More Photos from Last Week

Well, I’ve figured out one reason why I’m not posting as often. For some reason, our computer is VERY slow in the evenings. Additionally, I am having trouble accessing blogger from my Mac at work, so it makes it a bit more troublesome to post pictures, since they take so long to load. Hopefully the slow connection is only temporary.

Here are some more photos from last weekend. The main picture was taken by Ridge. I wasn’t supposed to post it, since Aaron and I both agreed we didn’t really like the picture, but I almost never post pictures of us, so I changed my mind.

These are some other shots of the cherry tree field and the little Flower View Party (“Hanami”) that was going on while we were there.

Hanami, view #1
Hanami, view #2


The van in the distance is hooked up to a generator so these folks could power up their karaoke machine.

Singing under the Cherry Trees

This is a short video clip of the taiko players.

Drumming

Before we left town, we noticed a small ceremony happening on the side of the road just outside of Nishiokoppe. I think they were doing an annual blessing of this statue. This deity is Jizosama, and he is the protector of children and travelers. It’s very common to see small statues like this scattered throughout the countryside, next to the road. Frequently, someone in the area will appoint themselves as caretaker to the shrine, and they will keep it in good shape. This will often include providing it with a red hat and bib or scarf, especially in the winter.

Jizosama

Lastly, I just had to show this display of non-Japanese mannequins flaunting their kimono.

Cool Kimono

We still haven’t figured out why it’s so common for the mannequins here to be non-Asian. In fact, now that I think about it, I would be hard pressed to think of the last time I say a Japanese mannequin.

Another even of note is something that happened after my adult conversation class on Tuesday. Ridge’s teacher and her husband (he teaches at the jr. high school) began coming to my class shortly after they moved her in April. They are Mr. and Mrs. Yaso, and they are really fantastic people. She has been a teacher for 26 years and he has been teaching for about 24 years. Oddly, Ridge is Mrs. Yaso’s first foreign student. Mrs. Yaso can speak a little bit of English, but we manage without too much trouble. She has been a blessing for us. We were, of course, a little nervous about Ridge starting first grade, but I could tell immediately that she was a veteran teacher. Mr. Yaso speaks more English and is a very interesting man to chat with.

Anyway, after my class on Tuesday, Mr. Yaso asked me if Ridge liked to play baseball. We chatted about that for a few minutes, and then Mrs. Yaso presented me with a bag, saying she wanted Ridge and Holt to have what was inside. When I looked, I saw two baseball mitts. Mrs. Yaso was very excited to be giving this to me, and she explained that the mitts had belonged to her son. In fact, the bigger of the two mitts (Ridge’s) still has the son’s name written on it. I was so touched that she decided to pass these along to us! I could hardly believe it. Her son is now a college student, but yet she had held on to these gloves for all those years. Who knows, maybe she just hadn’t gotten around to cleaning out some boxes, I’ll never know. Regardless, it was a really touching gift, and one that will always stick with me. Ridge and Holt were bouncing with excitement when they saw them, and have enjoyed trying to play catch for the past several afternoons.