Green Tea & Grits & Poi

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu! Happy New Year's.

We may never learn. Brad and I thought it would be fun to take a few days and go to Tokyo. As much as we love going to Tokyo, we also love our sleep and sanity. Anders does not travel well refusing to either eat or sleep. Thankfully Jude and Lucien are rockstar sleepers who don't let their little brother's crying wake them. We got home on New Year's Eve and were in bed by 10:15 waking briefly at midnight by fireworks and ships whistles. This is what toddlers do to you.

New Year's is more like Christmas here. You are with family and are expected to go to a local church service - usually a shrine at midnight to literally ring in the new year. This year is year of the rabbit and the stores are filled with cute rabbity things. Almost everything shuts down from Dec. 27th - Jan. 3rd leaving little to do.

 

 This rabbit was a bit of a fright, if you ask me.

 

Kid's set dinner at Ninja Asakasa restaurant. Our friends, the Woods, made reservations for all us at a Ninja themed restaurant. It didn't disappoint. A ninja rolls out of a secret panel to lead you your table through a labyrinth of dark halls, bridges over running water and finally to your own little room where other ninjas serve you yummy food. Jude is drinking "kid beer".

 

Anders delighted by the Ninja magician who set things on fire, made other things disappear and eventually made balloon animals.

 

As we were leaving a Ninja ran out with this sign. With as much money as we spent in there, I don't doubt this sentiment. Note how the Wood kids are bundled up while Jude and Lucien are unzippered and you can't see it but wearing sandals. I forgot to do a shoe check before we left and even though it was quite cold both of my boys chose sandals! Jude comes down every morning dressed in a tank top and shorts regardless of the weather. We made a deal with him that if he could dress appropriately for the remainder of the winter here, when we get to Hawaii he can wear shorts every single day.

 

The next morning at 5:30am Christy and I met in the hotel lobby and left for Tsukiji Fish Market which is the wholesale fish market for Tokyo. If we saw 12 octopi, we saw 80,000. There are no pictures to do this place justice in it's size and crowds and sheer volume of sea creatures from enormous tuna to the tiniest of sea worms. 

 

This is a view of the tuna auctions which I didn't get to see. (Anne Moyer took this pic last year.) When we left the market we saw a sign that said due to large New Year's crowds the auctions were off limits to the public. If you ever see a sign in Japan stating large crowds, then be afraid, very afraid. The crowds were indeed horrific. The shops & restaurants surrounding the market where so insanely packed that we didn't get to have a fresh sushi breakfast. Luckily some of the vendors had samples out and it truly was the best tuna, I have ever had. 

 

Three vendors working loggerman style to cut tuna with enormous knives.

 

Traditional New Year's decoration, kadomatsu, with bamboo, straw and pine. I love these things. They are usually on either side of front doors. 

 

Luckily flower shops are all opened for New Year's. How beautiful are these? I was tempted to get one until I saw the price tags. About $200.00,ouza!

 

Our favorite park by the Hiroo train station has a little bit of nature in Tokyo.

 

Our last day we went to Ginza which is the 5th Ave. of Tokyo. I was hoping to see amazing holiday decorations, but they were rather subdued and disappointing. However we did find a Laduree in an enormous department store. As much as I would have loved to have a nice sit down tea, it wasn't going to happen with these three (Jude's face says it all). Take out macaroons for all was our New Year's Eve treat and they were every bit as good as the originals in Paris.

Happy Christmas!

I know my posts have been few and far in between lately, but the demands of three small kids and writing a book (oh yeah, I'm writing a guide to living in Yokosuka which will hopefully be done before we leave Yokosuka) have been enormous. Enormous for my scatterbrain anyway. 

This could be part of the problem too.

 

He's a runner and an escaper. Note the plastic fence thing taped to the gate to keep Radar in and the rope of the top to keep Anders in. Luckily he has been diverted by new Christmas trains and hasn't tried this in a few days.

 

Brad stayed up late one night making cakes to bring into work. Yes, there are toddler sized bite marks on the cake. To make it completely unsalvageable, he licked all of the powdered sugar on top.

 

Command SubGru 7's Christmas party. This Santa is actually heaps better than last year's and the elf is Brad's LM which is Navy lingo for Paralegal. She is so impressive - not only is she a single mom with an adorable daughter living far from family, but she was also nominated as the command's Sailor of the Year. So Brad has the Sailor of the Year as his right hand person and I have Anders. Not fair.

