Pictures of our last day, Jayce's Perspective.

I was downloading pictures and found these from our last day in Japan.  I of course demanded that we spend part of it at the beach.  We only had the morning until Jason had to drop off our car to its new owners.  What I love about these pictures is Jayce had the camera for a big part of the day.  I get to see what he thought was worth taking pictures of, I think they are cute.

Digging for sand toys.

They decided to splurge and pay for a banana boat ride.  The Japanese are always worried about safety.

They are waiting for the ride to start, I don't think Jason was impressed.  It was impressive enough for my boys.

I love all the selfies!  I wonder if the sign is warning about Typhoons or what.  The wave is picking up that poor kid.

He loves the soda machines and Shisa's!

Jayce will miss the vending machines and soda choices.

A wooden ship playground, the kids love the zip line.

I had never read this sign and always wondered why they chose a wood ship for a playground.  Thanks  Jayce for the story!

More cute selfies!

Our final sunset, it was beautiful.

Back in the Saddle

I apologize for my longer than expected absence.  They packed up our belongings in Japan on June 18 and then we didn't see it again until August 24.  We are still getting settled, but we are finally all connected again.  I received a kind e-mail from blogher informing me that I was going to be dropped from their ad campaign, it has been too long since I blogged.  I have had it on my to do list, but with unpacking, school, and a new business - I have been slower than I wanted.  So, I am back to blogging and hope that my readers will return!

So much has happened and the time has flown since we left the hotel in Japan at 6:30 am on July 1.  We spent the next 25+ hours travelling back to the states and our new life here.

30 minute bus ride

2 hour minute flight

6.5 hour layover

9.5 hour flight

3 hour layover

2 hour flight

1 hour layover

1 hour flight

30 minute car ride

_____________

14.5 hours flying

10.5 hours waiting

1 hour commuting

+ 1 sea bag, 2 medium suitcases, 5 carry-ons, 6 large suitcases, and 3 car seats (1 of which was a carry on) (not counting Jason's luggage)

Which of course it wasn't that smooth.  Everything was relatively smooth until we reached Seattle.  When you go through customs you pile all your luggage and carry-ons on to the carts to get through.  Then they load it on a conveyor to go to your connecting flights.  The airport personnel are so efficient that they had grabbed Jude's car seat and sent it off down the conveyor belt before we realized it.  We needed to get it back.  They told us it would be no big deal.  We followed their instructions and said good by to Jason who was staying in Seattle.

Thank goodness I have a husband who worry's about us a ton.  I took the kids and our carry-ons and headed to the gate.  Parked us and sent Jayce and Grahm with money to buy some burgers while we waited.  Shortly after that Jayce and Grahm return without burgers, but with Jason and the car seat.  The airport had not idea where to send the car seat.  we would have lost it!  After feeding and pottying everyone I realize that they had changed our gate, fortunately not too far.

They are late boarding us and getting us to SLC.  I only had an hour layover to begin with.  And now I have no layover, 5 kids, carry-ons, and a car seat.  We land and they asked everyone to stay seated so those of us with connecting flights could make it - no one every stays seated.  We were at the back.  We  go off and I sent Jayce (who is very concerned about missing the flight), Grahm, and Charlotte to run ahead of me.  While I carry Jude in the carry seat and beg with and plead with Tennyson to please run and keep up (this is at 24 hours of travel).  Some how we made it to the gate, and they let us on.  They even let me take Charlotte to the bathroom before we boarded (the plane is waiting for us).  Tennyson and Jude are both having meltdowns at take off.  We made it and were welcomed home with signs and a crowd.


We will forever miss Japan and will cherish the time we spent there.

Ryukyu Mura Part 2

Here are my kiddos with the performers.  There is the Emperor and Empress and their attendants, Kijimuna, female dancer and taiko drummer.

One of the really fun things about Ryukyu Mura is the parade/performances they hold twice each day.  These performances showcase several of the festivals held during the year.  It gives you a quick snapshot of all the fun you can have during the year.

The first picture is of the Miruku parade.  The guy with the mask is the Bodhisattva of happiness, rich harvests, and prosperity.  

The two female dancers in the middle pictures are performing some kind of harvest dance.  They are holding farm tools and whistling and singing.  The Okinawans are amazing whistlers.

