Early Christmas Morning 2008

Ooo-Oooh Kira-Kira with Anna

Chi-Chi Ka-ka!

Merry Christmas From Japan!

This Christmas came a bit early here at the Williams house in Inzai. On Christmas day Hiroko's mom will take Anna to Matsusaka ahead of us so we decided to have Santa come on Christmas Eve morning instead of Christmas Day.

Anna woke up to find the piece of Christmas Cake that we left for Santa already eaten. She also found quite a few presents underneath the tree.

Yesterday, Hiroko had to work so I took her Mom and Anna to Ueno, the park, and the zoo. There Anna always likes to ride the little rides at the entrance to the zoo. So we bought 500 yen of tickets and let her decide what she rode.

Also, this past Sunday, Anna had her ballet recital in Shiroi. I have some videos of her dancing. Sorry for the quality of the videos. They are pretty bad. We should have a DVD that I can rip her dances off later that will look much better.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! And a Happy New Year!

Anna Mae Sings Winter Wonderland

Dragon Kids Starring Anna Mae!

Kamogawa Sea World

It has been a while since the last post. Sorry for the wait. A couple of weeks ago we headed due south and visited Kamogawa Sea World again. This time, we were ready. The last trip here we realized that there needs to be a coordinated effort with the family unit in order to see all there is to see in any amusement park here in Japan. It takes discipline, focus, and, above all, a plan.

This time we had originally planned to leave in time to get to Kamogawa before 11am on Sunday. Unfortunately, we forgot the above concept of dicipline and overslept. As a result, we got into the car, programmed the GPS and realized we would get to Kamogawa and then just have to turn around and come back home. We decided on just going to the park for the day instead and making a plan for that Monday (I had a 3 day weekend).

That next morning we woke up at 6:30am, and headed out in time to get to the park just as it was opening. While waiting in line we had the show schedule with us. For the first show, the seals, since I had seen it before, before the show was done, I left, took some seats at the dolphin show and sent Hiroko a text message with my location. After the seals, they showed up and we all enjoyed the show. The rest of the shows went just as well. We were a well oiled machine!

Also, for the Orca show, they had recently had a baby Orca born at the park. During the show, I had tried to get pictures of the little one swimming along with the mom while she was performing. Unfortunately, I did not get the picture.

Happy Holloween in Japan

This morning, after Hiroko said goodbye to Anna at the bus stop, she had a conversation with Kaisei, and Hiroto's mothers about Halloween in the USA and how we would like to try it here. They all really liked the idea and decided to do some trick or treating around the 2 chome area between each of our houses before dinner.

Anna dressed up as Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Honoka came dressed as "Princess Hon0ka", Kaisei was the ghost on the head caped guy, and Hiroto was the pumpkin king of the netherworld.

Honoka's Mom came by our house in thier car first because they lived a few blocks away. Then we headed out to Kaisei's house, from there we went to Hiroto's house and then back to ours.

The kids had a ball. We will definitely be doing this next year with a little more preparation and, hopefully, more kids.

Kidzania: Kids RULE!

Imagine, if you will, a world where all people over the age of 12 have been reduced to mere observers and instructors in a planet ruled by children. This is not Lord of the Flies; Welcome, to Kidzania!

In Kidzania my daughter was able to work in a Licca-chan Fashion Boutique (Japan's Barbie), become a chef in the ABC Cooking School where she made Omelet Rice for her Mom, become a nurse in and learn how to take care of newborn babies, and finally become a flight Attendant on All Nippon Airways. All this plus, she was able to open a Kidzania Bank Account at Mitsui Sumitomo Bank where she deposited her Kidzania bucks and got an ATM card.

She especially enjoyed the flight attendant. They had a huge fuselage of a ANA plane inside the town. There she boarded the flight and was able to work as a flight attendant (We do not call them stewardesses any more silly!). All the parents were able to watch their kids piloting the plane and serving meals. As you can see in the fuzzy shot above, Anna barely clears the meal cart. She had a ball though and so did Daddy! She asked after she got off the flight "Daddy, where did we go?"

I said, "I don't know Anna, you boarded the flight, the plane left, and then came back in 50 minutes. I was able to watch you on the TV though." She still thinks she took a trip on a plane, SO COOL!

It was like being able to watch your kids all day at school. The first time at Kidzania she always looked nervous. I knew, however, that she was just loving this. After coming home it was all she could talk about. Later today she will show Grandma Matsusaka and Hiroko how to properly wash a newborn. I can't wait!

