Friday, May 22, 2015

Yokosuka Part 3

Ashley and David 6:00 PM 2 comments

We had so much fun during our visit to Yokosuka, it was almost sad to say goodbye. We tried to make the most of the few hours we had each night when David was out of school. It is a fun, colorful city, that has a long history with the US Navy and therefore a lot of the food and shopping has been influenced by that, especially in "The Honch" where our hotel was located. We had the opportunity to taste and experience a lot of new foods and restaurants while we were here.

I ate Shabu-Shabu for the first time with Brittany and Liliana while David was in school. David and I went to a Shabu-Shabu place before, but what we picked off the menu was cooked in the kitchen so we actually didn't get to use the burner. The table has a hot plate in the middle with a pot of boiling water. You then take different vegetables, noodles, and thinly sliced meats and cook them in the water. Sauces are provided on the side in bowls so when the ingredients are done cooking you put them in the sauce to add flavor. That way each person eating at the table can flavor their meal to taste. It is really fun and quite delicious. Ours was a lunch course where you pay for your meat by weight, and the rest is all you can eat in 60 mintutes, they also had soup and ice cream in the all you can eat portion.

Many Japanese restaurants don't have high chairs with straps, only smaller chairs meant for children who know well enough to not try and escape. i found a solution for Eisley to keep her corralled and away from the boiling pot and hot plate. I actually get really excited when I see a high chair here, it's the little things in life :)

Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Melon, and Mango Ice Cream

The girls checking out the first served at a neighboring restaurant. I believe you can choose which fish you would like to see on your table.

Mille Crepe Cake from a bakery counter

Another first for us is that we tried Okonomiyaki. Often described as a Japanese pancake, it has very little in common an actual pancake. This is another cook it yourself meal. The server brings you the ingredients piled in a bowl and we had to figure out how to cook it ourselves looking at some instructions in Japanese. The one we chose came with noodles, cabbage, raw egg, cheese, green onion, shrimp, cod roe, mayonnaise, and batter. I was pleasantly surprised and I am sure we will be trying this again while we are here.

What it was supposed to look like, and what it really ended up looking like. I am assuming that was a lot of user error on my part though.

The Honch

A "Buger" Place and some cool street graffiti. David sees a face, and I see Mount Fuji.

Yokolicious is a fun spot to get candies from Japan and around the world, some fresh crispy Hot Wings, and other fun food.

We also visited our first restaurant where you can't wear shoes. You take your shoes off and place them in lockers before entering. It was a beautiful restaurant overlooking Yokosuka, and it had a variety of seating options. We sat at a table that had a sunken area under the table for your legs. They also offered some tables with low chairs or tables where there was no sunken area under the table so you could sit cross-legged on small floor cushions.

Finally, this is what happens when you wear the same sandals almost daily for 2 months. It was snowing when we left Norfolk, so I had packed mostly Knee-high boots and only one pair of sandals.

I love it when ordinary objects accidentally look like faces.

In Japan you walk A LOT. I haven't walked this much on a daily basis ever before in my life. So when you find a pair of shoes that doesn't give you blisters, you wear them all the time. My awesome flat Target sandals unfortunately aren't the most supportive shoe for what I have been using them for (hiking up mountains, 13 hours on foot in Tokyo, etc) so I finally broke down and bought some shoes I thought could be both comfortable and somewhat stylish. I bought a pair of tan Clark's Boat Shoes, and some awesome patriotic Sperry's. If you know of any cute, comfortable shoes that can handle a lot of walking let me know!!!

The Sperry's David helped me pick out.

Eisley rocking her Sperry's.

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Friday, May 15, 2015

Yokosuka Part 2

Ashley and David 6:30 PM No comments

Today I met up with our friends Aaron and Megan from when we lived in Pensacola, Florida for lunch. Aaron had to put some things onto the ship, so this is the closest I have been to a carrier since in Norfolk the piers were pretty secure.

USS George Washington

After lunch I toured the Battleship Mikasa museum with Alatheia. She is the only one that was made for the Japanese navy, and the only surviving one in the world. The Mikasa served as the flagship for Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, and participated in the Russo-Japanese war in the early 1900s. The most interesting thing I learned about her is that it was sunk by an accident in Sasebo September 11, 1905. They brought her back up in August of 1906 and recommissioned her in 1908. The Mikasa then served in WWI but was later decommissioned and preserved in Yokosuka.

A rather industrial looking Yukimi-doro.

Ret. Captain Greg Kouta showing us his picture from when he was in the JMSDF. He was very knowledgeable about the ship and spoke impeccable English. His daughter is married to a naval officer from the US Naval Academy class of 1976. Captain Kouta serves as a Preservation society advisor for the Mikasa.

Admiral Togo's state room. It was located in the very back of the ship and featured a skylight.

Admiral Togo

The Admiral's saloon. Where you can have a relaxing dinner and shoot massive artillery.

Standing on top of the Admiral's suite

It is really interesting to walk around the Yokosuka Port market. The local fisherman bring in the catch of the day, which is often still alive when you purchase it. They have nice vegetables and a gelato shop, along with a trendy local sourced diner.