Tokyo Trip, Acapella, and Spring in the air

Mike has become a veteran Shinkansen traveler and on Monday again day-tripped to Tokyo. While he didn't get to see much of the city (beyond subways and conference rooms), what he did see seemed very nice. The area he was in was somewhat New Yorky (think around 59th Street), with fancy hotels, a nice looking nearby park, etc. From the few moments he got to walk around, it seemed that there were many more gaijin in Tokyo than in Kansai. And a lot more English. Its funny, but we've gotten so used to being among the only non-Japanese on the subways and streets, that (somewhat strangely) it was a little weird. We'll be back to Tokyo in early May in a non-business capacity, and we are excited to get to explore the city.

Before heading back on the evening Shinkansen, as is the tradition for Shinkansen travelers, Mike purchased his "dinner box" (ekiben, eki = station, ben = short for bento box) and beer for the train ride home. But this time, instead of buying from the scores of bento box sellers in the station itself, he got a good tip on a Daimeru Department Store that is close to Tokyo Station, and got a truly extraordinary sushi dinner-in-a-box there. (We've blogged previously about the amazing selection of foods that graces the basement floor of the big department stores like Daimeru, Hankyu, and Sogo)

Before we came to Japan, we read of the hard-drinking Japanese post-work culture and that public drunkenness was more accepted in Japan. Turns out to be true. This was validated by Mike's train ride home from Shin Osaka to Rokko Island after arriving in Osaka. Let's just say that there were some seriously inebriated fellas on that train at 10 PM on a Monday night.

Tonight, at Canadian Academy, we saw an a-cappella performance by the Yale Alley Cats, who are touring Japan. Apparently, over the summer they tour Europe. Pretty nice travel perks! Why didn't we join an a-cappella group in College? It was a fun show.

In other news, spring is in the air!!! The weather is creeping up into the 60's and flowers are started to bloom. The air feels springy. And it happened virtually overnight. We are looking forward to the next month or so weather wise. Soon, the cherry blossoms (sakura) will begin to bloom throughout Japan. And everyone (we mean everyone) in Japan is very into flower watching (hanami) to enjoy this short-lived part of springtime. We already have trips planned to Kyoto and Himeji (two prime spots, we hear) during early April to check it all out.

Food Festival, Birthday Party, and Relaxing on a Sunday

After Jacob's morning Yoga class, Mike and Ilena took advantage of our first real warmer weather day (leaning towards Spring time?) and each went on short runs on the Rokko Island Green Belt path. It was a really beautiful day today. The sun was shining, the many fountains that dot the main drag of Rokko Island were flowing, and people were out and about.

In the late morning, we took a family stroll around Rokko Island to check out two festival events that we had seen from our runs. First, at the ground floor of the Rink Shopping Center there was a seafood festival that featured all sorts of interesting looking fish, as well as some interesting snackie type items like friend potatoes on a stick, sweet potato stuffed with cream, and mini-donuts with various fillings. We sampled the potatoes and donuts! Mike sampled some of the more exotic items. Here are some pictures of the interesting food items that we saw:


Afterwards, we wandered over to the Kobe Fashion Mall (a nearby building that looks sort of like a UFO), which was hosting a large free event sponsored by various local companies. This food festival event included an assortment of free samples of all sorts of different foods (rice, sauces, nori, meats, fishes, vegetables), as well as a Jazz performance by the Canadian Academy Jazz Band. On the way in, everyone was handed free chopsticks (hashi). Once inside, we got bowls of rice from the rice cooker people, and then wander around and load up with the various food items. While we were in line, an official looking photographer walked up and asked us something in Japanese. When we didn't understand, she asked us in English if we minded if they took our picture. She further asked that we be eating while they snapped the picture. I fed Lauren some rice and Jacob stuffed down some of his own as the flashbulbs fired. So maybe we will be in next year's pamphlet or up on a billboard or something!

Lauren got very into the Jazz band, deciding to spontaneously get up in the front and dance, with various spin-moves that were mildly evocative of the Elaine Benes Dance from Seinfeld (but much much cuter!). We saw several Japanese people move their cameras off the band and start taking pictures of Lauren. She's like a rock star here.

