- - - 5/29/2022 - - -

Tea Picking

Filed under: — Andy @ 7:24 pm

We drove to the top of a mountain area to find a beautiful open area and tea plantation. We met a bunch of friends up there to join a tea picking event. The weather was beautiful and the view of Mt. Fuji was amazing. We got to pick tea, then pick some plums, then have a BBQ, then pick Sora beans, and dig up some potatoes. The kids had a great time picking thing and running around and playing. Finally, we got some ice cream pudding, and heading of for camping.

- - - 10/23/2021 - - -

Edomura Ninja Training

Filed under: — Andy @ 5:45 am

This year for Halloween, Melina decided she wanted to be a ninja. So to prepare, we took a trip up to Kinugawa to go visit Edomura Wonderland to get some real ninja training. Our first afternoon was spent taking the ropeway up the mountain to feed some monkeys and take a hike to a shrine, followed by a nice ride down the Kinu river on a wooden boat, and a nice stay at a hotel with a hot bath. The following day was spent at Edomura having lots of fun seeing the ninja show and going through the ninja stamp rally courses to learn to be a real ninja.

- - - 10/9/2021 - - -

Camping with School Friends 2

Filed under: — Andy @ 5:25 am

We went camping with Melina’s school friends again. This time the site was right on the river bank. There was also a nice waterfall that took a some hiking to get to.

- - - 4/4/2021 - - -

Easter 2021

Filed under: — Andy @ 9:46 pm

For Easter this year we did all the usual things. Unfortunately, I was unable to procure a large ham for dinner but I still made Easter bread and Polish Easter soup. Melina colored Easter Eggs and the kids did an egg hunt in the back yard. Melina also decorated Easter cookies and set up a small shop to sell her cookies and other Easter sweets to other members of the house.

- - - 2/2/2021 - - -

Setsubun 2021

Filed under: — Andy @ 1:54 am

We had a Setsubun party as usual. We made our sushi rolls and ate them facing the lucky direction. Melina dressed up in her homemade Oni mask and everyone threw beans at her this year.

- - - 10/26/2020 - - -

Camping and Kayaking

Filed under: — Andy @ 6:04 pm

We went to a campground in Chiba that I have been wanting to try out. The campground is right next to a river/lake and has a rental canoe for exploring the river. We went on a Sunday night so had the campground mostly all to ourselves. The river had lots of birds, turtles, and other wildlife to look at as well as a secret little tunnel to go through.

- - - 6/21/2020 - - -

Park and Old House Museum

Filed under: — Andy @ 8:40 pm

I learned about a park that is close to us that has a small museum with an old Japanese house. To get to the house we had to hike up a hill through a beautiful bamboo forest. Melina found a giant grasshopper that she caught and brought with her. Seeing the old large house was pretty interesting as well. Melina got to take a picture with a cosplayer for what I was told is the currently popular anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”.

- - - 3/15/2020 - - -

COVID-19 in Japan

Filed under: — Andy @ 7:18 pm

The middle of March is when Japan starts seeing a large increase in COVID-19 numbers.
The US Base goes into lockdown mode and tells everyone to stay at home.
Japan declares a National Emergency and asks everyone to stay home.

We dont get to do too many exiting things in the next few months…

- - - 2/3/2020 - - -

Setsubun 2020

Filed under: — Andy @ 7:31 pm

There was a lot of people again for the bean throwing festival at the house. Melina liked making and eating the sushi rolls, and this year she made her own Oni mask at school.

- - - 11/30/2019 - - -

Thanksgiving 2019

Filed under: — Andy @ 5:42 am

I was too busy cooking and entertaining that I didnt get many good pictures of the Thanksgiving party again this year, but I will say that it was another great success. The foods and dessert were delicious, and as usual there were a lot of kids running around having fun.