The dancer on the right is performing the Juri Dance.  The performers are holding two wooden pieces in each hand that they click together.
The dance was staged to bring auspicious conditions for a good harvest and profitable business. However, the Juri dance (Juri means prostitute in the Okinawan dialect) has not been performed since 1989, when a feminist group criticized the decadence of the event.  They started performing again in 2001.  Source

The picture on the right shows the royal party who watch over the festivities.  I love the sheer orange kimono that the Empress is wearing.

The next two pictures show the Shi Shi Lion and his master the Kijimuna.  Legend has it the Shi Shi lion lived on a mountain in what is now Uruma City, and that they were instrumental in keeping devils away and protecting the community.  The Shi-Shi-Mai(Lion dance) is known to have the power to ward off evil spirits and summon the god off harvest and wealth, bringing prosperity to the region, and the tradition has been passed for generations everywhere in Okinawa. Source

Tennyson did not enjoy the Shi Shi Lion getting that close.  They are pretty cool costumes.

The two pictures on the left I believe show the performers performing the Kachāshī Dance.  In Okinawa, it is often a feature of celebrations such as weddings and victory festivities after Okinawan sumo matches and public elections. Traditionally, the dance is accompanied by the sanshin and drum, and often punctuated with finger whistling called yubi-bue (指笛^?).  Source

The picture on the left is of two Kijimuna!

A few more pictures of the Juri Dance, the Shi Shi Lion and Kijimuna, and the Taiko Drummers (I have posted about them before).

A street performer entertaining the girls.

**Note for our memory - Grahm decided to be very upset with everyone and would not get close enough to be a part of any of the pictures.  I think he surprised my parents with how stubborn he can be.

Ryukyu Mura Part 1

We took my parents to visit a replica of an old Okinawan village.  The mock village is called Ryukyu Mura.  You can view several old homes that they have restored and relocated to this area.  It lets you see what homes were like 100 years ago, how they cooked, how the rooms were divided up.  It is really cool.  There are several places to see and participate in Okinawa crafts - there is pottery, sugar extraction from sugar cane, and many more.

In the first picture Jayce, my Dad, and Jason are sitting on the edge of one of the historical homes.  They were very open and simple (I wonder if it was easier to keep clean?).  

The middle picture is of a Tatami Mat.  I was surprised at how thick they are.  These mats were made of a rice straw core and covered with a soft rush straw (wikipedia).  These mats are still used today and are very expensive to replace.  You never walk on a Tatami Mat with your shoes on.

The last picture is of a Banana Spider, pictures never do the beast justice.  These things are the size of an adult male hand.  They are fast and will bite, but not poisonous.

The top left is another picture of an historical home (and proof I was there).  

The top right picture is of the famous Habu snakes.  They fascinate my boys and creep me out.  They are a deadly pit viper that is native to the island.

The bottom left picture is of Koi fish (Carp).  It was crazy, all you had to do was walk near the edge and they thought you were going to feed them.  They would go into a frenzy, literally swimming (climbing) over each other.  We did feed them a few times, just so we could get pictures and video.

The bottom right is a picture of some yummy treats to purchase.  It is pig face skin in case you could not tell.  We thought the packaging made it even more appealing.

The top left picture is of a water buffalo.  They use them to crush the sugar cane.  I think that is the purpose of the wheel behind Jayce in the upper right photo.

Almost every where you go the Japanese provide photo ops like the ones in the bottom two photos.  This one depicts the Kijimuna, tree spirits.  There are several folktales about these mischievous spirits, here is a site that has several of them.  Jayce really likes them because of the red hair.

Remembering the War cont.

After we visited the Navy Underground Headquarters we headed to Peace Prayer Park.  Jayce has been wanting to take us there to visit for awhile.  Since the Underground Headquarters was exhibits and a tour, we wandered around the park grounds rather than head inside.  We enjoyed the outdoor exhibits and beautiful park grounds and ended up missing the exhibits inside.

We only read a portion of the 240,000+ names of those who lost their lives during the Battle of Okinawa.  The park grounds are very large and we didn't see all of it my any means.  We obviously need to go back.

Enjoying the view.

Walking around the grounds.  A lot of the outdoor exhibits only had plaques with Japanese on them, so we probably missed a lot.  (Tenny has her belly button).

