Japanese hornet, BBQ, and Pottery making....

On Saturday we met some co-workers at a park near Utsunomiya for a Japanese style BBQ. The weather was beautiful, a perfect fall day for the event.

I was asked to bring some American type BBQ food for everyone to eat, along with the Japanese cuisine. The best I could muster up in Japan was Johnsonville brats from a foreign food store. Kate was able to get some buns (typically the hotdogs/sausage are not eaten on buns in Japan) and we took some of the US ketchup and mustard that we brought with us. The US ketchup tastes different to us now that we have been here a year and we have hardly used any of what we brought. Everyone appeared to really enjoy them and thanked us for bringing them.

Here Shiono san is giving some to his son Hiroto to try, both of Tatsu and Aiya's children are getting so big.

Next up was the yaki soba and yaki niku (grilled noodles and grilled meat)

Watanabe san and Waku san took charge of the grill to cook it up.

Corn hole was too big to bring with us to Japan, so we brought an Ohio State ball slinger (ladder golf, hillbilly golf, insert your preferred name here). We were able to convince a number of people to try it and it was fun watching people from other BBQ's walk by and gawk at the game to see what it was.

On Sunday we went to the community center for a festival and potter making. To start the pottery we were shown some pottery that was excavated and reconstructed. The pots we were making were to be styled after them.

I didn't catch the date they were from, but it was a bit scary to see them placed on a wobbly table for display. Inside you could see the markings from the excavation.

To start we were each given a large block of clay. We had to knead it to make it softer. From there we just made a bunch of clay snakes and stacked them one on top of the other smoothing in between each layer.

Pictured is Kate after finishing the first portion of her pot.

And me and the children. The children finished quickly and then spent time making various other clay objects, you can see them around there table space.

After lunch we did the finish decorating on the pots. For texture we twisted a piece of special paper into what looked like a braid, then rolled in on the outside of the pot. Finally we added some final touch detail with small pieces of clay and chopsticks were used to mark them. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the finished product, so I will have to get some when we go back in a few weeks to fire the pieces.

For lunch we hit up the festival stands. I had tako yaki, Kate and the children had soup and other Japanese fair food. For dessert Colleen had a choco banana. These guys are actually artists that use the banana as there form of median. Here is the artist at work..

This is some of his artwork on display.

And Colleens selection. It had a pringles and bugle hat, pretzel arms, sprinkle pants, gumdrop eyes, and a sweet cookie mouth. A great choice.

On Saturday while at the park Liam found a huge Japanese hornet. This is the second one we have found in the last year, but the first was hit by a car and a bit mangled. This one was intact and barely alive when he found it. We put it in a cup to bring it home. So far I have not seen any of these flying around and I don't think I want to either, they are huge. I attached a couple of interesting links for you to watch. Kate said the first one is too disturbing for her. It is 30 Japanese hornets against 30,000 European honey bees. The result is not pretty..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fTrSOFyfxs

The second is the scout hornet against a hive of Japanese honey bees. This result is a little different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6m40W1s0Wc&feature=related

Nature can be amazing. I can't believe these bees figured out that the hornet can only survive 115 degrees and they can make it to 118.

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

Green park, tea ceremony, community picnic, etc..

Thanks to my kind friend June san, Claire and I had the opportunity to practice a Japanese tea ceremony. She has a friend who teaches the ceremony. There are very specific steps involved....it was truly amazing. Claire, June san and I made our best attempt. Her friend was very kind and generous. She has invited the whole family for a Japanese lunch. I hope we are able to meet up with her again. June san I see every week and enjoy her company and her cooking!

These are the sweets you eat before drinking the tea. The tea is very strong so it was a good balance. You have to drink the tea in 31/2 sips.....the last one being very loud in order to let everyone know how good it was.

After the tea ceremony we picked up Greg and Jake and then went to a soba restaurant.....with June san's help we were able to order a delicious meal.

