Yoko No-No

Tiffany's Farewell Party-yakatabune style!

2009-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

On July 11th we took to the waters of Tokyo. It was time for my farewell party. Months ago I had booked a yakatabune cruise. Yakatabune is Japanese, flat bottomed river boat. It's used for sight seeing. This yakatabune included a 10 course Japanese dinner and all you can drink. Oh, did I mention it had karaoke too?

Left to right: Me, Tomoe, Asa and Melissa.

The ironic part, was that no one had done yakatabune before. I had gone twice before. But none of my Japanese friends had.

Our boat had a long table down the middle. They were just starting to cue up the karaoke machine.

What I love about karaoke in Japan is that it is a group effort.

How can you feel embarassed about your singing voice when you are in a choir of 21 people?

Here's our group photo after the cruise. All 21 of us met through Matsumura kindergarten. I never knew that enrolling Mia in a Japanese kindergarten would be such a life enriching experience.

Matsumura Youchien, Arigato goziamashita!

Sayonara to Sayaka Sensei, Mia's Japanese teacher

2009-07-13T05:55:00.001-07:00

Today Mia had her last Japanese lesson with Sayaka sensei. Sayaka has been Mia's Japanese teacher for two years now.

Mia and Rhett always look forward to seeing Sayaka. She always brings a science experiment for them to do at the end of class. It usually deals with the science of sticking sugary candy onto a stick, and then eating it.

Mia and Rhett didn't want Sayaka to leave. They clung on to her for dear life.

I just know that we will see Sayaka again. I'm hoping that she comes to stay with us in Seattle while on vacation. Or, even better yet, maybe she will get a job teaching Japanese in Seattle. Fingers crossed. Arigato Goziamasu! Jaa ne...

Kidzania Mania!

2009-07-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Kidzania. Kidzania is an indoor city where kids do role-playing activities in a realistic setting. Kids choose from over 70 different jobs to do.

To get started, kids go to the bank to open an account. Kids get paid for the jobs that they do.

Mia & her friend Alex started off with being magicians.

Then it was off to the laboratory to be a microbiologist.

She had to report the findings of her research to her peers. Just like real academia.

Then she and her friend Claire drove the fire engine to the conflagration.

Hanging out with the Kidzania mascots...

The firefighters used real hoses with water to put out the house fire.

Mia & Claire joined a dance team to put on a show.

Mia also was a fashion designer. Here she is with her creation.

She was also a graphic artist.

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves today. Mia was in heaven.

Mia's Violin Recital

2009-07-12T02:08:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day. Today Mia had her first violin recital. Her teacher, Ichikawa sensei, organized it in her honor. It was called "Mia's Farewell Recital". Mia was the first to play. She played "Long, long ago, baby" and "Butterfly". She played wonderfully.

A group of students then played "Twinkle Twinkle" together. The youngest violinist was a mere three years old!

Ichikawa sensei did a solo. Her music was so moving that it brought tears to my eyes. I never knew I was such a lover of violin music.

Ichikawa sensei and her students. Mia will really miss her teacher. Ichikawa san used to play for the Vienna Symphony.

Afterwards we went to get cake and drinks to celebrate. Mia's best friend, Mayu-chan joined us.

Thank you Ichikawa sensei for opening up the world of music for our daughter.

Gold Medal Winners!

2009-06-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today was the annual soccer tournament in Tokyo for kids under 7. Here's Mia and her buddy Soma-kun giving each other high fives before the match.

Mia and Soma were led into the enormous sports stadium by their coach. There were around 100 participants in the tournament. Mia stood out from the crowd on two accounts: 1) she was the only girl there and 2) the only non-Japanese kid there.

A pre-game huddle.

We went to the tourney with Soma's family, which we met through Mia's school. From left to right: Chiori, Mia, baby Takuya, Soma, Paul and Rhett.

Mia's team played about twelve mini games, with breaks in between. Each game lasted 10 minutes. They played off and on from 9am till 1pm. Luckily, it was a cloudy day. Even so, it was still hot and humid nonetheless.

Believe it or not, Mia's team won the tournament! They won by making one more goal than the 2nd place team. We couldn't believe it! Here's the winning team...

Mia showing off her gold medal with her coach.

What a banner day. Mia kept telling me that her team was going to win the gold medal. Little did I know, she was right!

Jinnan Open House

2009-06-27T00:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Mia's elementary school had an open house. The kids had a regular school day schedule. Prospective students and parents were invited to view. Here's her teacher Ayuzawa sensei.

It was such a joy to see Mia in class. She raised her hand, answered questions, and participated fully .

I love this picture. The two kids sitting behind her are good friends of hers, Rei-kun and Maiah-chan.

Her class has 36 students. They all sit in their chairs, and behave. Only in Japan.

I also enjoyed watching Mia do her writing assignment.

Mia and her neighbor Masanobu, rehearsing a dialogue. Masanobu and Mia met on their soccer team. Little did we know they would be in 1st grade together.

I know that I would be proud to see Mia in any school, but to see her fully engaged in her Japanese school totally blew me away. It brought tears to my eyes and made me smile from ear to ear. I remember her first day of Japanese school. I picked her up and she was white as a sheet and feeling pretty downhearted. My how things have changed!

My Japanese teachers

2009-06-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

Since we are leaving Tokyo in less than a month, the sayonara parties have already begun.

Here are two of my absolute favorite people in Japan. My Japanese teachers. On the left is Imai-san and on the right is Kumazaki-san. Fittingly, we went to lunch at a Japanese restaurant.

These women have been ever so patient with the likes of me. I came here completely clueless and totally inept at Japanese... they slowly taught me the basics. Hiragana, katakana, a little kanji, lots of grammar, and lots of vocabulary. We've been together for over two years now. This sounds corny, but they are the closest thing I'll ever get to having a Japanese mom.

Thanks for all your hard work! Otsukare sama deshita! Domo arigato gozaimashita!

Oze National Park

2009-06-14T19:34:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to Oze National Park with our friends the Inoues. Their daughter, Mayu, is Mia's dearest friend in Tokyo.

Some quick and dirty Oze facts:

*popular hiking destination from Tokyo
*noted for wild flowers and birds
*highland marsh, over 1400m elevation
*home of Mt. Hiuchigatake 2,346m
*part of Nikko National Park until 2007
*less than 2 hours from Tokyo
*the largest marshland in Japan
*boardwalk trails over the marsh
*part of Gunma, Niigata and Fukushima Prefectures
*famous for skunk cabbage and yellow alpine lily
*spectacular mountain scenery

This was a perfect weekend getaway with kids. The trails were pretty much flat, which meant that even our 2 year old, Rhetto-kun, could hike by himself. All hiking was done on boardwalks, the novelty of this kept the kids truckin' right along.

But occasionally, one would catch a ride.

Here's Asa Inoue. She chose Oze as our destination, and what a perfect choice it was. She was in her element, fully enjoying the fresh air and open landscape. The scenery reminded me of Eagle River in Alaska.

Here's Satoru Inoue, in front of one of the huts. We spent a night at a hut. Calling them "huts" is an understatement. These huts had individual rooms, a dining hall, bathrooms, gift shop, bathhouse...

Here we are at the end of the hike. The last portion of the hike was uphill. Rhett and Mia did great and didn't grouse a bit. Aaron and I felt like we had entered a new phase in our family. A family hiking trip? Wow! Looking forward to more adventures with our kids and the Inoues.

Tower of Power!

2009-06-11T05:15:00.000-07:00

Right before Aaron left for the states, we made a family trip to Tokyo Tower. The Japonified version of the Eiffel Tower.

The viewing deck had a cut out in the floor with a window. It was so much fun & scary to take a look down. By the end of our visit, we had got accustomed to it and we were brave enough to walk on it!

Me and the kids at the top level viewing deck.

Tokyo Tower's base is called Tower Town, where you can find shops, restaurants, and even a trick art museum.

Look! Mia's head is disconnected from her body...

And Rhett is standing next to a crocodile in the jungle!

And my little angel finally earned her wings.

No Tower Town would be complete without a Hello Kitty curio shop.

Aaron bought Mia a model of the tower. Mia loved it and spent a LONG time putting it together. Good Job Mia!

Rhett loved it too.

Life's a Zoo, Golden Week--Part 2.

2009-06-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

The second half of Golden Week was spent camping near Mt. Fuji with our friends the Yasudas. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of our camping trip.

The last day of our trip was rainy, so we went to Fuji Safari Park. This is an outdoor park that you drive through to see the animals. Even in the rain, the animals were out in full force.

Life's a Beach, Golden Week--Part 1.

2009-06-11T05:02:00.000-07:00

Golden Week is a magical time in Japan. They consolidate four national holidays into one week, so everyone has the week off. Most people try to go to their home town to visit their parents. Tokyo becomes vacant, so some just kick around the empty streets of Tokyo.

This year we were invited to the Kawasaki's beach house, located near Tateyama. The Kawasaki's have three boys and a dog. This is the scene from their house. The kids swam, caught fish, and explored every nook and cranny of the area.

They took us to a hidden treasure...the sand dunes. To get to them we climbed over a mountain (a small one). Here's Mia scrambling up the hillside.

Rhett gets a little help from his dad.

As a reward for all that climbing, we got to slide down the dunes. This was a blast for everyone. Coming from snowy Alaska, I never thought it possible to go sledding on sand.

Here's the view from the top of the dunes. You can see how extensive they are.

Thank you Lauren and Tats Kawasaki!

Farewell to Aaron

2009-06-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

Aaron left Tokyo in May. Prior to his departure, there was a flurry of farewell parties in his honor. The person succeeding him at Amazon, Mike Kawachi, took us to his favorite restaurants in Tokyo called Nobu. This restaurant is co-owned by none other than Robert DeNiro.

Aaron was thrilled because this Japanese restaurant actually had many veggie options for him, including veggie sushi.

Here we are in front of Nobu's. Thank you Mike and Yuria Kawachi!

Mother's Day and Father's Day

2009-06-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day. This Mother's Day was bittersweet. Mother's Day was also the day that Aaron flew back to Seattle...for good. This marks the end of Aaron's life in Japan.

We decided to spend this Mother's Day the same way we did two years ago, when we had just moved here. We went to our favorite neighborhood haunt, "Shoto Cafe", for a slice of cake.

This is a family favorite because of Mac, the owner's dog. Mac was our kids' first friend in Japan. We try to stop by and see him as much as possible.

Mia and Rhett did not want to say goodbye to daddy. This was a tough day for them. Mia cried and Rhett (who has no clue about the concept of time) was consoling her, saying "Don't cry Mia. Daddy will come back after work."

Luckily, we will get to see Aaron again on June 12th. He'll come back to Tokyo for a few days of work. Thank goodness!

School Lunch in Japan

2009-06-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, parents were invited to view their kids eating lunch, or "kyushoku". At Mia's elementary school, all kids must eat hot lunch.