 

So Christmas in Japan is not quite right. There are big light displays and Christmas music playing in stores and lots of Santa stuff but since only 2% of the population is Christian, it just doesn't come naturally. Example: our local mall's signage all says "Happy Christmas". Christmas Eve is almost more like New Year's Eve with everyone out on dates while New Year's Eve is a family night. Christmas cake is a big deal here - $35 for a small beautifully decorated cake with very little flavor. However it probably is way better than fruitcake. Christmas decorations are plentiful, but just a little off:

 

I can't remember what these fabric panels are called, but they are a very popular decorating item. Loved this one with Fuji-san and a Japanese village, but I don't ever remember there being two Rudolph's.

 

My Holy Family kokeshi doll set or so I thought. Really it's Mary, baby Jesus and a shepherd. Joseph was majorly unrepresented in our house this year. He was no show in the kid's manger set and had to be replaced by Super Grover and now the shepherd.

 

Even in our own Church's Christmas pageant - two Filipinos and a white kid are the King's. Lucien was so thrilled to actually get a part this year. Jude on the other hand spent the entire performance in pageant time out for goofiing off with a friend. Let it be known that Brad and I didn't put Jude in a tie meant for a toddler, he chose it himself and there was no dissuading him.

 

It would be asking way too much to have everyone in focus and visible. This is as good as it gets for our group photos.

 

It has taken 10 years and thousands of pictures, but finally we have the quintessential holiday picture.

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We are off to Tokyo and will be having dinner tonight in a Ninja themed restaurant. Nothing says the holidays like Ninjas.

Duffy Day

Have I mentioned that it is crowded here? American holidays like Veterans Day present a great opportunity to go to crazy crowded places like Disney. So Thursday we woke up early and headed for Disney Sea. Unlike our first attempt at going there our car didn't burst into flames outside of Oi Tunnel and we didn't get lost like we did on our second attempt. We made it there in an hour and got in line with a few thousand people patiently awaiting entry. I wish I had a camera full of cute pics of my kids smiling nicely, but I don't. I have goofy smiles, no smiles, blurry spots indicating that Anders had been standing there, no one looking at the camera and snot. If you want good pics of kids, you will have to see my sister's blog. Instead I took pictures of the latest fashions in Japan.

 

I felt kind of pervy taking this picture of these school girls buying their tickets. Yes, those are leg warmers. We saw another group of girls all wearing leg warmers with pink crocs. For some reason you see tons of kids in school uniforms at Disney who don't appear to be on field trips.

 

Lucien and Jude standing over the Venetian canal. Disney Sea is kind of like Epcot but with better rides.

 

This picture kind of sums up Japanese winter fashion - shorts with tights and fuzzy boots, lacy bloomer shorts with tights and fuzzy boots and some Disney exclusives like the ears and fuzzy ear hats. The teddy bear being held are the first of thousands we saw. Notice how Donald doesn't have security like he does in Orlando.

 

You got off at the wrong stop. Harajuku is the other way. Please note all of the bears.

 

Milk Tea flavored popcorn! Brad and I thought it was gross but the kids liked it. They also tried "black pepper" popcorn. Jude would have happily tried the strawberry flavor as well, but the smell was too nauseating for me. Milk tea, black pepper, caramel, strawberry and curry flavored popcorns were all available but no plain old buttered with salt. 

 

Ginormous teddy bear, high heels and a friend with orangish hair. Check.

 

Frontal view of leg warmer students. By the this time Brad and I have figured out that the bears are a huge marketing ploy of Disneys and it wasn't "bring your bear and get ¥500 off of admission" day. The bear basket thing hanging from the girl's neck is a ¥3100 (about $35) refillable popcorn holder. It says "Duffy" from Cape Cod. I googled it and marketing geniuses as Disney have incorporated Duffy into Disney stories. He apparently was given to Micky from Minnie when he sailed around the world. He might be a Disney Sea exclusive, but not really sure since his story was written in Japanese on the tags.

