Hey everyone,
On Friday we went to pick up my mum and dad's alien registration cards. We walked to the the Chiyoda (chee-odor) city offices. After we picked up the cards we caught the train to Harajuku (ha-ra-joo-koo).We got on the train and it took 10 minutes to leave the station because there was a problem with the line. When we were almost near the station that we had to get off at the train stopped suddenly in the tunnel. Then we had to catch another train to Harajuku.. We went to the Diaso (die-so) which is a 100 yen shop to by bento boxes and bento stuff. Bento is a homemade takeout lunch. On Friday night we went to an Italian restaurant for a welcome dinner for us. The welcome dinner was hosted by my dad's host Professor Yoshiro (yo-shi-ro) and Tanaka (ta-na-ka) and some of dad's students. One of his student 'Chilli, Chilli' (he's called that because he has red tips in his hair) made a paper crane with on hand (he made it with his left hand and he's right handed). On Saturday we went to Meiji (may-gee) Shrine. Dad was the person who had the map in his head of where to go and we ended up going the long way, and by long why I mean we kinda got lost. We got there in the end. There was a special festival on that day so there were lots of kids dressed in kimonos (Kim-own-os) and I felt waaaaaaaaaay under dressed. On Saturday night on of dad's friend's took us out to a Chinese restaurant. It was really nice. For the starter we had a platter with chicken, pork and ( the suspense is building) JELLYFISH!!!!! My dad told me and my brother to try the JELLYFISH. I did, and well it was really different. I don't think I'll try it again. It was sort of like a noodle but a bit chewy and rubber bandy (is bandy even a word). On Sunday my mum went out to do some shopping. About 15 minutes after she left there was a small Earthquake. It was really small because nothing even moved out of place. Earthquakes happen all the time here every couple days so there nothing new.
That's all for now,
Chloe.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Tokyo Sea Life Park
Hey everybody,
On Wednesday we didn't do anything so I have nothing to tell. But... On Thursday we went to Tokyo Sea Life Park. Toyko Sea Life Park is a big aquarium one stop away from Tokyo Disneyland. It was raining really hard when we went so we had to run the entrance because we were already soaking wet. Most if the aquarium was under ground, sort of. There was a huge tank when we got into the main part which was full of tuna. We looked around at the different exibits but it was really difficult to see because there were soooooo many Yochien (yo-chee-en). Yochien is basically Pre-school/kindergarten aged kids and typically they were all very loud. We saw a touching pool so we joined in. I touched a stingray (without the stinging thing) and a baby shark. I think I also might have woken a stingray when I slipped. We saw the tuna getting fed which was really cool. There was this big one and all the others waited until he had some food before they got some. We also saw the penguins getting fed and that was really funny. They were jumping around and doing flips. We had to leave because we were wet and cold.
Hope you enjoy reading,
Chloe.
On Wednesday we didn't do anything so I have nothing to tell. But... On Thursday we went to Tokyo Sea Life Park. Toyko Sea Life Park is a big aquarium one stop away from Tokyo Disneyland. It was raining really hard when we went so we had to run the entrance because we were already soaking wet. Most if the aquarium was under ground, sort of. There was a huge tank when we got into the main part which was full of tuna. We looked around at the different exibits but it was really difficult to see because there were soooooo many Yochien (yo-chee-en). Yochien is basically Pre-school/kindergarten aged kids and typically they were all very loud. We saw a touching pool so we joined in. I touched a stingray (without the stinging thing) and a baby shark. I think I also might have woken a stingray when I slipped. We saw the tuna getting fed which was really cool. There was this big one and all the others waited until he had some food before they got some. We also saw the penguins getting fed and that was really funny. They were jumping around and doing flips. We had to leave because we were wet and cold.
Hope you enjoy reading,
Chloe.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Edo-Tokyo Museum
Hey everybody,
On Tuesday we went to the Tokyo-Edo (ed-o) Museum. The Tokyo-Edo Museum is dedicated to the Edo era. Did you know the Tokyo was called Edo before it was called Tokyo? Tongue twister much. We also found out that where we are living (Yotsuya) has a lot of historical site from the Edo era. The Edo Museum is located in Ryogoku (yo-ga-koo). The Edo period ran for 250 years from 1603 to 1868. Tokugawa (to-koo-gah-wah) Ieyasu (ee-ya-sue) was the founder of the Edo period and he was the Shogun from 1603-1605 but remained in power until his death in 1616. Back in the Edo period the commoners (townspeople) didn't have their own bathrooms so they went to a place called and Onsen (on-se-n) which is a communal bath. We walked around the museum with a tour guide that spoke English which was really helpful. One of the things she told us was the Fuji San (mount Fuji) is a symbol of a war ship. I didn't really get that but then I imagined how big a war ship is and how big Mt. Fuji is so there are some similarities. During the Edo period Japan was sealed off for the world with the exception of the Dutch and the Korean.
