Weekend Park

Another beautiful day in Shibinai Village, clear blue skies, but a cold wind coming off of the mountains, I went outside for a bit after breakfast but quickly came back in to put more clothes on, it seems when the sky is cloudless it is much colder. After breakfast the boys went outside to play at the school playground with Ueo-sans kids, I am surprised that I don't see any other kids outside playing on such a beautiful day.

I screwed up this morning and cut the power off to the Router and the Internet went down and I couldn't figure out how to get it back up, so a quick call to the man who helped us get it connected, instructed us to push one button and BAM it was back on, I have never had to rely on someone else for computer repair or service because I have always been able to do it myself, but here with everything written in Japanese and zero experience with ISDN, I feel helpless.

I got some mail that I really didn't want to see today, it was a letter from the Pi Pi International School, telling me thank you for applying but at this time they do not need me. :( That bummed me out!! But maybe it was not the right time or place, everything happens for a reason, and maybe there is a better, higher paying job around the corner.

I raised the plastic on the plants today so that they can get some fresh air, other than that, Norman is supposed to give me a call after his only lesson today at 11:00 am, and right on time as usual I received a call at 11:55 am saying that he was on his way. When Norman arrived I suggested that we go to a local park and walk around to enjoy the beautiful weather, and he thought that was a great idea, so off we went.

It was chilly and the wind was cold and strong, but there were many people at the park and even a few campers, we walked around and took some pictures and videos, the kids rode a luge type ride on a wheeled cart that they have been wanting to do for a while, Koby rode by himself and Yasuko and Evan rode together, they really enjoyed it, but it is $3 for about a 30 second ride. We also went to a nearby horse stable and let the boys look at all of the horses.

It was getting cold so we decided to head back to the house but stopped right before we came down the other side of the hill to Shibinai and took some pictures of our town from atop the mountain, It is a great shot of all of Shibinai.

Norman left not to long after we arrived and we all went to Bestom to get Koby a haircut and pick up a few grocery's that we needed, we got back late and took baths and then ate dinner, Evan was falling asleep at the table so he went to bed before finishing, but Koby finished and then headed off to bed also. It was a long and fun day!

Temp: High - 64
Low - 41

Normal Routines

Another beautiful day in the Kamikawa Basin, the weather is sunny and in the high 60's and it feels great outside. Everybody was up to their normal morning routines around the house, I went outside to raise the plastic on both greenhouses before breakfast.

Yasuko came home at 10:30 am but has to go back at 1:20 pm for the last hour. We got a call from a neighbor (Yoshitake-san) and said she had some vegetables that had been given to her that she couldn't possibly use before they got bad, so Evan Yasuko and myself walked over to her house to pick them up.

On the way back Yasuko went to the school for the last hour while Evan and I came back home to wait until Yasuko and Koby comes home. After school we are going to go to a new Electronics shop that we have not been to yet, we are in the market for a new refrigerator, and are just shopping around and pricing one that we might want. I think Koby also wants to look at the Nintendo DS games, since his grandma in Tokyo sent him some money for his birthday.

It was fun looking at all of the electronic gadgets at Yamada Denki, Koby bought a new game for his DS with the money his grandma in Tokyo had sent him, Yasuko and I looked at refrigerators, but they were really expensive there and we have seen then cheaper at another electronics store. While we were there I got a USB extension cord that I needed for my new camera, I didn't feel comfortable plugging the camera into the back of my MAC, because it felt like the USB plug on the camera could possibly snap off easy, so now I have a cord to use which feels much more stable, we also got a long ethernet cable that Yasuko needed to sit in the living room while surfing on the Internet.

After the electronics store we headed back to the house but first stopped off at the dollar store to exchange a book that we bought in error, we picked up some bread also from the grocery store on the bottom level of the dollar store and then headed back to the house. We came home and ate dinner and then went to bed, nothing exciting for the evening.

Temp: High - 66
Low - 39

Gardening

Woke up to some beautiful blue skies and sun peaking through, hopefully we are done with all of the rain for awhile, but this is the mountains and the weather is always volatile. We all were up at normal times today, and ate breakfast while Yasuko and Koby went to school.

Koby and the school kids are outside practicing for their sports festival that is coming up in a little over a week. They have been practicing running, throwing balls into a basket, dancing and playing songs on their flute recorders. Koby is really enjoying going to school here.

After breakfast I went outside to plant a row of soy beans that Kitayama grandma had given me, I will probably have enough soybeans to supply the whole town with, after that I weeded both of my potato beds of all the grass that had started growing on them, there are potato plants starting to poke their heads through the dirt, so I was pretty excited when I saw that.

After weeding the potato beds, I planted the rest of the corn seeds that I had, so far I have a 100% germination rate, so if that keeps up I should have about 30 corn plants. I plan on doing several small rows of corn in hopes of getting good pollination rates, and if I have seedlings left over I will just give them to someone else. All of the other plants are looking good so far.

Koby came home from school and said that he had been invited to Fujita-sans house and that they planned on making chewing gum. I am not sure how that is done, but he was instructed to bring some honey with him. Evan is outside playing with the remaining kids that stayed behind.

My friend Ben stopped by today to show me the motorcycle he just bought, it is a Honda and is a 50cc bike, here in Japan Motorbikes under 50cc can be driven with a regular car drivers license, but anything over 50cc needs a motorcycle license. The bike was made in 1997 an is modeled after a 1960's style bike, I think it looks cool, in a retro sort of way. A motorcycle here in the summer would be nice to have, but 6 months of the year, it would be sitting in a garage somewhere, because of snow.

It is getting dusk now and the boys are at the playground getting the last playtime in before it gets dark, Yu is outside riding her unicycle and Yasuko is in the kitchen getting dinner ready. I didn't hear from the school I interviewed with, but they said 2-3 days so hopefully tomorrow I will get some good news.

Genghis Khan

Everyone was up around the normal times, Yasuko and Koby were off to school while Evan and I did our normal routine. Evan and myself ate breakfast and then I quickly went outside to uncover the plants a bit and let them breathe. The day started off sunny and warm but later after lunch started to get windy and cold. Yasuko came home at lunch and we had to go to town hall and the dollar store to run some errands.