The kids eat lunch in their classroom. They start the process by arranging their desks into a cluster of six. Next they lay out their placemats and get their bottle of milk.

The food is brought to each classroom. The kids serve the lunch, in their professional chef's outfits.

When everyone has been served, it's time to say grace. Itadakimasu!

If kids feel that they cannot eat all of the food they were served, they can go back to the food line and return a portion of their food (as long as it hasn't been touched). Kids must try everything offered at lunch. Even the picky eaters are required to do this.

Today's lunch was sour rice (rice with salmon and sour plum), salad, and egg drop-ham-tomato soup. Each month we get a calender of the lunch menu. The calender includes the calorie count of each day's lunch. It also has daily suggestions of what mom should cook at home each night, to offer a well-balanced diet for the day.

After lunch all kids must brush their teeth. They are also responsible for cleaning their desks after lunch. Each kid has their own personal cleaning towel hanging from their desk for this purpose.

After watching our kids eat lunch, we were invited to eat lunch. We had the same meal and were given a brief lecture about proper nutrition for our 1st graders. Oh, did I mention that fruit, juice, soda, nor sweets of any kind aren't allowed? No wonder there is not an obesity problem in Japan.

The Forbidden City

2009-06-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Directly across from the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. Translated into Chinese, Tiananmen means the "Gate of Heavenly Peace". For those of you who remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, the name seems a bit ironic.

The square was built in 1651 and has been enlarged 4 times thus far. The square covers 100 acres and is supposed to hold 1 million people at a time. It is the largest open-urban square in the world.

It also houses the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. His embalmed body is there in a crystal coffin for people to view. We didn't get to see Chairman Mao, which is probably for the best. Mia and Rhett would have been a little freaked out by seeing a dead guy. We'll put off that loss of innocence as long a possible for the kiddos.

Here's the main entrance to the Forbidden City, with Mao presiding over it. It was "forbidden" in the sense that the emperor had explicit control of who entered and left this palace.

This is a inner courtyard before you enter the main area. Thanks to the last summer Olympics in Beijing, the Forbidden City has been refurbished, repainted and rejuvenated.

Forbidden City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It's claim to fame is that it's the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Yellow is the colour of the Emperor. Almost all roofs in the Forbidden City have yellow glazed tiles. It was simply stunning.

This palace was so vast. We only got to see a small portion of it. It has 980 surviving buildings, with 8,707 rooms.

Yet another good day in Beijing...

Painting the town red, in Beijing

2009-06-01T05:27:00.001-07:00

Some of our favorite time in China was spent with Aaron's Amazon.com co-workers. We all went out to an incredible lunch. It was so fun to eat foods that I had never even heard of before. This was not the typical Panda Express fare that I'm used to in the states. Here you can see the biggest egg foo yung in the world, on top a pile of greens. Also egg and chive crepes, and a wild pasta. The pasta was whole grain large macaroni, with greens, and potato chips mixed in. Talk about strange. Aaron, my chip-loving cowboy, savored this dish.

In the background you can see a plate of roasted pigs feet. Aaron & I declined this one, but it was the local favorite dish. Just pop a pig knuckle in your mouth, and spit out the bone on the table. Voila! You're ready for another one! I also had the spiciest tofu ever, I actually think I burned my stomach lining with this dish...

Mia loved wearing her Chinese dress that Aaron bought her. She and Hong-ye (the main lawyer that Aaron works with) enjoyed a little down time with the crayolas.

Here's us with the legal group. Such a cool bunch. They all kept after Rhett while he was climbing in and out of his high chair.

Another evening went to see a Chinese acrobat group. It was phenomenal and Mia was so happy to get a picture with one of the performers.

More good times in Beijing...

The Summer Palace

2009-06-01T05:18:00.001-07:00

Here's a Phoenix at the entrance to the Summer Palace. The name for this palace in Chinese translates to the "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony". Doesn't that sound more poetic?

This is a huge park with classical Chinese gardens and buildings, all surrounding a vast lake. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The emperors each made their own improvements to it through the ages.

What surprised us the most were the doting Chinese. Mia and Rhett were treated like superstars. Many of the Chinese visitors to the palace had come from small, faraway towns. Most had never seen a Caucasian person in real life. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, wanted a picture with the white kids. It was strange to have complete strangers come up to your kids and pick them up for a photo.

Rhett was so happy to make new friends.

As was Mia.

Here is the controversial "marble boat", which was built while the Empress Dowager Cixi was reigning. She diverted millions of dollars that were originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace (including this marble boat). It was said that the navy would have preferred real boats as opposed to this marble one.

This is one of the hundreds of Buddhas on the walls of the temple on top of Longevity Hill.

Rhett with Longevity Hill and Temple behind him.

Our favorite part was taking a paddle boat out on Kunming Lake.

Mia and Rhett were so pleased that they could paddle the boat by themselves.

Another great day in Beijing.

Temple of Heaven

2009-05-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

We took the subway to the Temple of Heaven, in Beijing. On the pathway, there was a man doing the most exquisite calligraphy, with a huge brush that he dipped in water. The water eventually evaporates, but he didn't seem to matter. We loved seeing his creations, ephemeral as they were...

This temple was surrounded by huge green space and people were using it. We met a group of ribbon swirling women.

And Mia joined their group for awhile...

This is a group who did athletic moves while balancing a handball on their rackets.

And there were groups performing live music...

And singing...

In fact, Aaron coined this the "Temple of Heaven...for old people". There was such a sense of community in this park, and most participants were over the age of 60 (not that 60 is particularily old, nowadays). It truly was a heavenly place for Chinese to gather.

Looking up at the covered pathway leading to the Temple of Heaven.

The Emporers of the Qing and Ming Dynasties used to come here to ask God for a bountiful harvest. They would pack up their retinue and proceed to this temple on winter solstice. They abstained from eating meat to appease the gods (sounds like my husband).

This is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. This building is completely made of wood, no nails.

This is one of the three main halls. I loved the brilliant cobalt blue roof tiles.

Mia and Rhetto-kun, in deep contemplation...

A Great Wall, Indeed!

2009-04-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a family trip to Beijing. The crowning glory of our trip was seeing the Great Wall of China. We went to Muntianyu to see it, a 90 minute drive from Beijing. We knew we were off to a good start when we came upon this coffee shop. Yes, we did stop for a cuppa joe!

The kids knew we were off to a good start when they came upon a camel to cuddle up to.

The wall was built in 7th Century BC and maintained through the 16th Century. It was built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire from Mongolian attacks.

Here's one of the guard houses. It is said that the wall was guarded by more than 1 million men.

It's approximately 4,000 miles long. The average height of it is 25 feet high. Its width ranges from 15-30 feet wide.

This picture says it all. Mia loved trekking along the wall. A fantastic place for kids to run free. Aaron & I loved that the wall followed the ridge line of the mountains, sometimes climbing extremely steep slopes. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and we were out hiking in the hills with our family, it doesn't get any better than this.

Oh wait, it does get better! To get down, you can take a toboggan on a metal luge course.

This was the best part for the kids.

Easily, our best day in China.

Rhetto-kun's first day of school!

2009-04-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Rhett started kindergarden today at Matsumura Youchien. He was so thrilled to put on his uniform this morning. Mia was very proud of her little brother!

We've been practicing toilet training, putting on shoes, buttoning coats, eating from an obento box, all those good kindergarten skills...as well as practicing our few stock Japanese phrases. Rhett went to school wearing his underwear--no diaper-- and didn't have any mishaps! WOW! Our little boy really is growing up!

Today when I left Rhett at school he had tears welling up in his eyes, but he told me he was "okay". I picked him up and he had a smile on his face. He told me that his teacher Sumiko sensei was "good". He still wants to go to school tomorrow, so I'm thankful for that.

Way to go Rhetto-kun! Anata wa oo-ki desu ne?

Farewell David and Wendy!

2009-04-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

Aaron's folks David and Wendy came to visit us for 10 days. We had many adventures including a trip to Kyoto and many viewings of the cherry blossoms in bloom.

Here we are on our last evening together. We went out for okonomiyaki, a savory pancake filled with cabbage. Here's the folks enjoying a little grilled vegetable for the appetizer.

During cherry blossom season, the Japanese line the streets with pink and red lanterns. A very kind man offered to take our picture.

David and Wendy---thanks for such a lovely time. We love you so much & Mia & Rhett are already asking when they can see you next.

Mia's 1st day in 1st Grade at Jinnan Shogakko

2009-04-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Mia started 1st grade at our local elementary school named Jinnan Shogakko. The first day was her school entrance ceremony, called Nyugakkoshiki. On this day, April 6th---all elementary schools in Japan are having this welcoming ceremony for new 1st graders.

Mia looks exceptionally happy in this picture. Aaron's parents David and Wendy were here on vacation & were happy to see her start her 1st day (as well as our dear friend Scott Soloman, or "Solly" as we refer to him).

In Japan, kids walk by themselves to school---this is not the exception but the rule. Infact, many kids take the subway or taxi to school by themselves. By May, Mia needs to be fully capable of getting to and fro school. Most kids walk with a friend and use the buddy system. This is so exciting for Mia. Mia lead us to her school without a hitch.

The entrance ceremony was elaborate. Here's Mia entering the school auditorium. The 2nd graders put on skits about being a new student at Jinnan. The class also played music on little pianos that you blow air through to make music. We saw the principle, the teachers, PTA committee...all the way down to the janitors and crossing guards.

A very important part of going to elementary school is the fancy backpack, called Randosel. These cost any where from $200 to $600. They are used throughout elementary school--so they are pretty sturdy to last 6 years.

The new students and parents had a formal picture taken. Then it was time for a lot of informal pictures. Here's Mia and here dearest friends, Mayu on her left and Maiah on her right.

Our smiling little girl! We are so proud fo you. Omedetto Goziamasu!

Pre Party Kick off!

2009-03-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Sounds like we are getting ready for the Super Bowl, and yet we were gearing up for Mia's kindergarten graduation party.

This year I was on "osewa gakkari"--the committee who helps out with field trips. Most importantly, the committee who is fully responsible for the graduation party.

Our team of four started preparing for the party back in December. There were many things to do. We collected money, took pictures of all moms & kids, had kids draw a picture for the teacher, had kids write a personal note to each classmate, made a yearbook for each kid, memorized songs in Japanese to sing at the party, handmade all the decorations for the party, crocheted a blanket for the principle, chose the obento lunch for moms and kids, handmade gifts for all teachers, donated a gift to the school from our class, made cookies and rice paper flowers to give all guests, planned & performed all entertainment for the party, handmade desserts for the party... and that doesn't cover the half of it!

The day before the party, it is a tradition for the mothers of the graduates to clean the whole school...and then set up for the party. Being on osewa gakkari, I was relegated to the bathroom cleaning team. Oh joy! I scrubbed toilets, urinals, sinks, floors, walls, windows, with a smile on my face. I have one word to describe the experience: yuck. We cleaned from 11:30am until 5:30pm. The school was literally sparkling after we were through (*note: it is NOT a Japanese tradition to enslave mothers to clean their kid's schools prior to graduation. No other Japanese moms had heard of such a thing).

Luckily, not only our committee set up for the party. The other moms and kids all helped too. Here we are putting the finishing touches on the place settings and cup holders.

Here's our program of events.

Sensei Arigato! Thank you teachers!

Remember, all decor was handmade...

...including placemats, cup holders, chopstick covers, and center pieces.

We practiced our singing with one mom accompanying us on piano.

My favorite entertainmnet was a story board that moms did as we sang a song about all the fun things our children did throughout the year. One of the moms had a degree in art, and it sure shows in her drawings.

Some things highlighted on the story board are: the class slumber party at school, pounding rice into o mochi (a delicacy here), throwing beans at the oni (tricky devil), pool time in the summer, making round dirt balls called o dongo, falling down on sports day, flying fish flags for Children's Day,roasting sweet potatoes, making cotton candy at our school fair and in the center you see kids wearing the backpacks they will use for 1st grade.

Matsumura Youchien, you have made our stay in Japan unforgettable! (especially those toilets!)

Grad Blast 2009!

2009-03-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mia graduated from Matsumra Youchien on March 14, 2009. Here she is receiving her diploma from the principal.

Mia, now a Matsumura graduate!

Our little clan. Why the wee ones look so serious, I don't know?

After the graduation ceremony, we had party for the kids and teachers. Mia enjoying her o bento (aka lunch).

Mia's classmates and their mothers.

Osewa Gakkari! The little group of four who put on the graduation party. Don't we look happy that it was a success? Phew!

Mia and her teacher Shima sensei (and me too).

After the party, Mia playing around with her friend Andrei (a friend from Russia).

We had such a nice day. It was hard saying goodbye to friends that will not be going to the same elementary school as Mia this spring. Luckily, I will be heading back to Matsumura in April when Rhett starts school at Matsumura. Yat-ta!

Post Party Kick Off! (aka Moms Gone Wild!)

2009-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

After Mia's graduation, the moms went out for a nomi-kai or "drinking meeting". Sounded like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to me. Actually, we hopped from one restaurant to the next (three total), over the course of the evening.

It was great to spend time and regale each other with our favorite youchien memories.

After the restaurants, we went to do karaoke. At 2am, a few moms needed a cat nap.

Some awesome dance moves on the karaoke floor!

The party went on until 6:30am. One of the moms had just moved out of Tokyo to Chiba and she was catching the first train home at 6:45am. The die-hard moms took her to the station to say goodbye.

Those Japanese moms know how to celebrate!

Mia's last day at Matsumura Youchien

2009-03-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Mia's last day at her kindergarten school (youchien in Japanese) was on March 13th. The kindergarten schools here combine both preschool and kindergarten into one. Kids start at age three and graduate by age 6. Here's Mia on her first day of school, almost two years ago---April 2007.

Here she is on the first day learning where to hang her coat.

This was taken on the morning of her last day of youchien. She felt a little sad about her last day.

Here are some of her dearest friends---left to right: Karen, Mia, Aru and Hikaru.

Luckily, Rhett will be able to start Matsumura Youchien this coming April 15th. I am so thankful that they are letting him join, even though he's not 3 yet. They made an exception to the rule, as we are moving home to Seattle in July. The teachers wanted him to have a chance to go to a Japanese school.

Thank you Matsumura for all of the wonderful memories. We will never forget you!

Japanese Tea Ceremony

2009-02-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

While our friends Laura and Logan were in Tokyo, we were able to have a private lesson to learn Japanese tea ceremony. Here we are before the lesson.

Our teacher had a traditional Japanese tea room built into her home. It was a tatami room (a flooring of woven grass mats), with a zen scroll, and an ikebana flower arrangement--all key focal points in Japanese tea ceremony. Here's Logan looking chipper for her lesson.

Our teacher Sekikawa-san, laughing. She got a real kick out of trying to teach us Westerners tea ceremony. Her aunt was an accomplished tea ceremony teacher and she gave all of her ceremony instruments and kimono to our teacher.

Japanese wagashi--or traditional sweets. This was made out of mashed white beans and a touch of sugar. Definitely an acquired taste. Logan and Laura did their best to choke it down. Unbelievably, I've gotten used to eating sweet beans for dessert. It only took me two years to get there!

The sweets are eaten on a tissue paper plate with a small, metal toothpick. Here's Sekikawa-san whisking the green tea powder (called matcha) with boiling water.

We all got to take turns at making tea. It was so much fun to make the tea ourselves. Normally, you can watch a tea ceremony at shrines, but you never get to do the ceremony yourself. We felt pretty lucky.

The ceremony itself is comprised of hundreds of very precise movements--from how you hold the tea cup and water ladel, to what arrangement guests sit on the floor. It was nice to get an inside glimpse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony

In Memorium of my Grandma Bernice Sorensen

2009-02-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

Grandma Bernice and Mia, summer 2006.

Four generations: Bernice, Dianne, Tiffany (with baby Rhett in the oven!) and Mia.

In Memoriam of Bernice Sorensen

When I heard from my mom that Grandma Sorensen had just died--I started crying. Crying for so many reasons. Crying because someone so important to me had just died. Crying because it made me remember Grandpa Harry's passing. Crying because I was hoping to have one last time for her to see my kids---her great-grand-kids. But most of all, crying for the huge hole that she leaves in our lives.

I have great memories of spending summers with her and Grandpa Harry on the farm. She and Grandpa drove me all around Montana visiting my aunts ,uncles, and relatives. We were up early to drive & always stopped at the Four Bees restaurants. They made sure that I got to know my family and I thank them for that.

When I think of Grandma, one word comes to mind: energy! Grandma was always busy. Apart from raising four great kids, keeping her own garden, cooking, cleaning, canning, sewing, doing laundry and dishes---she was a fun person. She was a hard worker and never complained about it. She "loved to go" and never let the grass grow under her feet. If there was something happening, she wanted to be a part of it. Even after a full day's work, she kept us all busy at night time too, with endless card games. She taught me Whist, Cribbage, and Dominoes, and never let me win without a fight.

And oh could that woman cook! She made everything from scratch. Canned cherry sauce, cookies, pot roast...you name it, she cooked it, and it all tasted great.

Grandma was so proud of her kids. She didn't have a chance to go to college. It meant the world to her that her kids got an education beyond high school. Wayne, Dianne, Russell and Laurie--she loved each and every one of you in her own, special way. You each brought such joy to her life. Please don't forget how much you meant to her.

I'm so glad that she and Grandpa Harry had a chance to enjoy their golden years together by heading down south to Arizona for the winters. They both seemed to really enjoy their time with family and friends there. Golf, cards, and just plain socializing kept them busy and young at heart. Grandma took me to water aerobics class at Venture Out, and had me walk around the park perimeter with her for exercise. Like I said, no grass growing under her feet!

Grandma Sorensen was the real thing. She wasn't selfish, nor boast-worthy. She called a spade a spade. She loved her husband, her kids and her brothers and sisters. She will be greatly missed.

I love you and miss you Grandma! You made a huge mark on my life and I will not forget you.

Your grand daughter,
Tiffany

Tokyo Disney with Laura & Logan

2009-02-23T18:55:00.001-08:00

Logan and Mia went to Tokyo Disneyland last week! They were thrilled to start off the day with Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. Belle gave them a quick lesson in how to hold your hands in a princess-like fashion.

They then got to meet Princess Aurora and Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty.

Mia's favorite character was Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

The girls drew their blades for Captain Sparrow!

Whereas the moms just dueled to their death!

Mia and Logan getting dizzy in the tea cups.

A banner day. Mia got to do new things and we even got to ride "Pirates of the Caribbean" twice! Thanks to Laura and Logan for a great trip to Disneyland!

Karaoke with Miyuki and Laura!

2009-02-23T05:03:00.001-08:00

Last week a dear friend, Laura Periman, came to Tokyo for a week with her daughter. My friend Miyuki really wanted Laura to have the quintessential Japanese experience...KARAOKE!

The joy about karaoke in Japan is that you get a private room to make a fool of yourself in...

...whereas karaoke in the states is usually at a bar and you get to make a fool out of yourself in front of everyone there.

In your own booth you can shake your tamborine, order food and drinks...and let it all hang out.

Each room has a TV, karaoke machine, and a long list of music to choose from.

Our last song was Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". Suprisingly enough, it was a great song to belt out in karaoke! Thanks for the memories Miyuki and Laura!

My Son

2009-02-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

The most impressive thing we saw in our trip to Vietnam was the temple named "My Son". We were told that it is a smaller version of what you might find at Ankor Wat, Cambodia. Built around the same time and by the same Champa people of Ankor Wat.

The My Sơn temple grounds are one of the foremost temple complexes of Hinduism in South East Asia. It is the vastest and best preserved Cham temple site in Vietnam. The area consisted of open fields, dotted with the original temples from the 4th Century AD.

The style of architecture and ornamentation strongly reflects Hindu influence.

It was the site of religious ceremony of kings of the Champa dynasty, and was also a burial place of Champa royals and national heroes.

This is an original stele. Steles are rectangle stone tablets used to commemorate battles, or used as tombstones inscribed with information about the deceased.

Mia thought her head was a good stand in for the statue's missing one.

My favorite quote from our trip was conversation Aaron had with another tourist:

Aaron: Hey, what are you up to today?
tourist: I'm going to visit My Son today.
Aaron: Oh, I didn't know you had a son in Vietnam.
tourist: No, I mean the temple, My Son Temple.
Aaron: Oh....

More Ice Skating at Meji Jingu Gaien...

2009-02-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

From left to right: Aru-chan, Mia-chan and Mayu-chan. This was the second time ice skating for both Aru & Mayu.

They both got a personal lesson from Aaron.

And lots of love from Mayu's mom, Asa.

Rhett & I were also along for the ride, but the two stars were Aru & Mayu.

Let's go skating again!

Setsubun---Feb. 3!

2009-02-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun

Today is Setsubun in Japan. Today marks the day before the next season begins, SPRING! On this day, the Japanese celebrate by parents wearing "oni" masks and the kids throwing "mame" at the oni. An oni is an evil devil of sorts, symbolized by a red mask with horns. Mame are dried soy beans. While throwing the beans, kids usually shout out "Oni was soto, Fuku wa uchi", which roughly translates to "evil spirits outside, good fortune come into our home". "Oni" being a bad spirit and "Fuku" being the spirit of well being. Here's a clip of Mia being the oni and Rhett trying to force her out of the house with his bean throwing.

HAPPY SETSUBUN!

Ski bunnies--Nozawa Onsen

2009-01-27T04:34:00.000-08:00

We just got back today from a three day ski trip to Nozawa Onsen. This was a breakthrough trip for us all...especially Mia-chan. She took to the slopes and never looked back. She was in ski class for full days, a first for her. At one point, Aaron & I were at the top of the mountain and we looked down and saw Mia in her ski class. We couldn't believe our eyes.

