Fun at Kintai

 On Saturday, my friend Laura and her 2 girls took me and 3 of my girls over to the Kintai Bridge.  It is famous because it has been here since the 1600's and it is made entirely of wood.  No metal at all. It is a big attraction for folks around here (and not from around here.)  It isn't just the bridge though.  I mean, yes, there is the bridge, but across the street is a lot more stuff.  On Saturday, we did the lot more.

We let the girls play at the water, and took lots of pictures.  I hope you appreciate that I only posted 35 pictures, not the 102 I took!  The girls were fascinated with the very climb-able trees. They also wanted to pose with multiple things.  You may note that Callie has decided on a new pose for her pictures, and it has been taken up by the others as well.

After getting feet and pants wet on the river, there was a little snack.  Then we meandered across the street.  We visited the park and shrine areas. There were lots of interesting things to see.  There was a pond with some incredibly large carp.  Most of our snacks went to the fish.  They were a lot of fun!  We checked out the Pagoda and the girls thought it hysterically funny to pose on the steps.  They played at the playground.  They were cross that I wouldn't let them go into the temple there.  I wasn't sure what the proper protocol was.  They were quickly distracted when they saw some cats.

After chasing the cats, we went in search of ice cream.  We found a lovely place with a huge variety of flavors.  I was a little surprised that the girls chose green apple, and grape flavors.  I went with chocolate and it was quite chocolaty! They place also had chicken on a stick.  It was delicious!!

We had a great day exploring the stuff to see and do there.  The kids had fun and I enjoyed it immensely.   I'm not going to caption all the photos, so if you feel like it, you can take the 15 minutes check them out.

Makin' Groceries

 My awesome friend Laura invited me to go out in town with her, and I was excited to do so.  We made several stops, but silly me didn't think to grab the camera till we were at the grocery store.  So, here is what one might find while makin' groceries in Japan!

These are pears.  I know, they look like apples.  But they are pears.  Ginormous pears.

Seriously, this is not a photography trick. It really is that insanely huge! 

Little dried fishies, anyone? 

Ooooh, they have the best bread here!  This kind comes in a square.  The squares are the same size, but the width of the bread varies.  You can get 4, 5 or 6 slices in your square of bread.  4, meaning super-fat slices, and 6 being a wide, but manageable thickness.

What the back corner of the store looks like. It is all crowded and narrow, but interesting! 

My favorite section!  The ice cream! 

And look!  A familiar name.  Sorry about the glare, but you can probably still see the Hagan Daaz.  

More frozen goods. 

The soy sauce selection. 

Juice? 

Hmmm... the carton is familiar, even if the writing is not. 

Butter!  Now that, I can't live without. 

Beans that don't come in cans.  Very interesting. 

Adorable little mushrooms! 

Nice!  Who wouldn't want to try some "Softly Chocolate Bread"?  Yes, I got it.  It had a chocolate cream filling and the kids scarfed it up, so I assume it was yummy.

Guess what?!  I totally bought this and ate it for lunch!  Don't ask me what it was.  It had noodles and cabbage and sauce and I think, a fried egg on top.  I felt all adventurous, and it was tasty!

 See, here I am, at the supermarket in Japan, feeling all cultured!

What makes me smile this week

This is Marian at our General Conference meeting.  This girl sat just like this for the entire 2 Sunday sessions.  She was awesome!  

This is Rylee's Yochien Bus!  Not only is is cute, it picks her up in the morning and returns her in the afternoon.  I love it!  

This is one of my new plates.  The "Recycle Shop" I was introduced to today had 12 of these that I now call mine!  Made in Japan and gorgeous.  Bonus..... I paid less than $2.50 for all of them.  Hooray!  Now I have enough plates for lots of company!