Happy Halloween!

Ok, so I know I'm a little behind, but things just get crazy around here starting in October!  That means Blog Neglect!  And since it doesn't really slow down again until the first or second week into January, that means a lot of missed updates!  So I am trying to keep you somewhat current on our happenings here in Japan, but that also means you might have to hear about things a little late!  But I am determined to get them on here, so here we go!

Halloween isn't celebrated here among the general public and even Halloween decor is hard to come by.  But we really enjoy Halloween and we have tried to help bring some of the SPOOKY SPIRIT to Japan and enjoy it with our students.  This year we were fortunate enough to find 2 American Pumpkins for sale under $30 each!  The first year we were here we couldn't find any at all!  Last year you had to take out a loan to afford one and that was also after our failed attempts at trying to grow one!  This year we had our friends help us get our plant going, but then we had so much rain that it had mold problems, along with many other farmers crops.  So we had pretty much decided we would have to do without pumpkins during our japan stay, I just can't bring myself to pay $30 for a small pumpkin that molds in less than a week.

The Monday before Halloween I was picking up some fruits and veggies and what beautiful orange colored object catches my eye, but an american pumpkin!  It was stacked with the other dark green japanese pumpkins and I was so surprised I thought it was a mistake.  Zack and I walked over to see how much this little jem was and then we saw it, a second orange american pumpkin!  Now I was scanning the rest of the pumpkins and adjacent bins to find the source of these beauties and they were the only ones around.  I decided they had to be too expensive to buy and made Zack look at the price!  One look at his face and I wanted to know what outrageous number was on the tag, usually you can't pick up a small one for less than $3o and these weren't so small.  But then Zack grabbed both and brought them towards me!  300 YEN!  What?!  No, it must be missing a 0!  Really?  300 YEN each, which makes them around $ 3.60 each, Yipee, we get pumpkins!

Fortunately, there were two pumpkins, so we didn't have to fight over who got to choose what to carve!  This was also Holden's first time ever carving a pumpkin and Hos' first time in 3 years, so it was pretty much a new thing to both of them.

 

They both wanted to clean out the seeds from inside, but once they got their hands in there they weren't too sure they wanted to keep going!  Holden was happy to grab the seeds, then he said "EEWWWW!" as he strung them across the table trying to get them off of his hands.

With the lack of Halloween supplies, we had only a dull knife to make our jack-o-lanterns.  So the boys drew the faces with marker first, then Zack carved them while they got in the tub and got ready for bed.

Holden was stoked to have a lid that he could put on and off by himself!  He decided since he was going to be a Vampire for Halloween, his jack-o-lantern needed to be one too!

Spencer of course, opted for a dog!  And he and his dad were creative enough to even come up with a way to make ears, similar to his favorite SCOOBY-DOO!

Here they are with the finished products!  We were pretty happy with the results!  (Yes, that is a dog on Zack's lap, and normally it is a friendly dog, but this photo makes it look like an evil halloween dog)

Since we are talking about Halloween I thought I would throw in the two Halloween photos I got of us in our costumes, despite the 3 or 4 times we actually got to dress up and put them to use! 

So Holden pretty much took control this year and said that He wanted to be a Vampire, Mom gets to be the Witch, Dad gets to be the Big Green Monster (from a Halloween song we teach our students) Hos gets to be the Wizard and Auntie gets to be the Pumpkin.  Auntie took some freedom in the interpretation of Pumpkin and she was Super Pumpkin the Super Hero!  And the Pirate is our wonderful secretary/japanese mom Yasuko!  

Here's a little closer shot of Holden the Vampire and Hos the Wizard!  Happy Halloween!

Marugame Castle with Grandpa

 The last day the Chief was here we decided to take a break from packing and see the Marugame Castle.  So, after Hos got home from school we loaded up on the bikes.

 It is a bit more than a walk up to the castle, but Armani helped drag the feeble up the hill.

