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.

Must Have One of These!

Anna Gets a New Bike!

After Jero's concert we took a trip to the other side of the tracks to Joyful Honda and bought Anna a new Hello Kitty Bicycle. Many of her friends at school are already riding on just two wheels (no training wheels) and we thought it is probably a good time for Anna to get started. At first we looked at the Pretty Cure Gogogo model but Anna liked Kitty the best.

The Barbi tricycle that Grandma had bought had gotten much too small. Tomorrow we will take it out to break it in by riding to the park. Hopefully I won't have to push her too much.

Hello Japan! Here Comes Jero!

This Saturday was the much anticipated arrival of Jerome White Jr. or Jero as he is known here in Japan. My mom got to see him perform on TV while she was here and was impressed (At least that is what she said). Jero sings "Enka". Enka is a Japanese form of folk songs and old country music. It has been very popular in Japan for a very long time.

Jero grew up in Pittsburgh, PA where he sang songs for his Japanese grandmother. As he grew older he learned many more and made his debut on the Japanese NHK TV show, "Nodo Jiman" or the "Proud Throat". Now he is about to release his first CD here in Japan and the hype is unbelievable. He looks like a Rap star but sings like a Enka star. Young and old from all over Japan are going to love this guy.

This afternoon at 3 he had a short free concert here in Inzai at the Big Hop Garden Mall (The same mall that my wife works at). The square in the middle of the mall packed in everyone shoulder to shoulder. Anna and Mom bought a CD to get up near the front and get a handshake after the concert. I have their picture here.

Jero sounds great! He has a talent for languages and music that few could aspire to. He has done alot of work and deserves every yen he makes here. His grandmother would be very proud.

Click Here for Jero's Website

Two Big Earthquakes - Anna Still Sleeps

The first earthquake hit at 1:09am. This one shook the house pretty good. When you are sleeping on the 2nd floor, you really feel the house sway. Afterwards there were several aftershocks. This one was a 3 in Inzai on the Japan vibration scale.

The first map shows the power of the earthquake by color. The light blue is a 3.

After this one was over we thought we could then go to sleep. We were wrong.

The second one rocked the house back and fourth. This measured a 4 on the vibration scale and a 6.7 on the Richter scale. This one made my wife scream a little and scared the crap out of me.

As can be seen on the second map the green triangles represent a 4. This one was wide and strong. We had 2's at about 15 minute intervals until early morning. As a result not many people were able to sleep to well last night.

Our daughter Anna has yet to wake up for an earthquake. We are not looking forward to the one that she does.

Click here for the Reuters Story.

Ueno Zoo Panda Dies

When my daughter and I visited Ueno Zoo a couple of weeks ago we were very fortunate to be able to see Ling-Ling, the giant panda there. This morning's news was very sad though. Just as I had thought, he did not seem too well when we were there. It has to be very hard to live out your last years inside a glass box where people snap photos of you every time you look over your shoulder.

When we were there the guards would tell people to turn off the flash. Unfortunately there are dolts that refuse learn how to use their camera and just keep flashing away. You could see the panda flinch every time someone would flash him. This is about the best picture I could get.

It's just a sad way to go.

Click here for the article on Ling-Ling.

Goodbye to Uh... to Yeah... these two fish

Well, we have learned another lesson of life here in Japan. That is, never encourage your daughter to try to catch fish at a street vendor at the side of the road. Of course, everyone here says, "Oh yes, my kids caught some fish years ago and they are still alive and well!". Yeah, screw you!

Well, yesterday my wife found another goldfish dead in the water. This time Anna was not effected at all. I believe the fish/death thing has now desensitized her somewhat.

This morning I woke up to check on the fish and found the remaining two dead also. Now we have an empty tank and the fish graveyard in the front is going to get crowded. I asked my wife if she thought we should get some more fish but she said she will tell Anna that we will not get another. I am still waiting for the reaction this morning from home on how Anna will take that.

