Catch-up

I had to change the date on the previous blog post (as well as this one), and will be working hard to play catch-up since I am a couple of months behind. I have lacked motivation to keep up with this blog for several reasons, including: blogger not allowing me to upload any more photos (had to create a new username and link it to this one... which was complicated and annoying), and the major issue being that several of you are still complaining that you can't access the blog because of the password settings.... WE ARE STILL WORKING ON THIS ISSUE, I PROMISE!

But with a new pink background and a new year ahead of me, I'm ready to get back into it! So stay tuned....

WAY BEHIND!

Yes, yes, I know.... I'm very behind on blog posts. :(

But to my defense, I've been very busy!

I have, however, kept up with our pictures on shutterfly. So enjoy those in the meantime!

Recent albums:

MI Trip - November '12

Jenny & Chad's Wedding - 11.2.12

Fall in Nagoya

With less than a year left in Japan --- YES, you heard correctly! We have an end date! Expect us back in Seattle in October 2013 --- It's time to check off each item on our 'To-Do List' of sites in Japan and this part of the world in general before we head back to the States. Stay tuned, it's going to be a crazy busy next few months!

Halloween - Japanese Style

Elodie and I recently joined a playgroup that meets a couple of times a month. They do a variety of activities together, such as trips to the zoo and/or aquarium, holiday parties, cooking classes, and sometimes it's simply just playing at someone's house.

We joined just in time to participate in their annual Halloween party!

Cutest ebi-nigiri sushi EVER!

Elodie and her friend Arwen.

Love my little sushi girl :)

Story time.

The treat table.

The monster cupcakes I made.

Fun party, cute costumes, & yummy treats. I had one exhausted baby when we got home!

A few days later, I attended a Halloween cupcake decorating class. The monster cupcakes we learned how to make completely showed up my own creation above, haha.

I had SO much fun attending this class. All of you who know me well know how much I love cupcakes. :)  With the right frosting consistency and correct decorating tools, they were all quite easy to make. The mummy is my favorite, and the easiest out of the 3 to make, too!

Now Elodie and I are off to the U.S. for a few weeks. Time to celebrate Halloween American-style!!!

Noh Theater

"Noh," derived from the Japanese word for "skill" or "talent," is one of the oldest existing forms of theater. It's a musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century.  Many characters are masked, and men generally play both male and female roles.

The traditional stage consists of a pavilion whose architectural style is derived from that of Shinto shrines, normally composed almost entirely of cypress wood. The floor is polished to enable the actors to move in a gliding fashion. The only stage decoration is the painting of a pine tree at the back of the stage. There is also a narrow bridge to the right of the stage that actors use to enter the stage. It's very simple, and stunning.

Noh theater is accompanied by a chorus. It's a chanted drama, using lengthy and repetitive phrases.  The ensemble also consists of 4 musicians, my two favorites are in the photo above.

The costumes (robes/kimonos) worn by actors are typically adorned in symbolic meanings for the type of role they are playing. In addition to their elaborate costume, they also wear masks. The noh masks are carnved from blocks of Japanese cypress, and then painted. Usually only the main actor wears a mask. The only prop used during the entire performance is usually a fan. You can see it closed in her right hand.

The show was actually quite long. The pre-performance show lasted about 30-45 minutes, and then the actual show took about 2 hours (or maybe even longer, as I'll admit that we left about half way through). I read that shows sometimes last all day. Although a bit boring, we enjoyed the overall Japanese experience of seeing a traditional theater performance.

Ise Shrine, Mie Prefecture

We took a weekend trip to Mie Prefecture, a couple of hours drive from Nagoya, to see the famous Ise Jingu Shrine - otherwise known as the Grand Shrine of Ise.

Ise Jingu consists of two shrines: the Outer Shrine (Geku), which is dedicated to the Shinto diety of clothing, food, and housing, and the Inner Shrine (Naiku), which enshrines the most respected deity, the Sun Goddess.