I have some pictures from the museum down below.
Chloe
On Tuesday we went to the Tokyo-Edo (ed-o) Museum. The Tokyo-Edo Museum is dedicated to the Edo era. Did you know the Tokyo was called Edo before it was called Tokyo? Tongue twister much. We also found out that where we are living (Yotsuya) has a lot of historical site from the Edo era. The Edo Museum is located in Ryogoku (yo-ga-koo). The Edo period ran for 250 years from 1603 to 1868. Tokugawa (to-koo-gah-wah) Ieyasu (ee-ya-sue) was the founder of the Edo period and he was the Shogun from 1603-1605 but remained in power until his death in 1616. Back in the Edo period the commoners (townspeople) didn't have their own bathrooms so they went to a place called and Onsen (on-se-n) which is a communal bath. We walked around the museum with a tour guide that spoke English which was really helpful. One of the things she told us was the Fuji San (mount Fuji) is a symbol of a war ship. I didn't really get that but then I imagined how big a war ship is and how big Mt. Fuji is so there are some similarities. During the Edo period Japan was sealed off for the world with the exception of the Dutch and the Korean.
I have some pictures from the museum down below.
Chloe
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| This is a scale model of a gate at Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu's Grandson's castle. |
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| Same gate, different perspective. |
Sushi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey everyone,
On Monday we stayed at home for most of the day and made sushi and did a lot of home/school work and cleaning so I think this post will be mostly pics. So enjoy. ;p
Chloe.
On Monday we stayed at home for most of the day and made sushi and did a lot of home/school work and cleaning so I think this post will be mostly pics. So enjoy. ;p
Chloe.
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| My first go at making sushi |
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| I'm no sushi master |
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| This is my little brother's sushi |
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Yasakuni Shrine
Hey,
On Sunday we went to Yasakuni (Ya-sa-koo-knee) Shrine. Yasakuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine near the Imperial Palace. When we went to the shrine there was an Autumn Festival (Matsuri- Ma-sue-ree). From the entrance gate, also known as the Torii (Tor-ree) we followed a procession to the shrine (there are pictures below). We also saw a Bonsai (Bon-z-eye) and Chrysanthemum exhibition. We saw a traditional dance performed by two young-ish kids (about 8/9) wearing beautiful kimonos (kim-o-nos). The shrine is dedicated to the Kami (car-me), spirits, of soldiers and others,some considered war criminals, who fought and died on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Because of this reason it is a controversial shrine to visit. It also has one of the only Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II. This adds to the reasons why it is a controversial shrine to visit.
Hope you've enjoyed reading,
Chloe.
On Sunday we went to Yasakuni (Ya-sa-koo-knee) Shrine. Yasakuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine near the Imperial Palace. When we went to the shrine there was an Autumn Festival (Matsuri- Ma-sue-ree). From the entrance gate, also known as the Torii (Tor-ree) we followed a procession to the shrine (there are pictures below). We also saw a Bonsai (Bon-z-eye) and Chrysanthemum exhibition. We saw a traditional dance performed by two young-ish kids (about 8/9) wearing beautiful kimonos (kim-o-nos). The shrine is dedicated to the Kami (car-me), spirits, of soldiers and others,some considered war criminals, who fought and died on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Because of this reason it is a controversial shrine to visit. It also has one of the only Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II. This adds to the reasons why it is a controversial shrine to visit.
Hope you've enjoyed reading,
Chloe.
