Monday, January 07, 2008
Dec 2007 more...
Well, December was a full month for us. We had Ty's Christmas pageant at his Japanese school. He was an elephant! A new addition to the traditional Christmas repertoire? It was quite a production. We could have bought the video for $50.00 but I didn't. There was a mass, followed by a Christmas show by the kids. Songs by the younger kids and then the Nativity pageant by the older classes.
Also in December I hosted the obento cooking class for 7 other ladies. Our instructor, Yoko, was great. She said she had been teaching for about 17 years. It all began at the park when she befriended an american mom. they began to swap recipes and the American woman asked Yoko to teach her some Japanese cooking! We learned to make a few vegetables; boiled spinach and kobacha, onigiri or rice balls with smoked salmon or pickled plums inside, rolled pork with veggies inside, and an egg wrap/roll. It was all very yummy and we had many laughs and full tummies when it was over.
Mark got home for Christmas Eve and we were all thrilled! He actually adjusted to the time change surprisingly fast too. We've had a lot of colds this month and Ryan and I were steaming it up in the bathroom trying to help his croup for a long night right before Mark got home. So I was glad for some reinforcements!
We've had some fun days at the park. We went back to our favorite park off base with the big roller slides. Mark also took the boys to Yokohama for a fun day. They rode some small rides at the amusement park near the Landmark tower and visited the Pokemon store. Mark and I also had a night away just the 2 of us in Tokyo. The Palma's were our babysitters! Thank you, thank you! We visited Meiji shrine. It was the last day of the New Years holiday for them and a Sunday so it was packed with people. We also passed by Harajuku where the teens hang out in goth attire and get their pictures taken looking cool. Some people were even holding up signs offering free hugs! We forgot to bring enough Yen with us and ended up with a long trek back to the hotel. We had a great dinner of lobster and tenpura! Yum!
The next day we met the Palmas and the boys not far from the hotel in a part of Tokyo called Odaiba. It has many new buildings and convention centers. We went there for an annual fireman parade and show. The boys got to climb on lots of fire trucks. Lots of cool futuristic looking buildings there.
Now were just enjoying a few more weeks before Mark heads off. Hopefully we'll take a few more small trips before then. We'll see.....
Also in December I hosted the obento cooking class for 7 other ladies. Our instructor, Yoko, was great. She said she had been teaching for about 17 years. It all began at the park when she befriended an american mom. they began to swap recipes and the American woman asked Yoko to teach her some Japanese cooking! We learned to make a few vegetables; boiled spinach and kobacha, onigiri or rice balls with smoked salmon or pickled plums inside, rolled pork with veggies inside, and an egg wrap/roll. It was all very yummy and we had many laughs and full tummies when it was over.
Mark got home for Christmas Eve and we were all thrilled! He actually adjusted to the time change surprisingly fast too. We've had a lot of colds this month and Ryan and I were steaming it up in the bathroom trying to help his croup for a long night right before Mark got home. So I was glad for some reinforcements!
We've had some fun days at the park. We went back to our favorite park off base with the big roller slides. Mark also took the boys to Yokohama for a fun day. They rode some small rides at the amusement park near the Landmark tower and visited the Pokemon store. Mark and I also had a night away just the 2 of us in Tokyo. The Palma's were our babysitters! Thank you, thank you! We visited Meiji shrine. It was the last day of the New Years holiday for them and a Sunday so it was packed with people. We also passed by Harajuku where the teens hang out in goth attire and get their pictures taken looking cool. Some people were even holding up signs offering free hugs! We forgot to bring enough Yen with us and ended up with a long trek back to the hotel. We had a great dinner of lobster and tenpura! Yum!
The next day we met the Palmas and the boys not far from the hotel in a part of Tokyo called Odaiba. It has many new buildings and convention centers. We went there for an annual fireman parade and show. The boys got to climb on lots of fire trucks. Lots of cool futuristic looking buildings there.
Now were just enjoying a few more weeks before Mark heads off. Hopefully we'll take a few more small trips before then. We'll see.....
