Out with Friends - Playing

After our lunch at the Big House we headed off to find more cherry blossoms (sakura in Japanese) and a cool park I had read about.  The cherry blossoms, we found, were for the most part not quite ready to bloom which did not surprise me since it's been so cold here.  We did, however, find a beautiful spot to come back to in a couple of weeks when the blooms are out. 

Following the signs for some castle ruins, we ascended a steep set of stairs lined with old stone Japanese lanterns and (mostly non-blooming) cherry trees.  At the top of the stairs was a small temple set into the woods and surrounded by more stone lanterns.  The temple had a beautiful view of the city of Nago, the Motobu peninsula and the sea.

I love this picture!  It was not posed, that's just how they were sitting!

The bell you ring to summon the gods at the temple.

After descending the stairs, we found a map of the park and drove to a really cool playground.  Unfortunately, the coolest attraction in this park - a loop-d-loop made of rope and metal bars - was closed off.  I'm really not surprised since it looked extremely dangerous for an adult to attempt never mind a child; but I still wanted to try it!  Still, the kids and adults all had fun on the roller slide, zip line and other stuff.

Stevie's first time down a roller slide.

Tarzan Cannon

Mister Don and London racing

Stevie hanging on for dear life!

Stevie and Don racing.

Me and Emmy racing.

Going down the roller slide.

Can you tell he's having fun?

The beautiful view.

I loved this funky tree.

Playing "Wipeout" on the play equipment.

Had to show you the sign.  Apparently it's ok to cry, but not to wear cleats or high heels.  Cannon thinks it means only one-legged people can go, not two-legged people!

The infamous loop-d-loop that I wanted to try!  Only in Japan would this have been built on a children's playground!

Day Out with Friends - Lunch

The kids were off school, the men were off school, so we teamed up with our neighbors - Liz, Don and Lydia - and headed up island for a day of fun.  Liz and Don had been wanting to try this restaurant called the British Wine and Tea Shop, but the last time they tried it was closed.  So today we headed up the island, through the city of Nago and out into the hills to find the place again.  The path to find this anomoly in Japan is in the wild woolies, down tiny, twisty roads, ending at a log cabin similar to one you'd find outside of Gatlinburg but proudly displaying the Union Jack. 

Liz, Don and Stevie stay with the Blue Beater as the kids and I check out the (closed) restaurant.

Alas, we ran into the same fate as Liz and Don did last time and the place was closed, but we'll definitely have to try again!

As a back up plan, we back-tracked to the restaurant called the "Big House".  Who knows what it's real name is, that's what the Americans call it.  We've been here once before and it is a really cool setting found down another twisty road, past tombs and fields of pineapples, ending at a sprawling restaurant set on the side of a steep hill with beautiful gardens and waterfalls running past the dining rooms. 

Beautiful garden just outside the dining room.

We all enjoyed a lunch of soba noodles (except Don who somehow order the set with pigs feet!) and then went for a walk up the paths and around the waterfalls and flowers. 

Emmy and her friend Lydia

Liz examining one of Don's pig's feet!

One of the reasons we headed up north was to see if the sakura (cherry blossoms) were blooming yet. Liz and I managed to find a tree with one lonely bloom! Later, we did find others, but this one tree was what we consider to be the first of the season.



A typical Okinawan roof.



Naminoue

As I've said, in Japan one of the biggest holidays is New Years and typically on New Years Day - or shortly after - families will visit a shrine or temple to make their wishes for a happy and healthy new year.  Last year we went to a very popular shrine on New Year's Day and the lines of people were incredible, as was the festivities that went on around the temple.

This year we didn't go to a shrine of New Year's Day but waited a week to let the crowds die down a bit.  But today I dragged the family out to a shrine that we hadn't been to before down near the center of Naha - Naminoue.  Unfortunately, right as we pulled up the street that led to the shrine rain started pouring down, so our visit was a bit abbreviated and the wonderful photos I had hoped for were not to be.

Still, this one might be worth going back to as it was an interesting setting on a bluff that appeared out of the busy city streets of Naha.  The name naminoue translates as "above the waves shrine" and it is a beautiful setting overlooking a beach and the ocean.  The original shrine was comletely destroyed apart from a large torii gate during the Battle of Okinawa but has since been restored.  I found this interesting youtube video if you wanted to see how it looked in 1945...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdnPKgfE6bA

This is how it looks today...

These are wooden boards on which you write your wish for the new year.  Notice the rabbit for the year of the rabbit.