Before coming to Japan Jake had seen pictures of the green park on our blog. It was the park with the obstacle course on it. This was one of the things he really wanted to do when he got here, so while I was at work Kate took everyone to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather. Kate decided to follow along and take pictures while everyone else tried the challenges.

Many of the obstacles are over water. I am told there were a couple of close calls, but no one ended up in the water.

All of the children were able to successfully navigate the barrel obstacle. Jake claims it was easier than it looked on the blog. I think the children are a little lighter and therefore fare better on this one.

Greg tried a very challenging strategy on this obstacle. He said this is how the picture showed to do it. I can't argue with that but there had to be an easier method.

Halloween is not such a big holiday here. There are small pockets of families that celebrate, but there is no door to door trick or treating. Only a small percentage of the children dressed up for the evening. Kate was able to scrounge together costumes from the dollar store for our children and Jake and Rachael. Liam was a crazy chrome faced moon guy with a snowman suit.

Jake was a creepy silver faced dude with a hoody. I heard the other children were a little scared of him and I can understand why.

Rachael was a monkey.

And Colleen was a puppy. All the participants wore masks at the event. I think because the flu is going around now and there are efforts being made to slow its progress.

Some of the children's friends came to the house before the event, they also were dressed up.

Although the children didn't go door to door they did meet up with other families and exchange candy. Liam and Colleen were both happy with the candy they got.

Today (Sunday) was our community picnic. Many families from Takanezawa met at a field in the community for a huge cook out.

To kick off the event the children played dodge ball. It was interesting to watch. I tried to coach them with things like "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball." but it was not really very helpful. Actually the game is played a bit different here. Only one ball is used to play. Also if you catch the ball the other person is not out. Of course you are out if you get hit and do not catch the ball. When you are out you go to the back of the other teams field. Then if the ball goes past them you can throw it at them from behind. The game is timed and the winning team has the most players left at the end. Pictured is Liam and Colleen playing on opposite teams.

Kate and I also could get in on the action with the other adults that were willing to play. This picture is evidence that we both got out there. The adults played the winning children team. All the adults played reasonably and didn't try to take the children's head off with the ball, but in the end the adults were triumphant.

Once the dodgeball was finished we were grouped by community. We were placed at a common location with our neighbors. Then preparation for lunch began. Small holes were dug for fire pits and everyone worked together to get the fires going.

Once the charcoal was ready metal pans were placed on top of concrete blocks and the meat and yakisoba was put on the grill. We all took turns cooking and eating. It was great, almost all the food was supplied by the community. We only had to bring drinks and some vegetables.

It was great to get out and socialize with the neighbors.

The children were able to run around and play the entire day.

After we got home our doorbell rang a number of times. Some of our neighbors and friends stopped by to drop off various food items for us to enjoy. Liam is holding some asian pears and colleen is holding a huge cabbage that we got.

The family really loves the asian pears, so when the doorbell rang and we received another huge pear from a different neighbor the children were super excited. Today at the park we met one of our neighbors for the first time. I introduced him to jalapeno pretzels from the states and he said I would like Thai ramen. About an hour after we got home he stopped by to give me a few packs to try. Kate was also invited to the neighbors home for some cooking lessons. I will be happy to eat whatever she learns how to make.

Today marks my 1 year anniversary in Japan. It is amazing how quickly time has gone. We have met so many people and have been able to do so many things. It is hard to believe a year ago I was shivering on the couch with no blankets, heaters, or drapes in the house because our shipment had not yet arrived. The neighbors must have seen me through the windows and the brought a small heater, blanket, and 1 set of drapes for me to use until our shipment arrived. I am always amazed at how thoughtful people can be in Japan.

Japan Cup Cycle Race, Night out, Leaves changing, etc.