In the afternoon, we split up. Mike and Lauren went to Ashiya for a birthday party at the house of a classmate of Lauren's. It was a very cute four-year-old birthday party, complete with playground, toys, cake, hamsters, and even a clown.


Ilena and Jacob spent a chill afternoon on the island, biking, playing frisbee down by the water, swimming at the family swim at our gym, and playing soccer. A perfect day for a Jacob. And Ilena!


We had an interesting dinner this evening. We started off with some sushi from our local supermarket. And followed it up by splitting a large Subway Turkey Sub on Honey Oat Bread. (Yes, there is a Subway on Rokko Island). Of course the 20 pieces of sushi and the turkey sub were approximately the same price!

One exciting footnote (for Mike at least). Today, he successfully read his first sign that used both Kanji and Katakana. This sign says "Osaka Gas," one of the big sponsors of the food festival. Baby steps...

A Taste of Japanese Baseball . . . and Tapas

Today we were invited to go to see the Orix Buffaloes take on the Yukult Swallows (in a pre-season game) at the Osaka Dome. It was actually our first baseball game in a dome. The Buffaloes play half their games in Osaka Dome and half in Skymark Stadium in Kobe (which is supposed to be very nice). Greg LaRocca's wife (and super-cute 3 month old baby) accompanied us and got us all free passes to see the game, as well as the behind the scenes area. They were also nice enough to give Jacob and Lauren a package of baseball cards of a whole bunch of the Orix players. Before the game, Greg even came out to meet us and gave Jacob and Lauren big high-fives before the game. He also delivered a 2 run HR in his first at bat!

Because it was a pre-season game, it was pretty empty at the Osaka Dome. We got to sit right behind the Buffaloes dugout near home plate. The Buffaloes have some great hitters, including the gaijin contingent of Tuffy Rhodes, Greg LaRocca (in below picture), and Alex Cabrera. We hear that they all live on Rokko Island. The game was fun, and we had a terrific time.




Similar to the bleacher creatures (but completely different!), each of the teams has their own cheering section, complete with a band (trumpet, drums, etc.), synchronized singing and dancing, and giant flags. You only cheer when your team is batting. Each player has their own song that is led by the cheering section and everyone claps and sings along. The home fans only cheer when the home team is up. While the other team is batting, there is total silence from the Orix fans and the Yukult cheering section (with its trumpets, drums, and songs) takes over. In addition to all that, each team also has its own little idiosyncratic cheering thing too. For example, the Yukult Swallows fans all raised miniature green umbrellas from side to side to the beat of a cheer everytime they scored a run. Totally weird. Another funny thing was the beer vendors (almost all of whom are women) are outfitted in neon green astronaut-looking suits and have 1/2 kegs strapped to their backs, which they distribute from a built-in spigot.

At 7th inning stretch time, everyone (except us) blows up long red and blue balloons and then lets them go after some song that they all sing. Throughout the whole top of the 7th inning (and even with few people in the ballpark) you hear this collective sound of balloons being blown up. Quite different from Take Me Out To The Ballgame. One nice difference - no YMCA.

This evening, we scored a babysitter (!!) and Ilena and Mike went to dinner in Sannomiya. After browsing through a whole bunch of candidates, we settled on a nice looking tapas place called La Cazuela, that had a set "Pairs Course Menu." Which was completely in Japanese.

Luckily, the waiter spoke a little bit of English and helped us make our choices. The food was absolutely stellar. We had awesome sangria, real crusty bread (and silverware and napkins!), great tapas, paella, and creme brulee. Strangely, there were no chopsticks. If you closed your eyes, you felt like you were in a tapas restaurant in NY or Spain. But if you opened them you saw the Japanese chalkboard menu and the Japanese chefs preparing the food. It was a great find and a fun night. As always, in Japan, the service was beyond incredible. It's just not right that you can't tip in this country!

Playground Adventures and Misadventures

Going to the playground for hours every afternoon has been entertaining and rather educational for the whole family.

Ilena has had lots of time to watch and observe. It's quite striking watching these young kids, most not much older than Jacob, playing so nicely together with no grown-up intervention or adults in sight. (Kids on Rokko Island are dismissed from school, from where they head to the playground until around 6:00 when they have to return home.) It certainly is different than back at home. Children learn independence at a very young age, and they really seem to thrive in it (It certainly helps to be in a country ranked the 2nd safest country in the world!).