When we got back I closed the plastic on the plants and we decided to have a semi-BBQ in our house with the new hot-plate that we purchased the other day. We had cabbage, onions, bean sprouts, shitake mushrooms and lamb marinated in a sugar soy base. The local Hokkaido people like to refer to the lamb meat as Genghis Khan. The dinner was great and I even took a short video of it, that I will try and put up for everyone to see.

In the mail today was a surprise that I have been waiting for, it's the new Flip Video Digital Camcorder. The camera we had, battery decided to die and would not keep a charge, we checked out how much a new battery would be and it was going to cost us over $100 dollars... WOW!! My new camera only cost $140, and that is exactly why I got it.

It is very easy to use and runs off of 2 double AA batteries, and uses no tapes, it is all solid state and downloads straight to your computer, no fuss. Thanks Dad for ensuring it got to me quickly.

The rest of the day was unremarkable and nothing to mention, I miss all of my family and friends, but we are doing great and loving living here.

Temp: High - 64
Low - 39

Job Interview

Everyone was up at their normal times this morning, Evan and I did our normal routine eating cereal, toast and coffee and watching kids shows on TV. We have to get ready quickly this morning to make it to my interview at Pi Pi International English School, I think we will leave at 10:00 am just to be on the safe side that we make it on time. We have never been there before and just want to allocate time if we get lost. It is not that far away, and probably only takes about 20 minutes to get there. Wish me luck!

The interview went well and I am very confident that I will get this job, another person was applying for the same position when I arrived but was an hour late, so maybe I already have the advantage since I was right on time. After the interview I hung around to observe how the other teachers operated with the children there. I saw about 8 children from ages 2-5 in attendance, and they all came over to talk with me and show me their art projects that they had just completed.

Playing with kids, doing art with them, singing and dancing and getting paid for it, while exposing the Japanese children to a English speaking environment, what more could you ask for? The person who interviewed me said that she would give me a call in 2-3 days to let me know what the results of my employment would be. From what I understood I will be working from 9 am to 5 pm 4 days a week and then 1 pm to 6 pm at a local Elementary school for one ore day, for a total of 37 hours per week.

The person who interviewed me said that Evan could attend also for free, this is like a big bonus being that this school is very expensive and charges about $500 a month for a 5 day week. My pay will be around $2000 dollars a month, which will provide us plenty of money for all of our expenses with a little less than half of it left over. Hokkaido rent is very cheap, now we are paying $160 a month, but have to move out in 4 more months since this house is allocated for the teachers that teach at Shibinai Elementary school, there is another house in front of us that is owned by the city and is newer and a little larger that costs $360 a month. We want to live there since we will be able to stay for as long as we are able to pay rent, so even if the school closes and the boys have to attend the next closest school our housing will be set.

The rest of the day was spent making a trip to a local Electronic Store to look for Koby a video game he has been wanting and then I played with the neighborhood kids until it started to get dark. For dinner we are having curry and rice, Yummy! One of my favorite dishes!

Temp: High - 54
Low - 46

Fresh From the Garden

Koby and Yasuko were up at school time while Evan and I got up at 8:00 am, Evan set down to a breakfast of cereal and kids shows, while I typed up the Shibinai diary for the day and drank a cup of coffee. I need to go out and raise the plastic on one side of both mini green houses so the plants can get some air. I think I will start some more corn plants today, I have so much space in my school garden plot I am still undecided what else to put there except a lot of corn, In the picture you can see some asparagus fresh out of my garden.

The weather is overcast now, but is supposed to be in the low 60's, the school kids were out in the garden plot today so I walked outside to see what they were planting. Today was just flowers called "Basalm", I never heard of them before, tomorrow is supposed to be vegetable planting day if the weather is ok. Later on in the day after Yasuko came home and we went into town and I got a much needed haircut, we had a couple of hours before Japanese class so we decided to go to Bestom because Yasuko wanted an electric hotplate that we can sit on the table and cook things in front of us.

The weather took a turn for the worse and the rain just pored down, we rushed to get back in time for Japanese class only to find a message from our teacher saying she would not be able to make it because of being sick with a fever. I called a local International Kindergarten instead that was looking for an English Teacher to see if they needed any help and have to go in for an interview tomorrow at 11:00 am

I quickly got a resume together and saved it to a small flash drive that Fujita-san had let me use, we dropped it off at their house and asked if they could print it out for us, she said no problem she would get her husband to do it and bring it over tomorrow. Dinner was Okonomiyaki, which is the Japanese pancake style food made with cabbage, sliced pork, egg, fish cake, with a sauce on top and bonito (tuna) flakes sprinkled on top. It was great and the new hot plate worked fine.

Temp: High - 63
Low - 50

Ramen Village

We all slept until about 8:15 am this morning and then everyone pretty much got up at the same time, Yasuko made toast for everyone while I went out to raise the sides of my mini greenhouse's. The weather is overcast today and Asahikawa says it will be rainy, although the weather here in Shibinai right next to the mountain is always a little different, so who knows what will happen.

We are helping collect old newspapers and magazines today for the school to recycle, the money goes to the operation of school functions, we are all meeting at the community center at 10:00 am. Collecting the papers was pretty easy and we made 2 trips to get all of the magazines and newspapers and boxes people had left at their doorsteps for recycling. When we finished Yasuko, the kids and I went to a flea market that was being held at the park we went to the other day that had the castle. The weather was rainy and got cold, everyone started packing up their items just after we arrived and we missed out on most of the items.

We mostly ate food there, and did very little shopping, Yasuko bought a cutting board and some honey made from bees in a cherry blossom field. We ate sausages on a stick, steamed bread filled with scallops and cheese, and ice cream, it was all real good, afterwards we came back home and rested for a while until Yasuko asked me if I still felt like going somewhere else, Why not let's go!! We went to Homac which is a store similar to Home Depot in the States, and then Toys R Us, yep they have one here also... and then we went to Asahikawa's Ramen Village. I had Kim-chee Ramen and a bowl of rice with grilled pork, Evan had a half bowl of soy sauce Ramen, Koby had a Miso based Ramen that was a bit spicy and Yasuko had a soy sauce based ramen, we ate until we were ready to pop.

We got home late after stopping by a local food market and picking up a few items we needed for in the morning. Koby had a little homework to finish, and Evan got ready for bed right away and fell asleep fast, after Koby finished his homework he was in bed by 10:00 pm and fell asleep very shortly. It was a busy but fun day, I hope the weather starts improving from all of the overcast and rainy weather we have had recently, the difference in the rain here versus Texas is that in Texas it floods, and here it just sprinkles, but its cold.

