General Pictures and Camping at Nasu

We went camping last weekend. I had Monday off for what I thought was a holiday, but it turned out to be for Honda people only. Honda sponsored an endurance motorcycle race that Honda has off for. I didn't make it to the race, but I'll take a day off.

There are not so many one or two day vacations here (Good Friday, Memorial day, Labor day, Thanksgiving, etc), but we have three, one-week shutdowns. We have one coming up the week after next. We are going to try the beach again. We have a hotel for two nights. There is also an aquarium in the area. If you remember the Hitachi Seaside Park blog entry, that is basically where we are going.

Below are some general pictures from the last two weeks. They kind of jump around in terms of timeline, so bear with me.

These are Savannah's morning glories that she grew at school. This picture was taken in the early morning. The color was more of a blue color.





These are the same pictures of the same flowers later in the day. Their color changed to a purple later in the day. Most of the flowers have died off but there are a ton of buds popping up.




We went to the park the other day. I see these trees often and think they are cool. I like the way it wraps around the pole.






In this picture, I am standing on the giant dirt mound at the park. And Denny... well he is just being Denny. Sometimes it is hard to get a serious picture of him.







Denny in his soccer outfit. He is still playing which is unbelievable since the humidity is so high. I ride my bicycle to work in the morning and have to change when I get there. It is not so hot, but you sweat ALL THE TIME! There are times when I am sitting in our air conditioned office and I still sweat. I can't wait for Fall. I am told it is much more comfortable.








Elin and her friend Takako Mitani san went to Penny Lane Bakery which obviously is a Beatles themed bakery. The connection between the Beatles and Bread? .... I have no idea. Denny is standing next to Takako's children Lisa and Emma. They spent a lot of time in the US - maybe 6+ years if I remember right. They also have a son named Yuki. They took us camping as you will see below. Their English is unbelievable. It is nice to speak English, but it is a crutch at the same time.




This is a picture from inside the bakery. If you look close, there is bread shaped like a peace sign... and Takako, of course.










This is Elin trying look like she is walking along with the Beatles in the Abbey Road Cover. It might of worked if they were about 1.5 feet taller.








Elin and Kate Hughes at the 'Wive's Night Out'. Every month, the spouses get together. Unfortunately, it was on the same night as a work drinking party, but Elin committed first. It was a Wednesday so usually drinking parties on Wednesday are not that good of an idea anyway.





We have a Kirin Beer factory in Takanezawa. They are closing soon but we are not sure why. Elin thinks it is due to the economy. They needed a dolly to haul all that beer back home.

The other children in the picture are Liam and Colleen Hughes. They go to the same school as Savannah. Liam is in the 5th grade which is amazing. Colleen is in the third grade which is about how far savannah will make it.


Elin had to go to her driving practice this Thursday so I had a half day off. I also had Friday off for her actual test as a free-bee, no vacation needed. Anyway, we went to our favorite ramen shop - She She ramen (shay shay ramen). It is a little mom and pop shop. They always gush over us when we go there.

Before our food came, they brought out two stag beetles. They asked if I could go to the dollar store and buy a container so they could give me one. I said I would. By the end of the meal, we walked out of the shop with both beetles and the container to boot... everyone is so incredibly nice to us. They eat vegetable and these funny things that they sell at the store that look like jello shots. They sell a similar product for kids... mental note, must not mix. I have to admit, they creep me out. I had to clean their box so I had to pick them up. They have little grippers on their legs that grab on to you and they won't let go. When you get them off of your hands, they grab onto the box so you can't get them in. It took me 10 minutes to get them back in the box.



Camping in Nasu. :



We took this picture as we were driving through a small town on the way to the campground. We thought the lights hanging over the street looked like UFO's. Yeah, we're weird.







This was the campsite. There were a lot of trees, but we had a sunny spot... temporarily. The tent on the left is the one we borrowed. The gigantic tent belongs to the Mitani's. About 6;30, it started to rain and the zipper on our door broke. there was a lot of water in the tent even though we tried to use towels to divert it. All 9 of us ended up sleeping in the big tent. We were thankful that they had such high level equipment.

