Sanuk Canadian

Back in late March, I joined my monthly mountaineering club for a hike in Ibaraki prefecture. Located 1.5 hours by express train, north east of Tokyo, Houkyouzan was our destination. There are a few famous mountains in Ibaraki -- the most popular being Tsukuba mountain; Houkyouzan is Tsukuba's neighbor. The hiking trail began after a 20 minute taxi ride. Even though it was on a Friday, we saw many groups, including children, enjoying hikes in this area.  Trail route markers, our group and a stone monument,  found at the beginning of the trail: The trail we selected followed a small, descending stream. A tree, twisted around another, was very unique. When I took a closer look, it looked like a ribbon circling the tree! Trail climbs up; small waterfalls, the ribbon tree: This mountain is only 461 meters in height (1,512 feet), so it was my easiest hike yet. The view looked down to farming fields and over to Tsukuba mountain. It was my first hike after buying ...

Let's continue stories from an 8-day Middle Eastern cruise onboard  the Costa Fortuna ship. You can find earlier Arabian Daze stories in the Litter Box on the right.  Click under "April" and "May".  For the fifth day of this cruise, we visited a very tiny fishing village in northern Oman called Khasab. Our huge ship looked like the big bully in the school yard compared to the local fishing boats:  For this port, my friend selected the activity. She chose a full day outing on a wooden ship to enjoy the Fjords of Khasab.   The inside of our small boat:  As Khasab is nicknamed the "Norway of Arabia", the Fjords are one of the few sightseeing points in this area. The village is not well developed for tourism yet; it's not known if the Omani government is planning on increasing tourism here. Regardless, it was an interesting stopover to see one of the more rural spots in Oman. More tourist boats:  We steamed off sl...

Let's continue our journey through two countries in the Middle East: the U.A.E and Oman.  You can catch up to all the stories HERE (part 1) and the previous installment HERE (part 14).  To read more, just click on any "Arabian Daze" post in the Litter Box on the right. In part 14, we had completed a half day tour of Muscat city in Oman. Our cruise ship departed for the next port at 2pm. Due to having almost a full half day on board, my friend suggested trying some of the ship's onboard activities. Scanning the "Today" newsletter,* my travel mate pointed out one class: napkin folding. The class was hosted by three of the ship's staff, who whisked us through some very funny dialogues and napkin art. I took photos of our various creations... #1: an elegant fan  #2: a candle (although I teased my friend, it looks likes something a little more sexy..... LOL) #3 and everyone's favorite: a rose #4: a doll with no head...so, I added ...

Last month, I met up with a friend from Chiba, whom I hadn't seen in over a year. With both her children now in school, she had free time in the afternoons, & invited me out for lunch. We decided to meet up in Shibuya, so I chose the funky shop, Weekend Garage Tokyo, a 10 minute walk from the station, in Daikonyama. This place was really cool! The food was great and cost under $10. Enjoy the pics! Outside of the shop, simply known as "WGT": They have picnic tables outside and open air tables for those who love the sunshine...^_^ The lovely and talented Ms. N, with our appetizers, consume soup: The inside has a very Soho vibe -- designer chairs, concrete walls, funky art and an open kitchen. Wall art: Back projection screen played surfer flicks:  View to the kitchen:  My friend and I ordered the same thing from the lunch menu: chicken salad sandwiches. Big and brash, with a bold taste; in short this was one of the best sandwiches I h...

A tour of Muscat, Oman continues.... In the morning, we visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (for pictures, see HERE , HERE and HERE ). For the remainder of the morning, we would focus on the port area of Muscat. The tour would take us to see the old city, the souq (market) and finish with some views of the bay. Our guide took us to a local fish market, which I was very excited to see. I love fish! ^_^ What cat doesn't?? squid, tuna, mackerel  Some foreign visitors were probably shocked at the market being outdoors, in 30+ C heat; I however, wasn't fazed. What amazed me most were that most fish were similar to those sold in Japan. I wondered if Oman exports to my home country?? Japanese could easily live in Oman, just based on the availability of fish alone. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish:  After winding our way through the stalls at the fish market, it was time to poke around the souq in Muscat. A souq is a local market, filled with vendors of...

We continue to explore the grounds of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat,Oman.  More of this mosque can be found in previous posts here:  Arabian Daze      11    &   12   Our guide took my friend and I outside, to get a sense of the immense grounds. We were able to see more of the structure of the mosque, as well as enjoy some unique mosaic arches.  I hope you'll enjoy the photos. ^_^  Outside arches / lanterns / mosaic arch : This Grand Mosque began construction in 1995, after a design competition was held to create a place of worship in Oman. It took over 6 years to finish. The result is a mosque which consists of: 4 minarets, measuring 45.5 meters tall, a central dome which rises 50 meters off the ground, a central minaret, which stands 90 meters tall, and a main hall, square in shape, that can hold 4,500 worshippers (male only). Outside minarets & dome:  The mosaics along one long, ou...