Temp: High - 73
Low - 50

First Onsen

Today we slept late since there is no school, I got up at 8:30 am while everyone else got up at 9:00 am. Today Masani-san is coming over at lunch time to take us to the nursery to get some vegetable plants for our garden. The school has also allocated a spot for us which is even bigger than the spot I have out the front door, gosh I have no idea what to plant there. I think I will put some corn there since corn takes up a larger space, also we have soy beans that were given to us so maybe I will grow some soy beans also (Edemame).

Masani-san showed up at 10:00 am while we were still eating breakfast so we hurried up and got ready to go. We all rode in his van to a local nursery that he frequents and bought (1) bell pepper plant, (2) hot pepper plants, (1) Zucchini plant, (2) melon plants and (1) cucumber plant. After the trip to the nursery we drove around Biei a bit and looked at the beautiful landscapes and farmlands. We stopped at a petting zoo which was free and looked at, fed and petted some animals, we saw horses, cows, rabbits, sheep, goats, chickens, albino deer, and an ostrich. The kids had fun feeding everything grass and dandelions.

After that we came home and I planted all of the pepper plants and the cucumber plant in my miniature green house, also I have 6 corn plants that have sprouted in my little cups, once they get healthy enough I will transfer them to the school garden plot. Masani-san set up another small greenhouse on the school plot, and we planted the melons and zucchini. I have a lot more room for other things but have not decided what to add. So far the count is 2 tomato plants, about 20 green onion plants, lots of potatoes, corn, and the other items that I got today.

It was a very hot and beautiful day today, perfect for gardening. Koby and Evan are outside somewhere playing with the neighborhood kids, Yasuko is taking a nap on the couch while I type up the journal for today, both of us are sore from yesterdays work. After the gardening work was done I went next door to see if Yu-chan wanted to play ball, her brother and sister were spending the night at Sumians-sans house and she was by herself today. She came out and I rescued her from boredom until it started to get dark.

After we ate dinner, Yasuko suggested that we go to the Hana Kagura Hotel and take a bath at their onsen, there onsen is not a natural one like many places around Hokkaido it is more like a spa community bath. We loaded the kids in the car and took off, the hotel is very near our house and only takes about 5 minutes to get there. We went inside and Yasuko payed while the kids and myself stored our items in the lockers. It costs $4 each for Yasuko and myself and $1 for Koby, and Evan is Free, so a total of $9.

Yasuko left to go to the women's side and me and the boys went to the mens side, we went into the locker room and took off our clothes and then entered the bathing area. There were small stalls set up along the wall with stool and shower heads where we all washed our bodies, and then came the good part. There was a total of 5 soaking pools and a sauna, the first one I tried was lukewarm so I passed on it to get in the hot one, while the kids got next to me in the lukewarm one. Actually the hot one was not that hot, and I make our bath at home much hotter usually. The boys joined me in the hot one and had a blast walking around the huge pool, I looked out the large ceiling high windows and thought I saw the reflection of somebody outside, and then realized there was people outside, I told Koby to go check and see if there were more pools outside, he came back with a big smile and said there were, so off we went.

Outside was Amazing, sitting in the cool air in a Hot Steamy pool under the stars was a great experience, they had the outside lit up with blue rope lights that lined the hill that we sit on, I liked the outside pools much better than being inside. After soaking outside I told the boys lets check out the sauna, after walking in and staying for all of 10 seconds the boys left while I stayed for a few minutes until the sweat was rolling off my body. The rest of the time was spent alternating between the pools and the boys braving the small ice cold pool, I stepped in the cold one and it was so cold that your toes would instantly start to get numb.

At 5 minutes until 10:00 pm we headed back to the dressing room to dry off and get dressed, Yasuko was waiting for us outside and apparently had been there for about 20 minutes, I asked he why she didn't stay until closing time, and she said she was worried that we were out waiting for her. We all really enjoyed it and will definitely return for another relaxing bathing adventure.

We returned home and the boys went straight to bed while Yasuko and I stayed up too late (12:30 am)

Temp: High - 75
Low - 46

Rice Farming

We all were up at 7:00 am to get ready for the rice field work day. Yasuko had to make a lunch for school today since the cafeteria people were off today, she made Evan and myself a lunch also to take to Fujita-sans house. Koby left for school at the normal time and Evan and I left at 7:50 am to walk to Fujita-sans house, when we arrived Fujita Grandpa and Grandma had already planted half of one field, so we waited until they were finished and then was explained what my job was.

My responsibilities for that day was to hand the trays of rice plant sprouts to Ji-chan (grandpa) after he made one pass in the rice field with the tractor, I also took the empty trays off of the tractor and washed the mud off of them, and then did the same thing over and over. We loaded the trays of rice sprouts on the small truck they have and then I would drive it out to the field and stage the trays on the side of the field. After about an hour and a half we took a juice and snack break, but the juice turned out to be a beer, so there I was drinking a beer in the rice fields at 9:30 am in the morning (The breakfast of Champions). haha

At lunchtime we took a break and went into the house to eat, Yasuko showed up at 12:30 pm and ate lunch while I took a short nap before we had to start again. After lunch we planted about 2.5 more fields, in total we planted about 5 fields, we finished as it was getting dusk. Oba-san (grandma) asked if I wanted to be payed in money and I declined, they have helped us so much I couldn't possibly take money from them, but they said they would give us rice instead. We usually pay $30 - $40 for 10 kilos (22 pounds) of rice, and the rice that Fujita-san grows is much better than the one you find in the store, so that will be a fine payment.

After the day was done they had ordered a Sushi dinner for all of us, I wanted to go home and take a shower first but they said no you take a shower at our house, let all of the kids take one together first and then Yasuko and myself. Yasuko started laughing because in Japan it is common to take baths together in the Hot Springs here and since Fujita-san has 2 girls ages (8) and (7) we wondered how Koby and Evan was going to react. After a little convincing that it was ok and that he needed to get used to it he agreed and all of the kids had a great time bathing together, in fact we had to make them get out because they were in there so long.

After a great meal and a relaxing bath and not to mention good company, we all were taken home by Fujita-san, the boys went to bed shortly afterwards and Yasuko and myself followed.