Happy in the sun and snow.

Ditto.

Back at the lodge, Mia showing us some of her "racing" moves.

Although Rhett couldn't join ski lessons yet, he was quite happy playing on the slide with his dad.

And digging a few "igloos".

This was our routine mode of transportation.

Here is a little German girl named Lara. Her family happened to be staying next to us at the lodge. She and Mia were fast friends and enjoyed all their ski lessons together. Nothing like having a friend on the ski slopes.

We took the magic carpet from the ski hill into town. The town of Nozawa has made a name for itself due all of it's natural hot springs. Soaking after a day of skiing was our family's favorite past time.

Mia being stiff as a board as she spans the railings of the escalator. Must be nice to have those abs!

We loved it so much that we hope to get back there soon! Thanks Nozawa Onsen and our lodge Pension Schnee.

Sukiyaki Time!

2009-01-12T18:46:00.001-08:00

My friend Miyuki agreed to teach me how to make sukiyaki. This blog is basically a visual recipe--so I will not forget everything she taught me. The ingredients are as follows: (left to right: haku-sai (an Asian type of cabbage), eggs to dip meat in after it's cooked, strainer full of grilled tofu, ito konnyaku & carrots, mushrooms and leeks.

We tried two different cuts of beef. The fattier one tasted the best and had better texture too. We used 700 grams of meat for 4 people.

First you add a couple teaspoons of vegetable oil into the pot and heat over gas flame. Then add leeks and beef on top.

Aaron gave me the pot and gas burner for Christmas, thanks Aaron (I'll be sure to learn some veggie recipes so you can enjoy it too).

Next add white sugar, 5 tablespoons.

Next add in sake, 3 tablespoons.

Top with ito konnyaku (a vegan gelatin in noodle form, for more info go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konjac), mushrooms, haku-sai, carrots, tofu. Allow ingredients to steam. Once steamed add Japanese soy sauce-- 1/3 cup.

Cook until ingredients are tender, serve over brown rice. It is customary to dip your cooked meat in raw egg and then eat it. Being an ova-phobe, I couldn't do it, but Miyuki prefers it that way.

...and don't let the rest of the sake go to waste!

***Note: I was strictly taught that you must add sugar first, then sake, and at the end, soy sauce. If these ingredients are added in a different sequence, you will not get the correct flavor to your sukiyaki. Chefs Beware!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/beef/r/beefsukiyaki.htm

Meji Jingu Gaien Ice Skating

2009-01-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a holiday here in Japan, "Coming of Age Day" to be exact. Since the kids were off from school, Miyuki and I decided to take them ice skating. Her son Ko-chan had never been skating before. Here are Miyuki and Ko-chan getting their balance on ice skates.

Mia, being Mia, refused to hold anyones hand. She fell like mad for the first 15 minutes and then miraculously was able to skate by herself. I was so proud of her.

Here she is on the left in her rainbow sweater and wet buns.

There just happened to be another girl from Mia's school there, Monet-chan. Monet-chan is a year younger, but already an accomplished ice skater. They loved skating together, falling, picking each other off the ground, laughing, and racing.

Afterwards we rewarded our two great sports with chocolate dipped bananas. Oishi-kat-ta desu yo!

http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/english/

Co Do Hue Water Puppetry Theatre

2009-01-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

Our last night in Hue, we took the kids to see the water puppets. We took a rickshaw to get there---Mia and Rhett's favorite form of transportation. Since water puppets exist only in Vietnam, we thought we should give the kids a cultural experience that they could relate to.

The stage consists of a small pond with green screens in the background.

The puppeteers manipulate the puppets via underwater poles and pulleys to make them move. The different acts portray daily scenes in Vietnamese life, as well as local mythical creatures and gods.

A farmer working in the fields during the harvest festival.

The fairy named Tay Vuong Mau, training her disciples to dance in the Kingdom of the Immortals---where joy and spring prevail.

After the performance, the puppeteers came out for a bow. As you can see, they were as wet as the puppets.

We thoroughly enjoyed the water puppets, it was truly original.

http://huewaterpuppet.com

Cooking Class at Cafe 96

2009-01-07T19:57:00.001-08:00

http://www.hoian.co.uk/cafe96.php

We had ourselves a fine time learning a little of the local cuisine. Cafe 96 was a highly recommended cooking class destination, due to it's authentic Vietnamese recipes.

Four of us took the class. Aaron and I and two youngins in their 20s. Luckily for us, the owner named Bup, tailored the class to be vegetarian. We chopped...

Our menu was green papaya salad with tofu, spicy sauteed eggplant, and steamed veggie spring rolls. The youngins had the same menu but instead of eggplant, they made mackerel grilled in banana leaves.

Aaron skinning a grilled eggplant.

Back to those banana leaves, here's Aaron heating one up on the gas burner.

Once it turns a deep green, you are ready to wrap your fish in it and toss it on the barbeque.

Bup served us all a tiny cup of local brandy at the end of class. Kind of tasted like brown sugar water. Not too bad at all.

Afterwards we walked around the old town and took in the sights of the handmade lanterns and then went to a coffee shop. A nice evening!

Christmas Eve in Hoi An

2009-01-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Mia and Rhett picked out their own clothes for the Christmas Eve Party at our hotel. I think they looked dazzling, to say the least.

The party had a buffet and a series of different local acts. Santa started it off with a popular Vietnamese love song.

Next was a woman performing a Cham dance. The Cham people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia (mostly Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia). Cham are remnants of the Kingdom of Champa (7th to 15th centuries---they are the ones who sacked Angkor Wat in 1177). All of the dances we saw that evening were traditional Cham dances.

Aaron and Rhett getting excited by the Cham dancer...

Next the Cham "water carrier" dance. The dancer didn't drop her water vessel once!

The program lasted until 10pm, including a group of drunk Russians singing national anthems, and a full-on disco dance party at the end. Mia and Rhett loved all the activity. Merry Christmas 2008!

Day one in Vietnam...

2009-01-06T05:28:00.001-08:00

On our first day in Hoi An, Vietnam---we headed to the beach.

Mia was tickled pink to hit the surf.

As was the rest of the gang.

Mom's Bonnen Kai

2009-01-06T04:57:00.001-08:00

Bonnen Kai means Year's End Party. In December, all of Japan goes wild with these parties. It's normal to attend as many as ten or more of these gatherings during the holidays. I hosted a bonnen kai for some of the mothers I met through Mia's youchien (kindergarten).

Elena, a mother from Ukraine made us borscht from scratch. It was delicious.

We were all so happy to be together and celebrate the year's end. Here's Asa, Tomoe and Fumiyo (left to right).

Back: Tomoe, Elena, Mekari
Front: Noriko and Harada-san.

After kindergarden ends in March, many of our kids are going to separate elementary schools...this was our final hurrah together as Matsumura Youchien moms.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Party!

2009-01-06T04:46:00.000-08:00

On Mia's last day of school before Christmas Break, we invited some of her friends over for a little Christmas cheer (left to right: Alicia, Mayu, Mia and Sei). We all had lunch together...

...exchanged Christmas gifts...

...decorated cookies (Rei-kun pictured here)...

...Rhett joined in the fun...

MMMMM...cookies...

...and we even had an impromptu Christmas concert (Mia, Rei & Shodai).

A wonderful way to get in the spirit of Christmas!

Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-16T05:35:00.001-08:00

Aru made these cookies, for those of you who don't read hiragana, they read, "Mia, Aru, and Mayu", the names of the three girls who made cookies at our house the other day.

Here's Natsu-kun making his first Christmas cookies ever, a natch for sure.

Mia thought she should be wearing her witch dress to make cookies.

Rhett felt that cookie making was a full body endeavor.

And lovely Mayu just smiled for the camera.

Aru's mother and I were very pleased by everyone's efforts!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa Claus is coming to.....soccer?!?

2008-12-16T05:06:00.000-08:00

Well, today we went to soccer, the highlight of Rhett's week.

He really loves getting into his teeny-tiny soccer shirt and shorts.

We were surprised to see that the coach had turned out in full Santa style! Only in Japan...

Even the kids got to wear a Santa hat while they did their drills.

Here's Rhett shooting a goal with a soccer buddy.

For Mia's class, the coach posed for pictures. If you look closely you can see that he even decorated the goal post. What a great coach!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Mia's dearest friends...

2008-12-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

Mia loves her swimming lessons, but mostly she loves being there with her two favorite gal pals. From left to right: Maiah, Mia and Mayu. Try saying that fast. Here they managed to cram all three of themselves into one towel. They thought this was about the coolest thing possible...

...and one of the funniest things too.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!

2008-12-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

We recently put up our Christmas tree. Since Christmas is basically a date night in Japan, it's hard to come by a Christmas tree, let alone a real one. Santa delivered ours from a department store similar to Target.

Aaron and the kids had a great time. I was mostly on photography & dinner duty. Rhett, being two, loved the novelty of it all. He does seem to grasp the concept of Santa and he frequently says "Ho-Ho-Ho" whenever he sees a Santa sign or hat.

Mia's favorite part is always putting the star on top of the tree.

Here's the gang--and no, Aaron is not chewing on the star, it just looks like it. A good time had by all.

Merry Christmas to you!

Piles of leaves--Tokyo 2008

2008-11-26T03:29:00.000-08:00

Fall is here in Tokyo. Monday was a national holiday---officially called "Labor Thanksgiving Day"...go figure. So, with a free day from work and school we headed to Komaba Park to take in the fall colors. We found piles and piles of leaves.

Our friends Miyuki and her son Kotaro-kun met us there.

Not surprisingly, Mia was ready for a celebration in the leaves...

I laid down in the middle of it all and gave the kids a good target.

If you can't beat'em, join'em!

At the end we were pretty dirty, but oh so happy.

Speaking of dirty, note the dirt/leaves on my teeth and in my nose...mmmm....good.

Happy Fall and Thanksgiving to You!

Bartlett Bears---beware!

2008-11-26T03:25:00.000-08:00

Who is this person holding my be-goggled son, Rhett?

Why, it's my dear friend D'Arcy Owen, whom I hadn't seen in 19 years.

Here's his account of how we bumped into each other:

On Thursday night (I believe), November 6, I was in Miyazaki and Tiffany emailed me through Facebook wondering if I was the same D'Arcy Owen that she had not been in touch with for 19 years. In her email she said she was living in Tokyo.

I emailed back about 15 minutes later and said that it was me and that I would be arriving in Tokyo on Saturday night. So we went out on Monday night and did very well for ourselves for a Monday night. It was really fun.

