My Dad's Visit - part 1

So my dad arrived without a hitch, I was quite impressed actually since he was able to find the right trains and travel all the way to Kurikoma-kogen (the closest shinkansen station) without getting lost.  I picked him up around 8:30 PM and we got back to the apartment around 10.  The next day I was excited so I woke up earlier than usual and my dad was already awake (he's an early bird); so we ate breakfast, talked for a while, and I showed him how to turn on the shower.  After that we decided to take a walk, so we went to a new nearby cafe and had some coffee then I brought him down to the coast so he could see more of the area (and the tsunami damage).  Though the scenery was bleak, the weather was very nice and walking was pleasant.  We headed back around noon since my dad suddenly felt very hungry due to jet-lag.  Anne came with us for lunch and we stopped by a new restaurant near our neighborhood which was pretty good.  After that I took my dad for a car ride and showed him where my schools were.

We stopped by Hashi middle school since the teachers had seemed interested in meeting my dad.  As we entered the teachers' room, all the teachers turned to look, so I said, "This is my dad," and I told him to introduce himself.  My dad said, "Hello.  Call me ___.  Nice to meet you." (in Japanese of course since he's been learning with language CDs).  All the teachers were very impressed.  I heard some say, "He's good at Japanese!" and others say, "He's so young!"  It was pretty funny.  Next, since my dad was technically a guest, we went to the principal's office to say hello (one of the English teachers came too).  So, we had small talk with the principal for a while as we drank tea.  Luckily I was able to understand most of it (since the questions were fairly predictable).  I told the principal that we were planning to go to Iwate prefecture to see Geibikei Gorge, and Hiraizumi/Chusonji.  He told us to be careful not to go to the wrong place since there was a gorge in the same area called Genbikei, and then he and the English teacher were trying to decide if there were any delicious foods in the area; they said to try the soba noodles.  When he heard we were going to Chusonji he gave us a clay sake cup that he got in Chusonji before it became a World Heritage site.  He said that before battle samurai would drink from the same kind of cup and then smash it on the ground to bring good fortune.  After a while we were running out of things to talk about so it was lucky for us that another guest came (one of the new teachers) so we hurriedly left the office.  I said a quick goodbye to the teachers and then we left (since I didn't want to be in the way).  Outside the school we met some of my students so I introduced them to my dad as well.  Afterwards my dad said that the students' English had been good so I was happy about that.

My dad and I headed back to the apartment and relaxed for a while (my dad took a nap too).  Then my dad and I skyped with my brother.   Next we headed into Tome city with Anne for a sushi dinner and karaoke.  We went to a conveyor-belt sushi place so we got to try a large variety of fish.  Karaoke was fun as well (my dad was very surprised by the Japanese-style karaoke where we had our own individual room with all the necessary equipment).  My dad doesn't often sing but even he tried some songs with us after a few beers.
... It was a busy day.

On Saturday we went to Iwate with Anne as our guide (she lived in Iwate five years ago).  Geibikei Gorge was really pleasant.  We took a boat ride up the river while the tour guide explained the various rock formations and scenery in Japanese.  I couldn't understand most of what was said but luckily we had been given an English pamphlet beforehand.  It was a bit cloudy but the temperature was perfect.

"Plum tree stream"  I thought the rocks were pretty.

Further up the river we got out of the boat and walked a little bit to see the "lion head" rock formation; Geibikei actually means "lion's nose valley" so it was named for this formation.  If you can throw a special pebble into the lion's mouth (or was it his eye?) then you will have a year of good luck.

The rock formations were really amazing, and I imagine that in a few months it will be even prettier when all the trees have leaves and the flowers are in bloom.

As we rode the current back to the start of the gorge, the man steering the boat sang a song about the gorge.  Unfortunately he had a cold so he couldn't hit all the notes but according to Anne the song is usually quite beautiful.  Next we went to Hiraizumi town and ate some soba before climbing up the hill to see Chusonji (the golden temple I visited before).  It was a bit drizzly but it was still nice to visit.

On Sunday morning we caught the shinkansen to Tokyo and left our bags at the hotel.  We walked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building so that we could go up to the observation deck to take pictures (which is free unlike for the Tokyo Tower or Sky Tree).

This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and I was really excited to see it since I recognized it from anime I have seen, especially Digimon Tamers (one of my favorites). 

From the 45th floor we were able to see the new Sky Tree tower which just opened to the public recently.  We were able to see Tokyo Tower as well.

Outside the Government Building there was an amazing building (in the background, the curved one) called the Cocoon Tower.  Its name made me smile.

We were in Tokyo at the beginning of cherry blossom viewing season so there were a few trees which had already bloomed but most were still closed.  The trees with opened blossoms were always surrounded by people taking pictures though.

Even these pigeons look beautiful when surrounded by sakura (cherry tree) blossoms.

At the end of the day we decided to go to a German beer hall for dinner and on the way we stopped to see the famous Hachiko statue.  Hachiko is known to be one of the most famous meeting spots in Japan and even in the afternoon Hachiko was surrounded by people meeting up and people taking pictures.  It's basically impossible to take a picture with just Hachiko in it...

Part 2 coming soon!