Bennett's in Japan Day 6- 2011/09/13

After returning to Tokyo in the morning, we immediately head to the train station to go to Kyoto

The clan waiting for the Shinkansen

Shinkansen approaching

"Its nice to be out of the short bus where we can enjoy a cold beer while we travel"

View of Mount Fuji from the train

The Bennett's exploring Gion, an old traditional neighborhood in Kyoto famous for its Geisha (although unfortunately we were not able to cross paths with any) & traditional architecture

Pontocho Street in the heart of Gion

The old style of Japanese neighborhoods. Tight narrow streets lined by shops and restaurants on the ground floor with the owners living quarters above. All of the buildings were made of wood, which was a sturdy, long lasting, and readily available building material, but the fact that buildings touch each other coupled with the narrow streets proved to make containing fires very difficult. Thus very few of these types of neighborhoods survived the war.

A bunch of street toughs

Kyoto Station - a crazy complex of buildings with a central atrium. One end of the atrium is a gigantic staircase that leads you up to the top level and a roof top garden, connecting all of the retail & restaurants on the various levels as you move upwards.

Enjoying yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers) with a great view of Kyoto below

View down from the top of the atrium in the roof garden

There are also escalators for those who do not want to take the hard way up

That is a lot of stairs!!! But the view from the top is worth the effort.

Bennett's in Japan Day 5 - 2011/09/12

Day 2 in Kiyosato

The red bridge at the other end of the valley

The Mudani Gallery - featuring traditional & contemporary Japanese arts and crafts produced by local artists. Almost like a museum.

The entry walk

Entering the "house." What is interesting is that the house follows the topography of the hillside, with rooms being connected by outdoor breezeways so that building and landscape are very integrated

'Big guy in a little door'

Mom in one of the outdoor hallways

Kristin and Scott exploring the loft

a bench detail

break time before some putter golf, which is an 18 hole round of golf using only a putter. The holes are basically big greens, but shaped more like a golf fairway. There is a rough & out of bounds, but no bunkers (thank goodness)

Dad checking the yardage from the first tee

Mom "teeing" off

Maiyakoda-san takes the tee

Looks like that is out of bounds

Swinging for the fences

A very enjoyable afternoon of high stakes golf. The winners won an ice cream cone from the losers.

Yaki-niku on the wood deck at the Miyakoda's cabin

Not everything is smaller in Japan

Campai!

Thanks to Paul for letting me get into a picture

Everyone eagerly awaits as Kinoto, Yuri, Paul & I grill the meat & vegetables over the wood fire beside the deck

Miyakoda-san demonstrates the proper technique for dancing with a wooden post.

Second meal of fresh fruits from the local farms

Campai! Miyakoda-san mixed a batch of Hurricanes that he has been saving for a special occasion

Relaxing inside and playing with Miyakoda-sans many puzzles.

Bennett's in Japan Day 4 - 2011/09/11

Time to head to the mountains to relax and enjoy some more good food and drink.

The short bus provided by the Japanese government so that everyone would know to watch out for us. The only things on the road bigger are transporting cargo. Not too bad to drive once I got out of Tokyo, but the first 45 minutes was a bit white knuckled.

The view from the bridge as we begin to climb the mountain into Kiyosato

Pit stop for a photo op & to stretch our legs

Mom, Kristin, & Paul look down into the valley below

Time to prep for dinner

Shabu-shabu (thin sliced pork cooked with spinach in a simple garlic broth - delicious!)

Making a porridge with the broth once we are done cooking all of the pork & spinach

Kristin showing off her magnum of Japanese wine. One of 3 or 4 we enjoyed that night.

Game time! Aya shows off as she "shuts the box"

Paul's turn as we all enjoy good conversation and a few adult beverages