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Hakone Yunessun Hot Springs Resort
Monday morning we left our place wth the Palma family (our wonderful neighbors and friends in our tower; James, Maia, Josiah, and Auberon) and drove to Hakone.Our destination was a resort called Yunesson that has over 20 different soaking spas and pools filled with hot spring water from the mountain. It's about a 2 hr. drive west along the coast. We arrived at Yunesson around 10am. We checked in at the front desk, got our towels and bathrobes and headed to our locker rooms to change. We spent the rest of the day trying out the numerous spring fed hot tubs and pools. It was a perfect day for the spa- cold and rainy. We enjoyed all the warm soaks and tried almost every one. They had so many to choose from; coffee, red wine, green tea, Persian spice, sake, a water slide, a kids play pool,etc..The most unusual was the one that you just stick your feet in and lots of small bottom dwelling fish come and feast on the dead skin of your feet. It feels very strange but mostly tickling. As you can see from the pics they even have an entire naked spa area at the resort that we didn't venture into!
The boys had a blast and are still recovering from the fun! We had a good buffet for lunch and you just wear your bathrobe over your swimsuit when you're in the restaurant. The boys loved the chocolate fountain and dipped quite a few marshmallows into it!
We headed home around 4:30 pm and were very relaxed and happy!
We had such a great time and our glad our friends invited us along!
The boys had a blast and are still recovering from the fun! We had a good buffet for lunch and you just wear your bathrobe over your swimsuit when you're in the restaurant. The boys loved the chocolate fountain and dipped quite a few marshmallows into it!
We headed home around 4:30 pm and were very relaxed and happy!
We had such a great time and our glad our friends invited us along!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
November 2007- Thanksgiving and more
Well, we survived Thanksgiving here in Japan with Mark back in the States. He comes back Dec. 23rd!
We had a nice dinner with friends. My Swedish friend, Maria, her husband Chas and their 2 kids; Saga and Disa and then my Icelandic friend, Thodunn, and her son, Kristoffer, and myself and the boys! Somehow I've managed to never have to bake a Turkey yet in my entire life. I was in charge of a few side-dishes. We had a great dinner with all the fixins and I must say the Turkey was very good, Maria!
We got together with the same friends a few days late to make gingerbread men and had lots of fun too. We all laughed that it's never how you pictured it in your "mommy fantasies"; ie you're dressed in your apron, sipping hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music, with the kids sitting down, and patiently awaiting your instruction on the process. It's more like a free for all with kids grabbing everything, not sharing cookie cutters, someone screaming about some huge injustice ("he has my cup!!!!) all that lasts 10 minutes and then you decide "enough, we're going home for naps!" But we did enjoy a delicious cookie before we departed so it was worth it.
On another note...
Tyler takes a lunch to school each day which the Japanese call an "Obento". He has a special bag, in which he puts another bag, in which are his "obento boxes". I used to send him with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one and a sliced apple in the other (his favorite lunch before- and the typical fare back home). He would come home talking about how good everyone else's lunch looked and begging me to send him with "Japanese food". In an effort to learn a little and let Tyler blend in a little more I've tried to expand my repertoire and learn to make a more Japanese obento. Now I pack some homemade rice balls- packed rice from my rice cooker- they have special shapes and devices to help you make, some meat- usually frozen meat balls or chicken- frozen is common say my Japanese friends unless you have leftovers, and something green like brocolli or edamame. He likes to use chopsticks to although he shows me how he "stabs/spears" his food with them most of the time rather than the usual technique. Oh well, at least he's interested!
I've borrowed a book from a friend that shows some of the obento that mom's make for kids. It's quite an elaborate affair and sometimes the source of much pride and competition among the moms. My 24 year old Japanese friend says that her mom still every day makes an obento for her 26 year old sister that also lives at home and works as a school nurse. I have arranged for a Japanese cooking lesson for a group of us on obento to learn some more so I'll keep you posted on what I learn!
We had a nice dinner with friends. My Swedish friend, Maria, her husband Chas and their 2 kids; Saga and Disa and then my Icelandic friend, Thodunn, and her son, Kristoffer, and myself and the boys! Somehow I've managed to never have to bake a Turkey yet in my entire life. I was in charge of a few side-dishes. We had a great dinner with all the fixins and I must say the Turkey was very good, Maria!
We got together with the same friends a few days late to make gingerbread men and had lots of fun too. We all laughed that it's never how you pictured it in your "mommy fantasies"; ie you're dressed in your apron, sipping hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music, with the kids sitting down, and patiently awaiting your instruction on the process. It's more like a free for all with kids grabbing everything, not sharing cookie cutters, someone screaming about some huge injustice ("he has my cup!!!!) all that lasts 10 minutes and then you decide "enough, we're going home for naps!" But we did enjoy a delicious cookie before we departed so it was worth it.
