More Language Laughs ... and other things that make me giggle

I can't believe I am so incredibly willing to embarrass myself .... here goes nothing.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I haaaate being wrong.  It's a character flaw, really.  Well, this Japanese experience is teaching me that no matter how hard I try (and I am trying soooo darn hard), I will still be wrong much of the time.  Some days I handle it better than others, but I am definitely getting a lot of practice at it and may soon be downright skilled at being wrong.  Being wrong gracefully is a whole other issue however...

So, here goes.  A recent list of language laughs:

1.  A mom on our street had just gotten a new haircut. I thought I told her it looked "kawai" which means "cute." She thought I said "kowai" which means "scary." Uhhhh.... oops.

2.  I was getting my haircut, and I was trying to tell the stylist-guy that my 40th birthday was approaching and so I was open to any suggestions he might have for a new style, etc. Only problem is that I told him that next week I'm turning "yonsai," which means FOUR, not FORTY. I really do know how to count in Japanese, but I said it several times - I can't even begin to explain this extremely basic mistake. And I must admit, for a split milli-second, I thought his quizzical look was because he couldn't really believe I was turning 40 (with my youthful appearance and all, I say oh-so-jokingly in a land where women cannot even fathom a wrinkle and never let their skin see the light of day). What was I thinking?

3.  Ethan was walking home from school with a bunch of his friends and their moms after a school event (I had had to leave early to bike across town to pick up Ryan). As I approached on my bike, everyone was laughing. As I pull to a stop, I learn that Ethan had just said "yabba" but I have idea what that means. One of the moms whispered to me that it's basically the equivalent of "oh shit." When his friend Yuugo's mom asked where he learned that, he immediately said "from Yuugo" to which she quickly responded "Yuugo is a very bad teacher." They were still laughing about it when I arrived. And there you have it - Ethan's first accidental bad word in Japanese.   But, Ethan insists that it's not his fault, he was just learning form his friend.

4.  I was at my Japanese class and my sensei asked me "Of your kodomo (children), which is your favorite?" I looked at her in horror and refused to answer.  Do moms really have favorites in Japan? She looked back at me, a little taken aback.  So, I repeated the question back to her.  At which point, she started laughing.  Turns out - I thought she said, "of your children, which is your favorite?" but what she really said was "of the kudamono (fruit), which is your favorite?"  Ahhhhh, yes, that makes all the difference. Pineapple is my favorite fruit.  On some days, it's my favorite child as well.

5.  Ryan started an English class (yep, you read that right) and after his first class, his teacher told me that she had just finished telling the other students (who are all Japanese, of course) that Ryan was from America so they all needed to make sure they only speak English for him .... at which point Ryan busted out in full Japanese ... in his English class... proving his teacher very wrong.  Oops - a little language confusion.

6.  Written by Ethan:  "I have English class at school and we were supposed to say "no" if there wasn't a certain color on the board, but I forgot it was English class and yelled out "inai"which is the answer in Japanese."  Oops.

Yep... more language confusion.  The one hour in the entire week that Ethan can speak English at school and he doesn't!

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And some signs that made me laugh.  Seems I have the funny bone of a 10-year old boy based on the number of these that are somehow related to the bathroom...

Visual depiction inside the restroom for how to use a "western" toilet.

And to be fair and provide information equally, a similar diagram as to how
to use a traditional Japanese toilet.

"Lavatory:  It has separated to the male and the woman.  Don't mistake."

I continue my fascination with gargling.  A water fountain at the Tokyo
Immigration Bureau (where one would think there are not that many Japanese people) that has
a spigot for gargling water (the red one, labeled in both English and Japanese) and
a spigot for drinking water (the blue one, also labeled).  I've shown this photo to
a few friends and they are similarly perplexed as to why the water would be different...

And a few more FOR MATURE AUDIENCES only:

In the amusing words of my Hong Kong Travel Partner and Peace Corps friend, Sandy,
"This is just perplexing."
Look closely at the green sign above the bins.

At a Hong Kong natural medicine shop - guess what this could be? Answer below...

At Tokyo's Ueno Zoo - how can I have survived for 40 years and not known about this species?

Answer:  Deer penis, if it's not obvious

Great-Grandma Day

For Family and Friends who loved Grandma Narimatsu:

The Narimatsujayne Family proclaimed Saturday, October 27 as Great-Grandma Day in Japan.  It was our way of saying good-bye in the fun-loving way that we think Great-Grandma would have liked.

As we left our house, our neighbor was outside and asked if we were going for a walk.  Kevin explained that we were going to the shrine because his grandma had passed away, and Ethan burst into tears.  He held my leg tightly for the next several blocks as we walked down the street.

First stop:  the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park.  A beautifully simple shrine surrounded by majestic entrance gates.

