Kiku... and other random thoughts

Last weekend I went to the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It turned out to be really nice. It was my first time there and I really enjoyed it. The reason 4 Japanese ladies ventured out into the Bronx was to see the Kiku (Chrystanthemum) exhibition. It always impresses me how Japanese will take something ordinary and will keep refining it until it's perfect. There were different types but the type I liked was called Ogiku or big kiku. They were about 2-3" in diameter as seen to the left. If you looked at an individual flower, the arrangement of the petals looked like someone with bedhead.

This need to seek perfection, is also apparent in other areas - food, clothes, art, etc. I just read an article saying that there are now microbreweries popping up in Japan. Although this is new territory, the article mentioned that there are already some really good beers that can compete with countries which have been producing beer for generations. Being Japanese, this is definitely something I can appreciate and be proud of.

Having been raised in the US, I feel a need to explore this phenomenon as well as other aspects of Japan. I want to know more about the country's history, culture and people.

Patagonia

I'm so excited. I've decided to go to Patagonia at the end of January. It's so vast and all the sights are challenging to travel to, I decided to go with a packaged tour. My goal is to get to the glaciers at Glacier National in El Calafate. Plus, I get to see penguins at Terra del Fuego. Torres del Paine is supposed to be beautiful as well with water falls and fjords. Yay. Anyone interested in joining me? Trip is from Jan 19th to Feb 2nd. The tour is through GAP Adventures. Anyone know if there will be a futbol game in Buenos Aires?

Seattle

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Seattle. I had a great time. It's really beautiful. I would consider living there if it didn't rain so much. U of WA actually has a program for out-of-state students who have S.A.D. You come in once a week (or something) and get exposed to a sun lamp. If you condition is really bad, you take one back to your room. So in other words, that's how 'frequently' the sun is out. I was told June-August is the best time to visit because it's sunny. The weather was actually pretty good while I was there. I even got to do some diving in Puget Sound. It's cold -- about 50F so I had to rent a dry suit. Once I got into the water, I just fell in love. The viz was pretty good, and there were so many interesting things to see. We swam along a wall with lots of nooks and crannies. Saw shrimp, star fish with 100 arms called the sunflower sea star, scorpion fish, sea lion, bull kelp (which I mistook for squid at one point), etc. I really wanted to see a wolf eel or octopus but I missed it. Some other people saw both. Oh well, I guess this gives me another reason to go back. At the boat dock, I could see Mt. Rainier. It's beautiful. The photo doesn't do it justice.

I really wanted to get close and maybe hike a bit but didn't get the chance. But I did get to do and see some cool things. (1) Took a tour of the underground which is the original Seattle but was built over, (2) went to Whidbey Island but it rained so I couldn't really see much, (3) went to see the soapbox car race after it was over and took photos of the cars, (4) met up for dinner with some friends who live in Seattle, (5) Pikes Market which I thought would be really cheesy turned out to be charming, (6) visit Snoqualmie Falls.

Seattle is great for access to outdoor activities - climbing, hiking, biking, diving, kayaking to all the little islands (which was something I want to do), wineries (not really outdoors), etc. But it has a decent night life for party people also. Some really good restaurants. I didn't get to try the local fare much. Huckleberry is big there so I tried huckleberry popcorn which was okay. I had crab cakes at Anthony's Pier 21 which was really good. Steak at Gaucho's which was good but nothing to write home about. If you do go there, I recommend getting the Ostrich steak. Really good and tastes like beef.