Summertime....

We have enjoyed our first summer in Tokyo, except for the HOTTTT and HUMIDDDD weather.  California has definitely made us weather wimps.

As I was walking home (and sweating) the other day, I started thinking about the word for "humid" in Japanese.  It's mushiatsui (むしあつい).  If you look at the word literally, "mushi" means bug and "atsui" means hot.  So does that mean that humid in Japanese = bug hot?  In my warped and feeble (and no longer able to remember words in English) mind, doesn't buggy also mean balmy?  And if so, this might be the very first element of the Japanese language that actually makes sense to me.  And if not, well, then.... I am trying waaay too hard to make it all make sense.

At the beginning of the summer break (which is only about 3 1/2 weeks along), the kids and I brainstormed about things we each wanted to do with our limited summertime.  And we crossed a lot off the list.  That said, as I look back over the list, I am struck by how "un-Japanese" many of our summer-time adventures were - not all, but many.  Alas....

Drum roll, please....  for stuff we did this summer!

• Earthquake Learning Center

• I scoped this place out first to make sure it wouldn't be too scary for the kids.  I needn't have worried - they loved it and seemed to learn a lot too.
• It has an earthquake simulator, with motion and video of what it's like to experience an earthquake inside a house, on a street, and in an office.
• Also has a "smoke-filled room" that allows you to practice feeling your way along the walls on your hands and knees to find an exit.  It had never occurred to me that fire is actually one of the biggest problems post-earthquake.
• Kids got to practice using a fire extinguisher to put out a small flame (on a video) caused by a curtain falling onto a heater during the shake of the quake.
• Did you know that a standard fire extinguisher lasts only a few seconds?  I had no idea...

• Japanese Summer Festivals - Obon Matsuri
• Obonmatsuri is the Buddhist festival to honor the ancestors (often with visits to the grave and food offerings).
• During Obon, it is believed that the ancestors' spirits return to to visit their relatives.  There are also many lanterns to guide the spirits back to their world.
• During Obon, you are supposed to be very careful not to kill any living thing  as you never know if one of your ancestors might be that living thing.  We made an exception for mosquitoes.
• There's also the Tanabata (Star) Festival, when kids write wishes on slips of colorful paper and tie them to a bamboo tree.  It's supposed to be wishes for peace, love, and harmony, I think.  Ryan wished for a pet fish - which was fine with me, because I had to write it on the slip of paper at school and I actually know how to write "fish" in Japanese, but "peace, love, and harmony" is still beyond my Japanese skill level!  Just doesn't come up in my daily life...
• The legend says that a star-crossed prince and princess angered the king and thus, were only allowed to see each other once per year, on the seventh day of the seventh month (Tanabata literally means night of the seventh).
• It's the time of year with lots of kimonos and yukatas, especially at the festivals.
• Fun Japanese dances that the kids were surprisingly interested in...
• Little carnival games and food booths - what's not to love?

Tanabata Bamboo branch

• ZooRasia
• Beautiful zoo, great fun watching the penguins get fed... and the polar bears play.

So here's the funny thing, even with 2 huge elephants behind me,
I still look like a GIANT in this country!

• Shinagawa Aquarium
• We went there on our 10th anniversary!  Woo-hoo.  I bet you're jealous...
• We had a great time - dolphin show(twice), sea lion show, etc.
• Is it just me or does everyone leave a dolphin show with serious remorse that they did not choose dolphin trainer as their profession?  Seriously, is it just me?

• Beetle Battles
• Back in May (on Japanese Mother's Day, to be precise), our neighbors took us to a nearby park for a beetle-larva hunting expedition.  After digging around in old tree stump, we ended up with 4 big, white, kind-of-disgusting-looking larva.  Kinda like white grubs on steroids.  
• And lo and behold, 2 months later, we had three HUGE beetles.  And truth be told, they were fascinating to watch.  Better than TV.  They would pick each other up with their horns and throw each other around - it was kinda like Olympic judo, beetle style.
• We had no idea that beetles were such popular "pets" in Japan.  You can buy them in lots of stores and they cost $20 or so...

The beetle larva are the white round looking things.

• Kamakura Beach-time Fun!

• We spent the day with a work friend of Kevin's who lives in Kamakura - it's less than an hour from us.
• Kids had a great time playing in the waves.  Ryan was happy to find a starfish; Ethan was less happy to feel a crab on his toe...
• How is it that the Pacific Ocean is sooooo much warmer on this side of the world?
• Ryan was invited to engage in a wack-the-watermelon-while-blindfolded game.  It was all adults playing, none of whom we knew, Ryan just happened upon them on the beach, and I think they were a bit taken aback, when Ryan did in fact, smash their watermelon, in essence ending the game for everyone else.  
• We kept getting outdone on the omiyage - it's a losing battle.  We brought them a box of candy for inviting us to the beach for the day, and then they just kept buying and giving us more and more stuff.  We lost (or won, depending on how you look at it) big-time!

• Other Random Stuff
• Parks, playdates, and picnics, and the Pokemon Center
• Our first baking attempt - in the microwave and toaster oven, since we don't have a real oven here...

• Tokyo Legoland (fun, but nothing like the REAL Legoland in San Diego)

• Our first movie in Japan
• Brave in 3-D, as highly recommended by my 4 year old niece, Louisa



• Fourth of July - Breakfast bento, American style ....









• Last but not least, Kakigori!!!!! A Mountain of Pure Shaved Ice Goodness

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