 

Almost a good picture. Poinsettias were everywhere. This was taken outside of the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. I was hoping to bring home a birthday present for Jude's friend and maybe some Christmas presents from the inevitable Indiana Jones gift shop, but there wasn't one! Only a kiosk with bears and ears and one lousy Indiana Jones piggy bank. I was kind of counting on whips, hats and jeeps, but nothing. What the hell?

 

Meri Kurisumasu (Merry Chrismas) Duffy, Duffy hanging wallet, metrosexual boyfriend with probably another Duffy in the bag and bow ears.

 

The only kimono sighting of the day. Impractical and restrictive. I wish I could have seen her trying to get on a ride.

 

More Harajuku girls. I would like to get one of these skirts for roller derby. I think it would cushion my left hip which has become mightily bruised.

 

Japanese fashion trifecta - lace tiered bloomers, fuzzy boots and funky socks.

 

Michaelangelo's flying machine. 

 

Waiting to get into the interactive Crush (turtle from Finding Nemo) show which had been really cute in Epcot. Of course, it is not quite so cute or interactive in Japanese. Duh. I can't believe we actually waited for this! Yes, Anders is wearing a puppy dog leash. Luckily, he was a bit sick which subdued him. One thing we love about taking our kids to Disney in Japan is the feeling of security you get when your small kids stick out like sore thumbs. No blending here which is good when you have to put a leash on your two year old.

Taiko & Samurai Weekend

A few weekends ago we had extreme Japanese cultural immersion. Saturday Jude and Lucien performed in a taiko drum performance on base. Considering that they have only been taking lessons for a few weeks, I think they did amazing. Jude seemed to be doing his own thing, but he had a great time. The next morning we were up and on a bus at 5:30 am on our way to the Nikko Samurai Parade. We had already spent a weekend in this town so a day trip seemed the way to go. The base sponsors several trips every weekend to various locations. This was only our second trip because they always leave at some unGodly hour and our kids are loud, especially if you are trying to sleep on a bus. The big boys did awesome thanks to the wonder of Dsi's. Anders on the other hand did great, if you don't mind a toddler screaming "tunnel", "bridge!" over and over again at 5:30 am. There a lot of both on the way through Tokyo from Yokosuka.

 

The big finale. This is Jude's absolute most favorite shirt ever. He was so happy to be able to wear it for the performance.

 

 

Tom, their instructor is a member of a professional Taiko group. These guys are like rock stars here. I'm sure he has no problem with the ladies.

 

Momentary brotherly happiness and calm at Toshogu Shrine

 

Samurai from the Clashing Prints group

 

I'm thinking the historical accuracy police were not out.

 

You would think that a parade with 800+ samurais, musicians and horses would be interesting, but guess again. It was like the march of the living dead. I think all three boys would have fallen asleep except for being nearly trampled by a freaked out horse.

 

We all enjoyed a lunch of yummy festival foods most of which are on sticks. Jude couldn't resist this apple and Anders had his favorite - hotdog on a stick.

 

After the parade we were taken to a river for a boating trip. These are our next door neighbors, the Delcores. Yes, four boys and their father has been at sea for 6 months now. Lisa truly deserves a medal.

 

Brad and I were picturing a big boat with lots of glass windows, but instead it was a really big canoe with tatami mats on the floor and no motor. Notice our shoes are in plastic bags. You learn quickly here to always wear socks.

 

Jude, Lucien, Louie and Zane practicing with the visqueen splash protection.

 

The rapids were fairly mild but there were a few places that could have gone very bad for us. Needless to say the boys loved this.

 

Anders eating mochi, gelatinous rice ball, on the way home. 

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera into the rest stop with us. In the takeout section they had the ubiquitous onigiri and spaghetti sandwiches. Yup, spaghetti in a hoagie roll topped off with some corn kernels. Next to the spaghetti sandwiches were the yakisoba sandwiches. None of us could bring ourselves to eat noodle sandwiches so we all settled for noodles in a bowl and the boys ate corndogs, because they hadn't eaten enough food on sticks yet.

 

 

Boobs for Bums.

The annual Yokosuka Mikoshi parade rolled last Sunday. I love mikoshi parades. They remind me of Mardi Gras. Except instead of New Orleanians who are not known to have a hard time letting go and letting it all hang out, we have the usually very reserved Japanese going nuts and letting more than you would want to see hang out.  (To be honest I only saw flashing boobs once at Mardi Gras and that was only because we made the rookie mistake of going to the French Quarter. I'm not going to count the occasional breast feeding nip slip from friends.) Mikoshi are portable shinto shrines that are carried in a procession. The handlers bounce them up and down and zig zag them around to get the attention of the deities. These things look insanely heavy yet they can really get them high in the air. This year Brad helped carry the base's mikoshi.

