Yochien festival, Nikko camping, More Kit Kats...

This week the Yochien (pre-school) behind our house had a small summer festival. The community was invited to go, not just the students and parents of the school, so Kate and the children headed over for the evening. There were drums and plenty of fair food to keep everyone happy.

The next day Liam and Colleen caught a huge bug out in the yard. It is difficult to tell from the picture, but it is probably the size of an adults palm, but the antennae stick out much farther than that. Liam had it in his bug container for a bit to study, but let it go before we headed camping for the weekend. He was actually taking pictures of it when he let it go and it flew right at him, I could hear him squeal from inside the house..

On Saturday morning after a bit of a rough start we finally got on our way to camp near lake Chuzenjiko (the lake in the Nikko mountains) We were invited to camp overnight with Arnulfo and Dinorah, Hiro san, Makiko san, and their son Tora kun, and Chiharu san and Yuski san. It was our first try camping in Japan and so a bit of a challenge getting everything ready for the trip. Upon arriving at the lake Arnulfo and Dinorah met us at the parking area with one of the many carts the camp grounds have to move goods to the camp site. This is helpful because it is not possible to drive the car up to the camping area. It is not quite as hard to pull as Dinorah is making it look..

Tora kun enjoys playing with Liam and Colleen. It didn't take them long to hang out together. Here they are trying to make Jiffy pop, that Makiko san brought, on a small campfire. I have never been able to pull it off on a camp fire as the temperature is not easy to control. This attempt was not much different and they ended up with a lot of burnt or un-popped kernels. Regardless it is always entertaining for the children to make.

Later we broke out the ball-slinger game we brought from the US. After a little coaxing we convinced Chiharu san and Yuski san to give it a go.

Everyone was able to enjoy playing and as always it was fun to see the looks from the other campers trying to figure out what kind of game it was. One woman in particular wanted to know the name of the game. First we said Hillbilly golf, and she stared blankly so we said, ladder golf, still nothing, so finally in Japanese Dinorah called it stairway golf. That was enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Hiro and and Makiko san brought 花火 (Hanabi). The Kanji means flower and fire, we know them as fireworks. The children all enjoyed lighting them and swinging them around, they were basically sticks that shot sparks out the end.

Later in the night Arnulfo introduced us to Hirezake (hot sake with Tiger Fugu fin). I have attached a link on it if you are interested to see. Basically it starts with heated sake, and then seared Fugu fin is soaked in it for a bit. Prior to drinking the alcohol vapor is lit, sounds like for additional excitement. It really had an interesting taste, It is possible to taste the fish flavor in it, but it is not strong. An interesting experience for us all..

http://kyotofoodie.com/home-cooking-hirezake-hot-sake-with-tiger-fugu-fin/

Kate and Dinorah giving it the smile of approval..

In the evening we only had rain for about 20 min. Not long after the rain the clouds cleared and we could see stars. It was a great evening.

The next morning as usual the sun came up super early. Our family gave in to the sun and got out of the tent at 6:30 am, but the sun had been up for some time prior to that. We were greeted with a beautiful view of the lake in the mountains.

This is the side the tents were located on. Sleeping was great with the cool air coming in across the lake.

With the sun really warming up the day the children put on their suits and got in the water. I thought that because the lake is in the mountains that it would be too cold to get in, but it was not so bad and the children really enjoyed it. There was a sand bar a short ways out. It took Liam a bit but he finally decided he could walk out to it, after that Colleen gave it a go. Tora kun wanted to go, but was a bit scared, so Liam and Colleen came back and each held a hand. That was enough to give him confidence to do it and all three enjoyed walking around on the little island for a short bit.

Liam and Colleen have both grown about 2 inches in the last year. Recently I can really notice a difference in them..

Before leaving the camp ground we posed for a quick picture. Dinorah asked us to make a silly pose, so I whipped out a move I have been practicing that I saw in an add when we went to Tokyo. I still have a little work to perfect it, but it is getting closer every time I break it out. Colleen is also now working on the same pose. For some reason it looks more appropriate when she does it...

Before heading down the mountain we stopped to give some of the swan boats a try. These boats were not in the best condition, but they were cheap ($15 per boat/30 min). Our family grabbed one boat, Arnulfo and Dinorah another, and the third by Hiro san, Makiko san, and Tora kun.

30 min does not sound like a lot of time, but when your paddling one of these things it turns out to be plenty. Here Kate enjoys hanging out the front window as we cruise around the lake.

When we took Erin to the airport to head home we discovered a few different Kit Kat flavors that we had not yet tried. The first and the best of this bunch was the Soy Sauce flavor. It had a white chocolate with a hint of soy flavor to it.

Second was a citrus blend. The citrus flavor was a bit strong for me, as a result not my favorite.

Melon flavor. This was a bit more mild of a flavor and it went well with the chocolate.

And the final flavor was apple. This would sound like one of the better flavors, but I didn't like the apple flavor in combination with the chocolate.

That is all for this post, have a great week..