The salespeople at Joyful Honda tell us that the goldfish crop this year is bad. I wonder if there is a goldfish health index we could look up on the Internet?

Ueno Park 上野公園

Today, while Mom was at work at Big Hop, Anna and I took a trip to the big city. As of late I've been kind of worried that the wife and daughter have been hanging around the Inzai for too long. I especially felt that way when, on the way home from the station one day, Hiroko made it a big point to say that the new housing sign had changed in front of our neighborhood. If this was the extent of her excitement, we needed to get out of the neighborhood at least for the day.

First step is Anna. We dropped Hiroko off at work and Anna and I took the train to Ueno Park. We arrived at about 10am and took a ride on the paddle boats. Then we went for the zoo but I got lost and ended up a couple of blocks down the road until I realized I had to go back. We got to see the Giant Panda there. The panda I think has gotten pretty tired of getting his picture taken with flash bulbs every time he looks towards the guests, so I did not get some very good pictures.

The street performers were great. One in particular was this lady singing opera while playing the accordion. The last performers we saw were from Peru playing the pan flute. Also, there was a great guy doing a comedy / juggling / balance act on a bowling ball. All allot of fun.

Good-Bye Kara-Kun

While my mother was here in Japan they took a trip to see the cherry blossoms at Kobayashi Bokujo. All along the street there were vendors peddling food, toys, etc. At one of the booths my daughter tried her hand at "Kingyo Sukui" (金魚すくい) where kids try to catch goldfish with a disk of paper that slowly falls apart in the water. If you are not quick, you will lose the fish. Anna was able to catch three orange goldfish and one black big eyed goldfish.

The three goldfish are named Remi, Kina, and Hina. The black fish, Kara from day one tended to hide underneath the plastic plant inside the tank. The Remi, Kina, and Hina would pick on Kara while he hid there.

Yesterday, our worst fears were realized and Kara was found floating underneath one of the tree he liked to hide under. Anna took it pretty hard but she learned one of life's hardest lessons. We made a grave in the front yard for Kara and my wife made a little drawing of Kara underneath his name.

In the afternoon we went to Joyful Honda to see if we could find another fish to replace Kara. Unfortunately, the salesgirl there warned us against buying another one at that time. Many of the fish were not well there either. She told us to come back in a couple of weeks to see if the fish had gotten any better (or some of the weak ones had died off.)

Coolest Truck Ever

Today, on the way to work I spotted the back of this dump truck on it's way to a construction site. The back of the truck is a picture of the popular Yakuza movie star, Bunta Sugawara. He stared in the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity Series" (仁義なき戦い). The series mostly depicted the stories of gang wars in Hiroshima following World War II.

This pose of him coming out of the water with the short sword weapon of the Yakuza is a classic. Many trucks here have much more elaborate designs (I'll try to get some more pictures later) but this one really brings chills coming up your spine. This truck simply tells you "Tailgate at your own risk."

Grandma Goes Back to The USA!

Today we took my Mom back to Narita Airport to say good bye for a while. My mom is always very nervous about flying. Her flight was at 3:30 in the afternoon but we left the house at 10:30am. In the pictures you can see that Mom was visibly nervous when she saw the line at the Delta counter. She was really spooked from the last time she came here and we were caught in a massive traffic jam in Narita. The date was the "Coming of Age" day and there were allot of 20 year olds going to Narita-san to have their ceremony.

This month went by way too quick. Being here and getting into the "Salaryman" lifestyle I think was a little different for Mom. There were a couple of times where my superiors wanted me to have a few drinks after work. Although I don't come home as late as other husbands here, I did come home pretty late on those days. Also, while she was here my company had two "Working Saturdays" that I had to take off while she was here. I had hoped to take more time off to do stuff but this month has been extremely busy.

