Autumn 秋の兆し

Finally we started to shut the windows at night because it gets chilly in the morning. How exciting is that! My daughter is as happy as she can be that she was singing a "daddy song" (which lyrics only consist of "daddy") in soprano voice from the crib this morning. Thanks to her happy mood, I was able to get laundry and making miso soup done while she played with my dad.

Little after 9 am, we headed to 都市緑化植物園, a local park to see farm animals and play in the playground.



Susuki - This plant is imperative to a moon watching event in September. This year, the full moon falls into the 30th on Sunday. We will be celebrating it with our neighbor friends at our place.

彼岸花 higanbana - Poisonous. Bloomed around Higan season.




My husband claims Japanese McDonald tastes much better but wishes for their size increase.
I ordered Tsukimi burger, the moon watching burger. This is my favorite burger from McDonald. It comes only during moon watching season. With additional 40 yen, you can replace French flies with Salad. There is no Ranch dressing (yeah!) but sesami dressing. Yum. A happy meal includes Chicken nuggets, corns, and a vegetable juice. My husband ordered L size which was the biggest they had but probably equivalent to medium size in the States. It feels right to me, but I also feel bad for my American husband. He had to buy another bottle drink right after the meal.    

剪定 pruning

First time pruning ever. So much fun but it gave me some muscle pain the following day.

As I looked up on the internet about pruning when I got home, there were so many ways according to which trees and plants you were pruning. Yes, it was added to my hobby list.

As for my daughter, she was thrilled to be with a dog for two days. She LOVES dogs, cats, and butterflies (these are the Japanese words she learned).Unfortunately, my grandma's dog did not like children. So she was unfriendly. After much consideration, she decided to bribe the dog with one of her favorite toy, a TV remote.

On Sunday, my grandma's older sister visited us. She is soon to be 90 years old but has a great spirit.

We had a wonderful time. 

Trip to grandmas in Kanagawa

I know you have seen this kind of picture several times but I had to take this to start the trip to Kanagawa. We took the local train, the Shinkansen, the express train, and another local train, and a taxi to get to my grandmas.

On Saturday morning, I found my daughter doing Ikebana, flower arrangement, in the living room.

Notice how she inserted a comb in the middle of the flower?  It was left like that for the weekend to enjoy.

I love Grandma's house in Kanagawa. The traditional style gives me peace and a calm feeling. Even my husband commented that he had not relaxed that much since he left Hawaii. My daughter, on the other hand, seemed more thrilled with the chair that my grandma bought at a dollar store. My husband named it dokodemo isu, anywhere chair.





I hear my daguhter's voice. Another exciting day is starting. 

Assimilation is one of Japan's strengths.

I knew assimilation was one of the Japanese people's strengths, but it astonished me when it was so vividly displayed.




A Chinese/Italian restaurant, named Jack and the Beanstalk from the fairy tale of England. Very random.
I ordered a Chinese dish, my husband ordered an Italian pasta, and my daughter ate Japanese seasoned vegetables and salad. We enjoyed the meal but could not figure out why they named the restaurant after Jack and the Beanstalk.


After the fiesta, we went to Toyota Stadium and played in the water by the stadium.

Sep. 4, 2012 What are we doing in Japan?

Quick summery of what's going on.

Yuna got a cold for the first time in her life; she had a runny nose, sore throat, and high fever. The fever only lasted for two days but she still has coughs and a runny nose today, 10 days after the original cold started. David and I had sore throats and runny noses but no fever. (my goodness, you can not be any hotter than it already is in Nagoya Japan!)



Poor Yuna, fighting a fever and the heat.

David is continuing to look for a part time job. Two companies should be contacting him today.
Thanks to him, I was able to be a part of a very geeky event; David wanted to buy a limited edition of a Pokemon 3DS. We waited for 90 minutes there. Notice what people surrounding us are doing.





I have started researching about social systems and welfare programs in Japan. As far as I can tell, the US's system is something Japan is trying to model somewhat but has not yet included everything. It is very much in a developing stage where ordinarily, institutions do not have specialized staff like OT, Rec therapists, and so forth. For example, in a daycare institution, one person with a little back ground in social work offers direct care, cooks, gives advice to parents, runs groups, writes reports, and does some administration work. I asked what her job title was and she had hard time coming up with one.
I will be presenting about what recreation therapy is and how a treatment team works to Japanese workers who are involved in welfare programs as early as in Dec. (I just found a business partner yesterday!)

We are inviting some neighborhood families this coming Sunday to have FHE with the Elders at our house.

We are visiting my grandparents' home several times a day to brighten their days with Yuna's smile (they live on the same land). My grandpa just came back from the hospital a week ago after 3 weeks of hospitalization and a heart operation. My grandma is also sick and has not gone out of the house for 4 months now, so Yuna is such a blessing for them. She brings lots of smiles in our home. How she does it?

Like this....




stealing daddy's headphones,

and munching random vegetables as a little surprise.

愛・地球博記念公園（モリコロパーク）と回転寿し Morikoro Park & Conveyor belt Sushi

We originally visited Hokaido, the northern part of Japan this weekend but canceled due to my grandparents's health conditions. So my father took us to Morikoro park, where they hosted the Expo back in 2005. There were no cultural pavilions left but were playgrounds and water fountains for children to play. Yuna enjoyed Ferris wheel and walking in the little pond.

Linimo.
    







Cultural shock of the day: Americans (even doctors) put superglue to glue open wounds together.
今日のカルチャーショック：なんと、アメリカ人はスーパー接着剤でパックリ開いた傷をくっつけるようです。医者もそうすることがあるようです。やはり、食うか食われるかの世界で、ちまちま日本人のように通院なんてしてられないようです。よかったー、日本人で！でも、アメリカで怪我をより避けたくなりました。

Reverse culture shock: All the medical cost for children under 15 is absolutely FREE. Thus, people take their kids to see a doctor for any little symptoms, like just coughing or running nose. For that reason, doctor's office seems to me a playground and mothers' social networking place (I met my neighbor and a friend from elementary school.)
逆カルチャーショック：子供の医療費タダ、故、医者の込み具合が半端じゃない。（みんな軽い症状で、早めの処置を考えているのでしょうか？アメリカでは８度４分とかにならないと連れてこないでくださいと言われる。）お医者さんの待合室が「児童館」のように見えるのは私だけでしょうか？そして、そこで、近所のおばさんや小学校の頃の同級生に会うのも私だけでしょうか？

Love surprises! 

Random pictures from my i-phone

We are here in Japan. Finally. So here are some random pictures from my i-phone.
 

My brother Takuma took us to fire works at Meiji mura.




Foot bath.







When people say "Smile," they usually have this reaction.



However, our Yuna shows some originality.

 






With best friend, Minato.





Shortly after we arrived in Japan, Obon begun. Obon is a Japanese holiday to welcome deceased ones into our homes once again to thank them for watching over us and remember them. We will put out fire in front of the house to guide our ancestors.

This is what we have at home to honor our ancestors. Yuna likes to make some sounds with Mokugyo and Rin.

Everyday, we are finding out new things that had happened to Japan last two years we were gone. Like these asparagus. They got Japanese size.

I can't believe it's been already 2 weeks here. Life in Utah seems to be so unrealistic.
It's slow to get started with a toddler but we are surely making some progress in looking for jobs, making new friends, seeing old friends, getting used to driving opposite way, eating delicious food (which was quick for us to adjust), and finding right diapers (You think I read Japanese. I do, too. But I have bought two different bags of what-I-thought-to-be diapers.)
Tomorrow might be the first official day of sightseeing here in Japan. Pictures to follow.