 Unfortunately, we missed getting inside by 10 minutes! I guess we were slower than I thought, even with Armani's help.  But we still enjoyed the view!

 And the rock walls are amazing.  The Chief is not a short man, neither is Spencer Hos, but these walls really dwarf a person!

Holden decided the puddles were much more interesting than any rock wall, at least until you fall in a BIG one!  Good thing we live only a short bike ride away!

Last stop: Kyoto's Zen Temples, Kinkakuji, and Gion

 We started off our second day at the Zen temple complex of Daitokuji.  There are 24 sub temples in this complex, with only a few open to the public.  Our favorite zen temple is in Daisenin.  But they don't allow photos to be taken inside so you only get the view at the entrance. 

Even within the walls of the complex you can get a sense of peace.  The gardens around the sub temples are beautiful. 
 

 After the quiet zen temples, we headed over to the much more crowded Golden Pavilion, Kinkakuji. 

Spencer and Holden were happy travelers and even smiled at the same time! 

 The temple was originally a vacation home prior to becoming a temple.  It is covered in Gold Leaf and surrounded by water.  ( I couldn't get the panoramic photo to load, sorry :( )

 We then headed for the popular Gion Area to stroll around and take in the Japan that everyone imagines.

 Then for the popular and narrow "Pontocho" a street lined with restaurants, bars, and clubs and used to be tied to the Geisha scene. 

The back of Pontocho faces the river and has beautiful views, even from the outside! 

2nd Stop: Kyoto's Sanjusangendo, Kiyomizudera & Yasaka Shrine

 For those who have been reading our blog for a while, you know that we LOVE Kyoto!  So we had to give my dad a glimpse of our favorites!  We started with Sanjusangendo.  It is the longest wooden structure in Japan at 120 m (394 feet) and dates back to 1266.  It houses the a collection of 1001 life-size statues of the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon.  There is one central Kannon which is even larger.  They also hold a famous 24 hr. archery competition where the archers shoot from one end of the building to the target at the other end.   Yes, all 120 m to the target.  The record is held by a 16 yr old boy who in 1688 hit the target 8,132 times!

Here is Auntie trying to keep Holden occupied while Grandpa is checking out the marks from the samurai's arrows that missed the target!

 You can never run a 2 year old too much!  From one end of the complex to the other, Auntie and Holden ran around all the pillars and through every inch of the garden!

Now on to Kiyomizudera.  First you have to climb up to the temple and with grandpa's ankle we decided to take a snack break before we hit the Shrine.

Shave Ice and sweet beans always hit the spot!  Even the Chief was impressed!  Then on to the entrance to the shrine.

 

 Julie, Holden and I with stroller in tote!  I couldn't convince him he could walk, and after the climb up I guess I don't really blame him!

Apparently water from the mouth of a dragon is cleansing- I say let's just call it what it is DROOL!

This is one of the views that brings enlightenment!  This is my kind of treehouse.  The main shrine is the building across the way.  Both of these buildings are held up on HUGE TALL STILTS!  The architecture is amazing, so are the views of KYOTO!

Now the hike up to the shrine is pretty taxing, which makes one hope for an easier route down, and here it is.  One of my favorite streets to stroll, ok actually two streets Ninen-zaka and Sanen-zaka, which mean 20 years street or 30 years street and stand for the time you are cursed with bad luck if you happen to take a tumble.  But the old streets and shops are worth the risk!

To perfectly end our day in Kyoto we entered Yasaka Shrine at dusk and got to see all the lanterns lit up!  Julie & the Chief posed for one last shot (Holden had passed out in his stroller).

