New (for me) Car

Well it was been quite a long time since I blogged so please forgive me.

Recently I purchased a car for myself and would like to tell you a little about it.

It is a 1996 Subaru Vivio Bistro

This mean green machine sports a 658cc 48hp water cooled serial 4 cylinder SOHC engine so you know can get to where I'm going in a hurry!

As you can see I like the retro look and am seriously considering buying a derby hat for when I'm driving.

Of the luxury items this car is equiped with there are many.

- 4 wheel drive

- electronic CVT automatic transmission

- power windows

- power steering

- faux wood accents

- air conditioning

- analog clock

- rear defrost

- rear wiper

- heated side mirrors

- 5 doors

Oh yes, the lap of luxury for me, empasis on the lap. The Subaru Vivio Bistro is a Kei car. Kei cars are small to say the least. The Bistro is about 3.2m long by 1.4m wide by 1.4m tall. It weighs around 760kg.

This car will be my commuter car to and from work. We will still be using our main car (Honda SM-X) for going out with the family on the weekends.

Lastly for a '96 this car only has 75,000km on the speedometer which isn't bad.

i'm back

So it looks like there is some renewed interest in my blog. I guess I shouldn't be lazy and just post pics on my flickr page so I will try to write in on this blog and post pics too. but don't forget to check out my flickr page to see tons of pics of my life over here. i'll be writing soon!

changing direction

I have decided to kinda forgo this blog and just put up pictures of my life here. I have created a Flickr page and am puting new and past pictures up all the time. I am making it private and only accesible to family and friends so if you want an invitation just email me and I will send one to you.

As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Superboy?

Who is #1?

Halloween 2007

I know this is late but better late than never right?!? Last Halloween Noah was able to visit a couple houses and actually got a lot of sweets. I think it was because he is so cute in his costume but it could be because I told those who we were going to visit to be ready. Anyway Noah had a good time even if he didn't understand what he was doing and really couldn't care less. Maybe next year he will be more interested in it. Enjoy!

Noah makes a cookie!

Yesterday Noah made cookies at his daycare. he brought one home and we all shared it. It was delicious!

P.S. It is a panda.

Minako's Coming of Age Day

Coming of Age day is a celebration of becoming an adult. Coming of Age day signifys you becoming an adult and is celebrated the year you turn 20. Naoko's little sister turns 20 this year so we celebrated that fact on Coming of Age day. Minako dressed up in a Kimono we gathered at the parents house to celebrate. Everyone dresses up for this day but I guess I wasn't dressed up enough so I was made to wear one of Naoko's dad's blazers. Doesn't Noah look dashing!

noah being cute

Here are some pictures of Noah at performing at his daycare recital. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Noah had a wonderful Christmas even though he still doesn't quite understand it. Here he is Christmas morning.

why didn't we think of that?

The town of Yonezawa has in the center of its main roads a sprinkler system that helps to reduce the build up of snow. I thought it was ingenius. And not only on the roads but in parking lots. Take a look.

a little couple time

Recently Naoko and I went away for a weekend to spend some time together. We went to a bed and dinner/breakfast place in a town famous for its beef. The town is called Yonezawa and is about an hour away from Fukushima. Yonezawa beef is probably #2 or #3 best beef in all of Japan. Naturally being such high quality beef doesn't come cheap. Thus to be honest we couldn't afford the real Yonezawa beef and had to settle for Yamagata beef (Yamagata is the prefecture(state) that Yonezawa is in). We ate beef in many different ways. Naoko and I both had raw beef dipped in soy sauce and beef sushi. Naoko also had steak and I had shabu shabu, which is beef dipped in boiling water to cook it. All the food was delicous and just now thinking about it makes my mouth water. Unfortuantly the place we stayed was kind of a dive and the family bath was small and wasn't natural. Sufficite to say we won't be going back eventhough the food was good. Another good thing about the place was that they had cable tv which had an american tv drama channel. Naoko loved that and was able to see some new dramas like Heroes and OC for the first time. It snowed the second day we were there so I was able to try out my new Sorel boots which was cool. Thanks Mom and Dad! Enjoy the pics!

Off to work

Noah is dressed up in his Christmas best and ready to head to work. What that work is only he knows.

Milking Cows!

Recently at my small school, Aoki Elementary School we had a special day called Mo~ Mo~ School. The local daily group brought some holstein cows for the kids to see. It was a fun day and we all had the chance to see the whole process where our dairy products come from and how they are made. We all got the chance to make our own butter, pet calfs, and milk a cow. It was a first for me to milk a cow so I thought it was cool. Enjoy the pics of me milking and making butter (butter is a little hard to see).

Pt. 4 Ohisama Hoikuen Aki Matsuri

By the time we had gone to the local shrine and taken drink break Noah was getting tired so Naoko and I took turns carrying him as we made our way back. The reason I have a yellow festival coat (happi) on is that I am part of the PTA and thus have to help.

