Children's beer, cooking clas, friends, and Mt. Fuji one more time.

Last year in July we posted a picture and comment about children's beer. While at the store the last week, Liam saw some and so we had to buy it. The link is from one of the commercials for this product.

Children's beer

For fun we poured out one real beer (on the right) and the children's stuff (on the left)

It looks about like the real stuff. It is actually some kind of apple cider. Liam let me try a sip of it. The flavor is good and sweet. It is marketed as a drink that children can give cheers with along side the adults. I am not sure of the message it sends to children, but Liam did enjoy drinking it.

Kate has gone to a few international cooking classes recently to learn how to make different types of food. In this class she made soft tacos. Everything was made by hand including the soft shells. I can attest to their tastiness as I was locked out of the house and had to go to the class to get a house key. When I arrived with the children we were all invited in and got the chance to sample a bit of everything.

Our community rice field is progressing well. While Kate was at the cooking class the children and I went to the rice field for weeding. I did not read the pamphlet close enough and we were not really prepared well. We were supposed to wear boots, long pants, long sleeves, and gloves. We showed up in shorts, short sleeves, sandals and crocks. I thought the weeding was on the outside of the field, but it was on the inside. I had the children walk the perimeter and weed, I took my shoes off and went in. It was not much fun trekking through the muck and rice with all the bugs, but I did make it through the event with only minor scrapes.

Won't be long now and we will be cutting the rice for harvest.

After weeding the field we headed to a soy farm for edamame. We did this last year as well, so I was actually prepared for this one. An area was set aside for us to pick from. We were told to pull the entire plant and take them with us.

While the children pulled the plants, I picked the beans off and put them in a bag. When the children were finished pulling they helped. It was nice to go home with beans only and not a bunch of stalks like last year.

Since the children were out of school we had the Nakamichi children over to spend the night. We met them while they were living in America. Masa did gymnastics with Liam. Now they are back in Japan and only live about 40 minutes away. Masa kun and Yuta kun were able to enjoy playing with Liam and Colleen. Kate tried to stick as close to American meals as she could for them.

Also Makiko san and Tora kun came over for the day to hang out.

They were able to have a great day hanging out and playing at the park.

Everyone tried out the zip line including the moms...

Finally, at my welcome party almost two years ago, the topic of climbing Mt. Fuji came up. A couple of other associates said they wanted to do it as well. From that point on we made an agreement that we would do it together. Unfortunately last year during the climbing season Obayashi san became very sick. He was out of work for about a month and was in a hospital in Kobe. As a result we could not go last year. When Liam showed interest in going I felt we should do it separately and at that time I was not sure Obayashi san and Sagawa san were still planning to go. Well they were, and this past weekend was the last that Fuji is open for climbing. As a result together we left work at 5:15 pm and drove straight to Fuji. When I went with Liam we climbed a northern route, this time we decided to try the souther route. Again I carried my GPS to track the route.

When we arrived the parking lot was already full. We were told if I could drive over the curb and park in the last remaining grass spot we could stay there, otherwise we had to drive about 2 kilometers back down the hill and park there. Well, I was able to get over the curb and park... It was a little unnerving as the front wheels were just shy of a drop off, but we made it. I originally wanted to start by 10 pm, we were off by 10:45.

The weather was perfect. There were a few clouds but no rain. The view was beautiful as we climbed. The moon was bright and so were the city lights below.

This course was shorter than the one that Liam and I climbed, but it was also steeper. Both Obayashi san and Sagawa san help up well until about the 9th station. That is when Sagawa san started to show signs of fatigue.

Like Liam, Sagawa san also crashed between the ninth and tenth station. He laid down on the rocks and looked dead. Since he is an adult, Obayashi san and I poked fun at him and before long we were on our way again.

Since we got a late start we regularly monitored the time to make sure we were on pace. In the end we arrived at the top at 4:04 am. Typical sunrise is 4:30 am so we had plenty of time to walk to the east side of the mountain and pick a spot to wait.

While waiting we got some of our snacks out to re-charge. Sagawa san purchased some chips at the bottom of the mountain. Due to the difference in air pressure at the top they looked like a balloon when he pulled them out of his pack.

There was a small ridge of clouds where the sun was rising, and so it took more time than last to actually see the sunrise. From the top we could see the curvature of the earth. Because Fuji is so much taller than everything around it feels like you are on the top of the world.

It was well worth the wait as it was beautiful. We almost got two sunrises, one at the bottom of the clouds and one above them.

