Weekend Trip: Yokohama

On Sunday we went to Yokohama and got to the city in the late morning.  Saturday night I repacked the backpack and planned out the trip.  I used a few websites to find activities in the area and programmed in their location in the iPhone.  Yokohoma is the biggest train station that we've come across so far in our travels but we quite swiftly navigated our way to the lowest level...getting on the subway.  This was my first time riding a subway-not nearly as exciting as I'd imagined!  It really is just a train running underground.  We rode the line a few stops and got off and navigated our way up to street level.  We then headed to our first stop the Mitsubishi Minato Mirai Industrial Museum.  It housed motors and the inner workings of everything from trains and airplanes to rockets.  We had no idea that Mitsubishi manufactured all of those machines!  The museum for the most part was over Noah's head but he enjoyed driving the train and running from one interactive area to the next.  We then diapered the kids and got them squared away to go outside again.  It was then onto BorneLund Kid O Kid.  This was a kid zone that I had found out about from a friend that was a block down.  I had found it on a map on the Internet and then found the building on the iPhone...dropping a pin down with it's location.  We walked to the building and it didn't look like there was a kid zone inside...and the sign didn't list the name either.  We walked around the area just in case I had dropped the pin on the wrong building.  I finally took out the iPhone and googled the name and found the address.  And it was nice because the address was the name of the building it where it was located...followed by 3F meaning third floor...and then the suite number!  Oh how we love the iPhone!  It really is a necessity when in another country!  While we were trying to find it Noah had fallen asleep in the stroller...we found our way up to the third floor and woke up Noah.  His eyes got huge and he said...I play!  So in we went where a Japanese lady tried to explain the process to us.  In Japan it's never as easy as pay and then play.  There are rules and regulations that must be followed.  She began talking in Japanese...as they always do.  Zack signed the standard X(crossing of forearms)...meaning I don't speak Japanese.  The cashiers switched places and the process was explained to us in broken English.  We paid for 30 min. of play for Noah and then a small entrance fee for me and Zack.  We were handed a ticket to hold onto and Zack and I were handed lanterns to wear around our necks.  Off came the shoes but the socks must stay on.  Then it was play time!  Noah especially enjoyed the ball area and the inflatable jumping areas.  Okay...well we all enjoyed those areas!  And it was hard play...we all were sweating about ten minutes into playing!  The camera I was using ran out of battery and I wanted to exchange it for the second camera we brought along.  I explained/motioned to the man that I wanted to leave the area and return with a different camera.  He shook his head yes...I could do that.  Then waved his hand down to slippers...meaning that I had to put the slippers on before exiting.  Then onto the antibacterial spray...where I had to clean my hands before leaving.  And see I must be completely barbaric because I would have just ran out of the area to the stroller in my socks.  The Japanese are very germ aware...hence the spraying of the hands.  This is also why they wear the masks over their faces.  They don't want to spread their germs to others or catch something from someone else.  Workers in public areas such as the train, subway...etc. wear them too because they come in contact with a lot of people each day.  We finished paying and then handed over the ticket.  It was scanned and we had played over 30 min. so we had to pay a small fee for that time.  We left and did lunch and then walked to the Landmark Tower.  We had seen a short commerical about it on TV and wanted to check it out.  The building includes a huge mall and a lot of restaurants.  The Tower is 69 stories tall and roughly 900 feet tall.  It is the highest building in Japan.  We paid a fee to take the quickest elevator in the world up to the top.  We then enjoyed amazing views...and found the base as well off in the distance.  I would like to go back to the area and see the art museum as well as go up to the top of the tower after dark.  Zack and I just might have to make a date to do that.  It had been a long day by then and we debated on going home or visiting Chinatown.  We opted to make a quick go of Chinatown...there are mostly restaurants and tourist shops anyway.  Chinatown was located a few subways stops down.  We saw what we wanted and got some food to go...then back to the subway.  Noah fell asleep on the way back to the station where we rode the subway back to the Yokohama station and then we would transfer to a train.  By this time Caraline needed to be fed.  Well there was no where in the station to feed her...no nursing rooms or even a chair to sit down!  I just wanted to sit on the floor and be done!  Zack told me that I wasn't a bum and he refused...he found a way into an underground shopping mall that was located inside of the station...still no chair.  So he took us outside to the taxi portal where there was a little bench...and I nursed here there in front of about 40 taxi cabs!  Somehow to him that situation was so much better...than me sitting on the floor in a quiet hallway!  But whatever.  Noah slept almost the entire way home which worked out well because we had to stand for the 30min. ride back to Yokosuka.  The train cars have different seating arrangements and with the stroller they often just don't allow us to get a seat and still stand next to the stroller.  Often though all the seats are taken and it is standing room only.  We were all tired from our full day in Yokohama...and it was early to bed for Noah. 