For now, Jacob is happy with his soccer ball in tow ready to have a kick with anyone who looks interested. Lauren is thrilled to do sandwriting (especially now that she can write her name) and hopscotch with an occasional break on the slide or tire swing. But the
the activities that many of the local Japanese kids choose to practice are rather different, and somewhat circus-like. There are groups of girls riding unicycles, boys hopping on pogo-sticks, and jump-ropers everywhere. Unicycles! The unicycle thing is crazy -- there is an entire aisle in Toys R Us devoted to them. It is huge here, and apparently has been for quite some time. Bizarre. And when was the last time you saw a kid pogo-sticking? (Mike was going to write the 1950's until Ilena mentioned that she had a pogo stick when she was a kid and apparently "she was good at it too").

Today, however, there was a bit of an incident. Ilena and the kids were having such a great time playing that they didn't notice someone "borrowed" Lauren's scooter. When Ilena went to get the kids' helmets on to head home, she noticed that Lauren's scooter was gone. They looked all around the playground and couldn't find it anywhere. Lauren was in tears, quite devastated that her favorite scooter (a Shrek scooter hand-me-down from Jacob) was gone. Meanwhile, Jacob went up to the soccer field behind the playground on a desperate search mission. Lo and behold, he came back a few minutes later with a huge grin on his face and Lauren's scooter in his arms. A true hero. He was very proud of himself and got a huge hug from his sister.

By the way, Lauren is a total mini-Ilena. Yesterday Ilena and mini-me made brownies (!) together; our first attempt at baking in a convection microwave. Not quite like at home, but pretty good nonetheless.

Now, as promised, here are some Dave Barryisms from "Dave Barry Does Japan." These all concern language and communication. While written circa 1992, its pretty much equally applicable to today's Japan, in our estimation. Props to Dave Barry - you are one funny man. Everyone should read more Dave Barry:

• "The way I attempted to learn Japanese was by reading a book called Japanese at a Glance [note - we own this booklet!!] in the plane . . . This is not a method recommended by experts. The method recommended by experts is to be born as a Japanese baby and raised by a Japanese family in Japan. And even then it's not easy . . . The hard part is that the major Japanese writing system consists of - why not? - Chinese characters, which represent words not sounds. So for each word, you need a different character, which means to be even moderately literate you have to memorize thousand and thousands of characters."

• "Japan is not like, for example, Germany, where everybody seems to speak English better than the average U.S. congressperson. In Japan, you will often find yourself in situations where nobody speaks any English. And the weird thing is, English pops up everywhere in Japan. You constantly see signs and advertisements with English words in them, and you constantly hear American rock music being played in stores and restaurants. But to the Japanese, the English doesn't seem to mean anything. It's there purely for decorative purposes, like a hood ornament, or a SPEED LIMIT 55 sign."

• "[T]hey don't really care what the words say, they just like the sound. It's the same with printed English words. The Japanese don't care what they mean; they just like the way they look. They especially like clothes imprinted with English words, words that often seem to be chosen at random. This results in a phenomenon that has vastly amused thousands of English speaking visitors: the unintentionally hilarious T-shirt."

• "The Japanese are not big on saying things directly . . . . [T]he Japanese are extremely reluctant to come right out and say no, a word they generally regard as impolite. To the best of my knowledge, in all the time we traveled around Japan, nobody ever told us we couldn't do anything, although it turned out that there were numerous things we couldn't do. Life became easier for us once we learned to interpret certain key phrases [as follows] (English Statement Made By Japanese Person/Actual Meaning In American): I see/No. Ah/No. Ah-hah/No. Yes/No. That is difficult/That is completely impossible. That is very interesting/That is the stupidest thing I ever heard. We will study your proposal/We will feed your proposal to a goat."
  

Finally, we leave you with a picture that Mike took this morning (go-go gadget camera phone) during his commute of a woman wearing a beautiful kimono walking amongst the suits:


That's all for now folks.