 

The Americans did not have the rhythm or swagger going on like the Japanese . Brad says it's because they were not as drunk as the Japanese participants who were doing professional quality drinking.

 

Jude and Lucien enjoying snow cones on the parade route. Jude's is melon flavored. The boys love melon soda, but won't eat an actual honeydew.

 

Poor Anders was really taking one for the team. It was his nap time and these dragon people kept messing with him. He was not amused.

 

Jude was pulled out twice to help pull floats.

 

Since this was the third time I had seen this particular parade, I paid closer attention to people's clothes than to the mikoshi. The required costume are happi coats, camel toed shoes, something tied on your head, obi type thing and if you are a man then pants are optional. 

 

Taken downtown before the parade. Pants, no pants, elastic wrap skirt thing all with varying towel usage on their heads.

 

 

Sometimes groups are completely matched and sometimes coordinated in a Garanimals type of way.

 

Every group has a leader wearing a loin cloth and either clanking sticks together, whistling or using a bullhorn to encourage the porters.

 

Tabi shoes can either be worn alone or with leggings that tie around your calf.

 

My friend Lisa took this picture. There is no explaining this.

 

It's good to get used to it early in life.

 

Check out how this man wrapped that towel on his head. Impressive. 

 

These poor guys just looked hot. I would totally take the butt floss and obi over the indigo union suit when it's 95 degrees out.

 

You might think he is rearranging his junk, but a second later he pulled out a pack of smokes and a lighter. I saw all kinds of things stuck in these garments - water bottles, fans and even a sippy cup.

 

After the parade is finished the shrines and floats are set in a parking lot. Here are some kids playing taiko drums. Every single inch of ground space was covered in blankets with families picnicking and resting. Lots of bento boxes, green tea and sake being consumed. A just reward for carrying these shrines on your back as you dance down the street.

 

School Days

 

 

Don't they look excited for the first day of school?

 

 

Anders has found a new way to entertain himself while his brothers are at school. No, that is not shoe polish. That is dirt he has dug out of our 10 x 15 foot yard. How can such a small yard can be such a big problem? Our back door is a sliding glass door with a metal frame and a lock that he gets undone with out even thinking about it. I can't even wedge it shut with a broom handle because it slides on the outside frame locking us all in.

 

If base rules prohibit astro turf, this kid might have to go to pre-school a few days a week. Brad and I have been tossing around the idea of sending Anders to a Japanese pre-school. Several of our friends send their kids to Seika Yochien, a Christian Japanese pre-school. My friends were dubious just how Christian it really is, but beggars can't be choosers here. Not only are the uniforms insanely cute but there is a train-bus complete with train sounds that picks up the children in front of your house. Anders gets so excited to see the choo choo bus that he practically hyperventilates. The kid has it bad for trains right now.

 

 

 

Anders at a birthday party eating cake and ice cream without putting down his trains. 

 

They of course speak Japanese and adhere to the local school schedule which is totally different than our American one. The school year started in April! Price used to be a big drawback, but the child care service on base is almost doubling their prices making Seika seem rather reasonable. Not only do the kids play and have activities but they are also expected to clean. Being the mother of three boys, I have to say that this is an exciting concept. Does my 2.5 year old really need to know the alphabet? Not really, but cleaning. Bring it on. It is a full day program which seems awful long for a two year but check out the uniforms.

 

 

 

 Could this be any cuter?  Actually it could. In the summer, they wear straw bowler hats.

 

 

Our friend's daughter, Adelaide, and classmates greeting the bus sensei, teacher, before getting on. Not only do they have to greet her, they also have to bow.

 

 

 

Adelaide stayed with us while her mom was having a baby and I was able to get this picture. The blue shoes are only worn to school. Once there they change into white inside shoes that they carry in this bag.