Before coming to Japan I made a list of things I wanted to do while here. I had heard about the Japan Cup Cycle race from some co-workers, but at that time I had not ridden a bicycle seriously in about 15 years, so I did not even put it on my list. After arriving I started to ride my bicycle to work (shortest route is about 5 miles). Just riding that far was difficult for me. Once I could prove to myself that I could commit to riding to work I spent some money to purchase the Gios Panto (little wheel bike). It was just for commuting and I had no intentions of racing so I started to plan to sell my old Cannondale (1993). About that time I was invited to go on a ride with a few Japanese co-workers. First I confirmed that they were riding for fun and not serious then I agreed to go. Our first outing was at Shinring Koen, the Japan Cup course. I got my behind handed to me on the big climb on the course. I think it took about 5 min 35 sec and I may have breathed up most of the oxygen in the park. Then about 3 weeks later my friends from work talked about doing the Japan Cup (amateur race). That day we all agreed we would participate in the race. The decision started in motion a string of events that lead to the purchase of my new Cannondale and riding 14 miles to work and 14 miles home in the dark to train. I was doing intervals 2 times a week and time trials 2 times per week then 1 day on the weekend I would go on a long challenging ride or ride the Japan Cup course. This past weekend was the race.

Here is the course:

The start is at 1 and from 3 to 5 is the major hill climb. (1 kilometer at 9% grade)

The next critical point was 10 which is a short steep climb I was expecting riders to attack on this hill leading in to the second lap and another go at the major hill climb.

The first critical point of the race was the start. There were 420 people registered and if I started at the back I knew I had no chance at the race. Maeshima san, Ito san, Kanegae san, and myself warmed up before the free run (people that wanted to ride the course to understand its difficulty) immediately after they left we staged. Maeshima san and I could attain positions at the front of the field so that was check one off of the list.. When the race finally started many of the riders jumped off to a fast start. I was able to sit back and monitor the riders and kept myself in about 20th position. I knew the big climb was coming and there was no reason for me to move farther forward in the pack. As we started the climb some of the riders at the front started to fade. I was climbing at about 80% power. I could see the leader and there was no reason to push faster. In training my fastest time up the hill was 3 min 34 sec, I still have to check the data, but I think we were climbing just under 4 min pace. Kate, Claire, Greg, and the children were about 2/3 up the hill. By the time I reached them a number of the riders had already faded and I was in 5th position. In the picture the motorcycles are at the front of the race. For a where is Waldo activity if you look hard enough you can see me in the picture below.

Here you can see as I pass. I have the red jersey and black shorts with white stitching on the black bike sitting in 5th place. Already we had opened up a gap on the main field and I was watching the other riders. They looked strong so I knew I should stick with them.

When we crested the hill I was in 3rd place. As we started the decent I immediately noticed that the roads were damp and that my bike felt really loose. I was loosing pace and the 2 riders I had passed to take 3 position on the climb were able to overtake me. I continued to push because I knew it was important to keep with them. The corner before my last the bike really slid. I stayed in the corner but my line for the next was not good and I knew I had too much speed to make the corner. I put the brakes on and the tire slid a little. I still had time so I let off and tried again. Immediately the tire broke loose again and at this point it was too late to make the corner so I held the brake. I heard the loud pop of my tire exploding and then just tried to land as soft as possible. I went off the pavement and was able to ride it out too the ditch with mud. When the front tire sunk I went over the bars and landed softly in the weeds. Immediately I got back up, checked the bike, and tried to convince myself that the noise I heard wasn't actually my tire exploding, but some other strange noise. I put my bike on the road and the rear tire made a clunk noise from the rim hitting the pavement. At that point I resigned to the fact that my 15 year comeback was officially over.

I ended up in the sag wagon with 3 other riders that went down. I was lucky, I came away with no scratches, but the other guys went down on the street and were mangled and bleeding. On the way down I saw 5 other guys on the street and two being picked up by ambulances, all on various corners throughout the course. I also got to see how the riders that timed out were kicked off of the course. The chase cars had GPS with the course and time displayed. The car would ride along side the cyclist and when it became apparent that there was no way they could complete the race within the hour the marshal would tell the riders that they were finished and they should exit the course.