The two shrines are actually quite far from one another, separated by the densely wooded forest. I read that unlike most other Shinto shrines, these Ise shrines are built in a purely Japanese architecture style, which shows no influence from the Asian mainland. The site of the Ise Shrine has long been sacred, due to its forests of sacred Japanese cypress trees.

Being so well known as one of the most extraordinary grand shrines in Japan, I was expecting... well... "grandness." But really, these shrines were amazingly simple. Set in the forest, there is really nothing but trees, gravel lanes, and wooded building.

As you already know, I like to tell about adventures with pictures, so here's a slideshow of our trip!

Day 1: Unagi lunch, Ise Outer Shrine, fireworks at the hotel

Eel lunch... delicious!

The entrance gate to Ise Outer Shrine, you walk down this path through the woods to reach the main shrine.

Walking down the path to the main shrine (do you see Joe peeking his head out?)

I love this picture of Taku and Joe.

Outer Shrine's main entrance.

Pictures are strictly forbidden inside (which I didn't know!) and managed to snap this shot before being yelled at by security.

Mie Prefecture is right on the coast. This is the view from our hotel room.

Miyoko brought some fireworks, and we lit them on the beach!

Ise Day 2: scenic drive down the coast, Ise-style udon for lunch, walking through Ise town, Ise Inner Shrine, tea and akafuku mochi dessert at a Japanese tea house.

Rest stop along the way on our scenic coastal drive.

Udon is my favorite Japanese dish. Each prefecture has their own style, so I was excited to try Ise's famous udon noodles. Ise udon = concentrated soy sauce and sweet Japanese cooking sake are used to crate a black broth, which is then poured over thick, handmade noodles. Topped with spring onion. It was really yummy, but I have to say that I prefer Nagoya udon! :)

Walking through the town of Ise to the Inner Shrine.

Entrance gate and bridge to the main shrine.

So many of these adorable lanterns everywhere throughout both the Outer and Inner shrines.

Crowds waiting their turn to enter the Inner Shrine's main gate. Sorry, no photos allowed inside.

Akafuku Mochi dessert and tea. Akafuku mochi is a pounded rice cake confection topped with a sweet bean paste. The shape symbolizes the Isuzu River which flows through the Ise Grand Shrine region, with three ridges in the sweet bean paste representing the clear water that flows through the river, and the white mochi depicting the pebbles that lie on the riverbed. Wow, Japan's attention to detail and symbolism always amazes me!!!

We had such a great trip with wonderful friends. I love traveling in Japan, especially with friends who know the culture and region well. It's like having our own personal tour guides! :)  Thank you Miyoko & Co. for a great trip.

Nagashima Spa Land

Nagashima Spa Land is a major amusement park, just a short 30-minute drive from Nagoya. I've been here 2 and a half years, why am I just now finding out about this!?

It's the second largest amusement park in Japan and also includes a water park, onsen, Anpanman museum, & HUGE outlet shopping mall.

We spent the entire day in the water park, and had SO much fun! There was an indoor kid/baby area with pools, tiny water slides, swings, play areas, and even a baby wave pool! It's by far the best baby water park I've ever seen! Elodie was not a huge fan of the slide, as it was super slippery and she wiped out. But she loved the swings and wave pool!

We spent the later part of the afternoon lounging in the lazy river and the adults taking turns going down the big water slides. Luckily, all 3 babies napped at the same time - so the Dads watched them while the Moms had some fun! We had such a great time, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! :)

The mamas and their babies :)

My sweet little peanut had such a fun day!

There was so much to do in just the water park area - and even though we spent the entire day in this part, we didn't even get to go on all of the slides. So you definitely need a couple of days to explore the whole park - the amusement park side with all of the roller coasters & rides as well as the Anpanman museum, and then a whole other day for just shopping at the outlet mall!

Luckily we'll be here for one more summer, so I'm looking forward to going back to the water park next year. In the meantime, we're planning our next trip there hopefully this fall - to take Elodie to the Anpanman Museum, and then do some shopping at the outlet mall.