The sun was setting as we entered the grounds and we walked through the park headed towards the main shrine.  Before entering the shrine area, we cleansed our spirits by dipping the large wooden ladle in the water and washing our hands and rinsing our mouths.

Most people were leaving, so it was quieter than usual.

We walked through the courtyard and up the few steps to the main shrine.  We stood there for a few minutes, each lost in our own thoughts.  I kept rubbing the locket that Great-Grandma had given me.  As is the custom, we bowed twice and clapped twice, made an offering, thought of Great-Grandma, and then ended with a deep bow.

We then proceeded to the wall of wishes, bought a wooden plank called an "emma", and each wrote our own message to Great-Grandma.

Ethan wrote in Japanese "My great-grandma is gone.  I am sad.  She played games with me."  He also drew a picture of watching TV together with Great-Grandma on her couch.

Ryan drew a picture of playing in the snow in Chicago.  

Technically, you are not supposed to go to a shrine while mourning as it is a sign of impurity.  But, we were there "celebrating" Great-Grandma anyway, so I think it was OK.

As we left the shrine, it was starting to get dark and the moon was rising above the shrine gates.  It was still and peaceful and beyond beautiful.

After leaving the shrine, we were on a mission for all of Great-Grandma's favorite foods.  Udon was her favorite Japanese food, so we searched for an udon restaurant.  Luckily, Ethan was with us as he spotted it right under our noses.

After a delicious udon dinner peppered with Great-Grandma stories, we headed for the next part of our Great-Grandma mission - CREAM PUFFS!  

Cream Puffs!

Great-Grandma is famous for her homemade cream puffs - Kevin loves them!  We are not as skilled (or patient) as Great-Grandma to make our own, so we headed to the Papa Beard's cream puff stand at Shibuya station (it's the same Papa Beard's cream puffs Kim used to get for us in California - same yellow box and everything).  Cream puffs in hand, the kids wanted to eat them by the famous Hachiko dog statue.  So, we did.  We will miss Great-Grandma and her cream puffs.

Last stop:  Ice Cream.  Another one of Great-Grandma's all-time favorite foods and a love that she passed on to Kevin.  We took the train home, stopped at our local Baskin Robbins ice cream store, and indulged.  Yummy!  Thank you, Great-Grandma.

When we got home, Kevin read the eulogy to the kids (Ethan liked the corvette part) and we watched the slideshow of Great-Grandma's life, a very fitting end to our day.  It was getting late and the kids were tired, so it was a rather quiet viewing of the slideshow.

Thank you Great-Grandma, for all the wonderful memories.  And for all that you were and will continue to be to everyone who loved you.

New Adventures - Shinkansen to Nagoya and Kyoto!

Ok, ok, I have been inspired (or maybe shamed?) by Hibachan to write a long-overdue blog post.  Hibachan means great-grandmother in Japanese, and is the name the kids call Kevin's Grandma Fukuyama.

I didn't know it was possible to receive such a swift kick in the pants via skype from a 90 year-old, but she is an extraordinary person and I should expect extraordinary things.  She made it clear that she looks for a new blog post everyday, and when nothing new appears, she has been forced to re-read old posts.  The pressure, the guilt.  So, here I write.  You can all thank her!

And to be honest, I had grand plans to catch up on several blog posts last week.  But, then sadness overtook me and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.  Grandma Narimatsu passed away last Monday.  It has been a hard week.  A very hard week.  She was like a grandmother to me, and I didn't know how to continue this blog and honor her at the same time.  So, Grandma Narimatsu - this is for you!  For your sense of humor, your gentle spirit, your high-fives, your love of ice cream, your loyalty, your cream puffs, and mostly, for your love.  As I explained to Ethan, you helped make Kevin who he is, and for that, we are forever indebted to you.  I do this for you (and because Hibachan made me do it).

It's also Grandpa Fukuyama's birthday, so I hope he's happy with the way we are leading our lives...

Ironically, "Respect for the Elderly" Day gave us the excuse for this adventure!  It's a 3-day weekend in Japan and we took full advantage of exploring a little further afield.

First Shinkansen Excursion - and we did it 4 times in one weekend!

We decided to hop on the Shinkansen (high speed bullet train) and head south to Nagoya and Kyoto.  We wanted to visit a friend of Kevin's from childhood judo days in Chicago and explore that area a bit.

The Shinkansen was a hit with the boys.  Kevin takes them often for work, so it's no big deal for him.  I was, to be honest, extremely excited about my first shinkansen ride.  And much to my surprise, I was a bit underwhelmed.  I almost don't want to write this here, because that's so not like me.  I am typically easily impressed by new adventures, but for some unknown reason, it didn't do it for me.  Alas....

