Zama Giant Kite Festival

On Monday, May 4, we went to the Zama

Giant Kite Festival. We took the bus (first time in this area for that), and met up with our sweet Japanese teacher. We got off at the kite museum, and looked at the kite from last year. Yes, it is huge. They are 13 meters square across and weigh 900 kg. They make a new kite every year!

There were also kites from around the world displayed on the second floor.
We had a nice walk through the rice fields until we got to the river. They had a smaller kite as well as the large kite. There were actually three cities having kite festivals all right next to each other. Apparently, it's a competition to get your kite up first, then to see who can keep their kite up the longest.

Families had big tents set up to spend the day. This family had a great setup - tent, long tables, and padded mats to sit on.

Before they launched the kite, you could get your picture taken in front of it. Lottie was, of course, asleep.

Since it was almost Boys' Day (May 5), they had a huge string of carp (koi).

Once Lottie woke up, she enjoyed all the people and the taiko drumming.

We got there in plenty of time to set up some blankets and pick out some yummy food. I especially liked the mini potatoes grilled up with lots of butter and served with extra butter and some corn. I'm not sure why I needed the corn, but it was good! The kite wranglers then started to launch the kite. The first time didn't work, but the second time did.

The giant kite in the air.

Misawa, Day Four

On Sunday, we took a quick trip out to the Tonami Clan Memorial Tourist Village. It's a park, historic farm, and museum, all in one. We let the kids run around and enjoyed the flowers. The daffodils were in full bloom!

Grandpa and Adam loved driving the go cart. Adam especially liked to go fast.

After we had already bought the ticket to ride the pony, they informed us that Adam was too small to ride the pony. This, after the go cart operators were perfectly willing to let the two year old drive the go cart by himself. Oh well. We managed to talk them into letting him sit on the pony to have his picture taken.

Lottie enjoyed the playground.

There was a lone cherry tree, but it was beautiful. Guess the snow hadn't killed all the blossoms.

Adam and Lottie had to sit on the horse statues before we left. Then we had to run back to Outdoor Rec to return our van before heading back to Tokyo on the train. It was fun to see where the grandparents had lived (long, long ago, ha ha), and we were amazed that some of the buildings were still there. The grandparents agreed that Misawa is very different now (almost everything off-post had changed), but we had a great time.

Misawa, Day Three

We decided to drive to Lake Towada on Saturday, instead of going to Hirosaki for the cherry blossoms (on the assumption that the semi-freak snow storm had killed most of them). The kids did well on the drive considering that they aren't very used to long drives anymore. Everyone enjoyed the water, although it was breezy and a little cold.

We found a scenic overlook on the other side of the lake. Adam and Lottie had fun with Grandma on the platform.

See the snow on the mountain; but it was also down near the lake.

A thatched roof - used to be common out in the country. This was one of only two we saw.

Chris and Dad enjoyed a local brew at lunch.

Only in Japan would women think that heels are appropriate hiking footwear.

A waterfall in Oirase Gorge.

Adam and Grandpa climbed onto a giant rock to get this shot. Adam also collected a giant volcanic rock that I then had to carry around the rest of the trip. Thanks, Grandpa!

Misawa, Day Two

We started our first night of lodging being kept up by a bunch of teenagers outside our room. Turns out, it was "our" teenagers. The Zama High School soccer teams were also in town to play against the Misawa teams. Adam was excited to see our buses - the same buses Zama uses to take people to Narita Airport.

After we woke up, we went to Outdoor Rec to rent a van. Misawa is much more country than Zama, so trains weren't really an option. Outdoor Rec is in a huge hangar, and they have set up a huge indoor rec facility (since Misawa is COLD for most of the year). They call it the Weasels' Den. Adam and Lottie are huge fans. They also made lots of new friends there.

After getting our van, we drove around the air base. This is were my dad used to work.

And we managed to find my parents' old house. They were on the top floor.

Of course, it's scheduled for demolition, so we were just in time!

Then we went off-post to try to find the off-post house they lived in for a few months before they got on-post housing. The street was still there, and barely paved. This is the house, but it's since been resided.

This is what the house originally looked like.

After some napping, we headed out to dinner with our old friend from college, Derek, who just moved here from Italy (he's in the Navy, but we like him anyway). Lottie LOVED him. We had a good time catching up.

Misawa, Day One

Our first trip with the grandparents was to Misawa (north of Tokyo). They lived there back in the '70s (before I was born). Everyone was excited - Lottie was excited for her first shinkansen (bullet train) trip. Here she is in front of the board showing the train schedule.

In front of our bullet train.

After our three hour shinkansen ride, and a twenty minute local train ride, we arrived at Misawa Station.

Adam insisted that these planes (there were two of them) were the best part of the trip. Of course, we had only been in Misawa for less than a day!

Namja Town

The Thursday before we headed to Misawa, we stayed in Tokyo so we would have a shorter train ride to Tokyo Station to pick up the shinkansen (bullet train). We decided to check out one of the many food-themed "amusement" parks here in Japan. Namja Town has some "amusements," but is mostly (for us non-Japanese readers anyway) a food paradise. First we checked out Gyoza Stadium. Not a stadium, but it had lots of specialty gyoza. We're not sure what all they had in them, but the ones we tried were delicious.

There were lots of little spaces in which to eat. The "stadium" was decorated to look like Tokyo in the 1950s, and this was set up like a typical Japanese living room in the '50s.

After trying gyoza, we headed to Ice Cream City. Adam insisted on soft ice cream (his favorite). We tried the four flavor tray - we picked soda, apple, grape/white peach swirl, and sakura (cherry blossom). It was good!

After getting back, Adam and Lottie were ready to check out the hotel room. The TV cabinet was the most fun!

Animals!

Adam is always begging to go to Sagamihara Park and see the animals. Never mind the green space and playgrounds, he only wants to see animals. He had promised Grandpa that next time he came to visit, he would ride the pony. He actually made good on his promise (although he had to be talked into it).

And it was fun!

Lottie is NOT afraid of any of the animals.

We all enjoyed the azaleas that were in full bloom.

Adam is an old pro at the petting zoo now.

Lottie had to pet the sheep too.

Adam picked a guinea pig to huggle.

Lottie was more interested in petting as many guinea pigs as she could find.

This goat was smiling at Adam and Lottie. He was probably hoping for some lunch.

The newest addition to the park - a miniature horse.

Fun with Grandparents

Adam is having too much fun with his grandparents to post anything. We are still recovering from trips to Misawa (up north) and Kyoto and Hiroshima (down south), as well as having two feverish children. Grandma and Grandpa have one more day to enjoy Japan before they have to leave. Pictures of the trips to come...