Temp: High - 66
　　Low - 50

School Trip

Koby left this morning at the normal time, but there is no school, instead they are all going on a school trip to the Asahikawa Zoo. Yasuko made a lunch for him to take and he also brought some candy. Yasuko took some pictures of him leaving on the bus, all of the kids were excited to be going on the first school trip of the year. While Koby was on his school trip, Yasuko, Evan and myself decided to drive to a local ski resort which is a park and a golf course in the summer time, and has a great view of Higashikawa, and Higashikagura and also parts of Asahikawa. There is also a Japanese style castle that sits on top of the mountain which we got to go in and lookout from the top.

The castle doubles as a museum of agriculture and as many tools that they used to work the fields with a long time ago, including plows, horse saddles, old hoes, etc. It was very interesting and a nice day finally to get out and breathe some clean air. The temperature was warm today and will be very nice the next three days.

After the park visit we hurried home so we would be here when the school bus came back from the zoo with the kids. We took pictures as Koby and the other kids got off the bus and watched the short dismissal speech. After that we went to the post office and then came right back. I played with the neighborhood kids until it started to get dark.

We ate udon noodles and stir fried veggies for dinner and watched TV, the kids were worn out from playing hard today, especially Koby and went to bed at 8:45 pm. We got a call from the Fujita family and asked if I could help them plant rice tomorrow at 8:00 am. You bet I will be there to help out, after all of the free vegetables that they have given us and also the use of their car when we were car-less, it's the least I could do.

I have to be at their house at 8:00 am so I think that I will get to bed earlier than usual tonight.

Temp: High - 63
Low - 45

Friend Visit

Another rainy day today, while Yasuko and Koby left for school at 8:00 am, Evan and I ate breakfast of cereal and toast and coffee. Evan watched kids shows for a little while until he got bored and wanted to play the playstation 2. I just messed around on the computer and checked all of my websites until Yasuko came home at 12:30 pm. Koby had English class today which is funny, since he speaks better English than 75% of the population in Japan. I think that he usually sits in the corner and reads a book while the other kids learn "Hello, My name is ____."

Around lunchtime Yasuko came home and then shortly afterwards our doorbell rang and it was the English Teacher at Koby's school which is a friend of mine, his name is Ben. We chatted for a while, and he was excited to have just bought a vintage motorcycle to play around on this summer. Motorcycles are popular in the summertime here since there are so many beautiful places to see and nature to experience, but be careful my friend.

The rest of the day was spent inside due to bad weather.

Temp: High - 57
Low - 52

Inclement Weather

We woke up to a overcast and very windy day, it looks like it will be an inside the house day today. Yasuko and Koby left for school at the regular time, Evan ate cereal for breakfast while I had a cup of coffee. There is a typhoon in Okinawa now that is heading North East, which is in our direction, but will be passing under us, nonetheless we are experiencing heavy winds as a result of it. I have had to keep an eye out the window on my mini greenhouse, because the wind keeps blowing the plastic around and uncovering my tomatoes. After the 2nd time I went outside to fix it, I lined the plastic all around the edges with giant stones, and I dare the wind to blow those off.

Yasuko came home at 12:30 pm and does not have to back. We ate lunch and just lounged around the house due to the inclement weather. Koby came home at 2:30 pm and some of his friends came over and played video games. Later we went to a local grocery store to get a few items we needed in the mean time, and had to hurry back since Yasuko has a meeting at the community center tonight about the school's sports festival.

The kids and I stayed home and ate noodles and tomato sauce, Yasuko was gone to the meeting from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. I got the kids ready for bed, before Yasuko came home. There was not much to write about today since most of the day was spent inside.

Temp: High - 63
Low - 50

Helping Neighbors

Today was another busy day, Evan and myself got up at 8:00 am and I ate breakfast, but Evan was n a bad mood and skipped breakfast, he bumped his lip last night playing with the other kids, and I think it was hurting. We went to Ueo-sans house about 5 minutes until 9:00 am to help load up all of the items that he was going to throw away. He borrowed Kitayama's truck again to haul all of the stuff to the dump.

When we got to the dump they weighed the truck, and then we unloaded everything that was to be thrown away, and then the truck was weighed again, and they charge by the weight. It was not as expensive as I thought it was going to be, and the whole truckload cost about 2,000¥ which is a little less than $20.

After we unloaded the items we drove back to Shibinai and returned the truck and drove back to the house in Ueo-sans car, he asked me if I could go with him to his shop and help him do a few more things, and I agreed. We took some more restaurant supplies, and he had meetings with the beer & sake supplier, the fish market man and the man who is making his sign. After we worked for a while we went next door to a Ramen shop and had lunch.

After the meetings we drove to the sign shop to choose the colors of the sign, and he got to look at it on the computer to see if he liked the final project. After the sign shop we drove back to Shibinai, but not before we drove to a local park, and looked at some great views from the top of a ski slope. This place is very cheap to ski there and will probably be the place that I learn to ski at. You can get a 4 month season pass for only $200 and can come as much as you want.

We came home and I have a little down time before my Japanese lessons today at 5:00 pm. Japanese lesson was fun, and we learned here there ad over there (kore, sore, asore) we also played matching/memory games with the characters of the Japanese alphabet (Hirigana).

When the lesson was finished I took Endo-sensei (our teacher) home in Higashikagura, she usually rides her bike from her home to the bust stop, so I always drop her off at the bus stop. When we returned dinner was ready, the rest of the day was spent watching TV until bedtime.

Temp: High - 73
Low - 46

Mountain Biking

We slept late again since it was the weekend, everyone except me got up at 9:00 am and I was up at 8:15 am, the kids ate a breakfast of cereal, while Yasuko and I had rice, natto, kimchee and Miso soup. The kids went out to play with the rest of the kids since they had been ringing the doorbell since 8:30 am. Masani-san came over and gave me a couple of tomato plants and tied them up for me, we put them in the little green house and watered them real good, he told me to leave the plastic up during the day but at night put it back down.

When I came back in the house there was a message from Norman, so I quickly called him back and told him to come on over and bring your bike. It was a beautiful warm day, perfect for a mountain bike trip. I updated the blog, while I was waiting for Norman to come over. After he arrived I gave him the present that we got for him which was a electric air popper and lots of raw popcorn. Apparently it is not something that you can get here in Japan that easily, and if you want popcorn you have to settle for the already popped in bags that is 99% of the time stale.

