| San Francisco |
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Do you remember Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "Vertigo"?
This spot under the Golden Gate Bridge is where Kim Novak jumped into the
sea.
I saw two seals emerging and disappearing leisurely.
Hi, seals, did you meet the beautiful actress then? |
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The Fort Point under the south end of the bridge.
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More than 200 people were waiting to ride the cable-car.
Our cruel tour-leader declared that we should climb up the hill on foot!
So we walked up and DOWN the hill!
Poor me!
Poor my knees!
How I wished I could ride the cable car!
So I left my heart in SF cable car. |
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We crossed the bridge to Sausalito.
"The Trident", the night club 50 years ago, was still there.
It is now a restaurant.
We saw the photos of the owners at that time, the Kingston Trio.
This makes the tour leader quite happy.He was invited to this club 50 years
ago by Bob Shane of the Trio.
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The fisherman's wharf.
One black singer was singing and the people passing by joined in the dance
for a while.
They were dancing YMCA. I moved my arms too.
The singer was quite good. |
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Mako Devine is our old friend.
Her husband passed away and she lives alone in Pacifica City near San Francisco.
Her only son Willy and his wife Virginia live near her. |
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Willy invited us to a restaurant by the sea.
Sun was setting , and beyond this Ocean Japan lies. |
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It was one day before the Memorial Day. We visited the military cemetery,
and left San Francisco for Portland , Oregon. |
| Portland, Oregon |
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Powell's City of Books' is the world largest bookshop. The whole one block
of the town is one shop.
Million books, new and used.
I bought "Warlight", a newly published by Michael Ondaatje. We
were going to see him in Vancouver soon. |
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The Japanese garden in the Washington Park of Portland is the biggest Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.
Quite well cared. |
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Also the Rose Test Garden is amazing, just in season.
Portland is called "The City of Rose". |
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The zone above the Japanese garden is a newly opened facility where you can experience Japanese culture. |
| Seattle and Vashon Island |
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Terry Welch is our good friend over 50 years. He is a famous Japanese-garden
architect.
He now lives on Vashon Island.
His house, deep in the forest of high cedars, is like a museum of Oriental
art, especially Japanese art. He has collected many pieces of Japanese
calligraphy and painting. Honolulu City Museum shows Terry Welch Collection
of Japanese art. |
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Terry loves Bonsai too.Many of these are over 100 years old. |
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His vast Japanese garden declines gradually, and then suddenly steep
cliff.
The water you see in the photo is the Puget Sound. |
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This is a swimming pool. Not a Koi-pond. |
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This maple tree was removed to the land from a bonsai pot. |
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At the front door of Terry's house, this totem of Native American
greets us.
This is a beaver, the guardian animal for the Snoqualmie tribe. |
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The vegetable garden in his house supplies everyday's fresh salad.
Also flowers.On our arrival, Terry gave me a bunch of crimson peonies. |
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Christopher, a friend of Terry's, learns Ura-senke School of Tea Ceremony.
One morning, we were invited to his tea-room on Vashon Island.
He and his wife visited Yoyokaku some years ago. |
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Mike is a very successful business man, and he does his job by internet
living on this island.
This house is his Moon-viewing cottage deep in the forest he owns.
He communicates with birds by his whistle. I heard birds far away answered
his call. |
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19th century Mason and Hamlin is Mike's piano.
He plays the piano at concerts. |
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Terry is a violinist. Mike and Terry played for us. Mike's house was also
a museum of modern art and furniture. |
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Wally and Kathy moved from San Francisco to this island.
They have also a Japanese garden which Terry designed. |
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The reason why Wally and Kathy built their house here was this landscape.
Mount Rainier (4392m) you see in the center of this photo is covered with
snow all the year round. |
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We visited one small museum on Vashon Island. |
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At the time we visited, the exhibition was about the Japanese Americans on the island, who survived the hard days during the war. |
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I read each story of the Japanese families. I read about the concentration
camps, despair, loss of their land, death, and survival and new hope. |
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Dinner at Terry's house.
Salmon is in season.
Terry is a good cook too.
We also enjoyed Steve's salad so much.
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Around 10 o'clock at night, the sky has light still.
It is a surprise for us Japanese. |
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Terry prepared a party for us one night at a restaurant in Vashon.
These people have been to Yoyokaku.
Terry has brought more than 50 people to Japan in these 50 years, 4 or
5 people at one time.
20 people are gone now.
We enjoyed a happy reunion. |
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The last night in Seattle.
Leah , Ben's mother, invited us to her beautiful house. She came to Yoyokaku
with her husband many years ago, to see her son Ben who was studying pottery
with Takashi Nakazato at that time.
Here, in her garden, I saw a hummingbird flying back and forth around flowers.
I have never seen before this tiny little bird.
Next morning, we flew to Vancouver. |
| Vancouver, Canada |
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On the first night in Vancouver, we went to an event held in a church.
Mr. Michael Ondaatje, the author of "The English Patient", was
interviewed by a younger writer.
He was nominated among the five finalists of The Golden Booker Prize, which
will be given to an author who has been awarded the Booker Prize in these
50 years, to commemorate the 50th year of foundation of the prize. |
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Mr. and Mrs. Ondaatje came to our place 19 years ago. He remembered
me to my happy surprise.
I asked him to sign on his new novel "Warlight".
I bought the book in Portland. Not only in Canada and England, but also
in USA, this new book sells well. I hope he will be awarded. |
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Vancouver City recently opened a huge market place renovating the old area
of factories.
Now more people come here than Niagara Falls!
Everything is here.
People's life is here. |
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Melanie-san (second from left) kindly invited us to her house. She is a
really good cook.
The man in the center is Mr. Jim Byrnes, a famous blues-singer in Canada.
These people are all Japan fans. |
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We stayed overnight at a hotel which is managed by native Canadians,
the Haidas.
On the upper floors, native artists live and practice painting, carving,
weaving, native arts.
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We visited the Museum of Anthropology of the University of British
Columbia.
We saw many items of the native Canadians, especially, Haida. |
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Haida's legend of the beginning of their nation is this story.
A raven found a clam on the beach, and in it, there were many humans. These
are the first ancestors of Haida. |
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Michael Nicoll Yahgranaas is a famous artist of Haida.
His work can be seen in the museum. |
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Our hostess, Michiko Sakata, invited Mr. Yahgranaas and we had a very happy
reunion. He and Mrs, Yahgranaas visited Yoyokaku last year. |
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Michiko Sakata (right) is from Kyushu, Japan.
Her father and my husband's father were very good friends.
Michiko went to the USA when she was very young.
She worked for the United Nations for a long time. Now she is in her 70's,
retired, and lives in Vancouver. She is the person who sends many distinguished
Canadian or American guests to Yoyokaku, including two Michaels.
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On the last day of our trip Michiko drove us north to the place where
Squamish (Native Canadian) tribe had a nation before the white came in.
We rode a gondola 'The Sea to Sky' up to a high rocky mountain. |
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There were some explanations about the Squamish land and people. |
| Incheon, Korea |
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We slept overnight at Incheon Airport before coming back to Japan.
Kim DaeYoeung and his family joined the night, and I had a birthday cake
here.
My birthday had disappeared because the date changed on the back flight.
DaeYoeung stayed with us for 11 years to go to college and upper school,
some 20 years ago.
Our trip this time ended thus, leaving me many unforgettable memories,
thanks to everybody we met.
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