Halloween in Japan

   It has gotten more popular for sure but not quite the same as the U.S.  We will not have trick-or-treaters tonight on Halloween night!  I stuffed little plastic pumpkins with Twix mini bars and Halloween stickers for my students this morning.  We played "Would you rather", Draw a "I spy" or a "Halloween maze" for a partner to figure out and we dressed up in costumes (some did not participate).
   It is different here as in the U.S becoming more of a Harvest festival or not dressing up at all.  Our students are grateful with any disruption of a regular schedule- while we are still after school putting cardboard and tents away from a school carnival on Sunday.
   Januck and I dressed as minions and enjoyed our time with the students.  It is almost nice to come home to a quiet night of non treat-a-treaters :)

Treat

 

The class working on their mazes and I Spy activity

Sick- all month?

   I have been sick all month with a cough and a cold.  Been to our family doctor three times and today the Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor.  I have slept, ate well and slept.  Taken the last two days off of work and still feel....sick.  Lots of things on my mind, like my mom, my kids, my husband, finances, my job, my students OH! and my health!
   I forgot to wish Januck "Happy Birthday" because I was sick to my stomach on the morning of his birthday and was trying to get to work on a Sunday for a School Bazaar.  It was shameful!
   The best thing out of it was talking with both of my kids and them giving me phone hugs and kisses.  Also, my husband has being super understanding, my boss sent me home and my teacher friend was willing to deliver anything to my front door!
   My goal is to get better for my birthday at the end of the week because it is a Japanese national holiday-Culture Day and it is connected to a weekend this time.  YAY!
   Side note about the doctor- an elderly man in the waiting room was there for his flu shot and was practicing his Tai Chi movements in his seat and an elderly blinded woman was trying to fill out a questionnaire and almost asked me to read the Japanese on her form before she got a good look at me.  I got poked with an IV 3 TIMES!!! before the vitamin water the doctor prescribed was finally in my body- I was crying but not really- tears were just coming out of my eyes and I didn't really care.  They called in my medicine because the nurses felt so bad and told me to rest.  Today, at the ENT I got my nose flushed out and still cannot smell or taste.
   But all in all- I'm good!  Want to celebrate Halloween with my students tomorrow and have been encouraged by my daughter today!
   

Lots of medicine!  

Beautiful Mt. Fuji

Yay! We had our first snowfall on Mt. Fuji and it is beautiful as always. There is something majestic about it and I never tire of looking at this amazing volcano. Until it erupts of course.

My new haircut

   Aging is a funny thing where you don't really care what others think and you are going to do what you always wanted to do.  I have always been daring with my hair- dyed it magenta in college and had it really short and permed when I met Januck in the 80's.  I have had blond highlights, red highlights and red and blond highlights.  My latest though is an undercut which was inspired by one of my former students (now in 5th grade).  Going to wear it up tomorrow at work- let's see who comments!

Beautiful Night, Beautiful Fuji, and Little Cloud?

Such a beautiful sunset and Mt. Fuji was very clear. We are still waiting to see some snow which enhances its beauty even more.

Where did that little cloud come from? We watched it for a bit until it disappeared completely. We were perplexed as to why it would suddenly form.

A trip down memory lane

   Karuizawa would always be a place our family would go each summer for my parents' missionary conference.  I rode my bike all day and was enamored that the Crown Prince (now Emperor) and his wife would play tennis there.
   I had visited Karuizawa with Januck about 23 years ago in the winter and it seemed like a different place and more recently this past weekend with my friend, Akiko.  The leaves were colored and changing.  There was a new soba restaurant, a bakery/cafe and the Prince shopping outlets that we enjoyed visiting.
   Staying at Manpei historical hotel where McGovern visited when running for president brought back lots of memories.  Our family cottage looked so small and closed for winter.  It was really fun to return and share some stories with Akiko.  Thanks for making the trip!

 

Hot soba noodles with asparagus/shrimp spring roll at Kawakamian restaurant 

                                                  Our old Karuizawa home on Manpei Street

                                                                    Kumobaike pond

                                                                       Stone church
                                                       

                                                                   Hoshino Terrace area
 

Chocolate Mentos

    There are many seasonal foods in Japan and apparently, Shizuoka prefecture where we live try out new foods for consumption.   These chocolate and caramel mentos reminded me of Rolos in the States.  They were chewy with a caramel center- exactly opposite of a Rolo.
    The chocolate here is always less sweet than in the U.S. which makes me think we are really sugar driven by Halloween (candy corn), Christmas (candy canes), Valentines and Easter....

Castles

One of the coolest things about Japan are the castles and there are many of them so they are quite easy to find. They are totally worth visiting and it would be cool to visit all of the castles in Japan but I think that it would be quite an undertaking.

More Bugs!

So they redid the basketball court on the roof of our school and I posted before a dragonfly that was painted over. Turns out there are at least three bugs that have been fossilized on our roof garden. Poor bugs!

