Mr Donut

Just a normal day here in Japan the 3 of us went to SATY for a bite to eat at MR DONUT (its our favourite) and while K did abit of shopping and "stuff" Mana and I went up to the top floor to the game centre for a bit of stress relief.

Me shooting and Mana "bashing" small creatures on the head....Id say it was pretty much perfect.

Camping 2

I woke at 0700 this morning to a crisp and decided to take advantage of the still morning light and go for abit of a Tiki tour.
The local wildlife was about (apparently they were there all the time we just were not looking) with signs of deer and wild pigs all around the camping area.
Most of the others were still in that morning slumber when I got back to the cabin but Mana was up and about so as not to disturb the rest we went out for another walk.
It was really nice to explore around with Mana chan and I had on of those "realisation moments" so I asked her when she gets older will she still hang out with Daddy? She said "Yes" :)

After breakfast we all sorta did our own things and while we were walking down the hill to the main camp site.

I froze......Oi,shhhh there is something in the trees.

It was Keiko's first time to see wild monkeys and we all sat memorized just watching them go about there business......or were they watching us?

We hung out for the rest of the morning just "hangin out" taking it all in and after lunch we headed back home.

But before we got home we called in to our friends Ohaka.

Katsu passed away suddenly after a very short and brutal illness in 2004 and was always a "starter" for the "Legendary Camping trip" he is greatly missed by all.

So we stopped in to say "HI" and include him in our camping trips adventures.

Camping in Nagano

The Miyatachi family picked us up and we drove towards Nagano stopping off at the Apita (the local shopping centre for a bite to eat and to stock up on the essentials items ie Beer and meat.

Then drove for another 30 minutes winding our way thru and up higher past rice fields (and the scary head) and apple orchards to a place called Inadani to reach our destination in the mountains To get to INADANI CAMPING GROUND. (www.odp.jp)

First thing I did when I got out was breath in the fresh clean mountain air......Ahhhhhh!!

First thing everyone else did was breath in the fresh....."Samui desho!"

That night and following morning I was constantly being asked (as they hugged themselves) "Aren't you cold??"

For me yes it was abit on the cool-ish side but the fresh cool mountain air and wide open space was just soooo good.

While the kids climbed up the hill and played in the tree house we chatted with the owner and sorted out keys and stuff for our LOG CABIN.

We unloaded the van and turned our attention to more pressing things and set about getting some fire on and (more importantly some beers because you cant have fire without a beer can you?)

Our initial plan was a solid one until we discovered a beach ball sized wasp nest across the road in the trees and squadron's of the buggers kept coming over to check us out (I discovered later it was the beer they were attracted to) so we all took refuge inside.

They may be big and menacing but there size is there undoing....just means a bigger and easier target when I start swinging.
Size has its advantage but if you piss a Maori off enough "its gonna end up in tears" for one of you (this is I think number 3 who paid ultimate price for getting in between a Maori and his food.....or beer)
I did a Wikipedia search when I got home and I must say "NOW I'M SCARED"
In Japan they are called 雀蜂 or 胡蜂, oo-suzumebachi meaning "sparrow bee" .
1.Average size 50mm.
2.Stinger 6 bloody millimeters.....Ouch!
3.The venom contains a neurotoxin which can be lethal to people.
4.Between 20-40 people die each year in Japan after being stung.
5.The sting of a Japanese Hornet is extremely painful and potentially fatal, and contains chemical pheromones that attract and encourage other hornets to attack the same victim.
6.Japanese Hornets are attracted to beverages containing alcohol and glucose
7.Top speed 40kph

So to recap......They are big,fast have got a hell of a punch AND when in a fight they will call on there mates to join in to "sink" the boot in while your down.....Nice!!

Anyway dinner came about and it was a real whanau affair good food lots of smiles, chatter and a huge dose of laughter.

Things even got a wee bit silly as the night wore on (must of been the beer the wasps didnt get)and we took turns about doing the traditional camping "Ghost" thing through the window (some were better than others)

With the nights activities over and done we all retired for the night.

Shiki no Mori Park

K and I got home from our night out about 1100 this morning and Mum suggested that we go to Shiki no Mori Park (Four season park)

We stopped off at a little bakery along the way that just oozed oshii-ness (don't know how that's possible but)

OMG......the smell, quality and selection was mind blowing and there were tongs flying and trays being filled left right and centre.

So fuelled up we drove the remaining 20 minutes to the park.

Mana and I donned the "required safety" equipment and proceeded to race each other (including getting told off for using our hand)

The park was great really well thought out in a great setting and most of the staff were volunteer's so they were all local and all had a sense of pride in the park.

Mana made a new friend there and the two of them scurried off with there snacks to eat in one of the little play houses.

Ojiichan commented that it was quiet......"Do you know why?.........Mana is eating......"

A great afternoon out a great idea Mum.