With the rain in Shimoda, that trip was kind of a disappointment but seeing Gyokusenji and the first American Embassy in Japan was great. Also, I think that she got to see the blooming of the cherry blossoms around Japan during this time made her trip all worth while. The Cherry blossoms at the Kobayashi Bokujo have all but fallen from their branches now. Mom, however, got to see them when they were just budding out until they went to full bloom. I don't think that there are many places in the states where you can see a full fledged pink tunnel.

This year we hope to get everything settled back in the USA and make a trip to Atlanta to see Mom, my sister, and everyone.

Love You Mom. I miss you already!

Grandma Goes To Naritasan

Today we took a day trip back to Narita-san. This time I wanted to take my mom here. Last year when we visited this temple, it was being restored for it's 1070 year anniversary. This time, all of the scaffolding was gone and the buildings all open for everyone to see.

When we arrived and saw the main temple building, we noticed that they were actually letting people inside. Usually at these temples the closest you get is the front gate where you throw your 10yen coin and make your wish. This time the side entrances were opened and the Buddhist monks were chanting and beating taiko drums for a special ceremony. Since you usually don't see this unless you know about it, this was a great opportunity.

Mom really loved the gardens around the temples. There were still cherry blossoms in bloom with some more different kind of blossoming trees blooming with various colors everywhere. Since the place was being restored last time, we really did not realize then just how big the whole complex was. This time, we got to see it all.

Also, on the way home I was able to get a final picture before I go back to work tomorrow of the Kobayashi Bokujo Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. This picture was taken while I was behind the wheel. You should not try this on your own.

Townsend Harris and Shimoda

At the end of March we took a trip with Grandma to the Izu Penninsula where there are many hot springs. There has always been a town that I have wanted to visit here in Japan. The town is Shimoda. This is the site of the first American Embassy set up by Townsend Harris in 1854 following the expedition of Commodore Perry and his Black Ships.

We first visited Gyokusenji. This was a temple that the samurai of Shimoda allowed Harris to use while he stayed in Japan. On the site is a very large cemetery where there are graves of sailors that died on the trip to Japan.

After seeing Gyokusenji we rushed to the temple dedicated to Okichi, the geisha assigned to spy on Townsend Harris for the samurai. Her story is a very sad one. Before Harris had arrived she had a person she loved. After he left she was scorned by others because she had been with the "barbarian" Harris.

Our hotel was just wonderful. If the weather had been better it would have been even better. Unfortunately, we had rain for the whole time we were there. Hopefully next time we visit, the weather will be better. Mom really enjoyed the hot springs. The meal was full of fish caught just off the coast of Shimoda. Simply the best!

We could have also taken a trip on the Susquehanna, a replica of the steamers that visited Japan back in the mid 1800's. Again, the rain really prevented this. On the way back, Anna told us that next time we should go to Shimoda when the weather is better.

2008 Kobayashi Bokujo Sakura

About 2 weeks ago we were able to enjoy the blooming of the Kobayashi Race Horse Pasture Cherry Blossoms. These pictures were taken while they were about 60% opened. They still are quite beautiful even at just this much. As I'm writing this now (4/6/2008) the flowers are just now starting to come off the trees. When you drive or walk underneath these trees it looks as though it is snowing. This is definitely the reason I wanted my mom here during the spring.

On this day, Hiroko's relatives came up from Funabashi and my friend from work came down from Tsukuba for the day. While walking underneath the trees we came upon our neighborhood council enjoying snacks and beer. When I was offered a beer and some squid jerky, I could not refuse.

Mother Farm, Futsu City, Chiba

On Saturday we took grandma to Mother Farm. We had visited here last year during the Golden Week holiday in Japan and decided that Grandma would definitely love this place. Mother Farm is located on some pretty high hills overlooking Tokyo Bay. On a good day you can see Mt. Fuji. We were able to get some great pictures of Fuji still covered in snow.

