Arcades

Arcades and game places are everywhere here, and there are tons of fun games and machines you can feed your money into. A lot of the prize machines have very unique items inside... here are some examples:

Extremely realistic plastic replica key chains. Here we have some super realistic yakitori. The chicken meat, tentacles, and quail eggs are insane with the detail. It looks like actual food laying there.

Hyper realistic shell fish. These look alive. I just don't even know.

You want some realistic rubber squid key chains? I know where you can get some.

At many bakeries they make rolls in the shape of turtles and animal faces. It's super cute. And you can get tiny plastic versions on key chains!

There is an interesting cartoon egg character here named Gudetama. You can see some videos of him on YouTube. He is a sassy little yolk. 

And one of my favorite prizes: staplers!

The Beach!

Being a chain of islands, there are thousands of beaches to explore. We went to a very nice beach in Zushi, which looks out over Sagami Bay. It was beautiful and sunny, and we haven't seen a beach yet that doesn't allow pets. Dogs are always running and playing in the water! It's great!

This beach in Zushi was unique because of the high amount of sea shells there. The half of the beach closest to the water is mostly made of shells! There are trillions, in all shapes and sizes and colors. You have to dig down through them before you hit sand. I could sit in one spot for hours and comb over all of them.

Cafes

As many of you know, we love cafes and coffee shops! Any place that serves a great cup of coffee, tea, or wine in a light, airy atmosphere is heaven to us. Luckily, in Japan there are plenty of places just like that!

One joint is actually named Jonathan's! They serve food and have a drink bar. The drink bars are like a buffet for beverages. You serve yourself and can go back as many times as you like. Drink bars have an assortment of coffees, teas, juices, water, and soft drinks. It's so cool. The tea section has several glass bowls filled with a wide range of dried tea that you scoop out with a spoon. You get a glass, and place a tea infuser in it, and put a scoop or two of tea in it. Then you take it back to your table and let it steep as long as you like. I got the orange tea. It smelled and tasted amazing!



At small cafes, it is quite common to be served your hot drinks in very ornate cups and saucers. Coffee and tea rarely come in plain white cups. I am always overjoyed when I see what gorgeous cup my drink comes in!

Lovely Flowers

The green space in Japan is always kept up very well. In every city and town, people are constantly tending to plants and flowers. There is landscaping going on wherever possible. It's so nice! The walk around town is so colorful thanks to the beautiful flowers.

Snacks

So, snack time here can be quite an adventure. A lot more pictures of other treats will be coming soon, but for now we have these 3.

We discovered Mike Popcorn at the 100 yen store. This brand is actually owned by Frito Lay, and they make all kinds of wild popcorn flavors like clam chowder, soy sauce, chicken curry, coffee, and a ton of others. We got two: lemon and seaweed. The seaweed one has little flakes of nori on it. Neither of us liked it. It's pretty bland and tastes like munching on dry nori wafers.
The lemon, however, is AMAZING!!! I love anything lemon flavored, and this lemon popcorn was on point.

On a little different spectrum, another yummy snack is this bag of dried fish I found on an outing one day. Of course they have a strong fishy taste, but in a good way. I've heard they come in different flavors, but these were plain. They are totally dried out, so it's just like eating potato chips. They would make a very good beer snack.

Cars

We saw some really neat cars at the Toyota History Garage in Tokyo. Not all the cars there were Toyota brand, but they were all pretty cool. There were several I have never seen or heard of before. I wish I had more information about them.

Sakura

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom right now. Their prime only lasts 2 to 3 days before they start sprouting leaves and dropping petals. Sakura, as the trees are called here, are revered and treasured. Although sakura have been in Japan for millennia, they are actually originally native to the Himalayas. And oddly enough, due to importation, the cherry blossom capital of the world is Macon, Georgia in the USA!

During this time of year, Japan hits a sakura craze, much like the pumpkin craze in fall in America. Everything is sakura flavored, sakura scented, and everything has been colored/dyed/painted various shades of pink. Even McDonald's here has sakura flavored fries and milkshakes. Sakura ice cream is amazing, too!

Over the weekend we went out to admire the sakura. They are so pretty!

Bunny!

While in Yokohama, I turned around and a guy shoved a rabbit in my arms. My hands were full, but I managed to hold onto him while Jonathan took my belongings. The bunny was wearing a little shirt and was so cute! What a pleasant surprise! The guy that has him takes him out in public all the time and lets people hold him. He rides around in the hood of the guy's sweatshirt.

Spring Fun

In celebration of the cherry blossoms, over the weekend we headed up to Yokohama for their spring festivities. They had a parade with a community marching band, and many traditional dances that was in the vicinity of Cosmo World. Cosmo World is a fun little theme park with lots of rides, the world's second tallest ferris wheel, and a roller coaster that goes under water.

The ferris wheel, called Cosmo Clock 21, is 353ft tall and takes an entire 15 minutes to complete a turn. Some of the passenger cars on the wheel are made entirely of glass so you can see under you as well. The most interesting thing about this one is that it never stops. You must enter and exit while it is in motion.

While we were near the top, we saw a wedding on the roof of a building nearby! It was so amazing! You could see them setting up for the reception in the windows below them.
Also, while we were at the top, Jonathan and I kissed. Supposedly if you kiss when you're exactly at the top, it is very good luck for your relationship - although I believe we already have the best of luck!

We did not go on the roller coaster that day because it was a bit chilly. The roller coaster  loops around the ferris wheel, and also intertwines with the log flume ride. The hole in the water where the coaster goes under ground under the water is also next to where the logs hit the water and splash, so we weren't too keen on getting wet that day. That'll be a summer adventure!