The boys ran down a long flight of stairs and this statue was down there.  

There was an entrance to another underground military headquarters.  This was not open to the public for touring, but Jason got a picture so we would know what was at the bottom of the stairs.

Found a broomstick in this pavilion, so we rode around a bit waiting for them to come back up the stairs.

Grahm found a stick bug!

The Basic Concept of the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum

In late March 1945, a fierce battle such as has rarely been seen in history took place on these islands. The "Typhoon of Steel" that lasted for ninety days disfigured mountains, destroyed much of the cultural legacy, and claimed the precious lives of upward of 200,000 people. The Battle of Okinawa was the only ground fighting fought on Japanese soil and was also the largest-scale campaign of the Asia-Pacific War. Even countless Okinawan civilians were fully mobilized.

A significant aspect of the Battle of Okinawa was the great loss of civilian life. At more than 100,000 civilian losses far outnumbered the military death toll. Some were blown apart by shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while other fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops. Under the most desperate and unimaginable circumstances, Okinawans directly experienced the absurdity of war and atrocities it inevitably brings about.

This war experience is at the very core of what is popularly called the "Okinawan Heart," a resilient yet strong attitude to life that Okinawan people developed as they struggled against the pressures of many years of U. S. military control.

The "Okinawan Heart" is a human response that respects personal dignity above all else, rejects any acts related to war, and truly cherishes culture, which is a supreme expression of humanity. In order that we may mourn for those who perished during the war, pass on to future generations the historic lessons of the Battle of Okinawa, convey our message to the peoples of the world and thereby established, displaying the whole range of the individual war experiences of the people in this prefecture, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. (LINK TO MUSEUM)

A Day to Remember the Sacrifices

My parents arrived hours before a big typhoon had us locked down in our housing for more than a day.  It was avery long and boring way to start off their trip to Japan.  Unless winds moving cars around is exciting?  After we were cleared to leave our house we headed out to see the damage done and we ended up at the seawall to check out the ocean and get the wiggles out.  It was still very windy and the waves were crashing more than usual.  Jason calls this our lion picture.

The next day we headed out to visit some of the historical sites.  First we visited the Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters.  

Entrance to the Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters (photo from Okinawa Hai)

Dug into a hillside outside of Naha city is one of the islands most somber reminders of the bloody Battle of Okinawa. In 1944, the Japanese Navy Corps of Engineers dug a 450 meter tunnel complex to serve as an underground headquarters.  Towards the end of the battle, as things began to get hopeless, the commanding officer and 175 of his staff committed suicide in the tunnels. In 1970, most of the tunnels were restored and opened up for the public.  (OKINAWAHAI)

The semi-circular tunnels hardened by post and concrete were 450 meter in length at that time. They served as underground headquarters to endure the American bombardment and long drawn out fighting and could sustain 4000 soldiers. After the war, tunnel remained untouched for many years. The remains of those who died were collected and a 300meter portion centered on the commander's office was renovated and opened to the public.(OKINAWA STORY)

Photo from Okinawa Hai

Here we are descending into the tunnels.

It was cool to see some of the history of the war and very sad.  This poor island went through a lot during the battle, it was pretty much decimated.  The pictures and artifacts on display helped educate me on the battle and tore my heart.  It is wonderful to see how the island and the people can recover from something like that.  The Okinawans are very warm and kind to those of us visiting from the US.  There are definitely those here that wish for the US to withdraw, but we have had a wonderful experience here.  One of the best of my life.  The human race is amazing when it chooses to be.

The Tambo Fest!

First of all, I am sorry I haven't posted much lately.  I rarely have two free hands these days and our internet has been painfully slow.  This post took me several days to get up!

 Golden Week is the week where there are 4 national holidays, including Children's Day.  Children's Day is to celebrate the happiness of children.  It was originally Boy's Day and carp flags are traditionally flown throughout the week.

Jayce really got into it after a week start.

The Tambo Fest or Mud Festival was held during Golden Week.  In Japanese Tambo means rice field.  In the community of Kin a farmer allows his field to be used for the festivities.  Basically the kids play in the mud, swing, slide, swim, whatever they can come up with.  Jason hated every second of it, he later convinced the kids that there was manure of one kind or another in the mud.  He told me it was a bad idea.  I want to know what happened to my country boy - do you think he will still like country life?