We headed towards the dam on our bikes but stopped by the old house that we thought that we might of had to live in once. The place is huge, but very large, in fact I think it is larger than our house in Texas, but very old. After the short stop to the old house we continued to the dam, the biting flies were in force. The flies are called buyo's and are like a cross between a horse fly and mosquito, they suck blood and leave a nasty bump that itches like crazy. Norman got bit a couple of times but I made it without a bite after putting on some bug spray before I left.

After a short stop at the dam and some picture taking, we headed back along the levy and the banks of the Chubetsu river. The only wildlife we saw this time was a fox that quickly took off before we could get a picture. We continues our trip along the levy until we reached the bridge that crosses over the Chubetsu river into Shibinai, and then decided to ride further to a nearby park. It was a nice easy ride, but Norman's backside was hurting and my legs were tired, we walked the bikes a bit around the park and then rode through a nearby neighborhood that has the most adorable Swedish Alpine style houses that I have ever seen. Hmmm maybe someday!!

After the ride through the neighborhood we headed back along some back roads and partially on a bike trail. When we got back we set on the steps and rested a bit. Yasuko informed me that we were invited to a Yakisoba party at Ueo-sans house tonight, so Yasuko is preparing some cabbage. Tomorrow I am going to help Ueo-san get rid of a lot of rubbish that he had behind his house, I am going to get rid of a microwave oven also along with the items, it is expensive to get rid of large items here, but it helps with the recycling process.

The yakisoba party was fun, but had to be moved inside because the weather started getting bad and cool, we all had fun talking and looking at each others photographs. Yasuko and the kids came home at 9:30 pm and I stayed until 10:30 pm

Temp: High - 70
Low - 46

Rainy Days

Everyone slept late today, we were still eating breakfast when the doorbell rang about 4 times with kids wanting to play with Koby and Evan, I did all of my computer activities until noon when Norman called and said that he was going to have to get his bike worked on before he could go riding. The weather started off nice this morning but quickly became dark and cloudy.

The winds picked up and the rain and thunder started, I guess it was good that Norman didn't come today, we might have got caught in some bad weather on the way back from our bike ride. Instead we took a trip into town to check out some recycle shops. Yasuko has been wanting a cabinet to store the dishes that we have, so we looked around. Most of the stuff they had seemed to be expensive to me, but there was a few items that was reasonable,

I saw some ski's and snowboards, so maybe that will be a good place to get some started equipment for the coming winter season. After we got through looking around at the recycle shops I asked Yasuko if she wanted to see where Ueo-sans restaurant was at, she said yes, so we drove there next and he was inside so we stopped for a bit and talked and looked at the place. It really looked different than the last time I saw it, he should be ready to open soon.

After we left Ueo-sans restaurant we went to kaiten sushi, which is a sushi restaurant with the food traveling around the tables on a conveyor belt, the plates are different colors depending on the price of the item thats on it, so you just grab what you want off of the conveyor belt, and when your done they count the plates and you get charged by the plates you ate. Our dinner came to about $35 for all four of us.

After dinner we came home and just relaxed until bedtime.

Temp: High - 72
Low - 43

Shibinai Days

Koby and Yasuko was off to school at the normal time this morning while Evan watched TV and I slept late from the party last night. When I got up a 9:00 am Evan wanted to eat more so I fixed him and myself toast. After eating Evan went outside to play a while, it is a beautiful day with clear blue skies and warm temperatures.

Yasuko came home at lunch and told me that Evan needs to stay in the house for a little while because they will be spraying the cherry trees with a type of medicine and he should not breathe it, so we got him inside and he played the Playstation 2 for a while.

Koby came home at the normal time and quickly went outside to play with all of the kids. Today I stayed in the house and messed around on the computer. The weather is supposed to be great for the next 3 days with warm temperatures, I think mountain biking with Norman will be a plan this weekend.

Temp: High - 68
Low - 45

Dinner Date

Another normal day in Shibinai, Koby and Yasuko went to school this morning, I think that Yasuko is feeling much better although she said her throat was a little sore this morning. Evan ate cereal while I had my usual toast and coffee, but this morning I used our coffee grinder and ground some beans to make a fresh pot of coffee and the difference is like night and day, I really know now why I hate instant and coffee in the store that is already ground.. (It's stale)

I finished the Shibinai Blog today and have gotten caught up to the current date finally, I am putting a lot of great pictures on here, but you can see even more at my Flickr account, I highly recommend that you become a member at Flickr and request friends with me so you can see all of the pictures that I have designated as friends and family only, otherwise you will just be able to see the scenery pics of Hokkaido.

We are scheduled to eat dinner at Ueo-sans house tonight, he left this morning, probably to go work at his restaurant more, his big opening is only about 10 more days, and then I have a feeling that I will not be seeing him much.

Yasuko will be home at lunchtime, and Evan is playing the Playstation 2. Yasuko came home and does not have to return until 4:30 for a short meeting, after that we went to the store to buy a few items to take to Ueo-sans house, when we returned they were waiting for us. The dinner consisted of rare tuna steaks marinated in a soy based sauce, a Korean style Kimchee stew, Scallops, and a vegetable dish with fresh seaweed and tofu. Everything was delicious as Ueo-sans dinner always are.

Yasuko and the kids came home at 9:30 while I stayed until 11:30 and talked with Ueo-san more.

Temp: High - 63
Low - 40

Bank Woes

Yasuko and Koby left for school this morning while Evan and I ate breakfast and watched kids shows, our normal routine. Evan has caught a cold, and Yasuko also has not been feeling well, but they both seem to be feeling better today. It must have been one of those fast flu bugs. So far I have not felt bad, and Koby doesn't seem to be affected either. Ueo-san has invited us to his house for dinner tomorrow night, I guess he feels that it is a good way to repay me for the help I have given him at his restaurant, but I was happy to help him.

Yasuko came home at lunchtime and will not have to return for the day, we made a lot of calls to Wells Fargo to try and figure out how to initiate a wire transfer of our money to Japan, and were told unfortunately they cannot do it without me setting it up before we left. WHAT!!! I just want to go on record and say that Wells Fargo is the crappiest bank I have ever had the dis-pleasure of banking with, after visiting the bank numerous time before we left inquiring about how we would make the transfer, and were told that everything was going to be no problem, Now This..

