Japanese Adventure

It began as most of our adventures in Japan begin,

HERE,

waiting for a taxi to take us to the subway station.

The kids had been anticipating this day for two days now and they couldn't wait for it to begin.

We heard there was a beach in Nagoya and we were setting out to find it.  After a 45 minute express train ride that we were charged too much for because of our lack of Japanese communication skills, we arrived at out our destination, Utsumi.  But we had passed through the were middle of Japan farmland and now it looked like we were in a tiny town.  Where was the beach?  Luckily, we noticed that a few other girls getting off the train were wearing swimsuits under their clothes so we followed them on a long, hot walk.

We walked, and walked and walked and walked.

And stopped to get drinks and walked some more.

I think we walked through people's front yards.

I think we walked through people's back yards.

But, of course, we enjoyed the scenery.

And we laughed because we weren't sure if it was adventureness or stupidness that took us on this little adventure with four shorties through an unknown country where we can't speak or read the language.  

We joked about getting lost and having to use the sheet in our bag to sleep on that night because who would we ask how to get back?  And how would we ask it?  Don't get me wrong we do okay but it was still a little crazy.

Wait!  What's that in the distance?  Could it be?  Yes, it is . . . the ocean!!!  We won't be needing the sheet to sleep on, YEA!

Finally, we arrived!  And that ocean water never felt so good.

Ahh, more drinks, food.

We enjoyed that beach until we were one of the only ones left, like around 6pm because everything around here ends early.  We stayed so long they pulled up our umbrellas and took our mats.  But we kept on playing.  Crazy Americans!

The ocean was perfect.  It wasn't too deep so the kids had a great time seeing how far out they could go.

Nobody wanted to leave but unless we really did want to use the sheet in our bag to sleep on that night under the bridge, under the train then we needed to leave so we wouldn't miss the last train which left at . . . oh wait we couldn't figure that out because we didn't know how to say "last".

After finding a fabulous burger joint that served it's hamburgers on rice patties, (delicious, I highly recommend it) we somehow found our way back to the train station.

We even made it before the last train left.  Once again, YEA, we wouldn't have to use the sheet to sleep on that night.

Maybe . . .

Maybe it's the sweet smell of jasmine, magnolias and other flowers that fill the air as you walk by. . .

Maybe it's the yummy food and exotic restaurants. . .

Maybe it's the kids having soooooo much fun with their Papi . . .

Maybe it's the cleanliness of the streets, people taking care of their neighborhood, even the construction is all wrapped up nice . . .

Maybe it's the cool tunnels we get to walk under . . .

Maybe it's how elegant the Japanese look in their kimonos . . .

Maybe it's the taxi's with their white laced interiors, white gloved drivers asking directions in Japanese, "migi deska?"  . . .

Maybe it's the honesty and respect from the Japanese people and knowing that you can walk away from your laptop, leaving it in a public area, go outside for a break and know that it will still be there untouched when you come back . . .

Maybe it's the lights and the excitement of the city. . .

Maybe it's the asian architecture . . .

Maybe it's that the kids can go to the park and play everyday, whenever they want by themselves if they want . . .

Maybe it's the happy Buddah . . .

Maybe it's the pristine condition of the plants and patios on the front door steps of every home . . .

Maybe it's the rich history that dates back thousands of years that we didn't learn anything about in our European centered history classes . . .

Maybe it's the anime art or the cool murals on the side of the buildings . . .

Maybe it's the artistry of reading and writing kanji . . .

Maybe it's the fun shopping centers where all the big haired, brightly make-uped, crazy dressed people hang out . . .

Maybe it's the energy of the baseball games and the cleanliness of Nagoya Dome . . .

Maybe it's that we were here during the rainy season and rainy, cloudy days are my favorite . . .

Or maybe it's that we can do this whenever we want . . . I'll miss this. I'll miss him.

Whatever the reason, I'm not ready to leave Japan.

Japanese Cuisine

Last night was delicious.  

Little bite size pieces of freshly grilled veggies, chicken, sausage, cow tongue . . . well, okay it was delicious until I found out it was tongue.  

YUCK!

I discreetly removed the piece I was chewing from my mouth and hid it on my plate under a lettuce leaf that came from a delicious salad topped with seaweed.  

By the way, did you know seaweed is good for breaking down cellulite.  Seaweed has suddenly become one of those foods that I'm going to make myself like.

We even sat Japanese style at the table, on our knees.  

Well Mommy and the kids did. 

Papi's not flexible enough.  Lucky for him there was a space under the table to let his legs hang, western style.

This place is super popular in Japan so we knew we had to try it out before we left.  The service was fabulous with ice cream popsicles and toys for the kids after the meal.

It really was unforgettable.

And, all of this yummy food came for the bargain price of just $100!  

Ha!

I just have to remember it really wasn't the food we paid for.  It was the experience.

 So we enjoyed every detail because who knows if we'll ever get to do this again.

A Package!

We love packages with American Food in them.  We got a yummy box today from Grandma. It had marshmallows and rice krispies inside.  We were going to get to make rice crispy treats!  Really expensive rice krispy treats.  (Don't know how much the ingredients cost but the shipping . . .)

My kids were so excited.  They couldn't wait to eat them so we made them right as soon as we got the box from the postman.  Good thing I had started getting ready for the game a little earlier than normal today.

Once we had them perfectly laid out over a nice glass platter, we cut them up and took them to the game with us.  It was the perfect baseball snack.  

Thank you Grandma.  We love you!  They were delicious!

And the best news, we even have more marshmallows and rice krispies left over to make another batch.  YUM!

Happy 4th of July!!

