Kagawa Prefecture = UDON!

During the Obon Japanese holiday, we ventured over to the city of Takamatsu, a city located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Normally, this drive would only be about 5 or so hours, but because we decided to drive during the busiest holiday of the year, it took us double that... yep, we were in the car for over 10 hours. NOT FUN!

The Obon holiday is the "Festival of Souls" held each year on August 13th-16th. Obon is a time to pay respect to one's ancestors. Families generally travel back to their hometowns for a 3-day reunion with their relatives and the spirits of the deceased. It's an old Buddhist memorial festival, where people welcome back the spirits by praying at grave-sites and in front of small alters in the family home. Even though that sounds depressing, it's actually a celebrated time where people enjoy the time off of work, and spending time with their families. Lanterns are hung, and people often gather to perform folk-dances called "bon-odori."

Even though we didn't participate in the Obon festivities, we did enjoy our little vacation of traveling in Japan. We spent 2 days in Kagawa Prefecture in the city of Takamatsu, then headed over to the famous Himeji Castle for a day trip on our way to Kobe, where we spent another 2 days.

No one understood why we wanted to go to Takamatsu, "There is nothing to see there!" is the response we usually got from people when we told them that's what we were doing for part of the Obon holiday. We went there for 1 reason, and 1 reason only... to eat UDON!

Udon is my favorite Japanese dish. Japan, and Asian countries in general, have many types of noodle dishes - but udon is very distinct in that the noodles are white, thick, chewy, and made from wheat. The noodles can be served hot or cold, and with hot broths or cold dipping sauces.

The Kagawa prefecture is famous for their udon. There are literally hundreds of udon shops within the city and around the region. I read that many people flock to the city for udon "chain-eating" where they go on tours to just eat udon at the famous shops. And that is exactly what we did.

Kake udon is the most basic variety. The noodles come in a hot dashi and soy-flavored broth. It's topped with green onions.

I had "atsuatsu" which means "hot noodle + hot soup," and Joe had "hiyaatsu" which means "cold soup + hot noodles." Each was topped with green onions and ginger. This was our favorite shop, called Yoshiya.

This udon shop, called Ogataya, was very unique. The soup we had was "hiyahiya" which means "cold soup + cold noodle." But you literally have to prepare it yourself. They bring you the noodles, and then you grind your own radish to put on top, then squeeze a lime over it, add green onions and ginger, then top it with the brown sauce. It had a very strong taste!

These were just 3 of our favorites that we tried. We had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 2 days straight... so we were pretty tired of it by the end of the second day. ;)

During the breaks between our eating fest, we did mange to do a couple other activities while in the region. We walked through the famous Ritsurin Koen (park) and also took a ferry over to Megijima Island.

Ritsurin Koen was absolutely stunning. It's considered one of the best gardens in Japan and features ponds, hills, historic trees, and beautiful pavilions. It's nestled next to the mountains, which makes for a beautiful backdrop. You can even enter the teahouses and enjoy tea while sitting on the veranda overlooking the ponds (which we did not do because of Elodie - thought bringing a baby in there would severely disrupt the peacefulness of others, haha, not to mention we both hate Japanese "ocha.").

Sooooo many water lilies.

Beautiful red bridge in the garden.

Stunning views of the park.

I love Japan.

As I mentioned above, we also took a ferry over to the small island of Megijima. Megijima is also known as Ogre Island, because of it's association with the popular Momotaro legend in which a small boy is visiting the island in order to fight its resident ogres. A cave is actually found near Megijima's highest peak, where visitors can go and visit the chambers and view cartoon ogre statues from the story. Unfortunately, it was just too hot to do anything on this island. We had no motivation to venture to the top of a mountain to see some cartoon figures from a story, nor did we have our swimsuits to enjoy the water. Soooo after a quick walk down the beach, we headed back to the city to the nice air-conditioned shops & restaurants.

On the ferry, escaping some major rain brewing over the city.

Statue on the island.

Overall, a great 2 days in Kagawa Prefecture.  But a couple of things to remember for next time we travel in Japan... 1) Never, EVER, travel during Obon, and 2) Never travel during the summer, especially in August - it's a terribly hot month to enjoy anything outdoors.

Up next... our day trip to Himeji Castle & a couple of days in Kobe.

Ottertail & Lake Benton

Highlights of our vacation in Minnesota.

Hanging out in Cabin #2.

Daily picnics with cousins.

Spending time with Great Grandpa Schreurs and cousin Haley.

Triple water ski by the Uncles.

A visit by Regina and Laura.

Daily family dinners.

Evening boat rides and water skis.

Beach time and swimming.

Zorbas pizza, and fantastic Margaritas!

Dad S's 60th birthday.

Tubing time with Uncle Alex.

Visiting with Great Grandpa Hemmingson.

Cousin time, with Uncle Lloyd.

Minus a few hiccups, an overall great trip. It was so nice to spend time with family - I really enjoyed my morning walks with my sister-in-laws, lounging by the Lake, frequent trips to the ice cream shop, beautiful weather, family dinners, and so much more. This trip made me want to move home... and closer to family!

Michigan, July 2012

A quick glimpse of our trip to Michigan this summer.

Playing with Grandma A and the dogs. Elodie's first word, "A-da" for "A dog."

Swimming in her awesome pink pool. 

First boat ride, with Grandpa A on Austin Lake.

Play date with sweet little Gabriella. Thank you Jamie for driving down to visit us. :)

Playing with her Aunt Danielle and Uncle Brian. Danielle is still her favorite person!

Looking at the wild turkeys in Grandma A's back yard.

Hanging out with Grandma S.