People buy all kinds of good luck charms and amulets each year.  You're supposed to bring last year's charms back to the shrine at new years and throw them in this building.  The monks then burn them.

You can buy (for 100 Yen) your fortune for the coming year.  This year only the kids got one.  London's was "excellent", Cannon's was "very good" and Emmy's was "pretty good".  I was very glad London got an excellent because, by default, that should make my fortune this year excellent also!

Reading their fortunes.

London really seems to be studying his!

If you get a not-so-good fortune, then you tie it to the tree or some place around the shrine and that's supposed to release the bad luck.  I guess this guy didn't like his fortune!

A Day at the Park

I know, I know, I'm getting into repeat territory now as I post something that I've already written about, but after a year and a half of non-stop running around this island, we are beginning to repeat some activities.  Especially the parks.  And especially on a beautiful Saturday when Stevie's on call and I have to pass the day away.  So today we visited one of the coolest parks, affectionately known as the "drop slide" park, to blow off some energy and have some fun.  There's nothing like a good run down a huge rolling slide to make you feel like a kid!

THE rollerslide - it's awesome!

Cannon gets going so fast he catches up with Emmy by the end.



Poor Emmy, getting chased down by her brothers!



As soon as they got to the bottom, they were off again!

Sibling pileup.

The infamous "drop slide".  Don't you wish you could slide with your knees bent like that?

Emmy was happier on the bottom half only of the drop slide.

Otoshidama

I was recently reading an article about some of the traditions and such around Japanese New Year - it is one of their biggest holidays - and I thought this was interesting.  Otoshidama is a custom in Japan whereby the children receive gifts of money in small envelopes on New Year's Day.

It originally was a Shinto right that developed from the kagamimochi that were offered to the gods at this time of year.  Kagamimochi are two round rice cakes on top of each other with a tangerine on top.  As well as at the shrines, people put these in their homes at their front entrances to welcome in good luck (you take them down after 10 days).  When the respective time had ended, the rice cakes were then given to people worshipping at the shrine.  They were believed to have "holy energy" when eaten, but eventually the "energy" was transferred into "monetary energy" and given as cash in an envelope!

My little display that Kelly bought me.  It's the Year of the Rabbit.

The kagamimochi.

I've seen displays of these envelopes in the stores - the designs range anywhere from little flowers to Pokemon to Hello Kitty (of course!)  The relatives of a child buy some of these envelopes and puts cold hard cash in them to give to the kids.  They say that the amount ranges from 500 Yen (about $5) to 10,000 Yen or more (about $120).  I guess this is an easier way of doing your gift shopping!  The average elementary school student gets between $10 - $30 per relative and the older kids get between $50 - $100 - that means some of them are hauling in about $1,000 or more! 

When I told Cannon about this he said, and I quote, "I want to be a Japanese kid!"

New Year's Day

We spent a lovely slow day at home before heading out for an adventure in the afternoon.  With all the wind we've had lately, the waves in the East China Sea have been amazing.  We can see that they're crashing from our view on the hill, but we thought that a trip to the lighthouse and Zampa point would show an awesome display.  And it delivered!

This is a view from the top of the light house.

Like a scene out of War of the Worlds.



The waves were incredible.



We are standing on top of some really tall cliffs and that's a wave spraying up behind us!

The size of the cliffs is distorted here - they are big!

The water was like an ice blue color when the waves crested.

Happy New Years

Happy New Year!  Or as they say here, "ake-mashite-omedetou-goziamasu"!  New year, or shogatsu, is one of the most important holidays for the Japanese adn we celebrated it right last night!  Last year, we had one of our first neighborhood parties by making a fire pit in a metal garbage can.  This year we amped it up!  By "recycling" old wood pallets and dried out Christmas trees, we were able to make quite a nice stack of firewood.  (Thanks to Stevie, Don and Cannon who cut it all up!)

Cannon cutting the branches off with his pocket knife!

The pile of wood at the beginning of the night.

Of course, we needed entertainment and so the guys devised a way to project Wii onto the side of the building.  It was awesome - nothing like warming up to a few rounds on Just Dance or jamming to the Beatles Rock Band while outside in 40 degree weather with a 20 mile an hour wind!  It was a really fun time.

Crazy fire!

Don and Steve

The kids dancing to Just Dance.

The ladies of the Hill dancing to Just Dance.

The Wii and the fire.

What happens when you add a Christmas tree to a fire pit!