Kyoto Trip- Day 1

We are in Kyoto and having a wonderful time!!! Our trip has been well worth it and we are getting to see everything that we had wanted. Of course the most important thing for me to see was a maiko and I did!!!! I was so happy and will always remember that. We have visited temples, shrines, castles and more. So, enjoy some of our pictures and see all you American's soon!!!!!!!!


Maiko are Geisha apprentices. This young lady we saw during the day in Pontocho, a famous area in the Gion district. You can tell when the ladies are maiko when they wear their hair like she is.
Our friend, Kaino-san from Sendai, asked his sister-in-law Takako to show us around Kyoto one day since she lived there, so the first day we arrived she and her daughter met us at Kyoto station took us to Kinkakuji Temple and Ryoanji Temple.

Kinkakuji Temple "The Gold Pavilion"Me and Dan sitting by the rock garden at Ryoanji Temple.

Along the Kamo river in the center of Kyoto many resturants serve dinner on their patio and attact thousands of people by doing so. We were two of them. It was sooooo romantic!!

Morning Tuna Auction

On Saturday morning, before heading to Kyoto, me, Dan, Tomoko and Uwe were up at 4:30 a.m. and off to the Tuna fish auction by 5:00 a.m. All of us were really tired since we stayed up late the night before chatting, but we made it and were happy we did.



These huge tuna weigh tons and are massive compared to humans. When sushi cheif's or salemen come in to buy them every morning, they check the end where the fin has been removed for freshness and quality. The tuna are auctioned off once men have gotten a chance to check out the fish.



About 6:00 a.m we sat down on the street for a strong cup of iced coffee. It was already about 85* that morning.


Tomoko and Uwe sent us off for the last time at Tokyo station. We were sad to say goodbye, but we hope to see eachother again soon.

Visiting Tokyo

After leaving Sendai (Thursday) we took the bullet train to Tokyo were we visited the National Museum of Western Art, ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, walked down Ginza street, went the top of the Tokyo Dome hotel to the Artist Cafe to catch an awesome night view of Tokyo, then we ended the night singing Karoke. We had a blast! On Friday, Tomoko had the day off and took us by ferry to Hamarikyu Garden where we enjoyed a tea ceramony. After that, we headed to Zojoji Temple where we saw hundreds of small statues which represent lost or aborted babies. It was a solomn moment.....after that we entered the temple and were able to look around a little bit.

Dan posing under Rodin's "The Thinker"
I'm standing next to a wall mural of Monet's "Water Lilies" which we actually saw inside the gallery.
Uwe, Tomoko and Dan at Yoshinoya.
Me and Dan at the top of the Artist Cafe next to the Tokyo Dome.
Uwe, Tomoko and me singing at Karoke.

Me and Tomoko on the ferry.Hamarikyu Garden.

Small statues which represent lost or aborted babies.

Zojoji Temple and the Tokyo tower in the background.

Send off

Yesterday we left Sendai in the morning and were sent off by lots of our friends and students. We were so happy that we were able to see so many people again one last time! Some came to say goodbye at the church and others came to Sendai station to wait with us on the platform. We really had a traditional japanese send-off!!!

Leaving Sendai

This morning I am up early finishing packing our bags because today we leave Sendai at 12:00 p.m and head down to Tokyo. We will be flying back to America on the 14th, so these next few days we will be traveling around Kyoto and Tokyo. It's crazy that our time here is up, but we are happy that we finished saying goodbye to our students and now have sometime to reflect before heading to the states. Please keep us in your thoughts as we are traveling that no harm will come our way. Thank you to all of you who have become my blogging friends this year. We are going to continue to blog even after our move out to Long Island, NY, so don't go away!

Tanabata

Today was the big annual Tanabata festival in Sendai and a bunch of us went in to enjoy the atmosphere. Along with Dan and me were Christopher and Joshua Bengtson, the Sorensen clan and Tim Piccharini from Minneapolis, the son of Jan DeVries, a friend in Fergus Falls.

In the outdoor shopping Arcade that runs about 5 city blocks there are hundreds of hanging streamers that organizations, stores or clubs enter into a contest.

This particular row of streamers signified the 62nd anniversay of the Hiroshima and Nagaski bombing. You can read the tag that hung from each streamer below in the next picture. It felt quite humbling to be in Japan on the very day of the bombings 62 years later.

Me and some cute Japanese girls also in yukata (the cotton summer kimono).
While we were walking through the Arcade Maria found a yukata that she loved and was able to get it and have it put on at a kimono shop, so for the rest of the day, she and I walked around

The evening ended with a parade that we really enjoyed.

Fireworks festival

On Sunday evening our friends and English students, Tomita's, envited us and the Sorensen's to go watch the big fireworks display in downtown Sendai from Mr. Tomita's 7th story office building. Dan and I had recieved summer kimono's from our church earlier that morning and had the perfect opportunity to wear them that evening. It was so fun!!!! The best was that the office was air conditioned and didn't have bugs! They even surprised us with Pizza Hut pizza!! It was a great memory!

On Sunday morning Dan and I were asked to be a part of the service and give our testimony pertaining to what we've experienced this past year in Japan. After the service they celebrated with throwing us a goodbye lunch and a welcome lunch for the Sorensen's. From the left: James, Jon, William, Kim, Maria, Christine and Dan. We all sat a head table together.
Some of Dan's English students surprised us and showed up at the morning church service!
Alpha's Celebration dinner at Shingakko church in the evening!

Last MYN class

On Saturday night Dan had his last class with his students at MYN. It was really strange for him to leave there for the last time and know he's not coming back. Such a sad feeling. On a happy note, Jon and I were able to meet most of the students and got to know them a little bit about them. They will surely be missed!

Our Pastor and his family invited us for dinner before we head off back to America. It was really nice to spend some quality time together with everyone before leaving. She even made BBQ ribs!! What a treat!

Last Class at MYN

Today was the first time I experienced saying goodbye to some of my students. It was really a mix of emotions. I was surprised to see some of my students get teary-eyed because ususally Japanese people are so controlled, but it was comforting to know that will miss me and vis versa. We enjoyed a big potluck between two classes which was really fun. Everyone brought awesome food and we enjoyed it very much. It was also really great to have Jon, Kim and their children there with us. It gave me the feeling like I was handing over these wonderful people to friends! It went really well.

Me and Noriko. She and I became good buddies because every week after class she would take me grocery shopping!

Sunday, July 29th

This past Sunday was jam packed! The morning started out with our final church service at one of two churches that we serve. They had refreshments at the end of the service and our pastor's presented us with this beautiful flower pressed painting. It is incredible! and so beautiful. You'll have to see it in person, but every detail is all made from pressed flowers.

After the service, we headed back to the church were we are now staying until we return home. Dean, Linda and their boys were getting to know everyone, so it was really fun for us to see that! Around 4:15 p.m. we all headed into Sendai City we were going to meet the Sorensen's and their children at 5:30 p.m!! It was so fun when they actually arrived! Arrival!!

Christine, Linda, Maria and Kim poking our heads through the Tanabata streamers.

Out to dinner. By this time we were sooooo hungry!

Kim and Jon finally in their new home and all their kids in bed....

Happy Birthday Sara

Lastnight our friend Sara came down from Akita to stay overnight with us. We took an evening bike ride down to the river, then over to the newly remodeled mission house that we used to live in. The house looks completely different!! This morning she left our house at 7:45 a.m. on her way to the train station. Today is her 28th birthday, so we all woke up this morning to celebrate a little bit, then she was off to America!

Wed. Girls Dinner

On Wednesday night my high school/college class went out for dinner together. We had a really nice time.