We bought snack packs for all the kids. Denny's had what looked to be onion rings so of course, he made rings of them.

One of the activities at the campground was Superball fishing. They dumped about 5000 (no joke) superballs into the pool. The kids had to fish them out with a net. We think there were three heart shaped balls. If you got one, you got a prize.

Elin and Takako san used 'strategery' and set up on the bridge.






On the way back to the campsite, I tried on Savannah's goggles... and that was only after 2 beers. Needless to say, there were more back at the campsite.




This is what started to roll in behind us about 6:00 or so. It didn't look too bad, but it got worse.





I took our grill so we could make yakiniku (grilled meat). I think we had beef, chicken, pork, shrimp and hot dogs. Other than deer, it covered the based for the meat group. We also made yakisoba (noodles, vegetables and pork). Yakisoba is popular at cook-outs.



The Mitani's and the Parker's with BEvERages.






And yes.... THEY HAVE BINGO HERE!!! They played 4 games. Between us, we had 9 cards for each game and didn't win a thing. We were told that Coleman actually sponsors this campground so all the prizes were Coleman related - 2 Coleman camp chairs, a Coleman camp table, Coleman bicycle, etc. I don't know what it is about bingo, but I always want to win. Savannah has the same affliction. No skill involved, but I want to win.

In Japanese style, this was the box that you reached in and grabbed a specific color for the corresponding prize. We just happened to be standing right next to it. The first time they opened it, all I could think of was Pulp Fiction. All Pulp Fiction fans must enter a comment.


Once again... Denny being Denny. Mitani san made curry for breakfast and Denny proceeded to dab his spoon all over his face. Maybe he thought he was still playing bingo. He is lucky he didn't hit himself in the eye.



This is a picture of the common area tent that they had. When the rain came, that is where we spent our time in the evening. During a potty break, I took a video clip at night from inside the dining tent. We sat with our backs to the mesh so we were only wet on one side.

Overall, it was one of the best times I have had here so far. By the way, for those that camp, the sight was 7200 yen ($72) for one night. Honestly, it was worth every yen.

Reiko Sensei tried to take a photo of the family at the beer factory (I DIDN'T GET TO GO!!!). Unfortunately, it was on video. I thought it was cute so I downloaded it. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me. Usually, I delete the files in frustration.

Denny riding his bike on our street.

And yes, Savannah's body finally decided it was time to learn balance. We practiced for a while before rainy season, but stopped. Last week, she wanted to try her bike. She got on and pedaled away. Elin said she was stunned. We now ride to the store and other places together.



Denny on the monkey bars at the park by our house.



Savannah doing her famous flips



Campsite at night that I mentioned earlier.



Superball fishing.

Summer Festival / Rice Field Bug Catching

Sorry I didn't update the blog last week. There wasn't much opportunity for pictures. We had a quiet night at home last Friday.

I had a 24 hour Ekiden on Saturday. Basically, it is a 24 hour run. The hours are separated for each department. You pick a time to run and sign up. I wussed out and took the 10:00 AM on Saturday instead of the 11:00 PM Friday night or the 3:00 AM Saturday morning. We had many people in our time slot so we only had to run about a mile before we switched over. I think the intent is to see how many laps around the building your team can do in 24 hours. I am not sure who ended up winning. There are many different companies that are involved. After, there was free yaki-niku (grilled meat) so I was happy. Overall, I think it is more geared toward team building than anything else. Elin and the kids had to go to Savannah's school and clean all morning.

Two of the Padget girls stayed the over night at our place on Saturday. Emma is a year older than Savannah. Maddie is a little older than Emma, but she took to Denny so it worked out. We did some more fireworks that night. Unfortunately, the Padget family lives in Tokyo and Nathan lives here in Utsunomiya. The kids are too old to go to Japanese public school so they have to go to an international school in Tokyo.