As I was riding in the support car I had no way to tell my family or friends what had happened and the race of course continued on. They waited on the top of the hill and after about half the riders had passed they realized that something was wrong. Chris told me that when he saw the guy with a belly ride by and tongue hanging out that he knew something had gone wrong. I saw some of them as I got out of the car at the start line and ended up meeting the rest a short way from the finish line. They were happy to see I was unharmed. While waiting they took a few pictures and some video of the other riders before they realized I was not there. I watched the video of the first group and the same riders I was descending with were in it....daaang...

Pictured below you can see the riders winding up the mountain road and my family looking for me.

Here I am at the end with some my friends from work that participated in the race. Each had a different goal for the race. All did well and set personal best times for the course and finished safely. Of course the result for me was not what I had hoped, but it has been an amazing experience getting in to shape and enjoying the camaraderie. Finally that is what it is all about. I look forward to continuing riding with them and the Fuji hill climb in the spring. Currently I don't think I will still be in Japan next year for the Japan Cup race, but if it works out and I am, I will give it another try. Definitely with a different set of tires....

With Kate's family coming, the race day winding up, and our year anniversary (in Japan) approaching Kate set up an evening of dinner, drinks, and karaoke. Dinner was great and we were able to sample a wide variety of different foods and enjoy time with friends. It has been a long time since Kate and I have gone out for the evening, but Claire's oldest son is old enough so he was able to keep tabs on the little ones while we were out. The pictures below are from dinner leading up to the karaoke.

Annie watched the Dundon children and after dinner Chris headed home so Annie could meet us out later in the evening.

At the karaoke building there were Halloween decorations for photo opportunities. I snagged this one of Kate and Claire.

Normally my job is to poke fun at everyone else and not so much myself, but I was told that I should post the video of my wicked moroccos skills. Apparently this is funny (I am told) I think it is a hint of jealousy personally...

We were also successful in shaming both Claire and Greg into at least one karaoke song. Claire won't admit it but I think she really got into it and the picture below is my back up for that statement...

Unfortunately the next day was our only day to go to Nikko as Claire and Greg are only here for 2 weekends. Now is the peak season for the leaves changing in the mountains. As a result the same road that takes me 30 minutes to ride up by bike can take 3 hours by car if you don't leave early enough. We got home at 1:30 and set the alarms for 6 am. Everyone was able to get up and we were out the door by 6:39. It worked out well as we had little traffic on the way up the mountain. The way home got pretty backed up, but I could navigate back routes once we got back down Irohazaka. We stopped to take in the view, but our first stop in the morning was the foot onsen at the top of the mountain. It was a little crowed, but very relaxing to sit in the hot water in the morning.

I think Greg was able to work in a short nap.

The spot Kate was sitting was unbelievably hot today. It was almost impossible to keep your feet in it. Everyone (Japanese included) enjoyed watching peoples expressions as they stepped into the water and then quickly exited after saying the water was ridiculously hot (sugoii atsuii).

The leaf change really is beautiful, I could snag this tree just outside the foot onsen.

On the way back from the foot onsen we stopped and walked around a lake at the top. There was a nice walking path and a waterfall at the end we could enjoy viewing.

Kate took this picture of the lake from the path.

The children all really enjoyed exploring and running around. Greg stopped them to get this shot and I jumped in to take the same picture for our records.

We walked down approximately 3 million steps to get to the bottom of the falls to view it. Of course that also meant we had to walk up approximately 3 million steps to get back to the car.

Normally we don't have anyone to take pictures of all of us and so one of the family members are missing. This time we had support so I can post a picture of all of us together.

From now I will wrap up the post with various pictures of the scenery for you to enjoy. I am tired...it has been a long week..

Have a good week..