Walking to Katata - Japan Trip

   Yes, it's been over a week now since I got back from Japan but between getting ready for the big Puerto Rico trip and not feeling well this is the first time that I am getting a chance to share the last of my pictures.

Friday night!

This is a close up of the Dango we purchased earlier in the day.
Miki has figured out that it's best to eat with a spoon so you can
enjoy the sauce a bit more. 

  We had decided to take it easy on Saturday and just walk to the next town over called Katata. We took our time again in the morning and didn't take off until after 11am. Why hurry!?

The view of Ono. You can see the rice fields, train and mountains.
The weather while I was there was all this beautiful, mixed with
only a few snow flakes.

Daikon anyone? It must have been the days harvest.

   We found all sorts of things along the way.

Some Japanese homes along our walk.

   One of the biggest landmarks that we could see the entire time we were out walking was an unused Ferris wheel from an old amusement park that Miki used to go to as a child. There were so many colors on this ferris wheel which made a beautiful contrast to the blue sky. David and I took a ton of pictures of this thing.

Homes mixed with family owned and maintained rice fields.

   The sign in this picture is a "for sale" sign but the plot of land was SO tiny. On a good day it was about 25ft x 20ft. There was a phone number to call for price and I really wanted to find out how much this tiny plot would sell for but none of us ended up calling.

In the water you can see a lot of wood posts popping out...this is all part of a pearl farm.

The streets that we were walking along were very narrow.

   As we were walking through Katata there was a man driving through the streets with a loud speaker. Apparently this is a normal way to get news out to ppl but the funny thing is it sounded like someone announcing an invasion and telling people to stay calm in their homes. On the contrast, the man was actually just announcing "if you purchased a lotto ticket and you have the winning ticket you must claim your price at the community center before 5pm today". This was announced over and over...

We came across the neighborhood sweet shop

The neighborhood sweet shop. It was only big enough for 1 family to enter at a time.

Got to love that vending machines are everywhere. David
is taking advantage of some hot canned coffee.

The family photos!

Tree crutches are popular in Asia.

Ukimido (floating Zen Temple- Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple).

   This temple was our destination along the walk. We hung out here for awhile enjoying the view and snapping some photos.

Not sure if you can tell by the 2 photos (if only i had a panoramic setting on my camera) but that is one

branch that leads left from the tree trunk all the way along the tea house. I'm guessing it is about 40ft long!

The Temple Gate leading to the Zen Temple.

It was getting cold out and needed something to warm me up. Check out

this video. Corn soup in a can from a vending machine anyone?

After a long, cold walk home, stopping for dinner beer and sake along the way, we were

treated to Sukiyaki from scratch. The Taniguchi's made this for Donald and I the last

time we visited so I knew that I was about to have a feast.

Cheers! Beer and Sake!

Sukiyaki is traditionally served with a fresh raw egg to dip in. See upper right
 hand corner of pic. I'm hoping to recreate this back home for Donald. YUM!

All the treats that I got to take home with me. I will not go hungry in Shanghai.

   David had to take off early on my last day in town. He had made plans previously with a friend and it was the only time they could get together while he was in Japan. So the morning was quiet with only the 4 of us at home. Above is the breakfast that I enjoyed (rice, fish, daikon and greens), a traditional breakfast for Mr. Taniguchi. He showed me how to get the meat off of the fish and with little success I did my best. I wish I had taken a pic of the fish when I was done with it compared to Mr. T's fish b/c mine was a complete mess with meat still on the bones that I couldn't get off but his was a small clean pile of bones. He rated me a 70% on my fish eating skills...Miki got a 90%. It seems that only Mr. Taniguchi gets the 100%; he's skilled with chopsticks!

My gracious hosts! (plus Miki and Dave)

   The Taniguchi's walked me to the train station to see me off. Since there was still some time to kill before I had to catch  my train to Osaka and the airport Miki and I went into Kyoto to do some more shopping. I had seen an item that I thought would be handy for me to use in Shanghai so we were on a hunt for it. It is a clothing item that Miki grew up wearing in the winter...it's basically a close fitting torso sweater that fits under shirts but keeps your core warm (from under the bust to your hips). We ended up finding one at Uniqlo for pretty sheap. I've worn it and it's amazingly warm. Otherwise, our shopping was more talking ghen anything else but we did manage to walk through some stores. Then Miki helped my buy my train ticket and set me on my way. I couldn't have asked for a better last day during my visit and a well needed break from Shanghai.

   Once back in Shanghai I decided it was time for me to learn how to ride the Maglev Train. This is the Magnetic Levitation train that reaches speeds of 300km/hr in less then 2 mins. The train doesn't take you all the way into Shanghai but does cut about 20mins or more off your subway time. I like it so much that I have now taken it 2 more times and will continue to use it every time I need to go to Pudong Airport.

Check out the speed!? 301km/hr!

Back to Shanghai with only a week until I got to see Donald :)