Mt. Takatori 鷹取山

What a beautiful country!  I went for a hike on Mt. Takatori today.

I took these picture on a hike from Jinmuji station to Oppama station.  I had no idea this hike would be so beatiful!  I wish I had brought my better camera with me.  It's evident that the trail is heavily used.  It is a well traveled path.
This little Buddha is quite big.  I wasn't even tall enough to reach the feet.
This gentleman told me he feeds these birds everyday.  We approached the area at the same time and that flock did seem to recognize him.

The sign above reads "Takatori Yama" on the right side.  That is the way you want to go to see Fuji san and Daibutsu.

That sign is posted on the rocks where the rock climbers play.  It directs the way to the Oppama station on the Keikyu Line.  Oppama is about a 15 minute walk from the trail head.  

One of the walls that the rock climbers use.  The sign below says, "hiking course".  That sign is in a place where you might get confused on which way to go.  The trail you want squeezes between big boulders here.

This is a small part of the trail.  The chain is there to hold on to if you need it.  There is a rope to the right to indicate the edge of the trail.

Why didn't they do this at my school?

My remote stopped on this tonight.  What I didn't show was the aftermath.  They would follow the losing team out of the arena where they would be bawling.  Everyone from the coaches and parents, down to the people back at the studio, were sobbing uncontrollably.

Mochi Cream

Whoever came up with combining mochi and ice cream is a genius!  This is a store called "Mochi Cream" in the Machida area.


Above is the Apple Pie flavor, below is Cranberry and Honey flavor.  The other flavor we bought was Blueberry and Cream.  All three were very, very good.  They give you directions to not eat them for 20 minutes because they are frozen solid at first.  

Obento addicts unite!

I frequently peruse Obento blogs and web sites.  They often suggest Tokyu Hands as a great place to find bento supplies.  I have been very disappointed at the selection at several of their stores.  Today, I found of what they speaketh... the Tokyu Hands at Machida.
This is part of the bento accessories aisle.
This little thing will cut a little meat stick into a crab, fish, or penguin.
This is a little furikake shaker and the scoop to fill it.
I was not able to photograph these well, but they are an elephant and a pig condiment holder.  It looks like they are surfing on their own spoons.

I didn't buy this mayonnaise holder, but it was a neat concept.  It looked like you fill it and then push in with your finger to make it squirt out.  I think it would be good for younger kids because they wouldn't need the motor skills to scoop it out like the pig and elephant above.

These I found at the 5-story 100 yen store in the Machida area.  It's a little thing you put in the pan and break an egg into it.  I bought the train shaped one.  I'll post a photo when we try it.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Green Santa. What will you bring me this Kurisumasu?

I had a free afternoon, so my son and I headed up to Yokohama to waste some time and money. We saw an advertisement for Green Santa along the way.
I wonder if this 7-11 has Kit Kats.
This is the safest Expressway entrance/exit you'll ever experience.
I was all excited about this until I saw it in action. The real one swings his arm in a full circle, this one just swings a bit.

Yell is a candy bar put out by the Morinaga Candy company.

Kurisumasu kado

My friend Katie dragged me around to different places in search of Japanese Christmas cards.  We never found ones that she liked, so she put feelers out and one of her friends took her to a place to find them.  She was gracious enough to tell me where the place was.  If you live in Yokosuka, there is a stationery store on Blue Street near the Yokosuka-Chuo station that has a decent selection.  I was lukewarm on the idea until I saw her cards.  Here are the ones I bought.

It's hard to tell with this photo, but this is a 3-d card of the Daibutsu with little Santa Clauses climbing all over it.
Here is Santa flying over Fuji-san with Sakura trees all around.
Fuji-san again with Santa and a Japanese style house and bashi (bridge).

I'm not sure if this is a specific Pagoda, but this particular one has Santa all over it.

Hakone Open Air Museum

I surprised my husband with a trip to the Hakone Open Air Museum last weekend.  It was a place he had been to 20 years ago.  Apparently not much has changed.  

Everything in Hakone is beautiful and the museum is no exception.  
The museum has a lot to offer the little ones too.  If you are on a time constraint and have kids, showing them the play areas first may not be the best decision.  We got that advice from someone else and thought we were doing well because we skipped the indoor net area.  We didn't count on this thing.  You can climb all around in this.  It is for 13 and younger.
There is a Picasso exhibit that we didn't have time to take in, so no pictures.  We did have time to soak our feet.  

According to the museum's web site:

Footbath Spa "Hot Foot" is a globally unique footbath located in an art museum. The 20-meter span footbath has the capacity of 30 people to sit at a time.
You will enjoy the open-air freshness and relaxation while appreciating the artworks. The spa uses flowing hot-spring water. Various concerts and events take place each season.
This area is a kid's dream!  We saved it to the very end, but were not left with much time.  We didn't see an age limit on it until after my husband climbed in and took some photos.

That star shaped thing in this picture is a maze.  You can't tell from the photo, but it's deep enough into the ground that you can't see out over the top.

This is the view from the top of a stained glass tower.