On another note...
Tyler takes a lunch to school each day which the Japanese call an "Obento". He has a special bag, in which he puts another bag, in which are his "obento boxes". I used to send him with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one and a sliced apple in the other (his favorite lunch before- and the typical fare back home). He would come home talking about how good everyone else's lunch looked and begging me to send him with "Japanese food". In an effort to learn a little and let Tyler blend in a little more I've tried to expand my repertoire and learn to make a more Japanese obento. Now I pack some homemade rice balls- packed rice from my rice cooker- they have special shapes and devices to help you make, some meat- usually frozen meat balls or chicken- frozen is common say my Japanese friends unless you have leftovers, and something green like brocolli or edamame. He likes to use chopsticks to although he shows me how he "stabs/spears" his food with them most of the time rather than the usual technique. Oh well, at least he's interested!
I've borrowed a book from a friend that shows some of the obento that mom's make for kids. It's quite an elaborate affair and sometimes the source of much pride and competition among the moms. My 24 year old Japanese friend says that her mom still every day makes an obento for her 26 year old sister that also lives at home and works as a school nurse. I have arranged for a Japanese cooking lesson for a group of us on obento to learn some more so I'll keep you posted on what I learn!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Japanese Cooking- Miso Soup
Well, one of my goals living in Japan is to learn alittle Japanese cooking. One of their staple dinner side dishes is Miso Soup. I like this soup and was wondering what was involved in the process. So I recruited my downstairs neighbor and friend, Kinuko-san to teach me how it's done!
1)boil water and add a handful of "fish flakes"- a salty flake to add flavor
2)remove flakes with strainer after a few minutes
3)add Daikon (radish) cut in match-sticks, let soften
4) add onion, and mushroom, and tofu. Before boils, turn off heat.
5) add miso paste- about 2 scoops- I have no idea what Miso is- I will look it up
6) add dried seaweed, it will expand
Ta da! It's finished and tastes yummy and goes well with most Japanese meals in the winter!
Thanks Kinuko-san!
As a funny side-note, since I've begun cooking more Japanese dishes I find that in the morning my fingers are swollen and I can't get my rings off very easily. I think there is alot of Sodium and/or msg in some of these sauces that I cannot read the ingredients. I ask my Japanese friends and they say they never experience this. But my American friends say that they have had the same thing happen to them!
1)boil water and add a handful of "fish flakes"- a salty flake to add flavor
2)remove flakes with strainer after a few minutes
3)add Daikon (radish) cut in match-sticks, let soften
4) add onion, and mushroom, and tofu. Before boils, turn off heat.
5) add miso paste- about 2 scoops- I have no idea what Miso is- I will look it up
6) add dried seaweed, it will expand
Ta da! It's finished and tastes yummy and goes well with most Japanese meals in the winter!
Thanks Kinuko-san!
As a funny side-note, since I've begun cooking more Japanese dishes I find that in the morning my fingers are swollen and I can't get my rings off very easily. I think there is alot of Sodium and/or msg in some of these sauces that I cannot read the ingredients. I ask my Japanese friends and they say they never experience this. But my American friends say that they have had the same thing happen to them!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
October 2007
Hello friends and family!
Wow, we are really updating our blog. Maybe this will happen more than once a year!
We are enjoying a beautiful fall here in Japan. October was really tremendous for weather. We decided to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and see what all the fuss was about! We planned our visit for a weekday to avoid crowds. Little did we know, however, that October is the peak season(cooler weather + halloween parade) so we hit huge crowds even on Monday. We got there around 9am and stayed until about 4 pm and we really only went on 3 rides because the lines were so long (60-90 min. per ride!). We did get a "fast pass" for Buzz Light Year ride which the boys loved- about a 3 min ride thru dark scenes where you shoot a laser gun at posted targets. We also did a toon town ride and Ty and Mark did a mini roller coaster- a first for Ty. He held his hands up the whole time!
I was struck by how many adults were there for their own personal pleasure without any kids and how excited they got over the characters- ie Mickey mouse etc...They would scream there head off when they saw the parade trying to get them to wave at them and they all wanted their picture taken with them- we bypassed a pic with Mickey since the wait time was 90 min.!