That evening we decided to take a trip at the beginning of Zack's holiday leave.  He goes on leave Friday after working hours.  Our family will be headed on train trip...the longest and furthest away trip we've done so far from the 17th through the 20th.  We will be going 3.5hrs to Kyoto for two nights(part of the trip will be on a bullet train)...one of the old capitals of Japan.  It is full of old architecture and old Japanese culture.  Then onto Hiroshima for one night to see the peace memorials.  I believe Hiroshima is maybe 2 hours or so away from Kyoto.  We've got the traveling in us now...and Zack's new work schedule really allows us to take day trips fairly easily.  I picked and booked the trip to day with the ITT office(a travel office)...and then we will be gearing up for the trip for the rest of the week!  The travel office offered a package for the train and hotel.  They will provide us with the train info to get us to each location as well as a guide book for the trip.  And it was very affordable compared to us traveling/booking the trip ourselves.  We've decided to make it a regular December thing...to go on a trip during the holiday leave.  We hope to go on a trip each spring out of the country as well...this year possibly to Australia.  This all depends if we have Caraline's passport back from the U.S.  All for now!

Weekend Trip: Enoshima

This weekend we took two family trips.  On Saturday we traveled to Enoshima, which is about an hour train ride to the south.  The night before I had gotten on Hyperdia and planned out the train stops as well as packed our backpack with lunch and supplies.  Enoshima is located along the coast and also has an island off of the coast.  There are many things to do on the island...caves, parks, etc.  And just right along the coast on the mainland is the Enoshima Aquarium.  We just visited the Aquarium because the island has a lot of spring/summer activities and we'll have to come back.  We had heard that it was an amazing aquarium and knew that Noah would love it.  We went to the Virginia Aquarium and Noah had a blast looking at all the fish. We got up early and headed to the train station to be there to make a train coming a bit before 9.  Going to the train station entails driving to the main gate.  We then unload the kids and walk to the train station of choice.  There are two train lines in the Yokosuka area...the local line and the JR(Japan Railway) line.  The local line is usually less busy and way less expensive.  And we are close to two local train stations.  We enter the station at street level and swipe our train card...and then head to the elevator to bring us up to the track level.  The Yokosuka train stations are quite small and simple in comparison to others.  On this train trip we had to switch lines twice.  This means getting off the train at the junction of the line...head to the elevator with the stroller...swipe our cards to pay for that leg of our journey on that specific line.  Then we find the next line...swipe our cards....find the elevator and which track we need...then up to the track level...then hop on the train.  Depending on the city there are many tracks in different locations for different lines located on many different levels of the station.  So this means that you are in a very big hurry to find your line and track each time so that you don't miss the train.  Although missing a train isn't a huge deal and another one will come in a few minutes...it would just throw off the rest of the plan.  We're getting pretty darn good at it and switch lines in time to make the next train coming in four minutes.  So we are rushing along with everyone else through the train stations with our kiddos.  We brought the stroller to hold our winter coats and for a place for Noah when he fell asleep.  In the U.S. when you have a stroller the tides will part and let you go ahead...have the right a way.  Well in Japan there is no such thing as a right a way.  Everyone goes where they need to go and no one moves for anyone else...so you just take the stroller and go.  If we waited for them to make room for us and the stroller...well we'd still be standing there!  And because everyone is in a hurry and their idea of personal space is limited...when the elevator comes people jam pack themselves in it.  At one point we are waiting for the elevator(there are fairly small and not a square...the corners are cut off of two sides) it comes and there are two people inside.  Zack waves it away indicating that we will take the next one.  The man waves us in...us and the stroller.  Now the elevator is very full by U.S. standards...that just means that you squeeze tighter and fit in another stroller and two more people!  I would have loved to take a picture of Zack's face when he realized that the stroller and two more people were going to get in! (Side Note: There are people called Pushers...there job is to push the people inside of the train during rush hours.  All of the people would not be able to fit on their own so need to be pushed inside.  For this reason there are women only cars during the peak times.  Check out this you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7kor5nHtZQ&feature=related)  We reached station closest to the aquarium and I was able to nurse Caraline in the station in a handy little heated waiting area on the track.  I've mentioned before that you don't see small children out and about here.  This is because in their culture they don't bring out their small children.  Nursing is very accepted here and I've heard that percentage wise more women nurse here than in the U.S.  But because they don't go out much with their small children finding a place to nurse can be a challenge...because there aren't places even in public just to sit down even!  In places like the aquarium there are small rooms with a sign having a baby and a bottle on it...meaning a nursing room.  We followed the signs and the map on the iPhone to the aquarium and the beach area.  We had an awesome view of snow covered Mt. Fuji!  Into the aquarium where Noah ran from tank to tank screaming...and yes I mean screaming Fish, Fish, Fish!  He was beyond excited!  But boy did we get through there pretty quickly!  His favorite was the jellyfish where he ran around to each tank two or three times.  We found the little lunch area and took our sticky rice and snacks from hone.  Many places in Japan like the aquarium, zoo...etc. don't actually serve food.  You have to bring your own lunch and sit in their lunch area to eat.  We usually pack a few items and then pick up rice balls and our favorite Japanese snacks at a store inside the train station.  We all enjoyed the visit...and headed home.  We got home in the early afternoon and relaxed for the rest of the day.  And around eight that night we decided to go to Yokohama the next day.