2008 Kobayashi Tenjin Yochien Undokai

On Sunday this week we had Anna's Undokai or Sports day at her kindergarten. This was supposed to happen on Saturday but was delayed to the next day because of rain. My daughter had made these little ghost figures they call "Teru-Teru-Bohzu" to try to keep the rain from coming but they did not work until the following day.

This year is Kobayashi Tenjin's 20th anniversary. So they decided to try something special in the opening ceremony with all of the kids. They had prepared helium balloons for all of the children to release on cue. Now, I'm not sure how well this was actually thought out. They had grouped all of the balloons by color and since the strings were getting tangled, It took a good 30 minutes just to get the balloons handed out. While they were handing them out, one of the teachers kept telling the kids "HOLD THE BALLOONS WITH BOTH HANDS!". However, this was to no avail and you would see three or four stragglers get sent up into the sky. I was worried that the balloons would get in the way of the planes landing and leaving Narita Airport. You can see the balloon release in my Picassa album along with the other pictures. Just click the album above to see the whole album with the videos.

Anna's Birthday Weekend!

This weekend we had Anna's 5th birthday party at our house. Her best friend Honoka and her family were able to come over for some great barbecue. The picture here is me and Honoka's dad, Yoshiyuki. My wife took the picture because she said we looked like we coordinated our clothes for the day (It's not true).

My wife bought two layers of cake and some chocolate foof in a can that she used as frosting. There Honoka and Anna both blew out the candles and had a great time. With the heat though the whip cream began melting immediately off the cake. I think it really takes Americans to make some real thick frosting that resists melting unless you put it on a hot cake.

Then, since we had a three day weekend here in Japan, I took Anna and Hiroko to the Narita Athletic course again for some good, getting dirty fun. Everyone went home with allot of sweat and dirt layers from all of the obstacles. I could not try my centrifugal escape method from the demon's bowl due to the slippery slides on the side though. It would have been really cool and I think that my wife would have been very impressed with my ingenuity if I avoided bonking my head on a tree on the way out like I did last time.

Makinosato Minami Chonaikai Natsu Matsuri 2008

This year I was appointed block leader for block #12 in the Kobayashi Daimonshita district. This is not because of an election or anything but because it is our house's turn. So, this years big event was the Summer Festival at the park across the street from Kobayashi JHS.

On Friday before the festival day we set up the tents, tables, and stage in the park. That afternoon, since my block was in charge of potatoes and butter (Jaga Batah) we had to wash and pack the them for the next day's festivities. On Saturday we baked potatoes. They had this HUGE WOK that would be primarily used in case of an earthquake to feed the whole area if need be. We hooked up a kerosene tank to this electric motor that powered a fan to blow a fuel mix to a burner underneath the wok (Think of it like a flame thrower for your stir-fry). Needless to say, this thing shot a flame that seemed to be hotter than the sun. Most everyone, including myself tried to stay as far away as possible. We then prepared all 200 potatoes and waited for people to some by.

Even with the torrential rain that came down later in the day, we ended up selling out of potatoes due to my superior sales techniques. Also, my daughter enjoyed the ice cones with her best friend Honoka.

Ueno Park and Dinner with Kenji's Family

The other day we found out that my friend Kenji's family were in Tokyo for the Obon holiday week. So we took a trip into Tokyo for the afternoon to have lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen located at the Tokyo Dome and then onto Ueno Park. Afterwards we headed to Meguro to meet up with Kenji's family.

We were kind of apprehensive about going to another US restaurant chain in Japan. Usually, like with Big Boy, they change the menu to adapt to the Japanese tastes. However, when we arrived at California Pizza Kitchen we noticed that the menus were exactly the same as in the states and they were still in English. Great for us but not for business here. There was a double header going on at the dome and there was absolutely no waiting at CPK. We ordered the California Club and the Thai Chicken Pizza. Both just awesome.

Afterwards we took the train to Ueno to spend the day at the park and zoo. There the temperature was in the lower 90's but with the trees and the breeze it felt like 89 degrees. Yeah, it was hot. There we saw this band from Peru again who seem to be a regular at the park. They are very talented.

Finally, we made our way to Meguro to meet up with Kenji's family in from Singapore. Luckily they gave us a private room where the kids could go just completely crazy. They probably should have soundproofed the walls a little better though. Kenji's wife, Asako his boy Kengo, and daughter Nanami had a great time with my daughter and their three cousins from Mito, Ibaragi. With that many kids, you can imagine the volume in the room.

Narita Airport Athletic Course

On Saturday Anna Mae and I went to this park nearby the Narita Airport. If you have ever seen the show "Sasuke", the ultimate obstacle course, then you can get a good idea of what this place is like. All of the obstacles are made of logs and rope and spread out through the forest for a total of 50,000 square meters of pure fun for kids and big kids. I think my sister would become quickly addicted to this place.