It looks like I am just going to request a check for the amount we want and then deposit it over here, it will take longer that way, but our bank here said that they would accept the check, so I guess that is the way we will have to do it.

Koby came home at 3:00 pm and did his homework, afterwards him and Evan went outside to play with all of the kids, I just stayed inside today, for some reason I feel real cold today and cannot get warm, but I will fix that problem later with a steaming hot bath. Tomorrow is the dinner date with the Ueo family.

Temp: High - 63
Low - 37

Shibinai Village

Yasuko and Koby were off again at their regular time to school, but Yasuko came home early to eat lunch. Yasuko said that she heard Koby say I love Japanese class, WHAT??? Wow that is a huge change from last month when he said he hated it, so things are changing with him in the language classes and he is starting to enjoy it now. I think the private lessons have something to do with that also.

Today was a cool but warmer day, I went for a bike ride with Koby and 2 other boys, these hills here kill me when you have to go up then, but it sure feels good to coast down the other side, the temperatures here have been highs of 56 and lows of 38 at night, I will start putting the temperature at the end of my posts so friends and family can keep up with what the weather is like here.

Later on that evening we had a house full of kids, and this house is small, so they were running around and hollering, and it sounded like a circus. I went outside and played ball with everybody until people started disappearing to go eat dinner, We all came home and ate also.

Asahidake

Yasuko and Koby were off to school this morning at the normal time, Yasuko will return early today and not have to go back since Koby's remaining subjects will be PE, Music and Art. There is a teacher at the school that speaks a little English named Toyoko-san and can help if Koby needs it. Yasuko came home at lunch and we took a ride to collect some more spring water, it was a nice cool day in Shibinai and was light jacket weather. After we collected the water we decided to drive up mount Asahidake took sight-see, it was absolutely beautiful and we took a lot of pictures, although the temperature was much cooler than in Shibinai. Snow is still all over the mountain top and is melting slowly.

When we got back Koby came home shortly afterwards and quickly went out to play and ride bikes with the other kids. Koby and myself have our first Japanese lesson together today at 5:00 pm our teachers name is Endo-sensei (sensei means teacher). Our Japanese lesson was fun, Koby surprised me of how much of the Japanese writing that he knows, I know more sentence structure and words for things but he can read and write far better than I can.

We also got Koby's bike tire fixed today at the local gas-station, and they did it for free when we asked how much. Koby has been riding another one of the neighborhood boys old bikes, which is a little big for him, but it makes him feel like a older boy. haha After our Japanese lesson the boys and I took our teacher back home, she lives in Higashikagura near the library and town hall. I need to study the Japanese alphabet more so I can catch up with Koby, but I have a feeling that I wont be able to catch up.

Mother's Day

Up again at 8:00 am with a breakfast of toast and coffee, I met Ueo-san outside at 9:00 am to go to Yoshitake-sans house to load up the truck with things we need to take to the new restaurant. As I predicted Ueo-san was not feeling good at all, and said he had a headache and felt nauseous. I felt fine because I paced myself. The truck was a large one that Ueo-san had borrowed from the Kitayama family.

We separated the things that would be brought to the restaurant and the items that were to be brought to Ueo-sans house, since Yoshitake wants all of Ueo-sans things out because he is going to remodel the storage place and make it part of his house. Nothing was really that heavy except the freezer box and took 3 of us to lift it onto the truck, I was extra careful not to hurt my back. Once we had the truck off we went, Ueo-san called a friend to meet us there, so he could help us unload. Unloading went quick and we were pretty much done by noon, I was anxious to get back to call my friend Norman to see if he wanted to ride mountain bikes today.

After we were done carrying all of the things to Ueo-sans house, we parted company but not before he invited us to his house to eat on Thursday, he also gave us a microwave oven, table for our living room, and numerous dishes in payment for me helping him., I didn't need any payment but it was nice, and we needed the items he gave us. I called Norman, but he said that he forgot that it was Mother's Day and was going to take his wife Ikuko shopping, and that we would re-schedule for another day. Oops I forgot it was Mother's Day also, but Mom if your reading this, I love you and miss you!! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Restaurant Work

Today I am helping my neighbor Ueo-san clean his restaurant in preparation for his grand opening, his restaurant is about a 15-20 minute drive from our house. I was up at 8:00 am and ate toast and drank some coffee until Ueo-san rang the doorbell. We took off and went to his restaurant, when we arrived he said that I could scrub the floors while he cleaned the walls and everything else, the place seats about 20 people so it is not that big of a job, especially compared to the decks I used to scrub when I was in the Navy.

I scrubbed the floor with a brush water and soap, and Ueo-san wiped up the dirty water with a towel, he complimented me on a great job and said the floor looked beautiful. We took a break for lunch and went to the local Home Center called HOMAC to get some wax for the floor, and then we went to eat lunch. We went to a friend os his restaurant called "Hindi Hipster" which is a Indonesian Curry restaurant. The owner is Japanese but has lived in Indonesia before and learned the Indo way to make curry. The food was great, and unusual to find authentic Indo Curry, especially in Hokkaido.

Afterwards we returned to Ueo-sans shop and waxed the floor, when we arrived that morning he said we were going to scrub the floor twice, but I guess I did such a good job, he thought that once was enough. The restaurant that was there before he got the place was a charcoal grilled meats restaurant, and the place had a coat of soot everywhere. After the waxing the floor looked fantastic and he was very pleased.

Tonight another BBQ is planned and of course we are invited, I need to be careful tonight and not drink too much because tomorrow I am helping Ueo-san move all of the furniture, refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, and dishes to his restaurant. The BBQ was tons of fun, but was real cold out. Luckily there was a barn that we all got in and BBQ'd in there instead, it started to get smoky inside, but we opened the windows on top which took care of all of the smoke.

Yasuko and the kids came home early, while I stayed with about 8 others and talked and had fun. I have a feeling Ueo-san is not going to feel very good tomorrow, but I will be fine!

Freeze

It was very cold last night, and we got hit with some unusually cold weather, it probably was in the mid to high 20's and unfortunately killed all of the plants that I had put in my garden. But I cannot complain because one of our farmers here in Shibinai lost his whole field of Asparagus. WOW!! All of that work for nothing, but he is not the only one, all over Hokkaido it happened and it was all over the news.

Asparagus prices are going to be through the roof. Right now Asparagus is about $4 for a bundle of about 6 Asparagus. I love it, but not for that price.