 

The train bus used to come to our neighbor's house every day at 9:30am but they moved back to the states. If Anders had to see hear and see it everyday, I'm fairly certain that they only way to stop the screaming for choo choo bus would be to send him away on it. If I catch a glimpse of the girls bowing to the sensei in their uniforms again, I might just do it. While poaching photos from Amanda's FB page for this post, I found this one. If Anders finds out about this it is all over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Land/Wally World or Bust

I know, I know I have been a total slacker with the blog. I have begun a new project of writing a guide to living In Yokosuka and it has taken up every second of my extra time. Here is a post I started on before the summer. I'll really try to be better.

On Memorial Day weekend we headed off for a weekend at Camp Fuji as our home base to see Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park, home of Thomas Land and Yunessun Spa Resort. Before we even got started the Mystery Machine van with myself and the kids in it almost went up in a fireball. If you remember the tale of the flaming enema, you would think that we would be exempt from this type of situation. But no, I ran over a very thin piece of metal on the way to a baseball game and it punctured the gas tank. Thankfully, two men happened to see it and noticed that a piece of metal was dragging on the ground as gas was leaking out and motioned for me to stop just as sparks began to fly. Thank God they were there. Crisis averted, but now we have to take Brad's piece of crap car up to the mountains. I was beginning to get a Griswold type of feeling and wanted to pull the plug on the weekend but Brad wasn't having it. The Parkers were going to see Thomas Land, damn it. (If you don't know who the Griswolds are then there is no helping you.)

 

My van surrounded by Yokosuka's finest and the Hazmat team. Luckily, it happened on base.

 

Now Camp Fuji is a Marine camp literally at the base of Mount Fuji. We've been there once before and the view was amazing but this weekend we couldn't even tell that a mountain was there never-the-less an enormous hulking active volcano. 100% cloud cover. You just never know, if you are going to see that thing or not. Quelle elusive. Camp Fuji is by no means luxurious in fact it is the epitome of bare bones, but it is only $45 a night. When you are spending the night in the same room with 3 small children, you don't want to pay any more than that. The one huge drawback to staying on a marine base is revelry at 5:30 AM even on a weekend. On Monday morning the real trumpeter must have called in sick because it didn't start until almost 7 AM and it was absolutely the worst thing I have ever heard. Lucien could have done better. You would think they would invest in a soundtrack for days the trumpeter has off. This hotel also doesn't have food service, so we went to the mess hall for breakfast. Taking three amped up little boys to breakfast there is the equivalent of a abstinence/birth control advertisement for young Marines. Hello we are the Parkers and this is what happens when you don't use birth control or abstain.

 

 

A young Jedi, Anders and Lucien in front of Camp Fuji last January when their Grandma was here. Now imagine the weather is so crappy you can't see Fuji-san in the background that is why we didn't get another picture here this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even before we walk into the amusement park we are presented with Thomas merchandise. I resisted the urge to buy a tin full Cream Sand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jude is our roller coaster kid, however, he did not make the height requirement to ride Mad Mouse without a grownup. I had Anders and Brad was off doing a spinning ride. This employee pops out of nowhere and rides this thing twice with Jude. How is that for service? Disney take note.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like a rather glum entry way by Disney standards but it was nirvana to Anders. He actually has drawn his big brothers into the Thomas craze as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's hard to tell but this is a seriously happy two year old.

 

 

I do have to say that Anders was completely freaked out by the little rides and wanted nothing to do with them. But hanging out by and in this train made him insanely happy. The other thing he loved was the train table in the gift shop. You would expect the train table in Thomas Land's gift shop to be an extravaganza of Thomas goodness but instead it was a really pitiful little table. The Borders in New Orleans has a better one. Honestly people get rid of the table with Thomas toilet paper and Thomas nori (seaweed) and put up a decent train set.

 

 

A Mommy copping a feel of Anders' hair. We pulled him away from this table after an hour kicking and screaming like his little boy parts were being cut off.

 

 

 

The next day we went to Yunessun hot springs resort. Japanese mascots are always kind of bizarre - here the boys are with the Yunessun kitty square heads. Jude is wearing his pikachu costume.  Nothing like hot springs on a cold dreary day.

 

 

 

 

Pure bliss.

 

 

 

 

 

International Baby Model

It's official Anders is a published baby model. On a recent trip to Livin, a local mall, I found the product that Anders modeled for 20 months ago. This is the first I have seen of it. I hope the agency will cough up a hard copy of it so I don't have to buy a $70 baby carrier. If anyone wants a Combi 3-way or 4-way baby carrier let me know. New mommies I will happily send you one with out the packaging.