Love hotel 101

Continuing on with our anniversary night and with no intention of going home we hunted out some accommodation for the night (I say hunted out like it was a big deal......it wasn't,we walked out of the izakya and there across the road were 4 hotels lite up in "tacky" neon lights with cool names like "0c" and "The Wave" and "Rivera" these are the famous LOVE HOTELS.

For those of you who don’t know a Love Hotel is a place where you go to have sex and to get away from it all......

Its all automated so there is that "no one knows dangerous liaison" thing going on.

You choose from the selection of photos of the rooms on the wall in the main reception.

All with various options and themes,round beds,big beds plasma TV, spa, Karaoke, flashing lights etc, etc.

Push the button below the room you want and the key drops down and the lifts door behind you opens (still no human contact)

Now if you were to ask your Japanese friends about Love Hotels they will "probably" deny knowing of there existence let alone going to one.

All those pre conceptions you may have about some "seedy" red light dirty place need to be put aside cause the room we picked out was clean,tidy and would rival most 4/5 star hotels. Our room came to the bargin price of about 9000 yen Approx $100 bucks)

Day 4 Don guri park

Mana and I went to the Don Guri park this morning she calls it that because there alot of Don guri (acorns) there and its been her favourite since she was little.

The day was beautiful still hot but a really nice breeze blowing so I just kicked back under a tree while Mana did her "thing".

Mana wanted to take photos with my camera so she ran around taking photos of pretty much everything....even a very scary close up of my head!!!

Initially the park was very peaceful with only 3 other Mums and Dads but that came to a end with the arrival of the local primary school on a field trip.

Like a sea of ants we could see them (and hear them) coming all with there bright yellow hats and "bug catching nets"

A short blast of the Sensais whistle and they all dropped to the ground to await further instruction.

With details of where to go,what not too do another blast of the whistle and 10000 screaming children (well it seemed like that) ran in all directions banging on trees and shaking bushes.

You could almost see the mass exodus of the local population of bugs and creepy critters.

We crossed the stream and found another park and she set about conquering that as well.

Our anniversary in Japan

At first there were a few tears (from Mana) she didn't want us to go but after some serious negation and a lot of deals we were "allowed" to go.

Our first stop was Nagoya central station to a store called Tokyu Hands (kinda like a everything shop) inside the Takashimaya Department store .

By the time we had finished we both had a serious case of the "munchies" along with a healthy "dent" in our holiday funds.

We took the short train ride to Chikusa to a Izakaiya we had both been to before with Keiko's Band friends.

The food was awesome we started off with drinks (of course) a yummy Egg roll with fish row inside next to come out was the Sashimi and tofu followed by some deep fried fish and Karage chicken (again deep fried) and being such a special night Keiko ordered some scallops this was followed up with some Udon and Onegiri (rice balls that are chucked on a hot plate) and finally Keiko told me that when she used to come here her and her friend Katsu kun didn't drink so to make up for it they would order the Creme Burlee. (yummy)

Day 4 Dishes with Obaachan

Dad and thought wed get stuck in and cut/trim the two out of control trees in front of the house before the day got too hot (its been hoovering around the 25-30c)
So while Mum, Keiko and Mana went shopping.
the "MEN" got to work,was expecting it to last abit longer but Dad and I teamed up well and had the job completed in about 2 hour (including the clean up)
So what does one do after some hard work (we can debate the length later) a beer......at 1000am (yeah whatever "Its not what were drinking its HOW were drinking....")
The girls came home and Mana decided to make me lunch a hot dog with cabbage,cheese tomato sauce .
After that she jumped up on the chair and helped out with the dishes (the white stuff on Obaachan's head is foam that Mana decided to flick about)

Day 3

What a cool night for a barbque (Japaneses style) the weather was awesome today after our "work" (Burp!!) this morning.
It shot up to about 30c but there was a real nice breeze blowing and although hot it wasn't the usual "mushiatsui" Nagoya weather that Ive come to expect.

So the whanau decided to have a Barbque (which is a first for me normally everything is inside due to the time of the year I usually visit)
So I was really looking forward to it.

I'm happy to report that there were no "fire" issues and there is no real difference from a "Kiwi" barbque,the women are "slaving" away doing the prep work for the food and the boys are outside talking shit and drinking beer!!!!

Once the girls bring the food out "we" (the men) continue to talk crap saying the fires not big enough and proceed to burn the food! (nar it wasn't that bad but we did have a laugh or two)

After our initial attempts to fire up the charcoal.
We resorted to reading the instruction "printed on the package to discover that we had to separate the coals "before" lighting...!!

Oppps once we did they she was away and it was a huge rush to cook the food(we were getting abit hungry by then)

After I don't know how many beers and at least half a cow we laid back for a yummy refreshing desert Gyunukanten (Keiko's favourite Milk jelly made from seaweed) that mum had made and what better way to finish off than with that time tested and proved game of skill JENGA.

