JapanGirl64

This weekend we attended an Obon Festival on Camp Zama. Obon is a traditional Buddhist custom where people honor the spirit of their ancestors. Traditional dances and and music are a huge part of the festival. These dances are know as Bon Odori. Camp Zama opened up the base to anyone in the community who wanted to attend. The front gate was closed to cars and only foot traffic was allowed to enter that gate. We noticed people lining up (going down the sidewalk) just outside the base hours before the event started.  The past two years (since we arrived at Camp Zama) the festival has been canceled due to Covid. So it was a really big deal that it was finally happening again. The main events were musical performances (Taiko drummers were my favorite!), tons of food vendors (both from groups on base and from Japan), booths selling Camp Zama souvenirs, one of the Army's Blackhawk helicopters, the Bon Odori dances, and fireworks! It was amazing to see so many people on base - I think the...

  Kimball had the day off work today so we decided to go do an activity that has been on my wish list for a while - the Trick Art Museum. To take it even one step further down the path of my favorite day, we stopped for Okonomiyaki on the way there!

  This year for the Memorial Day weekend we decided to do a little trip to Enoshima/Kamakura. We debated if we should make it 3 day-trips OR one 3-day trip. We can get from Camp Zama to Enoshima in 60-90 minutes by train. But going back and forth for 2 to 3 hours a day takes some of the fun out it, so we decided to stay in a hotel close to Enoshima - the Sotetsu Fresa Inn - Minamiguchi.  Like most of the hotels we have stayed at in Japan, the rooms are small but the cleanliness and the service are superior! Special pajamas and all the toiletries you could ever want are provided. We had a breakfast buffet each morning that was "weird" but delicious. It is definitely not the type of food we eat in the morning, but it's all very good. Here are the things on the buffet: salad with corn and green onions, hamburg (hamburger patty - no bun), teriyaki noodles, rice, fish, taro, pickled something, shirasu (small, tiny whitetbait fish), yogurt with granola, breads, strawberry puddi...