For us, most weekends are a mix of Japanese and American culture. Almost all Saturdays, from here until the foreseeable end of time, are given over to Japanese School in San Francisco. For Mimi now, and for the other kids when their number is called, it's not a question of attending; it's a given. A few weekends ago we were greeted with carp flags.
After Japanese School, and perhaps tackling some Japanese homework, we tend to shift back to more western-focused pursuits. For Kuri, that means German cars.
And perhaps we'll go out for brunch on Sunday, and just happen to come across a space museum.
This past weekend, however, swung way to the Japanese side, though, at first, we weren't sure it would. Saturday began with Sumie taking Mimi down to SF for Japanese School. She was going to sit in on the class and then listen to a talk from the teacher afterwards. In the afternoon, we were planning to attend a memorial for some elderly friends of Sumie's family who had sadly passed away.
I had thought Sumie would be coming back after meeting with the teacher to help me corral the kids and get them ready for the service, but the meeting went long, which meant I was on my own. I would have to get the kids prepped and drive them down to the city. I dressed up Kuri as best I could...
...and then got Mariko set.
After that, it was time for me to get ready. Unfortunately, this is a bit challenging with a one year old and a three year old on the loose. Kuri's new fascination with photography, and the ease of operating an iPhone, led him to capturing just how stealthily Mariko can sneak over to play with the toilet water.
He also managed to capture the results when Papa finds that his little girl is, once again, trying to destroy the potty.
Despite the child chasing, I made it to SF in time to meet with Sumie and Mimi. We then drove down to Mountain View, hit up a few Japanese grocery stores, and then made it over to the memorial. It was held in a gorgeous Japanese Buddhist temple, but I saw very little of it as the one year old and the three year old weren't too enthralled with chanting and speeches.
We attended the reception afterwards and were able to talk with Kenji, Sumie's brother's good friend and the grandson of the couple we were celebrating. Sumie's sister and her daughter Nana also made it out and, despite multiple kids, we were able to get a picture (of sorts).
One big development was that Kenji's little girl, who is also three, seemed to have a little crush on Kuri. Like most boys, he wasn't quite sure how to handle it.
On Sunday, Mimi, Kuri, and I headed out for Cars and Coffee and then, upon our return, we thought we'd continue our Western Sunday with brunch. We planned a trip to a restaurant in Sebastopol and then to a funky bakery near Tomales Bay - Wild Flour Bread. I had no idea our Japanese adventures would continue.
The restaurant we went to, The Gravenstein Grill, was fantastic. Mimi and Kuri insisted on climbing the stone lions outside.
The weather was gorgeous, so we were able to eat outside on the patio. Mimi attempted to teach Mari how to do Junken (rock, paper, scissors).
Mari quickly gave up, however, and just focused on looking cute.
Kuri, however, became obsessed with the game. There was just one problem: he couldn't form the scissors with his hand. Poor guy. After some help from Papa, he finally got it. He was still excited about it a few days later. "Look Papa! Ni! ("two" in Japanese) he'll yell, holding up his right hand in a peace sign proudly.
At brunch, our waiter told us that there was a Japanese festival (a matsuri) happening just up the road in Santa Rosa. We were pretty shocked. When we first moved to Marin, Sumie in particular was very worried that there wouldn't be much of a Japanese presence. And while there's definitely a dearth of Asian stores and Japanese restaurants up here, we've found that there's a rather vibrant Japanese community up here north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The matsuri was small, but had some great performances by local Japanese dance and drum troupes. Mimi and Kuri both got shaved ice.
And Mimi, here in the middle of the pic in the sun her father had to hide from, recognized a boy from her Japanese class.
After the matsuri, we hit the bakery, drove down past Tomales Bay, and returned home for a little rest and relaxation. Mimi and Kuri decided to organize Kuri's cars.
And I, after getting the kids ready for bed, finally had a chance to look in the mirror to review the damage of the day. Perhaps it's hard to see from this pic, but there was a massive snot stain across my shirt. Of course, I had no idea how long it had been there. Ah, life with kids.
Looking back over this past weekend, I'm still amazed at just how many opportunities my kids, who are all Japanese as well as American citizens, have to take part in Japanese culture. We do make a bit of a sacrifice to live here, but when the kids can experience both of their cultures so readily, it's well worth it!