The first thing we did was head directly for the pig races. Here on the first round, Anna was not picked to run in the race. The crowds were just too huge. The second time around we were able to come back after lunch and get her in after another little girl had a shyness attack and gave up her spot in the race to Anna. I tried to get a video but since I was urging Anna on and not paying attention to the video, she is not in the picture very much.

We ended the day with the milking of the cow and then a great dinner in Kisarazu. According to the guide book, this restaurant is 110 years old. Needless to say, it was a great meal. Unfortunately, Anna slept right through dinner.

Grandma Goes to Kashiwa no Ha Park

Today, a the day after Grandma arrived in Japan, we went to Kashiwa no Ha park. Hiroko had to work this afternoon at Eddie Bauer and the weather was so nice, we decided we had to spend the day outside.

Grandma was still suffering from Jet lag but we are giving her my therapy for getting rid of the sleepiness during the day. That is, stay active, and do not take a nap. If you take a nap in the afternoon while you are suffering from Jet lag you will not wake up.

We dropped off Hiroko at Big Hop and headed towards the park. After Anna played for a little while we had the lunch that Hiroko had made for us in the morning (My wife is awesome!) I set up our mat near the play area and I think we should have had a more level spot. When Grandma spotted a bird she wanted to show us, she nearly rolled down the hill. That would have been pretty funny.

We finished up the lunch and they had some new swan boats in the small lake at the park. You can paddle around the lake for thirty minutes for only 320yen. Afterwards we had some soft serve ice cream. We had a great time.

Mom Arrives In Japan!

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another!

Just when we thought we were done with the earthquake weekend extravaganza, we had another smaller one this morning. Who needs an alarm clock when you have an earthquake to wake you in the morning? This one was closer to the Tokyo area but was much weaker, 4.2M. I usually get an e-mail from the USGS when these happen and we can feel it but I think this one was out of the range that I have set on the website.

I think there needs to be a better way to display the center of an earthquake. Every time an earthquake is reported they display a point. I think that these must happen along a fault and should really be displayed along a line. Last year there was an earthquake in northern Japan that was very weak but sent vibrations from the top of Honshu Island all the way down to Tokyo (I talked about this with my co-workers here but no one seemed to be concerned about this but me). I'm not an expert but I think that displaying the earthquake as a line might give people some more information about what is actually happening.

I am definitely freaked out about these. The reactions I get from the people that live here is, "These are nothing to be worried about." I now understand how someone from Atlanta must feel when they see the snow in Detroit.

Rude Awakening

Last night at 1:55am. My wife and I were shaken awake by a 5.4M quake in Ibaraki Prefecture. This was probably the biggest one that we have experienced since moving here to Japan. In our area it was a 4 on the Japan shake scale. Usually I'm the only one that gets woken up by these. This time Hiroko was shaken up too.

Right afterwards, I got up to go to the bathroom and you could hear the crows and birds had been rustled out of their sleep too.

Here to tell you now, earthquakes are not fun. It is good though that we got this one done before my mom gets here next week.

Anderson Park, Shiroi City

Last Saturday we went to Anderson Park near Shiroi City. This park is kind of unique that it has a fairly large windmill like those from the Netherlands. The park is named after Johannes Christian Anderson the famous writer of children's stories.

We arrived on the opposite side of the park from the windmill and met a friend of mine from work there. Since this is a privately owned park there is an admission price. However the park has some of the biggest play structures I have ever seen. The kids can climb up the stairs and ride a roller slide from about 60 feet up. It's allot of fun. Also there are obstacle courses in the woods made of rope and logs that will challenge the adults also.

The kids had their biggest fun on the huge field of bouncy balls. These where large rubber balls of all different sizes arranged within a huge circle and held down with a fish net. Both of them spent most of their time there.

They also have a small lake and some places where you can control the flow of water with locks and dams. Anna slipped and got her foot wet in the near freezing water. Last year, Anna had visited here with her class and was the first to strip down to her underwear and take a swim. Needless to say, we had to get back home.

Afterwards we went back to our place for pork shabu shabu. Very good.