Playing with Great Grandma Allers.

Eating her first Dunkin Donut (which by the way, is not nearly as good as Sweetwaters)

Seeing my college roomies at Jenny's bridal shower.

Visiting with Great Grandma Mary Jo.

Visiting with Aunt Sue and Aunt Mariella. Thank you, Bud & Mariella, for driving all the way from WI to visit!

Elodie and I had such a wonderful trip to Michigan. It was so much fun to watch her interact with family and friends. She surely blossomed this trip and is becoming quite a social little girl.

A big thank you to everyone who helped make our trip so special. I really appreciated all of the babysitting by both Grandmas so that I could have some ME time! :) As well as all of the meals, hospitality, and overall generosity by everyone.

Elodie's Professional Pictures

While in Michigan, we had professional pictures taken of Elodie. They turned out fantastic! Thanks Give Me a Shot Photography!! :)

Here is a sneak peak of a few of our favorites. To see the entire album on our shutterfly site, click here.

Way Behind

After 5 weeks of non-stop travel, we are finally back in Nagoya. I'm obviously way behind on blog posts... so I'll work on catching up in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I added four albums of our travels on shutterfly:

--- Elodie's Professional Pictures (from Give Me a Shot Photography)
--- Michigan Trip - July 2012
--- Ottertail & Lake Benton 2012
--- Obon Holiday: Takamatsu, Himeji Castle & Kobe

We also added Elodie's 10 and 11 month photos to the album, Watch Me Grow!

Enjoy!

Sumo Wrestling

July in Nagoya = Sumo time!

There are 6 Grand Sumo tournaments each year: 3 in Tokyo, 1 in Nagoya, 1 in Osaka, and 1 in Fukuoka.

You all already know what sumo wrestling is. The rules are simple: the wrestler who first touches the ground with anything besides the soles of his feet, or who leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. Each match usually only last a few seconds. The bouts are intense, where wrestlers weighing an average of 330lbs. grapple at one another with their bare hands.

Sumo has a long history in Japan and is the nations oldest professional sport. The wrestlers wear their hair in a topknot, which apparently was a normal hairstyle in the Edo period (1603-1868). The referees wear the same kind of clothes as a samurai from 600 years ago. Many aspects of Japanese culture can be seen in sumo, such as throwing salt into the ring to purify it before the wrestlers begin a match.

Loved the referee's hot pink kimono.

Funny expression by the guy on the left.

The top division of the wrestlers' hierarchy.

Let's go!

Did this skinny foreign guy really think he had a chance?  He was up against a guy at least twice his size!

Lat match of the day = the best match!!

Judges discussing the bout. They actually made the 2 men above during the last bout of the day do a re-match!! It was very exciting to be a part of the crowd!

There are no weight restrictions or classes in sumo. So it's normal that a wrestler can find themselves matched against someone many times their size. Sumo wrestlers used to all be Japanese, but in recent years there has been an increase in foreign wrestlers, coming from Mongolia, Bulgaria, China, & Russia, just to name a few.

I know sumo wrestlers often get made fun of by foreigners --- they are overweight, dressed in a thong, and somewhat silly looking with their hair slicked up in a topknot. But really, being a sumo wrestler takes hard work and dedication. It's not just a job, it's a complete way of life. Every sumo wrestler belongs to a stable, which is where they live while they are young. Referees, ushers, and hairdressers also live in the stables. They live together and train together throughout their careers, dedicating their lives to the sport. They are incredibly strong, and well respected in Japan. Unfortunately though, I did read that the average life expectancy of a sumo wrestler is between 60-65, which is 10 years shorter than the average Japanese male.

A really easy to read and understand kid's website dedicated to sumo is here if you're interested in reading more. :)

This was our second time going to a Sumo tournament. Tickets are a bit pricey, but you do get all-day entertainment. Elodie even enjoyed it - she was able to play on the floor (all seating is pretty much on the floor) and we had our own private little "box." She thought it was fun to clap when everyone else was also cheering. Fun day, and overlal unique Japanese experience!!

10 Months

It amazes me how quickly babies learn new skills. Each month Elodie has learned so many new things, but this past month seems to have been an especially huge one for her! She's learned so many new skills and has had several new experiences. :)

She now waves "hi" and "bye-bye," pretty consistently (especially to the ladies at our apartment front desk). She also signs "more," although it looks more like clapping, and she doesn't use it consistently yet.

She has tried a variety of new foods, and has liked them all - salmon, pizza, mac & cheese, quesadilla, eggs, pasta, blueberry pancakes, okonomiyaki, banana bread, bagels... just to name a few!! She's eating way more "grown up" foods instead of the pureed baby food - which is actually way more convenient for me!! No more having to always prepare baby food for her, because she eats pretty much what we eat now.

She has also made huge progress physically. She can now go from laying down to a sitting position (and of course vice versa), stands by herself when holding onto something, walks really well when supported, and finally a couple of days ago she started to crawl!!

She has also figured out the game of "chase" when in her walker. She thinks it's hilarious when I chase her around the house... and she runs really really fast! I'll try to post a video this week of her doing it - it's super cute!

Her left top 2 teeth have broken through (the front left and the one next to it). The one next to it actually broke through first, which seems a little odd. She's quite the biter these days, too.

We're still doing baby swimming, 3 times a week. She still loves it and is doing great in the class! We've also been going to a play room inside a department store downtown a couple of times a week - which has been great for Elodie. She's become very attached to me, and is going through some major separation anxiety issues right now. So I'm trying to get out and about and have her around other babies as much as possible. We've made some new friends by doing this, which has been great for both of us. :)

Happy 10-Months, Peanut!!!