As I'm typing this July 4th hasn't even happened yet in the USA but our July 4th here in Japan is almost over.  You would think we would be used to spending America's Independence Day out of the country.  We are gone almost every summer.  But somehow we've managed to spend a few of those holidays in the States.  At home, July 4th = early morning neighborhood breakfast and a parade on our street with all the neighborhood kids' decorated bikes, swimming at Grandma's and fireworks.  Our kids haven't forgotten that.  And I don't want them to forget how blessed they are to be Americans either.  So even when we're not home we continue to celebrate the 4th of July.

We made American flags while listening to some American tunes:  Party in the USA, Born in the USA, Coming to America, Proud to be an American, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, Only in America, American Made, American Boy and a few others.

AJ was super excited for the fun we were going to have.  "It's going to be a fun day!" He giggled once we got home from church.  But AJ wasn't too into the craft.  He just wanted to celebrate his freedom and right to bear arms.  Grandpa should be proud. 

Then we ate American flag french toast.  Ha!  That's so funny American . . .French . . .okay sorry back to the festivities.

And the most exciting . . .the fireworks!!  They do actually sell fireworks here in the 100 yen store but I'm afraid to light them myself so we went with confetti poppers instead.  They were almost as exciting but definitely just as fun.

I hope our children always remember how blessed they are to have the freedoms that we take for granted in the States.

I hope to teach them the importance of freedom and that we are here on this earth because we chose free agency.  Our freedom to choose, our free agency, was the source of the war in heaven.  We were passionate about it then.  Why would we allow others take that away from us here?

I hope that the freedoms in our country will still exist as our children grow into young adults.

I hope that they will continue to do all they can as the upcoming generation so that our country can maintain our precious freedom.

 I hope that they will always remember those that have sacrificed so we can have those freedoms.  

I hope you all will have a great 4th of July!

We sure did!!

Never Say Never

I have a confession.

You'll never guess what I did.

It could really be bad but we're in Japan so . . . I mean "when in Rome", right?

If I tell you, you can't think I'm a bad mom. Okay?

Here it goes.

I sent all of my kids to the park. . .by themselves!! Crazy, I know I said I would never do that but it wasn't so bad. In fact it rocked!

We were going to have company over later and I needed a minute to straighten up before they came so I took advantage of this honest country and sent my kids out On. Their. Own. I told them what time to come home. Alexandria watched the big park clock while she played with friends from school and it worked! My darling babies, who were much more darling after giving momma a minute to herself, were home when I told them to be. AMAZING! I felt so Japanese. We have integrated into the Japanese culture. Well, except we still speak English and we have four kids. But anyway, it was great! They had a great time! And I got stuff done. Now, please don't think I'm a bad mom. I promise everyone here does it. Besides they were watched over by angels because in my defense, we were having very special guests over and it was all for a very good cause.

See, these awesome missionaries, Elder Heaton and Elder Eyring (grandson, I know you were wondering) and investigator were our company. See, totally justifiable cause.

The Elders are teaching a Dominican investigator and we told them we would love to help them out and have him over for la bandera dominicana (Dominican cooking). We ate and partied. Then they gave us a lesson on the Plan of Salvation. The kids loved that. It must have been a little louder and kind of crazier than what the Elders are used to in Japanese homes because when they left Elder Heaton, the one on the end, left us a cute note. "Thanks for the Dominican party! Your familia is the bomb!" Aww, thanks! It's always a party at the Cesar house. Except now that I've learned I can send the kids away it may start to get a little quieter around here.

A Piece of Two Histories

Nagoya Castle

History 1: Originally built in 1612 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The site of the construction was carefully picked to secure an important position in the middle of Japan and to ward off attacks from the direction of Osaka.

History 2: During World War II the castle was used as an army head quarters and as a POW camp. In May of 1945 during an air raid this historical castle and it's surrounding buildings were burned almost completely to the ground. A few towers and three gates that were made of metal and the paintings on the sliding doors of the palace survived.

Today you can tour the rebuilt donjon and walk the grounds of this real property of Japanese history.

(Maybe I'm the only one but I had no idea what a "donjon" was so I had to google it. I learned that it was built with castles. It was sometimes used as the dungeon. Donjon, dungeon . . . oh yeah that makes sense. And it could also be used as the fortress or residential hall. It was the most defended area of the castle and so it probably contained the wells, food, armory and anything else that would be needed during a siege. After I realized what a donjon was it amazed me at the amount of architecture and delicate Japanese details that went into building this fortress.)

Among other things, the items that set the Nagoya Castle apart from other Japanese castles are the golden dolphins that grace it's roof top as a symbol of the feudal lord's authority. Although the original dolphins burned in WWII they reappeared in 1959 when the reconstructed donjon was complete.

The two dolphins are slightly different. The one on the South side is female and is a little smaller than it's male counterpart on the North side.

On the third floor of the main donjon you are taken back in time to the 17th century when bookstores looked like this.

And laying the foundation for palaces and castles was done like this.

Actually these three guys weren't strong enough to pull that big stone on their own. They had a little help.

Amazing how strong the Cesar kids are when they want to be.

Had you have been a visitor in the palace at that time you would be fortunate enough to sit on the floor adorned by your beautifully decorated kimono in a room like this and admire the delicate paintings while you sipped green tea and discussed the aspects of the feudal society and maybe bartering your chickens for access to the drawbridge . . . or something.

Nagoya Castle really was intriguing and I would have loved to stay longer. We'll have to make another trip just to walk around the gardens and hopefully learn a little more about Japanese history while we're there.

To finish the day we decided to extend the historical Japanese cultural experience to modern day culture by eating at a typical Japanese noodle restaurant.

The perfect ending to our cultural field trip day.