Here's my account:

D'Arcy & I went to Bartlett High School together. His mom moved to Florida shortly after he graduated and we lost touch. Now he's living in Portland, OR and is married to a Japanese woman and they have a three year old daughter. He taught English in Japan for three years. He owns a language school, which teaches English to foreign students. He and his family happened to be visiting relatives in Japan when I found him via Facebook. A few days later, we were having dinner together in Tokyo! Talk about coincidences and good karma! I've been trying to track him down for years, and then all the sudden we reconnect and have dinner together in Tokyo?!? Chotto hen, desu ne? Guzen desu yo!

Here are two things he missed about Japanese cuisine, pizza potato chips and Milky brand toffees.

Kawagoe---Yokoso!

2008-11-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

Kawagoe is a mere 60 minutes train ride out of Tokyo. It's endearingly called "Little Edo"...as it reminds the Japanese of olden days in Tokyo. Each year they have a huge parade with ornate floats. My dad and I visited Kawagoe two days before the festival. Here's one of the festival posters.

First we went to Kita-in, a Buddhist Temple.

My favorite part was this remarkable field of stone statues, mini disciples of Buddha. All 540 statues are unique, no two are alike.

My dad liked this little fellow...

And I loved this guy's smile...

Kawagoe is famous for "kurazukuri" or clay-walled houses. Most of these were built during the Meiji period (1869-1912). In 1893, a fire destroyed most of Kawagoe, and only the kurazukuri survived.

The main street, Chuo-Dori, is lined with these black houses---now used as stores. Walking down this street flanked by jet black buildings makes quite an impression.

Here's the famous bell tower named "Toki no kane" dating back to the mid-seventeenth century. It was rebuilt in 1894 after the original structure was destroyed by the great fire. It tolls four times a day (6 am, 12 noon, 3 pm & 6 pm---in case you're wondering).

A local favorite here is the sweet potato. You can find them in all forms ranging from baked sweet potatoes "o yaki imo", to candies, jellies......

...and even sweet potato dolls wearing kimonos. My dad posing with a lady potato.

Here's the gentleman potato.

Our last stop was to walk down Kashiya Yokocho, or confectioners alley. This picturesque pedestrian street is lined with candy and toy shops---a childs paradise.

***this blog entry is dedicated to Eric and JJ--two Willamette friends who lived in Kawagoe while teaching English via the JET program. Bansai!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawagoe,_Saitama

Pretty Cure Ga Dai Suki!

2008-11-14T04:10:00.000-08:00

For those of you out there who do not know about the latest craze in school-girl pop culture in Japan...let me introduce you to "Pretty Cure", also known familiarly as just "Pre-Cure".

Pre-Cure is a group of five junior high school friends who also happen to be super heroines fighting evil.

They all have brilliantly colored hair and super-cool names. Mia and her friends LOVE watching, playing, reading anything Pre-Cure.

Last weekend Mia and Mayu-chan got to see a live performance of Pre-Cure at Keio University's 150th Anniversary(our friend Asa's alma mater).

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cool/07-03/cool070301.html
http://www.asahi.co.jp/precure/

Here's "DREAM"...

"MINT"...

"AQUA"...

Dream and Rouge fighting the evil scorpion guy...

"LEMONADE"...

The whole Pretty Cure cast bidding us farewell...

Afterwards we had fresh okonomiyaki for lunch...a kind of savory, cabbage pancake. Yummy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki

Thanks to Asa and Mayu for inviting us to the Pretty Cure Fest! Arigato, ne!

Bazaar no Yakisoba Gak-kari

2008-11-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

Every year, Mia's school has a bazaar in the fall. It's basically a school fair where there are games, puppet shows, food, and children's clothes for sale. This year I was on the "Grilled Noodle Committee" otherwise known as the "Yakisoba Gak-kari". Here's our team gearing up to make 800 plates of noodles (I am not kidding, 800!)

Aaron was asked to be one of the yakisoba chefs. The Japanese couldn't believe that he had never cooked noodles like this before, they said he was a natural.

Noodles galore!

Mia was a big fan of the "Cotton Candy Committee".

Some of the clothes for sale, the most expensive pieces costing a whopping 150 yen, about $1.50.

Other kid's goods for sale.

The bazaar was a huge success and has been a highlight of our fall.

Obama !!!!

2008-11-05T02:04:00.000-08:00

Yes We Can!!!
Obama Wins!!!!

What a historical race! I've been glued to the TV as the polls closed and the votes rolled in. It's been amazing to see it all unfold.

I sure wish I was in the states to celebrate!!!

Love from Tokyo,
Tiffany

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4A21RV20081103

Calling all Fathers...

2008-11-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Mia's school recently replaced their old tree house. They asked fathers to come help build a new one. My dad happened to be in town, so he joined in.

It ended up being a barn-raising of sorts with dads working and socializing. Here's Aaron and Marco.

The man in the center digging is our good friend Satoru.

The finished product. Way to go, Dads!

Happy Birthday---37 and still kickin'

2008-10-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

Well, today's the day I turn 37 years old. Some friends surprised me with a Hello Kitty inspired birthday cake.

One of those friends was Mayu-chan (along with her mother).
Aaron was home sick from work today, but he managed to sneak me off to lunch.

A great birthday!

All Hallows Eve!!!

2008-10-31T05:05:00.000-07:00

We finished off our week long celebration of Halloween tonight with one final round of trick-or-treating. Mia was dressed as a kunoichi (lady ninja). I was a black cat...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichi

The cowboys loped along with us...

Halloween in Tokyo is completely different than in the states. Here, EVERYONE wears elaborate costumes. Also, when you trick-or-treat, the kids politely ask how many pieces of candy the may have. Halloween is still not common in Japan, I only know of two neighborhoods in Tokyo that celebrate it (I'm glad ours is one of them).

Aaron's trip to Mongolia- mid September 2008

2008-10-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

Mongolia was great. I flew in Saturday morning. I knew it would be good as we started the descent: there are almost no roads in that country, wherever you look. The guy who runs the riding camp picked me up. There was another American in the car. A cool guy. Doing something, I have to admit, way more impressive than me: he was getting a little training so that he could buy two horses and gear and do a 4-week solo horse ride in another part of the country. More about him later. Five minutes down the road, a car side-swiped us trying to squeeze between us and a bus coming the other direction.(There are no lines on the road, and what would probably be two lanes gets used as something like five lanes.) Naturally he tried to blame our driver. With a straight face. We hung out on the side of the road waiting for the police. Then about 8 of our driver's relatives showed up instead and it all seemed to get sorted out.

The base camp was only about 40 minutes from the airport, but that's way out in the country. We drove off the paved road onto some tire tracks through the fields then drove another mile and there we were. About 8 gers (yurts), in a little valley between two hills. Some horses tied up. No other houses or people in sight. I took off about 2 hours later with a guide whose name, you guessed it, I can't remember. The horses were great. Always ready to trot or gallop and there was no word from the guide about safety or technique. There didn't seem much to say about how you should ride. This week I managed to stay on the saddle. We rode for about 4 hours. Saw two guys on horses herding sheep and cattle. No roads, not even dirt roads. Not a single fence or house. There wasn't even a trail to ride on – just road through the grass over the hills and valleys. I saw a fox. We stayed the first night at their friend's ger. I camped. There were about 10 older people in this ger, mostly people from the city visiting the three who lived there. I had two shots of vodka and a cup of fermented horse milk in the first 5 minutes. A lot of singing going on. There was meat hanging all around. They'd been butchering a sheep. I watched them milk the horses. They used the colts to get the mothers to start milking. I had rice with horse milk and sugar for dinner. I had more vodka first thing the next morning.

The next day we rode for another 4 hours or so and went back to the camp. It was pretty leisurely. The camp had a motorcycle and binoculars and they'd ride out and find us to bring lunch or the tent and sleeping bag. I stayed in the ger at the camp that night. The American guy, only other tourist there, was cool. He'd grown up in Alaska near Kennecott Glacier, went to Utah State to play hockey,dropped out after his first year and went into the Marines, did three tours in Iraq and when he was almost done with his third got hit by a bomb launched into their compound. Messed up his arm, back and stomach. He seemed mostly OK. But had bought his ticket to Mongolia the day he failed his medical exam to go back for another round. He'd been living in San Diego working part-time at REI and guiding sea kayak trips. That's exactly the kind of guy he looked like – didn't seem at all military.

The third day I rode out with another guide about 4 hours to a national park. I saw two other people in the whole place. They had a museum and the care taker came out of his tent to open it for me. Part of the park was the site of an old Buddhist compound. At one point there were about 300 lamas living there. It was like a village built into the hills. But apparently the Russians tore it all down in the 1930s. The Mongolians rebuilt one of the buildings and left the ruins of the others. The highlight of the day: I saw a wolf. He was eyeing some cows. One of the guys from the camp rode out on the motorcycle, made dinner (in a big pot over a camp fire, no pressurized gas for them), camped, made breakfast, then rode the motorcycle back. We took most of the 4th day going back over the hills. I slept in the ger at the base camp. I was asleep early every night. With nothing but time to read can you believe I managed to forget a headlamp or reading light? And a water bottle. And a warm hat.

The 5th day three other Americans came out for a one-day ride. They'd all graduated from Occidental College in LA two years ago. (One of them said it was great to see someone my age out doing a vacation like this. Amazing.) The four of us went out riding with the same guide. We rode for about 5 hours and circled around to the same friends' ger I'd been to on the first day. Good last day. I was reading Celine's Journey to the End of the Night while we were taking it easy. It's a great book. Much lighter than the one I'd read the first few days,Under the Volcano. I stayed that night in a hotel in the capital city, Ulan Bator. Not the most charming place, but worth seeing it. Totally different from the country. The women are all dressed up. It's like Japan but with Russian buildings falling down, cars all over the roads, and everything a mess. I found a Cuban place and ate juevos rancheros, then went to a coffee shop run by a guy from Amsterdam. I checked out a Buddhist temple the next morning, then was off to the airport.

A great trip. If you ever want to go horseback riding in Mongolia, here's my recommendation:

http://www.stepperiders.com/

Mia's Halloween Party!

2008-10-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood does trick-or-treating the Saturday before Halloween. We decided to invite Mia's class to a pinata party in the park before trick-or-treating. Mia was the Wicked Witch of the West.

Rhett, like daddy, was a cowboy. Nice 5 o'clock shadow Rhett!

Kids lining up for the pinata.

Two cowpokes taking a swing at the pinata.

The McTarrants show their true colors.

Afterwards we all went trick-or-treating. Here you can see my favorite costume. Barack Obama himself was at his second home in Japan, giving out candy. What a guy!

Mia's 6th Birthday

2008-10-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

Why here's the little firefighter herself. This summer we held Mia's 6th birthday at Woodland Park and we had the firefighters show up in their shiny red engine. Here's Mia in full turnout gear.

Two engines showed up, this one for the parents...

...and another festooned with balloons for the kids.

The best part was that Mia got to see some friends that she hadn't seen for over a year. When you live in Tokyo, those Seattle play-dates are hard to come by.

Here's the Huddlettes, George, Charlotte and little Izzy.

Los mejores amigos: Vincent y Patrick.

