Yesterday we walked to Aoyama Cemetery with Ian, Hillary and Andrew. Andrew actually slept in the stroller on the way there, woke up and walked around a little and rode back home. Then today I met some of the women from our district and went to Shinjuku Gyoen for a little more hanami (blossom viewing). Here are the photos:
Photo shoot of cute Andrew
Shijuku Gyoen
New maple leaves
Picnics under the sakura trees
For the past month I have frequently visited the link on my sidebar “Earthquakes!!!!!!!” I added the link shortly after I started this blog. I have used it periodically over the past few years to check on the small quakes we have felt. This month I have clicked on the link at least once a day. Last Thursday night after the 7.1 (at the epicenter) aftershock I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to know where it was located ad how strong it was. I got up and clicked on the link.
Although I am glad I am here, I always feel like the ground is always moving a little. Sometimes it is, but mostly it’s just my imagination.
Bloomberg says that there have been over 900 aftershocks!
The Japanese school year begins in April. Yesterday, all the new boys going to the prestigious Azabu High School on my street were lined up with their parents. It must have been an opening ceremony and welcome to the school. The parents were all dressed up and the boys were in their traditional black uniform with a Nehru collared jacket. Some even wore their caps. Come Monday, they will all be out of uniforms and back in their everyday clothes. They only wear their uniforms on special occasions. This is the scene from my window.
It’s cherry blossom time in Tokyo. Rick keeps reminding me that this may be my last year to see them. Tuesday he had a holiday and so went walked around Tokyo to see some of them. I’m lucky to be able to see some right out my window.
East Garden of the Imperial Palace
It has taken me a long time to get this post up. Brian and Kristina’s flight was approaching Tokyo on March 11 when the earthquake happened. We were still able to have a fun week with them.
Brian and Kristina finally got to Tokyo early Saturday morning after spending the night on the floor of the Nagoya train station. I was so excited to see them! After some pancakes and a shower they were ready to go. I wasn’t so sure about riding the subway, but id din’t say anything. We went to Ueno for lunch and then walked around the park for awhile. The museums were closed. Kristina played on the swings while we watched.
Next, we went to Shibuya so Brian could see the statue of Hatchiko and then we just wandered around a bit.
Monday we went to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Omotesando.
Pondering?
Kris and I at Meiji
At most shrines they have wooden plaques that you can purchase and write a prayer or message on. This one in Spanish made us laugh. Jose is hopeful that when he gets back to Spain Teresa will have dumped Pablo and will be his girlfriend. Not usually the kind of hope expressed here.
Kristina and Brian at Takeshita Street
Trying on the wares
Yummy Crepes
We saw this plastic food display at a restaurant. This platter of food was actually on their menu. It was huge!
We saw this interesting guy in Omotesando.
Monday night we made a cake and celebrated Rick and Brian’s joint birthday a little early.
Tuesday morning we were up early and on the shinkansen to Kyoto. It takes just over two hours to get there. We walked to our traditional Japanese style hotel, the Ryokan Shimizu and dropped our bags. We went to Nijo castle, Kinkakuji and Ryoanji.
Nijo jo
Meditating at Ryoanji
The Zen Garden at Ryoanji
Fire buckets
Well
Kinkakuji
Brian chose Shabu Shabu for dinner. We had a great meal and a view of the city.
Wednesday we got on the train with our first stop being Nara. We walked through the deer park on our way to see the big Buddha.
Deer Park
Beware!
Love Japanese Translations
Pagoda at Horyuji
Horyuji has some of the oldest wooden structures in the world.
So cold my little Babushka
For the Birthday dinner, Brian and Rick have the same birthdate, Brian chose okonomiyaki.
Waiting
Okonomiyaki
After Okonmiyaki we went to visit a temple whose grounds were lit up in the evening. The bamboo was amazing.
The next morning our first stop was Sanjusangendo Temple that houses 1,000 staures of Buddha. We were only allowed to take photos on the grounds.
Then we walked to my favorite place in Kyoto, Kiomizu Temple. It is on the side of the mountain with views over the city.
Shopping
What would a visit to Kyoto be without seeing some geishas? These girls were involved in a photo shoot.
We loved having Brian and Kristina with us!
Today we finally had a project to aid the earthquake victims that we could help with. Â Yesterday we took the train to the Mushashino Stake Center in Kichijoji and helped put together 4,000 hygiene kits that are going to be sent to Sendai asap. It was great working with the Japanese members from that stake. There are a few that I know and I was glad to see Rie Takanazawa. I hadn’t seen her since the earthquake. We had a few members of our district in attendance and our good friends in our branch, the Scoffields.