After the sunrise we decided to walk around the crater to check out as much as we could before descending. On that walk we got to see Fuji's shadow cast on the ground below. I told Obayashi and Sagawa that I could see my own shadow at the top. I don't think they believed me. See for yourself....

We also stopped at the highest point on the mountain and consequently the highest point in Japan.

The view from there was incredible. I don't know where Utsunomiya is in relation from here, but it is possible to see Fuji from Utsunomiya so I am sure the other way is possible as well.

After our lap around the crater we headed back down toward the clouds.

We were all tired after the descent. This route uses the same route to climb as well as descend. That created a number of challenges and human traffic jams to deal with. This route was also pretty steep so that added to the challenge.

When we walked back to the car we found that someone had parked beside us, we thought our spot was the last remaining, and it should have been. This gentleman found out the hard way that although he could get into the spot he could not get out. There is a sharp drop at the front tire and he was stuck. Obayashi, Sagawa, and I decided to help push while the owner drove. We were able to get him out. He was so thankful he gave us a bunch of drinks to take home with us, I was just glad we could get him out. It looked a little scary as if the tires started to slip he would have been in for a terrible ride. Kind of reminded me of Gatlenburg years ago when someone almost drove off the edge of the road and we stopped to get them out.

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

Liam's Mashiko bike ride and Obon (summer vacation)..

Probably 1/2 a year ago, Liam decided that he wanted to try to ride his bike to Mashiko town and back. Due to our schedule we were not able to try until now. We woke up early (6:30 am) on Saturday to rain. I told Liam to go back to sleep. About an hour later he came in and said he wanted to go. The roads looked dry, so I said it was his decision. He wanted to go, so we packed up and headed out.

The total distance was 32 miles (round trip), He actually did very well. He was able to hold an average speed of 9 mph. We stopped at a bug shop, he bought a shadow box, we ate lunch and then headed back home. He said it was nothing compared to climbing Fuji, so I guess it is good we did that first.

The reason I missed the last post is because we were on holiday. It was Obon here in Japan. This is the same time last year that we went back to the US to visit family. This year is our last real chance to see Japan so we decided to take a driving trip to as many places that we could reasonably make it to. The reason we chose to drive is because we could see more and save a little money. Traveling that far on the trains with a family of four adds up quickly. We were able to cover the better part of Honshu (Japan's main island). Before leaving, most of my Japanese friends told me we were crazy to try to drive that far, and over Obon there would be a lot of traffic.

Our first stop was on the Izu peninsula south west of Tokyo, beyond Fuji. We had a lot of traffic getting through Tokyo and again driving along the coast of the peninsula. Before making our way to our stopping point we decided to hang out at one of the beaches along the coast. The children have really enjoyed every time we have been to a beach, and this was no exception. This beach was not so crowded, the water was warm and blue. The only strange point was the line of small rocks at the edge of the water. When we walked into the water they were a little uncomfortable under our feet, but when a wave broke at the beach the rocks would slam painfully into our feet. We all had little red marks on our feet from the pebble beating, but quickly learned if we walked past the rock line it was no trouble.

When everyone got their swimming fill we moved on to our stopping point for the night at a bed and breakfast about 15 minutes from the beach. The owner of the B&B was clearly into motorcycles as well as many of his other patrons. He also had a swing for the children that went out over a ravine that I thought was a little scary, but the children liked it.

It was a comfortable place to stay. The owner recommended a sushi restaurant to us that we ate dinner at. He also gave the children two kuwagata (bugs with pinchers). Kate and I thought the bugs may help pass the time for the children, so we agreed to keep them. From then on we had to put them under the car every time we stopped to keep from cooking them.

This B&B had a relationship with an onsen that was about a 5 minute walk away. In the evening we all took a walk to it to relax. The setting was beautiful along side a river. The onsen was outdoors and looked very inviting. The owner said the water in the onsen came straight out of the ground. It was the hottest one I have ever been to. Not enjoyable at all, in fact none of us could tolerate any real length of time in it. Kate made it the longest at maybe 5 minutes. Liam and I didn't want hard boiled eggs and only lasted about 2 minutes. When we stepped in I am sure I heard a bubbling sound like boiling water......