The best part of the obstacles was the cable swing that took you from up on a high hill down, across a small pond to the other side where there was someone there to catch you. They also had small cabins and a well all connected with dirt tunnels in the hills underneath the forest. All much like the dream playground you wanted in your back yard as a kid. You definitely want to wear clothes you are willing to get very dirty.

They had one part of the park where you go into this huge hole called the ogre's stomach. There you can get yourself out by the ropes (the wimps way) or you can get out the cool way like I did. Well.... sort of cool. I started running around the bottom of the hole and got enough speed to run out. However, there was a tree in the way at the end of the run at the top of the hole that I fell into. There was another father looking on. I had to try to maintain my cool and not lead on that my head felt like I just cracked it open. Luckily no concussion.

Date In Tokyo 2008 and the Quest for the Fish Dish!

Last weekend the wife came all the way from Inzai to Tokyo to meet up with me and my friends at work. We had a party of 12 and we all headed to Manse in Akihabara. This is a huge restaurant with 9 floors. It is famous for its beef also.

They had a beer hall set up on the 8th floor where we all met after work. It was great for everyone to meet their wives and significant others (for those that brought them anyway).

On the next day Hiroko and I headed into Tokyo again to try Jangara Ramen (See my profile picture on the top of the page). As you can see from the picture, she was just as enthusiastic about the great noodles as I am. As I have traveled Japan to find the perfect bowl of ramen. I still always have come back to Jangara. I understand they have other locations in Tokyo. We will have to check out some more.

Next, Hiroko and I headed into Shibuya. I had to show her the famous intersection where thousands cross at every other minute. This also shows up in every movie with Tokyo. Following that, Hiroko wanted to try to make it to this laquerware store to by a "fish dish". A fish dish is a dish that is rectangular in shape that allows you to set a whole broiled fish on it. I know the picture makes the dish look square, but it is a rectangle, I swear.

In order to find the bus to get to the place we had to search for bus number 51 to Roppongi. Well, Hiroko and I have different ways of looking for things. My style is to wonder, look, observe, and avoid maps because maps make you less of a man. Hiroko did not like this style and became very angry when I walked past the bus depot map. I would have found the bus ........ eventually!

Clam Hunting in Tokyo Bay

This Saturday we went with my friend from work to Kisarazu on the coast of Chiba Prefecture to go hunting for little clams. Here in Japan they are called Asari and Hamaguri. This activity is really popular here, especially with little kids. It is basically a good excuse to play in the mud for half the day.

Anna enjoyed building mud castles with her friend Koki and all of the adults loved getting our hands on these tasty little creatures. Ove the course of the day I made the erroneous decision to not wear sunscreen. I am paying for this today. I have a great shade of red right now on my neck arms and legs. Also, since I was wearing Crocs in the big mud puddle, I have red sunburn dots on my feet too.

Afterwards we took our bounty back onto the boat and washed them up. We then put them in sea water. It was really cool when we brought them back home. When you looked into the bunch of them they really do move around and like squirting water at each other. Very cool.

2008 Matsusaka Gion Matsuri

Unlike last year, since there was no Typhoon, the Matsusaka Gion Matsuri when as scheduled this year. This time, I was able to carry the Mikoshi with about 100 others for Yagumo Jinja near Bell Town in Matsusaka. The temperature was a balmy 90+ degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I think many would have wished a few more rain drops though, including myself.

The groups for our mikoshi were divided into yellow, red, and blue head bands. Each group would carry the mikoshi for a leg of the journey into the center of the town. My group, the blue group, carried second. The mikoshi is about the weight of a car on your back, even though you have several others helping you carry, when you are about 4 to 5 inches taller than everyone else, you tend to carry much of the wieght.

Luckily, I survived, but I did feel like I would pass out from the heat at some point, so when the opportunity to ditch out the second half of the carry arrived in the middle of the town. I took it. I will try to last a little longer next year if the heat is not so bad. Yeah right.

I also got to help with my daughter's mikoshi carry through the Naka-machi area of Matsusaka. Following that my daughter and her cousins put on thier yukata's and danced with the rest of the town in the "Suzu Odori" or bell dance. We had a ball!

Boso no Mura

Today we went to Boso no Mura located inbetween Inzai and Narita. We have been told about this place a few times by others in the neighborhood but this was our first time there.

The town is modeled after the Edo or Samurai Era of Japan in the 1700's. They also have many crafts to try your hand at making. My daughter made a cute candle with rabbits on it and then she made a plate that will be baked, sealed and then we can pick it up later this week.

