Beach Party, 'Japanese Style', at Zushi!!

It started with an open invitation from Yumi, one of the girls Steve works with, to share a day at the beach, with her surfing friends. The party was at Zushi,  located at the head of the Miura Peninsula, in the last weekend of July. The city of Zushi was established in 1954, as the 384^th city in Japan. It covers an area of about 17.5 square kilometers, and has a population of approximately 60,000. Located southwest of Tokyo, its neighboring cities include Kamakura (ancient capital of Japan in the late 12^th century) and Yokohama (famous for its international harbor). It has long been a popular suburban area of Tokyo (about 50 minutes’ ride by train), and is famous for being a residential area of many cultural figures, including the current governor of Tokyo Mr. Shintaro Ishihara.  

Zushi Beach is a popular site for wind surfers and family vacationers all year round. Due to its proximity to Tokyo, about 400,000 people annually come to enjoy the sun and beautiful waters.

Naturally we had to catch a variety of trains, very crowded trains, to get there. Once at Zushi we navigated around the streets to find our way to the beach. With the temperature remaining in the mid thirties for so long now, you can imagine, the beach was a very crowded place. The entire length of the beach was crowded with the normal temporary eating places, umbrellas, hordes of people and a multitude of activities in progress.

We moved along the beach and found our 'beach party' at the far end. This was good because it was not crowded at all and was the ideal place to try out some of the water activities on offer from Yumi and her friends. As it was outside of the designated swimming area we were regularly hustled out of the area but very quickly found our way back.

Throughout the day we all enjoyed lovely long swims, plenty of food and friendly conversation. We could not have been made more welcome. Our friend, young Steve, couldn't help himself and got into the swing well and truly. He was probably compensating for the fact that his windsurfing was not quite as successful as Steve's.

Sophie and Harriet had a ball playing in the shallows and the black sand. Soph dug holes, built castles and shared the day with a few Japanese children. They got along very well and in spite of the usual language difficulties managed to play happily with each other. One altercation over a plastic turtle was the only problem.

 Harriet, as usual, was treated like a celebrity by all adults and was entertained constantly. 'Kowaii' is a term we have become very familiar with. She worked hard on her surfing skills and, much to the horror of many, continued to enjoy her 'sand eating' habit. No ill effects have been observed to date. She even quite enjoyed chewing on her surfboard!!

While I was on 'nanny duty' Bek managed to squeeze in a bit of time on a stand up paddle board, and Steve enjoyed some windsurfing as well as the stand up boards.

The water was crowded with windsurfers, surfboards, yachts, jetskies, remote controlled vehicles and gazillions of people. People on the beach played volleyball, soccer, sunbaked, played instruments and sang, buried each other in the sand and just enjoyed their weekend relaxation to the max!!

We returned home quite late, again hot and very weary, having experienced yet another sample of the 'Summer culture' in Japan.

Our new home-Leyton House-Yokohama..

Finally we have moved into our long term apartment in Yokohama!! It had been secured within a day of our arrival in Japan but due to an extraordinary amount of red tape and scrutiny required by the company there was a long delay. In a move co-ordinated by our Expatriate Advisors, we took up residence in our 16th floor apartment at Leyton House in Yamashita on July 16th. In actual fact we are in Chinatown but the address is Yamashita.

Below are a few shots of our new apartment (kitchen, lounge room, main bedroom)before any furniture went in. It is large, spacious and very bright with views from every single window.

 The day began early with a final inspection of our apartment in Shinagawa, test passed!! After 2 months in Shinagawa, and Tokyo, it was farewell and off to a new start in Yokohama. I know I will miss this busy outlook, a much narrower view but always busy with trains, people and cars.

Everything was packed, including the air freight cartons which had arrived a few weeks earlier.
With everything stacked in the lobby and Bek and Paul left waiting for the taxi van, Soph and I caught a train to Ichikawacho Station in Yokohama, where the real estate agent had been organised to meet me. Moving into a new rental property 'Japanese style' then began. The first official meeting began at 9-30am with the expatriate advisor, the real estate agent, the Leyton House concierge and manager, and me. The entire apartment was inspected from ceiling to floor by all personnel. Every pinhole, scratch, chip, minuscule carpet stain, semi faulty doorknob and scuff on the floor was meticulously recorded. The thoroughness of the inspection was unbelievable.