Reso Water Park, Random Ads, Translation, and Library Books

With the kids off from school Monday, Ilena got a great tip on a cool activity and they headed off to Reso Water Park, an indoor/outdoor water park in nearby Nishinomiya, complete with large pools, slides, water games, and even an outdoor hot springs with a view of Rokko Island.

Ilena met another ex-pat mom there with her kids. It is striking how easy it is to make friends. All of the gaijin really want to help each other out and are eager to meet other ex-pats with whom they share a common language and culture. It makes for a very interesting and neat social dynamic.

Nishinomiya is also home to the historic home of the Hanshin Tigers, Koshien Stadium. Ilena and the kids saw the stadium from the outside. Jacob was very excited. We will have to get there at some point for a game, as it is reputed to have real character, akin to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. By the way, if you are interested in reading a great article on Japanese baseball, check this one out here. Spring training is in full swing here, and the season starts at the end of March. We're excited to see the Tigers play at Osaka Dome on March 31st and also excited to get to see the Orix Buffaloes with the LaRocca family.

Check out this life-size Colonel Sanders in the KFC near Kyobashi Station (close to Mike's office). He was tempted, but opted for Soba for lunch instead!


And here is a Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera ad that Mike sees plastered over all the trains. Panasonic is in the midst of an ad blitzkrieg, leading up to the Beijing Olympics, for which they are a huge sponsor.



One thing that we have been using (both at work and at home) are web translation services like Google Translate. If Mike gets an all Japanese e-mail at work, he can paste the text into Google Translate and get a translation. Usually, much is lost in translation and you can get some pretty weird stuff as output, but sometimes it can give you the gist of things. Its also handy that you can plug in Japanese websites and it will provide a translation of them. This is great for trying to find things (like, for example, Reso Water Park which, as you can see, has an all-Japanese website). You can take that all-Japanese website, and pop the URL into Google Translate, and it spits out a somewhat workable translation from which you can actually figure out what time and where the shuttle bus runs from the train station, hours of operation, and how much it costs! Of course the translation is often spotty and sometimes doesn't really work well at all. But it's a very neat resource for us to help us find our way around. Ah technology!

Finally, today Ilena hit the Rokko Island Library (one of two libraries here on the island, the other being at the kids school) and took out a bunch of books (yay, English books!). One that is sure to please is Dave Barry's Dave Barry Does Japan. Which looks absolutely hilarious (and is even funnier since we are currently living the humorous truths that he riffs on). We will definitely share some fun and topical Dave Barry quotes over the coming weeks.

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.

Japan's Countryside, Rice Paddies and Random Acts of Kindness

Today, after yet another lazy weekend morning, we decided to follow some advice given by our Living in Kobe book and headed by train to a town named Sasayama. We took three trains and a short bus ride and two hours later arrived in this quaint little mountain town known for its castle ruins and pottery. While on the train, we went into tunnels which took us into the mountains. We emerged on the other side in the real countryside, with open land and mountains everywhere. Traditional thatched-roof Japanese houses everywhere, and not a city in site. Once our ears readjusted after getting out of the tunnels, we realized that we were also in the midst of rice paddies. Canals of water run through the rice paddies allowing for intentional flooding of the rice fields. The rice fields, which we were seeing for the first time, just went on forever.



Upon arrival in Sasayamaguchi, the weather took an immediate turn from beautiful blue sky and sunshine to a cold rain and dismal sky. Within minutes, the mountain breeze brought back the sun and amazingly fresh mountain air. This town, we realized, was true Japan. This translates to "No English anywhere." (and no other gaijin anywhere!). This was as far off the beaten path as we have been since being in Japan. It was a little daunting, especially with two hungry kids, but it was at the same time really fun. It took us a few minutes, but we eventually figured out which bus was the correct one to take us up towards the castles.

While on the bus, an older woman sitting across the aisle from us took a liking to the kids. She was smiling and saying little Japanese phrases to them. Then, we noticed she took out some papers from her purse and the next thing we knew, she handed each of the kids a just-made paper airplane. Needless to say, the kids were elated and she was equally happy to make them smile. Then within two minutes, she had taken some origami paper, made a few folds (okay more than a few) and gave us a little paper cube, with a little blow hole to blow it up. The little acts of random kindness that we experienced today just blew us away (more on this later).

