Sakura

This is cherry blossom time in Japan. All over Tokyo now and for the next few days these beautiful trees will be in bloom. It is a special time for the Japanese nation. It is called “Sakura”. Yesterday, Saturday, we with other senior missionaries, walked through the streets which are often lined by blossoming trees, through a cemetery and through Shinjuku park. It was a beautiful. We started early when there were not too many people and as time passed the park was filled with people who came to enjoy the blossoms. The Japanese people cherish their trees. The trees are all numbered and they keep them well trimmed. The blossoms are sometimes different colors. There is a sweet fragrance and as one stands under the trees there is a feeling of reverence. It was a special time.   If you go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS3ZOpIyWao you can hear the beautiful Sakura song. 

 

Please enjoy the pictures:

       

Althouth I post many pictures of outings on this blog, we do actually work most of the time, usually going out somewhere interesting on Saturdays. 
Here is Clair's description of what we did this week:  This week we had a missionary get his appendix out and another hospitalized with kidney stones. I continue to be impressed with the value of a set schedule that includes aerobic exercise that helps missionaries that are feeling stressed, having sleep problems, having headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and other problems related to stress and its effects on the human body.

We will be getting quite busy over the next few months with new mission presidents to train, missions to visit and a big influx of missionaries. There will be 2 new missions in the Asia North Area also. It’s good though to be busy and involved in this work. The missionaries are great because they usually do what I tell them in dealing with whatever illness they may encounter. When I tell them to exercise(which is already part of their schedule) they usually do it even though at times they may think that they cannot do this..

We hope that you are all well. We love you and think of you often.

March

 One day in Ueno Park we met this artist (Daiun Aoyagi).  Each couple inour group bought a picture from him and he graciously gave us each one free too!

 We live across a very narrow street from a wedding reception center.  We often see people dressed up for weddings arriving or leaving.  These ladies looked so beautiful in their kimonos that I asked to take their picture.  My favorite part of the kimono, however, is the way the obi is tied in the back.  I'm sorry you can see that here.

This is one of the missionaries we visited in the hostpial.  He had just had surgery.  Sister Budge (mission president's wife) took us to see Elder Fry.

This is Elder Cardoso from the Kobe mission.  He came to Tokyo to see a hand specialist here because of an accident he had been in.  We took him and his companion to "Denny's" for lunch.  We thought it would be famliar because the sign looked just like the Denny's restaurants in the U.S.  However, as you can see from this "hamburger" pictured above, the food is entirely different and all very Japanese.

 Elder and Sister Rich are completing their mission.  The office planned a farewell party for them and it was pretty funny.  It was all around the "Super Mario" theme.  Elder Rich had to rescue his princess.  The Riches have served in Japan for a lot of years.  He as been the DTA and recently the executive secretary, in addition to prior work in his career here in Japan.

 Brother and Sister Watabe took us to dinner at a "Shabu Shabu" restaurtant.  Sister Watabe is the Area President's secretary and helps me when I work in the office.  Her husband is a patriarch here.  Shabu Shabu is where you cook your food at your table in boiling water--a little like fondue parties we used to have.  You can eat all you want for 90 minutes then you have to leave.  They bring you meat and you can choose various vegetables to cook along with it.  There is a heated spot on the table that keeps the water boiling.  After the dinner we went by the "Hatchiko" statue.  Hatchiko was a dog that was so faithful he used to come to this train station every day to meet his master.  When the master died, the dog didn't understand and came faithfully to the station every day for years to wait for his master.  We are standing by his statue.

 The senior couples took an outing to a restaurant near Mt. Takao called "Ukai-Toriyama." It is built like a traditional Japanese village.  It is set in a lovely Japanese garden with many different little houses where groups can dine.  Our group was large, so we were in an upstairs large room at tables and chairs, but most of the other houses have tables where you sit on the floor, dangling your feet into a heated pit under the table.  The food was served by Japanese girls in traditional clothes—jumpsuits—a little different than the kimonos.  There were several courses of food.  Each was interesting and very different from American food.  The main course was either steak (which they brought in cooked) or chicken, which you cooked along with vegetables over a little brazier (?)  in the middle of the table. 

 After the meal we wandered in the beautiful Japanese garden and took lots of pictures.

 Then some of us went hiking up Mt. Takao.  We didn't have time to get to the top, but saw some interesting things like this monument.  It appeared to be a type of grave.  I am told when they decorate the statues with red that means it has to do with children. We thought the little men near the top looked much like the Seven Dwarfs!

      Clair hiking up the mountain. It was refreshing to be out of the city and enjoying nature.  Spring is coming!

Guam

 The North Asia Area (our mission area) includes Japan, Korea, and Micronesia (includes many islands).  We traveled to Guam to train the mission leaders so they can train the other missionaries in good health habits.  

                                                              We are arrived in Guam.

These were the missionaries we were training along with Sister Mecham, the Misison President's wife.  We love working with the missionaries!

 

The Landros (our traveling companions and Area Mental Health Advisors) and us.

Clair is always available by phone for medical issues.


 The mission nurse in Guam took us on a short tour of the island.  The weather was warm and the scenery beautiful.

These are called "walking trees" because they grow roots down from the top and the roots grow on the side closest to the water so they eventually "walk" towards the water.

Fortunately we were able to spend an hour snorkeling and saw many beautiful fish and some coral.

 

Views from our hotel

A beach with black magnetic sand (which they claim is the only such thing in the world).

We were quite busy while we were there.  We visited some of the health facilities they use.  If a missionary on one of the small islands gets sick, they try to get him to Guam where medical service is better.  This mission is 2000 miles from one end to the other and air travel can be infrequent and unpredictable.  But it was very beautiful!

February 2013

 

 

 

 

 One Saturday we took a short trip to Yokohama, a major port city close to Tokyo.

 

 

 

In Yokohama we visited China Town.

 

 We didn't know it was the time of the Chinese New Year and there were lots of interesting things going on at the Buddhist Temple.

  Here is a picture of our English Class that we help teach.  We were having a Valentine's Day party on this evening.

Another Saturday we went to the Outdoor Architectural Museum.  It has many houses and stores that you can enter and see samples of Japanese architecture.  This picture is a farmhouse (probably about 100 years ago).

 

Here we are inside the farmhouse.  They burn a fire all year round because the smoke keeps bugs out of the thatch roof and also helps waterproof the roof (from the smoke residues). 

 

 

These are some of the stores that can be viewed.

 

 

 This is a fairly modern home.

 

 

The trees were just beginning to bloom.

 

 

Our next outing took us to Asakusa.  There is a Buddhist temple there.  As you approach it you walk down a street that is lined with souvenir shops.

 

 

This is the Shinto Shrine next to the Buddhist temple.  Shinto shrines are less colorful.  Below is a man praying at the shring. 

From Asakusa we could see the "Sky Tree" a very tall tower in Tokyo.

 

  We took a river boat ride to a man-made island called "Odaiba."  We had many nice views of Tokyo from the boat.  (The large golden thing in the picture above represents a sweet potato.  They sell roasted sweet potatoes here.

 A lady in her lovely kimono.

Odaiba Island

 
 Odaiba has a man-made beach.

 

They also have a Statue of Liberty (much smaller than ours).

 

                                                        Here we are on Odaiba.