Road Trip: 1st stop Himeji Castle

People say if you only see one castle in Japan, make it Himeji Castle!  Said to be the most magnificent of the original surviving castles, with the current structure dating from 1588.  There have been fortifications made since 1333, and currently they are doing major fortifications to the structure to help it withstand just about anything nature throws at it.  They started in April of this year and it is said to last until 2015.  Despite all the scaffolding, it still makes the top of our "Japan Road Trip Favorites" so we had to take the Chief.  Yes we also took my mom when she came out in July and Zack & I took the boys before all the construction started in April so we could really compare the finished product.  So I will throw in some of those photos too so you can see it sans scaffolding : )

This is from April, as you can see from our clothes it's a little colder, right at the construction was starting.  As you can see, it's a very large castle, sometimes referred to as Shirasagi, or the White Heron.

This is the Chief, me, and Holden on the bridge and you can see the main gate to the right.  The scaffolding now covers the outside of the castle, so we waited until we got closer before we tried to get any photos of the castle.

Here, the Chief, Holden and I are standing outside one of the inner walls.  Now you know why they refer to it is as the "white" heron!

This is a photo of one of the gates through an inner wall.  People tell us Holden is tall for a 2 year old, but this gate was definitely made for shorter people!  The white sign in the middle of the door way was to help those over 2 years old pass through concussion-free.  Although the doorway was short, notice how large the stones are for the wall (initially, I wanted Holden to stand by the stones to see how big they were, then I noticed just how short the gate really was).

The inner walls are all dotted with triangular, square, and round little windows for firing guns & shooting arrows.  Holden, Hos, and I tried to stick our heads out, but it was tricky to get very far, even Holden's shoulders got in the way!

The walls on the inside of the main castle are covered with places to put weapons.  Hooks were placed high on the walls to allow for weapons to be kept out of the way, yet still accessible.  And some walls were just lined with from top to bottom with weapons.

This is a photo from the main tower looking out towards the west bailey, which is where the princess and her entourage lived.  Did I mention this castle is HUGE!  So, although we didn't get to explore it as fully as the Chief wanted, there was still plenty to enjoy!  Perhaps he'll come back in 2015 so he can see the full castle!

The Temple of 1000 Steps

Last week I promised you Kyoto & Nara, but I don't want to leave out the fun places we've discovered here on our little island of Shikoku!  So let's start with one of our favorite shrines, KONPIRASAN in Kotohira.  It's about 20 min. by car from our house and is a bit of a climb to reach.  Ok, 700+ stairs to the main shrine and 1368 to the very top!

Zack, Andrea & Spencer starting our climb

It's not just a straight staircase, the path is lined with shops and it flattens out for a few steps before you reach the next flight.  It is a bit much for little kids, and Holden somehow talked his auntie into lugging him up on her back.  Weighing in at over 30 lbs., he is not a "little 2 1/2 yr. old".  But he does seem to have his auntie wrapped around his finger!

This is the first shrine you come to, but it's still a good 100+ more steps to the main shrine.  Perhaps they meant this as an encouragement to keep you going, but I think it's a little mean.  You think your there and then....

Grandpa & Hos

you walk around the corner see this!  Yep, keep going!  (Zack and Julie decided to split the load at the end, you can see them at the top of the staircase carrying Holden.  He lifted his legs, but he thought it was the best game ever!)

Grandpa almost to the top!

But once you reach the top, your greeted with these views!

Keepin' out the evil with a mouth of sharp teeth!

Yes, that is Gold on the doors!

 This is the main shrine and most people stop here.  Zack had a class to teach, so Julie & tired Holden (though I'm not sure why HE was so tired, he was carried!) left with Zack to get him back in time.  Grandpa, Hos, and I headed for the other 600+ stairs to get to the TOP!

Grandpa & Hos at the top shrine

 1368 stairs in total, we reached this small shrine.  Perhaps the reason most people stop at the lower shrine is because this one can't really compare.  But the climb is beautiful and we all voted it was worth it!

 Now to go back down all 1368 stairs!  This last photo was taken near the bottom.  Still going, we made it all the way back to the car and back home.  But Hos and Grandpa both refused to go upstairs once we got home until after they ate dinner! 

Hos & Grandpa