Some other fun activities we've done in Oct was a field trip for Ty's school where I and Ryan and Ty went sweet potato picking with his school. Japanese sweet potatos are very different from American sweet potatos- they are purple on the outside and yellow on the inside, and more starchier than Amercian ones. Anyway, we rode the train about 20 min, walked about 20 min and picked for about 5 minutes ! They gave each kid a small plot of ground and told them they could dig and keep what they founf. Ty got about 10 small potatos. He had alot of fun getting dirty. After the dig we headed to the beach for a picnic lunch and some play time in the water- yes it was warm enough they Ty waded in and got comletely soaked- he had a blast! Boy, you should see some of these picnic lunches the Japanese people prepare- very elaborate "obentos". Our peanut butter sandwiches pale in comparison.
Lastly, we had a fun Halloween attending a harvest festival at the middle school with some friends. Ty dressed up in his superman jammies- which have been taken away from him for 1 week due to a MAJOR tantrum involving not wanting to remove them in time for school the following morning! We went with Kathleen and Sydney Watts. Kathleen's baby was due that day so we were all on "baby watch" wondering when baby Julia would arrive. Sydney even spent the night and helped the boys pass out candy at the door - which was more fun than trick or treating I believe. Plus we avoided the whole candy overload melt down syndrome which was a relief for me since Mark was out of town!
Anyway, baby Julia did arrive a day later and we got to visit her on her birthday. She's a cutie and doing well.
Wow, we are really updating our blog. Maybe this will happen more than once a year!
We are enjoying a beautiful fall here in Japan. October was really tremendous for weather. We decided to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and see what all the fuss was about! We planned our visit for a weekday to avoid crowds. Little did we know, however, that October is the peak season(cooler weather + halloween parade) so we hit huge crowds even on Monday. We got there around 9am and stayed until about 4 pm and we really only went on 3 rides because the lines were so long (60-90 min. per ride!). We did get a "fast pass" for Buzz Light Year ride which the boys loved- about a 3 min ride thru dark scenes where you shoot a laser gun at posted targets. We also did a toon town ride and Ty and Mark did a mini roller coaster- a first for Ty. He held his hands up the whole time!
I was struck by how many adults were there for their own personal pleasure without any kids and how excited they got over the characters- ie Mickey mouse etc...They would scream there head off when they saw the parade trying to get them to wave at them and they all wanted their picture taken with them- we bypassed a pic with Mickey since the wait time was 90 min.!
Some other fun activities we've done in Oct was a field trip for Ty's school where I and Ryan and Ty went sweet potato picking with his school. Japanese sweet potatos are very different from American sweet potatos- they are purple on the outside and yellow on the inside, and more starchier than Amercian ones. Anyway, we rode the train about 20 min, walked about 20 min and picked for about 5 minutes ! They gave each kid a small plot of ground and told them they could dig and keep what they founf. Ty got about 10 small potatos. He had alot of fun getting dirty. After the dig we headed to the beach for a picnic lunch and some play time in the water- yes it was warm enough they Ty waded in and got comletely soaked- he had a blast! Boy, you should see some of these picnic lunches the Japanese people prepare- very elaborate "obentos". Our peanut butter sandwiches pale in comparison.
Lastly, we had a fun Halloween attending a harvest festival at the middle school with some friends. Ty dressed up in his superman jammies- which have been taken away from him for 1 week due to a MAJOR tantrum involving not wanting to remove them in time for school the following morning! We went with Kathleen and Sydney Watts. Kathleen's baby was due that day so we were all on "baby watch" wondering when baby Julia would arrive. Sydney even spent the night and helped the boys pass out candy at the door - which was more fun than trick or treating I believe. Plus we avoided the whole candy overload melt down syndrome which was a relief for me since Mark was out of town!
Anyway, baby Julia did arrive a day later and we got to visit her on her birthday. She's a cutie and doing well.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
August 2006
Hi friends and family!
We are slowly getting settled and exploring more of the area. For those of you that didn't know, like myself, Japan is about the size of California. And the population is about 127.5million people which is about 1/2 the US pop. We are in Yokosuka which is about an hour bullet train ride south of Tokyo.
