We just got back Sunday from an enjoyable three-day, two-night stay with our family at Pembroke Springs Retreat in the Northwestern part of Shenandoah Valley. This bed & breakfast inn is beautiful and set in the tranquil countryside with a beautiful view of the green mountain landscape, but it has a very Japanese style flavor! They have two large Japanese-style indoor baths which are fed by natural spring water (like an onsen), guests enjoy delicious homecooked Japanese meals, and walk around in yukata and slippers after soaking in the baths. There are five guestrooms available, the largest of which is the Sunrise Room which is decorated and furnished to look very Japanese. Our family had the pleasure of staying in two of the guest rooms this past weekend — the Sunrise Room and the Oak Room (since we had seven people including the baby). My parents and sister had been there before, but this was my first time going!
We left early Friday afternoon, and the retreat was only an hour-and-half drive away from our home in Northern Virginia.
Arriving at Pembroke Springs Retreat
The view of tranquil Shenandoah Valley
the porch of the Retreat Guest House
The front steps of the inn. The house has a rustic country feel on the outside.
Bed in the Sunrise Room
Shoji screens open to show the view outside.
Table with chairs on the tatami floor. The floor underneath the table is deep so you can dangle your feet while you sit.
The bed in the Oak Room
Yukata robes laid out for guests.
Snuggling with obaachan upon arriving.
Mio is so excited to be here!
The doors to the two baths.
We soaked in the bath after dinner. It was so relaxing!
I didn't bring my camera into the bath (for fear of getting it wet), but here is a photo of the bath from their site!
Mio with her ojiichan, both in yukata.
Playing board games with the siblings at night.
A delicious Japanese-style breakfast with salmon the following morning.
Some of the family at the breakfast table.
Fresh fruits for dessert!
After breakfast, we took a walk around the retreat property.
Mio needed ample protection from the sun!
There were lots of chickens in the coop.
...and a peacock on the roof!
Miwa and Mio outside the barn.
Afterwards, we drove around the surrounding area and picked up lunch. Mio slept the entire time in her car seat and didn’t wake up until we got back to the inn.
Mio waking up with bed hair... lol.
Dinner was kicked off with a delectable tempura appetizer.
For the main course, we had ginger chicken buffet-style. It was so good, I went back for seconds!
Flan cake with ice cream and berries in Cointreau sauce for dessert!
In the evening, Mio practiced standing up with her auntie. She firmly plants her feet on the ground and attempts to stand up on her feet! We have a feeling she might start standing up on her own before she even learns to crawl.
Fish for breakfast the second morning. All the meals were so colorful!
The ladies of the Yokoyama family
Before leaving the retreat.
We had a really lovely time at Pembroke Springs Retreat, and will definitely be back again! I am hoping that we can go again as a family — this time, with Dan too — perhaps when we are back for the winter holidays. It really was such a perfectly peaceful getaway!
My friend Erri sent me a Japanese poem towards the beginning of my pregnancy, when I still hadn’t told many people that we were expecting, while I was battling severe morning sickness and was feeling overwhelmed by the apprehension and uncertainty towards the unknown world of pregnancy and motherhood. It’s a poem that is written from the perspective of your unborn baby, and I’ve read it over and over throughout the past few months, and it’s always given me strength and comfort when I was feeling inadequate and down. It made me cry so much the first time I read it, and it still brings tears to my eyes even though I’ve reread it several times now. Thank you Erri for sharing it with me!
I tried my best to translate the poem for English readers, but not sure if I did it justice!
I Chose You
by Koji Samejima
Father, Mother — please let me call you this.
Seeing the two of you intimately loving one another,
I made the decision to come down to your world
Feeling that you would surely enrich this life of mine.
It takes courage to come down to earth from this pure, untainted world.
There were friends who experienced anxiety on earth, and turned back.
There were friends who sensed uncertainty in the couple’s relationship,
and turned back.
There were friends who were rejected, returning to this world in tears.
Embraced in the warmth of your bosom, I now feel happiness.
Father,
Do you still remember the day that you accepted me?
The day that the two of you became one, caring for and seeking one another?
With a love so strong that it seemed like it would last forever, you invited me.
The day you sensed for a moment the breath of a new “life.”
Yes, that day. That was the day that I chose you.
Mother,
Do you remember the day that you learned of me?
For a moment, you felt lost and confused.
For a moment, you were overwhelmed by uncertainty.
And then, you accepted me.
I remember very well your momentary changes of heart.
The times when you were suffering from morning sickness,
You turned your thoughts to me to encourage yourself.
The times that you could not stand me,
Muttering that you no longer wanted me.
The times that you persisted under the burden of my weight,
Accusing yourself that you were not good enough.
I remember every one of those moments very clearly.
Mother,
You and I are one.
When you laugh and feel joy, I am filled with happiness.
When you are angry or saddened, I am overcome with unrest.
When you are restful and relaxed, I am invited to sleep.
Your thoughts are my thoughts; you and I are one.
Mother,
I will never forget all your efforts for me.
