Well, Hello Kitty!

Nothing quite conjures up the true feel and essence of Japan like Hello Kitty.  Right up there with Fugi and sushi, Hello Kitty is a Japanese icon.  And you would be hard pressed to find a bigger Hello Kitty fan than Leyton Lee Campoamor.  For two years running, and she's gunning for a 3-peat, Leyton has been Hello Kitty for Halloween.  Then there are toys, blankets, purses, shirts, shoes, bows, books, and lots and lots of stickers of Hello Kitty that liter our home.  So though the rest of our party found Hello Kitty Land to be rather painful, Leyton LOVED it.

Hello Kitty Land, or Sanrio Puroland as it's really named, is completely indoors.  Perfect for a rainy day.  Which it was.

HK is apparently 40 years old

Poppy and Ellis on the lookout for Kitty

This smile is why adults subject themselves to places like Hello Kitty Land

Our first 'ride' was the boat ride.  Basically 'It's a Small World' but with Hello Kitty characters.  P.S. there are a LOT of characters.

My Melody!!!

This is Bon Bon Ribbon, who is a big deal here in Japan but I don't think she is elsewhere.  Not sure if Bon Bon Ribbon is the name of this whole group of rabbits or just one rabbit.  Anyway, they danced on-stage and then invited the kids out to learn a very detailed Bon Bon Ribbon dance.  I will try and post a video or find a link for the Bon Bon Ribbon song.  It's a very annoying though catchy tune.

LC is on the far right.  Ellis had long ago grown bored and ran away.

Hello Kitty's coach

One last hug as we departed

No idea who the tiger is

We visited on a weekend AND a Japanese holiday, so it was very crowded.  We didn't even get to see the parade or go inside her house.  Fortunately, HK Land is only about a 40 drive from our house.  So, though painful and expensive, we will likely be going again.

**After further research and unsuccessful attempts at loading a Bon Bon Ribbon video, I have discovered a few things.  First, Bon Bon Ribbon is new (compared to HK's 40 years) so if you've never heard of her, you just aren't that cool.  She debuted in 2012 and is indeed one rabbit, so the rest must be her friends or siblings.  Also, she wants to be a fashion designer like her mother when she grows up.  My sources include, but are not limited to, wikipedia.  You are welcome.

FOOD!

You will all benefit from pictures from Poppy and BBs camera for the next few posts.  Everyone else is better at remembering to take pictures than me.  This post is a sample of some of the food available here in Japan.

Vending machine ice cream

Sanwa (local grocery store) sushi

Probably chicken

Hot dog at a baseball game (some things are universal)

You can get pretty much anything from a vending machine here

Fresh catch at a fish market

Some kind of giant dumpling thing with pork inside

Sweet potato cakes

Sweet potato and green tea soft serve

A squid that is flattened into a cracker using high heat and pressure.  It was fabulous.

Candy-dipped banana at Hello Kitty Land -personally I thought it was gross

Chicken??

More sushi

More sushi... this time at a sushi Go-Round

Yummy

Japanese curry.  The red is spicier at this restaurant.

Udon noodles

The best food of the visit was not photographed.  For our 10th wedding anniversary, Ryan and myself went to Nakamura Sushi.  Mr. Nakamura gave us a special seat at the bar and for two and a half hours personally prepared sushi for us.  We sampled everything, including sea pineapple and sea urchin.  Everything was good, but some things were better than others.  The whole experience was delightful.  I sat next to a Japanese computer programmer who helped to translate for Mr. Nakamura (who spoke pretty good English himself).  He was delightfully socially awkward and was very helpful in teaching me the proper sushi-eating technique.  Next to Ryan was an older Japanese gentleman who goaded Ryan into drinking plenty of sake.  I can't begin to describe all the delicious food we enjoyed, so you will just have to visit and try it for yourself.  If sushi isn't your thing, then you can babysit while I go back there and eat :-)

Our First Visitors!

Welcome to Japan Poppy and BB!

We had the opportunity to finally show some folks around our new home.  Our first visitors were Poppy and BB.  They stayed for two weeks, and we stayed busy.

Our first trip was to Enoshima Beach.  It was very hot and very crowded -but to be fair it was probably the worst possible time to go.  It is currently the Japanese Obon season, when most Japanese take vacation, AND we went on a weekend.  And it's August, so the sand was BURNING hot.