The day was a busy one, with up to 3 people at any one time attending to the move in. Lots of 'lost in translation' situations and lots of instructions and directions for all electrical equipment, including TV channels/programs, DVD operation, air cons, alarm systems, cleaning filters, wireless connections, Internet, telephones etc etc,  all given in very broken English , if any. Oh my God, I didn't have a chance because at the same time Sophie's running around screaming and yelling with excitement. Unfortunately, one of the visiting aliens wasn't here during some of the initial instruction time, and being a bit of a button pusher, inadvertently pushed the button we had been told not to touch. The end result, a little man dressed in uniform was instantly on our doorstep in a real flap muttering away in Japanese. The emergency button for the building had been pushed. YIKES!! that's one way to cure button pushing! (maybe)

Outline of move-in day-Friday, 16th July
9:20-Omi-san of Ken Corp. will pick up Jennifer-san at JR Ishikawacho Station Chinatown Exit
9:30-Move-in Inspection with Jennifer-san, the landlord, concierge, Ken Corporation & TGA coordinator
- the condition of the property to be checked and listed
- keys hand over
- appliance usages to be explained
- utilities (electricity & water) activated
10:00-Rental furniture delivery by Tokyo Lease

 15:00 - 17:00-Optic Fiber Internet Installation work by NTT
15:00 - 16:00-SkyperfecTV installation& set-up by Tom Service

 19:00 - 21:00-Internet PC set-up support by Nagawa of Assist Solutions

The good thing about the Internet man was that he was able to help cook the rice (we couldn't read the buttons) and he also helped with other difficulties we were having around the house. Try reading instruction manuals written in Kanji....impossible....they are bad enough normally.When you find someone who can speak English and read Kanji you can't afford to waste the opportunity. By the end of the day we felt quite at home. Unfortunately I had to sleep on the floor for a week awaiting the arrival of our sea freight (which included the dreaded bed!!!).

The pace of living, crowds and general surroundings are so different to Tokyo. Where in Tokyo it was usual to see thousands of people rushing off to work, catching trains and eating out in the multitude of food venues this is not quite so obvious in the area around our apartment. It is more like living in the suburbs rather than a CBD. As soon as we arrived we could feel it was more relaxed. It's still hot though, very hot. We have 5 air conditioners pumping away 24/7. We certainly don't have any issues getting the washing dry.

The apartment is quite large, about 25 squares, and very comfortable. Plenty of room for the guests who will be visiting over the next 18 months or so.

The views from every window in the apartment are fabulous. On our floor there are only two apartments. We face Yokohama Bay on one side, Yamate/Motomachi on another and Yokohama City and Tokyo on the other side. It is on this side that we see the big ferris wheel and the Landmark Building, Japan's tallest building. At night time the ferris wheel is lit up with constantly changing bright lights, very pretty.

Chinatown, the largest in Japan, and possibly in the world outside of China, surrounds us. It has ten ornate gates, four main and and six others, and within these gates there is reported to be over six hundred shops. I believe we could eat out every night for a year and still not have eaten in all the eating places. It's good fun riding the bike up and down the streets, but on the weekends it is very crowded. Motomachi Street, on the other side of a canal on our south side, is a very stylish and attractive brick paved street. It is here that you can find a wide assortment of stores and a little more of a European influence. This is also a nice area to cruise around on the bike. The Motomachi Pool is a great place to have a swim and is quite reasonably priced. There are beautiful parks and plenty of things to see.

Most of our grocery shopping is done at Motomachi Supermarket at the Ishikawachō Station, the station we use to commute from. Ishikawachō Station is located 3.8kms or three train stops away from Yokohama Station. Steve is actually about 3 minutes closer to Tsurumi, the place where he works, as it is only a couple of stops past Yokohama Station. There is also a small supermarket just around the corner and I have found a place in Motomachi that sells 500gram blocks of cheese. Nearly all foods come in small quantities and are individually wrapped. It's about a 5 minute walk to the foreshore and Yamashita Park. It is wide and open, quite a contrast to Tokyo, with pretty, tree lined streets. It's the perfect place to walk or cycle and there are many things to see the whole way along the foreshore to Minato Mirai, which is north of us.

In some of my next blog posts I will take a tour of Chinatown and Minato Mirai. There are so many things to share......it's impossible to cover everything. Hopefully though, through this blog, many of my family and friends will get to experience just a little of Japan.

I certainly have been converted; the place and its people are quite addictive!! A country so steeped in traditions, customs and culture.........so individual and resistant to the influences of others.

Tokyo DisneySea!!!

I guess you can't go to Japan without visiting one of the Disneyland's.......bit like going to the Northern Territory and not visiting Uluru. It was a little reluctantly that I headed off with the Thompson Clan to DisneySea. Leaving from Shinagawa, with the weather hot as usual, we changed trains at Tokyo, an enormous station with five travellators in a row through one section. At Tokyo we caught a JR train to Maihama Station, which is adjacent to Disneyland. Once at Maihama we then caught the special Mickey Mouse monorail to DisneySea, not necessary if you are off to Disneyland.

