Orchids, Orchids and More Orchids

A few weeks ago my friend messaged me and asked if I liked orchids and was interested in going to the orchid festival in Tokyo.  I pondered the first question for a few moments - do I like orchids?  I definitely enjoy flowers but I never really thought of myself as an orchid lover (or of any other flower for that matter), but I suppose that of all the flowers out there, orchids would probably be one of my favorites since it was by far the dominant flower at my wedding (see pictures to the right - hey, any chance I get to reminisce about that day, I'm taking it).  In any case, I am always up for new things and I love going to Tokyo, so I said I would go.  It was supposed to be a group of guys and girls on this outing, but the night before when we were all at dinner, the guys found out that Rich and his friends were going to UFC 144 at the Saitama Super Arena the next day and promptly informed us they were ditching the orchid festival for UFC (guess I can't really blame them). To our delight, it ended up being a girls' day out.

We arrived at Tokyo Dome City around 11:00 a.m. and since none of us had really eaten, we decided to eat before taking on the Orchid Festival.  Tokyo Dome City has it all - Tokyo Dome (home of the Tokyo Giants), an amusement park, a hotel (Tokyo Dome Hotel), a skate arena, a bowling center, a shopping mall, restaurants and the LaQua natural hot spring complex.  We walked around LaQua to check out our dining options - we considered eating at Bubba Gump, but once we saw The City Buffet and the sample selections in the plastic case, we were sold (it was also the best choice price-wise).  The buffet had a salad bar, Chinese and Japanese dishes, pizza (Japanese style), and an ice cream bar. By the time we were done, we were stuffed and sleepy.  Hmm...I think I see a pattern developing (buffet followed by some activity that involves a lot of walking), which is ironic considering that on Edo-Tokyo Museum day, we thought it was ridiculous to pig out at a buffet and then go sightseeing.

The official name of the festival is the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival and it's an annual event which was started in 1991.  This year the festival was held from February 18 - 26 at the Tokyo Dome.  We really had no idea what to expect but once we entered the arena, we realized that this festival was a lot bigger than we had anticipated.  I'm not sure if it was because it was the last day of the festival, but there were tons of people (mostly older Japanese women, I'm not gonna lie) and by the time we were ready to leave, it was a struggle just to make it to the exit.

The festival had a little bit of everything.  There was an area to view the orchids which had been submitted for display/viewing, an area for the orchid competition (there were different divisions for the different species of orchid), there were massive orchid displays, orchid flower arrangements, orchid gardens and orchid-related crafts on display.  In addition, there were food vendors, a wine garden, and booths where you could buy orchids and other orchid-related products (one of the popular booths seemed to be the Shiseido booth where you could buy orchid perfume).   I had absolutely no idea there were so many different types of orchids or that they came in so many different colors, and I can honestly say that I now have a new appreciation for this flower (I was tempted to buy a plant but then I remembered that I've never been able to grow anything and decided against it).  According to the Daily Yomiuri, this year's festival featured 100,000 plants from over 21 different countries.  There was a special display where you could view a blue orchid from Borneo, but when we saw that the wait time to get in was at least 45 minutes, we agreed that it wasn't really necessary for us to see the blue Borneo orchid.  After we saw everything there was to see, we headed back to Yokosuka and ended our fabulous girls' day with tea and scones at Afternoon Tea. 

Here are some pictures from the festival:

Starting A New Year In Tokyo

It's already almost January 13 here in Japan so I'm a little late with this post...BUT, since I just started this blog, I figure I'm excused. In late November, Rich and I made the decision not to go to Hawaii for Christmas and New Years. This was a big decision for me since I have only been away from home for Christmas one time out of 34 (that's right, I said it, 34!).  Our friends Lori and Eric from SoCal were going to be in Tokyo for New Years so we decided to head up there and spend New Year's Eve with them. Luckily I was able to reserve a room at the hotel they were staying at, which is located in the Shiodome District of Tokyo.  Shiodome, with its amazing skyscrapers and futuristic look, is a recently redeveloped area and one of the more modern areas of Tokyo (it's located close to Ginza and Tsukiji Market).  There is an elevated/above ground walkway that connects the major buildings, and there is also an underground walkway that connects the buildings with the subway station.  As I learned from this trip, many of the hotels in Tokyo start at around the 25th floor and go to the top of the building, while the lower levels house offices and businesses.

On the morning of the 31st, we caught the train from our house to Shiodome Station.  The first thing that struck me when we entered the elevated walkway which would take us to the hotel was that there was no one, and I mean no one around...it was seriously eerie. But once we exited on the 25th floor of our hotel, I was relieved when I saw living, breathing human beings and I was assured that we were not in a scene from "I am Legend" or "The Walking Dead."  After dinner, and in keeping with Japanese tradition, the four of us headed to Zojo-Ji Temple in the Shiba area of Tokyo. I learned from Lori that it is tradition to go to a temple for the countdown to midnight, and that at midnight, everyone releases balloons with their thoughts and wishes for the year.  Zojo-Ji Temple is a popular spot for New Years and is frequently referred to in news articles and reports describing how people from various countries celebrated the new year. We heard that last year, 10,000 people were at Zojo-Ji Temple to ring in the new year.

Enjoying our chu-his on the street

By 10:00 p.m., the streets heading toward the temple were swarming with people.  Since we still had a good 2 hours to go, we decided to stop at the good ole Family Mart (the equivalent of 7-11) to introduce our friends to the miracle that is canned chu-hi (our chu-hi of choice is Strong Zero). There was nowhere to sit, so we took our chu-his and drank them as we walked - at first we were self conscious drinking on the street, but one quick glance around at others (local and foreign) drinking openly put us at ease.  We drew the line at taking our drinks into the temple and made a brief stop to finish our drinks.  We were totally in conversation when this guy comes up to us and practically screams "Gaijin??" at us.  He was obviously a Gaijin himself. which he confirmed by emphatically announcing "I'm Gaijin too!!" He proceeded to say "Don't mind me, I'm just random," to which Lori replied "You ARE random."  After we went back to our conversation (without him), he abruptly turned around and left.  I later admitted to Lori that he creeped me out and I hoped we didn't run into him again.

In front of the Seiko Clock at the temple gate

At 10:50, yes 10:50, the guys went in search of a bathroom.  At first, Lori and I kept ourselves occupied by chatting and catching up, but as it got closer to midnight with no Rich and Eric in sight, we silently seethed thinking to ourselves they BETTER be back by midnight.  At 11:40, I got a text from my husband saying "No way to get through.  I Love You."  In disbelief (and when I say disbelief, I mean we didn't believe they couldn't make it through), Lori and I counted down the new year together and watched in awe as thousands of balloons with wishes attached to them were released at midnight.  Shortly thereafter, we tried to make our way to the exit.  After being pushed, shoved, unintentionally groped, and literally riding a wave of people to get back to the gate, we acknowledged that perhaps we did believe that Rich and Eric couldn't make it through all the people.  All in all, it was a great time and something I'm glad I got to experience!

Happy New Year!!!

2011 was a year of big changes for me - I got married, I moved to another country and I took a leave of absence (well for now anyway) from a career/profession which, including school, I've been involved in for the past eleven years.  While I don't foresee as many big changes this year, I am hopeful that 2012 is going to be a great year too!