On Sunday, Savannah and I went to Utsunomiya for the day for Daddy/Daughter time. We went book and pen shopping and also made a stop at the "Grab Happiness Diner". We got Burgers, fries and Shakes. It was expensive, but worth it.




Natsu Mitsuri (we think) - This weekend we had a festival at Denny's school. Friday was his last day of school for summer break (5 weeks). We decided to walk since there isn't a lot of parking at the school. This is us leaving the house.









Yes, it is rainy season. It is hot, humid and it rains just about every day. These are the clouds that greeted us as we arrived at the school.






Another picture of the cloud cover. We are told that the rainy season is over this weekend. Supposedly, they are pretty good at pinpointing the start and end so hopefully, we will see some better weather soon. I am told that rainy season gives way to hotter weather. It is hot enough already. We shower and then start sweating as soon as we dry off. It is so humid...

The kids got to play 4 games for 100 yen ($1). Basically, it was a no lose situation. this one had magnets on fishing poles. There were snacks with metal binder clips on them. The kids had to catch a snack.

This game had balls that you rolled into the animal boxes. The animals are the ones at the school.

All you had to do with this one is pull a string to see what snack you won. Savannah pulled what we think was a squid. Luckily, they were sympathetic and allowed her to choose again.

The clouds stayed right at the edge of the school property. The school is to the right in this picture where the clouds were. On the other side, it was clear skies. You can see the moon in this one if you look closely.

Most of the girls were dressed up in kimonos. We bought cheapies for Denny and Savannah. Some families go all out.

Rice Field - Bug Catching - We headed out to a different area to make scarecrows for our rice field. Unfortunately, we were not smarter than our Japanese navigation system so we never did find the place. We decided to drive to the rice field and wait for the rest of the people to show up for bug catching. Since we were early, we got one-on-four attention with the bugman.







Bugs started to get old pretty quick so I started trying for frogs. I had a really big one trapped in a clump of grass in the creek. I was trying to shake him into my net and this guy dropped in out of nowhere. He was huge.



Flowers that we saw next to the creek.






This was Denny's bug box We had dragonflies, grasshoppers and frogs.





Closeup of the daddy frog we caught.






More flowers that we saw.

Picture of the rice fields. In the back, I think there are grain silos. This is the landmark that we use to turn left to go to the field.

This is the size of the rice plants after about 3 months or so. They are big, but I can't see ant sign of the actual rice yet.

More pictures of the rice field.

Frog on a rock.

More pictures of rice fields. Japan rivals Ireland for green. Most areas that are farmland are this color.







More rice fields. In the back is a large white building. This is a Honda dormitory. The associates (usually the younger ones) can rent cheap dorm rooms to save money. I haven't been inside, but we have walked by as looked in the windows from the street. I think there is even a cafeteria inside.

I took the kids to Bell Mall today. We needed to stay out of the heat since we were in it all weekend. We got a little sunburn on Saturday, but not too bad. I added some videos below. Enjoy.




Fireworks at the end of the festival. The guys in the straw-lined stage seemed a little anxious when the fireworks were lit. I can't say I blame them.

Lightning that we had all night while we were at the festival.

Dancing at the end of the festival

Another video of the drums and flute player.

Drums / Flute player at the festival

Sakuranbo Gari / Fourth of July

Sakuranbo Gari (Cherry Picking)

I signed up for what I thought was a cherry festival. I thought there was a festival along with a trip to the Asahi Brewery in Fukushima (about 2 hours away). I later found out in Japanese class that sakuranbo gari means cherry picking. And that is just what is was. We were bussed for two hours to pick and eat as many as you could in about 1/2 hour. They also had containers that you could fill and take home - for about 2500 yen ($25 per pound). Needless to say, we ate as many as we could and passed on the extra cherry purchase. We were then bussed to the brewery for a tour and lunch and then back home. It was fun... but a little more 'bus-fun' than we expected.


