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rnrnTuesday, our first full day in Japan, we went to Sankei-en Garden, really a huge park with temples, houses, and rustic tea huts transplanted from all over Japan. I took Laura and Chad to the Yanohara Farmhouse, right away, since its thatched-roof, irori hearths, and spacious tatami rooms have a permanent place in my heart. The front of the house was for visiting notables--formal ramma transoms, a huge butsu-dan Buddhist altar. The fire burns all the time to keep the house from falling down--a tradition that I used to think was superstitious. Now I suspect the custom prevents mold and insects from destroying the roof and the walls. On the attic level farmer wives raised silk worms, feeding the mulberry leaves every two hours until they formed the cocoons made of silk thread.rnrnHaiku from Sankei-en by Takahama Kyoshi, written in 1933:rnrnkamo no hashi rnyori taratara tornharu no dorornrnFrom the beaks of ducksrnTrickling in lavish dropsrnMuddy earth of springrn (translation by Kimmel)rnrnLaura and Chad climbed up to the 3-tiered pagoda on the hill while I recorded that. Then we sat at a small outdoor kissaten kind of place while she put ice on her many mosquito bites..The nice ladies gave her some non-itch medicine to take away the discomfort.. Funny language lesson took place on this lesson. Forgetting the proper idiom, I said that my daughter was chewed by mosquitoes. They looked puzzled, thought a moment, and then answered with the correct verb, stabbed/pierced.rnrnLater on in the evening, at a pharmacy, we learned that insect repellant is mushi-yoke. On a less practical note, we found ume-shuu jeri a delicious, slightly alcoholic jello with plums in it, at that same pharmacy. Nearby was an elegant Japanese sweets store, a wagashi-ya, named Rabbit. Laura adores mochi; so she bought a lot.rnrnProverb: Mochi wa mochi-yarnFor mochi, go to a mochi store. In other words, when you need something, go to the experts.rnrnAfter much research, we found an internet cafe. Its surprisingly difficult to find wifi in Yokohama--no one seems to know a cafe that has it--but I carried in my iBook and WIP Media Computer Space clerk was able to get me on the Internet with a cable.rnrnNaturally the ryokan does not have wifi. It doesnt have any computer services at all. The whole point is to escape the modern world, spending time in the garden looking at the carp or soaking in the o-furo. Thats why its so restful.rnrnrnrnMaya Amagishi called Tuesday night. She was Lauras classmate from St. Maurs International School in Yokohama, all those years ago. She was always a phenomenal pianist, and now shes working as a jazz singer. rnrnWell meet her tomorrow night at the Intercontinental for her 8:00 p.m. show. Its in the second floor and the room is called Star Bore (!?!). Were to take theToyoko-sen to the Minato Mirai station. Exit the station; turn left; take the big escalator, the the smaller escalator. Then take the outdoor (?) passage. Its connected to Pan Asia. Dont know what this all means, really, but well find out tomorrow.rnrnrnrnFrom the American point of view, a notable sight at Sankei-en (other than beautiful gardens and buildings):rnrn***a guy wearing a traditional tenugui hand towel on his head decorated with logo for Jurassic Park the movie***rnrnNotable Jan-glish sight on bus `48 from Sankei-en Mae to Sakuragi-cho Maernrn***A sweet-faced, gray=haired obaasan wearing baseball cap witht the following phrase: b#### skate board***
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