Renewal of CA license

    I have been so lucky these last years just renewing my CA driver's license with nooooo problem but the luck stops now!!!! I have to go in to the DMV and get an eye test.  I guess they think I'm getting older and need to have my eyes tested- even though I have been driving over here in Japan!
I can request a 1 year extension but will still need to go back and get an eye test to get my renewed license. UGH!  This really makes me feel like I am aging!

KFC

We were walking by and saw the line at KFC. I'm used to seeing the lines at KFC on Christmas Eve where it is tradition here to go to KFC but I guess people wanted their chicken!

Spider hat and Halloween nails

   So I am reading a book tomorrow at the City library about a hat and decided since Halloween is becoming more popular here, we would make a spider hat.  I had to make a sample and Januck needed to take a  photo :)
   I also got my Jack-o-lantern nails which apparently I have had before (thanks to Carrie for remembering).  I just know what I like and it is the "little things" in life that make me smile!

Squat Toilet

If you live in Japan then you know there is nothing more terrifying than having to go to the bathroom and your only option is the squat toilet. It is interesting because I've seen less and less of them in large public establishments but they are still around and this is the only toilet option at dinner last night. Crazily enough, it fits with the establishment we were at.

Flavor

   So, Januck has really enjoyed Cholula sauce with his bean and cheese quesadilla in the mornings and I have tried it and liked it as well.  We had it at our student's parent's restaurant in Tokyo called WAHOOS.  We now order it online.
   Mexican food is hard to come by in Numazu and we crave it all the time being from California and all.  The wasabi and ginger with Japanese food is one thing but the hot sauce is another.  There is a student even nicknamed after the Cholula sauce in our class.  She is learning Spanish in Shizuoka and we think it is very cute she wants to learn words and phrases in a third language!
  We have tried Singapore black pepper stir fry and it did a number on our stomachs.  We need to watch out what we try, I guess.

Alex's Last Night

Alex made it home safely today and we are so thankful for that. His last night here he asked to go to Hana No Mai which is a restaurant where they have many side dishes to choose from. We had such a good time and it had been awhile since we had been there but everything seemed to taste better than it ever had.

 Yakitori of course.

Fried breaded tofu. 

 Squid...yum!

 Some fried squid which was just as yum!

 Corn butter. The best.

Mama's boy with his mama!

Mama's boy!

   It was so great to have Alex here for a week.  We really enjoyed his stay, as we did Rachel's in June.  He has grown up but stays as 'our son'.  The years in your early adulthood really are important to finding yourself in the world and making sense of it all.
   Even though I left home at a young age of 14 and he at 18 years old...you have to figure it out for yourself.  God willing and hopefully through guidance from us and his sister :), Alex will have a wonderful future.  He is already who we wanted him to become and more...

The King!!!!

Meat!

That's the only thing that comes to mind when you talk about the King. We have been going to this place for over 6 years and there is nothing like grilled meat. It's only 1 hour and 20 minutes but one can consume a lot of meat in that time. But it's not only meat. They have other things on the menu but we tend to stick to the meat. Oh...I forgot to mention. It is all you can eat in the time limit. We also get the all you can drink and there is a picture menu on a tablet screen that you order from so ordering is super easy. When the kids come home for a visit, it is the one place that we always have to go to.

 Special King meat.

You need rice with all of that meat. 

 The best buttered corn ever!

 Thinly sliced tongue.

 He's loving it!

Mother and Son bonding time. We went and bought him underwear after this.

Poor Spider

This afternoon I came across something that I had never seen before. When I was checking on the laundry (hanging outside of course) I saw something very unusual. There was a spider making a web on Alex's jeans. I tried to brush it off but it was still hanging by a thread and floating. It kept crawling up and attached to the jeans again for a moment. It finally floated away and landed on the barbecue. Unfortunately, the barbecue is black and had been sitting in the sun so you can imagine how hot it must have been. Poor spider, as soon it touched the barbecue, it shriveled up and died. I felt bad because I was trying to set it free.

Tattoo Night!

Who doesn't love a good tattoo? Alex got his third one tonight and it took about an hour. Who would have thought we would have a tattoo artist (seriously, an artist) here in Numazu. Alex is really pleased with how it came out.

The original.

 The final product wrapped around Alex's arm.

The artist on the tatami mat creating his artwork!

Sushi Night!

One of the things Alex wanted to eat once he got here was sushi. We are lucky because in Numazu, we have a sushi delivery place. The salmon sushi is one of our favorites.

Momma and Boy watching the sunset.

Sushi delivery!!!!

Moon viewing and Beer drinking with our boy

   We went out for Italian food and then on to our favorite craft beer place here in Numazu.  Now that Alex is 21, he can legally drink beer with us :)  It is also moon viewing night in Japan with a nearly full moon.
   Showed Alex his IB Visual Arts Process notebooks he had to keep in High School and he was even impressed at how hard he had to work.  We think he has really developed into an artist!