The next day I planned to get on the road by 6:30 am to try to beat as much traffic as possible. We did pretty well and were in the car driving by 7:00 am. Nagoya was the next destination. We have some friends from Utsunomiya that have a home close to Nagoya and were invited to stay a couple of days with them. We also figured we should stop at Nagoya castle on the way to their house. Nagoya castle was originally built in 1525, but was destroyed in an air raid during WWII (1945) The current structure was reconstructed in 1959.

The stone was intact and had interesting markings on them. The markings were made by Feudal lords that were ordered to help build the castle. In order to prove the effort given, each stone moved by the Feudal lord (or his posse) were marked with that lords given symbol.

The highest point of the building is equivalent to a 14 story building. It provides a nice view of the city. The inside of this castle is very modern, in fact it has an elevator inside. Each level is also very modern, but contains displays of artifacts from the original castle that were saved before the castle burnt. Although this structure is new, the dimensions are true to the original. It is really impressive that something this big was created so long ago.

One of Liam's favorite displays was the huge bug collection. This one contained the biggest hornet we have ever seen.

After the castle we made our way to Makiko san, Hiro san, and Tora kun's home. Their home is outside of Nagoya and it is where we stayed for 2 nights.

The elevation change around their home makes for a pleasant view.

Tora kun is 3 years old, younger than our children, but they all get along great and enjoy playing together.

Makiko got some huge grapes from her mothers friend for us to eat. I have never seen grapes this size. Very good flavor, and seedless..... awesome..

The next day we drove a short way to big children's play area. It had a water park (shallow pool and fountain), as well as a number of indoor activities. Unfortunately Liam slipped and got a pretty good cut on his leg. That put a bit a damper on his fun.

Colleen has really taken to Hiro san. She spent a good part of the day riding on his shoulders or hanging around him. For what ever reason Colleen calls him Chibi as a nickname. They had a lot of fun together.

When we finished at the children's park we drove to Nagoya. Hiro san left us from there to drive home as the next two days would have a $10 all you can drive limit on the pay roads, they were expected to be very crowed and he wanted to beat the traffic. We took the Linimo (Japan's operating mag-lev train) back to the park and our cars. At the station we saw a guy in a frog costume passing out pamphlets. The reason that is odd is because it was like 300 degrees with 200% humidity. I am not sure how this person didn't pass out themselves.

It was cool to ride the mag-lev train. There are a number of test tracks in Japan, and the fastest speed set by a train is currently set on one of those Japanese test tracks. This train is the same technology, but much, much slower. The ride was very smooth. That is one of the benefits of this technology.

We went back to Makiko's for a bit and then drove to a pottery town called Seto. It reminded me a little of Mashiko. It is a very cool town to walk around with many interesting alleys and streets.

For dinner Makiko's mother prepared a number of dishes for us. They were almost ready to eat upon our return from Seto.

There was rice, tempura, crab, avocado, sashimi, and others. Very tasty, Kate said one of our best meals on the trip.

The next morning we got up early again and were on our way to the next location, Himeji. On the way we had to pass Kyoto. The traffic there was very thick. The Navi was constantly warning of traffic jams (The 3 purple symbols at each exit), and it was not mistaking. We spent hours in traffic.

Everyone was happy to get out of the car at Himeji castle. This castle is the best original castle in Japan. It was constructed in 1346 and expanded in 1581. Unfortunately this year the castle is being renovated, as a result we could not go into the main building, but we were able to explore the grounds and a number of the outlying buildings.

It is interesting to try to imagine what life would have been like back when this castle was being used.

When the castle was being built there was difficulty finding stones to construct the walls. A woman heard of the trouble and donated the stone from her millstone even though she needed. Others heard about the generosity and then contributed stones to help finish the walls. To this day that stone is protected by mesh and can be seen in the castle wall.

Dinner was yaki niku. Basically grilled meat. It was the first time we have taken the children to this type of restaurant. It was a bit painful in the beginning to order, but in the end we were able to find something for everyone to eat, so I would call it a success.

Next up was Miyajima. It is the location of the famous red Torii gate that shows up in most Japan travel books. To get there we had to take the car on a fairy as Miyajima is an island. I was a little nervous leading up to this day, but in the end I was able to communicate well enough to buy the correct tickets and get the van loaded on the boat.

Once on the island we first drove to our camp site and set up the tent. From their we drove to a ropeway that took us to the highest point on the island. The trip there was unnerving as the roads are tiny and the van is big. I scrapped two of the rims and the under spoiler on the van. I am still not sure if we were supposed to drive on all the roads we drove on, and in some cases there were so many people milling around that we almost couldn't make it through. I followed a bus up the road to get to the ropeway only to find out that there was no parking up there. I decided to leave the van on the side of the road as I saw another car there. It was not ticketed or towed so I guess it was OK. The ropeway was a little scary as it was very high, but it lead us to an amazing view of the surrounding islands and Hiroshima.

