Arrival in Japan - Back Home in Shinagawa, Tokyo

This Thanksgiving, we decided to do something a little different - a little less American. We chose to forgo the turkey and trimmings and take the whole crew to Japan. We'd planned on visiting in early summer, but ticket prices were so insane that we had to hold off. But with Mimi having a full week off school, and the temperature not yet too cold in Tokyo, Thanksgiving turned out to be a perfect time.

We booked four seats (this would be our last trip with a child on our lap, flying for free). The roughly 12 hour flight (thanks to headwinds) was, shall we say, a bit of an endurance test. Our little Mari decided that she WOULD NOT SLEEP. There wasn't a lot of screaming, but man, we definitely arrived a bit more haggard than we would have traveling sans children. Thankfully, both Mimi and Kuri did a great job, experienced international travelers that they are now at 7 and 4 years old.

We arrived at Haneda airport ready to start our adventure.

There we met Sumie's sister-in-law, Kayo, who graciously offered to pick us up in her car. This would mark a first for us: it would be several days before we actually boarded a train in Japan.

We'd be spending most of our time in Tokyo with Ojichan and Obachan (Grandma and Grandpa) at their apartment in Shinagawa, Tokyo. This was just fine with the kids as their room had a window overlooking a number of Japanese rail lines, including one for the Shinkansen (bullet train). Every few minutes we'd hear Kuri yell out, "Papa, Shinkansen!!!" or "Papa, Yamanote! It's running express. Yes, it is."

The day after our arrival we needed to get the kids out for a while, but wanted to stay close to home. We decided to visit Shinagawa Aqua Land, an aquarium just a few minutes walk from Sumie's parents' apartment. It was basically like any other aquarium you'd visit, save for the amazing dolphin show.

This being Japan, it wasn't enough simply to have marine mammal trainers in wet suits. The two traditional trainers were joined by assistants who, inexplicably, were dressed as bakery shop assistants. We never quite figured out why.

There were a number of great exhibits, included a full room devoted to jellyfish, but the kids' favorite exhibit featured the giant sea turtles. Mari couldn't get enough of them.

Going back to bakeries, we quickly remembered just how wonderful Japanese bakeries are. We stopped in with the kids for a quick fill-up - both savory and sweet. I was quite proud that Mimi became a fan of her papa's favorite Japanese bakery specialty - curry pan (curry doughnut).

Later that night we met up with a friend of Sumie's from high school, Rie. The food was fabulous, though Mari was beginning to feel the effects of the time difference. I had the very enjoyable job of walking around the restaurant floor as the gaijin (foreigner) who couldn't control his cute, but screaming, baby.

The next day, as Mari enjoyed a much-needed nap, I took Mimi and Kuri to the park near the apartment. The same park where Sumie used to take her little brother.

After the park, we headed over to Shinagawa Jinjya, the neighborhood shrine.

We visited the main temple...

...walked down the line of gates...

...purified our hands at the special shrine for pets...

...and offered up some prayers to protect the family sheltie, Harry.

We even checked out the view from the top of the hill.

After two days, the kids were learning to sleep (at least for a few hours).

And that was a good thing because the following day we'd be moving on to Sumie's brother's house for some serious cousin time, and then a trip to Lego Land and Japanese Hot Springs. Much more to come in the following days!

Undokai! Japanese Preschool Sports Day

Several weeks ago, Kuri became a champion. Well, a preschool champion...

Japanese schools have a yearly tradition of the Undokai, or sports day. Unlike the sports days here in America, which tend to focus on individual events, Japanese sports days take a group approach. Classes compete against other classes and the events almost all involve groups - sometimes the entire class. For Kuri's preschool undokai, this same group competition spirit was intact, though there were no other preschools against which to compete. 

The day began with lining the kids up in their chairs for the opening ceremony. This is easier said than done when you're working with nine little boys between the ages of two and four. I made my way through a few Russian novels as we waited and then, about halfway through Crime and Punishment, the Undokai was underway.

Kuri had been practicing something at school, but we weren't sure exactly what it was. It turned out that he had been selected to be one of the class representatives to open the sports day. His genki voice rang out across the lawn. We were very proud.

One of the first events was introducing each student dressed up as a famous Japanese train. This was tremendously cute.

Once everyone had been introduced, they all came together to form a magnificent shinkansen (bullet train). It was awesome watching all the kids work together.

There were a ton of fun events, songs, and dances. We even got to watch the kids practice their morning exercises.

The crowd was thrilled by the antics of the kids (well, Mari was for about half an hour).

The kids did a number of running events, a dad and son event, and even events with siblings. We tried to get as many pictures as we could, but soon found ourselves wrapped up too much in the events. At the end of the festivities, each child received a medal!

The competition at preschool didn't just end with the undokai. On Halloween the preschool hosted a costume contest. Kuri, as Harry Potter, took home first prize.

And while it wasn't a competition, the kids all put a lot of work into making some life-like scarecrows. 

I'm not sure why Kuri thinks his is a ninja, but who can really understand the mind of a four year old. 

Of course, a young boy can't spend all his time doing sports and crafts. He needs to get out and see some amazing cars. So, last Sunday, Kuri, Mimi, and I loaded into the Porsche and headed out to Cars and Coffee. Here they are next to their two favorite cars there: a Dodge Viper ACR for Kuri, and a Ferrari for Mimi (yes, they tend to have expensive taste when it comes to cars. I have no idea who they get that from.) 

We even got to see a few genuine race cars. I wonder if, 10-12 years from now, we'll actually get to go racing. Hmmm.

Looking over the past few weeks, I can not express just how lucky we have been to find Kuri's Japanese preschool. His Japanese is improving immensely, he's making new friends, and he's become a confident, yet polite (for the most part), little boy. Thankful too that we can live where all our kids can explore Japanese culture and language while making friends with kids just like them. It's a genuine blessing. We'll see just how much they've learned in a couple weeks when the five of us land in Tokyo. One thing is for sure, both Mimi and Kuri will understand more than me.