Archive for the 'blog' Category

It might be muggy and swelteringly hot but i do like summer. Not only do i get a nice, long holiday but it’s also a great time for enjoying the outdoors with the boys, both big (mates) and small (Reni & Syd), and with my girl (Jodi) too.

Summer is a good time for surfing here in Tokushima. The water’s warm and the waves are at their best. This year there was quite a lot of rain during the tsuyu rainy season. As a result a lot of sand has been washed out at the river mouths, creating ideal conditions for surfing, as my mates Chris, Mitch, Dan and I discovered on the weekend. (Photos courtesy of our intrepid photographer, Jodi.)

Although it’s very hot, summer is a good time to play outside with Reni & Syd, particularly if there is water nearby. The ‘Moon Viewing Park’ at Tsukimi-ga-Oka is an ideal place, as the park is situated right on the beach. It’s not even necessary to venture to the sand to get wet since there are a couple of wading pools in the park. There is also plenty of room to run about and kick or throw a ball as well as a well-equipped playground that includes some challenging rope bridges and tunnels.

Reni and i just had a long weekend; Monday was a holiday to make up for the school sports festival which was held on the Saturday before last (on June 5th).

It was a very warm summer’s day for the the festival. Some might say it was too hot, but really for this time of year it was quite ideal. (June is rainy season so to get fine weather was quite lucky.) Usually the festival is held in autumn at the start of October. The festival was moved forward this year because the school buildings are going to be reinforced (to protect against earthquakes) over summer and it may not be possible to use the ground.

Although Reni is in 1st grade, this was his second year to participate in the festival, having done so last year when he was in kindergarten. This year he participated in 3 events; a dance, a running race and a ball-shooting game (tama-ire). He did really well in them all, concentrating hard and particpating enthusiastically.

Yoko’s parents came all the way from Kyoto (about a 3-hour drive) to watch the festival. Unfortunately Syd had a fever, so they ended up minding him for most of the morning and missed seeing Reni compete. Eventually they made it in time for lunch with Reni and also Yoko and I. They brought a delicious lunch with them which (with the exception of Syd who had little or no appetite) we all thoroughly enjoyed.

During the Golden Week break Jodi and I went camping with Reni and Syd. We were a bit nervous about it as it was our first time to take the boys away with us. We needn’t have worried; we had a great time together.

Our trip started at the golden arch. Reni and Syd are quite big fans of McDonalds – not only for the food but for the promotion toys that come with the kids’ ‘happy sets’. Jodes is also quite a fan of Maccas, so who was i to deny them?

The boys were stoked with their ‘i-dog’ toys that they got with their lunch. After they’d played for a while in the playground attached to the store, we headed off down the coast to Hiwasa (now known as Minami).

We arrived at a beach just past the town in the mid-afternoon and set up camp. Once we’d managed to erect the tent we headed off in the car again for a hot spring bath. The normally quiet hotel i had planned for us to bathe at was very crowded however so we gave up and went sightseeing instead.

Our initial plan for the evening was to have dinner then make a campfire and toast marshmallows. Dinner was delayed slightly however after Syd put his shoes and jacket down on the beach and we had to search in the dark for them. After eventually retrieving them we enjoyed spaghetti for dinner.

It was quite late by the time we finished dinner. Reni and Syd were tired and went to bed without mentioning the campfire and marshmallows. They soon fell asleep.

Jodi and i set about trying to light a fire but there was a slight problem – we had nothing to light it with. We had intended to light some paper using the camp stove but the flint wouldn’t spark to ignite the gas. The other people camping on the beach were not around to borrow a lighter from so we gave up and retired early too.

The next day I woke early hoping to view the sunrise. The steep rocky headland on the right side of the beach offered a good view. It was quite a challenging climb to get up there. It amazed me to think that fishermen had been climbing up and down here during the night. There were places where one mistep could have been disastrous.

The boys and Jodi woke up early too. There were a lot of plastic bottles on the beach. Since i had a spare garbage bag with me, i decided to pick some up. Reni kindly assisted me with the beach-clean.

After breakfast we packed up camp. Although it was only mid-morning, it was already getting quite hot. With the exertion of carrying the tent, bedding and belongings back up to the car i was sweating considerably. I decided to take a brief dip in the sea. The water was so cold though i barely lasted a minute.

We headed south down the coast along the ‘Skyline’ road, enjoying the spectacular scenery along the way. At the town of Mugi we stopped to check out the ‘Mollusc’ aquarium. Although the display was only small, we all enjoyed checking out the various marine creatures. From the aquarium we went down to the beach for a stroll. We were surprised to see a red tide washing the shore. Apparently the tide is an algal bloom which is particularly harmful to molluscs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide).

After our beach excursion we drove from the port into the centre of the town to get some lunch. Following a hearty feed of noodle and rice dishes we set off on the long drive (2 hours or so) home. Exhausted from their exertion, the boys dozed contentedly in the back while Jodi and i listened to music and chatted, bringing to an end a successful adventure.

Last Saturday, April 3rd, was Syd’s 3rd birthday.

To celebrate we went out to a family restaurant, Tomato and Onion. The boys received a small toy with their meals and the waitress took a photo and gave it to us to mark the occasion.

Following dinner we gave Syd his presents (better late than never) and sang Happy Birthday to him. It took Syd some time to blow out the 3 candles on his cake but eventually he did it. Once he had i popped a cracker. He didn’t like the loud bang it made though so i refrained from popping the remaining two.

As usual the cake was decorated with a train from the Thomas the Tank Engine series. This time it was train number 3, Henry. The creamy sponge cake topped with fruit was extremely tasty.

I’ve only got two layers on today and no long johns. Hurrah! At last spring is here it would seem.

Winter here tends to be a bit of a struggle for me. It’s too cold to play outside with Reni & Syd, it’s too cold to go surfing (and there are no waves) and quite frankly, my body does not like the cold!

Nonetheless there are positive aspects about winter besides curling up in bed with the heating on full. Like snow. No matter how many times i see the white stuff, i still think it’s beautiful. And playing in it is fun too, especially on a snowboard.

Being from Canada, Jodi is well-accustomed to snow. She loves it and is a keen skier. Her father, Terry is too and her brother, Mike is an expert snow-boarder and works at a ski-field.

Last month while Jodi was posted in Shiga prefecture near some small ski slopes we took the opportunity to frolic in the snow. The weather was picture-perfect. From the top of the slope there were extensive views of Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa. And with the sun out but being still morning the snow was soft but not yet slushy. Jodes and i had a blast, boarding and skiing all the slopes the entire morning.