 

 

Jude, the star, Lucien and our friend Emily Wood pose with Anders' product.

 

Just look at him. How cute is he with his 17 year old Russian mommy who probably works at "Gentlemen Clubs" at night. I'm not saying that this particular girl is involved in such a nefarious thing, but you never know. Eastern European girls are brought here to model and end up as the "western" venue in these clubs.

The two local malls that we go to are kind of a wonderful hybrid of department store, mall, and grocery all wrapped into one. Having a grocery at the mall rocks. Some more offerings:

 

Also found in the baby section some yummy snacks. I'm sure this is very healthy but I can't imagine a baby with kelpy sardine breath.

In every mall that I have been in here there is an arcade space usually right by the children's clothes. It's a little slice of hell. Loud and chock full of neon lights I think these are preparing children for a life long habit of pachinko. If you have never had the pleasure or walking into a pachinko parlor click on the pachinko link and don't adjust your volume. It is slot machine type game that uses ball bearings and clearly hearing aid manufacturers do very well here. This arcade is much larger than what I could show you. 

 

Pokemon games for Jude.

 

He's huge in Japan, Anpan Man. This steamed bun filled with bean jam is like Diego here except Anpan fights Meanyman who comes from the land of germs with his friend who is a piece of bread, Breadheadman and his girlfriend is Melongirl. You can't make this stuff up and if you did you would be a gazillionaire.

 

I could have left Anders in this Thomas train and tried on new outfits. He never would have moved or missed me.

 

No toy department is complete without these giant beetles. Jude would kill for one.

 

Now it's time for summer attire. Yup, gloves for summer. Women wear these when they are out in the sun or driving. Sometimes they are fingerless like leg warmers for your arms. You'll see men wearing short white gloves while driving, riding bikes or running. Parasols are popping up all over the place as well.

 

Wall o'footies.

 

I'm not really sure what occasion would call for a ball of foot thong but I kind of love the bedazzled fancy footies that will dress up any plain pair of flats.

 

My all time favorite summer offering - fake boobs for your bathing suit. Brad says that Japan is great if you are a leg man but not so much if you are a boob man. These are so essential for bathing suits though that they are hung right next to the goggles and towels.

 You know it's summertime in Japan when the wearable boobs come out.

Sound Princess

 

 

The toilets here are anything but basic. You either have a squatty potty which are fine, but I don't recommend using one if you are wearing your skinny jeans. Since you don't actually have to touch the squatty potty, many Japanese see them as being cleaner. I have a horrible time squatting though and always end up holding onto the pipe or sometimes even a handle for dear life. That theory doesn't work for me.

 

Then you have your basic western toilet with a major seat upgrade. This one is from our house in town. The handle has two flushing strengths that I could never remember, but you pull forward for one and push backwards for the other depending on how big of flush you need. Ours also had the grey water hand washing sink. My favorite feature however is the Toto Washlet. The washlet usually features a heated seat with temperature control, a bidet, a bum washer, sometimes a warm air dryer and sometimes even has a noise maker mask any embarrassing sounds you might make. 

 

Toto Washlet - our very nice real estate agent labeled what she could on ours.

I personally love the heated seats in winter, but a recent visitor thought they were disgusting because they made her feel like someone else had been sitting there for way too long. Unfortunately, in public bathrooms I am usually accompanied by Anders who can't keep his hands off of anything. Turn away for a second and the next thing you know you are sitting on a geyser. I either leave the restroom feeling totally violated or covered in water. Thankfully our base house doesn't have a Washlet or I would have to childproof all of the bathroom doors from Anders which would only lead to an older boy having an accident.

Apparently Japanese women used to flush the toilet several times as they were using the bathroom to mask any sounds. The river of water being wasted didn't go unnoticed especially when a draught hit the country. Toto the maker of the washlet stepped up to the plate and designed the Otohime - which literally translates to "sound princess". This device makes a flushing sound for about 30 seconds when you wave your hand in front of it - no more wasted flushing or embarrassing sounds. It can be found in Department Store and office building women restrooms. Men apparently do not have a problem with embarrassing sounds and have no need of the Sound Princess. The idea of the Otohime dates back several hundred years. I recently read an article in Japan Times about the Otohime and several women were quoted as saying that they use the otohime not because of their own embarrassment but to shield other people from their sounds. How Japanese.