My plants were only 88¥ each that is a little less than 88 cents each, so I was not out much money, 88¥ X 6 about $5. I am told to wait a few more weeks to make sure all of the real cold weather is gone.

Masani san gave me a miniature green house for my garden, it will help to extend the short growing season that we have here in Shibinai, it basically consists of strips of bamboo stuck into the ground, covered in plastic. It is a very common thing to do here.

Koby's school also has a big field that they use to grow vegetables, and they asked us if we would like some of the field to use also. Yasuko told them yes, so now we have even a bigger plot to grow vegetables. I am going to have to add a lot more items to my garden now.

Internet Finally

Everybody was off to school at the normal time while Evan and I ate breakfast and watched the usual kids shows, one thing I hate about the kids shows they have here is that they play the same episodes all week, so you have them memorized by Friday.

Evan got some of his toys in the boxes out and started playing with them, he is playing with Mr. potato head now. Evan and I practiced riding his new bike today, he did good and I think he will be riding by himself in a couple of weeks.

Yasuko came home at 10:30 am today, we are going to meet the person who is going to look at my computer today at lunch time, we have to drive to Biei town to meet him which is only about 15 min away, we have to get gas in the car also soon, the price has went up to $1.56 per liter.

We met the man in Biei and he followed us back to our house, he worked for about an hour and set up everything that we had to do to get online. He charged us $50 for the labor and $60 for the equipment, so even cheaper than a new terminal adapter. But we are finally online.

Afterwards we filled the car up with gas, it cost $50 WOW! But the good thing is that we don't drive very far to go to the store or the park, everything is very close. Our service costs only $14 per month, compared to $35 per month in America, although the connection here is much slower.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning out email and answering emails, and giving everyone our new contact information.

Boxes Arrived

Today Yasuko and Koby were off to school at the regular time, while Evan and I ate breakfast. After breakfast I went out and worked in the garden until Yasuko came home at lunchtime. Here in Hokkaido the soil is very rocky, so I lined the whole garden with big river stones.

Yesterday we bought some corn seeds, 2 bell pepper plants, 2 hot pepper plants and 2 eggplant plants, I am going to plant them today, and also put some potato's in the ground to grow some potato's. I still want to get some cucumber plants, and zucchini plants. I have a very large garden plot, and have room for more things, but I am still undecided in what to grow.

The weather is rainy today, and I am dodging the showers in between working. I managed to get everything that I had planted. We didn't do anything special today since the weather was rainy and the temperature was cold, but we did go pick up a bicycle that was given to Evan, it is a very nice bike and it is time that he learns how to ride, Koby's bike got a flat tire that we have to get fixed.

I contacted a guy today that is a Macintosh Expert and asked him about Internet service, he is going to come over tomorrow and check out our computers and help us get online with both computers, so hopefully soon we will be back online.

Our boxes that we shipped from America arrived today, and we stacked them all in the computer room, they didn't take up as much space as I thought they would, we have a list of what's in each one so we will only have to open the ones we need to.

Working in the Fields

I was up at 6:15 am to get ready to go work in the rice fields, I had breakfast and then got dressed in my jumpsuit that was donated to me, and my snow boots I bought. As I was walking out Ueo-san met me and we walked to the meeting place where everyone was gathering to find out their assignments.

Ueo-san and I were paired together and our job was to clean out the irrigation ditch that floods the rice fields. We took regular breaks and shoveled out the irrigation ditch of all of the mud and weeds that had started to grow in them. It was hard work and both of our backs were hurting when we were finished.

The day was beautiful with a nice cool breeze, but it warmed up as we got closer to lunchtime. After we were finished, Ueo-san invited us over to his house tonight for dinner, we had promised the Maskawa family that we would make dinner for them, but Ue0-san said bring them also, it was just the three children since their mom had to go to work at a local resort hotel.

I laid down a while to rest my back, and then had lunch. We took a trip to the grocery store to get some supplies and got back just in time to go to Ueo-sans house at 5:00 pm. Dinner was great and it consisted of Okonomiyake, which is similar to a pancake but made with cabbage, pork, and egg, on top is a ketchup based sauce and bonito (fish) flakes are sprinkled on top.

Yasuko and the kids came home at 9:00 pm since Koby had school tomorrow and I stayed until 11:00 pm. When I got home, everybody was asleep, and thats just where I went also. It was a long and busy day.

More Parks

We all slept late today, especially me since I drank a little too much last night. Today we are planning on taking the kids to a new park that they have never been, right now they are out playing with the other kids.

We left to go to the park at about 12:30 pm, the park was really nice with lots of fun things to do for the kids. We took some pictures of the kids on the slides and all of the other attractions, then we went into the inside playing place, where they had a climbing wall and rope tunnels that hung from the ceiling.

After that we stopped at a 7-eleven and got some rice balls stuffed with tuna and some sweet bread and drinks, and made our way to a second park where we had a picnic. The weather was cool and windy today, and we were kind of cold when we were eating.

After we ate the kids played a bit more and then we made our way home. Tomorrow is Koby's final day of vacation, and I have a job tomorrow clearing out drainage pipes for the rice fields here in Shibinai, it pays $10 per hour and lasts from 7:00 am to lunchtime.

Vegetable Sale

We all woke up late at 9:00 am, Yasuko must have worn everyone out yesterday, especially the 283 steps. We ate breakfast, and Yasuko and I volunteered to help with the vegetable sale today, the local farmers here in Shibinai have gotten together to sell vegetables to the tourists that are traveling on the road here on the way to the mountains. I am not sure what my job will be but I will do what they need.

We went to the vegetable sale, and only women were participating, so I went with a couple of the men to the mountains and learned how to collect mountain vegetables, It was a nice day and very warm. We came back with 2 plastic bags full of them, they grow on top of a long stalk that is very thorny, and you have to collect them when they are just blooming. We brought them back and fried them with Tempura batter outside near the vegetable sale, we had so many we shared them with everyone and all of the kids.

The vegetable sale was a great success, with practically everything selling out, later on after the sale I helped all of the men take down the tables and the large tent and put them away. Later on a outside BBQ is planned. We ate a lot and drank a lot and ended up at Ueo-sans house again until late.

Yasuko went to a meeting while we were BBQ'ing and they talked about how they can make the next sale better and bigger since it was such a success.