Day 2

Mana and I decided to go for a morning walk as it was such a beautiful morning and we didn't have to go very far to see the sights and sounds of the neighbourhood.

Its a mix of houses,gardens with the odd empty section that is used to grow crops (in this case rice)

Really nice time of the day (and season) its not too hot (despite K's way of thinking)

Mum gave us the car and we shot off to the local to do a bit of buying.

I had already checked out my favourite Yamada Denki and Eiden (both electronic stores that have to be seen to be believed)

Keiko and Mana went to the adjacent Livin to do.........well the girls version of what boys do when shopping.

We met up together and brought some lunch to take home but it wasn't until it came to purchasing some good ole cereal for my breakfast that the "Your not in Kansas anymore Toto"

I couldn't believe the price two items 998 and 498 a total of 1494 yen (that's about 21$NZD @ today's rate
Oh well as they say "When in Rome......"

I wonder what the next few weeks will bring......or how much were going to spend???

Japan Day one

Today was our first day in the Land of the Rising Sun" and Mana got up about 0600 considering she went to sleep/bed at 2300 NZT shes doing pretty well.

The day wasnt the best it was rainning but the temp was sitting at about 25c so we were happy with that.

Of course here grandparents are spoilling her rotten wanting to see what new "Tricks" there grandchild could do and of course they didnt stop talking .

lunchtime rolled around and we decided to go to the local 100 yen sushi train (actually 105 yen)

Which pleased K and I as we were soooooo looking forward to it since even before we arrived (yum fresh sashmi and sushi)

The entire family gave it a VERY healthy NUDGE and Mum was in danger of being hidden behind (one) of the stack of plates.

Back home and Mum gave me a wee job (one of the many I was expecting as the "Son in-law")

She asked if I knew anything about TV's and if I could look at the one in the spare room?...... to which I answered as any Kiwi bloke would "Oh sure, sure whats the problem?" (while all the time hoping like hell someones just forgotten to plug it in)

Apparently during a thunder storm a couple of months ago she just gave up the ghost and has not worked since.

OK so I'm thinking its just a fuse .....so off to the main fuse box hmmmm Nar she all fine here.

Armed with a screwdriver I took the back came off and I was soon peering down the guts of a pre flat screen TV.

I tracked down a blown fuse and replaced it with a "Spring" from a ball point pen.....and away she goes...... gotta get some brownie point for that.

Dinner tonight was at a Unagi place (and despite what Ross off "Friends" think Unagi does not mean being aware of your surroundings....location joke)

It was OUTSTANDING roll on the next few weeks I say.

When Planets align

Te Arai Wednesday 17 September 2008
Light offshore west / southwest winds with a straight east swell of a good 3 to 4 ft with a lully 5 ft solid set thru exposed coasts.

So pumping waves this AM thru all spots with winds shifting west / northwest this arvo.

Stoke Meter 8. / 10

Arrived to see just a handful of brave souls taking on the very SOLID 3ft (with some scary 5ft sets) and to see one of the boys get a cover up (although briefly) only to emerge with his surfboard in 2 pieces and with my hand on my heart (more of in my mouth) I ventured in and proceeded to get bashed,smashed,twisted,dumped and just generally BEATEN the hell up........having said that I had the time of my life.
Made one right hand wave ,dropped down to do a bottom turn and looked right towards the wave only to see a SOLID wall of water......and me
thinks that if I'm 6ft and I'm standing at the bottom of a wave it was indeed over 6 ft!!!

I'm happy to say that I did make it,but I guess you just going to have to believe me.






My photo isn't the greatest but if you look at it you may be mistaken for thinking that's its a empty line up........well it is kinda,except for the guy hiding in the tube (look closely I assure you he is there)

The thing is that although there was a bit of a anti cyclone off the East coast and we were expecting some swell it didn't really look like something to get excited about but it just goes to show you that "Mother Nature" is well and truly in charge.

STOKED!!

Lets put on those thinking caps.

Mana has recently shown a big interest in........well everything.
The whole Olympic thing stared it off with competitors name,country and flag shown before and during events and the other day it was birds and volcanoes.

Today its all about science.
We both shot up to the library to get one of those "Do it at home" type experiment books.

The "Kids" science section was easy to find and well laid out.
We pulled out a few but it was the funny boy at made the cut (who said "you cant judge a book by its cover?"

At home we hunted out the very basic items required,Plastic bottle,Vinegar,Baking soda Tissues and a balloon and then set about putting our evil plan in place.........

It was one of those experiments that you get a result straight away (none of this boring waiting around) so I guess from a kids point of view,it was pretty cool.

The look on her face when the CO2 bubbles formed (apparently there were 328) was cool but nothing as the balloon took on a life of its own and started to inflate......cue lightning strike and a crazed scientist "Its alive.....alive!!!"

We even wrote a report with lots of colours of what happened and why (including a bit about the 328 bubbles) to share at "News Time" at school.