We chose to visit DisneySea on a Thursday which turned out to be a great idea. It was busy but queueing was kept to a minimum. On the weekends the waiting times can be two hours or more. Why would you bother??  The amusement park consists of seven theme ports: Mediterranean Harbor (a reproduction of Venice), American Waterfront (a reproduction of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States), Port Discovery (a science-themed area), Lost River Delta (a reproduction of a tropical rain forest), Arabian Coast (based on Disney's Aladdin), Mermaid Lagoon (based on Disney's The Little Mermaid) and Mysterious Island (based on the books of Jules Verne). It is arranged in a circle around a central landmark,  Mount Prometheus, an artificial volcano that "erupts" intermittently. There are fun rides, entertainment shows, restaurants, and shops in each area. Since Tokyo DisneySea is targeting adults as well as children, alcohol drinks are available at Tokyo DisneySea unlike Tokyo Disneyland. 

There is no general admission ticket available for Tokyo Disneyland. You need to purchase a Passport, which includes all attractions. A one-day passport costs 5,800 yen (adult). A two-day passport costs 10,000 yen (adult). Children under age three are free of charge. In AUD that's about $75.00 or $125.00. We decided that two days in a row would definitely be stretching the limit with the two littlies.

We chose to make a beeline for 'Mermaid Lagoon' as Ariel was a huge attraction for one little Thommo. On the way we did stop to have a chat with Daisy, Pluto and Mickey who were doing a meet and greet.

 All I can say about the whole experience is WOW!!! It was really quite exceptional. The different ports were amazing and the attention to detail was great. 'Mermaid Lagoon' was beautiful and so colourful. I could have spent half a day in this area alone. The approach to
Mermaid Lagoon' was impressive and the detail of the exterior structure speaks for itself. Inside was gorgeous!

The 'Little Mermaid' performance was exceptional and the costumes were gorgeous. The lyrics in the songs were in English and the narratives were in Japanese but this did not affect our enjoyment. No photos were allowed here.

I loved the streets of the 'Arabian Coast'. The buildings and decorations were very authentic and, fortunately, everything was well attached because, naturally, Soph tested everything. 'Sinbad's Storybook Adventure' was a lovely boat trip through Aladdin's caves.

The rides in each port were great and the three adults had enormous fun going on most of them. Sophie's first rides were a little loud and fast so she wouldn't go on any others! Apart from some of the rides, the highlights of my day were the live performances, 'Little Mermaid' and 'Mystic Rhythms'. The energy of the music, instrumentals and dancers in the latter were brilliant. It was a special FX spectacular!! Sophie preferred the peace of the 'Caravan Carousel' and Harriet was grateful to just 'have a go' of Soph's Minnie ears.

 Although, initially, a reluctant participant the whole experience was terrific. DisneySea in Japan, I had never imagined it.
Harriet sums up how we felt by the end of the day.....exhausted!! (again)....the heat and humidity, two toddlers, lots of excitement and fun, crowds and trains...what's wrong with us??

Sayōnara tomodachi!!!

Another Day in Kamakura

On their first weekend in Japan we decided to take our alien visitors to Kamakura. Kamakura was one of the first places we visited when we arrived and is the location of the Great Buddha. On this occasion we did not get around to seeing any temples or shrines, instead it was a day spent roaming along the beach observing the preparations being made for the opening of the Summer season and having a swim. We then continued along past the main beach and came across another little bay with a very large high rise tourist resort close by. We had lunch in this area which, even though it was raining at this stage, had a bit of a Florida feel about it.

Further on around the bay we found a little beachside area which, in a Japanese way, had a bit of a Greek Isles feel to it. The pebbly little beach was crowded with fishing boats.


We continued to meander around the back streets and enjoy the different sights which this area offered. Like many places in Japan, depending on which gate you exit the station from, you see quite different things. This trip back to Kamakura gave us quite a different perspective. The addition of a few rain showers also altered the visual impact. One thing that continues to intrigue us is the simplicity of the housing and the quite inferior materials which are used. Housing and living conditions are still very 'Asian' for want of a better word with minimal exterior sophistication.
Without a doubt, a highlight of the visit was a swim in the sea, finally!! Sophie loved splashing in the waves and joined Steve for a nice swim.

Each Summer season is heralded by the sudden construction of masses of temporary eating places along the entire length of every swimming beach. A beach is suddenly transformed into a place teeming with human traffic. It's quite an amazing transformation. At the end of the season every building is once again removed.

Power poles such as this one provide an interesting insight into the electrical standards....very similar to our insights into Balinese electrical standards...what standards???

I'd like to see this happen on an Australian beach. Smoking booths are placed at regular intervals along the beaches. Smoking is restricted to these booths...a rule which appears to be adhered to by all!!

Our day was finished off with a walk through the streets near the station, a different set of streets to those we walked along on our first visit. It was very busy and the boys were not interested in window shopping...so what's new? They found a different variety of beer to sample...obviously Bek and I weren't thirsty because we didn't get a drink...then we headed off home.

This posting is out of order but is one I started a while back and failed to complete. Life in the household is not quite as orderly since the arrival of the aliens. Other postings may also be out of order but I like to have a diary for my records.