Hanatouro 2008

Went to Hanatouro in Kyoto Arashiyama on Saturday, where 'light and shadow nestle against bamboo'. The entire Togetsukyo Bridge area (yes the bridge we biked across in Kyoto when company was here) was illuminated, as were the foothills and waterfront. Parts of the bamboo forest were illuminated, while lanterns lined the pathway on each side. Also in Naka no Shima Park were light displays and lanterns made by school children in the area. It was quite stunning. Alas, my camera battery ran out shortly after arrival! So please enjoy the few photos I was able to get.

Also FYI: My favorite Father-in-Law has been moved from the ICU and seems to be on the mend. Thank you for your prayers and concern.

Prayers

Just a quick request. My favorite father-in-law isn't doing so well. Please keep him in your prayers.

End of the Year Ikebana

We had our last ikebana class of the year, last week. Just thought I'd post a photo of the last 2 arrangements.

Also, so you know what kind of wild pig situation we're dealing with.....They were out last night and Sarah saw one brush up against the glass of the back door! And Gil couldn't go for his morning walk this morning, because they were still out there! Our neighbor was yelling at them and trying to shoo them away, but they're still out there somewhere and I didn't want to risk it with Gil. So we stayed in our own yard. We'll walk later when the pigs have returned to their lair.

This pig thing was kind of intriguing at first, but now they're just a nuisance!

Kobe Luminarie

Went through the Luminarie last night. It was pretty cool. It was started in 95 as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. Its free. They block off the street and you walk en masse through the tunnel of lights. Not too crowded last night. Enjoy!

Bus Stop Pig

Sorry, no photos. The kids went to the bus stop this morning and I got a call from them, that there was a pig sitting in the middle of the road! I rushed down, camera in hand, to make sure the kids weren't getting attacked. As I came through the gate, the kids were all getting on the bus and the pig was cavorting around off to the side, rooting and such. Everyone was able to get on the bus safely and get to school. I'm thinking I'll have to devise some sort of weapon for us to carry about, for when we run into them(pigs) again. Any ideas? Its illegal to kill them!

PS This photo from earlier.

Braces off

Yesterday, the boy got the braces off his top teeth. He has a retainer now. Just thought I'd post a photo of the before and after.

PS Also a photo of some pretty fall colors we passed on our way to the orthodontist's office.

Inoshishi Sighting

Sunday morning pig sighting! We had slept in and Gil and I didn't leave for our morning constitutional until 7:30am. We rounded the corner towards the back walkway and low and behold there were 2 pig bottoms not 6 feet in front of us. Luckily they were rooting in the hedges and didn't notice us. I was able to whisk Gil away and back into the safety of the house. I grabbed my camera, alerted the rest of the family and took off in pursuit of the beasts! As I exited the back door I saw one pig up at the grassy knoll, rooting. I sidled up the hill for a photo, as quiet as possible, but it noticed me. It looked me right in the eye, but made no move towards me. After a few photos I returned to the house, wondering where the second pig was. Gil still needed to go for a walk but I thought it best to run a surveilance check by the back gate to be sure the second pig wasn't down there. I peered over the balcony in the back yard and what did I see? Three young pigs cavorting by the back gate. One saw me and they tried to make an escape up the steps. I rushed ahead through the hedge to get a photo and they got skittish and ran around in circles. After a few photos they finally emerged into the street, looking for their mother. After a brief stop at our back door, they high tailed it up the hill to the safety of their protector. Now, I didn't want to mess with a mother protecting her young (they can be aggressive you know) so I suspended my surveilance and managed to get Gil out the back gate with out being detected. They were still on the grassy knoll when Gil and I returned 20 min. later, but at the time of this writing they are nowhere to be seen. Now you see what we're dealing with! (P.S. the photos are in reverse order)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you're all set to enjoy some good food and fun with family and friends. Its an ordinary day here in Japan. Hubby at work, kids at school & me at ikebana class. However there was a national holiday on Monday, with everyone at home, so we took the opportunity to have our own Thanksgiving. As is our tradition, we did not have the classic turkey dinner. Instead we each chose our favorite food. This year's dinner consisted of vegetable curry & naan, roasted potatoes, french bread and pecan pie. While not very well rounded, it was quite tasty. After eating, we decorated the tree and watched a dvd. Earlier in the day, we did get to see the Colts play--and they won! Anyway, just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. We miss you all and wish we could go hunting as we used to do and enjoy a nice family meal. Oh well.

Last Week of Company

Well, as usual the photos are in reverse order, but I wanted to put up a few from our last week with company. We went to Arima onsen, one of the oldest hot springs spas in Japan. I got over heated and nearly fainted. Thank goodness my remaining visitor is a nurse and was able to help me. Also drove to the top of Rokko mtn for a night view of the city. Yesterday I had to tell her goodbye. We'll miss all the company we've had these last 3 weeks. Hope they enjoyed themselves!