After getting off the bus, we found ourselves in the heart of the "old downtown." Adorable tiny street with shops selling meats, vegetables, wood-working goods, pottery, and fabrics. All around us in every direction were mountains. We consulted with a lady on a bike, who helped us find our way to the information center where we were immediately handed the English tourist map - this proved to be very key during our day here where not one of the signs was in English. Before that, everything was so foreign and in Japanese, that we took a picture of the intersection where the bus dropped us off in the hope that it would help us to find our way back!



We had a quick bite for lunch (which allowed us to formulate a game plan) and then took a stroll down the nearby street to where the ruins of Sasayama castle were. This castle, built in 1609 survived until 1949 when it was destroyed in a fire. Most of it was rebuilt in 2000, though pieces of the original stone walls and gates remain. The real beauty of this castle was in the surrounding area, including look-outs to the surrounding mountains, a shrine, and wooded areas. Being ringed by mountains reminded us a little bit of Estes Park, Colorado (but with smaller mountains). The view was just breathtaking and it didn't take much to picture ourselves back in the age of the Samurai, looking out for attackers from on high. Today, Jacob and Lauren both remarked about how peaceful and beautiful it was. ("It's peaceful here!"). They were right. For the loudest kids in the Japan, it is striking that they both can really appreciate such things!


In the culinary affairs department, we tried some of the local delicacies in Sasayama. While we didn't sample any of the local Inoshishi-nabe (wild boar), we did have some black soy beans (called kuromame - you have to check out this linked recipe, which apparently includes a "rusty nail"!?). These are not traditional black beans like what we eat at home - they are large and taste like a cross between lima beans, raisins and jelly beans - sounds weird, but truly delicious. We bought a package to bring home so that we could remember our trip to Sasayama.

We also bought a nice pottery vase in a teeny tiny alleyway shop down a meandering street in town called Kawaramachi, which is known for its "merchants houses," called Tumairi. When we walked in, the shopkeeper served us all hot green tea and the kids were given some made-in-China Dinosaur keychains to play with (and keep as a gift!).


We also checked out a great little sake museum, which teaches (albeit in Japanese) and illustrates the process of making sake. The free museum included gigantic wooden barrels, wooden tools, and clogs for stomping the pre-sake rice mash. The kids tried them on!


On the train ride back home, an elderly Japanese man approached us who spoke pretty much no English. He kept trying to communicate and handed us a few sheets of paper scrawled with Kanji and some Hiragana. Eventually, what we managed to figure out were that these were tanka poems that he had written (on the train!) as blessing poems for our children. He mentioned that Mike could get them translated at work, which he will surely do. (Coming from the East Coast of the US, we are conditioned to believe that when people approach you on trains and hand you things they are either (a) crazy; (b) looking for money; or (c) both. We both had to fight off this thought, because the whole time it seemed like this was something nice). We'll let you know how the translations read.

All in all, while today was heavy on travel, it was a really great day. It felt invigorating to be up in the mountains and to be out and about in "real Japan." Our mission in the upcoming months is to discover more little gems like this.

Finally, here is an important question for our readers (if you still exist out there!). As we've previously mentioned, in Japan small gift-giving is a cultural phenomenon. Everyone in Mike's office gets little sweets from any co-worker who travels anywhere on vacation. Ilena gets cakes and other little gifts of appreciation anytime she hosts a play-date. We keep wishing that we had a stock of good American-type gifts that we could give to people on such occasions. But upon thinking about it further, we realized we had no idea what such a gift would be. Any ideas - please comment!

Ilena's Birthday, Famous People, Children Singing In Japanese

For Ilena's birthday, Mike came home early and we went out to a local restaurant that specializes in Tofu (a buffet). Ilena got special-delivery flowers (thanks Jack and Joyce!), lots of hugs and kisses from the kids, lots of phone calls and emails from back home, and Mike came through with two small presents, including that fabulous shirt that we had blogged about before (Curious Lady - Very Hundsome & Lovely Tough Girl) and a Godiva Chocolate Bar.

Ilena got to pinch hit for one of the teachers in Lauren's class today, and manned the pinwheel station, as part of their unit on wind and the weather. Her class is totally adorable!

Both Jacob and Lauren are now singing in Japanese, and Jacob is trying out words like "hajimimashite" (nice to meet you) and "arigato gozaimashita" (thank you very much).