The first sign we were greeted with was a warning about monkeys. We never saw any, but I laughed with the children as the sign pointed out a number of parts of the monkeys as well as the red monkey butt.

A spectacular view from the top was our reward for sitting in the ropeway cars with no air conditioning to get to the top.

Hiroshima from the top of Miyajima.

At the top their were a number of pipes pointing to the various surrounding islands. Each one had a sign with the islands name.

There was a warm breeze at the top and it was possible to see how each island blocked the wind as it was possible to see in the oceans waves, almost like a shadow.

Back at the bottom we made our way to the temple and torii gate.

The torii gate was huge. When we arrived on the island the water was still high, but now that it was later in the day it was obvious that the tide was going out.

We waited a bit on the side, and finally decided to make a bid to walk out to the gate. If you wait long enough all the water goes out and you can just walk to it, but when that happens you are out there with a ton of other people. We decided to roll our shorts up and go early so we could get pictures without the crowds. It was when we got up next to it that we realized just how big this thing really is.

The torii gate in the water is the entrance to the temple on the beach. There is a small fee to walk around the temple, but it offers some nice views and is a nice walk.

Miyajimi is credited as the location that the rice scoop was invented. As a result it also is the home of the worlds largest wooden rice scoop. We checked it out while waiting for Kates oyster to be cooked. Oysters are a delicacy on the island, but after Kate's last experience with oysters she decided to go with cooked rather than raw.

As we walked around we saw a booth containing the little fish that nibble dead skin off of your feet. It was pretty cheap for a 7 min go, and so we decided it was something we should all try.

Definitely interesting. Kate and the children laughed a good bit as the little fish would swim up and nibble. It tickled a little, but at the same time was a bit unnerving.

On the island there were tons of deer milling about begging for food. When we first arrived we thought they were pretty cool. The children enjoyed looking at them and petting them. This was quickly replaced by a bit of fear as when we returned to our campsite for the night the deer were inside the neighbors tent rummaging through their food. I chased all but one out of the tent, but after prodding the male for a bit it grew tired, turned toward me, and came at me. I have seen the youtube videos and decided it was time to punt. I grabbed the bag of food from the deer, zipped the tent and left. The deer went back, unzipped the tent with its antler and continued rummaging through the tent. Finally a park employee came, the children decided we should get them to help and went with me to explain. He chased the deer away, from then we were able to keep them out of the tent until the owners arrived. I gave them the food I saved and explained what happened. They were very grateful and in the middle of the night when the deer tried to rummage through our stuff he ran out with a pole and chased them away for us.

The next morning we boarded the fairy without the car and took the train to Hiroshima.

From the train station and then back the fairy we road the streetcar. We purchased an all day pass to ride wherever we wanted, but since the streetcar carries a flat rate of $1.50 per ride we would have been better off paying separately for each ride, oh well, that is how you learn...

Our first stop was the Atomic dome (Genbaku domu). Before starting our tour of this area we pulled the children aside and explained what happened here and a little about the history. There were many other tourist here from numerous countries, but I can honestly say it felt a little strange for me to be there as an American. Regardless of your stance on the bombing, it can not be denied that what happened here was horrific. The dome that stands today is said to have survived do to its proximity to the bombs detonation. What is left is really just a skeleton of the original building.

There is a flame that burns in front of the arch that marks the location of the bombs detonation. The flame will be extinguished when all nuclear weapons are eliminated from the earth. Standing at the arch and knowing that 600 meters above in 1945 a nuclear bomb was detonated wiping out the city and most of its inhabitants was a bit eery. At the time there were around 300,000 people living in the city of which almost 200,000 eventually perished.

One of those victims was Sadako Sasaki. At the time the bomb was dropped she was 2 years old. She developed leukemia as a result of the radiation exposure. While in the hospital her friend Chizuko Hamamoto presented Sadako with a paper crane. Sadako was inspired by a Japanese saying "the one who folds 1000 cranes would be granted a wish". Her wish was to get better. The original story I heard stated that she did not reach her goal and her friends finished them to be buried with her, but at the museum it stated that she actually did achieve her goal. Continued folding them, but increasingly smaller in size. Regardless she passed away in 1955 from her disease. There is a memorial on the grounds and it contains thousands and thousands of paper cranes from all over the world.