Charlotte was hesitant but jumped in and enjoyed gettin' muddy.

Grahm my usual wild one was hesitant, cold, and decidedly not in love with gettin' muddy.

Jason declared Tennyson the brightest because her toes were almost too muddy for her tastes.

Muddy hair, the black moss was almost impossible to wash out.  Several rounds of shampoo and more conditioner than normal to try and comb it all out with a little screaming for fun.

As we were leaving we noticed these worms on Grahm's back.  Gave Jason and I the heebee jeebees so bad we both took a shower too.  My google research says they are blood worms - midge fly.

The muddy bunch and one vampire.

Trying to get clean enough to get into our awesome van - because it would be awful if it got dirty (just ask Jason.   I only cared about the baby's car seat).

Ichigo Daifuku - a tutorial

This is my friend and her two Japanese neighbors who taught us how to make mochi.  They were so sweet and their English is amazing, left me wishing my Japanese was better!

My latest Japanese favorite wagashi (Japanese confection made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruit) is Ichigo Daifuku.  This is a strawberry stuffed mochi, and it is so yummy.

The first time I had Mochi (Rice Cake) I didn't really love it, it has a strange texture and flavor.  Too much of a good thing, maybe.  A rice cake is about the size of you palm and made entirely of mochi and might be flavored.  Mochi has the consistency of a dough.  However, when stuffed with sweet beans and strawberry it is super yummy.

There are lots of tutorials available on how to make Mochi, this is how I was taught.  A friend arranged for her neighbors to teach a couple of us Mochi addicts how to make Ichigo Daifuku.  We made about 30 that day.  We made the mochi in 2 batches because if it cools you can't shape it or get it to stick around the strawberry.

Ingredients:  Makes 6 (I think a few more, these were a little big)
Shiratamako (glutinous rice flour)  100g
Sugar  20g
Water  150cc
Strawberry  6+
Anko (sweet red bean paste)  30g/each  *****I think 15g/each is better*****
Katakuriko (potato starch) or Corn Starch for dusting


On the left is a bag of Shiratamako.  On the right is a bag of Anko,  you can also get it in a can.  I was told that the Anko in a can is wetter and harder to work with for mochi.

Directions:
1.  Preparation:
Remove stem from strawberries.  Wrap strawberry with Anko and round to make ball (you want the tip of the strawberry to peak through).  Have some water in a bowl to use for your hands to keep things from being so sticky.  If your hands are a bit damp the Anko doesn't stick to you as much.

2.  Measure out dry ingredients. Put Shiratamako and Sugar in a heat resistant bowl and mix.

3.  Pour water into the bowl, gradually.  Mix until smooth.

4.  Loosely cover with saran wrap.  Put the bowl in the microwave and heat for 2 minutes and stir the dough.  Heat the dough in microwave until the dough becomes clear (2 min - 1 min each time).  Stir the mochi quickly.  If you dip your spatula in water the mochi will not stick to it as much.

This is the early stage of cooking, you can see how white the dough is.

This is when the dough is done, you can see that is clearish compared to the previous picture.  It does not turn completely clear.

5.  Dust a flat pan, plate or table with some Katakuriko.

6.  Remove the hot mochi from the bowl to the dusted surface.  The mochi is hot and sticky so be careful!!  Dust the top of the mochi.

7.  Dust hands with more Katakuriko and divide the mochi into 6 or more pieces.  You can use a pastry scraper, they work great.

8.  Make 6 flat and round mochi.  Grab a piece and pat it out.   Be sure to not get it too thin, especially in the center.  

9.  Wrap anko/strawberry in the mochi.  Place the point of the strawberry down.  Pinch closed and use Katakuriko to keep the mochi from sticking to you and to the container you are going to store it in.  When you have it all wrapped up you kind of roll the mochi in your hands to smooth the outside and shape it nice.

Notes:
I have made mochi several times now and I will tell you that volume measurements don't work as well. You can also use Mochiko flour - the recipe is a little different as is the flavor and texture.  The differences are subtle, so most people wouldn't know the difference unless they have them side by side. Use good strawberries!  You want to see a bit of pink peaking through the top of Ichigo Daifuku.