You stopped drinking, you avoided cigarettes,
and you reduced your intake of the coffee that you love so much.
You fought very well against the temptation to each too much.
You took walks for me, and taught me all the beauty of your world.
All of these efforts were for me. I am so proud to call you my mother.
Mother,
I feel a bit uneasy about the height of your expectations for me.
The first day you see me, how will I be welcomed?
Will my face disappoint you?
Will my body repulse you and cause you to turn away?
Will my personality cause you to sigh in exasperation?
Everything about me is a present from God and you two.
I happily accepted everything with an open heart.
Believing that as I am, I would be most loved by you.
Mother,
It is only a matter of days before we finally see each other.
When I think about that day, I am filled with happiness.
Let us work together in birth.
I will be your encouragement.
I will turn as you will me to.
I will come down in your image.
I love you and trust you wholeheartedly.
Father,
It is only a matter of days until I can be held in your arms.
When I think of that day, my heart soars.
Let us work together in birth with mother.
Your gentle voice will put us at rest.
Your strong voice will give us strength.
Your warm gaze will give us encouragement.
We love you and trust you wholeheartedly.
Father, Mother — please let me call you this.
Seeing the two of you intimately loving one another,
I made the decision to come down to your world
Feeling that you would surely enrich this life of mine.
Father, Mother — I know now with conviction
That I made the right choice.
The hubby came home safely from LA this evening — a couple hours earlier than expected — and he brought back a surprise: Japanese children’s books!
Whenever I go down to Southern California, I love stopping by BookOff, where they sell used Japanese books — you can get books and magazines so much cheaper than at regular retail price, and they’re usually in pretty good condition! 🙂
We don’t have a BookOff up here in Northern California, and we had looked at some of the children’s books at Kinokuniya the other weekend, but they are all so expensive because they’re imported from Japan and are brand new. I had asked Dan if he could stop by BookOff this weekend and check out their selection of children’s books if he had the chance, but he had told me they likely wouldn’t be able to this time, since they would be in Pasadena and the BookOff locations are almost an hour south, in Gardena and Torrance. So I decided not to get my hopes up and told myself there’d be other opportunities in the future.
It turns out he actually did have some time to stop by this morning before they made the 7-hour drive back up, and he got a whole bunch of baby/children’s books in Japanese. Dan can’t really read Japanese (except for hiragana), so he had to guess and pick which ones seemed good. Apparently he spent forty minutes at the store, carefully mulling over which ones to buy and bring home, while his brother and friend had to wait for him to make up his mind. haha* I’d say that he did a great job and picked up a pretty good selection — there’s a few classics in there that I remember from my own childhood!
I’m so excited that we have so many books to read to the baby, both in English (Thanks again, Celia!) and in Japanese. We have a couple hand-me-down Japanese books from my cousin Yuko that she gave us in Arizona, too. She is doing a really amazing job of raising bilingual children, and she’s given me a lot of tips and coaching on how to do so successfully, so I’m inspired and determined to follow her example. Raising kids to be bilingual can be a really big challenge, but being raised bilingual myself, I really understand and value how much of an asset it can be later on in a child’s life. Thankfully, we live in a region where there is a strong Japanese influence, and there are preschools that incorporate Japanese language and culture into their curriculum. Preschool and Japanese Saturday School are things we won’t have to worry about for a few more years, but these books will get us off to a good start! 🙂
As we mentioned earlier, we had the opportunity to take some Japanese-style wedding portraits in kimono while we were in Honolulu. I’d grown up seeing various cousins’ wedding photos from Japan, and my relatives always urged us to take some, but we never had the opportunity until this summer. Masako Formals in Honolulu is a bridal boutique that specializes in wedding dresses, tuxedos, and other formalwear, but they also offer photography packages in which you can take portraits in traditional Japanese wedding kimonos. It includes the kimono rental (in my case both shiromuku and iro-uchikake), makeup and hair for the bride, and dressing assistance. They did a wonderful job, and both Dan and I were very impressed! Here are some of the photos!
The female staff were especially taken with Dan during the photoshoot, squealing that he looked like Tom Cruise (I perosnally don’t see it!), and were snapping a bunch of personal photos on their cell phones… lol. You can see us featured on their blog as well. A huge thanks to our friend Yumi who referred us to Masako Formals! ã¨ã£ã¦ã‚‚ã„ã„記念ã«ãªã‚Šã¾ã—ãŸâ™ª ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†ï¼:D
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival was held the past two weekends in San Francisco’s Japantown. Dan and I took my sister on Sunday, the day of the Grand Parade, since Miwa had never been to the festival before.
I love going to the Cherry Blossom Festival, and haven’t missed it once since moving out here. This was my third year attending San Francisco’s festival, and although a lot of things are the same, it’s always great to see the celebration of Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage.
The highlight for me, as usual, was the taiko. If only I had better rhythm, I would totally want to take on taiko lessons. It’s a great workout for your arms and I just love the sound and energy of taiko drums…. Can’t wait to see Taiko Dojo again next year!
