Hiking in Japan (December 2012)

We haven't done as much hiking here in Japan as we would like to, but J. found a trail that is nearby and dog friendly.  We headed out there one crisp December day with our neighbor and his dog, Angus.

Our first glimpse of the view

J., me + Lucy ... she was SO happy to get back out on the trail!

You could see all the way to Tokyo and Yokohama

Mr. H. and Angus ... he and Lucy are besties!

J. and I with the dogs

One happy little pup

Which way?!

One last view ...

Hopefully we will be able to get some more hiking in when J. returns from deployment!

Miyagase Tree Lighting (December 2012)

Last December, J. and I took a base tour to Lake Miyagase for their annual Christmas tree lighting.  The small town is covered in lights and the highlight of the evening is lighting the main tree.  The Japanese people might not celebrate Christmas, but they sure know how to decorate for it!  

One of the shops in the small town

Standing in line for mochi

Mochi

Happy Merry Christmas!

The view before sunset

Me + J. before all the lights were turned on

Start of the Tunnel of Lights

The beautiful Christmas Tree!

The lighted path leading up to the pedestrian bridge ...

With our friends and neighbors!

The tree with the lighted pedestrian bridge

J. + Me

If you are in the area, I highly recommend going to this event.  It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season and get into the Christmas spirit!

An American Sunday: Baseball, Beers + BBQ

We love a good American afternoon!

We started our afternoon at the Yokohama Stadium ...

cheering on our Japanese home team ... the DENA Baystars 

and having a beer!

And we finished our evening with delicious BBQ and locally brewed beer at Bashamichi Taproom.

Yokohama Date Night

While J. was on deployment, I was excited to find our favorite Thai restaurant hidden in Shinjuku Train Station.  And then I was even more excited when I learned there was also one near the Yokohama Train Station, which is much closer to us than Shinjuku.  It was on my "must-do" list for J.'s summer deployment break, so we headed over to Yokohama for date night.  After a delicious dinner at the Mango Tree, we headed over to CosmoWorld to ride the giant ferris wheel:

Cosmo Clock 21

When it opened it was the tallest ferris wheel in the world!  Sadly, it is no longer the tallest, but it is still the world's largest clock.  It takes 15 minutes to make one full rotation around the wheel!

Looking down at CosmoWorld

Yokohama

Yokohama

Me + J.

Afterwards, we realized we were close to a beer bar that had been recommended to J. by one of his co-workers.  We had to go looking for it!

World Beer Museum

Beer Pyramid!

World Beer Museum opened this summer and is like the Epcot of bars.  It's a bar and restaurant, but the bar area is divided up into several different sections.  Each section is a different country around the world!  We sat in the United Kingdom section, but there was also Belgium, Czech, U.S. and Germany. I think it's a great concept for a bar and we had a fun night!

Odawara Castle

On a beautiful June afternoon, Mrs. S. and I took the train to Odawara to explore the castle.  Like most castles in Japan, the original castle was destroyed and the one that stands now was rebuilt in the 1960's. It is listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan.

Cute street tile showing the way to the castle

Odawara Castle

View from the top floor of the castle

Looking out over Odawara to Sagami Bay

Love the stone wall base

The original moat has been filled in and is now home to seasonal flowers

During our trip, it was covered in hydrangeas.  It was beautiful!

This was a great, quick afternoon trip from Ebina Station.  I highly recommend taking the time to visit if you are living or visiting in this area!