Tanabata Festival

Last month our little town celebrated Tanabata by hanging these streamers from bamboo poles down main street. The girls loved going through the streamers. We went last year during the day and it was not nearly as exciting as it is at night with all of the decorations lit up.

After walking up and down the street we got what we thought was ice cream, but was really more like an icy. The man scooped up a white center of "ice cream" and then used his paddle to put 6 different colors and flavors around the outside. Yum, yum.

This is perhaps the largest Hydrangea that I have ever seen and it is right outside our door.

 Alice got 5 teeth last month and cloths pins are a fairly harmless teething option.

Kimono Class

This week we attended a fabulous Japanese cultural class and learned how to put kimonos on. The girls were so excited to go and play 'dress-up.' The ladies just loved helping them and watching them walking around.

In addition to nearly learning how to wear a kimono, I learned that I don't care to wear one on a regular basis. Although I've never worn a corset, I think it does about the same thing.

Here is the final result. They didn't have a small enough kimono for Alice, and I'm not sure that she would have tolerated it anyway.

It is amazing that we got this picture of both of them happy. After this shot was taken they tried tearing it out of one another's hands. A few tears were shed, but the paper umbrella didn't break.

Happy Japan Day!

Last week we celebrated Japan Day on base. It turned out to be the perfect activity for Helen. A bunch of volunteers came on base and taught kids how to write in Japanese, decorate with flowers, make hair pretties, play games and instruments. Helen learned how to write mountain and her name in Japanese.

We also learned how to arrange flowers together.

Outside the city limits

Back in September we took the girls on a picnic to Swan Park which is about a 20 minute drive from our house. Have I mentioned that driving in Japan is terrifying? Not because the roads are filthy and unorganized, but because we drive on the left side of very small streets. Ryan and I have discovered new things about ourselves from taking turns in the front passenger's seat. I am sure this counts as some sort of marriage therapy to go through near death experiences together.

The girls love bridges as a general rule and are always looking for trolls underneath, but Jane was terrified on this one. Probably because her legs fit between the wood.

We finally drove to the east two miles and found the ocean. We don't know if the beach was like this before the tsunami or not.

In Japan it appears that there are vending machines everywhere filled with all sorts of beverages and addictive substances at the push of a button. I had heard about an egg vending machine and was dying to see how the little eggs rolled out the bottom without breaking. To be honest, my expectations were dashed because all Ryan did was open a little door and pull the bag of fresh eggs out. I would have probably paid double the 200 yen just to watch them tumble down a ramp. Oh well, it's probably cleaner this way.

Tours Around Town

Last month when we arrived in Japan we got to go on a couple of tours around the area. Here the girls and I are in front of an old Samurai home.

Helen demonstrates how to cook fish inside the Samurai house. This is part of a Shinto Temple that we visited. Here are Helen and I in front of the Shinto Temple. Did the girls appreciate the fine architecture, lovely paintings, impressive bell or beautiful woods? No, they were most impressed by the fish. Yep, they would have jumped in with said fish along the gate if we had let go of their hands for even a second.

This is a Buddhist Temple we visited in Misawa. Luckily we practice being reverent every Sunday at church so the girls happily folded their arms instead of touching momentos that families keep in the temple.
We got to go to the indoor fish market in Hacinohe. I have never seen such varied fruits of the sea. Jane and I took a quick turn down the fruit and vegetable aisle instead of exploring the fish. I couldn't handle the though of Jane grabbing on to the various squids right at her eye level (we hadn't brought a stroller) and the smell did not agree with me. Ryan and Helen happily volunteered to explore and take pictures for us.

What are these? I don't know. Will they bite Helen's finger? She doesn't know. It's always better to err on the side of caution.

Helen found more octopus! They always bring a smile to her face.

These fish heads were particularly exciting because Ryan taught her to look inside and see what was in there. It also appears from this picture that Helen has her eyes peeled for flying fish as well.