Sunday on Rokko Island, Upcoming Sumo, and Girl's Day

After yesterday's adventures, we were primed for a nice easy day at home. The weather was great today, sunny, breezy and in the low 50's, so we decided to spend a lot of time outside. We threw the frisbees and football into our bikes, and biked (Mike ran - since we only have three bikes) down the greenway trail to the bay side of Rokko Island. You can bike or run the greenway all the way there, and at the tip there is a great outdoor area where we stopped and played frisbee, biked, ran, watched people fish, and watched the boats go by. Although it certainly has an industrial-ness to it, it also has palm trees and the sound and smell of the water, and was quite an idyllic place.


This afternoon, as has been our Sunday tradition, we took the kids to the Family Swim at our gym/pool. They love it. We love it. They even love the hot tubs, which is a good test for future trips to Japan's onsen, which we will surely someday visit. We brought the camera today, since Lauren in the pool in her little swimming cap is pure joy, and Jacob is becoming a little fish. (Although we snapped some photos, it was very muggy in there and so they are a bit cloudy.)




This evening, we enjoyed quite the gourmet meal at home (if we do say so ourselves!). While Mike and Jacob played soccer and baseball in the park, Lauren and Ilena made the miso soup. Then, after Mike and Jacob returned, Mike pan seared two beautiful pieces of Tuna that we had bought earlier for under 600 Yen (less than US $6), and under the tutelege of Ilena, executed a nice reduction of garlic, butter, ponzu sauce, red wine, and orange juice. Ilena took care of the rice and stir fried Chinese cabbage. It was a team effort. And a really delicious meal. So good in fact, that Jacob declared Mike the best Tuna cooker in the world.

In other news, there is a big Sumo Tournament coming to our area of Japan in mid-March. Japanese people that we have spoken to have told us that going to see Sumo is something that one should do while in Japan. So, we decided that we had better check it out, and we'll be buying our tickets later this week. It is sure to be an interesting experience. We have much to learn!

Tomorrow is Hina Matsuri, a Japanese holiday called Doll's Day or Girls Day. The holiday apparently has its roots in a Chinese purification ritual in which evils were transferred to doll surrogates, which were then cast into the river. (How convenient!). Now, with the exquisitely made costly modern versions of the dolls, no one would dream of chucking them in a river. These dolls are displayed only on this one day of the year. Here is a typical doll display that you see around Japan this time of year:

So...the kids are off from school tomorrow.