Lolo and Maeve...

Best buds Grace, Max, Mia, Caleb (in back) and Emma.

Max and Grace were pretty shocked when the fire engine showed up ringing it siren.

The motley crew...

All aboard...

I got to ride on the back fender with my dear friend Judy. We sang, caroused, and did our fair share of heckling as we cruised around Greenlake with the kids.

Tsukiji Fish Market

2008-10-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukiji_fish_market

This post is long over due. I went to Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo back in May when my friend Margaret came to visit.

Tsukiji is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. It opens at 3am when the fresh catch is brought in. The fish auction begins at 5am and is usually over by 7am. It's the tuna auction which is the most fascinating. A tuna can be caught off the coast of Australia one day, sold at Tsukiji the next, and on your dinner plate at a restaurant in New York on the third day. These tuna travel more than some people do in their whole lifetime.

The frozen tuna are hacked up by axes or large band saws.

And then they're on their way to your hometown restaurant in a flash!

This market is vast and colorful.

Meguro sushi, anyone?

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today Mayu and her mother came over for our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving. Last year was the first time either of them had ever carved a pumpkin and they were happy to keep the tradition going this year.

We got our pumpkins imported from the states via Costco. The Japanese don't grow this type of pumpkin here. They grow a smaller, squatter, green eating pumpkin.

Once the pumpkins were carved, the girls and Rhett got into costumes to "practice" trick-or-treating. We moms knew this was a thinnly disguised ploy to eat Halloween candy, but we did it anyways...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Mike's Asia Tour...

2008-10-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

A dear friend, Micheal Anderson, came to visit us in Tokyo yesterday. I first met him when we were both studying abroad in Nantes, France in 1992.

Then two years later we were both English teachers in France, me in Montlucon and Mike in Biarritz.

The last time we connected was in New York City in 1998.

Here he is slurping up ramen noodles at my favorite organic ramen shop.

He is now the director of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul...which has over 4,000 foreign students.

He is just finishing a three week tour of promoting his program in Asia (China, Korea and Japan). He had great stories of all the wild 'n crazy food he's been eating on the trip (my favorite was the "dragon" meat he had in China, aka spicey donkey meat!!!) And did you know that in South Korea there is a Dunkin Donuts store on every street corner? Who knew???

It was so fun to see an old friend and I can honestly say that he hasn't changed a bit since we first met. I wish I still looked like a 20 year old...

Grosses bisous a Mique!

Rhett's 2nd Birthday

2008-10-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

Rhett turned two on July 31, 2008. Aaron's family had a birthday party for him at their home. Here Rhett is playing trains with Nana Wendy. Two peas in a pod. I'm not sure which one of them had more fun being together.

Here's the birthday boy smiling as we sing him "Happy Birthday"!

Aaron's sisters Elena and Leah made cupcakes for the kids and let them each decorate their own.

Mia and her cousins had wrapped up some of the toys that Wendy and David had around the house.

And Rhett was thrilled by each gift he opened.

Aunt Leah and Aunt Elena gave him some new gifts too, which Aaron started assembling right away.

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Rhett!

COUSINS !!!

2008-10-17T06:35:00.001-07:00

Our first stop on our summer vacation was to visit Aaron's parents in Danville, CA. Mia and Rhett were so happy, because there's nothing they love better than to spend time with their cousins.

Here's Mia in the lap of luxury as Conner shades her with a rhubarb stalk and Dylan fans her from behind.

We went to Tilden Park to ride the trains. Rhett was exceptionally fond of his youngest cousin, James...

...and I was exceptionally fond of Aaron's little sister Elena (mother of the cousins).

Five little hobos riding the rails...

Rhett and Grandpa David checking out the Oakland Zoo.

We miss you cousins!!! Love, Mia and Rhett.

Rhett's 1st Haircut

2008-10-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Rhett finally got his first haircut in Seattle. He had just turned two and his hair was starting to resemble that of Einstein's...time for a cut!

He did great sitting still and enjoyed his ride in the rocketship..

It helped that he got to see his big sis getting her haircut first.

Afterwards, his friend Lily was there to give him a big hug!

Amen for those McGrath curls!

Mia's Ballet Recital in Tokyo

2008-10-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Mia had her ballet recital in Tokyo on July 24th. It was a huge event at a beautiful performance hall. I've learned that whatever the Japanese do, they take it seriously. Mia and her troupe had been practicing their dance for 6 months. They had four dress rehearsals. The day of the event we arrived at 10 am, and their dance was at 4pm.

Recital day started off with the girls getting into full makeup---Japanese style.

Then they were off to the main stage for another dress rehearsal in their flower petal costumes. *Note the mini-hats they were wearing. The Japanese simply love the mini-hat, you can see adults wearing them all the time. I don't quite get it...

Afterwards they went for their professional dance troupe pictures. Mia seems to be channeling the French mime Marcel Marceau...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau

Mia striking her pose.

Little Mia-chan (the only non-native Japanese speaker in the group) with her ballet buds.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get any decent footage of her dance. You'll just have to believe me when I tell you that she did a wonderful job. All their hard work paid off.

Daddy was right there afterwards to hand her a bouquet of flowers and give her a big hug and kiss. We are so proud of our little ballerina. Bravo!

Mia's PEPS group---all grown up!

2008-10-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

While in Seattle, we went to Mia's PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) reunion. It was so much fun having the group together again. This was Mia's baby group (11 babies total), so we got to see all of the kids that she has known since she was 6 weeks old.

http://www.pepsgroup.org/

Baby Rhett started a water fight with the big boys.

But the big guys took it all in stride...

Rhett got a little wet himself...

Thank you Lindsey and Cameron for hosting a great party!

Tama Zoo

2008-10-15T07:00:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago we went to the Tama Zoo, known as the "grand-daddy of Japan zoos". I think this is meant to imply that it is one HUGE zoo...

This is the entrance, complete with Halloween pumpkins. We went with our friends Miyuki, Taro and their son Kotaro-kun.

We had a very civilized lunch overlooking the African Savannah animals...

By far, the crowning glory was the Lion Bus. You get on the bus and drive through the lion area...

...where the bus stops occasionally to let the lions eat the meat they have hanging off the bus!!!!

This lioness was literally 3 inches away from us as she was sinking her teeth into the fresh meat.

Mia and Kotaro-kun had a great time riding back to the car in the stroller. A great day had by all.

http://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/tama/main.html

Mia-chan begins violin

2008-10-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the day!!!

Mia officially started her violin lessons in Tokyo. We found a teacher right next to Mia's school. The instructor teaches the Suzuki Method of violin. Luckily, it's not as strict as I had heard. Mia played her violin all by herself today and she was truly great. Mia has a great sense of rhythm and pitch. I was so proud of my little girl.

The teacher has two small children of her own and understands little kids well.

Mia is so happy to finally be playing her violin. We practiced again tonight before bed. She is completely enraptured by the violin. All she wants to listen to is violin music. Wow! Who would have thought that my little monkey would be so in love with the classics?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method

Third time's a charm!!! Happoen Garden.

2008-10-14T05:16:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Bert is in town for his 3rd visit to Tokyo. Today we went to Happoen Garden. Happoen means "beautiful from any angle". It certainly lives up to it's name. Here's Grandpa Bert in front of a 13 tiered stone pagoda that remained unharmed after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake---estimated to have had a magnitude between 7.9 and 8.4 on the Richter scale.

http://www.happo-en.com/english/garden/index.html

Happoen also has an extensive bonsai garden, with some trees over 500 years old. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai

The garden surrounds an extensive coy pond.

This was our refuge when it started raining.

A refugee...

We finished off our garden stroll with matcha and okashi (green tea and Japanese sweets), served by delightful ladies in kimono.

A perfect rainy day in Tokyo.

Ninja Mania

2008-07-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja

Our friends Linnea, Bill and their children Max and Lily just visited us from Seattle, Washington. Having them here was just like being at home. In fact, it made me a little homesick for the Pacific Northwest.

Mia and Max got along perfectly and were great partners in crime.

One of our favorite memories was seeing a ninja show at a local amusement park. Mia and Max got their pictures taken with the ninja cast. Max was even brought up on stage to receive prizes for winning a paper, rock, and scissors contest. He was totally unfazed by being on stage and spoken to only in Japanese...what a cool kid.

It only seemed fitting for me to suit them up in ninja clothes. Once in character, the ninjas went wild...

Just for the record, Mia and Max were dressed as ninjas and not young Al-Queda devotees...I promise!

They even tried to indoctrinate the wee ones, Rhett and Lily.

But Rhett was more interested in eating a sweet rice cracker the size of his head...

The next morning, Mia and Max woke up at 5:30am to don their new duds again. They put on ninja shows for anyone awake, namely me.

Max was a powerful, sword dueling ninja...

Mia channeled the gymnastic aspect of the ninja ways...

And let's not forget those baby ninja moves!!!

To the Mahoney-Schaffers...we love you and miss you dearly!

Mt. Fuji--2008

2008-07-05T00:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Aaron and I made it to the summit of Mt. Fuji-all 12, 388 feet of it! This was my 2nd time and Aaron's 3rd. Here we are about 2/3 up the mountain. Only in Japan do you see shrines and tori gates on the hiking trail...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Fuji

We went with our friends Asa and Satoru---friends we've met through Mia's Japanese kindergarten.

This was their first time climbing Fuji. They were fully prepared. Asa and I have been going to the gym, religiously, in preparation. At our gym we joined the "challenge" group. This means that you get a body composition scan of your body mass index, percentage of muscle and fat, etc. Then you choose your challenge. Asa chose the "muscle maker" course and I chose the "fat-burner". A personal trainer met with us and devised a fitness plan for us. Now my nick-name at the gym is "fat-o-burner", you think I'm kidding, but sadly, I'm not. When you walk into the gym and people call out, "Hey, Fat-o-Burner!!!"--you pretty much want to cry or laugh out loud.

Asa and Satoru at 3,000 meters.

We split the climb into 2 days. We started climbing around 4pm. By 8pm we reached our mountain hut where we would spend the night.

We made it right in time, as a rain storm was on the way...

We stayed at Tomoe-kan hut, at the 8th Station, around 3,400 meters. The Fuji routes are broken into 9 different stations--or levels. Staying so high on the mountain afforded us a short climb to the summit the following morning. We had planned to get up at 3am and climb to the summit for sunrise on Fuji. Unfortunately, the rainstorm was in full swing at 3am. Surrounded by howling wind, rain, fog and bitter cold, we decided to sleep in... hoping that the weather would calm down a bit.

http://www.mfi.or.jp/tomoekan/

And it did! We started our final summit bid at 9am in full sunshine. Here we are in front of the tori gate before Fuji's summit.

Asa and Satoru were thrilled to make it to the top. They both said that climbing Fuji-san was one of their life long goals. We felt so honored to have been a part of it.