 

Today's Otohime.

 

Yesteryear's Otohime. The Otokeshi-no Tsubo (urn for covering the sound) is a 19th century bronze urn used by traveling dignitaries. A servant would lift the plug in the dragon's mouth to release a steady stream of water.

What is an eco-conscious girl to do if she is an a bathroom unequipped with a Sound Princess or worse yet, traveling to a foreign country?  A toy maker came out with a reasonably priced portable otohime, the keitai otohime, not too long ago and apparently it is selling like gang busters. It is small enough for your purse and has a lock feature so you don't accidentally set it off during a board meeting or on the train. There is even a flushing app on the i-phone for tech savvy gals.

The Keitai Sound Princess would have made wonderful Mother's Day presents. Oh well, next year.

Jude Rocks!

Jude had a piece of art work chosen to be published in a book featuring art work from children in DOD schools in the Pacific region. One piece of artwork from each grade was chosen. This morning he and the other children made an appearance on the school's TV program. I have rarely seen him this happy and proud. Because of his apraxia he usually can not smile on command and ends up looking constipated at best, but this morning I couldn't keep him from smiling. We are so proud of our kindergartner.

 

He insisted on this site for the pictures. Notice the enormous blue eyes and wonky ears on his self-portrait. He really nailed it.

 

Holding the actual book. I could barely pry the thing out of his hands to find out more about it, but it is way cool.

 

Busy Spring!

It's baseball season so that means 3-4 practices a week and two games every Saturday. I suppose the practices wouldn't be so bad if I could bring a book and read occasionally looking up and yelling "nice hit" instead of having to chase Anders around the dirty fields. Not my favorite time of the year. It's especially bad here because Sunday is such a crowded day to be out and about in Japan and it ends up being our only day to do things as a family. The last two Sundays we didn't let the crowds stop us and we ventured out.

 

Ah, brotherly love. 

This was on Mother's Day while the boys let me sleep in. We were soon off to Tokyo for a luxurious brunch at the New Sanno followed by a trip to the Mori Art Museum for Lucien & I and the park for Brad, Jude & Anders. We then all met up at the New Sanno's pool for a swim. I had a most wonderful day with my boys! Thank you Brad.

 

It seems this time of year a week doesn't go by without a field trip. This time it was the Kanazawa Zoo in Yokohama with Lucien and Anders. This is a really cute zoo featuring herbivorous animals. The American Region has a moose, a swan, a Bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat and one Canadian Goose. Luckily there is even a brochure in english with wonderful flowery descriptions of the animals.

Black-necked Swan -If it hits you with its wings it will feel like a deadly karate chop.

Great White Pelican - Land or water, I go where the mood takes me.

Eastern Black Rhino - Big body with sensitive heart.

Reticulated Giraffe - I am waiting for you with my long neck.

Pony - small but strong

Sheep - A round body is such a cutie!

You just can't make this stuff up. I wonder if the Japanese brochure translates exactly like this or if they have a smart ass on staff.

 

Anders and Lucien in front of either Bon or Yoko, the Indian elephants.

View from zoo overlooking Yokosuka Bay.

 

Close- up view. Check out just how close these houses are together. Ouza. Not only are these houses close but they aren't insulated so you really hear your neighbors. I think this is probably a fairly upscale neighborhood.

This Sunday we took the boys surfing in Kamakura. Now I am not a label snob, a wine snob or a car snob but I am a beach snob and I have to tell you the beaches by us are not nice. The novelty of sparkly black sand wears off in about 2 minutes. Not to mention the cold water filled with seaweed. I suppose Japan is not known for it's gorgeous beaches. Anyway Lucien and Jude took turns alternating between surfing and digging in the sand while Anders preferred to either run full speed ahead in no particular direction or plow his body through the sand.

 

 

 

Lucien spent quite a bit of time like this but wasn't deterred. Jude on the other hand did this twice, got out of the water and declared that he would surfing again when he turns 11.

 

 

Anders was delighting a small group of young Japanese guys with his antics of hurling himself and body-plowing the nasty sand.