Mom's visit {Sakura}

In an attempt to not overwhelm you with photos in my last 2 posts, I decided to do a separate post about the Japanese cherry blossoms, or sakura.  The blooming of the sakura is a very important time of the year in Japan.  It is seen as a new beginning, a time to celebrate new life and new opportunities.  The school year in Japan begins at the beginning of April, not in August like it does in the US.  Also, many people move and start new jobs at the end of March/beginning of April, when the cherry blossoms are blooming.  Last year I was not here for cherry blossom season so I was very excited to see them this year.  The fact that my mom's trip timed perfectly with their blooming made it even more exciting!

Here are a few of my favorite cherry blossom photos from the past few weeks

Mom's visit {the food}

As I mentioned yesterday my mom wouldn't eat rice 10 years ago so to say that I was shocked by all the food she tried here is a huge understatement.  I was so proud of her for eating anything and everything I suggested.

In no particular order, she ate:

Curry Rice {her least favorite}

beer snacks

ramen and gyoza

SUSHI!  {funny story.  my sister gave my mom one piece of advice before she came here, "don't eat anything Jason tells you to".  Well my mom didn't listen to that advice and Jason told her to eat a piece of sushi that looked like a white fish...as she was eating it, he told her it was squid!  She wasn't very happy!}

Yakiniku 

festival food; okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and yakitori 

tonkatsu and soba 

taiyaki

tempura and udon

more okonomiyaki and yakisoba 

our favorite yakitori bar/restaurant

 MORE yakisoba and okonomiyaki {can you tell it's my favorite and now hers too?!}

and more yakiniku

Most, if not ALL of this food was new to my mom and she tried {and liked most of it} everything.  Like I said, I was super proud of her!  

And a note for future guests, DON'T LISTED TO JASON WHEN IT COME TO FOOD!!!

One more post from my mom's trip will be up tomorrow.

Mom's visit {the sights}

Hey ladies {and gents, if there are any of you out there}!  It's been a while since I've had a real post.  Somehow I skipped my 30 by 30 update for the month of April {but I hadn't checked anything else off the list so it would have been a pretty boring/sad post anyways}.  Oh well, that's what happens when I'm too busy living life, right?

I had a wonderful visit with my mom.  I was so proud of her for making the journey {it was her 1st time ever leaving America} and being open to trying new things while she was here {10 years ago she wouldn't even eat rice}!  I've decided the next time someone comes to visit {Rebecca} I'm going to wear a pedometer every day to see how much we walk.  I'm sure my mom and I walked about 10,000 steps each day we went out sightseeing.  We were both exhausted by the end of her 10 days here!

Day 1, less than 12 hours in Japan, we took off on a tour of Chiyoda

We had a very handsome rower on our boat

after our boat tour we headed to Yasukuni Shrine where my husband showed my mom how to properly cleanse before entering

Next, we headed to Roppongi to see the Zojo-ji Temple and Tokyo Tower

We ended the day with a typical PACKED Friday night train

Day 2 was our cherry blossom festival on base.  My husband's unit ran a velcro wall all day which is where we spend most of our time and day 3 was Easter so we just did a few local things.

Day 4 was spent in Kamakura seeing Daibutsu

  Hase Dera Temple

 and Hachiman-gu Shrine

We also did a little shopping that day where I picked my this super fun furoshiki bag which I am now obsessed with!

Day 5 we met up with one of my Japanese friends for glass bead making

Day 6 I had to teach so we did some things on base and around our town

Day 7 we went to Odawara to see the castle

Day 8 we went to an open air folk museum where they had relocated different traditional houses from different parts of Japan

Day 9 was the only day we had really bad weather {PTL} so we decided to do something indoors.  We went on a tour {in Japanese} of the Kirin beer factory

Day10 was spent touring around Yoyogi Park, Harajuku and Meiji Shrine

we finished off the night with a stop at Shibuya crossing

Day 11, our last full day to sightsee, we went to Asakusa, on a recommendation from some of my students.  My mom said this should be the 1st place I bring people from now on and I agree.

After visiting Senso-ji Temple {and a quick stop to play Katniss}, we headed to a nearby street I had heard about and been wanting to visit for a long time called Kappebashi, where they sell lots of kitchen supplies and the models of food you see in many Japanese restaurant windows

After another long day of walking around, we decided to splurge on the "romance car" on the way home.  For the price of about $5 US, you can have a confirmed seat on a train and not have to fight the crowds.  Some days, it's totally worth it!

See you tomorrow for part 2 of my mom's trip...the FOOD!