Jozankei weekend

I just uploaded more than 50 photos from our weekend in the mountains at the Jozankei waterslide hotel (that's not its official name, but that's how we think of it!).

It was a great weekend. The kids seem to have inherited my family's love of waterslides -- they couldn't get enough. Making three trips a day to play in the pool was just about right for Jack, Katie and Liv. In between, we hiked around the town, ate delicious food, and played some arcade games (mostly wack-a-mole, which is WAY too much fun). But mostly it was all about the swimming.

Sadly, I couldn't get any photos in the water, but you can see photos of the wonderful hotel room, the dining room where we ate "Viking-style" meals (what they called a buffet), and the kids playing in the arcade. It feels like it was a weekend filled with laughter.

Baby Fuuka

Baby Fuuka turned one month old on Monday, which meant Hiromi felt free to take her out of the house (she had explained earlier, by way of apology, that she would keep her indoors the first month). So they came for a visit to our house, and it was so much fun to see them.

From what we've been able to figure out, most new moms and babes don't leave the house for the first month. Someone comes and takes care of them. In Hiromi's case, her mother came to help with Ayumu and take care of them.

In Japan, when the babe is a month old, the mother's mother "presents" the babe at a Shinto shrine. But Hiromi explained that in Hokkaido, which has such a long, hard winter, babies aren't presented at the shrine until they are 100 days old. So even if they are born in late fall, they will be a bit more robust when they are taken for their big day at the shrine. Often photos are taken when a baby is 100 days old (we saw FABULOUS "100-day-old" pictures of Tomoko's boys in their house -- looking like little future emperors).

At just 30+ days, little Fuuka is adorable. Jack, Katie and Liv enjoyed holding her (they only had a glimpse of her earlier), and they were happy to see Ayumu and have him to play.

We also were impressed with Hiromi's sling. I think I mentioned earlier that the majority of parents here seem to use slings and baby carriers and not strollers. I can see that it now also makes sense not just for the subway, but for the snow. Fuuka was all wrapped up and cozy in the sling -- she didn't need a huge winter outfit on or anything, as she was just tucked under Hiromi's coat. John said it *almost* made you want to have another baby, just so you could use some of this cool Japanese baby gear. No worries. Almost isn't going to happen any time in our future! But it did make me laugh.

Mochi making

The kids had a "special" day at school Monday (not a day they usually go). It was time for mochi making.

Mochi is, according to the not-so-scholarly-but-oh-so-helpful Wikipedia, a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.

In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. You can read more about it by clicking here.

Mochi making is a LOT of fun. Tons of parents were there, and like everything that has happened at the kids' school, the whole program was flawlessly run (and on time). Two classes went up to the gym at a time to watch the adults pound the mochi, and then the kids got to try it, too. All the while, mothers were carefully making and weighing the pieces of mochi which the kids would use later. It was a loud, noisy, laughing time. Even the head of the school (seen in the photos clapping his hands and pounding the mochi with John), who usually can be seen in a suit and tie, was working as hard as anyone.

After making it, the kids then went down to a classroom to mold the mochi into smaller bites, and generally have fun with it. The teachers sent a LOT of it home with us, not just the pieces the kids played with. I think this was an attempt to be extra nice to the foreigners, and we were grateful. But...

Four of us don't really like mochi. And we have a lot of it. John tried his best to rub it in a soy-sugar paste and toast it (which is what Hiromi recommended... as well as covering it with special spices you can buy at the store)... and he is driven to find a way to make it wonderful. But so far, we haven't found a way to make mochi taste very good. It's not that it tastes bad plain... but it's not something I would spend hours making, pounding endlessly with a wooden mallet once a year as a special treat.

That said -- it was awesome to see the process, and be part of a tradition. We gave one of the bags to Hiromi, who was thrilled to have it, and John continues to test recipes with the other bag.

I'll let you know if we have any luck.