Check this out! As we have blogged about periodically, Mike has been trying to learn more about Japanese baseball, and has been reading about the local teams, which include the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes. As you may know, each team may only have a certain amount of foreign players, and many of the foreign players here are pretty big stars. So today, Ilena went down to CHIC to chat with some of the people there and to buy this month's Kansai Time Out Magazine (a monthly in English, which is awesome). While there, Ilena happened to meet the wife of Orix Buffaloes Third Baseman Greg LaRocca. They live nearby on Rokko Island. It turns out that they have a new baby and are keen on getting some nursing advice from Ilena. She was very sweet and told Ilena that we could join her to go to any game that we want and she could get us tickets! Needless to say, when Ilena told Mike and Jacob this at dinner, they were psyched! We would love to take in an Orix game or three, and may even have to reconsider our Japanese baseball allegiances and become Buffaloes fans!

(LaRocca had a brief playing career in the majors with the Indians and Padres, before heading to Japan. His first year here, he hit .328 with 40HR and drove in over 100 runs for the Hiroshima Carp. This will be his second year with the Buffaloes, who are his third Japanese team. Also of note, joining him on this year's Orix squad will be the now-veteran Tuffy Rhodes (who, after hitting 3 HR on opening day in 1994 against Dwight Gooden, and only 5 HR for the rest of the season, went on to become a monster power hitter in Japan)).

Finally, we leave you with a Japanese cultural tidbit of the day. Mike wanted to comment on this, because it is just striking and very different. Every time you get into an elevator here in Japan, one of your fellow passengers closes to the door works the door open/door close buttons (with gusto, as if it is their paid job). When the "operator" gets off, another passenger wordlessly replaces him or her. It's hard to describe why this is worth talking about, but its just very different!

Happy Birthday Ilena!!

DEAR ILENA- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!



WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Our Busy Week

It has been a busy week for the Kasdan Klan Asian contingent.

• Ilena has had a whirlwind of activities that included a hiking trip in the mountains of Kansai on Monday (a trip organized through CHIC), accompanying Jacob's class on their class trip to the ice skating rink and science museum on Port Island on Tuesday (the Moms bailed on the science museum and went out for lunch instead), and attempting to manage Jacob's social life. Ilena's hike took her along an abandoned railway bed and through abandoned train tunnels. At times it was very Stand By Me (well, at least the walking along the railroad tracks part through tunnels and over bridges). But mostly, it was a beautiful walk through nature (including rivers and fresh fallen snow). Jacob's class was accompanied, not only by the parent volunteers, but by his "buddy class," the Fourth Graders. Jacob's buddy took very good care of him.
  

• Jacob, growing by leaps and bounds, is staying busy with soccer, trips to the playground, and his best friend Jaewon, about whom random parents at the school have approached us to inquire if Jacob is really marrying her! Jacob's daily routine includes racing home on his bike (ahead of Ilena and Lauren), taking the elevator upstairs, letting himself in with his key, grabbing his soccer ball and watch, and heading back out to play ball in the park (passing the girls on his way back out).

• Lauren prefers to stay in and work on cutting, coloring, Junior Boggle, and puzzles, all while singing. She is also a miniature home-maker, assisting Ilena with hanging laundry, setting the table, folding laundry, and cooking (all with a very sweet disposition). Sometimes she seems like 3 going on 33.

• Mike is becoming a veteran of the Shinkansen, traveling to the Tokyo/Yokohama area for the third time in three weeks.
  

Random story. The other day, while working out at our local Rokko Island gym, Mike was spellbound by a petite Japanese woman doing a tai-chi like exercise with a full length sword! After finishing, she sheathed the sword, and did some similar exercises with a paper fan. Not something you see everyday at the gym back home, he thought as he finished his set of hammer curls!

In the food department, Ilena got to share an Italian meal with the moms, a true multi-cultural exchange, because many are from different countries (including Japan, Korea, U.S., India, and Brazil). Mike got to enjoy a Tuna Restaurant that served the many parts of the Tuna many many different ways. He also got to taste many varieties of Shochu, including the kind made from sugar cane and the kind made from sweet potato (both hot and ice cold).