California Academy of Science at Golden Gate Park

Today Zach and I went to the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. There were a variety of exhibits. There was a scientist created Garden at the top of the Academy. The garden was inspired by a draft design that had the Academy being developed underneath the hillside.

Inside the Academy are numerous exhibits. They have a rainforest biome, an Aquarium, a planetarium, an extreme mammal exhibit (no pictures allowed), an African animals exhibit, and many other smaller exhibits.

It is not very large but they manage to fit in a world of information within the Academy. There are also enough exhibits that I stayed entertained the entire day. We got there at about 11 am and left at about 430 pm.

There is such a mass of information at a place like this that it can be visited many times.

Fisherman's Wharf

Today I woke up around 1030 am. Both Zach and I were slow to get up. We left the house around 12 pm. We headed to Fisherman's wharf and walked around for a while. Fisherman's wharf is really cool because there are tons of little shops. But by far the coolest part of Fisherman's wharf are the people putting on entertainment shows on the side of the street. There are people developing art, people break dancing, people putting on talent shows, there are people pretending to be frozen. There was even a homeless guy that has a bunch of bushes that he holds with his hands to hide his face. When people pass by him he pushes the branches to the side and tries to scare him. It is hilarious.

 

One of the other really cool things about fisherman's wharf is that from the pier you can see Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco is a city with so many amazing views.

After this we walked through the financial district on our way to Nike town. It was interesting to experience the financial district though there really is no reason for me to go back there.

Aikido with Optimism, Patience, and kindness

Today I went to Heart Aikido in San Francisco. It is at 2565 3rd street. I got there from the Marina area by bus 22 In about 40 minutes. I got off at 3rd and 20th street. The aikido experience was very pleasant. The second I got to the door I was welcomed by Sensei Alex. Sensei Alex is not the head sensei but he ran the class tonight. Sensei Alex was extremely welcoming. I would love to come hear again. Within the first five minutes on the mat two of the black belts came over and introduced themselves. They were both very friendly. It was clear to me that both of them were just very good people.

Sensei Alex's class was excellent. He was friendly and focused. He would joke with his students but had a very harmonious aikido. He flowed very well. Sensei Alex is the first Sensei I have ever been to where the sensei spoke with the students during warm up. I don't mean conversation like "fix this ___" or "fix that ____". He was asking people how there summer had been. He asked his students questions about their lives. His questions clearly showed he cared and that he personally knew each of his students. During Aikido training Sensei Alex shows a great balance between focus, patience, and reinforcement. His personality and attitude alone is enough to make his class a joy. Sensei Alex's Aikido was flowing with calm and patience. I had a few opportunities to train with him and really enjoyed experiencing his Aikido

This Dojo was a joy to train at.

Here is a link to their website if you want to check them out:
Heart Aikido

A Walk to the Golden Gate Bridge

I am currently staying in the Marina area with my friend Zach. I have known Zach since we were very small children (before preschool age).

Today we woke up around 930. We made a breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, sausages, baked potatoes seasoned with minced onions, garlic powder, olive oil, salt and pepper. We then decided to head out to the Golden Gate Bridge.

We walked all around the marina area near the ocean. It was windy but since Zach and I had awesome Northshore jackets we were not effected by the cold. As we walked through the Marina area we crossed through a park, walked right on the coast, up a hilly green region, and then across the bridge.

 

Walking across Golden Gate Bridge always has its moments when fear strikes. When I sit and look over the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge and look into the water I always get a slight tingle up my body. It is very powerful to be standing so high above such a powerful image. It is quite a postcard to look across the bridge to see San Francisco. It is quite shocking how much depth of the city can be seeing from the bridge.

On our way back to Zach's place we saw a small festival for children. Zach noticed from afar that there was a band playing. As we looked closer we realized they were a rock band of kids that could not have been older than 11. It was hilarious seeing some 11 year olds rock out to hardcore music. I had no idea what they were saying.

Zach and I then returned back to Zach's place in the Marina. We then created sandwiches . I had an oven roasted turkey sandwich with spicy mustard, spinach and tomato on sourdough bread.

Jukendo Training!

On Sunday Mr. Furukawa invited me to come and train with him and his friends in Jukendo. Jukendo is the Japanese martial art of fighting with bayonets. The techniques in Jukendo are like spear fighting. Each person has wooden bayonet and attempts to strike their opponent in the upper left chest region.

It was such a great experience. I learned the 4 main strikes of Jukendo (though I couldn’t really do them very well). I also got to spar. This is where I and another opponent battled to attempt to strike one another in the upper left chest region with our bayonets. It was so much fun. I tried very hard but it was easy for them to block my strikes because they are so experienced.

On the left is me sparring with an opponent!
After I trained in Jukendo we all went out to eat. We had noodles, Yakitori and many other delicious foods. When it came time to pay the bill they told me that they did not want me to pay. They said it was a present. I loved eating lunch with them because these were all true martial artists. There were many conversations about Samurai. They all are striving to be modern day samurai. They believe that Jukendo helps train them to be modern day samurai. One of the men told me he believed that I was "an American Samurai". I can imagine no greater compliment.