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| The Parade |
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| Me and my Mum thought they were crazy |
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| Some people in front of the shrine doing a traditional dance |
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| The Bonsai |
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tsukuba
Hey,
On Saturday my family and I went to Tsukuba (tsoo-koo-ba) which is where we used to live when we lived in Japan the first time. It was really different!! We caught a train to Akihabara (a-key-ha-bar-a) and then caught the Tsukuba Express to, well, Tsukuba (Duh). When we got off the train we walked to our old apartment block. It was covered in mesh and scaffolding. My dad thought it was because they were retiling the outside. We walked into the reception but no one was there so we walked out. After we visited an old park called Takezono (ta-ke-zo-no) park. It looked completely different. There used to be a running creek but it looked like it had been paved over. That was a bit disappointing. We decided to walk to my old school, Takezono Yochien (Ta-ke-zo-no Yo-chi-en). It looked almost exactly the same. When we had finished looking at my old school we went to the centre of town to have lunch. When we were finished at the Italian Restrunt we went to a park we used to go to. There was a huge pond full of carp (a type of fish). We bought some food to feed them. After we'd finished with the fish we played at the playground. We decide to get an ice-cream and we walked back to the station and we went home.
Hope you've enjoyed reading,
Chloe
I've got pictures of the carp below
On Saturday my family and I went to Tsukuba (tsoo-koo-ba) which is where we used to live when we lived in Japan the first time. It was really different!! We caught a train to Akihabara (a-key-ha-bar-a) and then caught the Tsukuba Express to, well, Tsukuba (Duh). When we got off the train we walked to our old apartment block. It was covered in mesh and scaffolding. My dad thought it was because they were retiling the outside. We walked into the reception but no one was there so we walked out. After we visited an old park called Takezono (ta-ke-zo-no) park. It looked completely different. There used to be a running creek but it looked like it had been paved over. That was a bit disappointing. We decided to walk to my old school, Takezono Yochien (Ta-ke-zo-no Yo-chi-en). It looked almost exactly the same. When we had finished looking at my old school we went to the centre of town to have lunch. When we were finished at the Italian Restrunt we went to a park we used to go to. There was a huge pond full of carp (a type of fish). We bought some food to feed them. After we'd finished with the fish we played at the playground. We decide to get an ice-cream and we walked back to the station and we went home.
Hope you've enjoyed reading,
Chloe
I've got pictures of the carp below
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| Me and my Bro feeding fish |
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| They're lined up waiting for food |
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| They make this ridiculous noise, like someone sluping the last of their milkshake |
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| In some cases, like this one, the fish would swim over each other to get a tiny piece of food. |
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Toyko Metropolitan Children's Hall
Hey everyone,
On Thurday we went to the Toyko Metropolitan Children's hall in Shibuya (sher-boo-ya). This is a building with different activities for children of all ages. It was a 15 minute train ride and a 5 minute walk to the hall from the train station. First we had a look at all the floors to see which activities we wanted to do. We first went through the human body maze. The maze was designed for little kids. I kinda figured that out when I had to crawl though a tunnel and there we little kids walking through. My mistake!! When we had enough the maze we went into a replica of and old Japanese home. After that we went on the computers that were set up and played games. We walked downstairs and Kieran (my little brother) and I played table tennis. After an epic game of table tennis (okay it wasn't that epic) we had lunch. For lunch me and my brother shared some inari (in-are-ee) sushi. Inari sushi is deep-fried tofu soaked in a sweet mirin (rice wine) then filled with sushi rice. After we had lunch we had to wait to do wood work so we sat down and coloured in (we had to fill in time okay) . When it finally came time we walk to the wood work room and started our little projects. I made a dancing cat thing. I almost had a heart attack when I was made to work with a mini (compared to the one at school) ban saw. When we finished at the Children's Hall we went home and did some school work.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Chloe.
On Thurday we went to the Toyko Metropolitan Children's hall in Shibuya (sher-boo-ya). This is a building with different activities for children of all ages. It was a 15 minute train ride and a 5 minute walk to the hall from the train station. First we had a look at all the floors to see which activities we wanted to do. We first went through the human body maze. The maze was designed for little kids. I kinda figured that out when I had to crawl though a tunnel and there we little kids walking through. My mistake!! When we had enough the maze we went into a replica of and old Japanese home. After that we went on the computers that were set up and played games. We walked downstairs and Kieran (my little brother) and I played table tennis. After an epic game of table tennis (okay it wasn't that epic) we had lunch. For lunch me and my brother shared some inari (in-are-ee) sushi. Inari sushi is deep-fried tofu soaked in a sweet mirin (rice wine) then filled with sushi rice. After we had lunch we had to wait to do wood work so we sat down and coloured in (we had to fill in time okay) . When it finally came time we walk to the wood work room and started our little projects. I made a dancing cat thing. I almost had a heart attack when I was made to work with a mini (compared to the one at school) ban saw. When we finished at the Children's Hall we went home and did some school work.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Chloe.
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