It was a wonderful time with one exception. Poor Satoru had touch of the altitude sickness on the 2nd day. Despite the headache and vomiting, he somehow sojourned to the top. Luckily, he recovered fully once we made it down the mountain.

Sanrio Puroland!!!

2008-06-23T04:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a shout out to all the Hello Kitty fans out there. A mere 45 minute train ride from Tokyo takes you to the Hello Kitty mecca---Sanrio Puroland---a Hello Kitty-themed park.

http://www.puroland.co.jp/english/welcome.html

We went with our friends Asa and daughter Mayu...(and also Margaret from Alaska).

We rode the train through the main attraction which takes you by the various Sanrio characters...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanrio

... including Miss Kitty herself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanrio

We took in a show...

...and had a lot of one-on-one kitty time.

U*SA*HA*NA was also there for pictures and hugs.

The park had shrines, a hello kitty cafeteria, and plenty of merchandise.

The crowning glory of the visit was Mia and I getting our picture taken with our heroine.

Got Kitty?

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Today Aaron & I started off Father's Day by running the Tamagawa 8K race.

Aaron flew through the race without a hitch.

And what makes a father a father? Kids of course...

Two families joined us for an afternoon of playing in the pool and enjoying ice cold margaritas...

The dads we celebrated with were Martin (left), my cowboy, and Bill (right).

After the pool, the kids piled onto the couch for a movie.

Thank goodness for dads evrywhere---here's to you!

Dianne and Duane come to town...

2008-05-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

Baby Rhett was tickled pink to have Grandpa Duane and Nana Dianne come to visit.

We spent Mother's Day together in Hakone, Japan. We enjoyed the hotsprings there. The spa we went to is known for its novelty hotsprings. The regular spas were bubbling away: green tea, sake, coffee, sea salt, red wine, charcoal. This time we also soaked in ramen broth. The strangest was the foot bath we tried. The warm foot bath has small fish in it that attach to your feet and start cleaning them. Yikes! I shrieked out loud when one took a nibble on my toes.

My mom also brought over cans of enchilada sauce---impossible to find in Japan. To celebrate, we made a full Mexican meal for our friends. There are no Mexican restaurants in our neighborhood, so our Japanese friends were thrilled to have a little taste of Mexico.

(note: Aaron and I have eaten at a Mexican restaurant in Tokyo, only $90 for two orders of bean enchiladas and margarita a piece).

We also saw the Saint Exupery museum (author of "The Little Prince").

And Mia even took everyone to the local aquarium. She and Aaron got to pet a dolphin.

Mom and Duane, it was wonderful having you here. Please come back soon!

School Commencement Ceremony

2008-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mia was invited to attend Matsumura Youchien's commencement ceremony for new students. Even though she started school there a year ago, she missed the opening ceremony. Youchien is the Japanese version of kindergarten that starts from age four through six years old. Afterwards, kids go to elementary school. School starts in April, with long breaks in July/August, over New Years, and in March.

http://matsumura-youchien.jp/

This is Mihoree sensei, the head-mistress of the school. She is explaining the different name badges that each class wears.

To the left is last year's teacher, Emi sensei. To the right is her new teacher, Shima sensei. Mia is in the oldest class at school, the tsukigumi class or "moon" class. Last year she was in the hoishigumi or "star" class.

Afterwards we had our picture taken.

Aaron spotted Rhett on the jungle gym...

We were very proud of our little girl. Mia is really adapting well to Japanese school. She speaks Japanese at school and can now read and write in hiragana. Now if her parents could only catch up to her...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana

Grandpa Bert comes to Tokyo

2008-04-27T07:15:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Bert made his second trip to Tokyo this April. You can tell that the kids loved spending time with him. This was a regular scene with all three of them sprawled on the couch---usually watching a movie and eating macaroni together.

We also made it to the Shinagawa Aquarium and saw the spectacular sea lion and dolphin shows. Grandpa Bert and Mia especially liked the sea-life inspired carousel.

http://www.princehotels.co.jp/shinagawa/aquastadium/e/index.html

We did a family outing to Kodomo no Kuni, or Kid's Country. It is located 40 minutes out of Tokyo. It's basically a huge green park with farm animals to pet and ride, an amusement park, swimming pools, etc. A perfect place for young children. Mia got to ride a roller coaster by herself for the very first time.

http://www.merit5.co.jp/citylifenews/familyland/children/children.html

Both kids rode the ponies. Rhett was a little shy of the ponies at first, but his cowboy dad quickly got him acclimated.

Grandpa Bert also got to see Mia whiz around on her bike, with no training wheels!

Mia took this picture of the motley crew.

She also took this delightful picture of my dad...

Grandpa Bert---we love and miss you. Take care and come back soon!

Booze K

2008-04-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

Our final night in Kyoto was a memorable one. Toshihiro and Keiko took us out for a wonderful French dinner. They knew the owner and she made a private dinner just for us, as she was officially closed that day. This was followed by a trip to booze.K to meet another relative, Ko-chan (Keiko's brother). Ko-chan owns the bar "booze.K".

As you can see, Ko-chan is about the friendliest barkeep around. This little bar is teeny-tiny and seats a maximum of eight people.

We felt just like locals at this little hotspot. It reminded me of the "Bird's Nest" bar outside of Anchorage, Alaska.

Ko-chan sereneded us with a ukulele ditty...

We also met some of his regular customers that he'd known for decades. This little jazz bar was a gem.

If you are ever in Kyoto, give booze.K a call. He will give you directions to his place...

075-251-6763

A full day's tour in Kyoto

2008-04-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Margaret & I had a full day's tour of Kyoto during cherry blossom viewing. Her Japanese relatives toured us around in grand style via taxi and a walking tour. Sadly, it poured the whole day. Happily, due to the rain, the temples were virtually empty. We started at Kinkakuji, aka the Golden Pavillion.

http://www.shokoku-ji.or.jp/english/e_kinkakuji/index.html

After walking the grounds of Kinkakuji, we had a fine cup of green tea together. Here's Toshihiro and Keiko.

Then we were off to Ryoanji temple (aka the peaceful dragon temple) to see the famous zen rock garden below the cherry blossoms.

http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/kyoto/ryoanjiindex.htm

Finally we went to Kiyomizu-dera, Toshihiro's personal favorite of Kyoto temples. This was my first time at this temple and it was astounding. There is a little waterfall here pouring from these three outlets. People collect this water to drink for its therapeutic effects. To drink from these three water sources brings one health, longevity and success.

This temple is located in the wooded hills east of Kyoto. You can only get there by foot, thus conferring a feeling of utter tranquility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera

We did much more than see temples with our guides. We had the perfect bowl of ramen for lunch and also the perfect cup of coffee in the afternoon.

Thank you Toshihiro and Keiko!

Meet the Family

2008-04-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

The biggest joy of going to Kyoto was meeting Margaret's extended family. Her niece, Emily is married to Taro--who was born in Kyoto and has family there. We met Taro's Aunt and Uncle, Keiko and Toshihiro. They were so kind to us. They toured us around the temples of Kyoto, shared lavish dinners and lunches with us, and were completely delightful company throughout.

On our walking tour of Kyoto, it rained non-stop. They even provided umbrellas for Margaret and I.

This picture was taken at our farewell dinner. Toshihiro looking like a poet...

We couldn't have had better guides of Kyoto. Thank you Keiko and Toshihiro!!!

Sakura in Kyoto

2008-04-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here's my dear friend Margaret. She planned her trip perfectly so that we could have and extended tour of the cherry blossoms, from Tokyo to Kyoto. The sakura in Kyoto start blooming a couple weeks later that the Tokyo sakura.

In Kyoto we stayed at the Westin Miyako Hotel. Across the street from the hotel is an old railway that is bordered by cherry trees. We spent the afternoon along the promenade, taking in the scene...

This is a group of women that were touring Kyoto also. We offered to take their picture. We came across them a couple times while we were visiting the sights. They couldn't have looked more elegant in their kimono and sandals.

The railway led us to a river where people were taking a boat ride to view the cherry trees. The view was stunning.

Thus ended our first day in Kyoto.

Love on the rocks....

2008-04-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel

Actually, no rocks were included in this foray, but the title somehow fits...

For Aaron's 40th Birthday eve, I saw it only fitting to have a Japanese cultural experience. Not cuisine, Kabuki theater, nor Sumo wrestling...but an excursion to one of the infamous love hotels in Shibuya.

Love Hotels charge by the "rest" (a 3 hour lay-over, no pun intended)
or a "stay" (overnight). They are used by budget travelers who want an inexpensive place to sleep. They are also frequented by the many Japanese who still live with their parents and are not interested in engaging in coital relations under their parent's roof.

Here's Aaron basking in the glow of Hotel Rodin. We chose this hotel because we saw a Japanese couple stride right through the doors, without any hesitation. We considered it as a recommendation of sorts.

Once inside, you can see a panel of room choices. You press the button next to your choice. Then you up to the counter to receive your room key. So as not to embarrass anyone, the counter has an opaque window with a small opening. You cannot see, nor be seen by the attendant (who is usually a matronly Japanese woman, from what I can gather).

Then you go to your room, which has a flashing number so you won't stumble into the wrong room.

Yes, even in a love hotel, one must remove their shoes at the door.

There was an array of zany sex products that you could purchase. Sorry to admit, we did not imbibe in them.

But we did imbibe in the potato chips (remember I was there with my gentleman cowboy,who is quoted as saying, "I do love a chip").

I was happily surprized, as I was envisioning a love hotel as a smoky, seedy sort of place. I was totally wrong. They have yukatas (a light cotton kimono), nice clean bath tubs and showers, music, TV. A good place for a "rest".

Happy Bithday ATM.

Sakura Time!

2008-03-27T06:59:00.001-07:00

The cherry blossoms just opened up today in Tokyo. Believe it or not, it's a very big deal in Japan. The news media covers where the cherry trees are blossoming on an hour-by-hour basis. Once the blooms start popping open, people start teaming to the parks to have a picnic under the light pink tree branches. The picnics are called "o hanami", and oh is it fun!

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami

This was taken in Komaba Park, a 10 minute bike ride from our home. This park is surrounded with a 360 degree view of sakura (cherry trees).

Rhett wondering what all the fuss is all about!?!

Mia ready to get a game started. You will notice that the park is pretty empty. Two days later, at the height of the blossoms opening, it was standing room only. People had their tarps spread out, tables, chairs, and food and drink galore. I compare cherry blossom viewing to the 4th of July in America...one huge party. In this case, the party lasts for about two weeks.

The next day my friend Margaret from Alaska came to visit us. We went to the Naka Meguro canal to view the sakura.

Albeit jet-lagged, she was happy to be surrounded by the first blush of spring. Sakura, sakimashita ne?

Nozawa Onsen---Part Two

2008-03-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

We went back to Nozawa Onsen during Mia's spring break from school. She was so happy that her favorite waiter, Atsushi-chan, was still working there. These two were hilarious, playing jokes on each other, laughing and singing.

