Joy

What is the definition of 'joy'?
I tried to look it up in Wikipedia, but it just had a lot of synonyms for 'happiness.' And a lot of these terms are ones that do not lend themselves to easy translation. So, I guess I am allowed to offer my own definition.
I think there is a lot of difference between 'happiness' and many of its synonyms, but how do you define it? I am 'happy,' briefly, several times a day, like if the Colts have a really good game the day before. This feeling applies to a lot of internal states that lots of people have every day.
I suppose the other end of the spectrum would be 'ecstasy,' or perhaps ,'nirvana.' I don't know the definitions of those terms, but I think I will know when I get there. I think I may have felt 'ecstasy,' a few times in my life, but if I get to make my own definition of 'joy,' then maybe these were just 'joy.'
I am thinking that my definition of 'joy' has something to do with a state you experience, probably coming upon it unexpectedly, where you simultaneously feel 'happy,' 'content,'and 'peaceful."
(I had have had feelings of joy when I have hit a winning shot against one of the tennis pros at our club. I experience that as unexpected, but they encourage us to "own it" as a great shot....)
Looked like a nice day outside, in contrast to the weather report I saw yesterday. So, what to do? Head out for some shopping with my camera in tow. I had been told that the cherry blossoms were starting to pop locally, but my friends here had expressed concern that perhaps I would not be able to see them so I got numerous suggestions of various places to take in the cherry blossoms. Arigato!
Well, it was not very far that I had to travel before I started to feel 'joy,' and I had to sit for a while to take it in. Spring day. Sunny. People out doing all sorts of things - walking the dogs, boys splashing in the fountains, grandpa tending to the boys in the fountains, other kids skating and riding skateboards...
I set out to explore for the possible elusive cherry blossoms, but I had some luck within about 70m when I experienced the next hit of joy.
I was really happy to experience plum blossoms in Kobe and Osaka over the last few weeks, but I was a little embarassed to ask, "How can I tell if it is a charry blossom (or a plum blossom)?" Since I didn't know, I walked up to the first tree that did not look like a plum tree and gave some of the blossoms a big sniff. "Cherries, Yes!!" So this happened to be a little street running East and West, a little south of my apartment and I got to tour up and down enjoying the cherry blossoms. Something between 'joy" and 'sublime,' but I won't bore you with the definition of 'sublime.'
Enjoy the pictures and try to imagine a mild cherry scent....

Shodoshima, part 2

After we rented a car, Hideki drove us around the island and we headed over to an area called the Kankakei Gorge. I mentioned in the previous post that we went on a "rope way" as it is called here, but I don't know the best way to describe it. So, look at the picture! I called this a "cable car," but that made Mary Ann think of the trolley in San Francisco. I'm used to thinking of these as a "gondola" because that is one thing they are called on a mountain for skiing.
Anyway, we took about a 5 minute trip up to the top of the local mountain (900m?) and it was really beautiful to see the hills and the gorge. Too bad that everything hadn't "greened up" yet, but it was pretty. Must be breathtaking in the fall colors. It was notable cooler at the top and we explored around to see different views of the island. I wonder what kind of wildlife they have around there because we saw a rather grim looking monkey when we came and left. We had lunch up at the top and then came back down to head around the island some more.
Apparently there are a few soy sauce breweries on the island and we tried to see if we could take a tour. No luck with that, but we did find one of that had "soy sauce soft serve" ice cream. WTF?! No lie! I hesitated a little but caved in after Hidkeki bought a cone. How many times in your life....? Anyway, the flavor was very mild, only a tiny bit salty, actually a nice little snack. We continued around the island coast and came to a place called the Tanoura School. This was apparently the site that inspired a famous novel about WWII (and later a movie)called "24 eyes." Really neat to see a school preserved over 60 years. This was kind of out in the boondocks of the island, so interesting to see what a small contemporary fishing village is like.
Drove back toward the port and went by what I think is called "Olive Park." Nice park with numerous olive trees and a small museum describing how olives came to be cultivated on the island. We did not have any olive flavored ice cream at the gift shop, but something much better - olive flavored chocolates! OK, they were green and didn't taste like olive. I brought some back to work and I noticed the 'strawberry' ones disappeared faster than the 'olive' ones. We returned the car and then caught a bus that went along the north coast of the island to another ferry port. Ferry over to Himeji, train back to Kobe, bus back to Rokko island. Long but very satisfying day!