Golden Week

Golden Week starts, and the weather is continuing it's warm streak, we all were up at 8:00 am and had breakfast, I am not sure where we are going today, but I am sure Yasuko will figure out something, until then the kids are headed outside to play.

We departed Shibinai about 9:00 am to go driving in the country and mountains, we ended up at a tourist information center in Biei, which is a town adjacent to Shibinai, Yasuko talked with the lady working there for almost an hour, while the kids and I roamed all over the grounds, there was a beware of bears sign up, but there was way too many people for a bear to come wandering into the area where we were at, bears tend to stay away from people.

After that we took a scenic drive to the mountains that was the most beautiful that I had ever seen, we stopped at the side of the road and took a lot of pictures, Yasuko started yelling and we heard the echo, just like in the movies, so all of us took our turns saying things and hearing it echo back to us.

We continued our trip up the mountain to a place that Yasuko said was going to be a surprise, we finally arrived at a group of hotels and parking area and she said this is it. We parked our car and walked to this bridge and was amazed at the most beautiful water falls I had ever seen, even on TV. The bridge was real high, and Yasuko said it made her legs shaky. After taking a lot of pictures there was a staircase that consisted of 283 steps up the mountain to the volcano information center, so up we went. Wow you really find out how out of shape you are when you walk up those steps, not to mention it was covered in Plexiglas, which contained the heat and made it real steamy as you walked up. We were glad to make it to the top and made our way to the information center.

We watched a movie in 3D about volcanoes, and learned some information about the volcano that we were standing on. They had all kinds of interactive displays that the kids had fun playing around with. The last time the volcano that we were standing on had erupted was in 1988, and was expected to have another major eruption within the next 30 years.

After the mountain visit we went to a nearby organic restaurant and ate, the owners were real nice and we talked with them for at least an hour after we finished eating, we exchanged phone numbers, and discussed some future business opportunities that we might be able to do together. This place is so beautiful, there is no way I can describe it in words.

After the cafe we drove to a nearby ostrich farm and surprised the boys, you should have seen their faces when they saw the ostriches for the first time. There was a cafe attached to the ostrich farm that made cookies and cakes out of the ostrich eggs, but we didn't buy anything.

After the ostrich farm we drove to a couple of other places to look at flowers and scenic views, to end up at a roadside stop, that every town has here, and eat some ice cream. While we were at the roadstop, we bought this booklet that has all of the roadstops in Hokkaido, and you can put each roadstops rubber stamp in your booklet, it will be fun trying to collect all of the stamps, and visit all of the roadstops in each town in Hokkaido, One down and many more to go.

After the roadstop we came home and watched TV for a bit until bedtime.

Busy Days

We woke up to a beautiful warm day with the sun shining bright and the skies blue, but the mountain view is a bit hazy, it is still early though. Evan ate cereal and a banana for breakfast and I had toast and coffee and a banana.

Koby gets out of school at 2:30 pm today to start his "Golden Week" vacation, and Yasuko will be home at 11:00 am and will not have to return today. I think Evan and I are going to go to a local park for a while, so I can walk around and he can play on the slides and swings.

The park visit was lots of fun, Evan had a great time on the rope and pulley slide, after he played we walked around the park and enjoyed the cherry blossom trees in full bloom. We rested a while and had some drinks and watched the other kids playing, drinks in the vending machines cost $1.20 each here, I had cold coffee which is very popular here and Evan had Peach Nectar.

We came home and ate lunch with Yasuko and then we went shopping while Koby finished school. When we got back we all went to the same park that Evan and I went earlier and took a loot of pictures, after that we went out to eat Ramen. The Ramen was some of the best I have ever had, it is much different than the Top Ramen that we think of in America.

After Ramen it was about 7:00 pm and we decided to drive to Biei which is a town close to us, that was having a pre festival party at the Dam and looking at cherry blossoms at night. They had lights set up, and it was so beautiful, but a little cool.

After that we came back home and everyone fell asleep on the couch watching TV, except for me, I was the one who had to carry everyone to bed.

Shika Deer

Koby has a short day at school today, I think the school is gearing up for the Japanese Holiday called "Golden Week" where everyone is off for a week. We have a lot of plans, including 2 picnics, a shopping trip, and some park stops for the kids. We are also going to try and find a new terminal adapter so we can finally get Internet access.

My friend snowman invited me to go on a trip with him one day, but I refused, since Yasuko and the kids would be stuck at home by themselves. Hopefully I will be able to go with him on Summer Vacation. Also next week the village we live in will be selling vegetables to the tourists that travel the road through our town on the way to visit the Asahidake mountains. I will be helping out packing vegetables.

After breakfast, I got the clean clothes folded and put away, and straightened up the house a bit, I bought a 20 liter water container yesterday at the store, and cleaned it out real good, now we have a larger container to collect spring water in.

The cherry blossoms are looking beautiful, and I am going to get some more pictures today, I will try and take pictures everyday to show the change in them, I cannot miss this opportunity since they bloom so quickly and then fall off. In Tokyo they have already bloomed and fell off about a month ago, we are late here in Hokkaido because of the higher elevation and cooler weather.

It is very warm today, short sleeve weather, but the wind is really blowing hard, the skies are a little hazy but the sun is out and shining. After Koby got off of school he had homework to finish, and all of the school kids had planned a picnic under the cherry blossom trees. Koby took a 2 liter drink and some snacks, and a blanket to put on the ground.

I decided to go get some spring water in my new 20 liter container I bought. This time the parking lot was not full so I quickly collected my 20 liter container and 4 other 2 liter bottles, after that I decided to drive up Asahidake mountain, it is a breathtaking view and I stopped many times to take pictures. Snow is still deep on the mountain and I saw many skiers and snow boarders still enjoying the deep powder.

It was a hot day in Shibinai today, but on the mountain it was still very cool, it felt great. At the end of the road on the mountain you are over 800 meters above sea level. On the way down I was just looking at the beautiful scenery and say 4 Japanese Shikah Deer grazing on the side of the road, luckily there was a driveway right where they were at and I quickly pulled in. They didn't even run, and looked as if they wanted to come closer, I got some great pictures.

Later that evening we went into Asahikawa to an electronics store and looked around at all of the gadgets, after that we were going to go eat dinner at a Ramen restaurant, but we were too late and they were closed, the kids were unhappy, but we can try again tomorrow. Tomorrow starts Koby's week long vacation.