Sometimes they don't get along...

With four kids in the house, from time to time, they don't always get along. Ian has no problems with anyone, but Kie, Yuma, and Luke have times each day when they are just not happy. From a few photos of a barbecue yesterday here at Yukari's house, these two are classic examples of their personalities, exemplified by how each interacts and reacts:

Beautiful day for a walk

This morning I had to sneak out of the house without the kids seeing me, as I wanted to take a walk up the mountain behind Yukari's family home. The road is narrow, winding, and a bit steep -- so I didn't want the 3 little ones following me. Today was a rare clear and dry (i.e. not humid) day in the summer; and I suspect the typhoon that was skirting up the east coast of Japan today had something to do with the dramatic change in weather here too. Anyway, perfect weather for a walk in the mountains.

I have always loved walking up this road, as it has many overlooks to the town of Muikamachi below. Yukari's house is the last before the mountain -- nothing but woodlands (and insects)! Today I was struck with the contrast with living in Boone, NC -- another town in the mountains -- and Japanese towns. In the US, everyone wants a house perched on the side of the mountain overlooking the town. Here in Japan, as you can see above, there are no houses on the mountain sides at all. Part of it could be the sheer amount of snowfall here in winter -- which can see a good 4 to 8 feet on the ground at times. Yukari offered another explanation: "we don't want to spoil the beautiful natural scene".

On one overlook just off the mountain road there used to be a Japanese Shinto shrine. You can still find some of the common symbols, such as a pair of Komainu (lion-dog) statues, which traditionally stand guard outside of most Shinto shrines, as well as rock lanterns. The building structure is gone now, I believe because there were too few young people in the local area to do the upkeep -- as shrines are generally built and maintained by each neighborhood.

Summer festival

Two years ago, Yukari was here in her hometown of Muikamachi with Luke during the local matsuri (summer festival). Each town in Japan hosts its own summer festival during either July or August, and they generally feature local dancing and customs. And, like festivals everywhere, there are plenty of food stands and carnival games that line the streets of town.

This year we were happy to have several children around to enjoy the evening walking through the festival area of town. Unfortunately, Ian is too young to go, but Luke had a few of his cousins to show him the way this year. They also each wore a yukata -- a light cotton kimono, that is the traditional summer dress for walking around town in the evening.

Memorial service

Yukari's family had planned a memorial service for deceased relatives this summer, as it was a time when many of us were either in Niigata or could travel here easily. The service was held over the weekend, which also coincided with the local summer festival in town, so those who wished to stay could enjoy that as well. Buddhist memorial services in Japan are usually held during the 1st year, and then subsequently in in the 3rd and 5th, 7th and 13th years after a family member passes.

There were several relatives that came from the Tokyo area, as well as from Fukushima -- some of whom stayed at the house here in Niigata after the earthquake and events in that area this spring. There was a traditional ceremony with the Buddhist monk in the morning, followed by a feast that lasted most of the day.

The next morning we visited the family grave site to clean up, burn incense, and to leave some flowers and other items at the tombs. Many family members left for home after that, and though it was nice to see everyone again, it was a sad to see them go so soon.

Let's go to the station

Sometimes, Luke and I take a walk to the train station in Muikamachi, Yukari's home town. It is only about a mile from her Mom's house, and there are a couple of parks on the way, and also a couple of bakeries too -- in case we decide to pick up some lunch. Luke, like many young boys, likes trains. Unfortunately, the local station only has 3 or 4 trains each hour, so we have to wait to see one -- but it does give us a chance to just sit, eat lunch, and talk. Here are a few photos from a few trips to the local train station, over the past couple of weeks:

Hot summer

It has been a hot summer already everywhere. I know that the US is having a heat wave this week across many areas. We just moved from rainy season into summer here in Japan around the first week of July, and the temperatures have been in the 90s many days so far. In a typical traditional Japanese house, like Yukari's family home here in Niigata prefecture, there is no air conditioning. In fact, as you can see below, there is little furniture -- you can sit and sleep on the soft tatami floor.

 

But we do have a little pool that we have been enjoying in the front yard this week, and Luke has been loving it! Ian even joins his brother there for a few minutes every now and then.

And he has started eating too...

One more thing about Ian... He has started eating recently too. Yukari has been making soft rice and sometimes shredded apple, to let him try a variety of tastes and textures.

Ian at five months

Ian is 5 months old now, and growing quickly. He's getting stronger everyday; pushing himself up to a crawling position, and pulling himself across the floor. He also has 2 teeth now, on the bottom.

As always, Ian is such a happy little boy -- and smiling all the time. Everyone loves Ian!

Another day, another park

Of course, the kids enjoy playing in the park in the summer. There is actually a small park almost right next door to Yukari's family home here in Niigata. Sometimes Luke's cousins come to visit, and we go there to play.  Ian is usually on the side in a stroller, but always with a smile on his face.

Once, even Yukari's 98 year-old grandfather came to see what we were doing, and had a couple of laughs with Luke on the swing, while Luke shot us all with his water pistol (don't worry, I moved Grandpa to a safer seat on the sidelines a minute after taking a few pictures).

Kansai

I was in Osaka, Japan for just over a week, both to present a paper at a conference and to meet with colleagues at Osaka University, to design a research study on cross-cultural differences in online learning. The week was very productive, though I was spending a lot of time in my hotel room preparing presentation files and documents -- and I really had the urge to get outside and see some of the interesting things in this part of Japan.

I did find two afternoons during the week to do some exploring. Although I have been in this part of Japan, the Kansai area, before, and have visited Kyoto many times over the past 12 years, I have never been to Nara. So I decided to spend a day outside in the Nara park and explore some of the temples and shrines of the old capital. Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784 and designed after the capital of China, Chang'an (now called Xi'an, where I lived for a few months in 2005).

Nara is only a short train ride from Osaka, and from the station near where I was staying in Osaka there was a direct train, so I was there in no time. I forgot to each lunch in Osaka before leaving, so the first thing was to find a restaurant near the station in Nara. I was looking for a simple place to eat, not a touristy Japanese food restaurant (i.e. expensive), and then I saw a sign for an Indian restaurant with a lunch set for as little as 600 yen (about $7 US). A little known fact is that Japanese people love Indian-style curry, and there are Indian restaurants all over Japan. When I worked in Tokyo, our favorite was a place called Tandoor -- where many of us working at Adcore ate lunch 2 or 3 times a week! These restaurants always have a lunch set, with a choice of a couple of different types of curry, plus rice or nan (i.e. Indian bread), and a drink (always masala tea for me). Well, in Nara, I went all out and got the set that included 3 types of curry, plus tandoori chicken and prawns -- it was exactly what I was looking for after a few days of hotel food.

After lunch, I wandered around Nara park and visited the Kōfuku-ji Buddhist temple, Kasuga Shrine, and the botanical gardens; and also plenty of deer and middle school students all over town on field trips.

Later in the week, on my last afternoon after finishing our meetings at Osaka University, I had a few hours to explore some of my favorite areas of Kyoto. Again, a very short and easy train trip from Osaka, and guess what?.. Yes, another wonderful Indian lunch when I arrived in Kyoto :)

The sky was a bit threatening all afternoon, but this is rainy season in Japan and most days are cloudy and humid. I have always enjoyed rainy season, since the clouds can keep the temperatures down, and the are fewer tourists in cities like Kyoto and Nara. Here are a few photos from the area around Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple: