Tama Zoo

Andrew has been working long hours at work these days and this past Monday he had a much needed day off.  Neither of us wanted to do anything big, so a low key trip to the zoo was decided upon, much to the delight of the children.  Stanley had been asking to go since we arrived, but I could hardly bear the thought of all that walking in the near-stifling summer heat.  Monday was a perfect day, weather wise.  Unfortunately though, it was also a holiday for the Japanese and it was PACKED.  Note to self, never leave base on a Japanese holiday ever again.

After struggling to find parking, we finally arrived.  The children were thrilled to explore and see what they had to offer.  It was very much like any American zoo, with the exception of the food selection.  They had all the typical animals from Australia, Africa and beyond.  Frankly, I am glad, it was good for the children.
All in all we had a nice relaxing family outing...a much needed together time.

   I love Tommys face in this one....

    In his element!

             

  The butterfly house was amazing, there were thousands of butterflies everywhere....

Nikko

So, as many of you know, for my birthday we went to Nikko this past weekend.  Andrew has been unbelievably busy these last few weeks at work and I was very much looking forward to some family time away.  As the week leading up unfolded, it increasingly became evident that this was probably not the best weekend for such a trip.  But, alas we had already paid for alot of it so we stuck to our original plan that was made well over a month ago.

So, off we went with the hope that the forecast of rain all day both days was wrong.
Nikko National Park is a largely mountainous volcanic plateau studded with lakes,waterfalls, hot springs and swamplands.  It is truly beautiful in a very rugged way.

We rented a log cabin just outside the park, which the children loved.  They spent ages exploring the area around us, playing Japanese warrior games and secret missions of the samurai delivering scrolls.  While we were sightseeing, they were begging us to go back to the cabin and play longer.

Saturday we awoke to a steady rain but set off anyway.  We went to the town of Nikko, where, apparently about 1200 yrs ago a formidable Buddhist priest named Shodo Shonin, on his way to Mount Nantai, crossed the Daiyo River and founded the first shrine in this area.  The Shinkyo Bridge which spans the river marks this place.  We then went on to the Tosho-gu shrine.  This shrine seeks to dazzle the eyes.  For 2 yrs some 15000 artisans from all over Japan worked, building, carving, gilting, painting, and lacquering, to create this flowery gorgeous Momoyama-style complex.  It is said to be the most ornate shrine in Japan.

                                          Shinkyo Bridge

The children were cranky and we decided we were wet enough and after a traditional noodles meal, let the children go back to their play in the woods.

The next day took us to Mt. Nantai a beautiful volcano with Lake Chuzen-ji at its foot.  We hiked to several Falls in the area before the fog set in and we had to call it a day.  We will definetely be back, hopefully with more sunshine...

                                         Ryu-zu Falls

                                                        This is a lava bed on Mount Nantai

Birthday and reality

What a crazy couple of weeks.  I always intended to do updates of the week on Sunday evenings, but as the last few weeks came and went I just couldn't do it.  I remember telling many people as we prepared for this move I would be fine but I worried how the children would adjust.  Instead, now that we are here, they are thriving and I am struggling to find my place.  The homesickness on some days is just so completely overwhelming I can not bear to think of the morrow.  What on earth am I doing in Japan?  Honestly, I never had any desire to see this part of the world, much less live here.  So as the days went by, I knew any post I did would be wretchedly depressing.  Thankfully, life has been very busy!

Our Stanley turned 7 on the 9th and as he anxiously counted down the days I worried about how he would be on his actual day.  All his previous birthdays have been filled with family and parties, this one would be much different.  Thankfully he took it all in stride, and after talking to Laura (his dear
cousin) on the phone, he deemed it to be almost as good a birthday as he'd had in Ohio.  Cake and lego made all well in his world.  As we celebrate these milestones so far from all who we love and and hold dear to us, my heart breaks as you all mean so much to us. 

The day after Stanley's birthday our belongings arrived from Ohio.  Almost 2 months to the day of our departure.  It was a joyous day for the children, but a great sense of finality for us.  Bittersweet.  This last week has been spent unpacking and settling in.  How wonderful it was to sleep in our own beds again, and cook with my old pots and pans!

    Grandmas piano, all the way to Japan!

Each Friday I organize a Japanese adventure day with some ladies I have met on base.  This has been a good diversion for me, as we go and explore a different part of Tokyo each week.  The city is massive and I think it will take us a long time to see it all.  I will post pictures of our adventures soon, I hope to get a good feel for this city so I can show all my visitors Tokyo! (hint hint, come visit!}

Lastly, Tommy and Stanley took part in their first triathlon here in Japan.  They had to swim for 100m, bike 5 miles, and run 1 mile.  They had a blast and I have to say I was proud of them!  Tommy said he felt 'like a champion' and Stanley exclaimed 'I never gave up, not once!'

