Sake, Supermarkets and Shrines!!

After a busy day on Friday the 28th (purchasing a new phone for me, registering as aliens and establishing a bank account) we were really ready for a relaxing evening. The whole process had taken nearly 6 hours...our level of understanding throughout.....little!  Thank goodness for Sally, our relocation advisor, who after 15 years in Japan speaks fluent Japanese. We also needed to catch three trains, three taxis and do a fair bit of walking. No one seems to like making decisions on their own so papers were endlessly shuffled and checked, as we sat silently tapping our fingers.

At one stage during the afternoon we saw this beautiful memorial,  in the Minato-ku area, which represents babies that have died for one reason or another. Each one wears a little crocheted hat to keep it warm. Very moving and so sad, but what a beautiful thing to have them all together.

After finishing all the paperwork by about 6.30pm and catching the train home we knew we would not be getting our relaxing evening yet.

Tonight I would be experiencing my first team building function. A meal with all the people on Steve's project had been organised at a great little place on one of the canals in Shinagawa. In total eighteen people turned up. It was a very multi cultural group, Americans mainly and actually four Australians but Indian, Malay, Irish, Canadian and more. One guy was on days off from the rigs in Bass Strait and was over visiting his partner who is working on the project.

The food was yummy and included raw scallops and fish. After a bottle of very nice wine shared with another guy and a little bit too much sake I literally fell into bed that night. It had been surprisingly relaxing to spend time with a group of people where language was no barrier.

The sake was presented in this little box. The glass was filled to overflowing to demonstrate the hosts generosity.  After sculling the glass you then poured the overflow into the glass. Fortunately I only sipped. I may have not walked the distance back to the apartment had I drunk it too quickly!!!

The next morning I wanted to demonstrate my new train skills to Steve so I showed him some of the sights in Kawasaki. It was incredibly busy.... it seemed on this occasion that absolutely everyone must go shopping together. The black suits and ties of the working week are shed in favour of jeans and anything you feel like putting together. Some of the outfits are really out there, others are incredibly daggy. It doesn't really matter though, anything goes. The supermarket was something to see. The noise level was unreal and the shopping trolleys were bumper to bumper. I am still to hear a word spoken in anger and, in spite of the crowds, the Japanese demonstrate unbelievable patience. No road rage or rudeness from anyone. Politeness is such a wonderful human trait. The huge range of food and choices are quite overwhelming really. If you want fresh seafood you just select it out of crates. Everything is immaculate. We managed to buy enough food for a few days and headed off towards Shinagawa. You can't afford to buy too much because what you buy you must carry.

Sunday saw us setting off on a sightseeing trip with a young guy, Steve, who is also working on the same project as Steve. Just out of uni and the ripe old age of 23, his first posting was Japan for three months. He is a  Canadian but had moved to Houston to work and then within a short time ended up here. Steve is also living in the same apartment building as us in Shinagawa.
We had planned on visiting Nikko to the north of us, a trip which takes about 2 hours on the bullet train and then another train. As we did not leave early enough  we decided we would head for Kamakura, about a 50 minute train trip south of here and Yokohama.

Kamakura is well known for its temples and shrines, and also the Great Buddha. When we first arrived in Kamakura, rather than catch a street car to the main sights, we decided to meander through the streets. Lovely narrow, neat and intricately paved streets with lots of little shops.

Whilst wandering we caught a glimpse of water so we almost ran to get to the sea. We were nearly there when we came across this really cool market with stacks of different foods. Not  able to go to the Bittern Market, as I often do on Sundays with Bek and Erica, I thought how strange it was that I had ended up at this market doing my normal Sunday thing. It was a bit of an alternative market with lots of dreadlocks, even Jamaicans, wandering groups singing and playing instruments. It was great and the variety of foods on offer was excellent.

This is my lunch being prepared. This is how it was served. It was very nice and cost 500yen (about $6.00)

After having something to eat we moved onto the beach and watched the various activities; surfing (no surf this time), sailing, couple of jet skies, windsurfers and even some swimmers.

It was actually quite chilly so we were impressed. We were interested to read the warning signs about what to do in case of a tsunami (there was an English warning as well).

This was the local Yacht Club. You had to take your off the beach boats across the road to launch them.

Here we are cleansing before we enter to see the Great Buddha.

We meandered along beautiful streets as we went from one temple to another.

I couldn't resist ringing the bell.

Steve and I bow as we make a donation at one of the temples.

At around 2-00pm we caught the train to Kita Kamakura, one stop back towards the city, and repeated the walking/looking process. It was a good choice as Kita Kamakura was very quiet (for Japan) and we came across a beautiful garden/temple. This particular garden housed the Shokozoan-Tokejii Temple. It was established in 1285 and was designated as a nunnery. In those days a woman had no right to seek a divorce. Tokejii was designated as a sanctuary  and if a woman spent three calendar years there she could obtain a divorce. Hence this temple earned the nickname 'Divorce Temple'. Even we felt the total peace and serenity this garden offered.

After many miles we opted for a hot drink and cake then headed back to Shinagawa. Pleasingly we actually all had a seat for the entire trip, a miracle!!!
Overall a successful day!!