Experiences like this make me realize the limits of my own writing abilities. As I look at what I wrote I feel it does no justice to how wonderful an experience this was for me. I loved training in Jukendo. I loved eating the food. I loved being around these men. It was a great experience. I owe this wonderful experience to many people. I want to thank Mr. Furukawa and Masanao Hayashi especially. Masanao thank you for putting me in contact with Mr. Furukawa and all your priceless pieces of information prior to the trip and during the trip. Mr. Furukawa thank you for giving me an unforgettable experience. Your spirit and strength as a human being are an inspiration.

Fireworks in Tokyo

Me and Mr. and Mrs. Iizuka. They hosted the party. They were wonderful hosts.

I got into Tokyo around 2:00 today. I found my hotel, relaxed and got some groceries. Around 5:00 My friend Mr. Fukuwara came by the hotel. He had invited me to come see the fireworks at a party with him tonight. Before we went to the fireworks he showed me all around Asakusa. It was really busy. There were tons of little shops.

We got to the party around 615. The hosts were Mr. and Mrs. Iizuka. They were both very kind. They told me to make myself at home and offered me beer and lots of food. The food was great. I don't know the name of a lot of the food but it was really good. As the night went on I found out that Mrs. Iizuka was a master at Braille art (art for the blind) for children. I loved seeing her pictures and touching them because all the pictures felt so nice and soft.
Some food at the party!

The mother of Ms. Iizuka is 90 years old. She is a master archer in Japan. She teaches classes. I saw her. I could not believe she was 90. She was extremely aware of her surroundings and had no issues climbing 3 flights of stairs. She had focus and poise. It was amazing to meet her. Unfortunately I was too shy to ask for a picture. I actually felt a little bit star struck to be around a woman of her stature. It was incredible. 90 years old and a master archer that teaches people of all ages. She has been training in the art of archer y for 70 years. 70 YEARS!

Mr. Furukawa was very fun (as I am beginning to believe he always is fun! Lots of fun!). He introduced me to Mr. and Mrs. Tsunashima. They were both very kind and spoke good English. Mr. Tsunashima is 53 years old and had just recently run a half marathon in about 2 hours. He is in excellent condition. Mr. and Mrs. Tsuanashima knew that I was coming so they got me a present. It is a beautiful towel that shows the emblems of different Japanese lineages. At first, I told them I wanted to frame it but they told me that I must use it to wipe off my sweat when I do Aikido. I told them it was beautiful and that I would really like to frame it but they insisted that I use it for Aikido. So from here on out this towel will be used for Aikido.

Me, Mr. Fukuwara and Ms. Tsunashima eating food and hanging out.
Mr. Fukuwara is a great host because of his excitement and positive energy. He is probably about 5 feet 5 inches tall (maybe smaller) 63 years old and filled with tons of energy. He is a master in the art of Jukendo and has invited me to train with him tomorrow. I am very excited (and of course a little nervous). He is also in incredible shape. 2 weeks ago Mr. Fukuwara ran a half marathon. I asked him "how long did you train for it?" He laughed and said "I didn't really train". I said "not at all". He said "Well, I tried to run but I only did once a month". He didn't realize how incredible this was. He said it with embarrassment that he didn't train. I listened with astonishment that this man ran a half marathon with no training.

While all this was going on there was awesome ("sugoi" in Japanese) fireworks going on in the background. I enjoyed my time so much.

At the end of the night they wanted to make sure I made it home safely so they went with me on the subway (even though I told them I was sure I would be fine) and gave me very clear directions on how to get to my location. They went out of their way so much to help me.

Me, Mr. Fukuwara, and Mr. Tsunashima (maybe having a little too much fun)

I am constantly filled with gratitude for all the kindness I have been given while in Japan. Repeatedly I have wished that I could speak Japanese for the sole purpose of thanking people for their kindness. Unfortunately I am always left with only being able to bow and state a brief "Domo Arigato".

Nara

Today I visited Nara. Nara is a small town that is famous for it's beauty, temples, and overly friendly deer. It is about 45 minutes by JR train from Kyoto. As soon as I got there I grabbed a map from a tourist center. I then asked one of the people working at the station "I have one day in Nara. What should I go see?" He gave me some advice and I was on my way.

Nara is a small town so I decided I would just walk everywhere. As I got further from the station I realized why it was so famous. I saw a pond and in the pond there were lots of fish and also small little turtles. I saw deer come right up to people. I saw temples and shrines. I saw many sculptures. I saw beautiful and peaceful nature.


About 15 minutes walking distance from the station is Nara Park. It was really peaceful and nice. It was so nice I just sat down in the park for about an hour and read my book. As can be seeing in the pictures there are lots of deer in Nara (especially in Nara Park). The deer are not shy at all. They will come right up to you.

I then went to see Kasuga Temple. Before I reached Kasuga temple there was a garden called Kasuga garden. I decided to explore it for a little bit. It was really beautiful. My words and explanations can do little justice.
Me in front of Kasuga Temple

After I went to the park for a while I went to Kasuga Temple. Even though I have seeing many temples and shrines in Japan it was still very cool to see this temple. It was in a forested area. As I walked in the quiet forest I thought about Samurai, seppuku (honorary suicide), buddo (the warriors code of honor), and Japanese culture. This probably was because I had read many pages in my book that day (the book is Shogun b James Clavel).