Random stuff we saw

These are some nifty gas stations in Japan.  See how the gas pump comes down from the roof?!  Cool!

These were the bathrooms at the park.  Rather..... open. 

And they had squatty potties.   

We saw this on the beach!  At first we thought it was a giant jellyfish, but it is really heavy and solid.  It kind of looks like a brain.  It was a solid mass, surrounded by a clear gelatinous layer.  So odd! 

Once it was upside down, the tentacles looked wrong for a jellyfish, but after counting.... hey, it is an octopus!   Pretty awesome.

There is something neat about driving past fields of green.  These are lotus plants and the
leaves are gi-normous!

One of the fields by the back gate has these folks in them.  I finally asked someone about them and learned that they are not actual people but are scarecrows!  Heh heh heh, I feel silly, but come on, it is hard to see clearly when you are the driver!

Check out this adorable little truck.  The cab isn't even big enough to seat 2 people.  It really is just a mini vehicle, and it is so cute!

This is our little friend who lives in between the house and shed.  He crawls out every night to spin his web, and disappears in the morning.  He really is huge, but he eats bugs and stays mostly out of sight, so he is allowed to stay.

How to have a bad day.

 If you are going to have a bad day, you might start with having to drive to a little Japanese school in the middle of nowhere.  You might already know that it is accessible only through a tiny little street.  Having already driven that street, you might be feeling pretty confident about that.  However, should you be approaching from the other direction, you may discover that there is a big difference between driving said road for 1/4 mile, and doing it for significantly further.

The road might look something like this.  Note that there are ditches, rather than curbs, and that the telephone pole is set on the street, as opposed to the more rational off the street position. When oncoming traffic approaches, one must be very careful to not end up in the ditch, but one also desires to not meet the oncoming car head on.  Again, note that the road is not really meant for much traffic.

Should you be interested in having a bad day, you might be a little preoccupied with finding the school from an unfamiliar direction, and you might be concerned about navigating a narrow road, and when an oncoming car appears, you might forget for just a moment that you are sitting on the right side of the car, rather than the left, and in the process of moving over, may also fail to notice that the telephone pole is in the road.  This could lead to a spectacular run-on sentence, and could also result in flattening and scraping your van down the entire length of the passenger side.

Thus, it might look something like this:

This might lead you to feel quite a bit of chagrin and mortification.  It may lead to loss of self esteem and confidence, and dread at telling one's husband that one has done something so spectacularly stupid.

Should one possess a optimistic disposition, one might be grateful that it is cosmetic damage only, and no ditches or other vehicles were involved.  One might be doubly grateful that one has a husband who is more prone to offering condolences and Apple Fritters than criticism.  And one might feel pretty lucky, even if one still feels incredibly dumb.

A Day at the Beach

 Today we went exploring.  Sort of.  My friend Sylvie-Ann showed us how to get to an awesome beach!  It was quiet and secluded and had some fabulous perks- park, climbing course, and gorgeous views.  We were the only people on the beach for most of the day.  A fisherman came for less than an hour and we saw another fisherman walking along the wall on our way out.  It was our own private beach!

Gorgeous!

Callie was excited to find little crabs. She thoughtfully released them into the safety of some tide pools. 

I think that is her, all the way out there on the rocks by the tide pools. 

This is how happy I am!  Lovely beach, lovely day, and hey, I'm in Japan! 

Yep, there Callie is, looking for exciting wildlife.  Mostly, there was just a ton of sand fleas. Ick. 

The view straight across the water. 

So pretty! 

Rylee had a very good time. 

Ha ha ha ha.  Joshua just screamed that something touched him.

The kids ventured into the water, despite the chill and debris. 

I was just find dipping my toes, but they went all the way in.  Delaney cut her foot on a rock though and that was the end of her sea-faring time.

I brought Daiso breads for lunch. There was nothing left to take home.

Rylee is enjoying some "Melon Pan" with chocolate chips in it.  So good! 

They dug this hole and it is really deep! 

With her cut foot, Delaney was fine playing in the sand, but wasn't sure about going in the water with an ouchie. 

My Marian, roaming in her whimsey! 

My little girls, with their friend. 

There was much more wading than actual swimming.   

The fisherman.  I don't know if he caught anything.  He was just there a short time and then gone. 

Joshua was the only boy.  Heh heh heh.  He didn't seem to mind and was great with all the girls. 

Well, mostly great. 

Callie was really mad (REALLY really mad!) that he dropped sand on her.  Biggify this photo to get a good look! 

Sorry, I just love this girl!  She meanders around, doing her own thing, perfectly content. 

"Hey Ladies!" 

 Having a good time.  Sylvie said she saw some jellyfish, but the girls didn't notice and I had head the jellyfish here weren't the stinging kind.  I guess that was true, or the girls were very lucky.

Sometimes this kid does the oddest things. 

Or the funniest things.... 

Such a cutie!

What is You-Me Town?

 Today we are going to check out You-Me Town!  This is one of the basic and easiest places to find here.  A friend took me there the first time, but this day, I got there all by myself.  It was very exciting.  So, let's get started.  You can't miss it because there is a giant pink square above the buildings with the name on it.  I forgot to get a picture of it.

This is the front entrance.  We parked in the lot on the other side of the street.

Upstairs is clothing.  I was looking for a specific pair of shoes for Rylee, but they seem to not have a kid section at all. 

Downstairs is a giant grocery store!  This is the pharmacy section. 

I was looking for Zucchini and saw these.  I thought it might be eggplant, so I got some to try.  (No, it doesn't work well as a zuke substitute.) 

I have no clue what any of this is. 

Spices!  Yes!  I recognize that!  We even bought some super-fun "toast sprinkles".  Based on the item, it looks like they eat lots of toast sprinkled with various flavors, like "cheesecake" and "chocolate cinnamon sugar", or, my favorite- "pizza"! 

Fish, anyone?  They do have some amazing pre-prepped stuff.  You can buy a container that has all your veggies and meat pre-chopped, with the sauce and spices and everything.  Yes, the States have that, but this is fresh, not frozen.

Rylee and I picked this to try out.  It is pink and slightly squishy, and was in the bread section. 

Rylee bravely sampled it. I did not.

She was not descriptive enough to tell me if it was jelly or bean paste in the middle.  She said it was okay, but did not finish it.  Dan polished it off later and proclaimed it unexciting, but not bad.  He also was unsure of the substance in the middle. (So.... probably bean paste!)

This was what Rylee really wanted to eat!  It was very lightweight, and the picture looked like chocolate covered something.  She ate it all while I was driving, so I don't know what it actually looked like.  It was a fun trip!