Elin and her 'no drinking allowed' badge. This was a Honda event so they tried to make sure there were designated drivers. In Japan drinking and driving is a serious offense. If you get caught, the first person they call is typically your boss. Work and home life are not separated like in the states. It is a little weird, but your job is a huge part of your life. When we got back to our car at the end of the day, Elin had to take a breathalyzer test before we could drive away. Dot the i's, cross the t's. Amazing. The guy messed up and told her to blow for 5 minutes instead of 5 seconds.





Savannah and I on the bus. They gave each child a bag of snack food. They more healthy stuff that we brought immediately had noses turned up at it after they got their snacks.

The family at the rest stop. We were technically allowed to drink beer on the bus - WHICH I DID NOT KNOW. I searched the rest stop for beer but failed.

Scenery along the main highway we were on.

We had three buses of people. When we got there, we got off and were herded up this little road to the cherry trees. They are completely netted in so the birds can't get to the cherries.

Savannah on one of the ladders. There were many ladders so you could get up to the top branches. Savannah told us this is where the best cherries were.

Bamboo forest near the cherry trees. This was near the port-a-potty that I had to take Denny to. He tends to wait until the very last minute to clue us in on his bathroom needs.

For those of you who know what the squatter toilets are, this port-a-potty was a squatter with no bar to hang onto. Not sure how you work that one. I took a picture, but thought it would be best to keep that one to myself.

Picture of one of the branches with cherries on it. This was nothing special... they all looked like this. When we entered the netted area, it was a little like entering Willie Wonka's factory. If you remember the scene when they were eating all of the candy from the ground, trees, chocolate river, etc. It was a little like that. Pick and eat... spit you pits on the ground and pick again.

Denny at the cherry trees.

Rice fields on our way to the brewery. Everything is really green right now. There is rice everywhere.

The kids talked to two older girls on the bus. They took to Denny and Savannah immediately. They were trying out their English skills on Denny and Savannah. There parents also spoke very good English.

Denny (AKA Chick Magnet) strikes again.

Picture from inside the brewery. Surprisingly, there were not a lot of photo ops. More of an information sharing session. Unfortunately, we didn't understand 97% of what they were saying.

This was our lunch - yakiniku (grilled meat and vegetables). They also had onigiri (rice formed in hand held triangles). We think there was beef, then pork and then mutton. There was a noticeable taste difference with the mutton. People say deer is gamy but I think sheep have a much stronger taste.

Shot of the brewery as we were going up the on ramp on our way home. At the brewery, they gave everyone three glasses of beer. I learned that Asahi makes a stout. I had one lager, one stout and one black and tan. I liked the stout best. They said it is sold in stores so I have to look for it. Mmmmmm beer.

They also gave us little smoked cheeses. Real cheese is super-hard to find here. Processed cheese... not so hard. Elin's sensei went to Costco and brought us 9 pounds of cheese back. We have been eating cheese on everything. Anyway, the smoked cheese was so good, we bought the 3 different cheese sampler for 1250 yen total ($12.50).

Fourth of July - Elin mentioned that she was going to pick up fireworks at the hyaku yen shop. I had the same plan. I didn't hear about her actually buying any so I went up to the store and bought four packages of sparklers (maybe 30 in each package with an extra glow in the dark bracelet). I was hoping the neighbor kids would come over. Later I found out Elin had already bought fireworks so we were set.

Elin with her ume chu-hi. Ume is a fruit that looks like an apple, but we are told it isn't. Shochu is a liquor that is popular here. I am not sure what it is made of, but it has about 25% alcohol. The chu-hi runs about 6-8% alcohol so it will creep up on you.

Nothing says America like liquor and fireworks - yeeeee haw!

Savannah was afraid the cops would come. I wasn't sure how far we could take the fireworks thing so the cops crossed my mind a few times as well.

I realized later that I took mostly movies instead of pictures. I added a few below.

Asahi Brewery - Canning area

Denny lighting a sparkler. Bravery unparalleled since the earthquake heroics when he went into the fetal position on the couch.

Savannah with a sparkler.

Elin trying to light fireworks. I stress the word 'trying'.

Kids with their glow bracelets