But we still had fun.  The water isn't dirty, it just looks that way because the sand is blackish.

Ellis is fearless and loves the water.

Leyton was a little more hesitant in the water, but she had fun too.

The patch of clouds in the background is Mt. Fugi.

Stay tuned for more -including Yokohama Baystars baseball, Hello Kitty Land, shrines, weird food, pirate ships and, of course, lots of cute kids!

Everyday Stuff

Well it's summer here in Japan.  Summer is hands down my least favorite season.  My theory is, you can always put on more clothes to warm up, but you can only (legally) take off a certain amount of clothing to cool off.  And then there's the bugs.  I haven't seen them personally, only photos from friends of spiders the size of your hand.  Apparently they are harmless, so if you are nuts you really can hold them in your hand.  And the mosquitoes.  Poor Leyton is a bugger favorite.  Even with ridiculous amounts of bug repellent, she gets devoured and the bites swell to the size of a quarter.  So combine the heat and the bugs, we spend a lot of time indoors, which is not the most ideal locale for kids.  Fortunately we do have AC here.  Our bill will certainly be insane... but whatever the cost of the cool air, it is worth it.

With the exception of a couple of hours of 'pool time', Leyton is out of school for 4 weeks.  Luckily, Poppy and BB will be here for the middle portion of summer vacation.  We are SO excited to have our first visitors to Japan.  And now that Dada has to make a whirlwind trip back to the States during that time, I am even more excited.  I love my girls, but there is only so much fussing and princess and fussing I can handle.

The last couple of weeks, we have had a couple of playdates with our Japanese neighbors.  The first was just Ellis and I (LC was at school).  We visited our friend Ms. Jun.  We met Ms. Jun one day at the local park.  She heard us speaking English and came over to talk.  She grew up in Japan, but lived in Sydney, Australia for the last 30 years.  Now she and her husband have moved back to Japan for retirement.  She lives just a couple of blocks from us, and we run into her from time to time around the neighborhood.  She even helped translate for me at Leyton's first Parent-Teacher conference.  She had Ellis and myself over for some tea.

Our second playdate was at the Saitou's.  Hero is a boy in Leyton's class and his mother, Takae, speaks English and helps me enormously.  She had us, another American friend of hers, and a Japanese friend who studies English, over for a couple of hours after school.  She has three boys and another baby on the way and she is amazing.  I made Rice Krispie treats, which where a huge hit with the 4 adults and 7 kids!

I also try and get to base to meet up with some Navy 'American' friends as well.  We do lunch or have a few play dates with friends.  We are doing our best to make friends here, but there is only so much you can talk about while making sure the children aren't going to jump off the couch or jump in the kiddie pool with their clothes on (both of which actually happened -can't take your eyes off of Ellis for a second!).

Care packages are our favorite.  This one is from Poppy and BB.  It was full of glitter and other princess paraphernalia -and of course was a huge hit with these two.

Leyton went through a phase where she would come out of her room and wait at the top of the stairs for us to come get her in the morning.  Ryan found her up there one morning at around 0530... sound asleep.

After this morning, we had a talk with her about staying in her room.  We already have to put up the baby gate and 'lock' her in for nap time.  We threatened to do the same at night, but she has thus far heeded our warning and stays put.

We hit up the pool about once a week.  I wanted to do swimming lessons with the girls this summer, but the timing with school and visitors isn't going to work out.

E is such a funny kid.  She is talking more and more.  She says 'I poop', 'I eat', 'I hungry', 'I cry' and other such cute things. She is also warning up for her terrible twos with frequent fits of rage.

I didn't make the selfie, but cute pic of the girls.

Poppy and BB sent two new princess dresses, complete with sound effects and lights.  Here is Cinderella giving Sleeping Beauty 'true loves kiss' to wake her up.

One evening I took a walk and typed 'Temple' into Google maps.  About 15 minutes later, I arrived here.

This is a sort of fountain that you are supposed to use to cleanse yourself prior to visiting the shrines.  Apparently there was a spider web in my way.

Some kind of shrine 

The temple that I believe doubles as a sort of community center, though I could be completely wrong about that

Another nap time. She only naps about once a week.  The rest of the time, she plays and destroys her room.

Cool kids

We braved the bugs one evening for a little swim session 

Happy Summer!  Stay Cool Friends!