Shodoshima Island

This post may take 2 parts because it was an adventure and I took a lot of pictures.
Shortly after I arrived here, I ran into an old friend, Hideki. I have known him now for 4 or 5 years, although we now work in different departments. Anyway, we decided to go to lunch and he was interested to hear that Mary Ann would be visiting. He volunteered to show us around to some place interesting, but I was not sure if this was serious because he would have to take a day off from work. Anyway, closer to MA's arrival, I sent him an e-mail and he said that we should make a trip and he had been planning it. I think 'planning it' is to put it mildly. He was previously a project manager on a mutual project, so this day trip was planned down to the finest detail. We joked half way through the day that if he ever quits, he would be able to do quite well as a travel planner.
While we were riding back on the 2nd ferry of the day, we mused about the forms of transportation we had taken that day and what did we miss...
Here is as best as I can remember now... bus, subway, shin-kansen (bullet train), cab, ferry, walking, rental car, 'rope way,' another bus, a different ferry, commuter train, and bus again. What did we miss? No flying, no submarines...
We learned ahead of time that Shodoshima was an island famous for growing olives and it seemed to be a popular place to go in the summer for folks to get away from it all. Not a bad place for that. We were there in the 'off season,' but still plenty to see. When I started to think of this place like a place in Florida or the Caribbean 'off season' it made sense. A lot of places were shut and looked like they had been way overexposed to the sun.
Backing up, we took the shin-kansen out of Kobe to a city called Okayama. First time on the shinkansen for MA and i think she enjoyed it. Maybe not as fast as a jet, but way smoother and I think more interesting. Took a cab from the Okayama train station to the ferry, which seemed to drive all over the place. Anyway, an interesting way to see the city and some of the suburbs down to the port. Had to wait 8-10 minutes before catching the ferry over to Shodoshima, approx 50 minutes. Nice ride, calm (inland) sea. Very interesting arrival to the island. Again, like arriving at a small caribbean country. Walked over to a nearby stripmall and found the car rental place. Here are some pics from the trip and the arrival, you will have to wait for more tomorrow.

O-saka!

I have found around here that when people pronounce the name of this city, they tend to put a small accent and draw out the "O" sound a little. After our Kobe adventures, the next day Mary Ann and I went to Osaka. This is a city larger than Kobe and about a half an hour to the east by train. I don't know how to describe it, maybe like the Chicago of Japan? People in Kobe like to say, "Well, yes, there may be more things to do, but Kobe is much nicer."
I had heard good things about the Osaka castle there, so that's where we headed. Not much trouble getting over there on the train and not a far stroll from the train station. Again, we had a nice Spring-like day and we were greeted outside the castle by a small bonsai garden. The grounds around this castle were huge! We followed the crowd and came upon a bunch of flowering trees. We thought maybe we had hit the early side of cherry blossom time, but later learned we were in the "plum orchard." It was huge! It had countless kinds of plum trees, many very old, all different colors, and it smelled wonderful!! There were also quite a few folks out there selling plums trees and plum bonsai. I wanted to buy one so bad, but figured I would not be able to bring it back to the US. Oh well!
We ambled around the grounds and found one of the main gates. The castle is so huge, it hard to appreciate from photos. Unfortunately, instead of preserving the interior of the castle, the folks controlling this property turned the inside of this castle into a museum. A little disappointing, but intersting nonetheless. Next to the stunning sights and smells of the day, I found the story of the founder of the castle, Hideoyoshi Toyotomi, and the rise and fall of the castle very interesting. The castle fell in a war in the summer of 1615, and there is a replica of a huge painting that details the battle including the famous leaders involved. Incredible! I have included a pic with a shot of the replica and models of period soldiers. There is a companion painting showing the fall of the castle with people fleeing and swimming for their lives. Although the figures in the paintings are by necessity tiny, I think the paintings are amazing because you can actually see a lot of emotion in the soldiers and fleeing courtesans along with actually a good sense of action and movement. Not bad for early 17th century!

Harborland

After Mary Ann and I visited the Kitano neighborhood, we caught a bus to see much of the rest of Kobe and arrived at a spot called Harborland. The harbor and port are very extensive, so I am not sure if there really is a center to it all. Anyway, maybe this is the declared center and there are a number of museums, a couple of malls, and a ferry port. So, a nice place to cool your heels, have a glass of wine, and watch the ferries go in and out. Some of these are harbor tours and have lovely themes like "Grotesque Roman Cruise."

Kitano-cho

Japan was pretty much closed to a lot of foreign trade until the 1860's. Once the country "opened," many foreigners rushed in. Apparently there was not a lot to Kobe prior to the 1860's but the city grew after that. It is a really ideal port area. Althought the city has had it trouble over the last 100+ years (earthquakes, etc.) there are still remnants of these early foreign settlers. One is the Kitano neighborhood.
Maybe not the first foreign enclave, but this neighborhood is known throughout Japan - many other people come from within Japan to see it. This neighborhood is in the mountain foothills and was a little bit of a hike for us. We weren't complaining because it was a beautiful sunny day. We went by an odd little temple (sorry ladies, no admittance if it is that time of the month) and saw a balcony with a fruit tree beginning to bloom. Further up the hill, the neighborhood took on a more European character. Felt less and less like Japan as we got to the center of the neighborhood. Toured a couple of early 20th century homes - very interesting! Had lunch at a little Italian style cafe and then hiked back into town.

Update

Sorry to have been away for a while.
What follows are more details of Mary Ann's and my adventures here in Japan. I have not had time to write for a while - the working for a living thing has been getting in the way!
Also, I updated the pictures on the site. All the pictures are small now, so let me know if you want a larger copy for some reason. Also, the entries relating to Hong Kong have had pictures added, so go back if you want to see the view from Victoria Peak or other snaps from the funky fish market....