Taiko Drum Festival

Another of the many festivals during the spring time here in Japan is the Narita-san Taiko Drum Festival.


As with any Japanese Festival, it was, of course, crowded!




As we walked through the city streets, there were numerous Taiko groups performing - groups of all ages. Here are a group of adolescent kids.




Notice the youg adult girl in the middle here - all that drumming really builds up their muscles - look at the old dude playing the flute behind her!
















This drum was pretty cool - check out that mask!




Although this wasn't a traditional Taiko Drum, it was still my favorite - this Hokie can't resist anything that's Orange & Maroon!













The Grand Finale came at nite, at the main temple. The giant Taiko Drum in the middle was SO LOUD - when they hit it, you could feel the reverberation throughout the city - it was awesome! The number '1070' above the doors behind the drummers denotes the year the temple was originally built.




And finally, here's a video to give you an actual sense of how cool this festival really was!

Just Because

Last night my husband surprised me with some 'just because' flowers! I love getting flowers for any reason, but especially when they're the 'Just because I love you' kind. I felt a little guilty for getting them though because normally he would be coming home to me making last minute touches to a made-from-scratch, low sodium dinner. But I was just exhausted yesterday afternoon so instead of making dinner, I decided to take a quick nap, which turned into a long nap. He came home to me sleeping soundly in bed. And then I made him heat up leftovers for his dinner while I made myself some mac'n'cheese from a box. Martha Stewart I was not yesterday.

***Warning*** Rated NC-17

With the Cherry Blossoms now past their full bloom status, and quickly falling off in light of the impending summer months, Cicely and I took in one of the last few festivals of the Spring - the Kawasaki Fertility Festival.












The festivities began with a ceremonial dance in front of the shrine...










...just what exactly were we celebrating? Well, the wives soon found out!



Many of you have probably seen gnomes in yards back home....well, that's pretty cliche nowadays - I think I'll take one of these home and start a new trend!







I don't know this girl, but considering how many people took her picture at the same instant I did, the entire world may know her via blogs on the internet soon enough - her parents will be proud!



Here is Cicely with my XO and his wife, enjoying typical festival food. I do have other [more incriminating] pictures of XO, of course I won't be publishing them until I see a need for extortion!








As you can see here, the crowds were insane - it's amazing how many people will come out to see male genitalia!

Cherry Blossoms

You can tell it's spring in Japan when you look around and all the cherry blossoms, or sakura, are in bloom. Mike left yesterday morning for a 10 day work trip, so I decided to spend my Saturday morning browsing at an Oriental furniture sale. While I was there, I ran into my friend, Maritza, and her husband, Jeff. They invited me to join them to go see a cherry blossom festival at a nearby temple and I happily accepted their invitation. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon of admiring cherry blossoms.




The little street leading into the temple.




The temple is right by a little lake where people were having picnics and even napping.

Easter Egg Hunt!!!!!

Ok, so I know we don't have kids yet, but we'll consider this a dress rehearsal ;o) The Supply Officer's Spouses Association (SOSA) had an Easter Egg hunt at the FISC CO's quarters - his wife, Gemma, routinely does a fine job hosting socials - this was no different; the kids had a blast, and the adults enjoyed the weather and a chance to socialize outside of a work atmosphere.

While Cicely was taking pictures and enjoying being around the children with the other wives, the guys tended to hang around the periphery, shootin' the breeze.



Every now and then, I'd get interrupted by the Captain's dog, Axel. He's an old dog, at 14 - but very good with children. As you can see here, my buddy Eric's daughter, Mimi, enjoyed Axle too.






The kids looked everywhere...










...even some places they shouldn't have; Cicely admonished me for encouraging them by taking this picture. I couldn't blame them though - climbing a tree to get to a roof is something I would've done as a kid [and even as an adult]!






This was a picture perfect Easter - we hope to have many more of these, perhaps with our own Easter Egg hunters next time!

Spring is here....

With this past weekend, came some of the best weather we've seen in a while, which allowed us to take in some outdoor activity both days. On Saturday, we took a trip to the Tokyo Dome with some friends from work to see an exhibition baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and a local Japanese team, the Hanshin Tigers. Now truth be told, neither of us really cares about baseball, but the chance to hang out with friends and get away from Yokosuka for a day is not to be missed.

Here's Cicely with my buddy Rich's friend who was visiting from Holland - she's Chinese, and this was her first ever baseball game...and likely her last. She got bored at the bottom of the 4th inning ;o)


During a normal Japanese Baseball game, they don't take a 7th inning stretch and sing 'Take me out to the Ballgame', but because of the presence of the World Series Champs, they paid homage to baseball's U.S. roots.


Livin' the Dream!





After the game, we hung around outside at a pretty cool mall that's attached to the Dome - there's even rides! The Ladies partook in the roller coaster before heading off to do some shopping in the evening.




While the Ladies shopped, us fellas had some 'guy time' at a Cigar Lounge. I can't think of many better ways to cap off a great day than an evening with a fine cigar and a good drink. Rich and Colin enjoyed Monte Cristo's and a Guinness and Scotch, while I relaxed with a Davidoff and a Mojito. For you ladies out there who may wonder what we talk about on these cherished occasions? Our better halfs, of course!

Back in the groove.....

Alright everyone - I know we've been slacking on the blog, but truth be told, we haven't been doing much since I got back. Don't worry though, Spring is on its way in, and we have a couple of cool weekends planned for the month, and beyond - we'll be bloggin' again!

In the meantime, this past weekend was beautiful, so we decided to take a quick trip to Harajuku - a district of Tokyo. We'll be taking many day trips in preparation for my parents and teeny-bopper sister coming this June - we can't wait!
We visited the Meiji shrine, because we hadn't seen this one yet. Although they tend to all look the same after a while, they each have something special about them. In this picture, the [obligatory] Tori Gate is made of 1,700 year old cypress trees brought in from Taiwan. Pretty cool, huh?


It never fails, whenever we visit a shrine, we run into a wedding - they say that's good luck; I tend to agree - Cicely and my marriage has grown so much stronger since we've been in Japan - it sucks to be away from family, but it's great to focus on each other so much.



Here's the start of the wedding procession...it was very somber - almost like a funeral procession. Fortunately, the bride and groom were smiling!

























Here's another couple getting married - notice the different style of Kimono. The men's wedding Kimono always stays the same.












There were also a few baptisms with very beautiful Mother/Baby combinations, but as luck would have it, our camera battery died. Yeah, we haven't done this in a while and forgot to charge the battery the night before - we promise that won't happen again!

More to come after this weekend....stay tuned!