Bonsai!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Labor Day... not a holiday here... well, kind of but only on base! Damian had the day off today and we certainly took advantage of it! He came back from the ship this morning from his 24 hour duty and we were on the go the rest of the day!

Of course I left my raincoat at home because there was such a slight chance of rain and a few minutes away from home on our walk it started pouring... nothing new. I can't win... I carry it around all the time and it doesn't rain... the one day I leave it, it rains! Damian and I did have 1 umbrella so that was somewhat helpful. First stop of the day... Dunkin' Donuts... yummy iced coffees while we waited out the rain a little. The rain died down and we began our long walk to the train station. Next stop.... The Great Buddha!

We had to take 2 trains to get there but we made it with great success. We went to a small town called Hase (pronounced Ha-say) to visit The Great Buddha! It is the second largest statue of Buddha in all of Japan... it is bronze but you wouldn't be able to tell these days. It was cast in 1252 and has certainly withstood the test of time, weather, and Mother Nature. There was a major earthquake in 1923 that destroyed the base of the Buddha but didn't harm the body and in the 1960's it was repaired and strengthened so that in the event of a major earthquake the body of the Buddha would move freely on it's base and not be destroyed! Pretty cool huh? The Buddha is 121 tons and approximately 44 feet high!!!

After leaving The Great Buddha it was time for some lunch.... we had a hard time finding a place because a lot of them were so called "american food" or Chinese food!!! All we wanted was some yummy authentic Japanese food... lucky for us we found a tiny little noodle place! Damian had Ramen with a raw-ish egg in it and I had Mori soba noodles which are cold noodles with some sweet sauce for dipping... yum!!! I LOVE noodles!



So, when I learned all about The Great Buddha I kept hearing how President Obama visited it last year on his trip to Japan and the big thing everyone remembers was him eating a green tea ice cream while in Hase. There are pictures with him in front of the Buddha and with Japanese nationals, but the most famous from this trip were of him eating this infamous ice cream cone! Once we got off the train to walk to the Buddha there were AT LEAST 15 places selling green tea ice cream cones... some even with a picture of our President eating one! Of course, Damian and I had to see what all the hype was about. Damian had a green tea and vanilla swirl and I had a green tea and sweet potato swirl... both delicious and not too sweet!



On our walk back to the train we stopped at a little bakery so Damian could get some Manju, one of his favorite Japanese sweets! Manju is made with flour, rice powder, and buckwheat and then filled with a red bean paste and sugar. They were very good! It sort of looks like a little mini pie, if that helps...

We headed back to the base and rest our weary legs for a little bit! Then off to see the last Harry Potter at the movie theater on base. Phenomenal!!!! The movie theater played the national anthem and showed a Navy video before the movie started... very different!

Long day and we are both exhausted... back to the grind for Damian tomorrow and I'm off to Human Resources in the AM to search for a job on base!

Japanese word of the day:
Wakarimasen: I don't understand