japanese food.

We also exchanged more yen. It's amazing what a couple of hours can do. The price of yen went up to 96 per dollar.

Before we knew it, it was time to board the airplane.

Unlike American air carriers, I'm guessing there's not a hiring requirement on Korean Airlines. All of the flight attendants were gorgeous young women in very sharp uniforms. Many of them were fluent in English and/or Japanese. And they were all very nice.

The meals were very good, too. I slept much of the way.

It was a 14 hour flight.

When we landed it was already Wednesday, May 21.

As we were leaving the plane, my brother requested a wheelchair for my mother. She was astounded when one of the flight attendants took her by the hand to an awaiting chair. We were very grateful.

After clearing customs at Narita International Airport, we claimed our luggage and met our relatives who were waiting for us.

We were met by my Aunt Keiko Kono (my mother's sister, who is 11 years older than she is) and her two grown children, Noriko Tadaki and Kenichi Kono. In fact, both of them are 60something. My cousin Hiromi Hosaka, her husband Tsuneo and their daughter, Miho, were also there.

Because we had 14 pieces of checked luggage and seven carry-on bags, we decided to have all of it delivered the next day.

And because there were seven of us (me, my mother, my brother Fred, his wife Cheryl, their daughter Jessica, my youngest sister Patty and her husband John), we split into two cars (Ken-chan's and Tsuneo-san's) and a taxi to get to Kashiwa, where we were staying.

It's about a 90-minute ride. My brother said it was like going from Columbus to Atlanta. Except we were on the other side of the road and in much, much smaller cars.

So it was probably about 6:30 p.m. when we finally arrived at the house that Ken-chan found for us.

It turned out that the owner had moved to Hokkaido, the biggest northern-most island that makes up Japan. His children didn't want to live there and he can't sell the house. So he was happy to rent it to us for a month.

It's a big house with two bedrooms and a half bath upstairs. Downstairs is the kitchen, full bath and two living areas, which we turned into bedrooms at night. It's on a huge lot, though overgrown.

One thing about Japanese bathrooms. They are nothing like American ones. Most modern homes have Western style toilets (thank goodness!). But the toilets are in a room all by itself. To save water, when you flush the toilet, there's a faucet above the tank where you wash your hands while it refills the tank. Smart, huh? And the toilets themselves have heated seats (which is great in the winter, believe me) and a built-in bidet. There's even a button that makes a running water sound if you're shy. Some even have a button for music! There's a separate room with a vanity where you can put on your make-up or shave and brush your teeth. There's also a washer connection. Next to that is the bath. Now the bath is a whole different story. You fill up little buckets of water to wet your hair and body so you can shampoo and soap up. The hand-held shower is used to rinse off. When you're thoroughly rinsed, you have the option to soak in the very deep tub. Unlike here in the States where you soap up in the tub, the water is saved for the next person. The water is always kept hot.

One night, I heated it too hot. The next day, Fred said all we had to do is drop eggs in it so we can have hard-boiled eggs!

That's one way to conserve water. And gas to heat it. You only turn on the gas when you're ready to take a bath.

In the kitchen, they've got those waterless tanks. You get instant hot water, so you don't waste water waiting for it to get hot. I noticed that Lowe's is selling them. My mother and I are thinking about getting one for our kitchen

My cousins thought of everything. The house had been empty for about a year, so they turned on the electricity, made sure we had gas and rented furniture, bedding, linens and towels. They rented a stove, refrigerator and rice cooker. They went through their china cabinets and brought over enough dishes and chopsticks for us. Then they made sure we had groceries like orange juice, milk, eggs, cereal, coffee and green tea.

Ken-chan organized everything and the other cousins pitched in to pay for everything.

He also made up a schedule for us. We had something to do every single day. And he made sure one of the cousins was with us.

His wife, Mariko, became our chauffeur much of the time, making two trips to get us where we were going. She went above and beyond! I mean, she had her own house to run while we were there. It helped that they lived on the next street over. In fact our front door faced the back of their house.

The first night, we had a big group over at the house. It was all of us from Georgia; Auntie Keiko, Ken-chan, Mariko and their two kids, Yuki and Eri; Hiromi, Tsuneo and their two kids, Yuichi and Miho; Hiromi's sister, Kotoe and Noriko.

For dinner, Ken-chan took his mother, Cheryl and me to a grocery store called Kasumi that's right across the street from the Minami Kashiwa train station. In English, it's the South Kashiwa station.

It was Cheryl's first experience in a Japanese grocery store and she had a great time looking at everything.

Another thing about Japan. You never wear your shoes in the house. There's always a small foyer where you leave your shoes and put on a pair of slippers.

Auntie Keiko took us to the 100 Yen store that was on the second floor. She bought slippers for us all. Cheryl and I bought some other stuff. She became completely enamored of the "hyaku yen" store.

We got back to the house and put out the food for dinner.

After dinner, we passed out all the presents we had brought for our relatives.

Tsuneo-san has always been reserved. The times I've seen him before, he would sit in a corner and watch. He was always very nice, but like I said, reserved.

This time, though, he was a hoot.

I pointed out various people and asked Jessica what their names were. When it came time for Tsuneo, she said his name correctly. He turned to her, and said in English, "Just call me Tsune-chan."

And that was his name from then on. Ken-chan even took to calling him Mr. Tsune-chan.

Everyone went home and we spread out the futons on the floors, upstairs and down, and we spent our first night in Japan. By the way, when Americans refer to futon, they mean the futon beds. In Japan, a futon is the mattress that is put on the floor to sleep on.

All I can say is I'm too old to be sleeping on the floor!

Hey! Who won "Dancing With the Stars"?

I'm back at last!

When our flight was delayed by a day, that should have been an omen.

Then when we got to our rented house in Kashiwa, which is the largest city in the prefecture (comparable to our states) of Chiba, we discovered there was no Internet access.

In the land of technology, I found that impossible.

We actually got to Japan on Wednesday, May 21. It wasn't until Sunday that we went to the Ginza, where the first Apple store in Japan was established. The Ginza is the Japanese equivalent of Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles or Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale or Fifth Avenue in New York City. Lots of expensive, designer stores. At the Apple store, I found a woman who spoke English. She was very snotty. I guess she thought I couldn't understand English and told a co-worker that I was staying in the country and couldn't get Internet service. She was absolutely no help.

It turned out my sister Patty brought her laptop as well. It stayed in her case, too.

I know I had every intention of writing every day, adding photos, but that was a bust.

One of my cousins actually lives on the next street over and he has Internet, but he and his children are at work all day and his wife didn't know how to access it.

This weekend, I'll tell you all about my trip, day-by-day, with photos.

We got back about 7 p.m. Monday, but I got severe jet lag. It's 2:19 a.m. and I'm still wide awake. Even after three days back, I still am a little jet lagged. I'm hoping to go to work today.

I'm just tired. I should be back to normal next week.