Some customs and manners we have observed here; bowing- people bow all the time in greeting, thanking, respect, etc. , exchanging business cards- everyone wants to give you their card and you should receive it with 2 hands, look at it for a while and then place it in a respectable place (not your seat pocket!), very little eye contact in public places, especially elevators and trains, face the person seated if you are standing in a train and someone is seated by you, don't turn your back to them.
We have seen women and men in kimonos each time we go off base especially on the weekends. A less formal kimono is called a yukata which is more common now but less dressy.
The Japanese language is tricky- they have 3 different types of written characters; Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. We are trying to pick up alittle of the easiest form- Katakana, but to get around it would be helpful to know all 3. It's so complicated, however, that many Japanese people don't even know all of the Kanji symbols (there are over 2,000).
A few phrases we get to use when we shop;
ohayo gozaimus (good morning)
konnichiwa (hello)
doumo (slang for thanks)
sumimasen (excuse me)
gomen na sai (I'm sorry)
Anyway, we are enjoying the adventure. We have gotten to go out Sat. evenings and do alittle exploring just the 2 of us. We went back to Kamakura for dinner and then to Yokohama, and around our own town of Yokosuka. The shopping here is amazing, albeit expensive. Each dept. store you go in has escalators going up 8 floors. And there can be more than 5 of these in a block! Huge underground malls, tons of small eating spots, crepes with gellato (our favorite).
Mark and I are signed up to start a basic Japanese language class for 10 wks. There are also opportunities to teach English. Another common thing is to have your children model in commercials- especially if they are blonde with blue eyes- cha ching!!!
Mark is loving his job- finally got to be on the anti-terrorism squad- yeah!
I'm meeting new friends and trying to keep from going crazy with 2 hyper-active, rough housing, maniacal boys- just kidding- not really. Things I miss besides pople are; a gym with child care, a yard, lower humidity (it's nuts here- my swim bag has mold growing in it in the laundry room), and the beaches! Thing I enjoy; new friends, fun places to visit, the parks, nice gym when I can get there, and THE FOOD!!!!
Anyway, hope all is well with everyone! We miss you!!!!
We are slowly getting settled and exploring more of the area. For those of you that didn't know, like myself, Japan is about the size of California. And the population is about 127.5million people which is about 1/2 the US pop. We are in Yokosuka which is about an hour bullet train ride south of Tokyo.
Some customs and manners we have observed here; bowing- people bow all the time in greeting, thanking, respect, etc. , exchanging business cards- everyone wants to give you their card and you should receive it with 2 hands, look at it for a while and then place it in a respectable place (not your seat pocket!), very little eye contact in public places, especially elevators and trains, face the person seated if you are standing in a train and someone is seated by you, don't turn your back to them.
We have seen women and men in kimonos each time we go off base especially on the weekends. A less formal kimono is called a yukata which is more common now but less dressy.
The Japanese language is tricky- they have 3 different types of written characters; Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. We are trying to pick up alittle of the easiest form- Katakana, but to get around it would be helpful to know all 3. It's so complicated, however, that many Japanese people don't even know all of the Kanji symbols (there are over 2,000).
A few phrases we get to use when we shop;
ohayo gozaimus (good morning)
konnichiwa (hello)
doumo (slang for thanks)
sumimasen (excuse me)
gomen na sai (I'm sorry)
Anyway, we are enjoying the adventure. We have gotten to go out Sat. evenings and do alittle exploring just the 2 of us. We went back to Kamakura for dinner and then to Yokohama, and around our own town of Yokosuka. The shopping here is amazing, albeit expensive. Each dept. store you go in has escalators going up 8 floors. And there can be more than 5 of these in a block! Huge underground malls, tons of small eating spots, crepes with gellato (our favorite).
Mark and I are signed up to start a basic Japanese language class for 10 wks. There are also opportunities to teach English. Another common thing is to have your children model in commercials- especially if they are blonde with blue eyes- cha ching!!!
Mark is loving his job- finally got to be on the anti-terrorism squad- yeah!
I'm meeting new friends and trying to keep from going crazy with 2 hyper-active, rough housing, maniacal boys- just kidding- not really. Things I miss besides pople are; a gym with child care, a yard, lower humidity (it's nuts here- my swim bag has mold growing in it in the laundry room), and the beaches! Thing I enjoy; new friends, fun places to visit, the parks, nice gym when I can get there, and THE FOOD!!!!
Anyway, hope all is well with everyone! We miss you!!!!
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