Kamakura

So, this typhoon I wrote about a few days ago has turned to head more to the western part of Japan and hopefully away from us. Looks like it will be a rainy/windy labor day weekend here, but nothing like they were predicting a few days ago. I've been carrying around my umbrella and raincoat for 3 days waiting for this typhoon to start and of course a few minutes after I got home today (sunny and humid outside) it started to rain... go figure!

Yesterday I ventured out with our orientation class to take a quick bus tour of Yokosuka (the city where we live) and then we all took the train to Kamakura which is about 30 minutes by train away from the base. Kamakura was once a sleepy fishing village and became the capital of Japan during the 12th century and was the center of the military in Japan at that time. One of the largest shrines in Japan is located here... Hachimangu Shrine. It was very beautiful, I hope to go back in the spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming! The shrine was surrounded by lotus flower ponds as well. When the Japanese go to the shrine they first enter through the gates where it is believed that the outside of their body is cleansed. There are two lion statues at the gate... one with the mouth open (representing birth as when you are born you cry and your mouth is open) and one with it's mouth closed representing death (at peace with your mouth closed in an almost smirk). There is an area where you wash your hands, arms, and then rinse your mouth with the water and ladle provided (but I have a thing with germs so I passed). At the top of the shrine, you throw some yen in and clap twice then bow while you ask for your wish. It was very peaceful watching people go through this (no pictures allowed in shrine).



So after the shrine we had to take the train back to the base on our own... done and done! I have to admit I was pretty nervous about this, but after riding the train to Kamakura it seemed pretty easy to get back. A lot of things are in Kanji or other Japanese writing but there is also some in English! They made sure we could all read "Yokosuka" in Kanji before we left the base in the AM... check out how to remember it...

横 須 賀 (Yokosuka): skinny man/fat man, watching TV, while something cooks on a stove (get it?) I LOVE this!!!! haha

So I made it back on the train and it was still a 20 minute walk back to the main gate of the base, so I went and did a little produce shopping with the locals... so fun! I can't read anything and have no idea what most of the fruits or veggies are, but I loved shopping there. It is much cheaper than on base! (Avocados on base were $5/each and at the local stand they were a little more than $1). I bought peaches, avocados, edamame, tomatoes, and apples... everything tasted delicious! We had big salads for dinner last night and fresh edamame... yum!

Today was my last day of class for the orientation/intercultural training. Most of the day was driver's safety training (i.e. Driver's Ed in Japan). Most of it was learning all the signs they have (some in Kanji and some with just symbols). This afternoon we had our drivers test which I passed, but won't take the practical driving test until next Friday!

Damian and I are just hanging out right now waiting to see what the weather is going to do. We may head out on the town tonight if it doesn't look too bad!

Japanese word of the day:
Konbanwa: Good evening