Welcome Spring!

In Japan, there's no better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by enjoying Ohanami, which is Cherry Blossom-viewing. It is also known as Sakura Festival season, a tradition in Japan since the ancient times. The beautiful Sakura is the nation's flower. There are many parks in Tokyo that offer fabulous views of Sakura blooming throughout. People view Ohanami in many different places besides parks including cemeteries.

Strolling through our neighborhood one morning in early March, before Jidoukan, I caught my first glimpse of cherry blossoms beginning to bloom. By the way, these trees do not yield any fruit, though I have actually tasted a wonderful pastry dessert with actual Sakura flower added into the recipe.

I enjoyed learning a lot about the traditions of Ohanami, from my Japanese friends. For instance, it is common for someone to be sent to a park early in the morning to stake out a spot under a tree and wait for friends and family to arrive at a later time. Popular sites can get very crowded especially during the weekends. Usually, the parties, which consist of eating, singing, dancing, chatting and more eating, can last till the late hours of the evening. I really admire the Japanese' sense of pride and excitement they have for Ohanami.

Last year, Rodney arrived in Japan early April and was fortunate to experience the Ohanami season at the very crowded Ueno Park. There he witnessed exciting presentations of group dances. Markus and I missed out on the festivitie since we arrived mid-April and all the trees had already shedded it's blooms.

These two photos above are from Ohanami festivities in Ueno Park, last year.

Ichi-san with his cute 1 year-old daughter, Aozora

Last Saturday, we were invited to attend a backyard BBQ at Ichi-san's home (Rodney's co-worker). They have a lovely home in Saitama Prefecture which has a backyard view of cherry blossom trees lined up along a beautifully landscaped water trough. There was of course delicious Japanese cuisine and drinks to enjoy.

The next day, we had a picnic with the Wakayama family at Wako Jurim Koen. One of my favourite aspects of Tokyo is the abundance of parks, both big and small. Wako Jurim Koen is a large park adorned with several different types of cherry blossom trees. There were many people having picnics and enjoying the warm and sunny spring day. Markus had hours of fun with Naoki and Junki climbing trees and running around playing soccer. He just loves to follow the two boys around.

When the wind blows, the delicate petals of the cherry blossoms create an effect much like fluffy white snowflakes falling to the ground. It's a very pretty and peaceful site.

Welcome Spring!

Tanoshikatta! (We enjoyed!)

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Jidoukan's Latest and Greatest

Last Friday marked the completion of Markus' "Usagi Kurasu" (Rabbit Class) year at Jidokan. The next level classes, which is "Kuma Kurasu" (Bear Class), resumes on April 11.

The characters in the backdrop read "Omedetou", which means "Congratulations".

Wakagi Jidoukan held a year-end event celebration during the last class prior to spring break. Markus received his certificate of completion and souvenir badge.

Markus' Usagi Kurasu wore Anpanman hats (as shown) for their portion of the presentation. Anpanman is a popular cartoon character in Japan, idoled by many young toddlers.


Overall, Jidoukan has been a wonderful learning experience for both Markus and I. It gives us the opportunity to interact with many other neighboring Japanese families who have become good friends. It amazes me how much of the Japanese language and culture Markus has attained through his interactions with others.

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This is one of the favourite activities the children (and moms) love to play. I call it the "newspaper mess game". Sensei (teacher), gives all the children pieces of newspaper to rip up into tiny pieces, after which we pile it up into a big heap and then throw the paper into the air like confetti. The kids love to jump into the huge piles and burrow their way around. It's loads of energetic fun! Than of course all the children help clean up all the pieces of newspaper into the bags. We usually find bits of pieces of newspaper tucked in our clothes and hair when we get home.

Here, Chihiro and Kotaro enjoying every minute of the game

"Yay, I'm on vacation!"

Winter fun continues!

Skiing and snowboarding are very popular among the Japanese. There are an astonishing amount of ski resorts in Japan, most of which are located about a two-to-three hour drive from Tokyo. Being a Canadian native, most of my Japanese friends assume that I'm an avid skier...definitely not the case!

Last Saturday, March 10, we went on a ski trip to Sugadaira in Nagano Prefecture. Nagano was the host city for the 1998 Winter Olympics. Along with other Honda members and their families, we drove nearly 3 hours northwest to our destination. Since this winter in Japan has been unusually mild, there was unfortunately not as much snow as we anticipated, but we still had great fun. One of the winding runs seemed really narrow to me, but it I guess it forces you to practice ski technique.

Markus was in great spirits all day long. He kept busy collecting snow balls, piling them up on the sled, tossing them off the sled, then doing it all over again. He enjoyed watching the skiers and snowboarders whiz by down the mountain. Sugadaira is made up of many ski parks and fortunately the one we were at was not so busy. There was very little wait for the skilifts and Markus had plenty of room to roam around and exert his energy without interfering in anyone's way. Rodney and I took turns on the slopes while the other stayed back with Markus. Our good friends, the Wakayama family also went on the ski trip with us. Markus enjoys the company of the two boys, Naoki and Junki. It was the first time for Naoki and Junki to ever go skiing and boy did they ever learn fast. Their mom and dad are very good skiers and instructors! By the end of the day the two boys were skiing like young pros.

Rodney has taken a real liking to snowboarding since he's learned how to do it well. He has also taken a couple of separate snowboarding trips with his co-workers and friends. Of the places he's been to, Malnuma was his favourite. The view was great and there was a whole lot of real snow.

Hopefully we'll get to one last time before the season ends. Here's a collaboration of our trips...enjoy!