We started by folding in towels and then just jumped on the lines where they needed us.
I loved watching the children who were working as hard as the adults.
This little girl was about 3 years old. She worked tirelessly for over 2 hours emptying the toothbrush packages from their boxes so they could be put in the kits. She would empty the toothbrushes and then flatten the box to be recycled. She was so darling.
It has taken me a week to get around to being able to write this. I want to write about the experience and my blog has become my journal since my project of posting everyday last year. I have taken a break from the daily posts for awhile. I am ready to be back, but maybe not daily.
Just over a week ago I hopped in the car with Sagawa-san at 2:36pm to go to the airport to meet Brian and Kristina. Â We were on the elevated expressway just before getting on to the Rainbow Bridge, it crosses Tokyo Bay, when we felt the earthquake. I remember being tossed back and forth in the back seat and the reading light in the back window was beating me in the head. I saw stuff crumbling out of the spaces in the concrete barrier on the side of the road. Sagawa-san drove to a place that was back at ground level and waited for the movement to stop. Then he drove across the bridge, it was still swaying. Of all the places I feared being in an earthquake, a bridge would have been at the top of my list. The next would be the subway. Today Rick reminded me that the Rainbow Bridge performed exactly as it had been designed to perform in an earthquake. He walked across it later that evening as part of his 1.5 hour journey home from the office.
The Rainbow Bridge
We continued our journey towards the airport, but the freeway was closed at the first toll plaza. We sat there for over an hour and the car rocked with the frequent aftershocks. Over the last week there have been over 260 aftershocks. The last one, just this evening, was 5.9 and just 90km from Tokyo. Finally, we turned around and went back to the exit and got on the feeder/frontage road. Both Sagawa-san and I kept trying to call and text the office. Finally, in Chiba City 3.5 hours after we left and less than halfway to the airport Sagawa-san got through. We found out from Rick that the airport had closed immediately and that their flight had not landed. Sagawa-san turned around and we began our drive back into Tokyo. Rick left the office and began walking home, hoping to be there when Brian and Kristina called to let him know where they had landed. They landed at Yokota Air Base for refueling and then the plane flew to the Nagoya airport.
Sagawa-san and I eventually made our way over back roads and into the city only to find a huge traffic jam. At 11:10pm I asked him where his office was, I thought we were near it. This office is where he parks the car and takes the train home. He gestured to the right and said, “Just over there.” I told him I was getting out and walking. He objected and told me I needed to stay in the car. There were still many people out walking home. I assured him that I knew right where we were and explained that if I walked then we could both get home sooner. I had my coat on, unlocked the door and was on my way. Later, I was happy to hear that he got home about the same time I did. After a quick stop in a big hotel, I started home arriving at midnight just 50 minutes after I got out of the car.
Brian and Kristina had tickets on the bullet train back to Tokyo at 6:20am the next morning. Early Saturday Rick ran to Shinagawa station to meet them and in the absence of local trains and taxis they made the 1 hour walk home. It was good to be together we had fun time sightseeing and took a trip to Kyoto. They decided on Friday morning to leave a few days early. Some of the European airlines had pulled their flights and Continental was trying to determine how long they would be sending all their flights in, not many passengers on inbound flights. They were able to get on a flight Friday afternoon.
Most of the expats have left Japan, only a few from our branch are left here. Â I think most, if not all, are gone because of the problems with the nuclear reactors.
So why am I still here? All the voices of experts in the field have said that even in a worst case scenario the amount of radiation reaching Tokyo would be less than the level that would cause health risks. None of the experts disagree on this. The Lord has told us that things are going to get more and more challenging. And while we don’t seek the challenges and difficulties in life as we face them, we learn and grow from them. Each one we face prepares for the next. We need to seek the truth and to follow the example of the Savior. I hope that as I observe the people around me I can become more resilient, more concerned about the welfare of others, better at listening to the promptings of the Spirit and seeking to know the will of the Lord for me.
I spent time today trying to determine where all the sisters in my Relief Society are. They are spread across the world. Now, I need to focus on making sure that the sisters still here have what they need. Today was a beautiful day in Tokyo. The signs of spring are everywhere. Here are some pictures I took today so that you can see that Tokyo does not look like Sendai.
Hiroo Shopping Street
Facing south???? Whoa!!!!!!
Tokyo Temple - Open
Our Building
No our building isn’t leaning! It is standing upright. I was just trying to fit as much as I could into the photo from a close angle. I guess I could have walked across the street.