While walking around we decided to take a break and drink a Lamune Soda. These have been around in Japan for many years. The bottle is unique in that there is a glass bead that you first have to push into the bottle in order to break the seal.

My daughter has never really liked any carbonated drinks but she wanted to try this one. I knew what her reaction would be to the soda so I decided to take a quick video that you see here.

We also have a quite a few pictures to check out on Picassa.

Anna and Kouki Play in the Fountains at Lala Port Mall

Anna Riding Her Bike Video

Anna's Portrait of Daddy

Last week they had a display of the area kindergarten's student's portraits of their fathers. Here is a picture that my daughter made of me. What seems to happens is that Anna watches her neighbors make their artwork and she does the same.

Anna seems to be getting that Daddy looks different from the other dads but still, in the portrait, I have black hair, brown eyes, and have not shaved.

This above is one explanation, the other is a mystery. When I ask my wife for an explanation, this is her look.

Waku-Waku Sankanbi!

On Sunday last week was parent's day at Kobayashi Tenjin Yochien. This was formally known as Fathers Day Activities but since many dads can't make it there, they just settle for the politically correct, parent's day.

It was allot of fun. I got to see Anna sing her school song again this year and also we were able to play outside some games like "Try to pat your buddy's butt" and "Step on your partner's Toes".

In Japan, they play Rock, Scissors, Paper very seriously. I suspect it is used to make most decisions for everything here in Japan. One of the games was a very complicated version of the Rock, Scissor, Paper game. First, you both put out your right hand with rock, scissors, or paper. Then you put out your other hand doing the same. Lastly, you have to pull one hand back and then determine the winner by the remaining hand. Pretty complicated, but kind of fun.

Later that day we headed to Choshi for some great fish and also to see the curvature of the earth.

Grandma Matsusaka in Inzai!

Last weekend Hiroko's mom came to Tokyo from Matsusaka. On Saturday we went to Ginza for a display and demonstration of Japanese Calligraphy by some famous teachers from around Japan. Included in the five teachers was my mother-in-law's teacher from Matsusaka.

Each sensei showed their prowess in the art by writing Japanese poems on large canvases. I wish I had some more, hand-eye coordination so that I could try doing this. While being here for this short time though I have gotten complements on my writing from my co-workers though. Although I am only handwriting the kanji that are usually repeated in expense reports and time cards. For the most part, I use the PC. That definitely does not give you any skill to practice hand writing Japanese.

This is definitely becoming a lost art here in Japan.

Disturbing Anpanman

Here in Japan there is one cartoon character that has been consistently the most popular amongst 2 to 4 year olds for many years. He is known as Anpanman (Sweet Bean Paste Bun Man).

In addition, one of the most disturbing movies that I have ever seen has to be Hannibal with Ray Liotta and Anthony Hopkins. The one scene that still gives me nightmares has to be where Hannibal is eating Ray Liotta's brain.

After coming here to Japan, my daughter immediately started liking Anpanman. In most scenes he offers up a piece of his sweet bean paste bun to his friends. Whenever I see this it brings shivers up my spine thinking about the scene from Hannibal.

Here in the picture is a small figurine of Anpanman where he is giving you a piece of his head. You can see the sweet bean paste that resembles Ray Liotta's brain here.

OK. I'm done with this post. I don't want to look at this ever again.

Nut Kills 6 near my office!

This afternoon I received an e-mail on my phone from a co-worker that there were several people stabbed outside the UDX building today. Luckily, it is Sunday here and I was at home. Apparently, this nut was unhappy about his sorry life and decided to drive from Shizuoka to Tokyo to stab several people in the area. Right now reports are that 7 people are dead among the 18 people injured. The picture of the person laying down by the sign is the nut job himself.

The victims were apparently stabbed while waiting in line at the McDonald's I buy my lunch at every other day. This seems to be a trend here in Japan. There was another incedent like this just a couple of months ago in Ibaraki prefecture.

Unbelievably scary day today. I'm glad I don't work on Sundays.

Visitors From Novi, Michigan

On Thursday we had visitors from the USA. Anna's friend Momo, her mom and new little one arrived to visit our from Novi, MI. Unfortunately, I was at work for the day and could not meet up with them. But from the pictures, I know they had allot of fun.

I have included two pictures here. The one on the top is from July of 2006 at Indian Springs Metropark in White Lake, MI. The second one is taken just this past Thursday at our house here. It is amazing how in just a little over 1 1/2 years they have changed.

They played together as if they had just seen each other the other day. We hope to soon make a visit back to Michigan to meet up with Momo's family again there. From there we will head down to Georgia to see my family.