Even more fun with visitors

A bit late, but better late then never! A few photos of some of our adventures of last week. The first 2 from Himeji. We went down in the afternoon, after a fun morning where the guests tried there hand at ikebana, with a fair amount of success!

On another day, we went on a bike trip through Kyoto to Arashiyama. Here we are pictured in the bamboo forest, during a brief break.

In Kyoto (another day) we stopped for lunch in a Japanese okonomiyaki place, where we sat, curled up on the floor (Not comfy)

And here are the girls with the helpful young fellow from the Sake tasting excursion!

Two of them have since returned home and we miss them terribly (well, at least I do). Still got one left, thank goodness. I'm glad it was spaced like this to slowly wean me from the company, rather than suddenly taking them all at once!

More photos to come!

More fun with family & friends

A few more photos of the first part of the visit. One is from Halloween. There was trick or treat in the area around our neighborhood and we were happy to participate. The temple is Yashima Temple near Takamatsu.

The girls are going zen, taking a moment for quiet meditation. Here are a couple of monkeys and some sort of wise person (I think).

Here the crowd stands in front of the A bomb dome in Hiroshima. We've had lovely weather for our travels. New photos will be posted soon!

Guests have arrived

The guests have all arrived, safe and sound, with not too much trouble. The first day was spent at the Toyota factory in Nagoya (no photos allowed). After which we took a 4 day journey through Awaji to Shikoku and over to Hiroshima and Miyajima before heading back towards home. Had a great time, but wore out the guests a bit too much. The first 2 photos are in Ritsurin Park in Takamatsu. So many beautiful landscapes and gardens! The third photo is party night at our first stop, a Japanese style hotel in Takamatsu, where we slept on tatami mats. Glad it was just one night! Stopped at the Monkey Center on Awaji Island, only to discover that the monkeys were all gone to the forest and we could not see them.

First stop on the tour was just after getting off the world's longest suspension bridge. Here We get a close up of the type of cable used.

More photos of our fun adventures will be added soon. Please check back!

Miho Museum

Took the women's club trip to the Miho Museum. It took along time (2 trains and a bus) to get there and back. Had a nice little lunch consisting of 2 peices each of egg sandwich and potato sandwich with a tiny cup of some heirloom rice. It was very tasty. Spent some time wandering around the museum, then realized we didn't recognize anybody. Thought we had somehow been left behind, but finally met up with the remnants of our group. It seems alot of our group left early, but failed to fill us in on this option. We finally got home around 5:40pm. A terribly long day! Well, I tried to put some pictures on, but can't seem to do it right now. Will add them later--I hope!

VOTE

That's right! We voted last night! Finally got our absentee ballots, read them over carefully and marked our ballots. Now, if I can just get them down to the post office in time. Fingers crossed!

Wild Boar Attack

Yes, It finally happened! Here's how it went down:
We were walking home about 9:30pm. The rest of the family wanted to go a different way. I knew it was wrong, but they insisted they knew, so I said "you go your way, I'll go mine, and we'll see who gets home first". Travelling on foot by myself, I had just come out of the territory of the Silk Pillow Gang. I said hi to Patches and a few of the others that were lounging on the wall there. As I came around a bend in the road, there it was.......a big pig! I stopped immediately. It tried to stare me down. I managed to get my phone and tried to call the family (knowing they were behind me, since they didn't know where they were going). The call wouldn't go through, so I decided to take the pig's picture. I switched to camera mode and the beast began making a move toward me. I scrambled over a low fence situated to my rear and tried to hide by a tree. Unfortunately it was too dark to take a photo. The pig then came up a walk-way around the fence to make its way toward me. I jumped back over the fence to the road and scurried around the next bend, calling the family at the same time. I got through and found out they were just entering the SP Gang area and told them to be on the look out for a mad pig. The husband & girl came safely around the curve, but the boy had stayed behind to try to lure the pig out into the open. Luckily the pig didn't fall for it and the boy ran to catch up with us, without incident. We walked cautiously the rest of the way home, with no further pig problems.
And that's how I was nearly eaten alive by a wild boar!

Autumn Equinox

There was a nat'l holiday last week for the autumn equinox. Since the kids still had school anyway, the husband and I decided to investigate an ancient hot-springs town called Arima. It had some beautiful scenery and of course the baths. They have 2 types of water: one is iron and salt and the other is a radium and carbonate combination. We didn't bathe in either one, but we did soak our feet in a 'kinsen' spring (the iron/salt one). And my hip hasn't been hurting as much. I think next time I go, I'm going all in and see if I'm cured!