So, we took the Shinkansen to Nagoya on Friday night, to Kyoto on Saturday morning, back to Nagoya on Saturday evening, and then back to Tokyo on Monday afternoon.  Whew!

The Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto 

First stop Saturday morning was the Golden Temple, one of the most elaborate Zen temples.  Kevin remembered visiting it during his time as an exchange student at Kobe, so it was fun for him to share it with us.  It is quite impressive, especially in its setting on Mirror Pond.

It was built as a retirement home for a 14th century shogun (Ashikaga Yoshimitsu 1358-1408) and converted to a Zen temple when he died.  It survived for 500+ years and then was torched by an "unhappy monk" in 1950.  The current Kinkaku-ji is a replica that was completed in 5 years and re-gilded at no small price tag in 1987.

We enjoyed our walk along the garden path - the on-again-off-again rain only added to the mystique of the morning.

Ethan offering a bow and a prayer at the shrine...

Nara Park, Temples, and the Over-Friendly Deer

Next stop was Nara Park.  We were immediately "greeted" by some very ... ummm... friendly deer.  The kids and I had great fun watching them chase Kevin in search of deer crackers.  So funny.

The boys learned quickly to raise their hand to "show" the deer that they didn't have food.

I later read that the deer are considered messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion.  Given that these were the grounds of a Buddhist Temple, I am still learning the interplay between Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan.

Kevin learned more slowly about how to tame the deer.  I'm not sure what he was planning to do with that umbrella.
But hurting a sacred Shinto deer on the grounds of a Buddhist temple is probably not a good idea.

Several deer crackers later, we made it to the Todai-ji, a Buddhist Temple and the world's largest wooden building.

Here, we also explored the Daibutsu-den (Great Buddha Hall) which houses the Big Buddha, the largest bronze statue in Japan.

The Great Buddha Hall - and two little anti-buddhas having fun!

Those deer were everywhere!

Bowls of udon bigger than your head!

Roadtrip to Kotaijingu, Onsen, and Indian Food

Sunday was roadtrip day with our friends!  At their suggestion, we headed to the Ise Peninsula.  Apparently it was such a great suggestion that everyone else was doing it too and our 1.5 hour car trip turned into 4 hours, one-way.  Yowza.  

But, we were in 2 cars and each of our boys was traveling with one of their boys and the kids were having a grand time.  Our kids loooved their kids, so they were in seventh heaven, despite the long ride.  At some point, we changed the plan and stopped for a lunch and onsen respite.  

The onsen was quite an experience.  Of course, no photos, but there were several bath options to choose from.  An electric shock tub, cold water, hot water, indoor jacuzzi tub, outdoor jacuzzi tub (with big screen TVs - seriously?), hot rock chairs with gentle water rolling down the back, and a milky white tub that I've forgotten what it was.  Very nice.  

Just the calming influence we needed to get back in the car and head to the shrine.

We went to Kotaijingu's inner shrine, called Naiku.  It is said to be Japan's most sacred shrine and was built in the fourth century.  I am not sure if I have no photos because I was a little over-templed/shrined by that point or if perhaps photos were not allowed (I'm hoping it's the latter).

Unfortunately, Ryan had a slight melt-down after visiting the shrine, so we may have diminished ever-so-slightly the sacredness of the place.  Nothing is ever quite the same after a visit from the Narimatsujayne family.

The surroundings were remarkably calming (despite Ryan's antics) - large trees, a river, ornate bridges.  

Our friends by the Isuzugawa River- we had a fabulous time!

I later learned that the Naiku shrine (and the bridge above, too) is rebuilt every 20 years to re-purify the ground.  They only use Japanese cypress, grass thatch, and a few gold decorations.  They even give the old wood to other shrines as a means of recycling.  

The Toyota Museum and Heading Home

We had a little time on Monday before we headed home on the shinkansen and we decided to check out the Toyota Museum.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get reservations for a factory tour and I would have lovvvved to have done that.  Of course, I also took a day off work to tour the Nummi auto factory (sans kids) while we lived in Fremont, so this is par for the course.  

Toyota Museum was a good time.  We saw a robot who could play the trumpet, a race car, a flower car (my favorite - it was basically a bedazzled-mobile and I am not exaggerating), and lots of interactive exhibits on the Toyota production process.  

That face just kills me!

Our race car enthusiast!

A concept car for individual-robot-cars in the future...

Car meets bedazzler!

On the way home, we saw Mt. Fuji from the train.  Yippee!  Finally!  It was getting dark so it was not the best view but it was better than nothing.  This picture is insurance - it's just a billboard we saw on the train platform while waiting for our shinkansen home, but we just never knew when we would get to see the real thing!

Very fun adventure!