Pt. 3 Ohisama Hoikuen Aki Matsuri

Another part of the festival is what I can best describe as a horse drawn cart minus the horse (in the horse's place is a guy). On this cart are a bunch of taiko drums that the kids play as the procession winds its way around the neighborhood. Noah was enjoying his turn at playing the drums until one of his classmates accidentaly hit him in the head with her stick. It was the cutest thing to see Noah try not to cry. He did a good job thanks to the help of his classmate.

Pt. 2 Ohisama Hoikuen Aki Matsuri

During this festival the kids in Noah's preschool and the parents made a procession which included an Omikoshi. An Omikoshi is basically a shrine that is carried. Although for Noah's preschool it is really just a theme picture from the sports day festival (held the day before I left to the states). Here is Noah in front of it.

Ohisama Hoikuen Autumn Festival

A little while ago Noah had a festival at his preschool/daycare. He seemed to enjoy it and even though he is the youngest he was able to keep up with the big boys and have a good time. Here are a few pics of the proceedings.

sorry it's been so long

Well I am back with another blog for anyone interested. I had a wonderful time going back to the states and seeing my neice for the first time. She is adorable eventhough she doesn't look like a Pair which is a nice change of pace. Next time I go home I will definatly bring the whole family. It was the longest we have been apart and I would prefer to not repeat that. Naoko and Noah survied my absence and Noah only ask about for the first week. While I was gone they went to a few festivals and Noah was a really good boy (according to Naoko). I guess I am the one who is a bad influence on him. I am glad to be back in Japan or should I say I am glad to be back with my family. I miss all the convience that there was back in the states though. I am glad to see that not much is changed in respect to my family, friends and relatives. One thing I really appreciate about America is the lack of a gift giving culture. It will be nice to not have to deal with that once we move back. However on the other hand I think my parents can appreciate the gift giving culture of Japan as they enjoy thier new heated toliet seat. I am happy that I will be able to bring one back for myself when I move back. They are so nice. Well I have so more to write about so I will leave you all with a pic of the heated toilet seat for your enjoyment.

My towns tourist trap

My town is famous for UFOs. that is our town theme. we have a UFO museum which has been shown on TV here several times. We have UFO shaped light posts, bus stops and rest areas. And on the mystery mountain (Sengan Mori) compasses don't work. Enjoy the pic of one of the various Aliens from my town.

Finally!

After years of living in the country (and I mean country) a bit of home finally came to my neck of the woods. Now a simple 15min drive and I can have some Starbucks. They opened up a Starbucks kiosk inside the medical college with is close to me. The kiosk is actually in the hospital wing but it is a real Starbucks. In a side story that is somewhat related recently we had to take Noah to the hospital late one night due to him puting a plastic bead in his ear. Well that went smoothly and it was removed but since it was late I would have to come back the next day to pay (only $20 buck and I can get reembursed if I take the receit to the City Hall, wow the wonders of national health care). Well the next day after work I went and paid then treated myself to a Carmel Frapachino (i have no idea how to spell it). I don't know how much they cost in the states but here it cost 440 yen for a tall. the funny thing was that the kiosk is small but still had 8 people and a manager working there. here is a pic of the place.

Noah's summer festival

At Noah's daycare he had a festival this summer and since I am part of the PTA I had to work. In a first for me I was in charge of the Cotton Candy making. Let me tell you it is not easy. I needed two hands or I couldn't do it. Here are some pics.

back to school

sorry I haven't been blogging for some time now. It has been so hot and humid over here that you don't feel like doing much other than trying to stay cool. well summer is over and that means back to school. School offically started this last monday the 27th and as of friday the students were still not full back mentally. I'll give them a little more time.

In Japan summer is over after the Obon festival. This festival is actually celebrated in Seattle and is probably the biggest festival time in Japan. If you don't know what the Obon festival is I'll explain (or you could just look it up on Wikipedia), it is a festival celebrating your ancestors. Japanese families visit the family grave to offer incess, flowers and prays that their ancestors will continue to watch over them. Obon is the time of year where subsiquently the spirits of your ancestors come back to your family grave so it is customary to put out decorative lanterns so they will know where they are supposed to come back to. The whole thing is a mixture of buddhism and shintoism i believe. Anyway that is traditional part of Obon, the fun part is that there is a festival at the end of Obon. The festival held in Tsukidate is the biggest of the year and many people come out. There are all kinds of booths with games and food to try. then in the center of the festivities there is a tower with taiko drum players and singers. Around that tower many people do a traditional Obon dance. I don't much care for the dancing but I love to go up and play taiko with everyone.
This year Tsukidate had an exchange program with their sister city (Revere, MA) it is next to Boston. I had to help out with translation duties while they were here. They had a fun time and were able on their last night to go to the Obon festival. They danced and had a great time.
This summer is over now and it is easy to tell. During this last week the weather has gotten bad and it is getting colder. I think autumn is here early.
I'll write some more later and put up some pics. bye for now.