We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Pictures were allowed as long as the flash was not used, but to me it just didn't feel right to take them. I took only one photo of a watch that was stopped as a result of the explosion. There a number of exhibits on hand explaining the events leading up to, during, and after the bomb. We had to be a bit careful with the children as a number of them are very disturbing. I will not forget this experience, and I am sure the children will remember it as well.

Before going back to our campsite on Miyajima we felt it was necessary to eat Hiroshima Okonomiyaki. There are two types of Okonomiyaki, one style is from Osaka (we ate it in Kyoto) the other is from Hiroshima. It didn't take long to find a restaurant specializing in this quinine.

Pictures are always helpful when placing an order. This place also used a lot of katakana, so we could basically understand the menu. The icing on the cake was when we were given an English menu.

We ordered three different flavors. The best way to simply describe it is like an omelette with noodles and other goodies mixed together. I have to say that this was my favorite style between the two cities.

While walking back to the streetcar we saw a sign for a 10 patty burger at the Lotteria. When I was younger I would have eaten this just to say I did it, but now I just don't think it is worth it. This one burger was still fairly reasonable at $10.

On the route back to home we decided to hit the west coast. That took us to Tottori. This beach was very nice. The water was very clear and it was possible to see the bottom even when the water was up neck level.

The waves got pretty big on this beech and I was able to teach the children how to body surf with the inflatable donuts. I played with the children for hours then took a break for a while. Colleen asked to go back out and play and I agreed. Unfortunately I did not take my glasses off. I was blindsided by a wave that stripped my glasses off my face. I never saw them again. I looked for about 30 minutes, and went back the next day, but they were gone. For the last two days of driving I had to wear Liam's glasses. They are not the same prescription, but close enough to get home.

Tottori is famous for sand dunes. On the way home we stopped at them as well. I am told they are beautiful, but they looked a bit blurry to me.. Colleen, Liam, and I walked up the big dune and then ran back down. It is steep, but because the sand gives as you step it is possible to take huge steps as you run down it.

On the drive from Tottori to our final stop at Gero we saw another castle. We didn't stop, but it was interesting to just see one on the side of the road.

Final stop was Gero, a town famous for onsen. Gero is a synonym for vomit in Japanese, but the town was actually very nice.

After checking in at the hotel and hitting the onsen we went out for dinner. We ended up stumbling on a small restaurant that served a variety of different foods.

I ordered the sushi plate and it was one of the tastiest I have had, very fresh.

Kate had a Hoba-Miso dish that came out on a leaf over a fire. She is now trying to find the recipe so she can make it again on her own.

The town was very pleasant to walk around and a river runs through the center of it. It is possible to purchase a wooden board on a rope that gives access to any 3 participating onsen. Unfortunately we didn't find out about it until the next day before we were leaving. As a result we didn't get the chance to try it. Anyone going back should try it at night as you can walk around the town in a yukata and wooden shoes along with everyone else doing the same thing.

The next day our original plan was to drive to Shirakawa-go. It is a town famous for Gassho-Zukuri, which is a type of old building. That town has something like 150 of the old homes, some of which you can go into, or even stay at. Unfortunately it would have added about 3 hours to our already long drive of 8 hours to get home. Fortunately Gero has a small tourist attraction containing the same type of homes. We decided to forgo the long drive and just visit the homes in Gero. Even after going, I think it was the right choice.

These old building really neat to see. The roofs are all thatched and they give insight into life a long time ago.

The children really liked exploring the buildings, and they are actually quite large.

The main structure does not contain nails, but is instead constructed with trees and rope that lashes them together.

There are multiple rooms within the home. Multiple generations would live together under the same roof in these homes, and it would be no problem to fit them into the huge rooms.

The route to tour this community ran up a hillside where it was possible to see all the buildings with the mountains in the background, very nice..

At the top of the hill we were given two choices:1. walk back down, 2. ride a roller slide down. The roller slide was $1 a person, but we were all hot and tired. We gladly payed the money and rode down. Just a note of caution, don't ride a roller slide in sandals. Kate lost a little skin on the sides as she made her way down.

Another traffic jam in Tokyo and we finally made it home. An amazing adventure. We were able to cross off almost all the remaining places from our list of places to go. It won't be long now and we will be returning to the US.

Have a great week...