Today I came across this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and had to try it, although I had many other things I should be doing. The method intrigued me. Browning the butter is the key to the taste of these cookies. There is usually not much advance thinking when I decide to make a batch of cookies and I don’t like waiting for the butter to soften. Browning butter makes me a bit nervous, probably the result of burning a lot of butter over the years. Today I watched and stirred constantly over a medium low heat. At one point it was covered with a soft yellow foam and I could see what color it was below the foam. Eventually, I could see the golden brown color I was looking for and immediately removed it from the heat. The dough turns out to be much chewier than my usual recipe. The recipe I use all the time is found at Vanilla Carrots. I’ll have to make a batch of each on the same day and do a taste test, but these are really good.
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen)
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 sticks butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk and set aside.
Melt 1 1/4 sticks butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Keep swirling until butter has a dark golden brown color and a nutty aroma, about 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer it to a bowl and mix in the remaining butter until melted.
Add the sugars, salt, and vanilla to the butter and mix well. Add the egg and the extra yolk; whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds. Let it rest for 3 minutes, then whisk again for about 30 seconds, before letting it rest again. You’ll want to whisk this about 4 times, until you have a thick, glossy, and smooth mixture.
Gently stir in the flour and baking soda just until combined. Stir in the chocolate and nuts.
Form dough balls (mine were about 2 inches in diameter), and place them on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes Mine took 10 minutes, most people cook chocolate chip cookies way too long. They actually looked a bit under cooked when I took them out, but they continued to cook as the baking sheet cooled down. the key is for them to be just barely turning golden on the edges but looking a bit soft in the center. Put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let the cookies cool on the sheets.
Do you remember that PBS show? Today I had a message on my Facebook wall that asked, “Where are you now? Australia?” I feel like the question is often, “Where in the world is Vanalee?” I am in Australia on a “business trip.” As my daughter-in-law Ruth explained to Rick…my business is being a wife, mother and grandmother and when I am away from home in any of those roles, I am on a business trip.
The sky here is incredible almost everyday.
Yesterday we drove to the Swan Valley. We visited the Margaret River Chocolate Company, a vineyard where non-alcoholic wine is produced and ate lunch at Stewart’s on an equestrian farm. It was a great day!
Stewart's
Today was a busy day. I leave for the airport tomorrow morning at 6:30am. I decided to attend the temple this morning for the first session at 10am. Then I spent the afternoon cleaning and packing.
I left home at 5:30pm hoping to make it to the Mushashino Stake Center in Kichijoji before 6:30. I wanted to arrive in time to find seats in the cultural hall for the devotional featuring Elder and Sister Holland and Elder and Sister Rasband. The express train was much slower than usual. It kept stopping to wait for the train ahead of us to leave the station so we could pull in. I didn’t arrive at the church until 6:45. There were no seats left. I heard someone say there was space for English speakers upstairs so Rick and I went up there only to find that everything there was full, too. Then a Japanese man looked at us and asked, “Eigo?” (English) and motioned for us to follow him. He walked very fast and took us back downstairs and into the rear door of the cultural hall leading us along the side and up the chapel aisle to the second row on the chapel’s left side. As we sat down I couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed by our good fortune. We hadn’t arrived late for the meeting, but we had arrived too late to deserve a second row seat. We were grateful.
We enjoyed the blessing of listening to Elder and Sister Holland and Elder and Sister Rasband. During his talk Elder Holland mentioned that the next day was Sister Holland’s birthday. At the conclusion of the meeting the congregation was asked to stay at their seats until those on the stand had departed. We were right at the door where they exited. As we stood to watch them leave, our Area President’s wife (a member of my Relief Society) stopped to give me a hug as she left and whispered in my ear, “Will you make cupcakes for Sister Holland’s birthday tomorrow?” Of course, I said yes. (The answer is always yes!) Lesa called after I arrived home and I made arrangements to leave the cupcakes in her apartment building lobby before I left for the airport. She told me that they had been in meetings all day and she kept trying to think of how she could do something for Sister Holland’s birthday. She received the prompting that someone would be sent to help her and she stopped worrying. The reason for our seats on the second row by the door became clear. Lesa knew I was the answer as soon as she saw me. We were seated in the only place where she could have seen me and reached me. I am grateful that I was able to be an answer to the prayer of Lesa’s heart. It was such a simple thing…cupcakes for Sister Holland’s birthday. The amazing thing was our opportunity to see the Lord’s hand in a series of events led us to be in the place we needed to be at the right time.
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