    Yup, that's me I ran with them!

    Proud!

                            Look who was at the finish line to cheer on the participants!

We'll be ok, so glad we are running this race with the Lord beside us...every step of the way.

Kamakura

I am sure we have all heard those wretched stories of the traffic and congestion in Japan, but this past weekend was the first time Andrew and I truly experienced it.  Like REALLY experienced it.  I have inched my way along 16 many a time, but never like this.  

So we decided to go to Kamakura for the weekend.  There are several famous shrines in this area and ever since I saw a picture of the 'Big Buddha', I wanted to see him.  For some reason I envisioned him being like what Daniel and his friends were told to bow down to, and would be neat for the children to see.   As we set off on Friday morning, with GPS in hand we thought getting there would be a piece of cake.   Boy were we wrong.  Our GPS does not 'see' highways stacked 4 high, and cannot understand why you couldn't just get off and go left.  We missed our exit and ended up almost in downtown Tokyo.  The traffic was unbelievable, our GPS practically useless, highways stacked 3,4 and 5 levels on top of each other, and tolls every time we tried in vain to reroute ourselves.  It was a nightmare.  Truly.  Andrew and I are still married, but times like those should not be repeated, like ever.  Sigh.  Andrew, and I have to hand it to him, figured our way out of it, but it definitely served as a wake up call as to why the train is used like it is here.  Driving is a crazy waste of time if you are anywhere in the vicinity of Tokyo.  Our projected 2 hr trip, took 5 and we arrived.  

                             At the first shrine Kamakura Hanachi ji

                             I just loved this tree...


Was he worth it?  Buddha I mean?  He was.  The kids were really able to see what an idol is as they were in Biblical times.  People were praying and bowing to him, offering gifts and burning incense.  It was really very sad.  We also went to several other temples in the area, most notably Hasadera.  

Hasadera had stunning gardens and overlook areas of the Pacific Ocean.  

It was built in the 8th century, and has an eleven faced Kannon (or goddess of mercy) in the main hall.  It is over 30 feet tall and was apparently hand carved by a very well known priest named Tokodu.  It is the largest wooden structure in Japan and its 11 faces are to help her see in every direction.  We could not sneak a picture, but did manage to get one of this buddha at the shrine for prosperity

From there we went to see the Daibutsu or Buddha.  He is the second largest bronze statue in Japan.  The fact that he is in the open air makes him unusual as most of these idols are in the shrines. 

This shrine was for deceased children 

This cave had about 2 dozen gods in it, with spots to burn your incense in front of each god

The kids were utterly exhausted after this and we decided to head to Yokosuka where we had a hotel for the night.  Yokosuka has a very large naval base and I had heard had way better shopping than our base in Yokota.  It was better, but I wasn't expecting how neat this base was.  I guess I have to admit being on a working Air Force Base is pretty cool, but seeing the destroyers, submarines and an aircraft carrier sitting at the docks was awesome!  I mean going through them when they are past their heyday is one thing, but these are active.  In use.  And we all couldn't see enough.  Loved it.  We were not sure if we were allowed to take pictures of the ships.  Due to security reasons, we arent allowed to take pictures of the aircraft at Yokota.  Otherwise we would have gotten close and taken a lot of good ones.

    At breakfast we saw one of the air craft carriers heading out to sea, and if you look closely their is a submarine docked to the right.  Amazing veiw.

The next day we had designated as a beach day.  I never dreamed when my children first put their toes in the Pacific it would be in Japan!  We had a wonderful day relaxing on a black sand beach very near Kamakura named Enoshima and enjoyed the very warm ocean and surf...

It started out rough but I am so glad we went... Memories galore!

Nikko Edo

Last weekend we ventured off base to a beautiful part of Japan.  Nikko National Park is known for spectacular hiking, beautiful shrines, temples and hot springs.  We did none of the above.  We are going back the first weekend in October (Canadian thanksgiving) to see all of that.  This was just a day trip to a little village where the Japanese have recreated their way of life in the Edo time period.  From 1590 until the 1860's the samurai led this country.  This period abounded in ninjas, geishas, and all things I consider classic Japanese.  This village would be like Hale Farm  or Sherbrooke village, except in Japan.  There were amazing samurai battles, grand ninja demonstrations, and geishas performing throughout the day.  The kids loved it, and if any of you with kids come visit this would be a must see!

                                              Going for a ride

                                         Check out those platforms!

School began this week.  The kids are happy thus far and I am cautiously optimistic for the year.  Their day is from 8-2, with a 5 minute walk to and from so we love how fast the day seems to go for them.  Thankful!