When we left to come home, Mia drew him a picture and he gave her a corsage. Atsushi was like a cool, hip Japanese uncle to her. She promised to see him next year during ski season and he promised to be waiting for her. Too funny.

The weather was sunny and the snow good.

Mia and Rhett loved taking the gondola up the mountain together.

Mia enjoyed ski school again.

How can you not enjoy ski school when one of the other students is a big, puffy dog?

Mia and "Snoopy" had a great time.

At the end of skiing we rode the "magic carpet" down the mountain into town. We hit an indoor water park/hot springs. Mia and Aaron rode the water slide until it finally was closed. Mia lovingly named the slide the "master blaster", she cannot wait to go back next year.

Easter Party

2008-03-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

All good Easter egg coloring parties start with a hearty yakisoba lunch, right? Here's Mia and her pals saying grace before lunch. They do this everyday at school so they are well practised. From right to left: Mia, Aru, Ray and Mayu.

Here the moms are saying their own version of grace.

None of our Japanese friends had ever colored Easter eggs before. It was quite the novelty for them.

They quickly learned the ropes.

Luckily enough, the Easter Bunny just happened to be in Tokyo. He came and hid eggs and candies for the kids. Mayu-chan carried around a toy rabbit while filling her bag with candy eggs. It was also our friend's first Easter egg hunt.

Hop-Hop-Hoppy Easter to you!

Yakushima--Day Four

2008-03-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

On our last day we needed to board the ferry by noon. We had just enough time to go to Shitoko Gajumaru Banyan Garden. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyan

We tried to go to a lighthouse. By accident, we found this seaside shrine instead.

Miyuki and I were completely amazed by this hidden shrine. You cannot find it in any of the guide books. It's a shrine erected by the local fishermen in hopes of a bountiful catch.

The shrine itself is sandwiched between crags in a deep cave.

The view of the sea from the shrine.

Once back on mainland Japan, we happened across this restaurant. "Bikkuri Donky" translates into "Surprised Donkey". I thought it was one of the most disturbing names of a restaurant that I'd ever come across. Here I'm trying to look like a surprised donkey myself...hee haw!

Yakushima---Day Three

2008-03-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

Today we hiked from 9am til 5pm in a densely forested nature preserve named Shiratani Unsuikyo. My camera was on the fritz for the first half of the day, so I only have pictures from the mountain summit back to the trail head.
We hired a guide because many people get lost on the poorly marked trails in the thick underbrush. Eji-san was a knowledgeable and peaceful guide.
It seemed as if every inch of the forest was covered in green. Leaves, trees, rocks...nothing could escape the 700+ types of moss that grow here. This forest inspired the famous Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki (who did "Spirited Away" & "My Friend Totoro") to make the movie Princess Mononoke. It's a story about a princess raised by wolves in this forest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke

Even though it wasn't raining, many of our pictures had theses white halos. Legend has it that only very spiritual people can capture these woodland fairies or spirits on film...

At the end of the hike we stopped to drink some mountain fresh water, also known to the locals as the fountain of youth. We'll see if Miyuki ages any time soon.

Yakushima---Day Two

2008-03-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Today we rented a car and drove the perimeter of the island. 75% of the island is covered with thickly forested mountains. Yakushima's towering mountains catch all the inbound rainclouds, giving it one of Japan's wettest climates. It is said to rain here 35 days a month.

There were plenty of macaque monkeys along the roadside grooming themselves.

We drove up a mountain pass to Yakusugi Land and hiked in the millennia-old cedar forest. We saw this shika (Japanese deer) along the way.

There we saw Buddha-sugi, an 1,800 year old cedar.

Afterwards we hiked to Ohko-no-taki waterfall, over 80 meters high.

Much of the road was single-lane and perched atop a cliff. We had to stop many times due to the monkeys and deer lounging on the road. They seem to have a nice relationship. The monkeys swing above in the forest canopy drinking the nectar from camelia flowers. When finished, they toss the flowers to the ground and the deer eat them. Because of this, deer and monkeys are usually seen together.

What wasn't pictured here today was the beach we went to, the best little coffeeshop on the island, and the incredible Thai massages we got along the way.

Yakushima Island--Day One

2008-03-12T04:21:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Yakushima with my friend Miyuki. Yakushima is an island south of mainland Japan. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site (Japan's first), due to it's many types of plants and trees. It's plants have been used for medicinal remedies for centuries, and the ancient Chinese characters (kanji) for Yakushima meant "Medicine Island". It boasts over 700 types of moss and 2,600 year old Japanese Cedar Trees. Supposedly, you can find every one of Japan's plants here on this island.

We left at 6 in the morning and arrived at Yakushima at 3pm. It took subway, plane, bus, jet-foil ferry, car and a lot of walking to get us there.

Before we boarded the boat from Kagoshima to Yakushima, we took a pit stop for "Tonkotsu ramen." I hate to be vulgar, but Tonkotsu ("pork bone") ramen is cloudy white. It has a thick broth made with crushed pork bones that have been boiled for hours. This is a local specialty of southern Japan--Kyushu Prefecture. Oishi so! For a brief tutorial on ramen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen

This is the entrance to Yaedake-sanso Lodge where we stayed at. We stayed in Japanese style rooms in riverside cabins, all connected by wooden walkways. It was rustic and surrounded by plants and trees. Tranquility.

This is our little cabin.

The lodge grounds.

The hotsprings baths (onsen)...

And more onsen...

Here are some of the staff that were especially endearing...I called the guy in front of me "Little Red".

Our first day was a long one. We got to our lodge, hit the onsen, had dinner, and crashed. The stars were incredible, as there were no street lights around. Luckily, we had three more days to enjoy Yakushima.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakushima

Nozawa Onsen

2008-03-08T04:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.nozawaski.com/winter/search/index-e.php

A couple weekends ago we packed up our snow gear and headed to the mountains. We went to Nozawa Onsen, known for its ski slopes and natural hot spring baths. It's located near Nagano, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Here's Aaron and I kickin' back on the ski lift up the mountain.

Mia made her debut in ski school, in Japanese, no less.

Rhett romped around in the snow...

...as did his dad.

We were there for two days. By the end of each day the kids were totally wiped out. Here's Aaron carting two asleep kids back to our ski chalet. We stayed at a German inn, run by a Japanese family. They catered to our every need and even made vegetarian meals for Aaron. The inn was located spitting distance from the ski lift and had it's own hot spring bath...it doesn't get much better than that.

After lunch and a hot bath, the kids were ready for the ride home.

We had so much fun that we are actually going back Easter weekend to do it all over again!

Happy Easter to you.

Hinamatsuri---Doll's Festival

2008-03-03T00:11:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri

March 3rd was Hinamatsuri. This holiday is dedicated to Japan's little girls. On this day we give thanks for the health and well being of girls. To celebrate, people construct doll shrines of the Emperor, Empress and their attendants. Here's Mia in front of her school's doll display. She's holding the Emperor & Empress dolls she made in class.

The displays are in personal homes, department stores, everywhere! The displays can be quite elaborate including all the royal attendants----from top to bottom: the royal couple, then court ladies, musicians, ministers and servants. This holiday is also called "Momo no Sekku" or "Peach Festival" because it coincides with peach blossom season. Many of the shrines have peach blossom offerings to the dolls.

Her school had flower boquets and served all the students lunch on that day.

Each class made something for hinamatsuri---Mia made these dolls.

They also made purses out of newspapers with peach blossoms on them. Her school gave all the kids Japanese sweets in their bags. The sweets were similar to Fruit Loops cereal, but without the fake coloring and the sugar overload.

We are very thankful for the health and well being of our little lass.

Mia's Ballet Debut in Tokyo

2008-02-25T04:59:00.000-08:00

Mia just started a ballet class in Tokyo (one block away from our home). She took ballet last year and loved it. She was so happy to be back in her leotard again. Here are a few snippets from the class. As you can see, Mia's forte is speed and not necessarily technique. In case you're not sure---Mia's the one in the light blue leotard.

About half of the girls in the class are from Mia's kindergarten. Cannot wait for the recital in July!

Valentine's Day a la Japonaise...

2008-02-14T03:27:00.001-08:00

If you read below, you will see that there is a missing picture---here it is!

Due to the sudden and final death of my camera, I'll have to use last year's Valentine's Day pictures as filler. Below you see us in Seattle, so naive about Japanese ways...

The Japanese have a different way of celebrating Valentine's . Here, the ladies give chocolates to the gents on this day. It is strictly a one-way-only gesture of affection. Men do not give anything on Valentine's Day.

Luckily for the ladies, the Japanese have invented a new holiday on March 14th. It's called "White Day" in which only men get to give the chocolate.

Last year we had our friends Brian, Tracey and their little baby Maeve with us in February. Mia , Rhett and Maeve are enjoying a little blankie time here.

Oh, yes-back to Valentine's Day in Japan. This year Mia had some girlfriends over to decorate cookies and make Valentine's cards. To be certain that no boy in there class was forgotten, they divied up all the boys in their class amongst themselves. On Valentine's Day they brought the boys cards, candy and cookies. You should have seen the little boy's faces. They were flabberghasted by the outpouring of love from the girls in their class. Some blushed, some were too shy to speak, but all seemed proud that they had merited a Valentine's goodie bag---from a girl no less.

Yon-de kudasai!!! Read please!!!

2008-02-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

Well, my little Miss Mia just finished her first learn-to-read book. She and I were both delighted by this accomplishment. We've been working on this for quite awhile now (we started when she was 4...she's 5 now). 100 reading lessons, 20-30 minutes a day. Doesn't sound too tough, does it? When you take into account the attention span of a 4 year old, it becomes a little more challenging.

The reading program is based on simple phonetics which builds into regular reading lessons. Here's Mia reading one of her lessons to me.

It's a fun book. She practices the sounds each letter makes, practices reading silly stories, does reading comprehension exercises...

...and practices writing upper and lower case letters. Luckily, the stories are pretty funny, so she was always interested to read the next story. I liked the book because it gives concrete examples of how to coach your child in the reading process. I am by no means a literacy teacher, but this book made it easy for me to help Mia along the way.

Upon finishing her 100th reading lesson, we went out for cake to celebrate. She told me that she will miss her reading book. Little does she know how many great books await her...

Snow in Tokyo

2008-02-04T03:14:00.000-08:00

While all you Americans were readying yourselves for the Superbowl, we were enjoying snow in Tokyo. It snowed earlier this year, but only a skiff that soon melted. Yesterday we woke up to snowy skies and it continued throughout the day. Many locals remarked that they had never seen so much snow in Tokyo. It certainly shut the city down and traffic was at a standstill.

We thought we would celebrate by going to nearby Shoto Park.

Instead of a snowman, we found a snow-kitty, replete with a dried hydrangea scarf and camelia leaves for eyes and a petal for it's pink nose...only in Japan!

Our family soon got busy making our own snowman.

Then we were homeward bound for hot cocoa and a warm bath.